14] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



the most dangerous and inflain- 

 matoi y nature ; of one of which 

 the following is a copy : 



"Britons to Arms ! 



" Tlie wliolc ciumtry waits the 

 signal froni London to fly to arms ! 

 haste, break open gunsmiths and 

 other likely pkices to find arms ! 

 run all constables who touch a 

 man of us ; no rise of bread ; no 

 Regent; no Castleicagh, off with 

 their heads ; no placemen, tythes, 

 or enclosures ; no taxes ; no 

 bishops, only useless lumber ! 

 stand true, or be slaves for ever." 



" N. B. — Five thousand of these 

 bills are up in the town, and 

 printed ones, with further parti- 

 culars, will appear in due time." 



At this time, if not befoie, the 

 intended insurrection assumed the 

 symbols of the French revolution ; 

 a committee of public safety, con- 

 sisting of 24, was agreed upon, 

 including the names of several 

 persons, extremely unlikely to 

 lend themselves to such a cause. 

 A iricoloi- ilug and cockades were 

 actually prepared ; the flag was 

 openly cairied and displayed at 

 the first mcciing which tookplaC'i 

 in Spa-Fields, on the 15th of No- 

 \ ember. No acts of violence were 

 however encouraged on that day, 

 though some few instances of 

 plunder occurred after the assem- 

 bly dispersed, but care was taken 

 to adjourn the meeting .to the '2d 

 of December, bv which time it 

 was hoped that the preparations 

 for insurrection would be fully 

 matured. Not a moment was lost 

 in advertising the next meeting, 

 and great assiduity was emplo} cd 

 in circulating tie intelligence 

 through all the great manufactur- 

 ing towns in the counti y, by means 



of placards and iiand-bills : en- 

 dea\'ours woi'e used to raise sub- 

 scriptions ; the expense hitherto 

 incurred in forwarding the object 

 of the conspiracy, and in supporl- 

 ing such inferior members of it as 

 had relinquished their trades and 

 occupations in order to devote 

 their whole time to the further- 

 ance of the cause, having been 

 iiiiherto principally defrayed by 

 one individual of the committee 

 Plans for the seduction of the 

 soldiers were now adopted and 

 pursued with unremitting activity ; 

 appeals were made to excite their 

 sympathy, and induce them not to 

 act against the insurgents ; at- 

 tempts were made to inflame their 

 hopes by promises of lank and re- 

 ward, and to alarm their jealousy 

 by the absurd fiction of the actual 

 landing of a considerable foreign 

 army, for the purpose of control- 

 ling them. 



The bariacks were again recon- 

 noitred with a view to attack. 

 The manufacture of tricolor-rib- 

 bon was encouraged, with a view 

 of rendering it familiar to the eyes 

 of the public. 



Visits were repeated to those 

 quarters of the town, where the 

 distress w.is considered as the most 

 prevalent ; and warehouses along 

 the river, as well as shops in ether 

 places, which were known to con- 

 tain arms, combustibles, and 

 clothing, were examined and noted 

 down, with the view of seizing 

 those articles on the proper occa- 

 sion. Plans were also formed 

 for seducing the sailors on the 

 river, by offers of advancement 

 to high rank under the new 

 government, and for seizing and 

 equipping such ships as were ac- 

 cessible. 



