rmingham,
Manchester and London. O'Connor, after his suspension of sentence in court,
made the mistake of setting himself against the anti-corn law agitation led
by Cobden and Bright. To most Englishmen of the day the free-trade issue
appeared the most momentous. O'Connor's star paled accordingly. Early in
the year a new free-trade hall had been opened in London, the largest room
for public meetings in the United Kingdom. A dozen lecturers were kept
busy. Cobden alone addressed some thirty great country meetings during the
first half of the year. At the same time the Irish agitation for repeal of
the legislative union with England assumed formidable proportions. The
Irish secret society of the "Molly Maguires" spread alarmingly. On March
16, Daniel O'Connell addressed 30,000 persons at Trim, urging repeal of the
act of united legislation for Ireland and Great Britain. A few months later
several hundred thousand people gathered on the hill of Tara to listen to
his eloquent words. As a result of this agitation, O'Connell, with several
of his followers, was arrested, in October, on charges of sedition.
Simultaneously with this the so-called "Becca Riots" against turnpikes
broke out in Wales. One month after O'Connell's arrest the greatest
free-trade meeting of the year was held at Manchester. Both Cobden and
Bright made speeches against the corn laws. One hundred thousand pounds
were collected on the spot from wealthy manufacturers who attended the
meeting. This opened the eyes even of the editors of the London "Times."
Under the caption "The League is a Great Fact," it announced that a new
power had arisen in the State. This reluctant concession of the leading
Tory paper of England caused a great sensation. Other events that excited
the attention of Englishmen were the erection of the great Nelson column in
Trafalgar Square and the opening of the Thames tunnel for pedestrians.
Thousands of curious Londoners passed through its shaft, measuring 1,300
feet in length. Nasmyth invented his steam hammer. Mill published his
"System of Logic." The event of the year in English letters was the death
of Robert Southey, the Poet Laureate. During the last few years his brain
had softened, and his mind had become enfeebled. Southey was born at
Bristol in 1774. He was educated at Westminster School and Baliol College,
Oxford. While still at college he brought out two volumes of poems,
together with Robert Lovell. His first long narrative p