Truncheon

In 1831 Parliament passed the Special Constables Act which provided additional manpower to the newly created Metropolitan Police. Among the 150,000 special constables sworn in during 1848, was the exiled Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Typically special constables were from privileged social backgrounds. Some were pressured into joining by their peers, others were motivated by romantic patriotism and fear of revolution.

This truncheon was carried by James Mabey, a special constable deployed at the Houses of Parliament on 10 April 1848, the day of the mass Chartist demonstration on Kennington Common. The meeting had been banned by the Home Office. Armed police and soldiers were stationed on the bridges to prevent demonstrators crossing the Thames to march on Parliament.

In the event, the Chartist leader Feargus O' Connor met police commissioner Richard Mayne in a tavern before the demonstration. Mayne informed O' Connor that the police would not attempt to break up the rally if it was peaceful and the procession to Parliament was abandoned. The meeting was attended by some 20,000 Chartist supporters who dispersed peacefully after the speeches. The Chartist petition to enact the 'People's Charter' was delivered to the House of Commons by cab.