CHAP. CLXVIII. the mischief devised was -not the destruction of the lives or fortunes of individuals, or of any description of men- no A. D. 1780. partial evil-but that the blow which it has pleased Provi dence to avert, was aimed at the credit, the government, and the very being and constitution of this state. . . . . . A very short time disclosed, that one of the purposes which this multitude was collected to effectuate was, to overawe the legislature and to obtain the alteration of a law by force and numbers. . . . . . How the leaders of the insurrection demeaned themselves - what was the conduct of the crowd to members of both Houses of Parliament, it is not my intento state. My purpose is to inform - not to prejudice or inflame. For this reason, I feel myself obliged to pass over in silence all such circumstances as cannot-and as ought not -to be treated of but in stronger language and in more indignant terms than I choose at present to employ. . Upon the 3d of June there was a seeming quiet—a very memorable circumstance! for sudden tumults, when they subside, are over. To revive a tumult evinces something of a settled influence, and something so like design, that it is impossible for the most candid mind not to conceive that there lies at the bottom a preconcerted, settled plan of operation. Sunday, the next day, -a day set apart by the laws of God and man as a day of rest, and as a day not to be violated even by the labours of honest industry,—in broad sunshine, buildings and private houses in Moorfields were attacked and entered, and the furniture deliberately brought out and consumed by bonfires. And all this was done in the view of patient magistrates!"... "Fresh insults of the most daring and aggravated nature were offered to parliament, and every one who was in London at the time must remember that it bore the appearance of a town taken by storm. Every quarter was alarmed; neither age nor sex, nor eminence of station, nor sanctity of character, nor even an humble though honest obscurity, were any protection against the malevolent fury and destructive rage of the lowest and worst of men. But it was not against individuals alone that their operations were now directed. What has ever been, in all countries, the last effort of the most desperate conspirators, was now their object. The gaols were attacked, the felons released; men whose lives had been forfeited to the justice of the law were set loose to join their impious hands in the work of destruction. The city was fired in different parts. The flames were kindled in the houses most likely to spread the conflagration to distant quarters. And in the midst of this horror and confusion, in order more effectually to prevent the extinguishing of the flames, an attempt to cut off the New River water was made; and this was followed by an attack on the Bank of England, with the view of ruining public credit.” "In four days, by the incredible activity of this band of furies, parading the streets of the metropolis with burning torches, seventy-two private houses and four public gaols were destroyed-one of them the county gaol, built in such a manner as to justify the belief that it was impregnable to an armed force. Religion- the sacred name of religionof that purest and most peaceable system of Christianitythe Protestant church was made the profane pretext for assaulting the Government, trampling upon the laws, and violating the most solemn precepts which inculcate the duty of man to God and to his neighbours. I am sure there is no man in Europe so weak, so uncandid, or so unjust to the character of the Reformation, as to believe that any religious motive could, by any perversion of human reason, induce the most fanatical to assault magistrates, to release felons, to destroy the source of public credit, and to lay in ashes the capital of the PROTESTANT FAITH. I have now related to you the rise and progress of that calamity from which, by the blessing of Providence upon his Majesty's efforts for our preservation, this kingdom has been delivered a situation unparalleled in the history of our country." Having excited the feelings of the jury by a gross exaggeration of the facts, and an artful insinuation that, out of tenderness to the prisoners, he had kept back much that might have been truly stated against them, he proceeds to lay down the law in a * 21 St. Tr. 485. CHAP. CLXVIII. A. D. 1780. CHAP. CLXVIII. manner not quite unexceptionable, and he decidedly misdirects, by saying, "You are only to inquire whether the A. D. 1780. party accused is charged with such probable circumstances as to justify you in sending him to another jury;" for a Grand Jury ought not to find a true bill unless a case is made out before them against the accused, which, if unanswered, would justify the petty jury to pronounce a verdict of guilty.* Censure upon him for his in on this oc casion by Burke. By Lord Brougham. Burke, feeling that his advice had been thrown away, observes in the "Annual Register," then under his care: temperance"This charge having been the topic of much conversation, we submit it to the judgment of our readers. The opinions of men respecting the legal propriety of it have been various; as a piece of oratory it has been admired; but its tendency to influence and direct the jury, and inflame their passions against men who ought all to have been supposed innocent till found guilty by their country, has been generally spoken of in terms of indignation by those who are jealous of the rights of humanity." "Within a short month after the riots themselves," says Lord Brougham, "six and forty persons were put upon their trial for that offence, and nearly the whole of the Chief Justice's address consisted of a solemn and stately lecture upon the enormity of the offence, and a denial of whatever could be alleged in extenuation of the offenders' conduct. It resembled far more the speech of an advocate for the prosecution than the charge of a judge to the grand jury. Again, when we find a composition which all men had united to praise as a finished specimen of oratory falling to rather an ordinary level, there is some difficulty in avoiding the inference that an abatement should also be made from the great eulogies bestowed upon its author's other speeches which have not reached us; and we can hardly be without suspicion that much of their success may have been ‡ * See Lord Shaftesbury's case, antè, Vol. III. Ch. XC. † Ann. Reg. 1780. In the present time no counsel in opening a prosecution would venture to make such a speech, for it is chargeable not only with inflammatory topics but with a wilful over-statement of the facts of the case. owing to the power of a fine delivery and a clear voice in setting off inferior matter." * I do not find any complaint against Lord Loughborough in the progress of these trials, when he came to sum up particular cases to the petty jury. All the prisoners tried before him on this occasion were men of an inferior condition of life, and were clearly guilty in point of law of the felonies for which they were indicted; but as they had been urged on by fanatical zeal and the blind fury of others, Burke compassionated their condition, and wrote to the Chief Justice the following letter, so creditable to his humanity, vain hope of saving them: - "MY LORD, in the CHAP. CLXVIII. A. D. 1780. Mr. Burke to Lord Loughborough, begging for mercy to the rioters who had been con "I have been out of town for the greater part of the last week, Letter from and am only come hither this morning. During that time I have not seen a single newspaper. On my reading the paper of this day, I find that many executions are ordered for this week, although the stock of criminals to be tried is not exhausted; and therefore a distinct view cannot be taken of the whole, nor, of course, that selection used, with regard to the number of criminals and the nature of crimes, which in all affairs of this nature is victed. surely very necessary. If you remember, I stated to your Lordship, when I met you at Lord North's, what had struck me on this subject, and I thought it had then his and your approbation. I afterwards mentioned the same thing to the Chancellor, and sent him a memorandum on it just before I left town. I am convinced that long strings of executions, with the newspapers commenting on them, will produce much mischief. I do earnestly beg of your Lordship, whose humanity and prudence I have no doubt of, to turn this business in your mind, and to get the executions suspended until you can think over the matter, with a proper consideration of the whole and of the several cases: for you know what a disgrace it would be to Government that the order of time of trial should settle the fate of the offenders, especially as they are low in condition, and the managers have had the wicked address not to expose themselves. I beg you to excuse my solicitude. * Lord Brougham's Statesmen of George III., vol. i. p. 77. VOL. VI. L CHAP. CLXVIII. A. D. 1780 Lucky escape of Lord George Lord Loughborough as a common law Judge. I am really uneasy, and forebode no good from this business, un- "My Lord, "Your Lordship's most obedient and humble servant, "Charlotte Street, Monday, July 17, 1780.”* A great example was deemed necessary, and the rioters were executed by the score. Luckily for Lord George Gordon it was found that he had not done any thing in the county of Surrey which could be construed into an overt act of high treason, and therefore his case was not within the cognizance of this Special Commission. Had his trial now come on, the unexampled eloquence of his counsel would probably only have stimulated the rivalry of the new Chief Justice, and he could hardly have escaped an ignominious death; but it was postponed till the public mind was in a calmer state, and was then presided over by a milder Chief Justice. † Lord Loughborough continued in the court of Common Pleas during a period of nearly thirteen years. As a common law judge he did not stand very high in public estimation, although he displayed some important qualifications for his office and his conduct was not liable to any serious charge. He was above all suspicion of corruption, he was courteous, patient, and impartial, — being neither led astray by the influence of others, nor by ill temper, prejudice, favouritism, or caprice. His manner was most dignified, and from his literary stores, and his acquaintance with the world, he threw a grace over the administration of justice which it sometimes sadly wants when the presiding "puisne" has spent the whole of his life in drawing and arguing pleas and demurrers. By the consent of all, Lord Loughborough to the notion of a consummate magistrate, when the cause turned entirely upon facts. These he perceived with came up |