The Descent of the Landlords. 409 



prosperity of a large agricultural population depends upon 

 the ability of the farmer to undersell the foreigner in the 

 home market. Everything therefore that tends to make all 

 foreign as well as home-grown food dear, increases his profits 

 of production, and thus we have in a nutshell the antagonism 

 of interests which came to a crisis in the early years of the 

 present century. 



The Reform and Hampden Clubs now sprang into existence, 

 Burdett keeping up the agitation inside Westminster, Cobbett 

 and Cartwright outside. But it was the old story over again, 

 that those who thus sow the wind have to reap the whirlwind. 

 Just as the Radicals had been the extreme wing of the Whig- 

 party, so now there appeared in the " Spencean philanthropists " 

 an extreme wing of the Radical party. The latter, thinking 

 the constitutional means of agitation emploj^ed by the more 

 moderate reformers too slow, stirred up the mob to immediate 

 action. There were recognised leaders of the political agita- 

 tion like Hunt, who, carried away by the excitement of the 

 moment, used immoderate language, which had frequently to 

 be retracted. There were hangers-on to the skirts of the party, 

 like the Watsons, who went even further still. A London 

 crowd is easily swayed, and one autumn day in 1816 a few 

 violent sentences in Spa Fields from one of the Watsons, a 

 wickedly injudicious display of weapons, followed by an absurd 

 threat to seize the Tower, aroused the worst passions of the 

 London rough. The so-called assault on the ancient city for- 

 tress which ensued was effectually defeated by the laughter of 

 its guards, and the Watsons, who appear to have led or 

 followed the rioters, slipped out of the awkward situation as 

 best they could, and were soon forgotten. But mischief had 

 been done to the Radical cause, of which the Government was 

 not slow to take advantage. The sudden disturbance, ludicrous 

 though it was, had been insurrection, and Hunt, one of the 

 acknowledged leaders of Radicalism, happened to have been 

 addressing another section of the same crowd that day in Spa 

 Fields. The fact that the portion within hearing of his 

 oratory remained behind, and took no part in the rush to the 

 Tower, would appear to have exonerated him from any parti- 



