His remains were interred in a vault near the northeast corner of Reigate churchyard; the funeral, as he certainly would have desired, and such instances we are happy to witness are constantly becoming more frequent and in the highest stations, was "without ostentation or parade of any kind." Man, "whose breath is in his nostrils," and who, as Sir Thomas Browne expresses it, "is made out of an extract of the earth," whatever may have been his condition during life, or however distinguished, ought to be neither " splendid in ashes," nor "pompous in the grave." Mr. Deacon Hume had twelve children, of whom eight daughters lived to be women: Charlotte, deceased, who married the late Whitlock Nicholl, Esq., M.D., of Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London; Caroline, who married Hassard Hume Dodgson, Esq., M.A.; Isabella, who married Lieutenant-Colonel Poole, Native Bombay Cavalry; Anna, who married the late Rev. C. David Badham, M.D., Oxon., formerly Ratcliffe Travelling Fellow; Ellen, who married the Rev. Charles Badham, M.A., Vicar of All Saints, Sudbury, Suffolk. Three daughters remain unmarried. Mrs. Hume survived her husband several years. She died at East Bergholt in Suffolk, on the 31st of May 1854, in the eighty-first year of her age. *The wishes which were expressed by Queen Adelaide, and Sir Robert Peel, whose words we have quoted, have been very influential in all classes of society. We entirely agree with those who were of opinion that had there been less parade and less upholstery exhibited in the funeral of the Duke of Wellington it would have accorded better with the spirit of Christianity, as well as with the simplicity of character which distinguished him. 299 CHAPTER XII. PARALLEL BETWEEN MR. HUME AND MR. CLARKSON - DAVID HUME, HIS POLITICAL DISCOURSES-FORESTALLING AND REGRATING REMARKS OF LORD JOHN RUSSELL-FREE-TRADE DOCTRINES OF ENGLISH NOT OF FRENCH ORIGIN-MR. HUME'S LONG-CONTINUED EXERTIONS-HIS CAUTION—APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES-THE ANTI-CORN LAW LEAGUE-MR. COBDENSIR ROBERT PEEL'S ADVANCES-THE OPPOSITION HE ENCOUNTERED-FREE-TRADE, AT FIRST, NOT A PARTY QUESTION-SIR ROBERT PEEL'S STATEMENT-MR. GLADSTONE QUOTED-CORN LAWS REPEALED-BENEFITS RESULTING-NAVIGATION LAWS REPEALED-BURTON'S LIFE OF DAVID HUME QUOTED-MR. MACGREGOR. "The time shall come when free as seas or wind, POPE. THE only discouragement which the writer has met with in the composition of this biography, was conveyed in the remark, that the name of the subject of it is almost exclusively associated with a bygone topic, and that people are apt to kick down the ladder after they have reached the top. He felt, however, that he ought not to take ingratitude for granted. With reference to bygone subjects, what is all history but a record of past transactions and events? And who is there, possessing an ordinary measure of intelligence, that does not deem it an interesting and instructive employment, after he has reached the goal, to review the past, to recount the toils of combat, and the labours of the way? The writer has been accustomed to contend, that Mr. Deacon Hume stood very much in the same relation to Mr. Huskisson, upon the subject of free trade, that Mr. Thomas Clarkson did to Mr. Wilberforce with respect to the slave trade. Neither Mr. Wilberforce nor Mr. Clarkson, it is true, were ever in office, whereas both Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Hume were officially connected with successive governments. But, whatever may be the degree of correctness in the parallel, no well-informed economist entertains a doubt, that Mr. Deacon Hume's exertions largely contributed to that great change of opinion respecting commercial matters, which finally enabled the advocates of free-trade to effect so much. That the British African slave-trade owed its fall, in a great measure, to the exertions of Mr. Clarkson, is now matter of history. If, however, he had not laboured as he did, it is pretty clear, looking at the state of public opinion since, that what was accomplished in 1807, could not have been resisted for many years. Clarkson was never supported by more than a section of the press; whereas, had the attention which the slave-trade with difficulty attracted, been delayed for a season, the press would have been nearly unanimous. "We have lately purchased Negro Emancipation, let us make a similar, and far easier, effort to purchase Corn Emancipation," was the frequent remark of Mr. Deacon Hume. "But what great legislative improvement has not been met by fierce opposition and numerous predictions of mischief? It was not without repeated struggles that Mr. Wilberforce was enabled to secure even the admission of Christian missionaries into British India. The slave-trade was obstinately defended. For many years the apprehensions of West Indian planters and merchants riveted the fetters of the slave; and, even to this day, the fears excited by Roman Catholic Emancipation, and by the Reform Act, have not wholly subsided."* If other great improvements have given rise to visionary alarms, who will be surprised to find that the change respecting the corn-laws has proved visionary also? "If, in other processes of industry, competition, though strongly deprecated, has proved advantageous, it may surely also be serviceable in the production of corn, and lead generally to a more scientific and productive cultivation of the land.” A far higher authority has remarked, that "a depreciation in the price of corn may be counterpoised by increased production, consequent upon the improved management of farms, and the employment of additional labour. The history of monopoly shows, that it acts as a discouragement to improvement, and the farmer is not an exception to the general rule; it tends to make him rest contented with a slovenly system of cultivation, because it is *The Hon. and Rev. Baptist W. Noel's "Plea for the Poor, and abolition of the Corn Laws." cheap, under the belief that the diminished quantity of produce consequent thereon, will be compensated by increased price." Possibly there may be persons who would hesitate in attributing the revolution, which, within a few years, has taken place with reference to the system of prohibitory and protective duties, either to the influence of Mr. Deacon Hume, or to any single individual. The subject of these pages, the writer is aware, has in some instances, been spoken of as one of the authors of the doctrine of free-trade, which is obviously incorrect. Had it been said that he was one of its earliest advocates -that he, more than any other person, practically applied in its doctrines originating free trade measures, the statement would in no degree have exceeded the truth. David Hume, the author of the "Political Discourses," and of the "History of England," "was beyond all doubt the author of the modern doctrines which now rule the world of science, which are to a great extent the guide of practical statesmen, and are only prevented from being applied in their fullest extent to the affairs of nations, by the clashing of interests and the ignorant prejudices of certain powerful classes; for no one deserving the name of legislator, pretends to doubt the soundness of the theory, although many hold that the errors of our predecessors require a slow recourse to right principle in conducting the practical business of the world."* * Lord Brougham's Lives of Men of Letters, page 176: in which the following remarks also occur.-"Dr. Smith's celebrated work, with |