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The Chartists and the Newport Rising The scene is a small back room in the Coach and Horses pub at Blackwood. Outside, the wind howls and the windows rattle as the cold November rain hits the panes of glass. Inside, the room is dimly lit by candles and the strong glow of a coal fire. Around the long oak table are gathered a group of men deep in conversation.
Characters: John Frost: The time has come for action, I tell you. We have tried peaceful ways. We have sent petition after petition to London to put our demands before the government, but each time we have been ignored. The authorities are the ones who have caused this mess. They are the ones who will not listen. They are the ones who have thrown Henry Vincent and our comrades into jail like common criminals. Now we must make them listen. Zephaniah Williams: What is your plan, John? John Frost: To gather the men in the valleys and march on Newport. We will have such a show of force that the authorities will be forced to hand over Vincent and the others. David Davies: We will need guns, pikes, even sticks. We must go back and train our men and wait. M.F. Chartist: This is madness! We will all hang for this night's work. David Davies: Better hang than live a prisoner in this rotten system where a man has to send his little ones down the pit to make ends meet. John Frost: I will lead a body of men from Blackwood. Zephaniah, you will bring men down from Blaina and you William, will lead the men from Pontypool. William? William Jones: Oh, nothing. It's just that this is a very serious step to take. John Frost: You do support us on this William? M.F. Chartist: The only way to change the government's mind is by peaceful discussion. Violence does not solve anything. John Frost: Where have peaceful methods got us? The magistrates think we are weak. That is why they have arrested Henry Vincent. They think that without their leader the Chartists are just rabble. And unless we show our strength, that is what we will be. David Davies: I am David Davies from Abersychan Lodge, for those of you who do not know me. Those of you who do know me will remember that I am an ex-soldier, and I know how to fight this English army. M.F. Chartist: All this talk of an armed rising is not the Chartist way. We have always argued that we are responsible people who have proved, by our peaceful protests, that we deserve the vote and will use it well. John Frost: No one has tried the peaceful ways more than I have. Now I have called you together to ask - will you rise up when I ask you to do what must be done? David Davies: My lodge is 1,600 strong. 1,200 of them are soldiers and the remaining 400 have never handled arms, but I know that we can turn them into fighting men. William Jones: But what if it all goes wrong? The very least we will get in court is transportation to Australia, but more likely we will hang. John Frost: We will not fail. When we rise at Newport it will be a signal to Chartists all over Britain to rise up and overthrow the government. The government will be too busy dealing with other uprisings to be able to send troops to help in Newport. David Davies: And those troops in Newport will not be able to handle my boys. M.F. Chartist: For the last time, see sense! What you are planning is treason and you will cause the deaths of innocent people who are . . . John Frost: Enough! The day of the Moral Force Chartist is over. The government just laugh at us. The time has come to impress them with physical force and that time shall be at Newport. Read the play again before answering the following questions.
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