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This gang was headed by the notorious John Benett, of Pyt-House, from whom they took the word of command, when to be silent and when to bellow, hoot, hallow, and make all sorts of discordant vulgar noises, such as would have degraded and lowered the character of a horde of drunken prostitutes and pickpockets, in the most abandoned brothel in the universe.

It appears, however, that after he had gone home, about a quarter of a mile, and washed himself and taken his dinner, he, on the same afternoon, walked to Pyt-House, a distance of thirty miles, to inform his master of the awkward and unexpected result of the experiment which he had been making.

It was stuffed with all sorts of falsehoods, and was supported by John Benett, of Pyt-House, in an address to the people, which contained nothing but a violent, dastardly, and unmanly attack upon me, attributing to me all the disturbances that had taken place in London, and roundly asserting that I was the cause of Cashman's being brought to the gallows.

Benett, of Pyt-house, in this county, was let for 400l. a-year; at the present time this farm, the property of Mr. John Benett, of Pyt-house, is let for 1,260l. a-year. Thus it clearly appears in this parish, within the last 30 years, labour has risen from 6s. to 8s. per week, 33 per cent., the quartern loaf from 5d. to 10-1/2d., 105 per cent., the rent of land from 400l. to 1,260l., 212 per cent.

John Oakes, of Bath, who had seen the attack made upon me, was demanding of a ruffian the reason for such outrageous conduct. This ruffian was a fellow of the name of Stone, a game-keeper to Mr. John Benett, of Pyt-House, of Corn-Bill notoriety, one of the present members for the county of Wilts. Stone stood grinning defiance, with a double-barrelled gun, cocked, in his hand.

Amongst the number of these landholders, the most active and the most forward to promote such petitions in Wiltshire and the West of England, was Mr. John Benett, of Pyt-House, near Shaftesbury, the present Member for that county.

The Evidence of JOHN BENETT, Esq. of Pyt-House, voluntarily given lefore the Committee of the House of Lords, in favour of the Corn Bill. You hold a considerable quantity of land in your own hands? I do. What number of acres? I believe upwards of 2000 acres, in various parishes in the western part of Wiltshire, about twelve miles from Warminster. My residence is Pyt-House, in Wiltshire.

I will now put upon record a few questions and answers, extracted from the evidence of the aforesaid John Benett, Esq. of Pyt-House, voluntarily given before the Committee of the House of Lords, in favour of a Corn Bill, which evidence was printed by order of the Right Honourable House: