and thus, with the termination of each war, England's dominions advanced, step by step, sowing the seeds of further wars and further encroachments.

It was against this unjust policy of aggrandisement that Mr. Richard bestirred the country, and truly there was good ground of opposition, when a war of extermination was raging on the miserable pretext of a stolen axe, and the straying of some donkey; a war which involved Great Britain in an expenditure of three millions sterling, and a terrible Bill of Blood. Into this most opportune protest Mr. Richard devoted unceasing efforts. Articles of a most trenchant character, teeming with startling facts, and resonant with an eloquent indignation, flowed from his facile pen; meetings were convened and addressed by him in Birmingham, Bristol, Sheffield, &c., and in various parts of the Metropolis, by which united agency the eyes of the people of England became opened as to the true origin of these deplorable conflicts, which checked this restless spirit for territorial aggrandisement that was disgracing the fair fame of England.

THE GREAT EXHIBITION, 1851.

We now come to the year 1851, a year for ever memorable, as the opening of the Palace of Industry. It was natural that with the mingled throng of the Rulers of the Earth, the galaxy of Emperors, Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, scions of Royal blood, amid the gathering too of Warriors and Statesmen, that the Peace Party should vie likewise, in greeting with a hearty "All Hail!" this Palace of Concord, so full of good omen to their cause. By their presence at its inauguration, by their pæans of rejoicing, and by memorials and congratulations to the Royal Commissioners, we find Mr. Richard ever alert, in turning to the most favourable advantage so grand a festival of Industry,

so gorgeous a Banquet of Peace. One of the most gratifying evidences of the good impress on the public mind was the emphatic language at the inaugural ceremony of that Prince among Princes, Albert the Good, that

"It has for its end the strengthening of the bonds of peace and friendship among all Nations of the earth;"

and of the significant reply from her own lips of Her Majesty the Queen, to the prayer of that address:

“That it might encourage the Ark of Peace, strengthen the bonds of union amongst all nations, and promote a friendly and honourable rivalry for the good and happiness of mankind."

Such impressive declarations evoked similar utterances from Statesmen of both parties in the State, from eminent Ministers of Church and Dissent throughout the land, and even military men caught the contagion for Peace, and to crown all, a sign appeared in the Heavens, the appearance of a new planet, which was looked upon as the harbinger of a better time coming, and Sir John Herschel gave vent to the public enthusiasm, and called the new-born star, Irene, the Grecian for Peace. One good move taken by Mr. Richard and his colleagues deserves notice. They prepared a memorial to the Royal Commissioners urging that no prizes should be given to weapons of destruction, and when the awards of merit were distributed, "not one prize was given for instruments of war," the distinguished jurors considering that as the object of the Exhibition was to save life rather than destroy it, that therefore this strictly humane principle should be maintained throughout.

THE MILITIA BILL, 1852.

In the beginning of 1852, the country was roused by the Militia Bill, introduced into Parliament by Lord John Russell. Against this measure Mr. Richard by voice and

pen vigorously protested, and for several months, supported by Cobden and Gibson in Parliament, he waged a vigorous, though hopeless, resistance to this obnoxious measure. Considering the utterly groundless reasons brought forward by the War party in its support, the action of Cobden and Richard, in and out of Parliament, appears reasonable and just. The panic was a senseless one, originating as usual with the military and naval officers on half-pay in their restless propensity to write anonymous letters in the public journals, speaking of the fate of England being sealed. They declared a deep-laid conspiracy existed among continental despots, headed by the Emperor of Russia, to crush liberty in Europe, and to aid its accomplishment, the overthrow of England was indispensable. Again, that a French invasion was confidently predicted, that France was burning to revenge Waterloo, because the Prince de Joinville had written a terrible pamphlet shewing how easily England might be surprised, and ridiculous as it seems, Austria it was said was angry with our treatment of Hungary, the thrashing of infamous Haynau, and the ovations to Kossuth, and that she was meditating reprisals, or in other words, war against England.

Against these preposterous dangers and monstrous alarms, the country was driven by certain naval and military alarmists, to improve the defences of the country, and accordingly the Government pandering to this baseless apprehension, brought forward military measures and voted, wasted! millions of money.

Mr. Richard and his friends directed public attention, mainly against the Militia Bill, and by a spirited agitation all over the country, they evoked a general outcry in opposition to the measure. Meetings were held in the chief centres in England and Scotland, most of which Mr. Richard addressed, and though this agitation was not crowned with success, still, it was so far satisfactory, that when the question was tested in Parliament 165 members voted its

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rejection, a significant homage to the strong feeling in the country.

THE MANCHESTER CONFERENCE, 1853.

In the beginning of 1853, we find Mr. Richard busily engaged in organising a National Conference in Manchester, to consider the general question of war, its burdens, and its dangers. The circular convening this Conference was signed by upwards of 200 influential men in various parts of the realm, including 19 Members of Parliament, amongst whom we find the names of Cobden, Bright, and Gibson, the celebrated trio who led the van and conquered against the Corn Laws. Considering the object of the Conference was general rather than specific, and that it was held in the winter under the canopy of a murky atmosphere, it is remarkable that, as regards numbers and interest, it surpassed the assemblies of the kind ever held, whether at home or abroad. Under the presidency of the veteran George Wilson, whose eminent services as Chairman of the Corn Law League will long be gratefully remembered, this memorable meeting was continued into four sessions, the last session culminating in a magnificent demonstration in the Free Trade Hall.

The proceedings of the Conference were distinguished by remarkable speeches from George Wilson, Richard Cobden, John Bright, Joseph Sturge, Samuel Bowly, and others, directed chiefly against the system of large armaments, and resenting the ignoble panic which had seized the nation. The demonstration in the Free Trade Hall has rarely, if ever, been equalled for numbers and enthusiasm, and no wonder considering the stirring harangues of Cobden, Bright, and Gibson, which thrilled not only that great audience, but

the country generally, and unjustly brought down upon these devoted men of peace such a prodigious explosion of ridicule, invective, and abuse, from Punch to Chronicle, that was disgraceful to the writers whose pens had evidently been dipped in gall.

THE EASTERN QUESTION, 1853.

We now approach an eventful period in the records of Mr. Richard's career. Hardly had the Conference at Manchester closed its labours, than the attention of the nation was turned with deep solicitude to the complications of the East, and for several succeeding years, the labours of Mr. Richard and his colleagues were heavily taxed in their endeavours to avert the disastrous and deplorable Crimean War.

As early as July 1853 Mr. Richard sounded the tocsin of alarm by a powerful contribution from his pen on the Eastern question, wherein the nature of the difficulties between Russia and Turkey were clearly set forth, and assuredly never did an international difficulty of so trivial a character, assume such gigantic proportions, or culminate in a greater catastrophe. It would appear to have arisen on this wise-The French Government (apparently intoxicated by the wicked “coup d' ètat" of Dec. 1851, which enthroned a Bonaparte, and engulphed France into an abhorent militarism) appear to have originated the mischief in the East by a series of intrigues at Constantinople, ostensibly for the purpose of securing certain privileges for her fellow Christian subjects, the Roman Catholic devotees at Jerusalem. Russia, who was anxious for a quarrel with Turkey, likewise intrigued on behalf of the members of the Greek Church scattered over the Turkish dominions, and out of these miserable squabbles, which may