HC Deb 08 June 1848 vol 99 cc502-10
MR. G. THOMPSON

rose to put to the right hon. Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home Department the question of which he had given notice. He craved the indulgence of the House for one or two minutes, while he stated distinctly his reasons for putting the question which he should presently put to the right hon. Gentleman, and explained the nature of that question.

MR. SPEAKER

The hon. Gentleman must confine himself to the question.

MR. G. THOMPSON

desired to ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he was in possession of information from any quarter that, on Sunday the 4th instant, certain outrages were committed on peaceable, loyal, and unoffending individuals in the neighbourhood of the Tower Hamlets? He put this question because he had in his hand the testimony of more than 60 witnesses, all of whom followed decent occupations, while many of them were respectable inhabitants and shopkeepers in the Tower Hamlets. The testimony of these persons was consistent and concurrent, It amounted to this, that many unprovoked outrages were perpetrated by the police, not merely in Bishop Bonner's Fields, but even more than a mile from the spot where the Chartist meeting took place: and the parties alleged that unless the Government instituted a searching inquiry into all the facts of the case, and adopted measures for the prevention of similar outrages in future, a large amount of dissatisfaction would he created in the minds of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. He would ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he had received similar information to that which he (Mr. G. Thompson) had received, and whether he intended to adopt any steps to ascertain whether or not the charges brought against the police were well founded?

SIR GEORGE GREY

The hon. Gentleman having yesterday given me notice of his intention to ask me this evening if I had received from persons, residing in the neighbourhoods of Bethnal-green and the Tower Hamlets, complaints of unprovoked assaults committed on Sunday last, in those localities, by the police on peaceable and unoffending subjects, I have made inquiries into the matter, and I have come prepared with evidence respecting the conduct of the police, which I should have been glad to have submitted to the consideration of the House (had it been possible) when this subject was under discussion on a former occasion. But in the first place, I will address myself to the question of the hon. Gentleman; and I hope to be able to give such an answer as may prove satisfactory to the House. It is true that I have received from certain quarters some complaints respecting the conduct of the police on the occasion alluded to. I have received a letter dated June the 5th, Monday last, which conveys such a complaint. It has been addressed to me by a person signing himself W. Higgins, and describing himself as of Bonner's-field, Victoria-park, in which the writer states that in his opinion—an opinion which he assures me is shared by all who reside in his neighbourhood—the conduct of the police on Sunday last was the most brutal and barbarous that has ever been witnessed. There is a postscript to the letter, to which are attached the names of seven individuals, who bear testimony to the truth of Mr. Higgins's statement, So that, in point of fact, I may say that I have received a letter signed by eight persons, complaining of the behaviour of the police, I have, moreover, this day received another letter, the purport of which I will state to the House, for I beg to assure the House that nothing can be more remote from my wish, or my intention, than a desire to withhold any information I may possess upon this subject. The communication in question is signed "James Fox," and the writer resides, I believe, in Bethnal-green. He states that he has a memorial to present on the subject of the conduct of the police, and he writes to inquire whether a deputation of three gentlemen may wait upon me at the Home Office for the purpose of presenting it. It is probable that it relates to the statement of the hon. Member for the Tower Hamlets, and I am, therefore, willing that it should be classed as another of the communications that have reached me complaining of the conduct of the police, although it does not distinctly appear that such is the case. Since I came into this House this evening a third letter on the subject has been put into my hand. It professes to he written by Arthur Matthews, and conveys the information that a committee of householders has been appointed to inquire into the conduct of the police, and to investigate the eases of those who conceive that they have received ill treatment at the hands of that body. That is the whole of the complaints that I have received. The three communications which I have described have reached me; but it is right that I should add, that not one word of the evidence which the hon. Gentleman assures the House he holds in his hands to corroborate the statements of those who allege misconduct against the force, has been forwarded to me. I have received as yet nothing whatever—I have heard as yet nothing whatever—which in my opinion can detract from the praise which is justly due to the police; and I therefore think that I should be guilty of an act of gross injustice to the police, and that I should be leading the House to a most erroneous conclusion, were I to confine myself to a simple answer to the question of the hon. Member. I have received an accumulated mass of evidence to the contrary effect—evidence of the most trustworthy description, showing the character of the meetings held at Bonner's-fields and Victoria-park on Sunday last, and demonstrating that, so far from the conduct of the police being marked by a spirit of unprovoked aggression, or by a disposition to any unnecessary interference, they could not properly have acted otherwise than they did under the command of then-officers; and that they behaved during the day with a forbearance and a firmness worthy of all commendation; never exercising an uncalled-for severity, but resisting, as they were bound to do, an attack which was wantonly made upon them—an attack which was dangerous to the lives of the parties who were the objects of it. Meetings of this nature had been recently held in different parts of the metropolis, and urgent representations were made to the Government to prevent them. They had invariably given rise to turbulence and disorder. They were, in fact, riotous and tumultuous assemblages, and had become intolerable nuisances to the loyal and well-disposed in the localities in which they were held, disturbing their daily occupations, and rendering it impossible for them to attend, in a satisfactory manner, to their business. Under these circumstances, it was notified to me that it was in contemplation that other meetings of a similar character were to be held on Sunday last, in the neighbourhood of the Tower Hamlets; and the commissioners of police, acting under my directions, stationed an additional force in the vicinity of the places where it was intended that the assemblages should be held. A copy of the instructions which, upon that occasion, were given by the commissioners for the guidance of the inspectors, I hold in my hand. [The right hon. Baronet read the instructions, which were, in substance, that the police should not interfere so long as the meeting was orderly and well-conducted; but that they should be prepared to act with promptness in the event of any infraction of the peace being attempted. The commissioners had previously issued a notice that these meetings were illegal if they were continued after dark; and the police had instructions to disperse them if that rule were violated.] I am also in possession of the report of the inspector under whose immediate charge the police acted at the meeting in Bonner's-fields. It is as follows:—

"A meeting of the Irish Confederates took: place on Sunday last, at three o'clock p.m., and another of the Chartists at five o'clock p.m., in Bonner's-fields, Victoria-park, Bethnal-green. Inspector Waller, with a body of police, were stationed in the St. James's district church, which is about 150 yards from the meeting place, but who were kept from view of persons present at the meeting, so as not to excite the same, but to be present in case of necessity. I was also at different parts of the field during the meeting, being in charge of the division, in consequence of the unfitness for duty of Mr. Marquard, the superintendent, who had been stabbed in the left leg on the previous Wednesday whilst dispersing an assemblage of persons at Stepney-green. It was suspected, from this circumstance and prevalent reports, that a great number of those attending the meeting would come armed, as, in fact, their leaders at several meetings had advised they should. The latter meeting was attended by about 3,000 persons of all descriptions, and all appeared perfectly quiet until twenty-five minutes to seven o'clock, when it broke up, and Inspector Waller had just been to one side of the field to receive instructions from me, when, as he was in the act of returning, he saw about 400 or 500 persons throwing stones at the church windows; and on his entering the grounds of the church, the mob raised a shout of execration, saying, 'There is the b—inspector, give it him;' upon which a volley of stones were thrown at him, several of which struck him on various parts of the body. And the same was again done at the church windows, which were fairly crushed from the effect. The men who had been stationed in the church were then brought out, who acted perfectly steady, and the people were called on to disperse quietly, but which was answered by another discharge of stones, which struck several of the men, who were then ordered forward, and directed to clear the mob from the field, which was done after great; resistance on the part of the mob. About 150 persons again assembled at the corner of Bonnerstreet, who assailed the police with stones; but although much resistance was here shown, they were finally cleared from the field. Information had at the commencement been sent off to the station in this division, as well as to the H and N divisions, for reinforcements; and about this time Superintendent Johnson, of the N division, with a body of mounted and dismounted men, came up, and the by-streets, &c. were then cleared by them. A sergeant and seven police constables of this division were wounded, and many others struck; five of them are still unfit for duty from the ill-usage. Eleven prisoners were apprehended, viz. two for assaulting the police, six for throwing stones and breaking windows, and three for exciting the mob to rescue, &c., who are all committed for trial. I beg to attach letters received by me from the Rev. Mr. Houghton, the incumbent of St. James' church, who saw the whole proceeding; from the Rev. Mr. Kean, minister of St. Jude's; from Mr. Curtis, superintendent of Victoria-park; from Mr. Thompson, a respectable linendraper, Commercial-road; and from special constables who were present all the time; and three others, bearing testimony to the good and temperate conduct of the police, and in reference to the annoyance experienced by these meetings.

"ROBERT HORN, Inspector,

for Superintendent Marquard, sick."

The inspector states, in addition, that he has received several letters from persons who witnessed the proceedings, and more especially from the clergyman of the church referred to, and of other churches in the neighbourhood, who were willing to corroborate his statements and to state their opinion of the conduct of the police. I will not trespass on the attention of the House by reading many extracts from the mass of letters I have received on this subject, but I will take leave to read one passage from a letter from Mr. Houghton, not complaining of the conduct of the police, but showing the great danger which might have resulted from their not interfering earlier, and, therefore, more effectually:— Gentlemen—I beg to state to you that yesterday (Sunday) afternoon a very large Chartist meeting, amounting, as was supposed, to 7,000 persons, was held in the open grounds fronting the church and parsonage of St. James, Victoria-park; that the whole of this neighbourhood was kept in a state of disgraceful excitement from three o'clock until half-past nine; that a body of police, amounting to about thirty-six men, under Inspector Waller, were in and about the church, awaiting orders to disperse the meeting, who, in addition to the alarm they were occasioning, were being acted upon by inflammatory and revolutionary speeches; that this state of things was allowed to continue till the mob began, by throwing stones at Inspector Waller and the windows of the church, peremptorily to call for the interference of the police.…At my request Inspector Waller was so good as to leave a Serjeant and six men for the protection of my house during the first hours of the night.…Why are the ratepayers of this parish to be exposed week after week to annoyance, insult, and apprehension of danger, and now I may add narrow escapes of life? I can show a brickbat, which was hurled at my dining-room window, which would have been sufficient to kill a person.

I hold in my hand no less than eighty-one letters from various persons residing in that district, who concur in describing the great inconvenience which must inevitably result to the public from those meetings, and write to express their admiration of the forbearance as well as the firmness with which the police acted. This is the best answer that I can give to the inquiry of the hon. Member: so far as I can learn there is but one opinion in the district as to the conduct of the police. I had been all along led to suppose—and notwithstanding the three communications to which I alluded in the commencement of this statement I am still under the same impression—that, amongst those who are best informed on the subject, there is an unanimous feeling in the district that the police only acted in the discharge of their duty, and that they acquitted themselves throughout in a manner which entitles them to the highest praise. I think it would be well if hon. Members, who may desire information respecting the true char-actor of the proceedings on Sunday evening, would take the trouble of reading the reports of cases arising out of those proceedings, which have be enrecently adjudi- cated upon in the various police courts, and more particularly in Worship-street. Let them read the cases of disorderly conduct which were proved on oath, before the magistrates of that office, to have occurred on Sunday last; and let them bear in mind that no less than twenty men have been committed to take their trial at the Central Criminal Court for violent and wanton assaults on the police. Of course I will not enter into the discussion of those cases, or say one word to prejudge what is to be a matter of judicial investigation before a legal tribunal; but this I will say, that a glance over the police reports will suffice to show the nature of the proceedings in question. I this very day received a deputation of magistrates and others, residing in the neighbourhood of Bethnal-green and Hackney, who waited on me to present a dutiful memorial to Her Majesty, in which, after assuring Her of the abhorrence with which they viewed the scenes that have lately taken place in the metropolis, they conclude by tendering their services for the preservation of peace, law, and order. One of the gentlemen on that deputation was himself an eye-witness to what occurred last Sunday near Victoria-park, and he assured me that nothing could be more unexceptionable than the conduct of the police. Having said thus much, I will take leave to read to the House an extract from a memorial presented to me this day by persons who describe themselves as proprietors of houses contiguous to Victoria-park:— The humble memorial of the undersigned, being proprietors of or inhabitants of houses contiguous to Victoria-park, showeth—That on the vacant ground, known as Bonner's Hall-fields, disorderly assemblages have, for a lengthened period, been hold on the Sabbath-day for the discussion of political or other subjects, by which the public peace has been endangered to an alarming and painful extent—that the said meetings have generally consisted of very young persons, together with a large body of the working classes of both sexes. That speeches of the most inflammatory nature have been made, tending to excite the hearers to the subversion of authoritative rule and good will. That your memorialists, viewing with terror and alarm a manifest desire on the part of a portion of the populace to continue these meetings, refer you (as a plea for this memorial) to the painfully disgraceful scones of Sunday afternoon, June the 4th, last, when property was destroyed and life endangered, the greater portion of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood and its environs prevented leaving their houses to attend their respective places of worship, or enjoying the benefits of the Victoria-park, so liberally prepared by the Government for the use and recreation of the metropolis at large, but more especially for the inhabitants of the eastern end of London. The memorialists, after stating that they were dreading violence and bloodshed, and living in a state of the greatest mental anxiety and alarm, by the continual allowance of these meetings on the before-named fields, proceed— Urgently to implore that the meetings may be instantly suppressed, public confidence restored, the Sabbath-day honoured, and the very extensively populated neighbourhood resume its wonted peaceable appearance.

Such is the answer I have to give with respect to the character of the meeting—the conduct of the men who made a wanton and unprovoked attack on the police—and the conduct of the police themselves. As regards the statements which the hon. Member says he is in possession of, to prove the truth of the allegations that have been made to him, all I can say is, that parties who believe that they have been aggrieved by the police, have, if their complaints be capable of proof, the same remedy that is open to the police themselves. A printed placard, headed "Alleged police outrages," and which has boon widely circulated, notifies the fact that a committee of householders has been appointed to investigate the cases of persons who conceive that they have just cause of complaint against the police, and to that committee all aggrieved parties have been invited to apply. Up to this moment not one single complaint has, so far as I have been able to ascertain, been made to any magistrate of unprovoked or unjustifiable aggression on the part of the police; and I must say, that a police-court, and not the House of Commons, appears to me the proper place for inquiries of that kind. There the charges can be examined into in full, and if a primâ facie case, or any case at all, be made out against the police, it can be disposed of by the magistrates after hearing both sides. If the magistrates should think the cases not to be of sufficient magnitude to justify their being sent to trial, they have a power of summary jurisdiction; but if, on the other hand, they should be of opinion that the charges are indeed of the grave character described by the hon. Member, I am sure that the magistrates, in the exercise of that sound discretion which has dictated all their decisions in this matter, will see the propriety of submitting the cases to the consideration of a jury; and by the decision of that jury I, for one, shall be quite content to abide. I bog to assure the hon. Member that there is no disposition on the part of the Government to interfere with meetings of a legitimate and constitutional character, convened for fair discussion, or for the purpose of petitioning Parliament; but the character of the meetings recently held in this metropolis utterly deprives the parties who assist at them of any pretext for saying that they were convened for any such purposes; and in deference, therefore, to the general wish of the inhabitants of the metropolis, the police have received orders to afford them such protection against such meetings as the circumstances of the case may require.

Subject at an end.

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