# History of the Anti-Corn Law League/Chapter23

CHAPTER XXIII.
DELEGATION TO SIR ROBERT PEEL.
On Monday, the 25th of July, the delegates assembled at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, according to appointment, about eleven o'clock, and, proceeding thence in a body to Downing Street, were immediately introduced to Sir Robert Peel. About one hundred and fifty delegates were present, and a select number, it was arranged, should consecutively lay before the Premier the melancholy state of different districts of the country, and the objects and wishes of the delegation at large. P. A. Taylor, Esq., handed to Sir Robert Peel the following list of the gentlemen who were to address him:—P. A. Taylor, Esq., Mr. Ridgway, from the Potteries; John Brooks, Esq., Manchester; W. Ibbotson, Esq., Sheffield; the Rev. W. Bonner, of Bilston; Laurence Heyworth, Esq., of Liverpool; Saml. Forster, Esq., of Stockport; Edmund Grundy. Esq., of Bury; Mr. Whitehead, of Leeds; and the Rev. W. Lowe, of Forfar. The scene was a deeply impressive one, and must have been remembered by the minister till his dying day. The countenance of every member of the delegation bore indications of grave determination, tempered with the expression which arose from the reflection, that if that appeal was unsuccessful, millions were condemned to unparalleled suffering. The condition of the country was honestly, manfully, declared. The report, which I cannot ​refrain from giving in full, should be read with an imagination of the deep solemnity of the occasion, and the earnest tones of the speakers, of the tears running down the benevolent face of John Brooks, and his broken utterance when he pictured the dying looks of the weavers of Manchester, and his sudden energy when he asked what government was for, if it did not relieve them; and of Mr. Lowe's stern prophet-like and almost inspired denunciation of those who withheld corn from the people.
P. A. Taylor, Esq., said that as chairman of the conference, which had held its meetings in the metropolis during the present month, and which had sought that interview, he had to inform him that it was composed of deputies from all parts of England and Scotland, but principally from the manufacturing districts, and from several towns in the West of England. They had also with them a number of ministers of religion, who had been deputed by their respective congregations to take part in their proceedings. They had likewise delegates from agricultural districts, for though the late appeal made to national charity was declared to be for the relief of the manufacturing population, they were convinced that the pressure of destitution and suffering was not confined to that class, but was quite as severe and crushing upon the agricultural labourer in many parts of the country. They had come together to lay before the public, through the press, and before her Majesty's ministers, through him (Sir Robert Peel), the dreadful and alarming condition of the people in the various parts of the country from whence they were deputed. Had the amount of distress throughout the country remained the same as when the conference was held in London in February last, it was highly probable they should not, at so early a period, have again assembled; but, since that time, distress had gone on increasing, capital had still further been diminished, employment decreased, and trade become more depressed; the ​hope that spring would bring some remission of the evils of which they complained had been most grievously disappointed; and, they now stood before him (Sir R. Peel) without alleviation and without hope. The population was literally perishing by thousands—they were absolutely starving—the patience of the suffering people was nearly exhausted, and a feeling and temper beginning to be manifested which was ominous and dangerous in the highest degree. The deputies were convinced that the time was not far off when they would not be able to provide food for a large proportion of the population around them, nor longer stave off the outbreak and confusion which would inevitably ensue. He believed that on the part of the Anti-Corn-Law League, that that was their last appeal, and their last attempt to avert those evils they so much dreaded. The peace of the country had been hitherto preserved by a last glimmering ray of hope, but when the deputies went back to their constituents, and told them that they had seen the Premier of England, and laid before him their state of wretchedness and misery, and that he gave them no promise and no hope, he (Sir Robert Peel) must be answerable for the consequences as for themselves they would feel they had discharged their duty, and it must then remain with the people to take their own course. They were well aware that with the present government, and with a large party in the legislature, the Anti-Corn-Law League was not in much favour; but there was one thing more to be deprecated by them than its existence, and that was its dissolution; for it seemed to him that nothing was more likely than that, hopeless of obtaining the demands of justice and humanity for an oppressed people by any influence they could exert, or any representations and appeals they could make, that extensive and wealthy and powerful association would cease to urge their own demands, and unite with that still larger class of the community who were striving ​to obtain a thorough reform in the constitution of the House of Commons. He believed a large number, at least, of the League and its friends and supporters, would say they had tried every means in their power, in the present state of the suffrage, to obtain a redress of their grievances, and they had tried them all in vain; they must now join the ranks of those who were struggling for a radical reform in the representation of the people, convinced at length that the rights of humanity and justice could not otherwise be obtained.
Mr. Ridgway stated that he came forward at the request of a populous district, the Staffordshire Potteries, to state their situation and to relate their distresses. He did this with every feeling of respect to the head of her Majesty's government, and under an imperative sense of duty to those who had sent him. The Staffordshire Potteries had long been a rising and prosperous district, but its prosperity was gone, and it was sinking more rapidly than it had been rising. The manufacturers, the support of the population, were losing their trade, and, what was still worse, their capital. The traders and shopkeepers, for want of business, were, many of them, unable to meet their engagements and to maintain their stations and the working classes, an intelligent and industrious class, were suffering under severe and unexampled distress. The manufacturers, unable to sell their goods, were driven to lower their prices, to limit their work, and reduce their wages. The working men had to contend with all this—with a high price of food, and with privations without a ray of hope. Their comforts were gone, their furniture was fast going, their clothes only told the sad difference between past and present days. Yet they had borne their sorrows with a fortitude not more worthy of commendation than of belief. Numbers of them had emigrated to other lands where their manufactures were in demand, and no Corn Laws to oppress them. And, he said it with infinite regret, ​but a sense of duty compelled him to say it, that he had a near and dear relative, a true friend to his country, and a large manufacturer, who had determined that if the Corn Laws and the distress produced by them should continue, he would leave his native land and his valued connections, and transfer his capital and exertions to a distant and happier clime. Nor was it wonderful, when such names as Wedgwood, and other leading houses, indeed his own, and nearly all were suffering, that men should think of escaping the storm, and preserving their property from destruction! The extent of distress in that district was found in the diminished consumption of animal food and other necessaries; in the falling state of markets, and the tolls derived from them; in the increased and increasing amount of poor-rates, and the growing inability to pay them; in the lessened number of those who have been accustomed to take sittings in churches and chapels; and in the falling-off of persons who occupied the free seats, because they had no longer decent clothing to appear in. Yes, and sorry he was to say, the very Sunday-schools were deserted by a great many of the children, because their clothes were threadbare, and their parents unable to replace them. And, said the speaker, I mention with grief, that in a district formerly remarked for its purity, there are to be found females, and not a few, who have resorted to prostitution to preserve themselves from starvation! The colliers, dependent on the manufacturers, are as badly off as the potters; already bodies of them perambulate our streets, and I will not say ask, but demand money or food; the bricklayers, carpenters, and others are without work and the means of subsistence, and it is impossible to foresee the issue, unless the government repeal the Corn Laws, restore the trade, and give employment to the country. The people want work rather than relief, and justice rather than compliments, or even compassion. So far as the manufacturers and the poor-law guardians are ​able, they will do all in their power for them, but as the workhouses are filled the ability will cease; the funds will cease, and unless something be done to find employment and cheaper food, patience will be succeeded by irritation, and a struggle will commence, of which no man can see the extent and consequences. "Sir Robert Peel," continued the speaker, "with the continent we can do little; there the day is past, and our markets are destroyed, it is to be feared, for ever. Let me direct you to the United States of America. There is a boundless market, and a kindred population; let us take their corn as well as their cotton; let us, by free-trade principles, arrest their impending tariff, and secure their confidence and goodwill. If the government does not do its duty and free the people, they will try to free themselves; they feel they are not represented; they are arraying on all hands to demand their rights. A crisis is at the door, and unless Parliament comes forward with the relief that is demanded, and before winter adds its horrors to the existing distress, it will be out of our power to avert the mischief; and on those who have the responsibility will rest the consequences."
Mr. Brooks said he was a calico-printer, upwards of thirty-three years in business, and had for the last twenty-five years been an extensive shipper to nearly all parts of the world; he brought home in exchange for his goods almost every article that could be named, except corn; he had never brought corn, because he could never calculate upon the price; the sliding duty made it impossible for him to bring home corn. He had a large country trade, and employed five commercial travellers; this year he had not done half so much business in the country trade as he had done last year, and was, therefore, obliged to ship to a much greater extent than formerly. There was no demand at home, and he was compelled to get rid of his surplus stock by shipping to markets already overstocked. He instanced Rio, where, two or three years since, eight ​months' credit was given; it was extended to ten, and was then twelve months, and even then uncertain, so that the shipper did not realize his returns for two years; he could not sell the sugar of Rio here, he was obliged to send it to foreign markets. The cost of the raw sugar delivered in Liverpool is 17s. 4d., or 1¾d. per lb.; the duty upon it is 66s. 2d., or 7d. per lb., making 382 per cent, upon the cost of sugar; so that, taking the time occupied in sending out the goods, the credit, and the fact that the sugar must be sold in a foreign market, he (Sir Robert Peel) would perceive that the merchant did not get his return for two years; but if the sugar were allowed to be sold here the returns would be far quicker, and the consumers of sugar would be infinitely benefited. His print works and a flax mill he worked himself. He had also two factories let, and had other property, to the value of £150,000, all dependent upon commerce. Sir Robert Peel would perceive, then, that it was not wonderful he should be earnest upon the subject. Why, he had been obliged, in consequence of the changes in the French tariff, to refit his flax mill with new machinery. The coarse numbers of yarn were, in fact, prohibited from the French market and he was obliged to change his machinery so as to adapt it to fine numbers, with which the tariff did not so much interfere. He was one who subscribed £100 a year to the Anti-Corn-Law League, and it cost him at least £100 more. There were many others did the same. He had agitated the question almost in every part of Lancashire. He was one of the agitators of whom he (Sir R. Peel) complained—one of the most active of them. How could he be otherwise? If the trade of this country were not set free, he should never be able to realize fifty thousand out of his hundred and fifty, so that even as a matter of selfishness he must be an agitator. Everything he had was at stake, and there was no time to be lost about it. But in addition to this, the people were starving. He could ​not forget the workpeople who had raised this capital for him—he had their interest at heart. The power-loom weavers of Manchester called him their father—they were dying of hunger—they had the look of men broken down and driven to their grave by want—they kept coming to him in crowds—they were with him every day—they were getting worse and worse—something must be done for them. The people, thought government would do nothing for them; they could not see what the government was for, or what it was about; the people were starving, and it did not help them. He was a chartist now; he had joined the people, and he would continue to be an agitator till their condition was changed.
Mr. Brooks then handed Sir Robert a paper, showing the depreciation in value of 27 inch printing cloth, which he himself purchased. He bought it in 1834 at 9s. 6d. apiece; he now purchased the same cloth at 4s. 9d. a-piece.
W. Ibbotson, Esq., brought before Sir R. Peel the case of Sheffield. He said that about five-eighths of the Sheffield goods were sent to America, but that our refusal to take grain had well nigh destroyed that great trade. The population was mostly unemployed—they were literally starving, and something must be done for them, and speedily. The increase in the poor's rates was enormous, and still progressing. He believed that the repeal of the Corn Law was the only remedy, and that its adoption would immediately revive the trade and turn the tide in Sheffield.Without it, he was convinced that entire ruin must overtake that ill-fated and suffering town. He implored the government to act in this matter before it was too late.
Mr. Laurence Heyworth, of Liverpool, said that it was supposed that the distress of which they came there to complain was confined to the manufacturing districts, where there was machinery, and to some few trades connected with them; but he could show that the evil attached itself also to the great commercial towns. In the ​great emporium of commerce from which he came, the misery and destitution of the inhabitants generally were nearly as great as in the manufacturing towns. The state of one ward of Liverpool, perhaps the poorest, certainly would bear out that assertion. In the Vauxhall ward there were about 1,400 families last year; and out of that number four hundred had no employment at all, and four hundred more, on an average earned 14d. a week. His only object in coming there was a philanthropic motive of benefiting, if possible, a starving and unemployed population. The trades who were suffering most were those chiefly dependent on the poor, the shoemakers, tailors, and sempstresses. Their business was almost entirely gone, or their wages reduced to the lowest ebb. The poorer classes, from being unemployed, had no money to spend in even the most necessary articles of clothing. The Corn Laws operated most fatally on those trades which were not carried on by machinery. There was evidence of this even in London itself. A master shoe-manufacturer, residing in Southwark, who had employed from 100 to 200 hands per week, told him that in 1812 (before the Corn Laws) he paid his men from £2 10s. to £3 a week, and women from 17s. 6d. to 28s. a week; for the same work he now paid 12s. l0d. and 3s. 9d. Talk of machinery reducing the rate of wages indeed! What machinery was employed in making shirts and shoes? Or where was the steam power applied to the manufacture of trousers and waistcoats? Had wages fallen in any of the manufacturing districts equal to that?
Sir R. Peel (interrupting him) inquired whether the trade of Liverpool had fallen off?
Mr. Heyworth said there was a host of shipping unchartered, and likely to continue so, in the docks.
Sir R. Peel: Has the value of the exports from Liverpool fallen off.
Mr. Heyworth said that it must be evident from what he ​was saying that the quantity of goods used at home must be greatly diminished. Dear bread, in consequence of its being dear, absorbed too much of the wages of the poorer classes to permit a market to be found for the goods exported abroad.
Sir R. Peel: Did I understand you to say that the exports had diminished ?
Mr. Heyworth: The exports must be increased when the consumption at home is diminished.
Mr. Heyworth then handed to Sir R. Peel a pamphlet, entituled, "How does cheap bread produce high wages?" and this by no means decreased the anxious state of trepidation in which the prime minister had hitherto been, which was too evident, notwithstanding his wonderful command both of muscle and countenance.
The Rev. Mr. Bonner, of Bilston, gave a very alarming account of the physical and mental condition of the labouring classes in the iron districts from which he came. He could not say that he stood before the minister as the appointed representative of those who were out of employ and starving, for they had for some time past believed that all applications were hopeless, and that they must take the remedy into their own hands. He had seen the misery created by the want of trade, and had been very reluctantly constrained to leave the duties which he loved, and the people in whose affections he lived, in order to lay their case before those who had the power of granting relief. As a minister of religion, daily forced to witness the demoralizing tendency of the present distress, he earnestly implored her Majesty's government to adopt some prompt and efficient means of relieving the wretchedness which now everywhere abounded—wretchedness which, if suffered to continue, would most inevitably lead to desperation, violence, and insurrection.
Mr. S. Foster said he had been deputed by Stockport to state the distressed state of that borough, having had a ​full acquaintance with it in consequence of his situation as chairman of the board of that union. He (Sir R. Peel) was well acquainted with their distress through the excellent report of the poor law commissioners, in February last. Since that time to the present the distress had continued to increase, and the means of relieving that distress to decrease; the ratepayers were in a very distressed condition, and such was the difficulty of obtaining funds, that some of those the best acquainted with the financial condition of the union could not see how it was possible to raise funds necessary beyond the present quarter; and if the board should be obliged to suspend relief, the consequences would be lamentable. He had had an interview with the poor-law commissioners since he came to town, and he had told them these things. The Mayor of Stockport had stated that he, as the chief magistrate of Stockport, would not hold himself responsible for the peace of the borough if relief was not speedily afforded. He had occupied the situation he held with the view of aiding the poor and poor ratepayers, and should for the present continue to hold it, except the want of funds should cause the operations of the board to cease. The expenses of the poor for three years, ending March, 1841, was £3,100 per year. This year it would, according to present appearances, be upwards of £9,000. The opinion prevailed that he (Sir Robert Peel) could immediately relieve the distress, and if he would only announce his determination to repeal the Provision Laws, that announcement would stay the plague; and it was the opinion of well-informed persons in his neighbourhood that relief would immediately follow. The mills only partially employed would be fully so, and those now standing would soon be at full work—prosperity would gradually increase, and it would cause them speedily to forget their sufferings.
Mr. Edmund Grundy, of Bury, said he regretted the pressing necessity which had given rise to this interview, ​but rejoiced at the opportunity of appearing before an original fellow-townsman, for the purpose of stating the distress and feelings that pervaded the town of Bury. He would not, however, enter into any detail of the wretchedness and distress that existed, further than that Bury, in the beginning of what was called the panic, suffered comparatively little compared with other large towns. Distress, however, had now overtaken them, and poverty and destitution now pervaded the whole mass of the population. The state of the poor-rates would be forcible evidence of this. In 1839, a rate of 10d. in the pound was levied; in 1840, 2s.; and in 1841, 2s. 1d., leaving a debt owing by the township of nearly £3,000. What 1842 might bring forth, time must determine; but he would just state what effect the universal distress was rapidly producing in the minds of the people. He need scarcely state the effect of the present suffering upon the labouring class. That might be inferred from the state of mind which destitution would inevitably produce in every case; but as to the shopkeepers, who are all rapidly hastening to utter ruin, he did not think there were ten amongst them who were not desperate enough to view any movement which the people might make, not only without alarm, but with sympathy and satisfaction. As to his own class, they were rapidly coming to the same conclusion. He was a man who had fought the world with some little success. He had had twelve children—had brought up nine to men and women's estate—his sons could all do for themselves; but let Sir Robert fancy the feelings of a father leaving unmarried daughters behind him, and the little savings of a life progressively diminishing. How could such a man step forward to uphold or support a government which refused to mitigate the sufferings of the people, or obviate the calamities that were now overhanging the nation? They complained that the land, which would grow, under any circumstances, one crop ​a-year, was protected; the funds, too, were protected by the common honesty and great honour of Englishmen; the colonies were protected by the imposition of duties on the productions of other countries. But what protection was given to the toiling artizan, or enterprising and industrious trader? They were left to the pressure of a mass of artificial burdens, as well as to all the accidents and difficulties of natural events; and was it to be expected that, the people were starving, he, or such as he, should not sympathise with any efforts, the most desperate even, that might be resorted to in the hope of relief? The depreciation of property in Bury and the neighbourhood was most appalling. A spinning and weaving establishment, which cost at least £40,000, was lately offered for sale, and only £4,000 bid for it. Another, which five years ago was sold for 33,000, was offered for sale, and not a single bid made for it and one called "The Gig," which Sir Robert Peel would recollect, as his (Sir Robert Peel's) life was in the lease, though he (Mr. Grundy) had thrown it out, believing that his life would not he lengthened by his becoming prime minister, was declared at £15,000, and bought for between £5,000 and £6,000. They believed that he had the power to give them relief; and were he Sir Robert Peel he would do it, without regard to any party.
Sir Robert Peel inquired whether Bury was not under the New Poor Law?
Mr. Grundy said it was.
Sir Robert Peel:What is the extent of the union?
Mr. Grundy named the places included in the union, well known to Sir Robert Peel. The Poor Law was no favourite of his, and he begged leave to call his attention to its effect on the minds of the people. If he were a labouring man, and relief and redress of grievances were refused, he knew the effect it would have on his own mind, and therefore he deemed it unnecessary to describe ​the effect upon theirs. He did not believe there were ten shopkeepers in Bury maintaining themselves by their business. One shopkeeper told him the other day that, out of 168 customers who had entered his shop, they had spent only the miserable sum of between £2 and £3.
Mr. Whitehead, of Leeds, stood before him (Sir Robert Peel) as a shopkeeper of that town, the inhabitants of which, together with those of every other in the West Biding of Yorkshire, were on the brink of ruin. Within the last six months, a great number of the principal shops in Leeds had been closed. Mr. Whitehead was proceeding with details of the wide-spread and awful suffering, when
Sir Robert Peel inquired whether the consumption of tea and sugar had decreased?
Mr. Whitehead believed the consumption of these articles had not been so much affected.
Sir R. Peel: Suppose it should have increased.
Mr. Whitehead said that the food of the poorer classes of the population generally consisted of bread, milk, meat, potatoes, cheese, and butter. The male part of them did not, except when obliged, take tea and coffee. What was used of those articles was of the worst quality and the lowest price, so much so indeed that the revenue was scarcely benefited by the consumption. But another fact might account for an increase, if such there was in the consumption of the two articles to which he (Sir R. Peel) had alluded. The men who still went to the factories had tea and coffee dinners. From the low rate of remuneration, they were reduced to subsist upon those fluids, instead of food of a more substantial kind, and the consequence was that they were becoming extremely haggard and emaciated. Vast numbers of them were dying gradually for want of food. One fact would speak volumes. A mill, which a short tune ago had been worth £50,000 or £60,000, on being sold the other day, fetched only £18,000, and that was considered in the trade too dear. The ​chartists were a powerful body in that district, and such was the state of the public mind, that if there was a movement for the destruction of property and dissolution of social order to-morrow, there were thousands who would not hold up a little finger against them.
The Rev. Mr. Lowe, of Forfar, said he was persuaded (Sir R. Peel) had felt at the details of suffering and misery which had been presented to him. He would not unnecessarily add to that feeling by a renewed reference to those details; he could scarcely trust his own feelings as to what he might say in his presence on a subject so awfully important, and at a crisis so momentous as this. If he (Sir Robert Peel) had the heart of a man, it could not but be touched at the contemplation of the wretchedness, suffering, and want that existed in this country, and which had passed before his mind's eye. If it could have been possible for him to have been ignorant of the real condition of the country, he had now had submitted to him, solemnly, and in the plainest and most faithful manner, the undeniable fact that poverty, starvation, want of employment, and all their consequent and concomitant miseries are at this moment prevailing, increasing, and extending, to a degree unparalleled in the history of our country for centuries past. Without entering into details, he might be permitted to say, in respect to Forfar, from which he came, and its neighbouring towns, that although they had not yet experienced the intensity of suffering which other manufacturing districts were enduring, yet the amount of poverty, want, and wretchedness which prevailed with them were more than sufficient to enlist the energies and call forth the exertions of every man who had a heart to feel and an influence to use, for the amelioration of the condition of his fellow men. Conversant he was with the poor and working classes of Forfar, by mingling with them, visiting them in their houses, endeavouring to comfort them under their deep privations by the solaces of our holy religion, to ​tranquillize their minds under the most exciting circumstances, and procrastinate, if possible, the awful crisis of outbreak, which must and would come, if their sufferings were not speedily relieved. He thus knew their condition well. Their furniture had vanished from their now cheerless homes, piece after piece; their clothes were going in tatters off their backs, and shame and nakedness characterised multitudes of their honest and industrious community. But that was not all. While in this state of starvation and misery, crime and moral degradation must necessarily increase. The rising generation, too, were growing up without the means of education, except in one branch, a most fearful branch of education indeed, in reference to the rulers of our land,—our youth were trained to curse those laws which stood between them and the bounties of heaven in that munificence which God gives them. He was persuaded that he (Sir Robert Peel) could not but feel, standing as he did hi the awfully responsible position of Prime Minister of England, at this crisis. Their youth were trained to hate those oppressors who had enacted, and who maintain those laws by which they are literally starved. They were trained to this by practical parental example and it was not to be wondered at, seeing that this is expressly predicted in that sacred volume which they all hold to be the revealed will of Almighty God to man. "He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him." He did not quote that scripture—a scripture which was being literally fulfilled by starving millions—he did not quote it to harrow up his heart, but, being the truth, he wished it to tell upon his hand, if so be that it might lead him to use that power which was in his hand, in order to avert from himself and his party the predicted imprecations of an almost desperate people. He pleaded only on the ground of justice in the sight of God, that you remove the starvation laws, and redress the just grievances of the people. They solemnly assured him that the patience of ​the starving millions which he (Sir R. Peel) and others had repeatedly and well applauded, and on which they were still vainly calculating, was all but exhausted. Should that delegation break up, and should he cause the prorogation of Parliament without affording efficient relief, or giving them one glimpse of hope, the consequences, ere months passed, would be fearful and tremendous. They believed, and the country too, that he had the power—he could almost say the omnipotent power—to remedy the evils, and prevent the ruin which was at hand; and if he refused or delayed to employ that power, which his place and his position gave him, fearful would be his responsibility, and tremendous his guilt at the bar of Almighty God, at which he and they must soon appear.
The Chairman briefly added some statements relative to the distress in London, which, although not so great as in other places, was still becoming progressively more severe. The number of casual cases relieved by the City of London Union, from the 25th of December, 1838, to June 24th, 1839, was 888, at an expense of 628 6s., and the number of cases from December 25th, 1841, to June 24th, 1842, was 29,648, at an expense of £4,231 3s. Sir R. Peel made the following reply:—"You will be aware, gentlemen, that as these subjects are being debated almost nightly in the House of Commons, I cannot be expected to communicate anything now. I shall, however, take care that the facts and statements you have laid before me are brought before her Majesty's government. I have nothing further to communicate"—then, after a pause, Sir Robert Peel added,—"except to express my deep sympathy in the distresses of the country, and to thank you for the testimony you have borne, which I fear is incontestible."
Sir Robert Peel then withdrew.
On retiring to Herbert's Hotel, Palace Yard, an unanimous vote of thanks was passed to the chairman, for the impressive and yet dignified ​manner in which he had introduced the delegation to Sir Robert Peel.
Other deputations sought and obtained interviews with Sir Robert Peel and his colleagues in office. Public meetings had been held in Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Huddersfield, Halifax, Lancaster, Bury, Bolton, and Salford, and gentlemen had been appointed to proceed to London to represent to ministers the alarming state of the country. No sooner, therefore, had Sir Robert been released from the disagreeable importunities, and the stern warnings of the Conference delegates, than those additional deputies came to disturb the quiet which he evidently sought. He was waited upon, by appointment, on Monday, July 25th, by the following gentlemen Mr. Pawson, mayor of Leeds, Mr. Holdforth, of Leeds; Mr. Alderman Chappell, Mr. Alderman Brooks, and Mr. Robert Gardner, of Manchester; Mr. Ashton and Mr. Brook, of Huddersfield; Mr. Ackroyd, of Halifax; Mr. Biggs, of Leicester; Mr. Henry Ashworth, of Bolton; Mr. J. Walker, of Bury; and Mr. Holland Hoole, of Salford. Sir Robert received them standing, in which position he and they remained during the whole conference, which lasted two hours. The Premier was addressed by Mr. Pawson, Mr. Holdforth, Mr. Chappell, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Walker, Mr. Henry Ashworth, Mr. Brook, Mr. Ashton, and Mr. Ackroyd. At the end of Mr. Ashworth 's very bold and effective speech, the following brief colloquy took place:—
"Sir Robert Peel: You will admit that I have diminished the protection to agriculture more than has ever been done within six months at any rate?
"Mr. Ashworth thought it was only a nominal alteration which had been effected by the Corn Laws; a duty of 13s. had been substituted for 23s., and six feet of water might drown a man as well as six yards. Neither would the tariff be very beneficial to the poor man; out of twenty-two millions of articles that it embraced, sixteen millions were left untouched; and the six millions worth that it did effect would not assist the starving operative. Did the poor man care for French boots and shoes, cosmetics, silks, and perfumery? ​"Sir R. Peel: It is rather shallow to say that the poor do not care for cosmetics. It must be recollected, too, that I have made a great reduction of the duty on the importation of meat.
"Mr. Ashworth said that pork was purchased, at Cincinnati, for 8s. a cwt, whilst Sir .Robert Peel had imposed a duty of 14s.
"Sir Robert Peel 8s., not 14s. I think we had better not discuss the tariff.
"Mr. Ashworth said it was no wonder if we imposed a duty of cent, per cent, upon American pork, that they should impose a duty of 35s. per cent, upon our manufactures.
"Mr. Ashton merely wished to refer to the great emigration that was going on from this country to America. The best, the careful, steady, industrious men, were leaving all the manufactories in England. He thought it was absolutely necessary that the good hands should be kept at home.
"Sir R. Peel: Should you say they went to America to invest what money they had in hand, or to get employed?
"Mr. Ashton: I should say to obtain employment."
Sir Robert's reply to the representations made to him was: "I shall take care to convey the facts which you have stated to the rest of her Majesty's ministers, and to solicit their attention to the subject." The deputation left him with the conviction that he would wait the chance of a good harvest and a revival of trade to allay the existing discontent. From him they proceeded to hold an interview with Lord Stanley, at the Colonial office, not with much hope of effecting anything with the man who, in the previous year, had assisted that under free import the single province of Tamboff, in Russia, would swamp all the wheat growers of England by its enormous annual surplus of wheat. His lordship told them that there was a great variety of conflicting opinions upon the subject. Mr. Chappell said that the whole lay in a nut-shell; one man had goods to dispose of and another had corn to give in exchange for them, and all they wanted was liberty to make the exchange; to which his lordship replied; "Oh, oh, so you say; but I am of a different way of thinking with many of you, and, in the mean time, let each enjoy his own ​opinion." Alas millions had no enjoyment in the opinion that they must continue to starve while food enough was to be had for the product of their labours, and they were forbidden to make the exchange. From the ungracious colonial office the deputation proceeded to Lord Wharncliffe, at the Privy Council office, where, after hearing their case, his lordship said that the distress was acknowledged, but there was a difference of opinion as to the remedy. Mr. Brooks, of Manchester, said he would soon find a remedy, but his lordship begged to be excused, and politely bowed the deputation out of the room.
On the following day, the deputation, with some accession to their number, waited upon Sir James Graham, the Home Secretary. The interview did not tend to impress them with a belief in his honesty of purpose. Mr. Homer, in a report on the number of cotton mills in the district of which Manchester was the chief town, at the close of 1841, had stated that a number of new mills had been erected. This fact, without reference to another fact that new mills were necessary to the use of improved machinery, had been, over and over again, reverted to by the supporters of the corn monopoly, in reply to the complaints of depressed trade but the other part of Mr. Horner's report had been carefully suppressed, namely, that, of 1,164 mills, 139 were working short time, and 138 were not working at all. Nor had there been on the part of those who said that the erection of mills was a proof of prosperity any allusion to a part of Mr. Horner's report, where he said: "If the state of the market were such as to yield a remunerating profit on the produce of those mills they would be in full operation, and would, in that case, give employment to about 25,000 persons more than were then employed." If from a statement, made at the close of 1841, the supporters of monopoly dared to quote only a part, it might well be supposed that they would be shy, in July, 1842, in making allusion to new mills, when so many were standing still, ​and so many hands were unemployed; but Sir James Graham, in utter ignorance or in utter recklessness, and regardless of the replies that had been published, actually reminded the deputation of the mills that had been erected during the previous five years, and requested to know whether several new ones had not been erected in Lancashire, and how that fact, if true, could be consistent with the almost total want of demand alledged to exist. Mr. Chappell said that, admitting that each of those mills were now in full work, which was far from being the case, as many of them had never been completed, and others went no further than the laying down of the foundation, they would only absorb at the rate of 500 persons to each establishment, less than one year's increase of the population, thus leaving the other four years' increase totally unprovided for. Mr. Bright repudiated making the question one of mills, or of Manchester only; distress prevailed more largely where there were no mills. Sir James, driven from that ground of defence, betook himself to another, not more tenable. He said he wished to know, if trade was so bad, how it happened that the consumption of raw cotton, by our manufacturers, was greater during the last six months than during the correspondent period of the previous year? The prompt reply by Mr. Thomas Ashton was, that they were spinning coarser numbers, and consequently consumed a greater quantity of cotton with the same labour and machinery. Mr. Ashworth having alluded to the increased rents and increased comforts of the landowners, Sir James suddenly and rather insolently inquired, whether he was to infer that the labouring classes thought they had some claim to the landlords' estates. Mr. Henry Ashworth, under some emotion, appealed to the deputation whether, in their opinion he had conveyed any such idea, and they all declared that it was utterly impossible that such an impression could have been conveyed by anything he had said. At the close of the interview, which lasted ​two hours, Sir James remarked, in a manner more premonitory than he had any right to assume, even from his high office, that if any serious outbreak were to take place, in one week all the institutions of the country would be broken down, the rights of property sacrificed, and the labouring classes would be the greatest sufferers. Mr. Ashworth said that should such a disaster occur the sound portion of the community might be relied upon, and though the country might endure a severe ordeal, its industrial freedom would eventually be established. Sir J. Graham's fear and Mr. Ashworth's hope were both to be realized.
The deputation proceeded to wait on Lord Ripon and Mr. Gladstone at the Board of Trade. Lord Ripon, allusion having been made to the United States, said that the Americans themselves had a law against the admission of Canadian wheat. "Yes," said Mr. Bright; "and the carriers of that measure quoted our example as a precedent." His lordship declined to discuss the question at length. Mr. Gladstone asked if there was no symptom of improvement in trade, and was told that the distress, so far from being alleviated, was greatly aggravated; and so the conference ended.
It was obvious from these and other indications, that ministers were anxious to have the daily sitting Parliament on the other side Palace Yard soon dissolved. A good harvest, and some revival of trade might possibly stave off demands which were troublesome. But the members of the House of Commons were not allowed to separate without a reiteration of claims on their justice, and further tests of their faithfulness to their trust. On Thursday, 21st of July, Mr. Duncombe moved an address to her Majesty, praying that Parliament should be re-assembled with a view of an alteration of the commerce in corn, if no improvement should take place after the prorogation. He was ably supported by Mr. Brotherton, Mr. Mark Philips, Mr. Cobden, and Mr. T. M. Gibson. On the ​previous day the Manchester Guardian contained an announcement that there was some improvement in trade, much to the astonishment of Manchester people who had experienced none. A London merchant on receiving the paper said: "If Peel had paid a million of money for this account it would not have been misspent." Sir Robert did regard it as a God-send. With the paper in his hand he quoted from it triumphantly; a division was pressed for, and there were 147 against, and 91 for the motion. On the following day, upon the motion that the house should go into a Committee of Supply, Mr, Milner Gibson moved as an amendment, that it should resolve itself into a committee to take the distressed condition of the country into consideration. Mr. Gibson, Dr. Bowring, Sir J. Easthope, Mr. Hume, Mr. Fielden, Mr. Mark Philips, and others, gave fresh proof of the necessity of inquiry, with a view to instant relief. An adjournment was asked for, but Sir Robert Peel, all the other ministers remaining silent, being taunted with this silence, launched out into a bitter invective against the obstruction of public business, which drew upon him a bold reply from Mr. Cobden, who said: "The public business referred to was the voting of the militia estimates, to put down, he supposed, the starving people. He believed they might be better employed in finding them food. If a person had a malice of a fiend he would rejoice at the mode in which they were proceeding. The new Poor Law would not save their estates. Their present policy would create an amount of poverty that would break through stone walls. The people were now lying by the sides of hedges and walls, but when the winter came where would they go? If they were driven from the ditch-sides by the terrors of the bastiles, they would become banditti, or they must be put into the workhouse. Would the right honourable baronet resist the appeals which had been made to him, or would he rather cherish the true interests of the country, and not allow himself to ​be dragged down by a section of the aristocracy? He must take sides, and that instantly; and should he, by doing so, displease his political supporters, there was an answer ready for them. He might say he found the country in distress, and he gave it prosperity; that he found the people starving, and he gave them food; that he found the large capitalists of the country paralyzed, and he made them prosperous." Sir Robert did say something to that effect—four years afterwards. On the 22nd July, 1842, the time was not come for a triumph over a selfish party. It was resolved by the votes of 156 against 64, that the distressed condition of the country should not be taken into consideration.
The Anti-Corn-Law Conference closed its sittings on Monday, August 1st; Parliament was prorogued on the 12th of August. The members of the latter body were released from the business of the nation in time to devote themselves to partridge shooting; the members of the former to carry into effect, in their several localities, the resolution they had passed, "to labour incessantly for the great object of the League—the total and unconditional repeal of the Corn Law, prepared to re-assemble at such time and place as the Council, in Manchester, might determine." They said that Providence had given plenty, but a few men of title and landed estate had opposed their mandate to the will of Heaven, and they asked, "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" A fearful state of things awaited both.