And then, to my
astonishment, Mr. Gibbs complained of my use of the term "Judas" to Mr.
Chamberlain. As I have said, all this had passed from everybody's
memory, it really had nothing to do with the awful scene which had just
been enacted, and, in fact, it was like some sudden return to ancient
and forgotten history. Moreover, it had the disadvantage of conveying an
entirely wrong impression of what had really taken place; it shifted
back the attention to what was after all more or less playfulness, or at
the worst, mere verbal disorder, from the odious, brutal resort to
physical violence which had just taken place. Moreover, it put a wrong
complexion on even the verbal disorder, for it put the initiative with
me instead of with Mr. Chamberlain, and, finally, it entirely removed
from view the gross and scandalous breach of order which Mr. Gibbs and
his friends had committed by retaining their seats and refusing to leave
the House.
[Sidenote: My apology.]
But the great consideration with the Speaker--and, indeed, with
everybody else who had the dignity and honour of the House of Commons at
heart--was to shove underground as soon, as promptly, as roughly as
possible, the corpse of its dignity and reputation; and without making
any attempt to explain my conduct--to shift on the responsibility to
where it really lay--to draw attention, except by a mere sentence, to
that scene of physical violence--I made my apology.
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