XVII. 1736. for his own rescue, on the day fixed for his execu- CHAP. tion, the 14th of April. The magistrates, thus forewarned, took every precaution for security, stationing a large detachment of the City Guard under the command of their captain, John Porteous, a man of great activity as a police officer, but accused of being not only strict but harsh and brutal in his official duties, and certainly most unpopular with the lower orders. The execution took place without any interruption or disturbance*, and it was not till the body had been cut down that some rabble began to attack the hangman, pelting him and also the soldiers with very large stones. Outrages of the same kind, though of less degree, were not uncommon on these occasions, and had usually been borne with patience; nor ought Porteous to have forgotten that the sentence was already fully executed, and that he should now attempt to withdraw his men: but on the contrary, losing all command of temper, he snatched a musket from one of the soldiers, and fired at the crowd; the soldiers followed his exam "That deluded man (Wilson) died with great tranquillity, " and maintained to the hour of his death that he was most un"justly condemned: he maintained this in a debate with one of "the reverend ministers of Edinburgh..... He admitted that " he had taken money from a collector of the revenue by vio"lence, but that the officers of the revenue had, by their "practice, taught him this was lawful, for they had often seized "and carried off his goods, &c." (Speech of Mr. Lindsay, May 16. 1737. Parl. Hist. vol. x. p. 254.) CHAP. ple, and another similar discharge took place as the XVII. detachment retired to the guard-house. 1736. For this violence was Porteous brought to trial before the High Court of Justiciary, found guilty of murder by an exasperated jury of citizens, and condemned to death. But his sentence being referred to the Government in London, and considered by Queen Caroline, as head of the Regency during the King's absence, seemed to her and her advisers to admit of mitigation. He had given no original provocation; he had been wantonly assailed and had a right to defend himself; and though his defence was carried to a fierce and most unwarrantable pitch, and became itself an aggression, yet still his real crime appeared to fall short of murder, and his fit punishment, of death. From these considerations a reprieve for Porteous was sent down to Edinburgh. There, however, it was received by the public with one universal roar of indignation. The persons who had fallen were not all of them rioters, and the very humanity of the soldiers had turned against them; for many of them desiring merely to intimidate and not to hurt, had fired over the heads of the crowd, and in so doing had struck several persons of good condition, looking out of the neighbouring windows. This circumstance, if rightly considered, was an alleviation of their guilt, but in the popular estimation served rather to heighten it, from the natural compassion at the fate of entirely innocent and much respected individuals. On the whole, then, the ferment had XVII. risen high among the citizens; and dark and ominous CHAP. threats were heard, that even the Royal reprieve should not shelter Porteous from their vengeance. It was now the 7th of September, the day pre vious to that which had been appointed for the execution. Porteous himself, unconscious of his doom, and rejoicing in his approaching deliverance, had that very evening given an entertainment in the Tolbooth to a party of friends. But that festal evening was not to close without blood. A little before ten o'clock, a disorderly multitude began to gather in the low suburb of Portsburgh, evidently, from the first, under the guidance of cool and wary leaders. They beat a drum, and attracted fresh numbers; until, finding themselves strong enough for their purpose, they seized on the Westport, closed and barricaded it, and secured, in like manner, the ports of Canongate and Netherbow; thus cutting off the city from a regiment of infantry which was quartered in the suburbs. Their next step was to disarm the City Guard at their house, and thus obtain weapons for themselves. None of these pacific soldiers offered any resistance; their guns, halberts, and Lochaber axes were quietly relinquished by them, and eagerly assumed by the foremost of the rioters. It is remarkable that, though these City Guardsmen had been the instruments, at least, of the very slaughter which it was now intended to avenge, they were now permitted to slink away without the slightest injury or ill-treatment; so intent were 1736. CHAP. the mob-leaders on one great object, and so well XVII. able, says Fletcher of Saltoun, to restrain the mulevery wickedness but that which they had determined to perpetrate.* 1736. titude from It was not till these preliminary measures had been achieved, that the real object was disclosed in a fierce and general cry-" Porteous! Porteous! "To the Tolbooth! to the Tolbooth!" and in a few minutes more they were thundering at the gates of the gaol, and demanding that the prisoner should be given out to them. On receiving no answer, they prepared to burst open the doors; but the outer door was of such solidity and strength, as for a long while to defy their utmost efforts : sledge-hammers and iron crows were wrought against it in vain, even by those who might have, perhaps, most valuable experience in house-breaking. So much time was consumed, and so little progress made, that there seemed reason to hope that this obstacle alone might be sufficient to arrest the conspirators, and prove more effectual than the sheep in wolves' clothing" of the City Guard. 66 When the tumult first began, the magistrates, it is said, were drinking together at a tavern of the Parliament Closet; although it was afterwards To the Duke of Newcastle, Sept. 16. 1736. Coxe's Walpole. Fletcher was then Lord Chief Justice Clerk. He had eminent talents; but we are told that "his schemes had but very little "credit, because he himself was often for changing them." (Sir J. Clerk's MSS. on Lockhart, ap. Somerville's Queen Anne, p. 204.) + General Moyle to the Duke of Newcastle, Sept. 9. 1736. given out, as more decorous to these great men, CHAP. XVII. that they had assembled there to concert measures against the rioters. Mr. Lindsay, Member of 1736. Parliament for the city, who was with them, undertook the perilous task to carry a message from the Lord Provost to General Moyle, who commanded the troops quartered in the suburb, and who was now required to force the Netherbow port, and march into the city to quell the tumult. But Moyle, who had the recent example of Porteous before his eyes, refused to move against the people unless authorised by a written warrant from the magistrates; and Lindsay, on his part, was unwilling to convey any paper which, if found upon him, might probably cost him his life. There was afterwards, in discussing the transaction, much altercation between them as to what had really passed; the General declared that Lindsay had come to him drunk, while, on the other hand, Lindsay inveighed against his lack of alacrity*: but, be this as it may, no assistance was afforded by the King's troops. A similar message had also been sent up to the Governor of the Castle, but with a similar result. The magistrates, thus left to their own resources, sallied forth from their tavern, and marched to the scene of riot with such force as they could muster. But they found the outer line * Earl of Isla to Sir Robert Walpole, October 16. 1736. He adds, "I have had great difficulty to prevent mischief between "General Moyle and Mr. Lindsay." |