Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

the prior Convention, have fent fome to this one. On Tuesday the 19th inftant the Convention opened. The number of Delegates amounted to 180; fome of them came even from fo far as Cromartie; the reception we experienced was highly flattering; we mutually gave and received encouragement and animation. I fhall not at prefent attempt to give a minute detail of what has fince paffed, becaufe the minutes are to be printed, and then I will not fail fending you a few copies of them, and will, I hope, be able, at my return, to come to Norwich, and give you an accurate verbal account of every tranfaction: mean time, if you have any inftructions to give me, fend them without delay, otherwife I fhall act for you conformably to thofe laid down by the London Correrponding Society, a copy of which you doubtlefs have received from them.— The Convention have begun by establishing a set of rules for the organization of the prefent and even future Conventions; next we established a Committee of Union between the Two Nations, a Committee of Finance, a Committee to take into Confideration the protecting or eftablishing a Patriotic Newfpaper. And on Saturday laft we paffed a provifory Decree of Union, the whole Convention, ftanding hand in hand, folemnly pledged themfelves to each other to renounce all National Distinctions, to abide firmly and truly by each other, until the great end is obtained; and at the fame time we affumed the title of The British Convention of Delegates of the People, offociated to obtain Univerfal Suffrage and Annual Parliaments.

(No. 12.)

Copy of a Letter from Meffrs. Gerald and Margarot to the Secretary of the London Corresponding Society.

Citizen Edinburgh, Tuesday December 2d, 1793. We received laft night a letter figned by you, but written by another perfon, acquainting us with the determination of the Committee, "that at the adjournment of the Convention we should return immediately to London" this determination we will undoubtedly conform unto unlefs it be (as we hope and truft it will) contradicted in your next; for if the Committee abides by it, we who, by being on the pot, and thoroughly acquainted with the ftate of the country, can judge with certainty thereon, do affure you that our immediate return to London will be attended with very bad confequences, for at prefent all the Country Societies look up to us to come among them to enliven, to encourage them, to convince them by our prefence that we exift, that we have been fent from England for the purpofes of Union and Reform, and that the time is near at hand when fuch Reform must take place. Nothing, dear Friends, muit force us from Scotland at present but the abfolute impoffibility of bearing the expences attending our miffion, and thofe expences may be fomewhat leffened by recalling one of us, and leaving the other: our Norwich Friends may likewife bear a part of them, fo that unless the funds of the Society are very low indeed, no excufe for recal can be valid, unless founded on fear; and that we must remind you is our concern, not yours. While, therefore, the idea of uniting our Society with the whole kingdom of Scotland affords you a pleafing profpect, let us do every thing in our power to cement that union; and this can only be done by a longer refidence in the country, and by wifiting the feveral Societies which have fent Delegates to Edinburgh, and would think themfelves ill ufed if we did not take their town in our way. Confider of it, therefore, we beseech you, and let us have your anfwer immediately.

The Convention proceed with great spirit. We fit daily; and laft week we came to a Refolution, which we fancy will give pleasure to

every Friend to Reform: as the Minutes are to be printed, we will, at prefent, only give you the heads of it, viz.

That should any attempt be made by Government for the fufpenfion of the Habeas Corpus Bill, the introduction of a Convention Bill, or the landing of foreign troops in Great Britain or Ireland, the Delegates are immediately to affemble in Convention at a certain place, the appointment of which is left with a Secret Committee-That when seven Delegates fhall be thus affembled, they fhall declare themselves permanent; and when their number amounts to twenty-one, they thall proceed to business. Thus you fee we are providing against what may happen.

Citizen Gerald's health is fo far recovered as not to prevent him from fully attending his duty. We cannot fay as much of Citizen Sinclair, from the Society for Conftitutional Information; he has been confined to his bed ever fince Saturday by a violent fever and fore throat; he is fomewhat better this morning. He is a valuable young man; and, fhould he die, his lofs would be feverely felt; not indeed by his Conftituents, who have bafely abandoned him, but by all the Friends of Freedom. He is a Member of our Society, and we recommend him to your notice.

You will before this have received our last of the 26th instant, acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 23d, together with a remittance of 121. 12s-Our time is fo conftantly employed, that we find it abfolutely impoffible as yet to write to you more than once a week, and even that on no fixed day. Eighteen hours out of the four-andtwenty are devoted to public bufinefs, and you may rest assured they are not mif-fpent. We are happy to hear that you go on as well in the South as we do in the North.-Letters convey but very imperfectly, and with no great degree of fafety, what we might wish to inform each other of. You have done us a material injury by neglecting to fend us a parcel of our Publications, and a number of copies of The Jurymen's Right; pray do not delay them any longer, and among them fome of the Letters to Dundas. We fent you an Edinburgh Gazetteer last week, we will fend you another to morrow; you will therein fee part of what has paffed in the Convention.

We remain, moft fincerely,

Your Fellow Labourers in the Caufe of Reform,
JOSEPH GERALD, Delegate.
Mce MARGAROT, Delegate.

M. M. would be glad to receive a line from T. H. about private busi

nefs of his own.

(No. 13-)

Copy of a Letter from Mr. Margarot to the Secretary of the London Correfponding Society.

Fellow Citizen,

Edinburgh, 8th December, 1793. We defire that a copy of the inclofed papers be kept by the Society, and that another copy of them be delivered, without delay, to Citizen Martin, in order that he may proceed thereupon immediately.

You will already have had confufed accounts of what has taken place here for the last four days; but on Tuesday next the Edinburgh Gazetteer fhall (if defpotifm permit) give you a complete detail of every thing. The Society will thereby be able to difcover, that an arrival in Scotland' has been productive of great advantage to the Cause, and at the fa me time has given great alarm to our enemies. We are very much furprised at the remiffness of the So ciety; while we are expofing our Life and Liberty, while we are de

voting our time and our exertions to their fervice, while we are incurring numberlefs expences, and affronting dangers that would ftagger the most hardy of them, while we are doing all this, we are moreover obliged to remind them of it, and that supplies are now become more neceffary than ever; furely the pecuniary exertions of any individual in the Society, can never be compared to our endeavours: honoured with their confidence, we find ourselves happy in being placed in the front of the battle; but let them remember that our facrificing ourfelves will be of little ufe, unless they afford us a proper fupport, and that most immediately. Not daring any longer to trust to the poft, we fend you all these papers in a parcel. You will be fo good as to make us acquainted with their fafe arrival.-Gerald wishes to get to London as foon as poffible, he will communicate that which cannot be fo fully expreffed by Letter; you may confider this as a private Letter, but you may read fuch parts of it as you think proper to any Member of the Society, especially where it may be productive of good.-You will fee by the inclofed papers, that Power has proceeded in a moft arbitrary manner, almost all the prominent characters in the Convention have been, or are to be, apprehended and examined.-Lord Daer will, we believe, meet with no greater favour than ourselves; we understand that there is a warrant out against him. As an account of what has happened to us would exceed the bounds of a Letter, we will only juft give you a fketch of it, by way of Journal, referring you, as we faid before, to next Tuefday's Gazetteer.

A

Thursday Morning at 7 o'clock.

A Sheriff's officer, followed by five other men, entered our bed room, informed us he had a warrant (which however he refused to fhew) for apprehending us, and feizing our papers; we remained confined all day; at night we were examined and admitted to bail, each in the fum of 2,000 merks.

Friday Morning, 9 o'clock.

We were fent for again without a warrant, for the purpose of being prefent at the opening of a small trunk, containing our papers; but M. M. protefting against the illegality of the whole of the proceedings, and refufing to give up the key, the Sheriff Subftitute and the Procurator Fifcal dared to proceed no farther in the bulinefs.

Saturday Morning, 9 o'clock.

Two meffengers came again into our room, with Gerald; they left a fummons to appear at 10 o'clock, with M. M. They left nothing but a request to accompany Gerald to the office; yet, when arrived there, he found that a warrant was iffued against him, for the pur pofe of detaining him a prifoner, while the box was opened, and the papers examined. M. M. till perfifting in his refufal, the key was forced from him, the trunk was opened, the papers examined, and partly restored; the other part was kept, and a declaration drawn up, which he was required to fign, but refused, protesting against the whole of the business -Gerald, however, figned what was drawn up in his name, and we were once more liberated; and fince then, now already 24 hours, no further perfecution has been commenced against But while we, as individuals, were thus harraffed (Thursday) the whole of the Convention were equally ill ufed.-Many of them were taken into cuftody; and when the remainder met, as usual, the Provoit, attended by his myrmidons, werit, and, after pulling

us.

of Sheffield, out of the chair, ordered the Convention to difperfe, and informed them that he would allow no fuch Meetings in future.

2

APPENDIX F.

[ocr errors]

future. (Friday) The next day, the Convention having agreed to
meet at another place, out of the jurifdiction of the Provoft, we had
not been long affembled, before the Sheriff, with his myrmidons, ap-
peared among us, and commanded us to depart, after having afked
whether that Meeting was the British Convention, and being answered
He next enquired who was the Prefident; upon
in the affirmative.
which M. M. having openly afked and obtained leave of the Conven-
tion, placed himself in the chair; informed the Sheriff, that he, M. M.
was the Prefident of the British Convention, and that he would not
break up the Meeting, unlefs unconftitutionally forced thereunto, by
the Sheriff's pulling him out of the chair; which the latter (after fome
hefitation) having complied with, the ex-prefident (Gerald) was allo
put into the chair, which he would not leave but by being pulled
out; adjourned the Convention to the place where it was to become
permanent in its fitting; and having called upon his colleague, Ge-
cald, for to clofe the Meeting with prayer, the company departed
peaceably, but not without various reflections on the proceedings, and
thofe reflections not confined merely to the Members of the Conven-
tion, but coming alfo from the crowd without doors, and even from
the attending conftables.-The next day a proclamation was iffued
by the Provost, forbidding all affembling within the limits of his ju-
rifdiction.-We know not what will happen; but we venture to pre-
dict, that all this perfecution will encrease rather than diminish the
ardour of the people for Reform. The country Societies, hearing of
this, are hourly pouring in freth Delegates.-Want of paper forbids
my writing any more.

APPENDIX. G.

Adieu! Your's, M. M.

Extract from the Evidence taken on the 22d of May, 1794, before the
Privy Council.

Thomas Thompfon, Efq; Member for Evesham, attending their
Lordships, was called in, and afked, if he was a Member of the Con-
ftitutional Society? to which he anfwered, that he was.

Extracts from his Evidence."

Q. How long have you been a Member of this Society?

A. I cannot exactly recollect, but think about laft Christmas.
Q. Did you attend the Meetings of the Society regularly?

A. When I was in Town I did.

Q. Was you prefent on the 28th of March, when a letter was read from the London Correfponding Society, of the 27th of March, with certain Refolutions [which were fhewn to Mr. Thompfon in the book] were inclofed, and a Refolution and Order thereupon made by the Conftitutional Society.

A. I was.

Q. Were you prefent at a meeting of the 4th of April, when a Refolution was made refpecting the appointment of Delegates to confer, &c.

Á. I do, upon confideration, recollect it-but I oppofed the appointment of a Convention.-Another perfon and I decidedly and loudly oppofed it, and went away, understanding that it had paffed in the negative.-I oppofed it on the grounds of its being a bad and improper mode of proceeding-and that it would be better to prefent a Petition to Parliament -I do not recollect that any other perfon befides myfelf, and the perfon already named, oppofed this propofition

á d

Q. You

Q. You recollect, then, being present upon the 4th of April?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you remember a Deputation being appointed to confer with the London Corresponding Societies?

A. I do remember an agreement to appoint a Delegation; but I do not recollect the names of the perfons of whom that Delegation was to confift.

Q. Do you recollect the fubfequent Resolution for appointing a Committee of correfpondence?

A. I do not recollect it; but rather think I went away before it paffed. I usually left the Society before it broke up, as I flept in the country, and of course many Refolutions were paffed after I went

away.

Q. Do you think it right to state what you particularly recollect of the Refolution respecting the appointment of a Convention?

A. I recollect the oppofing of it, with the perfon already named; and I recollect it was carried in the negative.

Q. Is it entered on the Books of the Society, that the motion for appointing a Convention was negatived?

A. I do not know; but it certainly was carried in the negative.-I recollect leaving the Society with a firm conviction that it had been negatived; and I have since talked with the perfon already named on the fubject, who understood fo as well as myself.

Q. Can you ftate the name of any person who opposed the appointment of a Convention, except yourself and the perfon you have named?

A. I cannot. That perfon was against it from the first mention of fuch an idea.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

Q. Do you recollect the names of any of the perfons who spoke for the appointment of a Convention?

A. I do not-there was a good deal of confufion.

Q. Did you ever fee the printed Refolutions of the Society?

A. I do not recollect that I did.

Q. Have you any reason to believe that the Refolution against the appointment of a Convention was reduced to writing?

A. Probably it was: I made a memorandum of it, as I took minutes myself; I always did fo for my own fatisfaction, and to refer to upon occafion.-The memorandum I made on this occasion, stated particularly that it had been carried that no Convention fhould take place. I was always decidedly against Delegates being fent from the different Socities and Towns. I took Minutes even of what passed at the Meetings of the Friends of the People, though I think them very fafe perfons.

Q. Have you any one of thefe memorandums ?

A. I have not. I have looked for them, and could not find one.They were upon scraps of paper; and not thinking them of importance, I did not preferve them.

Q. As you oppofed the formation of a Convention, what did you conceive the Convention was to do if it did meet ?

A. I oppofed a Convention, having feen the evils of it in other places; and not thinking it the best means of obtaining the object in view.

Mr. Thompfon having attended the Committee of Secrecy appointed by the House, his evidence before the Privy Council was read to him;

and

« ZurückWeiter »