THE LATE MR. R. COBDEN'S FIRST ENTRY INTO PUBLIC LIFE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 535, 31 July 1865, Page 4

THE LATE MR. R. COBDEN'S FIRST ENTRY INTO PUBLIC LIFE.

The following, upon the above subject, extracted from a private letter from the pen of Mr. William Catlirall (for mtny years co-proprietor and editor with the late Mr. Archibald Prentice, of the Manchester Times,) will be read with special interest at the present moment:—

" Whilst my late partner nixl myself were earnestly engaged as journalists, now about 30 years back, in the severe struggle then entered upon by ihe inhabitants of Manchester for obtaining the incorporation of the town, we received a series of letters upon that and other subjects of public interest, from an anonymous correspondent under the signature ' Libra.' These letters, which were generally furnished alternate weeks, were marked by so much thought and ability, that we were desirous to have an interview with the writer, and accordingly inserted a line in our paper to that effect, mentioning a time fur the purpose. About noon the same day that this notice appeared, the publisher of our paper notified to me that a gentleman in the outer office wished to see me, when the stranger, on being invited i to my private room, introduced himself : s Richard Cobden. His person and name being alike unknown to me, and not recollecting f r the moment that a stranger was expected in accordance with <he notice inserted in our journal, I begged he would inform me of the object of his call, when he said he was ' Libra,' adding, ' T obs rve from your paper that you wish to see me.' We at once became great friends ; soon after, poor Prentice, my partner, entered the room, and on being informed i f . was ' Libra' who was with me, warmly shook him by the hand, and at the same timcomplimented him on the skill, &c, displaved in his letters. We gathered that he was engaged in business i i Mozley-street, that h« had only recently come to Manchester, and had but few acquaintances there. I well remember that in this interview he was very diffident and somewhat nervous in temperament; at the same time it was obvious to us, even then, that he was, in ability and promise, much above the average stamp of young men. It happening that a public meeting, under the presidency of Mr. Prentice, in furtherance of the incorporation of Manchester, was to be held that same evening at the Cotton Free Tavern, in Ancoats (a favourite political rendezvous of the period referred to), my partner at once solicited Mr. Cobden to accompany him, and to take part in the proceedings. Although so many years have passed since. I well recollect that Mr. Cobden de<4 ned to attend the meeting-in fact, he evidently shrank from the task of speaking on the occasion, and it was not until repeateily pressed to do so that lie consented—although the meeting was quite of a minor character. ' I assure you,' ho said, ' T never yet made a speech of any description, excepting, perhaps, an after-dinner one at a commercial table.' Ravine at length obtained the promise of his attendance, it was arranged that he should take his tea at our office on the way to the meeting, which he accordingly did. After the opening speech of the chairman, he called upon Mr. Cobden to move the first resolution, introducing him as his ■ young friend' who had recently contributed to the Manchester Times the able letters signed ■' Libra.' His speech, however, on this occasion was a signal failure. He was nervous, confused, and in fact practically broke down, and the chairman had to apologise for him, but at the same time expressed his full confiden l e as to the success and usefulness of his future career. Such was Mr. Cobden's debut before the Manchester public as a speaker. Po far as his own feelings were concerned for some time he was so di-couraged by his maiden effort that I am pretty confident, had thia lamented and remarkable man, whose oratory subsequently was of so persuasive a kind, been allowed to follow the bent of his inclination, he never again would have appeared as a public speaker. Our professional acquaintance with Mr. Cobden thus formed led to his introduction to the political circles of Manchester, and in a short period he took an active part in most public matters affecting the interests of the town, and was chosen one of the first members of the corporation, whose charter he materially assisted in obtaining."