I don't complain of this--I merely state a fact--a fact
which, laughingly, was admitted later in the evening; for here I may say
in passing that such is the extraordinary volatility and such the real
good-nature of the House of Commons, this terrible evening ended up in
the exchange of hearty and friendly jokes between some of the fiercest
combatants in the whole business. I had not the least idea of what Mr.
Gibbs was saying--what his complaint really was I knew for the first
time after the whole row was over; indeed, nobody could hear anything in
the din that was almost deafening. Mr. Mellor made several attempts to
catch Mr. Gibbs's statement; and only when, after straining his ears to
the utmost, he failed to catch one single word, did Mr. Mellor resolve
to take no notice of what Mr. Gibbs was trying to say. This seemed to
drive Mr. Gibbs almost beside himself--he shouted angrily and wildly,
at the top of his voice, with fierce and almost frenzied gesture; and,
after a while, he rushed down with every appearance of passion to the
Front Opposition Bench to renew his attempts to make his point of order.
All this time his passion had been rising higher and higher--until, in
the end, he was almost a painful sight to witness.
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