He took his defeat cheerfully, and indeed had some reason to be satisfied. He had done quite well enough for his success in the next election to seem positive. In the autumn of the same year he again addressed meetings at Brighton, and made his best speech on Parliamentary Reform. ‘Fawcett spoke of the honourable attitude of the working classes during the American War, and upon the reception of Garibaldi in London. They proved, he said, that the questions which really roused enthusiasm in the English people were those which appealed to their moral sentiments. He argued that something must be rotten if a man at 20s. a week had not as much interest in the peace and prosperity of the country as his neighbour with £10,000 a year. The sufferings inflicted by a war fall chiefly upon the poor; and any argument which implied that they should be rightfully excluded from the franchise as incompetent and indifferent, was an argument denoting a degraded and unwholesome state of feeling.’ [Sidenote: The Tide of Freedom.] It is significant how Fawcett’s whole nature rose to the wave of independence which was flooding the world. The emancipation of Italy, the freeing of the American slaves, and kindred struggles to give the lesser man a fair chance, found an echo in the policy which he championed for the helpless labouring classes. He was a lusty swimmer on this tide of freedom. He believed that working men were divided in their opinions as much as any other class, and that therefore, it was futile to fear that the rich vote would be killed by the poor. His attitude towards any proposal for reform of the franchise was: ‘Do we think it will cause the various sections of opinion to be more independently and honestly represented?’ Mill thought well of Fawcett’s speech on Parliamentary Reform, but he was opposed to his doctrine that workmen would not probably be united in their opinions. Mill felt that no matter how workmen might differ on other points, they would be united on whatever touched their class interests. [Sidenote: Back to Brighton.] The Brighton election was now at hand. At a great meeting held at the riding-school of the Pavilion, the two Liberal candidates, Mr. White, the sitting Liberal member, and Fawcett appeared, and resolutions in their favour were passed. Fawcett’s father was also present and enthusiastically received. Fawcett placed his difficulties cheerfully before his audience. ‘A Tory,’ he said, ‘had summed them up by saying that he would have to contend with £1500 from the Carlton, and a cartload of slander.’