The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-22 00:00:00

Oltening 51tliCe

.ONDON, SATUR OAT. DECEMBER 22, 1849.

Mr. COBDEN was at home on Tuesday. He met
his constituents on that day at Leeds, the very heart
of the wide-spread manufacturing district of which
he is the chosen representative. It was not merely to
render an account of the manner in which he had dis
charged the important duties confided to his hands
that he addressed the electors of the West Riding.
He had also to receive their assurances of sympathy
and support in the arduous contest upon which he
had entered. He had to take their opinions upon
many points of the moat vital consequence to the
welfare and prosperity of the country, and to receive
the tribute of respect and approbation to which the
faithful and conscientious discharge of his Parliamen-
tary duties entitled him. The subjects brought under
the consideration of the meeting would appear to
have been sufficiently ample to absorb its entire
attention during a single sitting. Financial
and Parliamentary Reform, the Land and Building
Society movement, the cultivation of the spirit of
peace, the reduction of warlike establishments, and
the settlement of international differences by friendly
arbitration, were the topics immediately alluded to in
the resolutions and in the advertisements convening
the assembly. Mr. COBDEN, however, was not con-
tented to restrict his eloquence within such narrow
bounds. He touched upon every one of these
matters, but the greater portion of his oration was
directed not to the encouragement of his friends, but
as a warning to his opponents—not for the promotion
and furtherance of the objects desired by the party of
which he is'one of the leaders, but to deter his adver-
saries from attempting to regain the po3ition they
had lost.

The occasion was one upon which a spirit of
exultation might naturally have been indulged in, a
complete victory had been achieved over an enemy
of no ordinary powers, possessed of no trifling
advantages. A hostile majority not merely in the
hereditary branch of the Legislature, but even among
the representatives of the people, had been compelled
to yield to the pressure from without, and to respect
the voice of public opinion. The great and powerful
party that had sustained the corn-laws, and opposed
the progress of Free-trade doctrines, were broken
and disunited. No rallying-point remained. The
triumph was, indeed, decisive. Under such circum-
stances, it should be enjoyed with moderation, and the
vanquished foe should be treated with respect. But
Mr. COBDEN appears determined not to give the
slightest quarter to his opponents. On Tuesday
evening he returned to his great battle-
field, on which he fleshed his maiden
sword and accomplished feats that shed an undying
glory on his name. Like the Macedonian, he was
intoxicated with his extraordinary success—
" He fought his battles o'er again,
And thrice he' conquered all his foes,
And thrice he slew the slain."
He scalped his fallen enemies, and executed a war-
dance over their prostrate remains. He did not
attempt so much to convince the reason as to excite
the fears of his adversaries. He breathed the lan-
guage of defiance ; threats, and menacc,s, issued from
his lips, in place of sound argument and persuasion.
As if the work in hand, the extension of the suffrage,
and the reduction of expenditure were not sufficient,
he invited and provoked a new contest. fie repudiated
Irish assistance, and flung the whole body of repre-
sentatives from the sister kingdom en masse to the
Protectionists. This was neither just nor wise. He
should not have forgotten that the Irish Brigade
rendered knightly service in the hour of danger, that
they turned the tide of battle in favour of the Free-
traders, and that a large majority are still in favour
of progress and of the full development of free trade
principles. The Hon. Gentleman was, therefore,
ungrateful, as well as ungenerous, in slighting and
despising the aid that proved so beneficial during a