On 1st May 1871 there was a lively meeting held at the Temperance Hall in Exeter to support The Permissive Bill that was passing through Parliament. Many working men were in the audience and several of them spoke from the platform. Their concern was with the Licencing Bill which looked fair to restrict the Sunday hours that a man could spend in drinking beer in a public house:
"A young fellow named DARKING, said to be a lumper, then got up on to the platform amid laughter and confusion. He informed the meeting that he was not cast into a wood 'to be brought up in the state us is in now,....I have got a tongue within my jaws to wag and Mr. Jones ha'nt got no more than I have. Us have jaws given us to wag. We ban't ignorant, but I wasn't sent to College to learn my knowledge.
"Gentlemen and ladies, what's the question us has come here about this evening? That's it. I believe 'tis the little bit 'bout public-house shutting up on Sundays....There's deception in those who wear black clothes - (hear, hear). You can say hear hear or not, just as you like, it's no odds to me, 'cause I got to work for my living. But these gentlemen on the platform gets their living by being paid for it, and different to what I does - (A VOICE - Have a drop of beer,, Darkey?) Yes I could drink a glass if I had it. Let the gentlemen shut up their cellars and clubs on Sundays on Northernhay. 'Tis deception. If they gets drunk they haves a cab to take 'em home, but we poor fellars got to go through the streets.'"
The Western Times (2nd May 1871) has done its best to capture the speech of the working man and we can clearly hear the voice of young Darking after a century and a half. He protested that he was not ignorant; he had not been cast into a wood. This phrase is odd and sounds like it might stem from some fireside legend or folk-memory of idiot children raised by beasts. Those who wear black clothes are first and foremost the ministers of religion.. A lumper worked lading and unlading ships.
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