Page:History of the Anti corn law league - Volume 2.pdf/138

 extreme, and during its delivery that accomplished orator was frequently interrupted by the most enthusiastic cheers from all parts of the house; the whole assembly repeatedly rose in a body, and at its close several distinct rounds of applause testified the delight with which his address was received.

On Saturday, October 7th, Mr. Cobden and Mr. Bright met the agriculturists of Worcestershire, in the Guildhall, Worcester. The meeting was convened by public placards posted throughout the county, inviting the farmers, landowners, and freeholders, to hear the general question of free trade and the influence of the Corn Laws on the interests of farmers and farm-labourers fully discussed. The meeting was a highly respectable one, attended by large numbers of the tenantry of the county, and was quite equal in importance and interest to any of the agricultural county meetings convened by the League. The chair was taken at half-past twelve, by E. Holland, Esq., a large landed proprietor, and late high sheriff for the county, The Guildhall was crowded in every part with from two to three thousand persons, and though a very great proportion was composed of farmers and landowners, the speakers were listened to throughout with the most intense interest, and frequently interrupted with the reiterated cheers of the auditory; and the resolution in favour of free trade, moved by Mr. C. E. Hanford and seconded by Mr. W. B. Collis, was carried by an overwhelming majority.