Tuesday 4 April 2017

4th April 1817: Charles Mundy tells the Home Secretary that Thomas Savage is disclosing more information

Private

Burton April 4th 1817

My Lord

Since I had the Honour of addressing your Lordship this morning I have been to the County Gaol at Leicester and have had an interview with Thomas Savage at his request. He states that he is intimate with Grosvenor Henson & all the principal malcontents at Nottingham including Frank Ward. he says at the time he was apprehended he was perfectly in possession of the knowledge of where their correspondence might have been got possession of between Grosvenor Henson, Major Cartwright Mr. Dennison and my unfortunately misguided relation Sir Francis Burdett. Many of which letters especially those between the former of the three Gentlemen & Grosvenor Henson go as Savage states to a treasonable extent. he likewise states in general terms that he could give very useful information to Government on all these points. that the object of these people is nothing short of a Revolution & that it is his opinion a strong attempt will be made at it. that many of the persons styled religious missionaries are in fact delegates from seditious associations. He says he thinks Grosvenor Henson equal to the perpetration of any thing that even Robespierre committed.—

Savage is a sensible well educated man talks cleverly & well calculated for a leading man in a committee of working manufacturers.—he has been chiefly a committee man we have no account of him as an executive man in any other outrage that at Loughborough which like all others he says was plannd by Frank Ward. I did not think proper to encourage him too much for fear of raising false hopes in the mind of this poor man. I shall therefore wait your Lordships instructions before I proceed further in talking with him he says it is very possible that the purpose to which he alludes may be removed since he was taken into custody.—as the usual day of execution at Leicester if no alteration takes place would arrive on monday the fourteenth of this month I have thought it best to lose no time in making this communication to your Lordship I therefore avail myself of Captain [Giradot] of the Coldstream Guards who is going to Town to convey this letter to your Lordship as the post has been gone many Hours & there is none tomorrow. thinking it right to lay the contents of this letter before your Lordship though it is probable you may be in possession of all this man can communicate from other quarters.

I have [etc]

C. G. Mundy

[To] The Right Honourable
Lord Sidmouth

This letter can be found at HO 42/163.

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