496 MEETING OF THE DELEGATES. 



they'll feel when instead of living in these little houses like pig-sty's, 

 they'll be living in castles, and have no masters. (Hear, hear !) We 

 want no king, we can do without any tax-gatherer, we want no par- 

 sons, nor no churches; where was Adam's church ? (hear, hear, hear !) 

 he kneeled down and prayed we Mrs. Eve any where; he wanted 

 no church ; sometimes his church was under a crabtree; he had nobody 

 coming to his sty an taking one of his pigs out for tithes (hear, hear !) 

 he had no tax-gatherer coming knocking at his door we a red book 

 in his hand, saying, I want ^s. 6d. for poor-rates, or 5*. 6d. for 

 church-rates, or 3,9. 2d. for highway rates ; no, my fellow country- 

 men, Adam would hev nocked em down wi his garden-rake if they'd 

 come to him for taxes. Come then, let's be united an buy muskets, 

 an when they come to our door for taxes, let's shoot em like dogs ; if 

 they hang us we can but die once an look wot a noble death to be 

 hanged for the good of one's country ! Beside we can soon larn 

 were exercise; I've been in the militia two years, and if you've a mind 

 when this meeting breaks up, I'll just show you how to shoulder 

 arms, prepare, fire, and march ; then, my lads, you'll begetting your 

 hands in again th' muskets come ; you can easy get some besoms or 

 pitchforks, or hedge-stakes to do your exercise with. Be firm, be 

 united, be resolved, be staunch, be friendly, be resolute, don't flinch, 

 don't fall out, don't give in, an then if we ant free, if we ant mesters of 

 England before three more months, why my name's not Jack Calfs.- 

 head. Now that's all my lads here's all your healths !" He next sat 

 down amid thunders of applause, when the old stockinger slowly up- 

 rose. He seemed big with speech and ale, and arose looking cau- 

 tiously round with ludicrous solemnity, as if life, death, slavery and 

 liberty sat upon the glance of his drink-twinkling eye, when he thus 

 begun 



" By oppression's wars and pains, 



By our sons in dearest veins ; 



We will drain our servile chains, 

 But they shall be free.' 



Such, my fellow-countryman, was the language of the poet of liberty, 

 John Milton, who writed the Illiad ; yes, and my heart feels all on a 

 glow whenever I recitation them words. We are men, my fellow- 

 sufferers men, who have always been brave. Did not our antiguties 

 forefathers, the ancestors of our children, compel King Henry the 

 ninth to sign manify charter, and shall we petition for wot they 

 drained their dearst livers for ? No ; our plucks is as good as theirs, 

 our hearts is as sound as theirs, our lights are as much in light as theirs. 

 (Hear, hear, hear!) 



"Did not our progeny fight Julia Ceaser when he come we fifty men- 

 of-war an two million thousand cannon ? yes, my brave countrymen, 

 and drived him back into Botany Bay where he corned from ; and 

 arnt we as brave lads as our progeny (we are !) and when King Alfred 

 wanted to lay a window-tax on our generations didn't Wat Tyler and 

 Oliver Cromwell fight like devils, and hang King Alfred up in Luii- 

 nun, all becoss he was a tyrant ? Hey, an we'll hang our king (we 

 will!) and shoot the queen, (hear, hear !) and burn the bishops, and 

 drown the churches, and pelt Wellington, (hear, hear !) and knock 



