2GS ANNUAL R E G I S T E R. 1794. 



ih? societies established in this part 

 cf the united kingdom. 



But after the trial and sentence 

 passed on the principal leaders in 

 the Scottish convemion, govern- 

 ment, it se'ms, resolved to jjursuc 

 the same measures respecting the 

 English socicti ?E. To this end the 

 principal members of the Corre- 

 sponding Society, and of that for 

 constitutional information, were ap- 

 prehended as guilty of treasonable 

 practices, and committed to tl)e 

 Tov.cr. Tlieir names were Thomas 

 Hardy, secretary tothe Correspond- 

 ing Society; Daniel Adams, secre- 

 tary to the Society for Constitu- 

 tional iHformsftion ; the celebrated 

 Home Tooke j Jeremiah Joyce, 

 domestic tutor to Lord Mahon, son 

 to Lord Stanhope ; and John Thel- 

 wall, well known as a political lec- 

 turer. 



Qn the 12lh of May, a message 

 from the King was delivered to the 

 House of Commons by Mr. Dun- 

 das, informing them tiiat seditious 

 practices had been carried on by 

 societies in Ljndon, in correspo'nd- 

 fiice with other societies, to the 

 intent of as'-crabhng a convention 

 to represent the people of England, 

 in defiance and opposition to Par- 

 liament ; and on principles subver- 

 sive of the laws and constitution of 

 the kingdom, and introductory of 

 the anarchy prevailing in France. 

 Their papers had been seized, aiid 

 would be laid before Parliament : 

 to which it was recoinnlended to 

 examine them, and to adopt such 

 measures as might appear necessary. 

 They were produced accordingly 

 on the next day ; when Mr. Pitt 

 moved an address of thanks to ti.e 

 King, for the ccmmunication re- 

 ceived, and proposed that the pa_ 

 pers should be referred to a com 



mittee of secrecv, consisting of 

 t .vcntv-one members, chosen by 

 ballot. Tiie report of this com^ 

 mittee was produced to the House 

 by Mr. Pitt on the l»3th of May. 

 It contained the proceedings of the 

 two societies, from the year IT^I ; 

 most of which, however, h^d beeu 

 alreadv published in the newspapers 

 by the societies themselves. 



It appeared to the committee, 

 Mr. Pitt said, that a plan had' been 

 formed, and was in forwardness, to 

 assemble a convention ot the peo- 

 ple ; which was to assume the cha- 

 racter and powers of a national i-e- 

 prescntation, and to supersfde tlie 

 autiiority of parliament. If the 

 House concuiTed in the same opi- 

 nion, of v.hich he entertained no 

 doubt, not one moment should be 

 lost in arming the executive power 

 with sufficient authority to prevent 

 the execution of such an attempt. 

 A mere parliamentary reform was 

 not the real aim of these societies ; 

 their papers would make it evi- 

 dent, that they were, during the 

 two last vears, leagued in a corre- 

 spondence with other societies in 

 this and a neighbouring country ; , 

 from, which the clearest inference 

 might be drawn, that a conventiony 

 f'.icli as described, had been their 

 t)riginal v\f\v ; and that they were 

 only waiting a fit opportunity to 

 realize it. He bitterly inveighed 

 agnmt the doctrines contained in 

 thi- performance termed the Rights 

 of Man ; charginjj it with all the 

 cviis that had befallen France, and 

 ■d'r tending to pr^ipagate them in all 

 Europe. The report, he said, would 

 show that a correspondence had 

 subsisted between tiiese societies 

 and th^ Jacobin chib ; that they 

 had si nt delegates to the Conven- 

 tion at Paris, which had formally 



received 



