"My object in supporting this Motion is, that I may bring to bear upon the legislation of this House those virtues and that talent which have characterised the middle and industrious classes of this country. If you talk of your aristocracy and your traditions, and compel me to talk of the middle and industrious classes, I say it is to them that the glory of this country is owing. You have had your government of aristocracy and tradition; and the worst thing in this country has been its government for the last century and a half. All that has been done to elevate the country has been the work of the middle and industrious classes. Whether in literature, in arts, in science, in commerce, or in enterprise—all has been done by the middle and industrious classes; and it is because I wish to bring their virtue, intelligence, industry, and frugality, to bear upon the proceedings of this House, that I support the Motion of the hon. Member for Montrose."
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Members of the Parliament of the United KingdomPacifistsAnglicans from the United KingdomBusinesspeople from EnglandRight-libertarians
Original Language: English
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Speech in the House of Commons (6 July 1848) in favour of a Reform Bill that would have extended the vote to middle class men
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Cobden
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Richard Cobden
(3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the .
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