366 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



committee, which advised that he should be 

 permitted to affirm with a view of having his 

 legal rights determined. A resolution to that 

 effect was passed, July 2, 1880. He accord- 

 ingly sat and voted in the House of Commons 

 pending the judicial decision, which was ren- 

 dered in the case by Justice Mathews, March 

 18th. Bradlaugh argued the statutes relating 

 to atheists, agnostics, etc., of persons who are 

 permitted to affirm in judicial examinations, 

 because an oath would have no binding effect 

 on their conscience. He claimed that these 

 enactments created a new class of persons, and 

 brought them within the provision of the act 

 allowing Quakers and "any other persons for 

 the time being by law permitted to make a 

 solemn affirmation or declaration, instead of 

 taking an oath," to take their seats in Parlia- 

 ment on making an affirmation. The judge 

 held that the evidence act was not intended to 

 extend to the classes named the right to affirm 

 in Parliament, and at the same time expressed 

 the opinion that the lack of a religious belief 

 entailed under the law no disability to sit in 

 the Legislature. The judges, on appeal, March 

 31st, confirmed the decision that Bradlaugh 

 was incapacitated for sitting in Parliament, not 

 having taken the statutory oath. The seat was 

 declared vacant, but at the election, April 9th, 

 Mr. Bradlaugh was again returned for North- 

 ampton. On April 26th Mr. Bradlaugh pre- 

 sented himself to take the oath, but, before it 

 was administered, Sir Stafford Northcote ob- 

 jected to the " act of profanation," and moved 

 a resolution that, in view of the knowledge pos- 

 sessed by the House of Mr. Bradlaugh's opin- 

 ions, he be not permitted "to go through the 

 form of repeating the words of the oath." Mr. 

 Bradlaugh delivered an earnest plea at the bar 

 of the House, to the effect that he was under 

 no legal disqualification, declaring that the es- 

 sential part of the oath was fully binding upon 

 his conscience. The resolution was carried. 

 Mr. Bradlaugh then presented himself again at 

 the table, and refused to withdraw on the order 

 of the Speaker. Appealed to by Northcote, 

 the Prime Minister stated that, having voted 

 with the minority, he would leave the ma- 

 jority to carry out their resolution. On the mo- 

 tion of Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Bradlangh 

 was ordered by the House to withdraw. Con- 

 ducted to the bar by the sergeant-at-arms, he 

 again returned, and was only kept back by 

 force. The following day he appeared at the 

 table again. Mr. Labouchere asked the Pre- 

 mier to allow him to bring in an oaths bill to 

 meet the case, but the latter objected to delay- 

 ing the Irish Land Bill. Such a bill was intro- 

 duced by the Attorney-General, May 3d, but 

 the matter was postponed by desire of the Con- 

 servatives. On May 10th Mr. Bradlaugh again 

 presented himself to take the oath, and refused 

 to withdraw, declaring the order illegal; and 

 again Sir Stafford Northcote was obliged to 

 assume the leadership, and moved his expul- 

 sion and exclusion until he gave an undertak- 



ing not to further disturb the proceedings of 

 the House. On August 30th, the Attorney- 

 General's bill having been withdrawn, Mr. 

 Bradlaugh appeared in the lobby and attempted 

 to penetrate the House, but was denied admis- 

 sion, and finally taken away struggling by the 

 police. Many deputations had presented peti- 

 tions in favor of his admission that same day, 

 which was previously announced. Bradlaugh 

 was in an almost fainting condition when con- 

 ducted outside. On a resolution offered by 

 the other member for Northampton, to the 

 effect that the Speaker had exceeded his powers 

 in having Bradlaugh driven out of the lobby, 

 Mr. Bright reminded the majority who refused 

 to open a portal by which the duly elected rep- 

 resentative of a great constituency, who had 

 been declared by the court to be not constitu- 

 tionally disqualified, could enter the House, of 

 the danger of the situation of affairs they had 

 brought about. The crowds who had assem- 

 bled at the meeting of sympathy the night 

 before, and those which gathered in front of 

 the halls of Parliament that morning, he said, 

 numbered but a few thousands, "but this is 

 exactly one of those things which grow, and 

 the House, if it persists in its present course, 

 will bring us into some most unfortunate and 

 calamitous position." The scrupulosity of 

 Parliament in refusing, against the earnest op- 

 position of the Government, to allow Mr. 

 Bradlaugh to take the oath on account of the 

 expression of his religious opinions, of which 

 it had taken formal cognizance, although pro- 

 fessed infidels have not infrequently sat in Par- 

 liament in late years, was in great measure due 

 to antipathy toward the man and the class to 

 which he belongs. Charles Bradlaugh is an 

 exceedingly popular leader among the extreme 

 Radicals. The prejudice and exclusive spirit 

 which went so far as to disregard the rights of 

 a constituency on a colorable pretext, because 

 its representative was regarded with aversion 

 as the embodiment of obnoxious opinions, can 

 only have the effect of bringing a larger num- 

 ber, of the same class of democratic politicians 

 and tribunes of the working people into Parlia- 

 ment than would otherwise be chosen. 



But few and unimportant changes in the 

 Government were made. The secession from 

 the ministry of the Duke of Argyll left the 

 Privy Seal vacant, which was given to Lord 

 Carlingford. The governorship of Madras was 

 made vacant by the death of Mr. Adam, and 

 was conferred on M. E. Grant Duff, Under- 

 secretary of State for India in Mr. Gladstone's 

 former administration, and well known as a 

 Liberal member of Parliament, and for his dis- 

 courses to his electors on foreign events and 

 politics. After the conclusion of the Boer con- 

 vention, L. H. Courtney, known as an advanced 

 Liberal, was appointed Under-Secretary for the 

 Colonies, Lord Rosebery becoming Under-Sec- 

 retary for the Home Department, with special 

 charge of Scotch affairs in the House of Lords. 



The arraignment and trial of the leading 



