Demand the ballot as the undeniable right of every man who is called to the poll, and take special care that the old constitutional rule and principle, by which majorities alone shall decide in Parliamentary elections, shall not be violated.

Bright was re-elected by his Birmingham constituents and it turned out to be his last Parliament. Bright replied that if Cobden retired the mainspring of the League was gone. Why not go to the help of other interests in Belfast and Dublin? As to Dublin Parliament I argued that he was making a surrender all along the line—a Dublin Parliament would work with constant friction and would press against any barrier he might create to keep up the unity of the three Kingdoms.

He sat in the House of Commons from 1843 to 1889. He was one of the greatest orators of his generation and a strong critic of British foreign policy.