Page:History of the Anti corn law league.pdf/35

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STRENGTH OF PARTIES.
19

The following was given as the result of this calculation, followed by some comments:—


Hope Lyod Phillips Cobbet
First Class Plumpers 500 .... —— .... —— .... ——
Split Votes 1,500 .... 1,250 .... —— .... ——
Second Class Plumpers —— .... —— .... 250
Split Votes 2,000 .... 2,000 .... —— .... ——
Third Class Plumpers —— .... —— .... 1,000 .... 1,000
Split Votes —— .... —— .... 1,000 .... 1,000
Fourth Class Plumpers —— .... —— .... —— .... 250
Split Votes —— .... —— .... 750 .... 750
—— —— —— ——
2,000 3,250 4,250 2,250

Mr. Cobbett's firm friends would not, however, withdraw him. They thought it would strengthen his influence, if, in addition to his return for Oldham, he could have fifteen hundred or two thousand votes recorded for him in Manchester. There was a certainty then of Loyd being returned as the colleague of Philips, unless another popular candidate were brought forward. I represented this certainty to Mr. Cobbett's friends, and argued that to stand for Manchester and be rejected, would rather diminish than increase his influence in the country; but they were desperate in their duty. In allusion to the sudden change of his opinions upon the slavery question, I asked one of them what he would say, if the author of the Register were suddenly to turn round to his former notion that the West India islands cost us nothing, and he replied, "Say! What could I say, but that he had good reason for turning?" Many of his supporters were good radicals, disposed to promote radicalism irrespective of individual claims to support; but many, and those the most active, were only "Cobbettites," who imagined that the advancement of their leader was the assertion of a principle.

Much discussion took place as to the candidate to be