prifoners will be tried by the due courfe of law, as expeditiously as may be.' We must not forget to mention, that attempts were made to create the fame difturbances at Hull, Bristol, and Bath. By the care and attention of the civil ma giftrate they were fruftrated; but at Bath not till a chapel and fome houfes were destroyed. N this ample detail of the tuI mults, which threatened the very existence of the metropolis, it cannot but be remarked, that fcarce any attempt appears to have been made either to prevent them, or to check their progrefs. For fix days fucceffively, from Friday the zd of June to Thurfday the 8th, the cities of London and Westminfter were delivered up into the hands of an unarmed and nameless mob, to be plundered at its difcretion. Much blame on this account has been thrown on the magiftrates of the cities, much on the king's minifters; with what juftice the following au thentic papers will in fome meafure enable our readers to judge. Copies of the Letters which paffed between the Secretaries of State, the Lord Prefident of the Council, the Commander in Chief, and the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London, and alfo of the King's Proclamation, relative to the late Riots. St. James's, June 3, 1780. 14 M. p. Two P. M. MY LORD, AS information which I have received gives me reafon to apprehend that tumults may arife within your lordship's jurifdiction, I think it my duty to convey to you immediately this information. I cannot too ftrongly recommend the matter to your lordship's attention, and am confident, from your known activity, that you will not omit any legal exertion of the civil power which may contribute upon this occafion to preferve the public peace. I have the honour to be, Moft obedient humble fervant, The Right Hon. the Lord St. James's, June 4, 1780. 25 M. p. Ten, P. M. MY LORD, INFORMATION which I have just received makes me think it my indifpenfable duty to recommend the contents of the letter which I had the honour to write to your lordship yefterday, to your moft ferious confideration. I cannot but hope and truft, from your lordship's known zeal and activity, that every effectual legal method will be ufed by you to preferve the public peace, by guarding it against thofe dangers to which it ftands expofed. I am, with great refpect, Your lordship's Right Hon. the Lord Mayor. St. James's, June 5, 1780. MY LORD, WE learnt with pleasure, by your lordship's verbal answer returned to Lord Stormont's letter of of last night, that you were then ufing your best endeavours to difperfe the tumultuous affembly in Moorfields, and to prevent every outrage. Thofe endeavours feem to have been in fome degree fuccessful for a time; but we have just received intelligence, which gives us equal concern and furprize, that there is actually a riotous meeting at the fame place, and that a great number of feditious perfons are employed in demolishing different dwellinghouses, and all this is done in broad day, according to our information, without the leaft interpofition of the civil magiftrates to preferve the public peace. Under thefe confiderations we think it our indifpenfable duty again to call your lordship's attention to fuch very serious objects, and we cannot but perfuade our felves that you will feel that a conftant, uninterrupted exertion of every poffible legal endeavour to prevent or quell fuch outrages, and to preserve or reftore the public order and tranquillity, and to feize and fecure the principal delinquents, that they may be brought to justice, is an indifpenfable part of the duty of the high ftation in which your lordfhip is placed. We have the honour to be, STORMONT, GEORGE R. WHEREAS a great number of disorderly perfons have affem are now bled themfelves together in a riotous and tumultuous manner, and have been guilty of many acts of treafon and rebellion, having. made an affault on the gaol of Newgate, fet loose the prifoners confined therein, and fet fire to and deftroyed the faid prifon : And whereas houses pulling down in feveral parts of our cities of London and Weftminfter, and liberties thereof, and fires kindled for confuming the materials and furniture of the fame, whereby it is become abfolutely neceffary to use the most effectual means to quiet fuch difturbances, to preferve the lives and properties of individuals, and to reftore the peace of the country: We, therefore, taking the fame into our most serious confideration, have thought fit, by and with the advice of our Privy Council, to iffue this our royal Proclamation, hereby ftrictly charging and exhorting all our loving fubjects to preferve the peace, and to keep themselves, their fervants and apprentices, quietly within their refpective dwellings, to the end that all well-difpofed perfons may avoid thofe mifchiefs which the continuance of fuch riotous proceedings may bring upon the guilty And as it is neceffary, from the circumftances beforementioned, to employ the military force, with which we are by law entrusted, for the immediate fuppreffion of fuch rebellious and traiterous attempts, now making against the peace and dignity of our Crown, and the fafety of the lives and properties of our subjects, We have therefore iued the most direct and effectual orders to all our officers, by an imme diate diate exertion of their utmost The inhabitants of the borough force, to reprefs the fame, of which all perfons are to take notice. Given at our Court at St. On the fame day the following general orders were issued to the officers and commanders of all his majefty's forces in Great-Britain. GENERAL ORDERS. Adjutant-general's office, "In obedience to an order of the king in council, the military to act without waiting for directions from the civil magiftrates, and to use force for difperfing the illegal and tumultuous affemblies of the people. WM. AMHERST, Adjutant gen." Several inhabitants of the city of London having propofed to arm themfelves for their common prefervation, the following letters paffed on that fubject. Whitehall, 12th June, 1780. SIR, I HAVE received the favour of your letter of this date, with the feveral papers inclofed. If in the printed paper, with the lord mayor's name annexed, firelocks of Southwark, thofe of the parish of Covent-garden, and fome of other parishes, have formed themfelves into very useful, and at the fame time unexceptionable affociations; and if fomething of the fame kind was adopted in the city, there is no doubt but much use and great fecurity would arife therefrom; but the ufing of fire-arms is improper, unneceffary, and cannot be approved. I have the honour to be, If therefore any arms are found in the hands of perfons, except they are of the city militia, or are perfons authorized by the king to be armed, you will please to order the arms to be delivered up to you, to be fafely kept until further order. I am, SIR, Your most obedient, are meant by the words, "with Lieut. Col. Twifleton. Whitehall, June 14th, 1780. I HAVE had the honour to receive your letter of this day's date, date, and I have alfo feen Lieutenant-Colonel Grinfield. I cannot fay more regarding the propofal for putting arms into the hands of the inhabitants of the city, than is contained in my letters to you of Monday's and yesterday's date, and I fully approve of your condu&t upon the whole of this bufinefs. There can be no doubt that the aldermen in propofing to arm their wards, mean by way of general defence; but fuppofing that the affembling the inhabitants under arms was legal, the inconveniencies which you have stated to the mayor, &c. as likely to arife from the motley appearance of the armed inhabitants in cafe of the rioters affembling again, fhould, I think, be fufficient to induce the magiftrates of the city to drop the intention. I have laid before the king's confidential fervants all your letters upon this fubject, together with copies of my anfwers to them; and I am very glad to inform you that your conduct has received their full approbation, as well as that of, ourselves and neighbours, against a renewal of the mifchiefs fo recently experienced from a lawless and licentious banditti. As the ftrongest fentiments of loyalty and affection to his majesty and the conftitution are our governing principles, we rely on your lordship's kind recommendation of this measure, We have the honour to be your lordship's, &c. JAMES SANDERSON, JAMES DAVIDSON, JOSEPH HARDCASTLE, WM. ANDERSON, JAC. WRENCH, M. DUKE THOMPSON, FRAS. GARRET. Right Hon. Lord Amberft, &c. &c. The Plan referred to above. A battalion company of fifty of the opulent part of the inhabi tants, armed, cloathed, and taught the manual and platoon exercife, at their own expence, and not to do duty out of Bridge Ward. Whitehall, 16th June, 1780. SIR, HAVING laid before the king the letter of yesterday's date, figned by feveral gentlemen of the Ward of Bridge Within, that you put into Bridge Ward Within, 15th June, my hands this morning, wherein 1780. MY LORD, WE are directed, by the unanimous refolution of a very numerous and refpectable wardmote, held at Fishmongers-hall, this day, before Thomas Wooldridge, Efq; alderman, to apply to your lordfhip for the king's leave to affociate ourfelves, pursuant to the annexed plan, for the preservation of it is defired that a certain number of the inhabitants of the faid ward may have leave to form themselves into a company, and be armed for the purpose of preferving themfelves and neighbours in cafe there fhould be a renewal of the late mifchiefs in the metropolis, or any affembly of a lawlefs and licentious mob; and the faid propofition having been fully taken into confideration, 1 In confequence of the orders from the Adjutant-General and the above letters, the following was fent to the Earl Bathurst: MY LORD, "I HAVE been honoured with your lordship's letter of yefterday's date, and have laid the fame before the lords of the privy Guildhall, 14th June, 1780. council, and am to inform your MY LORD, I AM directed by the court of aldermen to inform your lordship, that, in obedience to your lordhip's orders, they have made dili, gent fearch in the feveral wards after thofe diforderly persons who have been concerned in the late dangerous riots, and have taken to their affiftance the houfe-keepers in each district, who have armed themselves, under the direction of the court, for the purpofe of supporting the civil magiftrate; but having communicated to the court the inclofed letter from Lord Amherst to Colonel Twifleton, who favoured me with copies of them, the court are defirous that fome explanation may be given to thofe letters, as they now militate against the orders first received from your lordship they also beg leave to be informed by your lordship whether the order fent to Colonel Twifleton by the Adjutant-general, directing the military to act without waiting for the directions lordship, that we apprehend Lord Amherft's letter to your lordship of the 13th inftant has not been properly understood; for when he fpeaks of the arms in the hands of the city militia, or other perfons authorifed by the king to be armed, he certainly includes the arms in the hands of the citizens and houfekeepers, who, by virtue of an order of the court of lieute nancy, are required to keep them in their houfes; and Colonel Twifleton has put the proper conftruction on thofe letters, by only taking arms from fufpected perfons, or those who could not give a good account of themfelves. While the military, neceffary for the prefervation of the public peace, remain in the city, it will, no doubt, be proper that the order of the Adjutant-general for their acting without waiting for the direfting of the civil magistrate fhould continue in force. The attention paid by the inhabitants in preferving the peace of the fe |