Page:History of the Anti corn law league - Volume 2.pdf/263

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THE REGISTRATION MOVEMENT.
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been plentiful, and the price of bread was comparatively low. Trade had considerably revived; for even .one good harvest has a great effect on the internal trade of the country. A great portion of the community, after supplying themselves with food, had something over to expend in clothing, and the demand for manufactures began to revive. Prognostications began to be uttered that the League would not be able, under such circumstances, to keep up its agitation; but the belief had now become general, that if one good harvest was almost invariably followed by prosperity, it would be well to have a regular share of the good harvests in all parts of the world and instead of there being only a few far-sighted persons, as was the case in 1822 and 1835, saying, "would that it were always thus," there were millions who said, "if there was always the permission to share in the abundance of other lands, the multitude at home would have their share in it." The League only seemed to have lessened the activity of its labours. It had only turned them into another direction. The work of instruction had, in a great measure, been done. Opinion had been rapidly becoming right; the great object now, was to make it productive of action. The register of voters was defective. Tens of thousands were on the lists who had no right to be there, and tens of thousands were omitted who ought to have been there. To reform the registration was now the business of the League, and it set itself to effect this reformation, very quietly, but very vigorously. From July to October, it had been engaged, in all its wide-spread ramifications, in this useful and necessary labour. On the 24th of the latter month, a great meeting was held in the Manchester Free Trade Hall. The monopolists beheld, with no slight apprehensions of danger, that the League had not been asleep, as they believed, or affected to believe; but very earnestly at work, and in a direction to influence the legislature whenever a general election took place;