Charter, the people would ere now have been driven to desperation."[1] We can well believe Place when he declares that the general tone of the Chartists during March showed a certain loss of confidence, or at least reaction from over-sanguine expectations.[2] They had expected a much more rapid march of events, but the Convention, partly through its own better knowledge, partly through its disunion, and partly through inexperience and lack of real leaders, had been induced to postpone the crisis. Events over which the Convention had no control produced further delays, and the Petition was only laid before Parliament on June 14, while the discussion on it did not take place until July 12. It was like postponing a declaration of war for six months. The army began to lose heart and the enemy grew stronger. This was just what O'Connor had prophesied and Harney dreaded.
Nothing perhaps contributed more to damp the original enthusiasm of the Convention than the revelation that, so far from being a dominant majority in the nation, Chartists were only a struggling party. This revelation was made by the reports of some of the fifteen missionaries, sent out at the end of February to agitate the districts not yet attacked by Chartism. On March 8 Salt reports from Birmingham. He has visited Willenhall, Stourbridge, Bilston, and Kenilworth, the three former in the heart of the Black Country, and has not even been able to get together a meeting. Wolverhampton, Darlaston, West Bromwich are little better. But Salt was not a good missionary. He had an eye to his lamp factory all the time. He notes that the middle-class folk are standing aloof, and thinks that without the aid of a few middle-class men, who have leisure to instruct, nothing can be done for a long period.[3] This to a body which is full of bitter anti-middle-class feeling! When Salt and Hadley reported thus to the Birmingham Union, they were but ill received.[4]
From the south-west came reports from Duncan, Lowery, and Vincent. The two former were in Cornwall.
We find that to do good we will have to go over each place twice, for the People have never heard of the agitation and know nothing of political principles; it is all uphill work. Were we not going to it neck or nothing, we should never get a meeting; the tradespeople are afraid to move and the working men want drilling before entering the ranks.[5]
