Hutton was a Unitarian Minister who offered a prayer at a meeting of the Birmingham Political Union at Newhall Hill, Birmingham on May 16th 1832. News had arrived that morning from London that Earl Grey (1764-1845), the chief advocate of the Reforming Party and of a highly significant Reform Bill, had been recalled to political office. Plans were swiftly put in place to congratulate Thomas Attwood (1783-1856) who had led the agitation in Birmingham on behalf of the Bill and it was estimated that 200,000 people attended the gathering. In his prayer, composed for the moment, Hutton stated, 'We thank thee, the God of all blessings, for delivering us from the bonds of our oppressors, and the designs of designing and bloody-minded men'.