Chapter XVI

1834.

Corporation commission--Curious advertisement--Discovery of
treasure--Bribery at Liverpool--Duke of York's statue--Trades'
unions--Skit thereon--Riot at Oldham--Unionist oath--Union
meeting and monster petition--Its fate--Duke of Wellington made
Chancellor of Oxford--The Princess Victoria's lover.

The first thing of importance in this year was the resumption of the sittings of the Corporation Commission, which was an inquiry into the Corporation of London. This object of envy has been several times attacked, sometimes partially despoiled; always threatened, yet always vigorous, it is the red rag of the Radical bull. This Commission did the usual thing--took evidence, and came to nought.

The year itself was very uneventful in social incidents, so that I must draw upon divers odds and ends illustrative of the times. Here is the advertisement of a particularly cool gentleman, culled from the first page of the _Times_, January 17th--

"AN HEIR.

"A single gentleman, member of an English university, disgusted
at some family differences, is desirous of relinquishing his
connections and changing his name. The advertiser, who is a
gentleman of good education, affable manners, and pleasing
address, submits the proposal to the consideration of the
affluent, who have no issue. A full explanation will be entered
into, and most respectable and satisfactory references given.
Apply, etc."

Next is a paragraph from the _Cambrian_, quoted in the same _Times_--

"REMARKABLE SUBMARINE DISCOVERY.

"Among the occurrences which have been transmitted by tradition
to our neighbours in Gower, is the account of the wreck of a
homeward-bound Spanish galleon, laden with dollars, on Rhosily
Sands, near the Wormshead, shortly after the conquest of South
America by the Spaniards; that the crew, without giving
information of the nature of her cargo, sold the wreck for a
trifle to a Mr. Thomas, of Pitton, who, not being aware of the
value of his purchase, or from some other cause, took no pains
for her recovery, and that she shortly became completely embedded
in the sands. Nevertheless, suspicion always existed in that part
of the country that she must have had on board some valuable
articles; and, about twenty-six years ago, in consequence of the
sand having drifted very unusually, part of the wreck, in a very
decayed state, became visible, and a great quantity of dollars,
with some old iron and pewter, were then dug up from some depth
in the sand. The late Mr. John Beynon, of Pitton, having failed
to prove by any written document the purchase of the vessel by
his ancestor (the above-named Mr. Thomas), Mr. Talbot, of Penrice
Castle, the lord of the manor, became entitled to the property,
but he generously refused to accept it; consequently, many of the
inhabitants were much enriched by this fortuitous circumstance.
The spot where the vessel struck being only open at four hours
ebb-tide, and the sand having returned to its old quarters, the
money-hunters were obliged to desist in their attempts, and all
hope was abandoned of any further booty from that source. During
the late gales, however, the sand having shifted again, the spot
was once more resorted to, and the recovery of a very large
quantity of dollars has been the result, some bearing the date of
1631, others further back. The circumstance has created a very
peculiar interest in the neighbourhood; and, as it is not likely
that the present lord of the manor, C. R. Talbot, Esq., will
deviate from the precedent of his respected father, it is to be
hoped that the neighbourhood, which is very poor, will be
considerably benefited by this occurrence."

On March 19th the House of Commons passed a bill disenfranchising the Freemen of Liverpool for bribery at the late election, but it did not pass the Lords. Liverpool had formerly an unenviable notoriety for this sort of thing, and it is said that in 1830, when Messrs. Denison and Ewart contested the borough after the death of Mr. Huskisson, it cost each of the candidates over £40,000! The _Times_ of February 26, 1834, in a leading article on this election, says--

"On this occasion, likewise, votes rose in price as the contest
advanced, and towards its conclusion a single vote was sold for
£80! Nearly every freeman who came to poll was bribed. The
tickets given for enabling parties to claim payment from Mr.
Denison's committee amounted to two thousand; and one of the
witnesses having obtained these tickets, copied from them into a
poll-book, against the name of each voter, the sum which had been
paid him. The following is the analysis of the list of the other
candidate, Mr. Ewart's voters, with their respective prices, as
drawn up by his own law agent:--

600 freemen received £10 and under.
462 " " between £10 " £20
209 " " " £20 " £30
24 " " " £30 " £40
7 " " " £40 " £50
1 " " £60
----
1303

"One circumstance which disgracefully distinguished the bribery
practised on these two occasions, was the open, fearless, and
shameless manner in which it was conducted. The respective
parties advertised for supporters, and announced the price which
they were ready to give for votes on the walls of their committee
rooms. Tickets or tally-papers were openly distributed, which
were as regularly paid. The ingenious conductors of the election
had thus the merit of systemizing corruption--of making the sale
of consciences a counting-house affair, with the proper
assortment of promissory notes or poll-tickets and bags of gold,
with cashiers, examiners, and controllers of account!

"Another most striking and most melancholy characteristic of the
contest was not only the universality of corruption among the
poorer freemen, but the height to which the tide rose among
persons in better circumstances, whom, but for the levelling
nature of the system and the gradual decay of the moral sense
which it produces, the infamy ought not to have reached. It was
mentioned by the treasurer of Mr. Ewart's committee that several
'respectable' persons received large sums of money. A retired
brewer demanded £50; a captain in the militia received £35; three
brothers, 'respectable men,' were paid £30 a-piece; a druggist
and his father, both 'respectable men,' each received £20; and a
'respectable man,' worth £10,000, as he came early in the
contest, was satisfied to pocket the paltry sum of £12!"

The statue of the Duke of York was placed upon its column in Carlton Gardens on April 11th, and the _Examiner_ of the 12th thus speaks of it--

"The announcement of the newspapers that the elevation of the
Duke of York's statue was to be celebrated with military honours
drew a vast number of people to Carlton Gardens and the
neighbouring houses. There was, however, no military spectacle,
not even a military band to while away the time during the slow
process of hoisting up the statue, which did not reach the top of
the column till the people had dispersed, who had spent the day
in wondering what was to happen to requite them for their trouble
in coming to the spot and the tedium of waiting. Nothing was to
be seen but a bit of canvas fluttering in the bitter east wind,
showing the place of the statue, to which it served as wrapper.
The ascent was imperceptibly slow, such as sailors proverbially
say is the progress of lawyers to heaven. The weight of the
statue is said to be seven tons, and the height above thirteen
feet. A woman in the crowd, according to the _Globe_, observed,
'The Duke of York was never so large as that.' The same criticism
was made by a learned judge on the statue of Canning at
Westminster, and his companion, Mr. Thesiger, agreeing that
Canning was not so large, readily perfected the criticism by
adding 'nor so green either.'

"The statue of the Duke of York turns his back on the town and
his face to the Park. This arrangement was contrary to the
judgment of Mr. Westmacott, but insisted on by the Duke of
Wellington, who held it a point of propriety that the
Commander-in-Chief should face the Horse Guards. His Grace also
contends that it will be seen by more people from the Park below
than from Waterloo Place--another curious evidence of the
correctness of his observation. But this is not the Duke's first
mistake as to public views. It now seems that the Duke of York is
ashamed to show his face to the town, and, what to military
notions is worse, he turns his back on Waterloo Place.

"On the base of the monument should be inscribed, 'He made
creditors pitied!'--an effect never before produced, as the
sympathies of the world generally runs with poor debtors, and
creditors are only thought of and talked of as 'hard' and
'cruel.' No general in history was ever so heavily charged as the
Commander-in-Chief, and yet the charges of his creditors were the
only charges the general ever defeated."

In May, people were much exercised about Trades' Unions, which were then being formed, and, as is their nature, leading to strikes, some of which were then becoming serious, as in the cases of the cotton spinners and the journeymen tailors. An attempt was made to turn the movement into ridicule, as shown by the following, but without effect--

"CIRCULAR LETTER AND REGULATIONS FROM THE GRAND LODGE OF LADIES'
MAIDS.

"MADAM,

"By direction of the Friendly Society of Operative Ladies' Maids,
I have to inform you that, to stay the ruinous effects which a
destructive fashionable competition has so long been inflicting
on them, they have resolved to introduce certain new regulations
into their profession, which regulations they intend should
commence from Monday next; and I herewith beg to enclose a copy
of them--

"REGULATIONS.

"No sister shall be allowed to work, except for herself, from the
first day of May to the last day of April. No sister shall plait,
brush, or dress her lady's hair, or wait upon her in
sickness--except for such extra remuneration as each sister shall
deem it expedient to ask. No sister shall be called before ten in
the morning, nor shall any sister remain in a service where she
is refused a fire in her own room, an armchair, a subscription to
a circulating library, the free use of her lady's clothes, and as
many followers as she may like to retain. No lady shall presume
to part with her maid or to hire another without the consent of
all the ladies' maids within four miles of Grosvenor Square. Nor
shall any lady buy any gown, bonnet, or any article of dress that
may not be made serviceable or profitable to her maid, nor shall
she be allowed to retain the same in wear after the Grand United
Lodge of Operative Ladies' Maids shall have declared it a lawful
perquisite. No sister shall be allowed to ask leave to go out,
nor shall any sister be contradicted or found fault with, neither
shall she be put up with a small looking-glass, nor with a room
with a northern aspect.

"As the demands here specified are of so reasonable a nature, and
as, moreover, they are unquestionably calculated for the benefit
of the employers as well as the employed, the Society confidently
hopes that you will accede to them, and, henceforth, a mutual
confidence may be sustained between ladies and their maids, and
that they will, for the future, consent to lace each other's
stays, and dress each other's hair.

"It only remains for me to add that your ladies' maids, members
of this Society, will cease to answer your bell, though you may
ring it ever so often, should you decline to act upon the new
regulations; and, further, I think it right to apprize you that,
in that case, they will think it no longer necessary to keep any
family secrets with which they may have made themselves
acquainted.

"I am, Madam, Your obedient, humble servant,
"SARAH BROWN,
"Secretary to the Grand United Lodge
of Operative Ladies' Maids."

People hardly knew what to make of these Trades' Unions, and, at their beginning, they seemed to be somewhat antagonistic to authority, and decidedly subversive of existing institutions. And, perhaps, in the first flush of his emancipation, the working man had somewhat crude ideas of his position, and was a little too fond of processions, meetings, and showing himself in public. For instance, on April 15th, there was a riot of a serious description at Oldham. On the previous day, two members of a Trades' Union, at a meeting of their body, were arrested by some policemen, after a desperate struggle. They were on their road to Hollinwood, near Manchester, under the custody of two officers, for the purpose of being examined, when a large crowd attacked the officers, whom they beat severely, and rescued the prisoners. This occurred in front of Bankside Mill, which belonged to a Mr. Thompson, who was disliked by the Unionists on account of his employment of "Knobsticks," or men not belonging to the Union. These "Knobsticks" had been provided with arms for their defence, but, as it turned out, used them for offence; for, appearing at the windows of the building, they made a foolish display of their weapons, and fired blank cartridge at the passing mob. One gun, at least, must have been loaded with ball, for a man named James Bentley was killed.

This so incensed the mob, that the windows of the manufactory were immediately demolished, the dwelling house of the proprietor entered, and a total destruction of its contents effected. The liquors were drank in the cellars, the cabinets rifled and broken, the victuals eaten, and about £50 in money stolen. One of the lower rooms was filled with printing cloths, to which the mob set fire. The arrival of a party of lancers eventually caused the dispersion of the mob. The two Union men who were rescued afterwards surrendered, and were liberated on bail; meanwhile, the town was in a state of great confusion. A meeting of upwards of ten thousand operatives was held next day on Oldham Edge or Moor, at which resolutions to support their fellows were made. At a coroner's inquest subsequently held on the body of the individual who was shot, a verdict of _manslaughter_ was returned.

The _Times_ of May 5th gives the following as--

"THE OATH OF THE UNIONISTS.

"I (each party here to repeat his name), being in the presence
of Almighty God and this assembly, do voluntarily declare that I
will persevere in maintaining and supporting a brotherhood known
by the name of the United Operative . . . . . . of the Grand
National Consolidated Trades' Union of Great Britain and Ireland,
and I do further promise that I will, to the utmost of my power,
assist them, upon all just and lawful occasions, to obtain a just
remuneration for our labour; nor will I, knowingly, ever fill the
situation of, or finish the work of, any brother who has left his
employer in obedience to the ordinances and regulations of the
Consolidated Union aforesaid; and I call the Mighty Power who
made me, to witness this, my most solemn obligation, by which I
bind myself, that neither hopes nor fears, rewards nor
punishments, nor even the law of life itself, shall ever induce
me, directly or indirectly, to give information respecting
anything contained in this lodge, and that I will neither write,
nor cause to be written, anything appertaining thereto upon
paper, or upon anything else whatsoever, but for the purposes of
the aforesaid Union: and I do further promise to keep inviolable
all its rules, signs, and secrets. Neither will I ever give
consent to have any of its money divided, or appropriated to any
other purpose than to the uses of this lodge, and for the end of
the aforesaid Consolidated Union. And may God keep me steadfast
in this my most solemn obligation."

It was for taking unlawful oaths, probably of this kind, that six men had been convicted at Dorchester Assizes, a fact which so worked upon the Trades' Unions of London, that on April 21st they met in their might to the number of thirty thousand, in Copenhagen Fields, and proceeded in procession to Whitehall to present a monster petition (which it took twelve men to carry) in the convicts' favour, to the Home Secretary. Lord Melbourne refused to receive it, thus brought, but consented to see a deputation. This did not suit the agitators, and, as the only answer they could get was that Lord Melbourne had seen a copy of the petition; that he did not disapprove of its language; and that, if that petition should be presented on another day, and in a becoming manner, he would receive it and lay it before the King;--they retired, taking the petition with them, rejoining and reporting their interview to the main body of the procession, which had halted on Kennington Common. This broke up the meeting, and the crowd melted away, having behaved most peaceably. On the 24th the petition was presented to Lord Melbourne by a deputation from the Trades' Unions, and laid before the King in the usual way.

On the death of Lord Grenville, the Duke of Wellington was made Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He had previously received the distinction of having been made (_in absentiâ_) a D.C.L. of the University in 1814, when this honour was also bestowed on the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, and Marshal Blücher. At his installation on June 10th he wore his Chancellor's robes of black silk and gold, and H. B. has given us a very graphic portrait of him on this occasion: and he was attended by the Marquis of Londonderry, Lord Montague, Lord Apsley, Lord Hill, Lord Mohun, Sir George Murray, Sir Henry Hardinge, Sir S. Acland, Sir Robert Inglis, and Sir Charles Wetherell. There were likewise present eleven members of the episcopal bench. Among the ladies were to be seen the Princess Lieven, the Marchioness of Salisbury, and the Countesses of Clanwilliam and Brownlow. The Rev. John Keble of Oriel, so well known to us as the author of _The Christian Year_ (then professor of poetry), wrote the installation ode--and the Duke's reception was magnificent.

The Princess Victoria had not long entered into her fifteenth year when she had a lover, whose story is thus told by the _Courier_ of July 24th:--

"A SUITOR TO ROYALTY.

"A good deal of talk and merriment have been created in
Kensington, in consequence of the eccentricities of a gentleman,
said to hold a rank of some importance in the army, who has
fallen desperately in love with the Princess Victoria, and who,
for some months past, has taken every opportunity of manifesting
the ardour of his passion for her Royal Highness. From what can
be gathered of this eccentric gentleman's movements, it appears
that about the beginning of last spring he made some very
particular inquiries of the keeper at the Mount Gate, Kensington
Gardens, as to the Princess, wishing, in particular, to know the
best way in which he could obtain an introduction, and whether it
was most likely an interview would be granted at Kensington
Palace.

"The gatekeeper referred the gentleman to the proper authorities
at the palace; after which he received three cards, containing,
as the gentleman said, his titles and dignity, with a request
that they should be immediately forwarded to her Royal Highness
the Princess Victoria. On the cards were written "The King of
Rome," "The Emperor of the Austrias," and "The Grand Lama of
Thibet." Several letters were sent to the palace by this
tripartite potentate, who was constantly seen promenading before
the palace and in the gardens, waiting to obtain the desired
interview with the Princess. One day, while the gatekeepers were
at dinner, he contrived to jump over the palings into the
shrubbery, and there plant a laurel, to which he affixed another
letter to the Princess Victoria; which, of course, when
discovered, was speedily removed.

"From that time, this gentleman continued to pursue the same
system of eccentricity, and yesterday morning, having made some
further inquiries of the gatekeeper respecting the Princess, the
gatekeeper considered it to be the most prudent course to inform
Sir John Conroy of the persevering conduct of the enamoured
suitor. The gatekeeper having received his instructions,
proceeded to the station-house, and returned to the gardens
accompanied by Inspector McManus, of the T division. The
gatekeeper and the inspector then proceeded towards a bench in
the garden, where the individual in question had taken a seat.
The inspector told him he must take him into custody, unless he
would pledge his honour to abstain, in future, from the
ridiculous system of annoyance he had practised. The individual,
after some demur, gave the required promises, and was allowed to
leave the gardens, after having given a card, which contained, as
was presumed, his real name and rank, which was stated to be that
of a lieutenant-colonel. He was a tall, military-looking man,
with an umbrella and a bunch of lavender, and apparently about
forty-five years of age."