LON 
Bern. Tinder thefe circumftances, he trufted that the houfe 
would not confent to the addrefs—and he moved the or¬ 
der of the day. - » 
Mr. Whitbread then begged the noble lord to fay pre- 
cifely what he propofed to do with rei'peCt to America.— 
Lord Caftlereagh laid, that he meant that a proportion 
fhould' be made to the American government to fufpend 
immediately our orders in council, on condition that they 
would fufpend their non-importation aft —Mr. Whit¬ 
bread was of opinion, that, if this propofition were to be 
lent out to America, and it was expected that the houfe 
and country fhould wait till they received an anfwer, it 
was the greateft delufion that ever had been attempted; 
and he proceeded to exprefs in ftrong terms the urgency 
of the diftrefs felt by the manufacturers, and the neceffity 
of giving the intended relief without delay.—Mr. Pcn- 
fonby alfo fpoke againft the meafure propofed, as calcu¬ 
lated to create delay.—Lord Caftlereagh, in further ex¬ 
planation, faid, that'it was never meant that there fhould 
be any delay in fufpending the orders in council ; the in¬ 
tention was, that they fhould be fufpended for a definite 
time, and that this circumftance fhould be communicated 
\o the American government, for the double purpofe of 
afeertaining whether it would in confequence abrogate its 
non-importation aft, and alfo that it might apply to 
France to return to the ancient fyftem of belligerents. 
Mr. Brougham, after congratulating the houfe on the 
profpeCt of fpeedily getting rid of thefe orders, hoped 
that the noble lord would withdraw his motion for pro¬ 
ceeding to the orders of the day, and explain more dif- 
tinCtly what was the exaCt intention of government.— 
The final refult was, that Mr. B. and lord Caftlereagh fe- 
verally withdrew their motions, on the understanding that 
an official inftrument on the fubjeCt fhould appear in the 
jiext Gazette. 
It was a remarkable circumftance in this debate, that 
Mr. Stephen, the nioft ftrenuous defender and promoter 
of the orders in council, was not prefent: a certain proof 
that ministers were already prepared to make the facrifice 
which the voice of the country rendered inevitable. On 
the 23d of June, there appeared in the Gazette a declara¬ 
tion from the prince-regent, abfolutely and unequivocally 
revoking the orders in council as far as they regarded 
American veffels: with the provifo, that if, after the no¬ 
tification of this revocation by our minifter in America, 
the government of the United States do not revoke their 
interdictory ails againft Britifh commerce, the fame, after 
due notice, fhail be null and of no effeCt. 
Mr. Brougham, on this occurrence, declared the full 
fatisfaction of himfelf and his friends with the frank and 
manly conduCt of government in the mode it had adopt¬ 
ed ; and both fides of the houfe feemed happy in the pro¬ 
fpeCt of the amicable intercourfe which this proceeding 
would reftore between the two countries. However, it 
appeared afterwards, that deferring the decifion fo long had 
rendered it altogether unimportant ; for, before the news 
of the repeal reached the United States, they were actually 
at war with Great Britain ; their declaration of war being 
dated June the iiSth. 
The disturbances confequent upon the numbers of work¬ 
men thrown out of employ by the diminilhed demand for 
the manufactures of the country, after having been for 
fome time confined to the hofiery-diftrifts, gradually ex¬ 
tended to the neighbouring counties, where they affumed 
a character ftill more alarming, and engaged the ferious 
attention of government. Their feat was that large and 
very populous district: comprifing thofe parts of Lanca¬ 
shire and the adjacent traCts of Chefhire which are occu¬ 
pied by the cotton-manufaChirers, and the clothing-part 
cf the weft riding of Yorkshire. The difpofition to tu¬ 
mult in this quarter difclofed it Self about the end of Fe¬ 
bruary, and prevailed with greater or lefs violence till the 
middle of fummfer. During this period a great number 
of aCts of lawlefs outrage were perpetrated, in the destruc¬ 
tion of property, particularly of the machinery aau inu 
D O N. 291 
plements ufed in the manufactures, and in attempts againft: 
the lives of perfons aCtive in the fuppreflion of riots. In 
their progrefs, the rioters appear to have adopted a fyftem 
of organization highly dangerous to the public peace, and 
which nianifelted itfelf in a degree of military training, 
accompanied by the feizure and concealment of arms, and 
the adminiftering of an oath of fecrecy and confederacy. 
On the 27th of June, the prince-regent fent a melfage 
to each houfe of parliament, informing them, that he had 
given orders that copies of the information received rela¬ 
tive to certain violent and dangerous proceedings carried 
on in feveral counties of England fhould be laid before 
them, and relying on tire wifdom of parliament to take 
proper -rneafures for the reftoration of order and tran¬ 
quillity. 
Vif'count Sidmouth, now fecretary of ftate for the home 
department, rofe in the houfe of lords on the 29th, to 
move an addrefs to the regent on the occafion, expreSTing 
their thanks for the communication, and declaring their 
refolution to take into confideration the documents laid 
before them, and to concur in the neceftary rneafures. 
He faid he fhould afterwards propofe to refer the papers 
to a committee of fecrecy, and therefore would not anti¬ 
cipate what might be thought necelfary by that committee. 
He then propofed that a fecret committee fhould be ap¬ 
pointed, confuting of eleven lords to be chofen by ballot 5. 
which was alfo agreed to. 
In the houfe of commons, on the fame day, lord Caf¬ 
tlereagh moved a fimilar addrefs to the regent, and the 
appointment of a committee of fecrecy of twenty-one 
members chofen by ballot; both of which motions were 
carried. The report of the fecret committee was laid be¬ 
fore the houfe of commons on July the 8th ; it was or¬ 
dered to be printed, and taken into confideration on the 
10th. 
On that day, lord Caftlereagh rofe, and, after various 
preliminary obfervations on the extent and caufes of the 
exiftir.g diforders, and the infuffieiency of the means hi¬ 
therto employed for their fupprefiion, he proceeded to ftate 
the propofed powers to he granted by a bill which he 
fhould afk leave to bring in, and the duration of which 
he w'ould limit to the fhorteft period at which parliament 
could be aflembled to aCt as circumflances might require. 
There were three points to which he thought attention 
ought particularly to be directed:—1. To make a more 
effectual provifion to keep the rioters from poffefling them- 
felves of arms. 2. To guard againft the effeCt of tumul¬ 
tuary meetings. 3. To give more effectual power and 
more extenfive jurifdiftion to the magistrates of the dif- 
turbed diftriCts.—As to the firft, relpeCting arms, the law 
at prefent required that a depofition fhould be made 011 
oath that arms were depofited in a certain place before 
fearch could be made. He would propofe the alteration 
of giving to any magiftrate of the difturbed diftriCts the 
power of fearching, and of authorifing his officers by his 
warrant to fearch, not only for ftolen, but for fecreted, 
arms: and alfo of calling on the inhabitants to furrender 
their arms, receipts being given for the fame: at the fame 
time he willied to make a provifion for fuffering thofe to 
retain their arms who might have occafion to ufe them in 
defence of their property. As to tumultuary meetings, 
which had lately taken place, not only in the night, but 
in the day-time, of great numbers of perfons, for the pur¬ 
pofe of training, at prefent the magiftrates could do no 
more than read the riot-aCf, and order them to diiperfe, 
and that not till the end of an hour: his propofol there¬ 
fore was that they fhould have a power of immediately 
diiperfing a tumultuous body, and to make thofe who did 
not difperfe when called upon liable to puniffiment. With 
regard to the third point, he had to obferve,. that in many 
parts there were not magiftrates fufficient to enforce the 
law with due vigour, and on the borders of the difturbed 
counties offenders might efcape to another jurisdiction.. 
He would therefore propofe, that, for the time being, the 
magistrates. in the. disturbed and adjacent counties should 
have 
