Sentence:  Let us impress upon those members of the Council who were so vehemently <WSD>acrimonious</WSD> in their denunciation of the licentiousness of the Vernacular Press, almost to the verge of betraying the least little soupcon of personal feeling, that we are not pleading, in the noble words of one of the greatest of Englishmen, 'for the introduction of licence, but we only oppose licensing.' 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Angry, acid, and sharp in delivering argumentative replies: bitter, mean-spirited, sharp in language or tone. (from early 17th c.)