The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1883. The Affirmation Bill.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 939, 10 May 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1883. The Affirmation Bill.

Although we are told that the Affirmations in Lieu of Oaths Bill, which has just been rejected by the Imperial House of Commons, was not, strictly speaking, a Government measure, the result of the division on the second reading must have been a surprise to the Liberal party. That Mr Gladstone himself proposed a motion of urgency is alone proof that he fully expected that the Bill would become law, or, at least, pass triumphantly through the Lower House, and we can quite imagine the jubilation in the Conservative ranks at what they would regard as'virtually a Ministerial defeat. The division was indeed a close one, and we have little doubt that the fate of the measure was decided by the vote of the Irish members, whose governing motive is a bitter hatred of those now in power. Still, the fact remains that Parliament has decided against the Bill, and it is not likely that it will be brought up again this session. The history of the measure is an interesting one, and unique in the annals of English Parliamentary procedure. When Mr Bradlaugh, the elect of Northampton, refused to subscribe to the usual oath on taking his seat, the Legislature was landed in a very embarrassing position. If one member were allowed to occupy his place under different conditions to his fellows, it would have been a virtual admission that the oath was meaningless. The only course open was to refuse permission to Mr Bradlaugh to take his seat, and when this was done that gentleman immediately became, in the eyes of the extreme Radicals, a political martyr. There is no need to go over the whole story. The unseemly scenes of violence that occurred within the walls of the Houses of Parliament when Mr Bradlaugh had to be forcibly ejected will long be remembered, but at last he recognised the wisdom of not prolonging a struggle in which he must necessarily be vanquished, and he accordingly resigned his seat. The people of Northampton, however, remained faithful to their first choice, and returned the obnoxious member for the second time. At the opening of last session Mr Bradlaugh presented himself, and offered to take the customary oath, and the Government seemed inclined to let him do this. They argued that he was in the position of a new member, into whose private opinions they had no right to inquire, but the House held that the taking of an oath under the circumstances was nothing more nor less than profanity. Again expelled Mr Bradlaugh sought re-election, and was returned for the same constituency a third time. Although he bad been raised to the position of a doubtful popular hero, most people began to consider Ijim a bore, and when he ceased his efforts to gain admission to an Assembly that had rejected him, it was hoped that the difficulty had been got. over. Few men, however, had made such a decided bid for gutter

popularity, and still fewer had been sod successful in gaining, their end. £he ' fact that he hadby his blasphemous and prurient works rendered himself obnoxious to all right-thinking people I was in itself a passport to the regard of | a certain class. It will be remembered that some little time back an immense crowd of the supporters of the member for Northampton assembled in London for the avowed purpose of marching down to the Houses of Parliament and demanding that their hero should be allowed to take his seat. It would seem as if Mr Gladstone had been frightened by the attitude of the mob of roughs who were ready to resort to such drastic means to attain their end, as Mr Bradlaugh announced that i the Premier had promised to bring in such a Bill as would make it possble lor the expelled representative to sit in the House. This is the Bill whichhas been rejected by the Commons, and although the majority was but small it must not be forgotten that the present Government was supposed to be strong enough to carry through any measure, while the Conservative party has been in a state of disorganisation ever since their great teacher and leader, Lord Beaconsfield, died. The defeat, therefore, must have come as a decided shock to Mr Gladstone, and it remains to be be seen what will the next act in this Bradlaugh drama. Will the 30,000 roughs re-assemble and carry out their original programme, or will the cause of all this trouble recognise that it will be his wisest course to resign altogether his pretensions to a seat in Parliament? In the meantime it is worth noting that the question of abolishing the present form of oath was not tried upon its merits. The House chose to consider that what they had to decide was whether such a man as Mr Bradlaugh should be allowed to sit among them, and consequently the issue was determined oh personal rather than general grounds. When the excitement has cooled down and members hare forgotten the attempt of the mob to coerce them into taking a certain course —an attempt, by the way,that Mr Gladstone would have shown more dignity in resisting rather than bowing abjectly before it—some such Bill as the one which has been rejected will, we venture to think, be passed by the Lower House, although there may be a difficulty in getting the Lords to accept it.