united as they would then be by their interests, every counting-house, every warehouse, every workshop would be the centre of a system of diplomacy, which would tend to peace in spite of all the arts of statesmen to kindle war.'

to

It is not necessary to multiply quotations from his speeches prove that his views were not narrowed down to questions of cheap bread' and 'cotton prosperity.' cotton prosperity.' In 1848 he vindicated himself and his colleagues from imputations such as we have referred to, in the following words. They are extracted from a speech delivered in the Free Trade Hall on 24th January in that year :

'Now, gentlemen, you will bear me out, that, throughout the long agitation for free trade, the most earnest men who co-operated with us were those who constantly advocated free trade, not merely on account of the material advantages which it would bring to the community, but for the far loftier motive of securing permanent peace between nations. I, who have known most of the leading men connected with the struggle, and have had the opportunity of understanding their motives, can say that I believe the most earnest, the most persevering, the most devoted, of our coadjutors, have been prompted by those lofty, those purely moral and religious motives to which I have referred, and especially for the object of peace.'

The volume which is named at the head of this article, and is a re-publication under his own revision of all the speeches delivered by Mr. Cobden in 1849, will show that his views on foreign and domestic policy were enlarged and statesmanlike. For a time they subjected him to severe criticism from the press, but his friends can now appeal to them as giving the best evidences of his true English heart and genuine patriotism. He dared to speak out when large numbers of his former friends thought it prudent to be silent, or felt that he was engaged in an unavailing opposition to the national sentiment, and when others pronounced him mistaken and wayward in his views. The compiler of these speeches in the preface says:

The orations of 1849 are as distinguished as any of their predecessors for homely, earnest, and appropriate language-for substantial, apposite, and vigorous thought-for calm and clear statement, for correct and forcible argumentation,for pertinent and felicitous illustration, and above all for that logical and effective arrangement of statement, thought, argument, and illustration, which so prominently characterizes all Mr. Cobden's productions.'

We do not know the hand which wrote these lines, but we have read the speeches since Mr. Cobden's decease, and we fully endorse the judgment which had thus been passed upon them, so long before public events had justified so many of his views, and before his death had invested them with so melancholy an interest. The next generation will be better able to appreciate how far he read correctly the political history of the past and of his own times, and to what extent

he

he erred in his judgment as to the effects of the policy of England upon the civilization of the world. Where he ventured to pourtray the probable consequences of a particular set of measures, it will be found that his sagacity was seldom at fault, but posterity will do him justice when they can more clearly peruse his anticipations by the light of the results. It was fully half a century before Lord John Russell justified the declaration of Charles James Fox, that the war against the French Republic was an unnecessary war on the part of England; and it is possible that the next generation may look back with incredulity and amazement upon that part of our history which records the panics under which the mind. of England quailed in the early days of the restored Republic of France.

The volume before us is full of interest. If carefully read, it will correct those misapprehensions which have been widely spread, and which were fostered and propagated by the press. It will show the nature of the connection between Richard Cobden and the peace movement. The newspapers invented a 'Peace at any price party,' and placed him at the head of it. This miserable phrase supplied the place of argument for some years, and was hurled at the head of every man who questioned the policy of spending large sums of money upon national defences, who objected to loans for war purposes, or who ventured to assert that two great nations were frightening each other, and without any real danger of aggression on either side. It so happens that Mr. Cobden was not, and never had been, a member of the Peace Society, although such a connection would have been no discredit. That body was composed of many of the purest-minded men and most sincere Christians in the community, mainly members of the Society of Friends. They believed that human life was sacred, that war was anti-Christian, and in their own quiet and unobtrusive manner they had promulgated their views, and done much good. This body of men had been scoffed at by some, and by others regarded as a set of amiable enthusiasts, who were wasting their energies in pursuit of an impracticable object; but they passed on in their quiet path of usefulness without attracting much notice from the press or the platform. At length it was urged upon some members of the Peace Society, who had mingled in political affairs, that there was a large amount of opinion, in all the countries of Europe, and also in America, opposed to war as a means of settling national disputes, and opposed also to the maintenance of large armaments, believing them to be not so much measures of protection as temptaticis to war and aggression, judging Vol. 8.-No. 30. them

L

them as more offensive than defensive, and affirming that it was desirable to adopt some means of uniting this scattered opinion, and giving it practical expression in such a way as would be most likely to influence the governments and the peoples of the world. It was alleged that there were thousands of men who did not adopt the abstract principle of the Peace Society, who would aid such a movement. Elihu Burritt had been labouring to this end, and ultimately Joseph Sturge, Samuel Bowly, Rev. Thomas Spencer, William Ewart, M.P., Edward Smith, Joseph Cooper, Charles Gilpin, and some other equally well-known labourers in the cause of peace and reform, took the initiative, and convened the meeting which led to the formation of the Peace Congress Committee. This committee was formed on a broad platform, and admitted those who did not subscribe to the programme of the Peace Society. To this committee Richard Cobden attached his name, and at the several Congresses held in Brussels, Paris, Frankfort, and London, as well as in Manchester and Edinburgh, he gave expression to his views as to the necessity of awakening public attention to the folly and extravagance of nations increasing their armaments. But in no case did he assert that peace should be maintained at any price, and, least of all, at the price of England's honour or safety; on the contrary, he said, 'Show me that there is any real danger, and that our defences are not sufficient to anticipate and provide against it, and then I will vote for an application of the largest sum that may be considered necessary to meet the emergency.' He asked not for total, but for gradual disarmament, entertaining the not unreasonable expectation that, as civilization advanced and intercourse increased, there would be less and less necessity for keeping up those means, offensive and defensive, the expense of which lay so heavily upon the industry of the people. In his speech in the House of Commons, on June 12th, 1849, on international arbitration, he thus spoke :

I do not anticipate any sudden or great change in the character of mankind, nor do I expect a complete extinction of those passions which form part of our nature. But do not think there is anything very irrational in expecting that nations may see that the present system of settling disputes is barbarous, demoralizing, and unjust; that it wars against the best interests of society, and that it ou Lt to give place to a mode more consonant with the dictates of reason and humanity.

The Peace Congresses attracted much attention, and those in the continental cities were attended by some of the most distinguished publicists of the time, and were convened under the special sanction of the governments of the countries

in which they were held; but events arose which interfered with their progress and success. The internal convulsions.

that ended in changing many of the cabinets of Europe in 1848, and the rise of the man who, by a singular fortune, had been seated on the throne of France, succeeding each other, had distracted the public mind from peace projects, and fixed its attention upon preparations for war. The excitement in this country was intense. The journalists, with a few honourable exceptions, became alarmists; fed and pandered to the most childish fears; and chafed the prevailing flood of prejudice and passion. The press made capital out of the unpopularity of the man whom the French nation had elevated to the position of chief magistrate. The most ridiculous stories. were circulated and believed, and on the strength of a sentence uttered by him in the early part of his career, and one of doubtful meaning, he was held up as nursing one master passion, and as seeking power only to gratify it by the subjugation of England. They could see no way for a great ruler and a great people to avenge Waterloo but to wash out the disastrous memory in blood. The vilest arts and meanest tricks were resorted to to misrepresent the motives of the man. In every sentence he uttered an endeavour was made to find an occult meaning, in every act of his daily life a sinister design. It was believed also that the French people, who have been hitherto renowned for a chivalrous love of glory, were to become all at once a body of pirates or brigands, to disregard all the laws of war as recognized by civilized men, and without cause, or pretext for quarrel, and without even a declaration of war, were at once to make an invasion of England. The extravagance and folly of the newspaper press could only be exceeded by the conduct of the same press, when, in the time of the Third George, we rushed into a war with Republican France, and opened a field for the display of that military genius, the greatest of modern times, which dazzled the world, enslaved the continent, and raised its possessor to an imperial throne. Mr. Cobden endeavoured in 1853 to stem this torrent of folly, and re-published, in a pamphlet form, three letters which had appeared in the Times. The pamphlet was entitled '1793 and 1853.' It brought upon him a storm of criticism, and shadowed his reputation for a time. That work, exhibiting the clearest views, and the most honest patriotism, can be appealed to now as the amplest vindication of his fame. In it he showed the true origin of our long war with France; how the passions of the people were inflamed by diatribes against the French as a people, and against the ruler who had won an empire by his sword.

He

He deprecated the idea that, in the face of a daily augmenting intercourse between the two nations, and a rapidly-increasing commerce, war was at all probable; and he boldly denied that there was any substantial cause for the panic which prevailed. He entered upon the history of previous panics, and showed up the shallowness of the panic-mongers; and he reduced his whole argument to an arithmetical formula-that if two powerful nations in fear of each other increased their respective armaments in the relative proportions of from three to six, they would in the end be no stronger than before.

From this time Mr. Cobden retired, in some degree, from public life, and devoted his leisure to recruiting his health, which had become impaired, and refreshed his mind by studying the condition of the different countries in Europe. He was not much heard of in public until he was employed by Lord Palmerston's Government to go out as plenipotentiary for England to effect a commercial treaty with France. This was accomplished with so much satisfaction to the respective governments, and so much benefit to the commerce of each country, that it has been considered as the second great achievement of his life. The amount of trade between the countries now, and which is increasing, and must necessarily increase, is the best guarantee for the maintenance of peace. It is possible that there are some omissions in the treaty, and that some important, as well as minor, matters were overlooked. The treaty is charged with great unfairness to certain interests, and this will require attention and supervision on the part of both governments; but, as a whole, the treaty has been highly beneficial to both countries.

This work was not accomplished without much difficulty. It was necessary to look over the involved and cumbrous systems of centuries; to pore over tariffs, treaties, and diplomatic negotiations of all kinds; and to carefully examine all the interests that would be affected by the change. In this case, again, a large portion of the press took the part of obstructives to progress. The men who sat in Paris to mature and develop the various clauses of a treaty to be submitted to the cabinets of the two nations were harassed by the misrepresentations and distortions of the press. Mr. Cobden declared to friends who called upon him in Paris that the greatest annoyance he had experienced in that arduous work was from the articles in the Times; that he had to meet men who, like himself, were only anxious to perfect a great object in the best manner, and in one most likely to be permanent in its results; but he was compelled to say that the newspaper most extensively read in his own country, and the

one