addressed by Mr. Villiers, Mr. Ward, M.P., Mr. Bright, and Mr. Moore. On Monday, May 29th, another meeting was held in the Hall of Commerce, which was addressed by Earl Ducie, Mr. Moore, and Mr. Cobden. It is not to be supposed that those numerous meetings in the metropolis, every one of them instructive, every one of them exciting to determined action, could be seen with indifference by Lord John Russell, one of the members for the city of London, and without the conviction that at the next election free trade would form the main question. On the 12th of June, his lordship, who would not vote for Mr. Villiers' motion for inquiry into the operation of the Corn Law, with a view to its repeal, moved simply for an inquiry. The debate was a languid one in a thin house.
On the division there were 115 for the motion, and 244 against it. Lord John had only twenty more supporters than Mr. Villiers had, showing that the fixed-duty whigs had complained very unreasonably of the 125 who had refused to stop at the half-way house with so small a company. The Globe was very witty upon the tories for standing on the shibboleth of two words, "sliding scale;" not seeing how it might be retorted that the whigs could also be taunted with standing on two words, "fixed duty."
The numerous meetings held in London did not interrupt the movement that bad been going on in the provinces. On Saturday, April 29th, Mr. Cobden, pursuant to public announcement, appeared at Hertford to address the farmers. As the Shire Hall could not hold the number that had congregated, the meeting was adjourned to Plough Mead, where two thousand persons attended, including a large number of horsemen, among whom were Baron Dinsdale, the Hon. W. Cowper, Sir Minto Farquhar, G. S. Bosanquet, Esq., W. Stratton, Esq., T. Booth, Esq., T. Mills, Esq., and several other influential gentlemen of the county, Mr. Welford, of Northaw, being called to the chair, Mr. Cobden addressed the meeting with great effect.
