Man as Machine IX
by TARQUIN O’FLAHERTY
Whilst Wilkes was in jail, the plot thickened. Political meetings were held (in Wilkes’ cell!) out of which Wilkes became an alderman of the City of London. He also published a true account of the Massacre of St. George’s Fields. This so incensed the King that he compelled the government and the House of Commons to expel Wilkes from the House.
A new election in Middlesex was held. Crazily, Wilkes was the only candidate, and was elected unopposed.
The House of Commons expelled Wilkes again, and ordered yet another election. They actually had the sense this time to put up their own candidate. Wilkes trounced him.
They expelled him again. The City could not believe it’s ears and was in almost constant uproar. Grave injustices were being done, and were seen to be done.
Well this was all too much, even for the King’s men. What little democracy there was was being trampled on, and if Old George could get away with it this time, who knew where it might lead? Dangerous precedents and all that…
A Society of Supporters of the Bill of Rights was formed and large amounts of influential money rolled in. In the mean time, and in support of their hero, shopkeepers, tradesmen of every hue, coalheavers, sailors etc went on strike under the banner ‘Wilkes and Liberty’ which brought the City to a halt.
Instead of bowing to the inevitable and reinstating Wilkes, the Commons arranged yet another, fourth election, and put up yet another candidate. Again Wilkes won hands down, gaining about four times more votes than his opponent.
Well, this was positively the last straw as far as the House of Commons was concerned. They not only expelled poor old Wilkes for the fourth time, they gave it as their belief that the defeated candidate ‘should have won’, and ignoring reality, formally installed the losing candidate as MP for Middlesex!!
Vast public meetings were called, as news of these injustices spread, at first mainly around London, then the Home Counties, and then finally to all of England. Petitions of 50 to 60 thousand signatures were gathered, mainly calling for the Middlesex decision to be reversed. Other demands were added as time went by, particularly that Parliament should reflect more fairly the wishes of the people.
In 1770 Wilkes was released from prison and moved quickly in the City of London to have people loyal to the King removed from positions of power and a ‘Wilkite’ put in their place.
The House of Commons had been in the habit of prosecuting printers if they reported parliamentary proceedings and debates. Wilkes was able to put a stop to these prosecutions and by so doing laid the groundwork for the precious freedom of the press that exists today.
Wilkes made London prisons more humane, cleaned up markets, stopped press gangs, stopped outside unauthorised merchants ‘poaching’ work from accredited guilds and very importantly, increased the size of the standard loaf of bread; the ‘penny’ loaf.
Still, despite his power, Wilkes was no match for the King, and when he introduced his Reform Bill, it was ridiculed. This was about as powerful as Wilkes ever got because besides everything else, the War in America had started (1775) and loyalty to King and Country in wartime was paramount. Wilkes, though very bright, was considered to be not only overly frivolous, but also inclined to arrogance. His most able people became slowly alienated from him, and the White Hart Association was formed in London by big contractors on the King’s side, to deny employment to anyone expressing ‘democratic’ views.
TO BE CONTINUED