"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "History, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Shelton, Walter James"@en . "2011-04-21T02:04:18Z"@en . "1971"@en . "Doctor of Philosophy - PhD"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "This dissertation deals with the provincial hunger riots and the metropolitan industrial riots of the first decade of George III's reign. By focussing both on the immediate causes of these disturbances and on the underlying social tensions which determined their form and direction, it seeks to explain why this was the worst period of disorder\r\nin the century, although in other decades the deprivations\r\nof the poor were greater. Early studies of the riots of the 1760's which have not dealt exclusively with political\r\ndisturbances have treated the riots as part of the history\r\nof trade unions or of the story of the rural labourer's degradation. As a result, the interrelationship of these two expressions of social discontent has been ignored by most historians of popular movements. More recent studies have presented the hunger and industrial disorders primarily in terms of the discontents of the rioters. By focussing closely upon the \"faces in the crowd\" scholars have corrected\r\nthe misconception that eighteenth-century mobs were chiefly composed of the most depraved elements in society. But in the process of this legitimate attempt to rehabilitate\r\nthe historical crowd, such students have been rather reluctant to concede its manipulation by those standing over and apart from the mob. This is particularly true when rioters clearly acted according to socially appropriate goals, as was usually the case with rural hunger mobs and industrial strikers. This results in the undervaluing of the role of other interests, and stresses immediate at the expense of secondary causation.\r\nThis work sets the rioters of the 1760's in their social context and presents the riots as the product of an interaction of the poor, the landowners, the industrialists, the local authorities, and the national government. All of these interests contributed to disorder in some fashion: by suggesting the poor regulate markets for themselves, the gentry encouraged them to take actions for which many later were tried by special assize; by failing to suppress the initial disorders, the magistrates appeared to sanction the acts of the mobs; by blaming middlemen for high prices of food, clothiers and other industrialists in the distressed cloth counties of Southern England diverted their underpaid workers towards bunting mills and local markets; by proclaiming\r\nthe old anti-middlemen statutes against forestalling,\r\nengrossing, and regrating instead of ending grain exports, the Ministry confirmed that the food shortage was artificial and encouraged further attacks upon middlemen and farmers; by blaming coal-undertakers and then failing to enforce existing legislation against these middlemen of the coal trade, the government encouraged coalheavers to act in their own defence.\r\nWhile the timing of the disorders of the 1760's was determined by such factors as sudden fluctuations in the prices of provisions, attempts to reduce wages or employment opportunities for the poor, or grain movements in times of anticipated famine, the form and direction were the result of the expectations of various interests. The significance of expectations is apparent in the important role played by veterans of the Seven Years' War and the equivocal reaction to the initial hunger riots of the ruling orders. The responses of the poor and the privileged alike can only be explained with reference to important social changes, which resulted after the mid-century from agricultural and industrial\r\ndevelopments. The effects of these social changes was aggravated by war and by the progressive abandonment of the principles and practices of the old \"moral economy.\""@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/33903?expand=metadata"@en . "ENGLISH HUNGER AND INDUSTRIAL DISORDERS: A STUDY OF SOCIAL CONFLICT DURING THE FIRST DECADE OF GEORGE H I ' S REIGN by WALTER JAMES SHELTON B.A., U n i v e r s i t y of Durham, England, 1949 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY i n the Department of HISTORY We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the re q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH.COLUMBIA June, 1971 In presenting th i s thes i s in p a r t i a l f u l f i lment of the requirements fo r an advanced degree at the Un iver s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the L ib ra ry sha l l make it f r e e l y ava i l ab le for reference and study. I fu r ther agree that permission for extens ive copying of th i s thes i s fo r s cho la r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s representat ives . It is understood that copying or pub l i ca t i on of th i s thes is fo r f i nanc i a l gain sha l l not be allowed without my wr i t ten permiss ion. Department of H i s tory The Un ivers i ty o f B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada ABSTRACT T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n deals w i t h the p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s and the m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s of the f i r s t decade of George I l l ' s r e i g n . By f o c u s s i n g both on the immediate causes of these d i s t u r b a n c e s and on the u n d e r l y i n g s o c i a l t e n s i o n s which determined t h e i r form and d i r e c t i o n , i t seeks to e x p l a i n why t h i s was the worst p e r i o d of d i s -order i n the century, although i n other decades the d e p r i v -a t i o n s of the poor were g r e a t e r . E a r l y s t u d i e s of the r i o t s of the 1760's which have not d e a l t e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h p o l i t i -c a l d i s t u r b a n c e s have t r e a t e d the r i o t s as p a r t of the h i s -t o r y of trade unions or of the s t o r y of the r u r a l l a b o u r e r ' s degradation. As a r e s u l t , the i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p of these two expressions of s o c i a l d i s c o n t e n t has been ignored by most h i s t o r i a n s of popular movements. More r e c e n t s t u d i e s have presented the hunger and i n d u s t r i a l d i s o r d e r s p r i m a r i l y i n terms of the d i s c o n t e n t s of the r i o t e r s . By f o c u s s i n g c l o s e l y upon the \"faces i n the crowd\" s c h o l a r s have co r -r e c t e d the misconception t h a t e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y mobs were c h i e f l y composed of the most depraved elements i n s o c i e t y . But i n the process of t h i s l e g i t i m a t e attempt to r e h a b i l i -t a t e the h i s t o r i c a l crowd, such students have been r a t h e r r e l u c t a n t to concede i t s m a n i p u l a t i o n by those standing over and apart from the mob. T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t rue when r i o t e r s c l e a r l y acted according to s o c i a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e g o a l s , as was u s u a l l y the case w i t h r u r a l hunger mobs and i n d u s t r i a l s t r i k e r s . T h i s r e s u l t s i n the undervaluing of the r o l e of other i n t e r e s t s , and s t r e s s e s immediate at the expense of secondary c a u s a t i o n . T h i s work sets the r i o t e r s of the 1760's i n t h e i r s o c i a l context and presents the r i o t s as the product of an i n t e r a c t i o n of the poor, the landowners, the i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , and the n a t i o n a l government. A l l of these i n t e r e s t s c o n t r i b u t e d to d i s o r d e r i n some f a s h i o n : by suggesting the poor r e g u l a t e markets f o r themselves, the gentry encouraged them to take a c t i o n s f o r which many l a t e r were t r i e d by s p e c i a l a s s i z e ; by f a i l i n g to suppress the i n i t i a l d i s o r d e r s , the ma g i s t r a t e s appeared to s a n c t i o n the acts of the mobs; by blaming middlemen f o r hig h p r i c e s of food, c l o t h i e r s and other i n d u s t r i a l i s t s i n the d i s t r e s s e d c l o t h c o unties of Southern England d i v e r t e d t h e i r underpaid workers towards bunting m i l l s and l o c a l markets; by pro-c l a i m i n g the o l d anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l -i n g , e ngrossing, and r e g r a t i n g i n s t e a d of ending g r a i n exports, the M i n i s t r y confirmed t h a t the food shortage was a r t i f i c i a l and encouraged f u r t h e r a t t a c k s upon middlemen and farmers; by blaming coal-undertakers and then f a i l i n g to enforce e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n a g a i n s t these middlemen of the i v c o a l t r a d e , the government encouraged coalheavers to act i n t h e i r own defence. While the timing of the d i s o r d e r s of the 1760's was determined by such f a c t o r s as sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s , attempts to reduce wages or employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r the poor, or g r a i n movements i n times of a n t i c i p a t e d famine, the form and d i r e c t i o n were the r e s u l t of the e x p e c t a t i o n s of v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t s . The s i g n i f i c a n c e of e x p e c t a t i o n s i s apparent i n the important r o l e played by veterans of the Seven Years' War and the e q u i v o c a l r e a c t i o n to the i n i t i a l hunger r i o t s of the r u l i n g o rders. The responses of the poor and the p r i v i l e g e d a l i k e can only be e x p l a i n e d w i t h r e f e r e n c e to important s o c i a l changes, which r e s u l t e d a f t e r the mid-century from a g r i c u l t u r a l and i n d u s -t r i a l developments. The e f f e c t ' of these s o c i a l changes was aggravated by war and by the p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of the p r i n c i p l e s and p r a c t i c e s of the o l d \"moral economy.\" TABLE OF CONTENTS P age INTRODUCTION 1 PART I Chapter I. THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS OF 1766 26 I I . THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS 70 I I I . THE ROLE OF THE AUTHORITIES IN THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS OF 1766. 142 IV. THE PROVINCIAL RIOTERS 185 PART I I Chapter I. INTRODUCTION: INDUSTRIAL DISORDERS IN LONDON 230 I I . METROPOLITAN INDUSTRIAL DISORDERS 244 CONCLUSIONS 305 BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No one w r i t i n g on E n g l i s h r i o t s of the eightee n t h century can f a i l to acknowledge h i s debt to two h i s t o r i a n s i n p a r t i c u l a r , whose c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the study of popular movements are ou t s t a n d i n g . C e r t a i n l y anyone examining s o c i a l p r o t e s t s of the 1760's must f i r s t r e t r a c e the steps of George Rude and Dorothy George. My own i n t e r e s t i n the r i o t s of t h i s decade was due i n i t i a l l y to a suggestion of my a d v i s o r , Dr. John M. N o r r i s , without whose p a t i e n t encouragement and guidance t h i s work would never have been completed. I a l s o wish to thank Dr. James Winter f o r h i s ad v i c e . The a s s i s t a n c e of the s t a f f s i n most of the County Record O f f i c e s i n Southern England, i n the W i l l i a m Clement L i b r a r y i n Ann Arbor, Michigan, i n the B r i t i s h Museum, and i n the P u b l i c Record O f f i c e i n London was i n v a l u a b l e . The debt I owe to my w i f e and c h i l d r e n cannot ade-q u a t e l y be expressed. v i INTRODUCTION T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n w i l l argue t h a t w h i l e the d i s t r e s s of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor, which f o l l o w e d sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n food p r i c e s and d e c l i n i n g employment, was the common denominator of the numerous r i o t s of the 1760's, such d i s -orders were merely the s u r f a c e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of u n d e r l y i n g p o l i t i c a l , economic, s o c i a l , and i n t e l l e c t u a l ferment, which a f f e c t e d a l l l e v e l s of s o c i e t y . T h i s s t a t e of extreme f l u x i n f l u e n c e d the a c t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s of the upper and mid-d l i n g s o r t s , as w e l l as those of the lower o r d e r s . The r i o t s were the product of an i n t e r a c t i o n of v a r i o u s i n t e r -e s t s , e s p e c i a l l y of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor on the one hand and the r u l i n g orders on the other, r a t h e r than merely the e x p r e s s i o n of the d i s c o n t e n t s of one group. A f t e r the mid-century, the grievances of the poor were more deeply seated than could be accounted f o r by resentment at s p i r a l l i n g p r i c e s , low wages, scarce employ-ment, or the tyranny of a M i n i s t r y towards John Wilkes, the champion of the \" r i g h t s of f r e e - b o r n Englishmen.\" T h e i r a c t i o n s must be seen a g a i n s t a background of s o c i a l t e n s i o n among the i n d u s t r i o u s poor. T h i s background, however, pro-v i d e s only a p a r t i a l e x p l a n a t i o n of the r i o t s of the f i r s t decade of George I l l ' s r e i g n . In a l l d i s o r d e r s there i s an 1 2 i n t e r a c t i o n between the a u t h o r i t i e s and the r i o t e r s ; n e i t h e r can be c o n s i d e r e d i n i s o l a t i o n . The a c t i o n s of the l o c a l and n a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t i e s were f r e q u e n t l y e q u i v o c a l and r e q u i r e e x p l a n a t i o n . Not only the poor but a l s o the more p r i v i l e g e d orders of s o c i e t y were caught up i n changes which confused and f r i g h t e n e d them by the 1750's. A f t e r the mid-century, the growth of commercial farming, which was s t i m u l a t e d by the expansion of urban p o p u l a t i o n s and m i l i t a r y v i c t u a l l i n g c o n t r a c t s , d i s t u r b e d the s o c i a l balance of the countryside.\"^ Large farmers and middlemen emerged as the c h i e f b e n e f i -c i a r i e s of a g r i c u l t u r a l growth and t h e i r s o c i a l p r e t e n s i o n s appeared to t h r e a t e n the l e a d e r s h i p of many of the l e s s e r p a r i s h gentry. The m i l i t a n c y of r e t u r n e d veterans of the Seven Years' War, whose e x p e c t a t i o n s about c i v i l i a n l i f e had changed with s e r v i c e abroad, threatened the s t a b i l i t y of r u r a l and urban s o c i e t y . Men t r a i n e d i n the m i l i t i a , the army, the navy, and I r i s h t e r r o r i s t gangs played a c r i t i c a l r o l e i n the r i o t s by p r o v i d i n g a d i s c i p l i n e d core of m i l i -t a n t s able to defy the m i l i t a r y and by g i v i n g d i r e c t i o n to the d i s o r d e r s . In times of e x t e n s i v e d i s t u r b a n c e s , the landed i n t e r e s t , t ogether w i t h l e a d e r s of i n d u s t r y and com-merce, f e a r e d the i n t e n t i o n s of a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of the See J . D. Chambers and'G. E. Mingay, The A g r i c u l -t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n 1750-1880 (London: B. T. B a t s f o r d L t d . , 1966) . 3 p o p u l a t i o n . General i n s u r r e c t i o n s were always a nightmare p o s s i b i l i t y i n a century when the sparse f o r c e s of order looked p i t i f u l l y weak i n the f a c e of any s e r i o u s t h r e a t to the s o c i a l order. Although s u s p i c i o n of standing armies remained throughout the century, d i s t r u s t of the m i l i t i a caused a growing r e l i a n c e upon the r e g u l a r army i n the f a c e of s o c i a l p r o t e s t s . In times of unrest, the r u l i n g orders o f t e n a n t i c i p a t e d the outbreak of s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s and r e s o r t e d to the t a c t i c of d i v e r t i n g the d i s a f f e c t e d a g a i n s t s e l e c t e d scapegoats. In doing t h i s they encouraged r i o t e r s to v i o l e n c e and helped to shape events. T h i s ploy was par-t i c u l a r l y e v i d e n t i n the hunger r i o t s of 1766, but both the a u t h o r i t i e s and employers a l s o used i t i n the i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s of 1768. Se r i o u s r i o t i n g i n the 1760's was the means whereby E n g l i s h s o c i e t y sought to achieve r a d i c a l change as i t moved towards a new e q u i l i b r i u m . T h i s decade saw the beginning of a p e r i o d of s o c i a l t r a n s i t i o n which s t r e t c h e d i n t o the next century. In these ten years, many of the changes which a l l c l a s s e s were to f e e l a c u t e l y sent shock waves through Eng-l i s h s o c i e t y . Because they f o l l o w e d s e v e r a l years of r e l a -t i v e improvement f o r the poor and because they developed so r a p i d l y , the pressures of the 1760's provoked s t r o n g e r than u s u a l p r o t e s t s from the d i s p o s s e s s e d . As one observer noted, the poor were \"too much oppressed, and the burthen of l a t e years [had.] come too \" f a s t upon them to be born w i t h 4 p a t i e n t r e s i g n a t i o n . \" L a t e r i n the century, the s o c i a l problems emerging at t h i s time became more s e r i o u s without prolonged d i s o r d e r s , because the pressure on the poor b u i l t up s t e a d i l y over a p e r i o d so t h a t they had time to a d j u s t 2 t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s . Although the p r i c e s of food were high e r and economic d i s l o c a t i o n more severe at other times, r i o t s were more s e r i o u s and s u s t a i n e d i n the 1760's because of the d i s a p p o i n t e d e x p e c t a t i o n s of both the r u l i n g orders 3 and the poor. Over f o r t y years a f t e r S i r Lewis Namier f i r s t pub-l i s h e d h i s a n a l y s i s of the s t r u c t u r e of t h e i r p o l i t i c s , the \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 e a r l y years of George I l l ' s r e i g n continue to a t t r a c t the a t t e n t i o n of h i s t o r i a n s . Students of p o l i t i c a l reform have seen the 1760's as a p e r i o d of t r a n s i t i o n from p o l i t i c a l a g i t a t i o n and r i o t i n g to more f o r m a l l y organized reform 4 movements. That t h i s decade was a l s o a p e r i o d of vigorous s o c i a l p r o t e s t has only become apparent i n more re c e n t times. In the 1760's, s e r i o u s r i o t s o ccurred i n p r o v i n c i a l and m e t r o p o l i t a n d i s t r i c t s of England. Because such d i s -orders were f r e q u e n t l y . t h e work of one l e v e l of s o c i e t y , the 2 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , November 1, 1766. 3 P r i c e s of wheat and bread were h i g h e s t f o r the cen-t u r y i n 1795 and 1799. Thomas S o u t h c l i f f e Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800 (Oxford: At the Clarendon P r e s s , 1959), p. 181. 4 See I. R. C h r i s t i e ' s I n t r o d u c t i o n to George Stead V e i t c h , Genesis of P a r l i a m e n t a r y Reform (London: Constable, 1964). 5 i n d u s t r i o u s poor, they g r e a t l y alarmed the upper and mid-d l i n g s o r t s of the kingdom. One correspondent expressed the view of most of the r u l i n g orders when he observed: These are very unhappy times; but when they w i l l mend or how they can be mended, I am at a l o s s to conceive; f o r they have l e t the minds of the lower people take too strong a b i a s to anarchy, f o r want of being stopped i n time. * U s u a l l y the d i s t r e s s produced by a combination of high p r i c e s and reduced income was the p r e c i p i t a t i n g cause of the outbreaks, or i n the case of the W i l k i t e p o l i t i c a l d i s o r d e r s , was not f a r i n the background. In these years t a i l o r s , coopers, watermen, shoemakers, c o l l i e r s , t i n n e r s , seamen, coalheavers, farm-workers, domestic s e r v a n t s , and others of the lower orders v i g o r o u s l y demonstrated t h e i r s o c i a l d i s -contents through the only means a v a i l a b l e to them, the r i o t . In doing so, they appeared to many to t h r e a t e n the s o c i a l order. Nor were men the only ones to demonstrate v i o l e n t l y . One observer wrote of three hundred women, l a w n - c l i p p e r s , marching i n white i n Maxweltown, S c o t l a n d , e s c o r t e d by crowds 6 of journeymen weavers and o t h e r s . Even the \" l a d i e s of p l e a s u r e \" of the M e t r o p o l i s r i o t e d over the e x o r b i t a n t demands of bawds, pimps, tavern-keepers, and w a i t e r s . One London newspaper r e p o r t e d t h e i r d i s p u t e i n the f o l l o w i n g terms: ^Mw. Fetherstonhaugh to Newcastle, June 7, 1768, B r i t i s h Museum, A d d i t i o n a l MSS, 32990, f o l s . 180-81. 6 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 24, 1768. 6 They ground t h e i r hardships (and indeed w i t h some show of j u s t i c e ) upon the same fo u n d a t i o n , and almost i n the same terms, w i t h the c o a l h e a v e r s , v i z . t h a t the i n o r d i n -ate burdens they l i e under, and which they so o f t e n bear and groan w i t h f o r three p a r t s of the year together, more or l e s s , wear them out so soon, t h a t unless t h e i r wages are doubled or they have some settlement (which they would l i k e b e t t e r ) they must be o b l i g e d , when they are b a t t e r e d w i t h labour, e i t h e r to t u r n overseers to the younger p a r t of the p r o f e s s i o n , v u l g a r l y c a l l e d bawds, or r e t i r e from the world as p e n i t e n t p r o s t i -t u t e s . 7 U n f o r t u n a t e l y the records do not always r e v e a l the outcome of such l a b o u r d i s p u t e s , but t h e i r number and v a r i e t y i n d i -cate the t e n s i o n s of a s o c i e t y i n t r a n s i t i o n . For the sake of convenience, the major r i o t s of t h i s decade may be grouped i n t o t h r e e c a t e g o r i e s : p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s which developed i n the urban and r u r a l d i s -t r i c t s of most of the southern counties of England; i n d u s -t r i a l r i o t s r e l a t e d to the l a b o u r d i s p u t e s of seamen, c o a l -heavers, s i l k - w e a v e r s , and other groups of London's l a b o u r -i n g poor; and p o l i t i c a l r i o t s c e n t r i n g around the causes and person of John Wilkes. R i o t s , however, f r e q u e n t l y over-lapped, and d e f i e d such t i d y c a t e g o r i z a t i o n . R i o t e r s , once set going, o f t e n addressed themselves to the c o r r e c t i o n of more than the one grievance which had p r e c i p i t a t e d t h e i r p r o t e s t . Farmers and l a b o u r e r s , who began by s e i z i n g m i l i -t i a , , muster sheets from m a g i s t r a t e s , l a t e r complained of the 8 a r i s t o c r a c y and gentry enjoying t h e i r land f o r too long; I b i d . , May 17-19, 1768. o John R. Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h -teenth Century. S t u d i e s i n P o l i t i c a l H i s t o r y , ed. by M i c h a e l Hurst (London: Routledge and Kegan P a u l , 1965), p. 300. 7 coalheavers r i o t i n g over the e x t o r t i o n a t e demands of c o a l -undertakers shouted f o r \"Wilkes and L i b e r t y \" and j o i n e d p o l i t i c a l demonstrations a g a i n s t the M i n i s t r y ; ^ yeomen and l a b o u r e r s , having p u l l e d down p a r t l y - c o n s t r u c t e d houses of i n d u s t r y i n East A n g l i a , vowed to lower the p r i c e s of pro-v i s i o n s i n neighbouring m a r k e t s ; 1 ^ seamen, demonstrating before P a r l i a m e n t f o r h i g h e r wages, cheered f o r the King and drove o f f W i l k i t e supporters;\"'\"\"'\" or hunger r i o t e r s i n J e r s e y , having s u c c e s s f u l l y f o r c e d down food p r i c e s , v i g o r o u s l y pressed p o l i t i c a l reforms upon t h e i r r e l u c t a n t governing 12 c o u n c i l . For i t s p a r t , the government o f t e n read i n t o the b l u r r i n g of d i s t i n c t i o n s between r i o t s more than they war-ranted. The mere extent of the r i o t i n g at home and abroad i n t h i s p e r i o d was s u f f i c i e n t f o r the M i n i s t e r s to connect them together and to weave c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s i n an age when the p r e j u d i c e of the governing c l a s s e s a g a i n s t standing armies was strong and the e x i s t i n g f o r c e s of order weak. In the c l i m a t e of d i s o r d e r of t h i s decade, both at home and ^George Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y (Oxford: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1962' - p~. 97. \" ^ P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , S t a t e Papers, SP 37/4, f o l . 196/595 and f o l . 202/595. \"'\"\"'\"Seamen were not c o n s i s t e n t i n t h e i r p o l i t i c a l l o y -a l t i e s . On another o c c a s i o n a l a r g e body of s a i l o r s r e p o r t -edly e s c o r t e d Wilkes across London Bridge, to Westminster. See S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 7, 1768. Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69), 528-33, No. 1361. 8 o v e r s e a s , t h e a t t i t u d e of i n f l u e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s i n E n g l i s h s o c i e t y t o s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l change hardened. The p r e c i s e r e l a t i o n s h i p between r i o t s i n E n g l a n d , I r e l a n d , and A m e r i c a a w a i t s t h e d e f i n i t i o n of h i s t o r i a n s . C e r t a i n c o n n e c t i o n s are e v i d e n t . American r a d i c a l s h a i l e d John W i l k e s as an a l l y and u t i l i z e d h i s causes f o r t h e i r own 13 purposes. Many seamen who p l a y e d a l e a d i n g r o l e i n the p r e - r e v o l u t i o n a r y d i s o r d e r s i n Boston p r o b a b l y were f a m i l i a r w i t h the p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l p r o t e s t s i n E n g l a n d , and may even have p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h e m . 1 4 Weavers i n London and D u b l i n exchanged i n f o r m a t i o n on wages and t a c t i c s t o be used 15 a g a i n s t t h e i r m a s t e r s . As a r e s u l t of heavy waves of i m m i g r a t i o n and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s , many of the more a l i e n a t e d of B r i t i s h l o w e r - c l a s s s o c i e t y must have s w e l l e d the ranks of the American d i s a f f e c t e d i n the decade b e f o r e the War of 16 Independence. A n o t h e r s o u r c e of c o n f l i c t between the 13 P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , London, Chatham P a p e r s , PRO 30/8/56, f o l s . 96-97; B i l l of R i g h t s S o c i e t y t o the House of Assembly of S o u t h C a r o l i n a s t r e s s e s m u t u a l i t y of i n t e r e s t s : d efence of common r i g h t s . \" P r o p e r t y i s the N a t u r a l R i g h t of mankind, the c o n n e c t i o n between t a x a t i o n and r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i s i t s n e c e s s a r y consequence. Our case i s one, our enemies the same.\" l 4 L . J e s s e Lemisch, \"Jack Tar V e r s u s John B u l l , The R o l e of New Y o r k ' s Seamen i n P r e c i p i t a t i n g the R e v o l u t i o n \" ( u n p u b l i s h e d Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y , 1962). 1 5 C a l e n d a r of Home O f f i c e P apers (1766-69), No. 1317. October 20, 1769. 16 A s h t o n , Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800. p. 159; see a l s o M i l d r e d C a m p b e l l , \" E n g l i s h E m i g r a t i o n on the Eve of t h e American R e v o l u t i o n , \" American H i s t o r i c a l Review, L X I , No. 1 ( O c t o b e r , 1955). ' \"? \u00E2\u0080\u00A2\";. . 9 r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s and the a u t h o r i t i e s i n America may w e l l have been the f a c t t h a t regiments, such as Burgoyne's L i g h t Horse, which had suppressed r i o t s i n England of the 1760's l a t e r served i n the American campaigns between 1775 and 1783. More important than the r e a l connection of such events at home and abroad was the apprehension of such a connection by i n f l u e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s . The p r i v i l e g e d orders of E n g l i s h s o c i e t y saw a c l e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p between r i o t o u s events i n England, I r e l a n d , and America. As one p o l i t i c i a n s a r d o n i c -a l l y observed, \"Has not the mob of London as good a r i g h t to 17 be i n s o l e n t as the unchecked mob of Boston?\" The r u l e r s of England p e r c e i v e d a common d e c l i n e towards anarchy which 18 was to be opposed i n a l l the King's dominions. Hence they adopted i n c r e a s i n g l y r i g i d a t t i t u d e s towards mobs at home and abroad. Al.though c l a s s awareness among the l a b o u r i n g poor i n i t s f u l l e s t sense had to await the f u l l development of the f a c t o r y system i n the next century, there was emerging a new p o l a r i z a t i o n of c l a s s a t t i t u d e s i n the 1760's.*^ While o f t e n i n t h i s decade, d i s p u t e s were between i n t e r e s t groups 17 Mr. Wedderburn to Mr. G r e n v i l l e , A p r i l 3, 1768, G r e n v i l l e Papers, ed. by W i l l i a m James Smith (4 v o l s . ; London: John Murray, 1853), IV, 263-65. 18 B a r r i n g t o n to Adam J e l l i c o e , September 1, 1768, Ipswich and East S u f f o l k Record O f f i c e , Ipswich, L e t t e r Book of V i s c o u n t B a r r i n g t o n , B a r r i n g t o n Papers. 19 Asa B r i g g s , \"The Language of C l a s s , \" i n Essays i n Labour H i s t o r y , ed. by Asa Br i g g s and John S a v i l l e , Papermac (London: Macmillan, 1967). 10 w i t h i n the r a n k s of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor, c o n f l i c t s between i n d u s t r i a l w o r k ers and owners over wages and c o n d i t i o n s o c c u r r e d more f r e q u e n t l y t h a n b e f o r e and r e v e a l e d the dawn-i n g of c l a s s i d e n t i t y . W i t h the p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of t h e p r i n c i p l e s and p r a c t i c e s of the o l d \"moral economy,\" workers found i t u s e l e s s t o d i r e c t t h e i r e n e r g i e s s o l e l y towards l o w e r i n g the p r i c e s of \" n e c e s s a r i e s . \" They at f i r s t demanded the a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e o l d p r o t e c t i v e s t a t u t e s r e g u l a t i n g f o o d p r i c e s , wages, a p p r e n t i c e s h i p , and f o r e i g n c o m p e t i t i o n . When f o r the most p a r t the a u t h o r i t i e s f a i l e d t o do what t h e y w i s h e d , the i n d u s t r i a l poor r i o t e d and s t r u c k f o r h i g h e r wages and b e t t e r c o n d i t i o n s . W h i l e t r a d i -t i o n a l g o a l s and t a c t i c s of the poor c o n t i n u e d t o e x i s t a l o n g s i d e the more n o v e l ones, the f i r s t decade of George I l l ' s r e i g n was a t r a n s i t i o n a l one i n l a b o u r r e l a t i o n s . T h i s t r a n s i t i o n was more apparent i n the s t r i k e s and r i o t s among b o t h the p r o v i n c i a l and the m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s -t r i a l workers i n the 1760's t h a n among a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r e r s and r e f l e c t e d t h e emergence of embryonic t r a d e u n i o n s . As the Webbs n o t e d , e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y t r a d e u n i o n s were d i s -20 t i n c t from e a r l i e r c r a f t g u i l d s . They appeared at the b e g i n n i n g of the c e n t u r y among workers i n the c l o t h t r a d e , w h i c h was among the f i r s t t r a d e s t o be o p e r a t e d on a Sydney and B e a t r i c e Webb, The H i s t o r y of Trade U n i o n i s m ( 1 8 9 4 ) , R e p r i n t s of Economic C l a s s i c s ( N e w York: Augustus M. K e l l e y , 1965), p. 16. 11 c a p i t a l i s t i c b a s i s . The o r g a n i z a t i o n and goals of the wool-combers, weavers, and others of the woollen c l o t h i n d u s t r y , which were q u i c k l y i m i t a t e d by other i n d u s t r i a l groups, were the r e s u l t of the s e p a r a t i o n of the workers from the owner-sh i p of the c a p i t a l and machinery e s s e n t i a l to the produc-t i o n of c l o t h goods. By the 1760's many of the journeymen i n London trades had come to r e c o g n i z e the i m p r o b a b i l i t y of t h e i r r i s i n g to p o s i t i o n s of ownership, and adjusted t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n s and goals to s u i t t h e i r economic and s o c i a l e x p e c t a t i o n s . The r e l a t i v e l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d t a c t i c s and demands of the p r o v i n c i a l and m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s t r i a l workers, which was evident i n the 1760's, r e f l e c t e d the slowly-emerging i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y . Although i t extended through s e v e r a l s o c i a l orders and was by no means as cohesive as some commentators sug-gested, the landed i n t e r e s t was more homogeneous i n outlook, e s p e c i a l l y i n economic a f f a i r s , than the i n d u s t r i o u s poor, who were not only d i v i d e d i n t o f i n e l y - g r a d e d s o c i a l o rders, 21 but a l s o m u l t i t u d i n o u s economic i n t e r e s t s . S i m i l a r l y , the r i s i n g i n d u s t r i a l i s t s had a sense of i d e n t i t y as a d i s t i n c t i n t e r e s t group. The e f f e c t of the d i s o r d e r s of the 1760's upon these two r e l a t i v e l y homogeneous i n t e r e s t s was to i n c r e a s e t h e i r s e n s i t i v i t y to the threatened 11 tyranny of M. Dorothy George, London L i f e i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century (London: Kegan P a u l , Trench, Trubner & Co. L t d . , 1925; r e p r i n t e d , New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1965), passim. 12 numbers.\" T h e r e a f t e r , d e s p i t e t h e i r mutual d i s l i k e and sus-p i c i o n , both these groups i n times of d i s o r d e r stood t o g e t h e r a g a i n s t the t h r e a t from below, of which they f i r s t became r e a l l y aware i n the 1750's and 1760*s. The focus of t h i s work w i l l be the hunger and indus-t r i a l r i o t s of 1763-69. These r i o t s and the W i l k i t e d i s -o r d e r s , while r e l a t e d through a common background of s o c i a l u n rest and economic d e p r i v a t i o n , are b e t t e r t r e a t e d separ-a t e l y . F or reasons which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n P a r t I I below, the W i l k i t e d i s o r d e r s w i l l be p e r i p h e r a l to t h i s study. In a n a l y z i n g the background, to the events of the 1760's, i t w i l l be necessary to co n s i d e r developments e a r l i e r i n the century, e s p e c i a l l y those of the previous decade. Some understanding of the e v o l u t i o n of a t t i t u d e s of va r i o u s groups to farmers and middlemen, f o r example, i s an e s s e n t i a l p r e r e q u i s i t e to e x p l a i n the e x t r a o r d i n a r y h o s t i l -i t y of both the a u t h o r i t i e s and the poor to these two i n t e r -e sts i n the hunger r i o t s of 1766-67. S i m i l a r l y , the p o l a r -i z a t i o n of c l a s s i n t e r e s t s over the M i l i t i a A c t c r i s i s of 1757 and the food r i o t s connected with i t help to e x p l a i n the e q u i v o c a l r o l e of the a u t h o r i t i e s i n 1766-67 and the apparent m a l l e a b i l i t y of the poor. 13 The p a u c i t y of d e t a i l e d source m a t e r i a l s hampers the 22 student of the E n g l i s h mobs of the e i g h t e e n t h century. The absence of a n a t i o n a l p o l i c e f o r c e and the l a c k of an e f f i c i e n t bureaucracy l a r g e l y account f o r such d e f i c i e n c i e s . Calendars of p r i s o n e r s d e l i v e r e d to the f o u r s p e c i a l a s s i z e s h e l d i n W i l t s h i r e , B e r k s h i r e , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , and N o r f o l k i n December, 1766 r a r e l y i n d i c a t e more than the names and a l l e g e d o f f e n c e s . Other Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s papers are e q u a l l y vague. S e s s i o n a l r e c o r d books, c o l l e c t i o n s of d e p o s i t i o n s , and p r o s e c u t i o n b r i e f s are more v a l u a b l e sources of d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n about the composition of mobs, but are r a r e l y a v a i l a b l e . Only Norwich Record O f f i c e has these types of m a t e r i a l f o r 1766-67, and one may w r i t e w i t h more confidence about the s o c i a l complexion and goals of the r i o t e r s who d i d great p r o p e r t y damage i n that c i t y i n l a t e September, 1766, than about other hunger r i o t e r s of the p e r i o d . G e n e r a l l y , d e t a i l s of age, occupation, m i l i t a r y attachment, p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of r i o t e r s and other i n f o r m a t i o n e s s e n t i a l f o r a c l o s e , s o c i o l o g i c a l a n a l y s i s of r i o t o u s mobs are only recorded i n d e s c r i p t i o n s of suspects 23 b e l i e v e d to have absconded. Marching Orders of the Army, 22 r George Rude has c o n t r a s t e d the d e t a i l e d records kept by the French p o l i c e i n t h i s century. George Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , A Study of P o p u l a r Disturbances i n France and England, 1730-1848 (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1964), p. 13. 23 See Norwich Record O f f i c e , Norwich Quarter Ses-sions Order Book (1755-1775). 14 newspaper accounts, and s c a t t e r e d p r i v a t e correspondence only p a r t i a l l y f i l l the gaps i n extant l e g a l documents. I t i s now almost a t r u i s m to remark at the beginning of any study of r i o t i n g t h a t most records are s u b j e c t to the d i s t o r t i o n s of the c l a s s sympathies of the o f f i c i a l s and the a r t i c u l a t e m i n o r i t y who wrote of the events i n documents, 24 newspapers, and l e t t e r s to f r i e n d s . By d e f i n i t i o n , the i n a r t i c u l a t e poor l e f t few r ecords of t h e i r m o t i v a t i o n s and a c t i o n s . T h e i r s t o r y has to be p i e c e d t o g e t h e r from i n d i r e c t sources, always remembering t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s pursued a d e l i b e r a t e p o l i c y of d i s c r e d i t i n g them. In the 1750's, f o r example, Lord M a n s f i e l d advised the Marquis of Rockingham, the Lord L i e u t e n a n t of the West R i d i n g , to a d v e r t i s e widely the d i s h o n e s t y of the r i o t e r s i n order to d i s c r e d i t them i n the eyes of the p u b l i c , and there can be l i t t l e doubt t h a t the same p o l i c y was pursued a decade l a t e r when more s e r i o u s 25 r i o t s broke out. E a r l y accounts of food r i o t s i n 1766 commented on the honesty of mobs, who f o r c e d the s a l e of g r a i n at \" j u s t \" p r i c e s and saw t h a t the former owners 24 E. P. Thompson, The Making of the E n g l i s h Working C l a s s (London: V i c t o r G o l l a n c z , 1963) , p~. 59 and passinu 25 M a n s f i e l d to Rockingham, October 4, 1757, C e n t r a l L i b r a r y , S h e f f i e l d , Rockingham MSS, Rl-108: M a n s f i e l d sug-gested s h e r i f f s ' sending advertisements over the country to show the \"wicked s p i r i t t h a t has blown up the mob, the i n s t a n c e s where they have ended i n e x a c t i n g money i e t h e f t or robbery.' Undervaluing them that they ought to be sup-pressed by the C i v i l M a g i s t r a t e to leave the m i l i t a r y f o r c e f r e e to attend to matters more important.\" 15 26 r e c e i v e d t h e i r money from the s a l e s . L a t e r accounts r e p o r t growing pr o p e r t y damage and l o o t i n g . T h i s changing p i c t u r e may, t h e r e f o r e , r e f l e c t the growing e x a s p e r a t i o n of the r i o t e r s , or i n c r e a s e d alarm among the p r i v i l e g e d c l a s s e s at the e a r l i e r d i s c i p l i n e d r e s t r a i n t of the d i s a f f e c t e d whom they now sought to d i s c r e d i t , or a combination of both. Newspaper p u b l i s h e r s , s e n s i t i v e to the c r i t i c i s m t h a t d e t a i l e d r e p o r t i n g of r i o t s s t i m u l a t e d d i s t u r b a n c e s elsewhere, p r o v i d e d incomplete news coverage of d i s t u r b a n c e s . In October, 1766, f o r example, the P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r pub-l i s h e d a l e t t e r of complaint from one s u b s c r i b e r who accused the e d i t o r of i n c i t i n g u n r e s t by c o n s t a n t l y r e p o r t i n g r i o t s 27 i n d e t a i l . The e d i t o r acknowledged the danger, and t h e r e -a f t e r few accounts of r i o t s appear i n that paper f o r the remaining months of 1766. The magistrates of Norwich actu-a l l y ordered the l o c a l newspapers to r e f r a i n from i n c l u d i n g graphic d e t a i l s a f t e r two days of e x t e n s i v e r i o t s i n Septem-28 ber, 1766 to a v o i d i n c i t i n g f u r t h e r outbreaks. There was 26 John P i t t to Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 290. \"Mob was honest but r e s e n t s any f r a u d on i t s e l f . \" 27 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , October 25, 1766. QQ Norwich Mercury, October 4, 1766, d a t e l i n e d October 2. \"By order of the m a g i s t r a t e s . P r i n t i n g and pub-l i s h i n g i n newspapers, the v a r i o u s excesses of r i o t e r s and d i s t u r b e r s of the peace, being l i t t l e l e s s than h o l d i n g out examples f o r the wicked and p r o f l i g a t e i n other p l a c e s , i t i s thought s u f f i c i e n t to acquaint our readers, t h a t from specious pretences a great number of the lowest people wan-t o n l y destroyed p r o v i s i o n s i n the l a s t Saturday's market, and committed other outrages.\" 16 perhaps some j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r such censorship because news-papers were prone to p u b l i s h rumours which c i r c u l a t e d through the market places and gave exaggerated accounts of disturbances. One w r i t e r reported three examples of d i s t o r -t i o n s from Western England: (1) The mob removed f l o u r from Mr. Cambridge's m i l l at Whitminster w i t h l i t t l e damage. Lord Hardwicke's re p o r t spoke of a m i l l p u l l e d down i n Cambridgeshire; (2) A nervous man ran at the sound of the Cow's Horn, the s i g n a l of the mob, and h i s w i f e had f i t s . Four miles away i n Gloucester the report spread that h i s house had been \" p u l l e d down about h i s ears and h i s r i c k s destroyed\"; (3) Dragoons who had been sent to C i r e n c e s t e r were reported a l l k i l l e d . An o f f i c e r who i n q u i r e d i n t o the s i t u a t i o n reported to the War O f f i c e that many had been wounded and seven k i l l e d . Four days l a t e r a l l the s o l d i e r s 29 returned to Gloucester, a mere ten miles away. Even i f the records of t r i a l s were complete and accurate, one could not be c e r t a i n that those a r r e s t e d f o r r i o t i n g were a c r o s s - s e c t i o n of the mobs. Magistrates were often unable to a r r e s t r i o t e r s f o r s e v e r a l days or even weeks a f t e r t h e i r a l l e g e d offences. Without m i l i t a r y a s s i s -tance the a u t h o r i t i e s were unable to make summary a r r e s t s . As the army g r a d u a l l y r e s t o r e d calm to the r u r a l areas i n October and November, 1766, the magistrates concentrated ^ P i t t to Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 290. 17 t h e i r e f f o r t s on hunting down the r i n g l e a d e r s . F i n d i n g w i t -nesses, t a k i n g d e p o s i t i o n s , and f i n a l l y t r a c i n g o f f e n d e r s were a l l time-consuming, and the j u s t i c e s f r e q u e n t l y e n l i s t e d the a i d of church wardens and other p a r i s h o f f i -c i a l s . They asked f o r i n f o r m a t i o n about the names of known r i o t e r s , v i l l a g e r s who were absent from t h e i r home p a r i s h e s 30 d u r i n g the r i o t s , or people who had subsequently absconded. Consequently, those i n d i c t e d f o r r i o t i n g were almost i n v a r i -31 ably l o c a l s . D e s p i t e t h e i r absence from l i s t s of p r i s -oners, one may suspect t h a t c e r t a i n o u t s i d e groups d i d i n f a c t p a r t i c i p a t e i n the d i s o r d e r s . S i m i l a r l y , although documents r a r e l y i d e n t i f y p r i s o n e r s as ex-servicemen, the t a c t i c s of the mob, the dress of the p a r t i c i p a n t s and the comments of the a u t h o r i t i e s s t r o n g l y h i n t at the importance of the veterans of the Seven Years' War i n the d i s t u r b a n c e s of the 1 7 6 0 ' s . 3 2 The dangers of i n t e r p r e t i n g e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y s t a t i s t i c s are too w e l l known to h i s t o r i a n s to r e q u i r e 33 lengthy comment here. Those r e l a t i n g to the p r i c e s of 30 Norwich Qua r t e r Se s s i o n s Order Book (1766). 3 1 Cf. George Rude, \"The London Mob of the E i g h t e e n t h Century,\" H i s t o r i c a l J o u r n a l , I I , No. 1 (1959), 1-18. 32 See P a r t I, Chapter IV below. 33 See S i r George Norman C l a r k , Guide to E n g l i s h Com-m e r c i a l S t a t i s t i c s - - 1 6 9 6 - 1 7 8 2 (London: O f f i c e s of the Royal H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y , 1938). 18 p r o v i s i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y g r a i n , are most r e l e v a n t to t h i s work, because p r i c e f l u c t u a t i o n s c o r r e l a t e c l o s e l y w i t h the i n c i d e n c e of hunger r i o t s . Broadly, there are two sources f o r such f i g u r e s : c e r t a i n wholesale p r i c e records kept by such i n s t i t u t i o n s as Eton School, and monthly l i s t s of mar-ket p r i c e s s p o r a d i c a l l y p u b l i s h e d by the Gentleman's Maga-zi n e and other j o u r n a l s . For the establishment of s h o r t -term f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the cost of l i v i n g , the wholesale p r i c e s are l e s s v a l u a b l e than the r e t a i l market p r i c e s . U s u a l l y based upon average p r i c e s at two seasonal dates i n the year, Lady Day and Michaelmas, they bore only an i n d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p to the p r i c e s of the food t h a t the l a b o u r i n g poor were f o r c e d to buy i n the market p l a c e or i n the 3 4 bakers' shops. Although the p r i c e s l i s t e d i n the press are more v a l u a b l e i n studying the p r e c i p i t a t i n g causes of popular p r o t e s t s i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, t h i s source has i t s d i s -advantages too. The p u b l i s h e r s of the Gentleman's Magazine, f o r example, gleaned i n f o r m a t i o n on l o c a l food p r i c e s only w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f i c u l t y w i t h the a i d of v o l u n t a r y cor-3 5 respondents. T h e i r v a r y i n g degree of d e t a i l r e f l e c t e d c u r r e n t p u b l i c concern over comparatively s h o r t c r i s i s 3 4 Many w r i t e r s used the wholesale p r i c e s of Eton C o l l e g e . See C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn (anonymous pamphlet, 1766). 3 5Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI (1766), XXXVII (1767), XXXVIII (1768). 19 periods. In 1767 the Gentleman's Magazine attempted to record accurate market s t a t i s t i c s f o r various d i v i s i o n s of England i n the i n t e r e s t s of ob t a i n i n g more r a t i o n a l g r a i n l e g i s l a t i o n , but the u n r e l i a b i l i t y of i t s voluntary c o r r e -spondents soon f o r c e d the abandonment of t h i s attempt. Even when such i n f o r m a t i o n was forthcoming, i t was d i s a p p o i n t i n g l y vague and incomplete. U s u a l l y newspapers and j o u r n a l s published a range of p r i c e s at which g r a i n s o l d i n l o c a l markets\"on a given day. They r a r e l y d i s t i n g u i s h e d between grades of g r a i n . There was, f o r example, i n the summer of 1766 two ranges of p r i c e s , one f o r o l d and one f o r new g r a i n , and w i t h i n each range there were two l e v e l s , the p r i c e paid by dealers which was negotiated i n p r i v a t e , and the \"pedling p r i c e \" which was paid i n the open market and i \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 i 36 was higher. Nor was the f a c t t h a t g r a i n s o l d at a p a r t i c u l a r p r i c e i n a l o c a l market according to the monthly f i g u r e s i n the Gentleman's Magazine any guarantee t h a t i t could be pur-chased by anyone at that p r i c e . Barley and oats i n Southern England, f o r example, u s u a l l y went d i r e c t to the brewers, 37 d i s t i l l e r s or other dealers r a t h e r than the r e t a i l market. 3 _> Charles Townsend to Grafton, September 4, 1766, West S u f f o l k County Record O f f i c e , Bury St. Edmunds, Grafton Papers. 3 7 S e e Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI -(.1766) and XXXVII (1767)., and House of Lords Record O f f i c e , Westminster, Com-mittee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765), Main Papers. 20 T h i s p a r t l y e x p l a i n s why the p r i c e s of the c o a r s e r g r a i n s throughout the r i o t months remained c u r i o u s l y steady and w e l l below the p r i c e of wheat. Although there are strong i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t p r i c e s of food d i d s p i r a l upwards i n times of s o c i a l d i s c o n t e n t and one can e s t a b l i s h a c o r r e l a t i o n i n most i n s t a n c e s , there are anomalies. The f a c t t h a t p r i c e s rose s h a r p l y i n p a r t s of the country l i k e Wales without d i s o r d e r s o c c u r r i n g , while elsewhere p r i c e s remained s t a b l e i n centres l i k e Worcester 3! where r i o t s s t i l l took p l a c e , r a i s e s i n t e r e s t i n g q u e s t i o n s . E i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y g r a i n s t a t i s t i c s are at best imprecise measurements of d i s c o n t e n t . They are broad i n d i -c a t o r s of the c o n d i t i o n s of the poor. Even when they appear to be reasonably accurate and complete, they must be r e l a t e d to the p r i c e s of other p r o v i s i o n s , to wages and employment p o s s i b i l i t i e s , and the e x p e c t a t i o n s of the people. But a knowledge of the a t t i t u d e s ,of the poor and t h e i r r e a c t i o n s to t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s i s i t s e l f i n s u f f i c i e n t to determine the causes of r i o t s . The responses of the poor do not e x i s t i n a vacuum. One can focus too narrowly on the \"faces i n the crowd.\" The a t t i t u d e s of other s i g n i f i c a n t groups and t h e i r r o l e s i n the events of 1766-68 are v i t a l l y important. Because of the present l i m i t a t i o n o f - s ource mater-i a l s , any study of the r i o t s of the 1760's must remain 3 8Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI (1766). See monthly g r a i n p r i c e s f o r summer and autumn months. 21 c h i e f l y i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c . P a t i e n t c u l l i n g of county record o f f i c e s by teams of researchers may yet uncover adequate m a t e r i a l f o r e s s e n t i a l l o c a l s t u d i e s of eighteenth-century r i o t s . To date, h i s t o r i a n s have only begun t h i s type of work on r i o t s of the next century. When a whole s e r i e s of stu d i e s comparable to the one produced by A. J . Peacock on the East A n g l i a n a g r a r i a n r i o t s of 1816 appears, a new work 39 of synthesis may proceed. Work on eighteenth-century r i o t s appears l i k e l y then to proceed i n two d i r e c t i o n s : l o c a l s t u d i e s as noted above, and comparative studies of American, I r i s h , and E n g l i s h d i s o r d e r s . 4 ^ The l i n k s already apparent are suggestive of i n t e r e s t i n g i n s i g h t s i n t o the s o c i a l developments of the three c o u n t r i e s . Meanwhile, although conclusions must perforce be t e n t a t i v e , i t seems appropriate to undertake a re-examination of the d i s o r d e r s of the 1760's. Such an i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c study has value because recent pioneer s e m i - s o c i o l o g i c a l analyses of the h i s t o r i c a l mob i n B r i t a i n and France r a i s e questions about the wider context i n which the E n g l i s h 41 r i o t e r s of the eighteenth century operated. Is i t v a l i d 39 A. J . Peacock, Bread or Blood, A Study of the A g r a r i a n R i o t s i n East A n g l i a i n 1816 ( L o n d o n : V i c t o r G o l l a n c z , 1965). 40 See P a u l i n e Maier, \"John Wilkes and American D i s -i l l u s i o n m e n t w i t h B r i t a i n , \" W i l l i a m and Mary Q u a r t e r l y , XX, 3rd ser. (1963), 373-95. ^Georges Levebvre, George Rude, et a l . 22 to e x p l a i n the a c t i o n s and goals of r i o t e r s s o l e l y or even predominantly i n r e l a t i o n to the \"faces i n the crowd\"? I f the f l u c t u a t i n g p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s and the apparent t h r e a t of s t a r v a t i o n p r e c i p i t a t e d them, d i d the responses of the a u t h o r i t i e s and other i n f l u e n t i a l groups a f f e c t the form and d i r e c t i o n of the r i o t s ? Were i n f a c t even r u r a l hunger mobs as f r e e from the i n f l u e n c e of those standing o u t s i d e and apart from them as George Rude would perhaps have us 42 b e l i e v e ? He i s more w i l l i n g to see urban p o l i t i c a l mobs, r a t h e r than hunger r i o t e r s , manipulated by those standing o u t s i d e and apart from them. I f the a c t i o n s and goals of the mobs were c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e i r s o c i a l composition, why d i d they not at t a c k e q u a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e t a r g e t s t h a t went unmolested? More s p e c i f i c a l l y , i f they attacked corn d e a l e r s and l a r g e farmers, why d i d they not a s s a u l t i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , such as c o a l owners and c l o t h i e r s who kept down wages, or gentry w i t h whom they had r e c e n t l y q u a r r e l l e d over d i s c r i m -i n a t o r y m i l i t i a l e g i s l a t i o n ? Are i n f l u e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s whom the r i o t e r s d i d not attack as important i n e s t i m a t i n g moti-v a t i o n as those whom they d i d a t t a c k ? T h i s a b s t e n t i o n from r i o t i n g a g a i n s t employers i n 1766 i s remarkable given the economic r e c e s s i o n of the l a t e 1760's and the h i s t o r y of i n d u s t r i a l t e n s i o n s . C l o t h i n g workers had engaged i n b i t t e r d i s p u t e s over wages wit h West Country c l o t h i e r s l e s s than a 'Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y . 23 43 decade e a r l i e r ; even more r e c e n t l y c o a l miners had atta c k e d the p r o p e r t y of t h e i r masters t o gain concessions i n working 44 c o n d i t i o n s and to maintain wage l e v e l s . Why d i d not the i n d u s t r i a l workers demand h i g h e r wages and continuous employment from t h e i r employers as the cost of l i v i n g rose? Can the a c t i o n s of the v a r i o u s i n d u s t r i a l mobs, such as sea-men and coalheavers, be e x p l a i n e d without w r i t i n g of t h e i r e x p l o i t a t i o n and ma n i p u l a t i o n by government-paid l e a d e r s as w e l l as p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e r s ? C o n s i d e r a t i o n of these and other important questions w i l l be given i n subsequent chapters. A l l students of the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e of ei g h t e e n t h -century England f a c e problems of d e f i n i t i o n . While more p r e c i s e e x p l a n a t i o n s w i l l be provided on an ad hoc b a s i s i n fo o t n o t e s and t e x t , some g e n e r a l comment i s r e q u i r e d by way of i n t r o d u c t i o n . Asa Br i g g s has noted t h a t people l i v i n g i n t h i s p e r i o d d i d not use the term \" c l a s s \" to d e s c r i b e s o c i a l groupings, and p r e f e r r e d to employ names such as \" i n t e r e s t s \" 45 or \" o r d e r s . \" In t h i s study the phrase \"the landed i n t e r -e s t \" w i l l f r e q u e n t l y appear and w i l l d i s t i n g u i s h a l l who 43 E l i z a b e t h Waterman G i l b o y , Wages i n Eig h t e e n t h Century England, V o l . XLV of Harvard Economic Studi e s (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1934), p. 80 et seq. 4 4Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 430, 488; S t a t e Papers, SP 37/4, f o i . 1. 45 B r i g g s , \"The Language of C l a s s . \" 24 gained income from r e n t i n g or working t h e i r own l a n d . In t h i s economic sense, the name a p p l i e s to the great l a n d -owners who r e n t e d or developed la n d , as w e l l as to l e s s e r gentry and yeomen who farmed p a r t or a l l of t h e i r l a n d . S o c i a l l y the landed i n t e r e s t extended through s e v e r a l orders; from the a r i s t o c r a t i c landowner down to the yeoman. The term embraces wi d e l y d i f f e r e n t economic and s o c i a l l e v e l s . Only the r e n t i e r connection w i t h the land g i v e s u n i t y . C e r t a i n other e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y terms are c o n f u s i n g . The name \"yeoman\" o r i g i n a l l y had a f a i r l y p r e c i s e meaning, and was a p p l i e d to the order below the gentry and above the common farmer or peasant. During the course of the e i g h -teenth century, t h i s term came to have a much wider a p p l i c a -t i o n . There were yeomen carpenters and yeomen weavers, to name but two, as w e l l as yeomen farmers. Perhaps a modern p a r a l l e l f o r such a development i s the t i t l e \" e s q u i r e \" which a l s o has l o s t i t s p r e c i s e meaning long ago. In t h i s study \"yeoman\" w i l l be used i n i t s o l d e r sense of b e t t e r \" c l a s s \" farmer. Perhaps the most common phrases f o r the upper l e v e l s of E n g l i s h s o c i e t y were the upper and m i d d l i n g s o r t s . These terms are as imprecise as modern c l a s s c a t e g o r i e s , but l i k e them they are u s e f u l when p r e c i s e d e s c r i p t i o n s are impos-s i b l e , f o r they convey some meaning. G e n e r a l l y i n urban centres the m i d d l i n g s o r t r e f e r s to t h a t l a r g e group of w e l l - t o - d o merchants, a r t i s a n s , craftsmen, and the r e s t who 25 l a y between the a r i s t o c r a t i c and sub-noble f i n a n c i a l and commercial i n t e r e s t s on the one hand and the va s t conglomer-a t i o n of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor on the other. T h i s l a t t e r term r e f e r s to the l a b o u r e r s , weavers, manufacturers, seamen, miners, p o r t e r s , watermen, and many others who made up the poor working f o r c e of the n a t i o n . The term d i s t i n g u i s h e d them from the impotent poor, who i n c l u d e d the widows, orphans, the e l d e r l y and the i n f i r m , as w e l l as from the vagrants and the c r i m i n a l elements on the f r i n g e s of s o c i e t y . The i n d u s t r i o u s poor were i n no sense homogeneous i n the manner of the ni n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y f a c t o r y p r o l e t a r i a t . They i n c l u d e d a wide spectrum of occupations, and f i n e s o c i a l 46 g r a d a t i o n s , as Dorothy George has shown. Many were s e l f -employed, and the r e was as much r i v a l r y w i t h i n t h i s grouping as between i t and the mi d d l i n g s o r t . F i n a l l y , w h i le i t i s a n a c h r o n i s t i c to w r i t e of c l a s s i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, i t i s o f t e n convenient to use modern terminology as long as i t i s r e c a l l e d t h a t i t i s merely a t o o l of a n a l y s i s . Such g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s have to be used i f one i s not to be b u r i e d beneath the weight of d e t a i l . Where necessary q u a l i f i c a t i o n s w i l l be made i n the t e x t and elsewhere. George, London L i f e i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century. PART I CHAPTER I THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS OF 1766 The hunger r i o t s which spread across most of Southern England i n the summer and autumn of 1766 were the most exten-s i v e r u r a l d i s o r d e r s i n a century when food r i o t s became chronic.^\" More s e r i o u s i n t h e i r t h r e a t to the s o c i a l order than the v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t the high cost of \"neces-s a r i e s \" and the new M i l i t i a Act i n 1756-57, the d i s t u r b a n c e s of 1766 p l a c e d a very heavy s t r a i n upon the f o r c e s of order. They foreshadowed the more s e r i o u s a g r a r i a n r i o t s of the next century. While the War O f f i c e i n September, 1766 moved i t s detachments across the c o u n t r y s i d e i n a v a i n e f f o r t to par r y the r a p i d l y - s h i f t i n g t h r e a t s from m i l i t a n t l a b o u r e r s , c o l -l i e r s , t i n n e r s , weavers, and others of the p r o v i n c i a l \"'\"Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, passim. The m i l i t i a and food r i o t s of 1756-57 were most s e r i o u s i n Northern England when only about a q u a r t e r of the p o p u l a t i o n l i v e d n o r t h of the Trent (C. R. Fay, \" S i g n i f i -cance of the Corn Laws i n E n g l i s h H i s t o r y , \" Economic H i s t o r y Review, I, 1st s e r . [1927-28], 314). In c o n t r a s t the 1766 hunger r i o t s a f f e c t e d s e r i o u s l y most of Southern England, i n c l u d i n g some of the Midland Counties where n e a r l y t h r e e -q u a r t e r s of the p o p u l a t i o n l i v e d . 26 27 di s p o s s e s s e d , the r i o t e r s became b o l d e r and s e i z e d c o n t r o l of l a r g e t r a c t s of the c o u n t r y s i d e almost i n the manner of an occupying army. As the c r i s i s developed, demands f o r m i l i t a r y p r o t e c t i o n from market towns and i s o l a t e d country o e s t a t e s poured i n t o the War O f f i c e . By l a t e September the p a t t e r n of events had unfolded to the p o i n t where Lord B a r r i n g t o n , the Secretary-at-War, apprehended a t h r e a t of gene r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n . S t r i v i n g to m o b i l i z e h i s l i m i t e d r e s o u r c e s , he ordered the commanders of both a c t i v e troops and \" i n v a l i d e s \" to a s s i s t the c i v i l m a g i s t r a t e s \"upon r e q u i s -3 i t i o n , \" w h i le at the same time he urged the le a d e r s of r u r a l s o c i e t y , the a r i s t o c r a c y and the gentry to abandon t h e i r l e t h a r g y and use t h e i r i n i t i a t i v e i n arming t h e i r 4 servants to suppress l e s s s e r i o u s d i s t u r b a n c e s . The army only p a c i f i e d the s e v e r a l d i s a f f e c t e d counties w i t h great d i f f i c u l t y . Although s e r i o u s r i o t i n g had ended by l a t e October, and t r i a l s before the s p e c i a l a s s i z e s began to 2 B a r r i n g t o n to the E a r l of S u f f o l k , October 1, 1766, L e t t e r Book of V i s c o u n t B a r r i n g t o n . 3 P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , Marching Orders of the Army, W05-54, p. 341 and passim. 4 S i r George S a v i l e c a l c u l a t e d a mere two years l a t e r t h a t there were a v a i l a b l e 18,000 r e g u l a r troops, 33,000 m i l i t i a to suppress g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n . West to Newcastle, May 17, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990. To these f i g u r e s should be added seamen s e r v i n g i n home waters. A v a r i e t y of ships were used i n the seamen and coalheavers' r i o t s of 1766 to blockade the Thames. Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69),-p. 371, No. 978, and P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , A d m i r a l t y E n t r y Book (1766-1784), pp. 39-41. 28 r e l i e v e p r essure on the crowded county gaols by e a r l y Decem-ber, hunger r i o t s continued i n a d e s u l t o r y f a s h i o n f o r the next two years i n p r o v i n c i a l England. I t w i l l be v a l u a b l e to examine f i r s t the t i m i n g , l o c a t i o n , extent, and d i r e c t i o n of these r i o t s to determine t h e i r immediate causes, before i n subsequent chapters a n a l y z -in g the u n d e r l y i n g f a c t o r s behind the a c t i o n s of both the r i o t e r s and the a u t h o r i t i e s . In 1766 there were three waves of hunger r i o t s . O c c u r r i n g i n January and February, the f i r s t wave essen-t i a l l y was a c o n t i n u a t i o n of the d i s t u r b a n c e s of the p r e v i -ous year over high food p r i c e s and the c o n s t r u c t i o n of houses of i n d u s t r y i n East A n g l i a . These r i o t s were r e l a -t i v e l y minor, and except f o r s p o r a d i c outbreaks l a t e r i n the s p r i n g they had ceased by the end of February. The second wave took p l a c e i n the e a r l y weeks of August. T h i s wave l a s t e d only two weeks but, i n the course of i t , r i o t o u s mobs d i s r u p t e d numerous d i s t r i c t s i n the West Country and Berk-s h i r e . The t h i r d , and most severe, wave of r i o t s began i n the f i r s t week of September and, except f o r minor i s o l a t e d outbreaks, was over by the end of October. During t h i s two-month p e r i o d , much of Southern England experienced s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s . The i n c i d e n c e of a l l three waves of r i o t i n g c o r r e l a t e d c l o s e l y with sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of g r a i n and movements of wheat to the p o r t s . 29 The r i o t s of e a r l y 1766 were an e x p r e s s i o n of the unr e s t among the poor which had ebbed and flowed with sea-sonal and c y c l i c a l economic f l u c t u a t i o n s d u r i n g the course of s e v e r a l years. The p r i c e s of food had been g e n e r a l l y h i g h s i n c e the end of the Seven Years' War, due to d i s a p -p o i n t i n g h a r v e s t s and epidemics among c a t t l e and sheep. D i s c o n t e n t approached c r i s i s p r o p o r t i o n s with the high c o s t of bread i n 1765 and economic r e c e s s i o n i n p a r t s of the no r t h and the Midlands. In t h a t year, the bounty on g r a i n exports had ceased when wheat p r i c e s at Bear Key, London 6 rose to f o r t y - e i g h t s h i l l i n g s a q u a r t e r . But such s e l f -r e g u l a t i n g a c t i o n s of the Corn Laws r a r e l y s o l v e d the prob-lem of high food p r i c e s i n the eightee n t h century. In l e s s -a c c e s s i b l e i n t e r i o r d i s t r i c t s of England g r a i n p r i c e s were f r e q u e n t l y h i g h e r than they were at the p o r t s where market 7 p r i c e s determined export p r a c t i c e s . T h i s s i t u a t i o n l e d to s e r i o u s t e n s i o n s among the r u r a l populace of i n l a n d r e g i o n s . D i s t u r b a n c e s at B r a i n t r e e and elsewhere i n 1765 caused Par-liament t o . a u t h o r i z e the admission of d u t y - f r e e g r a i n between May 10 and August 24. As an a d d i t i o n a l c a u t i o n a r y measure P a r l i a m e n t granted a u t h o r i t y to the government to 5Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 84-85 and 567. 6 I b i d . , p. 195. 7 I b i d . , p. 45. 8 I b i d . , p. 394. 30 suspend during the summer recess of Parliament a l l g r a i n exports by Order-in-Council should circumstances warrant 9 i i t . (The gran t i n g of t h i s power to the M i n i s t r y created confusion i n the summer of 1766 when some p o l i t i c i a n s b e l i e v e d i t was s t i l l i n force.) Although some r e l i e f f o r the people came w i t h the harvest of 1765, the p r i c e s of pro-v i s i o n s remained high. By December one correspondent was f o r e c a s t i n g general i n s u r r e c t i o n i f p r i c e s d i d not drop and unemployment d e c l i n e , e s p e c i a l l y i n the northern i n d u s t r i a l r e g i o n s . \" ^ The r i o t s which occurred i n the f o l l o w i n g year, however, spread through Southern'England. The e a r l i e s t disturbances of 1766 took two forms: p r o t e s t s i n the markets at the high p r i c e s of food and threatened attacks on f l o u r m i l l s ; and renewed a s s a u l t s on the r e c e n t l y - c o n s t r u c t e d workhous'es i n Eastern England. As w i l l be seen, the r i o t s over the extension of a system of indoor r e l i e f f r e q u e n t l y outside the r e c i p i e n t ' s p a r i s h of settlement were c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to economic d e p r i v a t i o n but they were somewhat more complex i n o r i g i n than the common type of food r i o t s . A considerable part of the r i o t e r s ' h o s t i l i t y towards the workhouses r e l a t e d to resentment at the l o s s of t r a d i t i o n a l r i g h t s . 9 Harcourt to Jenkinson, September 16, 1766, Add. MSS, 38205. 1 QGentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 567. 31 While the d i s t u r b a n c e s of e a r l y 1766 were r e l a t i v e l y minor, they do o f f e r some i n s i g h t s i n t o the causes of u n r e s t which l a t e r culminated i n the s e r i o u s outbreaks of v i o l e n c e i n the summer and autumn of t h a t year. They took p l a c e i n and around the West Country g r a i n p o r t of Lyme. Here, on January 24, the ma g i s t r a t e s had to read the R i o t Act to d i s -perse \"one hundred r i n g l e a d e r s \" and c a l l f o r m i l i t a r y a s s i s -tance to deal' w i t h a mob of s i x hundred which the a u t h o r i -t i e s expected to r e t u r n . ' ^ C o n d i t i o n s remained t h r e a t e n i n g 12 and the j u s t i c e s needed troops to maintain the peace, u n t i l at the end of February the government took d e c i s i v e a c t i o n to remove the prime cause of unrest by i n t r o d u c i n g a pa r l i a m e n t a r y b i l l to suspend f o r s i x months a l l corn , 13 exports. The immediate o c c a s i o n of the d i s t u r b a n c e s at Lyme had been the movement of g r a i n through the p o r t at a time when the u s u a l seasonal i n c r e a s e s were beginning to a f f e c t the p r i c e s of g r a i n , which had been high s i n c e the autumn of 1765. Normally the g r e a t e s t movement of g r a i n p r i c e s occurred between Lady Day (March 25) and Michaelmas (Septem-ber 29) when high e r p r i c e s r e f l e c t e d dwindling stocks of o l d g r a i n and the u n c e r t a i n t i e s of farmers and corn f a c t o r s 1 : LMarchinq Orders, W05-54, p. 47. 1 2 I b i d . , p. 62. 13 6 Geo. I l l , caps. 3, 4, 5. 32 14 about the coming harvest. Because Lyme was i n - t h e West Country, a r e g i o n dependent upon other counties f o r g r a i n to f e e d i t s people and stock, the l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n was p a r t i c u -l a r l y s e n s i t i v e to the c o l l e c t i o n of g r a i n f o r export i n times of s c a r c i t y and h i g h p r i c e s . Probably i n e a r l y 1766 there was an u n u s u a l l y l a r g e q u a n t i t y of g r a i n moving through the p o r t . Because Europe and B r i t a i n tended to experience s i m i l a r weather c y c l e s , when har v e s t s were poor i n one country, they were poor across the c o n t i n e n t and 15 p r i c e s were u n i v e r s a l l y h i g h . In 1766 famine c o n d i t i o n s i n Europe were drawing from England a l l the a v a i l a b l e g r a i n . Probably shipments to the n o r t h of England, too, were u n u s u a l l y high. There had been c o n s i d e r a b l e unrest i n the i n d u s t r i a l n o r t h , and the government, f e a r i n g o u t r i g h t r e b e l l i o n , had a l r e a d y begun to r e i n f o r c e i t s northern gar-r i s o n s . \" ^ With the memory of the 1756-57 hunger r i o t s f r e s h i n mind, the M i n i s t r y understandably was anxious to ensure an adequate supply of bread f o r the northern populace. Thus i t encouraged shipments of g r a i n through the western p o r t s to supply the northern p o p u l a t i o n . 14 See the records of g r a i n p r i c e s on Lady Day and Michaelmas, 1752-1764, of the bursar of T r i n i t y C o l l e g e , Oxford, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). 15 C h a r l e s Ryle Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England (Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1932), p^ 28. \"Marching Orders, W05-54, p. 182. 33 The government's a c t i o n i n passing through P a r l i a -ment l e g i s l a t i o n which suspended the e x p o r t a t i o n of g r a i n between February 26 and August 26 c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e s the importance of examining the r o l e of the a u t h o r i t i e s i n the a g r a r i a n d i s t u r b a n c e s of the 1760's. T h i s suspension of corn exports was the v i t a l move which averted f u r t h e r r i o t s i n the g r a i n p o r t s of the West Country and the depressed i n d u s t r i a l areas of the i n t e r i o r of England. In a c t i n g thus, the M i n i s t r y was remarkably p r o v i d e n t . P o l i t i c i a n s were u s u a l l y r e l u c t a n t to i n t e r f e r e with corn r e g u l a t i o n s , which they supposed to be i n the i n t e r e s t s of the landed c l a s s e s and the general p o p u l a t i o n . E a r l y i n the previous decade Henry Pelham, addressing the gentry, f r e e h o l d e r s and c l e r g y of Sussex, had t y p i c a l l y a f f i r m e d h i s government's 17 support f o r the corn laws. M i n i s t e r s were u n w i l l i n g to antagonize g r a i n i n t e r e s t s or to j e o p a r d i z e European g r a i n markets, and they f r e q u e n t l y gambled on b o u n t i f u l harvests to r e l i e v e g r a i n shortages. U s u a l l y embargoes on exports were too l a t e to prevent s e r i o u s food shortages. When such g r a i n suspensions were imposed f o r s e v e r a l months i n a year, 1 7 A d d . MSS, 32732, f o i . 570, c i t e d i n Donald Grove Barnes, A H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws from 1660-1846 (New York! Augustus M. K e l l e y , 1961), p. 46. See a l s o H a r r i s to Hardwicke, October 3, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 295, and Newcastle to White, November 17, 1766, Add. MSS, 32977, f o l s . 403-404. C o n t r a s t R. B. Rose, \"Ei g h t e e n t h Cen-t u r y P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England,\". I n t e r -n a t i o n a l Review of S o c i a l H i s t o r y , VI, No. 2 (1961), 277-92. 34 they tended to r e s u l t i n the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of g r a i n exports w i t h i n a l i m i t e d p e r i o d , r a t h e r than to reduce the t o t a l q u a n t i t y exported i n a g i v e n year. The consequence of t h i s was t h a t the a c c e l e r a t e d r a t e of export i n c i t e d f u r t h e r popular u n r e s t . T h i s i s what occurred i n the summer of 1766. But i n February, 1766, by o b t a i n i n g an embargo upon corn exports, the M i n i s t r y was responding to more than the mere t h r e a t of food r i o t s over g r a i n movements i n the West Country, which as yet s c a r c e l y warranted the \"narrow-bottomed\" Rockingham M i n i s t r y ' s adding the g r a i n lobby to the other commercial and i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t s a l r e a d y a g i -18 t a t i n g a g a i n s t i t s commercial p o l i c i e s towards America. In f a c t the government was responding to p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as economic and s o c i a l circumstances. In l a t e February the q u e s t i o n of the r e p e a l of the Stamp Act was causing u n r e s t and u n c e r t a i n t y among v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t s i n the country. The Commons had only agreed on r e p e a l i n the f o u r t h week of February a f t e r a b i t t e r s t r u g g l e , and there was a r e a l p r o spect of an even tougher f i g h t i n the Lords. Horace Walpole's comments are i l l u m i n a t i n g here: A g e n e r a l I n s u r r e c t i o n was apprehended as the immediate consequence of upholding the b i l l , the r e v o l t of Amer-i c a , and the d e s t r u c t i o n of trade was the prospect i n the f u t u r e . A nod from the m i n i s t e r s would have l e t l o o s e a l l the manufacturers of B r i s t o l , L i v e r p o o l , Manchester, and such populous and d i s c o n t e n t e d towns, John Brooke, The Chatham A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 1766-1768 (London: Macmillan, 1956) , p~. x i et seq. 35 who threatened to send hosts to Westminster to back t h e i r demands. A l l o w i n g f o r Walpole's penchant f o r exaggeration, one may r e c o g n i z e t h a t there was a g r e a t deal of u n r e s t among the i n d u s t r i a l workers at t h i s time, which formed the background to the government's d e c i s i o n to seek a suspension of the g r a i n exports f o r s i x months. The e f f e c t of t h i s suspension was to emasculate any p o t e n t i a l r e b e l l i o n by removing the worst resentments of the unemployed manufacturers, who normally produced goods f o r the American market. Lowering the p r i c e s of food t e m p o r a r i l y appeased the poor, while the o p p o r t u n i t y to import d u t y - f r e e corn pleased some g r a i n mer-chants and t h e i r American s u p p l i e r s . Because the l e g i s l a -t i o n suspending g r a i n exports came i n t o e f f e c t three weeks befo r e the Lords agreed to the r e p e a l of the Stamp Act, i t p r o v i d e d i n t e r i m r e l i e f b e f o r e the ending of the American non-importation agreements i n c r e a s e d employment i n the depressed r e g i o n s . Whatever the motives of the government i n safeguard-i n g the s u p p l i e s of g r a i n i n the country, t h e i r a c t i o n i n ending the p r o v o c a t i v e corn movements to the western and n o r t h e r n p o r t s was t i m e l y , and most of the p r o v i n c i a l 19 Horace Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of King George the T h i r d , re-ed. by G. F. Russell-Barker, I I (London: Lawrence & B u l l e n , 1894), 211-12; see a l s o Ian R. C h r i s t i e , C r i s i s of Empire, Great B r i t a i n and the American C o l o n i e s , 1754-1783, Foundations, of Modern H i s t o r y , ed. by A. Goodwin (London: A r n o l d , 1966), pp. 60-61 and passim. 36 p o p u l a t i o n remained calm u n t i l prolonged bad weather and resumed g r a i n movements to the p o r t s i n a n t i c i p a t i o n of the l i f t i n g of the export ban threatened to c r e a t e famine con-d i t i o n s . For the next f i v e months, between, t h a t i s , February and August, the poor remained r e l a t i v e l y calm. The few minor c h a l l e n g e s to p u b l i c o r d e r came from s p o r a d i c smuggling r i o t s and renewed a t t a c k s on S u f f o l k workhouses. Both types of d i s o r d e r s were r e l a t e d to unemployment and high food p r i c e s . P l a i n l y , f a c t o r s other than economic d e p r i v a t i o n 20 help to account f o r the remarkable i n c r e a s e i n owling and smuggling i n the 1750's a f t e r a p e r i o d of d e c l i n e a t t r i b u t e d 21 to harsh punishments by some contemporaries. C e r t a i n l y the t a r i f f p o l i c i e s of the government i n the second h a l f of the century and f l u c t u a t i o n s i n European economies c o n t r i -buted to the expansion of t h i s i l l i c i t t r a d e . Yet, men plagued by r i s i n g p r i c e s and i n s u f f i c i e n t wages r e a d i l y sought e x t r a income. Smuggling o f f e r e d a convenient source of income to many seamen beached when the prosperous war years ended, and to the poor of c o a s t a l r e g i o n s who f e l t the p i n c h of a d v e r s i t y a f t e r 1764. I t i s not c o i n c i d e n t a l t h a t i n the second h a l f of the century when food r i o t s were com-monplace, smuggling became such a l a r g e i n d u s t r y . The 20 I l l i c i t exports, u s u a l l y of wool. 2 1Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII (1757), 528. 37 connection between economic u n r e s t and a t t a c k s on East A n g l i a n workhouses i s s i m i l a r l y d i r e c t . The b u i l d i n g of the new \"houses of i n d u s t r y \" to provide the i n d i g e n t w i t h i n d o o r r e l i e f i n an i n s t i t u t i o n which served s e v e r a l p a r i s h e s r a t h e r than outdoor r e l i e f i n t h e i r p a r i s h e s of settlement was an e f f o r t by the r u l i n g orders to reduce the cost of w e l f a r e i n a p e r i o d of gen e r a l economic d i f f i c u l t y . T h i s d e p r i v a t i o n of what the poor regarded as t h e i r \" f r e e h o l d \" incensed them at a time when the p r i c e s of \" n e c e s s a r i e s \" threatened to f o r c e many of the m a r g i n a l l y i n d i g e n t perman-22 e n t l y onto poor r e l i e f . While the l o s s of one of t h e i r a n c i e n t l i b e r t i e s was pre-eminently of concern, the poor r e a d i l y r e c o g n i z e d the r e l e v a n c e of high food p r i c e s to t h e i r d i f f i c u l t i e s . One witness to the d e s t r u c t i o n of a p a r t i a l l y - b u i l t workhouse at Bulcamp, S u f f o l k r e p o r t e d the r i o t e r s ' d e c l a r a t i o n t h a t as they had had success \" i n t h i s t h e i r f i r s t undertaking, they would reduce the p r i c e of corn 23 or p u l l down a l l the m i l l s about.\" But the a t t a c k s on poor law i n s t i t u t i o n s i n 1766 were not as s e r i o u s as they had been i n the previous year, when f o r a wh i l e the government contemplated e s t a b l i s h i n g a 22 S e v e r a l thousand r i o t e r s destroyed a n e w l y - b u i l t workhouse near Saxmunham i n S u f f o l k , and s e v e r a l were k i l l e d by the m i l i t a r y . Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 392. Four hundred r i o t e r s d e f i e d the ma g i s t r a t e s at Nacton. S t a t e Papers, PRO/SP 37/4, f o l s . 202/595. 2 3 S t a t e Papers, PRO/SP 37/4, f o l s . 196/595. 38 24 s p e c i a l commission to make severe examples of the r i o t e r s . In g e n e r a l , the government's p o l i c i e s of p e r m i t t i n g duty-f r e e imports of g r a i n , suspending g r a i n exports, and r e p e a l i n g the Stamp Act reduced t e n s i o n i n the provin c e s by lowering the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s and p r o v i d i n g work f o r many of the i n d u s t r i a l workers. Probably t h i s r e l a x a t i o n of t e n s i o n averted i n s u r r e c t i o n , f o r example, i n the hardware producing towns of Birmingham, W a l s a l l , Wolverhampton, and S h e f f i e l d , which i n February were r e p o r t e d l y i n great d i s -25 t r e s s due to the d e c l i n e of tr a d e with America. C e r t a i n l y such commercial centres as London, B r i s t o l and L i v e r p o o l responded f a v o u r a b l y to the government's a c t i o n s . Although many of the o l d c l o t h centres of the south of England con-t i n u e d to f e e l the pinch of West R i d i n g competition i n worsted c l o t h p r o d u c t i o n , the resentment of the poor seems to have d i e d down with the ending of p r o v o c a t i v e g r a i n s h i p -ments abroad a f t e r February 26, and they were content to await the h a r v e s t i n e x p e c t a t i o n of much lower p r i c e s . E v i d e n t l y r e a s s u r e d by t h i s absence of s e r i o u s r i o t -i n g between February and August, the a u t h o r i t i e s a l s o banked upon the lowering of p r i c e s to acceptable l e v e l s i n the autumn as a r e s u l t of a p l e n t i f u l h arvest, and i n c r e a s e d 24 Marching Orders, W05-54, pp. 53-54, 58, 246, and P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , Domestic Entry Book, V o l . 25, pp. 160-64. 25 Annual R e g i s t e r , IX (1766), 61. 39 o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r employment f o r the i n d u s t r i o u s poor w i t h renewed American t r a d e . They'did not, t h e r e f o r e , contem-p l a t e an ex t e n s i o n of the embargo on g r a i n exports beyond August 26 bef o r e P a r l i a m e n t r e c e s s e d f o r the summer. But there were a l r e a d y i n e a r l y J u l y i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e i r gam-b l e was a long shot at best. A l a t e f r o s t s h o r t l y a f t e r seed-time had damaged the young seed i n the ground, and heavy f l o o d i n g from the prolonged J u l y r a i n s had compounded 26 the farmers' problems. The normal r e s u l t s of such wet growing c o n d i t i o n s i s a tendency to produce swollen ears of wheat, which y i e l d a coarse, l i g h t w e i g h t g r a i n when threshed. Although the c o a r s e r g r a i n s l i k e barley-and oats were not as v u l n e r a b l e to harsh weather c o n d i t i o n s as wheat, e x c e s s i v e r a i n encouraged the growth of weeds which a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d a l l crops. While c o n d i t i o n s v a r i e d from d i s t r i c t t o ' d i s -t r i c t , s e v e r a l of the counties which l a t e r were s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d by the hunger r i o t s r e p o r t e d the e f f e c t s of pro-longed bad weather i n the e a r l y summer. In d e s c r i b i n g the f l o o d s i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , O x f o r d s h i r e , and \"adjacent coun-t i e s , \" e s p e c i a l l y W o r c e s t e r s h i r e , one newspaper claimed t h a t 2 7 xt was the we t t e s t summer s i n c e 1733. Both g r a i n crops and l i v e s t o c k were ad v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d by the bad weather. O x f o r d s h i r e r e p o r t e d much s p o i l t hay on the low ground, and 2 6 ^ P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 10, 27, 30, 1766. Gazet-t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 10, 12, 26, 30, 1766. 27 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 26, 1766. 40 28 some 3,000 sheep l o s t around Wisbech. At Maidenhead and elsewhere i n B e r k s h i r e , f l o o d s r e p o r t e d l y covered many 29 Thames-side f i e l d s and h e a v i l y damaged the hay. In coun-30 t i e s such as W i l t s h i r e , many sheep drowned. One measure of t h i s n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r was an 8 per cent i n c r e a s e i n the 31 p r i c e of wool w i t h i n a f o r t n i g h t . G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e and W i l t s h i r e r e p o r t e d t h a t heavy r a i n s had damaged both crops 32 and l i v e s t o c k . I n e v i t a b l y the immediate e f f e c t of such n a t u r a l d i s -a s t e r s was to push up the p r i c e s of meat, wool, and bread, 33 and thereby to i n c r e a s e the p r i v a t i o n s of the poor. I r o n -i c a l l y the f i r s t i n c i d e n t s i n the second wave of hunger r i o t s i n 1766 began the very day t h a t an O r d e r - i n - C o u n c i l c a l l e d f o r p u b l i c prayers f o r the end of the r a i n s . 3 4 T h i s wave of r i o t s extended through the West Country and the County of B e r k s h i r e between J u l y 30 and August 12. Stoke, Sidbury, O t t e r y S t . Mary, C r e d i t o n , Honiton, Exeter, 28 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 4, 1766. 2 9 I b i d . , J u l y 12, 1766. 3 0 I b i d . , J u l y 10, 1766. 31 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 14, 1766. 32 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 10, 1766. 33 Committee on the High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). 34 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 30, 1766, 41 and Lyme i n the West Country were the f i r s t to witness the d e s t r u c t i o n of m i l l s by r i o t i n g mobs of up to f i v e hundred 35 persons. Newbury, Shaw, and Speenhamland i n the Home County of B e r k s h i r e experienced s i m i l a r o u t b u r s t s , i n which the mobs at t a c k e d and robbed the premises of mealmen 36 e s p e c i a l l y . The f i n a l d i s o r d e r s of t h i s wave took p l a c e a few days l a t e r . Again they were i n the west, at Usseolm, Lemnion, Cullompton, Bradnick, T i v e r t o n , S i l f e r t o n , and 37 B a r n s t a p l e . C o n c e i v a b l y the p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y d epressing e f f e c t of such a s u s t a i n e d heavy r a i n f a l l was c o n s i d e r a b l e and may p a r t l y account f o r the ou t b u r s t of r i o t i n g at t h i s time. But the choice of t a r g e t s f o r t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n s by the r i o t e r s suggest t h a t these were s o c i a l p r o t e s t s r a t h e r than the e x p r e s s i o n of b l i n d resentment a g a i n s t the elements. The d i r e c t i o n of these r i o t s was a g a i n s t bunting m i l l s where f l o u r was dressed, s t a r c h m i l l s which ca t e r e d to the conspicuous consumption of the p r i v i l e g e d , and the prem-38 i s e s of mealmen and bakers. Often r i o t e r s destroyed prop-e r t y , i n c l u d i n g stocks of food, which suggests anger and 35 I b i d . , August 6, 1766. Annual R e g i s t e r , IX (1766), 124. G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , August 9, 1766, 37 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 12, 14, 1766. 3 8 M a r c h i n g Orders, W05-54, p. 270. 42 f r u s t r a t i o n r a t h e r than o u t r i g h t s t a r v a t i o n . Most f r e -q uently the p r o t e s t e r s imposed the s a l e of p r o v i s i o n s at 39 what they f e l t to be \" j u s t \" p r i c e s . P r o b ably the bakers bore the brunt of the r i o t e r s ' a t t a c k s . With some j u s t i f i -c a t i o n the poor blamed bakers f o r the high cost of bread. For t h e i r p a r t the bakers a t t r i b u t e d the problem of high p r i c e s to a brewer's monopoly on yeast, and claimed t h a t the law c l o s e l y r e g u l a t e d bakers and p r e s c r i b e d t h e i r p r o f i t s on 40 the b a s i s of the lower p r i c e s p r e v a l e n t f o r t y years e a r l i e r . P r o b a b ly the bakers' claims would have been nearer the t r u t h b e f o r e 1758 than a f t e r . In t h a t year a new a c t , by permit-t i n g e i t h e r v a r i a t i o n i n the weight of loaves while the p r i c e remained f i x e d , or v a r i a t i o n i n the p r i c e of bread w h i l e the weight of loaves remained constant, \"threw the whole system of bread r e g u l a t i o n i n t o c o n f u s i o n , \" and enabled bakers and g r a i n d e a l e r s to make l a r g e p r o f i t s at the expense of the poor. Where the s e t t i n g of the bread a s s i z e had been abandoned, t h a t i s , i n many r u r a l r e g i o n s , the bakers were f r e e r s t i l l to e x p l o i t t h e i r positions. 4\"'\" F r e q u e n t l y bakers found ways of d e f e a t i n g i t s i n t e n t , even where m a g i s t r a t e s set the a s s i z e of bread r e g u l a r l y . One newspaper, f o r example, r e p o r t e d the purchase of a s i n g l e 39 Rose, \"Eighteenth Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England,\" pp. 277-92. ^ G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 10, 1766. ^ S y d n e y and B e a t r i c e Webb, \"The A s s i z e of Bread,\" Economic J o u r n a l , XIV (June, 1904), 196. 43 l o a d of g r a i n \"by which, and not by the c u r r e n t market 42 p r i c e , the bakers r e g u l a t e t h e i r a s s i z e of bread.\" M i l l e r s shared w i t h bakers the immediate resentments of the poor i n times of s c a r c i t y . The populace with good reason suspected many m i l l e r s of dishonesty, and f e e l i n g s ran very high when r i o t e r s d i s c o v e r e d stocks of chalk, alum, w h i t i n g , pease meal, and' other a d u l t e r a n t s . The c h i e f reason f o r s i n g l i n g out bunting m i l l s , however, was almost c e r t a i n l y t h a t millowners, many of whom had developed i n t o l a r g e - s c a l e g r a i n merchants by t h i s p e r i o d , were f o r c i n g up the p r i c e s of g r a i n and f l o u r by engrossing s u p p l i e s i n a n t i c i p a t i o n of a poor h a r v e s t and the resumption of g r a i n 43 exports a f t e r August 26. A l r e a d y i n e a r l y August there 44 were r e p o r t s of a r a p i d r i s e i n the p r i c e s of g r a i n . The normal response of p r i c e s a few weeks before the end of a g r a i n export embargo was to r i s e . In such circumstances i n 1758, a correspondent of the Gentleman's Magazine, comment-in g upon the a r t i f i c i a l l y h igh cost of g r a i n , noted: And yet how i s the p r i c e kept up beyond every man's exp e c t a t i o n ? Why t r u l y our great growers t h r a s h out l i t t l e or none; f o r , say they, a f t e r Christmas the p o r t s w i l l be opened f o r e x p o r t a t i o n , and the d i s t i l l e r s per-m i t t e d to d i s t i l from g r a i n again.^5 42 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 22, 1766. 43 \"A L e t t e r from Portsmouth,\" i b i d . , August 15, 1766, 44 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , August 2, 1766, 4 5Gentleman\u00C2\u00ABs Magazine, XXVIII (1758), 509. 44 In J u l y , 1766 the p r i c e s rose h i g h e r than ever because the wet weather depressed popular expectations of a normal har-v e s t , and confirmed the wisdom of farmers and d e a l e r s who were h o l d i n g on to t h e i r stocks i n e x p e c t a t i o n s of great p r o f i t s . The p r o x i m i t y of the i n i t i a l outbreaks to the wes-t e r n g r a i n p o r t of Lyme, the scene of e a r l i e r d i s t u r b a n c e s before the embargo was imposed, suggests renewed popular concern at g r a i n movements causing high p r i c e s and t h r e a t e n -i n g o u t r i g h t famine. Newspaper r e p o r t s t h a t the mob at Usseolm and Lemnion blamed exports f o r t h e i r d i s t r e s s cor-46 roborates t h i s . The only l e g a l \"exports\" of g r a i n at t h i s time were shipments to the n o r t h of England, and these were probably what the poor r e s e n t e d . I t i s p o s s i b l e , however, t h a t i n the West Country, where smuggling was h i g h l y organ-i z e d , some f a c t o r s were e x p o r t i n g g r a i n to f a m i n e - s t r i c k e n Europe at t h i s time. In September i t was necessary to 47 p a t r o l the southern coasts to prevent t h i s i l l i c i t t r a d e . L i k e the West Country c o u n t i e s , B e r k s h i r e was not a heavy g r a i n producer but much g r a i n passed through i t on the way to a p o r t of shipment. Always i n times of c r i s i s Berk-s h i r e f e l t the d r a i n i n g power of London. The upper Thames 46 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 12, 1766. 47 The War O f f i c e ordered troops to Canterbury, Lewes, and Padstow to t r a n s f e r detachments to p a t r o l the S u f f o l k coast to h a l t evasion of the embargo on g r a i n exports. Marching Orders, W05-54, p. 353. 45 v a l l e y p r o v i d e d a r e a d i l y a c c e s s i b l e route to the l e a d i n g g r a i n e x p o r t i n g p o r t i n the country. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , i n J u l y , 1766, r i o t s broke out i n B e r k s h i r e at the same time t h a t Lyme, the West Country g r a i n p o r t , experienced d i s -orders . The l o c a t i o n of the i n i t i a l outbreaks i n the second wave of r i o t i n g i n B e r k s h i r e and at Lyme, then, i n d i c a t e the p r o v o c a t i v e nature of g r a i n exports i n time of expected famine and the impact of government p o l i c i e s on events. As e a r l y as one month before the ending of the six-month p r o h i -b i t i o n on g r a i n exports, correspondents of the Gentleman's Magazine asked the P r i v y C o u n c i l to prevent the l o a d i n g of g r a i n s h i p s , and these demands i n the press and elsewhere became more s t r i d e n t u n t i l the P r i v y C o u n c i l b e l a t e d l y 48 imposed a new embargo on September 26. There was now another, but much s h o r t e r , l u l l a f t e r the second wave of r i o t s ended on August 12. I t l a s t e d s c a r c e l y three weeks. During t h i s p e r i o d more o p t i m i s t i c f o r e c a s t s of the har v e s t , encouraged by the dry August weather, brought down p r i c e s and lessened p u b l i c concern t h a t continued g r a i n movements through the c o u n t r y s i d e to the p o r t s would cause o u t r i g h t famine. S p e c u l a t o r s r e l e a s e d g r a i n i n e x p e c t a t i o n of lower p r i c e s r e s u l t i n g from a good har v e s t and were r e l u c t a n t to buy more to maintain t h e i r 'Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI (1766) , 389. 46 49 s t o c k s . The remedial a c t i o n s of the gentry and the m a g i s t r a t e s i n making a v a i l a b l e cheaper g r a i n and f l o u r r e a s s u r e d the poor a l s o . At E x e t e r m a g i s t r a t e s f i x e d wheat p r i c e s at 5/6 per bushel, although the farmers r e p o r t e d l y 50 wanted 8/- or 9/- . Elsewhere, gentlemen bought f l o u r and 51 s o l d i t to t h e p o o r at 3-l/2d per pound. A l l these f a c -t o r s r e s u l t e d i n a s p e c t a c u l a r drop i n g r a i n and f l o u r p r i c e s . A l e t t e r from Shrewsbury dated August 20 r e p o r t e d wheat p r i c e s down to 6/- a bushel from a high i n Wales of 52 11/- . Yet d i s c o n t e n t stayed c l o s e to the s u r f a c e , and troops remained i n many areas. Bakers i n Newbury, B e r k s h i r e , who had ceased t h e i r s a l e s of bread e a r l y i n August, d i d not resume them u n t i l August 27, when a s o l d i e r was p l a c e d at 53 every bake shop door. I t i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t minor outbreaks continued unreported i n the m e t r o p o l i t a n news-papers, u n t i l i n e a r l y September the f i n a l , and most s e r i o u s , wave of food r i o t s swept across Southern England. The p l a c i n g of the i n i t i a l r i o t s of t h i s wave at the beginning of September i s important because i t b r i n g s out c l e a r l y the e f f e c t of the M i n i s t r y ' s f a i l u r e to renew the 49 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 14, 15, 1766. 50 o u I b i d . , August 12, 1766. 51 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , August 6, 1766. 52 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 25, 1766. 5 3 I b i d . , August 27, 1766. 47 embargo on g r a i n exports when i t expired on August 26, and r a i s e s q u e s t i o n s about the government's r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the chain of events which f o l l o w e d . George Rude w r i t e s of a s i x weeks' break i n r i o t i n g i n the summer of 1766, although he does not e n t i r e l y d i s c o u n t the p o s s i b i l i t y of r i o t s 54 o c c u r r i n g i n t h i s p e r i o d unreported i n the p r e s s . He p l a c e s the resumption of r i o t i n g on September 23, and bases t h i s a s s e r t i o n on r e p o r t s i n the Annual R e g i s t e r and the Gentleman's Magazine. He c i t e s , however, i n h i s f o o t n o t e s Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s papers r e l a t i n g to the B e r k s h i r e ses-s i o n of the S p e c i a l Commission i n which p r i s o n e r s are l i s t e d 55 as p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n r i o t s as e a r l y as September 6. London newspapers and the Marching Orders of the Army i n d i c a t e the resumption of r i o t i n g s e v e r a l days before t h i s date. In f a c t , by September 23 the r i o t s had gathered alarming momen-tum and the government's concern i s evident i n the i n s t r u c -56 t i o n s sent from the War O f f i c e to commanding o f f i c e r s . T h i s c o i n c i d e n c e of renewed g r a i n exports and popu-l a r p r o t e s t s i n d i c a t e d the alarm of the poor at the prospect of o u t r i g h t famine. John P i t t , a ttorney and steward of Lord Hardwicke's G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e e s t a t e , s u b s t a n t i a t e d t h i s view \"^Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , p. 41. 55 P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/995/3707. 56 Marching Orders, W05-54, passim; see a l s o Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69), p. 80, No. 373-74, and Domestic E n t r y Book, V o l . 142, pp. 4 and 9-11. 48 when he noted t h a t the c h i e f d i r e c t i o n of the r i o t s i n the West Country was a g a i n s t exports and the a t t a c k s were mainly 57 on \"general r e s e r v o i r s and the s a l e of f l o u r . \" A c r i t i c of A r t h u r Young's S i x Weeks' Tour through the Southern Coun-t i e s of England reached the same c o n c l u s i o n . W r i t i n g i n the L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t i n 1768, he condemned the government's f a i l u r e to c l o s e the p o r t s at the end of the P a r l i a m e n t a r y S e s s i o n i n J u l y , 1766, which \"drove those unhappy persons to 58 t h a t d r e a d f u l a l t e r n a t i v e of e i t h e r s t a r v i n g or hanging.\" In s i m i l a r terms one N o r f o l k correspondent wrote of the \" t e r r o r of the poor\" i n and around the M e t r o p o l i s at the 59 export of g r a i n . Some businessmen even found i t necessary to d e c l a r e p u b l i c l y t h a t they had not engrossed p r o v i s i o n s 60 or exported \"wheat, f l o u r , or any other g r a i n . \" Appar-e n t l y a sudden f e a r of impending famine brought on by l a r g e -s c a l e g r a i n movements swept through the ranks of the poor, causing them to p r o t e s t v i o l e n t l y . T h i s f e a r was only matched l a t e r by the alarm of the a r i s t o c r a c y and gentry on t h e i r i s o l a t e d e s t a t e s at the extent of the d i s o r d e r s and 57 John P i t t to Hardwicke, December 19, 1766,-Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 339. 5 8 L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , May 25-27, 1768. 59 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 9, 1766. 60 James Townsend, ed., News of a Country Town (London: Humphrey M i l f o r d , 1914), p. 58. 49 61 the prospect of revenge at the hands of the d i s p o s s e s s e d . The most d i s a f f e c t e d c o unties now were B e r k s h i r e , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , N o r f o l k , and W i l t s h i r e , to judge from the records of the S p e c i a l Commission l a t e r appointed to empty the crowded county gaols and dispense s w i f t r e t r i b u t i o n to the p r i s o n e r s who were too numerous f o r the r e g u l a r a s s i z e courts to handle. But r i o t s a f f e c t e d most counties i n the Midlands, i n the West Country, and around London. N o t t i n g -hamshire, D e r b y s h i r e , W o r c e s t e r s h i r e , Northamptonshire, L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , B e d f o r d s h i r e , H e r t f o r d s h i r e , O x f o r d s h i r e , Buckinghamshire, S u f f o l k , Hampshire, Somersetshire, Devon-s h i r e , and Cornwall were the most important of these. Urban centres l i k e G l o u c e s t e r , B r i s t o l , Nottingham, Derby, Birm-ingham, and Norwich had p a r t i c u l a r l y s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s . London, the south-eastern counties of Kent and Surrey, and the northern c o u n t i e s , except f o r minor, i s o -l a t e d i n c i d e n t s at Whitehaven, C a r l i s l e and Berwick, u s u a l l y r e l a t e d to g r a i n exports, remained q u i e t . Because the con-d i t i o n s of the M e t r o p o l i s were unique, an e x p l a n a t i o n of i t s freedom from food r i o t s i n 1766 i s o f f e r e d elsewhere. There were s e v e r a l reasons f o r the calm of the populace i n the n o r t h and the south-east. In most of these d i s t r i c t s the m a g i s t r a t e s were e n e r g e t i c In c o n t r o l l i n g s a l e s by sample and ensuring t h a t adequate s u p p l i e s of g r a i n were a v a i l a b l e . Compare Georges Levebvre, Le Grand Peur ( P a r i s : S o c i e t e d ' E d i t i o n d'Enseignement Supe r i e u r , 1956). 50 Thus Durham j u s t i c e s i n s i s t e d on farmers o f f e r i n g a l l t h e i r a c t i o n s was both p s y c h o l o g i c a l and m a t e r i a l . F i r s t , the r e v e l a t i o n of the a c t u a l p r i c e s of commodities calmed the s u s p i c i o n s of the poor t h a t bakers and others were making enormous p r o f i t s at t h e i r expense, something not apparent when markets were by-passed by farmers and d e a l e r s ; second, the p r o v i s i o n s ' p r i c e s d i d not r i s e r a p i d l y . Surrey mar-ke t s , f o r example, r e p o r t e d l y s o l d wheat at 5/- a bushel 63 owing to the v i g i l a n c e of the m a g i s t r a t e s . In the north, too, lower p r i c e s were due to more f a v o u r a b l e harvests than In the south. Cumberland, f o r example, claimed the best hay 64 and corn h a r v e s t i n l i v i n g memory; while crops i n York-65 s h i r e were g e n e r a l l y heavy. Farmers i n the market at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, were able to s e l l t h e i r 66 wheat at 4/- per q u a r t e r . Apart from the lower costs of g r a i n , the w i l l i n g n e s s of n o r t h e r n e r s to a v a i l themselves of other c o a r s e r g r a i n s and foods which the southerners regarded w i t h d i s t a s t e meant t h a t no s e r i o u s shortage of food was experienced i n the n o r t h . Labourers and poor g r a i n f o r s a l e i n the open market. 62 The r e s u l t of such 62, \"Public A d v e r t i s e r , August 7, 1766. 63, G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , November 6, 1766. 64 I b i d September 7, 1766. 65-P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , August 4, 1766. 66 I b i d November 7, 1766. \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 9 51 manufacturers of the north c u s t o m a r i l y ate potatoes and oat-meal and were t h e r e f o r e l e s s a f f e c t e d by the cost of wheat 67 and meat. The income, too, of many northern workers s u f -f e r e d l e s s i n the r e c e s s i o n of 1766 than was the case f o r i n d u s t r i a l workers i n the Midlands and Southern England. While i t i s t r u e t h a t pitmen i n the n o r t h - e a s t of England were r e s t l e s s i n 1765 and 1766, t h e i r i n d u s t r y was not depressed i n the way t h a t , f o r example, the Midland hardware i n d u s t r y was. F r e q u e n t l y where northern workers l o s t t h e i r j o b s , they could f i n d work i n the expanding woollen-worsted i n d u s t r y of the West R i d i n g . ^ 8 In c o n t r a s t , the c l o t h cen-t r e s of Southern England experienced severe trade f l u c t u -a t i o n s , and unemployment was h i g h among weavers, combers, 69 and others of the c l o t h i n d u s t r y . Yet, the unrest of the Newcastle and Sunderland pitmen had a l e r t e d the government to the dangers of i n s u r r e c t i o n . M i n d f u l of the e x t e n s i v e r i o t s i n the n o r t h over food p r i c e s and the new M i l i t i a Act i n 1756-57, the a u t h o r i t i e s took care i n 1766 to ensure an adequate supply of food, while at the same time they r e i n -f o r c e d t h e i r g a r r i s o n s i n Newcastle and elsewhere to meet See Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 4, c i t i n g C h a r l e s Smith, \"Three T r a c t s on the Corn Laws and Trade,\" 1766 ed., Supplement, p. 182. ^ H e r b e r t Heaton, The Y o r k s h i r e Woollen and Worsted I n d u s t r i e s : From the E a r l i e s t Times up to the I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n , V o l . X of Oxford H i s t o r i c a l and L i t e r a r y S t u d i e s (London: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1965) , p~. 279. 69 Ephraim L i p s o n , The H i s t o r y of the Woollen and Worsted I n d u s t r i e s , H i s t o r i e s of E n g l i s h I n d u s t r i e s , ed. by E. L i p s o n (London: A. & C. Black, 1921), p. 253. 52 70 a l l e v e n t u a l i t i e s . No such p r o v i s i o n s were made i n South-ern England. The f o r e s i g h t of the a u t h o r i t i e s helped to aver t d i s o r d e r s i n the n o r t h i n the summer of 1766. But probably the most important reason f o r the absence of s e r i -ous r i o t s i n the northern c o u n t i e s was the f a c t t h a t r e l a -t i v e l y l i t t l e g r a i n moved through northern p o r t s i n t h a t year. Six-sevenths of a l l g r a i n which r e c e i v e d bounty pay-71 ments i n 1766 went through the p o r t of London. How much of the other one-seventh went through the western g r a i n p o r t s i s not c l e a r , but c e r t a i n l y i t was a s i z e a b l e p a r t . Thus the p r o v o c a t i o n of g r a i n movements to the northern p o r t s i n a p e r i o d of r e l a t i v e s c a r c i t y was absent. The i n i t i a l p a t t e r n of d i s t u r b a n c e s i n the t h i r d wave of r i o t i n g i n 1766 confirmed the d i r e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p between g r a i n movements and d i s o r d e r s . As i n the second wave, the f i r s t outbreaks o c c u r r e d almost simultaneously i n the West Country and B e r k s h i r e , r e g i o n s through which g r a i n f o r export passed. M i l i t a r y r e p o r t s noted the d i s t u r b a n c e of the markets at Cullompton and O t t e r y S t . Mary (Devon) and the d e s t r u c t i o n of most b o l t i n g m i l l s w i t h i n a v i c i n i t y of 72 twenty miles by \"dangerous and r i o t o u s \" mobs. A day or 70 Marching Orders, W05-54, p. 182. 71 An account of the t o t a l sums p a i d f o r bounties, 1766-1781, W i l l i a m - L . Clement L i b r a r y , Ann Arbor, Michigan, Shelburne Papers, V o l . 135. 7 2 M a r c h i n g Orders, W05-54, pp. 294-95. 53 two a f t e r , on September 6, two B e r k s h i r e country towns were d i s t u r b e d . At Abingdon \"many r i o t o u s persons\" l e d by a bargeman took g r a i n from farmers and d i s t r i b u t e d it;-.while at Drayton a crowd of l a b o u r e r s s t o l e wheat, f l o u r , and 73 other p r o v i s i o n s . L a t e r r i o t s became much more ext e n s i v e i n the West Country and B e r k s h i r e . A f t e r these i n i t i a l outbreaks, no c l e a r p a t t e r n of 74 expansion from the two areas i s apparent. R i o t s occurred throughout the southern counties more or l e s s spontaneously. The timing of these d i s t u r b a n c e s probably r e f l e c t e d d i f f e r -i n g h a rvest and t h r e s h i n g times, the impact of market-borne rumours, the contagion of g e n e r a l d i s o r d e r i n the country-s i d e , heavy buying by London d e a l e r s , or s p e c i f i c l o c a l g r ievances such as the c o n s t r u c t i o n of -houses of i n d u s t r y i n East A n g l i a . Such outbreaks were too numerous to catalogue here; but i t w i l l be u s e f u l to note when each county was f i r s t a f f e c t e d and how long r i o t i n g continued. W i t h i n a few days of the i n i t i a l outbreaks i n the West Country, \" r e g u l a t o r s \" were at work i n the Midland markets of S t o u r b r i d g e (Worces-t e r s h i r e ) , Birmingham (Warwickshire), and Whitney (Glouces-7 3 T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/995/3707. 74 C o n t r a s t Rude's o v e r s i m p l i f i e d map i l l u s t r a t i n g the spread of food r i o t s i n 1766. Rude, The Crowd i n H i s -t o r y , p. 40. 54 t e r s h i r e ) , f o r c i n g down the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s . 7 \" ' S h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r r i o t e r s d i s r u p t e d Birmingham F a i r and r e s c u e d 76 p r i s o n e r s from g a o l . I n the second week i n September, mobs began s u s t a i n e d a t t a c k s on houses and m i l l s , d e s t r o y i n g f u r n i t u r e and removing f o o d , i n s e v e r a l towns and p a r i s h e s of G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , a county i n which a l l markets were r e p o r t e d l y under the i n f l u e n c e of the mob by the end of 77 September. Throughout most of September and O c t o b e r , l a r g e crowds r e p e a t e d l y d i s t u r b e d S t r o u d , G l o u c e s t e r , C i r e n -78 c e s t e r , and T e t b u r y . By the t h i r d week i n September r i o t s were w i d e s p r e a d i n W i l t s h i r e . On September 19 s e v e r a l p a r -i s h e s of B r a d f o r d ( W i l t s h i r e ) saw a g r e a t number of \" i d l e and d i s o r d e r l y persons assembled i n a r i o t o u s manner\" a t t a c k homes and m i l l s . , d e s t r o y f u r n i t u r e and windows, and s t e a l 79 bacon and o t h e r p r o v i s i o n s . V e ry q u i c k l y the r e s t of the county became i n v o l v e d . D e v i z e s and B r a d f o r d c o n t i n u e d t o be c e n t r e s of r e v o l t u n t i l the end of O c t o b e r , and r e q u i r e d 80 t h e s t a t i o n i n g of t r o o p s f o r s e v e r a l weeks. On 7b G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 8, 10, 12, 1766. 7 6 M a r c h i n g O r d e r s , W05-54, pp. 347-48. 7 7 P i t t t o Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 291. 7 8 T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s P a p e r s , T.S.11/5956/Bx 1128. 7 9 I b i d . , T.S.11/1116/5728. 8 Q M a r c h i n g O r d e r s , W05-54, pp. 341, 357. 55 September 20 r i o t e r s destroyed m i l l s at T i v e r t o n (Devon), and combers, l a b o u r e r s , and weavers sent a \" t h r e a t e n i n g and i n c e n d i a r y l e t t e r \" to the c o r p o r a t i o n . As l a t e as Novem-ber 11 the u n s e t t l e d s i t u a t i o n r e q u i r e d the presence of a 81 company of s o l d i e r s . Reports of f u r t h e r d i s t u r b a n c e s came 82 from Cornwall, Devon, and B r i s t o l on September 19. Th i s f i n a l wave of hunger r i o t s , which spread i n an i r r e g u l a r p a t t e r n across Southern England, reached i t s peak i n the f o u r t h week of September. The War O f f i c e , now t h o r -oughly alarmed, sent a f l o o d of orders to commanding o f f i -cers to a i d the mag i s t r a t e s f u l l y \"upon r e q u i s i t i o n . \" Lord B a r r i n g t o n ordered the dragoons, who had h i t h e r t o been f o r c e d to march dismounted to t r o u b l e d r e g i o n s , to \"take up 83 t h e i r horses from grass\" i n d i s t a n t p a s t u r e s . The Mi n i s t e r - a t - W a r a l e r t e d not only twenty-two regiments of f o o t and dragoons, but a l s o f o u r t e e n independent companies of i n v a l i d e s i n v a r i o u s centres as f a r west as Plymouth and 84 as f a r n o r t h as Newcastle. The t h i r d phase of t h i s l a s t 8 1 I b i d . , pp. 308-309. 82 A l e t t e r from W i l t s h i r e , dated September 20, Ga z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 26, 1766. 83 I n s t r u c t i o n s to ten dragoon regiments at C o l -c h e s t e r , Manchester, Lewes, B l a n d f o r d , Worcester, Coventry, Northampton, Leeds, Stamford, and Derby, dated September 23, 1766, Marching Orders, W05-54, p. 315. A l l regiments to take up horses from grass i n South B r i t a i n to a s s i s t j u s -t i c e s i n r i o t s , Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69), No. 277, September 25, 1766. 84 Marching Orders, W05-54, pp. 318-20. 56 wave of r i o t s i n 1766 now began. The p r o v i n c i a l r u l i n g orders, a f t e r t h e i r i n i t i a l l e t h a r g y , flooded the War O f f i c e w i t h demands f o r m i l i t a r y a s s i s t a n c e . But the r i o t s had already gained momentum and they continued to spread during the next few weeks. By September 27 mobs were a c t i v e i n H e r t f o r d s h i r e f o r c i n g down 85 the p r i c e s of food. About the same time the d e s t r u c t i o n of m i l l s and other disturbances o b l i g e d the d r a f t i n g of dragoons i n t o Norwich. 8^ 5 In e a r l y October the War O f f i c e had to send detachments i n t o L e i c e s t e r , where \"numerous and d i s o r d e r l y persons have- assembled . . . and committed great 87 acts of v i o l e n c e and outrage.\" Disorders a f f e c t e d Coven-88 t r y at about the same time. L a t e r i n October a troop of dragoons had to suppress a r i o t i n the v i c i n i t y of Lough-89 borough. On October 4 Nottingham, Oxford, Leighton Buz-zard (Bedfordshire) and Great Marlowe (Buckinghamshire) 90 reported s e r i o u s r i o t s . S e v e r a l days l a t e r Derby was 91 s i m i l a r l y a f f e c t e d . Ipswich,- the.scene of a number of 8 ^ P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 27, 1766. 8 6 M a r c h i n g Orders, W05-54, p. 326. 8 7 I _ b i d . , p. 337. 8 8 I b i d . , p. 342. 8 9 I b i d . , pp. 367-68. 90 Gazetteer and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 4, 1766. 91 I b i d . , October 13, 1766 57 a t t a c k s on the new houses of i n d u s t r y e a r l i e r i n the year as w e l l as i n 1765, continued to be the centre of i n s u r r e c t i o n i n October. Success i n t h e i r a t t a c k s on poor law i n s t i t u -t i o n s i n East A n g l i a had encouraged the r i o t e r s to attempt to lower food p r i c e s too. On October 20 they s e i z e d b u t t e r and s o l d i t at lower p r i c e s than the farmers asked and 92 threatened to burn the town. G r a d u a l l y the combined e f f o r t s of the m a g i s t r a t e s and the army proved s u c c e s s f u l and most of the d i s a f f e c t e d r e g i o n s were q u i e t by l a t e October. The f o u r most s e r i o u s l y d i s t u r b e d c o u n t i e s , B e r k s h i r e , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , W i l t s h i r e and N o r f o l k ceased to r e p o r t major r i o t s a f t e r mid-October, although the a u t h o r i t i e s b u i l t a w a l l i n G l o u c e s t e r market to p r o t e c t the s o l d i e r s , and commanders continued to detach companies through the country d i s t r i c t s to a s s i s t the magis-93 t r a t e s . Elsewhere r i o t s were over by the end of October, although i s o l a t e d i n c i d e n t s at B r i s t o l , Ludlow, Chelmsford, and Birmingham continued u n t i l l a t e November. Upon the r e t u r n of r e l a t i v e calm, the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s w i t h the a i d of troops devoted t h e i r e nergies to hunting down the r i n g -l e a d e r s and f i l l i n g the county g a o l s , which remained over-crowded u n t i l the hearings of the S p e c i a l A s s i z e s i n Decem-ber, 1766. 9 2 M a r c h i n g Orders, W05-54, p. 365. 93 I b i d . , p. 356. 58 The t i m i n g of the l a s t wave of hunger r i o t s i n the summer and autumn of 1766 and t h e i r d i r e c t i o n i n d i c a t e , the importance not only of the resumed g r a i n exports but a l s o of f l u c t u a t i n g food p r i c e s as a p r e c i p i t a t i n g cause of popular d i s o r d e r s . There were three g e n e r a l reasons why an e x t r a -o r d i n a r y p r i c e r i s e o ccurred a f t e r the end of August. F i r s t , t here were very poor h a r v e s t s across most of Europe 94 i n 1766. R u s s i a , Turkey, France, Spain, P o r t u g a l , and 95 I t a l y were p a r t i c u l a r l y a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d . Germany, Ho l l a n d , England and the Scandinavian c o u n t r i e s were c a l l e d 96 upon to supply the d e f i c i t from t h e i r own 'stocks. Lord Shelburne's commercial correspondents i n Amsterdam, David B a r c l a y and Sons, wrote i n e a r l y October of H o l l a n d being 97 denuded of g r a i n due to immense shipments to I t a l y . In England, f a c t o r s and agents r e c e i v e d from Europe commissions 98 to buy at an \" u n l i m i t e d p r i c e . \" Second, adverse weather 9 4 H o r a c e Walpole complained of the e x c e s s i v e quan-t i t y of g r a i n exported. Horace Walpole to S i r Horace Mann, September 25, 1766, Horace Walpole, L e t t e r s , ed. by Paget Toynbee (19 v o l s . ; Oxford: Clarendon P r e s s , 1903-1925), V I I , 42. 95 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 11, 1766, r e p o r t e d South I t a l y except S i c i l y w i t h a great g r a i n shortage and p r i c e s double normal. P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 27, 1766. 96 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 17, 1766.. 97 Shelburne Papers, V o l . 132, f o l . 65. 9 8 I b i d . , f o l s . 19-20. 59 c o n d i t i o n s i n England r e s u l t e d i n a crop two-thirds the 99 u s u a l s i z e and i n f e r i o r i n q u a l i t y . T h i r d , an export embargo on g r a i n had prevented the supply of England's t r a -d i t i o n a l markets i n Europe between February 26 and August 26, du r i n g which time a pent-up demand f o r E n g l i s h g r a i n d e v e l -oped. Even be f o r e the l i f t i n g of the embargo, g r a i n ships were l o a d i n g i n London and the o u t p o r t s . A f t e r August 26, g r a i n poured out of the country at an alarming r a t e , u n t i l the P r i v y C o u n c i l r e l u c t a n t l y proclaimed a f u r t h e r p r o h i b i -t i o n on exports on September 26. \"'\"^ Thus most of the g r a i n exports of 1766 took p l a c e ' w i t h i n the space of one month, the other two months of f r e e exports being i n the depth of w i n t e r when commerce was normally g r e a t l y c u r t a i l e d by poor weather. G r a i n movements i n September were, t h e r e f o r e , very evident and not only helped to f o r c e up home p r i c e s but they incensed the p o p u l a t i o n . The r e a c t i o n of Norwich r i o t e r s was t y p i c a l . On September 28, 1766 they destroyed malt which had been \"entered w i t h the proper o f f i c e r of e x c i s e , \" - ^ l T h i s c o n c e n t r a t i o n of g r a i n exports w i t h i n the space of one month was s e r i o u s enough, but i t s a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h the end-ing of American g r a i n . i m p o r t s had an immediate e f f e c t on p r i c e s and c r e a t e d a very s e r i o u s s i t u a t i o n f o r the \" i b i d . , f o i . 65. 1 Q Q G e n t l e m a n ' s Magazine, XXXVI (1766), 399. \"'\"'^Norwich Record O f f i c e , Norwich, D e p o s i t i o n of John G l o v e r , C i t y Merchant, D e p o s i t i o n s and Case Papers. 60 government. As a gentleman r e t u r n i n g from a t o u r of the western counties observed: \" . . . the moment advice came of i m p o r t a t i o n being stopped, and e x p o r t a t i o n allowed, the g r e a t farmers and corn d e a l e r s began to combine and the poor 102 to murmur, which i s one cause of the r i o t s . \" P r i c e s t r u c t u r e s i n l o c a l markets d i f f e r e d i n the speed of t h e i r response to the r e s t o r a t i o n of e x p o r t a t i o n , and the p r o h i b i t i o n of the f r e e i m p o r t a t i o n of American g r a i n s . The f i r s t b i g r i s e came i n the west where newspaper correspondents r e p o r t e d \"monopolizing farmers\" were buying 103 up g r a i n s t o c k s . A f t e r a mere three days of exports, j o u r n a l i s t s estimated the average of the western markets was 7/- a b u s h e l . 1 ^ 4 Less than two weeks l a t e r the p r i c e of 105 bread i n London had r e p o r t e d l y r i s e n h a l f an a s s i z e , w h i le the buying of g r a i n f o r export around C a r l i s l e had r a i s e d the p r i c e per bushel by 2/- . P l a i n l y , w i t h the great demand f o r g r a i n i n London both f o r export and con-sumption, g r a i n d e a l e r s now moved out i n an ever-widening r a d i u s from the c a p i t a l , buying up g r a i n and f o r c i n g up l o c a l p r i c e s i n the p r o c e s s . 1766, 102 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 8, 1 0 3 I b i d . , August 28, 1766. 1 0 4 I b i d . , August 29, 1766. ^ \" ' i b i d . , September 5, 1766. 1 0 6 T K \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 , I b i d . 61 P r i c e s rose most s t e e p l y i n areas where t h r e s h i n g had a l r e a d y r e v e a l e d the poor q u a l i t y of l o c a l crops. In d i s t r i c t s where low wages were c u r r e n t , employment uncer-t a i n , or payments i n k i n d made i n l i e u of money wages, t h a t i s , i n the o l d c l o t h c o unties of the west and East A n g l i a , i n the hardware or c o a l - p r o d u c i n g Midlands, and elsewhere the hardships of the poor were most severe. When these d i s -t r i c t s were not themselves major g r a i n producers, but merely c o r r i d o r s along which great q u a n t i t i e s of g r a i n moved to London or the o u t p o r t s , the r e a c t i o n of the populace was most immediate and v i o l e n t . B e r k s h i r e to the west of London pr o v i d e d such a cor-r i d o r between the great corn counties of N o r f o l k , L i n c o l n -s h i r e , S u f f o l k , Cambridge, Rutland, H e r t f o r d s h i r e , Bedford-s h i r e , and Buckinghamshire on the one hand, and e i t h e r London or the western p o r t s on the other. Although not i t s e l f a s i g n i f i c a n t grain-growing county, B e r k s h i r e always f e l t the d r a i n i n g power of the \"Great Wen\" down the upper Thames v a l l e y i n times of s c a r c i t y , and p r i c e s i n l o c a l mar-kets rose q u i c k l y . By e a r l y September, 1766 i t was apparent t h a t h a r v e s t s had been e s p e c i a l l y poor i n the corn c o u n t i e s , 107 p a r t i c u l a r l y i n N o r f o l k and S u f f o l k , and there were r e p o r t s of s e v e r a l thousands of q u a r t e r s of g r a i n from the western counties brought down the Thames i n barges, as P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 10, 1766. 62 London d e a l e r s sought to make good the d e f i c i e n c i e s of t h e i r 108 East A n g l i a n s u p p l i e r s . Such g r a i n movements were a com-mon l i n k between the d i s o r d e r s of the West Country and Berk-s h i r e . P r i c e r i s e s which had f i r s t o ccurred i n the g r a i n p o r t s i n e a r l y September q u i c k l y spread to other regions as t h r e s h i n g r e v e a l e d the low q u a l i t y of the g r a i n crop, bad-gers buying up s u p p l i e s f o r the urban centres pushed up l o c a l p r i c e s , or rumours of famine spread through the mar-k e t s . F r e q u e n t l y the a c t i o n s of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s and p r i v -ate gentlemen i n o f f e r i n g g r a i n to the poor at low p r i c e s m i t i g a t e d the worst e f f e c t s of s p i r a l l i n g p r i c e s f o r a while. Thus d i s t a n c e from London or the outports d i d not s o l e l y determine p r i c e f l u c t u a t i o n s . One important f e a t u r e of the p r i c e r i s e i n August and September was t h a t i t was the l a t e s t of s e v e r a l p r i c e f l u c t u a t i o n s which occurred over a p e r i o d of s e v e r a l months and which composed a phase i n a general i n c r e a s e i n food p r i c e s which had begun i n 1764. These p r i c e movements f o l -lowed a s i x - y e a r p e r i o d when the r e a l income of the ind u s -t r i o u s poor-made a s i g n i f i c a n t advance, which T. S. Ashton 109 ranked w i t h t h a t of the 1730's. In 1766 the severe p r i c e \" ^ ^ G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 1, 1766. 109 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 22. 63 f l u c t u a t i o n s were d i r e c t l y a f f e c t e d by the e x p e c t a t i o n s of the poor about the a v a i l a b l e food supply. The u n i v e r s a l concern of eighteenth-century E n g l i s h -men w i t h h a r v e s t prospects i s r e a d i l y apparent from the space devoted to weather r e p o r t s and the s t a t e of the crops i n contemporary j o u r n a l s . In years of poor weather, concern i n c r e a s e d as the harvest time approached and p r i c e s rose. J u l y , August, and September were f r e q u e n t l y months when ma g i s t r a t e s braced themselves f o r popular d i s t u r b a n c e s . With the advent of hot, dry August weather i n 1766, optimism about the h a r v e s t r e t u r n e d , p r i c e s subsided, and s o c i a l t e n -s i o n s r e l a x e d . I t was not u n t i l harvest time t h a t the i n f e r i o r q u a l i t y of the g r a i n became apparent. Wheat t h a t had looked heavy i n the ear threshed out coarse and l i g h t i n weight. Widely d i v e r g i n g p r i c e s r e f l e c t e d the d i f f e r e n c e i n q u a l i t y between the o l d and new g r a i n s . At t h i s time the p r i c e of the remaining stocks of wheat harvested i n 1765 i n the s h i r e s of Northampton, Buckingham, Oxford, and Warwick r e p o r t e d l y was 52/- artd t h a t of new wheat 28/- a q u a r t e r . T h i s prompted C h a r l e s Townshend, C h a n c e l l o r of the Exchequer i n the Chatham-Grafton M i n i s t r y , to note t h a t the high p r i c e s of the o l d g r a i n seemed \"to prove the demand abroad and the inadequateness of the stock i n hand,\" and \"the low p r i c e s of the new g r a i n i n p r o p o r t i o n might be thought to 64 show the d e f e c t s of the crop t h i s year i n s o r t although not ... ,.110 i n q u a n t i t y . \" P r i c e i n c r e a s e s now spread unevenly across the coun-t r y s i d e . Over a p e r i o d of three\" weeks or more i n September, food p r i c e s rose s t e e p l y i n a l l markets of Southern England and the Midlands. The f a c t t h a t t h i s v i o l e n t f l u c t u a t i o n was the l a t e s t of a s e r i e s i n 1766 accounts i n p a r t f o r the widespread d i s o r d e r s t h a t f o l l o w e d . Such sudden changes i n p r i c e s were more d i s c o n c e r t i n g to the poor than a steady r i s e of p r i c e s over s e v e r a l months of that year would have been, f o r there was some t r u t h i n John P i t t ' s comments to Lord Hardwicke upon the need f o r s t a b l e p r i c e s . He noted t h a t : The poor knows not how to p r o p o r t i o n h i s l a b o u r to h i s l i v e l i h o o d , f o r n i n e t y - n i n e i n a hundred, l e t times be what they would, would never get beforehand; while a c e r t a i n t y i n h i s expense would make a c e r t a i n t y of h i s labour, and h a b i t would cooperate w i t h n e c e s s i t y . . . . An equal p r i c e of p r o v i s i o n s i s the best t h i n g f o r the poor. They p r o p o r t i o n t h e i r i n d u s t r y to the accustomed s u p p l i e s necessary f o r a l i v e l i h o o d , w h i l s t a f l u c t u a t -i n g p r i c e breeds r i o t and d i s t r e s s . m While such views suggest t h a t the poor r e c e i v e d a s u f f i c i e n t income t h a t they could set some of i t aside f o r f u t u r e emer-gencies, a dubious prospect f o r a g r i c u l t u r a l workers by the 1760's, i t was probably t r u e t h a t many of the poor could \"'\"\"'\"^Charles Townsend to G r a f t o n , September 4, 1766, G r a f t o n Papers. m P i t t to Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l s . 310-11. 65 have i n c r e a s e d t h e i r income m a r g i n a l l y i n times of g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g p r i c e s . In the summer of 1766, there were i n d i -c a t i o n s t h a t employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s e x i s t e d i n v a r i o u s p a r t s of the country f o r those able to move to them. News-papers, f o r example, r e p o r t e d harvests i n the West Country 112 delayed by a l a c k of labour. A steady r i s e of food p r i c e s would have enabled workers i n a r e l a t i v e l y unsophis-t i c a t e d economy to f i n d e x t r a employment or e v e n t u a l l y to f i n d cheaper s u b s t i t u t e s f o r more expensive wheaten bread and meat, although the poor were remarkably c o n s e r v a t i v e i n t h e i r e a t i n g h a b i t s and r e l u c t a n t to give up improvements In t h e i r d i e t . Sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n food p r i c e s suggested to the poor t h a t t h e r e was ma n i p u l a t i o n of the food supply. I t was the assumptions t h a t the poor made about the nature of the food shortage which encouraged t h e i r v i o l e n t responses to the high p r i c e s of \" n e c e s s a r i e s \" i n September, 1766. These assumptions were d e r i v e d from l o n g - s t a n d i n g p r e j u d i c e s a g a i n s t one or two i n t e r e s t groups i n r u r a l s o c i e t y , which the a c t i o n s of the government i n response to the food c r i s i s confirmed. In p r o c l a i m i n g the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t middlemen on September 10, r a t h e r than extending the embargo on g r a i n exports on August 26, the M i n i s t r y appeared to i n d i c a t e t h a t the shortage was created a r t i f i c i a l l y by corn f a c t o r s and \"Public A d v e r t i s e r , August' 18, 1766, and passim. 113 l a r g e farmers f o r t h e i r p r i v a t e p r o f i t . I t i s a g a i n s t t h i s background t h a t the mobs' attacks upon middlemen, farmers, and anyone moving g r a i n to the urban centres and p o r t s must be viewed. But how remarkable was the govern-ment's pr o c l a m a t i o n of the laws f o r b i d d i n g f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g ? Probably i t was not as s i n g u l a r as P r o f e s s o r D. G. Barnes has suggested.\"''\"''4 In t h i s , they acted e n t i r e l y p r e d i c t a b l y . For on at l e a s t two e a r l i e r occasions of s e r i o u s food s c a r c i t y and r i o t , i n , t h a t i s , 1740 and 1756, the a u t h o r i t i e s had done p r e c i s e l y the same 115 t h i n g . By the 1760's i t had become almost a r e f l e x a c t i o n to remind middlemen of t h e i r s o c i a l o b l i g a t i o n s . Yet 113 James Montagu wrote to Lord Shelburne of the mutinous d i s p o s i t i o n of the poor \"who see themselves oppressed w i t h hunger i n the midst of p l e n t y . \" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 132, f o i . 30. \"'\"'^Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 39. 115 In J u l y , 1740 the Lords J u s t i c e \" i n f a c e of tum-u l t s at the dearness of corn\" p u b l i s h e d an order a g a i n s t a l l \" g r a i n i n g r o s s e r s \" when the p r i c e was above those i n the Acts of 5 & 6 Ed. VI (Gentleman]s Magazine, V [1735], 355). \"In consequence of s e v e r a l a p p l i c a t i o n s to h i s majesty by the m a g i s t r a t e s of B r i s t o l , L i v e r p o o l , Newcastle upon Tyme, and s e v e r a l other seaports r e l a t i n g to the e x c e s s i v e p r i c e of corn, the p r i v y c o u n c i l met at the C o c k p i t and i s s u e d a proclamation by which the purchasing of corn f o r t r a n s p o r t a -t i o n without l i c e n s e i s e n t i r e l y f o r b i d d e n ; the o l d laws r e l a t i n g to the f o r s t a l l i n g and r e g r a t i n g are ordered to be s t r i c t l y put i n execution; and a l l farmers etc are e n j o i n e d under s e v e r a l p e n a l t i e s to b r i n g t h e i r corn to open market and not to s e l l by sample at t h e i r own d w e l l i n g s on any pre-tense.\" Gentleman's Magazine, XXVI (1756), 546. 67 i n 1766 the e f f e c t of p u b l i c l y s i n g l i n g out the one i n t e r e s t which had been the o b j e c t of s u s t a i n e d attack f o r s e v e r a l years was more s e r i o u s than ever before. The government's a c t i o n set o f f a t r a i n of events which r e s u l t e d i n some of the most s e r i o u s a g r a r i a n r i o t s of the century. By f a i l i n g on the one hand to take e f f e c t i v e a c t i o n to safeguard the g r a i n supply, and on the other implying t h a t the shortage was a r t i f i c i a l l y c r e a t e d by middlemen c i r -cumventing the open market, the M i n i s t r y discouraged the movement of g r a i n to market and i n c i t e d the r i o t e r s to a t t a c k the scapegoats suggested to them. John P i t t noted the e f f e c t of l i m i t i n g t r a n s a c t i o n s to the open market i n a manner more a p p r o p r i a t e to the s i x t e e n t h r a t h e r than the e i g h t e e n t h century: You could not buy an egg or pound of b u t t e r but at the t i n g l i n g of a b e l l and on a p a r t i c u l a r spot. T h i s time and p l a c e were a d i r e c t i o n to the r e g u l a t o r s whose v i o -lence was a deterance to the country peoples coming i n and p r o v i s i o n s got dearer. The Annual R e g i s t e r , too, was c r i t i c a l of the government's a c t i o n s , when i n r e t r o s p e c t i t observed: Many doubted whether t h i s proclamation was w e l l con-ce i v e d or w e l l timed. I t was i n some s o r t , p r e j u d g i n g the q u e s t i o n , and d e c l a r i n g the s c a r c i t y to be a r t i f i -c i a l , which experience has s i n c e shown to have been but too n a t u r a l . . . .^-^ 116 \u00C2\u00B0Pitt to Hardwicke, December 21, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 341. 1 1 7 A n n u a l R e g i s t e r , IX (1766), 224-26; X (1767), 40. 68 The c o n c l u s i o n s of the M i n i s t r y were q u i c k l y con-veyed to the populace. C l e r k s i n country towns p u b l i c i z e d the proclamation i n l o c a l newspapers and constables d i s -p layed copies i n each hundred, while at the same time magis-t r a t e s o f f e r e d to prosecute o f f e n d e r s and to reward informers 118 at p u b l i c expense. Thus the whole r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n was made aware of the government's b e l i e f t h a t the shortage was a r t i f i c i a l . Soon p r a c t i c a l r e a l i t i e s f o r c e d the abandonment of these r e g u l a t i o n s a g a i n s t the middlemen f o r : I t was apprehended t h a t t h i s measure [the proclamation] would have an e f f e c t c o n t r a r y to the i n t e n t i o n s of the c o u n c i l , and by f r i g h t e n i n g d e a l e r s from the markets, would i n c r e a s e the s c a r c i t y i t was designed to remedy. Th i s was so w e l l f e l t t h a t l i t t l e was done towards e n f o r c i n g the proclamation, and i t soon f e l l to the ground.119 But the damage was already done. Not only d i d the govern-ment's a c t i o n encourage the poor to take matters i n t o t h e i r own hands and. d e a l with those r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the shortage; i t enabled the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s f o r t h e i r own purposes to d i v e r t a t t e n t i o n away from themselves. To understand the c h a r a c t e r of the responses of a l l three groups, one must examine the a t t i t u d e s towards middlemen which developed a f t e r the mid-century. 118 At Michaelmas the m a g i s t r a t e s o f f e r e d a f i v e pound reward f o r i n f o r m e r s , Derbyshire Record O f f i c e , Derby, Derby Q u a r t e r Sessions Order Book (1766). 1 1 9 A n n u a l R e g i s t e r , X (1767), 40. 69 Severe f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of food, then, p r e c i p i t a t e d the waves of r i o t s which culminated i n the d i s -a f f e c t i o n of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of most of Southern Eng-l a n d and the Midlands i n the l a t e summer and autumn of 1766. The major cause of these f l u c t u a t i o n s was a n a t u r a l shortage whose e f f e c t s were aggravated by government trade p o l i c i e s and the e x p e c t a t i o n s of the people. The M i n i s t r y ' s proclam-a t i o n of the o l d anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s encouraged both the r u l i n g orders and the a g r a r i a n poor to blame corn d e a l e r s , g r e a t farmers and others f o r the food c r i s i s . T h i s miscon-c e p t i o n determined the d i r e c t i o n of the d i s o r d e r s and t h e i r v i o l e n c e . I t i s evident t h a t s p i r a l l i n g p r i c e s of n e c e s s a r i e s were the c a t a l y s t which acted upon the deep-seated d i s c o n -t e n t s of more than one i n t e r e s t . Before a n a l y z i n g these, i t w i l l be necessary to examine and account f o r the strong pre-j u d i c e a g a i n s t middlemen which became apparent a f t e r the mid-century and which played a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t i n determin-ing t h e i r response to the food c r i s i s of 1766. PART I CHAPTER I I THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS Denunciations of middlemen were common i n newspapers, p e r i o d i c a l s , pamphlets, and p r i v a t e correspondence a f t e r the mid-century. The f o l l o w i n g comments of the Mayor of G u i l d -f o r d were t y p i c a l of these: \"I hope the above jobbers as i s the l o c u s t s of the earth w i l l a l l be s i l e n c e d and th a t a l l the n e c e s s a r i e s of l i f e w i l l be o b l i g e d to be brought to the p u b l i c f a i r s and markets.\"\"'\" Most c r i t i c s r e s e r v e d t h e i r b i t t e r e s t a t t a c k s f o r the middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e , who were suspected of by-passing or manipulating markets f o r t h e i r own p r o f i t at the expense of the consumers. In the 1750's and 1760's there were v a r i o u s i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t p u b l i c a n t i p a t h y was rea c h i n g s e r i o u s l e v e l s . During the hunger r i o t s of 1756-57, p u b l i s h e r s i s s u e d a l a r g e number of pamph-l e t s which blamed the c u r r e n t shortages and high p r i c e s of 2 food on jobbers and p r o v i s i o n s d e a l e r s . P a r t i c u l a r l y \"'\"Thomas Jackman, Mayor of G u i l d f o r d , to Lord Aber-corn, March 8, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 2 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, pp. 32-33. 70 71 b i t t e r a s s a u l t s on middlemen f o l l o w e d . R i o t e r s attacked the p r o p e r t y of bakers, corn f a c t o r s , and others of the g r a i n t r a d e . They even destroyed Quaker meeting houses attended 3 by Midland corn d e a l e r s . A f t e r 1764 s e v e r a l P a r l i a m e n t a r y committees agreed i n blaming middlemen g e n e r a l l y f o r the 4 high p r i c e s of a l l p r o v i s i o n s . Pamphleteers once again j o i n e d i n d e n i g r a t i n g middlemen i n the 1760*s. Newspapers and j o u r n a l s took up the cry too. O c c a s i o n a l l y , w r i t e r s r a l l i e d to the support of the commercial c l a s s e s of the pro-v i s i o n s t r a d e , but t h e i r clamour was muted under the weight of adverse c r i t i c i s m . T h i s campaign of v i l i f i c a t i o n reached i t s peak i n the p e r i o d of s c a r c i t y and h i g h p r i c e s of 1766-67, when hun-ger r i o t s were widespread across Southern England. Renewed p u b l i c a t t a c k s on the middlemen i n the press s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d the course of events by i n f l u e n c i n g the responses of the poor and the r i c h a l i k e to the food c r i s i s . There- . a f t e r , p u b l i c h o s t i l i t y to middlemen, at l e a s t at the o f f i -c i a l l e v e l , d e c l i n e d somewhat. In 1772 P a r l i a m e n t , recog-n i z i n g not only the f u t i l i t y of r e s t r i c t i o n s on f o r e s t a l l -i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g , but a l s o the s e r i o u s d i s r u p -t i v e e f f e c t s of t h e i r r i g i d enforcement, r e p e a l e d the o l d 3Gentleman's Magazine, XXVI (1756), 409. ^Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 22. 72 s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t middlemen. Popular d i s t r u s t d i d not abate as q u i c k l y . In 1792 when p r i c e s of bread more than doubled, p u b l i c debate once again f o c u s s e d on middlemen's a c t i v i t i e s . Edmund Burke and other i n f l u e n t i a l Commons speakers j u s t i -f i e d middlemen's \"non-productive\" a c t i v i t i e s i n a debate on 6 the high cost of food. But t h i s time the a u t h o r i t i e s made l i t t l e attempt to prevent the engrossing of s u p p l i e s , although p r o s e c u t i o n s f o r monopoly were s t i l l p o s s i b l e under Common Law. The experience of the 1760's had f i n a l l y taught t h a t the economy had outgrown such p r i m i t i v e measures of c o n t r o l . Elsewhere i t has been shown t h a t , when fa c e d with r i s i n g d i s c o n t e n t i n e a r l y September, 1766, the Chatham Min-i s t r y took the i l l - a d v i s e d step of p r o c l a i m i n g the laws a g a i n s t engrossing, r e g r a t i n g , and f o r e s t a l l i n g i n p r e f e r -ence to p r o h i b i t i n g immediately the e x p o r t a t i o n of g r a i n and p e r m i t t i n g the f r e e i m p o r t a t i o n of c o l o n i a l and f o r e i g n sup-7 p l i e s . Thereby i t b r o a d l y h i n t e d to the p u b l i c that the g r a i n shortage was a r t i f i c i a l r a t h e r than n a t u r a l . The newspaper and pamphlet campaign of n e a r l y twenty years had a l r e a d y s t i m u l a t e d the n a t u r a l l o a t h i n g of the poor f o r the m i l l e r , the baker, and the corn f a c t o r . The government's 5 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 41. 6 C e n t r a l L i b r a r y , S h e f f i e l d , F i t z w i l l i a m MSS, Burke 18. 7 See Chapter I above. 73 reminder was the f i n a l encouragement of the s e r i o u s r i o t s Q which f o l l o w e d . P l a i n l y , the timing of the proclamation was u n f o r -tunate. The s i x months' embargo on corn exports ended on August 26, 1766, and i n the next f o u r weeks g r a i n , which had been assembled i n the ports i n a n t i c i p a t i o n of f r e e exports over s e v e r a l weeks, f l o o d e d out of the south and west of England to meet the famine needs of Europe. In t h i s oper-a t i o n corn f a c t o r s , badgers, and other middlemen f u l f i l l e d t h e i r customary and necessary r o l e s . P r e s s u r e to r e s t o r e the embargo immediately f a i l e d i n f a c e of the M i n i s t r y ' s doubts about the l e g a l i t y of such a c t i o n without p r i o r Par-l i a m e n t a r y approval and a r e l u c t a n c e to l o s e t r a d i t i o n a l g markets f o r g r a i n . The government's a c t i o n i n p r o c l a i m i n g the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t engrossing, f o r e s t a l l i n g , and r e g r a t i n g r e v e a l e d a l a c k of a p p r e c i a t i o n of the f u n c t i o n i n g of the economy. .It was c l e a r l y i n c o n s i s t e n t to permit l a r g e - s c a l e g r a i n exports, w h i l e at the same time d e c l a r i n g i l l e g a l the very p r a c t i c e s necessary to assemble g r a i n 8 C f . the b e l i e f of the French people t h a t a pacte de famine had been made to s t a r v e the poor (Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , p. 227). 9 George I I I to L i e u t e n a n t - G e n e r a l Conway, September 20, 1766, L e t t e r s of George I I I , ed. by Bonamy Dobree (London: C a s s e l , 1968) , pp. 4l~-42. Harcourt to Jenkinson, September 16, 1766, Add. MSS, 38340. Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 39. 74 shipments not only f o r abroad but f o r urban centres such as London. In p a r t , at l e a s t , the responses of the a u t h o r i t i e s and the poor r e f l e c t e d an e x t r a o r d i n a r y h o s t i l i t y towards middlemen which had become f i r m l y entrenched i n the minds of Englishmen about the middle of the century. The student must f i r s t seek to understand t h e i r p r e j u d i c e s a g a i n s t mid-dlemen i f he i s to e x p l a i n the r o l e s of both the a u t h o r i t i e s and the poor i n the s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s of the 1760's. Before examining the more s p e c i f i c reasons f o r the u n u s u a l l y b i t t e r h o s t i l i t y towards t h i s segment of the \"middling s o r t , \" how-ever, some c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the general s o c i a l t e n s i o n s which formed a background f a v o u r a b l e to the c r e a t i o n of popular scapegoats f o r the food c r i s e s of the 1760's i s d e s i r a b l e . I By the mid-eighteenth century the r a t e of economic growth of England quickened, and i n the process i n t e n s i f i e d s t r e s s i n s o c i e t y . R u r a l d i s t r i c t s e s p e c i a l l y f e l t the e f f e c t s of change. The f a c t t h a t many of these e f f e c t s were not always to the economic detriment of e i t h e r the p r i v i l e g e d orders or the i n d u s t r i o u s poor d i d not l e s s e n t h e i r s o c i a l impact upon t r a d i t i o n a l communities. P o p u l a r a n t i p a t h y towards middlemen, which was e s p e c i a l l y e v ident i n the 75 hunger r i o t s of the 1760's, must be viewed a g a i n s t t h i s b a c k - c l o t h of s o c i a l f l u x . To understand why t h i s p e r i o d of r a p i d change occu r r e d a f t e r 1750 and to a p p r e c i a t e why i t had such a pro-found e f f e c t upon important i n t e r e s t s , one must go back at l e a s t as f a r as the l a s t decade of the preceding century. In these years r u r a l s o c i e t y was beginning once again to experience important s t r u c t u r a l change, which r e s u l t e d from depressed c o n d i t i o n s i n agriculture.''\"''' Except i n compara-t i v e l y r a r e years of poor h a r v e s t s , animal epidemics, or u n c e r t a i n t r a d e , the p r i c e s of a g r i c u l t u r a l produce con-t i n u e d to be low throughout the f i r s t h a l f of the eighteenth 12 century. T h i s s t a t e of a f f a i r s operated f o r the most p a r t l e s s i n the economic i n t e r e s t s of the farmers and the l a n d -13 owners than those of the l a b o u r i n g poor. Low r e t u r n s on a g r i c u l t u r a l investment tended to d r i v e out the l e a s t e f f i -c i e n t owners and farmers, and encouraged the c l o s e a t t e n t i o n to p r o d u c t i v i t y of those who managed to s u r v i v e . Great landowners, w i t h e s t a t e s s c a t t e r e d through s e v e r a l r e g i o n s , were b e t t e r able to s u r v i v e than s m a l l e r landowners .whose \"'\"\"'\"Charles Wilson, England's A p p r e n t i c e s h i p 1603-1763, S o c i a l and Economic H i s t o r y of England, ed. by Asa B r i g g s (London: Longmans, 1965), pp. 141-59. 12 G. E. Mingay, \"The A g r i c u l t u r a l Depression, 1730-50,\" Economic H i s t o r y Review, 2nd s e r . , V I I I (1956), 323-38. 13 Wil s o n , England's A p p r e n t i c e s h i p , p. 249. 76 i n t e r e s t s were more l o c a l . Frequently, such l a r g e land-owners were not s o l e l y dependent upon t h e i r a g r i c u l t u r a l 14 rents f o r s u r v i v a l . In times of c r i s i s such men could use c a p i t a l obtained from i n d u s t r i a l or commercial investment to keep t h e i r a g r i c u l t u r a l ventures solvent. By 1700 a trend f o r l e s s e f f i c i e n t and u n d e r c a p i t a l i z e d , small landowners to 15 s e l l out to l a r g e r neighbours was evident. The engrossing of sma l l e r estates by the owners of great p r o p e r t i e s had i t s most immediate e f f e c t upon those of the l e s s e r p a r i s h gentry and yeomen who were obliged to s e l l t h e i r land. The economic b e n e f i t of changing from f r e e h o l d ownership to lease h o l d farming was qu i t e evident. Freed from t h e i r former o b l i g a t i o n to i n v e s t i n expensive land improvements, i n most instances they now farmed t h e i r land 16 under long l e a s e s , u s u a l l y f o r three l i v e s . When the pro-duce market f e l l to uneconomic l e v e l s , as i t d i d p a r t i c u -l a r l y i n the depression years between 1730 and 1750, they u s u a l l y found t h e i r l a n d l o r d s w i l l i n g to accept payments i n kind or even to f o r g i v e the f u l l amount of t h e i r rent r a t h e r than watch t h e i r land d e t e r i o r a t e w h i l e they hunted i n v a i n 17 f o r other tenants. When p r i c e s rose sharply i n seasons of 14 H. J . Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership, 1680-1740,\" Economic H i s t o r y Review, 1st se r . , X, No. 1 (1940), 4. 15 I b i d . , p. 2. 16 Wilson, 'England's Apprenticeship. p. 252. 17 Chambers and Mingay, The A g r i c u l t u r a l R e v o lution 1750-1880, pp. 20-21. 77 poor h a r v e s t s or of animal epidemics, any i n c r e a s e d p r o f i t s went i n t o the pockets of the l e a s e h o l d e r s r a t h e r than i n t o the hands of the l a n d l o r d s , because r e n t s set e a r l i e r i n the 18 century when the p r i c e s of food were low remained s t a b l e . Yet the l o s s of landownership d i d r e p r e s e n t a d e c l i n e i n s o c i a l s t a t u s i n a century when pro p e r t y r i g h t s were supreme, and h o s t i l i t y to the landed i n t e r e s t was always l a t e n t among r 19 f armers. Not only d i d the s i z e of e s t a t e s grow i n the f i r s t h a l f of the ei g h t e e n t h century, but so d i d the s i z e of 20 farms. Landowners p r e f e r r e d to le a s e t h e i r l a n d to l a r g e -s c a l e farmers who were most l i k e l y to s u r v i v e the d i f f i c u l t market c o n d i t i o n s because they were able to a f f o r d the improved methods of husbandry which were slowly spreading through r u r a l England i n the l a t e seventeenth century, and to gain the economies of s c a l e . S i r John F i e l d i n g claimed t h a t by 1765 r i c h farmers had swallowed l i t t l e farms of \u00C2\u00A370 21 to \u00C2\u00A3100 per year. S m a l l e r tenant farmers d i s p l a c e d by \" ^ I b i d . , p. 47. 19 Habakkuk notes t h a t \"hatred of the small s q u i r e s and gentry f o r the great l o r d s . . . who were buying them out i s the theme of many contemporary p l a y s \" (Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership,\" p. 12). 2 QGentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 85. See a l s o S i r John F i e l d i n g , \"Observations of P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s , \" February 5, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . W. G. Hoskins, The Midland Peasant, c i t e d i n Wilson, England's A p p r e n t i c e s h i p , p. 250. 21 F i e l d i n g , \"Observations of P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . \" See a l s o Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 85. 78 t h i s t r e n d became l a b o u r e r s working f o r others or l e f t the l a n d e n t i r e l y . The growing r e l u c t a n c e of landowners to l e a s e e x t r a l a n d to small f r e e h o l d e r s r e i n f o r c e d t h i s tend-ency towards l a r g e farms. Unable to r e n t l a n d to make t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s economic, these s m a l l e r yeomen f r e e h o l d e r s s o l d 22 out and j o i n e d . t h e ranks of tenant farmers or l a b o u r e r s . For h i s p a r t the r u r a l l a b o u r e r born to h i s s t a t i o n i n l i f e found the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s low and l i f e r e l a -t i v e l y easy f o r most of the f i r s t f i f t y years of the e i g h -t e e n t h century. Throughout Southern England the woollen c l o t h trade prospered and the d i s r u p t i v e e f f e c t s of the expansion of Y o r k s h i r e ' s worsted c l o t h i n d u s t r y s t i l l l a y i n 23 the f u t u r e . A g r i c u l t u r a l workers could thus supplement t h e i r earnings under the domestic system. P o p u l a t i o n growth was not yet p u t t i n g pressure upon v i l l a g e communities. M i g r a t i o n to the m e t r o p o l i t a n area, to other growing urban centres and to the c o l o n i e s , at l e a s t f o r the s i n g l e man, p r o v i d e d a s a f e t y v a l v e through which d i s c o n t e n t s could be 24 d i s s i p a t e d . While those who descended from owner-occupiers 22 Wilson, .'England's Apprenticeship,'' p. 251. Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership,\" p. 15. 23 V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , I I (1907), 160: g r e a t e s t p r o s p e r i t y i n c l o t h t r a de of the west between 1690 and 1760. Mantoux.places the s e r i o u s competi-t i o n of the n o r t h e r n towns a f t e r 1790 (Paul Mantoux, The I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century (rev. ed.; London: Methuen, 1966), p. 264. 24 P h y l l i s Deane and W i l l i a m A. Cole, B r i t i s h Econ-omic Growth, 1688-1959, Trends and S t r u c t u r e (2nd ed.; Cambridge: Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1967), p. 115. pbell, \" E n g l i s h E m i g r a t i o n on th Eve of the American R e v o l u t i o n , \" pp. 1-20. 79 to tenant farmers or l a b o u r e r s f a c e d a d i f f i c u l t p e r i o d of adjustment, only i n r a r e years of c r i s i s was there severe s t r a i n i n r u r a l s o c i e t y i n the f i r s t f i f t y years of the 25 e i g h t e e n t h century. In a few years of poor harvests and h i g h p r i c e s , food r i o t s d i d break out, but they were s c a t -t e r e d and s h o r t - l i v e d compared to the c h r o n i c hunger r i o t s O A of the second h a l f of the century. During the 1750's there was a marked i n c r e a s e i n r u r a l t e n s i o n s , which i n the f i r s t i n s t a n c e was p r e c i p i t a t e d by a change i n the terms of domestic trade i n favour of a g r i c u l t u r e . E s s e n t i a l l y the causes of t h i s phenomenon were 27 t h r e e f o l d : p o p u l a t i o n growth a f t e r 1740 and movement to 28 the developing i n d u s t r i a l r e g i o n s and urban c e n t r e s , government v i c t u a l l i n g c o n t r a c t s during the Seven Years' 29 War, and n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s such as bad harvests and animal 30 epidemics. The most evident and immediate r e s u l t of t h i s 25 Habakkuk a t t r i b u t e s the absence of comparable s o c i a l t e n s i o n to t h a t preceding the C i v i l War to the t r a n s -f e r e n c e of l a n d to C o n s e r v a t i v e elements (Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership,\" p. 5. 26 Robert Featherstone Wearmouth, Methodism and the Common People of the E i g h t e e n t h Century (London: Epworth P r e s s , 1945), passim! 27 Deane and Cole, B r i t i s h Economic Growth, 1688-1959, pp. 93-94. 2 8 I b i d . , pp. 111-21. 29 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 60. 3 Q I b i d . , p. 22. 80 swing i n f a v o u r of a g r i c u l t u r e was higher p r i c e s f o r pro-duce, which continued throughout the remaining years of the 31 century and a f f e c t e d the w e l l - b e i n g of a l l r u r a l i n t e r e s t s . I n e v i t a b l y the b e n e f i t s of g r e a t e r a g r i c u l t u r a l pro-f i t s were spread unevenly through r u r a l s o c i e t y . Those landowners able to pass on to t h e i r tenants the i n c r e a s i n g burden of t a x a t i o n and other c o s t s were able to share i n the 32 growing p r o f i t a b i l i t y of commercial farming. Others who were committed to long l e a s e s at low ren t s were not able to gai n from the f a v o u r a b l e movement i n a g r i c u l t u r e . They had to bear the c o s t of hig h e r t a x a t i o n to pay f o r the war, as w e l l as the growing weight of w e l f a r e n e c e s s i t a t e d by the 3 3 r i s i n g cost of l i v i n g . Where great landowners f r e q u e n t l y b e n e f i t e d i n d i r e c t l y from h i g h e r p r i c e s r e s u l t i n g from n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s , s m a l l e r owner-occupiers were more v u l n e r -able to bad har v e s t s or epidemics of c a t t l e and sheep, which were more f r e q u e n t i n the 1750's and 1760's than h i t h e r t o . Many of these l e s s e r landowners were f o r c e d to s e l l t h e i r l a n d . The t r e n d towards l a r g e r a g r i c u l t u r a l u n i t s , e v i d e n t e a r l i e r i n the century, a c c e l e r a t e d a f t e r 1750. Although 3 1 I b i d . , pp. 181-82. 3 2 V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , W i l t s h i r e , IV (1959), 62. 33 G. E. Mingay, E n g l i s h Landed S o c i e t y i n the E i g h -t e e n t h Century (London: Routledge and Kegan P a u l , 1963), pp. 83-84. 81 the upswing i n the produce market enabled some small l a n d -owners who might otherwise have been f o r c e d o f f t h e i r l a n d to s u r v i v e , many found i t d e s i r a b l e to s e l l out to t h e i r 34 more e f f i c i e n t and b e t t e r c a p i t a l i z e d neighbours. The i n c r e a s i n g l y p r o f i t a b l e markets encouraged investment i n e s t a t e improvement and b e t t e r farming techniques. S c i e n -t i f i c farming methods known and p r a c t i s e d on a l i m i t e d s c a l e i n the previous century such as the m a r l i n g of sandy s o i l s , s u r f a c e drainage, v a r y i n g crop r o t a t i o n s , s e l e c t i v e breeding of animals and the r e s t spread r a p i d l y a f t e r the mid-century owing to the e f f o r t s of great landowners and p r o g r e s s i v e farmers. As a r e s u l t , p r o d u c t i v i t y and u l t i m a t e l y r e n t s 35 r o s e , e s p e c i a l l y on the l i g h t s o i l s . Once again the g r e a t e s t advantages went to the l a r g e - s c a l e o p e r a t o r s . Wealthy landowners were best able to take advantage of the lower i n t e r e s t r a t e s on c a p i t a l necessary f o r the develop-36 ment of e s t a t e s . At the same time engrossing landowners were able to exact a more n e a r l y economic r e n t upon land r e c e n t l y a c q u i r e d because they were not bound by lengthy 34 Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership,\" pp. 1-17. 35 E. L. Jones, \" A g r i c u l t u r e and Economic Growth i n England, 1660-1750: A g r i c u l t u r a l Change,\" J o u r n a l of Econ-omic H i s t o r y , XXV (1965), 11. 36 Thomas S o u t h c l i f f e Ashton, An Economic H i s t o r y of England: The E i g h t e e n t h Century (London: Methuen and Co. L t d . , 1955), pp. 40-41. 82 l e a s e s . Such l a n d l o r d s now p r e f e r r e d t e n a n c i e s at w i l l 37 r a t h e r than l e a s e h o l d s f o r s e v e r a l l i v e s . G e n e r a l l y owners of l a n d c l o s e to expanding urban centres or i n d u s t r i a l d i s t r i c t s were i n the best p o s i t i o n to b e n e f i t from the growth of commercial farming by the 1760's. Owners of corn lands, however, b e n e f i t e d from the ease of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of g r a i n , and even those d i s t a n t from the coasts or urban centres shared i n the new p r o s p e r i t y . Less f o r t u n a t e were landowners t i e d to long l e a s e s or those whose la n d produced l e s s r e a d i l y t r a n s p o r t e d commodities. These only p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the b e n e f i t s of the commercial farming boom a f t e r long delays during which l e a s e s ran out or t r a n s -p o r t a t i o n systems developed. Those who managed to s u r v i v e t h i s extended l e a n p e r i o d were o b l i g e d to watch r e s e n t f u l l y the success of other landowners and the growing a f f l u e n c e of great tenant farmers. One anonymous p o l e m i c i s t expressed the resentment of many of the landed i n t e r e s t when he wrote, \"Was i t ever thought of, i n the o r i g i n a l i n s t i t u t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e , t h a t the husbandman, who rented \u00C2\u00A3300 per annum should be enabled to l i v e b e t t e r than h i s l a n d l o r d , who had 38 no other income.\" 37 Chambers and Mingay, The A g r i c u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n 1750-1880, p. 47. 38 Anonymous, A L e t t e r to the House of Commons i n which i s Set F o r t h the Nature of C e r t a i n Abuses R e l a t i v e to the A r t i c l e s of P r o v i s i o n s (London: J . Almon, 1765) , p~. 34. 83 Although by the 1760's i n counties such as W i l t -s h i r e , one of the most d i s a f f e c t e d c o u nties i n the hunger r i o t s of 1766, the landed i n t e r e s t was beginning to pass onto t h e i r tenants the weight of i n c r e a s e d t a x a t i o n i n the form of h i g h e r r e n t s , the s i t u a t i o n of the l a r g e r farmer i n 39 Southern England a f t e r the mid-century was f a v o u r a b l e . As was the case among landowners able to exact an economic r e n t , the g r e a t e s t b e n e f i c i a r y of expanding commercial farm-i n g was the l a r g e - s c a l e farmer l o c a t e d c l o s e to London or some other growing urban c e n t r e , or to developing i n d u s t r i a l r e g i o n s such as the Midlands, L a n c a s h i r e , the West R i d i n g or H a l l a m s h i r e . Even where he was l o c a t e d at a d i s t a n c e from markets, the gre a t corn farmer was prosperous by the 1760's. Hi s product was r e l a t i v e l y e a s i l y t r a n s p o r t e d on the improved r i v e r s and c a n a l s . 4 ^ When exports were permitted, he gained from export bounties; when s c a r c i t y at home shut o f f f o r e i g n markets, he b e n e f i t e d from the enhanced p r i c e s i n home markets. The l a r g e a g r i c u l t u r a l producer i n the 1750's and 1760's gained from other f a c t o r s besides expanding markets f o r farm produce. Among these were the n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s 39 There was an a c c e l e r a t i o n i n the growth of a g r i -c u l t u r a l output a f t e r 1750 (Deane and Cole, B r i t i s h Economic Growth, 1688-1959, p. 75). See a l s o Wilson, -England's A p p r e n t i c e s h i p , :' p. 254. Mantoux, The I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n i n the E i g h -t e e n t h Century, p. 125. 84 which oc c u r r e d w i t h g r e a t e r frequency a f t e r 1750 than i n the e a r l y years of the century. G e n e r a l l y the weather had been f a v o u r a b l e to r a i s i n g crops and animals f o r most of the f i r s t f i f t y years of the e i g h t e e n t h century, but now adverse weather c o n d i t i o n s r e s u l t e d i n s e v e r a l years of poor har-v e s t s . P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy were the seasons of 1751, 1756, and 1766 which produced l i g h t h a rvests and high p r i c e s 41 which touched o f f hunger r i o t s . In other years shortages of fodder crops a d v e r s e l y . a f f e c t e d c a t t l e and sheep. In 1762-63 there were very s m a l l crops of hay i n W i l t s h i r e which l e d subsequently to much s l a u g h t e r i n g of c a l v e s and 42 c a t t l e shortages and high p r i c e s i n f o l l o w i n g years. Unusual weather In the e a r l y 1760's l e d to a f l u c t u a t i o n i n the supply of acorns which was l a t e r r e f l e c t e d i n a shortage of hogs and h i g h meat p r i c e s . 4 3 The high b a r l e y p r i c e s of 1763 r e s u l t e d i n the breeding of fewer p i g s and the 'subse-quent high p r i c e s of pork commented on i n the House of Lords' r e p o r t on high meat p r i c e s i n 1765. Animal epidemics i n c r e a s e d In the middle years of the century and r a i s e d the 41 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, pp. 20-22. 42 E x t r a c t of a l e t t e r from Mr. Frawd, Gentleman Farmer, of B r i x t o n D e v e r i l i n W i l t s h i r e , to the Lord Bishop of S t . David's, February 2, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 22. 43 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s m England 1700-1800, 85 44 p r i c e s of meat. C a t t l e murrain was widespread between 45 1745 and the mid-1760's and decimated many herds. N a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s such as these were o f t e n s u f f i c i e n t to d e s t r o y sma l l farmers whose i n t e r e s t s were p u r e l y l o c a l . But a gr e a t farmer, some of whose stock and crops s u r v i v e d , pro-f i t e d from the s c a r c i t y and enhanced p r i c e s of meat and g r a i n . He, too, was b e t t e r able to meet the r i s i n g costs of poor r e l i e f , which was the concomitant of widespread d i s -t r e s s caused by high food p r i c e s , than h i s s m a l l e r competi-, 46 t o r . The conspicuous consumption i n which many of the prosperous g r e a t farmers engaged a f t e r 1750 a t t r a c t e d much comment. Frequent complaints i n newspapers and j o u r n a l s of the p e r i o d t e s t i f y to the resentment of the w e a l t h i e r f a r m e r s 1 s o c i a l ambitions, which was shared by those above and below them on the s o c i a l s c a l e , and to the mounting s o c i a l t e n s i o n . Many of these farmers were now adopting pastimes h i t h e r t o the p r e r o g a t i v e s of gentlemen: hunting, d r i v i n g i n c a r r i a g e s , employing maidservants f o r t h e i r n e w l y - l e i s u r e d wives, and sending t h e i r c h i l d r e n to p u b l i c schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s . Newspapers t e s t i f i e d s a t i r i c a l l y 44 B u t l e r to Lord L e i g h , February 20, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s : r e p o r t e d sheep r o t i n Warwickshire, L e i c e s t e r s h i r e , and Northamptonshire. 45 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 20 and passim. 4 6 I b i d . , p. 42. 86 to t h e i r changing t a s t e s by n o t i n g advertisements i n country j o u r n a l s such as the f o l l o w i n g : Wanted by a gentleman farmer, a complete ploughman, who can a l s o d r i v e a p a i r of horses on o c c a s i o n . N.B. He must know how to dress h a i r a f t e r the London f a s h i o n , and i f he knows f a r r i e r y so much the better.47 Such s o c i a l p r e t e n s i o n s encouraged many i n the b e l i e f t h a t landowners should f o r c e t h e i r tenant farmers to occupy them-s e l v e s f u l l y w i t h t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l l abours and should d i s -courage them from e x p e c t a t i o n s i n a p p r o p r i a t e to t h e i r s t a -t i o n s i n l i f e . T y p i c a l l y one w r i t e r urged a r e t u r n to l e s s s o p h i s t i c a t e d l i v i n g i n these terms: Let our farmers be farmers, t h a t i s , l e t them l i v e by labour, l e t t h e i r sons f o l l o w the plough, and t h e i r dames and daughters attend the d a i r y , and not change a country l i f e f o r the f o i b l e s of a court, and to become i m i t a t o r s of n o b i l i t y . 4 8 Other correspondents advised landowners to r a i s e t h e i r r e n t s s u f f i c i e n t l y high to ensure the d e s i r a b l e c l o s e a t t e n t i o n of t h e i r tenants to the care of the land and to discourage upward m o b i l i t y . Often w r i t e r s attacked the p r a c t i c e of amalgamating smaller\u00E2\u0080\u00A2farms i n t o l a r g e r farms. One such -c r i t i c expressed h i s concerns i n the f o l l o w i n g sense: . . . every l a n d l o r d ought to keep i n view the support-ing the rank of the i n d u s t r i o u s farmers and not endeav-our to r a i s e them i n t o the higher s t a t i o n of yeomanry nor to say g e n t r y - - t h i s w i l l be done no way so e f f e c -t i v e l y as by assortments of farms of proper s i z e f o r p u b l i c good and f i x i n g such r e n t s as w i l l keep up a P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , March 7, 1767. i 'Westminster J o u r n a l and P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l l a n y , May 21, 1768. 87 tenant's a t t e n t i o n and i n d u s t r y which are the best s e c u r i t y a l a n d l o r d can hope for.49 But the d i r e c t i o n of s o c i a l m o b i l i t y i n a g r i c u l t u r e was more commonly h o r i z o n t a l or downward by the 1750's than upward, and many s u c c e s s f u l tenant farmers resented t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to a c quire the s o c i a l p r e s t i g e and p o l i t i c a l i n f l u e n c e t h a t landownership c a r r i e d . D e s p i t e t h e i r growing wealth, l a r g e farmers found i t i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t to buy l a n d . During the e i g h t e e n t h century the l a n d market t i g h t e n e d . Even b e f o r e the mid-century, d e s p i t e the u n p r o f i t a b i l i t y of a g r i -c u l t u r a l l a n d , the p r i c e of e s t a t e s rose s t e a d i l y during and 50 a f t e r the 1720's. The l e g a l device of s t r i c t settlement, i n t r o d u c e d i n the previous century, was becoming popular amongst the landed i n t e r e s t as a means of p r e v e n t i n g the a l i e n a t i o n of t h e i r p r o p e r t y by f u t u r e , l e s s p r o v i d e n t gen-51 e r a t i o n s . The net e f f e c t of t h i s growing p r a c t i c e of e n t a i l i n g e s t a t e s was a tendency to f r e e z e landownership, and thereby i n c r e a s e the p r i c e of l a n d and make upward s o c i a l m o b i l i t y more d i f f i c u l t f o r tenant farmers and o t h e r s . At the same time t h a t t h i s r e d u c t i o n i n the f l u i d i t y of e x i s t i n g e s t a t e s was o c c u r r i n g , there was growing competi-t i o n f o r a v a i l a b l e l a n d . Men e n r i c h e d by commercial ventures 49 ^ S h e l b u r n e Papers, V o l . 132, f o l s . 89-99. 50 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 94. 51 Mingay, E n g l i s h Landed S o c i e t y i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 32 et seq. 88 i n I n d i a , America, and the West I n d i e s , t o g e t h e r with a growing number of s u c c e s s f u l i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , sought the s o c i a l s t a t u s and p o l i t i c a l i n f l u e n c e t h a t landownership 52 c o n f e r r e d . Wealthy men co u l d s t i l l buy l a n d throughout the century, but by the 1760's i t was becoming i n c r e a s i n g l y expensive and d i f f i c u l t . F r u s t r a t e d i n t h e i r d e s i r e to r i s e i n t o a hig h e r s o c i a l c l a s s and to enjoy s t a t u s and power commensurate w i t h t h e i r wealth, many tenant farmers r e s e n t e d what they regarded as the unproductive r o l e of the a r i s t o -c r acy and gentry. In times of c r i s i s these l a t e n t r e s e n t -ments came to the s u r f a c e . Only on very r a r e occasions were the farmers able to make common cause w i t h the r u r a l poor a g a i n s t the landed i n t e r e s t . When t h i s form of c l a s s p o l a r -i z a t i o n took p l a c e , i t threatened the supremacy of the a r i s -t o c r a c y and p a r t i c u l a r l y the gentry i n the l o c a l i t i e s . One such o c c a s i o n , which w i l l be d e a l t w i t h below because i t had such s i g n i f i c a n t i n f l u e n c e upon events i n 1766, occurred i n 1756-57 when the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s attempted to implement a new, unpopular M i l i t i a Act i n a p e r i o d of un r e s t caused by 53 high food p r i c e s . . More commonly the l a r g e r farmers, 52 Wilson, -England's A p p r e n t i c e s h i p , 5 pp. 158-59, c i t e s H. J . Habakkuk, \"The Land Market i n the Eig h t e e n t h Century,\" i n B r i t a i n and the Netherlands, ed. by J . S. Bromley and E. H. Kossmann. 53 Western, \"The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century, ; : pp. 290-302. Rockingham to Newcastle, September, 1757, Rockingham MSS, RI-105. 89 r a t h e r than the landowners, f e l t the resentments of the poor a f t e r the mid-century. The r i s i n g cost of n e c e s s i t i e s aggravated the g r i e v -ances of the lower orders a g a i n s t the great farmers. Popu-l a r a n t i p a t h y a g a i n s t t h i s i n t e r e s t approached t h a t d i r e c t e d towards the middlemen a f t e r the mid-century. Farm wages f a i l e d to keep pace w i t h the c o s t of l i v i n g e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r the Seven Years' War. Although i n many of the southern counties wage r a t e s d i d r i s e s l i g h t l y i n the 1760's, they 54 a c t u a l l y went down i n the west of England. At the same time the p r i c e s of wheat and meat rose s t e e p l y . In most of the southern h a l f of England the poor ate wheaten bread and t h e r e f o r e t h e i r standard of l i v i n g was s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d by 55 the i n c r e a s e d c o s t of wheat. The tendency towards c o n s o l i d a t i o n of e s t a t e s under fewer owners and the c r e a t i o n of l a r g e r farms had an i n d i r e c t e f f e c t upon the l i f e of r u r a l l a b o u r e r s too. In some cases i t merely r e s u l t e d i n a change of l a n d l o r d , whose contact w i t h the a g r i c u l t u r a l worker was minimal. In many i n s t a n c e s , however, new ownership meant s c i e n t i f i c manage-ment, wi t h i t s emphasis upon maximum p r o d u c t i v i t y . T h i s 54 G. D. H. Cole and Raymond Postgate, The Common People, 1746-1946 (4th ed.; London: Methuen, 1966), p. 76. See a l s o G i l b o y , Wages i n E i g h t e e n t h Century England, p. 134. C h a r l e s Smith, Three T r a c t s on the Corn Trade and the Corn Laws (1766), p. 182. 90 r e s u l t e d i n a g r e a t e r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n of l a b o u r on the farm. Instead of working at the whole range of farming t a s k s , a l a b o u r e r now was expected to concentrate upon being an expert cowman, f o r example. F r e q u e n t l y a new breed of t e n -ant farmers d e d i c a t e d to farming e f f i c i e n c y discouraged t h e i r workers from part-time occupations which competed f o r t h e i r time and energy. Many farmers now a c t i v e l y d i s c o u r -aged t h e i r l a b o u r e r s from engaging i n woollen c l o t h produc-t i o n under the \" p u t t i n g - o u t \" system, which had t r a d i t i o n a l l y p r o vided the p o o r l y - p a i d farm worker wi t h a u s e f u l supple-ment to h i s income. Even where tenant farmers d i d not prevent t h e i r l a b o u r e r ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the domestic system, the r u r a l poor by the 1760's were f i n d i n g l e s s o p p o r t u n i t y to supple-ment t h e i r wages by working i n the c l o t h t r a d e . The com-p e t i t i o n of the woollen worsted i n d u s t r y of the West R i d i n g was f o r c i n g fundamental r e o r g a n i z a t i o n upon the o l d woollen c l o t h r e g i o n s . I n c r e a s i n g l y the c l o t h centres of the West Country and East A n g l i a were s w i t c h i n g to the p r o d u c t i o n of 57 f i n e woven c l o t h s i n the l a t e 1760's. Such products were l e s s s u i t e d to cottage p r o d u c t i o n by r e l a t i v e l y u n s k i l l e d farm workers w i t h l i t t l e machinery at t h e i r d i s p o s a l . As a 56 Ashton, An Economic H i s t o r y of England, p. 115. 57 J u l i a de L. Mann, \" T e x t i l e I n d u s t r i e s s i n c e 1550,\" i n V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , W i l t s h i r e , IV (1959). 91 r e s u l t , farm workers experienced a d e c l i n e i n t h e i r standard of l i v i n g by the 1760's and were more dependent upon a g r i -c u l t u r a l wages. Much of t h e i r resentment they d i r e c t e d towards t h e i r employers. In times of c r i s i s e s p e c i a l l y , the r u r a l poor attacked the p r o p e r t y or persons of farmers who s t r e s s e d p r o f i t a b i l i t y at the expense of t r a d i t i o n a l r i g h t s . Thus i n the Norwich r i o t s of October, 1766 a r u r a l mob attacked one yeoman farmer f o r \"had not the o l d rogue whipped the gleaners from h i s f i e l d s . \" \" 1 8 In the hunger r i o t s of 1766 the farms were the o b j e c t s of searches by mobs, and farm produce head-b9 i n g f o r markets or the p o r t s was i n t e r c e p t e d . But i t was another aspect of the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of landownership which a f t e r the mid-century s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d the c o n d i t i o n s and s t a t u s of the r u r a l poor. The growing p r o f i t a b i l i t y of commercial farming, the a v a i l a b i l i t y of \"cheap\" money, and the s h r i n k i n g of the l a n d market encour-aged the e n c l o s u r e of both c u l t i v a t e d and waste lands at an i n c r e a s e d pace a f t e r 1760. The p r e c i s e e f f e c t of the enclosure movement upon the a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r e r i s impos-s i b l e to measure, and c e r t a i n l y i t s a c c e l e r a t e d growth was only beginning to have an impact by the l a t e 1760's. But c e r t a i n t endencies were a l r e a d y evident. 58 Norwich Record O f f i c e , D e p o s i t i o n s , 1766. 59 Wearmouth, Methodism and the Common People of the E i g h t e e n t h Century, passim. 92 Much debate has i n the past centred around whether or not enclosures caused the d e p o p u l a t i o n of r u r a l England and provided the l a b o u r f o r c e to operate the new f a c t o r i e s . The consensus of h i s t o r i a n s now i s t h a t where enclosures f o r p a s t o r a l purposes took p l a c e , they d i d d r i v e men o f f the l a n d . Thus i n the Midlands, where sheep runs and c a t t l e pastures i n c r e a s e d i n the 1760's as a r e s u l t of e n c l o s u r e s , many of the d i s p l a c e d poor crowded i n t o the weaving v i l l a g e s of L e i c e s t e r s h i r e to set up as s t o c k i n g weavers, an occupa-t i o n which r e q u i r e d l i t t l e c a p i t a l . The i n s a n i t a r y c o n d i -t i o n s c r e a t e d by t h i s sudden i n f l u x of p o p u l a t i o n , the under-nourishment which r e s u l t e d from the high food p r i c e s a f t e r the Seven Years' War l e d to s e r i o u s epidemics and overcrowd-ing a l l c r e a t e d t e n s i o n s which manifested themselves i n e x t e n s i v e food r i o t s throughout t h a t county i n 1 7 6 6 . ^ But where enc l o s u r e s developed f o r the purpose of c r e a t i n g a r a b l e farm l a n d s , they i n c r e a s e d r a t h e r than decreased job o p p o r t u n i t i e s . Nor was the a c t u a l d i v i s i o n of l a n d by Par-l i a m e n t a r y commissioners under the v a r i o u s acts of e n c l o s u r e performed w i t h as l i t t l e concern f o r the t r a d i t i o n a l r i g h t s of the lower orders as was once claimed by Fabian s o c i a l i s t s who wrote on the a g r i c u l t u r a l r e v o l u t i o n i n the n i n e t e e n t h and e a r l y t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r i e s . The commissioners o f t e n gave W. G. Hoskins, \"The P o p u l a t i o n of an E n g l i s h V i l -l age 1086-1801--A Study of Wigston Magna,\" P r o v i n c i a l England (New York: Macmillan, 1963). 93 compensation f o r r i g h t s which could not be s u b s t a n t i a t e d by 61 documentary proof. The i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i v i t y which r e s u l t e d from the r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of a g r i c u l t u r e was a l s o b e n e f i c i a l f o r i t enabled B r i t a i n to f e e d her growing popu-l a t i o n b e t t e r than would have been the case had s m a l l - s c a l e farming continued to predominate i n t o the n i n e t e e n t h cen-t u r y . Yet the economic and s o c i a l changes which occurred i n e v i t a b l y c r e a t e d t e n s i o n s i n r u r a l s o c i e t y . I n d i v i d u a l s s u f f e r e d as a r e s u l t of the r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of f o r m e r l y com-munal land. Cottagers and s q u a t t e r s p a r t i c u l a r l y l o s t important supplementary sources of income when' common l a n d was enclosed. Any compensation they may have r e c e i v e d f o r such l o s s e s was inadequate. Robbed of a cushion a g a i n s t o u t r i g h t d e s t i t u t i o n , which the a b i l i t y to r a i s e one or two animals and c u l t i v a t e a small k i t c h e n garden gave, these members of the lower orders o f t e n became wage-earning l a b o u r e r s s o l e l y dependent upon t h e i r farmer-employers f o r t h e i r s u b s i s t e n c e and much more v u l n e r a b l e to f l u c t u a t i o n s 62 i n the p r i c e of food. P a r a d o x i c a l l y the years of food c r i s i s and r i o t i n g , to which the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of l a n d ownership c o n t r i b u t e d , s t i m u l a t e d f u r t h e r the tendency towards l a r g e e s t a t e s , and an i n c r e a s e i n the number of 61 W. H. Chaloner, \"Recent Work on E n c l o s u r e , the Open F i e l d s and R e l a t e d T o p i c s , \" A g r i c u l t u r a l H i s t o r y Review (1954). ^Chambers and Mingay, The A g r i c u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n 1750-1880, pp. 97-98. 94 en c l o s u r e b i l l s f o l l o w e d each of the years of s e r i o u s s c a r c -i t y and high p r i c e s of the second h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h 63 century. Although the resentment of the poor a g a i n s t e n c l o s -ures i n the 1760's had not yet b u i l t up to the l e v e l i t was to reach l a t e r i n the century, some r i o t s a g a i n s t enclosures 64 d i d occur, n o t a b l y i n Northamptonshire. But most of the resentments a g a i n s t s o c i a l and economic change were expressed more i n d i r e c t l y i n the a g r a r i a n hunger r i o t s of t h i s decade. As a r e s u l t , then, of the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of l a n d -ownership and the spread of s c i e n t i f i c farming p r a c t i c e s , by the 1760's a c l e a r t h r e e f o l d d i v i s i o n of a g r a r i a n s o c i e t y i n t o landowners, tenant farmers, and l a b o u r e r s was beginning to emerge. The r o l e s of each of these three i n t e r e s t s were g r a d u a l l y becoming more c l e a r l y d e f i n e d than ever before. Many tenant farmers had ceased to own any f r e e h o l d ; many landowners ceased to farm the l a n d they occupied; and many la b o u r e r s l o s t t r a d i t i o n a l r i g h t s to communally-owned prop-e r t y . While t h i s neat d i v i s i o n i n t o r e n t i e r , manager, and r u r a l p r o l e t a r i a t d i d not occur overnight, and c e r t a i n l y was not complete by the 1760's, the t r e n d was a l r e a d y e v i d e n t . 63 G. E. Mingay, E n c l o s u r e and the Small Farmer i n the Age of the I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n , S t u d i e s i n Economic H i s t o r y (London: Macmillan, 1968), p. 20. 'Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 441. 95 The tendency towards a p o l a r i z a t i o n of r u r a l s o c i e t y i n times of c r i s i s caused the r u l i n g orders concern. Yet these three i n t e r e s t s were nowhere near as homo-geneous as might f i r s t appear. There was as much d i f f e r e n c e w i t h i n i n t e r e s t s as between them. T h i s was p a r t l y because s o c i a l orders and economic i n t e r e s t s d i d not c o i n c i d e . The landowners ranged i n s t a t u s from the l e s s e r p a r i s h gentry to 65 the great county gentry and a r i s t o c r a c y . The farming i n t e r e s t s t i l l i n c l u d e d owner-occupiers such as yeomen f r e e -h o l d e r s , as w e l l as tenant-farmers who v a r i e d i n s i z e from mere s u b s i s t e n c e farmers to wealthy l e a s e h o l d e r s who were s c a r c e l y d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e i n standards of l i v i n g from f a i r l y w e l l - t o - d o gentry. The l a b o u r i n g i n t e r e s t i n c l u d e d those dependent s o l e l y upon a g r i c u l t u r a l wages, to g e t h e r with farm l a b o u r e r s who s t i l l c u l t i v a t e d t h e i r own small pockets of land , r a i s e d animals upon the common, and earned supplemen-t a r y income from f a m i l y involvement i n the domestic system of c l o t h p r o d u c t i o n . Of a l l the d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n r u r a l groups a f t e r the mid-century, t h a t w i t h i n the landed i n t e r e s t was to have the g r e a t e s t impact upon the r i o t s i n 1766. By the second h a l f of the century there was apparent a d e c l i n e i n common out-look among landowners which had been c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of e a r l i e r times. Now the l e s s e r p a r i s h gentry and the g r e a t 65 Habakkuk, \" E n g l i s h Landownership,\" p. 3. 96 county f a m i l i e s shared l i t t l e beyond a common r e n t i e r r e l a -t i o n s h i p w i t h the l a n d . L o c a l a n t i p a t h y towards the growing m e t r o p o l i t a n i n f l u e n c e s was much g r e a t e r at the p a r i s h l e v e l than at the county l e v e l . P a r i s h gentry were p a r t i c u l a r l y r e s e n t f u l of the d i s r u p t i v e e f f e c t s on l o c a l markets of the a c t i v i t i e s of London food b u y e r s . ^ On the other hand, county gentry were more cosmopolitan i n outlook. T h e i r economic i n t e r e s t s and s o c i a l connections were more d i v e r s i -f i e d than those of t h e i r poorer f e l l o w s . F r e q u e n t l y as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the county or some borough, the great gentry spent months i n London and were c l o s e r to the n a t i o n a l government than p a r i s h gentry. More important, a common e d u c a t i o n a l experience f o r l e s s e r gentry, county gentry and the a r i s t o c r a c y was d i s a p p e a r i n g i n the e a r l y years of the century. Great f a m i l i e s were now more f r e q u e n t l y sending t h e i r sons abroad on the Grand Tour r a t h e r than p u t t i n g them to study the c l a s s i c s at Oxford or Cambridge. The Inns of Court i n London, too, were ceasing to a t t r a c t the sons of the more e x c l u s i v e f a m i l i e s i n the landed i n t e r e s t . T h i s s o c i a l g u l f which appeared d u r i n g the e a r l y years of the century when gre a t landowners were engrossing l a n d at the expense of the l e s s e r landowners was a s e r i o u s cause of estrangement between segments of the landed i n t e r e s t . The 6 6 I b i d . , p. 3. 67 Lawrence Stone, \"The N i n n y v e r s i t y ? , \" New York Review of Books, January 28, 1971, pp. 21-29. 97 poorer gentry o f t e n found the cost of l i v i n g h igh, r e n t s too low, and taxes c r i p p l i n g a f t e r the mid-century. Such prob-lems a f f e c t e d them more than they d i d the g r e a t landowners who had other resources besides r e n t s , and who could buy out owner-occupiers and r a i s e r e n t s under new l e a s e s . The l e s s e r gentry who p r o v i d e d the government at the l o c a l l e v e l f e l t themselves i n c r e a s i n g l y estranged from county f a m i l i e s who o f t e n r e p r e s e n t e d as L o r d s - L i e u t e n a n t the n a t i o n a l government's p o l i c i e s . The i n i t i a l f a i l u r e of the two l e v e l s of government to co-operate i n suppressing the r i o t e r s c r e a t e d a very s e r i o u s s i t u a t i o n during the hunger r i o t s of 1766. Much of the r i v a l r y w i t h i n i n t e r e s t s r e s u l t e d from r e g i o n a l d i s p a r i t y . In the d a i r y r e g i o n of W i l t s h i r e , f o r example, farmers and landowners enjoyed lower r e t u r n s than the landowners and farmers of adjacent corn lands. D a i r y farmers i n t h i s county were c l o s e to s u b s i s t e n c e and had a r e p u t a t i o n f o r t u r b u l e n c e which s t r e t c h e d back i n t o the C i v i l War p e r i o d . ^ 8 Hardly d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e from l a b o u r e r s i n standard of l i v i n g , these men doubtless j o i n e d i n the p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t high food p r i c e s i n the 1750's and 1760's. Although farmers i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , another county s e r i -o u s l y d i s a f f e c t e d i n the 1766 hunger r i o t i n g , were s u p p l y i n g the developing cheese and b u t t e r markets of London by the V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , W i l t s h i r e , IV (1959), 64. 98 mid-century, most p e r i s h a b l e goods could not r e a d i l y a r r i v e i n the M e t r o p o l i s from the West Country and other i n t e r i o r r e g i o n s l a c k i n g access to r i v e r s or the sea. Small farmers who l a c k e d ready access to p o p u l a t i o n centres f r e q u e n t l y enjoyed only a marginal e x i s t e n c e . The poor c o n d i t i o n s of many farmers i n the West Country and i n p a r t s of N o r f o l k , f o r example, was evident i n the p r a c t i c e of paying r e n t s and 69 wages i n k i n d r a t h e r than i n money i n the 1760's. Th i s uneven growth p a t t e r n of a g r i c u l t u r e l e d to an i n c r e a s i n g g u l f between the more s u c c e s s f u l and l e s s a f f l u -ent members of the same i n t e r e s t groups. R i v a l r y w i t h i n i n t e r e s t groups was as s t r e s s - p r o d u c i n g as competition between i n t e r e s t s . The s t i m u l a t i o n a p p l i e d by the growth of produce markets a f t e r the mid-century served to exacerbate economic d i s p a r i t i e s . The s o c i a l t e n s i o n s produced by such economic c o n d i t i o n s were nowhere more apparent than i n the popular a t t i t u d e towards middlemen during the hunger r i o t s of the 1760's. I I D i s l i k e of middlemen was not p e c u l i a r to the second h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h century. The frequency w i t h which terms l i k e \"engrossing\" are used p e j o r a t i v e l y i n j o u r n a l s or The H i s t o r y of the C i t y of Norwich: From E a r l i e s t Records to the P r e s e n t Time (Norwic ~: W. A l l e n , 1869), pp. 346-47. 99 pamphlets d u r i n g and a f t e r Tudor times, and the s i z e a b l e body of l e g i s l a t i o n to curb \"abuses\" i n the markets by Tudor and S t u a r t P a r l i a m e n t s t e s t i f y to the u n i v e r s a l d i s t a s t e f o r attempts to corner the supply of any commodity whether i t was food, l a n d , or merely the t o o l s e s s e n t i a l to a p a r t i c u -l a r t r a d e . The q u a l i t y and p r i c e of food were always of immedi-ate concern to the poor. T r a d i t i o n a l l y they were quick to express resentment at short-measure or a d u l t e r a t i o n of pro-v i s i o n s . Because bread was the s t a p l e of the poor i n South-71 ern England, bakers were the o b j e c t of s u s p i c i o n . F l u c t u -a t i o n s i n the economy and changes i n i t s s t r u c t u r e from time to time i n t e n s i f i e d these dormant s u s p i c i o n s , and the accumu-l a t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n of Tudor and S t u a r t times r e f l e c t e d popu-l a r resentments. The growth of London, p a r t i c u l a r l y from the s i x t e e n t h century on, c r e a t e d a need f o r \"engrossing\" food s u p p l i e s . The number and a c t i v i t i e s of middlemen 72 i n c r e a s e d . L o c a l h o s t i l i t y towards salesmen, whose com-p e t i t i o n f o r food r a i s e d p r i c e s i n l o c a l markets, was 70 C o a l undertakers had gained a monopoly of shovels and used t h e i r c o n t r o l over the e s s e n t i a l t o o l s of the c o a l -heavers' t r a d e to dominate the l a b o u r e r s (\"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" dated 1768, W i l l i a m L. Clement L i b r a r y , Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sydney P a p e r s ) . 71 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 4. 72 Norman S c o t t B r i e n Gras, The E v o l u t i o n of the Eng-l i s h Corn Market from the T w e l f t h to the E i g h t e e n t h Century (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1915), pp. 208-209. 100 i n e v i t a b l e . To t h i s sharpened n a t u r a l a n t i p a t h y was added p a r o c h i a l s u s p i c i o n of a l i e n m e t r o p o l i t a n i n f l u e n c e s , which the c e n t r a l i z i n g tendencies of the Tudor and S t u a r t govern-ments exacerbated. An examination of the philosophy, p r o v i s i o n s , and a p p l i c a t i o n of the s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t the abuses of middlemen i s an e s s e n t i a l p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r an understanding of the r o l e of t h i s commercial i n t e r e s t i n the l a t e r e i g h t e e n t h century. S i r John F i e l d i n g , a l e a d i n g m e t r o p o l i t a n m a g i s t r a t e , ably summed up the philosophy behind the v a r i o u s p a t e r n a l i s -t i c a c ts which sought to p r o t e c t the r i g h t s of consumers when he noted i n 1765: As to the a r t i c l e s of l u x u r y i n l i f e , they may be l e f t open to e x o r b i t a n t gain i n the s e l l e r without much i n j u r y to s o c i e t y . But as to the absolute n e c e s s a r i e s of l i f e , as they r e l a t e to the u s e f u l p a r t of mankind, the l e g i s l a t u r e should c o n s t a n t l y i n t e r p o s e to prevent e x t o r t i o n s and monopolies.\"^ A j u s t i c e and a gentleman, F i e l d i n g r e f l e c t e d the a t t i t u d e s of h i s b r o t h e r m a g i s t r a t e s and t h e i r c l a s s when he spoke i n fa v o u r of the o l d \"moral economy.\" Not only d i d gentry f e e l a sense of noblesse o b l i g e towards t h e i r poor, but they were always s e n s i t i v e to circumstances which threatened the peace of the c o u n t r y s i d e and the towns. They f r e q u e n t l y suspected F i e l d i n g , \"Observations of P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s , \" February 5, 1765. 101 74 middlemen of p r o f i t e e r i n g i n order \"to get an e s t a t e . \" High p r i c e s of food and s u s p i c i o n s of e x p l o i t a t i o n c r e a t e d dangerous resentments among the lower orders. T h e i r e x p e r i -ence of Common Law taught the l e a d e r s of r u r a l s o c i e t y \" t h a t p r o v i s i o n s of a l l k i n d s - - a l i v e or dead--ought to be s o l d i n 75 the open market.\" The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of bounty payments on g r a i n exports, the bread a s s i z e , and the f i x i n g of wages were a l l p r e d i c a t e d on p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s f i n d i n g t h e i r own l e v e l s i n \" f r e e \" markets. A correspondent i n the Gentleman's Magazine confirmed the wider i m p l i c a t i o n s of food p r i c e s when he wrote of the government's duty to regu-l a t e the p r o f i t s on the n e c e s s a r i e s of l i f e , f o r these p r i c e s were \" . . . the n a t u r a l r e g u l a t o r s of the p r i c e s of 76 l a b o u r of a l l k i n d s . \" As one h i s t o r i a n has a s s e r t e d , the concept of a \" j u s t p r i c e \" went back at l e a s t as f a r as medi-1 + \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 7 7 a e v a l times. While there were a l r e a d y s i g n i f i c a n t v o i c e s r a i s e d i n f avour of l a i s s e z - f a i r e by the 1760's, the p a t e r n a l i s m of the o l d \"moral economy\" would have found g e n e r a l acceptance 74 W i l l i a m Payne to Lord Abercorn, February 12, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 75 Thomas Brock, C l e r k of the Peace and Town C l e r k of Chester, to Lord Abercorn, March 11, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 7 6Gentleman's Magazine, XXXIV (1764), 27-28. 77 Rose, \"Eighteenth Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England.\" 102 i n the n a t i o n at l a r g e . I t was the f e a s i b i l i t y of imple-menting such p r i n c i p l e s i n the i n c r e a s i n g l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d economy t h a t r a i s e d doubts. P r o t e c t i o n of the consumer was enshrined i n law. In a d d i t i o n to the general p r o t e c t i o n from monopoly given under Common Law, s e v e r a l s t a t u t e s sought to c o n t r o l s p e c i f i c abuses. P r o b a b l y the most f r e q u e n t l y c i t e d were 5 & 6 Edward VI, cap. 14, and subsequent acts which amended t h e i r p r o v i s i o n s . These s t a t u t e s d e f i n e d the i l l e g a l p r a c t i c e s of f o r e s t a l l i n g by purchasing \"any merchandise, v i c t u a l , e t c . coming towards any market or f a i r , or coming towards any c i t y e t c , \" or making \"any motion f o r the i n h a n c i n g of the p r i c e s . . .\"; r e g r a t i n g by buying and s e l l i n g again w i t h i n f o u r miles of a p a r t i c u l a r f a i r or market; or engrossing by \"buying, c o n t r a c t i n g or promise taking,. other than by demise, grant or l e a s e of l a n d or t i t h e \" any corn s t i l l growing i n the f i e l d s or any other g r a i n w i t h the i n t e n t i o n of s e l l i n g 78 again. While these o f f e n c e s were r a t h e r narrowly d e f i n e d , l a t e r terms such as f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g had a wider a p p l i c a t i o n , and \"stood almost as a s i n g l e phrase f o r unpopular m a n i p u l a t i o n i n time and p l a c e of the 79 people's food.\" Other acts s p e c i f i c a l l y r e s t r i c t e d middle-men i n the l i v e s t o c k and meat t r a d e s . By a Tudor s t a t u t e no Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 53. I b i d . , p. 54. 103 Q Q one was to have more than 2,000 sheep at one time. Under another act of C h a r l e s I I , no butcher was to o f f e r f o r s a l e 81 \" l i v e oxen, s t e e r s , r u n t s , k i n e , c a l v e s , sheep or lambs.\" A f t e r the R e s t o r a t i o n , the middleman's l e g a l p o s i -t i o n improved g r e a t l y : 15 Car. I I , c. 7, \"made i t l a w f u l f o r a l l and every person, when corn d i d not exceed a s p e c i -f i e d p r i c e , to buy i n the open market, and to l a y up and keep i n g r a n a r i e s or houses and s e l l again such corn\" pro-v i d e d they were not \" f o r e s t a l l i n g nor s e l l i n g i n the same 82 market w i t h i n three months a f t e r buying t h e r e o f . \" As a r e s u l t of t h i s r e l a x a t i o n , the t r u e w h o l e s a l e r - c o r n merchant was s a i d to have grown up i n the m e t r o p o l i t a n area w i t h the b l e s s i n g of the government, who wished to see the Dutch corn 83 d e a l e r s r e p l a c e d . By the mid-century h i s e q u i v a l e n t i n the meat tr a d e , the carcass butcher of S m i t h f i e l d , had emerged to dominate the l i v e s t o c k trade, d e s p i t e a w e l l -organized lobby of r e t a i l butchers from Newgate, C l a r e , and 84 other London markets, and s p o r a d i c p r o s e c u t i o n s . The a p p l i c a t i o n of the laws a g a i n s t middlemen gener-a l l y ebbed and flowed w i t h the s t r e n g t h of popular resentment 8 0 2 5 Henry V I I I , cap. 13. 8 1 1 5 Car. I I , cap. 8. 82 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 54. 8 3 I b i d . 84 Ray B e r t W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h B u s i -ness, P a r t i c u l a r l y between 1660 and 1760 (.New Haven, Conn.: Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1915) , p~. 217. Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). 104 of middlemen i n the food trade which v a r i e d w i t h economic 85 c o n d i t i o n s and the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s . But there were a number of reasons, besides the g e n e r a l l y low p r i c e s of food and r e l a t i v e p r o s p e r i t y of the r u r a l poor, why j u s t i c e s i n the f i r s t h a l f of the century turned a b l i n d eye to c o n t r a -v e n t i o n s of the p a t e r n a l s t a t u t e s and market by-laws. L e g a l recourse from the m a n i p u l a t i o n of market sup-p l i e s was d i f f i c u l t . The requirement t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s g i v e i n f o r m a t i o n b e f o r e m a g i s t r a t e s discouraged the p r o s e c u t i o n of o f f e n d e r s under the Tudor and S t u a r t s t a t u t e s . The informer was always the o b j e c t of u n i v e r s a l l o a t h i n g . O c c a s i o n a l l y the l e g a l r e c o rds recount the b r u t a l r e t r i b u -t i o n exacted upon informers months a f t e r the suppression of 87 a r i o t . More commonly such acts are hidden under the charge of common a s s a u l t . F r e q u e n t l y the mobs d i v e r t e d per-sonal v i o l e n c e towards t h e i r own members, r a t h e r than a g a i n s t the a u t h o r i t i e s . To a v o i d such revenge, as w e l l as to share the c o s t s of l i t i g a t i o n , gentry and others formed 85 Two years of high p r i c e s when p r o s e c u t i o n s f o r f o r e s t a l l i n g and r e g r a t i n g were undertaken were 1757 and 1765 (see Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII [1757], 479; XXXV [1765], 9 5 T 86 Gentleman's Magazine, XXVI (1756), 557, noted the \"odious name of informer\" discouraged the enforcement of laws a g a i n s t l i g h t w e i g h t bread. See a l s o M. W. B e r e s f o r d , \"The Common Informer, the Penal S t a t u t e s and Economic Regu-l a t i o n s , \" Economic H i s t o r y Review, 2nd s e r . , X (1957-58), 221. 8 7Gentleman's Magazine, XLI (1771), 189-90, notes the b r u t a l s l a y i n g of a witness i n a weavers' t r i a l s e v e r a l months a f t e r the t r i a l . 105 p r i v a t e a s s o c i a t i o n s to prosecute those suspected of market 88 m a n i p u l a t i o n i n times of c r i s i s . In a s i m i l a r f a s h i o n , committees of t e x t i l e manufacturers prosecuted workers f o r embezzlement, d e f e c t i v e s p i n n i n g , wetting or o i l i n g c l o t h , and delay i n r e t u r n i n g m a t e r i a l s . A s s o c i a t i o n s to prosecute o f f e n d e r s under the o l d p a t e r n a l s t a t u t e s among the commer-c i a l and farming i n t e r e s t s l a p s e d i n times of p l e n t y , which were the r u l e r a t h e r than the exception i n the f i r s t h a l f of the century. Although i t was d i f f i c u l t to discourage f o r e s t a l l i n g , e ngrossing, and r e g r a t i n g , there i s l i t t l e doubt t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s could have s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced such a c t i v i t i e s had they wished to do so, simply by making the s e l l e r as 89 l i a b l e i n law as the buyer. T h i s r e l u c t a n c e to pursue wholeheartedly the suppression of market abuses h i n t s at the dilemma of the r u l i n g o r ders. Both the a r i s t o c r a c y and the gentry r e s e n t e d the growing a f f l u e n c e of many middlemen and grea t farmers, but were aware t h a t the ap p a r e n t l y b e n e f i c i a l r e s u l t s of the corn bounties were only o b t a i n a b l e with t h e i r h elp. A g r a i n s h i p ' s cargo had f i r s t to be engrossed by a jobber or corn f a c t o r . There was a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n passin g 88 John P i t t to Hardwicke, December 21, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 341, r e p o r t e d a s s o c i a t i o n s to prosecute f o r f o r e s t a l l i n g , e t c . G l o u c e s t e r J o u r n a l (September, 1757) noted meetings' of gentry to form a s s o c i a t i o n s to prosecute f o r e s t a l l e r s . W i l l i a m Payne to Lord Abercorn, February 12, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 106 the Corn Law of 1689 i n the i n t e r e s t s of the producer and e n f o r c i n g a v a r i e t y of s t a t u t e s i n the i n t e r e s t s of the con-sumer. In p r a c t i c e the enforcement of the l a t t e r was nom-i n a l . Even when i n d i v i d u a l s were w i l l i n g to swear out i n f o r m a t i o n s a g a i n s t o f f e n d e r s under the v a r i o u s a n t i -middlemen s t a t u t e s , p r o s e c u t i o n s were not easy. Many i l l e g a l market a c t i v i t i e s were d i f f i c u l t to prove. P r i c e f i x i n g i n the back rooms of inns might be s t r o n g l y sus-pected, but charges were d i f f i c u l t to s u b s t a n t i a t e . Farmers and corn d e a l e r s could t r a n s a c t much business d i s c r e t e l y over a p r i v a t e d i nner. C r i t i c s claimed t h a t g r e a t farmers s o l d by \"these l a t e n t c o n t r a c t s \" g r a i n at a minimum of 3d per measure below the open market or \"peddling p r i c e , \" which was e s t a b l i s h e d by bakers buying from l e s s e r farmers, who brought a l l t h e i r g r a i n to market. The poor, unable to buy i n gross, had t h e i r bread a s s i z e d on the b a s i s of the ped-d l i n g p r i c e \"to the double p r o f i t of the baker and meal-man.\" 9 0 The temptation to circumvent markets i n t h i s way was gr e a t . P l a i n l y , i t was a great inconvenience f o r the l a r g e r farmers to b r i n g great q u a n t i t i e s of g r a i n , meat or other bulky commodities to the l o c a l markets. With the develop-ment of commercial farming by the mid-century to feed the R. Wright, Town C l e r k of Warwick, to the Righ t Honourable, the E a r l of Abercorn, March 9, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 107 growing urban p o p u l a t i o n and s a t i s f y overseas markets, there was i n c r e a s i n g encouragement to s e l l by sample. In 1765 t h i s means of f o r e s t a l l i n g the market was the most common cause of complaint to the Lords' Committee i n q u i r i n g i n t o the high p r i c e s of food. One witness before the House of Lords' Committee i n q u i r i n g i n t o the high p r i c e s of food i n 1765 complained t h a t farmers b r i n g a bushel or two or three i n the p u b l i c market, and keep ten at t h e i r i n n , and on the appearance of a scanty market, i f they can r a i s e i t to t h e i r p r i c e w i l l produce by degrees or e l s e t h e y ' l l produce a sample and by t h a t b r i n g to the Baker's house from 20 to 50 or 100 bushels at an agreed p r i c e , so t h a t the poor can't buy any. The d e c l i n e of the small farmer producing f o r l o c a l markets which a c c e l e r a t e d a f t e r 1760 w i t h the r a p i d extension of enclosures and the amalgamation of small farms by \"monopol-i s i n g farmers\" aggravated the problem of dwindling s a l e s of p r o v i s i o n s i n the open market. P r e v e n t i o n of s e l l i n g by sample r e q u i r e d the con-c e r t e d a c t i o n of the o f f i c i a l s of a l l markets. Where adjac-ent markets pe r m i t t e d t h i s type of f o r e s t a l l i n g , the c l e r k s of other markets were e v e n t u a l l y f o r c e d to accept i t a l s o , d e s p i t e the s t a t u t e s and l o c a l by-laws, or f a c e ever-Thomas M i l l e r to Lord Abercorn, March 7, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 108 d e c l i n i n g revenue from the reducing use of t h e i r f a c i l i -92 t i e s . Perhaps the worst consequence of such s a l e s by sam-pl e was t h a t they helped to obscure the a c t u a l market p r i c e 93 of food. The common p r a c t i c e of d e a l e r s s h i p p i n g commodi-t i e s l i k e b a r l e y and oats d i r e c t l y to the m a l t s t e r ' s s t o r e -house, or sending them to badgers f o r shipment by water to 94 gr e a t markets l i k e B r i s t o l , compounded t h i s problem. G r a i n p r i c e s quoted at t h i s time i n the Gentleman's Magazine and elsewhere were m i s l e a d i n g because o f t e n only bulk buyers could buy these g r a i n s at such p r i c e s . U n c e r t a i n t y about the a c t u a l p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s bred s u s p i c i o n of middlemen and f e a r s of famine i n times of s c a r c i t y . The poor, never f a r from s u b s i s t e n c e l e v e l s , were more s u s c e p t i b l e than ever 92 A correspondent i n December, 1765, r e f e r r i n g to the j u s t i c e s ' f a i l u r e to lower p r i c e s by p r o s e c u t i n g but-chers, h i g l e r s , g r a z i e r s , d e a l e r s i n c a t t l e , and other engrossers, c i t e d the case of vigorous enforcement i n one c i t y causing s u p p l i e s to \" d e s e r t the market\" (Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV [1765], 613-16). Wright noted t h a t magis-t r a t e s were o b l i g e d to overlook i n f r a c t i o n s of the by-laws i n Warwick (R. Wright, Town C l e r k of Warwick, to the R i g h t Honourable, the E a r l of Abercorn, March 9, 1765). 93 \" . . . The p u b l i c k cannot judge whether there i s p l e n t y or not, nor do they know what p r i c e three f o u r t h s of i t [the corn] i s s o l d f o r \" (Thomas Jackman to Lord Abercorn, March 8, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s ) . 94 Rowe claimed t h a t \"the p r i c e s of b a r l e y and oats cannot be a s c e r t a i n e d w i t h the same p r e c i s i o n [as wheat] as they do not f a l l under the p u b l i c cognizance.\" He r e f e r r e d to the Exeter market (Jacob Rowe to Lord Abercorn, March 9, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s ) . 109 to market rumours. In per i o d s of c r i s i s they were i n c r e a s -i n g l y prone to take revenge upon the middlemen, f o r , they asked, was i t not b e t t e r to hang than s t a r v e ? Another f a c t o r t h a t added to the c o n f u s i o n and made the enforcement of the o l d s t a t u t e s d i f f i c u l t was the v a r i -ety of measurements which made i t imp o s s i b l e to compare p r i c e s even i n neighbouring markets, and t h e r e f o r e to judge 95 i f middlemen were t a k i n g u n f a i r p r o f i t s . The problems a r i s i n g from t h i s c o n f u s i o n of measures are apparent i n the f o l l o w i n g entry i n the Order Book of the G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e m a g i s t r a t e s : Whereas, by reason of the n e g l e c t i n p u t t i n g the s e v e r a l acts of P a r l i a m e n t f o r a s c e r t a i n i n g the measures of corn i n e x e c u t i o n , great inconvenience and l o s s e s have hap-pened and do happen to the King's s u b j e c t s i n general and to the poor i n p a r t i c u l a r , i n as much t h a t , through the u n c e r t a i n t y of measures, the s e l l e r s of corn, and g r a i n do not w e l l know what measures to b r i n g to market, nor can the ma g i s t r a t e s s e t t l e the a s s i z e of bread according to the p r i c e of corn as i t i s s o l d i n the mar-ket whereof the poor have not so much bread f o r t h e i r money as they ought to have . . . .96 \"One measure throughout the kingdom would l i k e w i s e be of gre a t s e r v i c e , f o r the Welles, Shepton M a l l e t , and Somerton [markets] s e l l by l a r g e measures or s i x packs to the bushel, yet there i s a d i f f e r e n c e i n a l l three . . . \" (Thomas M i l l e r to Lord Abercorn, March 7, 1765). Wright com-p l a i n e d of the deceptions of farmers and m i l l e r s u sing v a r i -ous measures (R. Wright to Lord Abercorn, March 9, 1765). Corn s o l d at G u i l d f o r d market \"by almost as many measures as farmers . . . \" (Thomas Jackman to Lord Abercorn, March 8, 1765). 96 G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e Record O f f i c e , G l o u c e s t e r , Q u a r t e r S e s s i o n s Order Book. No. 9 (1766-1780), J u l y 15, 1767, D214/B10/4. See a l s o W i l l i a m Beveridge, P r i c e s and Wages i n England from the T w e l f t h to the Nineteenth Century, I (2nd ed.; London: Frank Cass & Co. L t d . , 1965), passim. As e a r l y as 1709 the G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e j u s t i c e s d r a f t e d a p e t i t i o n to Pa r l i a m e n t f o r a standard measure of corn (Quarter Sessions Order Book [1766-1780], D214/B10/4). 110 By the 1760's t h e r e was an e f f o r t to s t a n d a r d i z e measures, and most markets were adopting the Winchester g r a i n standard of e i g h t bushels to the q u a r t e r . But i t i s evident from the s t a t i s t i c s the Gentleman's Magazine i n 1766-67 t r i e d i n v a i n to c o l l e c t r e g u l a r l y from i t s v o l u n t e e r correspondents across the country that p r a c t i c e s continued to vary, and a q u a r t e r might s t i l l c o n t a i n e i g h t , e i g h t and a h a l f , nine, 97 or ten bushels of g r a i n . Nor was the s i z e of the measure the only v a r i a b l e . 98 People complained t h a t the shape was c r i t i c a l too. The wider the measure, the more the tendency of g r a i n to s e t t l e , and thus a shallow, wide c o n t a i n e r was s a i d to h o l d more g r a i n than a t a l l , narrow one of the same cubic c a p a c i t y . These d i s c r e p a n c i e s i n c r e a s e d when l a r g e r , g l o b u l a r commodi-t i e s l i k e potatoes were to be measured. Even when markets used standard-shaped measures, weight was a more s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r than s i z e f o r such commodities as g r a i n . \" Corn pro-duced i n wet seasons was f r e q u e n t l y l a r g e r i n the ear, but l i g h t e r and c o a r s e r than g r a i n produced i n d r i e r seasons. For other commodities such as cheese, beef, or v e a l the 97 i Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765) took care to ask c l e r k s of markets to d e f i n e measures i n use to make p r i c e s comparable. ^ 98 J . Tomlinson to Lord S c a r s d a l e , February 9, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 99 In C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn, p. 64, the author noted there was l e s s danger of f r a u d i f weight was used, as weight was a b e t t e r i n d i c a t o r of q u a l i t y . I l l p r i c e per pound quoted i n the press gave l i t t l e i n d i c a t i o n of q u a l i t y . The confusing number of v a r i a b l e s i n q u a n t i t y and q u a l i t y made comparisons next to i m p o s s i b l e . T h e i r s o c i a l s u p e r i o r s t o l d the poor c o n s t a n t l y i n the 1750*s and 1760's t h a t the middlemen were cheating them, but the auth-o r i t i e s seemed powerless to prevent the e v i l . Not s u r p r i s -i n g l y i n times of s c a r c i t y , the d i s p o s s e s s e d h i t out b l i n d l y at t h e i r \"oppressors.\" Probably the most s i g n i f i c a n t reasons f o r the grow-in g t o l e r a t i o n of middlemen i n the e a r l y e i g h t e e n t h century r e l a t e d to the r a p i d l y - c h a n g i n g economic r e a l i t y . I n c r e a s i n g u r b a n i z a t i o n on the one hand, and i n d u s t r i a l s p e c i a l i z a t i o n on the other, demanded a more s o p h i s t i c a t e d system of d i s -t r i b u t i o n of food than ever before.\"'\" 0 0 By the mid-century the growth of outports such as L i v e r p o o l and i n d u s t r i a l cen-t r e s such as Leeds, Birmingham, and Manchester complemented the expansion of the o l d e r p o p u l a t i o n centres of London, Norwich, and Bristol.\"'\" 0''' Manufacturing r e g i o n s l i k e the West R i d i n g of Y o r k s h i r e and p a r t s of La n c a s h i r e were \"''00The laws a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g were \"so antiquated and the circumstances and man-ner of l i v i n g of a l l ranks of the people so a l t e r ' d , t h a t a vigorous e x e c u t i o n of them would r a t h e r c o n t r i b u t e to famish than feed i n many pla c e s great numbers of the poorer s o r t \" (Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII [1757], 129). Deane and Cole, B r i t i s h Economic Growth, 1688-1959, pp. 111-22. 112 102 r a p i d l y l o s i n g t h e i r s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y i n food p r o d u c t i o n . They were becoming i n c r e a s i n g l y dependent on more d i s t a n t a g r i c u l t u r a l r e g i o n s . The a c t i v i t i e s of middlemen were e s s e n t i a l to the s a t i s f a c t i o n of the needs of both the c i t i e s and the new i n d u s t r i a l regions of the n o r t h and the Midlands. S i g n i f i c a n t l y , i t was the m e t r o p o l i t a n magis-t r a t e s who were among the f i r s t to recognize the value of middlemen i n the i n c r e a s i n g l y complex marketing system. The preamble of the act of 1772, which f i n a l l y r e p e a l e d the s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g , u n d e r l i n e d t h i s n e w l y - r e a l i z e d dependency when i t noted the g r e a t d i s t r e s s v i s i t e d \"on the i n h a b i t a n t s of many p a r t s of the kingdom and i n p a r t i c u l a r the c i t i e s of London and West-103 minster by t h e i r enforcement.\" But i t was not j u s t economic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s which m i l i t a t e d a g a i n s t the a p p l i c a t i o n of p r o t e c t i o n i s t r e g u l a -t i o n s i n the i n t e r e s t s of the consumer by the e a r l y e i g h -teenth century. P o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s , too, were a n t i p a t h e t i c . \"Small government\" concepts and p r a c t i c e s of the century r e p l a c e d the Tudor and S t u a r t s t r e s s on c e n t r a l i z a t i o n . A f t e r 1689 a u t h o r i t y and i n f l u e n c e r e t u r n e d to the l o c a l i -104 t i e s . Not u n t i l the n i n e t e e n t h century, when the leaven 102 W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h Business, p. 130, 103 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 55. \" ^ 4John M. N o r r i s , Shelburne and Reform (London: Macmillan, 1963), p. 292. 113 of Benthamism mixed w i t h the g e n e r a l r e a c t i o n to the prob-lems of a new i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y , was there a strong move-ment towards c e n t r a l i z a t i o n again. P a r a d o x i c a l l y , the l e a d e r s of the l o c a l i t i e s , the gentry and the a r i s t o c r a t i c landowners, i n times of c r i s i s , t r i e d to r e t u r n to the o l d r e s t r i c t i o n s of the former \"moral economy.\" They f a i l e d to r e c o g n i z e t h a t the p o l i t i c a l d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n t h a t they favoured rendered impotent t h e i r piecemeal e f f o r t s to con-t r o l the abuses of middlemen. F i n a l l y , good h a r v e s t s provided enough food to f e e d the p o p u l a t i o n and to export a s u r p l u s to Europe, which helps to e x p l a i n the more p e r m i s s i v e a t t i t u d e adopted by the a u t h o r i t i e s towards the a c t i v i t i e s of middlemen i n the f i r s t h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h century. P l e n t i f u l and cheap food favoured the poor, i f not the landowner and farmer. Only i n the years 1709, 1727-28, and 1740 were hunger r i o t s s e r i -105 ous, and t h e r e f o r e was there any pressure on the govern-ment to reimpose the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t the middlemen. By the mid-century, t h i s i n t e r e s t was w e l l entrenched, and i t had long s i n c e become e s s e n t i a l to the i n c r e a s i n g l y s o p h i s -t i c a t e d economy. What then caused the r o l e of middlemen to be re-examined i n the 1750's and 1760's? Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , p. 36. Ashton, Econ-omic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, pp. 17, 144, 147. Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 32. 114 S e v e r a l f a c t o r s account f o r the renewed q u e s t i o n i n g of the value of middlemen a f t e r the mid-century. These f a c -t o r s i n c l u d e the controversy over the Corn Laws, which erup-ted i n a l a r g e number of pamphlets p u b l i s h e d between 1751 and 1756; the emergency of new c l a s s e s of a f f l u e n t middlemen due to the- a c c e l e r a t e d growth of the M e t r o p o l i s and the e x i g e n c i e s of war; r i v a l r y between i n t e r e s t groups; p u b l i c concern at the cost of p r o v i s i o n s between 1756 and 1758 and between 1764 and 1769; and the s t r e s s e s of a p e r i o d of r a p i d economic change. The Corn Laws f i r s t a t t r a c t e d widespread a t t e n t i o n among pamphleteers i n the e a r l y 1750's. Before examining some of the arguments centred upon these laws, i t i s neces-sary to comment b r i e f l y on t h e i r major p r o v i s i o n s . The f i r s t corn bounty appeared i n C h a r l e s I I ' s r e i g n . Under 25 Car. I I , cap. 1, a reward was p a i d to landowners f o r the s u b s i d i e s granted by P a r l i a m e n t to f i g h t the f i r s t Dutch war i n the form of a bounty on g r a i n e x p o r t s . P a r -liament i n 1689, however, passed the Corn Law which operated 107 f o r most of the next century. P a r t l y enacted to encour-age the development of European g r a i n markets and to persu-ade the landed gentry to accept the R e v o l u t i o n a r y Settlement, 1 ( ^ B a r n e s , H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 10, c i t i n g the Q u a r t e r l y J o u r n a l of Economics, XXIV (1909-10), 419-22. See a l s o C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn. Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 11. 115 the Corn Law of 1689 formed the basis on which bounty pay-108 ments were made down to 1773. The h i s t o r i a n of the Corn Laws, D. G. Barnes, has noted that t h i s act represented an important change of emphasis from consumer to producer needs 109 i n economic p o l i c i e s . Under i t s p r o v i s i o n s , e x p o r t a t i o n was not p r o h i b i t e d at any p r i c e ; at a p r i c e of 48s a quarter the poundage duty was to be Is and under 48s a bounty of 5s was to be paid on every quarter exported; d u t i e s on wheat imports were to be at the r a t e of l s . 4 d when the p r i c e was more than 80s, 9s when the p r i c e was 53s.4d to 80s, 17s when i t was 44s to 53s.4d, and 22s below 44s.\"'\"''\"0 S i m i l a r p r o v i -sions and proportionate r a t e s were provided f o r other g r a i n s , except oats, which was not controlled.\"'\"\"'\"\"'\" The r e g u l a t i o n s discouraging the impor t a t i o n of grains were necessary con-comitants of the bounty p r o v i s i o n s . I t was important to prevent re-exports gaining bounty payments intended to stimu-l a t e home production and encourage the landed i n t e r e s t . During the pe r i o d under c o n s i d e r a t i o n , before 1772 that i s , 112 a t t e n t i o n centred on the bounty aspect of the Corn Laws. Thereafter, the p r o t e c t i o n i s t trade aspects of the laws held 1 0 8 I b i d . , p. 11. I b i d . \"'\"\"'\"^ Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 29. l l l S . and B. Webb, \"The As s i z e of Bread,\" pp. 196-112 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, Chapter 218. I l l , 116 the a t t e n t i o n of c r i t i c s and supporters a l i k e . In the pamphlets p u b l i s h e d i n the 1750's and 1760's, co n t r o v e r s y centred around whether g r e a t e r a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n r e s u l t e d and whether the cost of l i v i n g of the poor i n c r e a s e d because of the Corn Laws. The r e l a t i v e merits of the debate are not d i r e c t l y r e l e v a n t here. Probably the long-term r e s u l t s of the bounty system were to i n c r e a s e the amount of g r a i n produced, but the clumsy machinery of the system and the shortcomings of the marketing economy i n t r a n s i t i o n ensured t h a t i n sudden s c a r c i t i e s the g r a i n stocks were not preserved and the poor s u f f e r e d grave hard-, . 113 s h i p s . The e x i s t e n c e of s t a t u t e s t e l l only p a r t of the s t o r y and one must t u r n to P r i v y C o u n c i l records and e l s e -where to assess the e x e c u t i v e ' s use of them. Embargoes on g r a i n exports and the f r e e i m p o r t a t i o n of c o l o n i a l or f o r -e i gn g r a i n s became more f r e q u e n t a f t e r the m i d - c e n t u r y . 1 1 4 Such suspensions were a t a c i t admission of the f a i l u r e of the s e l f - r e g u l a t i n g machinery of the Corn Laws. Government i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h the free-working of these laws occurred at times of a c t u a l or a n t i c i p a t e d shortages of food, and were \" 113 I b i d . , p. 30. l l 4 T h e r e were v a r i o u s measures of s e l f - h e l p taken by merchants and gentry to b r i n g s u b s i d i z e d g r a i n to the poor i n times of d i s t r e s s (Henry Roper to the E a r l of Abercorn, March 8, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s ; Gentleman's Magazine, XXVIII T1758J, 42; Shelburne Papers, V o l . 132, f o l s . 59 and 63). 117 of s h o r t d u r a t i o n before the 1760's. P r e v i o u s l y the govern-ment had o c c a s i o n a l l y suspended exports i n times of c r i t i c a l g r a i n shortage, f o r example i n the years 1709, 1740, 1741. 115 Between 1756 and 1773 suspension was f r e q u e n t . The Corn Laws f i r s t came under h o s t i l e s c r u t i n y as a r e s u l t of high government expenditure r a t h e r than a s c a r c i t y of g r a i n , which was the o s t e n s i b l e cause of the a g r a r i a n d i s o r d e r s of 1756-57. Heavy g r a i n harvests i n 1749-51 r e s u l t e d i n a very l a r g e e x p o r t a t i o n of g r a i n i n those years, which embarrassed the government wi t h the need to f i n d l a r g e sums of money to pay the export bounty.''\"\"'\"^ Because of a l e g a l d e c i s i o n d e c l a r i n g the South Sea Company's di v i d e n d s the f i r s t c l a i m on Tunnage and Poundage, the o r i g i n a l s t a t u -t o r y source f o r bounty payments, the M i n i s t r y had to honour the corn debentures out of t r e a s u r y funds. I n d i r e c t l y the burden f e l l on the landowners, who already p a i d a l a n d tax 117 I n f l a t e d by wartime demands. I t was i n the e a r l y 1750's t h a t many gentry began to take an i n t e r e s t i n economic reform. Between 1751 and the 1756-57 hunger r i o t s , news-118 papers and pamphlets debated the value of the Corn Laws. 115 Three T r a c t s on the Corn Trade and the Corn Laws. See a l s o Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 23. \"''\"''^Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, pp. 23-24. 117 Mingay, E n g l i s h Landed S o c i e t y i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 80 et seq. 118 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 24 et seq. 118 The supporters of the bounty system claimed i t encouraged expanded g r a i n p r o d u c t i o n which, while e n r i c h i n g the country i n normal times from f o r e i g n exchange, p r o v i d e d a food r e s e r v e t h a t could always be d i v e r t e d to home consumption i n per i o d s of c r i s i s . They f u r t h e r argued t h a t the system kept down the p r i c e of g r a i n s o l d at home through the economies of l a r g e - s c a l e p r o d u c t i o n . Not only were the r i c h l a n d -owners s a i d to b e n e f i t , but the poor a l s o . Because a l l trade was interdependent, everyone, pamphleteers s a i d , bene-f i t e d from the consequent p r o s p e r i t y of a g r i c u l t u r a l growth: merchants, manufacturers, tradesmen, and seamen, as w e l l as 119 the a g r i c u l t u r a l i n t e r e s t . W r i t e r s drew evidence i n sup-p o r t of t h e i r c ontentions from the Eton C o l l e g e records of purchases i n the Windsor market over a number of years i n the e a r l y e i g h t e e n t h century. The d i r e c t b e n e f i c i a r i e s of the county system were the g r a i n farmers, t h e i r l a n d l o r d s , the corn f a c t o r s i n the export t r a d e , and ship owners. Less obvious vested i n t e r -e sts were the supporters of sugar d i s t i l l e r y . Sugar p l a n -t e r s , West In d i a n f a c t o r s , brandy merchants, sugar bakers, brokers, and brewers a l l wished g r a i n d i v e r t e d towards the 119 There was some debate i n p e r i o d i c a l s r e g a r d i n g d i s t i l l e r y from corn. The i s s u e of the corn export bounty became mixed w i t h debate on d i s t i l l e r y (Gentleman's Maga-z i n e , XXVII [1757], 71; XXIX [1759], 630; XXX L 1 7 6 0 J , 18, 23-24. 119 120 export t r a d e . Dutch and French i n t e r e s t s , too, b e n e f i t e d from e x p o r t i n g g i n and brandy to England, and wished to d i v e r t E n g l i s h g r a i n away from d i s t i l l e r y and i n t o exports. A l l these groups exerted a powerful i n f l u e n c e i n support of the Corn Laws. Opponents of the bounty noted the l i m i t a t i o n s of the s t a t i s t i c a l evidence advanced by the supporters of the Corn Laws. They were wholesale f i g u r e s and averages taken at only two dates i n each year. These c r i t i c s urged t h a t the bounty was a means of s u b s i d i z i n g f o r e i g n competitors by p r o v i d i n g t h e i r employees w i t h cheap g r a i n at the expense of the B r i t i s h taxpayer, while at the same time E n g l i s h indus-t r y s u f f e r e d from the enhanced p r i c e of l a b o u r due to dear n e c e s s a r i e s , and poor r a t e s i n c r e a s e d to enable the i n d i g e n t 121 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 to pay the h i g h e r p r i c e of bread. Some c r i t i c s d i r e c t e d t h e i r a t t a c k s on the o p e r a t i o n of the bounty system i t s e l f , which they claimed was wide open to abuse. The opponents of the bounty system were c h i e f l y of the manufacturing i n t e r -e s t , but I r i s h and American a g r i c u l t u r a l i n t e r e s t s found the laws d i s c r i m i n a t o r y too. Both the landed i n t e r e s t and the corn middlemen, as the apparent b e n e f i c i a r i e s of the corn p o l i c i e s , were the 120 A correspondent, \"J.M.,\" r e f e r r e d to vested i n t e r e s t s among the supporters of sugar r e f i n e r y : sugar p l a n t e r s , West Indian f a c t o r s , brandy merchants, sugar bakers, b r o k e r s , and brewers (Gentleman's Magazine, XXX [1760], 18. 121 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , February 4, 1768. 120 c u l p r i t s i n the eyes of t h e i r c r i t i c s , as i s apparent from the f o l l o w i n g t y p i c a l comment: Thus e v i d e n t l y appears the b l e s s e d advantage of expor-t a t i o n . The p u b l i c are taxed on the common n e c e s s a r i e s of l i f e , at the r a t e of nine m i l l i o n annually; only to support the landed i n t e r e s t and jobbers i n grain.1^2 Yet i t was the landed i n t e r e s t , as the dominant i n f l u e n c e i n the l e g i s l a t u r e , which c a r r i e d the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r meas-ures which at t h e i r i n c e p t i o n had been intended to b e n e f i t them, and whose i n t e r e s t s were p u b l i c l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h them. While many of the r i s i n g i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t regarded the Corn Laws as a type of outdoor r e l i e f f o r the gentry and a r i s t o c r a c y , the extent to which the landed i n t e r e s t pro-f i t e d i s q u e s t i o n a b l e . Adam Smith b e l i e v e d t h a t the Corn Laws were e s t a b l i s h e d from a mistaken sense of the r e a l i n t e r e s t s of the country gentry, and t h a t the c h i e f b e n e f i -123 c i a r i e s were the corn merchants. C e r t a i n l y the landed i n t e r e s t s were s c a r c e l y l e s s d i v i d e d i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e s to the Corn Laws i n 1766 than they were i n 1846, however u n i t e d 124 they might appear i n p u b l i c . While correspondents i n the press g e n e r a l l y regarded the landed i n t e r e s t as a m o n o l i t h i c 199 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 26-28, 1768. 123 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 15. 124 Ward concludes t h a t xn 1846 \". . . t r a d i t i o n a l l o y a l t i e s , sentiment, p e r s o n a l and f a m i l y attachments, pro-t e c t i o n i s t anger and Whiggish r a t i o n a l i s m e x e r c i s e d more i n f l u e n c e than d i d economic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . . . \" ( J . T. Ward, \"West R i d i n g Landowners and the Corn Laws,\" E n g l i s h H i s t o r i c a l Review, LXXXI [ A p r i l , 1966], 271-72). 121 f o r c e , i n d i v i d u a l landowners complained t h a t they were an \"unconnected t r i b e \" t h a t might be t r e a t e d anyhow and \"made to endure what such contemptible herds as v i n t n e r s or 125 tobacco merchants would not hear of.\" Many landowners and farmers d i d not b e n e f i t from the Corn Laws d i r e c t l y ; indeed the s m a l l e r ones who la c k e d d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n o f t e n s u f f e r e d h i g h e r costs because of the bounty system. Outside the heavy corn-growing r e g i o n s , many 126> landowners r e n t e d out c a t t l e and sheep country. The costs of l i v e s t o c k farming i n c r e a s e d w i t h the higher cost of c a t t l e f e e d , which the bounty system caused. Where bread i n c r e a s e d i n p r i c e because of exports s t i m u l a t e d a r t i f i -c i a l l y by the bounty on g r a i n , poor r a t e s too rose. Many landowners shared i n the u n p o p u l a r i t y of t h e i r i n t e r e s t as a r e s u l t of the Corn Laws without p r o f i t i n g from t h e i r oper-a t i o n . As noted e a r l i e r i n the 1760's l e s s e r landowners were o f t e n e x p e r i e n c i n g economic and s o c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s which aggravated f u r t h e r the impact of the bounty system. Response to the Corn Laws was not determined s o l e l y 127 by c o n s i d e r a t i o n s of economic i n t e r e s t , r e a l or imagined. 125 James H a r r i s to Hardwicke, October 3, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 316. 126 W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h Business, pp. 444-45, l i s t s the f o l l o w i n g counties where corn was not a s i g n i f i c a n t product by 1762: Oxford, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Devon, Warwickshire, L i n c o l n s h i r e . 127 Ward, \"West R i d i n g Landowners and the Corn Laws.\" 122 As l o c a l m a g i s t r a t e s , landowners were w i l l i n g to support the suspension of g r a i n exports i n times of emergency. They were as much concerned w i t h m a i n t a i n i n g p u b l i c order as w i t h 128 p e r s o n a l economic advantage. The f a c t t h a t such suspen-s i o n s only o c c u r r e d a f t e r prolonged exports had c r e a t e d a severe shortage of g r a i n i n the country and a f t e r the bounty debentures were i s s u e d probably r e f l e c t e d more on the M i n i s -t r i e s who were r e l u c t a n t to l o s e t r a d i t i o n a l markets i n 129 Europe or s t i r up powerful l o b b i e s by \"premature\" a c t i o n . P a r o c h i a l p r e j u d i c e a g a i n s t m e t r o p o l i t a n i n f l u e n c e a l s o played a r o l e i n determining l o c a l a t t i t u d e s to n a t i o n a l l e g i s l a t i o n and to the drawing power of the \"Great Wen.\" P u b l i c l y landowners p a i d l i p s e r v i c e to the popular myth of the u n i t y of the landed i n t e r e s t . Not having read Adam Smith on the s u b j e c t , most Englishmen equated the Corn Laws wit h the i n t e r e s t s of the landed. But landowners who doubted the e f f i c a c y of the bounty system could not b r i n g themselves to a t t a c k i t openly. They p r e f e r r e d to express t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n more o b l i q u e l y by c r i t i c i z i n g the jobbers i n g r a i n and other middlemen, without whose a c t i v i t i e s g r a i n could not be exported i n l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s and the b e n e f i t s 128 Rose, \"Eighteenth Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England,\" p. 292. 129 A w r i t e r asked, \" . . . Should we l o s e our market f o r corn abroad what other commodity have we to b r i n g a b a l -ance i n our f a v o u r ? \" (Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV [1765.], 195). 123 of the bounty gained. P r o f e s s o r Barnes has found the l a r g e number of pamphlets p u b l i s h e d about the causes of s c a r c i t y and the high p r i c e s of food a f t e r the 1756-57 food r i o t s e x t r a o r d i n a r y . No such f l o o d had f o l l o w e d the e a r l i e r a g r a r i a n p r o t e s t s i n 1709, 1727-28, or 1740, he noted. Nor d i d he see any connection between these pamphlet a t t a c k s on middlemen and the e a r l i e r c o n t r o v e r s y over the corn bounty i n the years between 1751 and 1756, because i n t h a t case he 130 b e l i e v e d the corn would have been attacked. Yet i t would seem reasonable to suppose t h a t both the l a i s s e z - f a i r e oppon-ents of the Corn Laws, who were drawn l a r g e l y from the ranks of the manufacturing c l a s s e s i n t e r e s t e d i n lowering t h e i r c o s t s of p r o d u c t i o n , ceasing B r i t i s h s u b s i d i z a t i o n of f o r -e i gn competitors, and f r e e i n g f o r e i g n markets from r e c i p r o -c a l t a r i f f s , and those landowners who were disadvantaged by the bounty system, would welcome a s h i f t of a t t a c k to the middlemen. The landed i n t e r e s t was too strong f o r a f r o n t a l a s s a u l t i n the eyes of i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , w h i l e the powerful s o c i a l l o y a l t i e s of landowners prevented t h e i r appearing to attack p u b l i c l y t h e i r own i n t e r e s t . The poor, too, could r e a d i l y i d e n t i f y the u b i q u i t o u s middleman as the c u l p r i t . Even those of the landed i n t e r e s t who b e n e f i t e d d i r e c t l y from the Corn Laws saw the chance of d i v e r t i n g p u b l i c hos-t i l i t y away from themselves. As w i l l be seen, t h i s a n x i e t y Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 32. 124 to f i n d a scapegoat was r e i n f o r c e d by the sense of i s o l a t i o n and v u l n e r a b i l i t y t h a t both the a r i s t o c r a c y and the gentry f e l t as a r e s u l t of the c l a s s f e e l i n g generated a g a i n s t them w i t h the r i o t s over the new M i l i t i a Act and hig h food p r i c e s 131 i n 1756-57. The dangers of such t a c t i c s do not seem to have occurred to them u n t i l the extent of the d i s a f f e c t i o n of the lower orders became apparent i n the autumn of 1766. The Corn Laws, then, encouraged the growth of mid-dlemen, and the con t r o v e r s y c e n t r i n g upon the o p e r a t i o n of the export bounty system s t i m u l a t e d a gen e r a l a n t i p a t h y towards middlemen and l a r g e farmers which had l a i n dormant i n the e a r l y years of the century. For t h e i r own purposes v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t groups found i t convenient to attack pub-l i c l y the r o l e of the middlemen i n the 1750's and 1760's. A f t e r the mid-century there were many t a r g e t s f o r a n t i -middlemen p r e j u d i c e . By t h i s time many corn f a c t o r s , j o b b e r s , salesmen, carcass b u t c h e r s , and other middlemen were conspicuous because of t h e i r a f f l u e n t standard of l i v i n g . 1 3 2 The r a p i d growth of London p a r t i c u l a r l y , and the o p p o r t u n i t i e s of l a r g e war-time c o n t r a c t s , had enr i c h e d many. With the grow-i n g s o p h i s t i c a t i o n of the economy, changes occ u r r e d w i t h i n 131 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century, p. 299. 1 3 2 W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h Business, p. 217 et seq., examines i n d e t a i l the complexity of London middlemen. 125 the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e . Some middlemen d e c l i n e d i n import-ance, while others rose to p o s i t i o n s of i n f l u e n c e and even of monopoly. Carcass butchers and salesmen from S m i t h f i e l d market appear to have e s t a b l i s h e d a monopoly over the London meat trade at the expense of r e t a i l butchers and drovers by 133 the mid-century. At l e a s t p a r t of the popular d i s t r u s t of e s t a b l i s h e d middlemen was s t i m u l a t e d by d i s p o s s e s s e d l e s s e r middlemen. M i l l e r s , who r e p o r t e d l y changed i n t o wholesale mealmen or f l o u r merchants, persuaded farmers of the advantage of immediate cash payments i n p l a c e of more s p e c u l a t i v e processes of s h i p p i n g d i r e c t to d i s t a n t markets. By g i v i n g s m a l l advances to l e s s e r farmers, these middlemen 134 were s a i d by t h e i r c r i t i c s to d i c t a t e p r i c e s . Because of l a r g e v i c t u a l l i n g c o n t r a c t s w i t h the navy to supply pork, d i s t i l l e r s became l a r g e - s c a l e breeders of hogs, which f e d on 135 the fomented mash. Other c o n t r a c t o r s undertook to supply 133 The terminology of the marketing system was o f t e n c o n f u s i n g . \" R e t a i l \" and \" c u t t i n g \" butchers were synonymous terms. Other names d e s c r i b e d d i f f e r e n t f u n c t i o n s at d i f f e r -ent times. There was, too, much o v e r l a p p i n g of occupations. Carcass butchers overlapped w i t h salesmen and g r a z i e r s , f o r example. Gentleman's Magazine, XXV (1755), 294, complained of the g r a z i e r s ' c o n t r o l of the meat market. F i e l d i n g , too, noted the dominance of r e t a i l butchers by carcass butchers ( F i e l d i n g , \"Observations of P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s , \" Febru-ary 5, 1765). 1 3 4 G e n t l e m a n ' s Magazine, XXVIII (1758), 424. 1 3 5 T h e Gentleman's Magazine, XXVI (1756), 625, r e p o r t e d a c o n t r a c t f o r 10,000 hogs at 1,000 per week signed by d i s t i l l e r - c o n t r a c t o r s and the v i c t u a l l i n g o f f i c e . Such c o n t r a c t s discouraged embargoes on d i s t i l l i n g i n times of s c a r c i t y , e s p e c i a l l y when war-time food demands were p r e s s i n g . 126 oats and other g r a i n s much i n demand f o r the E n g l i s h and a l l i e d f o r c e s i n the Seven Years' War. The conspicuous con-sumption of these newly-enriched middlemen e x c i t e d the 136 resentment of other s o c i a l o r d e r s . Some of the poor, who had l i v e d on d i e t s of i n f e r i o r meat and bread i n the armed f o r c e s , no doubt remembered o l d scores when they r e t u r n e d to c i v i l i a n l i f e a f t e r 1763, and %f,ound p r i c e s high. They r e a d i l y a t t r i b u t e d the food s c a r c i t y to the manipulations of the middlemen. O p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r s p e c u l a t i o n i n food c e r t a i n l y e x i s t e d a f t e r the mid-century,' and doubtless c o n t r i b u t e d to h i g h e r p r i c e s . Because of the ease of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and storage, g r a i n was w e l l s u i t e d to s p e c u l a t i o n . Lower i n t e r -e s t r a t e s i n H o l l a n d at v a r i o u s times be f o r e the mid-1760's enabled \"speculators to ship g r a i n to the Low C o u n t r i e s , where i t could be s t o r e d more cheaply than i n England, u n t i l the p r i c e s at home rose s u f f i c i e n t l y to j u s t i f y i t s 137 r e t u r n . The export bounty from the home p o r t p a i d the costs of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and the d e a l e r s gained l a r g e p r o f i t s from s e l l i n g when the market was most s u i t a b l e . The stage of development reached by the E n g l i s h mar-k e t i n g system i n the 1750's a l s o favoured s p e c u l a t i o n . The 136 Payne r e p o r t e d one carcass butcher had p u b l i c l y d e c l a r e d h i s o p p o s i t i o n to lower p r i c e s and h i s i n t e n t i o n to get an e s t a t e ( W i l l i a m Payne to Lord Abercorn, February 12, 1766). 137 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 15. 127 economy was i n an i n t e r i m stage. I t was r a p i d l y moving from a system of p u r e l y l o c a l markets towards a more d i s t i n c t l y n a t i o n a l marketing system. Communications and t r a n s p o r t a -t i o n were improving r a p i d l y w i t h the improvement of r i v e r n a v i g a t i o n and the beginning of canal b u i l d i n g . The economy s t i l l c o n s i s t e d of a number of port-economies, the l a r g e s t and most dominant of which was London. A r t h u r Young d i s -covered i t was not p o s s i b l e to r e l a t e the p r i c e s of food d i r e c t l y to the d i s t a n c e from the c a p i t a l , f o r each p o r t 138 exerted i t s own i n f l u e n c e over i t s h i n t e r l a n d . Neverthe-l e s s , where markets had ready access to water, they were 139 r e s p o n s i v e to p r i c e changes i n London and elsewhere. P r i c e d i s e q u i l i b r i u m i n one p o r t economy was u l t i m a t e l y r e f l e c t e d i n the others.\"'' 4 0 I t was the time l a g i n t h i s process t h a t enabled s p e c u l a t i o n to succeed. 138 \" C i r e n c e s t e r market governs those [ p r i c e s ] of Tetbury, Hampton, Stroud, N o r t h l e a c h , F a i r f o r d , L e t c h l a d e , etc t h e r e f o r e the v a r i a t i o n i s not worth computation\" (Bishop of S t . David to Lord B a t h u r s t , February, 1765, Com-mittee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s ) . 139 \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 A correspondent argued the s e n s i t i v i t y of South Wales and Metro to p r i c e changes: \" . . . The same may be s a i d f o r a l l other g r a i n s [ b e s i d e s oats] even i n more d i s -t a n t p l a c e s as long as t h e r e i s a demand and a market, and the seas and r i v e r s are n a v i g a b l e \" (Gentleman's Magazine, XXVIII [1758], 278) . 140 ^ C. W. J . Granger and C. M. E l l i o t t , \"A Fresh Look at Wheat P r i c e s and Markets i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century,\" Economic H i s t o r y Review, 2nd s e r . , XX, No. 2 (August, 1967), 257-65. 128 The most d i s t a n t markets f e l t London's i n f l u e n c e . Reports i n the Gentleman's Magazine f r e q u e n t l y mention the e f f e c t on l o c a l markets of heavy buying by London salesmen. C a t t l e s o l d as f a r away as Durham e v e n t u a l l y found t h e i r way to the London market at S m i t h f i e l d . 1 4 1 Carcass butchers were s a i d not to wait f o r the market but go down as f a r as Northampton to buy up c a t t l e and sheep and \"by reason of 142 t h e i r l a r g e stocks keep up the p r i c e s of meat.\" S i r John F i e l d i n g c a l c u l a t e d t h a t w i t h i n f i v e miles of the c i t y m i l k was used i n i t s n a t u r a l s t a t e , f i v e to f i f t y m i l e s milk was used i n s u c k l i n g c a l v e s f o r v e a l . He noted t h a t , w h ile some b u t t e r was made w i t h i n these d i s t a n c e s , there was l i t t l e cheese. Cheese and b u t t e r were produced at more d i s t a n t 143 centres a c c o r d i n g to the nature of the l a n d . London had extended i t s t e n t a c l e s across the c o u n t r y s i d e i n search of p r o v i s i o n s from Tudor times, but the r a p i d growth of the M e t r o p o l i s by the mid-eighteenth century had i n c r e a s e d the d e a l e r s ' s c a l e of o p e r a t i o n s . D e s p i t e the r e l a t i o n s h i p , then, t h a t e x i s t e d between d i f f e r e n t p o r t economies and markets, the r a t e of response 141 C a t t l e came from d i s t a n t p a r t s of S c o t l a n d to the M e t r o p o l i s ( W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h Business, p. 187). 142 Thomas Addison, Butcher, C l a r e Market, i n e v i -dence before House of Lords Committee (Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s [March, 1765.]) . 143 F i e l d i n g , \"Observations of P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s , \" February 5, 1765. 129 to d i s e q u i l i b r i a elsewhere.was such t h a t l o c a l market manip-u l a t i o n was p o s s i b l e . Corn bounty r e g u l a t i o n s combined w i t h ei g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e incompetence had always made p o s s i b l e the defeat of the s p i r i t of the r e g u l a t i o n s , i f not the l e t t e r . The growing s o p h i s t i c a t i o n of the econ-omy and the i n t e r i m stage of marketing made s p e c u l a t i o n more widespread and s e r i o u s . By the mid-century jobbers and corn f a c t o r s , w i t h the a i d of improved communications, were able to develop accurate i n t e l l i g e n c e systems to r e p o r t market 144 c o n d i t i o n s throughout England and Europe too. At a time when l e g i s l a t i o n assumed the f r e e market p l a y of p r i c e s f o r the s e t t i n g of wages and the p r i c e s of bread, as w e l l as f o r f i x i n g p r i c e t h r e s h o l d s to r e g u l a t e the flow of g r a i n out of the country, d e a l e r s were s a i d to d e f e a t the s e l f - r e g u l a t i n g mechanism by agreeing among themselves to buy up g r a i n on a p a r t i c u l a r day i n a c e r t a i n market. The e f f e c t of such heavy buying was to push up the p r i c e of g r a i n above the l e v e l at which bounty was payable on exports through the nearby p o r t s (above, t h a t i s , 48s per q u a r t e r ) . Thereupon the corn f a c t o r s waited u n t i l the next market day, when by mutual consent they a b s t a i n e d from buying. Thereby they f o r c e d down the p r i c e below 48s, which enabled them to export t h e i r accumulated stocks and r e c e i v e the bounty. T h i s i n t e r f e r e n c e i n the f r e e p l a y of the markets, c r i t i c s 144 See W e s t e r f i e l d , Middlemen i n E n g l i s h Business, passim. 130 s a i d , prevented the intended o p e r a t i o n of not only the Corn Laws but the a s s i z e of bread, the opening of the ports f o r i m p o r t a t i o n of p r o v i s i o n s , and \" i n general every power r e l a -t i v e to the p r i c e s as w e l l as the weight, measure and q u a l -145 i t y of human s u b s i s t e n c e . \" Because of t h i s type of man-i p u l a t i o n and the slow response of other markets, e s p e c i a l l y those i n l a n d , food p r i c e s were o f t e n p r o h i b i t i v e l y high i n the i n t e r i o r i n d u s t r i a l r e g i o n s at a time when c o a s t a l p r i c e s were low enough to enable g r a i n to f l o o d out of the country, a f a c t o r which g r e a t l y c o n t r i b u t e d to the r e s e n t -ment of the poor and which was r e l e v a n t to the hunger r i o t s . 146 of 1766. That the government had to suspend the Corn Laws and p l a c e embargoes on a l l g r a i n exports i n times of economic c r i s i s i s a c l e a r i n d i c a t i o n t h a t the \" s e l f - r e g u l a t i n g \" p r i c e mechanisms d i d not work. In 1773 the Pownall Act changed the p r i c e t h r e s h o l d s , but by t h i s time i t had become apparent t h a t except i n very r a r e seasons England had become a net importer of g r a i n and the p r o t e c t i o n i s t aspects of the 147 laws became more r e l e v a n t to the high cost of n e c e s s a r i e s . There was, t h e r e f o r e , some b a s i s i n t r u t h f o r accus-i n g some middlemen of a f f e c t i n g the food supply by 145 Thomas Brock, C l e r k of the Peace and Town C l e r k of Chester, to Lord Abercorn, March 11, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . \" ^ ^ C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn (1766). 147 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 43. 131 mani p u l a t i n g markets f o r the purpose of s p e c u l a t i o n . Exact measurement of the e f f e c t of t h e i r a c t i o n s on food p r i c e s i s i m p o s s i b l e . P r o bably contemporaries exaggerated i t , but c e r t a i n l y i t i s an important reason f o r the g e n e r a l unpopu-l a r i t y of middlemen. I t probably accounts f o r the recommen-dat i o n s f o r the r e i m p o s i t i o n of c o n t r o l s on middlemen's a c t i v i t i e s which came from the v a r i o u s P a r l i a m e n t a r y commit-tees of i n q u i r y i n t o high food p r i c e s of the 1760's. I f the r a p i d l y - i n c r e a s i n g numbers of middlemen and the expansion of t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s was s t i m u l a t i n g the gen-e r a l a n t i p a t h y towards middlemen which had remained dormant during the e a r l y years of the century, the events of 1756-57 i n t e n s i f i e d r i v a l r i e s between v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t s . In these years a n a t u r a l shortage had caused the p r i c e s of g r a i n to r i s e s t e e p l y , and d i s o r d e r s took p l a c e i n w i d e l y s c a t t e r e d 148 regions of England. The c h i e f d i s a f f e c t e d areas were i n the n o r t h and the Midlands, but the west and south a l s o w i t -149 nessed mobs of s e v e r a l hundred p r o t e s t o r s . The response of the P r i v y C o u n c i l to these outbreaks and to the s e v e r a l p e t i t i o n s of l a r g e seaports such as B r i s t o l , L i v e r p o o l , and Newcastle-on-Tyne about the exces-s i v e p r i c e s of corn was p r e d i c t a b l e . Meeting at the Cockpit, 1 4 8 T h e Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVI (1766), 557, noted the d i s t r e s s of the poor of the V a l e of Evesham, \"the f i n e s t v a l e of corn i n the world,\" because g r a i n was d r a i n e d o f f v i a n a v i g a b l e r i v e r to B r i s t o l . 1 4 9 G e n t l e m a n ' s Magazine, XXVI (1756) and XXVII (1757), passim. 132 they i s s u e d a proclamation p r o h i b i t i n g the purchase of corn f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n without a l i c e n s e , o r d e r i n g the s t r i c t enforcement of the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , e ngrossing, and r e g r a t i n g , and r e q u i r i n g a l l corn to be s o l d 150 i n the open market and the end of s a l e s by sample. C l e a r l y the o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p r o f i t e e r i n g were g r e a t e r i n times of shortage than i n p e r i o d s of p l e n t y , and the govern-ment wished to discourage the w i t h h o l d i n g of s u p p l i e s . Yet the i m p l i c a t i o n was p l a i n : the shortage was a r t i f i c i a l and the middlemen were e x p l o i t i n g the consumers by manipulating 151 the food s u p p l i e s . Although the r e s u l t s of the government's a c t i o n were not as s e r i o u s as they were to be i n 1766, by p u b l i c l y blam-in g the middlemen and then f a i l i n g to r e g u l a t e them e f f e c -t i v e l y the government i n c i t e d the r i o t e r s to take matters i n t o t h e i r own hands. At f i r s t they emulated t h e i r Tudor ancestors and f o r c e d the s a l e of p r o v i s i o n s at what they thought were \" j u s t p r i c e s . \" L a t e r , as they became more exasperated, they a t t a c k e d the property of farmers and mid-dlemen suspected of hoarding food. O c c a s i o n a l l y q u a n t i t i e s 1 5 Q I b i d . , XXVI (1756), 546. 151 Two L e t t e r s on the F l o u r Trade, and the Dearness of Corn: By a Person i n Business (London, November, 1766), pp. 18-19, complained t h a t p u b l i c a t t a c k s on f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing on d e a l e r s and mealmen i n c i t e d a \" s p i r i t of mob-bing\" by spreading f e a r s of famine and h i n d e r i n g the r e g u l a r supply of the markets. 133 of g r a i n were destroyed and f r e q u e n t l y the t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of s u p p l i e s to the urban centres was impeded. Thus, the government's a c t i o n was u l t i m a t e l y s e l f - d e f e a t i n g f o r i t discouraged the movement of p r o v i s i o n s and c r e a t e d even g r e a t e r shortages than had at f i r s t e x i s t e d . As noted e a r l i e r the hunger r i o t s of the 1750's were more s e r i o u s because of t h e i r a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h widespread 152 p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t a new M i l i t i a A c t . These p a r t i c u l a r r i o t s are d e a l t w i t h at l e n g t h elsewhere. But f o r the pur-pose of t h i s a n a l y s i s , i t i s important to note t h a t the m i d d l e - c l a s s farmers and the r u r a l poor were p i t t e d a g a i n s t 153 the u p p e r - c l a s s gentry and a r i s t o c r a t i c landed i n t e r e s t . C e r t a i n l y the c o i n c i d e n c e of the m i l i t i a r i o t s w i t h the pro-t e s t s a g a i n s t h i g h p r i c e s encouraged the landed i n t e r e s t to vent i t s resentment f o r the rough handling i t r e c e i v e d at the hands of the r u r a l populace a g a i n s t the m i d d l e - c l a s s farmers and p r o v i s i o n s d e a l e r s . Much of t h i s resentment was r e f l e c t e d i n the pamph-l e t s and newspaper a r t i c l e s which poured f o r t h when calm r e t u r n e d i n 1758. I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the e a r l i e r events were many, but the most common scapegoat was the middleman, who, w r i t e r s claimed, had c r e a t e d an a r t i f i c i a l shortage. Corn buyers, k i d d e r s , l a d e r s , broggers, c a r r i e r s , flourmen, 152 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century,'' p. 300. I b i d . I 134 bakers, brewers, d i s t i l l e r s , and t a v e r n e r s were a l l s i n g l e d out as o f f e n d e r s . Many urged the t r a d i t i o n a l s o l u t i o n of e n f o r c i n g the o l d Tudor and S t u a r t s t a t u t e s . The r e p r i n t i n g i n 1758 of the Book of Orders which expounded government p o l i c y towards middlemen between 1586 and 1630 was h a r d l y c o i n c i d e n t a l . In the event i t f a i l e d to achieve i t s purpose of persuading the government to r e t u r n to a p o l i c y of r i g o r -154 ous r e g u l a t i o n . N e i t h e r d i d the a u t h o r i t i e s implement a scheme f o r e s t a b l i s h i n g p u b l i c g r a n a r i e s . One student of the Corn Laws has seen t h i s as a r e l u c t a n c e of the govern-ment and the landed i n t e r e s t to r e v i v e the o l d b u r e a u c r a t i c 155 system of the crown. P r o b a b l y i t would have gone a g a i n s t the p o l i t i c a l s p i r i t of the times to r e t u r n to the c e n t r a l -ism of the Tudor and S t u a r t ages. A p e r i o d of f a v o u r a b l e harvests and lower p r i c e s f o l l o w e d the c r i s i s years of 1756-57. The c o n d i t i o n s of the poor improved f o r s e v e r a l years, u n t i l i n 1763 poor h a r v e s t s and c a t t l e epidemics f o r c e d up p r i c e s again. The f i n d i n g s of s e v e r a l P a r l i a m e n t a r y committees which examined the causes of h i g h food p r i c e s In the next three years are important f o r they confirmed the popular o p i n i o n about the r o l e of middlemen i n r a i s i n g the cost of l i v i n g f o r the poor. Because many of the committees' recommendations 154 Gras, The E v o l u t i o n of the E n g l i s h Corn Market from the T w e l f t h to the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 207. 155 Barnes, H i s t o r y of the E n g l i s h Corn Laws, p. 33. 135 concerned p a r t i c u l a r l y c o n d i t i o n s i n the M e t r o p o l i s , they not only c o l o u r e d the views of the n a t i o n a l government on the causes of popular u n r e s t but they a l s o r e v e a l e d economic changes t h a t were happening. These changes are of i n t e r e s t because they formed a background to both the a g r a r i a n d i s -orders and the p r e - i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s of the l a t e r 1760's. Pop u l a r a n t i p a t h y to middlemen i n London was r a t h e r l e s s than i n the p r o v i n c e s . The most v o c i f e r o u s c r i t i c s of the l a r g e r middlemen were the l e s s e r middlemen whom they were d i s p l a c i n g as the m e t r o p o l i t a n marketing system grew more complex and demanded g r e a t e r i n f u s i o n s of c a p i t a l . T h i s development was more ev i d e n t i n the meat trade than the g r a i n trade by the 1760's. To judge from the r e p o r t s made to the House of Lords' Committee of 1765, the London carcass butchers had come to dominate the m e t r o p o l i t a n meat markets i n the previous decade. The w e l l - o r g a n i z e d r e t a i l b utchers' lobby which made d e t a i l e d submissions to the Committee claimed that a great i n c r e a s e i n the numbers and i n f l u e n c e of these l a r g e -s c a l e w h o l e s a l e r s had occurred i n the previous three years. The a c c e l e r a t e d growth of London i n the 1750's and 1760's due to the war, a shortage of l i v e s t o c k due to animal e p i -demics, and a post-war r e c e s s i o n probably account f o r t h i s sudden i n c r e a s e i n the numbers and i n f l u e n c e of the carcass butchers. 136 An examination of the operation of these wholesale meat dealers shows the complexity of the problem of c o n t r o l -l i n g middlemen and suggests why governments found i t best to t a c i t l y ignore t h e i r monopolizing tendencies while p u b l i c l y paying l i p s e r v i c e to the p r i n c i p l e s of the o l d \"moral economy.\" The operation of the carcass butchers centred prim-a r i l y about S m i t h f i e l d , the market f o r l i v e c a t t l e and sheep. Here they d e a l t i n animals bought from d i s t a n t farms or l o c a l markets. By keeping animals on the marshlands near London or dispersed through adjacent counties, c r i t i c s s a i d , they avoided prosecution and played t h e i r stock i n t o the market when p r i c e s were most favourable. Thus, by the use of t h e i r s u p e r i o r purchasing power and by manipulation, the carcass butchers came to dominate the smaller c u t t i n g but-chers i n C l a r e , Newgate, and other markets of the Metrop-156 o l i s . These r e t a i l butchers complained t h a t they were no longer able to buy small d r i f t s of c a t t l e f o r slaughter f o r t h e i r own customers but were forced to buy on c r e d i t from t h e i r new masters, who o b l i g e d them to accept bad meat along 157 w i t h the good at the p r i c e of good meat. The d i s g r u n t l e d c u t t i n g butchers blamed the carcass butchers f o r the high p r i c e s of meat i n the 1760's. Sheep 156 Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). I b i d . 137 and c a t t l e , they claimed, were bought i n S m i t h f i e l d , d r i v e n out to nearby f i e l d s to pasture or feed on t u r n i p s , and l a t e r s o l d when p r i c e s were high. Farmers, they s a i d , had ceased to come to London w i t h t h e i r stock, and d e a l t w i t h S m i t h f i e l d salesmen d i r e c t l y . O c c a s i o n a l l y , a farmer d i s -s a t i s f i e d w i t h the salesmen's p r i c e s would t r y to market h i s own animals, whereupon the carcass butchers r e p o r t e d l y w i t h -h e l d from buying to f o r c e down the p r i c e s i n S m i t h f i e l d mar-ket. Such independent farmers found i t a c o s t l y waste of time to by-pass the salesmen, who t r a v e l l e d from farm to farm. T h e r e a f t e r the farmer s o l d to S m i t h f i e l d o u t r i d e r s 158 \"who thus secured the power to s t a r v e the p u b l i c . \" The c u t t i n g butchers charged t h a t t h e i r r i v a l s c ould a f f o r d to s e l l meat cheaper but would not. They a s s e r t e d t h a t the re c e n t drop of l / 2 d per pound of meat was due to the i n t e r -es t of the House of Lords' Committee of 1765 i n meat 159 p r i c e s . C e r t a i n l y the o p e r a t i o n s of some butchers were l a r g e - s c a l e and t h e i r investment heavy. Under the s t r i c t a p p l i c a t i o n of the o l d Tudor and S t u a r t s t a t u t e s they were i l l e g a l . Some r e p o r t e d l y kept as many as 1,000 sheep at one time, and s o l d as many as 100 per day. They t r a v e l l e d as f a r as Northampton to buy stock. T y p i c a l of t h i s i n t e r e s t ^\"Gentleman's Magazine, XXXIV (1764), 334. 1765) 159 Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 138 group was Benjamin Cherry of H e r t f o r d , who s o l d ten thousand sheep at S m i t h f i e l d i n one year. One witness b i t t e r l y a s s e r t e d t h a t \"he buys them of the farmers, i s a judge of the i n t r i n s i c v a l u e , and p l a y s them i n t o the market to the i n j u r y of the p u b l i c and the very r u i n of o u r s e l v e s and f a m i l i e s . \" \" ^ 0 H i s indictment before J u s t i c e F i e l d i n g i n 1765 had l i t t l e apparent e f f e c t on Cherry's conduct. Edmund Burke, n e a r l y t h i r t y years l a t e r , w r i t i n g of the extent of Cherry's a c t i v i t i e s , observed t h a t he and others \"had kept a l i n e of c i r c u m v a l l a t i o n twenty m i l e s around London where 161 were 40,000 sheep always ready to beat down the market.\" Accor d i n g to evidence given before S i r John F i e l d i n g , Cherry had at t h a t time 4,240 sheep i n f l o c k s averaging 250 on 162 v a r i o u s farms throughout H e r t f o r d s h i r e . The a t t a c k s of the c u t t i n g butchers d i d not go unanswered. Salesmen and others maintained t h a t carcass butchers were a great convenience to the p u b l i c . They pro-v i d e d a means to s e l l the numbers of c a t t l e and the l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s of meat needed by the s t r e e t hawkers and small \"^\u00C2\u00B0R. S t u d l e y to the Duke of Bedford, Lord P r e s i -dent, January 29, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i -s i o n s . \"161 \u00C2\u00B0 F i t z w i l l i a m MSS, Burke 19. 162 Cherry's servant confessed h i s master s o l d 10,000 sheep i n S m i t h f i e l d i n one year (Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s [March, 1765]). See a l s o \"Return of Cherry's Sheep i n H e r t f o r d s h i r e from Jan 1 1765 to 18 Jan 1765,\" Com-mittee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 139 163 r e t a i l butchers on c r e d i t . They noted t h a t the c u t t i n g butchers had no f a c i l i t i e s f o r s l a u g h t e r i n g i n the c i t y , which was\" f o r b i d d e n by law. They denied they were a monop-ol y . P r o v i s i o n s , they claimed f u r t h e r , taken at a medium over the p r e v i o u s twenty years were very l i t t l e dearer than the twenty years before them; they estimated not more than l / 2 d per pound. They a s s e r t e d t h a t c a t t l e and sheep were turned out to grass because of a l a c k of buyers, f o r they would have p r e f e r r e d to s e l l at a lower p r i c e than keep the stock. The r e c e n t higher p r i c e s and shortages of meat were due to g r e a t e r demand and to r o t i n recent wet seasons. They c i t e d the reduced number of animals sent from L i n c o l n -s h i r e fens as proof of t h i s . John Bryant, a salesman of pork and lamb, o f f e r e d a p a r t i c u l a r l y v i g o r o u s defence of h i s r o l e i n the marketing of meat. 1^ 4 He operated i n both S m i t h f i e l d and Newgate mar-ke t s , and employed farmers i n Somerset and others of the western c o u n t i e s . He denied there was f o r e s t a l l i n g on the roads. He claimed t h a t carcass butchers were not new, and were v a l u a b l e i n s u p p l y i n g hawkers with meat. High p r i c e s were not due to carcass butchers; r a t h e r they were the r e s u l t of wet seasons i n 1760 and 1763. Bryant claimed t h a t 163 Evidence of salesmen given before the Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). 164 . John Bryant before the Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s (March, 1765). 140 the s m a l l e r breeds of pork a f f e c t e d p r i c e s a l s o . He noted t h a t c u t t i n g butchers could not handle the q u a n t i t i e s of meat t h a t c a r c a s s butchers bought. Without pasturelands near London, c a t t l e and sheep would be r u i n e d by lengthy journeys, he observed. C a t t l e and sheep were ret u r n e d to pasture to keep an e q u a l i t y of p r i c e , f o r farmers r e q u i r e d more c e r t a i n t y i n value and they would have l o s t i f they had to s e l l as soon as the c a t t l e reached market. F i n a l l y , Bryant b e l i e v e d t h a t salesmen, by i n f o r m i n g farmers of p r i c e v a r i a t i o n s and seasonal f l u c t u a t i o n s i n demand, c o n t r o l l e d the flow of c a t t l e and sheep to London. Whatever the merits of the arguments on each s i d e of the debate, p u b l i c q u e s t i o n i n g of the r o l e of middlemen i n d i c a t e d t h a t there were important changes happening i n the marketing system by the 1760's which were s e t t i n g up s o c i a l s t r e s s e s . These changes a c c e l e r a t e d a f t e r the mid-century and d i s r u p t e d the h i e r a r c h i c a l s t r u c t u r e of the commercial system. C r i t i c i s m s of emerging \"monopolies\" came from w i t h i n and without the r e t a i l and wholesale trades i n the 1750's and 1760's. The \"abuses\" i n the meat trade p r i m a r i l y r e l a t e d to the London markets, but c e r t a i n l y s i m i l a r o b j e c t s of c r i t i c i s m c ould have been found i n a l l the p o r t economies of the e i g h t e e n t h century. P o p u l a r c r i t i c i s m of middlemen was g r e a t e s t i n the c o u n t r y s i d e which s u p p l i e d the urban p o p u l a t i o n s . London's freedom from hunger r i o t s i n 1766, d e s p i t e high food p r i c e s , suggests the importance of popular 141 h o s t i l i t y towards middlemen i n the counties where hunger r i o t s were widespread i n t h i s year. Resentment of middlemen, then, came to a peak i n the mid-1760's because of the conjuncture of s e v e r a l circum-stances. High p r i c e s and economic r e c e s s i o n f o c u s s e d a t t e n -t i o n on the poor consumer. N e a r l y two decades of p u b l i c abuse a s s o c i a t e d the middlemen of the corn and meat trades made Englishmen aware of t h e i r entrenched p o s i t i o n i n the economy. When the o l d nostrums of Tudor and S t u a r t times were r e i n t r o d u c e d , they not only f a i l e d , but a c t u a l l y worsened the e x i s t i n g problems of s c a r c i t y and high p r i c e s . The poor, c o n d i t i o n e d to a t t r i b u t e food shortages to a r t i f i -c i a l r a t h e r than n a t u r a l causes, h a r d l y needed the encour-agement they r e c e i v e d to d e a l w i t h a popular scapegoat t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s -were unable to r e g u l a t e . The a r i s t o c r a t i c and gentry l e a d e r s of r u r a l s o c i e t y themselves were not u n a f f e c t e d by the lengthy d e n u n c i a t i o n of middlemen i n the 1750's and 1760's. Many of the r u l i n g orders may h o n e s t l y have b e l i e v e d the food shortage was a r t i f i c i a l l y c o n t r i v e d by the s p e c u l a t i o n of middlemen. There were, however, more cogent reasons why the r u l i n g c l a s s played such an e q u i v o c a l r o l e i n the e x t e n s i v e hunger r i o t s of 1766. P r e j u d i c e a g a i n s t middlemen was a s u r f a c e m a n i f e s t a t i o n of u n d e r l y i n g t e n s i o n s which were a f f e c t i n g s o c i e t y a f t e r the mid-century. PART I CHAPTER I I I THE ROLE OF THE AUTHORITIES IN THE PROVINCIAL HUNGER RIOTS OF 1766 A c r u c i a l f e a t u r e of the hunger r i o t s of 1766 was the i n i t i a l encouragement g i v e n to the mobs by the r u l i n g orders i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . In an age when prompt a c t i o n by the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s i n v a r i a b l y s n u f f e d out r i o t s before they became a r e a l s o c i a l t h r e a t , the r e s t r a i n t of the m a j o r i t y of the g e n t r y - m a g i s t r a t e s towards r i o t o u s mobs was e x t r a o r d i n a r y and tantamount to s a n c t i o n . John Wesley, who was as experienced as any of h i s contemporaries i n f a c i n g dangerous mobs, noted i n h i s d i a r y t h a t \"Wherever a mob con-t i n u e s any time, a l l they do i s to be imputed not so much to the r a b b l e as to the J u s t i c e s . \" 1 In the c r i t i c a l e a r l y days of the r u r a l r i o t s when many of the d i s p o s s e s s e d waited to see how the m i l i t a n t m i n o r i t y f a r e d i n t h e i r i n i t i a l \"'\"The J o u r n a l of the Reverend John Wesley, A.M. , ed. by Nehemiah Curnock, Standard E d i t i o n , V (2nd ed.; London: C h a r l e s H. K e l l y , 1781), 250. See a l s o Rude,' the Crowd i n H i s t o r y , p. 262; Frank Ongley D a r v a l l , \" P o p u l a r Disturbances and P u b l i c Order i n Regency England (London: Oxford U n i v e r -s i t y P r e s s , 1934), pp. 244-45; F r e d e r i c k C l a r e Mather, Pub-l i c Order i n the Age of the C h a r t i s t s (Manchester: Manchester U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1959), pp. 60-61. 142 143 challenge to a u t h o r i t y , the l e s s e r gentry, who dominated the p a r i s h benches, stood aloof from the a r i s t o c r a t i c county r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the n a t i o n a l government on the one hand, and the commercial and i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t s on the other, and s c a r c e l y t r o u b l e d to conceal t h e i r sympathy f o r the riotous'; poor. But the magistrates not only r e f r a i n e d from e f f e c t i v e measures to crush the i n i t i a l d i s o r d e r s , they a c t u a l l y abetted other members of the landed and i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t s i n t h e i r encouragement of the people to regul a t e markets and reduce the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s by f o r c e . By t h i s means, they d i v e r t e d the r i o t e r s towards middlemen and la r g e farmers, and away from the landed and i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t s . U n l i k e other a g r a r i a n d i s o r d e r s of the century, the r i o t s of 1766 d i d not i n v o l v e attacks on the landowners or the manufacturers. Thus, w h i l e not a c t u a l l y i n c i t i n g the r i o t s , the a c t i o n s of the magistrates c e r t a i n l y gave them d i r e c t i o n . Only b e l a t e d l y , when the scale of d i s o r d e r f r i g h t e n e d them, d i d the gentry-magistrates c l o s e ranks w i t h the a r i s t o c r a c y and other r u r a l leaders to crush-what they had come to f e a r was the s t a r t of s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n . I That the magistrates were unusually d e r e l i c t i n t h e i r duty to suppress popular d i s o r d e r s i n September, 1766 i s evident from the comments of t h e i r contemporaries and the course of events i n urban and r u r a l r i o t s . 144 Understandably, i t was those M i n i s t e r s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r domestic s e c u r i t y who at t h i s time most f r e q u e n t l y com-p l a i n e d of the n e g l i g e n c e of the r u r a l j u s t i c e s . Lord B a r r i n g t o n at the War O f f i c e wrote to the E a r l of Shelburne, S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r the Southern Department, t h a t troops sent \"to a i d the c i v i l power\" had never been used, and com-mented t h a t \"the m a g i s t r a t e s at t h i s j u n c t u r e have l e s s 2 s p i r i t or prudence than u s u a l . \" Henry Conway, S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r the Northern Department, r e f l e c t e d the same opi n -i o n when he c a l l e d upon the Duke of Marlborough, the E a r l of Berkeley, and other L o r d s - L i e u t e n a n t to use t h e i r i n f l u e n c e as great landowners to encourage the m a g i s t r a t e s to act 3 d e c i s i v e l y a g a i n s t the r i o t e r s . Yet i t i s evident from independent sources t h a t Conway's c o n c l u s i o n t h a t \"a want of a c t i v i t y i n the use and e x e r t i o n of the c i v i l powers by the o r d i n a r y m a g i s t r a t e s seems to be among the c h i e f causes of these continued outrages\" cannot be d i s m i s s e d as a customary p l o y to d i v e r t a t t e n t i o n from the M i n i s t r y ' s own s h o r t -4 comings. P r i v a t e gentlemen, wi t h no apparent v e s t e d i n t e r e s t i n a p p o r t i o n i n g blame, wrote of the m a g i s t r a t e s being 2 B a r r i n g t o n to Shelburne, October 2, 1766, Shelburne Papers, V o l . 132, f o l s . 13-14. 3 P u b l i c Record O f f i c e , Domestic E n t r y Book, V o l . 142, f o l s . 12-14. 4 I b i d . 145 5 \"backward to exert themselves.\" John P i t t , r e p o r t i n g con-d i t i o n s i n the West Country to Lord Hardwicke, a former Lord C h a n c e l l o r p e r e n n i a l l y concerned w i t h the dangers of c i v i l commotion, observed of the G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e r i o t s t h a t \"had the c i v i l m a g i s t r a t e s acted w i t h the l e a s t degree of prud-ence a l l t h i s t r o u b l e would have been saved the government and the l i v e s of the poor c r e a t u r e s to the s e r v i c e of the 6 country.\" That more t i m e l y , v i g o r o u s a c t i o n by the r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s might w e l l have s t i f l e d the r i o t s i s suggested by the s i t u a t i o n i n the towns where d i s o r d e r s i n 1766 were q u i c k l y brought under c o n t r o l . In such urban centres the m a g i s t r a t e s r a p i d l y d evised measures of s e l f - h e l p . When market d i s t u r b a n c e s threatened to spread throughout G l o u c e s t e r , c i v i c l e a d e r s immediately ordered a l l c i t i z e n s 7 o f f the s t r e e t s and thereby p a c i f i e d the c i t y ; w h i l e at Norwich the mayor and h i s f e l l o w m a g i s t r a t e s armed the \" r e s p e c t a b l e c i t i z e n s \" w i t h staves and d i s p e r s e d the numer-ous r i o t e r s without m i l i t a r y a i d , during a weekend of 8 v i o l e n t p r o t e s t . 5 James H a r r i s to Hardwicke, October 3, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 295. 6 John P i t t to Hardwicke, December 18, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 335. 7 John P i t t to Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 290. G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 8, 1766. g G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 4, 1766. 146 C e r t a i n l y , urban m a g i s t r a t e s d i d not f a c e the same problems as t h e i r r u r a l c o u n t e r p a r t s . While c i t y mobs could form and melt q u i c k l y away when peace f o r c e s a r r i v e d , only to reappear elsewhere, there was a narrower g e o g r a p h i c a l l i m i t upon t h e i r r i o t o u s a c t i v i t i e s than was the case f o r r u r a l mobs. In urban centres there were always c o n s i d e r a b l e numbers of r e a d i l y i d e n t i f i a b l e , \" r e s p e c t a b l e c i t i z e n s \" who could be t r u s t e d to f i g h t to p r o t e c t p r o p e r t y i n times of c r i s i s , although at times \"wrong elements\" o c c a s i o n a l l y r e c e i v e d arms i n the co n f u s i o n of a l a r g e - s c a l e r i o t . Such was the case i n Norwich where r i o t e r s passed themselves o f f as r e s p e c t a b l e c i t i z e n s and j o i n e d the armed posse comitatus b e f o r e informers denounced them to the m a g i s t r a t e s . 9 The problems posed at v a r i o u s times by the m e t r o p o l i t a n mobs were p e c u l i a r to London and they are d e a l t w i t h at l e n g t h elsewhere. But even here the ready a v a i l a b i l i t y of troops to a s s i s t such competent m a g i s t r a t e s as S i r John F i e l d i n g and Saunders Welsh m i t i g a t e d the d i f f i c u l t i e s of c o n t r o l l i n g a v a s t slum population.''\" 0 In c o n t r a s t , there were o f t e n dangerous delays before troops came to the a i d of i s o l a t e d r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s . But commentators d i d not miss the l e s s o n to be taken from the success of prompt sup p r e s s i o n of the 9 Mayor of Norwich to Town C l e r k , Norwich, October 20, 1766, Norwich C i t y Record O f f i c e , Norwich, D e p o s i t i o n s . \"^Both these m a g i s t r a t e s were r e s p e c t e d by the poor' and the M i n i s t r y , who p a i d them an annual s a l a r y . 147 Norwich and G l o u c e s t e r r i o t e r s . I f f u r t h e r c o n f i r m a t i o n of the value of s w i f t a c t i o n a g a i n s t mobs be r e q u i r e d , one need only observe, on the one hand, the e f f e c t i v e a c t i o n s taken by the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s a g a i n s t hunger r i o t e r s i n 1756-57 i n circumstances p o t e n t i a l l y much more dangerous than those of the summer of 1766, and the r e s u l t s of the b e l a t e d c o - o p e r a t i o n between the m a g i s t r a t e s , the army, and M i n i s -t r y , which o c c u r r e d when the gentry became t e r r i f i e d by the extent of the d i s o r d e r s a f t e r the t h i r d week i n September, 1766, on the other. Gentry-magistrates i n 1766, however, d i d more than j u s t t o l e r a t e the i n i t i a l d i s o r d e r s . Some gentry encouraged the d i s t r e s s e d poor to r e g u l a t e markets f o r themselves and c o n t r o l the a c t i v i t i e s of middlemen, who were l i t t l e impeded by the e r r a t i c enforcement of the o l d Tudor and S t u a r t s t a t u t e s f o r the p r o t e c t i o n of consumers. Witnesses at S t r o u d i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e r e p o r t e d t h a t on September 19 r i o t e r s t h reatened to p u l l down Timothy Ratten's m i l l and d e c l a r e d t h a t they had a l l the gentlemen on t h e i r s i d e and t h a t the E a r l of Berkeley had given them three g u i n e a s . 1 1 One l e a d e r of the \" r e g u l a t o r s \" i n Norwich market c r i e d : \"Damn them, I have an order from the Gentlemen to serve them 12 a l l a l i k e and make no e x c e p t i o n of none.\" Other gentry ^ T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T . S . l l / 5 9 5 6 / B x l l 2 8 . 12 Evidence a g a i n s t Brown, a l e a d e r of a r i o t i n the market on September 27, 1766, Norwich C i t y Record O f f i c e , Norwich, D e p o s i t i o n s , a n d Case Papers. 148 d i r e c t e d a t t e n t i o n towards the l a r g e r farmers. E a r l y i n the food p r o t e s t s i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , the gentry of the county announced t h e i r i n t e n t i o n of f o r c i n g the farmers to reduce the high p r i c e of g r a i n . The i m p l i c a t i o n of the gentry's a t t i t u d e s and a c t i o n s was t h a t the food shortage was a r t i f i -c i a l l y c o n t r i v e d f o r t h e i r own p r o f i t by middlemen and wealthy farmers, whose i n t e r e s t s were o f t e n seen to c o i n c i d e 13 by the landed i n t e r e s t . John P i t t noted the dangers of such responses: The high p r i c e of p r o v i s i o n s was f e l t by a l l w i t h t h i s d i f f e r e n c e t h a t the r i c h r e c e i v e d a r e c i p r o c a l advantage i n the advance of t h e i r incomes w h i l s t the poor had no other r e c o u r s e than i n the advance of t h e i r wages. T h e i r clamours r a i s e d to procure these were a r t f u l l y turned to the cause of the other, nay f o o l i s h l y by many who at the same time they were advantaged by the high ^. s a l e of commodities grumbled to buy at an equal p r i c e . P i t t ' s e s t i m a t i o n of the gentry's r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the r i o t s c o r r o b o r a t e s the r i o t e r s ' frequent claims t h a t \"the gentry are w i t h us\": . . . the g e n e r a l i t y of the gentry i n the country have formed a more erroneous judgment of the present d i s -t r e s s e d times than ever the mob, th a t t h a t countenance which the mob has r e c e i v e d from many has encouraged them to the le n g t h s they have run and th a t many th a t are under sentence of death thought they were doing a meri-t o r i o u s a ct the very moment they were f o r f e i t i n g t h e i r l i v e s . 1 5 A correspondent who urged the opening of the p o r t s f o r i m p o r t a t i o n to convince the p u b l i c i n January, 1757 whether the s c a r c i t y was n a t u r a l or a r t i f i c i a l a n t i c i p a t e d the o p p o s i t i o n of f a c t o r s and r i c h farmers (Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII [1757], 32). 14 John P i t t to Lord Hardwicke, December 20, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l . 340. I b i d . 149 P l a i n l y , the m i d d l i n g and l e s s e r landowners, who dominated the l o c a l benches, were not the only i n f l u e n t i a l members of r u r a l s o c i e t y who were anxious to d i v e r t the a t t e n t i o n of the poor towards middlemen and r i c h e r farmers. In the West Country where p r i c e s of food were high and employment s h o r t , c l o t h i e r s wished to prevent a r e p e t i t i o n of the a g i t a t i o n of c l o t h workers f o r h i g h e r wages and bet-t e r working c o n d i t i o n s which had l e d to s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s i n 16 the 1750's. Employers, correspondents a s s e r t e d , caused l a b o u r e r s d i s c o n t e n t e d w i t h s c a r c e work and dear p r o v i s i o n s to s t a r t the f i r s t r i o t s \"by recommending a h i n t i n the newspapers\" and \"every alderman, common councilman, shoe-17 maker and shopkeeper j o i n e d i n t h i s encouragement.\" G e n t l e m e n - c l o t h i e r s and others of the c a p i t a l i s t manufactur-in g i n t e r e s t s s a t on the bench a l o n g s i d e the landowners i n the c l o t h i n g c o u n t i e s and e x h i b i t e d s i m i l a r l y e q u i v o c a l responses to the food r i o t s of 1766. I n e v i t a b l y , the a t t i t u d e of the r u r a l l e a d e r s stimu-l a t e d v i o l e n c e by i n c r e a s i n g the e x a s p e r a t i o n of the d i s p o s -sessed w i t h the authors of an apparently a r t i f i c i a l food shortage, and i n the process f o c u s s e d the r i o t e r s ' h o s t i l i t y on middlemen and l a r g e r farmers. In r e l a t i v e l y u n s o p h i s t i -16 V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , W i l t s h i r e , IV, 64 et seq. 17 John P i t t to Hardwicke, December 21, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 341. 150 cated, a g r a r i a n s o c i e t i e s the i l l - e d u c a t e d poor f r e q u e n t l y a t t r i b u t e n a t u r a l shortages of food to d i v i n e r e t r i b u t i o n and s t o i c a l l y endure them. When shortages appear a r t i f i c i a l they d i r e c t t h e i r anger a g a i n s t those h e l d r e s p o n s i b l e f o r 18 t h e i r d i s t r e s s . In September, 1766, the a u t h o r i t i e s p l a i n l y i n d i c a t e d to the poor t h a t middlemen and l a r g e farmers were c r e a t i n g an a r t i f i c i a l shortage, when they promised to f o r c e farmers to lower p r i c e s , encouraged the enforced s a l e of p r o v i s i o n s at \" j u s t \" p r i c e s , and formed a s s o c i a t i o n s of gentlemen to prosecute f o r e s t a l l e r s , engros-s e r s , and r e g r a t o r s i n conformity with the government's pro-clamation of the o l d p a t e r n a l s t a t u t e s . To a p p r e c i a t e f u l l y the unusual c h a r a c t e r of the r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s ' responses to the i n i t i a l d i s o r d e r s of the l a t e summer of 1766, one must take i n t o account the t r a d i -t i o n a l a t t i t u d e s of the gen t r y - m a g i s t r a t e s and landowners towards r i o t s g e n e r a l l y . Whig p o l i t i c i a n s , w h i l e not wel-coming c i v i l commotion, f r e q u e n t l y regarded minor m e t r o p o l i -tan d i s o r d e r s as r e l a t i v e l y innocuous s a f e t y - v a l v e s f o r the su r p l u s energies of the populace. An anonymous c o n t r i b u t o r to the St. James's C h r o n i c l e expressed t h i s t y p i c a l view: 18 Edmund Burke warned of the danger of implying t h a t c o n d i t i o n s of s c a r c i t y were not i n e v i t a b l e . He b e l i e v e d t h a t dangerous r i o t s were p o s s i b l e i f the poor came to b e l i e v e \"man's i n g e n u i t y could improve t h i n g s . \" He a s s e r t e d t h a t the government i n 1767 had r a i s e d the hopes of the d i s -t r e s s e d poor without doing anything i n the s p r i n g and summer of t h a t year ( P a r l i a m e n t a r y H i s t o r y of England [1765-1771], XVI [London: Longmans, 1813], 390). 151 My dear countrymen may proceed i n t h e i r d i v i s i o n s and q u a r r e l s . They are never more amiable i n my s i g h t when they have r o l l e d each other i n the kennel. No music more sweet than the c r a s h i n g of windows; and when they are of as many co l o u r s as a p a i n t e d Indian, when they are beaten black and b l u e , and yellow, when t h e i r noses stream w i t h blood, and they have not an eye to see w i t h , why they are brave boys, hearts of oak, and b o l d B r i t o n s . And thus much i s w e l l i n p l a y . But l e t them proceed no f u r t h e r . L e t them not i n s u l t the m a g i s t r a t e , nor o b s t r u c t the execution of the laws. S t r u g g l e s a g a i n s t the laws are the c o n v u l s i o n s of e x p i r i n g l i b e r t y . I f ever we are r e b e l s , we s h a l l soon become slaves.1\" On o c c a s i o n m a g i s t r a t e s themselves headed mobs i n an age of inadequate p o l i c i n g . J u s t i c e s organized a t t a c k s on P a p i s t s , D i s s e n t e r s , and Methodists i n defence of the e s t a b l i s h e d church or the s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l order i n the eighteenth 20 century. In times of s e r i o u s d i s t u r b a n c e , the m a g i s t r a t e s f i r s t formed a s s o c i a t i o n s of gentry who c o l l e c t e d with t h e i r s ervants and suppressed the mobs. In doing t h i s , they were i n e f f e c t c a l l i n g out the \"power of the county\" as p r o v i d e d under Common Law. Often the r u r a l l e a d e r s regarded the posse comitatus as s c a r c e l y more than a l o y a l mob. Thus, the Marquis of Rockingham as Lord L i e u t e n a n t of the West R i d i n g urged t h a t l i e u t e n a n t s of counties should not tamely y i e l d up m i l i t i a l i s t s to angry mobs i n 1757, and advocated the c r e a t i o n of a c o u n t e r f o r c e : \" . . . they should arm the townspeople and have a strong mob i n r e a d i n e s s to oppose to ^St. James's C h r o n i c l e , May 12-14, 1768. 20 Thompson, The Making of the E n g l i s h Working C l a s s , p. 74. 152 21 any mob which should dare to at t a c k them.\" The pre f e r e n c e of the gentry and a r i s t o c r a c y f o r \" l o y a l mobs\" r a t h e r than more e f f i c i e n t army u n i t s r e f l e c t e d the t r a d i t i o n a l s u s p i -c i o n of standing armies. Many of the r u l i n g orders saw t h e i r a b i l i t y to r a i s e mobs as an e f f e c t i v e counterbalance to the t h r e a t of m i l i t a r y despotism. Most were w i l l i n g to r i s k the o c c a s i o n a l dangers and inconveniences of too l i t t l e p o l i c e s u p e r v i s i o n of the populace i n order to prevent a r e t u r n to S t u a r t or Cromwellian c e n t r a l i s m or the e s t a b l i s h -ment of a Bourbon s t y l e of despotism. P u b l i c l y , men l i k e the Duke of Newcastle d e c l a r e d t h e i r a f f e c t i o n f o r the mob, and acknowledged t h e i r debt to i t : \"I love a mob. I headed a mob once myself. We owe the Hanoverian s u c c e s s i o n to a 22 mob.\" To such men, the o p p o r t u n i t y to r a i s e a mob was the l a s t b a r r i e r to p r o t e c t p r o p e r t y and p r i v i l e g e . The care of the War O f f i c e always to make c l e a r the s u b o r d i n a t i o n of the troops to c i v i l a u t h o r i t y , however, r e a s s u r e d many who 23 f e a r e d too gre a t dependence on the army. The growing s c a l e of s o c i a l p r o t e s t s i n the l a t e e i g h t e e n t h century f i n -a l l y d i s p e l l e d any l i n g e r i n g doubts about the use of m i l i t a r y 21 Rockingham to Newcastle, September, 1757, Rocking-ham MSS, Rl-105. ^^Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l -l a n y , June 11, 1768. 23 See i n s t r u c t i o n s to army commanders to a s s i s t m a g i s t r a t e s suppress d i s o r d e r s (Marching Orders, W05-54, passim.) 153 f o r c e and encouraged the acceptance of a r e g u l a r p o l i c e 24 system. I f the gentry and a r i s t o c r a c y were somewhat i n d u l -gent towards m e t r o p o l i t a n p o l i t i c a l r i o t e r s b efore the 1760's, and on occasions organized \" b u l l y boys\" to break up ' Methodist open-air meetings i n r u r a l p a r i s h e s , they were more s e n s i t i v e to s o c i a l p r o t e s t s i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . Few landowners remained i n d i f f e r e n t when s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s approached t h e i r e s t a t e s . Unrest i n the c o u n t r y s i d e t h r e a t -ened a l l they p r i z e d most. The d i s t i n c t l y l a b o u r i n g - c l a s s c h a r a c t e r of the p r o v i n c i a l r i o t e r s had l e v e l l i n g i m p l i c a -t i o n s f o r the p r i v i l e g e d landed i n t e r e s t . Might not a mob of l a n d l e s s l a b o u r e r s r e a d i l y t u r n from r e g u l a t i n g markets or d e s t r o y i n g houses of i n d u s t r y to c o r r e c t more profound economic and s o c i a l anomalies? In a century when i n d u s t r i a l workers were i n s c a t t e r e d pockets throughout r u r a l England, gentry r e c o g n i z e d the dangers of c l a s s antagonisms p o l a r i z e d over i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s . However pleased they might have been by the embarrassment of the s o c i a l l y ambitious indus-t r i a l i s t s , m a g i s t r a t e s promptly suppressed r i o t o u s workers. 24 \" I t i s c e r t a i n l y necessary to encourage the C i v i l M a g i s t r a t e s , and support t h i s A u t h o r i t y ; f o r i f that i s not done, we must e i t h e r be governed by a mad, l a w l e s s mob, or the peace be preserved, only by m i l i t a r y f o r c e \" (Newcastle to Rockingham, May 13, 1768, Rockingham MSS, Rl-1052). See a l s o Newcastle to M a n s f i e l d , May 13, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990. 154 While p a t e r n a l i s m dominated the f e e l i n g s of the landowners towards the a g r a r i a n poor, and the m a g i s t r a t e s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e i r a c t i o n s i n times of d i s t r e s s the a t t i -tudes of the landed i n t e r e s t , the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the poor and the landowners always presumed a proper deference of the one towards the other. The gentry found d i s q u i e t e n -i n g such l e v e l l i n g c r i e s as those of the p r o t e s t e r s a g a i n s t the new houses of i n d u s t r y of East A n g l i a i n 1765-66 t h a t 25 the ground was as f r e e f o r them as f o r the m a g i s t r a t e s . Witnesses always noted such unwelcome a s s e r t i o n s and duly r e p o r t e d them to the a u t h o r i t i e s , whether they were u t t e r e d by poor law demonstrators, hunger r i o t e r s , coalheavers, or W i l k i t e mobs. Thus, the r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s were w e l l aware t h a t once d i s t u r b a n c e s developed, r i o t e r s had a most i n c o n -v e n i e n t h a b i t of remembering a v a r i e t y of l o n g - s t a n d i n g g r i e v a n c e s . The u l t i m a t e crime, to the p r i v i l e g e d landed i n t e r e s t s , was to t h r e a t e n the s o c i a l order, f o r they s t i l l s u b s c r i b e d to the creed of t h e i r Tudor ancestors: \" . . . Take but degree away,/Untune the s t r i n g , and hark what d i s -26 cord f o l l o w s . \" S o c i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s are evident, too, i n the response of the middle and upper c l a s s e s to the government's 25 Marching Orders, W05-54, pp. 53-58 and passim. ^ W i l l i a m Shakespeare, T r o i l u s and C r e s s i d a , i n The K i t t r e d g e - P l a y e r s E d i t i o n of the Complete Works of W i l l i a m Shakespeare, ecL by George Lyman K i t t r e d g e (New York: G r o l i e r , 1958), p. 888. 155 han d l i n g of r i o t s . P o l i t i c a l f a c t i o n s made l i t t l e attempt to c r e a t e c a p i t a l from the government's methods of suppress-in g hunger and i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s i n the 1760's. Only George G r e n v i l l e , s t i l l smarting from the l o s s of o f f i c e and the r e j e c t i o n of h i s economic p o l i c y f o r America, sought to cen-27 sure the Chatham-Grafton M i n i s t r y i n November, 1766. Even then, h i s a t t a c k was upon t h e i r l a c k of f o r e s i g h t and the i l l e g a l i t y of t h e i r suspension of g r a i n exports by O r d e r - i n -C o u n c i l , r a t h e r than upon the employment of ex c e s s i v e f o r c e . S i m i l a r l y there was l i t t l e p o l i t i c a l response to the govern-ment's hand l i n g of the s e v e r a l p r e - i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s of the weavers, seamen, coalheavers, and others i n the s p r i n g and summer of 1768. Far d i f f e r e n t was the d e n u n c i a t i o n of m i l i -t a r y b r u t a l i t y which f o l l o w e d the p o l i t i c a l r i o t s centred around the person and causes of John Wilkes, l a t e r i n the same year. The d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u d e of the a u t h o r i t i e s them-s e l v e s towards a g r a r i a n and p r e - i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s on the one hand, and p o l i t i c a l d i s o r d e r s on the other, i s apparent from a study of the sentences given the r e s p e c t i v e sets of r i o t e r s : c a p i t a l punishment and lengthy p r i s o n sentences f o r the one, compared wi t h s h o r t terms of imprisonment or Q Q f i n e s f o r the>other. M i l i t a r y suppression of r i o t s w i t h obvious c l a s s i m p l i c a t i o n s might be severe without p u b l i c 27 Mr. G r e n v i l l e to E a r l Temple, November 18, 1766, G r e n v i l l e Papers, I I I , 341-43. Q Q Rude, Wilkes- and L i b e r t y , Appendices I I I - V . 156 o u t c r y i n the press or Pa r l i a m e n t ; but p o l i t i c a l d i s o r d e r s which crossed c l a s s l i n e s generated b i t t e r c r i t i c i s m of m i l i t a r y b r u t a l i t y . A p parently the a r t i c u l a t e upper and mi d d l i n g s o r t s d i s t i n g u i s h e d between two c a t e g o r i e s of r i o t : r u r a l and urban r i o t s which had obvious c l a s s connotations, and p o l i t i c a l r i o t s which d i d not. (This of course does not deny t h a t e s p e c i a l l y i n the M e t r o p o l i s the d i s t i n c t i o n s between c a t e g o r i e s were o f t e n b l u r r e d . ) In the case of the p r o v i n c i a l hunger and m e t r o p o l i t a n p r e - i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s most gentry could agree w i t h the pamphleteer who noted: D i s t r e s s f u r n i s h e s an apology f o r v i o l e n c e ; the l e v e l -l i n g p r i n c i p l e begins to operate, and the chain i s broken which connects the h i g h e r ranks w i t h the lowest. S u b o r d i n a t i o n i s l o s t , and he [the l a b o u r e r ] regards the l a n d l o r d and farmer as opp r e s s i v e t y r a n t s . 2 9 R u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s were w i t h reason s e n s i t i v e to t h r e a t s of l a r g e - s c a l e d i s o r d e r s i n an age when v i o l e n c e was a normal i n g r e d i e n t of d a i l y l i f e and no e f f e c t i v e p o l i c e f o r c e e x i s t e d . Most cases heard by j u s t i c e s concerned com-mon a s s a u l t . P r e v e n t i o n of g e n e r a l anarchy i n times of d i s -t r e s s r e q u i r e d of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s c o n s i d e r a b l e courage and i n t e l l i g e n t f o r e s i g h t . M a g i s t r a t e s were g r e a t l y concerned about s o c i a l and economic c o n d i t i o n s which c r e a t e d unusual s t r e s s i n r u r a l s o c i e t y . They were o f t e n w i l l i n g to forego t h e i r own immediate economic advantage when the prospect of C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn, p. 56. 157 30 a famine r e q u i r e d i t . M a g i s t r a t e s normally attempted to a n t i c i p a t e s t r e s s - c a u s i n g s i t u a t i o n s . But by the 1760's th e r e was a great d e a l of confu-s i o n and u n c e r t a i n t y among the r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s about the e f f i c a c y of much of the p a t e r n a l l e g i s l a t i o n such as the s t a t u t e s d e a l i n g with wages, a p p r e n t i c e s h i p , and the v a r i e t y of o f f e n c e s by engrossing middlemen and farmers which were designed i n s i m p l e r times to preserve the poor from economic 31 d i s a s t e r . In the f i r s t h a l f of the century food p r i c e s were low and the c o n d i t i o n s of the poor were improving. The r e s t r i c t i o n s on f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g had ceased to be enforced except i n r a r e c r i s i s years. In t h i s p e r i o d middlemen entrenched themselves i n the i n c r e a s i n g l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d economy. Only a f t e r the mid-century d i d a t t e n t i o n centre on t h e i r f u n c t i o n s and p r e s s u r e grow f o r the r e i m p o s i t i o n of c o n t r o l s . But the f e a r of l o s s of revenue to more l i b e r a l , r i v a l markets ensured t h a t c l e r k s of markets continued to i g n o r e the o l d r e s t r i c t i o n s a g a i n s t 32 middlemen-, d e s p i t e t h e i r mounting u n p o p u l a r i t y . A f t e r 1757 m a g i s t r a t e s across the country f o l l o w e d the example of t h e i r b r o t h e r m a g i s t r a t e s i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e 30 Rose, \"Eighteenth Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England.\" 31 See Chapter I I above. 32 R. Wright, Town C l e r k of Warwick, to the R i g h t Honourable, the E a r l of Abercorn, March 9, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 158 and r e f u s e d to f i x the wages of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor. The p r a c t i c e o f \" s e t t i n g the a s s i z e of bread i n r u r a l England was a l s o i n the process of abandonment, although the pace of change was slower than was the case f o r the system of f i x i n g wages, and bread a s s i z e s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n urban centres con-34 t i n u e d i n t o the next century. Depression of i n d u s t r y at a time of high food p r i c e s soon a f t e r the Seven Years' War on the one hand, and the p r a c t i c e of l a i s s e z - f a i r e towards the poor, i n c r e a s e d the numbers thrown onto r e l i e f and s t r a i n e d p a r i s h r e s o u r c e s . In such areas as East A n g l i a the m a g i s t r a t e s sought to r a t i o n a l i z e the system of r e l i e f and reduce costs by C h r i s t o p h e r H i l l , Reformation to I n d u s t r i a l Revo-l u t i o n ; The Making of Modern E n g l i s h S o c i e t y , 1530-1780, I (New York: Random House, 1967), 220. 34 Country m a g i s t r a t e s r a r e l y set the a s s i z e at a l l . I t was assumed r u r a l households baked t h e i r own bread. The Webbs c i t e a correspondent of the London C h r o n i c l e (Decem-ber 24, 1761) who p e t i t i o n e d the House \" i n the name of the many thousand r u r a l housekeepers i n England . . . f o r some law r e s p e c t i n g the bakers i n the country, who are now almost unregulated\" (S. and B. Webb, \"The A s s i z e of Bread\"). The a s s i z e of bread was a \"source of constant f r i c t i o n i n the e i g h t e e n t h century. I t was abandoned i n the m e t r o p o l i s i n 1815 and i n the r e s t of the country i n 1836.\" The c h i e f problems were t h r e e f o l d : (1) Bakers d i d not purchase on the same b a s i s across the country, e.g., London bakers bought f l o u r not corn, other bakers bought corn and had i t ground. P r i c e s of f l o u r d i d not vary d i r e c t l y with those of corn. (2) Corn and f l o u r p r i c e s f l u c t u a t e d , making i t d i f f i c u l t f o r m a g i s t r a t e s to keep the a s s i z e up to date. (3) E r r o r s i n a s s i z e p r i c e s could s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t s u p p l i e s , e.g., too low p r i c e s would discourage imports, say, i n t o London (Observations and Examples to A s s i s t M a g i s t r a t e s i n S e t t i n g the A s s i z e of Bread Made of Wheat under the S t a t u t e of the 31st George I I |anonymous pamphlet, London, 1759J, pp. v i i i et seq.~~ 159 e s t a b l i s h i n g houses of i n d u s t r y to s h e l t e r the poor of sev-e r a l p a r i s h e s . The immediate r e s u l t of attempting to send the poor from t h e i r home p a r i s h e s to o b t a i n i n d o o r r e l i e f was i n c r e a s e d unrest among the i n d i g e n t who claimed the r i g h t to support i n t h e i r n a t i v e p a r i s h e s , and r i o t o u s a t t a c k s on the i n s t i t u t i o n s . D e s p i t e the t r e n d away from p a t e r n a l i s m , m a g i s t r a t e s i n times of severe economic c r i s i s r e v e r t e d to r e g u l a t i o n s a p p r o p r i a t e to a l e s s s o p h i s t i c a t e d economy. They were slow to accept the i n c r e a s i n g l y popular theory t h a t the \"neces-s a r i e s of the poor\" should form merely another system of trade i n which the laws of supply and demand operated, and 35 u n l i m i t e d p r o f i t - t a k i n g was a c c e p t a b l e . The p r i n c i p l e s of the o l d e r \"moral economy\" and the mediaeval concept of the \" j u s t \" p r i c e l i n g e r e d i n the minds of both the m a g i s t r a t e s and the p o o r . 3 ^ The n a t u r a l i n t e r e s t s of t h e i r p r i v i l e g e d s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n d i c t a t e d t h a t g e n t r y - m a g i s t r a t e s be v i g i -l a n t a g a i n s t a l l d i s o r d e r s . The t h r e a t of presentment before the judges of a s s i z e f o r n e g l e c t of t h e i r d u t i e s was 35 S i r John F i e l d i n g to Lord Abercorn, February 5, 1765, Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 36 Thompson, The Making of the E n g l i s h Working C l a s s , p. 68 and passim. R. B. Rose (\"Eighteenth Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England\") r e l a t e s the p r i c e -f i x i n g r i o t to the mediaeval d o c t r i n e of a \" j u s t p r i c e . \" See a l s o E. P. Thompson, \"The Moral Economy of the E n g l i s h Crowd i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century,\" Past and P r e s e n t , No. 50 (February, 1971), pp. 76-136. hardly necessary to persuade them to honour t h e i r o b l i g a -t i o n s f o r r u r a l peace. Fear of revenge at the hands of the r i o t e r s o c c a s i o n a l l y i n h i b i t e d the conduct of the more t i m i d , i s o l a t e d j u s t i c e s , who were acutely aware of t h e i r v u l n e r a b i l i t y to c a t t l e maiming, r i c k - b u r n i n g , and even a s s a u l t s on t h e i r homes and persons. But there were few occasions when r u r a l benches p e t i t i o n e d the Lord Chancellor f o r the removal from the Commission of the Peace of one of t h e i r brothers on the grounds of negligence. S e l f - i n t e r e s t , blended w i t h considerations of s o c i a l p r e s t i g e which accom-panied the appointment to the county bench, was s u f f i c i e n t i n c e n t i v e f o r the overwhelming m a j o r i t y to perform t h e i r d u t i e s adequately where other pressures f a i l e d . The t r a d i t i o n a l a t t i t u d e of gentry-magistrates towards r u r a l d i s o r d e r s , then, may be summarized as one of extreme s e n s i t i v i t y . Because they feared such threats to the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , they acted to avert the conditions 37 l i k e l y to s t i m u l a t e v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s . A s s o c i a t i o n s of gentlemen: provided s u b s i d i z e d g r a i n f o r the poor; p e t i -t i o n e d Parliament f o r c o n t r o l of g r a i n exports, g r a i n d i s -38 t i l l i n g , and s t a r c h making; and prosecuted i n d i v i d u a l s f o r 37 The 1760's saw the l a s t sustained e f f o r t by r u r a l a u t h o r i t i e s to apply the outmoded r e g u l a t i o n s of the Tudor and S t u a r t era i n the face of economic r e a l i t y . 3 8 The d i s t i l l i n g and starch-making i n d u s t r i e s were p a r t i c u l a r l y provocative to the poor i n times of s c a r c i t y because they produced luxury goods at the expense of the food supply. 161 contravention of the s t a t u t e s against engrossing, f o r e s t a l l -i n g and r e g r a t i n g . When, des p i t e t h e i r e f f o r t s , outbreaks occurred, magistrates moved promptly to suppress them, e i t h e r w i t h l o c a l f orces or w i t h r e g u l a r troops. Why, then, d i d the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s i n r u r a l areas go against a l l precedent i n the l a t e summer of 1766, and not only permit di s o r d e r s to develop, but a c t u a l l y encourage the populace to take the law i n t o t h e i r own hands to regulate markets and enforce \" j u s t \" p r i c e s ? I I One p o s s i b l e explanation f o r the equivocal response of the gentry i s that they g e n e r a l l y misunderstood the nature of the food shortage and genuinely b e l i e v e d i t was due to the act i o n s of monopolizing farmers and sp e c u l a t i n g g r a i n d e a l e r s . C e r t a i n l y , t h e i r unsympathetic a t t i t u d e to these i n t e r e s t s was c o n s i s t e n t w i t h p u b l i c antipathy towards l a r g e farmers and middlemen which was very evident a f t e r the mid-century. Both the newspapers and the actions of the government encouraged the view that the developing c r i s i s was due to an a r t i f i c i a l r a t h e r than a n a t u r a l shortage of g r a i n . In J u l y and August, 1766, press estimates of the harvest prospects were mixed, but the ma j o r i t y promised heavy crops, which l a t e r encouraged the popular b e l i e f that the poor were s t a r v i n g i n the midst of plenty. The a c t i o n 162 of the M i n i s t r y i n p r o c l a i m i n g the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g suggested s t r o n g l y t h a t the c u l p r i t s were the l a r g e r farmers and middlemen. Continued heavy shipments of g r a i n to the p o r t s a f t e r the ending of the six-months' embargo on g r a i n exports encour-aged the view t h a t these two i n t e r e s t s were making high pro-f i t s at the c o s t of d r a i n i n g the country of g r a i n . Rumours t r a n s m i t t e d through the market p l a c e s d i s t o r t e d the t r u t h f u r t h e r and caused the poor to panic at the prospect of an o u t r i g h t famine. In such circumstances, the gentry must have found i t easy to a s s o c i a t e themselves w i t h the poor i n t h e i r resentment of the l a r g e r farmers and middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e . But country gentlemen were not as e a s i l y m i s l e d about the t r u e q u a l i t y of the growing crops as were the \"spruce Londoners\" who r e p o r t e d on t h e i r journeys through the c o u n t r y s i d e and estimated harvest y i e l d s without, c r i t i c s s a i d , being able to d i s t i n g u i s h between wheat and 39 b a r l e y . Country-bred landowners were q u i t e able to recog-n i z e t h a t the l a r g e r ears of growing corn were the i n e v i t -able r e s u l t of a hot August f o l l o w i n g hard upon a very wet, e a r l y growing season, and t h a t they promised a l i g h t - w e i g h t , coarse g r a i n i n a year when a b e t t e r than average crop was e s s e n t i a l i f a food c r i s i s was to be averted. Almost 3 9 o yGentleman's Magazine, XXVIII (1758), 565. 163 c e r t a i n l y , even those gentry l i v i n g o u t s i d e the heavy corn-growing areas of Southern England l e a r n e d of the t r u e pros-pects of the h a r v e s t through the normal channels of communi-c a t i o n of t h e i r c l a s s : the race meeting, the hunt b a l l , or some other county f u n c t i o n . Such accurate i n f o r m a t i o n would e v e n t u a l l y have reached even the l e s s e r p a r i s h gentry. I t i s u n l i k e l y t h a t many of the gentry i n September, 1766 thought t h a t the food shortage was a r t i f i c i a l . Probably many ma g i s t r a t e s r e a l i z e d the danger that some unscrupulous businessmen might p r o f i t from a n a t u r a l shortage and i n the process aggravate the e x i s t i n g c r i s i s , and they, t h e r e f o r e , attempted to enforce r i g o r o u s l y the p r a c t i c a l l y defunct anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s . But such moderate and p r o v i d e n t a c t i o n s f e l l f a r s h o r t of the p a r t i s a n s h i p most of the county l e a d e r s d i s p l a y e d towards the l a r g e farmers and middlemen. A more c o n v i n c i n g e x p l a n a t i o n must be sought beyond the c i r -cumstances of the r i o t s themselves. I t r e c o g n i z e s not only the s o c i a l t e n s i o n s w i t h i n the landed i n t e r e s t i t s e l f , but the e f f e c t on the r u r a l l e a d e r s of an outburst of c l a s s con-f l i c t which occ u r r e d i n 1756-57. Some knowledge of the experiences of the gentry-m a g i s t r a t e s l e s s than a decade e a r l i e r , during another per-i o d of popular unrest, i s e s s e n t i a l to the understanding of t h e i r a c t i o n s i n 1766. S e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s centred around the implementation of a new M i l i t i a Act i n 1757. Disturbances were most dangerous i n the e a s t e r n h a l f of England, 164 p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the v i c i n i t y of the Humber. Although the most d i s a f f e c t e d r e g i o n i n 1757, the East R i d i n g , was calm i n 1766, s e v e r a l counties such as L i n c o l n s h i r e , Nottingham-s h i r e , D e r b y s h i r e , H e r t f o r d s h i r e , Northamptonshire, and 40 N o r f o l k experienced s e r i o u s r i o t s i n both years. Even i n c o u n t i e s where the farmers and t h e i r l a b o u r e r s d i d not v i o -l e n t l y p r o t e s t the M i l i t i a Act, such as G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , the r u r a l l e a d e r s were w e l l aware of the t h r e a t of s e r i o u s d i s -turbances and took pains to a d v e r t i s e i n l o c a l newspapers to q u i e t e n popular resentment: \"The Good People of England\" had misunderstood the M i l i t i a Act; none were to be f o r c e d to t r a v e l more than s i x miles f o r e x e r c i s e ; none were to be sent out of the county u n l e s s t h e r e was imminent danger of i n v a s i o n or open r e b e l l i o n ; none would go out of the kingdom or serve l o n g e r than three years, during which time they would be exempt from s t a t u t e work, s e r v i c e as peace o f f i c e r s or i n the army; a f t e r a c t u a l s e r v i c e they were to be e n t i t l e d to s e t up i n t r a d e . 4 1 The G l o u c e s t e r Journal, quoted from an \"Admonition to the M i l i t i a m e n of N o r f o l k \" which promised t h a t p e r s o n a l hardships caused by m i l i t i a s e r v i c e would be 42 r e l i e v e d by the j u s t i c e s of the peace. 40 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, pp. 291-94. 4 l G l o u c e s t e r J o u r n a l , September 6, 1757. 42 I b i d . , November 8, 1757. 165 The major concern of the poor i n 1757 was enforced s e r v i c e abroad. Although the m i l i t i a was t r a d i t i o n a l l y a t e r r i t o r i a l defence f o r c e , the a u t h o r i t i e s had f o r c e d the Somerset and Dorset b a t t a l i o n s to embark f o r America i n the 43 previous year. T h i s a c t i o n had caused widespread r e s e n t -ment among the poor, and they a n t i c i p a t e d an ext e n s i o n of compulsory r e c r u i t m e n t f o r overseas s e r v i c e i n 1757 as a r e s u l t of the new M i l i t i a A c t . A common cry of the r i o t e r s was \" b e t t e r to be hanged at home than s c a l p e d i n America.\" Less emotional but s c a r c e l y l e s s s e r i o u s o b j e c t i o n s concerned the pay of m i l i t i a m e n on a c t i v e s e r v i c e , and the support of t h e i r dependents. The h o s t i l i t y of the poor was a l l the more menacing to the r u l i n g c l a s s e s when i t was com-plemented by m i d d l e - c l a s s anger at growing p a r i s h expendi-t u r e , the weight of which f e l l d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y on the shoulders of the r u r a l m i d d l i n g s o r t : \"Which of you b u n t i n -a r s ' d coated f e l l o w s w i l l m a i n t a i n h i s [labourer's.] f a m i l y ? \" J . R. Western, the h i s t o r i a n of the eig h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y Eng-l i s h m i l i t i a , notes t h a t one l e t t e r of p r o t e s t to the L i n c o l n s h i r e m a g i s t r a t e s reads l i k e a \" m i d d l e - c l a s s mani-f e s t o \" : I f the J u s t - a s s e s and the other s t a r t up o f f i c e r s t h a t buys a commission f o r a t r i f l e and s e l l s h i s Nation to make h i s f o r t u n e when he comes abroad, and throws thou-sands of poor men's l i v e s away about i t , such men as those sho'd behave w e l l to t h e i r tenants at home. Then Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century, p. 298. 166 they would have the countreys g o o d w i l l , f o r ' t i s the farmers t h a t maintains both the poor and such as they too . . . .44 The new M i l i t i a A c t angered the farmers because i t t h r e a t -ened h e a v i e r p a r i s h r a t e s at a time when high food p r i c e s i n c r e a s e d the number of poor on r e l i e f and farm income was 45 down without any corresponding r e d u c t i o n i n r e n t s . In 1757 the new M i l i t i a Act s t i r r e d b i t t e r c l a s s f e e l i n g s i n the c o u n t r y s i d e . Mobs of l a b o u r e r s l e d by farmers a t t a c k e d both gentry and peers as they sought to destro y the m i l i t i a l i s t s . At Buckrose, i n the East R i d i n g of Y o r k s h i r e , a l a r g e body of farmers and country people \"out of f o r t y townships i n the Wapentake of Buckrose . . . arm'd wi t h guns, scythes, and clubs rose on account of the m i l i t i a a c t \" which they claimed \"was a great hardship upon the country, by compelling the poorer s o r t of people to con-t r i b u t e e q u a l l y w i t h the r i c h . . . .\"46 Another t y p i c a l i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d at M a n s f i e l d , Nottinghamshire, where a mob of f i v e hundred took l i s t s from an assembly of gentlemen and \"none of the gentlemen . . . escaped without r e c e i v i n g marks 47 of t h e i r resentment.\" One mob broke Lord Vere B e r t i e ' s windows and planned to go to the L i n c o l n races to attack the 4 4 I b i d . , p. 300. 4 5 I b i d . , p. 299. 4 6Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII (1757), 431. 47 G l o u c e s t e r J o u r n a l , September 20, 1757. 167 n o b i l i t y , whom they blamed f o r the M i l i t i a A c t . A s i m i l a r 48 i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d at Northampton. The unusual combination of farmers and a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r e r s a g a i n s t the landed i n t e r e s t presented a dangerous s o c i a l t h r e a t to the p r i v i -l e g e d l e a d e r s of r u r a l s o c i e t y i n 1757. Dark murmurings t h a t the gentry had enjoyed t h e i r broad acres f o r too long i n d i c a t e d the tendency of r i o t s p r e c i p i t a t e d by s p e c i f i c g rievances to expand to i n c l u d e l a r g e r s o c i a l i s s u e s . Iso-' l a t e d on t h e i r country e s t a t e s , the landowners f e l t the hot brea t h of s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n . Food s c a r c i t y and hig h p r i c e s c r e a t e d a background of d i s c o n t e n t a g a i n s t which the r i o t s over the M i l i t i a A c t occurre d . R i o t s , p r e c i p i t a t e d by the f o r m u l a t i o n of l i s t s of men to serve i n the m i l i t i a , o f t e n s p i l l e d over i n t o attempts to r e g u l a t e markets by f o r c e . The a u t h o r i t i e s i n Y o r k s h i r e proposed r e s t r i c t i o n s on g r a i n exports to p l a c a t e 4 9 mobs p r o t e s t i n g the M i l i t i a A c t . The connection of m i l i -t i a and food r i o t s i n 1757 had important i m p l i c a t i o n s l e s s than a decade l a t e r . Sporadic r i o t s a g a i n s t the m i l i t i a r e g u l a t i o n s continued i n t o the 1760's, n o t a b l y i n Bucking-50 hamshire and Northumberland. I t i s reasonable to suppose 4 8Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII (1757), 430. . 4 9 A d d . MSS, 32875, f o l s . 285-86, 411. Western c i t e s v a r i o u s evidence to support connection of food and m i l i t i a r i o t s i n 1757 (Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h -t e e n t h Century, p. 300). 5 Q C a I e n d a r of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69), No. 1230, 168 t h a t i n 1766, when p r o t e s t s a g a i n s t high food p r i c e s began once more, the landed i n t e r e s t f e a r e d a resumption of events surrounding the m i l i t i a r i o t s of 1756-57. When the hunger r i o t s broke out i n September, 1766, the gentry were determined to avoid the s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n i n the f a c e of a h o s t i l e combination of farmers and l a b o u r e r s t h a t had t e r r i f i e d them a decade e a r l i e r . They now c u l t i -vated t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h the poor a g a i n s t the corn d e a l e r and l a r g e farmers. They mi s t a k e n l y b e l i e v e d , a g a i n s t a l l t h e i r experience, t h a t d i s o r d e r s could be l i m i t e d to m i l d measures to r e g u l a t e markets and enforce \" j u s t \" p r i c e s . The r u l i n g c l a s s e s were d i v i d e d . The l e s s e r gentry w i t h t h e i r s m a l l e r , l e s s d i v e r s i f i e d h o l d i n g s f e l t no common cause with the g r e a t landowners, who as L o r d s - L i e u t e n a n t r e p r e s e n t e d the c e n t r a l government. They re s e n t e d the f a i l -i n gs of the n a t i o n a l government to provide s t a b l e economic and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s f a v o u r a b l e to the s o c i a l order. Such f e e l i n g s r e i n f o r c e d the u s u a l p a r o c h i a l s u s p i c i o n s of m e t r o p o l i t a n i n t e r f e r e n c e . In the 1760's the p a r i s h gentry f e l t themselves i n a r e e l i n g world. The f i x i n g of wages by t r a d i t i o n a l methods was no l o n g e r operable. F o l l o w i n g s e r i -ous d i s t u r b a n c e s among West Country weavers i n 1756-57, the m a g i s t r a t e s of Somerset and W i l t s h i r e r e f u s e d to set the wage a s s i z e , and t h e r e a f t e r other m a g i s t r a t e s f o l l o w e d 169 51 s u i t . Machinery f o r the e s t a b l i s h i n g of p r i c e t h r e s h o l d s f o r corn bounty payments and the p r i c e s of bread was a f a i l -52 ure. The e f f e c t s of war s e r v i c e were evident i n the i n c r e a s e d taxes and d i s c o n t e n t s of the veterans of the Seven Years' War. In t h i s world of c o n f u s i o n , many r u r a l magis-t r a t e s b l i n d l y clung to o l d nostrums l i k e the anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s of Tudor and S t u a r t times. When these not only f a i l e d , but aggravated the very c r i s i s they were supposed to a l l e v i a t e , f o r a c r i t i c a l p e r i o d the r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s a b d i -cated a u t h o r i t y to the mob. Perhaps at no time i n the century, even i n the e a r l y years when, according to the Marquis of Rockingham, probably more than h a l f of the p o p u l a t i o n were J a c o b i t e i n sympathy, 53 was there g r e a t e r danger of gen e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n . Because of the d i s u n i t y of the r u l i n g c l a s s e s and t h e i r i s o l a t i o n from important segments of the i n d u s t r i a l , a g r i c u l t u r a l , and commercial middle c l a s s e s , the danger to the s o c i a l order f o r a b r i e f p e r i o d was perhaps g r e a t e r than i n the prolonged p e r i o d of C h a r t i s t and L u d d i t e d i s t u r b a n c e s of the next cen-t u r y . The absence of an e f f e c t i v e c i v i l p o l i c e and r a p i d communications compounded the dangers of i n s u r r e c t i o n i n the eighteen t h century. The widespread c h a r a c t e r of the 51 De L. Mann, \" T e x t i l e I n d u s t r i e s S i n c e 1550.\" 5 2 S . and B. Webb, \"The A s s i z e of Bread.\" Rockingham to Newcastle, May 17, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990, f o l s . 83-86. 170 a g r a r i a n r i o t s of 1766 i n the most populous b e l t of the Eng-l i s h c o u n t r y s i d e posed problems f o r the d i v i d e d a u t h o r i t i e s t h a t n e a r l y proved insurmountable. Because they d i r e c t e d the s o c i a l resentment of the poor towards the apparent authors of an a r t i f i c i a l shortage of p r o v i s i o n s - - f o o d j o b b e r s , corn f a c t o r s , bakers, and l a r g e farmers--the gentry must c a r r y a major share of the r e s p o n s i -b i l i t y f o r the spread of s e r i o u s hunger r i o t s i n the l a t e summer and autumn of 1766. T h e i r technique of d i v e r t i n g a t t e n t i o n from themselves was s u c c e s s f u l and there are no records of a t t a c k s on gentry or peers by hunger r i o t e r s i n 1766-67. The p o s s i b i l i t y of such a t t a c k s i s apparent i n the t h r e a t s c a r r i e d i n a l e t t e r forwarded to Lord Shelburne: The c o n t i n u a l dearness of p r o v i s i o n s o b l i d g e s us to l a y some p r o p o s a l before you:- On the f i r s t assembly of the Mobb the worthy g e n t n of t h i s county met and d e c l a r e d i n p u b l i c they would use some means to o b l i d g e the farmers to reduce the high p r i c e of g r a i n & we f i n d a l l i s dropt and nothing done f o r us our extreem n e c e s s i t y d e s i r e s y o u l p l e a s e to r e f e r to the c l o t h i e r s i n & about D u r s l e y and Painswick t h i s serves to advise i t i s agreed between a set of men th a t may be depended on who have taken a l i s t of the most s u b s t a n t i a l farmer tenants belonging to you and most Gentlemen of \u00E2\u0080\u00A2 the county unless the p r i c e s are reduced i immediately we are determined and c e r -t a i n l y w i l l take revenge by f i r i n g t h e i r houses, barns, stacks of corn etc i f you are w i l l i n g to prevent t h i s d r e a d f u l experiment l a y some i n j u n c t i o n on your tenants or by a l l t h a t s good i t s h a l l be put i n t o execution.^4 On other occasions e a r l i e r i n the century i t was not uncom-mon f o r hunger r i o t e r s to a t t a c k gentry. T h i s was the case, S t a t e Papers, SP 37/6, f o l . 7/15. 171 55 fox example, at Newcastle i n J u l y , 1740. P a r a d o x i c a l l y , at the very time the a c t i o n s of the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s stimu-l a t e d widespread v i o l e n c e which e v e n t u a l l y appeared to t h r e a t e n the s o c i a l order, they ensured t h a t a more danger-ous c o a l i t i o n of the r u r a l middlemen and m i d d l e - c l a s s farmer w i t h the l o w e r - c l a s s l a b o u r e r s a g a i n s t the landed and i n d u s -t r i a l i n t e r e s t s could not occur. The landed i n t e r e s t acted i n t h i s f a s h i o n more from i n s t i n c t s of s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i o n than from any c o o l l y - c o n c e i v e d p l a n . They t e m p o r a r i l y f o r -got t h e i r customary concerns f o r the dangers i n h e r e n t i n any r u r a l d i s o r d e r , u n t i l they suddenly awoke to the extent of the r i o t s , and t e r r o r at the prospect of revenge- at the hands of the d i s p o s s e s s e d drove them to co-operate w i t h the M i n i s t r y , the l a r g e a r i s t o c r a t i c landowners, the r u r a l mid-d l e c l a s s e s , and the army to r e s t o r e order. I l l To a c o n s i d e r a b l e degree the a c t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s of the M i n i s t r y i n August and September, 1766 a f f e c t e d the c h a r a c t e r of the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s ' responses to the hunger r i o t s . The government's f a i l u r e to renew the embargo on the export of g r a i n s when i t e x p i r e d on August 26 or to permit the continued i m p o r t a t i o n of d u t y - f r e e American g r a i n aggra-vated the food c r i s i s , and the proclamation of the o l d Tudor 'Gentleman's Magazine, X (1740), 355. 172 and S t u a r t s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g p r o v i d e d the m a g i s t r a t e s and the poor w i t h cred-i b l e scapegoats f o r the food c r i s i s . The r e i m p o s i t i o n of the export embargo on September 26 came too l a t e to a v e r t s e r i o u s d i s t u r b a n c e s . At the same time as t h e i r a c t i o n of p r o c l a i m i n g the o l d s t a t u t e s provoked r i o t o u s a t t a c k s on middlemen and l a r g e g r a i n farmers, who were suspected of c o n s p i r i n g to denude the country of g r a i n to make l a r g e pro-f i t s , the M i n i s t r y n e g l e c t e d to take elementary p r e c a u t i o n s to crush d i s o r d e r s . By o m i t t i n g to p l a c e the army i n Southern England on a l e r t , the War O f f i c e l e f t the most e f f e c t i v e u n i t s of r i o t c o n t r o l , the c a v a l r y , with t h e i r horses at grass i n d i s t a n t p a s t u r e s . Robbed of t h e i r m a n o e u v r a b i l i t y , the c a v a l r y f r e q u e n t l y i n the f i r s t three weeks of r i o t i n g had to march dismounted through the hot, dusty lanes to the d i s a f f e c t e d areas, a circumstance not 56 conducive to the good-humoured d i s p e r s a l of r i o t e r s . The M i n i s t r y ' s f a i l u r e to g i v e the r u r a l governing c l a s s e s l e a d e r s h i p l e f t the f o r c e s of order weak and confused. Gen-t r y and m a g i s t r a t e s f o r a w h i l e openly connived at the law-l e s s acts of the mobs; the c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s took over three weeks to absorb the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the mounting v i o -l e n c e ; and the delay i n p r e s e r v i n g the stocks of food and t a k i n g r e s o l u t e a c t i o n a g a i n s t the r i o t e r s ensured t h a t when the i n e v i t a b l e s u p p r e s s i o n f o l l o w e d i t would be severe. Marching Orders, W05-54, p. 305 and passim. 173 M i n i s t e r i a l a c t i o n s and a t t i t u d e s to the a g r a r i a n d i s o r d e r s must be examined i n the l i g h t of c e r t a i n economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l problems, some of which were i n h e r i t e d from e a r l i e r governments. The Chatham M i n i s t r y had b a r e l y entered upon i t s \"new f r e e h o l d \" i n J u l y , 1766 when i t f a c e d a food c r i s i s . As noted i n Chapter I above, the l a t e s t of s e v e r a l severe f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s , which had d i s t r e s s e d the poor s i n c e the end of the Seven Years' War, touched o f f s c a t t e r e d food r i o t s i n B e r k s h i r e and the West Country. Prolonged bad weather and the expec-t a t i o n of renewed exports of g r a i n caused a panic f e a r of o u t r i g h t famine to sweep through the markets and b r i n g the poor to demonstrate t h e i r concern. The government gained a r e s p i t e w i t h the ending of the J u l y r a i n s . A dry, sunny August r a i s e d the hopes of the populace f o r a good ha r v e s t and lower food p r i c e s f o l l o w e d . In the summer of 1765, Parl i a m e n t had passed l e g i s -l a t i o n e n a b l i n g the P r i v y C o u n c i l to suspend g r a i n shipments 57 abroad should an emergency a r i s e during the summer r e c e s s . N e i t h e r the Chatham M i n i s t r y nor the Rockingham M i n i s t r y p r o v i d e d f o r such e x i g e n c i e s i n 1766. In p a r t t h i s omission was due to co n f u s i o n about the d u r a t i o n of the emergency 5 George I I I , cap. 32. 174 58 powers granted to the C o u n c i l by P a r l i a m e n t i n 1765. But a more important reason seems to have been a f a i l u r e to a n t i c i p a t e the food c r i s i s which occurred i n September, 1766. To assume t h a t any M i n i s t r y i n the 1760's had the means to c o l l e c t and c o r r e l a t e a l l the e s s e n t i a l economic i n f o r m a t i o n necessary to determine the t r u e nature of the food c r i s i s i n September, 1766 would be unreasonable. In f a c t the i n f o r m a t i o n r e a c h i n g London was u s u a l l y fragmen-t a r y , c o n t r a d i c t o r y , and out of date. Land communications were s t i l l poor, and the bureaucracy's a b i l i t y to c o l l e c t and i n t e r p r e t s t a t i s t i c s was low. Q u a n t i t i e s of g r a i n exported i n a given p e r i o d , f o r example, were not known u n t i l the customs o f f i c e r s i n London and the outports pro-v i d e d the f i g u r e s . No s y s t e m a t i c method of compiling t a b l e s of p r i c e s i n the v a r i o u s r u r a l markets was i n f o r c e , although 59 some j o u r n a l s attempted such a p r o j e c t without success. Observers exaggerated the extent of d i s t u r b a n c e s . M i n i s t e r s l i k e Shelburne, B a r r i n g t o n , and Jenkinson had t h e i r own sources of i n f o r m a t i o n , but these were only incomplete, i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c surveys of c o n d i t i o n s i n d i f f e r e n t areas of 58 H a r c o u r t to Jenkinson, September 16, 1766, Add. MSS, 38340. See a l s o Hardwicke to Rockingham, December 6, 1766, Rockingham MSS, Rl-722; Lord Shelburne to the King, September 2, 1766, George I I I , King of Great B r i t a i n , 1738-1820: The Correspondence of King George the T h i r d , ed. by S i r John W i l l i a m F o r t e s c u e , V o l . I: 1760-67 ( 1 s t ed., new impression; London: Cass, 1967), No. 384, p. 391. 59 Notably the Gentleman's Magazine. 175 the c o u n t r y s i d e . Newspaper r e p o r t s were even l e s s h e l p f u l . They were i n a c c u r a t e l y based on the r e p o r t s of v o l u n t e e r correspondents, who drew h e a v i l y upon rumour. The govern-ment fa c e d a populace even more dependent upon market rumours than they were themselves. In such circumstances i t behooved the M i n i s t r y to avoid hasty measures which might only aggra-vate e x i s t i n g problems. While the estimates of the harvest prospects were c o n t r a d i c t o r y , the optimism of the m a j o r i t y supported the government i n t a k i n g no s p e c i a l emergency measures during l a t e J u l y and August. Buckinghamshire, B e d f o r d s h i r e , O x f o r d s h i r e , Warwickshire, S t a f f o r d s h i r e , and W o r c e s t e r s h i r e a l l looked f o r the f i n e s t crops of hay and corn ever known, d e s p i t e the heavy r a i n s . H u n t i n g d o n s h i r e expected a r e c o r d h a r v e s t , although i t would be delayed owing to the wet s e a s o n . ^ Dulwich, Camberwell, and Peckham r e p o r t e d a \" f a i r and more p l e n t i f u l crop never known.\" One observer claimed the f i n e s t crops ever remembered i n the western 6 3 c o u n t i e s , although harvest hands were s h o r t . As l a t e as September 8, a gentleman l a t e l y r e t u r n e d from the seven ^ P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 11, 1766. 6 1 I b i d . , J u l y 30, 1766. 6 2 I b i d . , August 9, 1766. 6 3 I b i d . , August 18, 1766. 176 western counties confirmed the e x c e l l e n c e of the crops t h e r e . 6 4 Wrong assessments of the crops were p a r t l y due to an ignorance of farming of London observers, but the tendency towards o p t i m i s t i c p r e d i c t i o n was almost i n h e r e n t i n the s p e c u l a t i v e c h a r a c t e r of the corn t r a d e . Rumours of s h o r t -ages or abundance g r e a t l y a f f e c t e d p r i c e s . Newspapers tended to a n t i c i p a t e good crops most f r e q u e n t l y out of a conscious or unconscious d e s i r e to maintain p r i c e s t a b i l i t y . Some favoured d i s t r i c t s , however, d i d enjoy good harvests where the e a r l y f r o s t and summer r a i n s had not struck; but f r e q u e n t l y correspondents re p r e s e n t e d these as t y p i c a l of whole c o u n t i e s . One observer, f o r example, wrote t h a t crops were heavy i n High S u f f o l k , although on an average crops i n 6 5 S u f f o l k proved d i s a p p o i n t i n g . Taken at t h e i r f a c e v a l u e , such press r e p o r t s c o u l d w e l l have m i s l e d the M i n i s t r y i n t o t h i n k i n g t h a t the c r i s i s might ease when the harvest ended. Yet elsewhere i n the p r e s s , warnings appeared. Correspondents r e p o r t e d severe f l o o d damage to crops and stock i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , Oxford-66 s h i r e , W o r c e s t e r s h i r e , B e r k s h i r e , W i l t s h i r e , and elsewhere. 64 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 8, 1766. 65 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 27, 1766. 66 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 26 and August 29, 1766. P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 30, August 4, and August 12, 1766. 177 E v i d e n t l y , a normal harvest would not be s u f f i c i e n t to r e p l e n i s h o l d stocks almost exhausted by the e a r l y summer; an e x t r a o r d i n a r y heavy crop was e s s e n t i a l to avert widespread d i s t r e s s . The demands f o r the government to renew the embargo on g r a i n exports became more s t r i d e n t during August. The net e f f e c t of the press was to confuse the p i c -ture e n t i r e l y . One could s u b s t a n t i a t e any opinion on the harvest prospects from the \" f a c t s \" that the papers published i n August, 1766. More important than, t h i s confusion, the press d i s t o r t e d the true character of the food shortage, a f t e r the p r i c e s rose s t e e p l y i n September. Having a n t i c i -pated bumper harvests p u b l i c l y , the p u b l i s h e r s l a t e r , when faced w i t h a shortage of p r o v i s i o n s , had to choose between admitting t h e i r e r r o r s or d e c l a r i n g the shortage was a r t i f i -c i a l r a t h e r than n a t u r a l . The h i n t s they conveyed to the populace encouraged the r i o t o u s attacks on the middlemen and l a r g e farmers. The newspapers' conclusions t h a t the short-age was a r t i f i c i a l c e r t a i n l y emboldened the M i n i s t r y to move against the three deadly s i n s of f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g to which l a r g e r farmers and dealers i n p r o v i -sions were prone. Even had the prospect of a food c r i s i s appeared cer-t a i n i n e a r l y August, i t i s d o u b t f u l i f the leaders of the new M i n i s t r y could have spared i t much thought. Their pre-occupation was w i t h the question of survival--how to widen t h e i r narrow power base i n the Commons by persuading one or 178 more of the f a c t i o n s to j o i n them d e s p i t e Chatham's stubborn r e f u s a l to make p o l i t i c a l b a r g a i n s . The v u l n e r a b i l i t y of the new M i n i s t r y to pressure groups p a r t l y e x p l a i n s t h e i r f a i l u r e to renew the export embargo on g r a i n when i t e x p i r e d on August 26. With reason, they b e l i e v e d t h a t too e a r l y an i n t e r v e n t i o n i n the g r a i n trade would have antagonized the independent gentry i n the House. Although a l l landowners d i d not b e n e f i t e q u a l l y from the export bounty system, indeed many s u f f e r e d because w h i l e they grew l i t t l e corn they w e r e ' s u b s i d i z i n g those who d i d through taxes, many regarded the Corn Laws as symbolic of the supremacy of the landed i n t e r e s t , and t h e r e f o r e not to be meddled wi t h l i g h t l y . Some u n q u e s t i o n i n g l y accepted the Corn Laws as a necessary f e a t u r e of the m e r c a n t i l e system. While the Min-i s t r y themselves were great landowners and not i n d i f f e r e n t to the i n t e r e s t s of t h e i r c l a s s , they had a wider view of 68 the needs of the e n t i r e n a t i o n . Thus, they were w i l l i n g t o forego t h e i r own i n t e r e s t s f o r the g r e a t e r good i n times of c r i s i s . But p o l i t i c a l l y i t was always expedient t h a t embargoes on g r a i n exports be seen as a l a s t r e s o r t . 67 Brooke, The Chatham A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 1766-1768, p. 4 et seq. 6 8 R o s e agrees w i t h D. G. Barnes ( H i s t o r y of the Eng-l i s h Corn Laws, p. 16) th a t the government was s e n s i t i v e to p u b l i c o p i n i o n expressed i n g r a i n r i o t s , which he b e l i e v e s were i n s t r u m e n t a l i n reducing the e f f e c t of the h i g h l y pro-t e c t i o n i s t Corn Laws (Rose, \" E i g h t e e n t h Century P r i c e R i o t s and P u b l i c P o l i c y i n England\"). 179 Pelham, Newcastle, and West at v a r i o u s times r e f l e c t e d the a t t i t u d e s of most landowners towards export embargoes: they should always be r e l u c t a n t l y imposed and of s h o r t dura-69 t i o n . I t was necessary i n e a r l y September, 1766 to post-pone a c t i o n to stop the d r a i n i n g of the country's g r a i n so t h a t a f a m i l i a r - procedure c o u l d be f o l l o w e d , the f i r s t step of which was to p r o c l a i m the enforcement of the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , e n grossing, and r e g r a t i n g . There were other p r e s s i n g reasons why the government delayed the renewal of the embargo on g r a i n exports. N a t i o n a l g r a i n p o l i c i e s must be set i n the wider context of the country's t o t a l t r a d e . During and a f t e r the Seven Years' War, there had been o c c u r r i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t realignment of t r a d e . Normal commercial r e l a t i o n s with America had resumed w i t h the r e p e a l of the Stamp. Act i n March, 1766, but the concern f o r trade expansion t h a t the non-importation p o l i -c i e s of the c o l o n i s t s had brought to the f o r e continued. That the E n g l i s h p o p u l a t i o n had o u t s t r i p p e d the n a t i o n ' s a b i l i t y to produce food except i n e x t r a o r d i n a r y seasons was not yet apparent, and many Englishmen continued to t h i n k of t h e i r country as the granary of Europe. With the urgent demands of f a m i n e - s t r i c k e n Europe coming hard upon the heels of a six-months' embargo on the export of g r a i n s , the U ' J . H a r r i s to Hardwicke, October 3, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 295. Newcastle to Mr. White, November 17, 1766, Add. MSS, 32977, f o l s . 403-404. 180 government was s e r i o u s l y concerned about l o s i n g t r a d i t i o n a l markets. Because a h e a l t h y a g r i c u l t u r e b u i l t upon the corn trade w i t h Europe was the cornerstone of the economy, i n the view of many of the r u l i n g c l a s s , a delay i n reimposing the embargo on g r a i n exports was a t t r a c t i v e to the M i n i s t r y . During the p e r i o d of one month, g r a i n l e f t England at a r a p i d r a t e and compounded the problems of an e x i s t i n g s h o r t -age (between, t h a t i s , August 26 and September 26). L e g a l l y , the M i n i s t r y was on unsure f o o t i n g when i t f i n a l l y suspended g r a i n exports by a proclamation of the 70 P r i v y C o u n c i l . As Horace Walpole noted, such e x t r a -71 P a r l i a m e n t a r y a c t i o n was not known before i n peace-time. That t h i s was a cause of concern to the M i n i s t e r s i s evident from t h e i r correspondence. Yet i t i s not p o s s i b l e to e x p l a i n the government's r e l u c t a n c e to reimpose the embargo on g r a i n exports s o l e l y by r e f e r e n c e to a p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h l e g a l i t y . Had they wished, the.government could have c a l l e d P a r l i a m e n t t o g e t h e r e a r l y i n September when the f i r s t d i s -orders occurred, or at l e a s t p e r m i t t e d i t to meet on Septem-ber 10, as o r i g i n a l l y planned. In f a c t they postponed the 72 s e s s i o n f o r sixty-two days. Walpole e x p l a i n e d t h e i r 70 The King to Shelburne, September 23, 1766, C o r r e -spondence of King George the T h i r d , ed. by Fortescue, p. 397, 71 H. Walpole to S i r Horace Mann, September 25, 1766, Walpole's L e t t e r s , ' e d . by Toynbee, V I I , 42. 72 E. Langton to Hardwicke, November 11, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o l s . 330-31. 181 r e l u c t a n c e to convene the House by suggesting t h a t the coun-t r y would have been d r a i n e d of g r a i n i n the i n t e r v a l between the i s s u i n g of the w r i t s and the passage of l e g i s l a t i o n to cut o f f g r a i n exports by.the p r o f i t - h u n g r y middlemen and 73 l a r g e farmers. But the r a t e of export was a l r e a d y so h i g h t h a t any i n c r e a s e i n such circumstances would have been mar-g i n a l . A more c r e d i b l e reason i s t h a t the n a t u r a l l e a d e r s of s o c i e t y i n r u r a l England were needed most on t h e i r e s t a t e s i n times of general d i s o r d e r . A f u r t h e r c o n s i d e r -a t i o n was t h a t when P a r l i a m e n t was i n s e s s i o n during times of d i s t r e s s , Westminster became the focus of p r o t e s t f o r the London populace. Probably, too, the M i n i s t r y welcomed a r e s p i t e to organize a wider base of P a r l i a m e n t a r y support. More immediate i n i t s impact than the delay i n reim-posing the embargo on g r a i n exports was the P r i v y C o u n c i l ' s proclamation of the enforcement of the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g on September 10. T h i s a c t i o n achieved l i t t l e more than a f o c u s s i n g of p u b l i c a t t e n t i o n upon a popular scapegoat, the middleman. The f a i l u r e of the government to c o n t r o l the a c t i v i t i e s of the middlemen whom they p u b l i c l y blamed f o r the s c a r c i t y of food was an open i n v i t a t i o n to the poor to take matters i n t o t h e i r own hands and r e g u l a t e markets f o r themselves. Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of King George the T h i r d , p. 263. 182 More s i g n i f i c a n t l y , the a c t i o n s of the M i n i s t r y encouraged the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s i n the important r o l e they p l a y e d i n the d i s o r d e r s . Gentry-landowners and i n d u s t r i a l -i s t s found i t convenient to accept the broad h i n t o f f e r e d by the c e n t r a l government. M a g i s t r a t e s at f i r s t took an i n d u l -gent view of the r i o t o u s behaviour of the poor, and even d i s c r e t e l y encouraged i t . They n e g l e c t e d to c a l l f o r the m i l i t a r y a s s i s t a n c e that B a r r i n g t o n at the War O f f i c e was so anxious to p r o v i d e u n t i l they suddenly became aware of the extent of the d i s a f f e c t i o n . A t o r r e n t of appeals from i s o -l a t e d e s t a t e s and market towns then poured i n t o the War O f f i c e , u n t i l w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f i c u l t y the army crushed r i o t e r s . The M i n i s t r y ' s e r r o r s were due p r i m a r i l y to i g n o r -ance of the o p e r a t i o n of the economy and l a c k of f o r e s i g h t . There had been i n d i c a t i o n s of t r o u b l e f o r some time. Food p r i c e s had been high s i n c e 1764, and P a r l i a m e n t , alarmed at rumblings of d i s c o n t e n t among the r u r a l and urban poor, had h e l d a number of i n q u i r i e s i n t o food p r i c e s i n 1764, 1765, and 1766. By a t t r i b u t i n g the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the d i f f i -c u l t i e s of the poor to middlemen of the g r a i n and meat t r a d e s , t o g e t h e r with l a r g e r farmers, and proposing no rem-e d i a l a c t i o n other than the more r i g o r o u s enforcement of the o l d p a t e r n a l s t a t u t e s i n the i n t e r e s t s of the consumer, these committees had exacerbated the problem. 183 When the-\"central a u t h o r i t i e s f i n a l l y became aware of the s e r i o u s n e s s of the outbreaks i n the f o u r t h week of Sep-tember, 1766, they put pressure on the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s t o u t i l i z e the m i l i t a r y f o r the vigorous s u p p r e s s i o n of the r i o t e r s . Orders f o r b i d d i n g the d i s t i l l i n g of g r a i n l i q u o r s and starch-making f o l l o w e d the b e l a t e d embargo on g r a i n exports of September 26. By the.end of October most of the c o u n t r y s i d e was p a c i f i e d . The work of - a r r e s t i n g o f f e n d e r s extended over s e v e r a l weeks, duri n g which time the army co-operated w i t h the l o c a l m a g i s t r a t e s . The M i n i s t r y then appointed s p e c i a l commissions i n the worst d i s a f f e c t e d to make examples of the r i o t e r s . Punishment was severe. The c o n v i c t e d f e l o n s were sentenced to hanging, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , or s e r v i c e i n the Royal Navy. While d e s u l t o r y p r o t e s t s con-t i n u e d i n t o 1767, the a u t h o r i t i e s b l a c k m a i l e d d i s s i d e n t s by t h r e a t e n i n g to c a r r y out suspended c a p i t a l sentences i f d i s -74 turbances continued. While many of the M i n i s t r y ' s e r r o r s were due to ignorance r a t h e r than devious i n t e n t i o n s , the n a t i o n a l r u l e r s r e p r e s e n t e d the landed i n t e r e s t . T h e i r view was more generous than the gentry-dominated l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , but they shared the broad outlook of t h e i r i n t e r e s t group. As g r e a t landowners, they f e l t threatened by popular d i s o r d e r s , although the danger was perhaps not as immediate as t h a t Dean Tucker to Shelburne, January 11, 1767, S t a t e Papers, SP-37/6,-foi. 10, p. 155. 184 which f a c e d the l e s s e r landowners. I n d o c t r i n a t i o n against-middlemen and l a r g e farmers over at l e a s t twenty years con-d i t i o n e d them to welcome the d i s c o m f i t u r e of these i n t e r e s t s . The depth of popular response to the proclamation of Septem-ber 10 s t a r t l e d them. But whatever t h e i r motives, the Min-i s t r y encouraged the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , who used the middle-men and l a r g e farmers as scapegoats f o r the food c r i s i s . Thus, i n d i r e c t l y the c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s played an important r o l e i n the d i v e r s i o n of the poor towards s p e c i f i c t a r g e t s d u r i n g the food r i o t s of 1766. PART I CHAPTER IV THE PROVINCIAL RIOTERS E a r l i e r chapters have shown t h a t sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s p r e c i p i t a t e d the hunger r i o t s of 1766, but t h a t s o c i a l t e n s i o n s had been mounting i n r u r a l England at l e a s t s i n c e the mid-century. T h i s background of s o c i a l i n s t a b i l i t y c o l o u r e d the pe r c e p t i o n s of both the a u t h o r i t i e s and the l a b o u r i n g poor. F r i g h t e n e d at the pros-pect of a r e p e t i t i o n of the events of 1756-57 when they found themselves faced with a h o s t i l e combination of the m i d d l e - c l a s s farmers and t h e i r l a b o u r e r s , the a r i s t o c r a c y and the gentry i n 1766 s e i z e d the o p p o r t u n i t y of d i v e r t i n g the lower orders away from themselves and towards the middle-men and the farmers. But the r u r a l l e a d e r s were only able to achieve t h i s m a n i p u l a t i o n , l i m i t e d though i t was, because of the d i s a p p o i n t e d e x p e c t a t i o n s of the poor i n the f a c e of a sharp d e c l i n e i n t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s a f t e r 1763, which f o l -lowed f i v e years when the l i v i n g standards of the lower orders improved s i g n i f i c a n t l y . \" ' \" \"'\"Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 22. 185 186 In a d d i t i o n to the s o c i a l i n s t a b i l i t y produced by a g r a r i a n developments a f t e r 1750, two major causes of the resentments among the labouring poor i n r u r a l England of the 1760's which ensured that the sudden f l u c t u a t i o n s i n food p r i c e s would cause a v i o l e n t response were the ending of the Seven Years' War and the trade d i s r u p t i o n s of that decade. These two f a c t o r s are evident from a study of the r i o t e r s of 1766. I The most s i g n i f i c a n t element i n any r i o t i s the hard core who are w i l l i n g to challenge i n i t i a l l y the forces of order. This i s the element which by i t s example convinces the more t i m i d , who compose the m a j o r i t y i n most mobs, tha t they may j o i n w i t h r e l a t i v e impunity. In 1766 i t was those f a m i l i a r w i t h m i l i t a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n and the m i l i t a r y mind who were bold enough to face the h o s t i l i t y of the army and the magistrates. At t h i s time there were three groups i n p a r t i c u l a r who were used to arms, able to accept rudimentary d i s c i p l i n e , and knowledgeable i n m i l i t a r y t a c t i c s and who were among the most a l i e n a t e d of E n g l i s h lower-class s o c i e t y . 2 In the 1966 Cleveland r i o t s the poor blacks and whites were encouraged to p a r t i c i p a t e i n l o o t i n g and d i s -orders when they saw the p o l i c e d i d not intervene against the i n i t i a l l o o t e r s (Ken Southwood, \"Riot and Revolt: S o c i o l o g i c a l Theories of P o l i t i c a l V i o l e n c e , \" Peace Research Reviews, I , No. 3 [June, 1967], 39). 187 These were the army, m i l i t i a and navy veterans of the Seven Years' War. In the extant r e c o r d s of the 1760's few of the r i o t e r s are i d e n t i f i e d as v e t e r a n s , and only by p i e c i n g t o g e t h e r fragmentary evidence and drawing i n f e r e n c e s from the t a c t i c s of the mobs, the dress of the r i o t e r s , the occu-p a t i o n s of w i t n e s s e s , and the apprehensions of the a u t h o r i -t i e s can a p i c t u r e of t h e i r important r o l e be b u i l t up. Any study which r e l a t e d the home p a r i s h e s of d e m o b i l i z e d veterans to the r i o t areas would be most v a l u a b l e , but the p a u c i t y of 3 m a t e r i a l p r e c l u d e s t h i s . Yet what evidence there i s s t r o n g l y suggests that ex-servicemen and m i l i t i a m e n played a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n g i v i n g shape and d i r e c t i o n to the hunger r i o t s of 1766. Although hunger mobs, u n l i k e r i o t o u s seamen, c o a l -heavers, and weavers, were r a r e l y armed, s e v e r a l f a c e t s of t h e i r t a c t i c s speak of m i l i t a r y experience. The r e s t r a i n t and honesty of the mobs i n the e a r l y stages of the r i o t s suggest a rudimentary o r g a n i z a t i o n and l e a d e r s h i p which would have been beyond the c a p a c i t y of u n t r a i n e d r u s t i c s to p r o v i d e . L o c a l l e a d e r s enforced t h e i r a u t h o r i t y upon those who f a i l e d to respond to the r a l l y i n g c a l l of the cow's horn 3 Such a study r e l a t i n g to the French R e v o l u t i o n was undertaken by F o r e s t Macdonald, \"The R e l a t i o n of the French Peasant Veteran of the American R e v o l u t i o n to the F a l l of Feudalism i n France,\" A g r i c u l t u r a l H i s t o r y , XXV (October, 1951), 151-61. 188 or who disobeyed t h e i r o r d e r s . 4 In one i n c i d e n t , when r i o t e r s were accused of s t e a l i n g from a farmhouse which they had j u s t searched f o r food, f o r example, they submitted to a p e r s o n a l search and s e v e r e l y punished one of t h e i r number found with some s t o l e n spoons. I n e v i t a b l y , as the d i s -orders continued over s e v e r a l weeks i n September and October of 1766, however, e a r l i e r r e s t r a i n t s were dropped. In the subsequent t r i a l s r i o t e r s f o r c e d a v a r i e t y of charges f o r p e r s o n a l a s s a u l t , d e s t r u c t i o n of p r o p e r t y and t h e f t . The most v a r i e d were those of a W i l t s h i r e r i o t e r who was accused of d e s t r o y i n g a b o l t i n g m i l l and s t e a l i n g f o u r sacks of meal, two B i b l e s , two Books of Common P r a y e r and a copy of 6 \"the Whole Duty of Man.\" T a c t i c a l l y , mob o r g a n i z e r s seem to have d e l i b e r a t e l y aimed at s c a t t e r i n g the army i n t o weak detachments by simultaneous r i s i n g s and r a p i d movements of 7 r i o t e r s . D i s c i p l i n e d and concentrated v o l l e y s of stones which drove back the a u t h o r i t i e s i n Norwich as the mob went 4 T r e a s u r y . S o l i c i t o r 1 s Papers, T . S . l l / 5 9 5 6 / B x l l 2 8 . Marching Orders, W05-55, pp. 357-58. 5 John P i t t to Hardwicke, September 29, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 290. ^ T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/1116/5728. Annual R e g i s t e r , X (1767), 84. 7 In Warwickshire, f o r example, on October 6 a mob of 1,000 d i v i d e d i n t o gangs of 300 or 400 and s i m u l t a n e o u s l y v i s i t e d s e v e r a l market towns ( P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , October 20, 1766). See a l s o Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/5956/ \u00E2\u0080\u00A2Bxll28 and T.S. 11/995/3707; Barrington. to the E a r l of Suf-f o l k , October 1, 1766, L e t t e r Book of V i s c o u n t B a r r i n g t o n . 189 about i t s work suggest an i n t e l l i g e n t attempt to compensate o f o r a lack of weapons. At times the c a l c u l a t e d actions of the r i o t e r s were reminiscent of a m i l i t a r y campaign. Mob captains often chose t a r g e t s ahead of time, although they a l s o attacked spontaneously \" t a r g e t s of o p p o r t u n i t y . \" 9 O c c a s i o n a l l y mobs acted as armies of occupation. Leaders, f o r example, s t a t i o n e d t h e i r f o l l o w e r s i n p r i v a t e homes and inns during one extended pe r i o d of di s o r d e r s \" i n the same manner as s o l d i e r s are b i l l e t e d . \" 1 ^ Court records, too, suggest the involvement of vet-erans or m i l i t i a m e n by o c c a s i o n a l reference to the wearing of oddments of m i l i t a r y or naval uniforms by r i o t e r s . There are s e v e r a l such references i n the S e s s i o n a l Papers d e a l i n g w i t h the Norwich r i o t s of 1766, i n the Norfolk Records O f f i c e , which are much more complete than the records of the agrari a n d i s o r d e r s held by other county record o f f i c e s . The a u t h o r i t i e s , f o r example, r e p o r t e d l y searched f o r Thomas Bear, a weaver who had served i n the army and had l e f t h i s home p a r i s h i n the regimentals of the eastern b a t t a l i o n of the S u f f o l k m i l i t i a , and f o r Edward Shauter who had absconded from the \"Widow Cooper of Cosslang Bridge . . . w i t h m i l i t i a \"Case,\" Depositions and Case Papers (1766). 9 Gazetteer and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 22, 1766. \"^Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.ll/5956/Bxll28. 190 c l o a t h s . \" One witness of a r i o t at a Norwich malthouse claimed to have seen \"one of the r i o t e r s who was a very low man, and . . . not more than f i v e f e e t high and had on a m i l i t i a man's coat, go past the s a i d house towards the above malthouse with a l i g h t e d lamp i n h i s hand and t h a t p r e s e n t l y the s a i d malthouse was set on f i r e and consumed.\" The church wardens of S t . John's, T i m b e r h i l l i n Norwich d e s c r i b e d another suspect who had absconded as one \"George Bambry, between eigh t e e n and twenty, f i v e f e e t f i v e or s i x i n c h e s , w i t h a m i l i t i a coat and h i s own h a i r . \" Even more s i g n i f i -cant was the f a c t t h a t a l e a d i n g witness i n the Norwich S p e c i a l A s s i z e s was the Sergeant-Major of the N o r f o l k m i l i -t i a , f o r who would have been b e t t e r able to i d e n t i f y r i o t i n g militiamen? 1\"'\" Yet the p a r t i c i p a t i o n of m i l i t i a m e n and ex-servicemen was not p e c u l i a r to Norwich, as i s evident from the r e a l concern of the n a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t i e s at the t h r e a t posed by r i o t o u s mobs l e d by such veterans. Lord B a r r i n g t o n , an experienced and competent admin-i s t r a t o r who served as Secretary-at-War f o r almost the e n t i r e Seven Years' War and was d e s t i n e d to complete a f u r -t h e r t h i r t e e n years i n the same c a p a c i t y before 1778, was preoccupied w i t h t h i s danger. Although a man n e i t h e r by t r a i n i n g nor temperament gi v e n to panic, B a r r i n g t o n decided at the h e i g h t of the hunger r i o t s i n September, 1766 t h a t i t D e p o s i t i o n s and Case Papers (1766). 191 was e s s e n t i a l not to d i s s i p a t e the army's s t r e n g t h by d i s -p e r s i n g i t i n t o ever s m a l l e r detachments to meet each f r e s h outbreak: \". . . as a few s o l d i e r s commanded by a weak, ig n o r a n t s u b a l t e r n might be defeated by a very l a r g e mob, f u l l of men l a t e l y used to arms i n the army and m i l i t i a 12 . . . .\" The War M i n i s t e r b e l i e v e d t h a t such an e a s i l y -gained v i c t o r y might have encouraged s c a t t e r e d groups of r i o t e r s to u n i t e i n t o a g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n . He might have added t h a t i s o l a t e d detachments of troops h e a v i l y outnum-bered by r i o t e r s of t h e i r own s o c i a l c l a s s and l e d by former comrades were l i k e l y to throw i n t h e i r l o t w i t h the r i o t e r s and a ge n e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n might ensue, a nightmare p o s s i -b i l i t y f o r a l l M i n i s t e r s - a t - W a r u n t i l the balance swung i n fav o u r of the f o r c e s of order and Chartism d e c l i n e d i n mid-13 V i c t o r i a n England. That the War O f f i c e was h i g h l y s e n s i t i v e to the pos-s i b i l i t y of d i s a f f e c t i o n among the troops i s ev i d e n t from the f r e q u e n t orders f o r detachments to move from one b i l l e t to the next, presumably b e f o r e the s o l d i e r s became o v e r l y f r i e n d l y w i t h the\", l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n and t h e r e f o r e u n w i l l i n g to f i r e on c i v i l i a n f r i e n d s i f d i s o r d e r s broke out.\"''4 Harsh punishments were the l o t of r i o t o u s troops i n I r e l a n d and 12 Shelburne Papers, V o l . 132, f o l s . 13-17. 13 Mather, P u b l i c Order i n the Age of the C h a r t i s t s . \"^Marching Orders, passim. 192 W i l k i t e London. The S t . James's C h r o n i c l e r e p o r t e d the sen-tences of two s o l d i e r s , who got drunk, j o i n e d the Southwark mob and roa r e d \"Wilkes and L i b e r t y f o r ever\": \" f o r t y - f i v e l a s h e s each, t h r e e times, v i z . every other day, and a f t e r -15 wards to d r i l l f o r f o r t y - f i v e days . . . .\" P l a i n l y , not j u s t W i l k i t e s remembered \"Number 45, North B r i t o n . \" Nor was i t c o i n c i d e n c e t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s , who were w e l l aware of the Xenophobia of the London mob, chose S c o t t i s h troops to suppress the r i o t o u t s i d e the King's Bench p r i s o n i n 1768, or t h a t B a r r i n g t o n c o l l e c t e d broadsheets which t r i e d to sub-16 v e r t the l o y a l t y of the s o l d i e r s . I f the q u a l i t y of the verse was d e f i c i e n t the i n t e n t of the f o l l o w i n g was t y p i c a l : Why sons of freedom, why suspect each other? W i l l h a l f - f e d s o l d i e r s k i l l h i s h a l f - f e d b rother? Fear not my f r i e n d s , the s o l d i e r s are as we, E n g l i s h , f r e e b o r n , s t i l l l o n g i n g to be f r e e . Tho' b o l d i n arms, a g a i n s t t h e i r country's f o e s , B r i t a n n i a ' s f r i e n d s , they mean not to oppose; No vandals they, no f i e r c e d e s t r u c t i v e band Who'd s t a i n with k i n d r e d blood t h e i r n a t i v e land, Abroad, tho' daun t l e s s i n the h o s t i l e f i e l d , At home t h e i r s o uls to k i n d a f f e c t i o n y i e l d : They rue wit h us the hapless f a t e we meet, And w i l l not s l a y because we want to eat. \"Know then t h i s t r u t h , \" An E n g l i s h s o l d i e r f i g h t s , Not to enslave--but to defend our r i g h t s . 1 7 Not the l e a s t alarming aspect of the coalh e a v e r s ' r i o t s of 1768 was the s u s p i c i o n t h a t the guards from the Tower were St. James's C h r o n i c l e , May 12, 1768. \"^East S u f f o l k Record O f f i c e , Ipswich, B a r r i n g t o n Papers. 17 \"To A l l Gentlemen S o l d i e r s and Englishmen, by a Youth of Ei g h t e e n , \" dated 1768, B a r r i n g t o n Papers. 193 moonlighting as coalheavers w i t h the connivance of t h e i r o f f i c e r s , who some b e l i e v e d were pocketing the s o l d i e r s ' r e g u l a r pay, and t h a t at l e a s t one guardsman was an East End 18 innkeeper deeply i n v o l v e d i n the w a t e r f r o n t d i s p u t e s . The involvement of s o l d i e r s i n t h i s i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e may p a r t l y e x p l a i n i t s p e c u l i a r l y v i o l e n t c h a r a c t e r , and the b i t t e r n e s s between coalheavers and seamen. The t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e of E n g l i s h s o l d i e r s t a k i n g part-time employment caused economic r i v a l r y between troops and seamen and r i o t s In America at t h i s time, and some of t h i s r i v a l r y may w e l l 19 have s p i l l e d over i n t o England. I f the r u l i n g orders were concerned about the t r u s t -worthiness of the r e g u l a r troops i n moments of c r i s i s , they were even more dubious about the r e l i a b i l i t y of the l e s s -d i s c i p l i n e d m i l i t i a . The debates c e n t r i n g upon the new pro-p o s a l s f o r a m i l i t i a e a r l y i n 1757 i l l u s t r a t e t h i s q u e s t i o n -i n g . One c r i t i c put h i s concerns t h i s way: . . when the good people of England are thus armed and d i s c i p l i n e d , they w i l l be enabled to take away meat, corn,'and malt, and other p r o v i s i o n s , from the f o r e -s t a l l e r s and i n g r o s s e r s , butchers, m i l l e r s and farmers, at a reasonable p r i c e , of which they themselves must always be the best and most i m p a r t i a l judges.20 His prophecy was given added appeal by the f a c t t h a t r i o t s over the m i l i t i a muster sheets i n the same year f r e q u e n t l y 18 See P a r t I I , Chapter I I , below. 19 Lemisch, \"Jack Tar Versus John B u l l . \" 2 QGentleman's Magazine, XXVII (1757), 132. 194 d i d s p i l l over i n t o v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s at the high p r i c e of 21 food, when \" j u s t p r i c e s \" were enforced. The u n s e t t l i n g e f f e c t of m i l i t i a s e r v i c e upon farm l a b o u r e r s and others of the r u r a l p o p u l a t i o n was always'a cause of worry to the r u l i n g orders i n the E n g l i s h country-s i d e . They b e l i e v e d with some j u s t i f i c a t i o n t h a t m i l i t i a m e n l e a r n e d a l l the v i c e s and few of the v i r t u e s of the r e g u l a r s o l d i e r s , and r e t u r n e d to t h e i r n a t i v e p a r i s h e s w i t h a t a s t e f o r carousing and an a v e r s i o n to hard work. When h i s r e g i -ment of m i l i t i a was disbanding, F r a n c i s R u s s e l l , Marquis of T a v i s t o c k , wrote i n December, 1762 of f i n d i n g work f o r h i s men to prevent t h e i r becoming \"bad s u b j e c t s by being drove i n t o i d l e n e s s or t h a t they should s t a r v e f o r want of employ-ment.\" He e x p l a i n e d h i s a c t i o n s i n t h i s way: The p r i n c i p l e p o i n t I always laboured at of p r e s e r v i n g t h e i r morals and not making them bad countrymen by d i s -c i p l i n i n g them i n t o good s o l d i e r s , has succeeded. . . . I never saw men to the l a s t moment more o r d e r l y and w e l l d i s c i p l i n e d . . . . I own I am v a i n of t h e i r behaviour as s o l d i e r s but much more so of them as o r d e r l y , w e l l -disposed men.^2 Other landowners shared R u s s e l l ' s concern f o r the bad e f f e c t s of s e r v i c e upon the poor l a b o u r e r s of t h e i r v i l l a g e s , but were r a r e l y as concerned to a s s i m i l a t e them i n t o r u r a l l i f e as he was. 21 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 300. 22 S i r Lewis Namier and John Brooke, The H i s t o r y of P a r l i a m e n t , The House of Commons, 1754-1790, I I I (London: H. M. S t a t i o n e r y O f f i c e , 1964), 387. 195 C e r t a i n l y m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e had a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t upon r u s t i c s . Although under the 1757 M i l i t i a Act men d i d not serve more than a few m i l e s away from t h e i r homes except i n emergencies, many found themselves away from the home p a r i s h f o r the f i r s t time i n t h e i r l i v e s . With new h o r i z o n s t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s changed. They l a t e r found the t r a n s i t i o n back to c i v i l i a n l i f e d i f f i c u l t . The changing a t t i t u d e of the government to the use of the m i l i t i a i n times of r i o t i n the f i r s t h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h century r e f l e c t e d p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l r e a l i t i e s . At the beginning of the century the m i l i t i a r a t h e r than the 23 r e g u l a r army crushed popular r i s i n g s . T h i s i s p a r t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e to the s c a r c i t y of troops, strong d i s l i k e of standing armies, and the n o n - s o c i a l c h a r a c t e r of the r i o t s . For d e a l i n g w i t h p o l i t i c a l or r e l i g i o u s r i o t s , the m i l i t i a , o f f i c e r e d by the gentry and a r i s t o c r a c y , was at t h i s time more tr u s t w o r t h y and c e r t a i n l y l e s s p r o v o c a t i v e than the standing army. S u s p i c i o n of the r e g u l a r army continued down to the French R e v o l u t i o n and more than one Whig i n the 1760's bemoaned the growing r e l i a n c e on \" t h a t dreaded mon-s t e r , the m i l i t a r y \" to suppress c i v i l commotions. Despite t h i s , by the mid-century the government r e l i e d more and more 24 upon the army r a t h e r than the m i l i t i a . The c o l l e c t i o n of 23 Max B e l o f f , P u b l i c Order and P o p u l a r D i s t u r b a n c e s , 1660-1714 (London: Frank Cass, 1963)-, passimJ 2 4 Marching Orders, W05-54 and W05-55. 196 precedents f o r the use of m i l i t a r y f o r c e by m a g i s t r a t e s a g a i n s t mobs i n the E a r l of Shelburne's papers i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h i s procedure was r e l a t i v e l y novel and t h a t the auth-25 o r i t i e s a n t i c i p a t e d P a r l i a m e n t a r y c r i t i c i s m f o r i t . To disarm such c r i t i c i s m the Secretary-at-War always took care to d r a f t orders to m i l i t a r y commanders to a i d m a g i s t r a t e s OA only \"upon t h e i r r e q u i s i t i o n . \" T h i s t r a n s i t i o n from the use of the m i l i t i a to a r e l i a n c e on the army to d e a l w i t h d i s o r d e r s r e f l e c t e d the f a c t t h a t r i o t i n g was becoming the e x p r e s s i o n of s o c i a l , r a t h e r than p o l i t i c a l p r o t e s t , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r 1750. The r e l u c t a n c e of the a u t h o r i t i e s to use the m i l i t i a to suppress the hunger r i o t s of 1756-57 and p a r t i c u l a r l y 1766-67 i s r e a d i l y understandable. The m i l i t i a was composed of p r e c i s e l y the same elements as the hunger mobs. I t was the i n d u s t r i o u s poor who r i o t e d over high food p r i c e s i n these years, and i t was the i n d u s t r i o u s poor who f i l l e d the ranks of the m i l i t i a . The Northamptonshire m i l i t i a b a t t a l -i o n i n 1766, f o r example, c o n s i s t e d of l a b o u r e r s , s e r v a n t s , weavers, shoemakers, c a r p e n t e r s , shepherds, b l a c k s m i t h s , woolcombers, gardeners, v i c t u a l l e r s , b r a z i e r s , masons, cord-27 wainers, t a i l o r s , n a i l e r s , and mat-makers. There was some ^ S h e l b u r n e Papers. 26 Marching Orders, W05-54, passim. 27 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 272. 197 m e r i t i n newspaper c r i t i c i s m s of \"panic measures\" to embody 28 the m i l i t i a because i t meant \"arming the d i s a f f e c t e d . \" Conversely, the d i f f e r i n g composition of the army suggests why i t was more r e l i a b l e i n times of s o c i a l p r o t e s t . In c o n t r a s t to the m i l i t i a which was more.of a t e r r i t o r i a l f o r c e drawing on the country p o p u l a t i o n , the army r e c r u i t e d p r i m a r i l y i n manufacturing c e n t r e s . I f the army f i l l e d i t s u n i t s from the \"scum of the towns,\" i t was a very d i f f e r e n t 29 s o c i a l grouping from the m i l i t i a . Such men as these were probably more m a l l e a b l e than the independent, l e s s e r f r e e -h o l d e r s , s m a l l craftsmen and farm l a b o u r e r s who were charac-t e r i s t i c of the m i l i t i a . F e r o c i o u s d i s c i p l i n e and frequent moves between b i l l e t s ensured t h a t the army could be persu-30 aded to f i r e on c i v i l i a n s i n times of d i s o r d e r . Another c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the m i l i t i a made i t l e s s s u i t a b l e than the army f o r r i o t duty. The g e n t r y - o f f i c e r s i n the 1750's and 1760's were opposed to such use of t h e i r 31 men. During the P a r l i a m e n t a r y d i s c u s s i o n of Lord 28 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , November 13, 1766. 29 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the Eig h t e e n t h Century, p. 272. 30 Marching Orders, W05-54 and W05-55, passim. 31 Seeking i n s t r u c t i o n s on the a t t i t u d e the m i l i t i a ought to adopt to \" c i v i l a f f r a y s , \" S a v i l e d e c l a r e d he would not wish to be set \"to pl a y at s o l d i e r s \" ( S i r George S a v i l e to Rockingham, J u l y 31, 1760, Rockingham MSS, Rl-166). West quoted Onslow who thought B a r r i n g t o n ' s m i l i t i a p r o p o s a l to use the m i l i t i a to suppress popular d i s o r d e r s would \" d i s -o b l i g e \" the o f f i c e r s and m i l i t i a m e n who d i d not c o n s i d e r such a c t i v i t y p a r t of t h e i r job (West to Newcastle, May 17, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990, f o l s . 98-99). 198 B a r r i n g t o n ' s p r o p o s a l to use the m i l i t i a to maintain p u b l i c order, Mathew R i d l e y expressed the a t t i t u d e of many m i l i t i a o f f i c e r s when he warned the government a g a i n s t the p r o p o s a l i n these terms: \"The m i l i t a r y are to a i d and a s s i s t the c i v i l m a g i s t r a t e , not to war on the people. You are to employ the M i l i t i a so as not to d i s g u s t the Gentlemen 32 employed i n the M i l i t i a . \" P r obably another reason why the m i l i t i a was not used a g a i n s t popular d i s o r d e r s was t h a t the r e l a t i o n s between the army and the m i l i t i a were r a r e l y c o r d i a l . Whenever the county l i e u t e n a n c y embodied m i l i t i a b a t t a l i o n s f o r t r a i n i n g , a spate of orders l e f t the War O f f i c e to c l e a r r e g u l a r 33 troops from the m o b i l i z a t i o n areas. There was a n a t u r a l a n t i p a t h y between the two groups r e l a t e d not only to t h e i r d i f f e r i n g s o c i a l composition but to such d i s p a r a t e causes as pay d i f f e r e n t i a l s , urban and r u r a l r i v a l r y , competition f o r feminine company, and moonlighting. I t may w e l l be t h a t another reason f o r the r e l u c t a n c e of the government to use the m i l i t i a i n 1766 was the f e a r of a bloody c o n f r o n t a t i o n of the army and m i l i t i a when s o c i a l and economic i s s u e s were behind the g e n e r a l d i s c o n t e n t . 32 B r i t i s h Museum, Egerton MSS, 215, f o i . 58. See a l s o Namier and Brooke, H i s t o r y of P a r l i a m e n t , pp. 352-53. 33 Marching Orders, W05-54, passim. 199 D i s t r u s t of amateur s o l d i e r s i s a l s o evident i n the a u t h o r i t i e s ' concern f o r the s a f e t y of weapons i n times of d i s o r d e r s . M i l i t a r y equipment of the Middlesex and London m i l i t i a b a t t a l i o n s was lodged i n the Tower on such occa-34 s i o n s . T h i s p r a c t i c e of disarming m i l i t i a and v o l u n t e e r regiments i n times of a c u t e . d i s c o n t e n t was an o f f e n c e to the p r i d e of the v o l u n t e e r s e s p e c i a l l y , and i n d i c a t e d an o f f i -35 c i a l l a c k of confidence i n amateur s o l d i e r s . Had the l o y a l t y of the m i l i t i a been beyond q u e s t i o n , s t i l l t h e i r l i m i t e d t r a i n i n g and l o o s e r d i s c i p l i n e made them l e s s s u i t a b l e f o r r i o t duty than the army. F a c i n g h o s t i l e crowds of j e e r i n g and stone-throwing r i o t e r s r e q u i r e d great r e s t r a i n t from outnumbered t r o o p s . The a u t h o r i t i e s found i t necessary to b u i l d a stone w a l l to p r o t e c t the troops i n 36 G l o u c e s t e r market i n October, 1766, and i n the St. George's F i e l d s ' r i o t s of 1768 eighteen s o l d i e r s s u f f e r e d severe 37 b r u i s e s and cuts from the mob, some of whom looked down the musket b a r r e l s and j e e r e d at the troops because they had 34 Welbore E l l i s to the King, May, 1765, Correspond-ence of King George the T h i r d , ed. by F o r t e s c u e , pp. 108-109. 35 Anthony Highmore, The H i s t o r y of the Honourable A r t i l l e r y Company of the C i t y of London (London, 1804), pp. 328 et seq. 36 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 15, 1766. 37 \"Return of Men which were Hurt or Wounded i n S t . George's F i e l d s by the Mob, d u r i n g the Late D i s t u r b a n c e s , \" B a r r i n g t o n Papers. 200 38 only loaded w i t h powder and not b a l l . The most v a l u a b l e f o r c e s a g a i n s t r i o t e r s were the mounted dragoons of the r e g u l a r army, who could break up l a r g e crowds without r e s o r t to f i r i n g , and could prevent t h e i r reforming elsewhere. In the 1760's m i l i t i a m e n were a l l f o o t s o l d i e r s . The volun-t e e r , yeoman c a v a l r y which pl a y e d such a n o t o r i o u s r o l e i n the \" P e t e r l o o Massacre\" was not formed u n t i l l a t e r i n the 39 eig h t e e n t h century. Although they d i d not use the m i l i t i a a g a i n s t the hunger r i o t e r s , the a u t h o r i t i e s embodied most county b a t t a l -i o ns i n the summer and autumn of 1766. The press r e p o r t e d the B e r k s h i r e b a t t a l i o n m o b i l i z i n g at S t . Albans \" i n the f a c e of r i o t i n g , \" but u s u a l l y the reason g i v e n f o r embodi-ment was to perform t h e i r annual t r a i n i n g of twenty-eight d a y s . 4 0 That the time was unusual and r e l a t e d to the emer-gency i s apparent from the complaints i n the press t h a t 41 m i l i t i a m o b i l i z a t i o n s were i n t e r f e r i n g w i t h the harvest. There was c r i t i c i s m of \"panic measures\" to embody the 3 8 T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/920/3213. 39 Cf. the Hammonds' comments on the u n t r u s t w o r t h i -ness of the army and the m i l i t i a i n the 1790's and the use of v o l u n t e e r s ( J . L. and Barbara Hammond, The Town Labourer, Paperback e d i t i o n [London: Longmans, 1966X PP- 93-96). 40 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 15, 1766. 41 Middlesex m i l i t i a were c a l l e d out f o r twenty-eight days' t r a i n i n g , which was much resented at ha r v e s t time ( i b i d . , September 1, 1766). 201 m i l i t i a because i t meant the arming of the \" d i s a f f e c t e d . \" P r o b a bly t h e i r mustering was as much f o r the purpose of p l a c i n g under d i s c i p l i n e men who would otherwise have r e i n -f o r c e d the hard core of r i o t e r s , as f o r a l a s t d i t c h r e s e r v e f o r the r e g u l a r army should a general i n s u r r e c t i o n develop. The tenor of the P a r l i a m e n t a r y debate on B a r r i n g t o n ' s m i l i -t i a p r o p o s als i n 1768 i n d i c a t e s t h a t there was a l s o some doubt about the l e g a l i t y of employing the m i l i t i a a g a i n s t 42 r i o t e r s . I t i s u n l i k e l y , however, t h a t these c o n s i d e r -a t i o n s of l e g a l i t y would have i n h i b i t e d the a u t h o r i t i e s from u s i n g the m i l i t i a i n 1766, i n view of the weight of prece-dent e a r l i e r i n the century, and almost c e r t a i n l y i n 1768 Lord B a r r i n g t o n was t e s t i n g r e a c t i o n to the prospect of st r o n g e r m i l i t a r y s u p p r e s s i o n i n f a c e of the spreading d i s -orders of t h a t year without p u b l i c l y committing the M i n i s t r y 43 to what might have proved a h i g h l y unpopular course. The frequency w i t h which r i o t e r s proved to belong to the m i l i t i a r e v e a l s t h a t the p o l i c y of embodying m i l i t i a u n i t s to con-t r o l p o t e n t i a l r i o t e r s was not wholly s u c c e s s f u l . These embodiments co u l d not be maintained i n being f o r long, and once dem o b i l i z e d the m i l i t i a m a n could engage i n s o c i a l 42 B a r r i n g t o n proposed a measure which would have a u t h o r i z e d the use of m i l i t i a u n i t s to suppress c i v i l com-motions (Rockingham to Newcastle, May 17, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990, f o l s . 83-86. 43 Brooke, The Chatham A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 1766-1768, p. 358. See a l s o Newcastle to Pelham, May 18, 1768, Rock-ingham MSS, Rl-1064; Newcastle to Rockingham, May 18, 1768, Rockingham MSS, Rl-1062. 202 p r o t e s t s along w i t h h i s f e l l o w s . By 1769 commanders paraded m i l i t i a u n i t s f o r the purpose of i d e n t i f y i n g r i o t e r s . The f o l l o w i n g evidence was given a g a i n s t a s i l k - w e a v e r accused of s e r i o u s r i o t i n g : \"The p r i s o n e r V a l l i n e i s a m i l i t i a man and t h i s boy s i n g l e d him out from the whole corps when he was apprehended notwithstanding he was i n a d i f f e r e n t 44 dress.\" In the eyes of the a u t h o r i t i e s , naval seamen were s c a r c e l y more r e l i a b l e than the m i l i t i a i n times of r i o t i n the p o r t s . The r e l u c t a n c e of the a d m i r a l t y to use naval seamen to suppress the merchant seamen's s t r i k e of 1768 was 45 r e f l e c t i v e of a concern on t h i s account. In the e i g h -teenth century the d i s t i n c t i o n ' b e t w e e n naval and merchant seamen was not always c l e a r . During wars, many merchant seamen were q u i c k l y impressed by the navy. Thus when seamen s t r u c k f o r h i g h e r pay i n 1768 they must have had c o n s i d e r -able sympathy among the n a v a l r a t i n g s assigned to prevent t h e i r escape to France. The involvement of ex-seamen i n r i o t i n g of the p e r i o d showed t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s ' w o r r i e s had some f o u n d a t i o n i n f a c t . O c c a s i o n a l l y hunger mobs were r e p o r t e d l y l e d by men dressed as seamen, but more f r e q u e n t l y seamen were i n v o l v e d i n smugglers' d i s t u r b a n c e s , another form of s o c i a l p r o t e s t i n the second h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h century. Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696. 'See P a r t I I , Chapter I I , below. 203 There were s e v e r a l ways i n which the connection between smugglers' d i s t u r b a n c e s and hunger r i o t s was appar-ent. F i r s t , the c o i n c i d e n c e of s e r i o u s hunger r i o t s and the i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of smuggling a f t e r the mid-century suggests they had a common b a s i s i n s o c i a l p r o t e s t . 4 6 While i t i s t r u e t h a t government t a r i f f p o l i c i e s at v a r i o u s times encouraged smuggling of such v a l u a b l e commodities as tobacco or brandy, the harsh c o n d i t i o n s of l i f e caused by s c a r c i t y and high p r i c e s when employment was scarce a l s o drove the poor to f i n d e x t r a - l e g a l sources of income. Probably the most l i k e l y to take q u i c k l y to smuggling were the seamen who found employment scarce a f t e r the Seven Years' War. Many of them had o r i g i n a l l y been i n the coast-wise s h i p p i n g t r a de be f o r e being impressed i n t o the navy. They r e a d i l y a p p l i e d t h e i r n aval experience upon t h e i r r e t u r n to c i v i l i a n l i f e . Second, areas where smuggling was r i f e were o f t e n r e g i o ns 47 where hunger r i o t s occurred. F r e q u e n t l y such hunger r i o t s were more v i o l e n t than those which took p l a c e elsewhere. For example, some of the b l o o d i e s t encounters between the troops and hunger r i o t e r s were i n the neighbourhood of 48 Devizes, an important smuggling centre. T h i r d , undoubtedly, 4 6Gentleman's Magazine, XXVII (1757), 528. 47 Canterbury, Exeter, Lynn, Norwich, T i v e r t o n , and along the coasts of Cornwall, Dorset, S u f f o l k , and Sussex. 4 8Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 94; XXVII (1757), 528. 204 f r e q u e n t smuggling d i s o r d e r s c r e a t e d a c l i m a t e of v i o l e n c e and a commonplace d e f i a n c e of a u t h o r i t y t h a t were important elements i n the background of some of the hunger r i o t s of 1766. The r o l e of these smuggling bands was roughly compar-able to t h a t of the poaching gangs i n the East A n g l i a n 49 a g r a r i a n r i o t s of 1816. F o u r t h , the government had d i f f i -c u l t y i n e n f o r c i n g i t s embargo on the export of g r a i n a f t e r September 26 due to smugglers, and the army had to p a t r o l 50 the southern coasts to end t h i s i l l e g a l t r a f f i c . Conscious of these t h r e a t s posed by the veterans of the Seven Years' War, Lord B a r r i n g t o n urged Lord Shelburne, S e c r e t a r y of S t a t e f o r the Southern Department and one of the M i n i s t e r s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i n t e r n a l peace i n 1766, to concentrate the troops i n each county under a \"good, prudent o f f i c e r , \" even at the r i s k of g i v i n g up l a r g e t r a c t s of t e r -r i t o r y to the r i o t e r s . Each L o r d - L i e u t e n a n t should s e l e c t one or two m a g i s t r a t e s of \" s p i r i t , a c t i v i t y , and d i s c r e t i o n \" to f i n d among the r i o t e r s \"proper o b j e c t s of punishment,\" i s s u e warrants, and a r r e s t c u l p r i t s with the a i d of the m i l i t a r y . Mobs i n t e r f e r i n g i n t h i s process should be \"chas-t i s e d \" by the t r o o p s , \"and the more roughly the b e t t e r \" f o r \"some bloody heads would be a r e a l kindness and humanity.\" The M i n i s t e r - a t - W a r advised the p a c i f i c a t i o n of Southern 49 Peacock, Bread or Blood, pp. 50-51. 50 On September 26 the export of g r a i n was f o r b i d d e n by the P r i v y C o u n c i l (6 George I I I , cap. 5). 205 England county by county, s t a r t i n g w i t h W i l t s h i r e , then mov-in g to G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , and l a t e r d e a l i n g w i t h the remaining 51 c o u n t i e s i n t u r n . In the event, t h i s p l a n was never implemented. Even the temporary abandonment to the mob of a l a r g e area of the c o u n t r y s i d e where many gre a t e s t a t e s were l o c a t e d would have a l i e n a t e d the n o b i l i t y and the gentry, whose support i n the House was v i t a l to the s u r v i v a l of the 52 narrow-based Chatham m i n i s t r y . But i t s very advocacy by one of the most experienced war m i n i s t e r s of the ei g h t e e n t h century i s a measure of the t h r e a t posed by the war veter a n s . Why were such Englishmen among the most a l i e n a t e d of the p o p u l a t i o n i n 1766? E s s e n t i a l l y t h e i r wartime e x p e r i -ences coloured t h e i r p e r c e p t i o n of s o c i a l c o n d i t i o n s which had been d e t e r i o r a t i n g f o r many of the poor s i n c e at l e a s t the mid-century. Where before they had been w i l l i n g to accept p a s s i v e l y t h e i r l o t , t h e i r m i l i t a r y experience gave them a new p e r s p e c t i v e . Many r e t u r n e d to c i v i l i a n l i f e w i t h a sense of grievance which was aggravated by the c o n d i t i o n s they found awaiting them. Few had e n l i s t e d during the war other than from n e c e s s i t y . Some had been impressed by the navy or army; others j o i n e d the armed f o r c e s as an a l t e r n a t i v e to s t a r v a t i o n i n the e a r l y years of the war when p r i c e s were 5 1 S h e l b u r n e Papers, V o l . 132, f o l s . 13-17. 52 Brooke, The Chatham A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 1766-1768, p. 4 et seq. 206 very high, or to hanging f o r t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the 53 1756-57 food r i o t s . In some i n s t a n c e s the a u t h o r i t i e s had broken promises made before e n l i s t m e n t i n the m i l i t i a f o r home s e r v i c e only. As noted above, the f o r c i b l e embarkation of the Somerset and Dorset m i l i t i a m e n f o r s e r v i c e i n America i n 1756 had s t i m u l a t e d widespread o p p o s i t i o n to a new m i l i -t i a a c t which erupted i n the s e r i o u s r i o t s which spread 54 across the Midlands and the n o r t h of England. Only the b e t t e r h a r v e s t s i n the south, g e n e r a l l y lower p r i c e s of pro-v i s i o n s , and l i m i t a t i o n of g r a i n exports account f o r the f a c t t h a t these r i o t s d i d not spread southwards i n 1756-57. A dearth of oats due to m i l i t a r y requirements a l s o a f f e c t e d the n o r t h e r n e r s , whose d i e t i n c l u d e d \"crowdie\" made from 55 oats. A f t e r the war the veterans found c o n d i t i o n s l i t t l e improved. Upon t h e i r d e m o b i l i z a t i o n , the government pre-sented the servicemen w i t h l i c e n s e s to beg t h e i r way home to t h e i r n a t i v e p a r i s h e s i n l i e u of a g r a t u i t y . There, f r e -q uently, they found t h e i r o l d jobs taken by o t h e r s . During the war, i n d u s t r i e s had o f t e n i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i o n w i t h a reduced l a b o u r f o r c e by r a i s i n g p r o d u c t i v i t y . In Norwich, f o r example, d e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t 4,000 men served i n the 53 Gentleman's Magazine, XXVI (1756), 447 and passim; XXVII (1757), passim. 54 Western, The E n g l i s h M i l i t i a i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century, p. 122. 55 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 4; P a r l i a m e n t a r y H i s t o r y of England, p. 461. 207 war, p r o d u c t i o n of c l o t h i n c r e a s e d . Many war veterans, then, f a c e d s e v e r a l years of d i f f i c u l t adjustment a f t e r 56 peace was signed i n 1763. I n i t i a l l y the government had f a c i l i t a t e d the rehab-i l i t a t i o n of mariners and s o l d i e r s by suspending the monop-o l i e s enjoyed by v a r i o u s g u i l d s and l i v e r y companies, and p e r m i t t i n g veterans of the Seven Years' War to s e t up i n trade anywhere i n B r i t a i n or I r e l a n d under an act of 22 George I I . In an e f f o r t to make the new M i l i t i a Act more p a l a t a b l e to those l i a b l e to s e r v i c e , P a r l i a m e n t extended t h i s p r i v i l e g e i n 1757 to married men who had served i n the m i l i t i a overseas or during an i n v a s i o n or g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c -t i o n . Another act of 1763 enabled ex-seamen to work on the 57 r i v e r Thames and i n other trades of the c i t y . As a r e s u l t of these d i f f e r e n t a c t s , veterans crowded i n t o some trades which were,facing d e c l i n i n g b u s i n e s s . The watermen, f o r example, had a l r e a d y l o s t business to new b r i d g e s , and i n May, 1768 they assembled o u t s i d e the Mansion House to seek the Lord Mayor's support f o r a p e t i t i o n asking P a r l i a -58 ment f o r r e l i e f . The p o s i t i o n of ex-servicemen f u r t h e r d e t e r i o r a t e d i n 1766 owing to a l e g a l judgment given i n f a v o u r of the F a r r i e r s ' Company which r e - e s t a b l i s h e d a 56 A r t h u r Young, The Farmer's Tour through the East of England (4 v o l s . ; London: W. Strahan, 1771), I I , 77-78. 57 See P a r t I I below. 5 8Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVIII (1768), 242. 208 m o n o p o l i s t i c p r i n c i p l e f a v o u r a b l e to the trades r a t h e r than 59 unemployed vete r a n s . As a consequence of t h i s , demobil-i z e d s o l d i e r s and seamen l o s t the r i g h t to e s t a b l i s h them-s e l v e s i n trades without the customary a p p r e n t i c e s h i p . At a time when r e t u r n e d servicemen were f i n d i n g employment i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n , p r i c e s of pro-v i s i o n s were r i s i n g s t e e p l y . S i n c e 1764 the p r i c e s of meat, d a i r y produce, and g r a i n caused the government concern, and i n the f o l l o w i n g two years s e v e r a l committees of P a r l i a m e n t met to examine the causes of h i g h p r i c e s . 6 ^ Thus, many who had entered the armed f o r c e s at a time of s c a r c i t y and high p r i c e s f a c e d the same problems they had sought to escape l e s s than a decade e a r l i e r . In 1766 they were l e s s i n c l i n e d to accept t h e i r f a t e s t o i c a l l y . During t h e i r s e r v i c e careers the e x p e c t a t i o n s of the poor had changed, not l e a s t i n regard to t h e i r d i e t . While i n the army or navy, they o f t e n endured an i n f e r i o r d i e t due to the incompetency, parsimony, or p e c u l a t i o n s of c o n t r a c t o r s and v i c t u a l l i n g o f f i c e r s , and doubtless few r e q u i r e d the encouragement they undoubtedly r e c e i v e d from gentry, peers, i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , and the M i n i s t r y to s e t t l e o l d scores w i t h middlemen. . Yet even those f o r c e d on o c c a s i o n to eat 59 Henry Humpherus, H i s t o r y of the O r i g i n and Pro-gress of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the R i v e r Thames, II (London, 1887), 262. 6 0 I n the years 1764, 1765, and 1766. 209 i n f e r i o r pork produced from hogs f e d on fermenting d i s t i l -l e r y mash had f r e q u e n t l y enjoyed a higher standard of l i v i n g 61 than they had known i n c i v i l i a n l i f e . Many ate wheaten bread f o r the f i r s t time i n t h e i r l i v e s . G eneral L i g o n i e r , as C h i e f of S t a f f at the War O f f i c e , had i n 1743 i n t r o d u c e d wheaten bread i n t o the r e g u l a r d i e t of the army f o r the f i r s t time, owing to h i s concern at the number of c a s u a l t i e s caused by rye bread, a r a t h e r s u r p r i s i n g reason i n view of h i s contemporaries' arguments i n favour of the h i g h e r n u t r i -t i o n a l value of bread made from such coarse g r a i n s . 6 2 That the step from rye to wheaten bread was a most s i g n i f i c a n t one i n the eyes of the poor of any European country, and one not e a s i l y r e t r a c e d , i s r e a d i l y apparent. By the 1760's wheaten bread was the s t a p l e of most of the poor i n Southern England, although i n the West Country O J-Gentleman' s Magazine, XXVI (1756), 625. 62 L i g o n i e r wrote, \"With regard to the a r t i c l e of bread I [attended] t h e i r L o r d s h i p s i n 1743, when my s e n t i -ments d i f f e r e d from General Honeywood's on t h a t head. That i t was t r u e the troops had rye bread i n the time of Queen Anne but t h a t I b e l i e v e more men were l o s t by t h i s k i n d of bread than by the sword of the enemy, and t h e r e f o r e I recom-mended to t h e i r l o r d s h i p s , t h a t they would be p l e a s ' d to f e e d the troops w i t h bread made of wheat only, which was complied w i t h \" ( L i g o n i e r . to Samuel M a r t i n E s q u i r e , Secre-t a r y , The Lords of the Treasury, London, J u l y 15, 1758, W i l l i a m L. Clement L i b r a r y . Ann Arbor, Michigan, L i g o n i e r MSS, L e t t e r Book [1759-60.]). 210 63 coarse g r a i n s were eaten more f r e q u e n t l y . In the nort h potatoes t o g e t h e r w i t h oats and b a r l e y f i g u r e d l a r g e i n the 64 d i e t of the poor. R i c e , too, was popular, and Charles Townsend supported a p e t i t i o n of eminent grocers' to ban the export of r i c e due to the hig h p r i c e s of r i c e i n H o l l a n d which threatened to d r a i n the country and d i s t r e s s the poor.' T h i s c o n s e r v a t i v e a t t i t u d e of the poor towards t h e i r d i e t i s ev i d e n t from a study of the p r i c e s of g r a i n s pub-l i s h e d monthly i n the Gentleman's Magazine during 1766. In t h i s year of food c r i s i s the p r i c e s of c o a r s e r g r a i n s remained remarkably steady, w h i l e the p r i c e s of wheat f l u c -t u a t e d v i o l e n t l y . T h i s p r i c e p a t t e r n was p a r t l y due to the f a c t t h a t d e a l e r s and farmers d i d not o f f e r b a r l e y and rye f o r s a l e i n the open market normally, although the press quoted the p r i c e s of such g r a i n s as i f they could be bought 65 by the p u b l i c at those p r i c e s . M a l t s t e r s f o r e s t a l l e d the 63 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, pp. 4-5, d i s c u s s e s the e a t i n g h a b i t s of the B r i t i s h u s ing the e v i d -ence of Ch a r l e s Smith, the P a r l i a m e n t a r y H i s t o r y of England, and Eden. He concludes: (T) rye and b a r l e y bread r i v a l l e d wheaten i n the Midlands, and was eaten i n Wales almost s o l e l y ; (2) oats were eaten i n the North Midlands, the n o r t h of England, and Scotland; (3) potatoes i n La n c a s h i r e ; (4) southern c o u n t i e s ate predominantly wheaten bread. He c a l c u l a t e d 3-3/4 of s i x m i l l i o n p o p u l a t i o n i n 1766 ate wheaten bread. (He accepts C h a r l e s Smith's f i g u r e s i n Three T r a c t s on the Corn Trade and the Corn Laws [1766].) 64 C o n s i d e r a t i o n s on the E x p o r t a t i o n of Corn, p. 63. Jacob Rowe to Lord Abercorn, March 9, 1765, Com-mittee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . 211 market at G l o u c e s t e r and Tewksbury to supply the brewers and 66 d i s t i l l e r s of B r i s t o l , f o r example. Yet had there been a great demand from the poor f o r cheaper g r a i n s , d e a l e r s and farmers would have o f f e r e d them f o r sake to the bakers and to the p u b l i c . P r i c e s , then, would have r e f l e c t e d t h i s new demand. One newspaper d i d r e p o r t a 20 per cent i n c r e a s e i n b a r l e y p r i c e s w i t h i n a f o r t n i g h t i n the autumn of 1766, but the Gentleman's Magazine's more complete t a b l e s of p r i c e s i n d i c a t e no general p r i c e i n c r e a s e f o r b a r l e y or other coarse g r a i n s . T h i s was d e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t many of the upper c l a s s e s t r i e d hard to encourage the poor to eat co a r s e r bread. Lord T a v i s t o c k r e p o r t e d to h i s f a t h e r , the Duke of Bedford, t h a t he was mixing rye wit h wheat to s e l l at low p r i c e s f o r the poor to make \" n u t r i t i o u s \" b r e a d . 6 8 Newspapers, too, provided i n s t r u c t i o n s on how to prepare wheat s u b s t i t u t e s . But the poor g e n e r a l l y seem to have been slow to accept b a r l e y , oats, beans, or peas, or even to eat household bread which was made from wheat and which was b e l i e v e d more n o u r i s h i n g and longer-keeping than white 66 A b a i l i f f to Lord Abercorn, March 8, 1765, Commit-tee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s . G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 18, 1766. ^ C o r r e s p o n d e n c e of John, Fourth Duke of Bedford, I I I (London! Longman, 1846), 346-48. 212 69 bread. T h i s stubborn r e t e n t i o n of newly-acquired e a t i n g h a b i t s caused much comment from the w e a l t h i e r c i t i z e n r y . Jonas Hanway noted: \" I t i s not always enough that the pro-70 v i s i o n s be good; i t must a l s o be of a p a r t i c u l a r k i n d . \" Another w r i t e r s e n s i t i v e to the importance of the expecta-t i o n s of people as a f a c t o r behind unrest observed: We may calmly d i s c u s s matters over a b o t t l e of c l a r e t a f t e r a p l e n t i f u l d inner, and say t h a t the poor i n I r e l a n d l i v e on potatoes, and i n France, and other coun-t r i e s upon t u r n i p s or cabbage. We must take these t h i n g s as we f i n d them, our poor are not accustomed to ^ l i v e i n t h a t means, nor w i l l they give up bread . . . . The people of Southern England, where r i o t s were ex t e n s i v e i n the summer and autumn of 1766, were s a i d to have l o s t t h e i r \" r y e - t e e t h , \" and d i d not wish to r e g a i n t h e i r t a s t e 72 f o r c o a r s e r bread. They p r e f e r r e d to take a c t i o n a g a i n s t the middlemen and l a r g e farmers, who they were w i l l i n g to b e l i e v e had brought about an a r t i f i c i a l s c a r c i t y i n time of p l e n t y by t h e i r s p e c u l a t i o n s . The r e s u l t s of the Seven Years' War, then, were apparent i n the involvement of veterans i n the r i o t s of the 69 A modern example of c o n s e r v a t i v e t a s t e s i n food was I n d i a where peasants r i o t e d over the dearth of r i c e although American wheat was a v a i l a b l e ; the former was c u l -t u r a l l y r e q u i r e d (Southwood, \" R i o t and R e v o l t , \" p. 42). 70 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , November 19, 1766; Jonas Hanway, L e t t e r s on the Importance of the R i s i n g G e n eration of the Labouring P a r t of our F e l l o w - S u b j e c t s , I (London, 1767), XXXII, 194. 71 G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , November 1, 1766, 72 Fay, The Corn Laws and S o c i a l England, p. 4 et seq. 213 1760's. P r i m a r i l y i n i t s e f f e c t upon the e x p e c t a t i o n s of these men, the war had s e r i o u s r e p e r c u s s i o n s upon E n g l i s h s o c i e t y . I t a l s o had a s e r i o u s e f f e c t upon the economy. By c r e a t i n g an i n f l a t e d demand f o r c e r t a i n goods such as t e x -t i l e s and hardware products, the war caused a r a p i d expan-s i o n of the l a b o u r f o r c e i n c e r t a i n i n d u s t r i e s which had to cut back upon the resumption of peace. At the same time the war exacerbated the realignment of trade which was o c c u r r i n g a f t e r the mid-century. These e f f e c t s are evident from a c l o s e r study of the a g r a r i a n r i o t e r s of 1766 and t h e i r s p e c i f i c g r i e v a n c e s . I I Unemployment and underemployment were the v i s i b l e 73 e f f e c t s of d e c l i n i n g trade a f t e r 1764. With the advent of peace came reduced government c o n t r a c t s f o r manufactures and v i c t u a l l i n g s t o r e s . I n d u s t r i e s such as hardware, t e x t i l e s , c oal-mining, and s h i p b u i l d i n g , which had expanded r a p i d l y under the stimulus of war, had now to c o n t r a c t to peace-time s i z e . Contemporary commentators noted the d i s t r e s s i n two of these i n d u s t r i e s i n p a r t i c u l a r . 73 E l i z a b e t h Boody Schumpeter, E n g l i s h Overseas Trade S t a t i s t i c s , 1697-1808 (Oxford: Clarendon P r e s s , 1960), Tab l e I I , p. 15. See a l s o Ralph Davis, \" E n g l i s h F o r e i g n Trade. 1700-1774,\" Economic H i s t o r y Review, 2nd s e r . , XV (1962), 285-303. 214 Around the Midland centres of Birmingham, W a l s a l l , Wolverhampton and the south Y o r k s h i r e c i t y of S h e f f i e l d , 74 d i s t r e s s among the hardware workers was very g r e a t . R e l a t e d i n d u s t r i e s such as coal-mining f e l t the e f f e c t s of reduced working i n the i r o n i n d u s t r y too. Attempts by c o a l owners to cut costs by r e t u r n i n g to the lower wages c u r r e n t b e f o r e the war i n c r e a s e d unrest i n the c o a l f i e l d s of the no r t h - e a s t , a l r e a d y s t i r r e d by the indenture system which was operated by the employers to ensure an adequate labou r 75 supply. I t i s not c o i n c i d e n t a l t h a t B r i s t o l c o l l i e r s were a c t i v e i n r e g u l a t i n g food markets i n 1766, and t h a t the a u t h o r i t i e s g r e a t l y f e a r e d t h e i r d i s c i p l i n e d c h a l l e n g e s to o r d e r . 7 6 The post-war d e c l i n e of the c l o t h t r a d e had an even g r e a t e r e f f e c t on the c o n d i t i o n s of the poor because of the widespread nature of c l o t h p r o d u c t i o n . That p a r t of the i n d u s t r y which was organized on a \" p u t t i n g - o u t \" system i n good times p r o v i d e d a supplementary source of income to the r u r a l poor which put them above s u b s i s t e n c e l e v e l . Competi-t i o n from the new worsted i n d u s t r y of Y o r k s h i r e f o r the s h r i n k i n g post-war market i n c l o t h f o r c e d an a c c e l e r a t i o n of 74 / \ Annual R e g i s t e r , IX (1766), 61. 7 5Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 430, 488; S t a t e Papers, SP 37/4, f o l . 1. 76 \" L e t t e r from B r i s t o l , \" P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , October 2, 1766. 215 the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of the c l o t h i n d u s t r y i n the o l d c l o t h 77 counties of Southern England, w i t h i t s attendant misery 7 8 f o r i n d i v i d u a l c l o t h workers. Even the new worsted cen-t r e s i n Y o r k s h i r e f e l t the impact of trade d e p r e s s i o n by December, 1765. Observers estimated t h a t most of the 500,000 c l o t h workers i n Leeds, Wakefield, Br a d f o r d , K e i g h l e y , H a l i f a x , H u d d e r s f i e l d , Rochdale, Morley, B u r s t a l l , B a t l e y , Pudsey, Dewsbury, Osset, Kirkheuton and Almonsbury 79 were unemployed or on h a l f time by t h i s date. But the r e c e s s i o n of the c l o t h trade was most severe i n the southern c o u n t i e s , which helps to e x p l a i n why the hunger r i o t s were most s e r i o u s i n the o l d c l o t h counties of W i l t s h i r e , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , and N o r f o l k . C l o t h workers were f r e q u e n t l y i n v o l v e d i n the r i o t s of 1766 i n the West Country and East A n g l i a , as i s evident from court r e c o r d s and contemporary w r i t e r s . One shrewd commentator noted: The f i r s t r i o t s i n G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e were occasioned by the d i s c o n t e n t s of the lower s o r t of l a b o u r e r i n the c l o t h i n g t r a d e , who, f i n d i n g the work scarce and p r o v i -sions dear, grumbled t i l l a h i n t given i n the p u b l i c 77 V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , I I , 160 and passim. V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , W i l t s h i r e , IV, 62 et seq. Heaton, The Y o r k s h i r e Woollen and Worsted I n d u s t r i e s . 78 L i p s o n , H i s t o r y of the Woollen and Worsted Indus-t r i e s . 79 Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 567, 216 newspaper was recommended to them by t h e i r employers of r e g u l a t i n g the markets.\u00C2\u00B0\u00C2\u00AE Another correspondent blamed the desperate s t a t e of the poor on a m i n o r i t y of troublemakers who r i o t e d without j u s t i f i -c a t i o n and hampered the movement of g r a i n i n t o the essen-t i a l l y p a s t o r a l western c o u n t i e s by r e g u l a t i n g markets and f r i g h t e n i n g away the farmers from neighbouring c o u n t i e s . He observed: The r i o t e r s , f o r the most p a r t , were s t u r d y f e l l o w s c h i e f l y weavers, s c r i b b e r s , and shearers who could have earned 9-30/- i f they worked. These f o r c e d down the p r i c e s and took to t e r r o r i s i n g farmers and ale-house keepers f o r food, beer, and money.81 Dr. E l i z a b e t h G i l b o y has suggested t h a t the c l o t h workers took the o p p o r t u n i t y to repay o l d scores w i t h c l o t h i e r s at t h i s time, but they a t t a c k e d b o l t i n g m i l l s where f l o u r was 82 s i f t e d r a t h e r than the p r o p e r t y of t h e i r employers. 80 John P i t t to Hardwicke, December 21, 1766, Add. MSS, 35607, f o i . 341. By the summer of 1768 there was some improvement i n the West Country c l o t h i n g i n d u s t r y ( P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , June 17, 1768). 8 1 0 n l y a m i n o r i t y of the 30,000 or 40,000 c l o t h manufacturers w i t h i n t h i r t y m i l e s of Minchinhampton and the v i c i n i t y of S t r o u d were s a i d to be troublemakers. Most were poor men, earning e i g h t or nine s h i l l i n g s per week as \"sober, i n d u s t r i o u s workers\" (Gazetteer and New D a i l y Adver-t i s e r , October 22, 1766). 82 D i s c o u n t i n g drunkenness of manufacturers as an e x p l a n a t i o n of the d i s o r d e r s of 1766 suggests the workers remembered the wage s t r u g g l e s of 1727 and 1756, and wished to make t h i n g s as unpleasant as p o s s i b l e f o r t h e i r masters. While t h i s does not account f o r the c l o t h workers' a t t a c k s on the p r o p e r t y of middlemen and farmers r a t h e r than t h a t of wealthy c l o t h i e r s , i t does suggest a reason why t h e i r employers wished to encourage them to f o r c e down p r i c e s ( G i l b o y , Wages i n E i g h t e e n t h Century England). James Bryant, 217 C e r t a i n l y with the wage d i s p u t e s of the 1750's l e s s than a decade e a r l i e r , i t i s h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g t h a t c l o t h i e r s d i v e r t e d the a t t e n t i o n of t h e i r workers towards middlemen and l a r g e - s c a l e farmers, the apparent authors of an a r t i f i -o o c i a l shortage of food, as John P i t t t o l d Lord Hardwicke. There can be l i t t l e doubt t h a t c l o t h workers s u f f e r e d reduced employment due to a gen e r a l realignment of trade i n 84 the immediate post-war p e r i o d . D i s t r e s s was widespread r e p o r t i n g to Lords L o v e l l and H o l l a n d r e g a r d i n g the ques-t i o n n a i r e sent by the House of Lords' Committee on High P r i c e s of P r o v i s i o n s , noted the p r a c t i c e of l o c a l m i l l e r s , \"who of l a t e years set up bunting m i l l s to go about farms buying wheat i n the r i c k which they g r i n d [ t o ] make i n t o f l o u r \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h u s much wheat [ i s ] prevented from the market and r e s u l t i n g dear p r i c e s . \" S u s p i c i o n that m i l l e r s were a d u l -t e r a t i n g the f l o u r f u r t h e r i n c r e a s e d the a n t i p a t h y of the poor. When stocks of alum, w h i t i n g , and other a d u l t e r a n t s were found i n a b o l t i n g m i l l , the mobs became very d e s t r u c -t i v e . 8 3 A f t e r the weavers' r i o t s of 1756, j u s t i c e s of the peace i n Qu a r t e r S e s s i o n again f i x e d wages, but c l o t h i e r s circumvented the r e g u l a t i o n s , p l e a d i n g competition from the French was due to the export of E n g l i s h and I r i s h wool ( V i c t o r i a County H i s t o r y , G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , I I , 160). 84 U n t i l the l a s t decade of the ei g h t e e n t h century E n g l i s h c l o t h was sought abroad f o r i t s cheapness r a t h e r than i t s q u a l i t y , e.g., there was a d e c l i n e i n export of E n g l i s h c l o t h to P o r t u g a l a f t e r the Seven Years' War due to a f a i l u r e to r a i s e the q u a l i t y f o r the p r i c e asked. A f t e r 1770 there was a marked s h i f t from c o a r s e r to f i n e r c l o t h (Documents I l l u s t r a t i n g the W i l t s h i r e T e x t i l e Trades i n the Ei g h t e e n t h Century, ecL by J u l i a de L. Mann ,' 'XIX' [Devizes: W i l t s h i r e A r c h a e o l o g i c a l and N a t i o n a l H i s t o r y S o c i e t y , Records Branch, 1964,]). A l e t t e r from W i l t s h i r e of Septem-ber 20 r e f e r r e d to the d i s t r e s s of out-of-work c l o t h workers (Gazetteer and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 26, 1766). The P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , September 19, 1766, r e p o r t e d farmers dropping wheat to 6/- a bush e l , \" e s p e c i a l l y i n the c l o t h i n g towns.\" A l e t t e r from G l o u c e s t e r r e p o r t e d c l o t h i n g workers i n v o l v e d i n the r i o t s ( G a z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , October 22, 1766). 218 across Southern England when a g r a r i a n hunger r i o t s broke out i n 1766. But the d i s t r e s s of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of E n g l i s h manufacturing c e n t r e s , as w e l l as of the farm l a b o u r e r s , was due to trade d i s r u p t i o n s which had l i t t l e to do wi t h any post-war r e c e s s i o n . One major cause of such d i s r u p t i o n s was the American c o l o n i s t s ' response f i r s t to the Stamp Act and 85 l a t e r the Townshend D u t i e s . Non-importation agreements i n America came i n t o o p e r a t i o n i n 1765 and reduced l o a d i n g s f o r New England, New York, P e n n s y l v a n i a , Maryland, V i r g i n i a , the C a r o l i n a s , and Georgia were the evident e f f e c t s of the econ-omic w a r . ^ In a d d i t i o n to the o u t r i g h t d e c l i n e of trade w i t h America, E n g l i s h merchants s u f f e r e d from the non-payment of outstanding debts, which f o r c e d them to reduce orders to i n d u s t r i a l i s t s . Stocks p i l e d up, and manufacturers l a i d o f f l a r g e numbers of workers, at a time when the p r i c e s of pro-8 7 v i s i o n s were high. Annual f i g u r e s of B r i t i s h exports to the T h i r t e e n C o l o n i e s p rovide a measure of American h o s t i l -i t y towards the Stamp Act and the Townshend D u t i e s , and 85 \" L e t t e r from B r i s t o l , \" P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , October 2, 1766. 8 ^ A s h t o n , Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 164. R 7 \"Besides, as the poor are so numerous i t w i l l be very d i f f i c u l t to f i n d employment f o r them, e s p e c i a l l y i n manufactures f o r f o r e i g n e x p o r t a t i o n ; as the p r i c e s of a l l s o r t s of p r o v i s i o n s are now g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e d \" (Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV [1765], 84-85). 219 suggest the d i f f i c u l t i e s of the E n g l i s h workers: 1764, 2.49 ( m i l l i o n pounds); 1765, 1.94; 1766, 1.80; 1767, 1.90; 1768, 2.16; 1769, 1.34. 8 8 The years 1765, 1766, and 1769 were years when non-importation orders operated. Some of the trade l o s s e s with America were made up by g r e a t e r exports to A f r i c a , the East I n d i e s , the West 89 I n d i e s , and Northern Europe. But c e r t a i n i n d u s t r i e s d i d not b e n e f i t from t h i s s h i f t i n trade. C e r t a i n l y woollen t e x t i l e s had l i t t l e p o t e n t i a l f o r expansion i n t r o p i c a l and s e m i - t r o p i c a l c o u n t r i e s . The o v e r a l l tendency of trade i n the second h a l f of the 1760's was towards d e p r e s s i o n . The h i g h e s t value of exports, i n c l u d i n g r e - e x p o r t s was i n 1764, the f i r s t year of peace when trade was f r e e of r e s t r i c t i o n s . Exports as w e l l as r e - e x p o r t s d e c l i n e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n the next three years: 1765, 14,573 (thousands of pounds); 1766, 14,082; 1767, 13,867. In 1768 there was some recovery w i t h 15,120, f o l l o w e d i n the next year by a slump to 13,438 as 90 r e a c t i o n to the Townshend Du t i e s took e f f e c t . Exports of E n g l i s h produce and manufactures (without, t h a t i s , r e -exports) do not even show a re c o v e r y i n 1768: 1764, 11,536 88 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800. 89 Schumpeter, E n g l i s h Overseas Trade S t a t i s t i c s , 1697-1808, Table V, p. 17. 90 I b i d . , Table I, p. 15. 220 (thousands of pounds); 1765, 10,122; 1766, 9,900; 1767, 9,492; 1768, 9,695; 1769, 8,984. 9 1 Trade f i g u r e s do not show c o n c l u s i v e l y whether there was an i n t e r n a l d e p r e s s i o n or not i n the 1760's, but they do r e v e a l a s i g n i f i c a n t r e d u c t i o n i n exports and suggest reasons f o r the widespread unemployment i n c e r t a i n r e g i ons of the country r e p o r t e d i n the press. One may reasonably conclude w i t h P r o f e s s o r T. S. Ashton t h a t the years 1765-1770 were years of d e p r e s s i o n , and t h a t they were the begin-ning of a twenty-year p e r i o d when overseas trade d e c l i n e d 92 g r e a t l y . Ashton has e x p l a i n e d the two decades of depres-s i o n i n terms of the economic c o n f l i c t w i t h America, the economic malaise of Germany, d i s o r d e r s i n I n d i a , war with France and Spain, and a r e d u c t i o n i n shipments on the 93 government account. The American d i f f i c u l t i e s of the 1760's were p a r t of a wider realignment of trade i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, the e f f e c t of which was to d i s t r e s s con-s i d e r a b l e segments of the i n d u s t r i a l p o p u l a t i o n and 91 Export f i g u r e s of E n g l i s h produce and manufactures are more i n d i c a t i v e of economic c o n d i t i o n s w i t h i n the coun-t r y . Re-exports are only m a r g i n a l l y a f f e c t i v e on home econ-omy and r e f l e c t c o n d i t i o n s i n producing country more. Sugar r e f i n i n g would have some s l i g h t e f f e c t on the p o r t economies of London and the western outports ( i b i d . , Table I I ) . See Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800. 92 Schumpeter, E n g l i s h Overseas Trade S t a t i s t i c s , 1697-1808, p. 4 , ( I n t r o d u c t i o n by T. S. AshtonJ. 9 3 I b i d . 221 encourage them to r i o t i n times of s e v e r e l y f l u c t u a t i n g 94 p r i c e s such as 1766. But the a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r e r , too, f e l t the adverse e f f e c t s of d i s r u p t i o n s i n trade a f t e r the Seven Years' War. Not only d i d the cottage i n d u s t r i e s l i k e cloth-weaving d e c l i n e w i t h the r e d u c t i o n i n overseas t r a d e , but they d e c l i n e d also, because E n g l i s h i n d u s t r i a l workers had l e s s money to buy r u r a l goods. As a l r e a d y noted, n a t u r a l s h o r t -ages of food b e n e f i t e d the farmer r a t h e r than the l a b o u r e r . A f t e r 1763 t h e r e were s e v e r a l seasons of epidemics among farm animals and a s e r i e s of poor h a r v e s t s . These n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d the l a b o u r e r , who had l e s s work at a time of h i g h food p r i c e s . Smaller farmers too s u f f e r e d because n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s might be l o c a l and because poor r a t e s were high. In some i n s t a n c e s small farmers dropped i n t o the l a b o u r i n g c l a s s as a r e s u l t of these problems. In the post-war years farm wages f a i l e d to keep pace 95 w i t h p r i c e s , and i n the West Country they a c t u a l l y dropped. The g e n e r a l l y depressed s t a t e of farming i n the.west was r e f l e c t e d i n the p r a c t i c e of paying labour i n k i n d r a t h e r 94 David Macpherson, Annals of Commerce, Manufactures, F i s h e r i e s and N a v i g a t i o n , I. . . C o n t a i n i n g the Commercial T r a n s a c t i o n s of the B r i t i s h Empire and Other C o u n t r i e s , from the E a r l i e s t Accounts to . . . January 1801; and Comprehend-i n g the Most V a l u a b l e P a r t of . . . Mr. Anderson's H i s t o r y of Commerce, V i z . from the Year 1492 to the End of the Reign of George I I , etc (4 v o l s . ; London, 1805), I I I , 442-43. 95 See Chapter II above. 222 than money. Farmers based the q u a n t i t i e s of produce p a i d as wages on the q u a n t i t i e s a p p r o p r i a t e to the e a r l y years of the century when food p r i c e s were low. When p r i c e s of pro-v i s i o n s rose s t e e p l y i n the 1760's, l a b o u r e r s r e p o r t e d l y r e c e i v e d i n s u f f i c i e n t to f e e d t h e i r f a m i l i e s adequately f o r 96 more than t h r e e days a week. Consequently farm l a b o u r e r s appeared f r e q u e n t l y w i t h i n the ranks of the hunger r i o t e r s of 1766, d e s p i t e t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l deference to p r i v i l e g e and the n a t u r a l d i f f i c u l t y of o r g a n i z i n g a group of workers who were so geo-g r a p h i c a l l y s c a t t e r e d . Some contemporaries blamed the i n d u s t r i a l workers r a t h e r than the farm workers f o r d i s o r d e r s . A r t h u r Young, h a r d l y an i m p a r t i a l observer, claimed t h a t the manufacturing c l a s s e s , d e s p i t e t h e i r high wages of 9-11/- per week, were more t u r b u l e n t than farm l a b o u r e r s who earned only 5/6. \"Who would not conclude the same manufacturers the most unreasonable, tumultuous, and ungovernable people p o s s i b l e seeing others could be content who earned but h a l f the 97 money,\" he asked. Few of Young's c r i t i c s denied that 96 Farmers p a i d l a b o u r e r s i n corn \"which at the l a t e enormous p r i c e . . . was not s u f f i c i e n t to support t h e i r s t a r v i n g f a m i l i e s three days i n the week\" (Ga z e t t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , September 29, 1766). 97 \" . . . But l e t not these lawless p l u n d e r e r s , who are u n i v e r s a l l y the very skum, and r i f f - r a f f of t h e i r neigh-bourhood, have the l e a s t e f f e c t upon your o p i n i o n s . The more such f e l l o w s earn, the more succeeding time and money they have f o r the ale-house and d i s o r d e r l y meetings; and of course, more i n t h e i r power to do mischief.\" ( A r t h u r Young, A S i x Weeks' Tour through the Southern Counties of England and Wales [London, 1768], pp. 330-33). 223 i n d u s t r i a l workers were l e s s t r a c t a b l e than farm workers, but they r i g h t l y noted t h a t wage r a t e s themselves were not v a l i d i n d i c e s of l i v i n g standards. In f a c t , the manufac-t u r e r s were f r e q u e n t l y unemployed from f o u r to e i g h t months of the year i n the 1760's and t h e i r annual income was below 98 t h a t of farm l a b o u r e r s , q u i t e apart from p e r q u i s i t e s of 99 cheap food which most a g r i c u l t u r a l workers enjoyed. D e s p i t e t h e i r r e l a t i v e l y b e t t e r l i v i n g standards, the farm l a b o u r e r s j o i n e d the i n d u s t r i a l workers i n t h e i r s o c i a l p r o t e s t s of 1766. The f a c t t h a t both i n d u s t r i a l workers and farm l a b o u r e r s r i o t e d i n 1766 and thereby expressed an accumula-t i o n of grievances which had b u i l t up s i n c e the h a l f - c e n t u r y , and had reached s e r i o u s p r o p o r t i o n s due to the e f f e c t of the war and trade d i s r u p t i o n s of the 1760's d i d not mean th a t other important groups were not i n v o l v e d d e s p i t e t h e i r absence from the re c o r d s . Law enforcement i n the eighteen t h century was f r e -quently haphazard and always had a d i s t i n c t c l a s s c h a r a c t e r . There i s much evidence to show t h a t the cou r t s gave h e a v i e r sentences to l o w e r - c l a s s hunger and i n d u s t r i a l r i o t e r s than 98 See \"No R i o t e r \" r e p l y to Young's A S i x Weeks' Tour through the Southern Counties of England and Wales ( L l o y d ' s \" Evening P o s t , May 25-27, 1768). 99 G i l b o y , Wages i n E i g h t e e n t h Century England, p. 80. 224 to m i d d l e - c l a s s p o l i t i c a l r i o t e r s . \" ' \" 0 0 Farmers who r i o t e d i n 1756-57 and 1815 r e c e i v e d m i l d e r treatment than the l a b o u r e r s they i n c i t e d to r i o t i n subsequent years by t h e i r actions.\"'\"0\"'' I t i s reasonable to suppose t h a t those a r r e s t e d f o r t h e i r p a r t i n the 1766 d i s o r d e r s s u f f e r e d because of t h e i r high \" v i s i b i l i t y f a c t o r . \" J u s t as today North Ameri-can Indians or Negroes stand a g r e a t e r chance of a r r e s t f o r minor t r a f f i c o f f e n c e s than do m i d d l e - c l a s s Caucasian d r i v e r s , the poor of the eightee n t h century i n t h e i r homespun smocks or remnants of m i l i t a r y c l o t h i n g stood out c l e a r l y from t h e i r s o c i a l s u p e r i o r s and were more prone to a r r e s t . The i n a b i l i t y of m a g i s t r a t e s to a r r e s t c u l p r i t s d u r i n g the course of most r i o t s i n 1766 encouraged t h i s s e l e c t i v e \" j u s t i c e . \" The delay between the committal of the off e n c e of r i o t i n g and the a r r e s t of p a r t i c i p a n t s i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n c o n s i d e r i n g the composition of mobs. M a g i s t r a t e s were o f t e n unable to a r r e s t r i o t e r s f o r s e v e r a l days or even weeks a f t e r t h e i r a l l e g e d o f f e n c e s . Without m i l i t a r y a s s i s t a n c e the a u t h o r i t i e s were unable to make summary a r r e s t s . As the army g r a d u a l l y r e s t o r e d calm to the r u r a l areas i n October and November, 1766, the m a g i s t r a t e s concentrated t h e i r ^ 0 0Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , Appendices I I I and XI. \"'\"0\"'\"Peacock notes s i m i l a r p r e f e r e n t i a l treatment f o r farmers r i o t i n g compared wi t h l a b o u r e r s r i o t i n g (Peacock, Bread or Blood, p. 127). 225 e f f o r t s on hunting down the r i n g l e a d e r s of the mobs. F i n d -i n g witnesses, t a k i n g d e p o s i t i o n s , and f i n a l l y t r a c i n g o f f e n d e r s were a l l time-consuming and the j u s t i c e s f r e q u e n t l y e n l i s t e d the a i d of the church wardens and other p a r i s h o f f i c i a l s . They asked f o r i n f o r m a t i o n about the names of known r i o t e r s , v i l l a g e r s who were absent from t h e i r home pa r i s h e s d u r i n g the r i o t s , or people who had subsequently 102 absconded. Consequently those i n d i c t e d f o r r i o t i n g were 103 almost i n v a r i a b l y l o c a l men. P r i s o n e r s t r i e d before the f o u r s p e c i a l commissions s i t t i n g i n the c h i e f d i s a f f e c t e d c o u n t i e s of G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , B e r k s h i r e , W i l t s h i r e , and N o r f o l k i n December, 1766 were not- n e c e s s a r i l y a r e p r e s e n t a -t i v e c r o s s - s e c t i o n of the r i o t e r s . One important group almost c e r t a i n l y i n v o l v e d , at l e a s t i n the e a r l y r i o t s , of whom no r e c o r d remains, was the seasonal h a r v e s t workers from London and other l a r g e urban 104 ce n t r e s . More aware of the conspicuous consumption of the i n c r e a s i n g l y wealthy, urban \"middling s o r t , \" as w e l l as of the a r i s t o c r a c y , they e n t e r t a i n e d h i g h e r e x p e c t a t i o n s 105 than many of the r u r a l poor, while at the same time they \" ^ ^ D e p o s i t i o n s and Case Papers (1766). 103 f Cf. Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , f o r ob s e r v a t i o n s on the \"faces i n the crowd.\" \"'\"^Ashton, An Economic H i s t o r y of England, p. 32. 105 Hanway claimed domestic servants ate meat three times a day and de p r i v e d the poor of a l l but three or f o u r ounces (Hanway, L e t t e r s , XXXII, p. 194 et seq.). 226 l a c k e d the l a t t e r ' s t r a d i t i o n a l deference to p r i v i l e g e . Doubtless the c o n c e n t r a t i o n of p o p u l a t i o n i n t o the Tower Hamlets and the poorer l i b e r t i e s of London p l a c e d such an i n t o l e r a b l e s t r a i n upon the p a r i s h system t h a t m a g i s t r a t e s found i t i m p r a c t i c a l to t r a c e h a r v e s t workers who r i o t e d through p a r i s h o f f i c e r s i n the same way they were able to do i n r u r a l and s m a l l e r urban c e n t r e s . Probably w i t h i n the ranks of seasonal workers were domestic servants between masters. These were among the most a l i e n a t e d groups i n eighteenth-century England. Close p r o x i m i t y to the a f f l u e n t had bred contempt and whetted t h e i r a p p e t i t e s f o r expensive l u x u r i e s of l i f e which they could never a f f o r d . O r i g i n a l l y brought to London from the c o u n t r y s i d e , they had q u i c k l y been s p o i l e d by the a l i e n s o c i e t y on whose f r i n g e s they now hovered, at l e a s t i n the view of t h e i r masters. F r e q u e n t l y d i s c h a r g e d as i n c o r r i g -i b l e by t h e i r employers and g i v e n no r e f e r e n c e s , they r e s o r t e d to d e c e p t i o n to g a i n new employment. Those who d i d not support themselves by crime passed themselves o f f as n e w l y - a r r i v e d , u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d r u s t i c s ' i n the c i t y f o r the f i r s t time i n search of employment.''\"0^ The l a r g e number of unemployed servants between jobs was the cause of great alarm to the m e t r o p o l i t a n m a g i s t r a t e s . R i o t s of armed f o o t -men and others over attempts to d i s c o n t i n u e t h e i r \" v a i l s \" i n J . Jean Hecht, The Domestic Servant C l a s s i n E i g h t e e n t h Century England (London: Routledge & P a u l , 1956), passim. 227 107 the 1760's i n d i c a t e the m i l i t a n c y of t h i s servant c l a s s . Servants were i d e n t i f i e d among the hunger r i o t s of 1766, but probably the more r o o t l e s s members of t h i s i n t e r e s t played an important r o l e i n both urban and r u r a l r i o t s out of pro-p o r t i o n to the numbers who were i d e n t i f i e d . In urban r i o t s p a r t i c u l a r l y servants were able to escape a r r e s t because they dressed as gentlemen, and doubtless were able to b l u f f t h e i r way through i n circumstances where a mo r e - r e a d i l y i d e n t i f i a b l e member of the poorer s o r t would have been a r r e s t e d . Another group, r e f e r e n c e to which i s not found i n the records of 1766, was the I r i s h harvest workers. Seasonal l a b o u r e r s from I r e l a n d were not yet appearing i n the E n g l i s h c o u n t r y s i d e i n the l a r g e numbers c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h century, but by the 1760's t h e i r numbers were growing. E n e r g e t i c s u p p r e s s i o n of the t e r r o r i s t gangs of Whiteboys by the I r i s h government had caused many to f l e e to 108 England a f t e r 1765. Most headed f o r the crowded p a r i s h e s of East London where the a u t h o r i t i e s found i t i m p o s s i b l e to enforce the laws of settlement. As w i l l be seen l a t e r , some e s t a b l i s h e d an I r i s h \"mafia\" which dominated the w a t e r f r o n t of the Thames i n May, 1768. Yet i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h the 107 M. Dorothy George, \"The E a r l y H i s t o r y of R e g i s t r y O f f i c e s , \" Economic H i s t o r y , Supplement of Economic J o u r n a l , I, No. 4 (1926-29), 229-48. 108 Correspondence of King George the T h i r d , ed. by F o r t e s c u e , p. 310. 228 l a n d was always a strong d r i v i n g f o r c e f o r Irishmen, and many must have found work i n the harvest f i e l d s . I t i s p u z z l i n g t h a t l i t t l e or no mention i s made of Irishmen i n the hunger r i o t s of 1766. They would have c e r t a i n l y stood out from others of the poor because of t h e i r speech and dre s s . C e r t a i n l y the a u t h o r i t i e s would have been ready to accept any sugg e s t i o n of a c o n s p i r a c y behind these dangerous d i s o r d e r s had there been any evidence to support such a theory. Perhaps, however, the d i v e r s i o n of the r i o t e r s a g a i n s t middlemen and l a r g e farmers had f r i g h t e n e d the auth-o r i t i e s by i t s success. The subsequent t h r e a t to the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e shocked them i n t o the r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t the p r e c i p -i t a t i n g cause of the r i o t s was hunger. In such circum-stances the search f o r another scapegoat was a waste of time. I t i s reasonable to suppose that Irishmen c o n t r i b u t e d t h e i r own resentments to the pressure f o r s o c i a l change i n England, and t h a t many d i s a f f e c t e d Irishmen were i n the ranks of the r i o t e r s i n 1766. I l l The r i o t e r s i n 1766, t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e i r t a c -t i c s , and t h e i r t a r g e t s a l l expressed the u n d e r l y i n g s o c i a l t e n s i o n s of England which became acute i n the e a r l y 1750's. The impact of the Seven Years' War and the trade d i s r u p t i o n s of the 1760's exacerbated these pressures i n r u r a l s o c i e t y . 229 The f l u c t u a t i n g p r i c e s and apprehensions of o u t r i g h t famine touched o f f the v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s , which subsequent govern-ment p o l i c i e s and m a g i s t r a t e s ' s a n c t i o n encouraged almost to the p o i n t of g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c t i o n . Denied e f f e c t i v e govern-ment c o n t r o l of wages and food p r i c e s , and o f t e n f a c e d with more r e s t r i c t i v e a t t i t u d e s towards the g r a n t i n g of poor 109 r e l i e f , the poor allowed themselves to be d i v e r t e d towards the middlemen and gre a t farmers by a landed i n t e r e s t determined at a l l costs to avoid the s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n i t had experienced i n 1756-57 when mobs of farmers and l a b o u r e r s u n i t e d a g a i n s t i t . Dorothy M a r s h a l l , The E n g l i s h Poor i n the E i g h -t e e n t h Century: A Study i n S o c i a l and A d m i n i s t r a t i v e H i s -t o r y (New York: Augustus M. K e l l e y , 1926), p. 14. PART I I CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: INDUSTRIAL DISORDERS IN LONDON Des p i t e the s e r i o u s hunger r i o t s which extended through Southern England i n 1766, no comparable d i s t u r b a n c e s over high p r i c e s of food o c c u r r e d i n the London area i n t h a t year. P r i o r to 1768, the only s e r i o u s m e t r o p o l i t a n d i s -orders i n the 1760's were those r e l a t e d to the causes of John Wilkes i n 1763, and to the d i s c o n t e n t s of the S p i t a l -f i e l d s s i l k - w e a v e r s w i t h government trade p o l i c i e s , which \u00E2\u0080\u00A2culminated i n the seige of the Duke of Bedford's r e s i d e n c e in.1765. Other d i s t u r b a n c e s among such groups as the sea-men, shoemakers, and footmen were of much more l i m i t e d dur-a t i o n . There were s e v e r a l reasons why the London populace r e f r a i n e d from v i o l e n t p r o t e s t when hunger mobs d i s r u p t e d much of the surrounding c o u n t r y s i d e . M e t r o p o l i t a n magis-t r a t e s were u s u a l l y quick to safeguard s u p p l i e s of food to the c a p i t a l . Because of the complexity of f e e d i n g such l a r g e numbers of people, a n t i p a t h y towards middlemen of the food trade was not as i n t e n s e i n London as i t was i n the 230 231 p r o v i n c e s , where marketing systems were simpler. Although i n times of emergency, the London mag i s t r a t e s kept a c l o s e watch f o r s p e c u l a t i v e a c t i o n s of middlemen which u n f a i r l y r a i s e d the p r i c e of \" n e c e s s a r i e s \" i n times of s c a r c i t y , the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t i n g by the 1760's were never as r i g o r o u s l y enforced i n the l a r g e urban centres as they were i n the country at l a r g e . Hence, n e i t h e r the government's pro c l a m a t i o n of the o l d a n t i -middlemen s t a t u t e s i n September, 1766, nor the c o i n c i d e n c e of high food p r i c e s and low wages i n 1768 s t i m u l a t e d a t t a c k s on the middlemen of the M e t r o p o l i s . N e i t h e r d i d g r a i n move-ments i n London and Westminster a t t r a c t the same a t t e n t i o n as they d i d i n the p r o v i n c e s . Food was always a r r i v i n g i n the London area to feed the populace, as w e l l as f o r s h i p -ment overseas. The importance of g r a i n movements through the c o u n t r y s i d e i n p r e c i p i t a t i n g r i o t s i n 1766 i s evident from the c o r r e l a t i o n of d i s o r d e r s and changes i n government p o l i c i e s on the export of g r a i n . Although most g r a i n shipped abroad i n 1766 l e f t through the B o r t of London, i t s movement through the c o u n t r y s i d e to the c a p i t a l , r a t h e r than i t s l o a d i n g aboard v e s s e l s i n the r i v e r , a t t r a c t e d the hos-t i l i t y of the poor. Yet another s i g n i f i c a n t reason f o r the calm of the London populace i n 1766 was the f a c t t h a t the p r i c e s of food, e s p e c i a l l y g r a i n , d i d not f l u c t u a t e w i l d l y , as they d i d i n the p r o v i n c e s . At the same time t h a t p r i c e s remained r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e i n the London food markets, the 2 3 2 economic r e c e s s i o n was not as severe i n the c a p i t a l ' s t r a d e s as i t was i n the c l o t h i n g centres of the south, or the hard-ware i n d u s t r i e s of the Midlands. Indeed, the r e p e a l of the Stamp Act i n March, 1766 had a more immediate e f f e c t upon the great commercial centre of London than d i d the govern-ment's food p o l i c y . With the exception of the silk-weavers and watermen, most London trades were not yet s u f f e r i n g from l a r g e - s c a l e unemployment. The i n d u s t r i o u s poor of London, t h e r e f o r e , d i d not face h i g h food p r i c e s at a time of low employment, as d i d t h e i r p r o v i n c i a l c o u n t e r p a r t s . By e a r l y 1768, the c o n d i t i o n s of many of the metro-p o l i t a n poor had changed d i s t i n c t l y f o r the worse. As a r e s u l t of continued poor h a r v e s t s , p r i c e r i s e s had a f f e c t e d the London markets. The p r i c e of bread, which i n 1767 had reached 8-l/4d a qua r t e r n l o a f at Bear Key market, remained hig h u n t i l the l a t e summer of 1768, when improved ha r v e s t s brought down the p r i c e of f l o u r . At the same time t h a t the p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s were high, s e r i o u s r e c e s s i o n was h i t -t i n g s e v e r a l of the important trades of London, as w e l l as many of the l e s s e r ones. Coalheavers, seamen, s i l k - w e a v e r s , shoemakers, t a i l o r s , and many other groups were f i n d i n g employment i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n , and t h e i r income was too low to meet the r i s i n g cost of e s s e n t i a l s . While the problems of most of London's i n d u s t r i o u s poor had only become acute e a r l y i n 1768, high p r i c e s and unemployment, which had s t i m u l a t e d the p r o v i n c i a l hunger 233 r i o t s of 1766, continued to d i s t u r b the poor across the country i n the f o l l o w i n g two years. Yet, d e s p i t e these con-d i t i o n s , most of the p r o v i n c i a l populace remained p a s s i v e , w h i l e the focus of unrest moved to the m e t r o p o l i t a n area. There were some attempts to f o r c e down food p r i c e s by crowd a c t i o n , but d i s o r d e r s i n the c o u n t r y s i d e were r e l a t i v e l y i n c o n s e q u e n t i a l a f t e r November, 1766. T h i s p a s s i v i t y which succeeded the widespread, v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s of the summer and autumn of 1766 r e q u i r e s some e x p l a n a t i o n , f o r i t c o n t r a s t e d w i t h the growing m i l i t a n c y of London i n d u s t r i a l mobs. A v a r i e t y of i n f l u e n c e s a f f e c t e d the a t t i t u d e of the poor o u t s i d e the London area to t h e i r d e t e r i o r a t i n g c o n d i -t i o n s . Although to some extent the r i o t s had played them-s e l v e s out w i t h the a r r i v a l of the w i n t e r season, vigorous s u p p r e s s i o n by the army was the immediate cause of the c o l -l a p s e of v i o l e n t e f f o r t s by the country p o p u l a t i o n to reduce food p r i c e s and end g r a i n movements to the p o r t s . The e a r l y t r i a l s of r i o t e r s before the s p e c i a l a s s i z e c o u r t s , and severe sentences of imprisonment, s e r v i c e i n the armed f o r c e s , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , or death had t h e i r intended e f f e c t of cowing the d i s a f f e c t e d . H e a v i l y r e i n f o r c e d g a r r i s o n s i n the t r o u b l e d c o u n t i e s ensured the continued deference to a u t h o r i t y . The M i n i s t r y ' s b l a c k m a i l t a c t i c of h o l d i n g con-v i c t e d p r i s o n e r s under suspended sentences to discourage f u r t h e r p r o t e s t s from t h e i r f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s a s s i s t e d i n m a i n t a i n i n g the uneasy calm. At the same time, the 234 embargo on a l l g r a i n exports, and on the use of corn f o r l u x u r y i n d u s t r i e s such as starch-making and d i s t i l l e r y , t o g e t h e r w i t h the d u t y - f r e e i m p o r t a t i o n of p r o v i s i o n s from I r e l a n d , Europe, and America, removed the p r o v o c a t i o n of continued l u x u r y consumption i n times of dearth, and comple-mented the more negative measures of r e p r e s s i o n . Many of these measures r e a s s u r e d the poor who had i n i t i a l l y panicked at the prospect of o u t r i g h t famine. Although the government's i n t e r v e n t i o n i n trade and the p r o v i s i o n of s u b s i d i z e d s u p p l i e s of g r a i n by p r i v a t e a s s o c i a t i o n s helped to prevent the p r i c e s of food r i s i n g to even higher l e v e l s , the c o s t of e s s e n t i a l s continued to cause the country populace grave d i s t r e s s . More i n f l u e n t i a l i n m o l l i f y i n g the p r o v i n c i a l poor's resentment was the r e d u c t i o n of l a r g e - s c a l e g r a i n movements, e s p e c i a l l y to the p o r t s , and the token l i m i t a t i o n of the middlemen's a c t i v i -t i e s , f o l l o w i n g the proclamation of the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t engrossing, r e g r a t i n g , and f o r e s t a l l i n g . Even more important i n the p a c i f i c a t i o n of the coun-t r y s i d e was the dawning r e a l i z a t i o n , confirmed by the second c o n s e c u t i v e poor h a r v e s t of 1767, t h a t the shortage of food was a n a t u r a l r a t h e r than an a r t i f i c i a l one, f o r which-the middlemen c o u l d h a r d l y be blamed. The exactions of a \"tax-a t i o n p o p u l a i r e \" no longer seemed a p p r o p r i a t e and, indeed, had a l r e a d y proved both i n e f f e c t i v e and s e l f - d e f e a t i n g . The 2 3 5 d e p r i v e d , t h e r e f o r e , d i d not resume at t a c k s on middlemen and markets d e s p i t e continued high p r i c e s . The response of the p r o v i n c i a l poor to t h e i r d i f f i -c u l t circumstances now took s e v e r a l forms. 'Those with i n i -t i a t i v e , who had not been i n c a r c e r a t e d or impressed, migrated to the home c o u n t i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y Middlesex and Surrey, or t r a v e l l e d to America, t a k i n g t h e i r resentment of the s o c i a l system w i t h them. Others accepted, with v a r y i n g degrees of g r a t i t u d e , the s u b s i d i z e d food of p r i v a t e a s s o c i -a t i o n s of gentry and merchants, or of the M i n i s t r y . In East A n g l i a , the v i o l e n t p r o t e s t s at the b u i l d i n g of workhouses f o r combined p a r i s h e s d i e d down, as the poor were f o r c e d to accept the l o s s of t h e i r a n c i e n t f r e e h o l d , or s t a r v e . In g e n e r a l the p r o v i n c i a l poor, a f t e r t h e i r f i r s t b i t t e r r e a c -t i o n to the v i o l e n t l y f l u c t u a t i n g p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s i n the summer and autumn of 1766, sank f i r s t i n t o s u l l e n resentment at the m i l i t a r y r e p r e s s i o n , and then a p a t h e t i c r e s i g n a t i o n , as c o n d i t i o n s worsened and seemed beyond t h e i r power to i n f l u e n c e . In a predominantly r u s t i c s o c i e t y , n a t u r a l s c a r c i t y seemed to be d i v i n e r e t r i b u t i o n f o r past s i n s , which had to be endured. As the h a b i t s of d e p r i v a t i o n became f a m i l i a r once more, the expectations of the poor out-s i d e London ad j u s t e d more c l o s e l y to r e a l i t y . Far l e s s p a s s i v e and u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d was the metro-p o l i t a n poor's response to the c o i n c i d e n c e of h i g h p r i c e s , and reduced employment i n s e v e r a l of the c a p i t a l ' s major 236 i n d u s t r i e s i n 1768-69. The economic r e c e s s i o n which had e a r l i e r caused u n r e s t i n the o l d c l o t h i n g centres of South-ern England, the hardware d i s t r i c t s of the Midlands, and the mining v i l l a g e s of the n o r t h - e a s t now manifested i t s e l f i n competition f o r scarce jobs i n s h i p p i n g , on the docks, i n s i l k - w e a v i n g , and a v a r i e t y of l e s s e r occupations of the c a p i t a l . While the p r o v i n c i a l poor had become r e s i g n e d to the d e c l i n e of t h e i r l i v i n g standards, the m e t r o p o l i t a n poor v i o l e n t l y r e a c t e d to what was a more r e c e n t , and t h e r e f o r e n o v e l , down-turn. Not yet weakened by d e p r i v a t i o n , or d u l l e d by hopelessness, the i n d u s t r i o u s lower orders of London turned to vigorous i n d u s t r i a l p r o t e s t s i n 1768. Before examining i n d e t a i l the most important i n d u s -t r i a l r i o t s of 1768-69, some review of t h e i r background and c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e i r connection w i t h other s e r i o u s d i s -o r d e r s , which occ u r r e d at about the same time, i s r e l e v a n t , f o r the i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s took plac e a g a i n s t a b a c k c l o t h of p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s and m e t r o p o l i t a n p o l i t i c a l d i s -orders . U n t i l now, h i s t o r i a n s have given most a t t e n t i o n to the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the W i l k i t e p o l i t i c a l r i o t s and the i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s . The reasons f o r t h i s are f a i r l y e v ident. The W i l k i t e movement's f a s c i n a t i o n f o r h i s t o r i a n s , apparent from the numerous b i o g r a p h i e s and monographs a v a i l -a b l e , has r e f l e c t e d not only the i n t r i n s i c appeal of Wilkes h i m s e l f , but a l s o , i n some i n s t a n c e s , Whiggish p r e o c c u p a t i o n 237 w i t h the e v o l u t i o n of P a r l i a m e n t a r y government. The c o i n c i -dence of i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s and the a c t i v i t i e s of W i l k i t e mobs i n 1768-69, which seemed r e l a t e d to events i n America and I r e l a n d , suggested a c o n s p i r a c y to contemporaries, who commented upon the causes of E n g l i s h d i s c o n t e n t s i n p r i v a t e correspondence, pamphlets, memoirs, and newspapers. L a t e r students of the p e r i o d accepted the v a l i d i t y of t h e i r i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n of the events. To one of these s c h o l a r s , Raymond Po s t g a t e , the i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s appeared to be the work of W i l k i t e a g i t a -t o r s . A c c e p t i n g the c r i e s of seamen and others of \"Wilkes and L i b e r t y , \" and Horace Walpole's dark broodings on con-s p i r a c y at t h e i r f a c e v a l u e , Postgate saw the i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s of 1768 as p o l i t i c a l strikes.''\" More r e c e n t l y George Rude has r e j e c t e d t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . He sees the 2 two sets of r i o t s f o l l o w i n g p a r a l l e l but separate courses. Walpole was c o n t r a d i c t o r y on the q u e s t i o n of p o l i t -i c a l a g i t a t o r s i n c i t i n g people w i t h i n d u s t r i a l g r i e v a n c e s . On one o c c a s i o n he wrote of n o n - p o l i t i c a l mobs a c t i n g i n d e -pendently. \"We have independent mobs t h a t have nothing to do w i t h Wilkes, and who only take advantage of so f a v o u r a b l e a season. The dearness of p r o v i s i o n s i n c i t e s , the hope of i n c r e a s e d wages a l l u r e s , and d r i n k puts them i n motion\" (Horace Walpole to S i r Horace Mann, May 12, 1768, Walpole's L e t t e r s , ed. by Toynbee, V I I I , 186-87). Raymond W. P o s t g a t e , That D e v i l Wilkes (New York: Vanguard P r e s s , 1929), p. 181. Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , pp. 90-104. Maccoby denies p o l i t i c a l e x p l o i t a t i o n of economic d i s t r e s s but emphasizes the connection of p o l i t i c a l and economic unrest: \". . . the crowds t h a t gathered o u t s i d e Wilkes's p r i s o n became almost as much a school of p l e b i a n economic a g i t a t i o n as of p l e b i a n p o l i t i c s \" (Simon Maccoby, E n g l i s h R a d i c a l i s m , 1762-1785, The O r i g i n s , V o l . I of The E n g l i s h R a d i c a l T r a d i -t i o n 1763-1914, ed. by A l a n B u l l a k and F. W. Deakin [London: N i c h o l a s Kaye, 1955], pp. 458, 8-9). 238 There i s l i t t l e evidence to support a c o n s p i r a c y t h e s i s about W i l k i t e a g i t a t o r s d e l i b e r a t e l y fomenting i n d u s -t r i a l u n r e s t . P l a i n l y , t here was some o v e r l a p p i n g of i n t e r -e s t s . Thus seamen or c o a l h e a v e r s , demanding improved c o n d i -t i o n s , cheered f o r Wilkes; or p o l i t i c a l mobs, shouting \" b e t t e r hanged than s t a r v e d , \" d i s p l a y e d a l o a f draped i n b l a c k crepe at the Royal Exchange to demonstrate general d i s c o n t e n t w i t h the high p r i c e s of food. Yet, other i n c i -dents i l l u s t r a t e the s u p e r f i c i a l , even c o n t r a d i c t o r y charac-t e r of the r e l a t i o n s h i p of p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s . Seamen, having gained some of t h e i r economic demands, turned on a W i l k i t e mob and drove i t o f f . While coalheavers con-t i n u e d to support Wilkes from time to time, t h e i r l e a d e r Ralph Hodgson voted a g a i n s t Wilkes i n the Middlesex e l e c -t i o n s when many of t h e i r c h i e f enemies supported him at the 3 p o l l s . Undoubtedly, d i s g r u n t l e d tradesmen d i d appear i n W i l k i t e mobs, but they were there as i n d i v i d u a l s and not as members of an i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t which saw i t s e l f committed to s u p p o r t i n g W i l k i t e c a u s e s . 4 One might suspect that i n d u s t r i a l i n t e r e s t s were more i n c l i n e d to e x p l o i t the econ-omic grievances of p o l i t i c a l mobs than p o l i t i c a l r a d i c a l s were i n c l i n e d to s t i r up the i n d u s t r i o u s poor f o r p o l i t i c a l purposes. The seamen who signed t h e i r demands w i t h \"Wilkes 3 Middlesex Record O f f i c e , Westminster, Middlesex P o l l Book (1768-69), pp. 148, 179. 4 f Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , pp. 8-9. 239 and L i b e r t y \" were merely using another l e v e r to f o r c e the 5 government and t h e i r employers to concede t h e i r wishes. In another important sense, the j u x t a p o s i t i o n of the i n d u s t r i a l and p o l i t i c a l r i o t s was s i g n i f i c a n t . The f a c t t h a t there was no evidence of a cons p i r a c y d i d not prevent the a u t h o r i t i e s , from the King down to the m a g i s t r a t e s , l i n k i n g t o g e t h e r not only the i n d u s t r i a l and p o l i t i c a l r i o t s i n London, but a l s o the E n g l i s h d i s t u r b a n c e s w i t h events i n Boston and D u b l i n . The q u a l i t y of the a u t h o r i t i e s ' responses to unrest i n the M e t r o p o l i s i n 1768-69 can only be a p p r e c i -ated w i t h t h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n mind. The a u t h o r i t i e s ' t a r d i n e s s i n d e a l i n g e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h the i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s was due to t h e i r p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h the p o l i t i c a l r i o t s , which many of them saw as the d r i v i n g f o r c e behind a l l the d i s t u r b a n c e s . The s t r e t c h i n g of the l i m i t e d f o r c e s of order by the W i l k i t e demonstrations and r i o t s enabled the indu s -t r i a l r i o t s to g a i n s t r e n g t h and develop i n t o a g r e a t e r t h r e a t to the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e than would otherwise have been the case. Thus, one may conclude with George Rude, t h a t n e i t h e r the p o l i t i c a l nor the i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s were subor-d i n a t e to the other. There was an i n t e r a c t i o n which was not wholly a c c i d e n t a l . P o l i t i c a l r i o t s u s u a l l y o c c u r r e d i n 5 \"Memorials of Dialogues betwixt s e v e r a l seamen, a c e r t a i n v i c t u a l l e r , and a s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1 master i n the l a t e r i o t , \" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, f o i . . 3 7 4 . 240 6 p e r i o d s of economic unrest. The a u t h o r i t i e s were i n h i b i t e d by t h e i r d i s t o r t e d p e r c e p t i o n of events, and thus they per-m i t t e d d i s o r d e r to grow bef o r e b e l a t e d l y suppressing i t . But i n 1768-69 there was c e r t a i n l y no c o - o r d i n a t e d p l a n of p o l i t i c a l s t r i k e s . The connection between the p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s and i n d u s t r i a l p r o t e s t s has a t t r a c t e d l e s s comment. Few contemporaries saw the hunger r i o t s as evidence of a con-s p i r a c y to overthrow the s o c i a l order. U n t i l r e c e n t l y , h i s -t o r i a n s found l i t t l e t o i n t e r e s t them i n the f r e q u e n t \"pro-7 t e s t s of the b e l l y . \" Yet, there was an i n t e r a c t i o n between these two forms of s o c i a l p r o t e s t which m e r i t s c l o s e r a n a l y s i s . London's remarkable freedom from s e r i o u s p r o t e s t s over high p r i c e s and low wages i n 1766-67 was merely a tem-porary r e s p i t e from s o c i a l d i s o r d e r . The very measures which the r u l i n g i n t e r e s t s used to a v e r t a g e n e r a l i n s u r r e c -t i o n i n the c o u n t r y s i d e g r e a t l y c o n t r i b u t e d to r i s i n g t e n -s i o n s i n the c a p i t a l . The d i v e r s i o n of the r u r a l poor's h o s t i l i t y towards middlemen and farmers, and away from l a n d -owners, had f o c u s s e d a t t a c k s upon markets and the movement of food towards the urban c e n t r e s . Although the c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t i e s soon f o r c e d L o r d s - L i e u t e n a n t and m a g i s t r a t e s to 6 f Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , p. 9. 7 Rude, The Crowd i n H i s t o r y , p. 34. 241 safeguard s u p p l i e s of e s s e n t i a l food to the M e t r o p o l i s , and brought i n p r o v i s i o n s from overseas, food p r i c e s i n e v i t a b l y i n c r e a s e d i n c i t y markets (although at a slower r a t e than i n the country towns). At the same time t h a t m i l i t a r y suppres-s i o n s n u f f e d out r a d i c a l measures of r u r a l \" s e l f - h e l p \" i n a time of a n t i c i p a t e d famine, the M i n i s t r y d i d nothing to d i s -courage the i n c r e a s i n g m i g r a t i o n of the d e s t i t u t e to M i d d l e -sex and Surrey. Secure from the r i g o u r s of the Laws of Settlement, the new a r r i v a l s disappeared i n t o the densely-populated e a s t e r n and southern p a r i s h e s of London, seeking work i n the a l r e a d y overcrowded, u n s k i l l e d and s e m i - s k i l l e d t r a d e s of the c a p i t a l . T h i s i n f l u x of l a b o u r as a r e s u l t of p r o v i n c i a l d i s t r e s s i n 1768-69 aggravated a c r i s i s a l r e a d y developing from a combination of post-war adjustment, trade realignment, and i n c r e a s i n g l y frequent l a i s s e z - f a i r e p o l i -c i e s of the government. While at the same time t h a t unemployment i n c r e a s e d i n London, seasonal o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r supplementing income d e c l i n e d . Because of the poor h a r v e s t s of 1766-67, farmers Q r e q u i r e d fewer h a r v e s t workers i n the home.counties. Those Londoners l u c k y enough to f i n d work on the l a n d were under-employed. Along w i t h t h e i r reduced wages, they c a r r i e d back to the c i t y resentment at the m i l i t a r y s u p p r e s s i o n of 1766. Few were able to reduce the e f f e c t s of i n c r e a s e d unemployment Ashton, An Economic H i s t o r y of England, p. 32. 242 i n t h e i r London trades by supplementing t h e i r income on the land. The cumulative e f f e c t of t h i s d e p r i v a t i o n of addi-t i o n a l income explains why the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of the M e t r o p o l i s f e l t acutely the economic r e c e s s i o n of 1768-69. Both those who emigrated to London i n search of employment i n the 1760's and the Londoners who worked i n the harvest f i e l d s drew the lesson from the 1766 hunger r i o t s t h a t the t r a d i t i o n a l response to high p r i c e s of t r y i n g to f o r c e them down was i n e f f e c t u a l . Not only was the enforcing of a \" t a x a t i o n p o p u l a i r e \" unsuccessful In the r e l a t i v e l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d economy of the 1760's, i t was s e l f - d e f e a t i n g , f o r i t aggravated the very c o n d i t i o n s i t sought to a l l e v i a t e . The a u t h o r i t i e s might i n d i c a t e the middlemen as the creators of a r t i f i c i a l shortage, but n e i t h e r they, nor the mobs they encouraged, could end f o r e s t a l l i n g , engrossing, and r e g r a t -ing without s t a r v i n g the population centres. The t a c t i c s of the urban mob now focussed on the r a i s i n g of wages and c o n t r o l l i n g competition f o r jobs. P e t i t i o n s f o r Parliamentary a c t i o n to c o r r e c t wrongs, s t r i k e s against employers, i n t e r n e c i n e s t r u g g l e s f o r dwind-l i n g employment, and r i o t s succeeded the e a r l i e r p r o v i n c i a l attacks upon markets and food i n t r a n s i t . While t h i s urban form of s o c i a l p r o t e s t was by no means n o v e l - - c l o t h workers i n the West Country, miners i n the north-east, and Manchester operatives had a l l struck f o r higher wages and b e t t e r work-ing c o n d i t i o n s e a r l i e r i n the c e n t u r y - - i t s extent was new, 243 and contrasted sharply w i t h the form of the p r o v i n c i a l r i o t s which c l o s e l y preceded i t . C l e a r l y separate from t h e . p o l i t i c a l r i o t s , these i n d u s t r i a l d i s o r d e r s of 1768-69 were e s s e n t i a l l y an exten-s i o n of the p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s i n a more s o p h i s t i c a t e d urban environment. S u p e r f i c i a l l y , these i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b -ances d i f f e r e d from each other, and from the e a r l i e r hunger r i o t s . Yet, although each outbreak had i t s own unique c i r -cumstances which modified i t s shape and d i r e c t i o n , these i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s and s t r i k e s of 1768-69 were r e f l e c t i v e of the same type of economic and s o c i a l ferment that underlay the extensive hunger r i o t s two years e a r l i e r . The high p r i c e of \"necessaries,\" too, was the common denominator of a l l the i n d u s t r i a l and hunger p r o t e s t s . In the metropolitan s e t t i n g the tensions were heightened and the disturbances were more v i o l e n t . PART I I CHAPTER I I METROPOLITAN INDUSTRIAL DISORDERS Although d i s t u r b a n c e s were widespread among the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of the M e t r o p o l i s i n 1768-69, the most s e r -i o u s d i s o r d e r s i n v o l v e d p r i m a r i l y three groups, the c o a l -heavers, seamen, and s i l k - w e a v e r s . 1 Because they were i n many ways t y p i c a l of the s t r u g g l e s of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of London i n the p e r i o d which preceded the r a p i d l y - i n c r e a s i n g i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of E n g l i s h s o c i e t y , t h i s chapter w i l l .focus upon these three types of d i s t u r b a n c e s . By d e s c r i b i n g and a n a l y z i n g the s t r i k e s and r i o t s of the coalheavers, sea-men, and s i l k - w e a v e r s , i t w i l l show t h a t u n d e r l y i n g the p r e c i p i t a t i n g cause of d i s o r d e r , t h a t of dwindling income i n the f a c e of r i s i n g p r i c e s of \" n e c e s s a r i e s , \" were the ten-s i o n s of a s o c i e t y i n the process of r a p i d change, which a f f e c t e d the concerns not only of the poor, but a l s o of t h e i r employers and the r u l i n g o rders. The p r e - i n d u s t r i a l ''\"Other tradesmen, journeymen t a i l o r s , coopers, and shoemakers, f o r example, had f o r m i d a b l e o r g a n i z a t i o n s and r i o t e d i n 1768. See Add. MSS, 32990, f o l . 77; P u b l i c Adver-t i s e r , May 28, 1768; Westminster J o u r n a l and P o l i t i c a l Mis-c e l l a n y , June 25, 1768. 244 245 r i o t s of London, no l e s s than the e a r l i e r p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s were the product of the i n t e r a c t i o n of underlying a t t i t u d e s and ideas of various i n t e r e s t s . I Because the goals and actions of the London c o a l -heavers, who were the f i r s t to engage i n extensive d i s o r d e r s i n 1768, revealed a mixture of t r a d i t i o n a l and r a d i c a l a t t i -tudes to i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s , they suggested the u n c e r t a i n -t i e s of the poor i n a period of r a p i d change. Broadly, the f i r s t phase of t h e i r responses to worsening conditions of l i f e took the form of customary demonstrations i n Stepney F i e l d s , f o l l o w e d by processions to the Palace of Westminster to present p e t i t i o n s asking f o r Parliamentary r e l i e f , i n the o f a s h i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of eighteenth-century p r o t e s t e r s . With the f a i l u r e of these methods, they turned to the more modern technique of c r e a t i n g a t i g h t e r o r g a n i z a t i o n along trade union l i n e s . By stopping the flow of c o a l i n t o the c a p i t a l , they now sought to pressure t h e i r employers i n t o r a i s i n g t h e i r wages to meet the r a p i d l y - r i s i n g cost of food. When the a u t h o r i t i e s t r i e d to break t h e i r s t r i k e by reopen-ing an o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y o f f i c e and a d v e r t i s i n g f o r general labourers from outside the trade, the coalheavers attacked the taverns operated by agents r e g i s t e r i n g the newcomers. 'Annual R e g i s t e r , XI (1768), 108-109. 246 V i o l e n c e reached a peak w i t h the use of seamen to unload c o l l i e r s i n the Thames. The coalheavers made murderous a t t a c k s , not only on the seamen, themselves, but also upon any who co-operated i n the unloading operations. Lightermen who transported the coal from ship to shore, coal-meters who measured the coals landed, and many of the general popula-t i o n of Wapping, Stepney, and Shadwell parishes l i v e d i n t e r r o r of armed gangs of coalheavers who roamed the s t r e e t s i n search of s t r i k e - b r e a k e r s . The magistrates only r e s t o r e d calm to the Tower Hamlets a f t e r s e v e r a l months of d i s o r d e r s by t e m p o r a r i l y g a r r i s o n i n g detachments of guards i n the d i s -a f f e c t e d p a r i s h e s , and executing s e v e r a l of the r i n g l e a d e r s f o r murderous a s s a u l t s . For t h e i r p a r t , the a u t h o r i t i e s showed an ignorance of the operation of the economy by v a c i l l a t i n g between p o l i -c i e s of p a t e r n a l i s t i c i n t e r v e n t i o n and the abandonment of the coalheavers to the e x p l o i t a t i o n of a c l a s s of middlemen growing a f f l u e n t upon the developing London market. By i n d i c a t i n g c l e a r l y to the poor that c o n d i t i o n s i n the c o a l trade were wrong and d e l e t e r i o u s to t h e i r i n t e r e s t s , and then f a i l i n g to c o r r e c t them, the government stimulated the coalheavers to take matters i n t o t h e i r own hands. Far from calming these l a b o u r e r s , the government a g i t a t e d them f u r -t h e r , i n much the same way as they had e a r l i e r encouraged the p r o v i n c i a l poor to regard the middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s 247 trade as r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the food s c a r c i t y and thereby gave d i r e c t i o n to the food r i o t s . P r e c i p i t a t e d by what the coalheavers saw as attempts to reduce t h e i r wages and put them back i n the power of the undertakers, the coalheavers' d i s t u r b a n c e s of 1768 took p l a c e a g a i n s t a background of r i s i n g food p r i c e s , a s e r i o u s d i s r u p t i o n of overseas t r a d e , and general i n d u s t r i a l u n r e s t . But they had a long and complicated h i s t o r y of misery and e x p l o i t a t i o n , which s t r e t c h e d back i n t o the s i x t e e n t h cen-t u r y . In order to understand how the p o s i t i o n of these l a b o u r e r s d e t e r i o r a t e d s e r i o u s l y i n the 1760's, and the nature of t h e i r response to t h e i r aggravated problems, i t w i l l be necessary to go back a few years, at l e a s t as f a r as 1758, when an Act of P a r l i a m e n t , 31 George I I , cap. 76, was passed f o r t h e i r r e l i e f . The preamble of t h i s a c t blamed the problem of the c o a l trade i n London on the absence of an 11 e s t a b l i s h e d method of h i r i n g , employing and paying\" the coalheavers, which enabled the undertakers to oppress them. The trade 3 operated as f o l l o w s . Having agreed w i t h the master of a c o l l i e r to unload h i s s h i p , these middlemen h i r e d gangs con-s i s t i n g of about f o u r t e e n l a b o u r e r s . The undertakers, or t h e i r agents, were i n v a r i a b l y tavern-keepers, who showed pre f e r e n c e to those men who frequented t h e i r premises and 3 \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers, E x p l a i n e d and Considered\" (June 30, 1768), Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o i . 104. 248 ran up heavy d r i n k i n g d e b t s . 4 Although they were p a i d a r a t e of pay c o n s i d e r a b l y i n excess of what other London l a b o u r e r s r e c e i v e d , owing to the heavy manual work they had to perform, the coalheavers never took home more than a f r a c t i o n of t h e i r earnings, because of the many deductions f o r items such as l i q u o r consumption i n the t a v e r n and on board s h i p , commissions f o r s h i p s ' masters, and r e n t f o r t o o l s . One newspaper claimed coalheavers earned 8/- or 9/-per day at a medium of 20d per score of London chauldrons unloaded, but they r e c e i v e d only 9d per score a f t e r v a r i o u s 5 deductions. I t was the arrogant a s s e r t i o n of t h e i r monop-o l y over the marketing of c o a l s h o v e l s , however, and the e x t o r t i o n a t e charges they made f o r r e n t i n g them, which brought the undertakers i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h the Commons i n 1758 and r e s u l t e d i n the passage of a r e g u l a t o r y act to pro-6 t e c t the e x p l o i t e d l a b o u r e r s . The main i n t e n t of t h i s act was to p l a c e the c o a l -heavers under the d i r e c t i o n of the Alderman of B i l l i n g s g a t e 4 Jonas Hanway, L e t t e r s , XXXI, r e p o r t e d men who earned 20 s h i l l i n g s on a long summer's day drank 15 or 16 s h i l l i n g s i n beer. See a l s o \"Minutes of Evidence Taken before a S e l e c t Committee on Drunkenness\" ( p r i n t e d August 5, 1834), Add. MSS, 27830, f o i . 72; P a t r i c k Colquhoun, T r e a t i s e on the Commerce and the P o l i c e of the R i v e r Thames (London: Joseph Mawman, 1800) 5 L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , June 13-15, 1768. See a l s o George, London L i f e i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, pp. 166, 397. 6 M. Dorothy George, \"The London Coalheavers: Attempts to Regulate Waterside. Labour i n the E i g h t e e n t h and Nineteenth C e n t u r i e s , \" Economic H i s t o r y , Supplement of Econ-omic J o u r n a l , I, No. 4 (1926-29), 229-48. 249 i Ward, wit h whom they were to r e g i s t e r t h e i r names. For h i s p a r t , the Alderman had to organize gangs of coalheavers to unload the s h i p s of those masters who a p p l i e d to him. The Alderman, or h i s deputy, was to c o l l e c t the wages of the l a b o u r e r s from the c o l l i e r c a p t a i n s and, a f t e r deducting two s h i l l i n g s i n the pound to d e f r a y the expenses of o p e r a t i n g the r e g i s t r y and to provide a fund f o r the payment of s i c k -ness, b u r i a l and dependents' b e n e f i t s , he was to d i v i d e up the remainder among the men. There was a l s o a clause i n the act which p r o h i b i t e d anyone from r e t a i n i n g any f u r t h e r p a r t of the c o a l h e a v e r s ' wages under a p e n a l t y of f i f t y pounds. In p r a c t i c e the a u t h o r i t i e s d i d not enforce t h i s p r o v i s i o n ; nor d i d P a r l i a m e n t enact another clause which provided f o r wage-fixing machinery. 7 The p r o v i s i o n s of t h i s act r e f l e c t some of the t r a -Q d i t i o n a l goals of the coalheavers. I d e a l l y , they wished to be a f e l l o w s h i p or c o r p o r a t i o n comparable to the F e l l o w s h i p P o r t e r s , which had o r i g i n a l l y c o n t r o l l e d the unloading of 9 c o a l , before i t r e s t r i c t e d i t s e l f to c l e a n e r cargoes. F r u s t r a t e d i n t h i s ambition by s u c c e s s i v e governments, the coalheavers pressed f o r a r e g u l a t i o n of t h e i r wage r a t e s , the c r e a t i o n of a b e n e f i t fund to i n s u l a t e them ag a i n s t the 7\"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o l . i l l . o George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 234. ^ B r i t i s h Museum, \"The Coalheavers' Case\" (1764). 250 d i s a s t e r s of s i c k n e s s and i n j u r y to which t h e i r heavy work rendered them prone, and P a r l i a m e n t a r y p r o t e c t i o n from the e x p l o i t a t i o n of c o a l - u n d e r t a k e r s . In these demands they were c o n s i s t e n t w i t h other London tradesmen who d i d not enjoy the p r o t e c t i o n of i n c o r p o r a t i o n , as they were i n the use of the common eigh t e e n t h - c e n t u r y technique of p e t i t i o n -i n g f o r r e l i e f through p r i v a t e acts of P a r l i a m e n t . By these methods they sought to prevent the e r o s i o n of t h e i r l i v i n g standards, r a t h e r than to improve them r a d i c a l l y . \" ' ' 0 In t h i s they d i s p l a y e d the e s s e n t i a l l y c o n s e r v a t i v e goals of the i n d u s t r i a l poor who r i o t e d over wages and c o n d i t i o n s i n the 1760's. I t was r a t h e r i n t h e i r t a c t i c s , than i n t h e i r g o a l s , t h a t they became r a d i c a l i n 1768. The evident, d e f i c i e n c i e s of the Act of 1758, on the other hand, suggest a q u a l i f i e d a t t i t u d e towards i n d u s t r i a l r e g u l a t i o n on the p a r t of the governing o r d e r s . These d e f i -c i e n c i e s were t h r e e f o l d . F i r s t , and most important, the l e g i s l a t i o n was p e r m i s s i v e . The coalheavers were f r e e to r e g i s t e r or not wi t h the o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y as they wished. S i m i l a r l y , s h i p s ' masters were not o b l i g e d to h i r e through t h a t o f f i c e . T h i s l e f t the undertakers, who were i n f l u e n -t i a l amongst shipowners, f r e e to destroy the coal h e a v e r s ' confidence i n the o f f i c i a l scheme, and e v e n t u a l l y to t r i c k the i l l i t e r a t e l a b o u r e r s i n t o a c c e p t i n g once again t h e i r Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l -lany,, May 21, .1768. 251 c o n t r o l of the t r a d e . Second, a wage-fixing clause was omitted. As one c r i t i c noted: The want of t h i s power d e f e a t s some other p r o v i s i o n s i n the a c t , f o r though the alderman or h i s deputy may appoint a gang of l a b o u r e r s to go to work on board any s h i p , and the l a b o u r e r s are subjected to a p e n a l t y i f they r e f u s e or n e g l e c t to obey such an order, yet no terms being s e t t l e d i f the wages o f f e r e d should not be agreeable to them and on t h a t account only they r e f u s e to work no p e n a l t y could be enforced nor the law have any a f f e c t on them. X i But the omission threatened the i n t e r e s t s of the men r a t h e r than those of t h e i r employers. Without wage-fixing machin-ery the coalheavers were l e f t to the mercies of scheming undertakers and the v a g a r i e s of the North Sea weather, which c r e a t e d f l u c t u a t i o n s i n wages by i n t e r r u p t i n g the r e g u l a r a r r i v a l of c o a l v e s s e l s i n the P o r t of London. T h i r d , there was no p r o v i s i o n made f o r the proper enforcement of c l a u s e s which forbade any deductions ( o t h e r than the two s h i l l i n g s i n the pound by the o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y ) through the estab-lishment of an e f f e c t i v e i n s p e c t i o n scheme. De s p i t e these shortcomings, the Act of 1758 r e l i e v e d the d i s t r e s s of the coalheavers f o r a w h i l e , because i t warned the undertakers of the danger of a n t a g o n i z i n g P a r l i a -ment f u r t h e r . The men r e g i s t e r e d t h e i r names wit h the Alderman's deputy, F r a n c i s Reynolds, who had been the prime mover f o r government i n t e r v e n t i o n , and they b u i l t up a con-s i d e r a b l e sum i n the b e n e f i t fund from the two s h i l l i n g s i n \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o l . 111. 252 the pound dedu c t i o n s . But i n time matters played i n t o the hands of the undertakers. The scheme f e l l i n t o d i s r e p u t e when i t was d i s c o v e r e d t h a t Reynolds had e i t h e r embezzled the money i n the fund, or at l e a s t was unable to account s a t i s f a c t o r i l y f o r i t s d i s p o s a l . Whereupon the undertakers, who had been b i d i n g t h e i r time, were able to denounce the system of deductions, and, because of the pe r m i s s i v e charac-t e r of the act,, t o b r i n g the l a b o u r e r s back under t h e i r , -i 12 c o n t r o l . In the 1760's, economic developments operated a g a i n s t the i n t e r e s t s of these impoverished coalheavers, and aided the undertakers i n t h e i r campaign to tame them. The continued growth of London made the M e t r o p o l i s more than ever dependent upon the smooth flow of f u e l to the consumers. Thus, the government was u n w i l l i n g to endanger t h i s trade by i n t e r v e n i n g too v i g o r o u s l y on b e h a l f of a m i n o r i t y group, c o n s i s t i n g i n the main of dangerously t u r b u l e n t , Roman 13 C a t h o l i c Irishmen, unless s e r i o u s d i s o r d e r s occurred. T e c h n o l o g i c a l change, too, a f t e r the mid-century rendered 12 I b i d . , f o l s . 110-11. See a l s o Treasury S o l i c i -t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/443/1408; George, \"The London C o a l -heavers,\" p. 236. 13 A Crown b r i e f estimated 670 men i n the coalheaving trade i n 1768, of whom two-thirds were I r i s h Roman C a t h o l i c s , \"with 70-100 the very dregs of mankind, capable of a l l kinds of m i s c h i e f and b a r b a r i t i e s l i v i n g i n Wapping, Shadwell and the neighbourhood,\" \"where they are encouraged i n t h e i r v i o -l e n c e , and of l a t e , s i n c e they r e f u s e d to work, supported by a s e t of p u b l i c a n s mostly I r i s h Roman C a t h o l i c s \" (Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696). 253 the coalheavers more v u l n e r a b l e to e x p l o i t a t i o n . H i t h e r t o , the unloading of c o l l i e r s had been performed by gangs of l a b o u r e r s , who s h o v e l l e d the c o a l onto p l a t f o r m s r i g g e d pro-g r e s s i v e l y up the s i d e s of the holds. T h i s r a t h e r p r i m i t i v e method of o p e r a t i o n p l a c e d a premium, not only on great p h y s i c a l s t r e n g t h , f o r which the I r i s h were famed, but a l s o on experience and s k i l l . The i n t r o d u c t i o n i n 1758 of a method of \"whipping\" baskets of c o a l from the holds by means of p u l l e y s made the coalheavers v u l n e r a b l e to the i n f l u x of u n s k i l l e d l a b o u r . By 1768, o n e - t h i r d of a l l c o a l was unloaded i n London by \"whipping.\"''\" 4 E x p l o i t i n g t h i s d e v e l -opment, the undertakers brought onto the London docks l a b o u r e r s from I r e l a n d , S c o t l a n d , and other p a r t s of England, w i t h the promise of high pay. The labour s u r p l u s they c r e -ated i n t h i s way aggravated an e x i s t i n g problem, which had been produced by the d e m o b i l i z a t i o n of l a r g e numbers of sea-men and a post-war d e p r e s s i o n . The crux of the problem f o r the coalheavers i n t h e i r s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t the undertakers was the ready a v a i l a b i l i t y of a l t e r n a t i v e sources of labour. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , the most v i o l e n t d i s o r d e r s of 1768 were those caused by seamen who broke the coalheavers' s t r i k e by unloading t h e i r own s h i p s . The d e c l i n e of wages of coalheavers i n the 1760's, q u i t e apart from the i n c r e a s i n g number of deductions, was a George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 229. r e f l e c t i o n of the growing d e s i r e of undertakers to e x p l o i t t h i s l a b o u r s u r p l u s and reduce t h e i r o p e r a t i n g c o s t s . In 1756 the h i g h e s t r a t e had been 3/- and the lowest 1/- per score of London chauldrons unloaded; during the f o l l o w i n g year the r a t e v a r i e d from 1/- to 2/9 per score; but by 1768 the employers regarded anything over 1/6 per score exces-15 s i v e , and anything over 2/- was q u i t e e x c e p t i o n a l . The c o n d i t i o n s of coalheavers, t h e r e f o r e , had g r e a t l y d e t e r i o r -ated owing not only to the r i s i n g c ost of food, but a l s o t o the r e d u c t i o n of t h e i r wages. In c o n t r a s t to t h e i r a g r i c u l -t u r a l c o u n t e r p a r t s , the c o a l - l a b o u r e r s were more conscious of the d e c l i n e i n wages than the r i s e i n the cost of bread. The deep-seated grievances they harboured a g a i n s t the under-ta k e r s d i v e r t e d t h e i r animosity away from middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s t r ade towards t h e i r employers, who were able to r e d i r e c t i t f i r s t towards the agents of the o f f i c i a l agency and then towards r i v a l l a b o u r i n t e r e s t s . The Alderman of B i l l i n g s g a t e Ward, W i l l i a m Beckford, now l o s t i n t e r e s t i n o p e r a t i n g an o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y . The coalheavers were more than ever i n the power of t h e i r o l d enemies, the undertakers, who found new excuses f o r deduc-t i o n s from t h e i r wages d e s p i t e the l e g a l p e n a l t i e s . A p e t i -t i o n of the coalheavers to amend the 1758 Act to make i t I b i d . , p. 231. more e f f e c t i v e f a i l e d i n 1764. T h e r e a f t e r , c o n d i t i o n s i n the c o a l trade d e t e r i o r a t e d u n t i l the l a b o u r e r s found them 17 i n t o l e r a b l e i n 1768. In 1765 the v i o l e n t s t r i k e of pitmen on the R i v e r s Tyne and Wear, which s e r i o u s l y i n t e r r u p t e d the flow of c o a l to the c a p i t a l , r a i s e d the p r i c e of c o a l , and reduced employment on the London docks, provided a prelude to the m e t r o p o l i t a n coalheavers' r i o t s of 1768. The northern miners demanded an end to a form of bond s e r v i t u d e and a 75 per cent i n c r e a s e i n t h e i r wages of twelve to f o u r t e e n s h i l l i n g s per week. De s p i t e the presence of t r o o p s , the r i o t e r s d e stroyed c o l l i e r y equipment and f i r e d c o a l above and below the ground. D i s o r d e r s l a s t e d from August 14 to October 2 when the c o l l i e r y owners agreed to a settlement, the immediate r e s u l t of which was the p r i c e of c o a l i n the P o r t of London which had r i s e n s t e e p l y during the s t r i k e f e l l t h i r t y - t w o s h i l l i n g s per chauldron and coalheavers r e t u r n e d to work as the c o l l i e r s began to a r r i v e once more. T h i s s t r i k e i n the n o r t h of England had a twofold e f f e c t upon the London coalheavers: i t aggravated f o r a time t h e i r problems and i t s apparent success encouraged them to a n t i c i -pate s i m i l a r success from d i r e c t i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n . 1 6 \" T h e Coalheavers' Case\" (1764). 17 \" R e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the J u s t i c e s f o r Middlesex i n General S e s s i o n Assembled at Hicks H a l l \" (September, 1768), Middlesex Record O f f i c e , Westminster, S e s s i o n Papers, r e f e r s to coalheavers' s t r i k e about the beginning of February over wages. 256 The f i r s t phase of the coalheavers' campaign to improve t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s i n 1768 was the establishment of a system of l i c e n s i n g workers i n t h e i r t r a d e . The \"market men\" ( l a n d l o r d s of the taverns where men were hired) now agreed w i t h coalheavers to a r a t e of 20d per score of London 18 chauldrons unloaded, w i t h 6d deducted f o r a b e n e f i t fund. Organized by Ralph Hodgson, a j u s t i c e of the peace i n the Tower Hamlets, t h i s scheme i n v o l v e d the establishment of a 19 p r i v a t e agency i n o p p o s i t i o n to the undertakers. I t s method of o p e r a t i o n along t r a d e - u n i o n l i n e s r e presented a new phase i n the coalheavers' long s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t t h e i r e x p l o i t e r s . As a measure of s e l f - h e l p i n the f a c e of the c o l l a p s e of the government-sponsored scheme, i t was i n d i s -t i n c t c o n t r a s t to t h e i r former r e l i a n c e upon government p a t e r n a l i s m . Hodgson encouraged t h e i r sense of i d e n t i t y by p u b l i c l y p a t r o n i z i n g the c o a l h e a v e r s ' f e s t i v a l s , e s p e c i a l l y the S t . P a t r i c k ' s Day parade. He l a t e r denied the \" r a b b l e -r o u s i n g \" a c c u s a t i o n and claimed h i s patronage was to avert, d i s o r d e r s : I t would have served them to r i v e t the f a l s e and ground-l e s s r e p o r t they have propogated of my being an Irishman; 18 L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , June 13-15, 1768. 19 The S e s s i o n Papers blamed Hodgson f o r \"notorious i n a c t i v i t y and supineness, w i t h regard to any measures f o r q u e l l i n g the r i o t s . . . many f a c t i o u s and inflammatory advertisements and paragraphs . . . i n the p u b l i c news-papers-.\" The j u s t i c e s regarded him \"as accessory to out-rages and d i s o r d e r s a f o r e s a i d to the great d i s t u r b a n c e of the p u b l i c peace and t e r r o r of h i s majesty's s u b j e c t s \" (\"Representation of the J u s t i c e s f o r Middlesex,\" S e s s i o n P a p e r s ) . 257 a r e p o r t , however, which I s h a l l never rank i n the l i s t of t h e i r s c a n d a l s . S i n c e i f there i s a more than o r d i n -ary mean, d i r t y , i l l i b e r a l p r e j u d i c e , i t must be t h a t of n a t i o n a l r e f l e c t i o n s . 2 0 Hodgson org a n i z e d the men i n t o a s o c i e t y , the Bucks, which had f o r t y - f i v e governors, and which met at the S i g n of the Horse and Dray i n New G r a v e l Lane, and l a t e r at the Swan, 21 King James S t a i r s . An I r i s h t e r r o r i s t gang, the Whiteboys, which had r e c e n t l y been d r i v e n out of I r e l a n d , p rovided the d i s c i p l i n e d core of the o r g a n i z a t i o n (comparable to the r o l e p layed i n other d i s o r d e r s by m i l i t i a m e n and veterans of the 22 Seven Years' War). Oaths of secrecy exacted from a l l mem-bers of the Bucks strengthened i t s u n i t y , i f they made the s o c i e t y more suspect i n the eyes of the a u t h o r i t i e s . J u s -t i c e Hodgson and h i s c l e r k , Dunster, charged a fee of s i x -pence f o r r e g i s t r y i n the \"union,\" and i s s u e d a l l members with a t i c k e t c e r t i f y i n g t h e i r q u a l i f i c a t i o n to f o l l o w the coalheaving t r a d e . The Bucks enforced the closed-shop p r i n -c i p l e by ducking r e l u c t a n t l a b o u r e r s i n the Thames on the end of a rope u n t i l they agreed to j o i n . During the c o a l -heavers' s t r i k e s , which began i n e a r l y 1768, p i c k e t s roved the w a t e r f r o n t persuading seamen, coal-meters, c a r t e r s and 20 L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t . August 26-29, 1768. ^ T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696. 22 Walpole to S i r Horace Mann, June 22, 1765, Walpole's L e t t e r s , ed. by Toynbee, V I I , 203. See a l s o Correspondence of King George the T h i r d , ed. by F o r t e s c u e , pp. 310-28; Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696; and Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of King George the T h i r d , p. 148. 258 others to r e f u s e to handle the c o a l aboard the anchored c o l l i e r s . 2 3 Now the a c t i v i t i e s of Hodgson and the coalheavers a t t r a c t e d the a t t e n t i o n of W i l l i a m Beckford, who r e q u i r e d h i s agent, R u s s e l l , to reopen the o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y . C o a l -heavers were persuaded to r e g i s t e r by the p r o s p e c t of a r a t e of 2/- per score and they agreed to 2/- i n the pound deduc-t i o n s . D i s o r d e r s l a t e r arose out of the c o l l i e r masters' r e f u s a l of these r a t e s and t h e i r use of seamen to unload the 24 s h i p s . The r e k i n d l e d i n t e r e s t of Beckford i s remarkable. In t h i s he may have acted of h i s own v o l i t i o n to break the s t r i k e , he may have responded to pressure from the M i n i s t r y concerned w i t h the d i s o r d e r s and the p a r a l y s i s of trade, or he may have acceded to the demands of merchants, f a c t o r s , or shipowners whose i n t e r e s t s were threatened. Whatever h i s \u00E2\u0080\u00A2motivation, i n reopening the r e g i s t r y , Beckford was doing something t h a t the undertakers, themselves, welcomed, f o r they were happy to see the coalheavers' c o n f u s i o n over r i v a l r e g i s t r i e s . I f s u f f i c i e n t v i o l e n c e could be provoked, the undertakers c o u l d expect m i l i t a r y suppression of the c o a l -heavers and f u t u r e government i n d i f f e r e n c e to the p l i g h t of the \" w i l f u l \" coalheavers. The rumour t h a t the coalheavers were r e c e i v i n g encouragement and help from some q u a r t e r may George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 237. L l o y d ' s Evening Post, August 26-29, 1768. 259 w e l l have had some b a s i s i n f a c t , f o r the lengthy d i s r u p t i o n of work meant d e s t i t u t i o n to the f a m i l i e s of coalheavers without f i n a n c i a l support from somewhere. T h i s support c o u l d have come from undertakers anxious to f o s t e r v i o l e n c e i n order to r e s t o r e t h e i r c o n t r o l over the t r a d e . Even more e x t r a o r d i n a r y than Beckford's r e k i n d l e d i n t e r e s t was the a c t i o n of h i s agent, R u s s e l l . He appointed as h i s c l e r k s two former c o a l undertakers and v i c t u a l l e r s , John Green and Thomas M e t c a l f e . Whether t h i s was a c c i d e n t a l or by design i s hard to t e l l . Both men had experience i n h i r i n g p r a c t i c e s i n the trade but t h e i r former a s s o c i a t i o n s were f a t a l to the success of the o p e r a t i o n . The coalheavers i n t e r p r e t e d the moves of Beckford and R u s s e l l as attempts to put them back i n the power of the undertakers and to break 25 t h e i r s t r i k e w i t h the use of cheap, \" b l a c k - l e g \" l a b o u r . The subsequent d i s o r d e r s , which were the f i r s t of many s e r i o u s i n d u s t r i a l d i s t u r b a n c e s of 1768, were d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t the taverns of R u s s e l l ' s c l e r k s , where a d v e r t i s e -ments f o r g e n e r a l l a b o u r e r s from outside the coalheaving trade were posted. On two occasions i n l a t e February, 1768 r i o t e r s a t t a c k e d M e t c a l f e ' s S a l u t a t i o n Inn, Wapping W a l l . They \" p u l l e d down the chimney p i e c e , broke the windows, china bowls, decanters, and almost e v e r y t h i n g e l s e i n the bar\" and threatened to murder M e t c a l f e , who had w i s e l y \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o i . 106. 260 26 f l e d . T h e r e a f t e r , i n March and A p r i l r i o t o u s mobs attac k e d the home of B u r f o r d Camphire, a l e a d i n g undertaker, 27 and destroyed p r o p e r t y . A more bloody and s u s t a i n e d r i o t o c c u r r e d l a t e i n A p r i l when the coalheavers besieged John Green's Roundabout Tavern f o r over t h i r t e e n hours. During t h i s a f f a i r , c o n s i d e r a b l e p r o p e r t y damage was done. One account d e s c r i b e d the w a l l s and c e i l i n g s being \" r i d d l e d w i t h b u l l e t s , and three barrow loads of b r i c k - b a t s and stones were taken out.\" Seven heavers were l a t e r executed and three t r a n s p o r t e d f o r t h e i r share i n t h i s a f f r a y . 2 8 Green 29 h i m s e l f narrowly escaped w i t h h i s l i f e . Two deaths occurred d u r i n g these d i s o r d e r s , and l a t e r as an act of revenge the r i o t e r s t o r e to p i e c e s Green's s i s t e r as she was 30 about to c e l e b r a t e her b r o t h e r ' s d e l i v e r a n c e . Hodgson c e r t a i n l y encouraged the coalheavers i n t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n to Beckford's r e g i s t r y . He persuaded them t h a t a deduction of 2/- i n the pound was \" i n s u p p o r t a b l e \" at the c u r r e n t r a t e s of wages. As a m a g i s t r a t e , he made l i t t l e 26 \" P e t i t i o n f o r Redress by the I n h a b i t a n t s of S t . P a u l s , Shadwell and Adjacent P l a c e s i n the County of Middlesex\" (May 19, 1768), Middlesex Record O f f i c e , West-minster, S e s s i o n Papers. 27 Camphire was p l a i n l y a man of substance, f o r the mob broke i n t o h i s coach-house and cut the harness of h i s c h a r i o t . St. James's C h r o n i c l e , J u l y 7-9, 1768. 29 George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 238. 30 Walpole's L e t t e r s , ed. by Toynbee, I I , 208. 261 e f f o r t to suppress t h e i r d i s o r d e r s . His c l e r k , Dunster, was wounded i n the hand during the seige of the Roundabout Tavern. When Hodgson, h i m s e l f , b e l a t e d l y a r r i v e d on the scene, he a r r e s t e d Green and h i s confederate, a seaman who happened to be i n the house when the attack began and who / e l e c t e d to help Green defend h i m s e l f , on a charge of murder, 31 while he p e r m i t t e d t h e i r a s s a i l a n t s to d i s p e r s e unharmed. A few days a f t e r the a t t a c k on Green's premises, the Wapping coalheavers turned t h e i r a t t e n t i o n to p r e s s u r i n g both P a r l i a m e n t and t h e i r employers f o r r e l i e f . Reportedly, some of them p e t i t i o n e d P a r l i a m e n t , while others, \"complain-i n g of low wages, l i q u o r payments, and bad q u a l i t y goods,\" stopped c o l l i e r s working i n the Thames. Large groups of coalheavers f o l l o w e d up these a c t i v i t i e s by v i s i t s to employers, whom they f r i g h t e n e d i n t o promising h i g h e r wages. Then, d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h o r a l promises given under duress, they t r i e d u n s u c c e s s f u l l y to persuade Thomas Har l e y , as Lord Mayor, to i n t e r v e n e to ensure the employers l i v e d up to 32 t h e i r word. A more promising t u r n of events came wit h a meeting i n Whitechapel of the foremen of the l a b o u r i n g gangs, a few owners of c o a l v e s s e l s , and some j u s t i c e s of the peace, at 31 \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o i . 106. 3 2 A n n u a l R e g i s t e r , XI (1768), 101-102; Gentleman's Magazine, XXXVIII (1768), 243, c i t e d by Rude, Wilkes.and L i b e r t y , p. 98. 262 which complaints of low wages and the two s h i l l i n g s deduc-t i o n s r e q u i r e d under the 1758 Act were d i s c u s s e d . The out-come of t h i s g a t h e r i n g was an agreement t h a t wages would be r a i s e d to two s h i l l i n g s per score of London chauldrons of c o a l unloaded. T h i s f i g u r e was almost sixpence more than the c u r r e n t medium r a t e f o r the year round. (Wages v a r i e d w i t h the season and the number of c o l l i e r s to be unloaded on any given day.) At t h i s r a t e of pay, the coalheavers had no o b j e c t i o n to paying the two s h i l l i n g s i n the pound l e v y and appeared to accept the reopening of Beckford's agency. Some owners p a i d the 2/- per score r e q u i r e d , owing to the a r r i v a l 33 of a l a r g e f l e e t of c o l l i e r s about May 20. But u n f o r t u n -a t e l y , the m a j o r i t y of c o l l i e r owners, who d i d not attend the meeting, d i d not c o n s i d e r the agreement b i n d i n g on them. They claimed they were unable to pay the new r a t e , and some of them agreed w i t h t h e i r crews to unload the c o a l s without 34 the a i d of coalheavers. The i n f u r i a t e d l a b o u r e r s now resumed t h e i r s t r i k e , s topping work on the wharfs from Limehouse to Westminster. The heavers stopped West Country and other barges unloading \"and every person they found doing the l e a s t business they made r i d e (as they term i t ) the Wooden Horse, which i s c a r -r y i n g them on a sharp s t i c k , and f l o g g i n g them wi t h ropes, 3 3 T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696. 34 \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o l s . 107-108. 263 35 s t i c k s , and other weapons.\" They t r i e d to block a l l c o a l movements i n the M e t r o p o l i s , even to the extent of unharn-e s s i n g horses from c o a l c a r t s i n the Strand. P a r t i c u l a r o b j e c t s of t h e i r f u r y were the seamen, t o g e t h e r with the lightermen and metermen who co-operated i n the work of 36 unloading. Although the a c q u i t t a l of Green on a charge of murder exasperated them, the use of seamen as s t r i k e b r e a k e r s d i v e r t e d t h e i r a t t e n t i o n from Beckford's agents and the undertakers. Reportedly seamen now earned 6/- a day at the 37 r a t e coalheavers r e f u s e d to work. The a u t h o r i t i e s responded by a d v e r t i s i n g f o r \"three hundred men, or more, as c o a l - f i l l e r s and carmen, whose wages w i l l be a guinea a week 38 and upwards\" and promised them p r o t e c t i o n . There were now 39 bloody r i o t s between c o l l i e r seamen and the coalheavers. The l a t t e r kept a twenty-four-hour watch on the l a n d i n g steps of the Thames, i n an e f f o r t to s t a r v e out the seamen. 4 0 They att a c k e d c o l l i e r m e n who ventured ashore, and i n one bloody a f f r a y they b r u t a l l y murdered a young seaman, John 35 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 14-17, 1768. 36 u I b i d . , May 28-31, 1768. Lloyd's Evening Post, June 13-15, 1768. 37 L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , June 13-15, 1768. 3 8 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 17-19, 1768. 3 9 I b i d . , May 24-26, 1768. 4 Q U n i v e r s a l Magazine, XLIII (May, 1768), 330. 264 41 Beatty. Seamen were o b l i g e d to keep c l o s e watch a g a i n s t n i g h t a t t a c k s , and f o r s e v e r a l n i g h t s there was c o n t i n u a l 42 f i r i n g between ship and shore. Matters reached a c r i s i s at the end of May w i t h a \"numerous meeting of seamen on New-c a s t l e and Sunderland c o l l i e r s \" which proposed to o f f e r to 43 unload a l l c o l l i e r s . Bloody r i o t s continued, and a s t a t e of near anarchy e x i s t e d i n Wapping and neighbouring p a r i s h e s d u r i n g May and e a r l y June. De s p i t e t h e i r r e l a t i v e l y few numbers of about seven hundred, because of t h e i r u n i t y and v i o l e n c e , the coalheavers had a s e r i o u s e f f e c t on the oper-a t i o n of the docks. T h e i r a c t i o n s i n the e a r l y summer of 1768 were more for m i d a b l e because they c o i n c i d e d w i t h other i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s and extended f u r t h e r the f o r c e s of order. Only the i n t e r v e n t i o n of the guards and t h e i r temporary s t a t i o n i n g i n Wapping and Shadwell p a c i f i e d the coalheavers, who now r e t u r n e d to work at the o l d f i g u r e of 1/6 per s c o r e . 4 4 D e s p i t e some short-term gains, the coalheavers were not s u c c e s s f u l i n permanently r e l i e v i n g themselves of oppres-s i o n by t h e i r blend of o l d and new t a c t i c s . Although the 4 1 T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696; P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , J u l y 21 and August 8, 1768, c i t e d by George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 239. 42 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , June 2-4, 1768. 4 3 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , May 30, 1768. 44 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , June 17-19, 1768; P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , June 17, 1768. 265 o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y opened i n J u l y , 1768, a f t e r the execution of nine of t h e i r r i n g l e a d e r s , men who r e g i s t e r e d there were 45 not employed by the undertakers i f they c o u l d f i n d o t h e r s . In 1770, a more e f f e c t i v e act r e p l a c e d the 1758 Act. Under i t , the undertakers were p r o h i b i t e d from being v i c t u a l l e r s , deducting amounts from the coalheavers' wages, or paying i n other than c u r r e n t c o i n . A mechanism f o r s e t t l i n g d i s p u t e s i n the trade which i n v o l v e d the Mayor and Aldermen was e s t a b l i s h e d . T h i s group meeting i n January of each year could a d j u s t the f i x e d r a t e of 1/6 per score should circum-stances warrant i t . Captains could, however, employ t h e i r own men at r a t e s mutually agreed upon. While there were obvious weaknesses i n t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n which tended to erode the coalheavers' p o s i t i o n , i t worked w e l l f o r three years, 46 a f t e r which the a u t h o r i t i e s p ermitted i t to l a p s e . A c o n s i d e r a t i o n of how t h i s group of middlemen man-aged to s u r v i v e d e s p i t e t h e i r dubious economic value, f r e -quent d i s r u p t i o n i n the t r a d e , and the evident h o s t i l i t y of the a u t h o r i t i e s r e v e a l s a c o n f u s i o n of a t t i t u d e s and goals of the r u l i n g orders i n a p e r i o d of r a p i d economic and s o c i a l change which p a r a l l e l e d t h a t of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor themselves, and c o n t r i b u t e d to the s o c i a l t e n s i o n s . 4 5 U n i v e r s a l Magazine, XLIII ( J u l y 27, 1768), 53. 46 Colquhoun, T r e a t i s e on the Commerce and the P o l i c e of the R i v e r Thames, p. 144 et seq. 266 As noted e a r l i e r , the a c t i v i t i e s of these under-ta k e r s had f i r s t a t t r a c t e d the s e r i o u s concern of the government i n 1758, at a time when middlemen were coming under heavy a t t a c k i n the press and i n pamphlets f o r t h e i r m o n o p o l i s t i c a c t i v i t i e s , which t h e i r c r i t i c s b e l i e v e d r a i s e d the p r i c e of p r o v i s i o n s and caused dangerous u n r e s t among the poor. The r e v e l a t i o n of many of the undertakers' e x t o r -t i o n s generated some sympathy f o r the hapless coalheavers among the r u l i n g orders who res e n t e d the conspicuous con-sumption of yet another group of r i s i n g middlemen. One 4 newspaper wrote of the undertakers' aping of t h e i r b e t t e r s . But i t was not so much the p e r i o d i c a l p e t i t i o n s of the c o a l -heavers as the d i s c o v e r y t h a t undertakers were a c t i n g i n r e s t r a i n t of trade by engrossing the c o a l shovel supply t h a t g a l v a n i z e d the government i n t o attempts to r e g u l a t e the coalheaving t r a d e . An i n s o l e n t c h a l l e n g e to P a r l i a m e n t a r y p r i v i l e g e from one of the l e a d i n g undertakers provided a f i n a l stimulus f o r o f f i c i a l a c t i o n to r e l i e v e the c o a l -heavers. Yet, the subsequent l e g i s l a t i o n was i n e f f e c t i v e i n r e s t o r i n g some balance to the coalheaving t r a d e . S u p e r f i c i a l l y , t h i s f a i l u r e of P a r l i a m e n t was sur-p r i s i n g because the r o l e of the undertakers was not only unproductive but a l s o unique i n the h i r i n g p r a c t i c e s of the Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l -lany,, May 21, 1768. 267 48 1760's, according to one a d v i s o r of the M i n i s t r y . In no other \" l a b o r i o u s h a n d i c r a f t \" were i n t e r m e d i a r i e s i n v o l v e d d i r e c t l y i n the h i r i n g of l a b o u r . When a master t a i l o r , shoemaker, or weaver r e q u i r e d hands, he merely went to an i n n known to be frequented by journeymen of h i s t r a d e . Even w a t e r f r o n t workers most comparable to coalheavers, such as lumpers, who unloaded East Indian and American v e s s e l s , and b a l l a s t heavers, gathered at \"houses of c a l l \" where mates went to h i r e them. There was nothing i n the coalheaving trade t h a t made middlemen e s s e n t i a l i n the h i r i n g process. Why then d i d the M i n i s t r y not sponsor a more d r a s t i c measure which would have permanently destroyed the i n f l u e n c e of an i n t e r e s t group which many b e l i e v e d was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i n c r e a s e d p r i c e s of one of the \" n e c e s s a r i e s \" of l i f e ? One important reason f o r the moderation of the government was the great i n f l u e n c e of the undertakers. T h i s i n f l u e n c e had developed g r a d u a l l y over a lengthy p e r i o d f o r v a r i o u s reasons. Because the unloading of c o a l s h i p s was one of the l e a s t a t t r a c t i v e of London's occupations, i t was l e f t to r e c e n t immigrants. The very heavy nature of the work gave Irishmen a n a t u r a l advantage over the l e s s muscular, n a t i v e - b o r n Londoners. Because of t h e i r i l l i t e r a c y and ignorance of urban l i f e , I r i s h immi-grants q u i c k l y f e l l v i c t i m to the scheming undertakers. \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o i . 109. 268 Growing wealthy upon t h e i r e x t o r t i o n s , the undertakers by 49 the mid-century had bought i n t o coastwise s h i p p i n g . They were now able to i n f l u e n c e the h i r i n g p r a c t i c e s of c o l l i e r 50 c a p t a i n s . Coalheavers who a l i e n a t e d the undertakers soon found i t i m p o s s i b l e to f o l l o w t h e i r t r a d e . I f they i n s u l t e d or o b s t r u c t e d these middlemen, the m a g i s t r a t e s , amongst whom the undertakers had gained g r e a t i n f l u e n c e , used the power of the law to r e s t r a i n therm Many of the headboroughs, who a r r e s t e d the coalheavers on spurious charges, were o f t e n v i c t u a l l e r s , who were themselves undertakers or t h e i r 51 f r i e n d s . S e v e r a l of the m a g i s t r a t e s most a c t i v e i n perse-c u t i n g the coalheavers or t h e i r l e a d e r s were l e a d i n g under-ta k e r s such as B u r f o r d Camphire, or the sons of coal-buyers, such as John Shakespeare. These j u s t i c e s used t h e i r i n f l u -ence to deny a v i c t u a l l i n g l i c e n s e to F r a n c i s Reynolds, an I r i s h innkeeper who l e d the coalheavers' campaign f o r government i n t e r v e n t i o n i n 1758. As a r e s u l t of t h i s d i s -c r i m i n a t i o n , Reynolds was f o r c e d i n t o bankruptcy and f i n a l l y 52 i n t o the p a r i s h workhouse i n Shadwell. In 1768 the l i m i t e d support f o r a p e t i t i o n to remove a m a g i s t r a t e sym-p a t h e t i c towards the heavers suggests the d i s t a s t e of the 49 George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 234. 50 \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o l . 114.-51 B r i t i s h Museum, \"The Case of Mr. F r a n c i s Reynolds,\" p. 1; Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696. 52 \"Case of Mr. F r a n c i s Reynolds.\" 269 more able j u s t i c e s f o r the undertakers' v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s on the bench. At the Middlesex General Q u a r t e r and General S e s s i o n s of the Peace, which d i s c u s s e d Hodgson's r o l e i n the c o a l h e a v e r s ' r i o t s , only a m i n o r i t y of j u s t i c e s voted i n f a v o u r of the removal of h i s name from the Commission of the Peace f o r the county ( s i x out of f o u r t e e n ) . Of these at l e a s t two, Shakespeare and Mainwaring, were n o t o r i o u s f o r t h e i r connection with the undertakers. Even more impressive was the c a l i b r e of the e i g h t a b s t a i n i n g i n the v o t i n g . John Hawkins, Chairman of the S e s s i o n s , Robert P e l l , and Saunders 53 Welch were among these. Nor d i d the i n f l u e n c e of the undertakers end w i t h the l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , i t extended i n t o P a r l i a m e n t i t s e l f . The appointment of J u s t i c e Shakespeare to be one of two i n s p e c t o r s of coal-meters, a very s e n s i t i v e post i n the s t r u g g l e between coalheavers and undertakers 54 during the s t r i k e s of 1768, i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s i n f l u e n c e . Faced w i t h t h i s entrenchment of the undertakers, there were b r o a d l y two approaches to the problems of the coalheaving trade t h a t the M i n i s t r y could adopt, once they had decided to i n t e r v e n e . E i t h e r they could apply r i g o r -o u s l y the same p a t e r n a l i s t i c p r i n c i p l e s behind the o l d 53 Middlesex Record O f f i c e , Westminster, Order Book, Middlesex General Quarter and General S e s s i o n s of the Peace, 3-14 George I I I , No. 8. 54 One newspaper r e p o r t e d two o f f i c e s to be estab-l i s h e d under the i n s p e c t i o n of Alderman Beckford and J u s t i c e Shakespeare at B i l l i n g s g a t e and Shadwell ( L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , June 1-3, 1768). 270 anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s concerned with the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e , the a s s i z e of bread, and the s t a t u t e of a r t i f i c e r s , or they could implement the newer concepts of f r e e i n g trade from \" u n f a i r combinations\" which d i v e r t e d i t from i t s \" n a t u r a l channels,\" and leave i t alone to prosper with a minimum of i n t e r f e r e n c e . T r a n s l a t e d i n t o s p e c i f i c a c t i o n s , t h i s would have meant, i n the f i r s t i n s t a n c e , o b l i g i n g the coalheavers to r e g i s t e r at Beckford's o f f i c i a l agency, whose monopoly i n the p r o v i s i o n of l a b o u r the c o l l i e r c a p t a i n s would observe under heavy p e n a l t i e s . I m p l i c i t i n such a scheme was the p r o v i s i o n f o r some machinery f o r the s e t t i n g of wages acceptable to both the l a b o u r e r s and the shipowners. Such a c t i o n would have destroyed the undertakers as an i n t e r e s t group i n the coalheaving t r a d e , i f i t were c o n s i s t e n t l y a p p l i e d . But i t would have been a backward-looking step, i n the sense t h a t there was a l r e a d y o c c u r r i n g a p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of r e g u l a t i o n s a g a i n s t middlemen of the p r o v i -s i ons t r a d e , and the a s s i z e s of bread and wages. C e r t a i n l y , i t c o n f l i c t e d w i t h not only the ideas of an i n f l u e n t i a l min-o r i t y of i n t e l l e c t u a l s who favoured f r e e r t r a d e , but, more important, w i t h the r e a l i t i e s of economic growth and bureau-c r a t i c i n a d e q u a c i e s . In making such a scheme of r e g u l a t i o n e f f e c t i v e , one c r i t i c noted, the government would have had to p l a c e dangerous powers i n the hands of the o f f i c i a l agency. Such powers would have been t h r e e f o l d . F i r s t , the 271 necessary d i s c r e t i o n a r y power to r e g i s t e r those who a p p l i e d to the r e g i s t r y and to remove from the r e g i s t e r those who misbehaved was very l i a b l e to abuse. Second, the power to appoint gangs to ships meant t h a t when there were many gangs and few ships to unload there was an o p p o r t u n i t y to f a v o u r some men; and when there were many ships to unload and few gangs unemployed there was an o p p o r t u n i t y to show favour to some masters. Thus, there would be o p p o r t u n i t y f o r b r i b e r y . T h i r d , i f there was power to a l t e r the r a t e s of wages, there would have been a great f i e l d f o r abuse; while on the other hand, f i x e d wages could be o p p r e s s i v e to men or employers 55 according to circumstances. The second, broad approach might have r e s u l t e d i n the f o l l o w i n g . P a r l i a m e n t would have passed an act r e q u i r -ing masters, or t h e i r mates, to h i r e coalheavers d i r e c t l y , probably from \"houses of c a l l \" l i k e those frequented by other London t r a d e s , and agree with them over wages, which would have been p a i d on board s h i p without deductions. For t h e i r p a r t , the coalheavers would have had to complete the unloading of any s h i p once begun, upon p e n a l t y of f o r f e i t u r e of wages i n case of d e f a u l t . These measures would have removed the need f o r p r i v a t e and o f f i c i a l middlemen. Although such r e g u l a t i o n s had the advantage of s i m p l i c i t y , there were e v i d e n t weaknesses which demand only cursory \"The P r e s e n t S t a t e of the Coalheavers,\" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 130, f o l s . 111-12. 272 a t t e n t i o n here. The g r e a t e s t problem would have been p o l i c -in g the trade without an e f f e c t i v e i n s p e c t o r a t e , i n the f a c e of the undertakers' entrenched p o s i t i o n . In the event the course chosen by P a r l i a m e n t was a compromise between the two extremes. The establishment of an o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y was an understandable, i f unwise, r e t u r n to the o l d e r , more f a m i l i a r p r i n c i p l e s of p a t e r n a l i s m . But the p e r m i s s i v e c h a r a c t e r of the 1758 Act represented a r e c o g n i t i o n of the newer p r i n c i p l e s of l a i s s e z - f a i r e . The subsequent amending act of 10 George I I I , cap. 53, which forbade v i c t u a l l e r s ' engagement i n undertaking or the pay-ment i n other than coins of the realm f r e e from any deduc-t i o n s , and f i x e d wage r a t e s at 1/6 per score of London chauldrons (with p r o v i s i o n f o r the Mayor and Aldermen to s e t t l e d i s p u t e s and appeals to Quarter Sessions) was a piecemeal treatment of a problem t h a t r e q u i r e d more thorough-going a c t i o n to combat the power and i n f l u e n c e of the under-ta k e r s and was a l s o p e r m i s s i v e . S u c c e s s i v e m i n i s t r i e s were t o r n between t h e i r a n t i p -athy towards middlemen of a l l types, who c r e a t e d dangerous unrest among the lower o r d e r s , and the i n c r e a s i n g l y popular concept t h a t t r ade f l o u r i s h e d best when i t was f r e e from o u t s i d e i n t e r f e r e n c e . They, t h e r e f o r e , imposed i n e f f e c t u a l remedies. Indeed, they added to the chaos of the t r a d e . By i n t r o d u c i n g an o f f i c i a l r e g i s t r y a l o n g s i d e the p r i v a t e s y s -tem of h i r i n g p r o v i d e d by the undertakers they heartened the 273 coalheavers f o r a w h i l e . When the government t e m p o r a r i l y withdrew from the f i e l d , they encouraged the emergence of a t h i r d system of h i r i n g sponsored by J u s t i c e Hodgson. With the o p e r a t i o n of a l l three systems at a l a t e r date, they confused the coalheavers, who were \" c a s t from one to another.\" Far from c o r r e c t i n g a d e p l o r a b l e s i t u a t i o n , the government made i t worse by s t i m u l a t i n g r i v a l r y among the coalheavers who supported d i f f e r e n t h i r i n g systems. By encouraging the poor to b e l i e v e t h a t improvement i n c o n d i -t i o n s was p o s s i b l e , and then f a i l i n g to d e l i v e r that improvement, always a dangerous course to f o l l o w i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, the government encouraged the c o a l -heavers to take matters i n t o t h e i r own hands. Thus, the government's i n t e r v e n t i o n i n the coalheaving trade, l i k e i t s attempt to c o n t r o l the middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e , s t i m u l a t e d r a t h e r than discouraged d i s o r d e r s . Between 1758 and 1773, d e s p i t e the a c t i o n s of the government to r e g u l a t e more c l o s e l y c e r t a i n f a c e t s of econ-omic l i f e , the n o n - i n t e r v e n t i o n i s t s ' i n f l u e n c e grew. T h i s was due not only to the persuasiveness of t h e i r arguments, but a l s o to economic r e a l i t i e s . The i n c r e a s e d s o p h i s t i c a -t i o n of the economy demanded the m u l t i p l i c a t i o n of middlemen. At the same time there was growing d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t w i t h government i n t e r v e n t i o n , stemming from the experience of the p r o v i n c i a l r i o t s when attempts to r e g u l a t e p r o v i s i o n s mer-chants and others had aggravated r a t h e r than s o l v e d problems. 274 Perhaps the f i n a l straw which l e d e v e n t u a l l y to the abandon-ment of the coalheavers to t h e i r f a t e was the f e a r c r e a t e d by the widespread a g r i c u l t u r a l , p r e - i n d u s t r i a l , and p o l i t i -c a l r i o t s of the 1760's. F r i g h t e n e d by the general d i s a f -f e c t i o n of the lower orders, the government came to see the I r i s h coalheavers as a dangerously t u r b u l e n t group whose power to d i s r u p t the w a t e r f r o n t was out of a l l p r o p o r t i o n to t h e i r numbers, f o r they were able to s t i m u l a t e other more numerous and e s s e n t i a l groups, such as seamen, to r i o t and s t r i k e . The undertakers might be anathema to the r u l i n g orders who d i s l i k e d t h e i r brash, conspicuous consumption, but they promised to f u l f i l a v a l u a b l e r o l e i n c o n t r o l l i n g one of the most t u r b u l e n t of London t r a d e s . The l e n g t h and v i o l e n c e of the coalheavers' d i s o r d e r s i n 1768 a l i e n a t e d the r u l i n g c l a s s e s d e s p i t e t h e i r i n i t i a l sympathy f o r the l a b o u r e r s ' depressed c o n d i t i o n s . The s e n s i t i v i t y of the government to the t h r e a t to the peace of the Tower Hamlets and other p a r i s h e s i n the east and south of London i s appar-ent i n t h e i r constant search f o r s u i t a b l e m a g i s t r a t e s who would l i v e i n t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n s and be r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n times of c i v i l commotion. The pensioning of John Green, who a t t r a c t e d a t t e n t i o n f o r the f i r s t time by h i s r e s o l u t e defence of the Roundabout Tavern i n 1768, and h i s subsequent appointment to the Middlesex bench d e s p i t e h i s i n f e r i o r 275 56 s o c i a l background i l l u s t r a t e s t h i s concern. In c o n t r a s t , the demise of Ralph Hodgson as magistrate d e s p i t e h i s gentry s t a t u s and h i s membership of Gray's Inn and the Inner Tem-p l e , f o r h i s share i n encouraging the coalheavers to c h a l -lenge a u t h o r i t y , i n d i c a t e s o f f i c i a l response to apostates i n 57 the r u l i n g o r d e r s . The abandonment of government p r o t e c t i o n f o r the coalheavers a f t e r 1773 occurred at the same time that the anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s were r e p e a l e d , the Pownall Act r e v i s e d upwards the t h r e s h o l d s at which corn bounties were to be p a i d , and the bread and wage a s s i z e s were i n the course of abandonment. T h i s was not c o i n c i d e n t a l . Yet the d e c i s i v e reason f o r the l a p s e of p r o t e c t i o n i n the c o a l t r a de was the f e a r of the d i s r u p t i v e c a p a c i t y of the c o a l -heavers among the London poor, and the e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t i f l e f t to t h e i r own devices the undertakers would c o n t r o l t h i s dangerous element i n l o w e r - c l a s s s o c i e t y , even i f i n the process they grew r i c h on t h e i r e x t o r t i o n s . 56 Undated memo endorsed by Ch a r l e s Townsend \"to appoint Mr. Green, J u s t i c e of the Peace f o r Westminster--no s a l a r y expected as he alre a d y enjoys a pension of \u00C2\u00A3280 per annum f o r former s e r v i c e s \" (Sydney P a p e r s ) . See a l s o Shelburne Papers, V o l . 124, f o i . 131, which records annual pension to John Green of \u00C2\u00A3200, and N o r r i s , Shelburne and Reform, p. 193. 57 Pe n s i o n Book of Grays Inn, Records of the Honour-able S o c i e t y , 1669-1800. ed. by Re g i n a l d J . F l e t c h e r , B.D. (London: Chiswick P r e s s , 1910), p. 267. 276 I I While the high p r i c e of food and the deepening de p r e s s i o n i n overseas trade brought matters to a c r i s i s i n the s p r i n g of 1768, the u n d e r l y i n g causes of unrest among seamen, as among coalheavers, had a lengthy h i s t o r y . Once again i t w i l l be necessary to examine s e v e r a l years of back-ground to the s t r i k e s and demonstrations, which occurred between e a r l y May and l a t e August, 1768, i n order to under-stand the motives of the s t r i k e r s , and the responses of t h e i r employers and of the a u t h o r i t i e s . A f t e r the peace settlement of 1763, seamen faced a 58 severe d e t e r i o r a t i o n i n t h e i r circumstances. Because t h i s downswing f o l l o w e d s e v e r a l years of p r o s p e r i t y and expanded employment (the f i r s t three years of the war had seen a d e c l i n e i n the numbers of merchant seamen, but i n the l a s t f o u r years there was a g e n e r a l expansion of l a b o u r up to a peak i n 1763), the e x p e c t a t i o n s of seamen were at c o n s i d e r -59 able v a r i a n c e w i t h t h e i r economic circumstances. Not only were they d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h t h e i r standard of l i v i n g , mar-i n e r s a l s o found t h e i r peace-time r o l e d i s a p p o i n t i n g . They were no l o n g e r the heroes of the n a t i o n . With reason, they f e l t t h e i r countrymen had s h o r t memories indeed. Many summed up t h e i r complaints i n the f o l l o w i n g terms: 58 t Rude, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , p. 91. 59 Ralph Davis, \"Seamen's Sixpence: An Index of Com-m e r c i a l A c t i v i t y , 1607-1828,\" Economica, new s e r . , XXIII (1956), 328 et seq. 277 We, seamen have been s l i g h t e d and our wages reduced so low and p r o v i s i o n s so dear t h a t we have been rendered uncapable of p r o c u r i n g the common n e c e s s a r i e s of l i f e f o r o u r s e l v e s and our f a m i l i e s . 6 0 The most immediate economic problems, which d e r i v e d from the d e c l i n e i n employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s , were r e l a t e d to a number of causes. The f i r s t of these was a d r a s t i c r e d u c t i o n i n the s i z e of the army and navy. In l i t t l e more 61 than a year, 153,000 men were demobilized. While t h i s d e m o b i l i z a t i o n was most r a p i d i n 1763 and 1764, i t continued i n subsequent years, although at a reduced pace. Thus, between January and September, 1767, the number of men borne i n the Royal Navy dropped from 17,694 to 15,280. 6 2 At a time when many of these veterans sought c i v i l i a n j o b s , s i g -n i f i c a n t r e d u c t i o n s i n the merchant s e r v i c e occurred. Not only was there an o v e r a l l d e c l i n e i n t h i s s e r v i c e , but there were short-term f l u c t u a t i o n s , which were more d i s r u p t i v e than a steady d e c l i n e would have been. The t o t a l enrolment of merchant seamen dropped from a high of 46,911 i n 1763 to 38,272 i n 1765. In the f o l l o w i n g year, there was a tempor-ary recovery w i t h 44,599 e n l i s t e d , but by 1768 the number 63 had again dropped, t h i s time to 39,951. The only branch 60 'Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, f o i . 263. 61 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 187. 62 \"Account of Seamen and Marines from 31 December. 1765 to 31 December, 1766,\" Add. MSS, 38340, f o i . 11. 6 3 A d d . MSS, 38340, f o i . 17. 278 of the Merchant's S e r v i c e which appears to have been stead-i l y r e c o v e r i n g a f t e r a severe d e p r e s s i o n i n 1762 was the Greenland whale f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y . But the numbers i n v o l v e d 64 were r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l . There was, t h e r e f o r e , a l a r g e num-ber of veterans of the Seven Years' War competing with unem-ployed seamen f o r a d e c l i n i n g number of jobs i n the 1760's. Many of the unemployed seamen congregated i n the n a t i o n ' s major p o r t , London. I n i t i a l l y , P a r l i a m e n t aided the d e m o b i l i z e d veterans by a p p l y i n g an act of 22 George I I which p e r m i t t e d them to work at trades without the customary a p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e q u i r e -65 ments. Some found work i n w a t e r f r o n t or c i t y trades by t h i s means. While t h i s a s s i s t e d the naval seamen to a de-gree, i t was not a long-term s o l u t i o n to t h e i r problems, f o r i t merely aggravated problems of overcrowding i n such a l l i e d occupations as watermen and lightermen. A f t e r October, 1766 even t h i s inadequate compensation was denied unemployed sea-men who were war veterans, as a r e s u l t of a precedent set i n 66 a case prosecuted by the F a r r i e r s ' Company. The seamen's s t r i k e s were, t h e r e f o r e , c l o s e l y connected w i t h other 64 \"Account of the Number of Men Employed i n the Greenland Whale F i s h i n g \" (dated January 28, 1768), Add. MSS, 38340, f o l . 200. 65 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 152. 66 Humpherus, H i s t o r y of Watermen and Lightermen of the R i v e r Thames, p. 262. 279 m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s of 1768, e s p e c i a l l y those which occ u r r e d among w a t e r f r o n t workers. T h i s l a b o u r s u r p l u s i n the s e a f a r i n g i n d u s t r y exerted pressure on the wages of those seamen f o r t u n a t e enough to f i n d work. Shipowners s e i z e d the o p p o r t u n i t y of reducing t h e i r wage costs by v a r i o u s means. Some attempted to pay t h e i r men f o r the outward voyages and t h e i r homeward voyages s e p a r a t e l y . Thus, t h e i r s a i l o r s r e c e i v e d no pay f o r 6> 7 the time spent i n f o r e i g n p o r t s between t r i p s . T h i s prac-t i c e d i d not become g e n e r a l , but i t does i l l u s t r a t e a gen-e r a l t r e n d towards economies at the expense of seamen, which caused widespread unrest. More common was the circumvention 6 8 of the a p p r e n t i c e s h i p system. Ships c a r r i e d more appren-t i c e s than was customary, as a means of reducing the comple-ment of more expensive, t r a i n e d seamen, c a r p e n t e r s , and other t r a d e s . The l e n g t h of a p p r e n t i c e s h i p s was a l s o reduced by many owners. Men who had not completed a f u l l seven ye a r s ' a p p r e n t i c e s h i p f r e q u e n t l y served as able-seamen or tradesmen at sea. One p a r t i c u l a r source of grievance was the p r a c t i c e of h i r i n g t h r e e - y e a r s e r v a n t s , which the owners j u s t i f i e d on the grounds t h a t they were \"a nursery f o r the 67 Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l -l a n y , May 21, 1768. ^ 8 S e e a l s o Mantoux, The I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, p. 181, f o r r e f e r e n c e to s i m i l a r prob-lems of framework k n i t t e r s ; George, London L i f e i n the E i g h -t e e n t h Century, pp. 180-81, 225-26, and passim; Ashton, An Economic H i s t o r y of England, p. 224. 280 Royal Navy.\" The p r a c t i c e of c a r r y i n g an e x c e s s i v e number of a p p r e n t i c e s i n a l l i e d occupations such as lightermen and watermen, because i t denied them p o s s i b l e employment, was to the disadvantage of d i s p l a c e d merchant seamen, too. The i n c r e a s e d use of a p p r e n t i c e s during periods of general depression was not s o l e l y due to the d e s i r e of owners to e x p l o i t cheap s u r p l u s l a b o u r to reduce c o s t s . I t a l s o d e r i v e d from the p r a c t i c e of a p p r e n t i c i n g p a r i s h dependents, who i n c r e a s e d during p e r i o d s of economic d i f f i c u l t y . Cer-t a i n l y , abuses of the a p p r e n t i c e s h i p system i n c r e a s e d during the 1760's, and t h e i r c o r r e c t i o n f i g u r e d l a r g e i n the demands of the seamen during t h e i r great s t r i k e i n May, 1768. 6 9 L i k e the coalheavers, the merchant seamen p e t i t i o n e d the a u t h o r i t i e s to i n t e r v e n e i n the s p i r i t of the E l i z a b e t h a n s t a t u t e of a p p r e n t i c e s . But, both the employers and the a u t h o r i t i e s were already moving towards a l o o s e n i n g of l a b o u r - c a s t e c o n t r o l s by the 1760's. Although the l a t t e r were at times ambivalent i n t h e i r a t t i t u d e s to changes i n the economy, the e x i g e n c i e s of an expanding economy and the arguments of the exponents of l a i s s e z - f a i r e d o c t r i n e s were ta k i n g e f f e c t . Caught i n a p e r i o d of change, the seamen got the worst of both worlds, p a t e r n a l i s t i c and l a i s s e z - f a i r e . A l e g a l judgment robbed them of the b e n e f i t s of a more Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, f o l s . 331-74. 281 l i b e r a l approach to the r e h a b i l i t a t i o n of veterans i n shore t r a d e s , w h i l e at the same time, i n sea-going t r a d e s , a watering-down of the a p p r e n t i c e s h i p requirements r e s u l t e d i n g r e a t e r competition f o r jobs among the t r a d i t i o n a l l y q u a l i -f i e d ranks. These v a r i o u s d i s c o n t e n t s manifested themselves i n 70 r i o t s and d i s o r d e r s i n 1763. Although comparatively l i m i t e d i n s c a l e , because they came at a time of gen e r a l u n r e s t among silk-weavers and other i n d u s t r i a l workers immediately a f t e r the war, these d i s t u r b a n c e s caused the a u t h o r i t i e s concern. But i t was not u n t i l s p r i n g , 1768 t h a t r e a l l y s e r i o u s u n r e s t showed i t s e l f among seamen. Mariners i n n o r t h - e a s t e r n ports were the f i r s t to r e a c t a g a i n s t worsening c o n d i t i o n s . In e a r l y A p r i l , 1768, crews demonstrated i n fa v o u r of higher wages to o f f s e t the r i s i n g p r i c e s of food, and ship s i n the Tyne and Wear l a y 71 i d l e . L i k e the coalheavers, the seamen probably were 72 encouraged to a c t i o n by the success of the no r t h e r n pitmen. Here, at S h i e l d s , Newcastle, and Sunderland the sea-men used t a c t i c s which r e p r e s e n t an i n t e r e s t i n g t r a n s i t i o n a l stage between the p r o v i n c i a l poor's u s u a l s t r e s s upon lower-i n g p r i c e s by a t t a c k i n g middlemen and farmers, and the 1168. 71 70 Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1760-65), I, No, Annual R e g i s t e r , XI (1768), 92. 7 2Gentleman's Magazine, XXXV (1765), 488. 282 m e t r o p o l i t a n poor's s t r e s s on f o r c i n g employers to grant i n c r e a s e d wages. The s a i l o r s prevented any ships l e a v i n g p o r t , demonstrated, p e t i t i o n e d m a g i s t r a t e s , attacked prop-e r t y , and i n t i m i d a t e d t h e i r employers i n order to r a i s e wages; while at the same time they attacked bakers and but-73 chers to f o r c e down p r i c e s of \" n e c e s s a r i e s . \" While the t a c t i c s of the seamen were s u c c e s s f u l i n e l i c i t i n g promises of improved wages and c o n d i t i o n s from the shipowners, the p r e c i s e extent to which they l i v e d up to t h e i r bargain i s not apparent. Probably they reneged upon many of t h e i r undertakings as soon as the s t r i k e was over and the ships were at sea. They were not famed f o r honesty i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e i r crews. In any case, the unrest now spread to London, p a r t l y as a r e s u l t of events i n the north, and p a r t l y as a r e s u l t of g e n e r a l unrest among such Thames-side workers as coalheavers, lightermen,, and watermen. By e a r l y May, 1768, a l l ships i n the Thames, whether deep-sea or coastwise, were a f f e c t e d by the s t r i k e , which r e v e a l e d the formidable o r g a n i z i n g s k i l l of the sea-f a r e r s . 7 4 73 Annual R e g i s t e r , XI (1768), 92. Domestic Entry Book, V o l . 142, f o l s . 44, 47-49, 50-51, 54, c i t e d by Rud<\u00C2\u00A7, Wilkes and L i b e r t y , p. 91. 7 4 \" M e m o r i a l s of Dialogues betwixt s e v e r a l seamen, a c e r t a i n v i c t u a l l e r , and a s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1 master i n the l a t e r i o t , \" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, fols. 363-74. These i n c l u d e a seaman's pro c l a m a t i o n c a l l i n g f o r a meeting of mates, c a r -penters, and seamen at the Halfway House, Stepney F i e l d s on Monday, May 9, 1768 \"to c o n s u l t proper measures f o r r a i s i n g 283 The s t r i k e r s acted i n the f o l l o w i n g manner. Commit-tees of approximately f o r t y men v i s i t e d each s h i p i n the r i v e r . They demanded to know the monthly wage r a t e s , and to see the sh i p ' s a r t i c l e s . I f the r a t e s were below 40/- per month, they persuaded i t s crew to dismantle the r i g g i n g to prevent a hasty departure. The seamen then h e l d assemblies i n Stepney F i e l d s to p r o t e s t c o n d i t i o n s , and sent p e t i t i o n s 75 to P a r l i a m e n t and the King begging f o r r e d r e s s . In t h i s they acted i n much the same f a s h i o n as the coalheavers, s i l k - w e a v e r s , t a i l o r s and the v a r i o u s other i n d u s t r i a l groups who s t r u c k work and r i o t e d i n 1768. Although com-p l a i n t s at the hig h p r i c e s of p r o v i s i o n s were frequent, no attacks were d i r e c t e d a g a i n s t middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s tra d e . R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the s a i l o r s met wit h the owners 76 to present t h e i r g r i e v a n c e s . In the f o r m u l a t i o n of t h e i r demands the seamen sought the a i d of v i c t u a l l e r s , at l e a s t \u00E2\u0080\u00A2one of whom was prompt to inf o r m the a u t h o r i t i e s of t h e i r i n t e n t i o n s . wages\" and r e q u i r e d s h i p s ' masters to meet wit h the seamen l a t e the same day \"to s e t t l e and r e g u l a t e the s a i d seamen's wages.\" The proclamation c a l l e d on \" a l l watermen, l i g h t e r -men, b a l l a s t men, ' b a l l a s t heavers, coalheavers e t c . to leav e t h e i r duty and not to go to work t i l l our wages be s e t t l e d . \" I t was signed on the l e f t by \"no Wilkes, no King,\" and on the r i g h t by \"seamen.\" 7 5 A n n u a l R e g i s t e r , XI (1768), 105-17. Rockingham MSS, Rl-1055, May 13, 1768. 284 These demands were concerned p r i m a r i l y w i t h i n c r e a s e d wages and the ending of u n f a i r competition f o r j o b s . They asked f o r a monthly r a t e of 40/- i n place of the c u r r e n t 32/- ; a l i m i t a t i o n of one ap p r e n t i c e per carpenter at sea.and two per carpenter on land; an end to the p r a c t i c e of h i r i n g t h r e e - y e a r servants; enforcement of seven-year a p p r e n t i c e s h i p f o r seamen and other sea-going trades; l i m i -t a t i o n of two ap p r e n t i c e s per master; and abandonment of the app o i n t i n g of u n q u a l i f i e d shipwrights as carpenters. While a l l these demands a p p l i e d to the Merchant S e r v i c e i n g e n e r a l , one demand was r e l e v a n t to the c o l l i e r t r a d e alone. They asked f o r 1/- per day w a i t i n g money f o r s h i p s ' crews delayed more than s i x days i n the P o r t of London, S h i e l d s , Sunder-land, or B l y t h e . T h i s arose from the resentment of crews who were p a i d f o r a round t r i p i r r e s p e c t i v e of delays due to 77 inclement weather or labour d i s p u t e s of coalheavers. To what extent the seamen were s u c c e s s f u l i n t h e i r demands i n May, 1768 i s not r e a d i l y apparent. C e r t a i n l y they d i d not ga i n the 1/- per day w a i t i n g money. T h e i r con-t i n u e d e x a s p e r a t i o n w i t h the coalheavers r e s u l t e d i n an agreement w i t h the owners to unload the c o a l themselves, w i t h the bloody r e s u l t s a l r e a d y d e s c r i b e d . C e r t a i n s h i p -owners were more ready to come to terms than others. Thus, \"Memorials of Dialogues betwixt s e v e r a l seamen, a c e r t a i n v i c t u a l l e r , and a s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1 master i n the l a t e r i o t , \" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, fpis. 363-74. 285 the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to pay i t s seamen the f u l l 40/- per month, which i t c o n s i d e r e d e x t o r t i o n a t e , because f u r t h e r delay might have meant t h a t d i s t a n t f a c t o r i e s were 78 not r e l i e v e d t h a t year. Companies which d e a l t i n p e r i s h -79 able cargoes were a l s o quick to s e t t l e . Other owners agreed to a settlement w i t h the men's r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , but i t a p p arently f e l l s h o r t of the men's ex p e c t a t i o n s because unrest continued and s t r i k e s o ccurred as l a t e as August 24, 80 when the seamen stru c k f o r 37/- per month. What success the seamen d i d enjoy was due to t h e i r economic and s t r a t e g i c importance to the country. T h e i r s t r i k e had an immediate impact on the commercial l i f e of London and threatened the n a t i o n a l - w e l l - b e i n g . The p o s s i -b i l i t y , however remote, of t h e i r s a i l i n g to France gave even g r e a t e r cause of alarm, and accounts f o r the s t a t i o n i n g of 81 naval v e s s e l s to blockade the r i v e r . Yet, popular sym-pathy f o r t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s aided the seamen's cause, too. Most Englishmen h e l d merchant and naval seamen i n g e n e r a l a f f e c t i o n and r e s p e c t owing to t h e i r r o l e i n the l a t e war. The s a i l o r s ' d i s c i p l i n e d r e s t r a i n t i n t h e i r demonstrations, 7 8 S i r M w Fetherstonhaugh to Newcastle, May 19, 1768, Add. MSS, 32990, f o l s . 107-108. 79 P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r , May 23, 1768. 8 Q L l o y d ' s Evening P o s t , August 26-29, 1768. 81 \"Draught of a L e t t e r from the Board of Admiralty to the E a r l of Shelburne\" (May, 1768), Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, fols. 347-51. 286 and t h e i r forebearance from j o i n i n g with other p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l p r o t e s t e r s gained them sympathy. On the other hand, the d i s c i p l i n e and o r g a n i z a t i o n evident i n the punishment of c r i m i n a l s masquerading as seamen-protesters and the r e s t o r -a t i o n of the s p o i l s to t h e i r r i g h t f u l owners must have f r i g h t e n e d the a u t h o r i t i e s i n a p e r i o d when t h e i r peace 82 f o r c e s were so l i m i t e d . The h i n t t hat there were \" f o r t y thousand brave men at the northward\" as w e l l as \" f i f t e e n or twenty-thousand S p i t a l f i e l d s weavers\" who could \" j o i n us at an hour's warning\" suggested the i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p of the i n d u s t r i a l d i s o r d e r s of 1768 and encouraged the a u t h o r i t i e s 83 to deal c a u t i o u s l y with the r i o t e r s . Wisely the government avoided the p r o v o c a t i o n of using guards to q u e l l the s t r i k e . There was a n a t u r a l a n t i p a t h y between the s o l d i e r s and the seamen which d i d not e x i s t between naval r a t i n g s and merchant seamen. F r e q u e n t l y 84 s o l d i e r s and seamen were economic r i v a l s . There was a t r a d i t i o n of moonlighting i n the army. The M i n i s t r y ' s 8 2 S t . James's C h r o n i c l e , May 12-14, 1768. 83 \"Memorials of Dialogues betwixt s e v e r a l seamen, a c e r t a i n v i c t u a l l e r , and a s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 1 master i n the l a t e r i o t , \" Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, f o i . 363. 84 One paper r e p o r t e d a rumour t h a t s o l d i e r s l e t t h e i r pay go to o f f i c e r s and work as coalheavers (Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l l a n y , May 30, 1768). L e g a l documentation seems to corroborate t h i s . One witness ag a i n s t two coalheavers was F r a n c i s Reynolds, \"a s o l d i e r i n the guards who keeps a house i n Shadwell [my i t a l i c s J\" (Treasury S o l i c i t o r ' s P a p e r ~ T.S.I1/818/2696). 287 d e c i s i o n to w i t h h o l d i n t e r v e n t i o n by naval f o r c e s was based on e n t i r e l y o p posite c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . Here, they f e a r e d t h a t the r a t i n g s might s i d e w i t h the merchant seamen. The government p r e f e r r e d to use t h e i r own agents to d i v e r t the seamen along l i n e s of a c t i o n most acceptable to them. Almost c e r t a i n l y two at l e a s t of the s e v e r a l a d j u t -ants and one of the v i c t u a l l e r s , who advised the seamen i n drawing up t h e i r demands, represented the government's i n t e r e s t s . The seamen gave to the adjutants the r i g h t to ne g o t i a t e a settlement w i t h the owners at the King's Arms Tavern, C o r n h i l l on May 13, 1768. Lord B a r r i n g t o n , M i n i s t e r -at-War, i n a l e t t e r to Robert Wood, Under-Secretary to Lord Weymouth i n the Northern Department, r e f e r r e d to one of these r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s as \"the bearer, B e l l , who has been 85 extremely u s e f u l i n managing the seamen . . . .\" Edmund Burke named another of the l e a d e r s of the seamen's s t r i k e , C a ptain F a l l , as an employee and pensioner of the M i n i s t r y , 86 during a debate i n the Commons i n the f o l l o w i n g year. Another c r i t i c of the government went even f u r t h e r when he accused the government of fomenting the seamen's s t r i k e f o r p o l i t i c a l purposes. There i s no evidence of the govern-ment's p r o v o c a t i o n of such a dangerous s t r i k e , but i n a OR Calendar of Home O f f i c e Papers (1766-69), No. 894, May 23, 1768. 8 6 D e b a t e s of the House of Commons (1768-70), V o l . 80, A p r i l 7, 1768. 288 century when mobs s t i r r e d up by the a u t h o r i t i e s were not unknown, t h e i r manipulation of r i o t l e a d e r s i s e n t i r e l y c r e d i b l e . The e f f o r t s of these servants of the M i n i s t r y were t h r e e f o l d . F i r s t , they kept the government c l o s e l y informed on the seamen's i n t e n t i o n s ; second, they discouraged the seamen from j o i n i n g with other i n d u s t r i a l p r o t e s t e r s or p o l -i t i c a l mobs; t h i r d , they persuaded the seamen to give them a ca r t e blanche i n n e g o t i a t i o n s and then agreed upon a s e t t l e -ment . To sum up, the unrest of the seamen i n 1768 r e s u l t e d from the d i s r u p t i o n of a p e r i o d of trade realignment, which was exacerbated by high p r i c e s and the p r o g r e s s i v e abandon-ment of p a t e r n a l i s t i c p r o t e c t i o n . Seamen, l i k e coalheavers, r e v e a l e d t h e i r own u n c e r t a i n t i e s by t h e i r blend of t r a d i -t i o n a l demands f o r p r o t e c t i o n and more r a d i c a l s t r e s s on improved wages and c o n d i t i o n s . In t h i s they were t y p i c a l of the v a r i o u s i n d u s t r i a l workers who r i o t e d i n the 1760's. Th i s v a c i l l a t i o n was p a r a l l e l e d by the a t t i t u d e s and a c t i o n s of the M i n i s t r y who were t o r n between the o l d E l i z a b e t h a n labour s t a t u t e s and the new a b s t e n t i o n from i n t e r f e r i n g i n trade. The employers sought to maximize t h e i r p r o f i t s by e x p l o i t i n g the su r p l u s l a b o u r of t h e i r i n d u s t r y . B e n e f i t -ing from the growing disenchantment of the a u t h o r i t i e s with outmoded.protectionist p o l i c i e s , the shipowners eroded the a p p r e n t i c e s h i p system and reduced the wages of t h e i r 289 tradesmen. In the process they a l i e n a t e d t h e i r seamen and s t i m u l a t e d the s t r i k e s of 1768. I l l Of a l l the i n d u s t r i o u s poor of the M e t r o p o l i s who found t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s i n t o l e r a b l e i n 1768, the silk-weavers were most prone to v i o l e n t p r o t e s t . L i k e seamen and c o a l -heavers, they had a long h i s t o r y of u n r e s t , which s t r e t c h e d back at l e a s t as f a r as the e a r l y years of the eighteenth century. Many of t h e i r resentments arose from the i n n a t e problems of t h e i r t r a d e . E s s e n t i a l l y , the s i l k - w e a v e r s manufactured a l u x u r y product, the demand f o r which was q u i c k l y i n f l u e n c e d by changes i n f a s h i o n or by economic v i c i s s i t u d e s . Thus, even per i o d s of c o u r t mourning brought c r i s i s to the s i l k t r a d e . T h i s occurred i n the 1760's when chronic d e p r e s s i o n o b l i g e d 87 the King to c u r t a i l court mourning. I n e v i t a b l y , reduced demand f o r consumer goods i n times of d e p r e s s i o n a f f e c t e d the luxury trades f i r s t . Such was the case, f o r example, i n e a r l y 1741 when, a f t e r a year of d e p r e s s i o n , silk-weavers Q were r e p o r t e d l y s t a r v i n g by the thousands f o r l a c k of work. 87 Westminster J o u r n a l and London P o l i t i c a l M i s c e l -lany, January 25, 1768. 88 Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, p. 147. 290 Overseas markets f o r s i l k products were v o l a t i l e , too. E n g l i s h exports to Europe r e c e i v e d heavy competition from French and I t a l i a n manufacturers, and a f t e r 1720 the B r i t i s h government p a i d a bounty to encourage trade. T h i s p r a c t i c e enabled the overseas s i l k trade to s u r v i v e , but i t d i d not solve the problem of an o v e r a l l d e c l i n e of the m e t r o p o l i t a n s i l k i n d u s t r y during the e i g h t e e n t h century. T h i s long-term d e c l i n e was due to the i n a b i l i t y of master silk-weavers of London to match the lower costs of p r o d u c t i o n of t h e i r competitors. One pamphleteer recom-mended the d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of the i n d u s t r y by moving to Wales where l a b o u r costs were o n e - t h i r d those of S p i t a l -f i e l d s to meet French competition and reduce the problem of 89 London's growth. Another correspondent c o r r o b o r a t e d t h i s view when he wrote: The t r u e cause of these and the l i k e d i s o r d e r s i s t h a t the p r i c e of wages i n t h i s town i s too high to support a manufacture t h a t does not r e q u i r e any very e x t r a o r d i n -ary s k i l l and i n which we are r i v a l l e d by other n a t i o n s , the manufacture i t s e l f w i l l by degrees probably remove to Glasgow but the quick decay of i t here w i l l i n the meantime produce temporary c o n v u l s i o n s . 0 In the event, the convulsions were h a r d l y temporary; they l a s t e d i n t o the next century; but the growing competition from the p r o v i n c e s proved c o r r e c t . 89 \" P o l i t i c a l S p e c u l a t i o n s on the Dearness of P r o v i -s i o n s \" (anonymous pamphlet, London, 1767). \" s h e l b u r n e Papers, V o l . 133, fols. 331-33 (n.d., between 1725 and 1749). 291 Some producers accepted such advice and competition f o r the m e t r o p o l i t a n s i l k i n d u s t r y came not only from France and I n d i a by the mid-century, i t a l s o came from p r o v i n c i a l centres l i k e Glasgow, Coventry, and M a c c l e s f i e l d , where labour and other costs were cheaper than i n the c a p i t a l . While t a r i f f p r o t e c t i o n only p a r t i a l l y s o l v e d the problem of f o r e i g n competition because of widespread smuggling, i t d i d nothing to a m e l i o r a t e the f o r m i d a b l e r i v a l r y of p r o v i n c i a l weaving c e n t r e s . N e i t h e r d i d m e r c a n t i l i s t p o l i c i e s s o l v e the chronic overcrowding of the s i l k - w e a v i n g t r a d e . The use of cheap a p p r e n t i c e labour and the i n t r o d u c -t i o n of \"engine looms,\" each of which d i d the work of sev-e r a l hand-loom weavers, c r e a t e d b i t t e r enmity between d i f -f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s of weavers, without f i n a l l y s o l v i n g the problems of h i g h - c o s t p r o d u c t i o n . Except i n times of e x t r a -o r d i n a r y a c t i v i t y , there was always an overwhelming s u r p l u s of labour. When trade was prosperous, the l a b o u r f o r c e expanded r a p i d l y . T h i s happened i n war-time, when England d i v e r t e d trade from her European competitors. In the years 1706-1711, 1717-1718, 1741-1743, and 1756-1762, the metro-p o l i t a n i n d u s t r y expanded to s a t i s f y a temporary war-time 91 need. With peace came renewed competition i n overseas trade and a consequent reduced demand f o r labour. C l e a r l y , such f l u c t u a t i o n s were more d i s t u r b i n g than a steady Ashton, Economic F l u c t u a t i o n s i n England 1700-1800, pp. 74-75. 292 d e c l i n e , f o r they overexpanded the labour f o r c e and cr e a t e d expectations among the i n d u s t r i o u s poor t h a t were sooner or l a t e r dashed. There were other reasons why there was a surplus of silk-weavers i n most years of the century. Because s i l k -weaving demanded r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e s k i l l , i t a t t r a c t e d r e c e n t a r r i v a l s i n the c a p i t a l . I r i s h immigrants i n p a r t i -c u l a r took up the trade, and s e t t l e d i n the east-end par-i s h e s known c o l l e c t i v e l y as S p i t a l f i e l d s . D i s t r e s s i n I r e -l a n d or the E n g l i s h p r o v i n c e s i n c r e a s e d the flow of immi-grants to the c a p i t a l . Thus, i n periods of widespread de p r e s s i o n , more labour g r a v i t a t e d i n t o the s i l k trade of London. T h i s r e s u l t e d i n underemployment much of the time, and o u t r i g h t unemployment and s t a r v a t i o n i n times of econ-omic slump. Such labour s u r p l u s e s rendered the silk-weavers v u l n e r a b l e to wage-cutting and other c o s t - s a v i n g d e v i c e s . In p e r i o d s of de p r e s s i o n and r e c e s s i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y , the master silk-weavers sought to reduce wage costs by v a r i -ous expedients. They lowered wage r a t e s , encouraged the use of machinery and the employment of cheap labour. But the d e s i r e to meet cheap competition was not the only m o t i v a t i o n f o r employers to r a t i o n a l i z e t h e i r p r o d u c t i o n at the expense of the journeymen. In an age when many commentators f r e -quently noted the conspicuous consumption of the middling s o r t , master weavers sought to maximize t h e i r p r o f i t s i n order to compete s o c i a l l y w i t h a v a r i e t y of b e n e f i c i a r i e s of 293 economic change. T h i s tendency was e s p e c i a l l y evident a f t e r the mid-century, and e x c i t e d the resentment of the weavers. L i k e the journeymen t a i l o r s who a l s o r i o t e d f o r b e t -t e r wages e a r l y i n 1768, the response of the silk-weavers e a r l y i n the century to worsening c o n d i t i o n s had been to organize themselves i n t o t i g h t l y - d i s c i p l i n e d s o c i e t i e s f o r 92 the d i f f e r e n t branches of t h e i r trade. These embryonic trade unions had concerned themselves with wages and c o n d i -t i o n s , as w e l l as with the establishment of benevolent funds. They were f a i r l y s u c c e s s f u l i n f r i g h t e n i n g some con-cess i o n s from master weavers, i n c o n t r a s t to the t a i l o r s , s e v e r a l of whom were prosecuted as committeemen of a s s o c i -a t i o n s \"which r a i s e d a fund to support each other i n such unlawful meetings, and who d i s t i n g u i s h e d themselves by the 93 name of F l i n t s , \" u n t i l an act of the s i x t h year of George I l l ' s r e i g n made i t a c a p i t a l o f f e n c e to engage i n such combinations which h i t h e r t o had been t o l e r a t e d d e s p i t e t h e i r i l l e g a l i t y . Forced underground by the h o s t i l i t y of the a u t h o r i t i e s , these s o c i e t i e s met s e c r e t l y at such hos-t e l r i e s as the Northumberland Arms, the White Hart, the Dolphin, and the White Horse. They communicated i n code, exchanged i n f o r m a t i o n on wage r a t e s with weavers i n D u b l i n and elsewhere i n England, p u b l i s h e d c r y p t i c messages i n the 9 9 v Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, fols. 331-33, Novem-ber 19, n.d. 9 3 A n n u a l R e g i s t e r , V I I I (1765), 79. 294 p r e s s , and maintained armed guards when i n s e s s i o n . To sup-p o r t themselves these s o c i e t i e s exacted a weekly or monthly t o l l of 2d, 3d, or 4d per loom from master s i l k - w e a v e r s , and r e q u i r e d a l l journeymen weavers to organize themselves i n t o groups f o r the purpose of improving t h e i r l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s . They i s s u e d formal r e c e i p t s f o r moneys r e c e i v e d i n the name of, f o r example, the Dreadnought, which represented the broad s i l k - c u t t e r s , or the Bold Defiance, which re p r e s e n t e d the h a l f - s i l k and h a l f - w o r s t e d branch. Committees of these v a r i o u s branches of the s i l k -weaving trade p u b l i s h e d books of pay r a t e s . The H o r s e h a i r branch, f o r example, covered i t s expenses by demanding from master weavers 2d per book and 5d f o r each loom. In 1768, under these r a t e s a weaver might have earned 12/- to 14/-per week had the masters not r e v e r s e d t h e i r e a r l i e r d e c i s i o n to pay the wages demanded. They were encouraged i n t h e i r d e f i a n c e of the h i g h l y - o r g a n i z e d weavers by the government's determination to crush the i l l e g a l combinations and the pro-v i s i o n of m i l i t a r y p r o t e c t i o n . C e r t a i n l y the c l o s e g e o g r a p h i c a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n of workers i n the east-end p a r i s h e s of London aided the d e v e l -opment of such s o c i e t i e s d e d i c a t e d to achieve improved con-d i t i o n s by whatever means necessary. The r e j e c t i o n of the I r i s h immigrants, who g r a v i t a t e d to the t r a d e , by the lower orders of London's p r e - i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t y ensured great s o c i a l cohesion amongst s i l k - w e a v e r s , many of whom were 295 I r i s h . The e x p a t r i a t e d Whiteboys may have played as impor-tant a r o l e i n the s i l k - w e a v e r s ' r i o t s of 1768 as they d i d i n the coalheavers' d i s p u t e s of the same p e r i o d . While oaths of membership f o r i n d u s t r i a l groups were not p e c u l i a r to I r i s h t e r r o r i s t s o c i e t i e s i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, they 94 may have spread as a r e s u l t of I r i s h immigration. In any case, there was p l a i n l y a s i g n i f i c a n t exchange of informa-t i o n and c o - o p e r a t i o n between D u b l i n and London-based s i l k -weavers' s o c i e t i e s . I f t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n looked ahead to modern indus-t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of labour, i n t h e i r goals and t a c t i c s , the silk-weavers d i s p l a y e d the same ambivalence as most of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor who p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t t h e i r c o n d i t i o n s i n the second h a l f of the e i g h t e e n t h century. For the most p a r t t h e i r goals were c o n s e r v a t i v e . They wished f o r govern-ment r e g u l a t i o n of t h e i r trade i n the s p i r i t of e a r l i e r , p a t e r n a l i s t i c times. To t h i s end they p e t i t i o n e d the King and the Commons f o r r e l i e f . They paraded i n time-hallowed f a s h i o n , f r e q u e n t l y i n very l a r g e numbers, to demand t a r i f f p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t f o r e i g n competition, or to demonstrate t h e i r g eneral d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n s . They complained of the c i r -cumvention of a p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s . But i n t h e i r t a c -t i c s of s t r i k i n g and a t t a c k i n g machinery or c u t t i n g threads i n looms i n order to impose an acceptable wage s c a l e on George, \"The London Coalheavers,\" p. 236. 296 t h e i r masters, .silk-weavers r e v e a l e d a more modern type of i n d u s t r i a l r a d i c a l i s m more i n keeping with t h e i r q u a s i - t r a d e 95 unionism. These developments reached t h e i r peak i n the decade between 1763 and 1773. They r e f l e c t e d the f r u s t r a -t i o n s of the weavers at the p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of wage and p r i c e - f i x i n g of l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , severe i n c r e a s e s i n the p r i c e of food, and post-war d i f f i c u l t i e s of the s i l k t r a d e . I t i s now necessary to examine i n more d e t a i l the unique problems of the s i l k trade i n the ten years which f o l l o w e d the Seven Years' War. L i k e many of the trades of London, s i l k - w e a v i n g had enjoyed unusual p r o s p e r i t y during the war, because of the r e d u c t i o n of f o r e i g n competition and the new market oppor-t u n i t i e s . Trade had expanded r a p i d l y . One w r i t e r noted the t r a n s f e r e n c e of haberdashers i n t o s i l k manufacturing during E a r l y i n the e i g h t e e n t h century, S p i t a l f i e l d s manufacturers were r e p o r t e d l y e s t a b l i s h i n g combinations of \" g r e a t e r extent and r e g u l a r i t y \" than ever b e f o r e . They num-bered \" s e v e r a l thousands\" who were reduced \"to most exact d i s c i p l i n e under t h e i r l e a d e r s , they p l a n t s e n t i n e l s i n a l l the neighbourhood of S p i t a l f i e l d s and are ready to c o l l e c t themselves on any alarm, they d i s g u i s e themselves with crapes and are armed with c u t l a s s e s and other weapons, they w r i t e t h r e a t e n i n g l e t t e r s i n the form of humble p e t i t i o n s to the master manufacturers and they deter by t h r e a t s those l a b o u r e r s from working at under p r i c e . . . .\" Shelburne's correspondent went on to d e s c r i b e n i g h t r a i d s to cut work and destroy looms by weavers who were \" l e a r n i n g the d i s c i p -l i n e of the r e g u l a r t r o o p s . \" Masters and others were too i n t i m i d a t e d to give i n f o r m a t i o n (Shelburne Papers, V o l . 133, fols. 331-33, n.d.). See a l s o Mantoux, The I n d u s t r i a l Revolu-t i o n i n the E i g h t e e n t h Century, pp. 81-82; J . L. and B. Hammond, The S k i l l e d Labourer, 1760-1832 (London: Longmans, 1933), pp. 205-10. 297 96 t h i s p e r i o d of o p p o r t u n i t y . Much labour was a t t r a c t e d to the i n d u s t r y g e n e r a l l y . Thus, when a slump came at the end of the h o s t i l i t i e s , and t a r i f f p r o t e c t i o n was not resumed, upon the s i g n i n g of the peace t r e a t y , the sil k - w e a v i n g trade was badly h i t by unemployment when the expe c t a t i o n s of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor were high. G e n e r a l l y high food p r i c e s aggravated the problems of the weavers, and the next decade witnessed c h r o n i c unrest i n the trade. Of these years, 1765 and 1768-69 were the most d i s t u r b e d . Immediately a f t e r the peace settlement, the s i l k t rade s u f f e r e d the l o s s of f o r e i g n and home markets, because of the r e v i v e d French i n d u s t r y . F o l l o w i n g very l a r g e demon-s t r a t i o n s of both masters and journeymen of the s i l k - w e a v i n g trade i n favour of the r e s t o r a t i o n of p r o t e c t i o n , s e r i o u s r i o t i n g broke out i n London. In t h i s , only the i n t e r v e n t i o n of the guards saved the Duke of Bedford's r e s i d e n c e from d e s t r u c t i o n . F r i g h t e n e d by the v i o l e n c e , P a r l i a m e n t now reimposed t a r i f f s on f o r e i g n s i l k s . Although i t took sev-e r a l years f o r the e x c l u s i o n of f o r e i g n s i l k s to take e f f e c t because of s t o c k - p i l i n g , t h i s quietened the s i l k trade f o r a wh i l e . But continued depressed trade l e d to f u r t h e r con-97 f l i c t . The p a t t e r n of a c t i o n was much the same as e a r l i e r 96 Wages were high, and gauze and capuchin workers earned as much as t h i r t y - s i x s h i l l i n g s i n three days (Gazet-t e e r and New D a i l y A d v e r t i s e r , January 30, 1768). 97 I t was c a l c u l a t e d i n 1766 that there were three years' s u p p l i e s of raw m a t e r i a l s t o c k - p i l e d . Thus the embargo had l i t t l e immediate e f f e c t other than p s y c h o l o g i -c a l l y to encourage the weavers. 298 i n the century, but the s c a l e of a c t i o n was much g r e a t e r . Competition f o r scarce jobs exacerbated the r i v a l r y between 98 engine and hand-loom weavers. Bloody encounters took p l a c e , and r i o t e r s a ttacked work i n the looms and other property. Matters were not helped by a p e r i o d of court mourning which, as e a r l i e r noted, the King shortened. The most s e r i o u s p e r i o d of r i o t i n g i n 1768-69 began wit h attempts i n January, 1768 by masters to reduce wage r a t e s by 4d per yard, a gambit which was to s t i m u l a t e s i m i -l a r r e a c t i o n s when attempted by shipowners, c o a l - u n d e r t a k e r s , master t a i l o r s and other employers i n the same year. R i o t e r s renewed t h e i r e f f o r t s to persuade P a r l i a m e n t to in t e r v e n e i n t h e i r favour, while at the same time they t r i e d to coerce t h e i r employers to pay according to the agreed s c a l e s . T h e i r a c t i o n s encouraged s i m i l a r responses from other groups i n p r e - i n d u s t r i a l London. Matters reached a c r i s i s p o i n t i n l a t e 1768 and e a r l y 1769. The w e a l t h i e r master weavers armed t h e i r households i n the fa c e of the weavers' t h r e a t s . Such a c t i o n s s t i m u l a t e d warnings from the journeymen such as the f o l l o w i n g : Cheavet; Your own house has been so armed of l a t e t h a t i f ' you continue to h i r e men as you have done by g i v i n g them 98 The P u b l i c A d v e r t i s e r r e p o r t e d m a g i s t r a t e s u n i t e d i n the o p i n i o n t h a t a \"standard p r i c e of l a b o u r was wanting\" between the l a b o u r e r s i n a l l branches of the trade. Dorothy George claims t h a t the d i s p u t e was over working below r a t e s r a t h e r than over machinery d i s p l a c i n g workers (George, London L i f e i n the Eighteenth Century, p. 188). 299 money and arms with persuasions and i n s t r u c t i o n s how to use them whereby many innocent l i v e s are i n dan-ger, the p u b l i c committee h e l d at t h i s h o u s e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 b o t h by the assigns of master and men must be immediately o b l i g e d to make t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n to the laws of the land to p r o t e c t t h e i r l i v e s as many evidence have d e c l a r e d , t h a t you have sundry and f a l s e pretences encouraged them by o f f e r i n g of money and or d e r i n g l i q u o r s f o r them\u00E2\u0080\u0094whereby t h e i r senses were i n f u s e d so as they d i d not know your wicked design and sev-e r a l of these persons have d e p o s i t e d the arms which they r e c e i v e d to do what you r e q u i r e d them, but they have d e c l a r e d they would not and have even marked the money or c o i n you gave them. g Q From the p u b l i c committee The government now, f r i g h t e n e d by general i n d u s t r i a l u n r e s t and p o l i t i c a l r i o t s , upon the advice of S i r John F i e l d i n g decided to suppress the \"unions\" which were known to meet at va r i o u s taverns of the M e t r o p o l i s . Among the most a c t i v e magistrates i n the move to crush the silk-weavers was Bu r f o r d Camphire, a l e a d i n g f i g u r e i n the e a r l i e r c o a l -heavers' d i s p u t e s . The use of m i l i t a r y f o r c e s l e d to c a s u a l -t i e s on both s i d e s , but was s u c c e s s f u l i n ending major out-breaks. D e s u l t o r y a t t a c k s on i n d i v i d u a l s continued u n t i l the passage of the S p i t a l f i e l d Act of 1773 r e s t o r e d p a t e r n -a l i s t i c government c o n t r o l of the i n d u s t r y . T h i s act represented a triumph f o r the weavers, f o r i t r e a l i z e d t h e i r goal of r e s t o r i n g o f f i c i a l r e g u l a t i o n of the i n d u s t r y , and i t compensated f o r the c o l l a p s e of t h e i r more r a d i c a l essays i n t o c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g i n a \" T r e a s u r y S o l i c i t o r ' s Papers, T.S.11/818/2696. 1 ( ^ S . and B. Webb, The H i s t o r y of Trade Unionism, pp. 54-55. 300 developing c l i m a t e of laissez-faire.\"'\" 0\"'\" Although t h e i r standard of l i v i n g continued to drop, during most of the remaining years of the century, due to the i n h e r e n t weak-nesses of t h e i r t rade, silk-weavers ceased to be the s o c i a l t h r e a t they were i n the 1760's. From the viewpoint of the a u t h o r i t i e s , the act represented a r e v e r s a l of a t r e n d away from the p r i n c i p l e s of the o l d \"moral economy.\" L i k e the e a r l i e r proclamation of the o l d s t a t u t e s a g a i n s t middlemen during the food c r i s i s of 1766, the government's a c t i o n i n 1773 represented a back-ward l o o k i n g step, but u n l i k e the e a r l i e r r e g r e s s i o n the r e t u r n to o l d e r p r i n c i p l e s i n 1773 was not s h o r t - l i v e d . By 1773, P a r l i a m e n t had a l r e a d y r e p e a l e d the anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s , r e v i s e d the t h r e s h o l d p r i c e s f o r the export bounty on corn, and had continued to f a v o u r the p r o g r e s s i v e aban-donment of the a s s i z e of bread and wages. Thus, P a r l i a -ment's a c t i o n i n r e g u l a t i n g the s i l k i n d u s t r y i n 1773 was even more anomalous than e a r l i e r r e v e r s a l s of economic p o l i -c i e s . I t i l l u s t r a t e s the c o n f u s i o n of the r u l i n g orders i n a p e r i o d of r a p i d economic change and t h e i r ignorance of the developing economy. I t n e i t h e r s o l v e d the problems of the i n d u s t r y i t s e l f , nor of the journeymen weavers, who c o n t i n -ued to l a n g u i s h i n poverty i n t o the next century, with r a r e years of temporary p a r t i a l r ecovery. ^ 0^The government took the advice of S i r John F i e l d i n g to give c l e a r a u t h o r i t y to the m a g i s t r a t e s to set wage r a t e s (\"Cutters of Looms i n S p i t a l f i e l d s , 28 September-18th December, 1769,\" S t a t e Papers, SP 37/7, f o l s . 85-108). 301 IV The r i o t s of the coalheavers, the seamen, and the silk-weavers were t y p i c a l of the p r e - i n d u s t r i a l disorders i n the M e t r o p o l i s of the 1760's i n t h e i r form and d i r e c t i o n . The labouring poor at t h i s time began to adopt trade union t a c t i c s , and sought higher wages i n face of r i s i n g costs r a t h e r than a r e d u c t i o n of p r i c e s . Yet they e x h i b i t e d a curious mixture of o l d and new t a c t i c s and goals. S t r i k e s f o r b e t t e r c o n d i t i o n s and higher wages were always combined w i t h demands f o r government i n t e r v e n t i o n to preserve p r i v i -leged p o s i t i o n s or to c o n t r o l the employers. Only i n t h e i r extent and v i o l e n c e d i d the r i o t s of these three groups of London workers d i f f e r from those of the t a i l o r s , shoemakers, coopers and watermen. The prolonged nature of the p r o t e s t s of coalheavers, seamen and silk-weavers probably i n d i c a t e t h e i r t i g h t e r o r g a n i z a t i o n and the greater i n f l u e n c e of d i s -c i p l i n e d , r a d i c a l elements such as veterans or I r i s h t e r r o r -i s t s . Their close proximity i n time to the W i l k i t e d i s -orders rendered them most e f f e c t i v e , f o r the forces of order were already g r e a t l y extended. Sympathy s t r i k e s d i d not occur despite the government's f e a r that seamen and s i l k -weavers might combine. But there i s l i t t l e doubt that d i s -orders were contagious. C e r t a i n disputes appear to have set o f f chain r e a c t i o n s . The v i o l e n t i n d u s t r i a l dispute between miners and coal-owners i n the north-east i n 1765 was f o l l o w e d 302 by a s t r i k e of seamen on c o l l i e r s , which spread to a l l sea-men i n London, encouraged the coalheavers to r i o t , and u l t i m a t e l y a f f e c t e d a l l trades on the London w a t e r f r o n t . The r o l e of the seamen as a v e h i c l e f o r conveying r a d i c a l ideas and methods of a c t i o n i s an important one here. Cer-t a i n l y the contagion of v i o l e n c e spread outward from the London docks through the Tower Hamlets and e v e n t u a l l y i n t o S p i t a l f i e l d s i n the east end of London. T h i s r a d i a t i n g a c t i o n , however, was not the only p a t t e r n of d i s o r d e r . R i o t s among other trades i n the M e t r o p o l i s preceded t h i s movement, and the causes of d i s c o n t e n t were deep-seated i n other t r a d e s , which accounts f o r t h e i r s e n s i t i v i t y to the climate of unrest which spread from the w a t e r f r o n t . The mixture of o l d and new t a c t i c s i n d i c a t e s t h a t these d i s -orders were a t r a n s i t i o n a l stage between the s t r e e t p r o t e s t s touched o f f by sudden p r i c e r i s e s on the one hand and organ-i z e d i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n which emerged i n the next century on the other. While food p r o t e s t s i n the t r a d i t i o n a l form of \" t a x a t i o n p o p u l a i r e \" continued i n t o the next century i n r u r a l r e g i o n s , a l r e a d y i n the 1760's the m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s -t r i a l p r o t e s t s had more i n common with modern i n d u s t r i a l t a c t i c s than the t r a d i t i o n a l p e t i t i o n s and parades demanding government i n t e r v e n t i o n to p r o t e c t the workers. Only the s i l k - w e a v e r s ' subsequent h i s t o r y b e l i e s t h i s c o n t e n t i o n . They alone maintained t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l goals of p a t e r n a l i s -t i c p r o t e c t i o n from the government. T h e i r very success, 303 however, r e s u l t e d i n the d e c l i n i n g l i v i n g standards of t h e i r over-populated trade. Had they f a i l e d to get government p r o t e c t i o n , i t i s probable t h a t , subjected to the f u l l com-p e t i t i o n of the market, many of the poor would have ceased to g r a v i t a t e to a trade i n which government p r o t e c t i o n kept members from o u t r i g h t d e s t i t u t i o n , but only j u s t . These r i o t s also r e v e a l the confusion of the govern-ment when faced w i t h serious i n d u s t r i a l unrest, which con-t r i b u t e d to the d i s o r d e r s . Unable to assess accurately the causes of dis c o n t e n t , and ignorant of the operation of the E n g l i s h economy, they f i r s t f e l l back on outmoded methods of deal i n g w i t h economic d i s t r e s s , and then v a c i l l a t e d between encouraging r i o t e r s to solve t h e i r own problems and p u n i t i v e measures of suppression. Most f r e q u e n t l y they r e l i e d upon a few able magistrates i n t h e i r pay to maintain order, i n the l a s t r e s o r t by the use of troops. They also used paid informers to manipulate the r i o t e r s where p o s s i b l e . Even when, as i n the case of the coalheavers, the e x p l o i t e r s of the poor and s t i m u l a t o r s of p r o t e s t s were recognized, the government chose to t o l e r a t e such groups as the c o a l -undertakers when they appeared to be able to maintain order among the \"depraved\" r e s i d e n t s of the Tower Hamlets. Pre-sumably on the p r i n c i p l e of s e t t i n g a t h i e f to catch a t h i e f they appointed s u c c e s s f u l manipulators l i k e Green to be magistrates over the r e b e l l i o u s poor. 304 The i n d u s t r i a l r i o t s of 1768-69 had much i n common with the e a r l i e r , r u r a l hunger r i o t s . The l a t t e r r e p r e -sented a l e s s s o p h i s t i c a t e d form of s o c i a l p r o t e s t than the former. In both forms of s o c i a l p r o t e s t u n d e r l y i n g t e n s i o n s gave form and d i r e c t i o n to the d i s t u r b a n c e s . The p r o v i n c i a l hunger r i o t s formed the immediate background to the indus-t r i a l r i o t s , although each of the l a t t e r had a unique h i s -t o r y of d i s t r e s s . With the a v a i l a b l e evidence one may only conclude t h a t there was c o n s i d e r a b l e i n t e r a c t i o n between p r o v i n c i a l and m e t r o p o l i t a n i n d u s t r i a l d i s p u t e s by 1768. But the l a b o u r i n g poor had l i t t l e sense of cohesion. T h e i r l o y -a l t y l a y w i t h t h e i r trade r a t h e r than with any \" c l a s s . \" Any c o - o p e r a t i o n was e n t i r e l y on an ad hoc b a s i s . As usual at t h i s time, the a u t h o r i t i e s ' apprehensions about a great con-s p i r a c y were not j u s t i f i e d . P r obably i n t h e i r e f f e c t on the a u t h o r i t i e s , and the r u l i n g c l a s s e s g e n e r a l l y , the r i o t s of the 1760's were most s i g n i f i c a n t . The commitment to l e s s government i n t e r v e n t i o n i n the economy was one of the r e s u l t s of the experiences of the 1760's. Repeal of the anti-middlemen l e g i s l a t i o n , modi-f i c a t i o n of the Corn Laws, and a p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of the o l d moral economy were evident examples of t h i s . P e r-haps the c l o s i n g of ranks among-the landowners, farmers, and i n d u s t r i a l i s t s a g a i n s t the t h r e a t of f u t u r e i n s u r r e c t i o n was of g r e a t e s t s i g n i f i c a n c e . CONCLUSIONS This d i s s e r t a t i o n has examined both the immediate and u n d e r l y i n g causes of s o c i a l p r o t e s t i n the f i r s t decade of George I l l ' s r e i g n . The evidence p o i n t s to sudden f l u c -t u a t i o n s i n the p r i c e s of food, g r a i n movements i n times of a p p r e h e n d e d famine, or attempts by employers to reduce wages or employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s as f a c t o r s which p r e c i p i t a t e d many of the p r o v i n c i a l and m e t r o p o l i t a n r i o t s of the 1760's. Because comparable d i s o r d e r s d i d not occur at other times i n the century when d e p r i v a t i o n among the poor appears to have been g r e a t e r , the expectations of both the r i o t e r s and other important i n t e r e s t s , such as the landowners and i n d u s t r i a l -i s t s , were of great importance. The r e l a t i v i t y of expecta-t i o n s was manifested i n the s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e of the veterans of the Seven Years' War i n the d i s o r d e r s , and i n the e q u i -v o c a l a t t i t u d e of the l o c a l and n a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t i e s towards the i n i t i a l outbreaks. I t has been shown t h a t s o c i a l ten-s i o n s , c r e a t e d p a r t i c u l a r l y by a g r a r i a n and i n d u s t r i a l developments and i n t e n s i f i e d by war and the p r o g r e s s i v e abandonment of the p a t e r n a l i s t i c r e g u l a t i o n of the economy which had reached i t s peak i n Tudor and S t u a r t times, under-l a y such e x p e c t a t i o n s . One major determinant of the d i r e c -t i o n that hunger r i o t s took was the popular p r e j u d i c e 305 306 a g a i n s t the m o n o p o l i s t i c p r a c t i c e s of farmers and middlemen of the p r o v i s i o n s t r a d e . F o s t e r e d by newspapers and p e r i o d -i c a l s , as w e l l as government p o l i c i e s during periods of dearth, the growing a n t i p a t h y towards these i n t e r e s t s pro-v i d e d a c l i m a t e of o p i n i o n i n which popular scapegoats could be presented. By s e i z i n g the o p p o r t u n i t y , the r u l i n g orders of the c o u n t r y s i d e were able to d i v e r t the d i s p o s s e s s e d a g a i n s t l a r g e farmers and middlemen, and to a v o i d dangerous s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n during the hunger r i o t s of 1766. But i n d u s t r i a l and commercial i n t e r e s t s i n the M e t r o p o l i s i n 1768 a l s o b e n e f i t e d from the ambivalence of the magistrates and the government towards the r e a s s e r t i o n of the s t a t u t e s f o r the p r o t e c t i o n of both the consumers and the workers. G e n e r a l l y , l o c a l and n a t i o n a l a u t h o r i t i e s abandoned t h e i r e f f o r t s to r e t u r n to the c e r t a i n t i e s of an e a r l i e r age, a f t e r t h e i r i n i t i a l attempts to enforce the requirements of the o l d \"moral economy.\" While some saw t h a t the economy had outgrown the a b i l i t y of the bureaucracy to r e g u l a t e i t and t h a t the r e s t o r a t i o n of p a r t i a l c o n t r o l only exacerbated e x i s t i n g problems, others of the r u l i n g orders v a c i l l a t e d between p a t e r n a l i s m and n o n - i n t e r v e n t i o n . The i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s of a p e r i o d of t r a n s i t i o n i n economic thought and p r a c t i c e are apparent i n the uneven abandonment across the country of the a s s i z e s of bread and wages, the inadequate l e g i s l a t i o n to p r o t e c t the coalheavers from the coal-undertakers and t h e i r l a t e r surrender to the unregulated 307 c o n t r o l of these middlemen; and the r e l a x a t i o n of the S t a t u t e of Apprentices and the p a t e r n a l i s t i c S p i t a l f i e l d s Act. Yet the t r e n d a f t e r the 1760's was away from p a t e r n a l -ism to a f r e e r economy. In times of c r i s i s , i n d i v i d u a l magistrates and most of the i n d u s t r i o u s poor looked f o r a r e t u r n to the o l d p a t e r n a l r e g u l a t i o n s , but by and l a r g e the r u l i n g orders found i n the experiences of the 1760's a con-f i r m a t i o n of the t h e o r i e s of the new school of p o l i t i c a l economy a r t i c u l a t e d by Adam Smith. In l e g i s l a t i o n t h i s t r e n d was t y p i f i e d by the act which i n the e a r l y 1770's rep e a l e d the anti-middlemen s t a t u t e s . Another l e s s o n which the r u r a l gentry i n p a r t i c u l a r drew from the r i o t s of the 1760's was the danger of d i v i -s i o n s between v a r i o u s i n t e r e s t s i n the fa c e of s o c i a l i n s u r -r e c t i o n , and of delayed r e p r e s s i o n of d i s o r d e r s . The t a c t i c of s e p a r a t i n g the l a r g e r tenant farmers from the la b o u r e r s who p r o t e s t e d the high cost of p r o v i s i o n s i n 1766 was suc-c e s s f u l ; but the seri o u s n e s s of the di s t u r b a n c e s t h a t developed with the s a n c t i o n of r u r a l m a g i s t r a t e s taught both the gentry and the tenant farmers that i n f u t u r e r i o t s t h e i r i n t e r e s t s l a y i n co-operation. In f a c t there was a conserva-t i v e r e a c t i o n i n r u r a l England of the 1760's which found i t s n a t u r a l o u t l e t i n the next century when r u r a l m agistrates took the l e a d i n r e p r e s s i n g d i s o r d e r s and urged t h e i r urban counterparts to snuf f out r e b e l l i o n before i t grew to s i g -n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n s . The events of the American R e v o l u t i o n , 308 the Gordon r i o t s , and the r a d i c a l t h r e a t during the French R e v o l u t i o n confirmed the gentry i n t h e i r r e a c t i o n . At the government l e v e l , r e a c t i o n expressed i t s e l f f i r s t i n a hard-ening of a t t i t u d e s to American r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s and I r i s h r e b e l s , and l a t e r i n a r e j e c t i o n of even m i l d p o l i t i c a l reforms. C e r t a i n l y the r u l i n g orders were q u i c k e r to per-c e i v e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of popular movements than were the poor themselves. Government l e a d e r s were r i g h t i n b e l i e v i n g t h a t veterans presented a s e r i o u s t h r e a t when they turned to o r g a n i z i n g r i o t s . The experiences of the 1790's and of the f i r s t two decades of the n i n e t e e n t h century confirmed t h i s . I t i s tempting to read too much i n t o the popular p r o t e s t s of the 1760's i n the l i g h t of subsequent events. Modern i n d u s t r i a l a c t i o n l a y a long way ahead and a g r i c u l -t u r a l unionism had yet to endure a hundred years of p r i v a -t i o n , r i o t , and f e r o c i o u s suppression. But the p a t t e r n of events i n the 1760's r e p r e s e n t s a f a s c i n a t i n g mixture of o l d and new. I t i s a decade of s o c i a l t r a n s i t i o n which w i l l continue to a t t r a c t the s c h o l a r . BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources Manuscript Sources B r i t i s h Museum. A d d i t i o n a l MSS. 32732. . Add. MSS. 32875. . Add. MSS. 32977. . Add. MSS. 32990. [Newcastle Papers.] . Add. MSS. 35607. [Hardwicke MSS.] . Add. MSS. 38205. [ L i v e r p o o l MSS.] . Add. MSS. 38340. [ L i v e r p o o l Papers.] . Egerton MSS. 215. [Cavendish Debates.] . \"The Case of Mr. F r a n c i s Reynolds.\" . \"The Coalheavers' Case.\" 1764. 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