Hereupon arose Mr. Disraeli, intent—much too intent—on administering condign punishment,
such as Mr. Lowe should remember for ever after. He regretted the speech of Mr. Lewis, and still more the answer of Mr. Lowe. It had not been the custom in England to use public assemblies as occasions for making " comments on the conduct of the Sovereign,"—especially " statements which were monstrous, if they were true, but which, if they were not true, must be described by an epithet I cannot find in my vocabulary." Mr. Lowe had held up "to public infamy the chief Minister," asserting that after the Sovereign " had been baffled and balked in her appeals to previous Ministers, she had found a pliant and a servile instrument, who was now ready to do her will." He then argued that as it was impossible that the late Lord Derby could have received any overture on the subject of an Iniperial title from her Majesty without his knowing it, as Mr. Gladstone had at once solemnly denied ever having received any such overture, and as it was in the highest degree improba- ble that the venerable Lord Russell or Lord Palmerston should have received any such overture, Mr. Lowe's story could hardly be true ; after which, he declared himself authorised by the Queen to make a statement,—which was allowed by the Speaker, on the ground that it could not tend to influence the judgment of the House,—and he assured the House that there " was not the slightest foundation for the statement that was made," and in short, that the whole story was " calumnious gossip, which I suppose must always prevail, but which one certainly did not suppose could come from the mouth of a Privy Councillor, and one of her Majesty's late Cabinet Ministers,"—with which words he sat down. The speech was not a happy one. A Prime Minister should not be vindictive, even when fiercely assailed, and should, above all things, guard against the appearance of re- senting the charges against himself even more bitterly than the charges against his Sovereign, or covering himself And his Queen with the same Royal shield. Mr. Lowe probably made a mistake in not at once withdrawing absolutely all he had said, and ex- pressing his regret that he had been so rash as to believe it ; but if it was a mistake, he repaired it amply on Thursday night. Mr. Lewis carried his motion by 91 votes against 37, a majority of 54.
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