to me. The Constables turned him [ing, from a heating dunghill. The back, and would not let him come smell was nauseously offensive. Every sense was disgusted. But, what was still more shocking and disgusting than all the rest, was the sight of the wives and daughters of the Rich Ruffians, who were seated on the balconies and at the win this scene, and discovering every symptom of satisfaction and delight, at hearing what would have made a bevy of common prostitutes hang their heads with shame! And to me. The moment he was out amongst the Savages, they pitched upon him, set their knives to work, ripped the coat from his back, and otherwise treated him in a most barbarous manner. But, indeed, the bands of hired brutes were dows, looking directly down upon masters of the civil power as well as of the rest, while embodied round the Booth; and, I am certain, that, on the Friday or Saturday, if the Magistrates had, with their feeble force, attempted to protect my vo-observe, these base-minded, these ters, the Booth would have been vile creatures; call themselves latorn down, and many of us would dies! I must solemnly declare, have had our throats cut. On those that I have never seen any comdays, particularly the former, the pany of Negro-women, who, I bescene was far more horrible than lieve, would not have run away at any thing of which any man, not hearing what appeared to be highly actually present, can form an idea engaging by these " ladies" of CoThere were at least three scareselect ventry! Amongst the wives and wretches constantly vomitting forth daughters of the Freemen and imprecations the most horrid that others, I met with some most exwords can frame; intermixed with cellent women; but, I must say, expressions peculiar to prostitutes that the females, of the Rich and bullies and houses devoted to Ruffians of Coventry were the lewdness. The bottles of gin and most impudent, shameless, and brandy were continually passing hardened set of women that I ever from mouth to mouth; and, from saw. I remember seeing crowds of the mass of heads (including those prostitutes on the Point at Portsof the whole crowd), which mouth; and, I once saw three were closely jammed together, hundred (as they told us) on board there arose a reek, or steam, proceeding from the sweating carcasses and from the foaming and belshing mouths of the brutes; just like the reek that rises, in a morn-to the wives and daughters of the of a Serenty-four at Spi head; but, I never before saw any thing in the shape of woman, that would, as I believe, have remained and listened to what appeared to give delight Rich Raffians of Coventry. There the street, at a short distance from was, with regard to the bloody-inten. the Craven Arms; that he was walk tioned attack on Mr. SERGEANT'S house a circumstance, which must be particularly noticed. ELLICE lodged at an Inn, called the Craven Arms, which is in the same street with MR. SERJEANT's house, and up-hill from it, distant, perhaps a hundred yards. Just after the siege was over, and the enemy, from our unfortunate want of fire arms, had retired to sup and receive their pay, a woman came to give us information, which she afterwards swore-to, in the following words: when ing between two other men; that a man, named Turner, a chaise driver, came running up as from the mob at Mr. SERGEANT's; that this man, he met ELLICE, said, with great vehemence, "they have got into SERGEANT's yard, and we shall have him out; I'll be damned if we shan't;" to which ELLICE made some reply, but in a low tone of voice, and she did not hear the words. The man then ran on, and she again met him im"CITY OF COVENTRY.-The Ex-mediately afterwards, running back, "amination of MARY WESTBURY, of as hard as he could, towards Mr. "the said City-who says, that she SERGEANT's house, with a truncheon "was passing, on Saturday, Marchin his hand, as thick as her wrist and "the eleventh, between the hours of "six and seven o'clock, by the CRA"VEN ARMS. She saw EDWARD EL 46 as long as her arm. Now, let it be observed, that these LICE, one of the Candidates, stand-witnesses came of their own accord to "ing at the gate of the CRAVEN us. None of us knew any thing of them. Their husbands were also unknown to me, and also to my Committee. What improper motive could then, have actuated them? In short, this is such evidence as must be believed, if the usual law and rules of evidence be adhered to. I will make no attempt to draw a conclusion from this evidence. That will be drawn by you, my dear James, and by every impartial person. But, in another case, where ELLICE has had the meanness to lie, in public as well as in private, I must be a little more parHe has denied, that he set stating, that, at dusk, the same even-ticular. ing, she saw ELLICE walking down his Savages on upon me on the Thurs G day. When called to account by heard ELLICE desire his savages to him, with great violence, up to She is ready to make if necessary. "Ann Waring declares, that she 66 saw and heard all that is described "in the above declaration of Mrs. "Harriet Clare. "ANN WARING." who gave this evidence were utter strangers to me. I asked for no evidence. It was voluntarily brought, and tendered to us. It must be believed: it cannot be rejected and : it fixes the character of this man for ever. The effect of the Saturday night's attack, ending as it unfortunately did, without our inflicting justice on the cut-throats, was no other than that of inspiring new terror in the minds of our voters. The facts relating to the stabbing and the manifest intention to murder some of us, though they excited great indignation and hatred against our enemies in the minds of all good people, by no means tended to remove the fears of my friends, who remained unpolled.They were, in short, now convinced, that they must vote for me, if at all, with nearly a certainty of losing their employment, and with a great And thus, in fact, the election became a matter to be decided by knives, and by knives only! The There are, perhaps, twenty per-risk of losing their lives. sons, who can make oath to the same fact. One gentleman has called at the Office in London to say, that he Savages, who had attacked the house, and father's lives; now was the time were at large the next day, just as if they had done nothing at all. 1 saw, taking the past into view, not the smallest hope of obtaining protection for my voters; nor, indeed, for myself out of the house. We had on the Sunday, got some few fire arms, and were quite secure in the house; but, as to the election, there remained nothing belonging to it worthy of the name. to bring forth protection, and give the election the appearance of fairness! I, however, went near the Booth no more. I could not by my presence, give countenance to any further proceedings. When I have collected most of the prominent facts and circumstances, I shall lay the case before some lawyer; and, if his opinion bear me out, I will petition I, therefore, on the Monday morn-against the return of these two men, ing, before the poll opened, sent to the Sheriffs the Protest, which you will find below. They, however, opened the poll, and went on! They got no Constables round the Booth till noon, and kept polling away all the while. About noon, they sent me a verbal message to say, that all was quiet, and that they had a force out and on foot. Why did they not provide such a force before? I had applied to them ten times a day for such a force. I had, as you will see, applied to the Mayor in the morning of the Saturday; who neither sent a force nor an answer! But now, when terror and stabbing had done their work; when many of my voters from the country had gone home without polling; when the great body, who remained unpolled at Coventry, had been overawed and reduced to absolute subjection; when the wives and children had been filled with fear Hef loss of bread and of their husbands who according to law and justice, are no more Members for Coventry, than they are Members for New York. I did nothing any more. I let them all do just what they pleased. And they, at last, stated that the numbers were as follows: ELLICE 1474 1422 COBBETT - 517 You will remember, that I was at the head of the poll on the first day; that I again topped my opponents at 11 o'clock on the third day. You have seen by what means they obtained their majority afterwards. And, observe, that, after all, my votes were almost all of them double votes; that is to say, the men who voted for me, voted for nobody else. · Split my votes; that is, multiply them by two; and see, after all, how very triding my minority! Had it. been a free and fein election. Had there been no master's subbornation ;u away, had there been no hired savages; nay, had only the knives been kept I should have polled about two thousand men! It was the knives, and the knives only, that obtained Moore and Ellice their majority. My voters would have borne any thing in the way of hunger, arising from the want of employment; any thing in the way of beating; but, life is dear to all men, and especially, when a wife and children pull at the heart-strings; and, the knives were so busily at work, by dark as well as by day-light, that every man, who voted for me, actually did it at the peril of his life. All the circumstances considered, the wonder is, that 517 men should have been found so full of devotion power to do, to serve them. A Mr. Jewiss, who came from London, and who voted for me only, is put down amongst the voters for Moore and Ellice! He went, and offered to swear, that he had voted for me only; I will swear that that was the fact; a Mr. Taylor, who voted with him, was ready, and is ready to swear to the same fact. A representation of this was made, at the time; but, we could not get the poll-book altered! In how many instances the like of this may have occurred, I know not; for, indeed, the confusion and violence and continual uproar were such as to destroy all chance of any thing like correctness in any part of the proceedings. But, I believe, that it occurred in at least fifteen instances; and no one such mistake-like occurred on the other side. The 517 votes, given for me, were real votes. They were given in consequence of a conviction, that to elect me would be a good done to the country; and, when we consider, that I had no support of any sort, other than that, which arose out of the good opinion of consciencious men, the result of this election is more honourable to to principle as to vote for me at that. Hell-upon-earth, the Booth of Coventry. My heart ached for them when I saw them approach. When I shook hands with them, it really seemed that I was bidding them adieu upon their death beds. Many of them, and, indeed, the most of them, were sober, religious, men. They were manifestly actuated by a consciencious feeling of duty. I never sball forget the friendship and affec-me, than any thing that has ever be tion that they demonstrated towards me; and, whether the time may be near or distant, when I shall see them again, I shall not fail to do everything that I may have the 2 fore taken place; it is even less equivocal, than the honour bestowed on me in the passing of the Dun.. geon Bill, in 1817, or the passing of the Banishment Bill and the other five Bills, in 1819. |