Memoirs of Henry Hunt, Esq., vol 3 | Page 2

the Members of the White Lion Club. "But list! O list!"
Amiable as Mr. Goldney is, he could not resist the temptation of
coming to Ilchester, out of his own County of Gloucester, forty miles,
to have a peep at the captive in his cage. I, however, felt just as much
superior to him, when I saw him here, as I did when he was running
about with Burn's Justice in his hand, exclaiming, "Stop, and hear the
Riot Act read!" If he meant to gratify himself, by having a peep at him,

whom the Courier calls a fallen leader of the rabble, he never was
more disappointed in his life; for he came just at the time that I had
substantiated before the Commissioners all my charges against the
Gaoler and the Magisstrates.
Every evening, after coming from the hustings, I went to the public
Exchange, and delivered an oration to the assembled multitude, who
always came there at that time to hear an account of the transactions of
the day; for the Guildhall was not capable of containing a fiftieth part
of the inhabitants who were interested in the election. It will be
recollected, and let it never be forgotten, that not only the whole press
of Bristol, but the whole press of England was employed in traducing
and vilifying me; for I was daily exposing the two factions who had
united against me: in fact, that has been always the case, both the
factions have always united against every friend of the people, whether
in or out of Parliament. Mr. Oldfield, in his History of the Boroughs,
gives this short account of this election: "Henry Hunt, Esq. of
Middleton Cottage, in Hampshire, offered himself as a candidate, upon
the old constitutional system, of incurring no expenses, nor canvassing
votes. He was received with every demonstration of popular
enthusiasm, though the newspapers were hired to traduce him, and
every measure was resorted to, that the ingenuity of his opponents
could devise, to injure him in the public opinion."
This is a brief, but a true, history of the case; this election was, perhaps,
one of the most severe and expensive contests that the White Lion Club,
or Tory Faction, ever had to encounter; and, for the purpose of
shortening it, every art, trick, and manoeuvre was resorted to, in the
vain hope of drawing me off from the main point, that of being always
present upon the hustings, and keeping open the poll. They flattered
themselves, too, with the idea, that it would be physically impossible
for me to hold out. I was, indeed, very ill, for I had caught a cold, and
laboured under an irritation of the lungs, which bordered closely on
inflammation, and was aggravated by daily speaking. The papers
announced, that I was suffering under a very severe fit of illness,
although I never quitted the hustings. This reached my family at
Rowfant, in Sussex, and they began to grow uneasy upon the subject.
Fortunately, they set off to Bristol the very day before one of the most
diabolical acts of malice and cowardice, that ever disgraced the

character of a human being, was put into execution by my despicable
opponents. One of the cowardly wretches wrote into Sussex, a letter to
one of my family (it was to a female too!) in the name of the Chairman
of my Committee, to say, that I had fallen a sacrifice to the fury of the
mob, whose rage had been turned against me by some circumstance.
The caitiff described, in very pathetic language, the distress of my
friends, and requested instructions for the funeral of the mangled corpse.
This letter was written in the most plausible manner; the hand-writing
and name of the Chairman of my Committee was forged, and every
thing was admirably calculated to give the impression, that it was
genuine truth. But, fortunately, this fiendish scheme failed of its
purpose; for, as my family had left Rowfant before the letter arrived,
the letter was never opened till we returned together after the election
was over.
The day subsequent to the closing of the election, Mr. Davis was to be
chaired; he having been returned by a very large majority, only _Two
Hundred and Thirty-five_ freemen having voted for me. I left Bristol
on that day for Bath, as I by no means wished to interrupt the ceremony
of chairing Mr. Davis, who was so very unpopular, that half the city
were sworn in as special constables on the occasion, and all the avenues
were barricaded and blockaded with three-inch deal planks, to prevent
the populace from making any sudden rush upon the procession. He
was chaired amidst the hisses, groans, and hootings of an immense
majority of the population. I had promised to return