The National Register.
London, England, 1816-12-09 00:00:00

TAR NATIONAL REGISTER.

the magratrate when their heath will permit, and strict search
is made for the man who estirped.
Eight rioters hit.fe been taken by the activity of the lAm-
heth-street officers, almost all with arms in their hands,
namely :—Two decent young men, taken at the Oeorge
Tap, Whitt:chapel-road, wills a pistol, broad sword, shot-belt,
and ammunition in their plasession ; Mr. Rae, the gunsmith,
claims the pistol sod belt. A third, a sailor, with shot and
flasks in his possession; afourth, et ill' two blutiderbusse. ; a
fifth and sixth midi guns; a seventh, a sailor, taken opposite
;NI r. I'ott's in the Malone:, his hands cut with the glass of the
window; the eighth with a pistol.
The pistol fennel ant old Watson, anti the two pistols found
on Hooper, Jtave been bayed to have been purchased by
y ming Watson, in Holborn, uti Fridpy.
Preston, the Secretary, who hail been at large upon his
own word was taken inn, citstody on Wednesday night. The
cause of his arrest is as foam's :
Hooper, apprehended at the Exchange on Monday last, in-
formed Stevens, the turnkey, on Wednesday night, of his con-
nection with the Watsons and Prestou, the latter of whom he
described as the great LEAusn of all their affairs. He gave
an account of their meetings at the Brown Bear, Sea•coal-
lane l the Sun, Slater. street. Spitultields , the Carlisle, Shore-
ditch and the Hole in the Wall, Fleet-street. He also men-
tioned, that at a late meeting of the Committee, Preston, dis.
agreeing with the rest, seas struck off the list. The last meet-
ing they had, previous to flint in Spadielda, was at the Car-
lisle. All the parties were at the meeting on Monday, and
the younger Wittsou headed tie; patty which advanced to-
wards the City. He stair..., that having reached Cheapside,
he suddenly lost sight of him, but dcnits that lie had himself
carried the colours. Sir J. Shaw, indeed, who seized the in-
vidnal with the flag, dues net identity the prisoner as that
person.
Preston sipre his anent, has staled that at one of their
meetings he heard propositions which he viewed as niiachiev-
nos, and seceded from them as en officer, hut remained still
trite to the genpral system, which was in itself excellent. He
load been engaged in the plan for eight you', and had written
to the late Mr. Perceval, on the stitijeet. lle at intervals ex-
pressed his auger at being coufined, and declared that since
lie was deprived of Ida liberty, every thing which had been
intended should be proceeded in—" all would be effected—
but plunder should be avoided." He spoke in cagey terms
of die manner in which things had been condueted un Mon-
day ; said he saw 11111 d heard venlig Watson at Spa-fields, and
added, " I could have struck the young mid drevkea dog for
his premature folly."
'Die description given by Preston, Hooper, and others, in
union with that of Mr. Platt linos:dr, And a young man in the
shop of Mr. Beckwith, respecting young Watson, leaves little
doubt that he was the person who committed the horrid out-
rage in Skinner street.
The fellow who shot Mr. Platt said lie was a medical per-
son, and advised tht at to procure aid ; but, instead of assist-
nag in it himself, lie di lilierately reloaded his pistol. The
brother of Mr. Platt rellitid this fact to the Lord Mayor,
and added, that Mr. Beckwitles boy on Thursday discovered
iii the shop two lancets, on out: of which was engraved the
letter W.

the Lord Mayor on Thursday laid before the Secretary of
State such information as lie had obtained with regard to the
late di,,nrnances, when a long consultation took place. On
his return he proceeded to examine privaiLly the discs of
Cashman and Hooper; but nothing important transpired be-
yond what we have already mentioned.

The following has beau sent to us as a deposition made by
Mr. Platt : . . _

66 On the 2d of December, at half past twelve o'clock, Mr. Platt
went to the shop of Mr. Beckwith, a but-moth, in Skinner-street„ to
souk about the repair a the lock of lus gun. As he was quitting the
shop, a young man appeared at the door with a pistol in his kind
Ile entered the shop, crying out " Arms ! arms! I want arms !"
Ile cocked his pistol, and prapentai it at Mr. Platt, who attempted
to seize his arm, but foiled, and he presented the pistol at Mr. Platt's
belly, fired it, awl the ball entered near the naveL He then at-
tempted to strike Mr. Platt with the butt end of the pistol, but Mr.
Platt seized him, and the pist6l fell to the ground, or was taken
from him by Mr. Beckwith's-tutu). Mr. Platt exclaimed, " This
man must be secured I" and piecing himself near the door, desired
the person who had fired the pistol to retire into the back shop, or
counting-house, in which Mr. Platt followed him. Mr. Platt said
to him, " Yuu have shot me."—" Oh!" exclaimed he, " I am a
misted young man. I have been to Spitalfields. Send for a surgeon
—I am a surgeon myself." And he desired a constable, who had
now arrived, and emptied his pockets, to show his lancets. " These,"
said he, " will convince you I am a surgeon."(l) He wrung his
hands, bit his hat, and frequently exclaimed, '6 Oh I I sun a misled
young nu.tn !" Mr. Platt asked Idm, whether the pistol were load-
ed with a ball or slug 7 Ile answered, 6. Ido not know." A person
said in an any tone, " You must know which it was loaded with—
was it not a ball?" He said, " I believe it was." Mr. Platt, the
man who tired the pistol, and several other persons, remained in the
counting-house thr nearly a quarter of an hour, when the mob broke
into the ,Lop, and Mr. Platt was obliged to make his esaspe over a
wall at the back of the house. He went to the house of a Mr. Bar-
nard, a printer, where Mr. Beveridge, a surgeon in Newgato-street,
first saw him, and he took him to his country-house, at Braxton."
(1) The lancets, however, were not shown to Mr. Platt.

DISTUVIIANCEI AT SHEFFIELD.—The Dossegater Gazette
gives the following account of the disturbance at Sheffield :
Noesday, at Sheffield, a great eoncourse of people
assembled together in a riotous manuer, and procefded to a
place called the Burying•ground, one of them carrying a loaf
of bread (dipped iu blood) stock upon a long pule, and
breaking several w4nlows as they went along. The magis-
trates, we understand, having had some intimation of their
intentions, Immediately called out the constables, the yen.
inanry cavalry, and the cavalry from the barracks; when, on
their arrival, Colonel Wortley jampeal MI his horse, dashing
animist the crowd, and seized the pi ineipal leader, Julio
Ittai I. well, a tailor, who was conveyed through this place in
:Ile evening, in his way to York Castle. 'I he mob then di..
versed withorit further misclnef, and every praise is due to
the magistrates, &e. fur their activity on Ore occasion. All
the constables and cavalry base elders to hold themselves in
readiness at a minutes notice, should they again be wanted.

REQethi'FION.
To Arthur Morris, Evt Itigh But of Westminster—We
the notlersignel inha!,it.nit householders of the City antl ',i-
ts!' ties of WLstnnustcr, request yon will convene an ear'y
meeting of the iteiallitant buoultolders, to consider the. situ-
Ariost of our Rcpresennsti..e 1.6E,1 Cochrane, and the pro-
ceedings to be adopted Om

REPLY.
Saar—The Bich Bailiff declines making any appointment on
requiritien handed to nte yesterday by Messrs. Walkir,
Clesr, and. Parr.—l ant, .ide. W.TOOKE. I),II B.
Mr. B. Brooks. Gray's Bin, Mb Nov. Ibl6.

PRICE OP STOCKS THIS DAT
Rank Stock CORI
3 per Cent. Reduced 60211
3 per Cent. Conseil,
4 per Cent
Iluperials per Cent... ............... .......—...... 591

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

LONDON :

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9.

-~- -

A LA RGE part of the contents of our Paper this week
are of a painful and melancholy nature. The insidious
intentions of that miserable demagogue Hunt, against
which we have often cautioned the lower orders, hase
but too wall succeeded ; and the flame which ha and
his associates had kindled at their inflammatory meet-
ings, broke out into open violence on Monday List. On
that day another meeting, similar to the preceding one,
was held in the Spa-fields ; but the plot, which before
was only in embryo, was then thought ripe and-ready
for execution. Matters were arranged, and a system
of proceedings orgunized by the enemies of trunquil-
lity, by which it was no doubt hoped they would effect
the accomplishment of all their wicked purposes. What
these precisely were, it is difficult to say ' • but their na-
ture may be pretty accurately guessed at from the
means which were taken to effect them,. and which are
unfortunately but too well known. Tri-coloured flags,
seditious inscriptions, and the seizure of offensive wea-
pons, are indications too plain to admit of a doubt as to
the designs of those who use them. Malice, revenge,
and an undefined and vague desire of bettering their
condition by pillage, and of intimidating Government
into concession, were no doubt the motives which actu-
ated the individuals who took the foremost part in these
disgraceful proceedings A great part of the lower
classes, whom they made their tools, are, we trust, to be
regarded rather as deluded than as really ill-intentioned
men ; and though, where guilt is clear, the law must
take its course, yet it is not on their heads that we wish
to see punishment visited with full vigour. Let the
ringleaders, the secret instigators, the providers of the
means of saditson be sought after. On their heads
rests the principal blame. We are happy to see the
corporation of London have offered rewards for the ar.
prehension of young Watson, or the young man,' who-
ever he was, who shot Mr. Platt at Mr. Beckwith's
shop ; and likewise of the individuals who broke into
the shop, as well as the other shops in the Minories,
and plundered arms. We sincerely trust they may be
brought to light. Of their guilt, in the eye of the law,
there can be no shadow of doubt; and it is incompre-
hensible to us, if Mr. Hunt also has not, by his pro..
ceedings, laid himself open to justice. Of this, how-
ever, we fear there is some doubt. It is pretty clear,
from the proceedings at Spa-fields (a full account of which
will be found in another part of our Paper), that Mr.
Hunt and the other leaders of the assembly, must have
been previously in communication and connexion with
the persons who, after his harangue, had arranged
themselves in an order of attack, and proceeded with
one accord and a systematic design, to commit the nit-
rages which took place. It was not a momentary fCo
plosion of popular frenzy, but a well-ordered an.'. .o
doubt preconcerted combination fOr the purpose of turn t
and breach of the public peace. If Mr. Hunt, (a., we
trust may be the case) can be proved to have been •
fully instrumental and active in producing the riote,
there can be no doubt of his legal guilt. The assassin of
Mr. Platt has not yet been discovered, the description
published of him exactly tallies with that of young
Watson, and the Lord Mayor and the Police are making
every exertion to discover his retreat. At present we are
happy to say every thing is tranquil; and indeed on Mc tn.
day, but for the vigorous exertions of the Police and the
aid of the Military, the mischief would have been much
greater. The Lord Mayor and Sir James Shaw were
particularly active on that day in quelling the rioters at
the Exchange. On the whole, we congratulate ourselves
that we have escaped as well as we have from x Riot
which has not been equalled in London since Lord
George Gordon's tumults in 1780. We trust the in-
utility of this wicked effort, and the conseqnences it will
entail on its perpetrators, will be a warning to all those
who are inclined to lend willing can to the poisonous
harangues of such men as Hunt and Cobbett.
Foreign News is very scanty. In France the Royal-
ist party are still kept under by the revolutionists and
the Ministry. They were in a minority on the petition
of Mademoiselle Roberts, the proprietor of a Journal
that has been suppressed, and one of her partizans in
the Chamber, M. Benort, has been struck off the list of
Counsellors (4' State.
The new King of Wirtemberg commences his Reign
in a most promising way, doing away the system of
lavish and luxurious expenditure kept up by his father,
, reducing the militaryestablishment, and mitigating the
pressure of taxes according to his promises cra coming to
the throne.
Accounts from Prussia say, that the rumours of a
scarcity of grain in that country are tithes, sez..lral
'verges laden with corn were sailing for Hamburg.