[11] “An Address to those whom it may concern, but principally the Poor, containing an Account of the late Trials and Executions which have taken place, with a Brief Statement of the Causes that, directly or indirectly, occasioned those Acts of Insubordination which have disgraced the Annals of our Country. By the Rev. Charles Day, LL.B.” (Ipswich, 1831.) This was intended as an “antidote” to the writings of men who had “no regard for _you_, they want _rebellion_,” &c., &c. Here is a bit of Mr. Day’s logic:--“Cobbett positively asserts that he everywhere did his best to put a stop to the fires, &c.; he nevertheless informs us that he did exhort the farmers to call the people together in their several parishes, to explain the matter to them, and to call upon them all to join in a petition to Parliament for a reduction of taxes and tithes! Now, who is there, even among the poor, that cannot see what all this means? It amounts to this: let the employer make common cause with the employed, and go hand in hand in denouncing the Government of the country, and the clergy of the Church of England, and this will be quite as revolutionary as any Republican can wish: down with the Constitution! down with the Church!” [12] An intimate friend of Mr. Cobbett’s, still living, has furnished the writer of these pages with some reminiscences of this affair. Mr. Seeley, the well-known bookseller, a bitter opponent of Cobbett’s, was on the jury; but the foreman, a Mr. Wilkinson, was a vigorous Cobbettite; and these two led the parties in the struggle. Cobbett begged his friend to attend him in court, for then “he should have confidence.” As a matter of fact, Denman’s insinuation about a mob was utterly baseless, for Cobbett only had two or three friends with him. The people waited in court all night, and the cheering and uproar were tremendous when the result was announced. CHAPTER XXVI. “I NOW BELONG TO THE PEOPLE OF OLDHAM.” The progress of the Reform Bill is the foremost topic of the day; and the near prospect of Mr. Cobbett’s election, by some popular constituency, is now more obvious.[1] In the course of September, 1831, there appears his first address to the electors of Manchester, in response to an invitation conveyed to him from a committee formed with the object of endeavouring to secure his return.