The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1852-11-09 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE FREE-TRADE BANQUET.  TILE Free-traders of Manchester, and the attaches of that school of political economists whose chief urinciple seems to be, that cotton-spinning and eating cheap bread constitute the summum bonum of human life, had an ovation on Tuesday, in what they were pleased to call a banquet, but which the Times, which has no prejudice on the other side, says, was only a dessert—unless the term be applied to the feast of reason. The lion of the meeting was, of course, Mr. COBDEN ; but, if his speech is to be considered as the manifesto of the Opposition to Her Majesty's Ministers, they have nothing to fear from the Free-trade champion ; indeed, the cheers with which it is reported to have been received, are a libel upon Manchester intelligence, however low that quality may have been rated at. With a magniloquent flourish of trumpets he talked of his own services, and openly bid for a seat in a succeeding Cabinet, with a pretended contempt for the hypocrisy which would deny a belief in his capability for such an office. There is an amusing absurdity in all this. Every one acquainted with the political history of the country for the last ten or fifteen years, is well aware that all that the Manchester League did was to deluge the country with dreary tracts, which few people read, and amuse the lower orders of the large towns with the gratis lectures of paid orators. It was only when Sir ROBERT PEEL raised a false alarm about a coming famine, and made use of the power with which he was entrusted for a purpose totally opposite, that a repeal of the Corn-laws had the slightest chance of success, The Manchester orators were left to blow their own trumpets ; their sayings and doings had very little weight in the question ; they had not increased their minority nor influenced an election, nor were they even alluded to, when the 112 members of the buss of Commons turned their backs upon themselves, threw their pledges and their principles to the winds, and walked over with the the lie to all their previous proles linister to give  It was only when Sir ROBERT PEEL awoke _e a consciousness of the political suicide which he had committed, that he alluded to the labours of lchester opponent, by way of a salve to his ortification, and sought shelter from the f the friends whom he had betrayed,  admissions of the power of the foe to whom he  too long delayed ; if not, it was basely hypocritical  lowever, of Mr. COB leech is that in which he d  res the plan  ds to be pursued by his party  it be believed, except by those in whom all reason  is confounded by prejudice, that their great oracle, Mr. COBDEN, after a world of labour, has brought  forth the ridiculous mouse of insisting upon an  answer from tt  linisters, whether they are FreeWe give the following  traders or Protectionists ?  extract from the  speech, as it appeared in the Free trade organ, the Times  gentlemen, all I stipulate for is, that when -mbles we should know whether the • vreetrade. Is there  .otectioni  on but to decide that question ? Why do Christmas, but avowedly, by Lord I propose, therefore, to  tch in accord