Part of a series of posts in which I explore some of the fascinating travel journals which have lain previously unread in the archives as well as my own travel journals which reflect those of my fellow travellers of times gone by. Come with me as I travel beyond the stores and out into the wilds...
At some point I ought to move on from the Log of the Gnat but I also feel that it still has more to give! Every now and then I have to pause and ask myself whether what I am researching actually chimes in with my main interests or whether I am just being side-tracked down a distant rabbit hole. I do think though that I'd like to have a go at exploring further some of the references to the wider world made by eighteen year old William Egerton Garnett Botfield and his father, especially those they make to what were presumably some of the hot news topics of their time, back in 1867.
One reference in particular caught my interest and led me to find out about events with striking parallels to some of the issues I have become personally involved with recently.
The ranting of Beales
"The fields of ripening corn & bussy life of the mining district bore a ready token to the prosperity of the land – the land of liberty, the mistress of the seas, the land we are proud to call our own. Such a scene may well inspire one with confidence in the nation spite the ranting of Beals & the croaking of those who declare we are declining."
[Log of the Gnat p. 5]
I discovered that William was referring to Edmond Beales, who was president of the Reform League at that time and was involved in campaigning for representation of the working classes in parliament [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Beales]. Okay, interesting, so the young William is having a dig at Beales who was at that time pushing for electoral reform. I was under no illusion that I was likely to share the political leanings of someone born into one of the wealthiest families in Shropshire in the mid nineteenth century and William's early digression into a declaration of his nationalistic pride had already given me an inkling of his outlook as a patriotic young man loyal to queen and country.
Interestingly, his father also mentions the "brawling of Beales" but in a statement which appears on the contrary to perhaps applaud his part in bolstering the "Freedom & Liberty of Britain":
"Were the Freedom & Liberty of Britain secured to the descendents [sic] of Mr John Bull by the Brilliancy of Bright & the brawling of Beales."
[Canoe Voyage p.5]
If I have understood Reverend William correctly, the implied answer is yes as his aim was to illustrate, in his own words:
the fact that the mightier movements whether morally, politically, geologically or scientifically have been originated by some simple cause or created thro the zeal or enterprize of some one earnest minded individual.
Well, in fact, to illustrate in a gloriously grandiose way how his decision to purchase four canoes and undertake the canal trip had been sparked by the simple act of reading about the voyage of the Rob Roy Canoe in Mr McGregor's book (but then haven't many grand acts been inspired by the simple reading of a book!).
Could it be that the father was more sympathetic to reform, and to Beales' part in bringing it about, than was the son? If so, we can perhaps imagine the two of them engaging in hearty debates about the politics of the time as they enjoyed their trip together, but that is pure speculation of course.
What particularly piqued my interest was discovering that the great Reform Act of 1867 was largely achieved through direct action, being propelled to success by the sheer numbers getting out on the streets to express the breadth and depth of popular opinion. The Reform League, led by Beales, were able to drum up huge support for two demonstrations in Hyde Park, in 1866 and 1867, both of which were banned by the Government. The first of these assembled at Marble Arch just outside the park, where the police tried to prevent them from entering. However, part of the crowd managed to pull down the railings and get inside and Hyde Park became the scene of three days of "skirmishes" or "riots" as they were described by the press of the time.
Well, okay, this is nothing to do with canoeing or the gentlemanly pursuit of exploring the English countryside which appeared to be so popular in the 1860s. It does, however, have something else to do with me and my world.
Over the past few years I have found myself on numerous occasions at Hyde Park and Marble Arch amongst crowds of protesters trying to do my bit in support of the great cause of our time, rebelling against the deadly inaction of our Government in response to the climate emergency. Finding out about the Hyde Park Rebellions of 1866 and 1867 helps to further illustrate the long link with tradition this form of protest has. There appears to be consensus not only that it was a noble cause, bringing about as it did much needed Electoral Reform, but that the politicians of the time were unlikely to have brought about such reform for many years had that show of public opinion not been made. And today we have so much more need of rapid action, which our politicians and the political systems they are entwined within seem so incapable of providing, whilst at the same time they are attempting to suppress the very right to protest.
In 1866, Beales met with the Home Secretary and offered to persuade the protesters to leave the Park. However, they were back in even greater number the following year with the second great Hyde Park rally taking place on 6 May 1867. This was again banned by the Government but they were unable to stop it taking place due to the massive numbers who showed up, apparently around 200,000 people in total. A large number of special constables had been sworn in with the intention to use violence to break up the demonstration but the Government backed down at the last minute.
The Times reported it as follows:
This great meeting, the threat of holding which in defiance of the Government, and still more the Government preparations to prevent its being held, have kept the metropolis in a state of chronic alarm and agitation for the last month passed off with the quietness and good order of a temperance meeting [although] more than 10,000 men, police and military, were kept ready to move and close in upon the Park yesterday within half an hour. It was a vast assemblage of people, certainly not less than 40,000 to 50,000 people being in the Park. A fair proportion of these belonged to the class popularly known as 'roughs'. These lay about in great groups all over the grass, either fast asleep, playing pitch and toss, or laughing and singing. There were acrobats, cardsharpers, ballad singers without number...
Even though they are described as 'roughs' I'm sure I would feel at home with them and would happily have joined them in the park, with their laughing and singing and laying about on the grass. Sounds very much like the atmosphere I found when I first took the step back in 2019 to go down to London and join thousands of others out on the streets, and on numerous other occasions since when Extinction Rebellion has encouraged us all to do our bit and take this simple but effective action. The media always like to portray protesters as the mob, ruffians and good-for-nothing layabouts but having experienced such protests first-hand I can well imagine the sense of excited anticipation and optimism that would have been experienced, drawn from being amongst thousands of other like-minded people who were finally taking action to bring about the changes they needed to see.
Reverend Williams: Extreme Radical?
In politics he was an extreme radical [a devoted liberal] who advocated free education and the establishment of a federation of British colonies - an idea that perhaps foreshadowed the formation of the British Commonwealth many years later.
In his account of the Garnett Family History writtten in 1910, George Garnett shares his boyhood recollection of the Reverend William Bishton Garnett, saying he was
an extreme radical but otherwise a good fellow, told a story well and gave me, when I was a boy, a 5-pound and 10-pound note.
So what can we glean from Reverend William's own words about his political leanings and views on the wider world? We have already seen from his comments on Beales and the Reform League that he might in fact have been sympathetic to their cause. I have also written about how he brought in reforms at Bunbury School, introducing fees based on what families could afford [see Log of the Gnat - where (let's go!)]. So perhaps we can safely say that he was at least on the right side of progressive reform as far as the voting system and education was concerned.
Before we get too carried way though, I soon discovered from another reference Reverend William makes to contemporary events, that his "extreme radicalism" did not extend to criticism of the violent repression going on in the colonies at that time, although many of his contemporaries were expressing their outrage.
Governor Eyre and the Morant Bay Rebellion
Reverend William commented in his Canoe Voyage log:
The Crews proceeded to the old town of Market Drayton famous for the prowess of the great Lord Clive & now well known for having been the place where Govr. Eyre was brought before the Magistrates on a charge of wilful Murder but Mr Baldwin Leighton & his fellow magistrates steadily & boldly refused to commit upon such a charge a gentleman who to the best of his ability had tried to do his duty.
So who was Governor Eyre and in what way had he had justice done to him?
I soon found out that Edward John Eyre had recently been governor of Jamaica. He had become heavily criticised for the draconian measures he used to suppress the local population there, including imposing punishment by flogging of both men and women for stealing food, as well as use of the treadmill. When an uprising came in 1865 Eyre was in charge of brutally suppressing it, ordering in troops to hunt down the rebels. Over four hundred peasants were killed in the reprisals and around six hundred flogged, including pregnant women and children, as well as a thousand houses being burnt down without provocation.
A celebratory letter from one soldier to another recorded “the splendid service” of “shooting every black man who cannot account” satisfactorily for his activity. The colony’s governor had not only authorised brutal force against the areas in disruption, but he had directed sweeping revenge against the communities and individuals who defied his rule.
Eyre authorised the execution of the supposed ringleaders, including George William Gordon, a mixed-race colonial member of the Assembly of Jamaica who had been critical of Eyre's governance. He also got rid of the elected legislature in favour of an appointed one which brought to an abrupt end the growing influence of elected free people of colour. An Act was passed sanctioning martial law as well as an Act of Indemnity covering all acts done to suppress rebellion.
The violent suppression and large-scale executions caused an outrage and stirred fierce debate in England and resulted in demands for Eyre to be arrested and tried for mass murder and more specifically for the murder of Gordon. Edmond Beales as well as Charles Darwin were among the names on the Jamaica Committee which demanded his prosecution. The barrister travelled to Market Drayton asking the Justices there to endorse his case against Eyre (an endorsement which had been raised as a requirement in his ealrier trial) but he failed to convince them.
These events are recognised as the most severe suppression of unrest in the history of the British West Indes, exceeding even incidents during slavery years [for this and other references to the rebellion see Morant Bay rebellion - Wikipedia and Edward John Eyre - Wikipedia]
However it was Reverend William's view that the magistrates of Market Drayton had "steadily & boldly refused to commit upon such a charge a gentleman who to the best of his ability had tried to do his duty."
Well, I guess our fellow canoeist had a little way to go on that side of things. When they stopped off at Market Drayton on their return journey, he couldn't resist another quick quip in his log confirming his stance on the case:
when the crew arrived a good dinner was ready which was treated as was Governor Eyre, that is, it had justice done to it.
Repression and Reform
So the Morant Bay Rebellion, as it was known, as well as the Hyde Park Rebellion would have been prominent news at the time they were making their trip. The fact that both events were referred to by our diarists in their accounts not only gives a wider context to their trip but also gives us an inkling into what their personalities and views on the world might have been. It's been educational for me finding out about these two events, providing on the one hand a shocking example of the systemic brutality of colonialism and suppression of rebellion and on the other an inspiring example of how large-scale protest could bring about radical change when those in charge made the decision to step down rather than give the orders for violent suppression. There appears to be universal agreement that the Reform Act of 1867 which gave working class men electoral representation would not have come about any time soon without the huge show of public support which took place in Hyde Park. Well done those people, with much "laughing and singing" they had fast-forwarded the country to a more representative democracy.
How I would love to travel back in time and discuss the issues of the wider world with the men, and women, of our Decker Hill family. But rounded off, of course, with a friendly canoe trip!
Discover more in my other posts:
Canoe Voyage - take two: find out about my surprise discovery which opened up a whole new perspective on the canoe trip of 1867.
Log of the Gnat - full transcript: travel back in time and read first hand the account of eighteen year old William as he records his excitement at undertaking his first canoe trip, back in the summer of 1867.
Log of the Gnat - who, when, why and how: find out more about William and the rest of the crew, the type of canoes they might have had and what might have spurred them on to undertake their expedition back in the summer of 1867
Log of the Gnat - where (let's go!): discover more about the places our Victorian canoeists visited on their journey and be inspired to follow in their wake...
Journeys past and present: musings of an archivist: find out about how I came to discover the "Log of the Gnat", as well as other travel journals, and how they have intertwined with my own travel adventures.
Loch Shiel Loop by Canoe: read about my own highland expedition in our Old Town Discovery Canoe that inspired me to research the "Log of the Gnat".
Discovery Log - where it all began: join me as I travel back to 2006 when our canoeing adventures began - and we had five to a boat!
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