LONDON. 
fon-ec! againft the honourable baronet. Mr. Lethbridge 
then gave in at the table, Cobbet’s Weekly Regifter of 
Saturday, 24-th of March, 1810 ; and fir Francis Burdett’s 
papers were read by the clerk. < 
Sir Francis Burdett made a ffiort but able defence. He 
faid, that in writing the Addrefs to his Conftitu'tnts, and 
the arguments that accompanied it, he had no idea that 
he was infringing any privilege of that houfe. Was it to 
be fuppofed that the fimple aft of arguing on the powers 
of the commons was a crime ? would not the houfe en¬ 
dure eveh an abllraft doubt of their powers? He was 
■willing to abide by the faft and argument of what he had 
written : he 1 would (land the iflue. But, if it was the 
pleafure of the houfe that he (liould now withdraw, he 
was ready to withdraw. The Speaker Hated that this was, 
in fimiiar cafes, the uniform ufage. Sir Francis Burdett 
accordingly withdrew ; after which Mr. Lethbridge pro- 
pofed the two following refoiut'ions, for the adoption of 
the houfe. 1. That the letter (igned Francis Burdett, 
and the further argument which was publifhed in the pa¬ 
per called Cobbet’s Weekly Regifter, on the 24th of this 
inftant, is a libellous and fcandalous paper, refiefting upon 
the juft rights and privileges of this houfe. 2. That fir 
Francis Burdett, who fuffered the above articles to be 
printed with his name, and by his authority, has been 
guilty of a violation of the privileges of this houfe. 
The difcuffion was adjourned till next day, March the 
28th; and then to the 5th of April, when the refumed 
debate was continued till half after feven in the morning ; 
in the courfe of which, fpeeches were made by not lefs 
than thirty members. The queilion turned upon, Whe¬ 
ther the houfe had a right to imprifon a perfon not a mem¬ 
ber thereof; and whether fir Francis’s letter, inferted in 
Cobbet’s Regifter, was or was not a libel. The conclu- 
fion was, that the refolutior.s, moved by Mr. Lethbridge, 
were agreed to without a divifion.—Amotion was then 
made by fir Robert Salifbury for the commitment of fir 
Francis Burdett to the Tower. An amendment was pro- 
pofed, that fir Francis be reprimanded in his place : upon 
which the houfe divided : ayes, 152; noes, 190. 
In confequence of this vote for the commitment of fir 
Francis, the Speaker, on the fame morning, (Friday,) at 
balf-paft eight o’clock, (igned the warrants for commit¬ 
ment, and immediately delivered them to the ferjeant at 
arms, to be carried into effect, if pofiible, by ten o’clock 
that morning. From the politenefs of the ferjeant, in an¬ 
nouncing the commifiion with which he was charged, it 
was not "till about five o’clock in the afternoon that he 
went to fir Francis at his houfe, who told him that he 
would be ready to receive him at eleven o’clock next 
morning, (Saturday ;) on which the ferjeant retired, con¬ 
ceiving that it was fir Francis’s intention to go with him 
peaceably to the Tower at the time dated. About eight 
o’clock, the ferjeant, Mr. Colman, came again to fir Francis 
Burdett’s. He was now accompanied by one of the mef- 
fengers ; and told fir Francis, that he jiad received a fe- 
vere reprimand from the Speaker for not having executed 
the warrant, which he read. Sir Francis then faid, that 
he difputed the legality of the warrant, and that he was 
determined not to go, if not conftrained by aftual force, 
which he was determined to refift as far as in his power. 
He dated alfo that he had written to the Speaker of the 
houfe of "commons on this fubjeft. 
Meanwhile a mob had been affembled before fir Francis 
Burdett’s houfe, and was every moment increafing. Mr. 
Colman, who had called feveral times without being ad¬ 
mitted, went again to fir Francis’s houfe, on Sunday 
morning, at feven o’clock, attended by a meffenger, and 
fome police-officers, and knocked at the door feveral times, 
but it was not opened. The'ferjeant and meffenger, by 
turns, waited in the neighbourhood of fir Francis’s houfe, 
for the reft of the day and the night, thinking that he 
might come out again, as he had once done on Saturday, 
and that they might have an opportunity of apprehend¬ 
ing him. It had become Evident, from the number of 
Vol. XIII. No. 902. 
221 
the populace affembled in Piccadilly, that the warrant 
could not be executed without force. And the Speaker, 
having great doubts as to the power he was poffefied of 
by his warrant, fent a copy of it to the attorney-general 
for his opinion, and on that opinion he afted. Late on 
Sunday evening, the ferjeant went to the fecretary of date’s 
office to requeit civil and military affiftance for carrying 
his purpofe into effect. And on Monday, April the 9th, 
at ten o’clock.in the forenoon, he went to fir Francis’s 
houfe, attended by twenty or thirry police-officers, and a 
detachment of cavalry and infantry, to efcort the carriage 
which he had in waiting to convey fir Francis to the 
Tower. The ferjeant, attended by fome police-officers, 
forced an entrance into fir Francis Burdett’s houfe down 
by the area, and through the kitchen-door. Having left 
a party,of the foot-guards in the hall, he went up, with 
the police-officers, into a room, where fir Francis was 
with his family, and Mr. Roger O’Connor, brother to the 
noted Arthur O’Connor. Sir Francis was employed, at 
that moment, in making his fon read and tranflate Magna 
Charta. 
Mr. Colman told fir Francis, that, however painful it 
was to him to proceed in fuch a way, he had fuch a force, 
that it would be quite in vain to make refiftance ; that he 
was his prifoner, and mud immediately come into the car¬ 
riage that was prepared for him. Sir Francis repeated the 
objections he had before made againft the warrant, and 
declared that he would not yield to any thing lefs than 
aftual force. As the conftables were advancing, by order 
of the ferjeant, to feize him, his brother and Mr. O’Con¬ 
nor laid hold each of them on one of his arms, and con- 
dufted him to the carriage, into which they followed him ; 
but Mr. O’Connor was obliged, by a number of people 
who had quickly affembled, to come out again. A mef¬ 
fenger was left with fir Francis in the carriage, and the 
ferjeant attended on horfeback. The efcort proceeded ra¬ 
pidly to the Tower, by the northern fkirts of the town, 
without encountering any oppofition. 
The mob, that had affembled near fir Francis’s houfe, 
in Piccadilly, and in the adjoining ftreets, on Friday- 
evening, obliged every one that paffed to take off his hat 
and cry, “ Burdett for ever!” They broke the window's 
of a number of lioufes ; among which were thofe of lord 
Chatham, the duke of Montrofe, Mr. Yorke, lord Weft- 
moreland, Mr. YVellefley Pole, lord Dartmouth, fir John 
Ahftruther, and Mr. Perceval. On Saturday, between 
twelve and one o’clock, the populace aflembled in fuch great 
numbers, and grew fo tumultuous, that a company of the 
foot and another of the horfe guards were fent to dif- 
perfe them; and the riot-aft was read by Mr. Read, a po- 
lice-magiftrate. Some companies of volunteers alfo pre- 
fented themfelves, in readinefs to fupport the civil autho¬ 
rity. Towards the clofe of the day, the mob, which bad 
difperfed, began to rally. The detachment of troops was 
reinforced ; and the cavalry had orders not to permit more 
than two perfons to converfe together. There was fome 
firing, w'ithout ball, for clearing Piccadilly. Some pif- 
tols, charged with bail, were fired on both tides, by 
which divers perfons, both of the foldiery and populace, 
were wounded, though only flightly. But, on the return 
of the efcort from the Tower, the conteft was more fan- 
guinary. 
At the time when the ferjeant at arms carried off fie 
Francis Burdett from his houfe, the number of people af¬ 
fembled in Piccadilly was but (mail. But the report of 
hi? feizure fpread rapidly. The ftreets, through which 
it was fuppofed he would pafs, were crowded with people, 
who, being informed that he had paffed by a different 
route, proceeded, their numbers ftill increafing as they 
advanced to Tower-hill. The moment fir Francis en¬ 
tered the Tower, fome pieces of cannon were fired, accord¬ 
ing to the cuftom in fimiiar cafes. , A report was fpread 
that the cannon of the-Tower had fired on the people, 
which was credited by numbers of the credulous multi¬ 
tude. Scarcely had the military, on their return from the 
I L Tower, 
