lowest received their supplies, and they might rest assured that there was no principle of supply so secure as that which was allowed to regulate itself by the wants of the community. Many members of that House might not know of a famine price of corn, but to the poor man there was in this country still, periodically, a famine and starvation price of corn; as if God had visited the earth with sterility, and afflicted this country with one of country with one of those terrible disasters which they read of as having taken place hundreds of years ago. But it was not a famine of that nature; the famine was caused by the legislation of that House, and it was high time that the extraordinary imposition which caused it should come to an end. The division showed a diminution in the monopolists' majority, as compared with the previous year, of 72 votes, and of 170 votes as compared with 1842. Mr. Cobden, in one of his speeches, argued that the monopolists would vote for the abolition of the Corn Laws if Hansard did not stop the way, which recorded their casual, careless, foolish expressions of bygone years, and they did not like to admit that they were wiser than in previous years. They were afraid of saying what they knew was true, and of doing what they knew was right; and all because somebody might open a dusty book, and read musty and forgotten speeches to prove them inconsistent. For himself he was willing to burn Hansard and all the debates that had taken place, in order to allow monopolists to adopt a new course of policy dictated by their present convictions. At the League's meeting in Covent Garden Theatre on the 18th of June, several foreigners were present, and amongst the rest the celebrated American poet, Mr. W. C. Bryant. Mr. Cobden was the first speaker. 66 'I am not one who pays much undue regard to authority," said Mr. Bright on that occasion; "that is, to the opinion and sentiments of men who have lived before us. I think we are foolish if we disregard what they have left us which is wise; but it would be no less foolish if we were to throw away the lessons of our own experience, and go back to rely only on that which they have left us. I will quote the opinion of a man who is held in great esteem by many who widely differ from us, a statesman who is acknowledged to have been a far-seeing MISERY OF THE LOWER CLASSES. 241 one, and whose eloquence and power in the Senate, and as a writer, were, perhaps, never surpassed. Burke says of this very question- Monopoly is contrary to natural right; Free Trade is the same thing as free use of property.' We have maintained often on this stage, and in every part of the kingdom, that the poorest man in this realm has as much right to his labour, and to the whole of its proceeds, as any man who wears a coronet, or rules with undisputed sway over half a country. (Cheers.) . . We had a Parliamentary Committee whose evidence, taken in 1836, gives us some light on the subject. Out of nearly forty farmers examined, thirty, I think, or more, declared that never in their lifetime had they known a period when the labourers on the farms received as much in return for their labour as they did at that period of low prices. We know that from 1838 to 1842 poor-rates were constantly increasing in the agricultural counties, able-bodied pauperism was gradually increasing, and there was a state of things arising which foretold a greater evil than Free Trade to squires and lords who are owners of the soil. (Hear, hear.) Well, then, what is the case now? I have had an opportunity lately of seeing a great many farmers. I generally have a sort of levée three days a week, from about nine o'clock in the morning until about twelve; and I see some of the most intelligent farmers that come up from the country. They come up either to discuss matters connected with the game question, or to give evidence on the game committee; and they tell me I may state only what they say in private, because what they say before the committee is not to be told until it is printed for the use of the country-but they tell me, and I think one and all of them would admit, that the condition of the agricultural labourer in their employ is now much more satisfactory than it was four, or five, or six years ago. . . . Sir Robert Peel came from the very county where the League had its origin; and his fortune was made out of those little delicate fibres of cotton which are destined yet to revolutionise and change the face of things in this country. He sprang from commerce; and, until he has proved it himself, I will never believe that there is any man-much less will I believe that he is the man-who would go down to his grave having had the power to deliver that commerce, and yet not having the manliness, honesty, and courage to do it." (Cheers.) To give the reader an idea of the condition of some of the working class at this particular period, it may be stated that in the fertile district of Wheathamstead, Herefordshire, in the month of June, 1845, 200 families literally littered like cattle, destitute of the means by which the decencies of life can be maintained, and compelled to resort to the rude shifts of savage life in the midst of civilisation. This was the result of thirty years of agricultural Protection. At Newton, which is situated on the beautiful Wilton estate, there was a house which was not intended to hold at most more than two families, as it consisted of only two lower apartments and two upper; nevertheless, it was the home of fifty human beings. When the census was taken in 1831, the straw in the building had to be removed, in order to ascertain the number of children that slept in it. The water from the road ran into the lower apartments, and the inmates were continually wet; and so demoralised were they, that they would not wash themselves for months together. At last disease carried them off to premature graves, where the weary are at rest. Mr. Bright paid a visit again to Sunderland on the 26th of August, and addressed a highly respectable and numerously attended meeting of the electors in the Athenæum on the principles of Free Trade, and in favour of the election of Col. Thompson, who at that time was one of the candidates for the vacant seat of Sunderland. Mr. George Hudson, of railway notoriety, offered himself as a candidate on behalf of the Tories. Two days after, during his stay in Sunderland, Mr. Bright also wrote an interesting letter, which was published and distributed to the electors. In it he stated: : "About ten years ago, during the years 1835 and 1836, the state of the country was very prosperous. The harvests had been good, and the price of food was very moderate; trade was brisk and employment plentiful, and the working and trading classes were content. In 1838 the harvests failed, the price of food rose rapidly, and this state of things continued up to the harvest of 1842, which was tolerably good; and prices from that time to this have fallen and been again moderate, indicating that plenty has taken the place of scarcity. During the five years from 1838 to 1842 the price of wheat averaged 64s. per quarter, and during the last twelve months the price has been about 45s. per quarter. The high prices were the result of the Corn Laws, which prevented our buying food abroad to make up for the short supply at home. Now, what was the effect of this scarcity on the comforts of the people? The facts to which I ask your special attention are taken from Government returns, and relate to the statistics of emigration, crime, and mortality. It may be concluded that when emigration is rapidly on the increase there is some extraordinary pressure on the population at home; and it is notorious that crime is most frequent among the poor, and increases with increasing poverty, and it is obvious that life is shortest amongst the poorest classes, with whom plenty of wholesome food, warm clothing, and shelter, are the exception and not the rule. The emigration returns show us that the number of persons forsaking their native land, and seeking refuge in foreign countries, increased rapidly as the pressure of distress became more severe. They were as follows: It will be observed that during the years of high prices of food, from 1838 to 1842, the number of emigrants was rapidly increasing; but that when prices came down and food became cheaper, in 1843, the tide of emigration was checked. In 1842, 128,344 persons left their native |