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England History-King's Proclamations Respecting Seditious Meetings 1795
England History-King's Proclamations Respecting Seditious Meetings 1795
delivered to the persons so collected; and divers proceedings were had, tending to create
groundless jealousy and discontent, and to endanger the public peace, and the quiet and safety of
our faithful subjects: and whereas it hath also been represented to us, that divers seditions and
treasonable papers have been lately distributed, tending to excite evil disposed persons to acts,
endangering our royal person. And whereas such proceedings have been following on the day on
which the present session of parliament commenced by acts of tumult and violence, and by
daring and highly criminal outrages, in direct violation of the public peace, to the immediate
danger of our royal person, and to the interruption of our royal person, and to the interruption of
our passage to and from our parliament. And whereas great uneasiness and anxiety hath been
produced in the minds of our faithful subjects, by rumours and apprehensions, that seditious and
lawful assemblies are intended to be held by evil disposed persons; and that such other criminal
practices, as aforesaid, are intended to be repeated: We therefore have thought fit, by and with
the advice of our privy council, to enjoin and require, all justices of the peace, sheriffs, mayors,
bailiffs, constables, and all other our loving subjects throughout our kingdom, to use the utmost
diligence to discourage, prevent, and suppress all seditious and unlawful assemblies: and we do
specially enjoin and command all our loving subjects, who shall have cause to suspect that any
such assemblies are intended to be held in any part of our kingdom, to give the earliest
information thereof to the magistrates of the several districts, within which it shall be suspected
that the same are intended to be held; and if such assemblies shall nevertheless in any case be
actually held, to be aiding and assisting, on being required thereto by the civil magistrate, in
causing persons delivering inflammatory discourses in such assemblies, and other principal
actors therein, to be forthwith apprehended, in order that they may be dealt with according to
law. And we have also thought fit, by and with the advice aforesaid, to enjoin and require all
justices of the peace, sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, constables, and all other our loving subjects,
throughout our kingdom, to be in like manner aiding and assisting in bringing to justice all
persons distributing such seditious and treasonable papers as aforesaid.
Given at our court at St. Jamess the 4th day of November, in the 36th year of our reign.
God Save the King.