History of the Anti-Corn Law League/Chapter18

by Archibald Prentice

CHAPTER XVIII.

DELEGATES AT MANCHESTER.

The change of ministers had not daunted the resolution of the League; the prorogation of Parliament, without inquiry into the condition of the people, only strengthened the determination that both houses of the legislature should be compelled to listen to their complaints, and to find a remedy for their sufferings. On Wednesday, the 17th of November, a meeting of one hundred and twenty delegates, from various parts of the kingdom, was held at Manchester, Robert Hyde Greg, Esq., in the chair, to consider the means which should be taken, previous to the re-assembling of Parliament, to promote the repeal of the Corn Laws. Amongst those who attended, in addition to the delegates from the towns in Lancashire, were Colonel Thompson, Mr. Francis Place, Mr. P. A. Taylor, and Mr. James Wilson, from London; Mr. Joseph Sturge and Mr. Wm. Scholefield, from Birmingham; Sir Joshua Walmesley, Mr. Laurence Heyworth, Mr. C. Holland, and Mr. C. E. Rawlins, jun., from Liverpool; Mr. Edward Baines and Mr. Harrier Stansfield, from Leeds; Mr. Dixon (the late mayor) and Mr. Sheffield, from Carlisle. The whole tone of the meeting was encouraging, as giving evidence of unconquerable resolution and of unabated confidence in ultimate success. Besides passing the resolutions sub-joined, the meeting entered fully into the arrangements made by the council of the League for carrying out the agitation during the recess of Parliament; and plans were formed for raising funds for the employment of lecturers, and procuring petitions. One unanimous sentiment prevaded the deliberations—that it was desirable to be fully prepared with the whole of the petitions previously to the meeting of Parliament and that it was expedient to concentrate the energies of the League as much as possible upon the different modes of agitation which had met the sanction of the delegates.

The following resolutions were agreed to unanimously:—

"That this meeting recommends that petitions for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn Laws be presented to the House of Commons, to the utmost possible extent."

"That the meeting recommends the calling of district meetings of deputies from the towns engaged in the manufacture of the various staple products, and of other districts conveniently situated for acting together; and that they prepare for publication at such meeting statements of facts bearing upon the state of the population of their respective districts, especially with reference to the condition of the working classes,and the effects of the Corn Laws upon the rate of wages, and upon our foreign and home trade. That such meetings prepare a plan for petitioning the House of Commons for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn Law, from, if possible, every town, village, congregation, and workshop in the district; that they promote the calling of public meetings; and, if practicable, that deputations be sent to communicate with her Majesty's government upon the state of each trade and district; that the council of the League be requested immediately to correspond with all parts of the country, for the purpose of carrying this resolution into effect and the members present pledge themselves to aid the movement in their several localities."

"That a committee be appointed to carry into effect the plan proposed by Mr. James Wilson, and to determine as to the best mode and time for bringing the same to maturity ; and that the information be sent to the Metropolitan Anti-Corn-Law Association, to be digested and prepared for laying before Parliament and government, and for the publication in such manner as may be most calculated to advance the repeal of the Corn Laws, and that the association be referred to on all statistical subjects connected with those laws."

The deputies met again in the afternoon, when John Dixon, Esq., of Carlisle, was called to the chair, and the following resolutions were passed:—

"That the Council of the League be requested to draw up for publication, from authentic sources, the most ample details of the acts of class legislation which have been inflicted on this country by the land owners."

"That this meeting recommends that memorials from the females of the United Kingdom be presented to the Queen, praying her Majesty to exercise her royal prerogative in favour of the immediate and total repeal of the corn and provision taxes."

"That all the present anti-corn-law associations he requested to extend and perfect their organization for the purpose of proceeding immediately to get up petitions, and otherwise forwarding the cause of repeal; and that in the opinion of this meeting, it is very desirable that all petitions should be ready for presentation prior to the assembling of Parliament."

"That a meeting of deputies, from all parts of the kingdom, be assembled in London, on or about the commencement of next session of Parliament, of which due notice will be given by the Council of the League."

"That, in the opinion of this meeting, the great principle of the total and immediate repeal should be brought forward in the next session of Parliament at the earliest possible period; the precise time to be decided upon by the general meeting of deputies to assemble in London

"That at this, the earliest meeting of the anti-corn-law associations after the Conference of Ministers to consider the Corn and Provision Laws of the country, the strongest approval of their proceedings be expressed by the gentlemen now assembled; and that a communication be made to the ministers who attended, and those who concurred in the propriety of that conference, conveying this approval, and entreating them to continue and increase their co-operation for the immediate and total repeal of the Corn Laws."

These resolutions were passed unanimously. Men not knowing the course of procedure in the business meetings of the League, have expressed astonishment that so much unanimity prevailed, and that Manchester should be the head quarters of the movement from its commencement until its termination. The singleness of the object tended to the first. It was simply to obtain the repeal of the Corn Laws to have no Corn Law, as the title of the various associations declared. Thus there could be no discussion as to the acceptance of less. The declaration of 1839, that in elections the preference should be given to decided corn-law repealers, irrespective of their party designations, prevented the differences that might have arisen out of party predilections. No part of the funds of the body was spent in elections; the only assistance given anywhere being the enlightenment of the electors on the one great question by speeches or tracts; so that upon that point also conflict of opinion was avoided. That Manchester continued to direct the movement which had originated there, was, because Manchester felt itself purely representative, and constantly consulted its constituents. If the members of the Executive Committee of the Council, who met daily, felt any difficulty in their administrative duties, or had any suggestion to make of wider operations, they called into their deliberations the resident members of the General Council, a numerous body in Manchester; these again, in matters of moment, asked members from the surrounding towns in the presence of Lancashire, North Cheshire, and the West Riding of Yorkshire, whose business brought them once or twice a week to Manchester; and, when still more important subjects were to be discussed, the council was enlarged by the presence of delegates from all parts of the kingdom. Then there was a strong desire amongst all to merge all minor differences for the promotion of the one great object; and great patience was exercised until every one had an opportunity of giving his opinion. The meetings were not for speech-making, but for consultation. Mr. G. Wilson, the chairman, invited all in succession to say what he thought of the subject under discussion; and thus the practical, strong, sound sense of the most humble and retiring delegate, became a contribution to the mass of thought upon which a final judgment was to be formed.

It was not to be supposed that men could meet so frequently to devise the means of undoing a great legislative injustice without adverting to the defect of the representative system, to which that injustice could justly be referred. After the conclusion of the business for which the anti-corn-law deputies met at Manchester, and after the chair had been vacated, a meeting was held, Mr. Francis Place, of London, in the chair, to take into consideration a proposal by Mr. Joseph Sturge, of Birmingham, for a movement separate from that against the Corn and Provision Laws, for an extension of the suffrage. It was a strong proof of sympathy with the people, and of respect to Mr. Sturge, that the meeting was attended by nearly all the deputies who had been present till the conclusion of the delegate meeting. Mr. Sturge stated his strong conviction of the necessity of a radical reform, and said that although he had long supposed that a reading and writing qualification, as recommended by Bentham, was the best, he had, since his visit to the United States, been convinced that not only would there be no danger on the adoption of the complete suffrage, but that there was no other effectual means to secure the country from the mischiefs of class legislation. A conversation ensued, in which it was apparent that there was a great desire to promote a movement for thorough reform, provided it could be kept distinct from the operations of the League. It was agreed that Mr. Sturge and Mr. Sharman Crawford, both distinguished for integrity and singleness of purpose, and both enjoying the full confidence of reformers and corn-law repealers, should prepare and sign a declaration, and that it should be sent for signature to some of the leading advocates of free trade throughout the kingdom.

A conference of ministers of religion was opened at Carnarvon, on November 30th, to consider the nature and influence of the Corn Laws, the duties of ministers of the gospel in the then crisis, and to adopt resolutions on the subject. Upwards of forty ministers were present. The sittings of the conference lasted from the morning of Tuesday until the evening of Thursday. The Rev. J. W. Massie, of Salford, and Colonel P. Thompson attended as representatives of the National Anti-Corn-Law League. The proceedings of the conference were distinguished throughout by talent, fervour, and unanimity. The first resolution adopted by the conference affirmed the duty of ministers to denounce, as publicly and effectually as possible, every measure injurious to the morals of the community and to the physical condition of the people. The third resolution adopted declared the convictions of the conference to be, that a meeting of Christian ministers of any particular district, without reference to denomination or sect, appeared to be the most expedient and effective means of bringing the dictates of the gospel to bear, publicly, upon the public evils. The next resolution adopted was to the effect that the existing Corn Law was a public evil, and essentially adverse to the plainest injunctions of Holy Writ, opposed to the moral and physical welfare of the people, and injurious to the religious interests of the whole community.

In the memorial addressed to her Majesty, the conference said:—

"We are surrounded by, and, in the discharge of our avocations, come into daily contact with, multitudes who depend on industry for their honest maintenance; we witness their struggles, and sympathize with them in their sorrows and privations. But though language be inadequate to describe the scenes of heart-rending, wide-spread, and, ever-deepening distress with which our duty makes us painfully familiar, we are constrained to attempt to convey to your gracious Majesty intelligence of the fact, that thousands of your loyal industrious subjects are in destitution, to a very great extent, of the common necessaries of life; and, besides the prevalence of fevers and other diseases, suffer many of the consequences of famine in a land of plenty. We venture, respectfully, but confidently to trace these miseries to inadequate employment and low wages, which are not merely incidental to fluctuations in trade, but are the legitimate and necessary effects of laws which produce artificial scarcity and enhance the price of bread; and, preventing the increase of labour and commerce, lessen the remuneration of industry."

On Wednesday, December 8th, a great convocation of manufacturers of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire, was held in the Lancasterian School, Derby, John Hinde,Esq., the most extensive manufacturer in the three counties, in the chair. The room, which was capable of holding upwards of a thousand persons, was crowded to excess. The details, read to the meeting by numerous deputies, of the distressed condition of the people in these midland manufacturing counties were heart-rending. The greatest unanimity prevailed, and the most determined resolution was shown to use unrelaxing efforts to remove the great cause of the existing misery. The resolutions were proposed and supported by Mr. W. Biggs, of Leicester; Mr. G. Johnson, of Derby; Mr. Wakefield, and Mr. Cripps, of Nottingham and Mr. Hancock and Mr. Strutt, of Belper. Amongst the gentlemen assembled were, Sir John Easthope, M.P. for Leicester; Sir G. Larpent, M.P. for Nottingham; E. Strutt, M.P. for Derby; W. Evans, M.P. for North Derbyshire, Richard Cobden, M.P.for Stockport; Dr. Bowring, M.P. for Bolton; Edward Baines,of Leeds; and William Rawson, of Manchester, At four o'clock, a dinner was provided in the large room of the Royal Hotel, to which about three hundred gentlemen sat down. The chair was filled by E. Strutt, Esq., M.P. who was supported by Sir George Larpent, Sir John Easthope, and the other members of Parliament. After the usual loyal toasts, the chairman called on Mr. Cobden, who was received with loud and prolonged applause. With his usual business tact, he applied himself at once to the effect of the Corn Laws on that particular locality, and said:—

"Allow me to say that listening to the details which you have given to-day, going back for a period of five and twenty years, showing a constant depression in the condition of the people, and a decline in your own immediate interests, I could not help thinking—pardon me for saying so—that the agitation against the Corn and Provision Law should have begun long long ago, in the midland counties. Why, gentlemen,you have the whole of the case in your own hands. We, in Lancashire, fight under a disadvantage ; we are told, when we call for a repeal of the corn and provision monopoly, that our distress arises from improvement in machinery. But this does not apply to your case; for I am told that the stocking frame has remained nearly the same as when it issued from the hands of the inventors, two centuries ago: at all events believe that within the last five and twenty years, no material alterations have taken place in the machine; and there are no steam engines with tall chimneys planted here, giving motion to the power loom instead of the stocking frame. Then we are met in Manchester again with the cry that over-production is the cause of all the distress. But I have heard to-day that your production is declining, that the number of frames in motion is diminishing, instead of increasing, especially in Leicestershire. It is, therefore, not over-production, it is not machinery that is doing the mischief for you. But what do you hear also in Lancashire? That joint-stock banks have produced all the distress. But here, I find, that no great mischief has been produced by joint-stock banks. You, therefore, have the case in your own hands. The whole of the fallacies of our opponents, as applied to Manchester, are answered in your case; and I say that with such a case in your hands, and with such claims on the part of your dependants, henceforth it becomes the province of the midland counties to take up the question, to lead onward in the van, and to be the champions for the total and immediate repeal of the Corn Laws. I am glad, gentlemen, that on this occasion you have directed so much of your inquiry to the subject of wages, as affecting the largest and most important part of the population of these counties. I am glad that you have not contented yourselves with a relation of the decrease of the profits of the employer, or the decline of business, but have given us such a clear statement of the fall of wages in your counties; and I take it as the strongest argument which you could furnish for the House of Commons in the coming session; I take it as the most powerful argument which you could put into the hands of members of Parliament, to justify the plea which we have set up, to justify the toast which I am going to read to you:—'The total and immediate repeal of the Corn and Provision Laws;' and I could not help thinking, as I listened to the details of those diminished comforts and exhausted means of the working classes of this district—I could not help thinking, as I heard of the constantly diminishing resources, for the last five and-twenty years, of the industrious frame-work knitters of these counties—that our legislature had indeed departed from the spirit of that book, which was so well alluded to by the gentleman who said grace after dinner—that they had forgotten the poor and needy, had forgotten those who of all others need protection, and were busy protecting those who ought to have been engaged in protecting others. Where is the protection of the frame-work knitters? When he needs protection most—when the high price of food renders it most difficult for him to support his family—have we heard to-day that the Corn Laws are a protection to him? No; we have heard that just in proportion as the Corn Law effects its object for those who gain by it, just in the same proportion does it minister to the misery and degradation of the working classes of this district."

Mr. Cobden proceeded to advert to the "exclusive burthens," which landlords pleaded as a reason for protection and very rapidly demolished their fallacies, and compared the heavy burthens laid upon land in other countries with their light pressure in England; he said,—

"Sir Robert Peel (and I thank him for it) has directed attention to another point of landlord agitation; and when I look into the question origin of the land tax, from its to the present time, I am bound to exclaim that it exhibits an instance of selfish legislation, secondary only in audacity to the Corn Law and provision monopolies. Would you, gentlemen, who have not looked into the subject—but go home and study it, I entreat you,—would you believe that the land tax, in its origin, was nothing but a commutation rent charge, to be paid to the state by the landowners, in consideration of the crown giving up all the feudal tenures and services by which they held their land. Yes, exactly 149 years ago, when the landed aristocracy got possession of the throne in the person of King William, at our glorious revolution they got rid of all the old feudal tenures and services, such as the crown having the right of wardship over every minor, the fines payable on the descent of certain property from one person to another, and a thousand other similar incumbrances, which yielded the whole revenue of the state; and besides which the land had to find soldiers and maintain them. These incumbrances were given up for a bona fide rent-charge upon the land of four shillings in the pound; and the land was valued and assessed 149 years ago, at nine millions a year; and upon that valuation the land tax is still laid.—(Hear.) Now, you gentlemen of the middle classes, whose windows are counted, and who have a schedule sent to you every year, in which you are required to state the number of your dogs and horses; and you who have not window and dog duty to pay, but who consume sugar and coffee and tea, and pay a tax for every pound you consume extra—I say to you remember that the landowners have never had their land revalued from 1696 to the present time.—(Hear, hear.) Yes, the landowners are now paying upon a valuation made just 149 years ago. The collector who comes to you to count the apertures through which heaven's light enters your dwellings, who leaves you a schedule in which to enter your dogs, horses, and carriages, passes over the landowner, leaves no schedule there in which to enter the last year's rent roll, under certain penalties; but he takes out his old valuation, dated 1696, and gives the landowners a receipt in full, dated 1841, upon the valuation made a century and a half ago! I say we are indebted to Sir Robert Peel for calling our attention to this subject. I exhort the middle classes to look to it. It is a war on the pockets that is carrying on and I hope soon to see societies formed calling upon the legislature to revalue the land; and put a taxation upon it in proportion to that of other countries, and in proportion to the wants of the state."

The company was subsequently addressed by the Rev. Mr. Berry, of Leicester, Dr. Bowring, M.P., Mr. Evans, M.P., Sir John Easthope, M.P., and Sir George Larpent, M.P. I find in my paper, close to the report of the proceedings of this midland gathering, the following verses by Dr. Bowring, embodying in poetic form the feelings of millions at the close of this year of wretchedness—to be followed by one of still more deplorable misery:—

"DIED OF STARVATION"—CORONERS' INQUESTS.

"I met Famine on my way,
Prowling for human prey,
Clogg'd with filth, and clad in rags,
Ugliest of all ugly hags.
Lo!a sceptre wreathed with snakes
In her wither'd hand she shakes;
And I heard the hag proclaim—
'Bread Tax,is my sceptre's name!'
On remorseless mission sent,
Maiming, murdering as she went,
Spreading death from street to street,
I heard the hag repeat,
(Shuddering while I heard and saw,)
Mine is RIGHT and MIGHT and LAW;'
Then to solitude I flew
'Gracious Heaven can this be true?'
On my trembling knees I fell
'God thou God of mercy tell,
Can the very fiends of hell

In thy name their pandects draw,
And declare their license—law?
Dare they in thy holy sight
To proclaim their robbery—right?
Rouse thee! raise thine awful rod!
Lord how long, how long, O God?"

The ladies of Manchester, in their appropriate work of charity, were now advancing rapidly in their preparations for the great Bazaar, and exerting themselves in enlisting the sympathies of the women of England, on hehalf of the suffering poor. In the beginning of December, their committee numbered nearly two hundred, among whom were most of the ladies who had distinguished themselves in works of charity and philanthropy in their neighbourhood, and also in distant parts of the country, including also many whose benevolence had induced them to take an active part in the and slavery movement. Their committee having invited Mr. George Thompson to deliver a lecture on the effects of the Corn Laws, with a view of assisting their movement for a numerously-signed memorial to the Queen, that gentleman, on the morning of the last day of November, addressed a crowded meeting of ladies and gentlemen, in the Corn Exchange, Holland Hoole, Esq., in the chair, on the state of the country, the artificial price of corn, the alleged dependence on foreign countries, the nature of the Corn Law, the injustice of the landowners' protection, the abundance in America, the duty of Christian women, the benefit of female exertions, and the propriety of a memorial to the Queen. Mr. Thompson was followed by Mr. Alderman Callender, Mr. Thomas Bazley, and Mr. Henry Ashworth, of Bolton. As he could not embrace the whole subject in one lecture, a second was delivered to a still more numerous audience, the benevolent and energetic Mr. John Brooks taking the chair on the occasion. Mr. Thompson continued his subject in a speech of great eloquence and great power; and, at its conclusion, urging an appeal to the Queen, he said:

"She is a woman—she is a wife—she is a mother; tell her the nation which has just rejoiced in the birth of a son she has given to be the soverign of these realms, contains millions of husbands, wives, and children, who know not where to obtain to-morrow's bread.—(Hear.)Implore her, as she desires to save her country from distraction, to gladden homes that are desolate, to bring upon her the blessings of the perishing, and to rule over a happy and contented people,—to exercise all the influence the constitution gives her in favour of that great measure which we have advocated to-night. Let the memorial which shall thus express your own wishes be carried to the homes of those for whose welfare it prays. Carry it to the cellar where mothers are perishing; ascend from the cellar to the garret; gather as you go, the signatures of those who are pining for bread. Thus let those who have nothing, and those who at present enjoy competence, appear together in the presence of our patriot Queen.—(Cheers.) If it be possible let millions of women urge their united appeal to a woman's heart; it cannot be that it shall prove a vain appeal. Your Queen has told you that she pities the sufferings of her people, and desires to relieve them.—(Hear, hear.) Consolidate these sufferings; present them in the mass before her eyes; claim her attention to them; tell her that the Corn Laws have produced them; tell her that nothing but the abolition of the Corn Laws can remove them; and beseech her with the earnestness which women alone can display, to declare herself yet again on the side of the people. If in the midst of this work of mercy any should cry 'politics,' silence it with the still louder cry of bread !' (Great cheering.) If any should tell you, you are unfeminine in that which you do, tell them it would be still more unlike women to slumber in inactivity when mothers and their little ones are perishing for bread.—(Cheers) Do this, and you will sanctify this question; you will raise it above the reach and make it triumph over the machinations of party; you will teach a lesson to heartless politicians which they may not refuse to learn. While the voice of the advocates of the poor is heard in the senate of the land, let your voice be heard in the palace of your Queen.—(Cheers.) I firmly believe it remains for you to give your casting vote in favour of the abolition of the Corn Laws. Refuse it not, I entreat you!—give it to-night; call upon your sisters throughout the country to give it; let every woman in Manchester and its suburbs have the opportunity of giving it. Be prompt in what you do. It is a life and death question. Hunger waits not! Death waits not! Both are abroad; be up and doing. This is the time: the hour is striking. To your work then—your proper work;the work of women—;of Englishwomen—of English, Christian women. What you do, do with your might ; do it in the name of perishing humanity; do it in the name of Him who, though he was rich, for your sakes became poor. And He shall reward you. He shall acknowledge what you do as done unto himself. And, when on the pillow of death you review the transactions of life, this act of mercy shall smooth your passage to the grave; and your noblest epitaph shall be—that you sought to deliver the poor that cried; while the eulogium that divine lip shall utter shall be this—"She hath done what she could!'

The ladies had not only been told that their work of benevolence was "unfeminine," but the unmanly attempt was made to cast foul slander on their characters and was persevered in on the part of one influential journal until the proprietor was told, in a manner which he could not misunderstand, that unless he gave orders to his underlings to desist, he would be made personally responsible for their calumnies. The virulent abuse then took another and safer direction. The Standard said that "England would be as great and powerful, and all useful Englishmen would be as rich as they are, though one ruin should engulph all the manufacturing towns and districts of Great Britain," and asked, "Is there a millowner who would not compound for the utter destruction of all the manufacturing industry of Great Britain at five years' end, upon condition that during that period he should have full and profitable employment for all his mills, his capital, reinforced by all the credit he could obtain? And it may be confidently answered NOT ONE." The play was to represent the question as one, not to give bread and work to millions of half-starved and half-employed workmen, but to give profit to a few rich capitalists—to divert the agitation directed against selfish monopolists into one against employers,—and it was successful to a certain extent, as we shall see in the history of the succeeding year. The Times adopted the language of the physical chartists, and conferred upon capitalists the nick names of "mill-molochs and "millocrats." The Herald and the Post never mentioned the manufacturing population but in terms of contempt, and the latter said: "While the people of all ranks, or all degrees of property, in the crowded manufacturing districts are what they are,it is a moral impossibility that they should be tranquil, or wise, or happy." It was a moral impossibility that men who were reduced to starvation by selfish legislation could be tranquil, wise, and happy—if they complained of the injustice! Language of this sort was repeated over every part of the kingdom, especially in the manufacturing districts, and the obvious design was to involve the working classes in serious disputes with their masters. The design was zealously forwarded by the O'Connor chartists, and the mischievous effects were speedily manifested.

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