The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-01-15 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN.

LONDON:
WSDNLIDAY, 1/INUMIT 15, 1812.

NOTTINGHAM RIOTS. RIOTS.

We received the following Latter this forenoo:I,
upon this distressing subject, from our Correspc;,-
dent at Nottingham.

" Notli:7g!nsro, 3:lr. 14.

. - -
" The operations of the Laddit“ now OCCIIp
near the whole of the public attention here; for. it_
dependent of the increased number of outrage:: of
last week, a correct account of which you have in the
Nottingham Review, an 'vent took place last
Sunday evening, about seven o'clock, which lae,
excited considerable sensation. Upwards of forty
men, disguised in smock-frocks and handker-
chiefs, and armed with pistols, after a proper
number of them had beset every house and avenue In
the-neighbourhood to prevent an alarm, proceeded too
house in Carter-gate, in this town, and demolished
eight lace frames ; four of them the property of the
holder, who has long been in the lawless practice of
paying his workmen partly in goods. Three men
and three women wore in the house at the time; and,
with the exception of one of the latter, who it was
expected would every minute fall in travail, the
whole of them were driven into a pantry by the
Luddites, while some of their comrades destroyed
the frames, and were threatening them with instant
death if they made the least disturbance. Immedi.
utely on their departure, an alarm was given, and the
civil and military authorities proceeded to the scene
of action, and scoured all the adjoining roads and
by-paths, but without the desired effect; for the.
Luddites were not heard of tilklast evening, at Nev
Radford, where they deniolished three face frama,
tinder circumstances of peculiar resistance. The
woman of the house screamed out, for which
she received a severe blow on the head with the
butt-end of a pistol, and her screams brought
in a neighbour to her assistance, who, along with her
husband, wire bad just been fcirced out of his frame up
stairs by a blow with a sword, endeavoured to secure
the depredator ; but his companions, .hen they had
done their work,eamo to his assistance, etsd t. 1.4 whole of
them got away by fighting their road and splitting
the door in pieces. At the Quarter Sessions held
yesterday, eleven men were brought up for trita,
for collecting money to support the frame-breakers;
hut, as no bills were found against them, they
were discharged, with a suitable admonition from
the Bench. But the Luddites now bid defiance to
the law in procaring the means of support; for the;
hawk song-books, &c. and the people who are
friendly to their proceedings, and understand the
object of their pe. ambulations, give them what they
please for their trifles. What cannot the ingendity
of man perform! !"

While murder and robbery seem to be the order of
1
the day, and no individual can shut his door at night,
1 or lay down his head upon hi; pillow, without the
dread of being sacrificed before morning, we are glad
to find that those who have had access to know the
defective state of our present Police, are not only
publicly avowing the fact, but concur with is in
I opinion, that nothing will ever cure the evil unless
the serious interference of Government provide
a remedy for it. At the Surrey Quarter So-
! sions yesterday, Mr. JACKSON, Chairman of
the Meeting, and surrounded by to full Bench
of Magistrates, expressed himself upon this import-
I
lent subject, while delivering his charge to the Grand
Jury, in a manner highly creditable to him as a
public. Magistrate.-44 When such dreadful butche-
ries," said Mr. J %CKSON, " were committed—when
the public mind was in such a state of fermentation
and alarm—when our houses were obliged to be
fortified and barricadoed, and our fears still
I were lest the enemy without should prove stronger
than the garrison within, it would be expected that
he would allude to these facts—melancholy facts,
' which certainly demanded our most serious atten-
tion. lf, as was the case at present, our mer-
chants could not send out their clerks, at noon
day, without danger of their being hustled and ha.-
ling their property taken from them by gangs of vit.
1' tains, so numerous and so desperate as to isriimidate
the Officers of Police froM interfering, every one
would agree that such was not a fit. state or society
to be in."—Alluding to a late charge delivered by Mr.
MAINWAPING, at the Midd4esex Sessions, ;n which
that Gentleman gave it as his opinion, that the lo-
lice already possessed power fully adequate to its
object, without the interference of Government,
Mr. Jacxsost said, that he entertained a very different
view of the subject, and most distinctly pointed out,
by a reference•to the Statues in force respecting the
Police, that the powers which they , conferred upon
public officers, were very limited indeed, and uo stay
adequate to the extent of this vuet lletrepe' --
i