THE STATE OF KENT.
Friday, October 29th, 1830.
DEAR SPECTATOR—In the absence of our friend O'Higgins's in- teresting letters from Belgium, I send you some account of the present aspect of affairs in Kent, which is a little nearer home. Fires are now the, order of the day, or rather of the night ; and no fewer than five took place last night in different parts of the country. The farmers are obliged to employ their labourers, at least those few on whom they can depend, and the country gentlemen-their household servants, in watching during the night their farm-yards and dwelling-houses ; and I myself, while perambulating a small parish in company with a friend, to whom it partly belongs, saw the sky illumined in two opposite quarters at the earns time. This small parish resembled a garrisoned town, for every hundred yards we met a sentinel who challenged us ; and yet it is a parish which is proverbial in the neighbourhood for its excellent management and attention to the comforts of the poor. This state of alarm has endured for the last three weeks ; and all well-disposed people were in the hopes that the lenient sentence passed on the machine. breakers by the Magistrates at the last Quarter-Sessions, would have had the effect of reconciling the minds of the disaffected : but the axe and the torch have been seized with renewed vigour ; and since last Thurs- day week, the destruction of property has been immense. The avowed object of the machine-breakers is to increase the demand for manual labour during the winter months, and they profess to be entirely uncon- nected. with the incendiary class. They went in a body, and effected their purpose openly and with Scarce any care of disguise beyond the darkness of the night ; insomuch that in fact there is scarcely a man who has been a party in these transactions that is not known, and his name in the High Sheriff's memorandums. The ringleaders are known, and warrants have been issued against them. By this time they are in custody. The Magistrates are pledged to inflict the utmost penalty of the law. But it appears the incendiaries work in couples ; throw some chemical preparation on the premises en passant, and then set off to another part of the country. Hitherto not one of these men have been discovered ; they seem to act with so much caution and secrecy, that unless some measure of police is adopted, I fear that when the distress, usually attendant on the severe months, really does commence, we shall have hot work of it. It was at first supposed that these fires originated in private resentment ; they are now too frequent to admit of a doubt but that they are the work of premeditation and concert. In most cases of fire, however, that have hitherto occurred, it appears that those farmers and gentlemen who have rendered themselves obnoxious by their arbitrary conduct towards the poor, have been the sufferers, I was going to say ; but the property destroyed has generally been insured. You shall hear from me again next week.—Yours, W. Hu MPHRE TS.
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