William Freedom’s shield shall be!
He broke his bonds o’er Rapine’s head;
“Free men! Free bread!” great William said,
And like a second Alfred stood,
King of the happy and the good;
While the free, from sea to sea,
Sang, Great William rules the free!
Ebenezer Elliott.
In this, Elliott’s wish was father to the thought, for William IV., did not live to see the repeal of the Corn Laws. Another long imitation of Rule Britannia, entitled “The Triumph of Reform,” also appears amongst the Corn Law Rhymes, which were collected and published by Benjamin Steill, London, in 1844.