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

LEICESTER.

The colliers at Whitwich coal pats, near Leicester, turned
out in great numbers on Saturday, but we have not heard of
the commission of• any acts of violence.

DESTRUCTIVE RIOTS IN THE POTTERIES.

BIRMINGHAM, TUESDAY EVENING.--I regret to say that
accounts were received in Birmingham today of most des-
tructive riots in the Potteries. A meeting took place on the
Crown-bank, near Shelton, yesterday morning. The Colliers
were called together by the Chartists at 8 o'clock, for the
purpose of enforcing the necessity of standing out until the
Charter was granted. The meeting was numerously atten-
ded, and the resolutions were carried unanimously. Cooper
the Chief of Mr. Sturge's Chartist orators at Nottingham,
was the principal spokesman.
The work of destruction commenced soon after the tormina-
tion of the meeting. Immediately after the meeting a body
of colliers proceeded to the colliery of Lord Granville, where
they found some of the men at work, and after ducking them,
and stopping the engines, and turning out the potters at the
different manufactories, they entered the house of Mr. Gibbs,
the. poor-rate collector, where they took all the rate-books,
and completely destroyed them. They next proceeded to the
Police-office, which they attacked, cleared the office of all the
staff, and released the prisoners. They then proceeded in the
'direction of Stoke, and entered the Court of Requests,
violently assaulted the clerk, who was much injured, com-
pletely ransacked his house, and destroyed the whole of his
furniture. The whole of the books of the office were torn up,
and after completing this ,demolition, they proceeded to the
Spittles, at Stoke, where they destroyed the whole of the
rate-books. They went to the Police-office and seized Super-
intendent Stonier, who was much hurt in the skirmish.
Afterwards they attempted to set fire to the office, but it was
put out before any injury was done. They next went to
Fenton, and, undoubtedly, would have proceeded to mischief,
but the town was under the protection of the military.
There can be no doubt that the Chartist leaders are the in-
stigators of the disturbances.
After 10 o'clock last night the outrages were renewed to
a fearful extent. The mob attacked the house of the Rev.
Dr. Bayley, of Lane-End, completely gutted it by fire, and
destroyed the whole furniture. Afterwards, the house of the
Rev. Mr. Aitken, of Hanley, was similarly sacrificed, which
was completely demolished. Not a particle of timber was
Jut. Mr. Parker, a magistrate, a man of fortune, retired
from business and residing r ' Hanley, was similarly treated.
His house was completely gutted. Mr. Parker was attend-
ing to his official business at 13urs1em, and had no idea of the
mob intending any attack upon his property until informed
of its destruction. Mr. Rose's (the stipendiary magistrate)
house was also destroyed.

Persons coming from the Potteries to day describe the
state of things in those neighbourhoods as most alarming.
From Burslem to Hanley, a distance of two miles, the crowd
of men and women assembled on the road side was dense,
and it was feared that the direst consequences would ensue.
The absence of the military, or what would otherwise appear
to be the neglect of the authorities, ought to be noticed. On
the Monday night it was rumoured that the disaffected in
the adjoining counties of Derby and Chester had made Leek
a point d' appui, and that there was to be the grand central
point of assemblage and march. The troops from the Pot-
teries were consequently marched off, and in their absence,
as on Saturday last, the evil-disposed colliers broke out into
the commission of the outrages briefly described above.
The troops returned from Leek at eight o'clock this morn-
ing, and, although the neighbourhood was in a state of great
excitement, which could not be otherwise, after the fearful
events of last night, there was no further injury done to pro-
perty. Most providentially, amidst all this tumult and vio-
lence, nut a single life was lost.

The Newcastle Troop of Yeomanry are upon duty ; but the
troops generally (the Yeomanry included) are so harrassed
by night service in this scorched burning country, that large
reinforcements are absolutely necessary.
Since writing the above, I have heard that three men were
shot at Hanley this morning by the military, and that the
mob contemplated an attack upon the Duke of Sutherland's
mansion, Trentham-ball, and also upon that of Mr. Alder-
man Copeland, in the immediate neighbourhood of Stoke.
The threatened attacks upon the property of the nobleman
and gentleman mentioned show, that the mob must be com-
posed of a set of unprincipled ruffians, for no two men in the
county of Stafford have upon all occasions shown greater re-
gard for the working. classes than his Grace th Duke of
Sutherland and Mr. Alderman Copeland.