parliament. On the dissolution which followed Lord Palmerston's defeat,
Cobden became candidate for Huddersfield, but the voters of that town
gave the preference to his opponent, who had supported the Russian War
and approved of the proceedings at Canton. Cobden was thus relegated to
private life, and retiring to his country house at Dunford, he spent his
time in perfect contentment in cultivating his land and feeding his
pigs.

He took advantage of this season of leisure to pay another visit to the
United States. During his absence the general election of 1859 occurred,
when he was returned unopposed for Rochdale. Lord Palmerston was again
prime minister, and having discovered that the advanced liberal party
was not so easily "crushed" as he had apprehended, he made overtures of
reconciliation, and invited Cobden and Milner Gibson to become members
of his government. In a frank, cordial letter which was delivered to
Cobden on his landing in Liverpool, Lord Palmerston offered him the
presidency of the Board of Trade, with a seat in the Cabinet. Many of
his friends urgently pressed him to accept; but without a moment's
hesitation he determined to decline the proposed honour. On his arrival
in London he called on Lord Palmerston, and with the utmost frankness
told him that he had opposed and denounced him so frequently in public,
and that he still differed so widely from his views, especially on
questions of foreign policy, that he could not, without doing violence
to his own sense of duty and consistency, serve under him as minister.
Lord Palmerston tried good-humouredly to combat his objections, but
without success.

But though he declined to share the responsibility of Lord Palmerston's
administration, he was willing to act as its representative in promoting
freer commercial intercourse between England and France. But the
negotiations for this purpose originated with himself in conjunction
with Bright and Michel Chevalier. Towards the close of 1859 he called
upon Lord Palmerston, Lord John Russell and Gladstone, and signified his
intention to visit France and get into communication with the emperor
and his ministers, with a view to promote this object. These statesmen
expressed in general terms their approval of his purpose, but he went
entirely on his own account, clothed at first with no official
authority. On his arrival in Paris he had a long audience with Napoleon,
in which he urged many arguments in favour of re