Mr. Ward Hunt rallied Mr. Stansfeld on that "irony of
events" which had turned him into the advocate of a great military expenditure, after leading the attack upon it in 1862. Mr. Richard made a peace speech against invasion-panics, but, on the whole, also in favour of the Government, on the ground that Mr. Disraeli would be worse than Mr. Gladstone, or, as Mr. Vernon Harcourt subsequently put it, that it was far from worth the nation's while to kill Charles in order to make James, King ; Lord F. Cavendish spoke up for Government, doubtless with the view of obliterating the effect of his uncle's speech of last week ; old Mr. Henley made a vigorous retrenchment speech from the Conserva- tive benches, regretting that the Government had not shown more courage than to be "kicked" into panic estimates ; Mr. Harcourt, in a clever and acid speech, of which the motto was, "Magnum vectigal set parsimonia," the Latin form of which he entreated Mr. Lowe to pardon, ridiculed Mr. Lowe's fear of invasion, declared that everybody but the Government ought to have been prepared for the war, and ought not to have been alarmed by it, and after rubbing a little salt into the wounds of the Government, declared he should vote in their favour.
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