celebrated Alderman Beckford under the new
act of parliament for regulating coalheavers,
who, before this, had been under the direction
of Justice Hodgson. The coalheavers had struck
work, and demanded higher wages from the
coal-merchants, insisting upon eighteenpence
per score. Mr. Russell established an office at
Billingsgate to register coalheavers; but they
refused to come, declaring they would obey no
one but Justice Hodgson. Mr. Russell then
wrote to the justice, who refused to give him an
interview, but sent his clerk, who told Mr.
Russell that if he did not close his office, his
master would lead him a pretty dance to
Westminster Hall, the new act being so vague that
anybody might keep an office, and that, as his
master had all the best men, he would be sure
to get all the business. Mr. Russell, vexed at
this controversy, advertised that if no coalheave
r came by a certain day he should employ
any able-bodied man. who applied. Whereupon
many strangers came, and were put in the gangs.
Dunster, Justice Hodgson's clerk, then brought,
to his door no less than three or four hundred
regular men, who threatened they would pull
down his house, and would do for him. Green
went to the Mansion House to acquaint the
lord mayor of the danger he was in, and
received for answer that he must be directed by
some magistrate in his neighbourhood. On
Saturday morning, the 16th of April, the
coalheavers having put up some bills, a neighbour's
servant pulled one down, upon which the
coalheavers cried out that Green's maid had pulled
down their bills, and made a riot. Green's
narrative of this water-side battle is so graphic and
so simple-hearted, that it cannot be condensed
or improved:

"I saw," he said, "a great many people
running from their different habitations, some
with bludgeons, or broomsticks, and weapons of
that sort; they did not collect themselves in
a body, but were running to the head of New
Gravel-lane; I believe about four or five
hundred of them came within two hundred
yards of my house; they went to Mr. Metcalf,
a neighbour of mine, and threatened him;
there was one of them that was a pretended
friend of mine, that had promised, when he
knew of anything against me, he would let
me know; I sat up to guard my house, and
I sent my wife and children out of the house;
after that I prevailed upon my wife to stay
in the house upon this man's intelligence; he
came about twelve, and told me nothing was
intended against me, that they had done their
business they were about. I went to bed, and
was asleep; I was awaked by my sister-in-law,
calling 'Mr. Green, Mr. Green, for God's sake,
we shall be murdered;' this was about, one
o'clock on the Sunday morning; I jumped out
of bed, and ran into the next room, where my
arms were; I took and levelled one, and said,
' You rascals, if you do not be gone, I will
shoot you;' they were then driving at my doors
and shutters; the noise was terrible, like a parcel
of men working upon a ship's bottom, I could
compare it to nothing else; I fired among them;
I believe I fired about fourteen times; and,
when I had not anything ready to fire, I threw
glass bottles upon them; they were at this
about a quarter of an hour, when they all
dispersed. Nothing happened after till Wednesday
night, that was the 20th, about seven in the
evening; then I saw a great many of these
coalheavers assembling together, about three
or four hundred yards from my house, going
up Gravel-lane. I shut up, and told my wife
to get out of the house as fast as she could
with her children; accordingly she went away
with the child that was asleep in the cradle.
When the house was secured backwards and
forwards, I went up-stairs; some stones had
broke some windows there; I believe some of
them had thrown stones and run away; I
heard them call out 'Wilkes and Liberty;' I
saw the neighbours lighting up candles, for
these people shall have no occasion at all to
use me ill. I went to the window and begged
of them to desist, and said, if they knew
anything particular of me, I was willing to
resolve anything they wanted to know; seeing
I could not defend myself, I disguised myself,
and put on an old watch-coat and a Dutch cap,
and went down-stairs in order to get a magistrate
to come and prevent rny house from being
pulled down; I had one Dunderdale, a shoemaker,
that lodged in my house, he went down
with me; when I came down to the back door,
I heard them threaten they would have me and
my life; I then found it impossible to get out
of the house; I ran up-stairs then, fully
determined to defend myself as long as I was able.
I spoke to them again in the street from the
window, and desired them to tell me what I
had done; they called out in the street, 'they
would have me and hang me over my sign-post;'
others said 'they would broil and roast me'
and words to that effect; stones came up very
fast. I then took a brace of pistols from the
table, and fired among them, loaded with
powder only; after that I kept firing away among
them what arms I had loaded with bird and
swan shot; they dispersed in the front then; I
immediately ran backwards, they were heaving
stones into the back chamber-windows; I fired
from the back chamber-windows; after I had
fired some few rounds backwards, they desisted
from heaving stones into the back part of the
house, but I did not find they had left the place.
I was again attacked both in front, and back
part, of the house; I fired among them
sometimes from the front of my house, and
sometimes from the rear; I imagined they would
have broke into the house presently, if I had
not kept a warm fire upon them; I heard them
call out several times, 'I am shot, I am
wounded;' still they said 'they would have
me, and do for me.' I had various attacks in
the night; I saw no fire-arrns they had till eleven
or twelve in the night; they were driving at
the door about ten, but I cannot tell with what;
I looked through the door, and saw their hands
moving, driving something hard against it.