The Washington times., 1904-12-25

70 one takes a keerer interest in
M the fiscal controversy started by
" Joseph Chamberlain than Mrs.
Golden Unwin- She IS the wife
Of the welI-known London publisher. T.
Fisher Irwin, and a daughter OF Rich
ard Golden. the great apostle of free
trade, who did vastly more than any
other one man to bring about the re-
peal of the corn laws in 1885,
AS the daughter OF such man she is
naturally strongly opposed to Mr.
Chamberlain's propaganda for the tax
aticn of food products and a modified
form of protection Nor IS she content
with being a passive opponent Of the
Birmingham statesmans policy In the
recent parliamentary contest at Hor-
sham, an electoral district in which
Golden was born and long resided, she
actively espoused the cause Of the Lib
eraI candidate, l. r. Erskine, against
VIscount Turnour, who represented the
Conservative party plus the Chamber
lain policy
Got Out Old Men
Mrs Golden Unwin particularly
busted herself in bringing 10 the polls
CID men who still retained vivid recol-
Iections OF the hunger and hardships
they endured before Golden won his
free trade fight She got them 10 teit
their stories OF those gloomy times and
cited them before audiences as living
witnesses of the evils that might again
be wrought by a return to policy OF
protection
Lord Tournour was elected, but as his
ma ajority in a Conservative stronghold
was 100 less than the successful Con-
i -od the
last election, in which the representation
had been contested, Mrs Irwin regarded
!. 1t as a vindication of Cobdenism rather
than a victory for a revival OF the pol
icy which he so strenuousIy fought
| To a work just published. entitled
The Hungry Forties, which gives the
| personal experiences OF living survivors
| OF that period of stified revolt and semi
starvation Mrs Unwin has contributed
an interesting Introductory chapter II
consists in the main of interviews OBJ
| tanned by Mrs Unwin with old residents
OF the neighborhood, in which Mr. Cob
den lived. Here are some sample ex-
tracts from one of them
II is David Miles. an ancient laborer
of the village of Heyshott who is talk
ing, and no doubt American Protection
lists will be able to discount what he
/ David:
"Ay, relslects the early forties afore
| the Corn Laws wor repealed -Taters
| was what folks lived on then an the
Tories I'd ave it that a red .errin an a
| tater wor good enuh for any workin
man When l Were just on twelve the
taters failed, an never shall fergi- 'ow
the folks went wanderin about, peer
| in at the taters, and tryin' TO find out
| what wor wrong WI EN-.
lit wor awful bad for the low class.
many On 'ern. were E:sn starvin-
Them what cudn't get work 'ad 10 go TO
the parish or starve Nowadays there's
q many what amt got no manner o
notion what protection is an think
they'd like to have a taste o. ii. but We
old 'uns We knowS-lor' bless 'ee, we
| knows.
Good Old Times.
Folks call 'em the good old times;
that's just their ignorance; call 'eIn
the bad old times, 1 do, when few got
fat an 'unnerds starved If Mr.. Golden
hadn't got 'em corn laws repealed
there'd ave been a reg'lar civil war in
this yer country years ago. a
'ungry belly makes q man desprit-
When a man 'ad. a large family
they were pretty nigh starvin' mostly /;
as for meat. a. look in at the butcher s
shop was all their share o that.
The 'ooman I'd cut off the black
erusts from the loafs an put it ~ tn
teapot an pour water on it inaSii o.
tea; it looked pretty much the same
color, dye see; or else thev'd peg the
tea leaves from the big houses