第47章

wasalarmedbyrumoursofadesigntomarchuponCambridgeitselfonmarket

day。IndevonshireLordEbringtonreportedanagitationforhigherwages

withencouragementfromthefarmers。Hewashimselfimpressedbythelow

wagesinforce，andhadraisedtheminplacesstillquiet；amistakefor

whichheapologised。EvenHereford，’thishithertosubmissiveandpeaceful

county，’wasnotunaffected。InNorthamptonshiretherewereseveralfires，

andalsorisingsroundPeterborough，OundleandWellingborough，andageneral

outbreakintheMidlandswasthoughttobeimminent。Hayricksbegantoblaze

asfarnorthasCarlisle。SwinglettersweredeliveredinYorkshire，and

inLincolnshirethelabourerwassaidtobeawakeningtohisownimportance。

Therewereinfactfewcountiesquitefreefrominfection，andaleading

articleappearedintheTimeson6thDecember，inwhichitwasstated

thatneverhadsuchadangerousstateofthingsexistedtosuchanextent

inEngland，intheperiodofwell-authenticatedrecords。’Lettherichbe

taughtthatProvidencewillnotsufferthemtooppresstheirfellowcreatures

withimpunity。HerearetensofthousandsofEnglishmen，industrious，kind-hearted，

butbroken-heartedbeings，exasperatedintomadnessbyinsufficientfood

andclothing，byutterwantofnecessariesforthemselvesandtheirunfortunate

families。’

UnfortunatelyProvidence，towhomtheTimesattributedtheserevolutionary

sentiments，wasnotsoclosetothesceneasLordMelbourne，whosesentiments

onthesubjectwereverydifferent。On8thDecemberheissuedacircular，

whichgaveadeath-blowtothehopethatthemagistrateswouldactasmediators

onbehalfofthelabourers。Afterblamingthosemagistrateswho，underintimidation，

hadadvisedtheestablishmentofauniformrateofwages，theHomeSecretary

wenton，’Reasonandexperienceconcurinprovingthatacompliancewith

demandssounreasonableinthemselves，andurgedinsuchamanner，canonly

lead，andprobablywithinaveryshortperiodoftime，tothemostdisastrous

results。’Headdedthatthejusticeshad’nogenerallegalauthoritytosettle

theamountofthewagesoflabour。’Thecircularcontainedapromiseonthe

partoftheGovernmentthattheywouldadopt’everypracticableandreasonable

measure’fortheallegationofthelabourers’privations。

Fromthistimethemagistrateswereeverywhereonthealertforthefirst

signsoflifeandmovementamongthelabourers，andtheyforbademeetings

ofanykind。InSuffolkandEssexthelabourerswhotookupthecryforhigher

wageswerepromptlythrownintoprison，andarbitraryarrestsbecamethe

custom。Themovementwascrushed，andthetimeforretributionhadcome。

Thegaolswerefulltooverflowing，andtheGovernmentappointedSpecial

CommissionstotrytheriotersinHampshire，Wiltshire，Dorset，Berks，and

Bucks。Brougham，whowasnowenjoyingtheofficeinwhosepompousmanner

hemusthavelispedinhiscradle，toldtheHouseofLordson2ndDecember，

’WithinafewdaysfromthetimeIamaddressingyourLordships，thesword

ofjusticeshallbeunsheathedtosmite，ifitbenecessary，withafirm

andvigoroushand，therebelagainstthelaw。’

Thedisturbanceswereover，butthepanichadbeensuchthattheupper

classescouldnotpersuadethemselvesthatEnglandwasyettranquil。Aslate

asChristmasEvethePrivyCouncilgaveorderstothearchbishoptoprepare

’aformofprayertoAlmightyGod，onaccountofthetroubledstateofcertain

partsoftheUnitedKingdom。’Thearchbishop’scomposition，whichwaspublished

afterscoresofmenandboyshadbeensentencedtotransportationforlife，

musthavebeenrecitedwithgenuinefeelingbythoseclergymenwhohadeither

broken，orwereabouttobreak，theiragreementtosurr

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