Political
COBDEN
(Sir Richard, 1804-1865, Radical and Liberal Politician, Campaigner for Free Trade and Peace, Associate of the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden-Chealier Treaty)
Autograph Letter Signed to W. R. Baillie
telling him that At present no day is fixed for my motion - I stand second on the motion paper for the 30th, but am afraid I shall not be able to come on - it is very difficult by the rules of the House to choose the time when a member will bring in a motion, it is in fact altogether contingent upon the lottery of a ballot..., 2 sides 8vo., London, 19th April
Item Date: 1850
Background
Cobden was an English manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with two major free trade campaigns, the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. In 1838, he and John Bright founded the Anti-Corn Law League, aimed at abolishing the unpopular Corn Laws, which protected landowners' interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, thus raising the price of bread at a time when factory-owners were trying to cut wages. As a Member of Parliament from 1841, he fought against opposition from the Peel ministry, and abolition was achieved on 16th May 1846.
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