The Sun.
London, England, 1831-11-04 00:00:00

BRISTOL, Nov. 3.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

have herewith sent you a sketch of the
square, by which your readers may judge how very
daring the mob were in destroying the buildings. This
property belongs to the Corporation, they having
granted leases for it on lives, which are renewable
on paying a certain fine, according to its value. The
square is one of the finest and largest in the king-
dom ; the houses were formerly occupied by the
first merchants in Bristol. The interior of them
were built in a superior style, the doors, pannels, and
tairc as e s being fitted up with mahogany. Under
the houses were large vaults which lately were let
out for stowing of goods. These were generally
filled with wines and spirits, and made into bonding
warehouses. Many of the houses were let out for
offices for the merchants. You will notice that one
of them was occupied by Mr. Miles, one of di.
richest men of Bristol ; consequently many valua-
ble papers and books are destroyed. A friend of
mine occupied one of the houses, Mr. Beverley, an
architect; he had filled his pockets with his cash
and other articles, and was about to remove an iron
repository with his papers and plate, when three or
four fellows rushed in and stripped him of every
thing excepting his watch, which they would also
have taken, had not two sailors, who perceived what
was going on, rescued him by the collar, 4od dragged
him out of the house, and saved him. His house
was burnt to the ground, and the repository lost.
The two houses adjoining were saved by a mere
stratagem, Two men went to the door of one of
them and waited until the rioters came, told them
to go on, and they would go in and set the house on
fire. The other house was saved by giving the
rioters money. You will observe those are the only
two houses saved. It would be folly to repeat again
what you have already shown, that the whole might
have been saved, but for want of a co-operation be-
tween the Magistrates and the inhabitants. I myself
attended with several friends on Sunday morning
early and offered our services, but there was no Ma-
gistrate to take or give directions what was to be
done. It was true some of them were shut up in
a room debating what was to be done, but they came
to no decision.

At five o'clock several gentlemen went into the
chambers and brought out word that the Magistrates
could do nothing for us. This got wind, for there
was a number of vagabonds waiting to carry any in-
telligence. I forgot to say that whilst many were
waiting in the 'naming for instructions, some of the
Tories did nothing but abuse the Reformers as the
cause of the whole mischief; this gave offence to
many and they left the place. One gentleman, a
Mr. John Hall, a linen-merchant, and a partner in
Parsons arid Hurle's house, was called out of church
to lend his assistance, he went home, was taken ill,
and died in a few hours, Many families left Bristol,
some of them burying their plate in the gardens;
in fact, the whole city was in a panic.
It is not fair that the Mayor should have the
blame, he having only been in office one month, and
never before taking any part in the proceedings of
the corporation; some believe that he was chosen
at this time because they could not get a Tory that
the citizens would have cared any thing for.
We are now quite recovered, and hope soon to
resume business.

lives thus destroyed is very considerable; neither is
it true that any of the military have been killed,
although a few of them were wounded by stones.
The account I
gave you of the matter connected
with the death of Stephen Bush is correct, notwith-
standing any representations to the contrary. Some of
the London Papers affect to doubt the misconduct
of the 14th Hussars. I again state that they have
been guilty of excesses, and I will detail one case
in support of my assertion. I mention one only, be-
cause I will not risk one that is not authenticated,
and as I have been on duty since Monday I have
had little time for inquiry. A Mr. Nash, a very
respectable broker, who had been on business on
Monday last to Unity-street, was returning by Mr.
Protheroe's sugar-house, when he met two of the
14th. " Well, soldiers," said he, "I am glad you
are come to town." " Oh, you —," replied one
of the fellows, " you are as bad as the rest ;" with
that he struck at Mr. N. with his sword, and cut off
part of one of his fingers. " You are not going to
cut me down to be sure," cried the terrified Mr.
Nash. The soldier agai❑ raised his sword, and,
making use of a similar expression, he cut at him a
second time, and severed his hat in two, barely
escaping his head. This, I assure you, is riot the
only case detailed, in which all the laws of human
nature and human right were outraged by the" man-
butchers," as they are now very generally termed.
A. man was shot by one of them, and an intelligent
lad who was standing close by, declares that the man
had committed no offence, and that he was delibe-
rately killed by a pistol bullet. Are these, I would
ask, the measures best calculated for the prevention
of riot ? or, is it not better to endeavour to conci-
liate the affections of the people, than to overcome
excitement by the power of the sword? The conduct
pursued by many parties is far from being that which
prudence and judgment would have dictated. The
Bishop's servants should learn that they did no act
of Christian justice which can be even justified by
worldly policy, when they tied two of their fellow-
men back to back, and left them to perish in the
flames. All these things will be remembered, and
will serve little to allay the angry feelings already
existing in the breasts of the populace. Now that
the hour of danger has in some measure passed
away, the public begin to express their opinions
freely of the conduct pursued by the corporate body.
It is in vain that those employed by them endeavour
to defend them. The general—the almost universal
opinion is against them. Their conduct cannot be
justified; it can scarcely be palliated. Time and
circumstances have attached a criminality to acts of
imprudence, otherwise' amounting to imbecility.
The facts of the case are against them, and it re-
quires but a recapitulation of facts to convict them
in the face of the world. That a number of
imbeciles should exist in a large and popu-
lous city, is riot surprising; but that a professedly
wise and learned body—a corporate body—a magis-
terial body—assuming to be the administrators of
the laws, and the conservators of the public peace
—should, with a horrible and destructive madness,
which could not be exceeded by the inhabitants of
a lunatic asylum, at once plunge the city which
they presumed to govern into anarchy, con-
fusion, and bloodshed, and sacrifice the lives,
liberty, arid property of its inhabitants at the shrine of
their infatuated ignorance and pomp, is too mon-
strous to be calmly spoken of. The Magistrates of
Bristol knew that Sir Charles Wetherell was decid-
edly unpopular in Bristol—they (themselves, a self-
elected body) chose him without consulting the opi-
nions or the will of the citizens. But blind as they
are, they could see that he could not he brought into
Bristol without endangering the public peace—they
therefore, first endeavoured to prevail upon the sailors
to assist them in their unconstitutional opposition to
the public will. The sailers refused them, and told
them honestly and plainly that they would not be-
come corporate cats'-paws. They then appealed to
other parties, firemen, &c. and were refused ; what
lesson should they have derived from these rejected
invitations ? What would have been the impression
produced upon the minds of sensible men by these
refusals ? Would they not naturally enough have
read, in these unequivocal signs, the decided opposi-
tion of the people to their magisterial freak, and the
utter impracticability of their Quixotic attempt ?
But what did the infatuated corporation ? they de-
rived no lesson from all this, they knew not or had
forgotten that all legitimate power was derived
from the people, and they had long been accustomed
to think that they could say to the people, " Thus
far shall ye go arid no farther," arid that by the holding
up of an Alderman's finger they could level popular
power with the dust! What did they do ? Why,
in an evil hour —in the hour of their phrenzy, they
braved public opinion—they defied its mandates,
arid scuffed at its expression ! And what has been
the horrible result ? Let the murdered citizens an-
swer me—let the ruins of all that was grand and
powerful reply to me. They tell me, that a time
shall come when corporate despotism and brutal ig-
norance shall pass away, arid, " like the baseless fa-
bric of a vision, leave not a wreck behind." I gaze
on the mangled remains of my fellow-men and I say,
" how is this ?" How fearful is the answer, " behold
the dire effects of usurped dominion and perverted
power !" By dint of entreaty,of persuasion, of threats,
of public and of private interest, they succeeded in
obtaining only about 500 assistants, as special con-
stables. Was it then too late to repent, and would
not this circumstance have justified them in depart-
ing from the usual course ? Let us see what they
did. Why, this Worshipful body gained the assist-
ance of armed troops to enable them to persist in
obstinacy, and by these: means they succeeded in
plunging the city into irrevocable ruin. The soldiers
arrived. The specials, dressed in a little brief
authority, commenced aping their superiors ; the
people were excited ; no means were taken to allay
the popular irritation ; it betrayed itself in acts of
outrage, and then, at the time when firmness was
required, the Corporation for the first time trembled :
like Frankenstein, they created a monster and then
shrunk from it in the hour of its fury. The Magi-
strates deserted the citizens ; they betrayed their
weakness, and the result has been bloodshed and
carriage, mill and desolation. The Political Union
were the first to endeavour to avert the threatened