cannot have been fewer than 200 wounded; many conceive there have been 300, or even more.

"When the field was cleared, the Yeomanry formed opposite Mount-street, and after a speech, we believe of thanks, from Mr. Hay, gave three cheers, and waved their swords in token of victory!!! They again cheered at the Police Office, about halfpast two in the afternoon. Parties kept patroling the streets during the after part of the day and through the night. In the evening the windows of a man named Tate, in Oldham-street, were broken, a person there having imprudently waved one of the captured flags at the people as they passed by. In the course of Monday afternoon several persons were arrested in addition to those who had been taken into custody upon the Hustings, and among them Knight.

"Amongst those killed on Monday, was Mr. Ashworth, of the Bull's Head, a special constable. Our present number contains notices of several inquests, in which, incredible as it may seem, the verdicts are "" Accidental Death!"

"Amongst the wounded, is the reporter of the London Courier. The reporter from the Times Newspaper, (a gentleman of the name of Tyas,) was taken into custody, near the Hustings, by a constable, whose protection he solicited, stating who he was; but was discharged the next day.

"The night of Monday passed over without further disturbance; but, on Tuesday morning, symptoms of riot were displayed near the New Cross; and, we believe, one man (a special constable) was killed by the mob. The military were called outthe Riot Act, we understand, read-and the populace fired upon; five or six persons were wounded by the discharge, one of whom is since dead. About ten in the morning, a report was circulated, that the mob had mustered to the number of ten or fifteen thousand; and were marching, armed with pikes and other deadly weapons, upon the town. The report was treated as a falsehood; but, about eleven o'clock, one of the municipal officers came, in a state of the utmost agitation, upon 'Change-ordered the building to be closed-all shops and warehouses to be shut up and declared the town and neighbourhood in a state of open rebellion. The military were called out-cannon planted at the bottom of Oldham-street-(the way the rebels were supposed to be coming,) and the utmost consternation was visible on every countenance. A placard, of which the following is a copy, was posted up by the Town's Officers :—

Manchester, 17th August, 1819.

<6 HALF-PAST ELEVEN, A. M.

"The Boroughreeves and Constables of Manchester and Salford, hereby caution all the inhabitants to close their houses, shops, and warehouses, and to keep themselves and all persons under their control within doors, OTHERWISE THEIR LIVES

WILL BE IN DANGER. Carts and all other carriages must be immediately removed from the streets and public roads."

"C. Wheeler and Sons, Printers."

"In the course of an hour, when the pikemen were still invisible, people began to inquire into circumstances, and to doubt the fact of their approach, particularly as all the country manufacturers whom Tuesday's market had brought from the neighbourhood of Oldham, united in denying it. By this time, the Boroughreeve and Constables had taken the trouble of inquiring into the affair, and ascertained that they had been imposed upon. Their placards were taken down with great rapidity. The bellmen were sent round to tell the people to re-open their shops and warehouses, and tranquillity of feeling was restored. The report was proved to be utterly unfounded, a trick which the fears or the wickedness of some person had played off upon municipal credulity.

"Since Tuesday the town has been tranquil, except that in the course of last night, the windows of a baker, near the New Cross, who was reported (we believe falsely) to have used some violent language against the people, were broken."

Manchester Gazette, Aug. 21, 1819.

In the Manchester Chronicle, to which we have already referred, an account of the transactions after Mr. Hunt began to address the multitude, is stated in a manner very different from that which has just been given. This also we introduce, as it places the melancholy events in another light, and records some incidents, which, in all probability, would otherwise have remained unknown. By these means every reader will be enabled to form his own judgment on the transactions of the day, while we hope our pages will escape the charge of partiality.

"He (Mr. Hunt) was proceeding to make some indecent references to the Magistrates, when the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry appeared on the ground, and formed in line before the house in which the Magistrates were placed. Hunt turned to Johnson, and said, "There's a treat for you." He then said to the people, "Stand firm, my friends: you see they are in disorder already; give them three cheers;" at the same time taking off his hat, and waving it above his head. The cheers were instantly returned by the Cavalry and the whole of the Peace Officers; the former brandishing their sabres whilst huzzaing.

"A short consultation now took place amongst the Justices, and they immediately issued a Warrant against Hunt, Johnson, Knight, and Moorhouse. Mr. Nadin, the Deputy Constable of Manchester, was appointed to execute it. The Riot Act had been twice read; once by the Rev. Mr. Ethelston, and once by John Silvester, Esq. The rebellious nature of the meeting, its numbers and

threatening aspeet, the warlike insignia displayed, the order of march and military arrangement, many of the Reformers having shouldered large sticks and bludgeons as representative of muskets, coupled with the depositions on oath of very many respectable inhabitants, as to the consequences that must in their opinion unavoidably flow to lives and property from such an immense meeting, assembled under such influences, and the Magistrates' own view of the whole of this tremendous scene, rendered it imperative to interfere. To have attempted it by the common means would have been preposterous, and could only have caused the loss of a great number of lives, without a chance of completing the object. Mr. Nadin therefore took the warrant, accompanied by a host of Special Constables. Mr. Trafford, a highly respectable Cheshire Magistrate, headed the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, and an order was given for the whole to advance and take their prisoners. This was done in a steady and masterly style; but the Cavalry had not advanced many yards before they were assailed with heavy vollies of stones, shouts of defiance, and the most coarse and insulting language. Till thus assailed, no Yeomanry-man used his sword, each man having confined himself to waving it over his head. Now the duty of self-preservation obliged them to strike, but in very few instances to cut. The Manchester and Salford corps in a moment surrounded the whole Hustings, and the Civil Officers proceeded to seize their prisoners. Immediately the Cheshire Yeomanry galloped on the ground; to them succeeded the 15th Hussars, and the Royal Artillery Train, whilst all the various detachments of infantry also advanced. On every side the soldiers were attacked with the most determined resolution; many of the Cavalry were struck to the ground, and the Reformers attempted to knock out their brains with large stones (previously provided) and sticks, whilst lying on the ground. One gallant youth, Mr. John Hulme, was struck in the face with a brick: it took away his senses, and he checked his horse so suddenly, that they both fell together. A man had also stabbed him in the back with a sharp instrument, and whilst in this deplorable state a fellow with a club was about to finish him, when a foot soldier bayoneted the villain, who sprang high from the earth, and fell down dead. Another Yeomanry-man was unhorsed at the same moment, and his life with great difficulty saved. This was near the Quakers' Meeting-house, where a furious battle raged. In the buryingground there many persons committed murderous work from the inclosed walls, till the gates were burst open by a private soldier with the butt-end of his musket. Many innocent spectators had also been there during the whole of the day, as a place of security. At length it was necessarily cleared by force; and one of our Yeomanry leaped his horse over the wall after a Reformer who had been particularly active. This man, it is believed, paid a severe penalty for his desperate conduct. To the front of these

premises a considerable quantity of timber was laid, which unforfortunately sheltered the refractory from direct approach. Not a single shot was fired by any of the military, although they were fired upon several times by the Reformers and their abettors.

"A scene of confusion and terror now existed, which defies description. The multitude pressed one another down; and in many parts they lay in masses, piled body upon body. The cries and mingled shouts, with the galloping of the horses, were shocking. Lieut. Col. L'Estrange, the commander of the troops, received a tremendous blow on the forehead from a brick, which for a moment deprived him of sense, and he had nearly fallen from his horse. Many of the most respectable gentlemen of the town were thrown down, ridden over, and trampled upon. One special constable, Mr. Ashworth, of the Bull's Head, in the Market-Place, was killed dead on the spot. Another, Mr. Petty, was borne home laid on a door, by four men, dreadfully hurt. Major-General Clay, assisting the civil power in his private dress of a citizen, Mr. John Moore, the constable, Mr. Charles Rider, of Collyhurst, Mr. Thomas Sharp, &c. &c. &c. were all forced to the ground by the Cavalry. Under such circumstances, these accidents were unavoidable: not the smallest blame is attached to the military, by those who were the temporary sufferers. It was scarcely to be anticipated that great numbers of the Reformers would come to the meeting prepared with offensive weapons; but it was the case. A class of them were dressed as brewers' servants usually are, with long brats that contain pockets. These pockets were all filled with stones. Therefore it is manifest, that if THE LAW found occasion to interpose, a regular system of prevention had been arranged to defeat its object."-Manchester Chronicle, Aug. 21, 1819.

In the preceding extract it is distinctly stated, that the Riot Act was twice read, and the names of the gentlemen by whom it was read are particularly mentioned. This evidence in favour of the fact seems to be decisive. But as on this point opinions very different have been published to the world, we cannot, in justice to that impartiality which we hope to preserve, omit their introduction. In the Manchester Gazette we find the following observations.

"We have now concluded our recital of the melancholy events of this dreadful day. But it will be asked by every one, whether this attack was legal? or at least, whether the Riot Act was read previous to the forcible dispersion of the crowd? We believe it was not. We have made the most diligent and general inquiries, both among special constables and spectators, and we have not met with a single individual who knows either when or where it was read, or, in point of fact, who believes that it was read at all. It certainly was not read under such circumstances as that any

.

considerable proportion of the Meeting were aware of it, or could have the slightest intimation that it was intended to disperse them by FORCE.'

On this important point an article respecting the Riot Act, inserted in the Star, and thence copied into the Liverpool Mercury, is stated as follows:

"Whether the Riot Act had been read, I am not enabled positively to say; but I affirm, from actual observation, that not the slightest breach of the peace had been committed, or appeared, as far as I could judge, likely to take place; and most certainly, instead of an hour being allowed after the proclamation for the people to disperse, not twenty minutes elapsed, after Mr. Hunt came on the ground, before the carnage began."

That the Riot Act was actually read before the military were called upon to draw their swords, we can scarcely doubt. It is, however, a subject of much astonishment, with multitudes who have no connection with the Reformers, and who are not even friendly to their interest, that no account has been given, specifically stating the places in which the Riot Act was read, the exact time in which the reading took place, and the probable number of those who either did hear, or might have heard it. We have no recollection of having hitherto met with the name of any individual, who has declared, that the Riot Act was publicly read within his hearing. As this is an omission of duty, with which the magistrates have been severely reproached, it is reasonable for them to suppose, that a dispassionate public will expect them to repel the charge, by producing satisfactory evidence in vindication of their character.

Among the individuals who were on the stage or hustings when the cavalry approached, was a gentleman, named Tyas, who had introduced himself as a reporter of the proceedings of the day, for the Times newspaper. Mr. Tyas, we apprehend, is not friendly, either to Mr. Hunt, or to the cause of popular Reform. This circumstance will, therefore, exempt his statement from the charge of partiality on the public side of the question, and ensure for his observations that due consideration to which they seem to be so justly entitled. But as his account in its early stages, nearly coincides with the statements we have already given, we shall introduce Mr. Tyas just as Mr. Hunt was proceeding with his speech, which has been already given, briefly observing, that a board, on which was written in legible characters, "ORDER, ORDER," was elevated and carried before Mr. Hunt as he approached the hustings.

"At this stage of the business, the Yeomanry Cavalry were seen advancing in a rapid trot to the area: their ranks were in disorder, and on arriving within it, they halted to breathe their horses, and to recover their ranks. A panic seemed to strike the persons at the outskirts of the meeting, who immediately began to scamper in every direction. After a moment's pause, the cavalry