xx) THE PROTECTIONISTS IN OFFICER. 575

Commons or the country for his opinions on war and arma-"ents,
 he was compensated in part by finding that upon
Free Trade at any rate there was no backsliding in either
the press or the constituencies. The new Government pro-Yessed
 to leave the question of Protection open until it should
be convenient to appeal to the country. This made it
Mipossible for the Free Traders to do anything but oppose
them, 1p the Ministers were not for a Corn Liaw, Mr. Bright
bold thom, let them say so. If one of them were authorized
boldly to avow that the time had gone by when any duty
®ould be imposed upon corn, and to promise that they would
0b tamper with the taxation with a view to compensate certain
 classes for losses alleged to be due to Free Trade, then
the Government should certainly never find him voting
Want of confidence in them. The same rather bitter but perfectly
 intelligible indifference of the Manchester school to
the tie which nominally connscted them with the official
World, ghows itself pretty clearly in Cobden’s letters during
this long crisis t=“House
 of Oommons, Feb. 28. (To George Wilson.)—
Whilst T arn writing, Stanley [Lord Derby] is still speaking,
but from what I hear, his plan is to hold the Corn question
fn Suspense, on the plea of other grave Parliamentary affairs,
Wd admitting himself in a minority in the Commons, to
10 nothin g unless forced fo a dissolution by what he calls a
factions opposition. The House of Commons ig always
®fraid of 4 dissolution, and this threat may nob be without
its influancos on Members. But it appears to me that our
Course is clear. We must not allow the country to be kept
both in ite agricultural and manufacturing interests in hot
water and confusion for a year. We must challenge to
Wstant combat, and memorialize the Queen from all parts of
the country to dissolve. This will give courage and condence
 to our friends, snd prevent the Members of tha

1852.

Hyp, 45