" And
further on in the same speech, "I shortly restate," he said, "the ground
on which I rested for the repeal or the modification of the Corn Law
system. I did not, because I could not, hold to the people of this
country--I could not honestly hold out to them, that it would make bread
cheap.... I did not argue that the Corn Law was the cause of famine,
that it was the cause of disease, that it was the cause of crime, that
it was the cause of mortality, in this country."--_(Hansard)_.
[90] Smith O'Brien occupied far more of the time and attention of the
House of Commons, during the Session, by his refusal to serve on a
railway Committee than by his speeches. This refusal gave rise to some
delicate questions of constitutional law, and consigned the hon.
gentleman to prison for twenty-five days. _See note_ B, APPENDIX.
[91] Lord George Bentinck: a political biography, 5th edition, revised,
p. 158.
[92] Lord George Bentinck, a Political Biography, by Benjamin D'Israeli.
[93] Sir Robert Peel's Memoirs, part 3, page 310. Any one can see how
little poor famine-stricken Ireland was before Sir Robert's mind, when
he penned the above lines.
[94] The Irish Crisis, by Sir Charles E.
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