Title

'WHO ARE THE CONSPIRATORS?' in The Welshman

Description

This short piece in the Welshman asks

'WHO ARE THE CONSPIRATORS ?

According to the Times there is a strong suspicion that some men of rank are at the bottom of the Rebecca riots. Who are they ? is the general question. To answer this inquiry, and to detect one of the culprits, we have only to refer back to events of great notoriety. Who was it who commenced the resistance to turn- pikes ? Who set the example of war with the gates ? Who was the first to set the toll-taker at defiance ? The distinguished member of Sir Robert Peel's Cabinet, the illustrious statesman, Sir Edward Knatchbull. At the time when he made his stand against the gate we hailed him as a second Hampden but little did we imagine that a rebellion would follow in the train of his example. As in the case of Hampden, the Judges decided against him; but the question was otherwise settled by a people ultimately driven to arms for the assertion of their rights. The resemblance to Hampden fails in the particular of the open part taken in the field, but still stronger are the traces of identity between the great first mover of war with the gates and the actors in the Welsh insurrection. If there has been a leader in petticoats in Carmarthen, has there not been an undoubted old woman in the Cabinet ? But there is stronger evidence of identity. In the last riot some of the leaders, says the report, had their coats turned inside out, a circum- stance which almost conclusively directs suspicion against the Kentish Baronet, who has so lately turned his coat on the Corn-law question.

—Examiner.'

This allegation is almost certainly untrue. However, the truth this does reveal is that many people (both past and present) have suspected that powerful parties had hands in directing the Rebecca riots. For example, prominent solicitor Hugh Williams has often been considered the guiding hand for the riots, despite there being no real evidence connecting him to Rebecca. 

This rather sensationalised source also helps us capture the social atmosphere of the Riots' peak, when opinions about Rebecca flew fast in the air regardless of their credibility.

Further Reading

For more examples of Welsh newspaper coverage of the Rebecca riots, the below digital archive is a great place to look.

https://newspapers.library.wales/home

Particularly, searching the Welshman for 'Rebecca' during the year 1843 provides a buffet of material to chew on.

Contributor

Charles Edwards

Spatial Coverage

South Wales

Creator

The Welshman

License

pdm

Date

4 August 1843

Subject

groups

newspapers

Political

Rebecca

wales

words