Page:History of the Anti corn law league.pdf/298

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282
LADIES' COMMITTEE.

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,