Several letters from Sir Robert to my father at this period show him very anxious to learn from Lord Hardwicke the details of the proper arrangements for receiving the Queen at Drayton Manor. 'I have the prospect,' he wrote, 'not only of one but two royal visits, for I must arrange that Queen Adelaide should meet the Queen each with her several suites. If you have any device for making stone walls elastic,' he adds humorously, 'pray give it to me. Did Lord H. new furnish the rooms allotted to H.M.? How many apartments did H.M. require? Did he observe anything especially agreeable to the Queen's wishes, and did Lord H. attempt to keep any order among his mounted farmers, and if so how?' Lord Hardwicke and his brother, Mr. Eliot Yorke, though both pledged to the maintenance of the Corn Laws, refused to oppose the government of Sir Robert Peel upon the rumours of the minister's intentions which became rife in the course of the year 1845, when the Irish Famine forced the question to the front. By that time the Anti-Corn Law League had done its work of educating the country, and under its great leaders, Cobden and Bright, had organised a strenuous campaign throughout the kingdom, collected large funds, and united the great body of employers and operatives in favour of Free Trade. There were counter organisations of farmers' societies, of which those in the eastern counties were, perhaps, the most active, and at a meeting of one of these, the Cambridge Agricultural Society, Lord Hardwicke and Mr. Yorke met with some criticism. A letter from Lord Hardwicke to the chairman, however, made his position perfectly clear: 'I believe the meeting is intended to follow others that have taken place in the agricultural districts of England, owing to certain reports of contemplated changes on the opening of Parliament affecting agriculture. 'I have endeavoured to learn what these are, and have failed; I have heard various opinions, but no facts, and I have no knowledge of the intentions of the Government. I therefore feel, were I to attend your meeting, that I could give no advice, neither could I combat or support any plans. I think it best to hear and know what is intended.'