CHAPTER XXV.
“I HAVE PLEADED THE CAUSE OF THE WORKING-PEOPLE, AND I SHALL NOW SEE THAT CAUSE TRIUMPH.”
The disinclination on the part of Mr. Cobbett to become a member of Parliament, which had long characterized his taste as a public character, was now changed into an earnest determination the other way. At any time since 1803 he could have done so, either by the good offices of Mr. Windham, or of Viscount Folkestone. But a close borough was his abomination; and his dislike for late hours and London smoke, and his general feeling of contempt for the character of the existing representation, rendered a seat in the House of Commons anything but an object of ambition. Besides, he held, for a long time, the notion, that he could render better services to his country as a representative of the press.
The daring outrages on the popular liberties, however, which had begun under the Regency, changed all this. The character of the House was still pretty much the same, even with the accession of lucky war-contractors and stock-jobbers; and the type of ministerialists was still that of the Perceval set, which had existed since 1807. But now, under Habeas Corpus Suspension, the outlook has changed:—
“The press is a very powerful engine. Corruption trembles at the very thought of it. The press has done wonderful things. But, great as I know its power to be, I know it to be a mere trifle compared to a seat in Parliament, filled by an able, a sober, an industrious, an active, a vigilant, a resolute, an experienced, and an incorruptible man, who would devote his time and his mind to the service of the country. To be sure, one man could do comparatively little, without the aid of at least another.… One man, such as I have described, would soon make other men. A knot of such men would, in a short time, grow together; and against such a knot, corruption would not live a year.”
It is the midst of the “repression” period, in the winter of 1817-18, when the news reaches him at Long Island, of men suffering severe penalties for acts of violence. He thus addresses the electors of Coventry, begging them to have “but a little patience.” … “Let us bear in mind, that a people never dies; and let us also bear in mind the final success which, in all their struggles, crowned the patience, the perseverance, the public spirit and the valour of our forefathers, who never set to work against oppression without subduing it in the end.” … But:—“I am against all desperate means. I am for trying all the gentle means that remain; and, as I have just said, the putting of proper men into Parliament appears to me to be amongst the most efficient of those means.”
Some few weeks after Cobbett’s return to England, George the Third died. A general election shortly ensued, and the opportunity of contesting one of the seats for Coventry then occurred. The voters resident in London had been for some time preparing, by public meetings, to advance Cobbett’s claims on the constituency; and he now presented himself in the city, being received with acclamations on the part of many thousands of people.
But the acclamations of the “lower orders,” as they drew Mr. Cobbett’s vehicle into and around the town, were not voting-power. The election was like elections ordinarily were in those days. Fighting, stabbing, spitting; swearing, and slandering: little hired regiments of roughs prevented anything like fair play; and, although Cobbett headed the poll on the first day, his ultimate failure was complete. Indeed, upon the second day, it was impossible for his supporters to get near the polling-booth, without the risk of being stabbed.[1]
The constituency of Coventry was a very fair one of which to make trial; being a populous manufacturing place, containing a good body of reformers, and electors numbering about 2500. But the corporation was dead against the popular candidate, actively supporting his opponents (Edward Ellice, merchant, and Peter Moore, nabob); and a cartload of money was spent in treating and ruffianism. Mr. Cobbett’s expenses were defrayed partly by a small subscription.