The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-01 00:00:00

T 1 #1 111 ILY 14, LONDON. Yit IT RSDA E 'MN I N G ,

INAUGURATION

FREE TRADE.

THE GRAND BANQUET AT MAN-

CHESTER LAST NIGHT.

The proceedings of last night at Manchester will be for
ever memorable in the annals of political demonstrations,
and must create an interest not confined to the inhabitants
of that city and neighbourhood, but extending to every class
of the population of the British empire. The 31st January
being the day fixed by law for the extinction of the last
shred of protective duties on the importation of foreign corn,
and the consequent abrogation of a system which had long
cramped the energies of our national commerce and industry,
has been looked forward to with interest in every quarter o
the country, but especially in those great seats of trade and
enterprise, which took such an important and influential part
in promoting the great movement which has now reached
its long desired consummation. A preliminary meeting was
held at the League office in Manchester, on Thursday, the
28th of December last, at which it was resolved to celebrate
the final repeal of the corn-laws by a grand public banquet,
to take place at the Free-trade Hall, in the same town, on
Wednesday, the 31st of January. It is now our duty to
lay before our readers an account of the proceedings which
took place on this remarkable occasion, standing perhaps,
for magnitude and interest, alone amidst public celebrations'
The preparations at the Free-trade Hall were on a very-
splendo and costly scale, producing when completed a de-
corative effect of unsurpassed brilliancy and tastefulness.
Flags with rich blazonries and expressive mottoes, tapestries,
floral wreaths, and festoons of evergreen boughs, were dis-
posed about the hall and hung from the pillars in gay pro-
fusion. The long range of tables, neatly covered with white
and -pink cloth, bore a plentiful dessert of fruits and sweet-
meats, with generous wines at the choice of the visitors.
At the back of the platform allotted for the president and
distinguished guests was placed a large white silk flag, with
the emblem of a wheatsheaf worked upon it in gold, and
the words " The League," in large letters, the same which
brought up the rear of the procession held to celebrate the
passing of the Act for the Repeal of the Corn-laws in 1846.
On each side of this giant banner were placed union jacks
and other national flags, the whole being surmounted with
crimson drapery, and the royal standard at each side. At
the lower end of the hall was a large crimson flag having up-
on it the words " Free trade with all the world," on each
side of which were suspended British ensigns. At the top of
each of the pillars supporting the roof was placed a group of
three silk banners, arranged in a very pleasing form, and
bearing appropriate devices (the royal arms, the wheatsheaf,
awl other emblems of the useful arts being conspicuous) and
mottoes, amongst the most remarkable of which were the
following :—" Liberty and progress"—" Peace and plenty,—
" Speed the plough"—" Let us live together in unity '—
" Peace and goodwill to all men"—" God save the Queen"—
" Measures and men"—" Who is he that will harm you, if
ye be followers of that which is good ?"—" Victory to free
trade"—" Retrenchment and reform"—" Prosperity to com-
merce"—" Success to agriculture"—" Repeal of the Naviga-
tion-laws"—" The welfare of the labourer"—" Love thy
neighbour." In front of the gallery, at the lower end,
directly opposite the chairman, were placed three large
and fine mirrors, whose surface reflected the whole of the
picturesque and exciting display presented by the hall and
its crowded array of banqueters, thus doubly enhancing the
charms of the scene, The company were accommodated as
follows :—On the platform, at the four guests' tables, 72 ; at
the eight vice-presidents' tables, 168; at the two reporters'
tables, 24; in the gallery, 700; in the body of the hall,
2,020; making a total of 2,984. In spite of this ample
amount of accommodation, hundreds of intending visitors
were disappointed, and the tickets had borne, for some days,
a considerable wemium ; thus testifying, in the most forcible
way to the interest' with which the occasion was antici-
pated. The refreshments, provided by Mr. Royle, of St.
Mary's-gate, consisted of 2,500 sandwiches, 2,500 veal pies,
1,500 pork pies, 600 mince pies, 2,000 preserved tarts, 600 lbs.
of figs, 600 lbs. of almonds and raisins, 6,000 oranges, 6,000
American apples, 300 lbs. soda biscuit, 600 lbs. Carr's fancy
biscuits, and 600 lbs grapes.
The list of guests who received the honour of an invita-
tion from the committee of management was as follows:
The Right Hon. T. M. Gibson, M.P.; R. Cobden, M.P. ; C.
P. Villiers, Esq., M.P.; J. Bright, M.P. ; A. Henry, M.P. ;
J. Brotherton, M.P.; J. Kershaw, M.P. ; J. B. Smith, M.P. ;
J. Williams, M.P.; A. Anderson, M.P. ' • W. Scholefield,
' M.P. ; M. Wilson, jun., M.P. • Colonel T. P. Thompson,
M P.; C. Hindley, M.P. ; G. Thompson, M.P. ; A. Hastie,
M.P. ; J. A. Hardcastle, M.P. ; T. A. Mitchell, MP. ; J. S.
Trelawny, M.P. ; W. Fagan, M.P. ; J. Reynolds, M.P.; W.
Jackson, M.P.; J. Pilkington, M.P. ; W. S. Crawford, M.P.;
Colonel Salwey, M.P. ; L. Heyworth, M.P. ' • R. Etwall, late
M.P. for Andover; D. R. Ross, late M.P. for Belfast; W.
Williams, late M.P. for Coventry; R. Gardner, late M.P. for
Leicester; Sir J. Walmaley, late M.P. for Leicester; John
Denistoun, late M.P. for Glasgow; B. Escott, late M.P. for
Winchester; George Hope, Fenton Barns, Rev. Thomas
Spencer, the Mayor of Ashton, the Mayor of Salford, the
Mayor of Wakefield, the Mayor of Leicester, the Mayor of
Warrington, the Zlayor of Br4dford, the Mayor of Halifax,
the High Sheriff of Southampton; C. Hill, late Sheriff of
London ; Major-General Briggs, R. H. Greg, Esq , and Elihu
Burritt. _ _ _

G. Wilson, Esq , late president of the Anti-Corn-law
League, occupied the chair.
Upon the platform we observed the following distinguished
and influential gentlemen : —Aldermen Sir G. Armitage,
Mayson, Lockett, Harvey, C. J. S. Walker, and Bradford;
Thomas Ashton, Esq., Hyde ; Joseph Acton, Esq., Wigan ;
Robert Ashton, Hyde; Henry Ashworth, Bolton; Edmund
Ashworth, Esq., Egerton Hall; John Allen, Esq., Warring-
ton ; William Brickhatn; Esq. ; Nathaniel Buckley, Ashton ;
Jacob Bright. Esq.. Rochdale; Thomas Bright, Esq., Roch-
dale; Thomas Bazley, Esq, president of the Chamber of
Commerce • Sir Ralph Plendleburv, Knt., Stockport; Alfred
Reyner, Alton-under-Lvne ; C. -E. Rawlins, Liverpool ; R.
Platt, Stalevbridge; W. H. Petigean ; Peter Rylands, War-
rington ; It Pease, Darlington ' • William Morris, Esq. ;
Robert Munn, Bacup ; J. S. Oreurod ; Salis Schwabe; James
Simpscn, Foxhill Bank; John Walker, Bury • Absalom
Watkin, Esq. ; Peter Whitehead, Rawtenstall ; David
Whitehead, ditto ; Thomas B. Turton, Sheffield ; Town-
end, Esq., barrister-at-law, London; W. Chambers, Edin-
burgh ; F. W. Cobden ; J. T. Crook, Liverpool ; F. Carbutt,
Leeds; John Chadwick, Esq., Eccles; Henry Coppock,
Stockport; Walter Crum, Esq., Glasgow; J. C. Dyer, Bur-
nage ; John Dixon, Carlisle; E. Grundy, Bury; George
Goodman, Leeds ; Samuel Lucas ; N. Lees, Dukinfield ;
Samuel Higgenbottom, Glasgow.
The doors were opened at six o'clock, and the spacious
ball rapidly became fillei—the number of ladies in evening
toilet giving the assemblage a very gay appearance.
Exactly at seven o'clock—
Mr. GEORGE WILSON took the chair, appearing on the
platform, followed by Mr. Cobden, Mr. *right, Mr. Milner
Gibson, Colonel P. Thompson, and the other leading Mem-
bers of the League. Their appearance was hailed by a uni-
versal burst of cheering, from the occupants of the hall, and
" See the conquering hero comes" from the band.
The proceedings were opened by a short prayer, proneunced
by the Rev. Mr. Spencer, of Hinton.
The banquet, which, as we have stated, was composed of
a handsome dessert, having then been done due justice to,
The CHAIRMAN opened the proceedings of the evening by
apologising, in the name of the managing committee, for any
disappointments which might have occurred with respect to
the accommodations and arrangements, one of the worst of
the latter being, he feared, the selection of himself as chair-
man. The Hon. Gentleman continued as follows :—We meet
this evening to celebrate the repeal of the corn-laws.—(Loud
and long-continued applause.) We meet this evening, after
having been united for more than ten years, for the promo-
tion of a great object, to take our leave of that first organisa-
tion which has created one of tbe greatest revolutions in the
policy of the country ever brought about.—(Hear.) We
meet to hail the inauguration cf a better era—an era better,
I hope, for all classes, but especially for that class which is
the greatest of all, and of which the destiny is for its mem-
bers to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.—(Cheers.)
Like all great associations, the League has had its friends and
its enemies. It has often been condemned for sins of which it
was entirely innocent, and it has been occasionally, though
but seldom, praised for benefits which it had no :claim
to have attributed to it.—(Hear, hear.) I am not one of
those who pretend—l am not one of those who beg the ques-
tion, by asking whether, on all occasions, and in every re-
spect the League conducted itself precisely according to the
most approved methods which the very fastidious might
require.—(Hear, hear.) I will not say but that the League
might occasionally have done things, in the course of its
operations, in its farmers' meetings—in its meetings of mi-
nisters of religion—things which a man in his slippers and
morocco wrapper would not quite approve of; I will not say
whether, in distributing its tons of tracts—some of which
were read—some returned unread, and others burned—whe-
ther in getting up and applying its vast subscriptions—its
subscriptions of tens of thousands—of fifties of thousands—
of hundreds of thousands—nay, of a quarter of a million—
I will not, 1 repeat, say, that in reference to these matters
the League did all which some men at head quarters
would be prepared to sanction.—(Hear, hear.) But this I
will say for the League, that, taking it all in all,
when you consider the vast and momentous interests
with which it had to deal—the vast influence which
it had on party—the destruction which it dealt to
the spirit of party—when you consider all which it had to
do—the temptations which presented themselves to it in its
progress—then, gentlemen, I do say that, under all these
circumstances, the League made fewer mistakes, and left
less for its members to reproach themselves with, or to blush
for, than the most sanguine of its supporters could have
reasonably expected.—(Cheers.) I will say, further, too—as
one of those whose duty it was to watch those momentous
operations—l will say, on this 31st of January, 1849, that
from the 12th of March, 1839, the day when the League was

constituted, to the 2d of July, 1846,- when its proceedings
were suspended—that there is no record of its meetings
which we would desire to blot out—no entries in its books,
which we would desire to rescind; while there are few or
any of its public proceedings which we would wish to change.
--(Hear, hear.) The League, of course, did much mischief ;
it disturbed political relations.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.)
It was no party movement. It has, in the minds of many,
many sins to answer for, but it never made merchandise of
itself to any political party.—(Loud cheers.) It has
been charged upon the League, however, that, though it
did much good, it yet did harm, in this, inasmuch as it dis-
placed other questions, and prevented them from progressing
in the public mind—hindering the onward movement of such
subjects as economical reform and extension of the suffrage.
Perhaps to a very small extent such may appear to be the
case, but I doubt if it was so in reality. Indirectly the pro-
gress of the League tended to assist that of every good mea-
sure which the country could desire. With one great pies.
tion, indeed, that of the suffrage, the League fairly grappled.
It had showed bow the suffrage can be extended, without a
new Act of Parliament, and how counties which had from
time immemorial returned members to the old political par-
ties, may declare themselves free, and send a champion to
Parliament, to figh,t, the battle of the people. Thus we found
leaders from amongst our own ranks—we found our Villierses,
our Cobdens, our. Foxes, and our Brights.—(Loud cheers.)
We prepared for a fair stand-up tight.—(Hear.) No man
can charge the League with having ever departed from
its fundamental principle of being a League of the
middle classes.—(Louct cheers.) It would indeed have
been a source of great regret to myself, as well
as to others, if we thought that we had intercepted
for a moment the march of any other great question. But,
of a great n
riT.:lle contrary, it was the League which united all the great
purpose.—
"" together, for the first time in this country's history,
and it showed by doing so that there was no coalition of
party which
couldc for any length of time sustain
the attacks
purpose.—.(Loud
combination, directed for a great national
found, by the experience which
Ten years of experience has
each other for entirely, how reliably, the towns respond to
which we leave as a legacy, as a
good and proper object. And we have
moat 'valuable legacy, to the country, that the cry lint mind

within these four walls will find its responses—will find its
echoes ringing through and agitating the civilised world.—
(Long continued applause.) The lion, Gentleman then
mentioned that apologies had been received from the follow-
ing gentlemen, all of whom were prevented by different un-
avoidable causes from being present—Mr. Fox, Mr. Moffat,
the Hon. Mr. Bonverie, Baron Rothschild, Mr. Brown, M.P.,
the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, Dr. Pye Smith, Dr. Bow-
ring, Mr. Hume, and Mr. Ebenezer Elliot.—(Cheers.) He
had now to request them to fill their glasses while he pro-
posed—" The Queen, may her reign be long, peaceful, pros-
perous, and happy."--(Cheere.)
The toast was:drunk with the usual honours.
The CHAIRMAN then said that the next toast on the list
was the "Health of the free-trade Members of both Houses
of Parliament."—(Loud cheering.) In support of the toast
he would say nothing but this—the merits of the gen-
tlemen in question being as well known to others as to him -
self—that he never knew a question which had been pre-
sented to the HouseofCommons on all occasions with ability
equal to that which had characterised the anti-corn-law agi-
tation.—(Cheers.) • They had present this evening their
friend Mr. Villiers, and he should call on him to return
thanks for tho toast.—( Long-continued cheering.)
Mr. VILLIERS, who was received with long-continued
plaudits, said—l beg to acknowledge with every feeling of
respect and gratitude the cordial welcome 'with which you
have honoured my name, and I beg to offer, on the part of
the Members of the House of Commons, who are
associated in the sentiment just enounced—my warmest
acknowledgments for the honour you have done us.
—(Hear.) I assure you it would have been a matter of
deep regret to me had I been prevented from attending this
evening. There is an appropriateness in this assemblage,
whether I look to the place, or to the purpose, or to the
persons whom I have the honour of addressing. This I
think must be felt by every man who laboured in this cause,
and who does not regret his services. Ladies and gentle-
men, I need not say that I am not one of those penitent
free -traders to whom the Protectionists refer, who are sighing
still for the sliding scale. On the contrary, I am proud of
having taken a prominent part in the late struggle; and I
now feel more assured of the wisdom, the justice, and the
policy of our exertions, than I ever felt 'upon any previous
occasion.—(Hear, hear.) It was ten years ago, when I
first appeared in this town to state to you the
difficulties with which I was encompassed, in my
then single-handed efforts to repeal the corn-laws, and
ntoeead not say yaoutrhaatsslismtauneche imn
more
emgolvaidnlgy tahpopseeadriffioncutlhtiees.
pre-
sent occasion gratefully to acknowledge the extraordinary
r ae.ff)o r tAs
nwd igcehntyl
eomu
nm, made tOOO
lade cnoomt pl
havei sh thatfor
oa
bn
jdo st c(e
Cs shf
eu
el
gotten, even if I had not been reminded of the tact by my
friend the Chairman, that I do now stand in the capital of
that district which conferred upon me the signal mark of
confidence—almost the highest which a man can receive
from his fellow-citizens—of having entrusted to me the
rep4sentation of your interests in Parliament, and coming
as it did from one of the most important constituencies in the
United Kingdom, I shall ever refer to it with proud and
grateful reflections.— (Cheers.) And knowing I now speak
to many of the electors of the South Division of Lancashire,
I hope I may be excused for taking this somewhat
appropriate occasidn of making, what I have long desired
to do, a personal acknowledgment for the honour.—(Loud
cheers.) I cannot but observe that there is a peculiar
propriety in the time that has been chosen for this meet-
ing, for I believe it is the only one, as it is the earliest,
which we have held to celebrate that for which we
have fought—that which we have had in view throughout—
and that which we have invariably refused to compromise.—
(Loud cheers.) For, regarding the corn-law, as we did, to
be one of the greatest blemishes, nay, as one of the greatest
blots which disfigured British legislation—regarding the law
as injurious to all, and its repeal as unjust to none—we con-
sider that the character of the country could hardly be re-
deemed, or the justice of the case satisfied, without the
effacing of that law from the pages of our statutes—(Cheers)
and it is gratifying to think that the hands of the dial will
make but a few revolutions more, before the results of your
toil and the wishes of the country will be fully realised. •
(Cheers.) It is not my fault that you have had to submit
to a sort of transition, or modified form of corn-law fur the
last three years; for true to the instructions I received from
you, and in consistency with the annual motion which I was
entrusted to make —(Clheers)—l did,' previous to the passing
of Sir R. Peel's Bill, propose, as I had done for eight years
before, that all duties on the importation of the necessaries
of life should cease and determine immediatelv.—(Cheers.)
And it is curious to consider the way in which' events have
justified everything that you have done upon the subject for
the thirty months that a modified form of the sliding scale
had been in operation—during fifteen of those months the
law has been suspended altogether. And what is curious
enough, I may mention that a year after I had made my
motion, which was in March, 1846, I happened one night to
come into the House of Commons, and heard the Protec-
tionist member for Dorsetshire (Mr. George Bankes) make
precisely the same motion in March, 1847. What could in-
duce Mr. Bankes to make such a motion it is not for me to
say—whether it was that he had become a convert to the
League, or whether it arose from certain scruples of con-
science, I cannot determine; but I believe the fact was, that
no grain could come into the ports on that occasion.—
(Laughter.) I am not sorry, however, that an interval has
occurred. I am not sorry, because it has given you time
for reflection—time to see yourselves, and to ;.satisfy the
world whether you were right, or whether you have repented
before it is too late of what you have done ; because this is
not a meeting following up the first flash of victory,
when men do not see clearly what they do, and who act in
parties; but it is a meeting held three years afterwards, di-
liberately to consider what has been done or acquired—a
meeting held at a time when disturbances at home and cala-
mities abroad have withheld from us many of the material
advantages which we expected from the measure—at a time,
I say, when the world has been convulsed—when all Europe
has received a shock—when the intelligence of our leaders
has been called in question—when everything, in short, has
been done to shake our faith on this subject. All this has
been done, and the world is curious to know whether the
men who had the power to effect these changes in the com-
mercial policy of the country, are still true to their con-
nexions, and adhere to their principles.—(Cheers.) And
now they see that all those men that rendered such service
to the cause, whether by their munificent contribu-
tions in this district—whether by the consecration of
their talents, or by the sacrifice of their time—are again
assembled on the present occasion, and so met, not
only to express their continued and confirmed satisfaction
with what they have done, but also to express their more
than satisfaction, their utmost gratitude, that events enabled
this question to be carried before it-became the cause of
similar calamities to those which have-befallen other parts
of Europe. They do not offer this as a mere display of con-
sistency and of public spirit, but as a manifesto to the world,
on the part of the men who have been engaged in this
struggle—that they are still of the same mind—that they
bad not changed their opinion—that'they still hold as sacred
the principles of commercial liberty, as they do the principles
of political liberty, or the principles of religious freedom.—
(Loud cheers.) I believe you have accomplished a still
further triumph; for we have so far converted our op-
ponents, that there are not ten sane men in the country
who, if called to the councils of the Crown, would re-
commend the adoption of the syStem of protection, or who
would propose a restriction on the importation of
those necessaries of life which, through your means, have
been abolished.—(Loud cheers.) If I may refer at all to
what has occurred since the Act passed for the abolition of
the law, I believe 'that if Sir Robert Peel had proposed that
the duties should cease on the 10th of April, 1848, instead of
the Ist of February, 1849—1 believe you would have had all
our friends in 17, Old Bond-street, sent down here to cele-
brate its expiration.—(Laughter.) I believe you would
have had all the Protectionists blessing the efforts you have
made, for I never met with any person at that time last
year—so great was then the alarm that we should follow the
example of our neighbours—who did not think it a Godsend
and a blessing that this sore and grievance had been re-
moved. I believe they were ready to have asked my
friend Bright to the Carlton—( Laughter and cheers)—as
a man who had assisted in time to remove the greatest,
and, perhaps, the only excuse for such convulsions oc-
curring here, as had taken place in neighbouring coun
tries.—(Cheers.) If I may venture to account for the
confidence with which you have maintained your opinions
and the impossibility of shaking your faith, I would say it
was because every thing you did was done deliberately;
everything in Sour proceedings was dictated by reason.
Nothing was done in passion—nothing was acquired by
violence, and this furnishes me with a useful hint. It. may
not be an exciting sentiment to utter, but it may supply a
useful hint to this and other countries, that if changes are to
be rendered complete, and changes that will endure, see
that they are practical and just in the first place, and the
next that they are obtained by peaceful means.—(Cheers.) I
think it not only useful to mention this, but it ought 'to
be said to the credit of those whom I address,
that while they wish to bring about changes in
the legislative policy of this country, they are de-
termined to obtain them only by moral means ; that
they will not be satisfied unless they enlighten the judg-
ments of the ignorant, and fairly convert the pr,ejudices of
their opponents; andstherefore I, for one, would admit that,
however much we may deprecate existing evils, however
' much of reform needs still to be accomplished, still it is gra-
tifying to'reflect that we have reached that pitch of civiliza-
tion, that, if a cause is just, it will be advocated perseveringly,
but peacefully, by the removal of prejudices•and the enlight-
enment of opinion, and before such an influence as this,
every power and every Government must give way. I
know it has been said that we were a long time in procur-
ing this act of justice, and that it would be extremely tedious
if we were to go through the same process whenever we
want further reforms. But I say in the first place, that
what appears long in the life of an individual, is short in the
history of a nation ; and I say, in the next place, that
having watched this movement from the first to the last, the
difficulties were such that my wonder is at the accomplish-
ment of so much in so short a time, for it was not
only that we saw a majority in both Houses against
us—it was not only that the powerfal co-operation
of the working-classes was withheld from us—not,
indeed, that the working classes approved of the .corne
law, they were the first that rose against it—but they were
treated with great severity by the Government at that time,
and they determined to agitate for nothing but political
power to themselves. But I beg to say, and the truth ought
to be known, that when the question was first agitated—
when I was the unfortunate person to move this question
year after year in the House—there was something like
apathy in the manufacturing districts, and there was little
sympathy with us in the commercial towns. When, early
in the day, I communed with my friend Cobden on the sub-
ject, I said to him, if we intend to attack the agricultural
gentlemen we must begin at home, and before we throw
stones at the House of Lords, we must be sure that our own
houses at Manchester and Liverpool have no glass windows.
The fact is, that when Mr. Cobden and I began to con-
sult as to the best means of getting rid of this monstrous
system of protection, we found that monoply had
a large family—(Loud laughter)—and though cer-
tainly the corn-laws was the finest child amongst
them, the hope. of the family—(Laughter)—yet
there were some of the younger members of the family
who were as lively, as active, and as tenacious of what they
held as the first-born—(Laughter and cheers)—and no class
of persons whom you could meet displayed more prejudice
in defence of the corn-laws than our old friends the sugar-
hogshead men, the timber merchants, and the shipowners of
England. These _were all friends and • leagued with each
other, and though they might quarrel among themselves now
and then, the moment we appeared they were all in the same
boat directly.--(Cheers..) So that it was not all plain sail-
ing when we first began this agitation; and nothing could
be more true than what my friend Cobden used to say, that
this was not a battle of class against class, but that it was
rather a battle of the intelligent and liberal-minded of all
classes against those who had ignorance, and prejudice,
and interest on their side. It was when Mr. Cobden was
taxing his brain night and day to get rid of this ig-
norance and prejudice, and to obtain a co-operation
among all classes of the community, that he saw
the necessity for an organization of no ordinary kind, and
it is to him and his friends) the formation of the League is
due. He saw that it was not a matter which we could ac-
complish at once; that it was not a thing to be done by
violence, for to the honour of ray friend be it said, he is the
last man to accomplish his purpose by violence.—(Cheers.)
He saw that it was a question of time, and to be brought
about by public discussion, and therefore those who organised
the LOBO said, we aulit rotga UP; tibloot mon Slat wo can

find on our side—we must have the ablest speakers and the
ablest writers—we snust look to the press for the accomplish-
ment of our object, and for these purposes we must ask our
friends who have wealth to contribute to our funds. I
refer particularly to those friends, because I do not think
that justice has been done to them. When I think of
the importance of maintaining this agitation for a series
of years, which could only be carried on through these
means, I think that justice has hardly been done to the mu-
nificence of their contributions,—(Hear).—Speaking in an-
swer to what I have heard said about the long time we
took to accomplish our object because we were quiet, I say
that in the House of Commons it was not a mere question of
right against might; that the agricultural gentlemen were
wise in their generation, and that though they said nothing
which on examination could not be proved to be foolish, yet
they said some things which had great effect at the time.
They said that if food was dear wages would be high, and
people were taken with that sentiment. They said that if
rents were high they would be good customers, and the
tradespeople began to believe that they would get their
bills paid. They said that if rents and wages were high,
faith would be kept with the public creditor. All
these had their effect at the time, and 'it was of
no use to deny them. If we said the people
are poor and bread is dear, we were said to be
a set of grinding capitalists, who were intent upon
pressing the wages of the workmen to the lowest pitch ; and
if we said, if the people are obliged to spend all their money
upon food they cannot purchase clothing, we were told that
it was all the effect of over-production. All these things
were said, and said with effect, and it was a question of time.
We were obliged to depend upon the seasons—we were
obliged to depend upon nature to assist us in proving that
everything they said was false, and everything we said was
true.—(Laughter.) And we were favoured in that respect.
We had bad seasons, and we had good seasons; and the
League, as a sort of body guard, was always on the watch to
enable us to take advantage of every circumstance that oc-
curred to our advantage. About six months before the re-
peal of the law, and after six years of discussion had wrought
a change of opinion in the country, the question began to be,
enne
Peel
rcanonmmd
ei
snn
igz—ja tnahmd a
ett
ws a
Go s
rine
na
hor era
more
ys
awgweaa srcei
oi
tnuhs
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ens -nt
what Ministers would do? Ministers saw, as everybody else
G
the
c .hthe anStai raoßl
tbnhei
f
hardly ever existed—(Cheers)—and It became a curious
question to know what they would do. I shall not easily
forget the impression that was created among the country
gentlemen about six months before the repeal, when Sir
James Graham said to one of his speeches that a high price
of food was, in his opinion, the greatest curse that could
befal a country. He said he had been in power when food
was cheap, and he bad been in power when food was dear,
and he prayed that he might be in power again when there
was a scarcity in the country—that he
,knew the one led td
turbulence and crime, and the other to peace and content-
ment. This sentiment struck directly at the roots of protec-
tive legislation, which said that high prices were good for the
poor; and I shall not soon forget its effect upon the agricul-
tural mind. They said what have we been doing for the last
thirty years? If this is bad, what have we been about with
the corn-law, which was formed for the express purpose of
raising the price of food ? I need not tell you that the famine
did come in Ireland, and that every potato that rotted
there wee a nail in the coffin of the corn-law, and that siy
months after that declaration, the Minister showed all the
country that everything that had been done in a contrary
direction was wrong. I need not tell you that the corn-law
which we had assailed so long was at last strangled by its
very authors. This is not the place to enter into the motives
of those who repealed the corn-laws, but my impression
was—without entering into the quarrels of former periods—
that if those men were convinced the law was wrong, if
they were persuaded that it was injurious to the country—
then I say they acted wisely, honourably, and justly, by
admitting their error and repealing the law.--(Hear, hear,
and great cheering.) I may just refer to the process by
which the law was repealed, in order to show the advantage
that the League was to the country, in discussing and
arguing the question, and because I am satisfied that
but for its organization, it was almost impossible to
have accomplished what you wished in so short a time.
It is not necessary, perhaps, to refer more to the; corn-law.
There is no difference of opinion, I take it, in this assembly.
And as we are, I suppose, on this occasion, rather averse to
pronounce funeral orations—(Hear, and a laugh)—and it is
not usual to say anything against those who are gone, I shall
not refer further to the subject; but I cannot help calling
your attention to what I may term the legacy of the protec-
tive system, as it has been left to us, and in justification of
all that we have done against it.—(Hear, bear.) There was
no argument urged so strongly in favour of the corn-laws, as
that the agriculture of this country could adequately supply
the people, and that we ought not to be dependent upon
foreigners or a supply of grain, That was an argument used
for upwards of 30 years in this country; an argument upon
which the corn-law was introduced was passed, and was recom •
mended and supported afterwards; that our own agriculture
could supply the people adequately,
wish
to be dependent upon foreigners.— and that we ought not
(Hear, hear.) I just
to call your attention to the manner in which this promise
was realised. I wish to show you exactly how far the de-
ficiency extended, and the supply of provisions that actually
was necessary to feed the people of this country. From
June 26, 1846, to January 5, 1849, I have taken from
the official tables published by the authority of the Go-
vernment, that we imported into this country 23,600,000
quarters of wheat.—(Hear, hear.) That is, in two years
and a half we imported 23,600,000 quarters of grain
necessary for the sustenance of the people. This protec-
tive system, that was to be the means of making us per-
fectly independent of foreigners, and providing a perfectly
adequate supply of food for the people, after two
years; and a half left us with a deficiency of 23,600,000
quarters—very nearly 8,000,000 quarters a year, and at a
cost of 53,000,0001. sterling.—(Loud cries of " Hear.") That
was the promise of the corn-law supporters; but now see
what actually happened. During that time we had brought
into the country 581,000 head of cattle, and of provisions
2,716,000 cwts. of flour.—(Hear, hear.) In 1843, I pro-
posed, in the House of Commons, that there should be no
duty at all upon live cattle and provisions, and a division
was taken upon the question. Well, you see we had 581,000
head of live cattle, and 2,716,000 cwts. of flour, from fo-
reigners. That I quote to show how far the promise of the
corn-law was realised in fact, and now that a system does
exist which permits the importation into this country of
large supplies from abroad, you may see not only how far
short we are of an adequate supply, but may learn what In
amount is actually imported into the country which is neces-
sary- as a supply of food. There was another argument I
remember to have heard frequently put forward in the
House of Commons, that if you refuse foreign supplies of
food, you will drive the great mass of the people to feed upon
some inferior kind of food, and if that fail, there will be a
dreadful famine in the country.—( Hear, hear.) I believe it
is within the knowledge of all of us, that in the last thirty
years the people of this country have been resorting to the
use of the potato much more than ever before. In every di-
rection the potato has become more plentiful, and the people
more dependent upon it. There is nothing more clearly
substantiated by the testimony of every writer and speaker
than that the corn-laws drive the people to an inferior kind .
of food, and if that fail they must starve. In 1847, we had
the realization of the prediction. The food of the ;people
failed, and there was one of the most frightful famines
ever heard in the history of this country, or the world
(Hear, hear.) One of the good things this corn-law has
done, was to leave us with a deficiency of nearly 24,000
quarters of grain, and to bring about a famine, by which
the lives of thousands of the people were lost, and which
cost us nearly 10,000,000/. sterling.—(Hear, hear.) Again,
it was said that under a free-trade system, the gold would
leave the country to pay for the food brought into it, and
would go into the pocket of the foreigner. Now we have
imported all this quantity of food, and we have just as
much gold as we know what to do with. What is the
inference? That we paid for all this quantity of food with
manufactures. Surely that was no disadvantage.—(Hear
and a laugh.) Is it not good that if we import food we
should pay for it in manufactures; is it not also good, that, if
we are to pay with manufactures, we should have the raw ma-
terial introduced into this country as cheap as possible?—
(Hear, hear.) How was it we escaped from many of the evils
which the calamity of famine threatened to bring upon us ?
Because the duties formerly imposed upon the most impor-
tant raw materials of our industry, have been very much
reduced, as in the case of timber, and, in some cases,
as those
of cotton and wool, altogether removed. Is it not better,
then, that we should have the raw material brought in at
the lowest cost, instead of being subjected to a protective or
prohibitory duty ?—(Cheers.) These are so many arguments
for the free-trade system"; wherever you turn for them, there is
not one single fact that can be urged against it. They are
working every day against the free-trade system, because
other countries do not receive our goods, These are not facts
they bring against us; they do not tell us what we receive
we pay for—the goods we import, some way or other. When
we find that our imports have greatly increased, the fair
inference is that we pay for what we receive by the ex •
ports of our manufactures. There have been three startling
instances within the last twenty years in which we have re-
duced our duties upon the products of foreign countries,
whilst they have not relaxed the provisions of their restric-
tive system directed against us, yet we find that our exports
to those very countries have largely. increased. I refer to
France, Germany, and the United States. We have been
gradually relaxing our duties on the goods of those coun-
tries, whilst they have not relaxed their duties upon our
important point to
products, yet our exports to those countries have been gra-
dually increasing; and as this is a veryestablish, I will quote a few returns to illustrate my position.
In. 1829 we exported to France goods to the value of
491,331/. ; in 1846 our exports had risen in value to
2,715,9631. To Germany in 1829 we exported goods to the
value of 4,470,0001. ; in 1846 our exports amounted to
6,606,0001.—(Hear, hear.) To the
United States, in 1829,
the value of our exports was 4,800,000/. ; in 1846 it
was 6,Boo,oool.—(Hear, hear.). .None of those countries
have relaxed the heavy duties they" still unwisely, and for
themselves most injuriously, maintain' upon our manufac-
tures ; yet we have increased our exports, and it
is clear that the only way in which we can
pay for them is by our manufactures.—(Hear, hear.)
It is said that our example will have no effect upon the
people of those countries. I deny that ; the presumption is
not supported by facts. The people lately have had a voice
in the Governments of the Continent, and I say, that wher-
ever that has been, they have been decided partizans of free
trade and enemies of restriction. I was upon the Continent
in autumn, and I ascertained that in Germany there was en-
thusiasm for free-trade. I found at Frankfort a collection of
delegates, composed of men of every description of trade,
assembled to press on the Legislature the adoption of a free
commercial system.—(Hear, bear.) A large free-trade
club is duly established in Frankfort, to which sixty of the
members of the Legislature, belong, doing everything
they can to impress upon the Legislature and -the
public ' the adoption of their doctrines; and it is only
within the last few days we have seen published in
the newspapers the reduction of duties recently determined
on by the Zollverein. In France everything concurs
to show free-trade principles have made great progress ;
the feeling in favour of liberal commercial legislation is much
greater in the National Assembly than it was in the old
Chamber of Deputies. The influence of the south of France
nowsincere. that w Wee a leave is more considerable. They now treat with much greater
respect whatever we do. Their doubt before was whether we
were
meeting that you are as firm of the faith as ever.—(Cheers:)
If we wanted evidence of the interest felt in the freedom of
trade, and the triumph of the cause on the Continent, what
could we refer to better than the reception given to my lriaelaws, and they
see the corn
sincere;by this
repealed -
and they will see
Ho-
nourable Friend (Mr. Cobden)? Was not he the champion
of free trade in every country he visited ?—( Hear, hear.)
Was not he received with gratulations and open arms in every
quarter to which he went, because he had contributed to es-
tablish the triumph of free-trade in this country?—(Hear.)
Does any man believe the United States are less well affected
to free-trade because we have repealed the corn-laws? If
any man does, he knows little of what is passing there.
The southern states have ever been in favour of free-trade
and unrestricted intercourse with England, and now there
are the vast north-western states directly interested in ob-
taining the freest communication with our markets, in which
they dispose of the great hulk of their exported products.—
(Hear, hear.) We import their grain, and, under a better
system, each of us might take far more largely from the
other: nobody, then, who knoWs anything of American
notions, although the President is stated to be a Protec-
tionist, can suppose that there is the most distant chance of
the tariff bolpg maintained...v(llmi km.) I may briefly