Proceedings of the General Committee of the London Corresponding Society, on the 5th, 12th, and 19th of April, 1798, relative to the resistance of a French invasion. Stated in a letter to a friend: intended to have been inserted in the Morning Chronicle (1798)

This chapter focuses on a work which was composed by a hatter, Richard Hodgson, and some fellow radicals during their confinement in Newgate prison. Published in pamphlet form during May 1798, the Proceedings were originally intended for publication in the Morning Chronicle, however the newspaper rejected the submission. The threat of a French invasion was the focus of a bill, introduced by Henry Dundas into the House of Commons on 27 March 1798 and passed the following week, designed to bolster national defence with various forms of military service. Members of the London Corresponding Society (LCS) wished to clarify the Society’s position in the event of a French invasion, and it was Thomas Evans who suggested, at a General Committee meeting on 5 April 1798, that the LCS forms itself into a volunteer corps to resist an external threat. The proposition proved controversial, with the topic adjourned for discussion at meetings on 12 and 19 April 1798.