"'Tis a great sin for man or woman To steal a goose from off a common; But Who shall plead that man's excuse Who steals the common from the goose!"
— Richard Cobden

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Members of the Parliament of the United KingdomPacifistsAnglicans from the United KingdomBusinesspeople from EnglandRight-libertarians
Original Language: English

Sources

Rhyme repeated during the last moments of his life (2 April 1865), quoted in Richard Gowing, Richard Cobden (1891 edn.), p. 120, n. *