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of this kingdom the most exposed to invasion: and it was alfo in contemplation to combine the operations of this fociety with thofe of the fociety of United Irishmen; of which your committee will find it neceffary feparately to take notice.

Moft of the focieties through England, which had ufed to correfpond with the London Correfponding Society, had alfo about this time adopted the fame plan of forming focieties of United Englishmen; and finding their communications by writing to be hazardous, they avoided, as far as poffible, the keeping any papers; ufed ciphers or myfterious words, in the few writings that paffed between them, and principally carried on their intercourse by agents, who went from place to place, and were recognized by figns, which were frequently changed. Many ignorant or inconfiderate perfons, throughout the country, were gradually involved in thefe criminal tranfactions; and the influence of the deftructive principles from which they proceeded, was ftill farther extended by the establishment of clubs, among the lowest claffes of the community, which were open to all fons paying one penny, and in which fongs were fung, toafts given, and language held, of the moft feditious

nature.

per

Information having been received of a meeting of United Engliflimen, to be held at a house in Clerkenwell, warrants of arrest were ifited, 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 at that meeting) the oath propofed for the United Englishmen, fet forth in the Appendix (No. 11); another

oath, of the fame nature, was found under the table; and also a printed conftitution of the fociety 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-street, on the 19th of April, 1798, the perfons there affembled were likewife arrefted; 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 established.

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 diftrict, and with the general fociety in London. And this fyftem was fo conftructed, as to admit of ftili farther 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 Irishmen, 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 Irifhmen, of whom there are very large num-. bers refident in that neighbourhood. Great numbers of printed copies of the "Conftitution of United Englifhmen" have been discovered in Manchester and the neighbourhood; and it is evident that the fociety was making great progrefs, when it was checked by the arreft of feveral of its leaders in 1798.

the

A fociety of United Englishmen had been established in and about Manchefter before the year 1797. In the beginning of that year it confifted of about fifty divifions, and in 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 purpofe 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 moft fatis factory proof that thefe 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 refpecs the fociety has followed the United Irish and the United English formed in London, in their confiitu

tion, their teft, and their figns of fecrecy; and its operations have been conducted with the fame myftery, and under the fame direction; the whole being governed by the perfons who form the committee of United Englishmen, ftyled "The National Committee of England," who are, apparently, unknown to the reft 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 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 circumftances of caution, thofe perfons had not become 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 ftrengthen this impreffion, for the purpofe of giving greater encouragement to the members in their hopes of final fuccefs.

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

The intercourse between the United Englishmen in thefe parts. and the United Irish, appears indeed to have been continual; many of the United Irish frequently paffing and

repaffing

repaffing between Chefhire or Lancafhire, and Ireland, and frequently vifiting the English focieties. A mong 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 dress, 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 Charterhouse-fquare, from whole houfe O'Connor took his departure, previous to his arreft at Deal. The accounts which have been obtained of his converfation and conduct at Manchefter, 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 Irifh, at Manchester and in its neighbour hood, 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 allu

rances.

fhire, and Cheshire. Their correfpondence appears to have extended to the moft 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 emissaries, 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 fociety of United Englifhmen, or of United Britons, on the model of the Irish Society, attempts were made in Scotland to form a diftin&t fociety of" United Scotfmen" on the fame plan. And your committee cannot forbear to remark the induftry 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 establifhed government, three diftin&t 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, The fociety at Manchester seems on which George Mealmaker was to have been the central fociety of brought to trial, and convicted of an extenfive diftrict; and to have fedition) thefe attempts appear to been managed by a very zealous and have been attended with more fucactive committee. It frequently cefs, and particularly in the neighfent delegates to places in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, and in the bourhood, and to various parts of counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Lanerk, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham Dumbarton, Fife, and Perth. Glaf

gow,

gow, 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 purpofe of increafing the numbers of the fociety, and diffeminating what they termed political knowledge." "

The focieties thus formed, in Scotland, appear to have been reduced to a fyftem almoft as regular and complete as that which was established in Ireland; the outlines of the plan were the fame, and the studied fecrecy of the proceedings, and the gradations of the internal arrangement, formed its 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 itfelf 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 chosen to represent the parochial at the county meeting, which was compofed of delegates from all the Parochial Meetings, within the county or diftrict, 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 whifpering 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 decla

ration of the fecretary, it is evident that the election of delegates might be managed in any manner most agreeable to the leaders of the fociety. The meetings called "County Meetings" were not restricted to the known divifions of the counties, but were composed of delegates from Parochial Meetings, within either larger or fmaller diftricts, according to the number of United Scotfmen in each neighbourhood. At the County Meeting, 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." counties were also distinguished 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

The meeting afluming this name was a committee formed of delegates from the county meetings, and affembled every seven weeks; and there the most important business of the fociety was tranfacted. This meeting received reports from a fecret committee and nominally directed its conduct, but the fecret committee really had the chief management. This committee was elected, from amongst the delegates at the national meeting, in the same fecret manner as those delegates had been chofen at the county meeting,

the

the perfons elected being only known to the fecretary; and the committee, thus fecretly formed, did not difclofe itfelf in the tranfaction of bufinefs; all of which was conducted through the intervention of a perfon (already noticed) called "The Intermediate;" who delivered their orders, and who was the fame perfon to whom the delegates had been directed to apply for information, refpecting the place of aflembly of the national meeting, Except therefore to the intermediate, to the secretary, and to each other, the perfons compofing the fecret committee remained wholly

unknown.

Every proceeding was involved in the fame myfterious fecrecy; and though this fyftem of blind obedience had the effect of difgufting and alarming fome of the delegates, who perceived themselves to be infiruments in the hands of an unknown authority, for purpofes, of which the extent was never fully difclofed to them; yet the committee, thus formed, continued to preferve its general influence; difburfing at its pleafure the money collected; giving all orders for the places of the national meetings; fending miffionaries, diffeminating papers, receiving information, and conducting every part of the bufinefs without control.

The national meeting was generally, if not always, held in or near Glafgow; and from reports of what paffed at thofe meetings, it appears that they correfponded with the fociety of United Britons, and fent delegates to England, and received delegates from thence. When the meeting broke up, each delegate received a note of the time appointed for the next meeting; which he was to deliver to the fecretary of his

own county meeting, when the new delegate was elected.

Their communications with differ

ent parts, and particularly with England, were feldom carried on in writing: fome papers, however, have been difcovered, which clearly fhow that the fociety had the most dangerous objects in view; and that fome of its members were fanguine enough to profefs an opinion," that if the flattering accounts which they received from London were real, the emancipation of the country was at no great distance, when they fhould rally round the ftandard of liberty.

This fyftem of union as well as that of the United Englishmen, was evidently borrowed from Ireland; and there is reafon to believe that it was introduced by delegates from that country. Signs were adopted for the purpose of diftinguishing the members, as was practifed in Ireland; but the knowledge of the figns feems to have been only im perfectly diffufed; they never have been generally underflood; or having been altered at different times in different places, without concert, were never uniform in all parts of the country.

In their fanguine expectation of fuccefs, thefe confpirators formed wild and extravagant plans of feizing, in the fame night, all the leading people over the whole ifland. If thefe perfons fhould refift, they were to be put to death; if they fubmitted quietly, their lives and property were to be fpared, but they were to be kept in cuftody till a new conftitution fhould be formed, which was clearly meant to be conformable to French principles.

An oath or teft was formally adminiftered, and printed papers were circulated

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