Tuesday, May 01, 2007

"Those who cannot remember the past...", Dept.

kidd wake sez

"A near-forgotten man, a printer, Kidd Wake spent five years in Gloucester Penitentiary for the crime of yelling "No George! No War!" at King George III in the fall of 1795. His was not the only voice raised against the Mad King on that day or at that time. His Majesty's Government had commenced a ruinous war with France two years earlier which resulted in the suspension of civil liberties, including Habeas Corpus, as well as in famines and increased taxation. As George III proceeded to open Parliament that October day, he was met by demonstrators demanding Bread and Peace and hurling stones at His Royal Carriage. His Majesty's Government responded by passing the Treasonable Practices Bill (which declared the act of merely speaking or writing against the King or Government to be treason) and the Seditious Meetings Bill (which forbade most political meetings)."


And to quote again from Don Jorge, "Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim."

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