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

[ not the same power of choice as those who were '
lying in a large cit;.—(Elear, hear.) Now, how-
ever, they could go into the market and speak
to the farmers on the subject of free
trade without being asked whether they meant to
ruin the country.—(Hear, hear.) The farmer said
" I see with you that it is impossible for us to oppose
this question much longer; although we may not
agree with you, yet 'ye feel that before long we must
yield to our free-trade opponents." But these are
the worst sort of farriers—(Hear, hear)—these are
the farmers of the old school.—(Hear, hear.) If they
were dissected it would be found that they had a
grumbling apparatus constructed in their stomachs.
—(Laughter.) Such grumbling might naturally be
expected from men who depended so much upon
slimate, instead of depending, like the inhabitants of
large towns and cities, entirely upon their own skill
and handicraft. The farmer must be excused if now
and then he grumbled more than others, seeing that
he was so much at the mercy of the elements.—
(Hear, hear.) But they felt that they had made way
both in argument and feeling. Through the esta-
blishment of protective societies the farmers had been
taught to think ; and not only had they learned to
think, but to act for themselves. Living amongst
farmers, as he did, he really believed that
:face the existence of protective societies,
through their becoming so rife, they had gained
converts amongst the agriculturists of Worcester-
shire.—(Cheers.) The exertions which were made
in populous towns, and especially in this great metro-
oohs, cheered the hearts of those who were working
in the country, and aided them to a degree which
they could not imagine without residing for a time
amongst them. He recollected going over a museum,
and seeing, amongst other things exhibited, a short
spear. It was strong, and stiff, and sharp at the
point ; and about two feet from the point was a cross
bar. On asking what it was, he was told that it was
Norwegian spear, for killing bears. "It saves a
great deal of trouble," said the man ; " the bear, im-
mediately he is pricked by the point of the spear, em-
braces the bar with his arms, presses the spear home,
and kills himself." "This," thought he to himself,
"is exactly what the agriculturist does."—(Great
laughter.) The sharp point was the corn-law : the
:rocs-bar was the bar of protection. The farmer,
eeling pricked by the corn-law, embraced the bar of
orotection.—(Hear!) He hoped, however, that those
who felt so bitterly towards them—those who were
embracing this cross-bar of protection—were now
diminishing in number, and if he were permitted to
address them again he trusted that he would have to
address protectionists and anti-protectionists all united
in one body and all enjoying the benefits of free-
trade.—(Loud cheers.) •
Mr. COBDEN then came forward, and was received
'vith tremendous cheers, which lasted two or three
ninutes. After the applause had in some measure
subsided, he said that if he had returned from South
Lancashire, where he had been doing his duty as a
freeholder of that important county, and had come
Aecked with laurels, they could nut have bestowed
apon him a more favourable reception.—(Loud
-sheers.) It was a proof, at all events, that they did
lot desert their friends in what their enemies called
the hour of adversity. But he came there not to
talk of misfortunes, of losses, or defeats; he came
there to claim for them a great moral triumph as free
traders. They had been out-nosed, it was true ; but
le would count noses with them, and see what they
were made of. They had not lost a man for South
Lancashire ; they had only failed in getting one.
flick late amiable representative, who had been so
suddenly and in such an untimely manner snatched
from them, was opposed to them upon principle.—
(Hear, hear.) They were hurried into the contest
in South Lancashire more unexpectedly and sud-
ienly,and were altogether unprepared for it. Let them
took to how the contest stood at present and how it
stood when their late worthy respresentative—for he
was a most amiable and excellent man in private life—
was elected for South Lancashire. The last contest
was in 1837, and was between two Tories on the one
side, and two Whigs on the other. Lord Egerton
was then at the head of the poll, with a majority of
1,200. In 1841, when the last general election took
place, the leading friends of the Reform party looked
into the registry and found that they would he in a
ninority of two thousand, and they left the field to
;heir adversaries. At that time the friends of free
trade were in ignorance of their strength. But in the
late election they had separated the wheat from the
chaff.—(Cheers.) They had had a candidate who had
no connexion with the county. He had stood for-
ward only as the advocate of the total abolition of
core-laws, and every restriction upon commerce.
lie stood this conflict against all the influence of the
landowners, with the splendid exception of Lord
Sefton, who gave to the advocates of free trade all
the assistance in his power.—(lmmense cheering.)
l'he result was, that the friends of free trade polled
'3,974—(Cheers)--of the freeholders of South Lan-
eashire—(Renewed cheering)—which was 400 more
than had polled for the two Whig candidates in 1837.
—(Cheers.) They had thus 6,974 of the voters of
South Lancashire pledged to the total and immediate
repeal of the corn-laws.—(lmmense cheering.) They
had been told before, that the election would be no
fair trial of the strength of the agricultural interest.
But let them listen to what that veracious authority
the Standard said upon the subject.—(Cheers and
laughter.) "The South Lancashire election has ter-
minated by the return of the Conservative candidates
with a majority of nearly 600; the whole number of
electors polled being 14,458. The result of the
South Lancashire contest is, on many accounts, de-
serving of observation. An election at which be-
tween 14,000 and 15,000 electors polled must be, of
course, free from suspicion of any external influence,
whether of the Government or the aristocracy ; and
an election in a district almost as densely peopled as a
great city, must be equally free from the suspicion of
any local territorial influence."—(Great laughter.)
Now, let them see how far territorial influence was
out of the question in this case. There was the
Earl of Derby, Sir Tr. Jerrold, Mr. Scaresbrook, and
sther proprietors.—(llear, hear.) But the Standard
went on to say that " The not very extensive district
now represented by the Conservative Mr. Entwisle
and the Conservative Lord Francis Egerton, must
amount to considerably more than half a million, and
it includes the important towns of Manchester and
Liverpool (towns larger and immeasurably richer
than many capital cities, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale,
Bury, &c. Whatever, influence, then, it is possible to
imagine to be exercised in a South Lancashire elec-
:ion, must be a mercantile and manufacturing influence,
and indeed of this influence the party of the League
have been very profusely boasting for the last year
or two. We know not whether all our readers will
recollect, some certainly must, that the journals of
the League have recently set down South Lancashire
as a sure conquest, • assigning, among the other
grounds of their confidence, the reduction, by no less
than 2,800 votes, of the Conservative force, which
they said had been effected by a diligent attention to
the registry. These reduced votes would raise,Mr.
Entwisle's majority to 3,400. As it is not said that
the Conservatives manifested corresponding ac-
dray in the Registration Courts, it appears but
fair to allow for some considerable increase
of Mr. Entwisle's majority on this head.
Let us, however, be content to take the ma-
i cirity as it actually stands—at 590. Ts not
such a majority in favour of a Conservative candidate
--in a district which is constituted, am it were, of a
federation of mercantile and manufacturing towns—
a district which may in truth be called all one great
manufacturing metropolis—is not such a victory in
such a place conclusiva testimony to the real feeling
of the mercantile and manufacturing interests in the
country ? let the decision be treated fairly as a test
of opinion—as a test of the popularity of free
trade on one side, or protection on the
other ; and it will be admitted, we think,
that the friends of free trade could not
in England expect to find more favour-
able judges I and yet protection carries off the great
majority of votes. We have not as yet heard any
reason assigned by the free trade advocates for the
defeat of their candidate, though defeat was tolerably
certain even at noon on Monday, and we own we are
at a loss to conjecture what apology they will offer.
As we have said, Government influence, aristocratical
influence, local territorial influence, are wholly out of
the question in a district like South Lancashire, all
cut up into small possessions, with a population of
more than half a million, and between fourteen and
fifteen thousand electors actually brought to the poll."
(The reading of the extract was repeatedly inter-
rupted by loud laughter and derisive cheers.) What,
was Lord Francis Egerton a small proprietor ?
(Cheers and laughter.) Was Lord Derby a small
proprietor ?—(Renewed laughter.) It was true that
the Earl of Derbyhad
tenantry should vote against free trade. But there
was a way of rignifying, through the steward, how
the "Rising Son" would wish the tenantry to rote
—(Great cheering and laughter)—and accordingly
there had been put forth a circular amongst the
tenants, stating how much the Noble Lord would do
if the tenants of his father would vote against free
trade—(Cheers)—and he (Mr. Cobden) did believe
that the Derby tenantry, almost to a man, voted
against the free trade candidate.—(Cheers.) Out of
the sixteen thousand and odd electors who voted at
the late election, there were four ithousand six hun-
dred tenants-at-will entirely at the disposal of those
gentlemen.—(Hear' hear.) They had been told that
Manchester showed but a small majority in favour of
free trade. But it was to be recollected that 'Man-
chester was included in a district which extended to a
circuit of fourteen or fifteen miles round the town.
The tenantry of Lord Francis Egerton and the o.hers
hemmed the electors of Manchester in, and kept them
in a state of siege.—(Cheers.) The truth was
that, in the result of the election, they were swamped
by the tenantry of those who brought them to the
poll, just as if they had been their own quadrupeds.—
(Hear, hear.) If the tenants ..atswill were taken away