COBDFATSil, 51 



(16). *' There are narrow-miuded men iu the \ 

 agricultural districts who meet us at every turu ! 

 with prophecies of what is going to happen in j 

 the future; and who tell us, forsooth, that free 

 trade will throw land out of cultivation and 

 deprive the labourers of employment." 



Note. — Cobden ridiculed these prophecies; hut these ^ 

 prophecies have come true, and his own prophecies have \ 

 proved false, as ice have already shoicn. 



(17). " I predict that with free trade in the 

 corn, so far from throwing land out of use, or 

 injuring the cultivation of the poorer soils, free 

 trade in corn is the very way to increase the pro- 

 duction at home." | 



Note. — The contrary has been the fact. ' 



(18). "We do not contemplate deriving a / 

 quarter less corn from the soil of this country." 



Note. — TT'c cultivate l,S.'>3,l.lfO acres less ichcat now 

 than in ISGG, as already mentioned. 



(19). '' We do not anticipate having one head 

 less of cattle or of sheep." 



Note. — The number of head of live stock on the farnu% 

 of Great Britain in 1903 ivas 3,67Jj,907 less than in 1S09, 

 tjie first year for ivhich official figures were available. 



Speech, March 12th, 18-14 (House of Commons). 



(20). "Farmers valued their farms by a com- 

 putation that wheat would be such and such a 

 price per quarter owing to the Corn Laws being 



kept up." 



Note. — This was no doubt so pretty generally throughout 

 the various parts of England, but nobody proposes t9 go 

 back to that system; and, in any case, it ivotdd he iin- 



d2 



