Chapter IV

1830.

Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway--Death of Mr.
Huskisson--Agricultural lawlessness--Captain Swing--Executions
for riot--Riots throughout the country--Special
Commissions--Prayer to be used in churches and chapels.

About this time a melancholy but all-absorbing topic of conversation was the death of Mr. Wm. Huskisson, one of the M.P.'s for Liverpool; and the most succinct account I can find of this sad accident is in the _Annual Register_. It happened on September 15th, at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

"On Wednesday morning, as early as seven o'clock, the people of
Liverpool were seen flocking in crowds to the tunnel in order to
secure good places for a view of the procession. The whole line
of road, for the distance of seven or eight miles out of
Liverpool, was lined by dense crowds; and several stands, to
which the public had been admitted at half a crown a head, were
completely filled. Eight of the Company's locomotive engines were
brought down to the mouth of the tunnel at about half-past nine.
The Duke of Wellington arrived about ten o'clock, and was greeted
with enthusiasm by the immense crowd. The splendid state
carriage, which had been prepared for his Grace, was taken down
the tunnel; the military band played 'See the Conquering Hero
comes;' and, in a few minutes, the Duke was drawn from the
tunnel, amid the loud cheers of the spectators.

"The procession left Liverpool twenty minutes before eleven
o'clock, drawn by eight locomotive engines, in the following
order: Northumbrian, with the directors and numerous
distinguished visitors, including the Duke of Wellington;
Phoenix, green flag; North Star, yellow; Rocket,[7] light blue;
Dart, purple; Comet, deep red; Arrow, pink; Meteor, brown; with
visitors and proprietors. On issuing from the smaller tunnel at
Liverpool, the Northumbrian took the south, or right-hand line of
railway, and drew three carriages, the first containing the band,
the second the Duke of Wellington and a number of other persons,
of distinction, and the third the directors of the railway. The
other engines proceeded along the north line.... The total number
of persons conveyed was stated to be 772. The procession did not
proceed at a pace of more than fifteen or sixteen miles an hour.

[Footnote 7: This engine may now be seen in the Patent Museum,
South Kensington.]

"In the course of the journey, the Northumbrian accelerated or
retarded its speed occasionally, to give the Duke of Wellington
an opportunity of inspecting the most remarkable parts of the
work.

"Before starting from Liverpool, the company were particularly
requested not to leave the carriages, and the same caution was
repeated in the printed directions describing the order of the
procession. Notwithstanding this regulation, Mr. Huskisson, Mr.
William Holmes, M.P., and other gentlemen, alighted when the
Northumbrian stopped at Parkside. On the stoppage of the
Northumbrian at Parkside Bridge, Mr. Huskisson, as well as many
others, got out, and Mr. Holmes, for the purpose of bringing Mr.
Huskisson and the Duke together, and of producing a renewed good
feeling between them, led Mr. Huskisson round to that part of the
car where the Duke was stationed, who, perceiving the advance of
the right hon. gentleman, immediately held out his hand to him,
which was shaken in a very cordial manner. It was almost at this
moment that the Rocket was perceived to be on the advance, and a
general move took place to get out of its way, several persons
calling out, 'Get in! get in!'

"Some followed this advice, scrambling up as best they might in
the absence of the steps. Others made their way round to the end
of the car, and Mr. Huskisson appeared to be acting under the
idea of crossing the Rocket's railway before the engine came up;
from this, however, he was deterred by the steepness of the bank
beyond.

"Mr. Holmes, who was standing in the same situation as the right
hon. gentleman, took his resolution on the instant, and drew
himself up as closely as he could against the side of the ducal
car. The intervening space between the railways is exactly four
feet, but as the ducal car overhung it about two feet, and the
Rocket engine about six inches, there was only a clear space of
eighteen inches left--sufficient, however, to enable a person to
stand without injury or damage.

"Mr. Holmes, whilst thus affixing himself in this manner to the
ducal car, had time to perceive the irresolution of the right
hon. gentleman, and he called out to him, 'For God's sake, be
firm, Mr. Huskisson.' Mr. Huskisson grasped hold of the door of
the ducal carriage the moment before the Rocket passed; this
door, when open, projected so far over the neighbouring railway,
that it was struck by the Rocket; the consequence was, that it
swung rapidly round, overbalanced Mr. Huskisson, and caused him
to fall on the railway of the Rocket, when his right leg
instantly came in contact with the wheel of the engine, and was
crushed.

"The Earl of Wilton, Mr. Holmes, and Mr. Parkes, solicitor of
Birmingham, raised Mr. Huskisson from the ground. The only words
he uttered at the time were to this effect, 'I have met my death.
God forgive me.' The first thing that was done was to twist a
handkerchief (in the manner of a tourniquet) tightly round the
wounded parts of the limb, for the purpose of stopping the
effusion of blood; and, the Northumbrian being detached from the
carriages, it was sent forward, with the greatest possible speed,
to Eccles, with Mr. Huskisson, the Earl of Wilton, Mr.
Stephenson, and two medical gentlemen. A consultation was next
held by the party at Newton, as to the course best to be adopted
under these melancholy circumstances.

"The Duke of Wellington was very desirous that the procession
should be stopped and return to Liverpool. After some
consultation, however, this proposal was relinquished, and it was
finally agreed to proceed with the ceremony of opening the
railway, to prevent, in some degree, the alarm and disappointment
which must otherwise have been occasioned to the vast multitudes
who thronged this end of the railway. The carriages of the Duke
and the directors were consequently attached to those which
accompanied the Phoenix engine, and in this manner the whole
proceeded at a slow pace to Eccles, where a stoppage took place,
while the Duke and his friends made inquiry respecting the
condition of Mr. Huskisson. The Northumbrian, which had, by this
time, arrived from Manchester with Mr. Ransome and other
surgeons, was then re-attached to the Duke's carriage, etc., and
the whole proceeded in the order originally agreed upon, to
Manchester. The Northumbrian, with the Duke and directors,
arrived in front of the warehouses about a quarter before three,
but the other engines and carriages, did not arrive till some
time afterwards.

"Mr. Huskisson and the party who accompanied him, arrived at the
Vicarage of Eccles about half-past one o'clock. A couch was
carried to the railway, upon which he was placed, and in a
reclining position, he was removed into the drawing-room of the
Vicarage. A bed was immediately prepared for his accommodation;
but the pain which he endured was so severe, that he could not be
carried to it, and he remained upon the couch until the moment of
his death.

"On arriving at the Vicarage, the surgeon found Mr. Huskisson in
a state of extreme suffering, but remarkably composed, and
exhibiting extraordinary firmness of mind. The bones of the leg
were broken into small pieces, and a considerable wound was
visible on the skin and muscles. The thigh bone, above the middle
part, was also broken into several fragments, and the muscles
were laid bare high up the thigh, exposing the principal nerves
and blood-vessels. The professional gentlemen decided that it was
impossible to adventure upon the amputation of the limb. The
sufferings of the patient, during the few hours he survived, were
most acute. Every now and then groans of the deepest agony were
extorted from him by the intensity of the pain which he was
enduring; there were, however, no screams, no murmurings against
the dispensations of Providence; but every symptom of the most
manly courage, the most unshrinking fortitude, and the most
Christian resignation.

"In the course of the evening, when Mr. Blackburne, the Vicar, in
reading the Lord's Prayer to him, came to the clause, 'forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,' Mr.
Huskisson said, in a firm and distinct tone of voice, 'That I do,
most heartily; and I declare to God that I have not the slightest
feeling of ill-will to any human being.' The Sacrament was,
subsequently, administered to him and Mrs. Huskisson. He did not
make any allusion, or send any remembrance, to his political
friends. He showed a natural anxiety for the preservation of his
character as a Statesman. 'The country,' said he, 'has had the
best of me. I trust that it will do justice to my public
character. I regret not the few years which might have remained
to me, except for those dear ones,' added he, grasping Mrs.
Huskisson's hand, and looking with affectionate regret upon her
dejected countenance, 'whom I leave behind me.' He dictated a
codicil to his will, which was drawn up by Mr. Wainwright, his
secretary, and witnessed by the Earl of Wilton, and Lords
Granville and Colvill. On the day following his death, an inquest
was held on his body, the verdict of which was, 'Accidental
death.'"

He was buried at Liverpool on September 24th, receiving a magnificent funeral, in the presence of about twenty thousand people.

Now began a reign of agricultural lawlessness, and first at Otmoor in Oxfordshire, which arose from the draining and enclosing of some two thousand acres, over which seven neighbouring townships had right of common. The land was of little value, being very marshy, and a proper Act of Parliament had been obtained for its reclamation, which was partially effected, when the commoners rose, and set about destroying fences, embankments, etc. Two regiments of yeomanry were sent to put down the uprising, and, after the Riot Act was read, some sixty prisoners were made. These were put into waggons and carts, and taken to Oxford, there to be lodged in gaol. But St. Giles's fair happened to be on at Oxford, and the country folk there assembled fell upon the yeomanry and rescued the captives; only temporarily, however, for a detachment of soldiers was afterwards sent down by Government, and many of the rioters were apprehended.

This was only the outcome of an ignorant population, who fancied they were being deprived of their ancient rights, whereas it was really done for their benefit, and would hardly merit notice did it not show the uneasiness of the agricultural mind at this period. Captain Swing was abroad, and the red glow of rick-burning was spreading through the land, notably, at that time, in Kent. The very next paragraph in the _Times_ of September 8th, to the account of the Otmoor riots, is about alarming incendiary fires at Orpington and its neighbourhood, in which barns and outhouses, stacks of corn and hay, were destroyed. Nay, the miscreants did not stop there. They attempted to terrorize by means of anonymous letters, in which not only the burning of more property was threatened, but the destruction of house, owner, and family.

Sometimes, but not often, the wretches were caught, and then little mercy was shown them, as in a case in Somersetshire, where the High Sheriff hanged three men convicted of this offence, on gallows erected on the spot where the crime had been committed, the gallows bearing an inscription in large letters, so that all might read: "For Firing Stacks." Over fifteen thousand people witnessed this execution.

Several men were arrested as being Captain Swing, whose signature was always attached to the threatening notices; but there is every reason to believe that no such entity existed. Here is his fancy portrait, drawn by Heath, entitled "Swing! taken from the life. Dedicated to Messrs. Cobbett, Carlisle and Co."

To show somewhat of the terrorism of this name at that time, I quote from the _Kentish Gazette_ of October 9th--

"Anonymous letters, signed 'Swing,' have been received by post,
by two individuals at Dover, threatening the destruction of their
premises by fire, which has caused great alarm in their families.
The dead walls, all through the town, and for some miles on the
road to Canterbury, all bear the same significant word 'Swing,'
written in chalk."

The newspapers of the day teem with notices of outrages, particularly during the last three months of the year. A very good and terse account of these agricultural riots is in the _Annual Register_, pp. 149, 150.

"The disturbances began in Kent. The rioters did not assume the
character of disorderly mobs, nor did they profess to seek any
political objects. They appeared, at first, as lurking
incendiaries, and wreaked their vengeance on property, the
destruction of which could only aggravate the causes of their
misery. Night after night, new conflagrations were lighted up by
bands of incendiaries; corn stacks, barns, farm buildings, live
stock, were consumed indiscriminately. Bolder bands attacked
mills, and demolished the machinery; and all threshing-machines,
in particular, were condemned. Threatening letters were
circulated, demanding the raising of wages, or the disuse of the
machinery; and the nightly exploits of the writers insured
attention to their demands. The first of the rioters who were
seized, and tried before the County Magistrates, were treated
with undue lenity. Commiseration for starving labourers was
commendable; but it could not be want which induced men to
destroy the materials of food. During October, November, and
December, but more particularly the two former months, it made
its way from Kent into the counties of Hants, Wilts, Bucks,
Sussex, and Surrey. Throughout the whole of that district of the
country, all protection for property seemed to be at an end.
Bands of rioters pillaged and destroyed during the day; and, as
soon as night fell, simultaneous conflagrations, starting up in
different quarters, spread over the country havoc and dismay. The
military force in the disturbed counties was increased, a
proclamation was issued offering a reward of £500 for the
conviction of any person engaged in the fire raisings; and a
Special Commission was ordered to proceed into the Shires where
the outrages were committed."

These Special Commissions were held in December, and many were the sentences of death recorded against the worst of the rioters, although but few were carried out. The first victims to the outraged majesty of the law were three men, found guilty at the Maidstone Assizes, who were hanged for arson on Penenden Heath. Nor was it only by the strong arm of the law that order was attempted to be restored, the help of the Almighty was also invoked in furtherance of that end. A supplement to the _Gazette_ of the 24th of December, contained an Order in Council, that the Archbishop of Canterbury do prepare forms of prayer to Almighty God, on account of the troubled state of certain parts of the United Kingdom; and another for reading the same in all the Episcopal Churches and Chapels in England and Scotland. In consequence of this Order, a form of prayer was issued, which the curious in those things may read in the _Times_ of December 28th, to be used immediately before the Litany, and when the Litany was not read, before the prayer for all conditions of men, in all cathedrals, collegiate and parochial churches and chapels in England and Ireland.