James Hadfield Petitioner

• Place: Oldham,Royton
• Role: Demonstrator,Injured

Petition of James Hadfield of Royton.

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Petition of James Hadfield of Royton

House of Commons, Votes and Proceedings, 29 November 1819

 

A Petition of James Hadfield, of Royton, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was presented, and read; setting forth, That being at a public meeting at Manchester, on the 16^th day of August in the present year, and which meeting, without any legal pretext, was violently assailed and dispersed by an armed force, under the orders of the local Magistracy, the Petitioner was, by that violent and illegal dispersion, crushed down under a multitude of other persons, who were endeavouring to escape from the attack of the aforesaid armed force; that in consequence of the extreme pressure which lay upon the Petitioner, whilst he was so down, he was severely crushed in the right shoulder, and by pain and suffocation was for some time, even after the removal of the crowd, deprived of sensation; but having by degrees recovered, he with great difficulty took shelter in a house, the door of which was open, and after an interval of rest, and having partaken of a little refreshment, returned home; that by this violent assault, the Petitioner was rendered incapable of following his ordinary employment for a space of five weeks from the time when he sustained such unwarrantable abuse; which loss of time and of health, together with the violation of his rights and liberties as an Englishman, induces the Petitioner humbly to pray, That the House would adopt such measures as may bring to deserved punishment the authors and abettors of the above outrage.

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