When, in October 1795, crowds threw refuse at the king and insulted him, demanding a cessation of the war with France and lower bread prices, the Parliament immediately passed the "gagging acts" (the Seditious Meetings Act and the Treasonable Practices Act, also known as the "Two Acts").
In 1795, after prime minister William Pitt the Younger's Gagging Acts (the Treason Act and Seditious Meetings Act) received royal assent, Thelwall's lectures had a shift in theme, from contemporary political comment to the history of Rome in order to dodge censorship.
One of the most famous preachers in the period was John Thelwall, who interpreted the "Two Acts" as a violence against him and his teachings.
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The period between 1790-1800 was one of intense lectures and public speeches in defence of political reformation, which, for the similarities with the French Revolution principles, were usually named "Jacobinic meetings".
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The Seditious Meetings Act 1795 (36 Geo.3 c.8), approved by the British Parliament in November 1795, was the second of the well known "Two Acts" (also known as the "Gagging Acts" or the "Grenville and Pitt Bills"), the other being the Treason Act 1795.
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