330 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh. 



longer any voice in the matter, and they are quite at 

 liberty to take what course they please. I need not 

 say that I have no disposition, except with a view to 

 expediting the close of the Parliament, to offer any 

 opposition to the shop-hours bill, but you must settle 

 that with the Government, who alone have now any- 

 thing to say to the arrangement of business. — Yours 

 sincerely, W. V. Harcourt. 



On June 21 Sir John is able to note " Provand 

 having left his Shop Hours Bill, I got it through 

 Committee and Third Reading." 



On July 2 he writes : " This session I have 

 passed Public Libraries Consolidation Bill, 

 Ancient Monuments (Ireland) Amendments Bill, 

 London Water Bill and the London General 

 Powers and London Money Bills, besides doing 

 something to help the Shop Hours Act Amend- 

 ment Bill." 



At the General Election this year the Committee 

 of the University of London Liberal Association 

 did not oppose Sir John's re-election, but issued 

 the following protest : " We, the undersigned 

 members of the Convocation of the University 

 of London, while recognising that the distin- 

 guished public services and personal popularity 

 of the Right Hon. Sir John Lubbock make it 

 undesirable to contest his seat in Parliament 

 at the forthcoming election, nevertheless feel 

 it our duty to protest that on the question of 

 the government of Ireland he does not represent 

 our views, and to express with Mr. Gladstone a 

 real anxiety that the University of London 

 should do something ' to redeem the character 

 of our Universities from the charge of political 

 narrowness, which has unfortunately derived 



