ABSTRACT
Inspector Clements testified that he had accompanied Robert Tilley in a coach from Busbridge’s stable to Bow street. During the journey Tilley volunteered that he had the truncheon in his pocket to defend himself against the police; the pistol was in case he was attacked by the military. The magistrates then questioned Tilley, who said that he went to the meeting as other men did who wished to redress their grievances. He knew they wished to form a national convention but what this was he didn’t understand. Tilley’s allegations of police violence sound a note familiar at the present day. His artless admissions revealed a standard of intelligence which showed him and his kind as ready dupes for agitators.
