Mr. Fowler introduced one of the most
revolutionary measures ever brought into the House of
Commons--revolutionary I mean, of course, in the good sense--and yet he
delivered his new gospel of emancipation to a House that at no period
was in the least crowded, and that was never excited. Happy is the
country that has no annals, fruitful is the Parliament that has no
scenes.
[Sidenote: Uganda again.]
But there were signs of something like storm at certain portions of the
sitting on March 20th, for there stood on the paper the Estimate which
raised the difficult question of Uganda, and on that question, as
everybody knows, there is a yawning gulf between the opinions of Mr.
Labouchere and a number of Radicals below the gangway, and the
occupants of the Treasury Bench. Of Mr. Labouchere the saying may be
used, which is often employed with regard to weak men--Mr. Labouchere is
far from a weak man--he is his own worst enemy. His delight in
persiflage, his keen wit--his love of the pose of the bloodless and
cynical Boulevardier--have served to conceal from Parliament, and
sometimes, perhaps, even from himself, the sincerity of his convictions,
and the masculine strength and firmness of his will.
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