Friday 20 January 2017

20th January 1817: Charles Mundy reports that the suspected Luddite have arrived at Leicester Gaol

Burton January 20th 1817
near Loughborough
Leicestershire

My Lord

I have the Honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordships letter enclosing a copy of the Statement given by James Towle to the High Sheriff for this County for which I beg leave to return my most grateful acknowledgements. It arrived at the same time with the Nottingham Police Officers, who brought Savage, Mitchell, Slater, Amos, Crowther, Withers & Burton taken very directly & quietly in the course of the preceding night at Nottingham, they are all now in the Gaol for this County for further examination.—Coldwell, discribed in Towles narrative as having been a Dragoon, is taken at Tewkesbury, I suppose I may expect him tomorrow or next day. Burton is a very young man, much agitated, & will I doubt not soon confess. I have ordered him to be kept separate from his companions & alone & shall visit him tomorrow. Another confession may be of service as the manifestations of the Luddite system are so various it is not to be expected one person should be able to lay open the whole. Of course I shall take care to make no promises.—Your Lordship may rely on my omitting no opportunity of obtaining information & immediately having the Honour of transmitting it to your Lordship either from the quarter from whence my former information was derived or from any other that seems worthy of credit.—I am sorry to say that the aspect of affairs in this part of the Kingdom wears a very serious appearance & the immense number of persons out of employment & of course in the utmost distress affords an opportunity to the evil disposed which your Lordship is well aware they will not fail to avail themselves of.—

I have the Honour to remain
My Lord
your Lordships most obedient very Humble Servant
C. G. Mundy

[To] The Rt Honble the Secretary of State for the Home Department

This letter can be found at HO 40/3.

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