EBENEZER ELLIOTT
(1781 - 1849)
NEW POEMS
(1) BY THE CORN LAW RHYMER
The poems listed on these pages are all new poems by the Corn Law Rhymer. This does not mean that the poet is still composing poems from beyond the grave. The verses below were missed by the various editors who compiled collections of Elliott's poems. Often the poems first appeared in Sheffield newspapers & thus failed to gain national recognition, perhaps because the bard was going out of fashion.
All poets want to see their poems made available for leisure reading or for study purposes. These poems therefore are brought together as a tribute to the Poet of the Poor. He would be delighted to see that his verses re-surface after more than 150 years of obscurity.
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Newly Discovered Poems by Ebenezer Elliott, the Corn Law Rhymer |
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Poem written 1809 |
" On A Snowdrop Seen By Moonlight "
This unpublished poem was present in a letter from Elliott to Robert Southey dated 1809 - which makes it one of the Corn Law Rhymer's earliest poems. It is a poem simply describing nature and it carries none of the fury that dressed his later poetry.
In 1809, Elliott was 28 years old. He had married in 1806 and by the time he wrote this verse, the Corn Law Rhymer was the father of two sons and a partner in his father's business; clearly Elliott was a busy person but still found time for poetry. His correspondence with Southey had begun in 1808; this would have been a massive incentive for the young man to continue writing poetry.
Obscurities in the poem may stem from the autograph manuscript which is faded and in places difficult to read or they may be caused by the clumsy young Elliott who still has to learn his trade with Southey's patient help!
Lily of Winter! daughter of the storm!
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Poem written 1831 |
| Nor him forget, the
stripling demi-god, Before whose glance the herded nations fled, Tell how he crushed the mountains with his nod; Walked on the storm, and to Convulsion said, "Be still, thou Babbler!" Tell how he who read The doom of kings failed to foresee his own. He placed upon his head the crown of steel; But dreamed he of his doom in ocean lone? Toussaint! thy foe was doomed thy pangs to feel: On jailer England and on him, her seal Hath History set. For Ocean's waste of waves Fenced not his throne from million hostile swords; Therefore he built on multitudinous graves A tyrant's power, and strove to bind with cords Thought, for she mocked him with her wings of words That withers armies. Who shall credit thee, Genius? - still treacherous or unfortunate, Victim or wronger! |
This brief poem was
found by the Sheffield researcher, Diane Gascoyne, in the Sheffield
Independent newspaper of Sept 17th 1831. The poem has not
been seen in any other publications & therefore it is claimed
as a new example of the work of the poet. We know that the Corn Law
Rhymer was an admirer of Napoleon as the poet kept in his workshop a
bust of Napoleon (together with Achilles, Ajax & Shakespear).
It is thus not surprising to see a verse about one of his
heroes. The publication date of 1831 makes it contemporary
with Elliott's famous "Corn Law Rhymes" which were also published in
1831.
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Poem written 1832 |
"
I Know Thou Hast Gone "
I know thou hast gone to the home of thy rest; Then why should my soul be so sad? I know thou hast gone where the weary are blest, And the mourner looks up and is glad. Where love has put off to the land of its birth The stain it hath gathered in this; And Hope - the sweet singer that gladdened the earth, Lies asleep on the bosom of bliss I know thou hast gone where thy forehead is starr'd With the beauty that dwelt in the soul; Where the light of thy loveliness cannot be marr'd, Nor thy heart be flung back from its gaol. I know thou hast drunk of the Lethe that flows Through a land where they do not forget, That sheds over memory only repose, And takes from it only regret. In thy far away dwelling wherever it be, I believe thou hast visions of mine: And thy love that made all things as music to me, I have not yet learned to resign. In the hush of the night, on the waste of the sea, Or alone with the breeze on the hill: I have ever a presence, that whispers of thee, And my spirit lies down and is still! |
Mine eye must be dark, that so long has been dim, Ere again it may gaze upon thine; But my heart has revealings of thee and thy home In many a token and sign: I never look up with a vow to the sky, But a light like thy beauty is there - And I hear a low murmuring like a reply, When I pour out my spirit in prayer. And though like a mourner that sits by a tomb, I am wrapp'd in a mantle of care; Yet the grief of my bosom - oh, call it not gloom! Is not the black grief of despair. By sorrow reveal'd, as the stars are by night, Far off a bright vision appears, And hope, like the rainbow, a creature of light, Is born - like the rainbow - in tears! |
This
newly discovered poem is an excellent example of the Corn Law Rhymer's
skill in writing poetry. Elliott has often been dismissed as a
versifier of little or no ability - which is fair comment on some of
his efforts. Yet now & then, there are examples which show
greater quality. It is evident that the bard composed fluently
when he writing about the death of loved ones, as the poem below shows.
Other titles which showed this quality are "William" (about the death
of the poet's fourth son), "William" (death of his eighth son) and
"Love Strong In Death" (probably about an unnamed son).
This new addition to the works of the Poet of the Poor is simple and effective - it brings to mind similar poems of grief by Thomas Hardy.
The poem appeared in a Sheffield newspaper called the Sheffield Mercury. The issue for July 21st 1832 contained the poem "The Revolution of 1832"; this appears in Elliott's "Corn Law Rhymes" volume. The newspaper issue also ran " I Know Thou Hast Gone." It is reasonable to surmise this poem was written the same year. The eager Elliott sent both poems off to the paper knowing the paper would publish them since the poet was all the rage at the time: two editions of his "Corn Law Rhymes" having been published the previous year. Why the poem was not collected & published with the bard's other works presents a mystery. Possibly the Sheffield Mercury did not have much of a circulation, thus making the poem almost invisible!
Another mystery concerns the subject of the poem. Elliott appears to be mourning the death of a lady who was very close to him. His wife was still alive when he died and his mother had died in 1815 which rules out both of them. This would leave his sisters and his daughters. We can exclude both daughters: Fanny Ann died in 1899 and Noah in 1908. Elliott's sisters were Sophia, Ann, Teresia & Harriot. Little is known of them, but Sophia can be omitted since she died in 1786. Ann can also be discounted since she died at the age of twenty in 1812. This leaves Teresia & Harriot as the most likely subjects for Elliott's mourning. Given that the poet was an emotional person, we should not entirely disregard the possibility that the poem could allude to the death of a close male friend, yet none of his dearest friends passed away in 1832.
Why, then, did the bard not name the person he was grieving over in the poem? Why did the Shefffield Mercury not supply the reader with this information? Clearly, the subject of the poem would have been obvious to all of Sheffield at the time; this again points very possibly at the death of a sibling rather than at an acquaintance.
"I Know Thou Hast Gone" is then a fine poem with a mystery attached to it. The poem was discovered by Sheffield researcher, Diane Gascoyne, who is an Elliott admirer & who keeps a friendly eye on the statue of the Corn Law Rhymer. The compiler of these webpages is pleased to acknowledge Diane's great contribution to our knowledge of Elliott, the Poet of the Poor.
Poem written 1832
This
longish poem was discovered by Sheffield's Diane Gascoyne in the
Sheffield Independent newspaper for 7/7/1832. The verses were first
printed, however, in Mr Tait's Magazine in Edinburgh.
| Said his wife to
the cobbler, "The sun shines so fair On the black chimney top there, just opposite, love; Let us walk towards the fields, where fine folks take the air, And rusticate sweetly by brick-kiln and grove." So the dame doom'd her slut-cover, he his cravat, And off they went, chatting of this and of that. They left streets of villas all blooming behind, And bricks, pil'd in masses, preparing for more; And above them beheld, with their backs to the wind, The beautiful smoke, which seem'd proud to pass o'er New villas so rural and red in a row, Which stare at the great, as to warehouse they go. Then they paus'd, and looked eastward on old Sheffield, plac'd Black-red in the light, like a coal on the fire, And saw, not three yards off, beflounc'd and belaced, The fiddler's wife coming, like daughter of Squire, With her big-bottomed gown, all of satin I ween, Like a fresh heather besom, deep purple and green. When fiddlers salute you, expect some good news: They are prophets of good, and they evil eschew; They worship the happy, and seldom abuse Their terrible power, when they say How d'ye do? When fiddlers salute you, expect, without fail, That your whizzing small stingo will soon be stout ale. In all the professions, law, physic, or war, Great men may be known by their strut to and fro; But greatest of men is your fiddler by far, For fiddlers are noticed by footmen you know; They are known to the butler, - they drink with him too! Yet the fiddler's wife curtsied, and said, How d'ye do? She smiled at the cobbler, then said, How d'ye do? And no more; pass'd him by, as a bug might a flea; Oh, his heart, how it beat! would it knock a hole through? Oh, what could have happened! what could the cause be? When fiddlers salute you, expect, without fail, That your whizzing small stingo will soon be stout ale. |
She simper'd,
she curtsied, she said, How d'ye do? And for once gave the wall which she'd no right to keep; He thank'd her for nothing, of course as was due, Touch'd his hat to the lady, and look'd like a sheep. 'Tis said by the sages that nothing is new; Yet fiddler met cobbler, and said, How d'ye do! The cobbler grew thoughtful - saith he, "Hath aunt Sue Gone to Heav'n, and bequeath'd us of shillings scores three? Then I'll set up a salt-box, a mustard-pot too, And the fiddler himself will be visiting me; 'Tis certain she curtsied and said, How d'ye do; And I hope it's an omen about my aunt Sue." Then, thus spake his lady, "Dear Joseph, though yet We know not for truth that aunt Sue has gone home, Let us order three herrings, and get into debt On the strength of an omen, the best that could come; We'll be dunn'd like our betters, come paper, come gold, And bid at the sale, when our salt-box is sold." Hurra, for the land of the high and the low, Where the low ape the lofty, and pride fears no fall, While tenpenny Jem sneers at ninepenny Joe, And the only man safe is the lowest of all; Though Dick, from the broker's, look big as a prince On Tom, from the broker's a Saturday since! But, day of the banquet for long-trampled worms; When millions, all hissing and fang'd, will come forth, Oh, ne'er may'st thou dawn upon horrible forms That will sweep o'er the isle, like the wing of the north, Drink horror for wine, under far-flaming skies, And quench thy red light in the glare of their eyes! |
This is a highly unusual poem for the Corn Law Rhymer. He is being mischievous - something rarely seen in the poet. Elliott did not have much of a sense of humour, so it is quite a shock to see it displayed in these verses. Makes a refreshing change!
Sheffield
people often referred affectionately to the smoke & the fire
bellowing from the town's many furnaces. Elliott does the same, sending
the cobbler and his wife for a pleasant stroll through the
rustic brick kilns and filling their lungs with nice clean smoke! He
goes on to give a fascinating commentary on the social niceties of
working people be they cobbler, fiddler, footman or butler. As the
title of the poem indicates, Elliott is not just trying to entertain.
He is very aware of the inequalities in society, drawing our attention
to them & heralding the fearful changes about to be wrought
through the 1832 Reform Bill.
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Poem written 1833 |
This
short poem was found in some court records relating to a case of 1848
between Lord Holland and a person called Griffiths. The Corn Law Rhymer
did not feature in the case, so it is likely that the poem appeared
with the court records by chance.
"The Footpath" has now been shown not to be a new poem, but to be taken from "The Splendid Village" Part 1, Book 8.
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Path of the quiet field! that oft of yore Called me at Oh, poor man's footpath! where, at evening's
close, He stopp'd to pluck the woodbine and the rose, Shaking the dew-drops from the wild-briar
bowers, That stoop'd beneath their load of summer
flowers, Then ey'd the west, still bright with fading
flame, As whistling homeward by the wood he came; Sweet dewy, sunny, flowery footpath, thou Art gone for ever, like the poor man's cow! No more the wandering townsman's sabbath
smile, No more the hedger, waiting on the stile For tardy Jane; no more the muttering bard, Startling the heifer, near the lone farm yard; No more the pious youth, with book in hand, Spelling the words he fain would understand, Shall bless thy mazes, when the village bell Sound o'er the river, soften'd up the dell. But from the parlour of the loyal inn, The Great Unpaid, who cannot err or sin, Shall see, well pleas'd, the pomp of
Lawyer Ridge, And poor Squire Grub's starved maids and
dandy bridge, Where youngling fishers, in the grassy lane, Purloin'd their tackle from the brood mare's
mane, And truant urchins, by the river's brink, Caught the fledged throstle as it stooped to
drink, Or with the ramping colt, all joyous, play'd, Or scar'd the owlet in the blue-belled shade.
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The above poem was
discovered by Keith Morris & was printed in his book "People,
Poems & Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer" [2005].
Copies of the book may be seen in Rotherham Central Library (Archives
Dept), Sheffield Central Library (Local Studies Library) and
the British Library.
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Poem written 1833 |
" Song "
This poem appeared
in Pearce's
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Oh know ye what A shield from the faithful, and stabs from
the rotten; We shook hands with traitors - they smil’d as
we parted; And Pack-Asses beat the best horse that e'er
started. Thousands cried, "Ward! To the house let us send him;" Twenty five hundred cried, "Ward! Can we mend him?" They said they would poll, and they seem'd
very manful, They promised a cask, and they sent us a
can-ful. Names we could name - but we blush, and we
spare them; Honours we won, and the honest shall wear
them; Hundreds prov'd false, and the true ought to
know it; They've broken the heart of the Corn Law Poet. Grand was our cause, as the cloud of the
thunder; But what is a heart, with its core rent
asunder? Our cause was betray’d - on its foes be the
stigma; Oh, dark is the hue of their bloody enigma! They ratted by house-row, they fled like a
river; Their memory shall stink in our nostrils for
ever. On his back may each traitor long bear his
own Jackass! May scorn his epitaph, "Here lies a Pack-Ass!" |
The above poem was
discovered by Keith Morris & was printed in his book "People,
Poems & Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer" [2005].
Copies of the book may be seen in Rotherham Central Library (Archives
Dept), Sheffield Central Library (Local Studies Library) and
the British Library.
The book mentioned above contains a chapter called
"Elliott's Correspondence With Thomas Asline Ward." There is also a
short biographical note on Ward in the article on this website called "Friends & Contacts of
the Corn Law Rhymer".
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Poem written 1835 |
"Stanza "
This poem was found in Ashworth's "Recollections of Richard Cobden MP" published in 1877. It is a typical Elliott poem attacking the Bread Tax.
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The tiniest weeds how glad are they! Man only lives on tears and sighs, A living death before he dies!
Blast toil's stout heart and skill's right
hand, We curse not them who curse the soil; We only ask for "leave to toil,"
For woven wool, a mutton bone A little rest, a little corn, For weary men, to trouble born! But not the
sneer of them we feed! Their
workhouse graves! their chains for need! The dying
life of blighted flowers! And early
death for us and ours!
But hungrier
men with us compete; For they who
tax our bread, and smile, Deprive of bread our sister isle!
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The above poem was discovered by Keith Morris & was printed in his book "People, Poems & Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer" [2005]. Copies of the book may be seen in Rotherham Central Library (Archives Dept), Sheffield Central Library (Local Studies Library) and the British Library.
Although this poem was released under the title
"Stanza," it has since shown to be published originally as the "Corn
Law Hymns" number 18. Whether Elliott had re-titled the work himself or
someone else had taken the liberty is not clear.
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Poem written 1837 |
| On
the long broad step of a rich man's door A beggar sat her down; And the faint look of hunger her wan cheek wore, And her wearied arms a sick child bore, And she strove to sooth its moan. But a chariot, with panels all glittering bright, And each wheel like a rolling sun, Drawn by four steeds in their prancing might, Flashed up and stopped short where this humble wight Had sat her, sad and lone. And the folding doors were flung up to the wall, And footman, powdered, three Were hurrying about in the rich man's hall; And loudly angered were they all That beggar there should be. "Away! - get off with your filth!" cried they, "Lady Anne will be, e'en now, here;" And one minion spurned, from the step where it lay, A poor piece of bread, lest the lady gay Should be shocked at the beggar's fare. The beggar arose from the rich man's door, And she heaved a faint low sigh, And her heart, with the fulness of sorrow, ran o'er, Yet it poured not away in a heart-easing shower, But froze in either eye! |
Lady
Anne has mounted the chariot side, And she leans on the cushion soft: And her lord is with his late-made bride, And they go to take their morning ride, While every hat is doffed. And the beggar heard not her poor child's cry, In that chariot's rattle drowned; But she looked on the lady passing by, And her plumes did toss most beautifully, And perfume floated around. When the glitter and noise were passed away, To her child the mother turned; But its face was changed to paly clay; And heavy it felt, in her arms as it lay - Its brow no longer burned. 'Twas a clear day of June, and the far blue sky Mixed not with this earth's leaven; And that poor childless mother heaved not e'en a sigh, Nor uttered a word, - but she raised her eye, And silently fixed it on heaven! |
"The
Beggar" is a disappointing poem for Elliott to write at this time of
his career: it has no skill in its construction & lacks the
fire & anger we expect of the Corn Law Rhymer. The subject is
one which would appeal to the poet - the misery of the beggar
played against the wealthy life of Lady Anne & her footmen. The
beggar's acceptance of her life is not something which sits comfortably
with the poet's truculent nature. Nor does the poem excite
with pathos, as do some other of Elliott's verses. When we remember
that when Elliott went bankrupt in Rotherham, he used to beg for bread
in the streets - then we might have expected a very different approach
from the poet. Possibly, business worries in 1837 meant that Elliott
did not have the time to return to the poem and re-work it.
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Poem written 1838 |
" Hymn "
Elliott wrote many poems with the title "Hymn." As a religious man he wanted his verses to celebrate Christianity; this idea figured in the frequent use of this title. Many of his other poems were set to music, too, and the bard used a sing-song delivery when reading his poems out aloud to friends. This particular poem was specially written for a Chartist meeting in Sheffield on September 26th 1838. At the start of the meeting, Elliott read out the verses which were then sung by the crowd to the tune of the 100th Psalm. In this poem, Elliott is concerned with getting across his political message; in this he succeeds - though leaving religious tones in the background. The verse was discovered in reports of the meeting by two separate Sheffield newspapers.
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God of the
Poor! shall labour eat? Or drones
alone find labour sweet? Lo, they who
call thy earth their own, Take all we
have - and give a stone! Yet bring not
Thou on them the doom That scourged
the proud of wretched Who stole,
for few, the lands of all, To make all
life a funeral. Lord! Not for
vengeance rave the wronged, The hopes
deferr'd, the woes prolong'd; Our cause is
just, our Judge divine; But
judgement, God of all, is thine! |
Yet not in
vain thy children call On Thee, for
Thou art Lord of all; And by thy
work, and by thy word, Hark!
millions cry for justice, Lord! For leave to toil, and not in vain - For honest
labourer's needful gain; A little
rest, a little corn, For weary
man, to trouble born! For labour,
food; for all their own; Our right to
trade from zone to zone, To make all
laws for us and ours, And curb the
will of evil powers. |
The above poem was
discovered by Keith Morris & was printed in his book "People,
Poems & Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer" [2005].
Copies of the book may be seen in Rotherham Central Library (Archives
Dept), Sheffield Central Library (Local Studies Library) and
the British Library.
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Poem written 1838 |
The following sonnet
was written by Elliott for publication in an American magazine called
"Godey's Lady's Book." This magazine (also known as "The Lady's Book")
described itself as "A Magazine of Fashion and the Arts." The journal
was published in
Elliott was becoming
quite well known in the States. Henry Brewster Stanton, the US
Quaker lawyer, had known enough of Elliott to visit him in Sheffield in
1840 and Stanton's friend, the US Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier,
was also spreading the fame of the Corn Law Rhymer.
Elliott’s poems were appearing in US anthologies & in magazine
articles. In January 1844, the "Southern Quarterly Review" included a
section on Elliott, as did the "Ladies Repository" of November 1850. A
long essay on Elliott appeared in 1850 in the book "Lectures and
Essays" written by Henry Giles, while "Harper’s New Monthly Magazine"
ran an article on Elliott in its June 1850 issue. In 1861, a collection
of religious poetry called "The Harp & the Cross" compiled by
S. G. Bulfinch contained Elliott's verse "Close of the Year."
(The poem appears elsewhere as "Hymn"). Even as late as 1880, "A Ghost
at
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Burst thou the silvery stream of thy soft
light? Thou'lt find in me no shepherd young and fair Like him* who sleeping once bewitch'd thy
sight, And kisses lur'd from thee, so chaste and
bright! I am a wretch, the victim of despair, Aged, and wither'd by misfortune's blight; Of home, of friends, of earthly blessings
bare, Would'st thou to quiet lull my troubled
breast, By gentle spell of thy sweet holy smile? O! lay me then, in tranced vision blest, On mountain summit or in desert isle; Some dreamy spot, in thy pale radiance drest - From man remote - there ever let me rest! *
Endymion |
The
above poem was discovered by Keith Morris & was printed in his
book "People, Poems & Politics of Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law
Rhymer" [2005]. Copies are in Rotherham Central Library
(Archives Dept), Sheffield Central Library (Local Studies) and the
British Library.
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Poem written 1838 |
" The Storming
of Badajoz " *
A ballad
"Take a single captive." - STERNE.
No
star! - all was dark! - not a
cloud could be seen! |
This poem was discovered by Diane Gascoyne in the Sheffield Iris newspaper of April 10th 1838. The Iris had "borrowed" it from Tait's Magazine issue number 52. The Iris described Tait's Edinburgh Magazine thus: "It is one of the best and cheapest periodicals of the day, ever varying in contents, but never varying from the genuine principles of good, sensible Radicalism."
The poem has not appeared in the published works of the bard & should therefore be regarded as a new discovery.
Badajoz was a Spanish town near the border with Portugal. Its castle had been taken by the French in 1811. The same year, a siege by the British failed to take the castle; but in 1812, under the future Duke of Wellington, the castle wall was breached in three places & eventually the castle was stormed by the British after heavy fighting & with severe loss of life. Two days of drinking, murder, rape & looting followed.
While Badajoz was stormed in 1812, Elliott's poem did not appear until 1838. So what was going on? The poet began by setting the scene for a stirring, patriotic tale which was soon tempered by sarcastic references to the noble commanders losing control of their troops who ravished the womenfolk they were supposed to be rescuing. Rather than a sweet victory, Elliott saw "the triumphs of hell in Spain" where poor Freedom took a sword in her chest. The poem ended emphatically with: "Ye have lost!"
The poem appeared in 1838. The 1830s were a hectic time in English politics - there had been the triumph of reform, followed by the challenges to government of the Chartists & also the Anti-Corn Law League. There was little respect for the authorities. It is against this rebellious background that the Poet of the Poor looked back to 1812 and voiced his dissatisfaction with the sordid events at Badajoz.
Poem written 1839
"Hymn of the Bread-Taxed"
(Written
for the Anti-Corn-Law Circular)
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This interesting
little poem was written while Elliott was still living in Sheffield and
while his business was struggling. The poem appeared in the Sheffield
& Rotherham Independent newspaper on December 14th 1839 where
it was recently discovered by Diane Gascoyne who was studying
old Sheffield newspapers. The poem is a new discovery: many thanks to
Diane for her good work.
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Poem written 1839 |
Another poem called " Sonnet "
This
poem appeared in the American journal "Godey's Lady's Book." Published
in the issue for May 1839, the sonnet was composed when Elliott was
living in Upperthorpe,
By sad mishaps chained to my weary bed, While with a leaden foot the minutes creep, I count my woes in solitude, and weep Full many a joy, for ever from me fled! But hark! - the bell! - There is a stranger's
tread, Anxious I listen. - Yes! - 'tis faithful
friend, Who leaves the gay and social scene to bend O'er my dull couch, from my delirious head To chase the fantasies of wild Despair, And whisper soothing dreams of future peace. What healing drug, what medicine can compare With Friendship's voice, to give the wretched
ease? For human sorrow, 'tis a cordial blest By Heaven - of Heaven's own wondrous power
possess'd! |
The above poem was discovered by Keith Morris
& was printed in his book "People, Poems & Politics of
Ebenezer Elliott, Corn Law Rhymer" [2005]. Copies are in
Rotherham Central Library (Archives Dept), Sheffield Central Library
(Local Studies) and the British Library.
(In the December 1840 issue of the "Lady's Book" there appeared another
poem by Elliott called "William and Ann: A Ballad." This ballad appears
in Elliott's "Poetical Works" as three separate poems, namely "He
Went," "He Wrote" and "He Came.")
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Poem written 1844 |
| Ah!
England! happy England once,
Home of the brave and free; The fostering soil of human rights, And glorious
liberty. |
No longer villains they
attend - No haughty lordling's call; No boors nor serfs, yet bonds and chains Are on the limbs of all. |
| Thy
rugged hills were Freedom's shrines,
Wher' oft thy sons of yore, When Europe slept
in slavish chains, |
Oppressive laws and
grievous wrongs The deeps of strife have stirr'd; Revenge incites despairing hope, And plaints and threats are heard. |
| Tho'
stainless stiff thy banner waves.
Unmatch'd thy battle-brand, Oppression on thy
myriad sons |
And yet those
plaints are all of one, One despot-welded chain, That pride and sateless avarice forged, To guard unholy gain. |
| And,
tho' thou wieldest as of yore
The sceptre of the sea, Yet gone the shield of England's heart, A happy peasantry. Such once were thine; for, as they met At sainted holy day, Tho' oft as coarse in speech as sport, Joy's sunshine
still had they. |
Needst thou be told
its length or links, Or name? Monopoly. Ah! no, it circles every limb, Damps every energy. Vainly to 'scape its tyrant thrall, Trade waves her nerveless wing; Vigour; and enterprise, and skill, In vain their succours bring. |
| Tho'
rude their cots, yet health robust
And pleased content were there; For plenty, as 't
had nursed their youth, |
Vain is the pale
mechanic's toil - Vain, vain the peasant's sweat; Its shackles upon industry, Are too, too firmly set. 'Tis strange that those who toil the most, Should be the scantiest fed:- Stranger! that ever tax were laid Upon the labourer's bread. 'Tis strange that sweat of industry, Should pamper idleness:- Stranger! that England's boasted law Should Englishmen oppress. Ah, pity 'tis so foul a blot Our statute book should stain: Yet more, ah! more, that we so long Should wear the galling chain. |
This poem was found in the August 17th 1844 issue of "The League," the newspaper of the Anti-Corn Law League. Ebenezer Elliott was never a member of the League which may be the reason for him submitting the poem anonymously. The poem was attributed to Elliott by Simon Brown in his bibliography of Elliott published by Leicester University in 1971. Curiously, Brown's bibliography refers to a letter (not a poem) from Elliott to the newspaper editor: it is a possibility that Brown has somehow muddled two references into one.
The poem was written quite late in Elliott's life, and it shows he remained true to his principles throughout his days. The poem has not appeared in any of the collections of Elliott's poetry, and it is therefore deemed a newly discovered & unpublished work by the Corn Law Rhymer.
The
Corn Law Rhymer was always a proponent of free trade & had no
truck for monopolists. The tone, subject matter, language &
syntax are clearly those of the Poet of the Poor.
Elliott's poem begins with the poet recalling
earlier days where everyone in the land was bright & happy. The
good old days of yesterday! This blessed state (if it ever existed -
which seems unlikely) has gone for ever. The Corn Law Rhymer looking
back with longing is something which is seen fairly often with the
poet. It serves as a way of making a strong contrast to the
dismal present. Today, "Oppressive laws and grievous wrongs" have
changed the nation’s standard of living, leading to despair &
mutterings of revenge. The cause of all this misery is obvious to all:
Britain's sad condition is caused by monopoly.
Elliott then dwells on the hardship caused by monopoly & laments that those who work the hardest suffer from lack of bread. He is stunned that the laws of the land, "this country once the home of the free," should oppress the people & result in such poverty.
The bard has no solution to the problem caused by monopolists. He does not even mention free trade (which is surprising) nor does he mention revolution, which he did not want anyway. Many others had clamoured for change by force if necessary.
The poem is a longish one, but the Rhymer manages to keep the lines flowing pretty well. He has spent some time polishing the poem: at this stage in his life, the poet had time to spare out in his isolated home near Great Houghton.
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Poem written 1844 |
" A British Marseillaise
"
A Hymn for Masters and Men
Here we have two items from the Corn Law Rhymer to examine - a newly discovered letter and a new poem. The two items were submitted to the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent newspaper in 1844 where they appeared in the issue for 21st of December. The items were found by a Sheffield researcher called Diane Gascoyne who is an Ebenezer enthusiast. First comes the poem followed by the letter; the letter is included here since it actually introduces the poem!
"A British Marseillaise"
Tune - "The Marseillaise Hymn"
| Men! ye who sow the earth
with good; Men! ye who earn the price of food; Strong toil! and mightier skill! * God's chosen! do his will; Save from himself man's deadliest foe, Ere ruin paint his overthrow, His life of wrong, his death of shame, His shroud and grave of blood and flame! Haste, cry aloud to all, "By good for good men live; Build not on broken hearts; Nor take, unless ye give!" |
The child that vainly toils
to aid Parents, death-doom'd by fetter'd trade; The sire, whose hopeless son Lives, but to be undone; The townsman, paid with less and less; The homeless thrall of hopelessness; The peasant, spurn'd, starv'd, hunted, jail'd, Because his law-made doom prevail'd; Still shall they feed with pangs the Moloch of the land, That rapine o'er crush'd hearts may drive his four-in-hand? |
| Shall savage drones, in
baseness blind, Breathe plagues, beneath the light of mind? And famish skill and toil, Because they curse the soil? Where grows the vine, the thistle dies; From cultur'd man the savage flies; Then, peasant, merchant, artisan, Transform the biped-brute to man! Bid truth, bid knowledge turn his mindless night to day! Bid love and mercy drive the human wolf away! |
Barbarians, no! in vain ye
strive To keep a world's despair alive: Your baseness is our might, Your smitten darkness light. |
| Men! not allow'd to earn
your bread; Men! feeding all, yourselves half fed; Why ask for work in vain? Or toil for death and pain? Shall brutal things, in human form, Feed on your souls, like rat and worm? Say to your wives, "Ye shall not eat?" Bid son with sire for graves compete? ** And mothers kill their babes, in flight from law and life, 'Till lawless law become th' assassin's match and knife? |
Mend! ere your crimes set
bondage free! Christ said, "Let children come to me;" And shall ye curse the marriage bed? No! men shall wed, and babes be fed; Our daughters shall not bring forth slaves; Nor childless sons seek workhouse graves! Nor idlers say to toil, "Thou shalt not love and live!" Nor blind brutes say to skill, "We take, and thou shalt give!" |
| Tool making man! whose
foodful mind, With harvest freights the wave and wind, And thoughtfully creates The bread and life of states! *** Say to the fed on tears and blood, "Production is the root of good!" And starve ye them who all produce Ye costliest things of smallest use? Live ye in barren pomp, worst, bloodiest sons of Cain To shake your fists at God, and turn his good to bane? |
*
Are the philosophers of the Gun and Standard,
who pray for the destruction of trade, aware that six adults are
sufficient for the cultivation of one hundred arable acres, and that if
the profits of trade failed to furnish other consumers with an
equivalent for the produce, the only cultivated portion of every
cultivable hundred acres in Britain, would be that alone which is
required for the maintainance
of six adults and their
families? It is of little importance to us what becomes of Messrs. Gun
and Standard but it might be well for them to
take into their sapient consideration the possibility, in such a case,
(of the surplus of victims), taking possession of the land, and the
certainty that, without capital, they could not cultivate it. What,
then, would happen, oh, sages of the Gun and Standard?
Before the inventions of Watt and Arkwright, the people depended on the
land for subsistence; they have since depended on the profits of those
inventions, the landlords pocketing the surplus profits both of trade
and agriculture. Destroy the profits of trade, and the landlords, with
two-thirds of the people, must perish, unless the displaced population,
seizing the land, can also appropriate capital previously amassed. But
perhaps Messrs. Gun and Standard
have really nothing to lose?
** My
late fellow-townsmen having discovered that it is the unemployed
workman who brings wages down, will, I trust, soon experience, that
where Free Trade is, an unemployed workman is a prodigy.
| To The Editor of The Independent
Great Houghton, 14th Dec., 1844. DEAR SIR, - About a fortnight ago, I had the weakness
to send to The League a hastily written poem. Happening to read in the
Independent of the 23rd ult., your excellent report of the Trades'
Unions meeting of delegates, I have revised the poem; and, although I
know your rule is generally not to reprint, I now send it to you, in
the hope that, if you print it, masters and men will try to sing it,
instead of warring on each other, for the amusement (dangerous sport,
though) of the world's worst foes. Sheffield, I agree with you, is not
a "doomed city," because Trades' Unions have sprung out of the food
monopoly, but because that monopoly is destroying Sheffield. You,
perhaps, will not agree with me, that the food monopoly being
murderous, and self preservation Nature's first law, every man is
justified in averting from himself the consequences of that monopoly,
by any means which are consistent with his personal safety, provided he
do no harm to the persons or property of others. This, however, is my
deliberate opinion; and I am also of opinion that Trades' Unionists -
although in restricting production, they are imitating the landlords,
who are destroying all - have, in self-defence, done some good, and
postponed some evil. By preventing the fall of wages to the lowest food
that will support life, they have, at least, for a time, prevented the
departure of manufacturing capital from this country; for if wages had
so fallen - and but for the Unions, they would - competition, under the
Corn Laws, would have brought down profits in the same proportion; and
capital will not stay here for potatoes, if it can get beef over the
water. It can still get beef-broth here, if not beef; but another
series of bad harvests, unless the Corn Laws be repealed in the
meantime, may bring down profits permanently to potatoes; and then -
They who would punish strikes, should first put down
the cause of such disturbances - the landlords' parliamentary strike;
and then, if it please them, hang, or starve to death, the conspiring
filesmith.
I am, dear Sir, EBENEZER ELLIOTT
|
The poet's letter to the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent newspaper was written towards the end of the poet's life & shows that the bard had not changed his views as he grew older. He had a history of submitting items to the Independent which was very tolerant of the ageing poet even though by this time his fame had much declined. Robert Leader, the editor of the paper, was to write a very full obituary of the Corn Law Rhymer in five years time.
The League, referred to by Ebenezer, was the newspaper of the Anti-Corn Law League. Elliott had sent another poem to the League newpaper earlier in 1844 (namely the poem "Monopoly The Bane Of England," listed earlier). The fact that Elliott was still writing new poems in his early sixties says much for his persistence if not his creativity. As does the fact that his latest offering to the Independent was a re-working of a poem he had sent to The League.
Where Elliott refers to masters & men
singing the poem, it is worth noting that many of Ebenezer's poems were
meant to be sung. The hope that singing the verses will provoke harmony
between businessmen & their workers appears naive, but
does prompt the question of what troubles existed to cause the poet to
make this remark. As the Rhymer immediately turns to
trade unions, it is clear that the troubles between masters &
men refer to trade union activity. Ebenezer feels positive about the
role of the unions, as might be expected since he was
always a supporter of the working man & his rights.
The problems in Sheffield, he says, are not caused by the
trade unions but by the lack of free trade (food monopoly). As a former
businessman, he is aware that if profits disappear the country will be
ruined; the only way out is to repeal the Corn Laws. The people who
have caused strikes & other troubles are not union
men, but the landlords - the "world's worst foes." The final
sentence - which at face shows an uncaring attitude to agitators -
really means that once the Corn Laws are removed, there will be no need
for revolutionary movements nor conspiring filesmiths . It is worth
emphasising that the Corn Law Rhymer was never in favour of violence to
bring about change.
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Poem written 1845 |
Written For The
January 1, 1846"
Written very late in life, the Corn Law Rhymer displays all his old vigour in this poem. Elliott often used repetition as he does here, but what is often missing with the poet is humour: yet this verse for all its seriousness & bitterness has an ounce of mirth from the Poet of the Poor.
Elliott
left Sheffield in 1841 but the fact that he wrote this poem in 1845
suggests that the Corn Law Rymer was still well regarded in Sheffield
despite having removed himself to the wilderness of Brierley Common.
|
Who
would not play the lord |
To curse by law, light, air,
food, life, |
PRINTED BY JOHN
BRIDGEFORD, IRIS-OFFICE,
|
Poem written 1846 |
"A Song of Corn Law Repeal"
This poem was
written late in the poet's life & appeared in the Sheffield and
Rotherham Independent newspaper on
The poem was "dedicated to W C Bennett Esq. as payment in kind for his 'Triumph of Free Trade', dedicated to Colonel Thompson and The League."
Colonel Thomas Perronet Thompson was an inspiration to the Anti-Corn Law League & to all interested in repealing the Corn Laws. The colonel was a hero for Elliott, who based his "Corn Law Rhymes" on a famous book by Colonel Thompson.
As for Bennett, some letters exist from Elliott to Bennett from 1846-48 discussing a poem sent by Bennett to the venerable bard for his opinion.
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A shiverication |
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Poem written 1849 |
Elliott gave the title "Song" to many of his
poems. This example demonstrates the
poet's international outlook. The
poem appeared in the Sheffield & Rotherham
Independent on
Again the poem was discovered by Diane Gascoyne of Sheffield.
Written for Music, at the request of W. T. Wood, Esq.
