The National Register.
London, England, 1819-09-06 00:00:00

1),„

No. 21.3—V0L. XII.]

VoMira Retrospect.

Tile Manchester Tragedy goes on gradually de-
veloping more and more its absurdities, its cruelties,
and its outrege, and proving by its owls course the
abominable and atrocious violation of our laws and
liberties, of which those have been guilty, whose
office and bounden duty ft is to guard and to pro-
tect them.--Haub ipai- .*usuociates, after having
been eleven days ham .
lit
ein solitary confinement,
and treated. as criminals whose offences were of the
blackest dye, anti wai.ed only to be atoned fur by the
Mood of the offenders, have been, after due consul
teams held in London, informed that every graver
(itarge is for Me pre.veid deopt, and that a charge
only of Misdemeanour is to be proceeded with.
His examination, as well as his letter front Bolton,
will be read with attention. With interest, be.
cause his cause inttolves a question of the very high.
est importance •to every Englishman, and with at-
tention, because it elucidates the misrepresentations,
and flatly falsifies the lies and calumnies which has e
filled the pages of the Ministerial papers on the sub-
ject of the late transactions. Yes, we are not
attained to state that the canduet pursued by the
Manchester Maeistrates and their beteheriog Coad-
jutors, has made the cause of Mr. Hunt eur own.
We have now no option but that of a military des-
irstistn on one hand, or to rank Mr. Hunt as a Pu-
triot on the other. We had hitherto valued the arts
ct.- effrontery of !wit a Demegogue at a very low ,
Atki, and as sincerely mourned over the distresses
.sviiielt ceuhl drive such multitudes to enlist theca-
:sive; itt his train, and be deluded by his nonsense.
fiat his Nlajesty's Ministers are determined to raise ~
:lin to fame and honour. From the moment that
:%e vilest and most abject individual is the object of
eepressien and public tyranny, from that moment
I:e becomes an object of cominiserinkm, mid every
go d man begins to wish him " God speed.' But
.;': he can boldly resist and conquer, he becomes at
cies an object of admiration, and claims our grati-
sl,lo, because the very sante authorities that would
today have-injured and oppressed him, may make a
~inilar attack upon the rights and liberty of any or
every other individual. amongst us to-morrow. We
have seen almost innumerable individuvls whe were,
srectators of the scene, and they all uriformly ogres:
that the account given by the Times newspaper was
:t unexceptionubly and minutely correct as to render
:11 further doubt and enquiry superfluous. Now
that account certainly gives no room to impute. either
;orce, or threats, or violence, tu•the multitude es-
sembled, and we would wish to know by what law
or statute the inagistiates were justified in even
reading the Riot Acteu all. The law of Riots, as
Laid down by tour Lest writees, has nothing to do
with such a meeting. Its first principle is, that
" wherever three or more persons use .force and
violence in the executiou of any design whatever,
wherein diet-law •ddetertet allow the use of such
force, all who are concerned therein are rioters."
Again further, that ".Sheriffs or Justices, having
the execution of theßieg's Writs, mid being resisted
in endeueouring osexecute the saute, may raise such
a power as way enable them to overpower such re-
sistance, yet it is not " lawful for them to raise u
fOrce for the execution of* civil process, unless they
fad a resistance; and it is certain that they are
highly punishable for using any needless out.
nee' or violence therein." Again, " any enter.