Page:History of the Anti corn law league - Volume 2.pdf/71

 conducted with great ability, in which the best arguments on both sides of any public question were certain to be found; and it was true that the citizens were great newspaper readers and great talkers upon what appears in the journals. But the London press had only recently commenced to discuss the corn-law question with any degree of earnestness; and where there is no earnestness there can be no force. Besides, as a newspaper reader, the genuine Londoner, in the very abundance of his opportunities, is more apt to glance slightly over than to look closely into conflicting arguments; and thus the knowledge acquired is superficial, although the show of looking at both sides, and the belief that he has thoroughly inquired, makes your citizen exceedingly satisfied with his own conclusions. Thus were found a great number of persons who, knowing nothing of the real bearings of the Corn Law, imagined that they were thoroughly acquainted with the subject; and professed free traders were heard to defend a fixed duty with as much vehemence as if they really had hold of a principle.

Having seen what these meetings had to encounter, and what the League had to overcome, I went to the Theatre in Drury Lane on Wednesday, with my curiosity much excited to know how far the arguments were understood and appreciated by an audience not entirely coming together to inquire, but in some degree to be amused. The spectacle fully equalled, and indeed greatly exceeded, my expectations. The pit, the four tiers of boxes, and the large gallery were literally crammed. As a mere sight it was splendid; but to me, who had seen the rise of the League, from a little meeting in a room over the stables of the York Hotel, in Manchester, it possessed a great additional interest. There, before me, was proof, at all events, that the proceedings of the free traders had roused a spirit either of inquiry or curiosity; that they were now fully before the public; that they had now vindicated their