The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-08-19 00:00:00

SKIPTON,

The following letter was received in Liverpeol last night,
from Skipton, Yorkshire, and gives some painfully additional
particulars :

Skipton, August 16, 1842.
" You will be surprised to hear that our usually quiet town
has been the scene of so much riot ; the neighbouring towns
have been in a disturbed state for some days, and it was re-
ported they were coming here, but no notice was taken of
of it until yesterday evening, when it was ascertained that
they intended visiting us this morning (it was said at seven
o'clock) at ten o'clock.

" A despatch was sent of last night for soldiers, there
being none in the neighbourhood except the sappers, and
they without ammunition, but that was not generally known.
The magistrates came into the town this morning to swear
in special constables. Between twelve and one o'clock, five
or six hundred meagre-looking men and boys came in from
Broughton-road, they went to Mr. John Dewhnrst's mill,
and pulled the engine-plug out to prevent them working ;
Mr. D's son was there, and gave them some money ; then,
they went to Mr. R. Sedgwich's new mill, they could not
find the plug, it being in the middle of the furnace, they
stopped them from working ; and then they went up to the
high mill, constables, magistrates, &c., along with them, the
latter being too strong for them, they came down again ;
when they got on to the bridge, they were met by several
thousands of their own riotous party, who all turned there
again, men, women, and great number of boys, and certainly
such a set of mean-looking folks you never saw in your life ;
from our windows we could see nothing in every direction
but one moving mass. Mr. Birbeck, and Mr. Ingham, ma-
gistrates, were on horseback at the bottom of our pavings,
and stopped the mob, wishing, in fact, to detain them until
the arrival of the military, they, however, could not ; fcr
about an hour we were beset on all sides, the women sitting
on the stones round the house, and Mr. D's, also on the
steps and stones that are about the mill, and down before the
house. Mathew Wilson, Esq., magistrate, on the horse-steps
at the door, talking to them, they succeeded in stopping the
mill, then went into the town, when about 50 foot and 12 horse
soldiers arrived ; the riot act was read, and five minutes given
them to disperse, which they did quickly, intoa field of J. Set-
tels, on Carlton road, where they eat the provisions they had
begged. They were warned to return to their homes peaceably ;
they refused ; the soldiers then made a squander of them. Mr.
Garforth, of Coniston, magistrate, went to some of them to
advise them to go quietly home, when he received a shower
of stones, &c. ; they knocked him down, and injured him
severely ; he was taken to Mr. Marsden's surgery, more
dead than alive ; his head and face is dreadfully cut ; they
have taken him home an hour or two ago in a carriage. The
rioters are still hanging about the outskirts of the town ; it
is thought they will return. The soldiers are some of them
guarding the town. They are almost knocked up, having
walked all last night, and come from Colne here in little
more than an hour (running.) William is on duty to-night.
The shops were closed at half-past ten o'clock on Tuesday
night.

" WEDNESDAY MORNING, Seven o'clock.—All keeps
quiet. Last night six of the men who illused Mr. Garforth
were taken prisoners. They were conveyed to York in the
mail last night. The assizes are now on. The fire engines
were got in readiness last night. The mob threatened to re-
turn to-day, and burn Sedgwick's mill. They are all from
Lancashire, Keighley, Colne, Bingley, Bradford, &c., and
are all in a very rough state. I hope they will not return.
The mills have not commenced working this morning, which
makes many idlers about. They would like to commence at
noon, but I think they dare not. They were told by the