Lords Sitting of 20 June 1832

MINUTES.
Bills. Read a third time:—Churches Building Acts Amendment; Consolidated Fund; Tithe Prescription.
Petitions presented. By the Earl of RADNOR, from Barnstaple and Pilton, to join the latter to the former for the purpose of Electing a Representative in Parliament.—By Earl GREY, from Alton, for a Revision of the Criminal Code.

MAGISTRATES OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Lord Middletonsaid, that though he had been a Member of their Lordships' House now thirty years, he had never attempted but once, and that very shortly, to address their Lordships. He therefore trusted that he should meet with the courteous attention of their Lordships, whilst he trespassed very shortly upon their notice, to perform an act of justice to the Magistracy of the County with which he was connected. Their conduct had been so traduced by the Press, that he was obliged to say, that scarcely one word which had been stated on the subject resembled the truth. The statements of the Press respecting the conduct of the Magistrates of Nottinghamshire,
898
during the riots which recently disgraced the county, and during the continuance of the Special Commission sent into Nottinghamshire for the trial of the rioters, had been embodied into a petition, which had been presented by the hon. member for Preston, the other night, to the House of Commons. Connected as he was with the county, he felt it to be his duty to inform the noble Secretary for the Home Department, that the Magistrates of that part of the county were determined never to come forward again on any occasion of public emergency, unless they now received some sanction for their past proceedings from the noble Lord. He then held in his hand a Letter from the Magistrates, written to the noble Lord, in answer to the application which the noble Lord had made to them for some explanation of certain charges which had been preferred against them. He likewise held in his hand a Letter, voluntarily written by Mr. Payne, the able, and intelligent, and zealous Attorney for the prisoners, exculpating not only the Magistrates, but also the Gaoler and the Turnkeys, from the various charges brought against them in this petition. He was unwilling to trouble their Lordships with it, but if they would allow him to read it they would see the true nature of the case [read, read]. The noble Lord accordingly read Mr. Payne's Letter, as follows:—
"Nottingham, 3rd February, 1832.
"My Lord:—I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that I have been permitted to read your Lordship's communication, dated the 31st of January, 1832, addressed to the committing Magistrates in the cases of the late rioters under sentence of death in Nottingham Gaol; and also the extract of a petition to the House of Commons in favour of the convicts. I have likewise to communicate to your Lordship, that the High Sheriff allowed me to inspect similar documents which had been transmitted to him, and came to hand on the morning of Wednesday, the 1st instant, prior to the execution of the three culprits, Beck, Hearson, and Armstrong. The prisoners not having made any complaints to me of any circumstances to justify the imputations stated in the extract of the petition, I considered it to be my duty, as the Attorney in whom those unhappy men professed to have confidence, to inquire of them whether those allegations were correct, or if they had any such, or any kind of complaints to make; and I beg to assure your Lordship, that all the prisoners answered my questions, by declaring that they did not know of any mysterious events having transpired in the prison, and that neither threats nor privations of any kind were inflicted to elicit their confessions; and, as a last state-

899
ment, the prisoners, in the most feeling, and affectionate manner, desired to make their grateful acknowledgments and sincere thanks to the Gaoler and Turnkey, for their humane kindness towards them. I was induced to make inquiry of the prisoners at that awful period, not from any notion that the statements were true, but that I might know from the prisoners themselves, for the satisfaction of their friends, how far they had reason or occasion to make such complaints; and no men could behave better than these poor creatures did. It would, my Lord, have been somewhat singular, if any ground for such complaint had existed, that I, as the Attorney acting for the prisoners, and in daily personal communication with them in the prison, and their friends out of it, for nearly a month, should not have been informed by any of them of the imputed grievance.
"My Lord, I venture to say, that the two quoted allegations upon which I have observed are not true, or at least I am not acquainted with any circumstances to justify the statement. With regard to the last clause in the extract which more immediately concerns myself, and requires my attention, I beg leave to assert and assure your Lordship that there is not the slightest ground for it; on the contrary, every facility was given to me that I could wish or require as the Attorney acting for the prisoners, as the connecting link between the prisoners and their Counsel. I was always in Court, and never experienced any interruption to my communications in the progress of my duty. It is due to my own character to have these matters cleared up and distinctly understood, or the Magistrates might imagine that I was privy to the contents of the petition, and assenting to false allegations. I hope your Lordship will please to understand that I disavow the petition to the House of Commons. I was acquainted with the contents of the petition to your Lordship, and none other. It is due from me to the High Sheriff, and to the Magistrates of the county, and, indeed, to all their subordinate officers, to declare and avow, for myself individually, and for the prisoners collectively, that every assistance and facility was afforded to me at all times, not only during the trials, but in the progress of my preparing for the prisoner's defence, or I could not have accomplished so arduous an undertaking within the short period of three days. I assure your Lordship that I felt mortified and hurt on reading the extract of a petition, fearing that it might be attributed to my pen, or that I should be presumed to be acquainted with, and assenting to its contents. I shall transmit a copy of this Letter to the visiting Magistrates of the county gaol, and at all times be ready to afford any and every explanation in my power. I have the honour to be, my Lord, Your Lordship's humble Servant,
"SAMUEL PAYNE.
"To the Right Hon. Viscount Melbourne, Secretary of State, &c. &c. &c."
900
Such was Mr. Payne's letter, and he hoped that the noble Viscount would exonerate the Magistrates. He must indeed state, that unless they were exonerated from these charges by the noble Secretary, he knew not how they could go on with public business. He would rather forfeit his life than his honour, and he declared upon his honour, that he thought that his friends and neighbours, the Magistrates of Nottinghamshire, had, during those riots, behaved with the most praiseworthy firmness and resolution.
Viscount Melbourneexperienced the greatest happiness in being able to give a satisfactory answer to the noble Lord. He rose with great pleasure to bear testimony in the fullest manner to the able and energetic conduct of the Magistrates of Nottinghamshire last winter. Both before and after the Special Commission was opened, the Magistrates of that county, and especially of that hundred in which the town of Nottingham was situated, had conducted themselves with the greatest resolution, energy, and capacity. In his opinion, that county owed its acting Magistrates many thanks. As to the charges which had been brought against the Magistrates, in the petition which the hon. member for Preston had presented to the House of Commons, he had only to say this—that those charges had, some months since, been brought under his notice. He could now state that, from the inquiries which he had made, and from the very frank and manly declaration made by Mr. Payne, who had distinguished himself so much by his exertions as Attorney for the prisoners, he was convinced that the charges mentioned in the petition referred to were baseless, and without authority.
Lord Middleton: I am quite satisfied with what has just fallen from the noble Lord.

ATTACK ON HIS MAJESTY AT ASCOT HEATH.
Earl Greysaid, that he rose to perform a necessary act of duty, in calling upon their Lordships to express their horror and indignation at the outrageous and flagitious attack which was yesterday made at Ascot upon the sacred person of his Majesty. Unfortunately, there were precedents for the proceedings to be adopted on occasions of this kind; and upon referring to them, he found that the two Houses of Parliament had generally, by a joint Address to the Throne, expressed their indignation and abhorrence at such

901
outrages, and declared their sentiments of affection and loyalty to the Prince on the Throne. The first case of this kind occurred in the year 1787, when an insane woman, of the name of Nicholson, made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate his late most gracious Majesty, George 3rd. That attempt was made during the recess of Parliament. But, on the first day after the assembling of Parliament, though the subject was not even so much as alluded to in the Speech from the Throne, a paragraph was inserted in the Address of both Houses, expressive of the grateful feelings which they, as loyal subjects, experienced at the providential interposition of the Almighty in the preservation of a life so valuable to the British nation. The next case occurred in the year 1795, when, on the 3rd of October, an attack was made on the carriage in which his Majesty, George 3rd, was returning from the House of Lords, after opening the Session of Parliament in State, either by a stone or by a bullet—it was uncertain which—proceeding from some person unknown, but under circumstances which left it in doubt whether the outrage was confined to an individual, or was the result of some secret but organized conspiracy. On that occasion the House of Lords proceeded immediately to examine witnesses as to the extent of the outrage, and, after its examination was concluded, requested a present conference in the Painted Chamber with the House of Commons, on a subject materially affecting the safety of his Majesty's person, and the honour and dignity of the Crown. The conference was held, and a joint Address was in consequence presented to his Majesty, expressive of their loyalty to his person, and of their indignation at the treasonable attempt to injure and destroy him. The third, and by far the most serious case, occurred in the year 1800, when a person of the name of Hatfield, who had been in his Majesty's military service, and had received several dangerous wounds in the head, drew a pistol in the theatre, and fired it at his late Majesty. This precedent, though differing much in the degree of danger, was the precedent most in point upon the present occasion. At that time, on the very day after the outrage was committed, an Address was voted to George 3rd by the two Houses of Parliament, without any other evidence having been sought, that the outrage had been committed, than the mere notoriety of the fact. Another precedent occurred in the year 1817, when his
902
late Majesty, George 4th, then exercising the powers of the Sovereign as Prince Regent, was exposed, on his return from opening the Session of Parliament, to a similar attack to that which his august father, George 3rd, had been exposed in the year 1795. The precedent set in 1795 was followed in the year 1817, and a joint Address of condolence at the attack, and of congratulation at the escape from it, was presented by the two Houses to his late Majesty. These were the precedents to which he was desirous of calling the attention of their Lordships; and in following those precedents on the present occasion, their Lordships would see, that they were only performing their duty to a Sovereign who was well entitled, on every account, to the affectionate attachment and loyalty of all his subjects. The precedent the most in point on this occasion was that of Hatfield, in the reign of his Majesty's august parent, George 3rd. The circumstances of that case were matter of public notoriety; so also were the circumstances of the present. Here a stone was thrown from a person in the crowd against his Majesty with great violence. The stone struck his Majesty, and would have done him great injury, but for the protection which his hat afforded his head. The person who committed this extraordinary outrage was immediately taken into custody. He had seen the depositions which had been taken against this individual, and, upon reading them, it seemed to him that the outrage in question, was the act of a man with a mind perverted by derangement, or by excitement of some description or other, and that it had no connexion with any thing but the sense—no matter how created in the man's mind—of individual injury. The man was at present in custody, and in custody on a charge of high treason. He had assigned his motives for committing this outrage—they were such as could only have proceeded from a mind excited by liquor or derangement—and there was not even the shadow of a shade of ground for supposing that they were connected with any political reasons whatever. This was to him, and he had no doubt but that it would prove to the country, a source of great consolation. But he had also another ground of consolation, and that was, the great and universal feeling which had been displayed by the people on this occasion—a feeling which it was natural to expect from any loyal people, and still more so from a people like that of England, whose loyalty was based

903
on their affection to a King who himself revered the law. He thought that this outrage, which, though it was in itself treasonable, had fortunately not assumed the appearance of dangerous treason, was such as would make every noble Lord feel it to be his duty to concur in voting an address to his Majesty, expressive of that feeling of attachment to his person which was justified by his Majesty's attachment to the principles of the Constitution, and to the interests of his people, and by his desire to bestow upon the nation all the blessings of a mild and just government. He would not do their Lordships the injustice of saying more to induce them to concur in the appeal which he had just made to them; he would, therefore, without further preface, conclude by moving,
"That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, to express to his Majesty our horror and indignation at the late atrocious and treasonable attempt upon his Majesty, and our heartfelt congratulations that his Majesty escaped from it without injury to his sacred person.
"To express to his Majesty the deep concern which we feel at there having been found within his Majesty's dominions, a person capable of so flagitious an attempt; and that we make it our earnest prayer to Almighty God, that he will preserve to us the blessings which we enjoy under his Majesty's just and mild government, and continue to watch over and protect a life so justly dear to us."
The Earl of Eldonsaid, that he should have regretted that this Motion was not made in a fuller House, had he not been certain that men of all parties would join in this loyal and affectionate Address. It was a duty which their Lordships owed to his most gracious Majesty to present this Address—it was a duty which they owed themselves, to assure their Sovereign that they were ready to protect him against every outrage that might be attempted against his sacred person. He made this declaration upon his own part, and he believed that he might also make it on behalf of every noble Lord, a member of that House, absent or present.
The Lord Chancellorwas glad that his noble and learned friend had called the attention of the House to the thinness of the attendance on the present occasion. That was owing to its being Wednesday, a day set apart by common compact in both Houses for relaxation—a compact, however, which, he was sorry to say, by some strange
904
and lamentable fatality, had of late been more honoured in the breach than in the observance. If this Motion had been delayed till to-morrow, the House would never have presented a more gratifying spectacle than would have been presented in the numerous attendance of Peers, all eager to testify their pride and gratification at hearing that his Majesty had escaped in safety from the flagitious outrage attempted to be committed on his person. But, under existing circumstances, it was quite evident that such delay was totally inadmissible.
The Earl of Eldonbelieved that his noble and learned friend on the Woolsack had stated the case fairly. None of his own noble political friends and associates would have absented themselves on the present occasion, had they been aware of the probability of such a motion being made as had just been submitted to the consideration of their Lordships. He believed that none of his noble friends who were then absent would have thought it right to let the proposition of this Address be postponed for a single night in consequence of their absence.
Earl Greyassured the House that he was out of town when he first heard of the commission of this outrage. On hearing of it he had come to town with the utmost speed; but he had not arrived in time to give notice to their Lordships of his intention to move this Address to-night. If this Motion could have been deferred till to-morrow, which he was sure their Lordships would deem impossible, he was certain that it would have assembled one of the fullest Houses that had been ever known.
Resolution carried nemine contradicente.
Earl Grey then moved, that a Committee be appointed to prepare the Address to his Majesty.—The Motion was carried, and an Address, which was the echo of the Resolution, was then proposed to, and adopted by, their Lordships.
Earl Grey then moved, that the said Address should be sent to the Commons for their approbation, and that a message should be sent to the House of Commons, desiring a present conference in the Painted Chamber, on a subject materially affecting the safety of his Majesty's sacred person.—Motion carried unanimously.
The House of Commons agreed to the Conference, which was accordingly held; and the Commons signified their concurrence in the Address, which was ordered to be presented to his Majesty by the whole House.