Page:History of the Anti corn law league - Volume 2.pdf/17

 of financial considerations. We cannot at these times afford to throw away a revenue." The "best possible public instructor" did not see, or, more probably would not see, until the monied interest of London saw, that the nation could not "afford" to sustain a monopoly which had diminished the revenue at the rate of a million sterling in three months. As not one single quarter of wheat could be imported at a shilling duty, without first raising by one shilling the price of every quarter in the home markct, it was clear to everybody but a legislator, or a leading journalist, that a million taken for revenue could not be had without putting at least five millions into the pockets of the landowners, and diminishing, by so much, the consumption of other articles contributing to that revenue. In the very same paper which contained this argument against the repeal of the Corn Laws was a statement that flour was 30 per cent. dearer in London than in Paris.

On Thursday, 12th January, another meeting was held in Manchester, at which Mr. Wilson stated, that on the previous Thursday there had been a tea party at Accrington, attended by Dr. Bowring, and Mr. Rawson; one at Colne, on Friday, attended by Mr. Bright, and Mr. Moore; onc on Monday, at Todmorden, attended by Mr. Bright, and Mr. Moore; two on Friday, at Lancaster, one hall being too small to hold all who congregated; and one on Wednesday, at Preston, attended by Mr. Brooks, and Mr. Moore, and by Sir Hesketh Fleetwood, and Sir George Strickland, the members for the borough. Mr. Wilson noticed the rapid progress of the £50,000 fund. "The work of distributing tracts may now be said to be commenced in earnest. I made inquiries before coming here, to learn what had been issued during the present year, and the reply was, between six and seven tons weight. I inquired how many had been issued during the last three days, and found that the number amounted to three quarters of a million