1815.] Dismissal of Grenville to the End of the War. 99 whether our liberties should lie at the mercy of the House of Commons, an assembly which he described as a part of our fellow-subjects collected together by means which it is not necessary to describe.* The attack was too gross, the challenge too public, to be overlooked. On the 27th of March Mr. Lethbridge introduced the subject to the House. It was delayed by several adjournments, but finally on the 5th of April it was decided, by a majority of thirty-eight, to commit Sir Francis to the Tower. He did not, however, intend to acquiesce quietly in the sentence, but rather to make it the occasion of a great public demonstration. He refused to submit to the warrant, and wrote a letter to the Speaker, denying its legality, and contemptuously protesting against the authority of the House. He barricaded his residence so as to prevent access by the officers, and the sheriff, who for some days was uncertain how to proceed, at last placed the matter in the hands of the law officers of the Crown. The delay was utilized to the utmost by Burdett, and by his admirers and followers. Crowds assembled round the house and kept watch and ward day and night, and noting and tumult were practically unchecked. At last it was decided to take the fortress by storm. A little army comprising cavalry and infantry marched to the aid of the civil authorities, and, a breach being made in one of the area windows, the besiegers gained the citadel. When the victors marched into the presence of the defeated commander, they found him pre- pared to form a fitting subject for a great historical picture. He was seated, expounding to his little son, who stood by his side, the glorious principle of Magna Charta, a copy of which great document he held in his hand. The officers ruthlessly broke up this picturesque family group, and, although Sir Francis refused to submit to anything but actual force, he was at last quietly led downstairs, placed in a carriage, and driven to the Tower.
- The letter, which, with much violence and rhodomontade, contains some able
arguments and some valuable historical precedents, is given entire in the "Annual Register," 1810, and is quoted also in Hansard.
