Rambling Recollections of Chelsea and the Surrounding District as a Village in the Early Part of the Past Century by J. B. Ellenor

Author:J. B. Ellenor [Ellenor, J. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7.—My First Census.

The first census that I can recollect, if all the enumerators had the experience I had, must have been a very incomplete and misleading return. I was asked to take a section of four hundred forms to deliver, get filled up and return, for which I was to receive one guinea, and for every fifty beyond that number two shillings and sixpence, and as I was told it would only take a few hours on the Saturday afternoon to deliver, and the same on the Monday to collect, I thought it was pretty good pay. But never any more! for it took me nearly three weeks to complete, and at least two-thirds of the papers I had to worry out the particulars and fill them up myself as best I could, for the people were very suspicious and had a notion that the government had a sinister motive in getting these returns. One was supposed to be that there was a conscription for the army, and every able-bodied man was to serve, and another was that they were going to introduce passports as they did on the continent, and anything continental at that time was not at all popular.

I recollect the passing of the Reform Bill in ’32, when there was a great illumination, and gangs of men and boys went about breaking the windows of all the houses that were not lit up. Nearly all the windows on one side of Smith Street were broken. The illumination consisted of tallow candles stuck in square lumps of clay, about six in each window. Chelsea has always had a strong radical element, for during the agitation over the Reform Bill, the Unionists had one or two meeting houses. There was one in Leader Street, and another in Doyley Street, and in ’48, the time of the Chartists, one of the sections met on the Chelsea Common and marched with their portion of the partisans to the great meeting on Kennington Common, and returned in procession along the Kennington Road to the Westminster Bridge. Here they were broken up by the police and not allowed to proceed in procession, and the petition was sent on in two four-wheeled cabs. There was great excitement, and it was generally expected that there would be serious rioting. Great precautions were taken, the military were all confined to barracks, and a large number of artillery with their guns from Woolwich were drafted into London overnight, and all the body of local reserve men—old soldiers with pensions—were kept under arms, and 100,000 special constables were sworn in.

The recruiting sergeant in Chelsea on Whitsun and Easter Mondays and during the regatta was very active. There would be two or three smart fellows from the cavalry with one or two young fellows, posing as recruits, for decoys. The artillery sergeant would be in smart blue uniform, and then came the regiments of the line. The decoys for the latter were two or three smartly dressed girls of doubtful character.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.