The Springdale news., 1889-02-22
CHAPTER -, r..t-,,ri... -.-n..

II was now the autumn of iN43 and terri blewnter promised to follow laIreland and some parts of Scotland the distress had al ready commenced and how 10 avert famine throughout the kingdom was the great question winch It became the duty of the Government to answer as speedily as possible. The free trade party had grown to considerable proportions Lord John Rsssel the leader of the Wings, had avowed his free trade convictions Tn letter to bis constituents. In that letter he said, among other things. "It IS no longer worth while 10 contend for fixed duty h le4l the free=trade party would have agreed 10 a duty of eieht shHngs per quarter on wheat and after lapse of years this duty might have been further re- dHeed and ultimately abolished But the imposition of any duty at present. without q provision for its extinction within II short period. would but prnouE contest already sufficiently fruitful ef aumositY and dls- content
 Lord John wrote the truth The popular cry Was open the ports and sIFe as cheap bread ' Sir Robert Peet himself. leader of the Tory party which included the landed aristoeraeF, was becoming slowly con verted, while from q party peiut If view. fl was mere than his term of office was worth To ignore the popular demand for legislation on the subject of the Corn Laws Having this latter fact in view and backed by hs own private convictions, Sir Robert, then Prime Minister, recommended to his Cabinet that Parliament should be con veued at an early date. so that they might brne forward measure for the partial, CT. If need be. the total abolition ef the ob- pgv ip,IG and ruiuDus 'arr avs
 But legislation Was slow,and starving men and women began to grow inpatient
 The AntiCorn Law League was an orgaui- zatloH strictly on the side of law and order. It sat down upon low demagogues. mohs. rInts. etc, as ardentlv as dId the Tories themselves. and vel great popular move ment ike the ledgFe must always serve as d shelter under winch certain diseoHteuted spirits may hide themselves and break the laws h almost every conceivable way with mere or less impunity The winter of lS45- 46 saw no exeeptonto this rule. Noisy moo meetings were held n aimost al of the great manufacturing eentefs, and. although not on such | large scale as in the days of the agitation for reform, riots grew far too common to be pleasant.
 Christmas had come and gone. and the first weeks of the New ! car. iSt6 found George Foster still at his hiding place in Mdshire. He could not divest himself of the idea that his sister was within the walls of PerciFalthorpe, and he meant to stay within sight of tbc place until he found an opportunity Of personally inspecting every nook and corner Of the house. when he would be satisfied one way OF the other Sir James soon recovered from the effects of the blow George had inflicted upon him at e.. I.t could learn, no steps were taken to capture Sir James assailant This looked suspicious to George
 By New Years Day Percival had issued an address to Ihe electors of North Mid shire, soliciting their votes for himself as Tory candidate for the northern division of the county. This address. which was very bitter m its tone toward the free-tr movement, was printed in every news paper of Mdshire and the adjoining coun- ties. and was posted on every public build ing, fence and wall within forty miles of Winchester. His eanvassing speeches were simply bigoted Tory trades against free trade and it's alleged evils, interspersed freely with wholesale abuse of all those who supported it's principles. His pru- ! cipal speech. delivered at Winchester, ap- peared In all the newspapers of the eoun- try, and particularly aroused the ire of the poorer classes Soon however, side by side With the Tory advertisements. ap. i pcared those of the free-trade candidate, and George at first thought his eyes were i playing hun false when he saw all over 1 the country in letters yard iong:
 "Eote for Lawrence Lovejoy and free trader
 It was d fact. nevertheless. The fates had pitted these two men 10 light the grea political battle m Midshire The one wa. backed by the cries of hungry children. tht prayers of poor wIves and mothers and thu votes of hard-workng men in the few manufacturing towns of the county; whilt the other was supported by al the wealtf and intuen-e of the landed interest The votes cast for Pereival were on the sidc o wrong, oppression, seltshness and grinding | poverty for those already poor enough while LoyeJ0Ys votes were for right faii play. plenty for all and general pros perity The fight was close one, tho maBufactur ing interests and the farmers being pretty evenly matched il North Midshire But this time right triumphed over might, and as we already know, Lawrence Lovejoy was returned at the head of the poll by small majority over the Tory contestant
 \ few days after the election and on the day following that on winch Loveioy hat taken his seat in the House for the hrst tune l George Poster was rialng along the higf