Why meäke the farmers gi'e their leäbourèn men Mwore wages,--half or twice so much ageän As what they got.
But, Thomas, you can't meäke A man pay mwore away than he can teäke. If you do meäke en gi'e, to till a vield, So much ageän as what the groun' do yield, He'll shut out farmèn--or he'll be a goose-- An' goo an' put his money out to use. Wages be low because the hands be plenty; They mid be higher if the hands wer skenty. Leäbour, the seäme's the produce o' the yield, Do zell at market price--jist what 'till yield. Thou wouldsten gi'e a zixpence, I do guess, Vor zix fresh aggs, if zix did zell for less. If theäsem vo'k could come an' meäke mwore lands, If they could teäke wold England in their hands An' stratch it out jist twice so big ageän, They'd be a-doèn some'hat vor us then.
But if they wer a-zent to Parli'ment To meäke the laws, dost know, as I've a-zaid, They'd knock the corn-laws on the head; An' then the landlards must let down their rent, An' we should very soon have cheaper bread: Farmers would gi'e less money vor their lands.
Aye, zoo they mid, an' prices mid be low'r Vor what their land would yield; an' zoo their hands Would be jist where they wer avore. An' if theäse men wer all to hold together, They coulden meäke new laws to change the weather! They ben't so mighty as to think o' frightenèn The vrost an' raïn, the thunder an' the lightenèn! An' as vor me, I don't know what to think O' them there fine, big-talkèn, cunnèn, Strange men, a-comèn down vrom Lon'on. Why they don't stint theirzelves, but eat an' drink The best at public-house where they do staÿ; They don't work gratis, they do get their paÿ. They woulden pinch theirzelves to do us good, Nor gi'e their money vor to buy us food. D'ye think, if we should meet em in the street Zome day in Lon'on, they would stand a treat?
They be a-païd, because they be a-zent By corn-law vo'k that be the poor man's friends, To tell us all how we mid gaïn our ends, A-zendèn peäpers up to Parli'ment.