Newgate in Revolution: An Anthology of Radical Prison Literature in the Age of Revolution

229 Pages·2005·11.98 MB·English

by  Michael Davis

NEWGATE I N REVOLUTION
AN ANTHOLOGY OF RADICAL PRISON
LITERATURE IN THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
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NEWGATE IN REVOLUTION
AN ANTHOLOGY O F
RADICAL PRISO N
LITERATURE I N
THE AGE OF REVOLUTIO N
Edited by
Michael T. Davis, The University of Queensland
Iain McCalman, The Australian National University
Christina Parolin, The Australian National University
continuum
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Introduction and editorial apparatus © Michael T. Davis, Iain McCalman, Christina Parolin 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means , electronic o r mechanical, including photocopying, recording , or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: (hardback ) 0-8264-7532-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Typeset by YHT Ltd, London
Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Digital Solutions, Bodmin, Cornwall
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Editorial Rules viii
'Patriots in Prison': Newgate Radicalism in the Age of
Revolution i x
1. Charle s Pigott, Th e Jockey Club; or a Sketch of the Manners of
the Age (1792) 1
2. [Jame s Parkinson], Old Hubert, pseud., An Address to the
Hon. Edmund Burke from th e Swinish Multitude (1793 ) 2 5
3. James Henry Lawrence, An Essay on the Nair System of
Gallantry and Inheritance; Shewing its Superiority Over Mar-
riage, as Insuring an Indubitable Genuinness Ov Birth, and
Being More Favorable tu Population, The Rights ov Women,
and the Active Disposition ov Men (c . 1794) 3 7
4. Thoma s Lloyd, Impositions and Abuses in the Management of
the Jail of Newgate; Pointed Out and exposed, in a Letter
Addressed to the late Grand Juries of the City of London and
County o f Middlesex (1794) 6 7
5. Thoma s Lloyd, The Diary of Thomas Lloyd kept in
Newgate prison 1794-96 8 1
6. Sampso n Perry, Oppression!!! The Appeal of Captain Perry to
the People of England ... T o which is Added a Development of
Some of the Mysteries of the Spy Trade ... (1795 ) 11 7
7. Willia m Hodgson, Th e Case of William Hodgson, No w
Confined in Newgate, for the Payment of Two Hundred Pounds,
After Having Suffered Two Years' Imprisonment on a Charge of
Sedition, Considered and Compared with the Existing Laws of
the Country (1796) 12 9
8. Willia m Hodgson, Proposals for Publishing by Subscription, a
Treatise Called the Female Citizen, or a Historical Political and
Philosophical Enquiry into the Rights of Women, as Members of
Society (1796) 13 9
vi CONTENT S
9. Danie l Isaac Eaton, Extortions and Abuses of Newgate;
Exhibited in a Memorial and Explanation, presented to the Lord
Mayor (1813) 14 5
10. Rober t Southey, Wa t Tyler; a Dramatic Poem (1817) 16 7
Index 197
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The editors would like to thank Georgina Fitzpatrick, Brian Fitzpatrick
and Navenka Lifu for their assistance with typesetting and compiling this
volume. Our gratitude also to Paul Pickering for his help with some of
the more obscure political characters in the texts. We would like to
acknowledge the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center
(PAHRC) for permission t o reproduc e th e priso n diar y of Thoma s
Lloyd. I n particular , we ar e gratefu l t o Shaw n Weldon , Assistan t
Archivist at the PAHRC, for his assistance. We also wish to thank the
National Library of Australia for permission to reproduce the title page
of Robert Southey's Wa t Tyler an d the Lewis Walpole Library, Yale
University, for use of the cover image on this book.
EDITORIAL RULES
The spelling of the original texts has been reproduced with no attempt
made t o correc t o r distinguis h errors, wit h th e exceptio n bein g fo r
clarity where word s were clearl y misspelt or typographical fault s an d
where those errors could lead to a misreading of the passage. American
spelling has been retained when used in the original texts .
Capitalization an d punctuation have been reproduced a s in the ori -
ginal text, excep t in instances where punctuatio n was incomplete o r
clarity was otherwise compromised .
Original footnote s have been retained and are designated as in the
original texts, with the use of symbols where appropriate. Where pos-
sible editorial notes have been inserted in the original footnote and are
placed in square brackets.
The Diary of Thomas Lloyd kept in Newgate
Editorial convention s fo r th e diar y of Thomas Lloy d var y t o som e
degree fro m thos e rule s applie d t o othe r texts . Th e followin g i s a
summary of the editorial rules used in transcribing the diary:
• Spellin g errors and Americanized spellings have been retained.
• Differen t spellings of the same name have been reproduced.
• Du e t o th e natur e o f the diar y entrie s grammatica l error s are
common. No attempt , however , ha s been mad e t o complete o r
correct punctuation or grammatical errors .
• Illegibl e words are identified in square brackets.
• Missin g words or symbols are identified in the text by an endnote.
• Incomplet e or missing words have been completed or added where
necessary for clarity and are identified by square brackets.
• N o attempt has been made to complete words that were abbreviated
by the diarist.
• Date s that appear in the original manuscript but are not followed by
an entry have been left out of the transcription.
'PATRIOTS IN PRISON':
NEWGATE RADICALISM IN
THE AGE OF REVOLUTION
For Nelson Mandela, one of the most celebrated political prisoners of
the twentieth century, imprisonment on Robben Island between 196 4
and 1982 was at times a grim and dehumanizing experience, but it was
also a period of political enlightenment. In his autobiography, Mandela
explains that Robben Island was known as 'the University ... not only
because of what we learned from books, or because prisoners studied
English, Afrikaans , art , geography , an d mathematic s .. . [bu t also ]
because of what we learned from each other'. Incarceratio n fostered a
communal spirit among political prisoners. Like-minded men formed a
branch of the African National Congress, called the High Organ, which
was proactive in seeking to redress the complaints of inmates. Mandela
himself engage d par t o f hi s tim e preparin g judicial appeal s for hi s
compatriots, petitioning the commanding officer of Robben Island for
improved conditions , an d smuggling messages to outside contacts to
agitate for reform. He was part of the so-called 'clandestine commu-
nications committee', which was established to facilitate covert political
discourse betwee n prisoner s i n variou s sections of th e compound. "
Imprisonment did more to fan the flames of Mandela's political fervour
than it did to dampen his enthusiasm: 'As politicians, we were just as
intent on fortifying our organization in prison as we had been outside'.
A similar experience has been identified among political prisoners in
contemporary America . Joy James ha s anthologized th e divers e and
powerful resistance literature produced during the twentieth century by
prisoner-activists i n th e Unite d State s t o demonstrat e how 'prison s
constitute on e o f th e mos t controversia l an d conteste d site s i n a
democratic society'.4
This book contributes a deeper historical dimension to the subject, by
bringing together some of the rare and fugitive radical texts that were
written or produced by prisoners in London's Newgate gaol during the