LONDON. 



and though he retired to France, his trial was brought on in 

 His abfence, when he was found guilty of republidMng the 

 libel, and was confequently outlawed. Four years afterwards 

 he returned to England, his outlawry was revcrftd, and he 

 was fentcnced to two years imprifonment ; during vvhiehhe 

 was eleftcd an alderman of London, and knight of the fliire 

 for Middlefex. 



In the year 17S0, from a caufe apparently harmlefs, a 

 petition to parliament from the Proteftant AfTociation, arofe 

 an infurreftion, coinpofed chiefly of the lowed of the peo- 

 ple, which for a week bore the moil alarming appearance ; 

 the prifons of Newgate, the Kin;4^'s Bench, and the Fleet 

 were burnt and the prifoners fet at liberty, and molt of them 

 joined the infurgents. The Popifh cha;iels, and a great 

 number of private houfes of Catholics, were fet on lire : 

 and thirty fix fires were feen blazing at one time in various 

 parts of the metropohs. Military mterfercnce became ab- 

 foiutely nccedary, when many of the rioters were killed ; 

 135 were brought to trial, of whom 59 were convided, and 

 upwards of 20 of the moll aftive were executed in various 

 parts of the town, but immediately contiguous to the fcenes 

 of their refpeftive depredations. 



During the year 1792, and the two following years, the 

 metropolis was greatly agitated by political contention ; many 

 aflbciations were formed for the purpofe of obtaining a more 

 pure and equal reprefentation of the people. The two princi- 

 pal of thefe afibciations, viz. the Friends of the People, and 

 the Correfponding Society, held their meetings in London. 

 Their avowed objeft was parliamentary reform ; but they were 

 fligmatized by their enemies with the appellations of Repub- 

 licans and Levellers. Some of the moll ailivc and powerful 

 leaderftof thefe afTociations were at length arrelled, and tried 

 for high treafon, but after a long invelligation all were ac- 

 quitted. Other perfons, among whom was Thomas Paine, 

 were profecuted f(;r fedition, and fome were imprifoned. 

 Paine was pronounced guilty of writing and pubhihing the 

 fecond part of the Rights of Man, which was declared fedi- 

 tious, and the author having left the kingdom, was outlawed. 

 The numerous clubs, debatisg focieties, and political affo- 

 ciatio;,s formed in the metropolis foon after the revolution m 

 France, and durin^^ the early (tages of the war againll that 

 country, conllitute a prominent ep-ch in the hillory of the 

 metropolis. The country was hurried on to the very brink 

 of revolution; but this great crifis vi'as prevented by the 

 vigilant, powerful, and detern.ined conduftof the Pitt admi- 

 niftration. An .'\lien a&. was palled in 1793, the Habeas 

 Corpus aft was fufpcnded in the next year ; and various 

 arbitrary and oppreflive nieafures were adopted by the mi- 

 niftry to preferve pubhc tranquillity, but at the fame time 

 abrfdge the rights of the Britifli fubjefts. 



The year 1797 w^as dil^iiiguifhedby the f.loppage of bank 

 payments in fpecie, as tlie government had employed nearly 

 all the current coin in remittances to the emperor ot Ger- 

 many and to other foreign powers. An aft of parliament 

 was now pafled to allow the bank to iffue notes under five 

 pounds. At the commencement of 1798 a numerous meet- 

 ing of the bankers, merchants, and traders of London, was 

 held in tb.e Royal Exchange for the purpofe of raifing a 

 voluntary fubfcription for the public fervice. In the courfe 

 of four days the common council alone fabfcribed 10,000/., 

 2CO,ooo/. was fubfcribed by the bank, confiJerable fums 

 were given by other oublic companies, and 20,000/. was 

 advanced by his niajell)-. The miniller cllimatcd this fub- 

 fcription at one million and a lialf, but the total amount was 

 more than two millions of money. Continued threats of 

 invafion from Frar.ce fnduc^d the miniller to adopt fome 

 Jtew mode of defence ; aud fcveral armed affyciaUoflS were 



formed by different parifhes and companies in the metropolis. 

 On the 4th of .Tunc, 1799, all thefe volunteers were 

 atfemblcd in Hyde Park, and reviewed by his majelly, the. 

 prii^ces, &c. The total number under arms was 8989, 

 of which lOoS were cavalry. On the 2 1 II of tlie fame 

 month, a llill greater number of .volunteers was difperfed 

 through the ftreets, fquares, and fuburbs of the metropojis, 

 to be infpefted again by tlie king, and a numerous retinue 

 of princes, dckes, occ. It is (tated, that 12,208 volun- 

 teers were then drawn out under arms. A fnuilar review of 

 the volunteers to the former, took place on the 4th of .fnne 

 1800. On the ratification of prchminaries of peace in Octo- 

 ber, 1801, the metropolis wasbrilhantly illuminated, and all 

 claffes of people tcflitied great joy at the event. The deli- 

 nitive treaty was ligned on the 27th of the following montli, 

 and the illuminations throughout London were now fingu- 

 larly fplendid and general. A war again broke out, and an 

 aft of parliament was paffed to enable his majelly to arm 

 the people en maffe. Other afts for increafiug the military 

 force of the country were alfo pafltd. The cities of Lon- 

 donand Weflminlter, and parifhes immediately adjacent, raifed 

 a volunteer force amounting to 27,077 men. A patriotic 

 fund was eflabhflied in London in July 1803, and before 

 the end of Augull more than 152,000/. were fubfcribed j 

 towards which the city, in its corporate capacity, gave 

 2jOo/. The fuccefTive deaths of lord Nelfon, Mr. Pitt, 

 and Mr. Fox, produced great fenfation in the metropolis, 

 and many changes in the legiflative officers. Covcnt Garden 

 theatre and fevcral contiguous houfes were confumed by 

 tire in Septembei' 1S08 ; another fire in January 1809, de- 

 flroyed part of the king's palace at St. James's, and a tliird 

 fire, in February of the fame year, coniumed the whole of 

 Drurv-lane theatre. The Oftober of 1809 is memorable 

 in the annals of London, for the circumllance of his ma- 

 jelly's entrance into the fiftieth year of his reign, and tlie 

 loyal rejoicings, or pubhc manifeflations of loyalty that were 

 difplayed on theoccalion. The memorable and unpropitious 

 expedition to Walcheren, the theatrical riots at Covent Gar- 

 den theatre, the invelligation, before the houfe of commons, 

 relating to the duke of York and a noted pr< flitute of the 

 name of Clarke, the arrefl and imprifonment of fir Francis 

 Burdett, a member of the houfe of commons, are all me- 

 morable events in the local hiftory of London, and are 

 entitled to particular narration and expolition in a publi- 

 cation devoted to the topography of the metropohs. In 

 Brayley's Survey, already referred to, thefe fubjefts are par- 

 ticularized and elucidated. It is conjeftured that within 

 the iail forty years, 40,000 new houfes at leafl have been 

 ercfted in London and its conneftcd environs, and that thefe 

 afford habitation for nearly 200, oco new inhabitants. In 

 July, 1794. a fire broke out in Radcliffe highway, and con- 

 fumed 630 houfes, with much other property. Many of the 

 inhabitants fixed tents in the open fields, v.heie they hved 

 for feveral weeks till new houfes were erefted. 

 Hi/lory of the Commerce of Londuii. — 



«' Then Co.MMERCE brought into the public walk 

 The bufy Merchant ; the big Warehoufe built ; 

 Rais'd the llrong Crane ; choak'O up the loaded Street 

 With foreign Plenty ; and thy Stream, O Thames, 

 Large, gentle, deep, (najeilic king of floods ! 

 Cliofe for his grand refort." Thomfon. 



London is univerf.dly acknowledged to be the firll com- 

 mercial, as well as the firfl manufacturing city in the world. 

 Confidering, therefore, the intimate connection that fubfiifs 

 between its trading profperity and the general interetls of 

 the empire j the fubjeft of this fection cannot fail to be 



highly 



