第48章

poor。Itwouldbeimpertinentinmetosayanythingtoyouastoyourtreatment

oflabourersorservants。ThatmanmustknowlittleofthegentryofEngland，

whetherconnectedwiththetownorcountry，whorepresentsthemastyrants

tothepoor，asnotsympathisingintheirdistress，andasnotanxiousto

relievetheirburdensandtopromotetheirwelfareandhappiness。’(5*)In

openingtheSpecialCommissionatWinchesterBaronVaughan(6*)alludedto

thetheorythatthetumultshadarisenfromdistressandadmittedthatit

mightbepartlytrue，but，hecontinued，’everymanpossessedofthefeelings

commontoournaturemustdeeplylamentit，andendeavourtoalleviateit

(asyougentlemennodoubthavedoneandwillcontinuetodo)，byeverymeans

whichProvidencehasputwithinhispower。’Ifindividualswereaggrieved

byprivationsandinjuries，theymustapplytotheLegislature，whichalone

couldaffordthemrelief，’butitcanneverbetoleratedinanycountrywhich

professestoacknowledgetheobligationsofmunicipallaw，thatanymanor

bodyofmenshouldbepermittedtositinjudgmentupontheirownwrongs，

ortoarrogatetothemselvesthepowerofredressingthem。Tosufferitwould

betorelapseintothebarbarismofsavagelifeandtodissolvethevery

elementsbywhichsocietyisheldtogether。’(7*)TheopinionsoftheBench

onthesectionsoftheAct(7and8GeorgeIV。c。30)underwhichmencould

behungforassemblingriotouslyandbreakingmachinerywereclearlyexpressed

byMr。JusticeParke(8*)(afterwardsLordWensleydale)atSalisbury：’If

thatlawceasestobeadministeredwithduefirmness，andmenlooktoit

invainforthesecurityoftheirrights，ourwealthandpowerwillsoon

beatanend，andourcapitalandindustrywouldbetransferredtosomemore

peacefulcountry’whoselawsaremorerespectedorbetterenforced。’(9*)

ByanothersectionofthatActsevenyearswasfixedasthemaximumpenalty

forbreakingathreshingmachine。Mr。JusticeAlderson(10*)chafedunder

thisrestriction，andhetoldtwomen，CaseandMorgan，whowerefoundguilty

attheSalisburySpecialCommissionofgoingintoaneighbouringparishand

breakingathreshingmachine，thathadtheLegislatureforeseensuchcrimes

astheirs，itwouldhaveenabledthecourttogivethemaseverersentence。(11*)

Mr。JusticePark(12*)wasequallysternanduncompromisingindefending

thepropertyofthefollowersofthecarpenterofNazarethagainsttheunreasoning

miseryofthehour。SummingupinacaseatAylesbury，inwhichoneofthe

chargeswasthatofattemptingtoprocureareductionoftithes，heremarked

withwarmth：’Itwashighlyinsolentinsuchmentorequiteofgentlemen，

whohadbyanexpensiveeducationqualifiedthemselvestodischargethesacred

dutiesofaMinisteroftheGospel，todescendfromthatstationandreduce

themselvestothesituationofcommonlabourers。’(13*)

Fewjudgescouldresistthetemptationtointroduceintotheircharges

ahomilyontheeconomicbenefitsofmachinery。Mr。JusticeParkwasanexception，

forheobservedatAylesburythatthequestionoftheadvantagesofmachinery

wasoutsidetheprovinceofthejudges，’andmuchmischiefoftenresulted

frompersonssteppingoutoftheirlineofduty。’(14*)Mr。JusticeAlderson

tookadifferentview，andtheverynextdayhewasexpoundingthetruths

ofpoliticaleconomyatDorchester，startingwithwhathetermedthe’beautiful

andsimpleillustration’oftheprintingpress。(15*)Theillustrationmust

haveseemedsingularlyintimateandconvincingtothelabourersinthedock

whohadneverbeentaughttheirletters。

Suchwasthetemperofthejudges。Whoandwhatweretheprisonersbefore

them？Afterthesuppressionoftheriots，themagistratescouldpickout

culpritsattheirleisure，andwhenariothadinvolvedthewholeofthe

villagethetemptationtogetridbythismethodofpersonswhoforonereason

oranotherwereobnoxioustotheauthoritieswasirresistible。Hunt，speaking

intheHouseofCommons，(16*)quotedthecaseofHindon；sevenmenhadbeen

apprehendedforriotingandtheywereallpoachers。Manyoftheprisoners

hadalreadyspentamonthinanovercrowdedprison；almostallofthemwere

poormen；themajoritycouldnotreadorwrite。(17*)Fewcouldaffordcounsel，

anditmustberememberedthatcounselcouldnotaddressthecourtonbehalf

ofprisonerswhowerebeingtriedforbreakingmachines，orforbelonging

toamobthataskedformoneyordestroyedproperty。Bytherulesofthe

gaol，theprisonersatSalisburywerenotallowedtoseetheirattorneyexcept

inthepresenceofthegaolerorhisservant。Thelabourers’ignoranceof

thel

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