In this case the despondency of old age was
added to the despondency of disappointment; but among younger men
hope was beginning to dawn again, and the Mirage beckoned with its
treacherous gleam. The Agricultural Labourers' Union, starting on
its pilgrimage from the very heart of England, forced the labourer's
wants and claims upon the attention of the land-owners, the farmers,
and the clergy.
Those who had been brought by early association into touch with
the agricultural population knew only too well how deep and just
was the discontent of the villages, and how keen the yearning for
better chances. To secure the vote for the agricultural labourer
seemed to be the first step towards the improvement of his lot.
The General Election of 1880 was, as nearly as our constitutional
forms admit, a plebiscite on foreign policy; but to many a man who
was then beginning public life the emancipation of the labourer was
an object quite as dear as the dethronement of Lord Beaconsfield.
It was not for nothing that we had read _Hodge and His Masters_,
and we were resolved that henceforward "Hodge" should be not a
serf or a cipher, but a free man and a self-governing citizen.
We carried our Bill in 1884, and as the General Election of 1885
drew on, it was touching to feel the labourer's gratitude to all
who had helped him in the attainment of his rights.
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