The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-08-16 00:00:00

THE ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE RIOTS.

MANCHESTER.
THURSDAY.—The appearance of things this morning was
decidedly of a more alarming nature than before. The dis-
turbers were on the alert at a very early hour, and a meeting
of many thousand people had assembled by half-past five
o'clock, in Granby Row Fields. Several of the Chartist
leaders got up to address them, but soon after six o'clock
the proceedings were suddenly brought to a close, by the in-
terference of the'civil and military authorities. Sir Charles
Shaw led on a body of police and special constables, and a
strong body of the Dragoons and Rifles accompanied them.
This force halted near Carpenter's Hall, being within sight
of the vast assemblage, and immediately afterwards Major-
General Sir Wm. Warre, Commander of the Northern Dis-
trict, (who, with his Aide-de-camp, Captain Fanshaw, of
the 12th regiment, had arrived from Chester during the
night,) came up with a detachment of the Royal Artillery,
and two field pieces. W. Neild, Esq., the major; D.
Maude, Esq., police magistrate ; and J. Kershaw, Esq., a
borough and county magistrate, who had accompanied this
force, here took up a position in front on horseback, and the
mayor read the riot act. Previously to reading the riot act,
the mayor rode up to the parties on the husting, and stated
that the authorities had come to the determination, after what
had occurred, to allow no such meeting as this; that they
were not averse to the liberties of the subject being employed
to the fullest extent consistent with the preservation of the
peace, but, after what had occurred, they thought that meet-
ings of this description were calculated to excite and disturb
the public mind. Entertaining this opinion, they held such
meetings to be illegal, and were determined to disperse them.
This announcement was received with manifestations of great
displeasure by the meeting, but the riot act was read in the
face of this expression of feeling, and the magistrates with-
drawing (the two field pieces having been pointed in a direc-
tion to command the centre of the field) Major-General Sir
Wm. Warre put himself at the head of the dragoons, and
dashed into the thick of the meeting. This had the effect of
very quickly dispersing the assemblage, though we believe
no one was hurt by the soldiers. The whole body of military
then moved forward to the centre of the field, and the field
pieces remained on the spot where the hustings had been
erected during the remainder of the day.
Effective as this step had been in dispersing.this great as-
semblage of people, however, it was far from restoring the
town to a state of quietude. In fact, about nine o'clock, the
whole of the southern part of the borough, including Gar.
ratt-road, Brook-street, Oxford-road, Greenheys, &c., pre-
sented the appearance of a town almost given up to pillage.
The shops were generally closed, and bands of from 20 to 50
youths were parading the street, and knocking at the doors
of the shops to ask for food. The terrified shopkeepers
looked upon the requests as demands, and it is almost un-
necessary to say, that most of the timid gave money or
bread. The limited number of policemen at the disposal of
the authorities was quite insufficient to meet such an emer-
gency. It was impossible to have a strong body of police for
every street, and the ill-feeling displayed towards them by
the working classes, rendered it unsafe for them to walk
about separately, or by two or three only. The consequence
has been that during this day the proceedings of the mobs
we have described have been felt by the smaller class of
shopkeepers as a peculiar hardship. We could mention se-
veral provision shops—the whole stock of goods in each of
which perhaps would not be worth more than a dozen pounds
—that had been visited by no less than six or eight gangs of
men and boys before twelve o'clock in the day, none of which
went away empty-handed. It is needless to say, that some
of these shopkeepers, beinc, little able to spare anything,
complained bitteriy, and began to entertain notions of re-
sistance. Some few of the shopkeepers resorted to the ex-
pedient of taking down the blinds from their windows, to
give the house an appearance of being uninhabited, and fur-
ther added to the deception by the writing " to let" on the
shutters.

In the mean time, it is due to the authorities to state that
they were not idle. A body of 200 pensioners and 90 other
persons were sworn in at the Town-hall to act as special
constables, making, with 470 special constables sworn in on
Wednesday, and a number of workmen who had been sworn
in at the different mills, an additional police of about 1,000
men, and strong bodies of these assistants were despatched,
in company with parties 'of the regular police, to different
parts of the town where it was thought there was the most
pressing necessity for their presence. The majority of the
manufacturers had not thought it prudent to start their mills
this day, but great bodies of men were parading the streets,
visiting them in succession, to see that no work was going
forward. Messrs. Stirling and l3eckton persisted in working,
but a mob broke into a coal-yard behind the mill, in Chep-
stow-street, about eight o'clock, and commenced throwing
stones at the windows, and fearing the destruction of their
property, they at length consented to turn out their hands.
The turn-out in Salford was again almost general.
Rumours were afloat at noon that several policemen had
been killed in different parts of the town, but it was impos-
sible to get very accurate information, and dangerous to seek
it in some quarters of the town. A large body of police
having taken up a position at the corner of Charles-street,
Oxford-road, about twelve o'clock, with a view to protecting
the large mills there, and the shopkeepers, a few of them
made an attempt to secure a party of men who were demand-
ing bread at a shop in Clark-street, when a furious attack
was made on them by the populace, and it was said that two
of them were killed. We saw one of them carried away
soon afterwards, in an apparently lifeless state, by a company
of the GOth Rifles.

An attack was made during the morning on a provision
shop in Bridge-street, but the police came up and inter-
fered, making ten prisoners, who were promptly sent off to
the New Bailey prison. The police apprehended another
man in Portland-street during the morning, under similar
circumstances.

FRIDAY.—This morning the whole of Manchester was in a
much more pacific state state than it had been since Monday,
but the rioting as will be seen was resumed during the day.
The placards on the walls announcing meetings of the trades
were numerous.

Messrs. Wilson and Brothers of the Adelphi print-works,
Salford, resumed work this morning, all their hands being
taken on. This was speedily made known amongst the
rioters; and so early as seven o'clock a large crowd presented
themselves at the entrance-gate, Adelphi• street, and de-
manded that the hands should be turned out. We believe
one of the Messrs. Wilson expressed a determination that
the mill should not be stopped, and stated that he had a body
of police in the yard to protect it. The gates were then
closed, and the crowd proceeded to throw stones over the
wall. A body of the police rushed out, and drove the crowd
back ; most of them then went round to the south side of the
building, and hurled showers of stones at the windows, evi-
dently determined to destroy as much property as they could.
The police again made a sally, and drove the crowd away;
but, before they had succeeded a private watchman, who had
stationed himself at one of the windows inside, discharged a
blunderbuss loaded with No. 4 shot, at the legs of the assail-
ants ; and five of them, we regret to say, were wounded.
They were carried off to the Salford Royal Dispensary ; and
the mob being thus intimidated, no further violence was
attempted, and the works proceeded without interruption up
to the hour at which we write.

The following are the persons who suffered from the firing
of the watchman's blunderbuss. Edward Welch, about 20
years of age, of Griffin-court, Adelphi, was wounded in the
right leg, which had been perforated near the knee by about
thirty shots. This man was by far the most seriously injured,
but it was not apprehended that any fatal result would follow.
Wm. Kitchen, a middle-aged man, Dick inson-st., was slightly
wounded in one leg, only a few shots having entered it. John
Baker, 1.1, Blakeley-street, Manchester; John Arkwright, a
middle-aged man, Adelphi ; and Thomas Hayes, a middle-
aged man, Style-street, Salford, were each slightly wounded
in the legs with small shot. Their wounds were promptly
attended to by the medical officers of the Dispensary.
Several shops and works commenced operations this morn-
ing, but were soon compelled to stop by the mobs. Nearly
all the shops in the midst of the town were closed in conse-
quence of a recommendation of the magistrates. A body of
400 or 500 men this morning went to Godley station, on the
Manchester and Sheffield railway, and insisted on the stop-
page of all the trains, The superintendent told them he was
only a servant of the company's, and had no power, but they
threatened to destroy the property of the company unless
their demands were complied with, and he was at length
compelled to promise that the trains should cease running.
The consequence was that only one train left after nine until
one o'clock at noon. The one which did start, on arriving
at Ashton, was stopped by a body of above 1,500 men, who
were on their way to a meeting at Hyde, and who threw
stones at the train as it was coming in at the station. The
consequence was that it proceeded no further. A strong
body of Dragoons arrived about noon, and the trains then
commenced running again. At the Oldham junction of the
Manchester and Leeds line, a large mob collected and in-
sisted on the trains stopping. The company made an appli-
cation for military aid at the Manchester Town-hall; and
about ten o'clock Mr. Alderman Walker, county magistrate,
went up the line with a detachment of the rifle brigade.
They remained there about an hour, and then retired, leaving
all quiet. At twelve o'clock another great assemblage col-
lected at the same place, and threatened to tear up the rails ;
but no attempt was made to put the threat into execution,
and all the trains arrived at the times at which they were re-
spectively due.

A general meeting of the trades was held at the Carpen-
ters' Hall, when resolutions of a decidedly political charac-
ter were passed. The town-council met in the course of the
day, and resolved upon sitting every day during the riots, for
the purpose of offering every assistance to the authorities.
The mobs separated at the close of day, and at midnight the
streets resumed almost their wonted quiet.
(From our own correspondent.)
SATURDAY.—We are glad to have it in our power to report,
that the town generally is this morning more tranquil than
it has been since the outbroak of the riot. The interruptions
to the general tranquility to-day have, hitherto, been slight
and few in number. This is doubtless attributable, in some
degree, to the very large number of persons who have, with
the utmost promtitude, come forward and enrolled them-
selves as special constables. At the same time, the circum-
stance that none of the mills, except the Messrs. Birley's
and Messrs. Kennedy's, as far as we can learn, have attemp-
ted to start work to-day, has no doubt led to this temporary
lull.

As early as half-past seven in the morning, a mob, of the
usual character, made an onset on the bricklayers and labou-
rers employed at the new buildings in Pool Fold, (the same
as were attacked yesterday,) and compelled them to cease
work. We cannot help thinking that, had anything like a
show of resistance been made, so as to gain time to send to
the town-hall, only a few yards distant, most or all of the
perpetrators of this impudent outrage might have been se-
cured. Indeed, a detachment of the mounted patrol rode
by not five minutes after. At other buildings in the town
and neighbourhood, where masons or bricklayers are em-
ployed (including the new church in the Stretford-road) the
same course of intimidation has been successfully practised.
Another seditious meeting, under the guise of a meeting
of trades' delegates, has been held at the Socialist's Hall,
this morning, at eleven o'clock. There was a very crowded
attendance. A person whose name we could not learn, but
who was said to be the foreman of Mr. Worrall's dye-works,
in Salford, was in the chair. There was a great deal of
wrangling in the course of the proceedings, but ultimately a
a resolution, pledging the men not to return to work till the
people's charter was obtained, was carried by about three-
fourths of the meeting. Though there was much squabbling,
we have not heard that any breach of the peace occurred.
A small body of the rioters went to the Manchester and
Leeds Railway to stop the mechanics employedthere. They
were quickly dispersedeby a body of policemen who had been
lodged within the station. In the afternoon, the same rail-
way was visited again, and an attempt was made to stop one
of the trains which was going out. The engineer was drag-
ged off the siding, and the water was let off from the engine
by the multitude, so that it became necessary to put out the
fire to prevent the destruction of the machine. Another en-
gine was promptly hooked to the train, and it was got off in
the very face of the people.
The turn-outs proceeded from the railway station to St.
George's Fields, where, it is said, one of them exclaimed,
" Five pounds to the mail who knocks the first brick out of
the engine-house !" The police arriving opportunely at the
spit, the mob dispersed.
The streets of Manchester, on Saturday night, were almost
deserted, and the markets and shops presented a very odd
appearance when compared with that which they usually ex-
hibit. The butchers had not killed or brought forward one-
half the quantity of meat which they generally offer on the
Saturday night, being apprehensive, first, that it would not
find purchasers, and that it would remain on their hands ;
and, next, that it might, probably, be taken from them by
violence.
Susnny.—Throughout to-day there was not the slightest
show of disturbance. Every thing wore an aspect of " Sab-
bathcalm," and a stranger visiting the town would never
have surmised that such outrages as we have described had
recently been perpetrated. The streets were quiet, and not in
any quarter was there a vestige of disturbance, or e"en a

solitary knot of individuals to rouse a suspicion that such a
thing was contemplated. A placard was, however, issued,
calling a meeting of delegates at the Sherwood Inn, Tib-
street, on Monday. _ _

A resolution is appended to the above placard, stating,
that no person whatever will be hd tn itted to the meeting
without furnishing proof that he is really a delegate from the
trade to which he belongs. The document is without date,
but, as it made its appearance before the public yesterday
morning, we presume that is the date intended.

..„..
Notwiths,anding the entire tranquility which prevailed
on Sunday, all the peaceably-disposed are full of anxiety for
the result of to day, (Tuesday, the 16th insLant,) the anni-
versary of Peterloo. The only doings announced are the
formal opening of the monument to the memory of Hunt, in
the burial ground of the chapel of the Rev. Joseph Schofield,
and a commemorative tea-party which is to take place in the
evening. It is feared, however, that, it the Chartists really
contemplate any outbreak of a more serious character than
those which have already occurred, Tuesday will he the day
chosen for the purpose. Considerable apprehensions are
also entertained lest there should be some renewal of the dis-
turbances this morning, (Monday) in consequence of an ex-
pressed determination on the part of some of the mill owners
to go to work, if they can but obtain protection. This, of
course, will be afforded to them as far as possible. Some
reinforcements of military have already entered the town.
On Sunday morning the 58th Regiment of infantry, 700
strong, arrived from Dublin via Liverpool, and the Ist or
Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, by the Manchester and
Birmingham Railway, from London. The same train also
brought a troop of the Royal Horse Artillery and two field-
pieces, with a quantity of ammunition. The regiment first
named has been billeted in different parts of the town i the
Guards occupy the Infantry Barracks, Regent-road, Salford,
and the Artillery are stationed at Bywater's Royal Horse
Bazaar, Peter-street. Considerable further reinforcements
were expected from the south.
The latest particulars connected with these outbreaks will
be found in another column, as collected by our reporters up
to last night, (Monday.)