Once upon a time there lived in Staffordshire a noble Lord.
Among other possessions he held the lordship of a Manor close
by his residence; it was, however, but a barren dignity, as the
Manor was all common and waste land. However, he got an act of
Parliament for enclosing the waste lands, and inserted a clause
_reserving all Mines to himself_, should there prove to be any.
Well, in time this Manor became built over. Many working men
_out of their savings_ put up houses for themselves, and the
place became very populous. The old lord died; and the next
Lord, who was very young, thought Staffordshire a very nasty
place, so he went to Italy and foreign parts to enjoy himself,
and there revelled in luxury and extravagance. Fortunately for
this Lord, his Agents found Mines under nearly all that Manor,
and as their master's wants were great, they opened all the
Mines they could. _But the Working Men, who had built their
houses upon the surface?_ Row after row of houses split and
cracked, and became ruins; some houses sank into the earth--it
seemed as if some convulsion of nature had passed over this
manor. Many poor workmen were ruined, for they had borrowed
money to assist them in building their houses, and when the
mortgagees found their value was destroyed, they sold them for
what they would fetch. Others went to his Lord's Agents and
begged of them to leave ribs and pillars under their houses,
_but they would not_. Some begged the Agents to patch their
houses up--but no: _not a day's labour! not a barrow of mortar!
not a brick! not a tile!_ would this Lord's Agents give them!
And the Miners kept enlarging their circle like an encroaching
sea, and those, whose dwellings were not ruined, were kept in
daily dread of their little property, around which clung so
many pleasant memories; where, after years of toil and care,
they had fondly hoped for tranquillity in old age!
Well, this Lord with all his wealth was unhappy, _he coveted
an Earldom_! The Election came on, and "Which Candidate,"
said the noble Lord to himself, "shall I support? Why, I'll
support the one who will support Ministers, and if they win,
why, my Earldom is safe!" So this Lord had an interview with
LORD ABERDEEN, and _he turned his Coat_ (for before he was a
Conservative), and his Agent went round and _commanded_ all his
Tenants _to turn their Coats_. "But," said the Tenants, "we
surely cannot support Ministers, FOR THEY HAVE TRUCKLED TO THE
RUSSIAN INFLUENCE, and for the first time in History, _England
has shown the White Feather_!" But the Agent said--"Leave the
Country to the noble Lord. Has he not the largest stake in it."