COBDEN AND THE FRANCHISE
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—I try to avoid controversy with reviewers, but the writer of your notice on my book The British Liberal Party charges me with misrepresenting Cobden, so I have no alternative but to justify my statement that Cobden cared nothing about franchise reform.
Here are the facts, as set out in Mr. G. M. Trevelyan's Life of John Bright. In 1849 Bright wrote that Cobden "objected to Parliamentary Reform as the thing to be worked for." On this Mr. Trevelyan comments : "The two were not in harmony as to the relative importance of Financial and Franchise Reform." In 1853 Cobden was invited to attend a meeting of representative men at Tian- chester to discuss Reform. He declined the invitation.
Bright remonstrated in a long and vigorous letter. Cobden . still refused to attend the meeting. Then Bright wrote in his diary that he considered his friend entirely wrong.
- Bright went on with the agitation. Cobden took no part in it. Your reviewer asks : "Did not Cobden write to Bright particularly advocating a Franchise agitation ? " My answer is : He did not. Your reviewer seems to have a confused memory of the episode and to have revers41 the regles which the two politicians played in it.
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