The Massacre of Peterloo, Manchester, 16th August 1819

The Peterloo Massacre - Manchester 16th August 1819

'The Wild Floweret' - A book of poems by Samuel Collins
SAMUEL COLLINS
The
Bard of Hale Moss
1802 - 1878

Handloom silk weaver;
Veteran of Peterloo;
and Chartist

SHABBY FEBGUS.
TUNE - Yorkshire man in London

I'LL tell you of a mighty man,
Ranting Fergus, Roaring Fergus,
I'll tell you of a mighty Man,
A physical force ranger.
He proves himself a rnighty Mars,
He's cover'd o'er with cuts and scars,
In fighting out the people's wars,
He laughs at death and danger.

Right too rol loo, &c.

Poor little John, dont try it on,
With fighting Fergus, fighting Fergus,
Poor little John, don't try it on,
'Twill never do, do, coercion.
I'll tell you one thing if not two,
At Manchester, once in a row,
He wounded ninety-three I trow,
That's physical exertion.

Right too rol loo, &c.

When Johnny pass'd his gagging bill,
Sleepy Fergus, Drowsy Fergus,
When Johnny passed his gagging bill,
Poor Fergus he were napping.
Just rouse the Lion in a crack,
He'd drive the gagger all aback,
Odd zounds he'd give it paddy whack,
But when 'twere gone, no stopping.

Right too rol loo, &c.

Now comes the People's Charter forth,
Lying Fergus, Lying Fergus,
Now comes the People's Charter forth,
He made strange calculation.
He, frowning daggers, stated that,
Five million names lay signed flat,
They prov'd him false and nail'd poor Pat,
This caus'd its ruination.

Right too rol loo, &c.

I'm serious grown, it must be shown,
Shabby Fergus, Shabby Fergus,
I'm serious grown, it must be shown,
I'll vent my spleen, so here goes.
Fergus avaunt, leave Poor John Bull,
Thy Land Scheme and his empty skull,
He's poor enough, thy pockets full,
So leave us, Lousy Fergus.

Right too rol loo, &c.

"There is no poetical exaggeration in this song. He [Fergus O'Connor] was an M.P. and a proprietor of a newspaper, the Northern Star, in which he published this preposterous nonsense, and worse than this - and large masses of the people swallowed it; he attended Corn Law Repeal meetings wherever held, and endeavoured to thwart and cause confusion - in one of which rows he said he got his wounds, and wounded others so wondrously. When Lord John Russell passed his Irish Coercion Bill it was said the lion was napping and when speaking in the House of Commons upon the People's Charter, he stated that the petition sheet contained five million signatures. His success in filching £70,000 from the pockets of the working classes, and his nefarious attempt and partial success to drain their sick and burial societies to aid his wild pretensions, is fresh in the memory of many."

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