Sir Charles Russell put, a question to Mr. Gathorne Hardy
in the House of Commons yesterday week intended to bring out the disreputable avocations of Mr. James Finlen, who headed the deputation to Mr. Gladstone a fortnight ago concerning a demonstration in Hyde Park in favour of dise.stablishinent of the Irish Church, and who is said to have been the paid advocate of the Judge and Jury Club in Leicester Square, and to have been dismissed from that situation as unworthy even of his associates. Mr. Hardy replied very properly that it was not his official duty to trace out Mr. Finlen's antecedents, and Mr. Gladstone stated, what everybody knew beforehand, that he had been asked by a certain person (a Mr. DISSweenie) to receive a deputation of work- ing men concerning a proposed demonstration in favour of the dis- establishment ; that he had consented to do so ; that he did not know any of the members of the deputation ; that one of them announced his name as Finlen; that the name brought none but very obscure associations to his mind, that these obscure associations were connected only with extreme views on the Reform question, and that beyond this he knew nothing at all of Mr. Finlen's antecedents. Sir Charles Russell then declared that his only object in asking the question had been to give Mr. Glad- stone an opportunity of disclaiming all knowledge of Mr. Fin- len, and the matter dropped, with a universal feeling that not a particle of blame rested on Mr. Gladstone.
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