Description
[004651] [Chartist Agitation and the Railways] London and North Western Railway and the Chartists. Watford: No Publisher, 1848. First Edition. 4to. Unbound. Ephemera. Good. Four documents relating to the Chartist demonstration of April 10th 1848, and the reaction to it by the London and North Eastern Railway
Lightly creased, the fourth named is lightly soiled, with a chip to head just catching a couple of letters, but with no loss of sense, and a couple of closed tears from the right hand edge, catching a couple of letters, but again with no loss of sense
On April 10, 1848, the Chartist movement held a mass meeting on Kennington Common in London, there were fears of a large disturbance, or indeed a revolution. “For the authorities the event was a source of concern. Queen Victoria and the 200 or so people in her retinue were sent to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, far from the tumult of the capital. As the seats of power lay north of the River Thames, the Chartists were only authorized to gather on the south bank, on Kennington Common. The Duke of Wellington was brought into the discussions on the defence plans drawn up by the government. 4000 policemen and 8000 soldiers were mobilized to guard the bridges and seats of power. 81,000 special constables were sworn in, armed with truncheons, and stationed at strategic points, in case some muscle should be needed. They were mainly members of the middle class, attached to the regime and to property: law students, shopkeepers, and employees enrolled at their employers’ behest” (Bensimon, Kennington Common, 10 April 1848: The Photographs, the Chartist Crowd, and the Coachman, in Journal of Victorian Culture, Volume 29, Issue 3, July 2024, pages 430-452)
Firstly, there is a circular noting that “it is our bounden duty, as paid Servants of the Company, to protect its rights and property and circumstances require that we should hold ourselves in immediate readiness for the fulfilment of the obligation”. It further notes that “where language or gesture may be used to excite provocation they must be treated with silent contempt”
Secondly there is a short letter informing the bosses that “the whole of the Company’s servants employed at the ?Connection department are at the ready”
Thirdly, there is a letter, marked ‘Private’, which encloses a “list of men in the Engine Houses at Watford who have voluntarily signed a document binding themselves to protect the Company’s property. In these troublous times ??? mark of confidence between the men and their employer is of ?value – more particularly in this case when I tell you that most of the signatures are those of confirmed Chartists who one and all refused to sign the paper without the addition of the underlined words. I must beg you to understand that these men are all operative mechanics (the most dangerous class) … I am happy to say that in case of emergency they would happily enlist themselves on the side of order and have expressed themselves anxious to be enrolled as constables”, and the fourth document is a list of names from the Ballast Department who are “willing to be sworn in as Special Constables for the protection of the Company’s property”.
An interesting collection, revealing how men were signed up as Special Constables, and showing that some, or perhaps even the majority, went against their professed beliefs, which surely would have made their loyalty in the event of a disturbance, or a revolution, uncertain
