I

T is not a little remarkable, that the riots in the year 1780, which tended to the direct fubverfion of all order and government, fhould have been the means of affording a strength to adminiftration, which few other events could at that time have produced. The fcenes of enormity exhihited by thofe frantic rioters in the metropolis, ftruck all men with horror, and (by a natural, though a miftaken effect) infpired a general dread of all popular meetings, however legal or peaceable. These difpofitions reached to the county meetings, petitions, and affociations, and confequently to all applications for redress of grievance, and schemes for a reform in the reprefentation of the commons houfe of parliament.

If minifters themselves were not to be led away by fuch an opening of advantage, their retainers and partizans were lefs fcrupulous in their zeal, and too much alive to their own interefts, to flip the occafion. No means were unprac tifed to increase the impreffions of

terror, which were already fufficiently operative. The fuccefs was equal to the induftry. They found the rich, the timid, and the indolent, already of their party; and moderate men, who are naturally lovers of order, while they could not but approve of whatever tended to the preservation of good government, did not always draw a proper line of diftinction between the mad outrages of fanatics, and the fober conventions of freemen, upon their molt important and dearest interefts.

As the violence of party feldom admits of any great nicenefs in the means of obtaining its purpofes, fo truth, and fairness of reprefentation, were not much attended to, in the unceafing efforts ufed to profit of the prefent occafion. It was whispered, and induftriously circulated, that the oppofition were the fecret authors of the late riots; that they were the confequence of a fettled fcheme for the utter fubverfion of the fiate; that perfons of rank and condition were disguised among the mob,

and

and were their real leaders; that the trials of the rioters would bring out the moft alarming and aftonishing difcoveries; and that French gold, American politics, and republican principles, would be found at the bottom of the whole bufinefs. A language not very remote from fome part of this, was faid to be held from fome of the feats of juftice.

Incredible and impollible as these tales were, and whatever imputation it may bring upon the general flock of good fenfe of the nation, certain it is that they were not unfuccessfully propagated, The affurance on the one fide, and the credulity on the other, were fo ftrong, that the report of a nobleman of one of the firft and moft ancient families in the kingdom, being killed among the rioters on Black-Friars bridge, and of his body being immediately thrown over into the Thames to prevent difcovery, was not only for feveral months very generally credited, but the appearance of his name in the accounts of the public tranfactions in his county, was not able to cure the delufion; and that perfons far above the common rank, in London, were fo confirmed in the opinion, that it was with aftonifhment they beheld him in the house of peers in the following winter.

The wretched timidity and im becility of the magiftracy in the metropolis, together with that apparent weakness of the inhabitants, which, in part proceeding from that defect, and in part from that unprepared condition incident to long quiet and fecurity, had laid them open to the violence of a contemptible rabble, were topics which were applied with

great fuccefs, to fhew the inefficacy, in all cafes, of the civil authority in affording protection, and the neceflity of a military force for preferving order and good government. This doctrine went likewife to reconcile the people to the authority, with which, under colour of the riots, the military power, throughout the kingdom, had been endued, of acting immediately from its own motion, independently of the civil magistrate.

By all thefe means, operating together upon the pathons of the people, the dread of mobs, riats, and the exceffes unto which popular meetings are apt to lead, feemed to have abforbed all the other difcontents of the nation, which became as it were extinct and forgotten. The invincible jealoufy of military power, which had fo long characterized this country, grew familiarized to the afpect of camps and garrifons, and gradually gave way to impreffons, which, if they had been lafting, threatened the worft confequences to liberty. Any government, the worst that could he, was thought preferable to a ftate of anarchy; and the harfheft de potiẩm did not prefent to the imagination evils to immediately dreadful, as the fury of an enraged rabble.

Befides the effect of their real apprehenfions, fo many objects of novelty, aftonishment, and horror, ferved entirely to fill up the ima gination, and to draw the attention of the people away from all other public concerns. And even when this effect was in fome degree worn away, the minds of men were ftill agitated, and their at tention ftrongly drawn, by the fucceeding trials and impending fate

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of the rioters; whilst the delays incident to the laws of high treafon, prolonged the fufpence with respect to their chief into the courfe of the following year.

Thus it happened, contrary to all expectation, that the cause of administration was ftrengthened, by one of the moft difgraceful tumults which has been known in this kingdom; and which, from contemptible and neglected beginnings, came to threaten the capital city, and the nation itfelf, with

ruin.

Fortune is fuppofed to be feldom fingle in her benefits, any more than in her injuries. The news of the taking of Charles Town, which arrived juft at the heel of the riots, ferved, in a very confiderable degree, to erafe the memory of all paft difappointments in the war, and to revive all the fanguine hopes of the speedy fubjugation of the colonies. This flattering gleam of fuccefs recalled many back to the American fyftem, which they had only abandoned from its apparent hopeleff nefs, and from feeling the lofs of which it was productive. Succefs muft in all cafes ftrengthen government; and will recover or afford popularity to any measures. Numbers who originally difliked the war, and who condemned the measures and principles which led to it, were, however, well enough contented, when they saw, or thought, that it was like to end profperouly.

Thus, after the ftrongeft appearances on every fide of an approaching and heavy tempeft, the fky was fuddenly cleared, and every thing went fmoothly and profpereully with adminiftration. The

influence and authority of the crown, were more fpread and better fixed than they had been for fome time; and the oppofition loft its popularity in the fame proportion.

This ftate of things extended the views of the minifters to a measure, which, though much wifhed by them, they probably would not otherwife have ventured upon. The late refolutions of the commons could not be forgotten. The ftrange and unexpected turns which things had taken in the preceding feffion, could not but weaken the confidence of ministers in the prefent parliament. They might be feized in another feffion, particularly fo near the term of their natural diffolution, with other fits and other ftarts, ftill more unexpected and alarming than thofe of the preceding feffion.

There was every reason to expect, that, in the prefent ftate of things, and difpofition of the people, the elections would go greatly in favour of the court. A diffolution was accordingly determined upon; but the defign was kept concealed in the molt profound fecrecy. The court and favourite members, in the management of their old interefts, or the establishment of new, feemed only to look towards that general election, which must of neceflity take place at the limited term. The oppofition, who had no treasury to fupport their expences, were to rely on the merits of their past conduct with their conftituents, and deemed it prudent to referve their force, to the near approach of the featon of conteft, A great number of them were likewife engaged on duty in the fervice of

their country, along with their refpective regiments of militia; and were generally, and, as it was afterwards faid, defignedly, ftationed at a great diftance from their conftituents and local interefts.

Many perfons, however, deeply lamented, and obferved with great apprehension, the means derived from the late riots, of throwing the civil authority of the nation into difrepute, and of fpreading an opinion, that the military power was neceflary to the fupport of the laws and government, and to the domeftic fecurity of the people. To obviate this effect, affociations were formed in the metropolis, and elsewhere; the inhabitants purchafing arms, and acquiring fuch a degree of knowledge in their exercife and ufe, as would be neceffary for the future prefervation of the public peace, and for rendering all intervention of the army unneceffary. This fpirit fpread confiderably; and the meafure of providing arms, and being at all times ready to fupport the civil authority, was held out as an act of constitutional duty and neceffity.

Nor did the petitioning counties entirely fink under the prefent torrent of public opinion, nor refign themselves to the impreffions of apprehenfion and terror which now prevailed.

A numerous meeting Aug. 2. of the Yorkshire com1780. mittee of aflociation, compofed of fome of the principal gentlemen of that great county, came to feveral very spirited refolutions on this fubject:-To exculpate themfelves and their defigns from any the leaft intention

or tendency to produce diforder and confufion; and to treat all infinuations to the contrary, from whatever quarter they might have been derived, as defamatory fuggeftions, contrived to deter the affociated bodies from the profecution of their jutt and neceflary plan of public reformation :--To affert, that the ufe of arms for the prefervation of order and public peace, was not only a right in every citizen, but a duty impofed upon them by the exprefs letter of the law-To condemn the orders rafhly iffued in London for difarming the inhabitants, as unconftitutional and illegal:-To enter a kind of proteftation against the interference of the military in the fuppreffion of riots, not under the direction of the civil magiftrate, but at the difcretion of the commanding officer:And, that however the order for the difcretionary interference of the military in the fuppreffion of the late riots in the metropolis, might have been unavoidable, through the greatnefs of the danger, and the inti midation of the magiftracy; yet the extenfion of fimilar orders to the army in other parts of the kingdom, where no fuch danger exifted, and where no reluctance in the magiftracy to the performance of their duty appeared or was fufpected, could not be defended.

The county of Middlefex, fome time after, adopted, verbatim, the refolutions of the county of York; and they were likewite adopted by the city of London, excepting only that, which conveyed a reflection, on her own magiftracy. They were in time more or lefs adopted, or fimilar ones propofed, by

other

other public bodies. But the county of Huntingdon went farther than any other. In the first place they inftructed their reprefentatives to make an enquiry in parliament, by whofe advice the orders iffued to the military in the metropolis, had been extended to various parts of the kingdom, and fo long continued, contrary to the common course of law and that

they should take fuch fteps, as were beft fuited to prevent fuch unconfiitutional and dangerous orders from being iffuted in future. The next refolution was expreffed in the following words- "That "it be recommended to every "houfe-keeper to have proper "arms, fuch as mutket and bay"onet, and to be ready and expert in the use of them; to be prepared against all emergencies that may arife from any "attack of our many furrounding "enemies, or any invafion of our " rights and liberties."

As the late impreffions produced by the riots, were by degrees weakened, and gave place to a jealoufy of the difcretionary power in the army, of acting independently of the civil authority, it became a fubject of murmur and complaint; and in that state of temper, feveral of the affociations which had been armed and formed for the purpofe of affitting the civil magiftrate in the prefervation of peace and order, received applaufe and thanks from different public bodies.

The attention to other national concerns revived along with this

jealoufy. Yorkshire appointed three delegates to attend in London during the enfuing fethon, in order to communicate with thofe of other counties and corpo

rations, and by mutual aid and advice, to give fupport and efficacy to their petitions. Much complaint and cenfure was thrown out by feveral of thefe bodies upon the conduct of the Houfe of Cormons in the last feflion. The Devonhire committee, expreffing themfelves in rather stronger terms than fome others, fay, that they find themfelves under a neceffity of declaring, that nothing had hitherto been done by parliament towards effecting the ends required by the petitions, notwithstanding that the refolutions of the commons themfelves acknowledged the juftneis of the prayers of thofe petitions. Yet, fay they, instead of proceeding to that reform, the very influence complained of was exerted, either to reject in the first instance, or to baffle in its progrefs, every propofition that was offered to the confideration of parliament, for effecting the ends propofed. Similar obfervations were made by other committees.

Several of the affociated or petitioning bodies, after great applaufe to Mr. Burke and other gentlemen, for their attempts in the late feffion, and a declaration that they could not hope for any effectual redrefs, with refpect to the grofs abufes in the raifing and expenditure of the public money, from the endeavours of the commithioners of accounts, requested him to bring forward his bill of reform in the enfuing fetion of parliament.

The proclamation for difiolving the parliament Sept. ft. operated like a thunder 1780.

clap, with respect to fuddennels and furprife, on those who were not in the fecret. A new proro