Then Mr. Gladstone rose, and in a very powerful speech,
in which he did not deny that Mr. Bradlaugh's willingness to use solemn words carrying, to him, no significance, was not com- mendable, still insisted that the House had no legal right to re- fuse the oath to any duly-elected'Member willing to take it; and that if it availed itself of extraneous information to forbid the oath to Mr. Bradlaugh, the door was opened to unlimited in-. quisitions of the same sort in the case of other Members. And he quoted the very strong opinion of the venerable Sir George Grey, to the effect that Mr. Bradlaugh had a legal claim to have the oath administered to him,—a view which, as it is well known, the Conservative ex-Attorney-Geueral, Sir John Hiker, entirely shares. Nevertheless, on a division, taken in a thinnislt House, Sir Stafford Northcote carried the day by a majority of 33 (208 to 173), a great many Liberals absenting themselves, and. a not inconsiderable group voting with Sir Stafford North- cote. Of course, there had been no Government whip.
