The Riot Act - 10/05/03 11:00 PM
When I was small, parents "Read the riot act" to upruly children, meaning "Stop it now, or you're going to get your bottom blistered." Though the origin was never explained to me when I was a kid, I got the idea. The rumpus had to quit.
"The word of command to halt being given, the soldiers formed across the street; the rioters, breathless and exhausted with their late exertions, formed likewise, though in a very irregular and disorderly manner. The commanding officer rode hastily into the open space between the two bodies, accompanied by a magistrate and an officer of the House of Commons, for whose accommodation a couple of troopers had hastily dismounted. The Riot Act was read, but not a man stirred."
The 1715 Riot Act was an attempt to strengthen the power of the civil authorities when threatened with riotous behaviour. The act made it a serious crime for members of a crowd of twelve or more people to refuse to disperse within an hour of being ordered to do so by a magistrate. One of the problems for magistrates was actually reading the Riot Act during a serious disturbance. For example, after the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, most of the demonstrators that were convicted claimed that they had not heard the Riot Act being read. The Riot Act was unsuccessful in controlling a series of disturbances including the 1743 Gin Riots, the 1768 St George's Massacre and the 1780 Gordon Riots.
Which also tells me something I had been wondering about, that the riot described in Barnaby Rudge was an actual historical event.
"The word of command to halt being given, the soldiers formed across the street; the rioters, breathless and exhausted with their late exertions, formed likewise, though in a very irregular and disorderly manner. The commanding officer rode hastily into the open space between the two bodies, accompanied by a magistrate and an officer of the House of Commons, for whose accommodation a couple of troopers had hastily dismounted. The Riot Act was read, but not a man stirred."
The 1715 Riot Act was an attempt to strengthen the power of the civil authorities when threatened with riotous behaviour. The act made it a serious crime for members of a crowd of twelve or more people to refuse to disperse within an hour of being ordered to do so by a magistrate. One of the problems for magistrates was actually reading the Riot Act during a serious disturbance. For example, after the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, most of the demonstrators that were convicted claimed that they had not heard the Riot Act being read. The Riot Act was unsuccessful in controlling a series of disturbances including the 1743 Gin Riots, the 1768 St George's Massacre and the 1780 Gordon Riots.
Which also tells me something I had been wondering about, that the riot described in Barnaby Rudge was an actual historical event.