The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-30 00:00:00

courage enough to forego. He thanked them for
what they had done. Let them not be dismayed at
the attempts made to put down the League. What
was the League ? It was nothing but the impersona-
tion of the struggling commercial principle. Did
they think that by choosing any other name they
would have rendered themselves less disliked by their
opponents. If they had chosen the brightest name
under the sun—if they had called themselves an
angelic choir—the monopolists would not have
disliked them less.—(Hear, hear.) It was not the ,
League they disliked—it, was the principle of
commercial freedom embodied in it. Why, there were
leagues before—(Hear)—and they were generally
successful. Did not history record the success of the
Solemn League and Covenant of Scotland ? That
was most obnoxious to the ecclesiastical monopoly
and tyranny of the day. And why ? Not because it
was called a Solemn League and Covenant, but be-
cause its principle was the principle of religious free-
dom.—(lmmense cheering.) Then they had a
League in Germany ; it was called the Hanseatic
League. What was' it ? It was an union of, the
merchants of the trading towns of the rivers and coasts
of Germany—far what ? To put an end to the bri-
gandage and robberies of the feudal barons of the
middle ages, who built their castles along the rivers,
issued forth with their mailed retainers to harrass
and plunder the commerce of that day.
Did they think that that League would
would have been viewed with • more favour
by those brigands under any other name? It was
not the name they hated, but because their purpose
was to put down spoliation and injustice. Their
League had no other end—had no other object in
view. They might taunt them, and call them what
foul names they pleased. They had nearly exhausted
their vocabulary of foul-mouthed abuses. They could
not call them anything so bad as they had called them
this time two years. And the League was in a better
position, with an exchequer well replenished for meet-
ing their calumny, which fell still-born, for these
who used it knew that it was not true themselves.
The League was not strangled—it was not dead.
The League was the anti-monopoly principle of this
country, and would die only with the death, and, he
hoped, the repentance of the commercial monopolists
of this kingdom.—(Cheers.) Give them London,
Edinburgh, Middlesex, Glasgow, the West Riding of
Yorkshire, and the corn-laws would be repealed. Let
the constituency do their duty in London—they would
do theirs in Lancashire. Why, he had left them en-
couraged and animated. This very day a staff of
clerks was employed on the register of South Lan-
cashire, analysing and examining it, and preparing for
another contest, whenever it should take place.
Mr. BRIGHT then came forward, and was received
with tremendous cheering, waving of hats and hand-
kerchiefs, which lasted for several minutes. When
silence was in some measure restored, he said—l con-
fess I have never before come from an election con-
test in which my party have been in a minority, and
in which I felt so little of that feeling which men are
supposed to have when they have been defeated.—
(Loud cries of " Hear, hear,', and great cheering.)
The ardent labourers in the cause of free trade whom
I parted with last night in Manchester, evinced no
symptoms of defeat. They were persuaded that they
had made enormous advances, and they were satisfied
that the immense meetings of the League which as-
semb'ed in Covent-Garden Theatre, would express
their hearty sympathy with them in the struggle they
had made, and that they would be willing to cheer
them on in the continuation of that struggle. until
they had accomplished the victory.—(Hear, hear.)
I can bear testimony to the manner in which many
hundreds of men have voted during the election in
South Lancashire, and to the manner in which the
supporters of the League generally have conducted
themselves. We have disseminated free trade prin-
ciples boldly and fearlessly ; and let it be recollected
that it is a very different thing for men like the mem-
bers of the League to solicit votes, and the steward of
a large landed property, Is here the tenants are ac-
customed to consult the pleasure of their lord, and
obsequiously to obey his dictates. It is very hard to
convince such men as these of the necessity of supporting
principles adverse to those which their landlords up-
hold. You may talk, and argue, and debate, and
reason with them that it is their duty and their in-
terest to support free trade, but to those arguments,
however substantial, they are too often insensible.—
(Hear, hear.) The labour, then, in our share of the
contest, is infinitely greater than that required by
our opponents ; for we have to induce a large num-
ber of electors who have always voted against our
principles, who are, from their circumstances, neces-
sarily pledged against us ; and then we have to ob-
tain the votes of those who are not so bound up.—
(Hear, hear.) You have heard a paragraph read
from a monopolist newspaper. The monopolist news-
papers will Chuckle over this victory, and they may
well be thankful for it. The monopolists have had
few victories in this country of late years, and there
are fewer still in store for them.—(Loud cheers.)
But there are other newspapers which pretend, to be
the foes of monopoly, and which have thought it
their duty to find fault with the conduct of the
League on this occason. Now these papers profess
not to be in the service of the monopolists. I will
take the liberty of reading to you a quotation
from an article in the Globe newspaper pub-
lished this evening, which will show you
how far the party it represents has sympathy with
our struggles. After speaking of the tenacity of the
League in adhering to the obstinate, total, unquali-
fied, and immediate repeal of the corn-laws, the
Globe says—" Here, we think, the League has taken
up an untenable, and, therefore, detrimental position.
Tenacity in striving for that which is unattainable,
has created, or increased, the difficulties of beating
down the sliding-scale, and substituting for it the
better system of a low fixed duty. Instead of re-
garding every advantage gained over the advocates of
restriction as a victory, the uncompromising aboli-
tionists subject themselves, and the cause of free
trade generally, to defeat, by aiming to accomplish
that which is unattainable." I give this a flat and
most unmistakable contradiction. It is false in fact,
for there has been no election yet, since the League
has commenced its struggles, in which any other
than a thoroughly free trade candidate could have
polled so many votes as we have polled. The Globe
goes on to say, " They thus exhaust their resources,
and subject the Liberal party to reverses and dis-
couragements in places where, by union and com-
bined exertion they might become increasingly strong,
and eventually triumphant. Our remarks may be
unpalateable, but we know them to be founded in
truth, and that they have been practically exemplified
in several instances. We believe that had the sup-
porter of a low fixed duty, in the person of a gentle-
man of landed property, and connected with one of
the influential families of the county, or its immediate
neighbourhood, stood in opposition to Mr. Entwisle,
South Lancashire would have been wrested from
.Tory domination." Before going into Lancashire, just
a few nights previously to the election, had been
spoken to by a gentleman, a Member of the House of
Commons, on this very subject. He said to me,
"Your electoral policy appears to me most unwise;
you endanger seats, if not lose them, which would be
otherwise secure. I asked him where we had done so,
but he could not give me a single instance. Why,
the fact is, there is no instance.—(Loud cheers.)
It is very true there is one case in which that party
(Whig) returned a man ; but that man, be it known,
although Whig, is a thorough protectionist. He is
opposed' to the principles of free trade. I ask how
these people,-who seem to be so conversant with the
affairs of South Lancashire, come to know them,
and I tell them they are mistaken. They know
nothing about the spirit which prevails in South
Lancashire. I tell you, that if any man came for-
ward to contest that county in opposition to Mr.
Entwisle, and who held Liberal principles, but who
would not vote for a total repeal of the corn-laws—
and I speak it with a knowledge of the fact—that
candidate could not, with the utmost exertion, have
polled more than half the votes the League candi-
date had.—(Cheers.) It may be unpalatable to some
to hear those remarks, but it should be unpalatabk
to the writer of this article to learn that in breaking
down the fences between Whiggism and Toryism at
the Lancashire election, these terms were not much
thought of. The struggle was between the free
trade candidate and the monopolist candidate, and I will
venture to say that there was no man connected with
that contest who will attempt to deny that we have
done more to break down old party distinctions, and
to annihilate those delusions by which the people have
suffered so much, than was ever done before in any
election, or in a number of elections.—(Loud cheers.)
Let those men who taunt us so much with our want
of success, take care with what and with whom they
find fault. Whilst they are doing little or nothing to
break down monopoly, we are doing all we can.
Whilst we are subscribing our money freely, and
whilst hundreds and thousands who earn their bread
by the sweat of their brow, are subscribing liberally
to this great cause; whilst hundreds of thousands
of men have made sacrifices of which little is known,
those great leaders of political party have done
nothing, and it ill becomes that party to come forward
at a moment like this, and help those whom they
pretend to be their opponents to strangle this hated
conspiracy, upon which you have set the seal of your
approbation.—(Great cheering.) I don't know that
I have much to add, for I did not come here with the
intention of speaking. Everything convinces me of
the wisdom of the League, as taking up principles
which can be easily understood, from which we will
not deviate, and from which no man shall drive us.—
(Loud and continued cheering.) We have seen
men working with energy, although unknown in
former contests. How was it in 1837 ? We then
fought with ardour in favour of a candidate, who at
this election did all he could to defeat the objects we
are aiming at. We were then hunting after a false
scent. We were then fighting for a man merely be-
cause he hoisted contrary party colour's. It is well
for us that he was. not returned then, for