"'The persons on the waggon then descended with the flags; the constables immediately laid hold of the flags. Some persons attempted resistance, and two were therefore taken up forthwith, and sent to prison. The constables succeeded in getting one of the flags.
"'When the second flag was displayed, it was supposed that it headed Mr. Hunt's procession, and there was a loud huzza, which stopped one of the waggon orators for five minutes.'
"[For all the rest we hold ourselves responsible, as it is our own report of what passed.]."
The _Times_ then gives in detail a report of the meeting, commencing from the arrival of "Orator" Hunt, who read the correspondence between himself and Lord Sidmouth, and said: "The statement of Lord Sidmouth to him was, that neither any King of the House of Brunswick, nor the Prince Regent, since he had attained sovereign power, ever gave any answer to petitions except they came from the Corporation of the City of London, or from the two Universities which had the privilege of being heard, and answered from the throne. 'If I were to carry your present petition to the levée (added his lordship) I should deliver it into his Royal Highness's hand, make my bow, and walk on; and if you, yourself, Mr. Hunt, were to appear, you would do just the same thing; you would deliver your petition, make your bow, and pass on.' This, Gentlemen, is a little more about Court matters than I was aware of before. (Loud laughter and applause.) The meeting had the consolation to think, that, if their petition was not answered by the Prince Regent, it had met with no worse fate than other petitions presented to the House of Hanover since the accession of this family to the throne. (Applause.)
"He expected to have seen this day a deputation from the Soup Committee, for the purpose of returning thanks to this meeting for obtaining the £5,000 which the Prince Regent had granted. (Great applause.) He was convinced that it was owing to the exertions and patriotism of the last assembly in those fields that his Royal Highness was induced to give this pittance: but his Royal Highness had not gone the full length of the requests which had then been made. It was required that he should bestow on the inhabitants of the metropolis £2 or 300,000 out of the Civil List; but, instead of this, what had been done? Some enemy to his country, some corrupt minister had persuaded his Royal Highness to send £5000 out of the Droits of the Admiralty, which properly belonged to the sailors: those droits, the piratical seizing of which had caused so much bloodshed, and the loss of so many British lives."