The Victims of Whiggery is a political pamphlet elaborating on the story of George Loveless and the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs', sentenced to transportation in 1834, published after their pardon and return to England. First published by the prominent radical liberal publisher Effingham Wilson, it went through at least eight editions in the late 1830s.
The pamphlet is comprised of three distinct sections: an opening statement by a representative of the 'Central Dorchester Committee', the account by George Loveless, and a report of the 1834 trial. Loveless' contribution is the central focus of the text with the preceding and following sections used to frame and provide context. The structure of "The Victims of Whiggery" and its use of different literary forms is quite typical of the conventional pamphlet format (Cecconi 148-151). Political pamphlets were commonly used in the trade union movement as a inexpensive and effective way of spreading propaganda. In this manner, "The Victims of Whiggery" was by no means a revolutionary text considering the type of publications that emerged during this period. What is unique and most appealing about this pamphlet however, was the circumstances surrounding the sentencing and subsequent pardon of the "Dorchester Labourers" that provide some justification for their political criticism.
The pamphlet opens with a statement from Robert Hartwell, "Hon. Sec. to the Central Dorchester Committee", explaining that this publication is a "memento of Whig hypocrisy and tyranny" and that it "might also be made beneficial in aiding that Fund which is now raising to confer some recompense upon these ill-used men on their return". This section serves to frame Lovelasses experiences in a way as to undermine the Whig government, expressing more overtly political rhetoric than is present throughout the rest of the publication.The opening statement concludes with an expression of the pamphlets sole intent, imploring that the public circulate this material widely: "The Committee, considering that the observations upon transportation, the account of Van Dieman’s Land, together with the general statement of George Loveless, is of great importance to their fellow -workmen, solicit the exertions of their friends, and the public to render tho sale of this pamphlet as extensive as possible".
