had been sent. Early on the forenoon of the
16th, half the constables, whose presence was by
no means necessary except to irritate the people
and move the more desperate to some overt
act, were posted close to the hustings, in the
centre of St. Peter's Field; the rest in a line of
communication with a private house on the south
side of the irregular square space, to which the
mischievous magistrates had repaired about
eleven o'clock from the Star Inn, where they
had at first assembled. This house was about
three hundred yards from the hustings. A
committee of fevered county magistrates had
been constantly sitting since the Saturday morning
taking depositions, listening to petitions and
remonstrances against the meeting, and trying
to settle what to do in the imaginary crisis,
which existed only in their own fears. It was
at last decided, alter much flurried talking, not
to attempt to prevent the meeting, but to arrest
Hunt and the other leaders publicly and
ignominiously when the speaking had commenced.
The troops were to wait till it was seen how the
meeting went on, and what might arise. In the
mean time, two squadrons (three hundred and
forty men) of the 15th Hussars having been
marched into the town from the barracks in the
suburbs about ten o'clock, were dismounted in
a wide street a quarter of a mile to the north of
St. Peter's Field. The Cheshire yeomanry were
formed to the left of the same street. The rest
of the hussars were with the artillery between
the cavalry barracks and the town. The
Manchester yeomanry, quite ready for work,
were stationed in a street to the east of the
field.

The infantry were also in readiness. An eye-
witness, writing from Manchester before the
meeting, said:

"In short, here is military force enough to
crush ten such mobs." If large armies are
unmanageable, how still more helpless is a vast
unarmed crowd!

A little before one, an unknown man began to
address the (nearly) eighty thousand peaceable
artisans and country people now assembled in
the field. The faces turned expectantly towards
the hustings and the banners. The man spoke
calmly enough. He said:  "If we are mad, as
our enemies call us, it is the most pleasant loss
of senses I ever experienced, and I hope it will
never be extinct but with death. At this
important crisis it behoves every free-born Englishman
to abstain from violence. We only desire
our fair and just rights; let us demand them
with steadiness and perseverance, and victory
will be the certain result."

A few minutes to one o'clock a rolling shout
proclaimed the arrival of the great demagogue,
and eighty thousand voices shouted welcome to
the vain and empty man they delighted to
honour. There he was, a handsome broad-
shouldered man, with the restless face. He
wore, as usual, his theatrical country squire
dress, blue coat and brass buttons, top-
boots, and impudent white hat, then the badge
of the radical party. He was preceded by a
noisy band of music and by flags, while above
the crowd rose a board, inscribed "Order." It
was said that Wooler, the dreaded and hideous
editor of the Black Dwarf paper, was with him;
this was not true. There sat in the carriage
his allies, Johnson, Moorhouse, Seaton,
and  Swift.  Hunt stood up in the barouche,
eyeing the enormous multitude with astonishment
and satisfaction. On the box sat an
Amazon named Mary Waterworth, bearing the
standard of the Stockport Female Reformers,
and waving a white handkerchief. She had just
been lifted into the carriage, probably out of
compassion, as it passed through the crowd.

Hunt's band struck up Rule Britannia and
God save the King; the people generally
took their hats off. As soon as the orator
mounted the hustings the music ceased. It was
proposed that Mr. Hunt should take the chair;
the motion was seconded and carried by
acclamation. The orator, removing his white hat,
advanced to the front of the hustings and
addressed the great hushed multitude.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I crave your
indulgence while I proceed to state the nature
and object of this meeting, and I particularly
request that no gentleman will call silence, as it
produces more disorder than any other
circumstance, and perhaps will give our enemies the
opportunity of causing a further encroachment
on our rights and liberties. Gentlemen, for the
honour you have done me in electing me chairman
on this important occasion I return you
my sincere and heartfelt thanks. I am happy
to see such an immense concourse of people
assembled, and I fearfully regret that I shall not
be able to make myself heard by all of you, but
those who are able to hear me will, I hope, do
so peaceably and quietly. It is useless to
attempt to relate the proceedings that have
occurred in your town during the last ten days, or
to state to you the cause of the meeting on
Monday being postponed; you are all
acquainted with it. Those wise magistrates, who
were the cause of preventing the meeting on
Monday last, fancied they had achieved a
glorious victory; but their pusillanimous
conduct since, and the presence of such an
immense and respectable assembly as now stands
before me, prove the contrary. A placard
which nobody could understand had been posted
up all over the town, signed by Tom Long and
Jack Short, and some such contemptible beings.
If any one is riotous, put him down, and keep
him down." He was about to proceed, when the
appearance of cavalry in the distance stopped
him for the moment.

In the mean time, Nodin, the chief constable,
had informed Mr. Hulton, the chairman of the
bench of magistrates, that he could not execute
the warrant for the arrest of Hunt and his
colleagues without military aid. Mr. Hulton
instantly wrote to the commander of the
Manchester yeomanry, and to Colonel L'Estrange,
to bring up the regular troops to the house
where the magistrates were.

The yeomanry came first, being nearest. Their