The
Habeas Corpus Act passed by Parliament in 1679 guaranteed that a person
detained by the authorities would have to be brought before a court
of law so that the legality of the detention may be examined. In times
of social unrest, Parliament had the power to suspend Habeas Corpus.
William Pitt did this in May 1793 during
the war with France. Parliamentary reformers such as Thomas
Hardy and John Thelwall were imprisoned
as a result of this action.
Habeas Corpus was also suspended in January 1817 after a missile had
been thrown through the glass window of the Prince Regent's coach
on the way to the opening of Parliament. Supporters of parliamentary
reform were blamed for this act of violence and Lord
Liverpool and his government rushed through Parliament the Gagging
Acts. These measures banned meetings of over fifty people and instructed
magistrates to arrest everyone suspected of spreading seditious libel.
The Gagging Acts severely hampered the campaign for parliamentary
reform. However, as soon as Parliament decided to restore Habeas Corpus
in March, 1818, there was an immediate revival in the demands for
universal suffrage.
George Cruikshank,
A Free Born Englishman (1819)
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