Mr. Daly said that, as a Catholic, he shrank from
contact with Mr. Bradlaugh, and could not permit the relief given to Catholics to be compared to that demanded for " an isolated atheist ;" and Sir S. Northcote concluded the debate, declaring that to turn the question over to a Court of law would lower the dignity of Parliament, and that the recom- mendation of the second Committee was a mere attempt to get round an awkward corner in an illegitimate way. The amendment of Sir Harilinge Gifford was carried by 275 votes, against 230, in a House of 510 Members (including the four Tellers and the Speaker). There were twenty Members who paired, bringing up the number of Members present to 530. But at least 100 Members must have intentionally stayed away, lacking the courage either to vote for an atheist or to vote for a new religious test.
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