The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-07-14 00:00:00

MR. BRADLAUGH AND PARLIAMENT.

Mr. Bradlaugh, who addressed a large meeting at
Newcastle.on•Tyne on Sunday morning, announced
that on the previous Thursday he sent the following
letter to Mr. Gladstone :

"Sir,—ln accordance with the requirements of my
constituents, I beg respectfully to inform you that I
shall, in compliance with the law, at an early date
take my seat for the borough of Northampton. In
doing this, I shall claim to disregard the order of the
House made this Session as being, to use the words of
George Grenville, in the teeth of the law, and there-
fore null and void. lam confirmed in this view by
ths judzment of Mr. Justice Field in the suit brought
by myself against Nlr. Erskine. when in answer to my
hypothesis that the Howe of Csunnons had passed a
resolution forbidding me to take the oath, his Lordship
said that he could not assume that the House would
do an act which in itself would be flagrantly wrong.
As the Parliamentary Oaths Act, 1866, and the
Standing Orders of the House make no other pro-
vision than that the oath shall be taken and subscribed
in manner therein prescribed, I beg to inform you
that I shall so take and subscribe the oath in the
manner binding upon my conscience. When I so took
and subscribed the oath on the 21st February, 1882, I
sought to obtain the opinion of the Queen's Bench
Division of the High Court of Justice on the legality
of the oath so taken by me, but the Court refused to
allow a friendly action to be argued or tried. If any
legal decision csuld be obtained, or if the House would
discharge me from the services it by force prevents me
performing, so that a new writ would be issued, I
should be relieved from the painful necessity of finding
myself once more in collision with the House, but I
cannot and must not passively permit my constituents
to be robbed of the voice and vote to which they have
a Constitutional right. —I have the honour to be, &e.,
C. BRADLAI74II.
In answer to this letter he had received the follow-
ing communication, under date of the 6th of July :
"Sir,—l am directed by Mr. Gladstone to acquaint
you that the letter with which you yesterday favoured
him has duly reached him, and he will to-morrow
make known to his colleagues the receipt of it.—l am,
Sir, your obedient servant, E. W. HAMILTON."
A resolution condemning the action of the House of
Commons with reference to the representation of
Northampton was carried, and Mr. Bradlaugh said he
would take his seat within three weeks.

In the House of Commons on Monday night in
answer to a question by Sir S. Northcote, the Prime
Minister said he had received on Friday last a letter
from Mr. Bradlaugh announcing his intention on
an early date to take his seat for Northampton,
in disregard of the order of the House, which he
held to be in the teeth of the law and there-
fore null and void. The Government having in
more than one form suggested moths in which
he difficulties of the subject could be avoided, and
their recommendations not having received the ap-
proval of the House, it must rest with those whose
advice•had been accepted by the House to act upon the
information which he had communicated.

Sir S. Northcote observed that the House ought not
to be placed in the position of having its proceedings
interrupted by Mr. Bradlaugh at any moment he
might select ; and he therefore moved that the
Srjeant•at•Arms do exclude Air. Bradlaugh from the
House until he should engage not further to disturb its
proceedings.
Mr. Labouchere insisted that a duly elected member
was entithd to come to the table for the purpose of
lulfilling the obligation imposed upon him by law;
and intimated that he shoull divide the House against
the motion.

Mr. Gladstone regarded the motion as the necessary
corollary of the action already taken by the House,
and deprecated a division; but Sir Wilfrid Lawson
rejoined that the matter was one upon which the sense
of the House ought to be taken.
On a division the motion was carried by 232 to 65.

Immediately after the. House of Commons passed
the resolution with regard to Mr. Bradlaugh, the
following order was issued by the Speaker :

"House of Commons.

"Ordered, that the Sarjeant-at-Arms do exclude
Mr. Bradlaugh from the House until he eh ill engage
not further to disturb the proceedings of the House.
"I'. ERSKINE MAY,
"Chief Clerk, House of Commons."

The effect of this order is that Mr. Bradlaugh may
enter the lobby, the library, the reading, writing,
dining and smoking rooms, but he will Not be allowed
to cross the threshold of tha 1101180 or take a seat
below the bar until he has complied with the Speaker's
order. _

When it was seen in the bore that Sir W. Lawi on
and Mr. Labouchere had resolved to challenge a divi-
sion on Sir S. Northcote's motion to exclude Mr.
Bradlaugh, over 200 Liberal members rose and ltft the
House to avoid voting. Among those who thus I fc
were Messrs. Gladstone and Childers, Sir 'W. Har-
court, Lord Hartington, and Mr. W. E. Forster.
The fillowing remained and voted in the minority :
Mr. Chamberlain, Sir C. Duke, Mr. Fawcett, and
Lord E. Fitzmaurice.

The majority included, besides the leaden of the
Opp sition and the great majority of the Conservative
paity, Mcsars. M'Cullagh Torrens, A. Elliot, Cart-
wright, Brooks, Dr. Lynne, Lord E. Cavendish,
Messrs. M. Henry, Parker. and M'Coan. The fol.
lowers of Mr. Parnell voted with the mainity.
The minority included Sir NV, M'Arthur, Messrs.
Potter, Firth, Dillwyn, Collins, and about 40 Libera's
below the gangway.

The tellers for the minority were Sir W. Lawson
and Mr, Labonchere ; for the majority, Vtscount
Crichtm and Mr, Winn.