THE ROARING FORTIES 143 



taining the claims of the Greeks and the Poles 

 to independence. There survived, too, in the 

 United States, the tradition of Grattan s Par 

 liament, which received the breath of life 

 through the success of the war that made 

 America free from Great Britain. Irishmen in 

 thousands, many of them high in the esteem of 

 their communities, pervaded the United States, 

 and preached antipathy to Britain. Repeal 

 rent, as the funds were called that sustained 

 O Connell s cause, flowed in copious streams 

 from America. The suppression of the agita 

 tion by main force in 1843 made on more than 

 Irish hearts the impression that in the govern 

 ment of Peel the hated forces of aristocratic 

 tyranny were still clearly in the ascendant. 



The different outcome of the popular move 

 ment against the Corn Laws in England had some 

 effect in moderating the distrust of Peel. When 

 he came to power in 1841, every branch of 

 British industry, mining, manufacturing, and 

 agricultural, was protected by customs duties. 

 When he left office five years later, the whole 

 protective tariff had disappeared, and Great 

 Britain was committed to freedom of trade. 

 This great revolution was a direct continuation 

 of the liberalizing reforms that had been in 



