52

LIFE [7 COBDEN. fora.

1852.

“June 9. ( ,, )—I admire your hopefulness, and -
confess myself to be much disgusted and almost dismaye®
at the proceedings on the Militia Bill. I will never forgive
the Whigs for this retrograde step. On analysing the divtsion
 list, I find that in almost every case, where it Wa
possible to bring public opinion to bear upon members, your
party succeeded in preventing them from supporting the
third reading. The majority was made up of county pe
bers (chiefly Protectionists) and the representatives of sm
pocket boroughs. This shows that if we had a fair repre”
sentation, you could hold the military party in check. But
you can do nothing without a change in the county repre”
sentation, and there is no county that sends such bad me?”
bers as that where you live.”
The elections for a new Parliament extended over the
month of July. Cobden and his Conservative colleagi®
again divided the representation of the West Riding without
a contest. Mr. Gibson and Mr. Bright won at Mancheste®
by handsome majorities, Taken broadly the strength of
parties had not shifted, and there was no approach to such
a change as would have justified a reversal of the policy of
Free Trade. The Government gained strength enough ©
resist & vote of want of confidence, if it should be proposed:
but not strength enough to carry their measures. What
shrewd observers like Lord Palmerston expected was that
they would be beaten upon some fanciful scheme oF
relieving everybody without increasing anybody’s burden
“which would be speedily seen to be too mountebankish £0
be practicable.”® This is what actually happened. Mean
while Cobden and his friends did not relax their vigilance
“ Midhurst, August 18. (To Qeorge Wilson.)—1f ¥ of
have money in hand, would it not be well to keep it anti]
we have fairly disposed of the Protectionist party The
¥ Lord Palmerston, in Mr, Aghlev’s Life, ii, 247, 248.