Mr. COBDEN has resumed the Anti-Corn-law campaign ; begin- ning
at Oxford, with his usual success. The meeting wAs a county meetin4 die three principal parties in the question:--the high Protectionists, the Whig middle-course and fixed-duty men, and the total Repealers—were fully represented : the high Protec- tionists did not dare to test their strength by making any formal motion ; the Whigs did, and ludicrously failed—though their fall was broken by their seeming disposition to play second to Mr. COBDEN; and the thing which found favour with the county meeting of agricultural Oxford, on market-day, was a resolution in favour of free trade ! The weakness of the Ultra-Agricultural party is shown in their persevering endeavours to evade fair con- test : their leaders make a show of. persuading them to stay away ; and then, although numbers do attend, they say that the real strength of the party is absent. But why should it be ab- sent? If the real majority of practical agriculturists are op- posed to Mr. C0I3DEN'S views, why do they not manfully meet him, and prevent the misrepresentation of their opinions by crushing it—by voting down the declaratiou which they say is falsely
puted to them, with overwhelming majorities ? It is sheer non- sense to pretend that an absolute majority of working agricul- turists can never get themselves fairly heard and counted at open meetings, often with those favourable to them in the chair. At least it is to be inferred from their absence, that they doubt whe- ther they can command a majority—that they know their weak- ness, and hide it ; that, like the Roman who affected to seem poor when he was poor, they pretend to make their ranks thin at such meetings because they know they will be thin. At the Oxford meeting there were some such insinuations—cries of " No !" when Mr. COBDEN spoke of the many farmers present; but when he persisted, the denial was not renewed ; and the previous attempts to rouse the agriculturists, coupled with the presence of the Pro- tectionist Members, give the lie to such pretences. Mr. COBDEN obtained the adhesion of Oxford, in county meeting assembled, to the doctrine of untaxed corn ; and none could gainsay it.
