Whatever the
topic under discussion, he was always able to show its relation
to the obnoxious tariff, and to point out that the only sure
remedy for the prevalent national ills was by way of the repeal
of "the tax on bread." At first the young calico-printer--he was
but thirty-seven--who embodied the opposition to the Corn Laws,
was looked upon as an intruder by the young aristocrats of the
House. They made fun of his classical allusions, and magnified
his lack of education, attempting to laugh down his logic. But
Cobden was not long in proving his ability to take care of
himself on the floor of the House. It was no mere politician who
caught the ear of the country with words like these: "When I go
down to the manufacturing districts, I know that I shall be
returning to a gloomy scene. I know that starvation is stalking
through the land, and that men are perishing for the want of the
merest necessaries of life. When I witness this, and recollect
that there is a law which especially provides for keeping our
population in absolute want, I cannot help attributing murder to
the legislature of this country; and wherever I stand, whether
here or out-of-doors, I will denounce that system of legislative
murder."
Out-of-doors Mr. Cobden had the strong support of the most
eloquent Englishman of his generation, John Bright.
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