the resignation of
his ministry, in his retirement he carried with him the sympathy and
admiration of the great body of the people. All felt that he had not
only benefited England by these great measures, but all the world. Nor
must the name of Cobden be forgotten in this achievement. The retiring
premier, indeed, nobly attributed the whole triumph to that long-tried
champion of free-trade. But the names of Peel and Cobden will ever
be associated in the annals of the country, as the names of those who
struck the final blow at laws which enriched the few at the cost of the
whole population.

CHAPTER LVIII.

{VICTORIA. 1846}

Position of the Conservative Party on the Defection of Sir
Robert Peel, and the Parliamentary Success of his Free-
Trade Measures..... Formation of a Whig Cabinet..... The
Sugar Duties..... Dreadful Condition of Ireland.....
Decline of Mr. O'Connell..... The Young Ireland Leaders.....
Colonial Affairs..... War with the Sikhs..... Foreign
Affairs..... Coolness with France..... Spanish Marriages

POSITION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY ON THE DEFECTION OF SIR ROBERT PEEL.
AND THE PARLIAMENTARY SUCCESS OF HIS FREE-TRADE MEASURES.

{A.D. 1846}

The adoption of a free-trade policy by Sir Robert Peel disorganised the
conservative party, then more frequently designated Protectionist. The
chief difficulty arose from the scarcity of talent in its ranks, and,
therefore, the apparent impossibility of procuring a leader. At last
the commons and the country were startled by the announcement of a
new conservative chief in the person of Lord George Bentinck. So
unfavourable were the antecedents--at all events, the immediate
antecedents--of this nobleman, that the announcement of his name as
the leader of the Protectionists excited the mirth of parliament, which
found a loud echo in the country. After the public press had lampooned
him--the _Times_ scarcely condescending to launch its thunders,
only allowing a distant rumble to be heard--after the _Examiner_ had
exhausted its pungent and polished satire, and _Punch_ had caricatured
the noble member for King's Lynn, and while yet his own party scarcely
ventured to hope anything from his leadership, Lord George proved
himself an orator and a debater, a party tactician, and an energetic,
vigilant, intelligent chief of opposition. Perhaps no public man
ever burst so suddenly upon the house of commons as a leading p