Autograph letter, signed

Rochdale: 1868., 1868. 24mo. 2 pages. BRIGHT, John [1811-1889] [British M.P., President of the Board of Trade]. Autograph letter, signed ‘John Bright’, dated Rochdale, August 19, 1868, to J.M.A.McCutcheon, General Agent, Fergus, Ontario. Offered with: Autograph letter, marked ‘Copy’, from McCutcheon to Bright, dated August 1, 1868. 4to. 3 pages.McCutcheon outlines the problems created by unscrupulous wholesale and retail merchants in Canada, and proposes that Britain would do well to establish a colonial trade agent in Canada. He offers himself as a candidate for the position, outlining his qualifications. Bright replies that he is unable to help: "I must leave the insecurity you speak of to cure itself." The Honourable John Bright of Rochdale, Lancashire, was a British statesman who was recognized as one of the most eloquent speakers of his day. Elected to Parliament in 1843, he fought successfully for the repeal of the Corn Laws. He denounced the British policy in the Crimean War and supported the union cause in the American Civil War. In 1868 he was appointed President of the British Board of Trade. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1873 and 1888. He opposed the home rule policy of Prime Minister Gladstone.. Signed by Author(s).