George Medley

I have the honour of appearing before you this evening for the purpose of delivering to you an address, which I have entitled "England under Free Trade."

Now, these are very wide terms. In their full meaning they cover a vast field of inquiry, and, if I were to attempt to traverse that field throughout, I should have to take in political, social, agricultural, commercial, artistic, literary, and other matters, which I have no intention of doing, for which there is no time, and for which I certainly have not the requisite ability. With your permission, therefore, I propose to confine myself to the one great subject indicated by my title, Free Trade, only touching on some of the others by way of argument or illustration.

In fact, our inquiry will resolve itself into a chapter of what is termed the Fair Trade Controversy.