The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-21 00:00:00

went on further to say that, if they pressed upon the
farmer, they would compel the landlord to adopt a
cheaper mqiie of cultivation. That may he all very
true; but it appears to me that the gentleman who
farms his own land will be like the man who pleads
his own cause in a court of justice—(Cheers)—have
a fool for his client. The Noble Lord then proceeded
to read several other extracts from the speech of Mr.
Gladstone, and said—We sometimes read—mind you,
I don't hear it, because, at these protection socie-
ties, all is a secret ; but it has been thrown out
that these gentlemen—the manufacturers—have ob-
tained by their manufactures immense wealth.—
(Hear, hear.) They say, here is Mr. Cobden, who
has made his 303,0001. or his 400,0001. by his mills,
but did you ever hear of a farmer doing that ? No;
and the reason was, that they had not a cheap mode
of cultivation.—(Cheers.) I believe, that if this
question was settled, and there was any probable as-
surance of a certainty in the trade of agriculture—
in the trade of raising corn—if there was the same
certainty that existed in the trade of manufactured
goods, that there would be plenty of capital—
(Cheers)—that there would be plenty of money, of
science, and of knowledge, ready to em-
ploy in it—(Hear and cheers)—which was not
put forward now, in consequence of the uncertainty
which the corn-laws occasioned. To put an end to
that uncertainty is, in my opinion, and must be in
that of every thinking man, a very great object.—
(Cheers.) It is because great capital is employed,
directed by great science, knowledge, and attention,
that manufactures have risen in the way they have—
(Cheers)—and I have for one thought that if the
same science, capital, and industry, had been em-
ployed in agriculture, it would have been productive
of the best effects.—(Cheers.) Mr. Gladstone then
went on to say that it was not wise or politic to
change the present law, because it would cause a
violent alteration in the condition of the farmers.
Suppose it does, will it not be the best thing that
could occur at present ?—(Cheers.) Their condition
at the present moment, God knows, is not of the most
envious description.—(Cheers.) The arguments of
Mr. Gladstone put me in mind of a friend of mine
who has a great aversion to railways, because he
says they are subversive of inns, stage-coaches, and
post-horses— (Cheers) —and many a time has
he in travelling been some days on the
road, because he thought that innkeepers and post-
horses ought not to be put a stop to.---(Cheers.) Mr.
Gladstone further stated, that assenting to the mo-
tion of my Hon. Friend, the Member for Stockport,
would displease the farmers and the rural labourers.
—(Cheers.) Has any person present heard of the
state of some of the rural population in Dorsetshire ?
—(Cheers.) If they have, lam sure they will think
that it will not be a great misery to alter their situa-
tion.—(Cheers.) I believe that nothing will be more
beneficial to the agricultural labourer and the farmer
than the repeal of the corn-laws.—(Great cheering.)
I am afraid that I have detained you too long.—
(Cries of " No, no," and " Go on.") Well, I
must detain you a few minutes longer to
state that, for the sake of the agriculturists,
themselves—for their best interests I believe the re-
peal of the corn-laws is necessary—(Cheers)—and
for their sakes I hope that event will soon take place.
—(Cheers.) But there is a reason that weighs with
me:more in expressing that hope, and that is, because I
think the corn-laws and all protecting laws fly in the
face of Providence, and deprive the people of the be-
neficial arrangements made for them by their Creator.
—(Great cheering.) It has been most wisely arranged
by Providence that one country should be supplied by
others with the different necessaries of existence ; it
brings men into amicable relations with each other—
(Cheers)—it prevents hostilities ; and it makes na-
tions feel dependent on each other.—(Great cheering.)
Some countries are united on one continent, while
others are, as England is, separated by the great
waters of the ocean—(Cheers)—the great highway of
cogimerce.—(Cheers.) Now, I have never heard of
any' island where the people were so little informed on
the subject of navigation that they could not use the
vast element of the ocean for the good of themselves
and their fellow .men.—(Cheers.) That vast extent
of water is the means of communication between
different countries and different climes—(Cheers)—
to cultivate friendly intercourse between mankind,
is the design of an all-wise Power, and we counter-
act that if we uphold any duties or laws that deprive
our fellow-creatures of their daily bread.—(Cheers.)
We have now seen an era of peace for nearly thirty
years, and I think it must be apparent to the whole
world, that the feeling of Governments, of nations,
and of mankind is, that war ought to end.—(Great
cheering.) I sincerely believe and hope that that is
the opinion of every nation upon the globe.—
(Cheers.) The Governments throughout the world.
are, I believe, inclined to that opinion—they are dis-
posed to peace and amicable relations with all States.
—(Cheers.) But if Governments were disposed to
encourage war, such is, I believe, the progre:.s of
knowledge among the generality of mankind, that it
would be found a most difficult task, on the part of
any Government, to excite them to wage war.—
(Cheers.) Nothing, I am convinced, is more likely to
produce peace than the free intercourse between
countries ; and that is to be produced mainly
by the total abolition of all protective duties.—
(Great cheering.) It was intended by Providence that
one country should ;be dependent on another—
(Cheers)—and of this I am sure, that nothing is
more calculated to create greater peace throughout
the world than putting an end to all restrictive duties.
—(Cheers.) By doing that, we shall do more to
civilise the lower orders of the people than by any
other course, and will bring about that which must
be the devoted wish of all mankind—" Glory to God
in the onEarl
learth peace and good will towards
men." sat down amidst tremendous
highest,TheNo

cheering.
Mr. LarrimonE, of Whethampstead, Hertford.
shire, a tenant-farmer, was then introduced by the
Noble Chairman, and proceeded to address the meet-
ing. The Noble Lord who had taken the Chair that
evening, had kindly introduced him as a tenant-
farmer, and if they entertained a doubt upon it, he
should be most happy to solve it.—(Cheers.) He
was a farmer by choice, he had adopted it from a
natural bias and inclination.—(Cheers.) He trusted
that as he had adopted that trade from choice, they
would give him credit for not wishing or attempting
to do any thing to injure it.—(Cheers.) He, how-
ever, entertained opinions like the Noble Lord, that
keeping up monopolies, so far from doing good to the
agriculturists injured them in the greatest degree.—
(Cheers.) He was convinced that in promoting the
cause of free trade they were promoting the cause of
agriculture. '1 hey had heard some observations that
had been made by the Noble Lord, upon the answer
of Mr. Gladstone to the speech of Mr. Cobden, and
from that they might see how the question of the
tenant-farmers had been shirked.—(Cheers.) It had
been said, that free trade would displace the present
race of farmers ; he thought there would not be
much harm if it did. But it was further
asserted that they would throw a vast
number of labourers out of employ, if the corn-law
were repealed; his opinion was that the repeal of that
law would give much greater employment and confer
greater blessings on the country.—(Cheers.) He was
sure that a committee of intelligent farmers would
give that verdict.—(Cheers.) Then why was it not
put in force, it might be asked ? Why, because there
was the political part of the case—(Cheers)—and the
farmer had no interest in that.—(Cheers.) They had
no interest in the army and navy promotions.—(Hear,
hear.) As a farmer he held that man as an enemy to
his country who attempted to keep up that line of
demarcation between manufacturers and agricultu-
ralists—(Cheers)—which the protectionists were pro-
moting.—(Cheers.) The Duke of Ricbmond, who was
itt the top of all this, had said that he had all the
farmers and agriculturists with him ; he (Mr. L.)
denied that such was the case._ It might be true,

that the Duke of Richmond had a few with him, but,
with the permission of the meeting, he would analyse
them.---(Cheers.) There was a certain class of
amphibious fanners, land-agents, and auctioneers,
who might be with him.—(Cheers.) There weae
others also he might depend on, but the general
farmer gave that Noble Duke no support—(Loud
cheers)—and he only obtained it from those
who lived in his immediate neighbourhood.—(Hear.)
He wished to secure to the farmers political inde-
pendence; he wished they possessed it.—(Hear,
hear.) But under the Chandos clause of the Reform
Act they could not enjoy it. Would the Noble Duke
of Richmond give them the ballot ? (Cheers.) That
was the question.—(Cheers.) To prove the insince-
rity of the professions of the protection landlord., he
invited the Noble Duke to repeal the 501. tenant-at-
will clause, or give the farmers the means of exer-
cising their votes conscientiously under it. Another
little thing not talked of at these protection meetings,
some of which he had had the pleasure, he would not
was say much about the honour, of attending,
the subject of game. The system of game-laws
in this country did a vast deal of injury to the tenants,
and destroyed a great deal of agricultural produce.
There were thousands of tenant-farmers in this

country who were almost ruined by the game
system. The law itself was based on injustice, it was
founded on a false principle ; it made the game the
private property of the landowner, but it did not
make him liable for the damage done by it to the pro-
perty of his neighbour; all must admit that this was
very unjust.—(Hear, hear.) There was another
law called the law of landlord and tenant ; by it

the property of the first party was clearly recog-
nised by Parliament, denoting the influence of
the landowners in it ; but there was no
law recognising the property of the tenant,
protecting it from injury from game; nor was there
any protection for the conscientious farmer by the
ballot. If that protection were given, he had some
notion that they should get on better. He had some
very strong opinions on that point ; he happened to
have suffered. under olitical persecution. The basis
of politital liberty was the free •exereise of the right

of voting. The political landlords—for there was a
great distinction between them—had endeavoured to
carry out the idea of the monster Caligula, who
wished that the people of Rome had but one neck,
that he might destroy them by one stroke. They
knew that the liberties of the people had but one
neck—the franchise—and they endeavoured to
sever that by one blow.—(Loud cheering.)
The Noble Earl who presided over them that even-
ing, had lately been called on to speak on this sub-
ject. He happened to have a tenant who was
unworthy, if he might say so, of such a landlord.—
(Hear, hear.) This foolish man having some mis-
givings, instead of carrying out his own views, wrote
a letter to the Noble Earl, thus giving him an oppor-
tunity of stating his real feelings- on the question.
The Noble Earl, in his reply to that letter said, " You
will observe that when you give your vote for a
Member of Parliament, you are executing a sacred
trust reposed in you by the Legislature, not for your
personal benefit or advantage, not to indulge any
predilection for one candidate over another, not to
please the landlord, but for the benefit
of the people at large.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
If you, ignorantly, give that vote in a manner not
consistent with their benefit, the fault may rest with
others ; but at the same time, if that ignorance is
wilful, arising from a neglect of the opportunities of
acquiring information, you are not by any means
free from blame."—(Cheers.) These were the views
of the Noble Earl, and he hoped he would never
want a tenant who knew how to respect them and
carry them out.—(Cheers.) He felt this the more
deeply, because he had been told that his own pro-
perty—vested in the soil of another, though
no political contract had been entered into—
was not to be reached by him; he was not
to be permitted to realise that to which justice en-
titled him. Such was the contrast between these tw o
species of landlords. It was necessary that he should
now say a few words as to the present state of the
farmers. _ When he was a boy, an old farmer, an
experienced man, bade him mark him, while he told
him that from his past experience he felt convinced
that if the present corn-laws were continued
for another twenty years, the present race—that was,
the then race—of farmers, with their capital
would be entirely annihilated. In the parish where
this was said, he had recently calculated the number
of those tenants and those farms ; the number of
farms was twenty-one, and in the twenty years those
twenty-one farms had had fifty tenants.—(Hear,
hear.) He had calculated also what had become of
the twenty-nine tenants who had ceased to be so.
Some had gone to their last account, but others
were in the union workhouse; some on the roads, in
a state of miserable dependence, their property de-
stroyed, their hopes blighted, their families
ruined.—(Hear, hear.) As a practical man
he felt convinced that the next three years, under the
present system of protection, would see more changes
than any three years preceding them.—(Hear, hear.)
With these facts before him, facts that nothing could
controvert, if he supported monopoly he must be an
unwise or a dishonest man. If the English farmers
generally understood the system, and continued to
support it, as the Duke of Richmond said they did at
present, he must say they exhibited a suprising fond-
ness for it.
" The beaten spaniel's fondness not more strange."
The abolition of the corn-laws naturally included the
abolition of all feudal privileges, the game-laws, and
other things connected with them. They might
fairly consider the corn-laws as a rent question ;
instead of protecting the farmers, it only annihilated
them, and swept them away from their occupation.
Another point that had been touched on was the posi-
tion of the agricultural labourers. They were told
that the corn-laws were necessary for the sake of the
labourers. Now, if anything could reduce the
labourer to a loser state than he was in at present,
it must bring him very low indeed. It was to him
a melancholy reflection, that in this country the re-
ward obtainable by industry was so small. They
had heard something in this metropolis about the
small price paid for making shirts to the poor women,
who toiled day and night, and yet could scarcely
obtain a miserable subsistence. But in the agricul-
tural districts the poor labourer, with his utmost
exertions, was scarcely able to obtain a sufficiency of
food. He knew cases in which a labourer, with a
family of six children, had to vegetate on 9s. per
week, 2s. 'of which had to be paid for rent, while
poor-rates had actually to be paid out of the
remaining 7s. There was another instance
in which eight persons had to exist on 7s. per
week ; they, might think it almost incredible, but it
was the fact, and he believed that, had it not been for
the sympathy and kindness of those around them,
they must have been lost for want. He should like
to see the Noble Duke, or any Noble Lord who ad-
vocated the bread-tax, go into such a place and take
his tax in kind ; if he could look upon the wretched
and shrunken forms of those children, and the stamp
of anisery that was upon their countenance, it would be
a study for an artist, and he thought would form an
excellent frontispiece to a Protection Hall. He
had often thought—might Heaven forgive him if he
were wrong—that more care was bestowed upon
their horses and dogs than upon their poor.—(Hear,
hear.) Under these circumstances, he did not be-
lieve that any advantage was gained from the poor-
laws by the labourer. He was not making
any charge against the.• farmers for the small-
ness of the wages they paid to the la-
bourer; unless there was a greater demand for
his produce, he could not give a higher rate.
The advantages of a repeal of the corn-laws to the
labourer consisted in this, that the- labourer had no-
thing to do with the prices. His object was only to
obtain a fair proportion of the necessaries of life, and
unless they gave that, all' the party sentiment they
held out to him -was of no avail. He could not help
remarking on the gross hypocrisy of those who ex-
pressed an anxious desire to promote the welfare of
the poor, while at.the same time they lessened their
supply of food. It was in vain they desired their
mental improvement, unless the demands of nature
were first complied with.—(Hear, hear, and cheer-
ing.) In the savage state, men advanced by
slow degrees to civilisation, and from civilisation to
refinement. Men in every state were always cooks
before they were gentlemen.—(Laughter.) With
these convictions, he felt that the only chance of
raising the. condition of the labourer was the total
abolition of all monopolies. There were other features
in this case which ought to have their influence on
the minds of every intelligent man. By the abolition
of all monopolies they were taking the surest means
of promoting a kindly feeling between themselves and
every country in the world, because they were
thereby making all nations in advance of intelligence
feel a mutual dependence and sympathy with each
other, which in time the Government would not be
able to resist. The hostile tariff of America was
caused entirely by the operation of the corn-laws.
Take away this law, and throw open the trade of this
country with America and the whole world, and they
would soon see that the good n rise of :the
American people would cause them to rescind
this obnoxious tariff, and to hold out the
hand of amity to. England. He said that, as a farmer,
he felt that he was much injured by this continual
call for protection. Was an occupation which had
been honoured in all ages—which had been the em-
ployment of a Caesar—which had occupied the leisure
hours of a Cicero—which had engaged the eloquent
pen of a Virgil, a pursuit which had nourished the
mind of thepatriot Cincinnatus, and which, in modern
times, had been the occupation of a Leicester, of a
Spencer—(Cheers)—a Ducie, a Kinnaird, and
many others, was it not an insult to the intelligent
farmers of this country to tell them that their goodly
vessel of British agriculture dared not put to sea save
under the rotten flag of protection—(Cheers)—lest
some paltry bark of competition should board
that stately vessel and make all the crew
prisoners ? He told them as an agriculturist,
that they had resources within themselves
if they would only abolish these monopolies,
give them freedom of trade, unaccompanied by
political degradation ; if they would unshackle them
of their feudal privileges, which crippled and de-
stroyed their energies. He hailed therefore with
delight the intellectual discussions which were con-
tinually taking place within these walls. He con-
gratulated them on their magnificent meetings, which
showed that they wished to promote the interests of
the poor as well as the happiness of the higher classes.
He was confident of the issue of this struggle. If
they allowed the principle to develop itself, provided
it had its roots in nature, it was certain to
wax strong, and bear fruit in due season,
although that time might be a distant one.
There was nothing in agriculture which made him
look with envy on the happiness of another man.
They were all dependent on one another, and it was
their bounden duty to promote feelings of kindness
and good-will, and to cherish them without any dis-
tinction of class, manufacturers or agriculturists. He
would say to them, in the words of his celebrated
namesake, "Be of good cheer, for by that day's dis-
cussion they had so suppressed discord, so crushed
dissensions, and kindled such a flame of brotherly
love, kindly feeling, and universal good. will, as he
trusted, with the blessing of Providence, would never
—never be extinguished."—(Loud cheers.)
The Noble CHAIRMAN then announced, amid loud
and general cheering that Mr. Hunt, another tenant-
farmer, a Quaker, would next address the meeting.
Mr. HUNT came forward and was warmly received.
He said that he did not appear before them on the
present occasion from any conviction that he would
be able to do much service to the cause the League
met weekly to advocate. He came there at the re-
quest of some friends, and was willing to throw in
his humble mite to forward the good cause.—
(Cheers.) He did not intend to trouble them with
many observations, but before he proceeded further he
would state that he was a tenant farmer, and, com-
paratively speaking, but, a poor tenant-farmer.—
(Load cries of "Hear, hear," and renewed;dieering )

Ali he possessed was invested in agriculture, and they
might easily suppose that he would not wilfully do
anything contrary to his own interest.—(Hear, hear.)
He was one of those who believed there were many
mistaken notions as to the utility of agri-
culture.. He compared agriculture and commerce
to a pair of scissors, very good when properly united
together, but when separate nearly useless.—
(Laughter, and cries of " Hear.") And however in
days gone by agriculture might have been of para-
mount importance in the kingdom, he -believed that
state of things had gone by, and although, engaged in
agriculture, he must say that he believed manufac-
tures were now of paramount importance. It was in
the mistaken belief that agriculture was the para-
mount interest, that the corn-laws of 1815 were im-
posed. It was very well known that during the war
it was an easy matter for the farmer to pay rent, and
for the landlord to receive it—(A. laugh)—and
equally clear that the landlords then, as now, formed
a large majority in both Houses of Parliament—that
th y passed the corn-laws with a view of increasing
their own incomes, as they now supported
that law with a view of securing them.—(Hear, hear.)
The inconvenience of the principle which was then
adopted had been, from the first moment of its opera-
tion up to the present moment, productive of the
worst and the most unfair effects. All bad prin-
ciples, all vicious laws, were certain to produce injury:;
and those laws which were passed with a view to
benefit agriculture he sincerely believed were most
injurious to its best interests.—(Hear, hear.) The
landowners of the country had been trusting to these
laws to secure their rents, instead of to improvements
in the system of tillage, and in general management,
and hence had resulted the present state of
things. A great deal had been said about
protection in and out of Parliament, and
Protection Societies had been got up, but his opinion
was that protection was a real injury.—(Hear, hear.)
Let him for a few moments investigate the present
condition of the landed interest of the kingdom, and
particularly with reference to the tenant-farmers.
Why, the landowners, instead of turning their atten-
tion to the improvement of their estates, had trusted
to the corn-laws for their rents, and the farmers
were led away by the delusion that it was by those
laws they would be enabled to make up their rents.
—(Hear, hear.) The consequence was, that the land-
lords held their tenantry in a state of great political
vassalage.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear," and
cheering.) He had been all his life engaged in
the culture of land, and knew the farming class
well, and he declared it as his firm conviction that the
tenant farmers had no political independence, and that
they had scarcely any political sentiments.—(Hear,
hear.) There were high and bright exceptions among
the landowners, as shown in the case of their Noble
Chairman, but, generally speaking, the tenants were
driven hither and thither wherever their landlords
pleased to take them.—(Hear, hear.) Nor had the
farmers derived any pecuniary advantages from the
present system, as might be reasonably expected, in
return for the surrender of their liberties and privi-
leges, which, as reasonable beings, they had a right to
exercise.. No • the condition of the tenant-farmer was
deplorably bad, and he was satisfied that it was not
likely to improve under the restrictive laws now in
force.—(Hear hear.) These laws had another effect
—they lessened the national demand_ for agricultural
labour, and therefore to the agricultural labourer
they were especially injurious.—(Hear, hear.) The
landowners, as Mr. Cobden had justly observed, held
certain old-fashioned notions, which they could not
bear to see any innovation upon. There was yet
another very bad effect of the corn .laws—they
caused a great deal of land to lie in an almost unpro-
ductive state. On his way from Bristol to this city
he had passed by thousands of acres of land,
which, by judicious culture, would be capable
of producing more than twofold what it
did at present In effecting those desirable improve-
ments it was clear that a large demand for labour
would take place, and hundreds would be called into
active and profitable employment who were now
straggling about in starvation and idleness.—(Hear,
hear.) All good farmers knew how much more em-
ployment, permanent and certain employment, tillage
land gave beyond pasture—more than double the
labour and much more than double the produce.
Speaking of the agriculture of the kingdom, as a
whole, he must say, that if the best system of farm-
ing were adopted—he would not exaggerate,
(for he disliked exaggeration)—where one labourer
was at present employed three would then be en-
gaged, not in temporary, but in permanent, profit-
able, and useful labour; and further, the land would
be much more productive, and the net profit would
be vastly greater.—(Hear, and loud cheering.) If
the corn-laws were repealed, a much larger amount
of labour would be called into requisition, for the
landlords were at present unwilling to encourage
agricultural improvement, because of the uncertainty
of the system. The Chancellor of the Exchequer,
had said something about the landlords taking the
farms into their own hands, in the event o
the repeal of the corn-laws. 'Why, to be
sure, some few landlords might do so, but
they would not—they could not, as a class
do so, because they had not the means.—(Cheers.)
Again, farmers would not be willing to throw their
capital, if they possessed it, into, their farms, except
under the protection of long leases.—(Hear, hear.)
But if the corn-laws were repealed, those leases must
be granted, and there would be an end to that system
ofpolitical tyranny so much felt at present.—(Loud
cries of " Hear, hear," and great cheering.) He
would like to show them how things went on under
the present system. The farmer, were the land his own,
might, no 'doubt, under the present system, improve
land; but under the present yearly and uncertain
tenure, how could it be expected that the tenant
would throw his capital, his energy, his hopes, into
his farm, which a conscientious refusal to vote at the
next election, according to the wish of his landlord,
might deprive him of ?—(Hear, hear.) Three or four
thousand pounds, which the farmer employed in
drainage, fencing, &c., on his farm, might be thus
lost to him for ever. The election would come, and
the agent would write a note to him, saying
" The Duke of So-and so, or Mr. So-and-so,
would feel obliged to Mr. -- for- voting
for Mr. So-and-so at the ensuing election."
And if he did not comply with the request he would
receive a notice to quit. So that he must either sub-
mit to the degradation of voting against his con,
science and his interest§, or be turned out of the.farth
in which he had vested his labour and every shilling
he possessed. The granting of leases, which must
take place in the 'event of the repeal of the corn-laws,
was, he believed, a great obstacle to that repeal.—
(Hear, hear.) But let, then, the tenant-farmers ask
the question, " What have we done for ourselves ?"
None of them had got rich—a very large proportion
of them were struggling, enduring great suffer-
ing and privation--(Hear, hear, and cheers)—not-
withstanding this much boa3ted protection. A great
sympathy was lately evinced for the agricultural la-
bourers.—(Hear, hear.) Now, he was for benefiting
the labourer of any description, and he gave -it as
his opinion, that the agricultural labourers were in
great distress—that those among them whoie cir-
cumstances were comfortable resided chiefly in the
vicinity of large towns, and in the neighbourhood of
manufactures ; and those who resided in purely ae.ri-
cultural districts had the lowest wages.—(Hear.)
Why,tthe labourers in Gloucestershire and Dorset-
shire were living far below the usual standard
at union worknouses. In Gloucestershire, hun-
dreds of families were living on seven shillings
a week, and there were districts in Somersetshire
where no more was given ; and the farmer then com-
plained of the frequent petty robberies of their gates
and firming implements, which doubtless arose from
the extreme poverty of the labouring classes. Taking
the average of the kingdom, the expense of maintain-
ing paupers in workhouses was 2s. a week per head,
not including any charge for rent. Now a man and
his wife and four children maintained in a workhouse
would cost 12s. a week; exclusive of rent—add is. 6d.
for rent, it would be 13s. 6d. Had the .agricultural
labourer any such sum to support his family upon ?
(Hear, hear.) He had already pointed out num-
berless instances where the labourer had but 7s.
He had been. lately speaking to one of the Duke of
Beaufort's tenants on the subject of the distress of
the agricultural labourers, but this farmer said,
" Oh, don't talk to me about the distress of the la-
bourer, and about their, not tasting any meat for a
long time ; why there are scores of farmers that can't
get or afford to buy any meat."—(Loud cries. of
" Ileari_hear," and great cheering.) Yet all this was
carried on Under what was called the protective sys-
tem. He believed that farmers would benefit by the
repeal of the corn-laws, from an improved system of
agriculture, which would be founded upon them.—
(Hear.) A few years ago the iron trade in
*cm m outbsbire was very brisk, and the
operatives, being all in full employment, were living
comfortably, and hundreds of capital daily left
Bristol to be sent to the markets in Monmouthshire,
where they were eagerly bought up to supply the
wants of the mechanics—there was a constant de-
mand on the Bristol market. What was the case now?
liVhy, instead of a demand in the Bristol market, the
Monmouthshire farmers were inundating the Bristol
market themselves with that stock, which formerly
was not nearly adequate to the supply of their own.
There was not a third of the meat consumed in that
district at present that there was formerly. It was
urged as an argument against the corn-laws, that a
great deal of land would be thrown out of cultiva-
tion. Now, the Duke of Richmond, and those men
who called themselves the farmers' friends, had
turned out bad prophets on a former occasion, and so
he apprehended they would prove on the present.
The Duke of Richmond said that if the duty on wool
was reduced, we should have no mutton and no sheep-
walks, but that duty was reduced, and the conse-
quence was that the stock of wool had increased, and ,
there was more sheep in the country than there had
e'er been bAre.--;(Hear, hear.) The farmers of I

this country at one -time - petitioned that - the "roe"
leading to this metropolis might not be inn vet
because it would lessen the value of land;
•a'
ased
the roads had been imp i
roved, and with /per;
facilities of communication the value of land had the
creased.—(Hear, hear.) At the last election,
tenant-farmers cried out "No surrender of the
laws," and, under the influence of the landlords,- wt
be
returned a monopolist House of Commn_
believed that no set of men were everso deeelthe
farmers had been six months after the passing,eeot.
last Corn Bill and tariff. If those electors coulaiieved
cise their independent and free voice, he firmly be. 3 Sir
that 99 out of every 100 of them would 'distills 11,
Robert Peel as a bad doctor, and call in alletheerers.)
more skilful physician.— (Laughter and eh
selves
Yet the very men who had confessed them lied
deceived on this question were now rallying,
o
ri
the professed farmers' friends, in the slier ,L. l'orn
cultural Protection Societies.—(Hear.) FOl.
part he rejoiced in the formation of these s'
because he believed that their opponents mu't
,epos
either discuss the question, or confess then to
beaten.—(Hear, hear.) Discussion would ter hoe
o
elicit the very same information 'which woulio,l
been elicited by the Committee of their friend It c
ear,
Cobden, had that Committee been granted—",;, to.
hear.) In the debate which took place upon in: bad
tion, an Hon. Member stated that a Mr. na/t.the
been somewhere and shattered the arguments 0 av,
Anti-Corn-law League. He hoped these protee ht
Societies would let in upon their dark minds the iour b gts
of day. He confessed, however he had d4,,0s
as to their ability to do so. A few weess "via3(l
county meeting was called in , Somersetshir° ~in
though not living in that county, he attendA
order that he might pick up some inforraatioT
more triumphant refutation of the principles e'.„Pd A
tection he had never heard than at that ineeting,rso
more triumphant decision in favour of free trade oy
never made. A few days after a Protection Seetnent
was established in Bristol. From the advertiseveol
and sieturist
calling a meeting for that purpose, he,
brother farmers considered that every agrieu,,,as
had a right to attend and take part in the o"ver,
sion. On applying to the chairman, h,avvectise.
they soon found that such was, not tne di,.
—(Laughter.) Had the question been
cussed, he had no doubt that the in
of those present would have determined to ow,
a society for the protection of agriculture, in, ter,)
nexion with the Anti-Corn-law League.—(Lanc}arh.
With reference to this meeting, the 1.;
lane Express boasted of the attendance of 60' A
mers, in a room which, however it might be erare,,lDter)
would literally hold no morethan 200.—(Laug';eli
While, therefore, he rejoiced in the discussion '4""0-4
would be elicited by means of these Societies, he tee
say, that he thought they themselves were but
inclined to it.—(Hear, hear.) Had the time the
mitted, he would have noticed at :some lengtil.so
arguments brought forward in reference to the l'ene
imposed on agriculturists. He would noticean
point. He did not believe that the farmers pay'
inordinate or unfair proportion of the taxegeet
(Cries of " Hear, hear.") What would be the °Pest
of the remission of a certain portion of the it3lo„ii
Landlords knew very well that they _ coula bich
reasonably expect theafter the expensir rents from. the surpills,w
the farmer produced e of cultviA
and his own maintenance had been provided for' 03
a riding-horse or a shepherd's dog were walltea,coo
a tax was, pail on this account, this tax Inast,olit'
out of the rent, and the landlords very wisely 'aoger
ted the taxes upon riding-horses and shepherds'
loch
knowing that, in point of fact, this would be sehenr.)
augmentation of their own rent.—(Heart vies
From what he had said they would see that "e
o•
opposed to the corn-laws even from interesteeildl:o,
tives, setting apart any higher motive.---;_kpoe
hear.) But he was also opposed to them ve„' We,
he believed them to be immoral and uneqded
laws. He believed they were immoral, as re were
the labouring population; he believed they ex•
inequitable, because they were maintained at IRA
pense of the many for the benefit of the few.
hear.) Rather than live on the wages of the '-vvork.
trious himself, he would doff his coat and go te,ieti
to-morrow.—(Hear, hear.) The religious °"7, ttle,
with which he was connected interfered hut '1
ght
comparatively speaking, with politics. I:Pith:ilk'
this subject ought to be discussed calmly an
‘
rately, apart from 'politics. His creed NOS -N But,
religious, and commercial equality."—(Cheersq.ould
while he disclaimed any political feeling, be.L'l of
candidly avow that he advocated a rer—vvere
these laws from a belief that they , rioa3
injurious to his own interests, that they were 11Vaiti,t.
to the poor,
.and also that they were decidedlY
He wished his brother farmers calmly and oe'di he
rately to inquire into the effect of these laws ; an
tie
hoped that the Anti-Corn-law League woukillt....
lax in its endeavours to enlighten their min7.,00.
(Chees.) If they could only employ a few tacei
practical tenant-farmers as lecturers, he be'tbe
they would do an amount of good, and further de
cause of free trade.. The minds of the farmers:vbe•
already alive on this subject. He had reason t° is
lieve that the effect, of the county ineetu&tbs
Gloucester had been entirely to change ors
opinions of many tenant-farmers, who s 0•
before- opposed to the repeal of the corwletlage.•
The principal element of real power was knowih-eet,
and
dnts
consciences
hiheeenncfaehrsemdwei
crotsna
tlbecomededo. enlightened on this subs
71yHeaswkothldemasktothdeornvvthoabetili
freemen in every sense of the word, and he, iasa
say to them," Remember that he only is a free
whom knowledge on this question makes free. the
Mr. COBDEN then came forward to addles' foe
meeting, and was received with the most -voc)le'pli•
applause, which was continued for upwards 01,11,4
nute. After the cheering had subsided, he said,
thought they would now beat no loss to understs,n- iota
it was that he was refused-a Committee to inqumerere•
the condition of tenant-farmers and farm-10°1%o
(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He came before tt ona
from that other Assembly, as a court of apPeaj;terd
these were his two first witnesses.—(Great taus era
They had heard to-night two speakers who they
they
bona fide real, live farmers.—(Laughter.) 11' Ayes:.
talents as speakers, they must j•udge for them', of
He had had the opportunity of visiting the fatrihs'i
one ; the other gentleman he had not Ye- 31r•
the pleasure of visiting. He had been ovelblre;
Lattiniore's farm', at Whithampstead, in Hertforovid
and he challenged his brother farmers in that e° that
mittoloir.s.llea,yLe
rhatletfvtohirn:edvtosol ihrueeilrrdeh:
was e waso
ne nooft t
h e correctbest practical
t statingios‘ars,sesrsy
Hertfordshire.—(Hear,
undertake hear, and
aayn dm. chheisersp.)resl;aciter:
that on his farm he produced in a years °II 00
average, one-third more than was produce 43 on less
land in his parish, while he employed deueras
many labourers as were employed on an Teers.)
upon the same surface of land.--(Loud e`devcil
Now, this was but the beginning of the revl,„,, the
which they intended to lay before them i1.°1)," tteo
mouths of practical agriculturists, as to the
which the corn-laws conferred upon their °I of the
(Hear, hear.) They had heard something bog
agricultural labourers. He wished they eoul"foolt4
a few of them there, and let them see the 0`;.,3.---
of those best of home customers for manufae,tu-thenl
(Laughter.) Their friend Mr. Hunt had told dis•
that in the protection meetings which were
fir (41r•
cussion was not allowed on this subject. 13 frog';
Cobden) had invited discussion at county Ine:nties I
He had held 28 open meetings in as many ee-lad
he had invited all corners, and he was alwayst, 0 g gr.
find opponents. Mention bad been made ote,the
Day of Huntingdonshire ; and a Noble Thi" it, the •
Duke of Richmond—had stated, in his Pd r lac
House of Lords, that he (Mr. Cobden) had
un
only
from Day at fluntingdon. Now, that wasnot •
t
one of the slips of his Grace, for he We.l. did n°'
Huntingdon. It was the only place which hethe ,111
happen to go to—(Laughter)—and it 'Os :he tar
place where they were out-numbered b.l" edit t°
jority. But he did not mention this as any ert 010'
himself, for he could account for the defeat at 1a33
tingdon on another hypothesis. Huntingu°o:nr
land. It
Ibteemn.asa litatlecbuerhioiunsd thheistootrhieoralcounties °
neeed
fact Can wher°
with that czuntry, that it was the last Place/Great
the v. burned old women for witcheraft"t'itgas
laughter)—and it was a remarkable fact, hu
preach me true, that up to this day a sermon was Pret,„ solve
Huntingdon, in fulfilment of a bequest left
.00.. Caw
charitable person, by a fellow of a college lid thei
bridge, against witchcraft.—(Laughter.) Jloone- ,
not think it would be a very charitable thing, J.,nother
body would, in making their will, leave ueen
foundation to send one of these fellows to 'wo ?
College once again to preach against the corelln_
—(Laughter.) He did not see much differed
tween burning old women for witchcraft, an hear.)
ing old women and little children.—(ljet3efunendl4
But whilst on the subject of the Duke of R. „Id the
high authority, Mr. Day, he might mentiont°,atiog
protectionists had been very industriously circagreati
with very ,e
a pamphlet written by Mr. Day, pis 71
industry, and very great ingenuity—Ile l'Aour--ia
could say with as much truth and can't/00,0
which this worthy . gentleman had goner. was tio'
all their speeches for the last five years.
slight task—he gave him credit for his In,u,,for
of ruhasza
had
.talk,„ect
(Laughter) —but of that heap
he must confess that they
out of-that heap of rubbish he had collected
worthy a great deal of nonsense in past tlineveebrioi
thing he could find that was in the least 50.1.
being recorded ; and, by ingeniously transposln!_ Ave
tences and suppressing dates, he had managed, to Ave
often a totally different meaning to what the Ile_ one
intended. He would not give them more tn,ailen,s)
instance. He wanted to prove his (Mr. Con one
inconsistency. How did he do it ? He quote
speech, in which he told the operatives of Larle,';eo ;
that they ought to have their land at one-thirc,„l3„,
k'
and he quoted another speech, in which he
tills
_lnners, na Bedfordshire, that he did not thin