Note 105 — Chapter XIX

[It was in the middle of August that the alarm first began, and the Ministers became uneasy, as is stated in Sir R. Peel's Memoirs, p. 111. In October the accounts from Ireland became alarming. On October 17th Graham first started the question of a suspension of the Corn Laws. The Cabinet assembled on October 31st and November 1st, because immediate decision had become necessary on these questions: 'Shall we maintain unaltered, or modify, or suspend the operation of the Corn Laws?' 'Can we vote public money for the sustenance of the people on account of actual or apprehended scarcity, and maintain the existing restrictions against importation of grain?' 'I am bound to say my impression is we cannot.' (Sir R. Peel's Memoirs, p. 145.)]