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WHO WAS EXECUTED FOR HIGH TREASON AT stirling, in sEPTEMBER, 1820.

"He fell gloriously

Wellington's Despatches.

THE WHOLE

EDITED, AND RESPECTFULLY LAID BEFORE THE PUBLIC,

FOR THE FIRST TIME,

By A TEN-POUNDER.

GLASGOW :

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY

MUIR, GOWANS, & CO. 42, ARGYLL-STREET,

(Opposite the Buck's Head);

SOLD BY J. STEWART, 11, ST. JAMES'S STREET, PAISLEY;

AND ALL THE BOOKSELLERS.

1833.

No. 1.]

[Price Twopence.

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AN EXPOSURE OF THE SPY SYSTEM,

&c. &c.

IN undertaking this publication at present, we are sensible that many objections will, in all probability, be raised against it, both by the pretended friends, and the open enemies of Reform. The former, who are always to be found in the ranks of the timid, half-and-half gentry, will say, that it would have been better for us to have allowed the transactions of 1819-20 to go into oblivion, or remain entirely forgotten. And the latter, who are always to be found in the ranks of bigotry and oppression, will say, that we are holding up to public approbation the actions of demagogues and convicted traitors!

To such objections, and all others of a similar nature, we have an answer to make, which, whatever it ay be thought of by some, will, we trust, be deemed satisfactory by all those on whose honest judg ment we attach value.

The answer is this: We are thoroughly convinced that Andrew Hardie and his unfortunate companions were the victims of bloodthirsty scoundrels, better known by the name of spies, who at that time infested this country, to the scandal to the everlasting disgrace of its then government, by whom they were encouraged and protected. And we hold it to be our bounden duty, as subjects of a free state, to do every thing in our power, however imperfectly it may be done, to rescue the characters of the Reformers of Scotland, and especially the Reformers of Glasgow, from the stain that was unjustly put upon them in 1819-20,-in doing which we are prepared to show that the innocent on that occasion were confounded with the guilty; and that, in truth, (we speak in a moral, not in a legal point of view,) the Innocent suffered, while the Guilty escaped,

But before going farther, we cannot help pausing for a moment to congratulate the Reformers of Scotland on the fact, which they indeed well know, that the tables are now fairly turned upon their enemies ; and that the men who in 1819-20 wielded an iron rod against the friends of Freedom, are now deprived of it, and are, we trust, for ever humbled! Blessings on the French Revolution! Blessings on that mild and paternal government which now exists, and may it long continue to exist in England-But blessings thrice over on the People themselves! We want words to express the delight we feel, at the mere knowledge of the fact, that there are no longer any Sidmouths or Castlereaghs in the liberal and enlightened Cabinet of William the Fourth; otherwise, we think, from what we have already written, and still.

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we enjoy health and strength, intend to write, we might seriously prepare ourselves, if not all at once for the axe of the executioner, at least for a long voyage to the shores of the Southern Ocean!

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Whether the answer we have just given in defence, so far, of this publication, be deemed satisfactory or not by any of our friends-and chiefly would we reckon those as such who through good report and bad report have stood firm and faithful to "the Cause;" still we are quite sure, and it affords great satisfaction to us to know that the worst enemies we have in the world—the veriest Boroughmonger that exists, the keenest Tory that crawls, will be compelled to admit, on a perusal of the Letters of Andrew Hardie, which will form the main object of the publication, apart from politics altogether, that these Letters are characteristic of a brave, though, in one sense, a deluded man; and what to many is of much higher consequence, that they display the feelings of a Christian, without cant or hypocrisy."

Perhaps in respect of that last reason, we should have been tempted to undertake the publication; recollecting how often the Reformers of Scotland have been twitted with the charge of atheism or infidelity, a charge against which we for them beg leave to enter our protest, and appeal to the Letters of Andrew Hardie as our triumphant witnesses.

But finally, when we explain that we have undertaken the publication also with the view of relieving the wants, and soothing, if possible, the feelings of his aged, and still sorrowing Mother, we are hopeful that even malignity itself will be disarmed on that account. And now we proceed with the following short history of Hardie himself.

He was born at Auchinearn, in the parish of Cadder, county of Lanark, on the 5th of May, 1793; and consequently was in the 28th year of his age, when he suffered at Stirling, 8th September, 1820. If it were necessary to a work of this description, we believe we could show that his parents-Thomas Hardie and Marion Goodwin, were descended, particularly the latter, from highly respectable ancestors, but we think the following excellent lines of the poet will be relished much better by our readers than if we had entered into a long dry disquisition on that topic.

"Worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow,

And all the rest are leather and prunella.'

As, therefore, we have neither the pride nor the vanity of any person to gratify, we may as well state in a single line, that Hardie's father was a common industrious weaver, in Glasgow-a trade to which Hardie himself was trained, after receiving the only, yet best education his parents could afford to give him-that of plain reading and writing. At the age of 17 he abandoned the loom-shop, and enlisted as a substitute in the Berwiskshire Militia, in which, after serving for five years, he was discharged on the peace of 1815. He then returned to his fathar's house in Glasgow, to resume his former occupation, but his mind was already tinctured with strong political opinions favourable to the cause of liberty, then kept in the back-ground almost

by force of the bayonet; and, however insignificant this allusion as to Hardie's political opinion may be regarded by some, yet we confess we attach considerable importance to it, inasmuch as it shows that the soldier of this country, unlike those commanded by the Despots in the north of Europe, can think for himself, and give free expression to his honest opinion. Nor does it seem any way impertinent for us to allude to the fact, which we trust the enemies of Reform will lay seriously to heart, that the flower of the English army is at this moment composed of men entertaining the very principles which Andrew Hardie entertained in the year 1815. For from whence, we ask, is the army recruited but from the great Reforming Radical Depots of London, Dublin, Manchester, and Glasgow? And does the young recruit not imbibe the generous sentiments of his immediate relatives or companions, sanctioned, as these sentiments undoubtedly are, by the King of England? Will the soldier now, we ask, draw his sabre against his fellow men, merely for seeking their just rights? We wish the Duke of Wellington himself would answer that question. But our notion is, that although he led his invincible legions to victory at Waterloo, it would be utterly hopeless for him to expect that any considerable portion of them would be inclined to shed their blood in supporting the base, illiberal, boroughmongering principles, so pertinaciously, so very ungratefully maintained by that "Great Captain," who, but for the blood and treasure of the people of this empire, never would have held the position he now occupies, and therefore it ill becomes him to set his face against the people, drawing, as he still does, from them, so many thousands of pounds per annum.

We are not aware that there was any thing remarkable in the character of Andrew Hardie up to the period we have been speaking of. His humane and generous disposition, and his correct moral habits in all respects, are, we believe, acknowledged by every person who knew him; but we must not omit to notice the fact, since it afterwards touched many hearts in his behalf, that his personal appearance was prepossessing in the highest degree. The very amiability of his character made him fall the more easily into the hands of the unprincipled men who afterwards betrayed him "for state purposes."

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It was charged against the government of Lord Liverpool, in the year 1819-20, and never attempted to be seriously denied by the active members of it-Sidmouth and Castlereagh, that that government actually took into its employment wretches, we cannot call them men, answering to the names of Oliver, Edwards, Castles, and Richmond, besides many others of lesser note, to act as spies among the people to incite the people, in various important districts of the country, to acts of sedition, insurrection, or open hostility against the government, and thereby enable the government to impose on the fears or credulity of the nation, and in that way to parry off the loud and urgent demands then made for Parliamentary Reform.

In this city, particularly, who does not remember the noted name of Alexander Richmond- a name that still stinks in the nostrils of every honest Reformer? We shall not go into all his exploits on the present

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