HL Deb 04 July 1884 vol 290 c3
EARL GRANVILLE

I have to apologize for troubling the House again with respect to the anecdote of the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Salisbury) on Tuesday last; but having rashly promised your Lordships that I would make further inquiries I think it right to mention the result. The noble Marquess said— I am told, on very good authority, that the two Gentlemen whose duty it is to marshal the forces of the Government were, during that division, at the door of the Lobby into which the Government and the Opposition went, and that, when asked by Liberal Members which way they were to go, instead of replying with enthusiasm, as might be expected, 'Of course, you are to follow Mr. Gladstone,' they immediately replied, 'The bulk of the Party is going the other way.'"—(3 Hansard, [289] 1777.) Last night the noble Marquess said that he referred not to Lord. Richard Grosvenor and Lord Kensington, but to Mr. Duff.

LORD ELLENBOROUGH

And Mr. Cotes.

EARL GRANVILLE

I have not the slightest objection to add Mr. Cotes. I stated yesterday that both Lord Kensington and Lord Richard Grosvenor had entirely denied the statement as far as they were concerned. I have now to say that Mr. Duff has written to me as follows:— When the Division took place on Monday I was sitting on the Cross Bench by the door, and was obliged to remain there on account of the rush of Liberal Members into the 'No' Lobby. No one appealed to me as to how they should vote; but several Members said in a laughing way—'You had better come with us.' I replied—'The Government go the other way.' From where I was sitting the spontaneous movement of the Party into the 'No' Lobby was so obvious that it would have been useless to interfere either way, and I never attempted to do so. The noble Lord (Lord Ellenborough) has reminded me of Mr. Cotes; but Mr. Cotes says that he knows nothing of the matter, and that it is entirely without foundation so far as he is concerned. I have again to apologize for wasting your Lordships' time upon this subject; but I think your Lordships will concur with me in expressing a wish that this will not deter the noble Marquess for the future from enlivening our debates by well-placed anecdotes when they occur to him.