Letter from Richard Cobden to John Bright regarding the repeal of the Corn Laws, February 1846. Catalogue ref: PRO 30/22/5A.
[Lord John Russell papers Vol 5A. The private and semi-official correspondence and papers of Lord John, later Earl, Russell.]
This letter is a correspondence between John Bright and Richard Cobden, two MPs who formed the Anti-Corn Law league in the 1830s. In this letter, they discuss Peel’s plan to repeal the Corn Laws. [It is not clear when the original letter was typed out and included as part of this collection.]
Transcript
76 Upper Berkeley Street
Portland Square
6 February 1846
Private
Dear Lord John
A cold in my head, which I caught in returning from Manchester yesterday, and which has settled down into a tormenting earache confines me to the house and will prevent my obeying Mr Tufnells summons for tomorrow. I found the prevalent feeling in the country to be more and more favourable to Sir Robert Peel’s measure, & I am of opinion that we should not be warranted in the eyes of the country in doing anything to obstruct or endanger it- this I know to be your opinion, & I presume the party will act accordingly- Villiers will of course move his resolution in such a way as shall preclude the protectionists from giving a factious [contentious] support, and failing in that I should give my heart support to the government- Yet I do not despair of seeing all parties agree in making the repeal immediate after it is seen that the government scheme must pass into law. It is obviously the opinion of the farming class (I mean the renters) to a man that it had better be immediate- the protectionist landlords- the political landowners- will surely weight the cost to them of keeping the League alive, flushed with victory, & with nothing else to do but concentrate all their efforts upon the Countries, why they will purchase the possession of their wretched rag of protection for three years by the loss of half their political influence- This, you would say, I shall not regret- but the honest truth is I am most anxious to put an end honorably to the agitation [protest]- I have taxed beyond my powers in every way- And yet I am so far pledged to the country that if the corn law is left for three years I can’t escape- I found the Leaguers in Lancashire resolved to a man to sustain the organisation; & really one cannot blame them when they see the Duke of Richmond & the Post telling the farmers that if protection be now abolished, it must be reinstated before the three years are out. Still I hope that calmer counsels will prevail after a week’s debating in the House, & then by privately urging these views upon the more sagacious [perceptive] of the protectionists, they may be induced to accept immediate -The League may be dissolved the day after the Queen’s assent to the immediate repeal- if Peel will merely state that butter & cheese shall be treated on revenue grounds, & the duty abolished when the exchequer will afford it- Please not to read this note to your meeting, & believe me.
Dear Lord John
Yours faithfully
Richard Cobden
The Lord John Russell MP
- What is ‘Sir Robert Peel’s measure’ referred to by Richard Cobden in this letter?
- What does the letter suggest about Cobden’s attitude to ‘Sir Robert Peel’s measure’?
- How does Cobden describe the ‘political landowners’ response to this ‘measure’?
- Why is Cobden keen to end the Anti-Corn law league’s agitation?
- What reasons does he give?
- What evidence does this source give that suggests it was a personal correspondence?
- What is the value of a private correspondence or letters to historians today?