ABSTRACT
First published in The Examiner, IV, 17 November 1811, pp. 731–2. On political dinners, see headnote above, p. 93. For Tooke, see Biographical Directory and ‘The Late Mr Horne Tooke’, The Examiner, V, 5 April 1812, pp. 209–11. Thomas Hardy (1752–1832; DNB), cofounder of The London Corresponding Society, which sought parliamentary reform, was arrested in 1794 and tried for high treason along with Tooke, Thomas Holcroft, John Thelwall and eight others; his acquittal prompted a triumphant demonstration in the streets of London. There was an annual dinner to celebrate their victory. The immediate impetus for this piece is a confusion in the press between Leigh Hunt and Henry Hunt, the politician (see The Examiner, V, 19 July 1812, pp. 449–50, and beolw, pp. 249–51); as part of his response, Hunt adds his name to his usual indicator hand at the article’s close.
