equally of his understanding and his heart (cheers) it is for these reasons that the return of Lord Morpeth amongst us is welcomed with a degree of respect and of joyful cordiality that could not hut have attended the fullest acquisition of the support of his distinguished name. I now, gentlemen, propose to you the health of the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Morpeth."
The toast having been drunk with the most unbounded enthusiasm, Lord Morpeth rose, and was received with a repetition of the cheering with which the mention of his name had been at first greeted. His lordship having acknowledged the kindness with which he had been received, and observed that he was bound to look to himself, that his coming amongst them should not appear to rest upon false pretences, said:—
"The chief object of this gathering, as I understand and interpret, is, upon the part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, to do honour and to give encouragement to the Anti-Corn-Law League, and to its deputation now present, and to promote, as far as in them lies, the abolition, the total and immediate abolition of the Corn Laws. (Immense cheering.) That you inform me is the object and meaning of your present gathering. I know it will be inquired both by friend ('Yes, certainly.') Well, then, and by foe—(hear)—'am I prepared to go so far?' (Hear, hear.) My last dealing, as you may probably remember, with the subject of the Corn Laws, was in the year 1841, as a member of the then existing government, and as being a party to the proposition for an 8s. duty. (Hear, hear.) In that proposition we failed, and we fell—(laughter and cheers) because the upholders of the present Corn Laws, our opponents then, as they are your opponents now, thought that we proposed to concede too much, and that our proffer was over liberal to the consumers. Now, so far from being admonished by failure, so far from being covered by defeat, I think the day for the same terms is gone by —(here the meeting rose en masse and cheered vociferously)—and that what was considered by the constituents of the empire to be too much then, would be too little now. Moreover, the very fact of my coming here under the bond of no coercion, having remained aloof from public life for the last two years, without concert or consultation with any one, speaking entirely and exclusively for myself—all this, gentlemen, is a proof that I do not wish to withhold my acknowledgments for the zeal and energy which have been displayed by the Anti-Corn-Law League; may have said or not, of course, pretending to indorse everything they
