36] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



ring from the commission of the 

 offence, it was his intention to pro- 

 pose that it should now be made 

 capital. He was by no means a 

 friend to the increase of capital 

 punishments, but thepresent situa- 

 tion of the scene of those illegal 

 proceedings was exactly such as 

 came within the definition of the 

 best ancient lawyers, when speak- 

 ing of a state of things which called 

 for severe punishment. He then 

 quoted the authority of Sir Matt. 

 Hale, and applied it to the exist- 

 ing case of Nottingham. This was 

 his first measure; the second was 

 to enable the lord-lieutenant of the 

 county, the sheriff", or five justices, 

 when disturbances existed, to call 

 a meeting, and give immediate 

 public notice that a special meet- 

 ing would be held for the purpose 

 of obtaining lists of all the male 

 inhabitants of the county above the 

 age of 21, in order to select from 

 them such number of constables as 

 they think necessary, and establish 

 watch and ward throughout the 

 disturbed parts. He might be told 

 that part of this plan was law al- 

 ready ; but it was law which had 

 fallen into disuse. The ri<iht ho- 

 nourable secretary concluded by 

 moving, " That leave be given to 

 bring in a bill for the moie exem- 

 plary punishment of persons des- 

 troying or injuring any stocking or 

 lace-frames, or other machines or en- 

 gines used in the frame-work knit- 

 ting manufactory, or any articles or 

 goods insuch frames, or machines." 



Colonel Eyre, member for Not- 

 tinghamshire, seconded the mo- 

 tion, and confirmed the Secretary's 

 statements respecting the riots. 



Mr. J. Smith, member for Not- 

 tingham, suggested, as another 

 cause of the riots, besides the de- 



cay of trade, a custom adopted by 

 some manufacturers of paying their 

 workmen in goods charged be- 

 yond their value, which bethought 

 deserved inquiring into. He was 

 sorry to say, that he never wit- 

 nessed so much misery as when 

 he was last at Nottingham. He 

 allowed that the mischief was 

 dreadful, but felt very unwilling 

 that the punishment of death 

 should be resorted to. He bore 

 an ample testimony to the zeal and 

 abilities displayed by the right ho- 

 nourable Secretary in. the whole of 

 this business, and gave great praise 

 to the conduct of the magistrates 

 of Nottingham, who, he said, in 

 their provision for keeping the 

 peace had gone beyond the mea- 

 sure of the proposed bill. He fur- 

 ther observed, that the existing 

 law against frame-breaking, ex- 

 tended only to stocking- frames, 

 and not to lace-frames. 



Of the other speakers at this 

 early stage, some recommended a 

 committee of inquiry previously to 

 an enactment which constituted a 

 new capital off"ence, and thought 

 the case was not of urgency suffi- 

 cient to demand hasty remedies, 

 esi)ecially as the mover had acknow- 

 ledged that the disturbances had 

 been gradually diminishing, and 

 were now nearly subsided ; others 

 declared themselves convinced of 

 the immediate necessity of strong 

 measures. A division upon the 

 motion at length took place, in 

 which it was carried by 49 votes 

 against 11. 



Mr. Secretary Ryder then mov- 

 ed, " That leave be given to bring 

 in a bill for the more effectual pre- 

 servation of the peace within the 

 county of Nottingham, and the town 

 and county of the town of Notting- 

 ham." 



