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cations by writing to be hazardous, they avoided, as far as poffible, the keeping any papers; ufed cyphers or myfterious words, in the few writings that paffed between them, and principally carried on their intercourfe by agents, who went from place to place, and were recognifed by figns, which were frequently changed. Many ignorant or inconfiderate perfons, throughout the country, were gradually involved in these criminal tranfactions; and the influence of the deftructive principles from which they proceeded, was ftill farther extended by the establishment of clubs, among the loweft claffes of the community, which were open to all perfons paying one penny, and in which fongs were fung, toafts given, and language held, of the moft feditious.

nature.

Information having been received of a meeting of United Englishmen, to be held at a Houfe in Clerkenwell, warrants of arreft were iffued, and perfons were apprehended on the 18th of April 1798. There was found upon the fecretary of the London Correfponding Society (who appears to have officiated as prefident of that meeting) the oath proposed for the United Englishmen, fet forth in the Appendix (No. 11); another oath, of the fame nature, was found under the table; and alfo a printed conftitution of the Society of United Englishmen, fet forth in the Appendix (Nos. 12 and 13.)

Information having also been received of an extraordinary meeting of the delegates and fecretary of the London Correfponding Society, intended to be affembled at a large room in Wych-ftreet, on the 19th of April 1798, the perfons there affembled were likewife arrested; and from the difcoveries made in confequence of thefe arrefts, the connection between the London Correfponding Society and the London Society of United Englishmen was clearly eftablifhed.

It appeared, that about forty divifions of United Englishmen had been formed in London; about twenty of which had their regular places and days of meeting; and that many fimilar focieties were forming in different parts of the country. With refpect to thefe latter, it was intended that the different counties in Great Britain fhould, refpectively, be divided into diftricts; in each of which a central fociety was to be established in the principal town, and was to carry on a conftant correfpondence, both with the fmaller focieties in that district, and with the general fociety in London. And this fyftem was fo conftructed, as to admit of still

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further fubdivifion, if the increase of numbers had been fuch as the leaders hoped.

It appears to your Committee, that the chief progrefs made in the formation of focieties of United Englishmen, was in London and the parts adjacent; and in Lancashire, and fome parts of the weft of England and of Wales, more immediately communicating with Ireland, and in which there were many United Irifhmen, either as refidents or as fugitives from their country.

At Manchester, and in the adjacent country in particular, the plan of thefe confpiracies was extending itself in the most alarming manner; and they were much promoted by the activity of the United Irishmen, of whom there are very large numbers refident in that neighbourhood. Great numbers of printed copies of the "Conftitution of United Englishmen" have been difcovered in Manchester and the neighbourhood; and it is evident that the Society was making great progrefs, when it was checked by the arrest of feveral of its leaders in 1798.

A Society of United Englishmen had been established in and about Manchester before the year 1797. In the beginning of that year it confifted of about fifty divifions, and in the year 1798 had extended to about eighty Each of thefe divifions confifted of not less than fifteen members, and was again fubdivided when the number of its members exceeded thirty-fix. This fociety has been particularly active in the moft wicked attempts to feduce the foldiers in different regiments; for which purpose they adopted a fyftem of more particular fecrecy, and it has therefore been difficult to difcover the extent of thefe crimes; but the general good conduct of his Majefty's forces, of every defcription in this kingdom, affords the most fatisfactory proof that these diabolical practices have not been fuccefsful in any confiderable degree. The teft ufed for the foldiers is fet forth in the Appendix (No. 14). In other refpects the fociety has followed the United Irifh and the United English formed in London, in their conftitution, their teft, and their signs of fecrecy; and its operations have been conducted with the fame mystery, and under the fame direction; the whole being governed by the perfons who form the Committee of United Englifhmen, ftyled "The National Committee of England," who are, apparently, unknown to the rest of the members of the fociety, though their dictates are implicitly obeyed. They were the more induced to acquiefce in this fyftem, and to obey implicitly the directions of their leaders,

from

from the perfuafion with which they appear to have been univerfally impreffed, that perfons of higher fituations in life afforded them countenance and pecuniary aid; though, from circumstances of caution, thofe perfons had not be-. come actually members of the fociety; or, if they were members, concealed the fact with confiderable care, and did not attend the meetings. In fome degree this perfuafion may have been well founded; but your Committee are induced to think, that fome art was used to strengthen this impreffion, for the purpose of giving greater encouragement to the members in their hopes of final fuccefs.

The focieties in the country connected with Manchester have been formed into twelve diftricts, each of which fent a delegate to the committee, called the County Committee; which appears to have correfponded, not only with the National Committee of England, but alfo with the National Committee of Ireland.

The intercourse between the United Englishmen in these parts, and the United Irifh, appears indeed to have been continual; many of the United Irish frequently paffing and repalling between Cheshire or Lancashire, and Ireland, and frequently vifiting the English focieties. Among the perfons who have been thus travelling from one country to the other, your Committee have remarked O'Coigly, who repeatedly vifited Manchester, Stockport, and other places in the neighbourhood; and particularly in the year 1797, when he was received with marked attention. He came there again in 1798, on his return from Ireland after his journey into France before mentioned. He then wore a military drefs, and paffed by the name of Captain Jones, the fame appellation by which he was introduced, by Arthur O'Connor, to Mr. H. Bell, of Charterhoufe Square, from whofe houfe O'Connor took his departure, previous to his arrest at Deal. The accounts which have been obtained of his conversation and conduct at Manchester, leave no room to doubt the objects of his different journies between Great Britain, Ireland, and France, and particularly of his intended journey to France, which was prevented by his arreft; and there appears alfo little reafon to doubt, that many, both of the United Englishmen and United Irish, at Manchefster and in its neighbourhood, were aware of the general purport at least, of his miffion, and anxiously expected that affiftance from France, of which they received, from him, very strong affurances.

The fociety at Manchester seems to have been the central fociety

fociety of an extenfive diftrict; and to have been managed by a very zealous and active committee. It frequently sent delegates to places in the neighbourhood, and to various parts of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Chefhire. Their correfpondence appears to have extended to the most diftant parts of England, as well as to Edinburgh and Glafgow.

Liverpool alfo became the feat of another central fociety, prefiding over a furrounding district, and correfponding with other parts of England, and with Scotland and Ireland; and different emiffaries, fome of whom were foreigners, about this time were fent through various parts of the kingdom, for the purpose of afcertaining the numbers and difpofitions of the focieties of United English and United Irish.

Whilft the focieties in England were thus endeavouring to form a Society of United Englishmen, or of United Britons, on the model of the Irish Society, attempts were made in Scotland to form a diftinct society of "United Scotfmen" on the fame plan. And your Committee cannot forbear to remark the industry with which it has been attempted in this inftance, as well as in others, to feparate Scotland as well as Ireland from England, and to found, on the ruins of the established government, three diftinct republics of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

The attempts to form a fociety of United Scotfmen had made little progrefs till the fpring of 1797; but from the month of April 1797 until November following (when a difcovery was made in the county of Fife, on which George Mealmaker was brought to trial, and convicted of fedition) these attempts appear to have been attended with more fuccefs, and particularly in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, and in the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Lanerk, Dumbarton, Fife, and Perth. Glafgow, and the county of Ayr, were the places in which this fpirit firft manifefted itself, and from which emiffaries were fent into different parts of the country, for the purpose of increafing the numbers of the Society, and diffeminating what they termed "political knowledge."

The focieties thus formed in Scotland appear to have been reduced to a fyftem almost as regular and complete as that which was established in Ireland; the outlines of the plan were the fame, and the ftudied fecrecy of the proceed. ings, and the gradations of internal arrangement, formed its

great

great characteristic. By a general rule of their affociation, no fociety was to confift of more than fixteen members, and when any fociety had obtained a number of members exceeding fixteen, it was to divide itself into two focieties.In fome small towns there were three or more fuch focieties, all of which were fometimes affembled, by their individual members, or by a committee from each fociety; and fuch affemblies were termed 'Parochial Meetings.' Each of these Parochial Meetings had a fecretary, who was also treasurer; and one or two delegates were chofen to represent the Parochial at the County Meeting, which was composed of delegates from all the Parochial Meetings within the county or district, and was held every fix weeks. The delegates were elected by ballot; but the ballot was fo conducted that no perfon knew on whom the choice fell, except the fecretary and the perfon chofen. This election was fometimes made, by each member whispering in the ear of the fecretary the name of the perfon for whom he gave his vote; and as there could be no material check on the declaration of the fecretary, it is evident that the election of delegates might be managed in any manner moft agreeable to the leaders of the fociety. The meetings called "County Meetings" were not restricted to the known divifions of the counties, but were compofed of delegates from Parochial Meetings, within either larger or fmaller diftricts, according to the number of United Scotfmen in each neighbourhood. At the County Meetings, delegates were elected, to reprefent the focieties at a "National Meeting," in the fame fecret manner as was used for the election of the delegates to the County Meetings; and the place of that meeting was not generally difclofed. The fecretary of the County Meeting gave the delegate, when chofen, a fmall flip of paper, containing the name of a perfon to whom he was to apply, and who was to take him to the place of the National Meeting. This perfon was called "The Intermediate." The counties were alfo diftinguished by numbers, and not by their names; and the delegate received, on another flip of paper, the number of the county, and the time appointed for the National Meeting.

The meeting affuming this name was a committee formed of delegates from the County Meetings, and affembled every feven weeks; and there the most important business of the Society was tranfacted. This meeting received reports from a fecret committee and nominally directed its conduct, but the fecret committee really had the chief ma

nagement:

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