In the beginning of one of his speeches, his lordship says, "Nearly
eleven years have now elapsed since I first made the proposition to
the house which I shall renew this night. Never, at any time, have I
felt greater apprehension, or even anxiety. Not through any fear of
personal defeat; for disappointment is 'the badge of our tribe;' but
because I know well the hostility that I have aroused, and the certain
issues of indiscretion on my part affecting the welfare of those who
have so long confided their hopes and interests to my charge." One may
justly wonder on what conceivable grounds any could possibly oppose
the advocate of a measure like this. He was opposed on the same ground
that Clarkson was resisted in seeking the abolition of the slave
trade. As Boswell said that "to abolish the slave trade would be to
shut the gates of mercy on mankind," so the advocates of eighteen
hours labor in factories said that the ten hour system would diminish
produce, lower wages, and bring starvation on the workmen. His
lordship was denounced as an incendiary, a meddling fanatic,
interfering with the rights of masters, and desiring to exalt his own
order by destroying the prosperity of the manufacturers.
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