Note 6 — Chapter XXVI · “I NOW BELONG TO THE PEOPLE OF OLDHAM.”
Reading edition
It appeared, from a petition presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Cobbett, that a policeman, one William Popay, had been acting the part of an amateur spy, by joining several political unions of the time, and had even urged their members to the adoption of violent courses. This discovery, and the debate thereon, produced great excitement at the time; and Popay was, in consequence of the report of the Committee, dismissed from the police force.