At a meeting of the Anti-Corn-law League in Manchester, on
Thurs- day Mr. Cobden delivered a very long speech on the disturbances and their cause, that is the want of Corn-law Repeal; in the course of which he put forth the strongest disclaimer which has yet been made on the part of the League, of any share in producing the outbreak- ., I will venture to say, in the name of the Council of the Anti-Corn-law League, that not only did not the members of that body know or dream of any thing of the kind such as has now taken place—I mean the turnout for wages—not only did they not know, concoct, wish for, or contemplate such things, but I believe the very last thing which the body of our subscribers would have wished fos or desired, is the suspension of their business and the confusion which has taken place in this district. And I pledge my honour as a man, and my reputation as a public man and a private citizen, that there is not the shadow of the shade of ground for the accusation which has been made against us."
[Mr. Cobden says that the League did not "know or dream" of such a thing as the turn-out for wages. The League themselves say, in the address to the People of the United Kingdom, reprinted in a foregoing page, "we had long foreseen and often foretold those disastrous effects of the Corn-law which have been gradually developed" ; the threat is held out, that "there can be no guarantee for the peace of society, or for security of life and property, while large masses of the people are sinking in abject destitution " ; and they say that "the Corn-law is the main cause of the evils." Put those propositions together, and they may be taken to mean this—The disturbances will not permanently cease till the Corn-laws have been repealed ; the community (it is understood) must desire peace ; the repeal of the Corn-laws alone can produce peace—is the price of peace : é converso, to keep up the. dis-
turbance is inevitably to procure the repeal of the Corn-laws.. e do not believe that the League have wilfully promoted insurrection ; but certainly their collective language is less discreet than that of their individual member, Richard Cobden.]
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