1848.
Ar. 44
LIFE OF COBDEN, ’ fons?
career of civilization and self-government. Now instead ©
phantom-hunting, why don’t your friends (if they 2
worthy of being your friends) tell the truth to fhe
countrymen, and teach thera their duties as well a8 the
rights? And let them begin by showing that they unde”
stand their own duties and act up to them, The mosh a
couraging thing to an English Member of Parliament Li
wishes to do well to Ireland, is the quality of the men sont
to represent it in the House of Commons. Hardly &%%
of business amongst them ; and not three who are prepared
cordially to co-operate together for any one common object
How would it mend matters if such men were sitting ”
Dublin instead of London? But the subject iy poundles*
and hopeless, and I must not attempt to discuss it in
note.”
“ Hayling ILslond, Honts, Oct. 4. ( ,, )—Many thao
for your valuable letters upon Ireland and Germany:
really feel much indebted for your taking all these pains &
my instruction.
“ Leaving Germany—-upon which I do not presume t0 offe*
an opinion beside yours—1T do claim for myself the fut
of having foreseen the danger in Ireland, or rather see? !
—for its condition has little altered since I first bega® z
reason. When about fourteen years ago I firs for”
leisure from my private affairs to think about public bust”
ness, I summed up my views of English politics in & pr
phlet which contained many crude details (which I shor
not now print), but upon whose three broad proposibio® 8 ;
have never changed my opinion. They were— First, the
the great curse of our policy has been our love of interve’”
bion in foreign politics; secondly, that our greatest how?
difficulty is Ireland ; and thirdly, that the United State? y
the great economical vival which will rule the destiny y
England.
400