The Sun.
London, England, 1822-02-01 00:00:00

DISTURBANCE AT KNIGHTSBRIDGE.

The Requisition making the Court Special, for
the purpose of receiving the Report of the Com-
Mittee uf General Purposes, upon the Riots at
Knightsbridge, was then read ; and also the Re-
port of the Committee, which has been already
published.
Mr. FAVELL then rose and said, that as often
as he had occasion to trouble the Court on spe-
cial summonses, he trusted that before he sat
down he should be able to show, that few cases
had occurred in which special summonses had
been more warranted ; and if he were to judge
from the vast numbers by which the requisition
had been signed, and the alacrity with which it
was done, he should say that the subject before
the Court was considered of very considerable
mportance. Before he called the attention of
the Court mere fully to that question, it was but
doing justice to the Committee to say, that they
were entitled to great thanks for their laborious
investigation and very luminous Report, The
investigation was indeed a iwork of considerable
labour, and was carried on with a marked dili-
gence and anxiety to come at the truth. The
result was, the production of that clear and able
statement which was borne out by a body of evi-
dence irresistible. Indeed, so conclusive did he
consider that evidence of the truth of the state-
ments contained in the report, that he thought it.
would be impossible there could be a vote against
its being agreed to. The motion for receiving
and agreeing to the report would, he was satis-,
lied, be carried without dissent, though he would
admit that there might be a good deal on the
resolution with which he should follow that mo-
tion up. In looking at the evidence annexed to
the report, it was remarkable that so long after
the transactions in question, and from persons
wholly unconnected one witki another, there should
be such a coincidence with respect to the con-
duct of the Sheriff, if that conduct had not been
as it was described. Even the testimony of
Mr. Derbyshire, the gentleman who attended to 1.
report for The. Morning Post, and who could
not be suspected of much prejudice in favour'
of the worthy Sheriff, was in this respect in coin-
cidence with that of the other witnesses. In
forming their judgments on the present important
question, there were three points which the Court
should consider. First, the conduct of their
cer, the Sheriff, as it stood affected or not by the
evidence; next, the conduct which Government
had pursued in the affair; and, last of all, the
resolution to which they should come on the
subject of both. In examining the conduct of
the Sheriff, he could afford to dismiss from his
consideration altogether his merits as a man and
a citizen ; he could afford to dismiss from his
mind, all recollection of what he and others of
his fellow-citizens knew of the virtues and good
qualities of the man, and the merits of the offi-
cer, on other occasions ; but he .could not afford
to dismiss from his consideration, that the honour
of the city of London was insulted ;n the person
of this officer; he could not afford to dismiss
frinn his mind,. that in his person the peace
of the county of Middlesex was, to use the
mildest term, violated by soldiers, unrestrained
by their officers, or by any officer or magistrate
except by the Sheriff.— (Hear, hear !) He
could not dismiss those reflections from his mind.
because they proved to him that in the out-
rage to which he alluded there was a violation
of that ancient rule and practice of Cie country,
that a Sheriff had, by the power with which he
was invested, authority to put aside, by means of
the old constitutional force of which he was the
head, even a military body who presumed to dis-
turb the peace and disobey his lawful commands,
tending towards its preservation. He was no
lawyer, but he knew enough not to be ignorant
of this—that a Sheriff, as such, had an authority
greater than any Nobleman in a county ; and
that in such a case as that before the Court, of
breach of peace by the military, his authority
was greater than that of the Duke of Wellington
himself, had he been present. .11e could not
conceive any thing more flagrant than an attack
by armed men on part of that community, for
whose protection and defence they were rained
and supported ; and it was a species of outrage
that required the more effectual and speedy pre-
vention, as, from the similarity of uniform, it was
generally difficult afterwards to point out the
'offenders. It was therefore, he considered, the
duty of a public officer, vested with the powers
of a Sheriff, to be present,, aiding to keep the
peace. 11e knew there were some persons who
thought that it would have been better had
,the Sheriff not attended at all; but, know-
ing that the funerals of the two unfortunate

men would drab* togetlier a large concourse
of persons—knmiltig also, as he must, the
great degree of irritation which existed in the

public mind as to the cause of the death
of these men—aware of those circumstances, as
the Sheriff must have been, be would ask any
man of common sense to put his hand to his
heart and say, was it an occasion •when that
officer ought to have stayed away ? He (Mr.
Favell) very well knew what would have been
said in certain papers if the Sheriff had not at-
tended. It would have been tauntingly said that
he had interfered on other occasions, but that,
perhaps, tacitly approving of these processions,
he had taken no notice of them, and therefore was
absent. This, and perhaps even a worse motive,
would have been ascribed for his absence; but
he knew his duty, and, regardless of any per-
sonal_ risk or inconvenience, he was present at
the head of a small portion of the city police:
and, indeed, he would not here omit to mention
(for he would state every thing which he knew
could bear on the question) that he was very
credibly informed, that if the Sheriff had not
on that occasion performed his duty spiritedly
and manfully, the King's barracks would have
been in great danger from the indignation of the
people, aroused by the highly improper conduct
of the soldiery. Fo►'his conduct on that occasion,
their Sheriff had deserved the best thanks of his
fellow-citizens. It was true that for his gPneral con-
duct while in office he had been thanked before,
and there were substantial grounds for that pro-
ceeding ; for on that, as on every occasion
through life, he won his laurels before he wore
them. He now came to what had been the con-
duct of Government on this occasion : and the
first circumstance was—that no communication
whatever had been made to the Sheriff or to
other civic officers on the subject, no mention of
what steps had been taken, or that any had been
used, to preserve the peace of the city. There
was a communication made by a gentleman, one
of the Solicitors to the Treasury, to an indivi-
dual who was one of the committee for arranging
the funeral ; and it was there stated, that legal
means would he used to prevent its passage
through the Park. But he (Mr. Favell) wanted
to know what legal means had been taken—
what assistance had been provided, to assist the
Sheriff and his officers to keep the peace ? In re-
ferring to the neglect of the Government in this
instance, one was naturally reminded of the ex,
traordinaryproceedings of Ministers with respect to
the funeral of her late Majesty; for to the irri-
tation which those proceedings had produced
might be attributed the whole of the melancholy
circumstances which followed. It was to their
unmanly insult to the memory of that illustrious
Princess, in turning her funeral aside from the'
last tribute of respect m hich the loyal feelings of
the city were about to offer to their departed
Queen, that disturbance of the peace of the.me-
tropolis was owing ; for what could be better
calculated to excite the anger and indignation of
the people of this country, than that the peace-
able expression of their loyal feelings should be
met by Government with the bayonet and •the
broadsword ?

[A MEMBRIt here rose to order, and observed,
that no part of what the gentleman was now al-
luding to was contained in, or directly connected
with, the Report of the Committee.]

Mr. FaIiELL maintained that he was quite in order, in al-
luding to the conduct out of which the proceedings under the
-consideration of the Court had arisen. lie then continued—
He had alluded to the indignities offered to the remains of her
late Majesty by the agents of the Government. Oh, if the
spirit - of that illustrious Lady could have witnessed those in-
dignities ; if she had seen the • indecent haste with which her
_remains were born& along ; the escocheons on her coffin cover-
ed with mud and filth ; and, above all, if she had seen the
spear of the soldier turned against the heads of those who had
attended to respect her memory, she would havacried out
" This is the unkindest act of all ;" and in her prayers to the
Recording Angel, to erase the injuries which had been heaped
upon her, she would have implored another tear, to blot out
this last indignity. But to return to the subject more imme-
diately before' the Court, he could not but again express his
surprise that no communication was matle•to the Lord Mayor,
ore-a subject on which he must; as chief Magistrate of the city,
have felt a deep interest. This afforded another proof of the ne-
glect and intentional disrespeetlo the civic authorities wheh it
suited the views of Ni inisters. In a case like the present, in-
volving so many important considerations, it 'was proper that
a strict investigation should take place into the Conduct of those
who, he would say, had evinced such a disregard of their duties
as had been shewn by some of his Majesty's Ministers. Ine
deed, from the tone of Lord Bathurst's leiters, one would have
been led to suppose that a strict inquiry had been entered into
by him; but that he could not have made any diligent exami-
nation into all the circumstances of the present transactions,
was clear from the evidence now before the Court. The Court,
however, had done its ditty. It bad made the necessary in-
quiry as far as its own dignity and the character of one of its
officers were concerned. He , trusted that, eventually, justice
would be done elsewhere, and that a case where blood had been
shed, and manslaughter committed, would not be enfihred to
pass over without the strictest scrutiny. After a few more ob-
servations, which were not distinctly heard below the bar, the
worthy Member concluded by moving the first Resolution. '
Mr. EicKE seconded the motion',arsel went over several of the
tonics urged by the mover, to shew that the conduct of the She-
rit had been most praiseworthy. In adverting to the evidence,
lie said, that from the testimony of Mr. Derbyshire, who had
been present at the meeting from the Morning Post, it was clear
that the conduct of the soldiers had been most violent ; for he
stated that the barrack-gates were burst open, and that soldiers
armed rushed out among the crowd. Now, he would ask,' was
it to be borne, that, in the heart of the metropolitan county, an
attack should thus be made by•armed soldiers upon a crowd of
unarmed citizens ? It had been said that no communication on
the subject of the funeral was made by Government to the
Sheriff. Now, he would call this roost culpable neglect ; for
Government must have known that a great degree of irritation
existed in the minds of the people, for a Jury had found that one
of the deceased, whose funeral was about to take place, had
been wilfully murdered by some of the soldiers. His Majesty's
Government seemedready enough to use means to prevent the
procession from passing through the Park, but they took no
pains to keep the soldiery from the people. Taking into con-
sideration the conduct of Government on this occasion, as well
as on that of the Manchester business, and other affairs where
they seemed to have forgotten that we were -a free people, he
was disposed to exclaim with a celebrated writer, " Is the Con-
stitution asleep. ?" Indeed, that it was asleep, or quite inert,
seemed to bathe opinion of many of those who were loudest in
proclaiming their attachment to it. He was rather surprised
at an instance of tins kind which occurred a few days back at
the dinner given to celebrate the accession of his present Ma-
jesty. At that dinner, which was attended by many of those
gentlemen who were always professing their attachment to the
King and Constitution, and at which a worthy Alderman, the
father of the city (Sir William Curtis), presided, the following
toast was given :—" The Constitution ; it has stood by us, and
we will stand 'by it." This was followed, not by the band
striking up " God save the King," " Rule Britannia," " Bri-
tons strike home," or any other of our National airs, but by
the tune of " That is all my eye and Betty Martin, o."
Hear and laughter.)—The gentleman concluded by expressing
a hope that a strict inquiry might be instituted in another place
into the whole of the affair at knightsbridge.
Mr. JUPP supported the motion, and dwelt upon the
portance of the decision come to by a Committee, not .appointed
for the purpose, and in which parties might be said to operate,
but by a standing Committee, consisting of men selected with-
out any reference whatever to political opinions. The evidence
brought forward was, in his opinion, irresistible proof of the
justice of the Report which the Committee had drawn up.—
That of Mr. Derbyshire, who it was not to be supposed was i
particularly biassed n favour of the Sheriff, but who, he would

say; gave his testimony in a fair and manly Mariner, went di-
rectly to show that the conduct of .the Sheriff had been most
praiseworthy; while that of the soldiers was by no means as
peaceable as it ought tO hate been. The letterwritten by-:the
High Sheriff, and every thing he had chime previously to the
procession, were, to his mind, complete pxoo' that the High
• Sherifrs object was to preserve the peace, and to prevent the .ef-
fusion of human blood. how very little must the command,
ing-officer at the barracks know of 'lnman nature, when he
could -have acted as he did ! Could he riot, have seen the tend-
ency of men's pasSionS, and the reimlts of the state of irritation
which then existed, as the. High Sheriff' had seen them ? Ought
he not to have saidlo the " Wait till this • procession
is over, and then you can go quietly." The Hon.,lllember
had no hesitation in saying, that the.commanding officer had not
done his duty. He had sent an ungracious, uncourteous mes-
sage, accompanied with a profane oath—" My Men arellot. to be
prisoners." The Chief Magistrate of the County had done his
duty manfully, with great presence of mind, and with unshaken
courage. The thanks which had been given to him, he was
fully:entitled to. It was owing tO Hui that more blood had not
been shed.—(Applause.)
The Resolution was now put by the COrnmon Sergeant, that
the r:port be approved of; and after.a general show of hands
was raised,

Air. SAMUEL Dixox rose, but was assailed by cries of ,
" Order" from all parts of the Court, and a general confusion--
among the members ensued.

. .
The Lonn MAYOR-It is my opinion that the question is
carried.—(('reat cheering) •
Mr. DIXON was still up, but what he said we could not learn:
Mr. FAVELL felt sorry that the• Hon. Gentleman 'had bent
'•disappointed of his speech, for he (Mr.,Favell) always wilily-a,
to hear the reasons for dissent given. But as he had another
.resolution to propose, the worthy Gentleman would still have.
an opportunity of giving his arguments to 6e Court. Here,
however, he must congratulate the 'Hon...Aidernian (Waith-
man) on the complete proof of his manly and correct conduct,
and the universal testimony borne to his discretion-and huMa-
pplause.)—W as it, then, possible that ;he report which
,they had so approved of should lie a dead letter on their-table ?
Wuat would the public say of them if they.we,re.,content with.;
out anyinquiry, and Appeared to be quite :titisfied without fur.;
then proceedings ? If they acted so, they wotilfl-betray the trust
reposed in them. lie. therefore moved another. resolution. (It
stated the outrages detailed by the evidence before the Commit-
tee, and among them the intent to aFassinate the High Sheriff;
it expresSed'that the Government app caret tdhaye, instituted no
inquiry into these outrages; and,it therefore proposed a peti-
tion to the House of Commons, praying for a strict and minute
investigation of all the circumstanc,%) • •, ' •
Mr. Jury objectedo the terms used. The evidence did not
appear to him to warrant the inference that assassination had
been intended.

_ .
Mr. S. DIXON said he did wish the subject to come before
the House of Commons, because both sides would there be
heard.' The only way tole unanimous Was td hear only one
side : . here they had most certainly done. theta -He believed
that the late Sheriff had meant ,well ; but he would ask whether
it would not have been more becoming, and attended with a
'greater degree of propriety, to have used his influence with the
friends of the deceased in order to prevent the precession ?. He
had a right. to ask them what good motive there could be
for a proceSSion to Hammer Smith, 'Where 'the deceased had nor
been resident, and had had tio .connexions. Another thing
which might have been urged 'waS, of :ill the days of the week
making choice Of the Sabbath, when a greatfer number of per-
sons could attend than on any other day. The worthy Member
then entered into minute criticisms upon the evidence. Ile did
hope that the Petition, remonstrance, or representation would
go to the House of Commons.
Mr. ECCXE wished the words of the Resolution to be altered,
Mr. CnocKEn said, that if it proved that a carbine had been
directed against their .High Sheriff; there was not. one of then!
who would not give his vote, and the aid of his nurse, to have
such a darin‘r outrage 'prosecuted abut the eviaence did notestablish such a proof; therefore he thought the resolution
was not properly worded: [Tf;e tlietedier hcfe entered into
some details respecting the evidence, quotine passages which
described the carbine as not directed towards'fhe 'Sheriff. Mr.
R. H. Woods said, " It was as soldiers. have it,. when about to
put it to their shoulder—the muzzle towards the Mr. Tyas
said,!" I saw this man with a tarhine ,ou .Ins Shoulder, and
moving it about as if to get an nine at Mr. Waltinnan ; 'and „.
conceive, (this is only matter of opinion), butuiy. opinion' evas,
that if he could have. fired at Mr.. ‘Vaithman without hitting
orre'of his comrades,' he would have 'fired."] He was anxious
that the subject should go to the ,I-louse of Commons for ill-
vestigation.

Mr. II uncomnE.rose to read other parts of the evidence,
which clearly proved that there had been an intent to murder
the Iligh Sheriff. Mr. Tyas, when asked, ".in die act of pre..
seating it ?"—added. Yes ;he moved it about as if to obtain
a sight, I judge, to fire at.' "Asif ' he was taking aim ?"---
'
Certainly.' If there •had
.been murder the officer ought iq
have been made amenable for it. But for the firmness, cool-
ness, and humanity of the Sheriff, more blood:would have, be,r,
shed, and in their own neighbourhOOd- they would haVe 'la'
Manchester Massacre.
Mr. GALLOWAY felt astonished that political opinion& coni(-
make men bear acts of outrage committed against theiforo-'
nents with patience—he bad alniont said with.exultaticri, The
firmness of the High Sheriff had been ecinal to. his judgment--
his humanity to his.bravery. Had he been shot, then would
there have been dreadful bloodshed indeed. If they expressoa
not indignation at military outrages of this kind, they, in•eocii
mon with all England, would soon have cause to lament their
supineness.
Mr. PIPER read passages of the evidence to sheW that the
carbine, had been presented. .
Mr. PAT Tt N. made a few observations.
The question was then put by the Common Sergeant, and
carried by an immense majority. .
A petition was' immediately read, founded on the last resolu-
tion, and agreed' to.

On Saturday, the Bth of December, Mr. IVRA
the new President of Demerara, arrived there
with his wife and family. It is understood that
he was to be sworn in, and open the Court on
the 11th of that month. Mr. Rourin and family
were at that time there, and were not expected
to leave the colony until 'the spring..
Last night, about half-past nine ,o'clo.ck, one
of the most beautiful and best defined Lunar
Rainbows we ever saw, was visible in this city.
The centre of the arch was about. 20 deg. above
the horizon,. in a clear sky. The part of the
circle formed extended from about N.E. to. S. I.
the moon being about the same height above the
horizon in the western part of the Heavens. It
continued perfect about ten minutes from the time
we first observed it, when it gradually disap-
pear ed.—(Glasgow Courier, Jan. 29.)
SHOCKING ACCIDENT.— Wednesday evening/.
Mrs. MARIA CORAN, a lady 73 years of age, re-
siding at No. 121, Chancery-lane, whilst sitting
by the fire, her dress was blown by a current of
air to the bars of the stove, and in a moment the
unfortunate lady was enveloped in flames. Her
infirmities prevented her assisting herself, and ne
persons being in the room at the time, her situa-
tion was dreadful. At length her shrieks were
heard by some persons, who wc at immediately to
her aid, hut not till she was burnt in the most
terrific manner.. She was instantly conveyed to
Bartholomew's Hospital, where death put an end
to her misery soon 'afterwards.