His
greatest
delight consisted in making a figure at the coffee-houses, whither resorted the beaux- esprits of the day.
Hunt - Fourth Estate - History of Newspapers and Liberty of Press - v1
Curb your choler, Sir Robert.
Sir Rob. A pretty fellow, indeed, that every man's and
woman's reputation must be subject to the power of his poison ous pen. '
Sir J. A little patience, Sir Robert. I will maintain it, the
Sir Rob. A land of liberty this !
tyranny exercised by that fellow and those of his tribe is more despotic and galling than the most absolute monarch's in Asia.
Sir J. Well, but
Sir Rob. Their thrones claim a right only over your persons and property, whilst this mongrel, squatting upon his joint stool, by a single line, proscribes and ruins your reputation at once.
Sir J. Sir Robert, let me crave
-
Sir Rob. And no situation is secure from their insults. I
wonder every man is not afraid to peep into a Paper as it is more than probable he may meet with a paragraph that will make him unhappy for the rest of his life.
Mar. But, gentlemen, what is all this business about ?
Sir Rob. About ? my daughter ?
Zounds, sir, what right had you to ruin
Mar. I
Sir Rob. Sir James Biddulph, you have produce the
!
I know
nothing
of
you,
nor
your
daughter.
Paper.
Sir J. There no occasion for that, the affair so recent
dare say the gentleman will remember the passage this, sir, the banker, the father, with whose daughter you was pleased
to take those insolent freedoms this morning.
Sir Rob. And this, sir, the amiable baronet, from the west
end of the town.
Mar. recollect. Well, gentlemen, you have brought
I
if
is
;
is
it, is
I
foote's sketch. 221
any paragraphs to contradict the report, I am ready to insert them directly.
Sir Rob. And so, you rascal, you want us to furnish fresh food for your Paper.
Mar. I do all I can to keep my scales even ; the charge hangs heavy here ; on the other side you may throw in the defence, then see which will weigh down the other.
Sir Rob. Indeed, Sir James Biddulph, if he does that —
Sir J. That ! Can that paltry expedient atone for his crime ? Will the snow that is sullied recover its lustre ? So tender and delicate, Sir Robert, is the fame of a lady, that, once tainted, it is tarnished for ever.
Sir Rob. True enough.
Mar. I could bear no ill-will to your daughter, as I know nothing about her.
Sir Rob. Indeed, Sir James, I do n't see how he could.
Sir J. Is his being the instrument of another man's malice a sufficient excuse ?
Sir Rob. So far from that enhances the guilt. Zounds, Sir James, you are a Parliament man, why don't you put an end to the practice
Mar. Ay, let them attack the press,
Sir Rob. Have care of that no, no, that must not be done.
Sir J. No man, Sir Robert, honours that sacred shield of freedom more than myself.
Sir Rob. dare say.
Sir J. But would not have serve to shelter these pests, who point their poisoned arrows against the peace of man kind.
Sir Rob. By no means in the world. Let them be dragged from behind directly.
Mar. Ay, do destroy the watchful dogs that guard and cover your flocks
Sir J. You guard You cover
Mar. Ay, who but us alarm the nation when bad designs are on foot
Sir Rob. In that respect, they are very useful, no doubt.
?
II
?
!
a
it,
it ?
! it
it if
;
222 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Sir J. Are they, therefore, entitled to give the alarm, when no such design is intended ?
Sir Sob. By no means. A pack of factious, infamous scoundrels !
Mar. It is we that supply the defects of the laws.
Sir J. You !
Mar. By stigmatizing those offenders that they cannot
reach.
Sir Sob. That, indeed, serves to keep the guilty in awe. Sir J. And is a pretence for making the innocent the butts
of their malice.
Sir Sob. True, true ; all is fish that comes to their nets.
Sir J. Besides, their slander is scattered so generally, and
with so little discretion, that the deformity of vice is destroyed. Sir Sob. True.
Sir J. Bad men are made worse by becoming totally callous,
and even the good rendered careless to that source of patriotism, that pride of virtue, the public opinion.
Sir Rob. And they are much in the right on 't.
Mar. What, you are a courtier, I reckon ; no wonder you wish the press was demolished.
Sir J. If ever that happens, to such miscreants as you it will be owing ; nor will it surprise me, if all orders concur, to give up a great public benefit for the sake and security of private honour and peace.
Sir Rob. Nor me neither.
Mar. You would consent, then, to surrender the press. Sir Sob. I would sooner consent to be hanged.
Sir J. And its unbounded licence continue ?
Sir Sob. I would much rather see it on fire.
Mar. With respect to its general use
Sir Sob. Not the smallest doubt can be made.
Sir J. But, Sir Robert, then the abuse
Sir Sob. Is what no mortal can bear.
Mar. But, Sir Robert, you would but just now
Sir Sob. I confess did.
Sir J. Ay, but that was, Sir Robert, because
Sir Sob. For no other reason in life.
it, I
foote's sketch. 223
Mar. My observation you allowed to be Sir Rob. Pointed.
Sir J. And my reply
Sir Rob. Conclusive as could be.
Mar. But then
-
Sir Rob. Sir J. Sir Rob. (yFlam.
To be sure. Because why.
You are quite in the right.
Upon my soul, they have got the old gentleman
into such puzzleation, that I don't believe he knows what he wishes himself. Stand by, and let me clear up this matter a little. Harkee, Mr. Sir Robert, if I understand your meaning at all, it is, that, provided people could be prevented from pub lishing, you are willing that the press should be free.
Sir Rob. That was my meaning, no doubt.
(yFlam.
Sir Rob. (yFlam.
Sir Rob, CfFlam
Upon my conscience, and nothing but reason. There, I believe, we are all of us agreed. How seldom would people differ if once we could get them to be all of a mind ! And now this difference is whole and composed, let me try if I can't make up the other. I understand here, old gentleman, you have had a daughter abused.
Most foully.
And you want to know who was the author ?
That was my sole business here.
Then why could not you say so at first, without
all this bothering and bawling ? Well, Master Margin, come, give the old buck satisfaction.
Mar. It was anonymous.
OFlam. Upon my soul, and I thought so. He had like to
have brought me into three or four scrapes, by fathering his lies upon me.
Sir J. Will you give us leave to look at the hand ?
Mar. Freely, this is the paper.
Sir J. Sir Robert, do you recollect to have seen this writing
'
before ?
Sir Rob. It is James's ;
I know it as well as my own are his D's, his G's, and his T's.
here Sir J. So I guessed. Will you trust the paper with us ?
221 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Sir Rob. Let him get it again if he can. Sir James I shall
expect you at home.
Mar. I hope no bad use will he made of it.
Sir J. The worst use has already been made of it : but, at
parting, Mr. Margin, let me give you a piece of advice. Take care how you provoke the public patience too far. You have set the laws at defiance, and long reigned uncontrolled, I confess ; but don't wonder if the subjects of your slander forget there are laws in their turn, and, valuing an honest name more than their lives, should expose their lives to revenge it.
[Exit. O 'Flam. Upon my soul, Mr. Margin, very wholesome advice,
and will do you much good if you take it ; but, above all, rid your hands of James Anonymous as soon as you can ; you know it was he who got you that beating. That fellow has brought you into more scrapes than all your authors together.
[Exit,
Enter a Servant.
Ser. Gentlemen, the milk-porridge is ready.
All. Let us start fair, * I beseech you.
[Exeunt.
Dramatic criticism found its way into the News
says his biographer, Jon Bee, " by many templars in my time, as one of the greatest beaux of the year forty, living in handsome chambers, with all the paraphern alia of study around him, but without the gift of application.
His greatest delight consisted in making a figure at the coffee-houses, whither resorted the beaux- esprits of the day. At the Grecian (near the Temple), whence Addison had dated many papers of his Spec tator, Foote cut a conspicuous figure in the morning ; and, in the evening, he took his station among the dramatic critics, at the Bedford Coffee-house, in Co-
papers in the days of Foote. "He was remembered,"
vent-garden,
where they discussed the merits of the
* " Let's all start fair. " The custom of hack-writers getting food from their publisher, is also referred to by Fielding.
BURKE.
actors and the pieces, and lauded or condemned, orally, much in the same way as we now do by writing* Indeed, the reports of the earliest fashionable morning
Papers of dramatic affairs were first collected at the Bedford, and other such assemblages. Here he was enabled by his attainments to shine out a splendid meteoric light, in that age when drawling ignorance and sentimental comedy still maintained their ground on the stage against a more natural and dignified
enunciation, and the representation of credible occur- ences. "t
Burke spoke for the liberty of the press. Sheridan says he was also a reporter of debates ; but whether the notices of Parliament in the Annual Register, and the speeches given in his works, were his only perform ances in this way does not clearly appear. Burke, it is probable, contributed to the Paper of his friend Arthur Murphy ; and it is admitted, that to his pen
* " Dramatic criticism then newly came into vogue, and consisted merely of the on dits, collected by some assistant editors, as regarded new pieces only; the actors themselves escaped tolerably well the reprovals of the periodical press for a long series of years. Indeed, before this time, the Newspapers —or rather, one of them only—paid the theatres each two hundred pounds annually for intelligence as to what was going on at the respective houses; whereas, at present, nearly five times that sum, per estimate, is received by the Papers for theatrical advertisements from all the houses. But then the Papers are supposed to pay nearly half as much as they receive to certain reporters of new pieces, first appearances, &c, &c. The present mode of reporting theatricals, as it was termed by Captain Topham, was in full play about the end of the American War; and to Mr. John Bell, the projector of The World and The Morning Post, do we owe the plan of giving a constant succession of strictures on the drama. " —Note by Jon Bee. t Life of Foote, prefixed to edition, London, 1830.
VOL. I. 1"
226 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
The Englishman owed some of the satirical articles which distinguished that Journal. He put on record his opinion, that " Newspapers are a more important instrument than is generally imagined ; they are a part of the reading of all ; they are the whole of the
reading of the far greater number. "
But we must turn again towards the courts of
law to see how they had been interfering with the
In 1764, Mr. Meres, the printer of a popular evening Paper, had been fined £100 by the House of Lords, for mentioning the name of Lord Hereford in his journal—the London Evening Post. Several other printers were afterwards fined, every session for some years, £100 each time they printed the name of a member of the House of Peers. Mr. Almon the bookseller, and friend of Wilkes, was the author of the paragraph that brought the law down upon Meres. Almon was at this time, and continued to be, a very
strong assertor of the public right to know how public affairs were conducted in Parliament, as we shall have occasion to see.
The North Briton Newspaper excitement was fol lowed, a few years afterwards, by the equally intense feeling raised by the Letters of Junius. The first Letter by this writer appeared in the Public Advertiser on the 28th of April, 1767, and was followed by the sixty-nine others so often since reprinted. The last of these Letters appeared on the 2nd of November,
1771*
* The 69th Letter, addressed to Lord Camden, is without a date; and there are other private letters to Woodfall, the printer of the Public Advertiser, the last two of which are dated 10th May, 1772, and 19th January, 1773.
press.
ALMON. 227
Several trials arose out of the publication of these political strictures. In June, 1770, Almon the book
seller, then of Piccadilly, was tried and fined in King's Bench for selling a work called The London Museum, containing a copy of Junius's Letter to the King. Soon afterwards, H. S. Woodfall, printer and editor of the Public Advertiser, was tried for issuing the same letter, and found guilty of printing andpublishing orAy . Woodfall was tried in the city of London, before Lord Mansfield ; and the jury were nine hours con sidering their verdict, which in effect was an acquittal.
Mr. J. Miller, printer, and Mr. Baldwin, a bookseller, were tried on a similar charge, and acquitted. Though the issue of the letter was clearly shown, the jury re garded themselves as judges of the import of the Paper as well as of the intention of those publishing it. On this trial, Lord Mansfield said, " The liberty of the press consists in no more than this, a liberty to print now without license, what formerly could be printed only with one. " The secret of Almon being selected for prosecution before the real publishers of Junius's Letter to the King had been proceeded against, was
that Almon had offended the King by publishing a valuable public document in his Paper, and had refused, when asked, to reveal the name of the official who had furnished him with it. *
When the town was excited by the massacre in St. George's Fields, and by the decision in the House on Wilkes's election for Middlesex, Almon went about and collected from members of Parliament some par ticulars relative to the debates. These, he put into
* Memoirs of John Almon, bookseller.
r2
22S THE FOURTH ESTATE.
shape, and printed regularly three times a-week in the London Evening Post. Meres at this time was dead, and that Paper was printed by John Miller. For two sessions Almon continued his reports with tolerable accuracy and regularity. This success sti mulated a rival Paper, the St. James's Chronicle, to employ a reporter also, and a Mr. Wall was employed to collect notes in the lobby of the House, the coffee houses, and elsewhere. After supplying his first employer, Wall sent copy to a third Journal, The Gazetteer, and soon other Papers, in self-defence gave reports also. This infraction of the rule of the House
caused much discontent amongst those who wished to legislate in secret, and hence, in 1771, a contest arose which must ever be memorable in the history of the press in England. Since the time of Cromwell, the people had never been allowed to read an authorized report of the doings of their representatives ; but the deficiency had been partially supplied as we have seen by reports furnished in the Newspapers, whose editors
thus risked punishment by offending the privileges of Parliament. The people had begun to regard the pub
licity of Parliamentary proceedings as one of the few checks upon Parliamentary conduct, and they estimated the efforts of the reporters accordingly. Many of the
members were strongly opposed to this publicity — secrecy suited them best; and, in 1771, it was moved that two offending printers be called to the bar, for infringing a standing order of the House.
This was the first movement in a contest that lasted long, and excited the greatest interest through out the country. The writer of the Annual Register
for the year—who, be it remembered, was penning
THE PARLIAMENT ATTACKS THE PRESS. 229
his record whilst the sounds of the warfare were still ringing in his ears — says : " Though this session had already been uncommonly fruitful, either in the
production of events, or the furnishing subjects for discussion of the most interesting nature ; it had, how ever, still in reserve a matter which excited the pub lic attention, and was attended with more extraordinary circumstances than any other which had taken place for some years. This was the affair of the printers ;
which, though a matter in its first outset that carried nothing new or extraordinary in its appearance, was capable in its consequences of calling the privileges of the House of Commons into question, and of com mitting the legal right upon which those privileges were founded to a public discussion ; whilst it also was productive of the new and extraordinary spectacle of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, and an other of its principal magistrates, being committed
prisoners to the Tower. "
The Newspapers, in their discussion of public
affairs, had the boldness to mention the names of those whom they referred to. This was regarded as most unwarrantable audacity ; and though the law of libel and the courts of justice were in existence for the punishment of such as committed offences in print, the Legislature and not the law courts took the matter up.
" In the latitude now taken," continues the Annual Register, " the publishers of Newspapers had for some time inserted certain performances as speeches of the members of Parliament, which in the House had been
denied, some of them in many essential parts, to be
THE FOURTH ESTATE.
genuine; but, if they had been the truest representation of the sentiments and expressions of the speakers, such publications were yet contrary to a standing order of the House of Commons. A complaint, on these grounds, was laid against two of them by one of the members, and a motion carried upon a division for proceeding against them. The printers were accord ingly ordered to attend, which they did not complywith. Other notices were served, and different questions arose upon the mode of serving them. The messengers had not seen the printers, and left the order for their attend ance with their servants. At length a final order was i ssued, and the leaving it at the houses was to be deemed h sufficient notice. " The whole of this measure was strongly opposed by a portion of the House. It was said to be an improper time, in the existing temper and disposition of the people, to commit the question of privileges to an unnecessary discussion, and to ad minister new opportunities for a popular opposition to the branches of legislature as well as to executive government : that prosecutions of this nature instead of putting an end to the practice would increase it, as they would promote the sale of the libels, which was known to have been the case in some then recent instances: "that the ministerial writers were publicly encouraged to the most flagrant abuses of the press : and, that while this was done in one instance, whereby some of the most respectable characters in the king dom were mangled without regard to shame or truth, it was in vain to curb it in other cases, or to say to licentiousness, 'so far shalt thou go, but no farther:' and that, though misrepresentations of any member
CONTEST IN THE COMMONS. 231
were undoubtedly infamous, they ought to be legally punished by the person injured, and not by the autho rity of the House. "
The supporters of secret debates declared reporting to be " highly prejudicial to the interests of gentlemen in their boroughs, that it had never been practised before during the sitting of Parliament, and when done in the intervals had been always conducted with de cency ; but that it had become absolutely necessary either to punish the offenders severely, or to reverse the standing order which had not only been unobeyed,
but violently and outrageously insulted. " The final order to the offending printers having been disregarded by them, a motion was made that the men who thus defied the House should be taken into the custody of
the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Another debate ensued. The friends of the press
and national liberty argued, " That it was highly im politic to provoke the people by a needless display of authority, at a time when they were already too much heated and alarmed, and watched every exercise of
with the utmost jealousy and suspicion, especially in the House of Commons, which, since the business of the Middlesex election, the people were but too apt to consider rather as an instrument of the Court, than the representative of the people. " The
power
" That, notwithstanding the unjust and groundless suspicions of the vulgar, the dignity of the House must be supported; and that, as the order had been made, it must now vindicate its own conduct by enforcing obedience to it. " The question being put was carried, as every other
despotic party responded
232 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Royal proclamation against them, together with a reward for their apprehension, which being done, the proclamation was accordingly issued in the Gazette
9), and a reward of fifty pounds offered for the apprehension of the contumacious printers. Whilst this first affair was on hand, six other printers were reported as having offended in a similar way, and a motion was made to take them also into cus tody. Hereupon another debate took place. It was urged upon the House that, as the members whose speeches had been printed "had not made any particular complaint of the injuries done them, Parliament in general had no business to take it up ; and that the different publishers of Newspapers throughout England, who were a numerous body, were all under the same predicament with those com plained of, and if there was a general persecution raised against them, the whole time of the House would be taken up, and its attention diverted from all matters of moment to a ridiculous contest with a
the Annual Register) had been upon this
(says
subject, by a prodigious majority. The Sergeant-at- Arms not having been able to meet with the delin quents, and having been besides laughed at by their servants, made his report accordingly to the House ; upon which it was resolved to vote an address for a
(March
set of printers. "
Another section of the members viewed the ques
tion in a broader light. They " went so far as to deny the authority of the House in this respect, and said that it was an usurpation assumed in bad times ; that while their privileges and authority were used in
A STORMY DEBATE. 23:!
defence of the rights of the people against the violence
of the prerogative, all men willingly joined in support ing them, and even their usurpations were considered as fresh securities to their independence ; but, now that
they saw their own weapons converted to instruments of tyranny and oppression against themselves, they would oppose them with all their might. " They also said, that the practice of letting the constituents know the
Parliamentary proceedings of their representatives " was founded upon the truest principles of the con stitution ; and that even the publishing of supposed speeches was not a novel practice, and, if precedent was a justification, could be traced to no less an authority than Lord Clarendon. " After much dis cussion the question with respect to the first printer upon the list was carried by a great majority ; " upon
which those gentlemen who were averse to the whole of these proceedings, finding themselves unable to restrain the present ferment, and being uncertain to what pitch it might be carried, dexterously availed themselves of Parliamentary forms " to procure that delay which, they imagined, might give it time to subside. They accordingly, by motions for adjourn ment, and amendments to the different questions, pro tracted the debates to past four o'clock in the morning, during which the House had divided between twenty
and thirty times, a circumstance perhaps before un known. The numbers ran, upon these divisions, from 143 to 70, on the side of the majority, and from 55 to 10, on that of the minority; the result, however, was, that the six printers were finally ordered to attend the House. Of these printers, some were
234 THE FOUKTH
reprimanded, one was in the custody of the Lords for a similar misdemeanour, and one did not attend, who was ordered to be taken into the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms for contempt. " The concluding circumstances may be quoted verbatim from the Annual
Register :—
A few days after, Wheble, one of the two printers men
tioned in the proclamation, was apprehended and carried before Alderman Wilkes at Guildhall, and was by him discharged, and bound over in a recognizance to prosecute the captor for an assault and false imprisonment, who was also obliged to give bail for his appearance at the next sessions to answer for the offence. At the same time, the Alderman wrote a letter to the Earl of Halifax, who was then Secretary of State, to acquaint him with the transaction and the motives of his conduct, which were the illegality of apprehending Wheble in consequence of the proclamation, without any crime having been proved or charged against him, which, he said, was a direct violation of his rights as an Englishman, as well as of the chartered privi leges of a citizen of London.
Thompson, the other of these printers, was apprehended in the same manner, and discharged by Alderman Oliver. The circumstances in both cases were exactly the same ; the persons who apprehended them were of their own business, and pro bably acted under their directions ; theyboth avowed the rewards to be the motives of their conduct, and obtained certificates from the magistrates to entitle them to receive the money at the Treasury ; which, however, it was thought proper not to pay.
The printer of the London Evening Post, who had not obeyed the last order, was apprehended in his own house by a messenger of the House of Commons, March 15th. Where upon he sent immediately for a constable, and the Lord Mayor being ill of the gout, they were carried before him to the Mansion House, where the Aldermen Wilkes and Oliver then were. The deputy Sergeant-at-Arms also attended, and demanded in the name of the Speaker, that both the messenger and the printer should be delivered
ESTATE.
up to him. This was
E SERJEANT-AT-ARMS AND THE MAYOR. 235
refused by the Lord Mayor, who asked for what crime, and upon what authority the messenger had arrested the printer ? Who answered, that he had done it by warrant from the
Speaker. It was then asked if it had been backed by a city magistrate ? which being answered in the negative, the warrant was demanded, and after much altercation produced; and its invalidity being argued by the printer's counsel, the three magistrates present discharged him from confinement. His complaint for an assault and false imprisonment being then
heard, and the facts proved and admitted, the messenger was asked for bail, which the Sergeant having refused to com ply with, a warrant for his commitment to prison was made out, and signed by the Lord Mayor and the two Aldermen : as soon as it was executed, the Sergeant then consented to the giving of bail, which was admitted.
When these bold steps taken by the city magnates were reported to the House of Commons a stormy debate ensued. The furious majority declared that the Lord Mayor of London had taken a step which struck at the very existence of the House of Commons ; and that, if the power of apprehending persons by the Speaker's warrant was taken away, it would be impos sible ever to get witnesses or others to attend on the summons of Parliament ; that, therefore, this question ought to be immediately proceeded with, to the exclu sion of all other business, however important. It was moved that the Lord Mayor should be ordered to attend in his place the next day. The liberal party, whilst asserting the privileges of the House, suggested that "these privileges were always odious when turned
against the people, and that it was impolitic to engage the honour of the House in a dispute with the city of London. Despite this and all other arguments to the contrary, the question for the Lord Mayor's attendance,
236 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
notwithstanding his illness, was carried by a great majority ; it was proposed that the Aldermen Wilkes and Oliver should be ordered to attend at the same time ; but this was not carried. At the appointed time the Lord Mayor justified his conduct upon his oath of office, " by which he was obliged to preserve inviolate the franchises of the city ; by the city charters, which exempt them from any law process being served but by their own officers ; and by the confirmation of those charters, which were recognised by an act of Parlia ment ; that he was compelled by all these ties, as chief magistrate, to act the part which he had done. " He further desired to be heard by counsel, " in respect to the charter and act of Parliament ; not so much on his own account, as on that of the city of London, of whose rights he was now the guardian. " The liberals urged that the Lord Mayor did not deny the privilege of the House, but only claimed a particular exemption from its operation under the sanction of charters and an act of Parliament. It was properly a question, therefore, to be debated by lawyers ; " that, if the city really had this exemption, it was a direct answer to the accusation ; and that an act of the whole Legisla ture must undoubtedly lay aside any privilege of the
House. " The majority would, however, listen to no
and declared that counsel could never be allowed to be heard against the privileges of the House — that nothing could be argued upon this occasion, but an exemption of the city, which would be striking directly at the root of their authority. The Lord Mayor's clerk was ordered to attend with the book of minutes. This step was declared to be pre-
thing,
VIOLENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE. 237
judging the question against the city magistrates, and declaring that the House had acted right, while the matter was yet in issue. But in vain. Another motion was made upon the subject of the Lord Mayor's being heard by counsel, and many reasons were strongly urged against the refusal; particularly the evident injustice that appeared upon the face of it, and its being contrary to the practice of all the courts of justice, where it was allowed even in cases of high treason. On the other hand, the refusal was supported by the custom of Parliament, which was, however, originally founded upon a precedent brought from the
arbitrary reign of Henry the Eighth ; but this was sufficient to over-rule the motion. The majority of the House, although they refused counsel, seemed afraid of their resolve, for it was immediately proposed and carried : —
That the Lord Mayor should be heard by counsel, so as they do not affect or controvert the privilege of the House. This excited the greatest indignation on the side of the minority, and was exclaimed against as a mockery ; that it would be im possible to plead the Lord Mayor's case, without in some degree, controverting the privilege of the House ; and that it was as gross an insult upon him, as it was a ridicule upon justice, and everything serious, to tell him he might employ counsel in every case he pleased, except the only one in which he wanted them. The clerk, having attended with the minute- book of recognizances belonging to the Lord Mayor's Court, was ordered up to the table ; and, a motion having been made and carried for the purpose, he was obliged, being in the cus
tody of the House, to erase the recognizance of Whittam, the messenger, out of the book ; after which a resolution was passed, that there should be no further proceedings at law in that case.
Most of the gentlemen in opposition had quitted the House
2-;s
THE FOURTH ESTATE.
during this transaction, declaring that they would not be wit nesses to such an unprecedented act of violence ; that it was assuming and exercising a power of the most dangerous nature, with which the constitution had not entrusted any part of the Legislature; and that the effacing of a record, stopping the course of justice, and suspending the law of the land, were among the heaviest charges that could be brought against the most arbitrary despot. The Lord Mayor, whose illness had for some days retarded this affair, having at length attended in his place, produced the charter and copies of the oaths administered to the city magistrates ; afterwhich he said, that itwas evident that
he could not have acted otherwise than he did, without having violated his oath and his duty ; that he had acted in defence of the laws of his country, which were manifestly invaded ; and that he should always glory in having done so, let the conse quences be as they would. It was then said that the privileges and practice of Parliament had at all times been invariably the same; and that the only question now was, an exception claimed by the city of London, through a charter derived from the Crown ; that the Crown could convey no powers through that charter, which were not inherent in itself ; and that it had no power over the privileges of that House. That their privi
leges were a check upon the other branches of the Legislature ; that consequently, their cause was the cause of liberty, and of the people at large ; and if the powers of the Commons were weakened, the security to liberty would be equally so. It was therefore moved, that the discharging J. Miller from the custody of the messenger was a breach of privilege. To this the minority objected, lamenting the condition into which the House was brought, by their listening to every insidious motion, or every trifling cause, purposely designed to make them instruments of the passions of the Court, and to render them odious, by continual contests with the people. That many of the majority seemed sensible of the imprudence of the first complaint ; yet when it was in their power to retract decently, they chose to renew the attack, and to bring six printers before the House, when one had proved too many for them.
All arguments were unavailing. The first resolution, to-
ALD. OLIVER COMMITTED TO THE TOWER. 239
gether with the two following, were then passed —that it was a breach of privilege to apprehend the messenger of the House executing his warrant under pretence of an assault ; and that it was a breach of privilege to hold the messenger to bail for such pretended assault.
The temper of the House is well shown by their after proceedings. It was proposed to proceed against Mr. Oliver, who was also a member, and had been refused counsel, as well as the Lord Mayor ; to this it was objected that it was then near one o'clock in the morning, and that no court ofjudicature in the world would proceed on a new trial at that hour; a motion was therefore made to adjourn : this was rejected by a
great majority ; and Mr. Oliver, being asked what he had to say in his defence, answered, that he owned and gloried in the fact laid to his charge ; that he knew no justification could avert the punishment that was intended for him ; he was conscious of having done his duty, and was indifferent as to the conse quences ; and as he thought it in vain to appeal to justice, so he defied the threats of power. It was then moved, that he should be sent to the Tower : great heat arose upon this question ; the severest censures, not without threats, were thrown out ; above thirty gentlemen quitted the House in a body, with declarations
of the utmost asperity. Some of those who cultivated an inte rest in the city, declared, that without regard to the present resolutions, they would now, in the same situation, act the part that Mr. Oliver did, and therefore, they should all be sent to the Tower together. Several attempts were made from the other side to bring Mr. Oliver to a submission, or at least, an acknowledgment of error, thereby, to give an opportunity of mitigating the punishment ; but he continued inflexible, declar ing that he had acted from law and principle, and therefore, would never submit to an imputation of guilt. The question for his being sent to the Tower was at length put, and carried
by 170 to 38, most of the minority having before quitted the House.
The city of London, (continues the Annual Register,) had taken a most active and sanguine part in favour of its magistrates during these transactions. A Court of Common-Council had
240 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
been held by a Locum-tenens at Guildhall, by which public thanks in writing were presented to the Lord Mayor and the
two Aldermen, for having supported the privileges and fran chises of the city, and defended our excellent constitution. A committee of four Aldermen and eight Commoners was also appointed, to assist them in making their defence, with instruc tions to employ such counsel as they should think proper upon this important occasion, and powers to draw upon the Chamber of London for money. The crowds which attended the magis trates, upon the different occasions of their going and returning from the House of Commons, were amazingly great ; the streets from the Mansion-house to Westminster re-echoed with shouts ; nothing could be more nattering to minds eager for popularity, than the acclamations of applause and gratitude which they received upon these occasions ; they were considered as sacrifices to public liberty, and the Lord Mayor was called the people's friend, the guardian of the city's right, and of the liberties of the nation. March 27th. — Two days after the commitment of Mr. Oliver to the Tower, the Lord Mayor with his committee attended at the House of Commons to receive his sentence; the crowd was prodigious, and great irregularities were com mitted; several gentlemen were insulted in the grossest manner, and some in very high office very narrowly escaped with their lives: the Sheriffs, though attended by the Westminster Justices, and an army of constables, were insufficient to preserve
order ; and a knowledge that the guards, both horse and foot, had been previously prepared, and were ready to act, if called upon, had but little effect. It is said, that some violent spirits proposed that desperate and fatal recourse of calling in the military ; but a happier temper prevailed in general. At length a number of the most popular gentlemen came out, and inter fered personally in the crowd, and, having taken great pains to remonstrate with the people upon the impropriety and danger of their conduct, and adjured them, by everything that was dear and sacred to them, to disperse and retire to their respective homes ; they succeeded so far, as to persuade them to retire to a greater distance from the avenues of the House, and to make no further disturbance.
THE LORD MAYOR COMMITTED TO THE TOWER.
The confusion and disorder, however, was so great, that it was evening before the House could proceed to business. The order of the day, with respect to the Lord Mayor, being then called for, most of the principal gentlemen in the opposition declared, that as he was not permitted to be heard by counsel, they considered it a prohibition of justice ; and for the same reason they could not be sufficiently informed of the strength of the plea, and therefore they would not stay to give judgment on it; and they accordingly quitted the House. The chief magistrate said, that he looked upon his case as already pre judged, and would therefore add nothing to what he had before urged in his defence. It was then said, that, though his crimes were of a higher nature than those of Mr. Oliver, yet in con sideration of his ill state of health, it should only be moved to take him into the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. This intended favour was utterly disclaimed by the Lord Mayor, who said, he wished for none ; and that whatever state his health might be in, he gloried in undergoing the same fate with his friend. The motion was accordingly amended, and the question for his commitment to the Tower carried by 202 against 39. The populace took his horses from the coach, and drew it to Temple-bar, though it was then midnight ; and, having con
ceived some suspicion of the deputy Serjeant-at-Arms, who attended him, when they got there they shut the gates and informed his Lordship that his company had been drawn to the utmost extent of their boundaries, and that they must now immediately get out. The chief magistrate comprehended the full extent of the danger they were in, and pledged his honour that the gentlemen with him were his particular friends, who were to accompany him home ; upon which they proceeded to the Mansion-house with loud huzzas.
The ministry had been frequently attacked for directing the whole weight of this prosecution against two only of the ma gistrates, while Mr. Wilkes, who was equally concerned with them, and had led the way in opposing the effects of the pro clamation, was allowed to triumph in his contumacy. They were repeatedly asked, Whether they considered him as above or below the law ? Whether it was fear or contempt that pro-
VOL. I. Q
241
242 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
cured an impunity to him, in a cause for which others were persecuted with such unremitted violence ? It seemed, indeed, that they were very cautious of involving themselves with that
He had been ordered to attend ; upon which he wrote a letter directed to the Speaker, that as no notice had been taken in the order of his being a member, and that his attend ance had not been desired in his place, both of which were indispensably necessary; that he now, in the name of his constituents, demanded his seat in Parliament, when he would give a full detail of his conduct in this transaction, which would consequently amount to a complete justification of it. This letter was offered to the Speaker in the House by a member, but, upon an idea of informality, after occasioning a long debate, it was neither received nor admitted to be read. Other orders were issued for his attendance, of which he took no notice ; and, at length, a few days before the recess at Easter, he was ordered to attend on the 8th of April. At the same time, knowing that he would not attend, and not knowing how to punish his contumacy, they had got into a great difficulty ; and no expedient occurred for freeing themselves from it, except one, that was more necessary than honourable. The House
itself to the 9th, and thus passed over the day appointed for Wilkes to attend. These proceedings in the House gave nearly as little satisfaction to those who took a lead in them, as to those by whom they were opposed. It was said, that the House had been drawn to show a disposition to the use of the strongest measures in support of their privileges ; but that all their exertion had tended only to lower the opinion of their power in the estimation of the world. Their commands were not followed by obedience ; their menaces were not accom panied by terror ; their punishments, by being marks of honour with the people, were converted into rewards. They had indeed committed their members to the Tower ; but this extending no further, seemed to confine their power to their own walls, some had been bold enough to assert that, legally, it ought to go no further ; that they themselves had seemed to admit the same thing in practice, since they suffered themselves to be insulted by every one abroad with perfect impunity. This state was
gentleman.
adjourned
PARLIAMENT DEFEATED BY THE PRESS.
243
admitted upon both sides. The opposition argued from thence that they ought to desist as soon as possible from the course of measures which had brought them into this disgraceful situation. The ministry, from the same facts, drew a different conclusion. They insisted, that they ought to pursue the same course they had begun, until they had obtained a complete obedience to their orders, and a submissive acknowledgment of their un doubted privileges. This latter opinion prevailed. A special commission was appointed by ballot (a measure which had not been taken for a long time on any occasion) in order to the assertion and support of their dignity. Great expectations were formed of a committee thus solemnly chosen, for the decision of such important points so very strongly controverted. The committee sat regularly for a long time. At length, when they came to make that report on which the public attention was so earnestly fixed, it amounted (after an historical deduc
tion, from their journals, of the instances in which the House had exerted the privilege of apprehension and imprisonment,) to no more than a recommendation to the House, that J. Miller should be taken into custody.
Sir Rob. A pretty fellow, indeed, that every man's and
woman's reputation must be subject to the power of his poison ous pen. '
Sir J. A little patience, Sir Robert. I will maintain it, the
Sir Rob. A land of liberty this !
tyranny exercised by that fellow and those of his tribe is more despotic and galling than the most absolute monarch's in Asia.
Sir J. Well, but
Sir Rob. Their thrones claim a right only over your persons and property, whilst this mongrel, squatting upon his joint stool, by a single line, proscribes and ruins your reputation at once.
Sir J. Sir Robert, let me crave
-
Sir Rob. And no situation is secure from their insults. I
wonder every man is not afraid to peep into a Paper as it is more than probable he may meet with a paragraph that will make him unhappy for the rest of his life.
Mar. But, gentlemen, what is all this business about ?
Sir Rob. About ? my daughter ?
Zounds, sir, what right had you to ruin
Mar. I
Sir Rob. Sir James Biddulph, you have produce the
!
I know
nothing
of
you,
nor
your
daughter.
Paper.
Sir J. There no occasion for that, the affair so recent
dare say the gentleman will remember the passage this, sir, the banker, the father, with whose daughter you was pleased
to take those insolent freedoms this morning.
Sir Rob. And this, sir, the amiable baronet, from the west
end of the town.
Mar. recollect. Well, gentlemen, you have brought
I
if
is
;
is
it, is
I
foote's sketch. 221
any paragraphs to contradict the report, I am ready to insert them directly.
Sir Rob. And so, you rascal, you want us to furnish fresh food for your Paper.
Mar. I do all I can to keep my scales even ; the charge hangs heavy here ; on the other side you may throw in the defence, then see which will weigh down the other.
Sir Rob. Indeed, Sir James Biddulph, if he does that —
Sir J. That ! Can that paltry expedient atone for his crime ? Will the snow that is sullied recover its lustre ? So tender and delicate, Sir Robert, is the fame of a lady, that, once tainted, it is tarnished for ever.
Sir Rob. True enough.
Mar. I could bear no ill-will to your daughter, as I know nothing about her.
Sir Rob. Indeed, Sir James, I do n't see how he could.
Sir J. Is his being the instrument of another man's malice a sufficient excuse ?
Sir Rob. So far from that enhances the guilt. Zounds, Sir James, you are a Parliament man, why don't you put an end to the practice
Mar. Ay, let them attack the press,
Sir Rob. Have care of that no, no, that must not be done.
Sir J. No man, Sir Robert, honours that sacred shield of freedom more than myself.
Sir Rob. dare say.
Sir J. But would not have serve to shelter these pests, who point their poisoned arrows against the peace of man kind.
Sir Rob. By no means in the world. Let them be dragged from behind directly.
Mar. Ay, do destroy the watchful dogs that guard and cover your flocks
Sir J. You guard You cover
Mar. Ay, who but us alarm the nation when bad designs are on foot
Sir Rob. In that respect, they are very useful, no doubt.
?
II
?
!
a
it,
it ?
! it
it if
;
222 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Sir J. Are they, therefore, entitled to give the alarm, when no such design is intended ?
Sir Sob. By no means. A pack of factious, infamous scoundrels !
Mar. It is we that supply the defects of the laws.
Sir J. You !
Mar. By stigmatizing those offenders that they cannot
reach.
Sir Sob. That, indeed, serves to keep the guilty in awe. Sir J. And is a pretence for making the innocent the butts
of their malice.
Sir Sob. True, true ; all is fish that comes to their nets.
Sir J. Besides, their slander is scattered so generally, and
with so little discretion, that the deformity of vice is destroyed. Sir Sob. True.
Sir J. Bad men are made worse by becoming totally callous,
and even the good rendered careless to that source of patriotism, that pride of virtue, the public opinion.
Sir Rob. And they are much in the right on 't.
Mar. What, you are a courtier, I reckon ; no wonder you wish the press was demolished.
Sir J. If ever that happens, to such miscreants as you it will be owing ; nor will it surprise me, if all orders concur, to give up a great public benefit for the sake and security of private honour and peace.
Sir Rob. Nor me neither.
Mar. You would consent, then, to surrender the press. Sir Sob. I would sooner consent to be hanged.
Sir J. And its unbounded licence continue ?
Sir Sob. I would much rather see it on fire.
Mar. With respect to its general use
Sir Sob. Not the smallest doubt can be made.
Sir J. But, Sir Robert, then the abuse
Sir Sob. Is what no mortal can bear.
Mar. But, Sir Robert, you would but just now
Sir Sob. I confess did.
Sir J. Ay, but that was, Sir Robert, because
Sir Sob. For no other reason in life.
it, I
foote's sketch. 223
Mar. My observation you allowed to be Sir Rob. Pointed.
Sir J. And my reply
Sir Rob. Conclusive as could be.
Mar. But then
-
Sir Rob. Sir J. Sir Rob. (yFlam.
To be sure. Because why.
You are quite in the right.
Upon my soul, they have got the old gentleman
into such puzzleation, that I don't believe he knows what he wishes himself. Stand by, and let me clear up this matter a little. Harkee, Mr. Sir Robert, if I understand your meaning at all, it is, that, provided people could be prevented from pub lishing, you are willing that the press should be free.
Sir Rob. That was my meaning, no doubt.
(yFlam.
Sir Rob. (yFlam.
Sir Rob, CfFlam
Upon my conscience, and nothing but reason. There, I believe, we are all of us agreed. How seldom would people differ if once we could get them to be all of a mind ! And now this difference is whole and composed, let me try if I can't make up the other. I understand here, old gentleman, you have had a daughter abused.
Most foully.
And you want to know who was the author ?
That was my sole business here.
Then why could not you say so at first, without
all this bothering and bawling ? Well, Master Margin, come, give the old buck satisfaction.
Mar. It was anonymous.
OFlam. Upon my soul, and I thought so. He had like to
have brought me into three or four scrapes, by fathering his lies upon me.
Sir J. Will you give us leave to look at the hand ?
Mar. Freely, this is the paper.
Sir J. Sir Robert, do you recollect to have seen this writing
'
before ?
Sir Rob. It is James's ;
I know it as well as my own are his D's, his G's, and his T's.
here Sir J. So I guessed. Will you trust the paper with us ?
221 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Sir Rob. Let him get it again if he can. Sir James I shall
expect you at home.
Mar. I hope no bad use will he made of it.
Sir J. The worst use has already been made of it : but, at
parting, Mr. Margin, let me give you a piece of advice. Take care how you provoke the public patience too far. You have set the laws at defiance, and long reigned uncontrolled, I confess ; but don't wonder if the subjects of your slander forget there are laws in their turn, and, valuing an honest name more than their lives, should expose their lives to revenge it.
[Exit. O 'Flam. Upon my soul, Mr. Margin, very wholesome advice,
and will do you much good if you take it ; but, above all, rid your hands of James Anonymous as soon as you can ; you know it was he who got you that beating. That fellow has brought you into more scrapes than all your authors together.
[Exit,
Enter a Servant.
Ser. Gentlemen, the milk-porridge is ready.
All. Let us start fair, * I beseech you.
[Exeunt.
Dramatic criticism found its way into the News
says his biographer, Jon Bee, " by many templars in my time, as one of the greatest beaux of the year forty, living in handsome chambers, with all the paraphern alia of study around him, but without the gift of application.
His greatest delight consisted in making a figure at the coffee-houses, whither resorted the beaux- esprits of the day. At the Grecian (near the Temple), whence Addison had dated many papers of his Spec tator, Foote cut a conspicuous figure in the morning ; and, in the evening, he took his station among the dramatic critics, at the Bedford Coffee-house, in Co-
papers in the days of Foote. "He was remembered,"
vent-garden,
where they discussed the merits of the
* " Let's all start fair. " The custom of hack-writers getting food from their publisher, is also referred to by Fielding.
BURKE.
actors and the pieces, and lauded or condemned, orally, much in the same way as we now do by writing* Indeed, the reports of the earliest fashionable morning
Papers of dramatic affairs were first collected at the Bedford, and other such assemblages. Here he was enabled by his attainments to shine out a splendid meteoric light, in that age when drawling ignorance and sentimental comedy still maintained their ground on the stage against a more natural and dignified
enunciation, and the representation of credible occur- ences. "t
Burke spoke for the liberty of the press. Sheridan says he was also a reporter of debates ; but whether the notices of Parliament in the Annual Register, and the speeches given in his works, were his only perform ances in this way does not clearly appear. Burke, it is probable, contributed to the Paper of his friend Arthur Murphy ; and it is admitted, that to his pen
* " Dramatic criticism then newly came into vogue, and consisted merely of the on dits, collected by some assistant editors, as regarded new pieces only; the actors themselves escaped tolerably well the reprovals of the periodical press for a long series of years. Indeed, before this time, the Newspapers —or rather, one of them only—paid the theatres each two hundred pounds annually for intelligence as to what was going on at the respective houses; whereas, at present, nearly five times that sum, per estimate, is received by the Papers for theatrical advertisements from all the houses. But then the Papers are supposed to pay nearly half as much as they receive to certain reporters of new pieces, first appearances, &c, &c. The present mode of reporting theatricals, as it was termed by Captain Topham, was in full play about the end of the American War; and to Mr. John Bell, the projector of The World and The Morning Post, do we owe the plan of giving a constant succession of strictures on the drama. " —Note by Jon Bee. t Life of Foote, prefixed to edition, London, 1830.
VOL. I. 1"
226 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
The Englishman owed some of the satirical articles which distinguished that Journal. He put on record his opinion, that " Newspapers are a more important instrument than is generally imagined ; they are a part of the reading of all ; they are the whole of the
reading of the far greater number. "
But we must turn again towards the courts of
law to see how they had been interfering with the
In 1764, Mr. Meres, the printer of a popular evening Paper, had been fined £100 by the House of Lords, for mentioning the name of Lord Hereford in his journal—the London Evening Post. Several other printers were afterwards fined, every session for some years, £100 each time they printed the name of a member of the House of Peers. Mr. Almon the bookseller, and friend of Wilkes, was the author of the paragraph that brought the law down upon Meres. Almon was at this time, and continued to be, a very
strong assertor of the public right to know how public affairs were conducted in Parliament, as we shall have occasion to see.
The North Briton Newspaper excitement was fol lowed, a few years afterwards, by the equally intense feeling raised by the Letters of Junius. The first Letter by this writer appeared in the Public Advertiser on the 28th of April, 1767, and was followed by the sixty-nine others so often since reprinted. The last of these Letters appeared on the 2nd of November,
1771*
* The 69th Letter, addressed to Lord Camden, is without a date; and there are other private letters to Woodfall, the printer of the Public Advertiser, the last two of which are dated 10th May, 1772, and 19th January, 1773.
press.
ALMON. 227
Several trials arose out of the publication of these political strictures. In June, 1770, Almon the book
seller, then of Piccadilly, was tried and fined in King's Bench for selling a work called The London Museum, containing a copy of Junius's Letter to the King. Soon afterwards, H. S. Woodfall, printer and editor of the Public Advertiser, was tried for issuing the same letter, and found guilty of printing andpublishing orAy . Woodfall was tried in the city of London, before Lord Mansfield ; and the jury were nine hours con sidering their verdict, which in effect was an acquittal.
Mr. J. Miller, printer, and Mr. Baldwin, a bookseller, were tried on a similar charge, and acquitted. Though the issue of the letter was clearly shown, the jury re garded themselves as judges of the import of the Paper as well as of the intention of those publishing it. On this trial, Lord Mansfield said, " The liberty of the press consists in no more than this, a liberty to print now without license, what formerly could be printed only with one. " The secret of Almon being selected for prosecution before the real publishers of Junius's Letter to the King had been proceeded against, was
that Almon had offended the King by publishing a valuable public document in his Paper, and had refused, when asked, to reveal the name of the official who had furnished him with it. *
When the town was excited by the massacre in St. George's Fields, and by the decision in the House on Wilkes's election for Middlesex, Almon went about and collected from members of Parliament some par ticulars relative to the debates. These, he put into
* Memoirs of John Almon, bookseller.
r2
22S THE FOURTH ESTATE.
shape, and printed regularly three times a-week in the London Evening Post. Meres at this time was dead, and that Paper was printed by John Miller. For two sessions Almon continued his reports with tolerable accuracy and regularity. This success sti mulated a rival Paper, the St. James's Chronicle, to employ a reporter also, and a Mr. Wall was employed to collect notes in the lobby of the House, the coffee houses, and elsewhere. After supplying his first employer, Wall sent copy to a third Journal, The Gazetteer, and soon other Papers, in self-defence gave reports also. This infraction of the rule of the House
caused much discontent amongst those who wished to legislate in secret, and hence, in 1771, a contest arose which must ever be memorable in the history of the press in England. Since the time of Cromwell, the people had never been allowed to read an authorized report of the doings of their representatives ; but the deficiency had been partially supplied as we have seen by reports furnished in the Newspapers, whose editors
thus risked punishment by offending the privileges of Parliament. The people had begun to regard the pub
licity of Parliamentary proceedings as one of the few checks upon Parliamentary conduct, and they estimated the efforts of the reporters accordingly. Many of the
members were strongly opposed to this publicity — secrecy suited them best; and, in 1771, it was moved that two offending printers be called to the bar, for infringing a standing order of the House.
This was the first movement in a contest that lasted long, and excited the greatest interest through out the country. The writer of the Annual Register
for the year—who, be it remembered, was penning
THE PARLIAMENT ATTACKS THE PRESS. 229
his record whilst the sounds of the warfare were still ringing in his ears — says : " Though this session had already been uncommonly fruitful, either in the
production of events, or the furnishing subjects for discussion of the most interesting nature ; it had, how ever, still in reserve a matter which excited the pub lic attention, and was attended with more extraordinary circumstances than any other which had taken place for some years. This was the affair of the printers ;
which, though a matter in its first outset that carried nothing new or extraordinary in its appearance, was capable in its consequences of calling the privileges of the House of Commons into question, and of com mitting the legal right upon which those privileges were founded to a public discussion ; whilst it also was productive of the new and extraordinary spectacle of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, and an other of its principal magistrates, being committed
prisoners to the Tower. "
The Newspapers, in their discussion of public
affairs, had the boldness to mention the names of those whom they referred to. This was regarded as most unwarrantable audacity ; and though the law of libel and the courts of justice were in existence for the punishment of such as committed offences in print, the Legislature and not the law courts took the matter up.
" In the latitude now taken," continues the Annual Register, " the publishers of Newspapers had for some time inserted certain performances as speeches of the members of Parliament, which in the House had been
denied, some of them in many essential parts, to be
THE FOURTH ESTATE.
genuine; but, if they had been the truest representation of the sentiments and expressions of the speakers, such publications were yet contrary to a standing order of the House of Commons. A complaint, on these grounds, was laid against two of them by one of the members, and a motion carried upon a division for proceeding against them. The printers were accord ingly ordered to attend, which they did not complywith. Other notices were served, and different questions arose upon the mode of serving them. The messengers had not seen the printers, and left the order for their attend ance with their servants. At length a final order was i ssued, and the leaving it at the houses was to be deemed h sufficient notice. " The whole of this measure was strongly opposed by a portion of the House. It was said to be an improper time, in the existing temper and disposition of the people, to commit the question of privileges to an unnecessary discussion, and to ad minister new opportunities for a popular opposition to the branches of legislature as well as to executive government : that prosecutions of this nature instead of putting an end to the practice would increase it, as they would promote the sale of the libels, which was known to have been the case in some then recent instances: "that the ministerial writers were publicly encouraged to the most flagrant abuses of the press : and, that while this was done in one instance, whereby some of the most respectable characters in the king dom were mangled without regard to shame or truth, it was in vain to curb it in other cases, or to say to licentiousness, 'so far shalt thou go, but no farther:' and that, though misrepresentations of any member
CONTEST IN THE COMMONS. 231
were undoubtedly infamous, they ought to be legally punished by the person injured, and not by the autho rity of the House. "
The supporters of secret debates declared reporting to be " highly prejudicial to the interests of gentlemen in their boroughs, that it had never been practised before during the sitting of Parliament, and when done in the intervals had been always conducted with de cency ; but that it had become absolutely necessary either to punish the offenders severely, or to reverse the standing order which had not only been unobeyed,
but violently and outrageously insulted. " The final order to the offending printers having been disregarded by them, a motion was made that the men who thus defied the House should be taken into the custody of
the Sergeant-at-Arms.
Another debate ensued. The friends of the press
and national liberty argued, " That it was highly im politic to provoke the people by a needless display of authority, at a time when they were already too much heated and alarmed, and watched every exercise of
with the utmost jealousy and suspicion, especially in the House of Commons, which, since the business of the Middlesex election, the people were but too apt to consider rather as an instrument of the Court, than the representative of the people. " The
power
" That, notwithstanding the unjust and groundless suspicions of the vulgar, the dignity of the House must be supported; and that, as the order had been made, it must now vindicate its own conduct by enforcing obedience to it. " The question being put was carried, as every other
despotic party responded
232 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
Royal proclamation against them, together with a reward for their apprehension, which being done, the proclamation was accordingly issued in the Gazette
9), and a reward of fifty pounds offered for the apprehension of the contumacious printers. Whilst this first affair was on hand, six other printers were reported as having offended in a similar way, and a motion was made to take them also into cus tody. Hereupon another debate took place. It was urged upon the House that, as the members whose speeches had been printed "had not made any particular complaint of the injuries done them, Parliament in general had no business to take it up ; and that the different publishers of Newspapers throughout England, who were a numerous body, were all under the same predicament with those com plained of, and if there was a general persecution raised against them, the whole time of the House would be taken up, and its attention diverted from all matters of moment to a ridiculous contest with a
the Annual Register) had been upon this
(says
subject, by a prodigious majority. The Sergeant-at- Arms not having been able to meet with the delin quents, and having been besides laughed at by their servants, made his report accordingly to the House ; upon which it was resolved to vote an address for a
(March
set of printers. "
Another section of the members viewed the ques
tion in a broader light. They " went so far as to deny the authority of the House in this respect, and said that it was an usurpation assumed in bad times ; that while their privileges and authority were used in
A STORMY DEBATE. 23:!
defence of the rights of the people against the violence
of the prerogative, all men willingly joined in support ing them, and even their usurpations were considered as fresh securities to their independence ; but, now that
they saw their own weapons converted to instruments of tyranny and oppression against themselves, they would oppose them with all their might. " They also said, that the practice of letting the constituents know the
Parliamentary proceedings of their representatives " was founded upon the truest principles of the con stitution ; and that even the publishing of supposed speeches was not a novel practice, and, if precedent was a justification, could be traced to no less an authority than Lord Clarendon. " After much dis cussion the question with respect to the first printer upon the list was carried by a great majority ; " upon
which those gentlemen who were averse to the whole of these proceedings, finding themselves unable to restrain the present ferment, and being uncertain to what pitch it might be carried, dexterously availed themselves of Parliamentary forms " to procure that delay which, they imagined, might give it time to subside. They accordingly, by motions for adjourn ment, and amendments to the different questions, pro tracted the debates to past four o'clock in the morning, during which the House had divided between twenty
and thirty times, a circumstance perhaps before un known. The numbers ran, upon these divisions, from 143 to 70, on the side of the majority, and from 55 to 10, on that of the minority; the result, however, was, that the six printers were finally ordered to attend the House. Of these printers, some were
234 THE FOUKTH
reprimanded, one was in the custody of the Lords for a similar misdemeanour, and one did not attend, who was ordered to be taken into the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms for contempt. " The concluding circumstances may be quoted verbatim from the Annual
Register :—
A few days after, Wheble, one of the two printers men
tioned in the proclamation, was apprehended and carried before Alderman Wilkes at Guildhall, and was by him discharged, and bound over in a recognizance to prosecute the captor for an assault and false imprisonment, who was also obliged to give bail for his appearance at the next sessions to answer for the offence. At the same time, the Alderman wrote a letter to the Earl of Halifax, who was then Secretary of State, to acquaint him with the transaction and the motives of his conduct, which were the illegality of apprehending Wheble in consequence of the proclamation, without any crime having been proved or charged against him, which, he said, was a direct violation of his rights as an Englishman, as well as of the chartered privi leges of a citizen of London.
Thompson, the other of these printers, was apprehended in the same manner, and discharged by Alderman Oliver. The circumstances in both cases were exactly the same ; the persons who apprehended them were of their own business, and pro bably acted under their directions ; theyboth avowed the rewards to be the motives of their conduct, and obtained certificates from the magistrates to entitle them to receive the money at the Treasury ; which, however, it was thought proper not to pay.
The printer of the London Evening Post, who had not obeyed the last order, was apprehended in his own house by a messenger of the House of Commons, March 15th. Where upon he sent immediately for a constable, and the Lord Mayor being ill of the gout, they were carried before him to the Mansion House, where the Aldermen Wilkes and Oliver then were. The deputy Sergeant-at-Arms also attended, and demanded in the name of the Speaker, that both the messenger and the printer should be delivered
ESTATE.
up to him. This was
E SERJEANT-AT-ARMS AND THE MAYOR. 235
refused by the Lord Mayor, who asked for what crime, and upon what authority the messenger had arrested the printer ? Who answered, that he had done it by warrant from the
Speaker. It was then asked if it had been backed by a city magistrate ? which being answered in the negative, the warrant was demanded, and after much altercation produced; and its invalidity being argued by the printer's counsel, the three magistrates present discharged him from confinement. His complaint for an assault and false imprisonment being then
heard, and the facts proved and admitted, the messenger was asked for bail, which the Sergeant having refused to com ply with, a warrant for his commitment to prison was made out, and signed by the Lord Mayor and the two Aldermen : as soon as it was executed, the Sergeant then consented to the giving of bail, which was admitted.
When these bold steps taken by the city magnates were reported to the House of Commons a stormy debate ensued. The furious majority declared that the Lord Mayor of London had taken a step which struck at the very existence of the House of Commons ; and that, if the power of apprehending persons by the Speaker's warrant was taken away, it would be impos sible ever to get witnesses or others to attend on the summons of Parliament ; that, therefore, this question ought to be immediately proceeded with, to the exclu sion of all other business, however important. It was moved that the Lord Mayor should be ordered to attend in his place the next day. The liberal party, whilst asserting the privileges of the House, suggested that "these privileges were always odious when turned
against the people, and that it was impolitic to engage the honour of the House in a dispute with the city of London. Despite this and all other arguments to the contrary, the question for the Lord Mayor's attendance,
236 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
notwithstanding his illness, was carried by a great majority ; it was proposed that the Aldermen Wilkes and Oliver should be ordered to attend at the same time ; but this was not carried. At the appointed time the Lord Mayor justified his conduct upon his oath of office, " by which he was obliged to preserve inviolate the franchises of the city ; by the city charters, which exempt them from any law process being served but by their own officers ; and by the confirmation of those charters, which were recognised by an act of Parlia ment ; that he was compelled by all these ties, as chief magistrate, to act the part which he had done. " He further desired to be heard by counsel, " in respect to the charter and act of Parliament ; not so much on his own account, as on that of the city of London, of whose rights he was now the guardian. " The liberals urged that the Lord Mayor did not deny the privilege of the House, but only claimed a particular exemption from its operation under the sanction of charters and an act of Parliament. It was properly a question, therefore, to be debated by lawyers ; " that, if the city really had this exemption, it was a direct answer to the accusation ; and that an act of the whole Legisla ture must undoubtedly lay aside any privilege of the
House. " The majority would, however, listen to no
and declared that counsel could never be allowed to be heard against the privileges of the House — that nothing could be argued upon this occasion, but an exemption of the city, which would be striking directly at the root of their authority. The Lord Mayor's clerk was ordered to attend with the book of minutes. This step was declared to be pre-
thing,
VIOLENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE. 237
judging the question against the city magistrates, and declaring that the House had acted right, while the matter was yet in issue. But in vain. Another motion was made upon the subject of the Lord Mayor's being heard by counsel, and many reasons were strongly urged against the refusal; particularly the evident injustice that appeared upon the face of it, and its being contrary to the practice of all the courts of justice, where it was allowed even in cases of high treason. On the other hand, the refusal was supported by the custom of Parliament, which was, however, originally founded upon a precedent brought from the
arbitrary reign of Henry the Eighth ; but this was sufficient to over-rule the motion. The majority of the House, although they refused counsel, seemed afraid of their resolve, for it was immediately proposed and carried : —
That the Lord Mayor should be heard by counsel, so as they do not affect or controvert the privilege of the House. This excited the greatest indignation on the side of the minority, and was exclaimed against as a mockery ; that it would be im possible to plead the Lord Mayor's case, without in some degree, controverting the privilege of the House ; and that it was as gross an insult upon him, as it was a ridicule upon justice, and everything serious, to tell him he might employ counsel in every case he pleased, except the only one in which he wanted them. The clerk, having attended with the minute- book of recognizances belonging to the Lord Mayor's Court, was ordered up to the table ; and, a motion having been made and carried for the purpose, he was obliged, being in the cus
tody of the House, to erase the recognizance of Whittam, the messenger, out of the book ; after which a resolution was passed, that there should be no further proceedings at law in that case.
Most of the gentlemen in opposition had quitted the House
2-;s
THE FOURTH ESTATE.
during this transaction, declaring that they would not be wit nesses to such an unprecedented act of violence ; that it was assuming and exercising a power of the most dangerous nature, with which the constitution had not entrusted any part of the Legislature; and that the effacing of a record, stopping the course of justice, and suspending the law of the land, were among the heaviest charges that could be brought against the most arbitrary despot. The Lord Mayor, whose illness had for some days retarded this affair, having at length attended in his place, produced the charter and copies of the oaths administered to the city magistrates ; afterwhich he said, that itwas evident that
he could not have acted otherwise than he did, without having violated his oath and his duty ; that he had acted in defence of the laws of his country, which were manifestly invaded ; and that he should always glory in having done so, let the conse quences be as they would. It was then said that the privileges and practice of Parliament had at all times been invariably the same; and that the only question now was, an exception claimed by the city of London, through a charter derived from the Crown ; that the Crown could convey no powers through that charter, which were not inherent in itself ; and that it had no power over the privileges of that House. That their privi
leges were a check upon the other branches of the Legislature ; that consequently, their cause was the cause of liberty, and of the people at large ; and if the powers of the Commons were weakened, the security to liberty would be equally so. It was therefore moved, that the discharging J. Miller from the custody of the messenger was a breach of privilege. To this the minority objected, lamenting the condition into which the House was brought, by their listening to every insidious motion, or every trifling cause, purposely designed to make them instruments of the passions of the Court, and to render them odious, by continual contests with the people. That many of the majority seemed sensible of the imprudence of the first complaint ; yet when it was in their power to retract decently, they chose to renew the attack, and to bring six printers before the House, when one had proved too many for them.
All arguments were unavailing. The first resolution, to-
ALD. OLIVER COMMITTED TO THE TOWER. 239
gether with the two following, were then passed —that it was a breach of privilege to apprehend the messenger of the House executing his warrant under pretence of an assault ; and that it was a breach of privilege to hold the messenger to bail for such pretended assault.
The temper of the House is well shown by their after proceedings. It was proposed to proceed against Mr. Oliver, who was also a member, and had been refused counsel, as well as the Lord Mayor ; to this it was objected that it was then near one o'clock in the morning, and that no court ofjudicature in the world would proceed on a new trial at that hour; a motion was therefore made to adjourn : this was rejected by a
great majority ; and Mr. Oliver, being asked what he had to say in his defence, answered, that he owned and gloried in the fact laid to his charge ; that he knew no justification could avert the punishment that was intended for him ; he was conscious of having done his duty, and was indifferent as to the conse quences ; and as he thought it in vain to appeal to justice, so he defied the threats of power. It was then moved, that he should be sent to the Tower : great heat arose upon this question ; the severest censures, not without threats, were thrown out ; above thirty gentlemen quitted the House in a body, with declarations
of the utmost asperity. Some of those who cultivated an inte rest in the city, declared, that without regard to the present resolutions, they would now, in the same situation, act the part that Mr. Oliver did, and therefore, they should all be sent to the Tower together. Several attempts were made from the other side to bring Mr. Oliver to a submission, or at least, an acknowledgment of error, thereby, to give an opportunity of mitigating the punishment ; but he continued inflexible, declar ing that he had acted from law and principle, and therefore, would never submit to an imputation of guilt. The question for his being sent to the Tower was at length put, and carried
by 170 to 38, most of the minority having before quitted the House.
The city of London, (continues the Annual Register,) had taken a most active and sanguine part in favour of its magistrates during these transactions. A Court of Common-Council had
240 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
been held by a Locum-tenens at Guildhall, by which public thanks in writing were presented to the Lord Mayor and the
two Aldermen, for having supported the privileges and fran chises of the city, and defended our excellent constitution. A committee of four Aldermen and eight Commoners was also appointed, to assist them in making their defence, with instruc tions to employ such counsel as they should think proper upon this important occasion, and powers to draw upon the Chamber of London for money. The crowds which attended the magis trates, upon the different occasions of their going and returning from the House of Commons, were amazingly great ; the streets from the Mansion-house to Westminster re-echoed with shouts ; nothing could be more nattering to minds eager for popularity, than the acclamations of applause and gratitude which they received upon these occasions ; they were considered as sacrifices to public liberty, and the Lord Mayor was called the people's friend, the guardian of the city's right, and of the liberties of the nation. March 27th. — Two days after the commitment of Mr. Oliver to the Tower, the Lord Mayor with his committee attended at the House of Commons to receive his sentence; the crowd was prodigious, and great irregularities were com mitted; several gentlemen were insulted in the grossest manner, and some in very high office very narrowly escaped with their lives: the Sheriffs, though attended by the Westminster Justices, and an army of constables, were insufficient to preserve
order ; and a knowledge that the guards, both horse and foot, had been previously prepared, and were ready to act, if called upon, had but little effect. It is said, that some violent spirits proposed that desperate and fatal recourse of calling in the military ; but a happier temper prevailed in general. At length a number of the most popular gentlemen came out, and inter fered personally in the crowd, and, having taken great pains to remonstrate with the people upon the impropriety and danger of their conduct, and adjured them, by everything that was dear and sacred to them, to disperse and retire to their respective homes ; they succeeded so far, as to persuade them to retire to a greater distance from the avenues of the House, and to make no further disturbance.
THE LORD MAYOR COMMITTED TO THE TOWER.
The confusion and disorder, however, was so great, that it was evening before the House could proceed to business. The order of the day, with respect to the Lord Mayor, being then called for, most of the principal gentlemen in the opposition declared, that as he was not permitted to be heard by counsel, they considered it a prohibition of justice ; and for the same reason they could not be sufficiently informed of the strength of the plea, and therefore they would not stay to give judgment on it; and they accordingly quitted the House. The chief magistrate said, that he looked upon his case as already pre judged, and would therefore add nothing to what he had before urged in his defence. It was then said, that, though his crimes were of a higher nature than those of Mr. Oliver, yet in con sideration of his ill state of health, it should only be moved to take him into the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. This intended favour was utterly disclaimed by the Lord Mayor, who said, he wished for none ; and that whatever state his health might be in, he gloried in undergoing the same fate with his friend. The motion was accordingly amended, and the question for his commitment to the Tower carried by 202 against 39. The populace took his horses from the coach, and drew it to Temple-bar, though it was then midnight ; and, having con
ceived some suspicion of the deputy Serjeant-at-Arms, who attended him, when they got there they shut the gates and informed his Lordship that his company had been drawn to the utmost extent of their boundaries, and that they must now immediately get out. The chief magistrate comprehended the full extent of the danger they were in, and pledged his honour that the gentlemen with him were his particular friends, who were to accompany him home ; upon which they proceeded to the Mansion-house with loud huzzas.
The ministry had been frequently attacked for directing the whole weight of this prosecution against two only of the ma gistrates, while Mr. Wilkes, who was equally concerned with them, and had led the way in opposing the effects of the pro clamation, was allowed to triumph in his contumacy. They were repeatedly asked, Whether they considered him as above or below the law ? Whether it was fear or contempt that pro-
VOL. I. Q
241
242 THE FOURTH ESTATE.
cured an impunity to him, in a cause for which others were persecuted with such unremitted violence ? It seemed, indeed, that they were very cautious of involving themselves with that
He had been ordered to attend ; upon which he wrote a letter directed to the Speaker, that as no notice had been taken in the order of his being a member, and that his attend ance had not been desired in his place, both of which were indispensably necessary; that he now, in the name of his constituents, demanded his seat in Parliament, when he would give a full detail of his conduct in this transaction, which would consequently amount to a complete justification of it. This letter was offered to the Speaker in the House by a member, but, upon an idea of informality, after occasioning a long debate, it was neither received nor admitted to be read. Other orders were issued for his attendance, of which he took no notice ; and, at length, a few days before the recess at Easter, he was ordered to attend on the 8th of April. At the same time, knowing that he would not attend, and not knowing how to punish his contumacy, they had got into a great difficulty ; and no expedient occurred for freeing themselves from it, except one, that was more necessary than honourable. The House
itself to the 9th, and thus passed over the day appointed for Wilkes to attend. These proceedings in the House gave nearly as little satisfaction to those who took a lead in them, as to those by whom they were opposed. It was said, that the House had been drawn to show a disposition to the use of the strongest measures in support of their privileges ; but that all their exertion had tended only to lower the opinion of their power in the estimation of the world. Their commands were not followed by obedience ; their menaces were not accom panied by terror ; their punishments, by being marks of honour with the people, were converted into rewards. They had indeed committed their members to the Tower ; but this extending no further, seemed to confine their power to their own walls, some had been bold enough to assert that, legally, it ought to go no further ; that they themselves had seemed to admit the same thing in practice, since they suffered themselves to be insulted by every one abroad with perfect impunity. This state was
gentleman.
adjourned
PARLIAMENT DEFEATED BY THE PRESS.
243
admitted upon both sides. The opposition argued from thence that they ought to desist as soon as possible from the course of measures which had brought them into this disgraceful situation. The ministry, from the same facts, drew a different conclusion. They insisted, that they ought to pursue the same course they had begun, until they had obtained a complete obedience to their orders, and a submissive acknowledgment of their un doubted privileges. This latter opinion prevailed. A special commission was appointed by ballot (a measure which had not been taken for a long time on any occasion) in order to the assertion and support of their dignity. Great expectations were formed of a committee thus solemnly chosen, for the decision of such important points so very strongly controverted. The committee sat regularly for a long time. At length, when they came to make that report on which the public attention was so earnestly fixed, it amounted (after an historical deduc
tion, from their journals, of the instances in which the House had exerted the privilege of apprehension and imprisonment,) to no more than a recommendation to the House, that J. Miller should be taken into custody.
