No. 14. WILLIAM STAFFORD, of the City of Coventry, Cordwainer, maketh oath and saith, that he is a Freeman of the said City, and has every day at. tended at the booth, for the purpose of polling for Mr. Cobbett; that during the whole of the election, the friends of Mr. Cobbett have been treated in the most barbarous and inhuman manner, by the friends of Moore and Ellice, who have picked out the friends of Mr. Cobbett; and in the most tumultuous manner, jostled, pushed, and pulled them away from the booth where they have been ready, and waiting to poll; that this deponent has frequently been close up to the hustings, and has been forced away by bodies of men, who were going about to all parts of the booth, for the purpose of preventing Mr. Cobbett's friends from getting up to the booth; that the said bodies of men consist of Freemen generally, who have numerous opportunities of polling, but would not; and he be lieves that they are there employed for the above purposes; that the Freemen in the interest of Mr. Cobbett, are in danger of their lives, in going up to the booth, to exercise their elective franchises, from the inhuman, riotous, and tumultuous manner in which the friends of Moore and Ellice conduct themselves. No. 15. WILLIAM BRYAN, of the City of Coventry. Weaver, maketh oath and saith, that on Friday last he attempted three several times to get up to the booth for the purpose of polling for Mr. Cobbett, deponent being a freeman. That he has always every time been pointed out by the partizans of Moore and Ellice, as a Cobbett, and they have then thus jostled and violently pushed and forced him away from the booth. That he has observed,during the poll, bodies of men going about to different parts of the hustings, forcing away, in the most violent manner, all persons who attended at the booth to poll for Mr. Cobbett, which bodies of men appear to be employed for that voting for Mr. Cobbett; that he made Page 97, Line 9, for surrounded read surmounted, Entered at Stationers' ball. * Printed by H. Hay, 11, Newcastle-street, Strand, and published by WM. COBBETT, JUĻ No. 269, Straud. 1 COBBETT's WEEKLY POLITICAL REGISTER. 153] LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 1820. Admiring as I did, and still do, your indignant letter, relative to the Manchester Tragedy, I should at this time, have had only to lament, that you were likely to be im prisoned for having written it, had you abstained, in your defence, from an unnecessary attack upon my conduct. This attack I cannot overlook, or let pass by me in silence: because I have a public character to support as well as you; and because I think that character of as much value to the country as yours is, or ever was. [154 here the whole of the close, or peroration, of your speech; for, it contains matter, which, though quite foreign from the subject before the Court at Leicester, is of very great importance at this time; for, if it be true, that you persevere in asserting the justice and policy of the Corn Bill, no time ought to be lost in endeavouring to convince you, that, while you may be, in your heart, a warm friend of the people of this kingdom, you are, in your actions, one of their greatest enemies. The close of your speech, as I find it in all the newspapers, was in the following words: "His object in quoting those re"corded opinions of his own was, to 66 prove that such had been his uniYour mode of defence was yours, "form sentiments. Those extracts to adopt, or reject, as you pleased. "showed that he had never enterI think the whole of the defence erro- "tained opinions or sentiments calneous in its tone; but the apology, "culated to propagate sedition, but at the close, is what I was particularly "that ever since 1802 he had been sorry to see, An appeal to and de- doing the very contrary, and enfence of general conduct were, in my "deavouring to unite all classes in opinion, beneath you. But, if you" order to effect what so many enthought it becoming in you to go "lightened men considered essential over the history of your Own loyal and orderly political conduct, it, surely, was not just to bring my conduct forward as a contrast, in this respect, with your own! "to the welfare of the country. They "would not believe him to be sediti"ous upon an unsupported charge. The Attorney-General had said "and he was extremely glad that he In order that the matter may stand "had said, that they were to judge fairly before the public, I will insert" of a man from his acts and declara H Printed by H. HAY, 11, Newcastle Street, Strand; and published by WM. C'obreȚt, jun. 269, Strand, "sible indulgence; but he was still more entitled to that indulgence "that persons had been put to death 66 "tions. He appealed to his acts and "declarations, and he could 'not see "how, by possibility, they could" here, on account of the defective"from these judge that he was ness of the information. He had "evilminded, malicious, or seditious."not from malice invented, but he "These recorded acts of his were "had from perfect conviction stated, "better testimony than every person in the world called as "witnesses. Let his whole life be "6 inquired into-let every word he "ever wrote or uttered be examined "-he defied any man to find any "sentence inconsistent with those 66 'principles. He did not recollect any thing more that he was called (at Manchester). He had evidence, "which he would offer at least, that "the facts were such as he had be"lieved and stated. If they did not "believe that he was desirous of in"citing to insurrection, they could not find him guilty. They must "first find him mad. He had spoken "in his letter, as he uniformly did, of upon to remark to them. The greatest part of the Attorney-General's" the Gentlemen of England, whom "speech he would have no difficulty" he always looked on as the guar"to reply to, but it was not in Court. "dians of the constitution. He had "The boroughmongers might be cen"not called on the people, but he "sured and opposed without sedition "had called on all to unite in resist66 or treason. His conduct amounted "ing the usurpations and cruelty of "to nothing more than this-it was" an oligarchy. To the King he had "not quite correct to identify them sworn allegiance.- -To the bo"with the Government, in order to "roughmongers he had sworn none, "charge him with sedition. They" and never would ;-to the borough"were complained of by all; and "their most monstrous cruelties would," "he trusted, soon have an appro"priate remedy. They were not a "part of the government; but if" "they were, he could not be con"victed, for there was no inuendo in "the information that they were part"dition, they would not convict him of the government. So it was upon the present charge. What "with the mention of King James," possible motive could he have had "of the soldiers, and every part of" for so wicked and stupid a thing? "the allusion to that period. They" He defied Mr. Attorney to give a "were not at all before the Jury." colour of credibility to the charge. "On account of the vagueness and "Mr. Attorney had indeed refuted "indefiniteness of the charge against "him, he was entitled to every pos. mongers he had always declared hostility, and hostility, he ever "should declare to them. He was sorry if they did not agree with him, and thought his opinions dangerous; "but still, if they did not believe that "his intentions had been to incite to se his own charge, and unless it could "be shown that he was mad, it was pleaded guilty. When he wrote "the letter he had learnt that a mili "impossible for the Jury to say "with undermining the liberty of the "that his letter had any tendency" country. If that was libel, he' "to sedition. The whole course of.. "his life was in direct opposition to "such a charge. On looking back"ward it would be extremely difficult "to find one who had so little listened "to popular delusions, or even even to "what was called popular opinion. "With popular opinions he had never "fallen in. For instance, on the Corn "Bill, in which the people felt the "greatest interest, he had argued "with them that they were in er 66 ror. tary force had been employed in the (6 most unwarrantable manner. He "had not addressed it, as some had "done, to the weaver-boys of Co"ventry, but to the enlightened elec"tors of Westminster, whose repre"sentative he had been. He had called "upon the people to meet, and if "numbers made a meeting illegal,' In every speech which he" the meeting at Westminster must "had ever uttered in Parliament," have been illegal. But that meeting "or out of Parliament, at public "meetings, or on the hustings, he same principle. He had 66 ways felt anxious that the "people should feel affection for "the Crown, and the Crown feel 66 had not been disturbed, and only at Manchester had military force been applied. At Smithfield, where Dr. Harrison (the chairman) had been "arrested, the meeting terminated tranquilly, and Mr. Hunt, he had 66 66 as there was no military interference, there was no disturbance. no apprehension or fear of the "He had never conceived that numpeople. He was a Tory so far as "bers constituted illegality in a meet"to contend for the prerogatives of "ing. His object had been to ascer"the King, the executive branch of "tain that they could meet, and not "the Constitution; and he was not "be interrupted. His letter was "for confining the utmost powers "nothing more than a call to come "which the law allowed to the Crown;" forward for this object. With what. "but he always had resisted, and al-" pretence could this be charged to "ways should resist, the undermining "have been done from a malicious "power of the boroughmongers and" and seditious motive, without rea"traffickers in seats, who bartered" son or argument, or colour of sense ? away the liberties of the country at "If the same conduct which might "every election. Them he charged "have proceeded from bad mo |