pamphlet, in which the doctrine of free trade and nonintervention in the affairs of other states were advocated with great ability, was reprinted in a cheap form by William Tait, and circulated in tens of thousands. But a sterner teacher than Richard Cobden was needed. The seed sown by him was not scattered to the winds, but it produced no immediately visible fruit. During the abundance few thought of the probably soon following scarcity. Like the foolish rich man in Scripture, men, knowing that their garners were full, were disposed to give ease to their souls, and to eat, drink, and be merry. A prophet was amongst them, but they regarded him not, so far as action went. His able pamphlet was read, however, as Colonel Thompson's "Anti-Corn Law Catechism" (of which, when first published, I had distributed 4,000 copies along with my newspaper) had been; and, during the abundance which followed the plentiful harvest of 1835, the attentive perusal of the Colonel's Catechism, and Cobden's "England, Ireland, and America," and his subsequent "Russophobia," and the frequent articles in the Westminster Review and Tait's Magazine, and in some of the newspapers, did much to prepare men's minds for action when the sterner teacher came. From the time that Cobden made his public appearance in print in the year 1835, I did not hesitate publicly to declare my strong conviction that any Lancashire borough would do itself honour by returning him as its representative to parliament. That attainable honour Lancashire lost.
