"Mr Bright,—That an humble Address be presented to her Majesty, praying her Majesty to appoint a commission to proceed to India, to inquire into the obstacles which prevent an increased growth of cotton in that country, and to report upon any circumstances which may injuriously affect the economical and industrial condition of the native population, being cultivators of the soil within the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. Tuesday 14th May.">[
I.
All the mills were closed in Rochdale,
Shut the heavy factory door;
Old and young had leave to wander,
There was work for them no more.
In the long deserted chambers
Idly stood the luckless loom,
Silent rose the ghastly chimney
Guiltless of its former fume.
II.
Near a brook that leaped rejoicing,
Freed once more from filthy dye,
Dancing in the smokeless sunlight,
Babbling as it wandered bye—
Walked a middle-aged Free-trader,
Forwards, backwards, like a crab:
And his brow was clothed with sorrow,
And his nether-man with drab.
III.
Chewing cud of bitter fancies,
Dreaming of the by-gone time,
Sauntered there the downcast Quaker
Till he heard the curfew chime.
Then a hollow laugh escaped him:
"Let the fellows have their will—
With a dwindling crop of cotton,
They may ask a Five-hours Bill!
IV.
"Side by side I've stood with Cobden,
Roared with him for many a year,
And our only theme was cheapness,
And we swore that bread was dear;
And we made a proclamation
Touching larger pots of beer,
Till the people hoarsely answered
With a wild approving cheer.
V.
"Did we not denounce the landlords
As a ravening locust crew?
Did we not revile the yeomen,
And the rough-shod peasants too?
Clodpoles, louts, and beasts of burden,
Asses, dolts, and senseless swine—
These were our familiar phrases
In the days of auld-langsyne.
VI.
"And at length we gained the battle:
Oh, how proudly did I feel,
When the praise was all accorded
To my brother chief by Peel!
But I did not feel so proudly
At the settling of the fee—
Cobden got some sixty thousand—
Not a stiver came to me!
VII.
"Well, they might have halved the money—
Yet I know not—and who cares?
After all, the free disposal
Of the gather'd fund was theirs:
And it is some consolation
In this posture of affairs,
To reflect that 'twas invested
In the shape of railway shares!
VIII.
"O, away, ye pangs of envy!
Wherefore dwell on such a theme,
Since a second grand subscription
Is, I know, a baseless dream?
Haunt me not with flimsy fancies—
Soul, that should be great and free!
Yet—they gave him sixty thousand,
Not a pennypiece to me!