MR. GLADSTONEWith the permission of the House, I wish to make a personal explanation which I hope may not be without convenience to the House. It has reference to words which fell from me on Monday night. It was part of my duty on Monday night, as I believe, and as I think it will be generally felt, in relation to the demands made upon us for information upon the subject under discussion, to refer to precedents afforded by former Votes of Credit. It had been my full intention to refer to these precedents in a manner purely defensive and formal, and raising no subject of contention; but I was led by circumstances, to which I need not refer, to introduce into a portion of my speech some references which were of a highly polemical and controversial character with regard to the proceedings under the Vote of Credit of 1878. What I wish to say in the frankest manner is, first of all, that it was a suggestion to me from the course of the debate, and from circumstances which had happened at the moment—it was no part of my intention with which I had determined upon the statement I was to make to the House. It was what is called an unpremeditated suggestion, upon which I acted on the spur of the moment. I wish further to say that I very much regret it. I look back upon the whole of the circumstances, upon the patriotic and forbearing conduct of all 1128 sections of the House upon that occasion, to which I attach the highest value, and I feel that these words of mine might have had a tendency to cause a descent from the higher ground of the matters which we have had under consideration to a lower ground, and might have had a tendency—nay, had a tendency, I will say, to revive a controversy which is bygone, which belongs to the last Parliament, which none of us would desire to revive, and the revival of which in connection with the higher subject is undoubtedly not for the public advantage. I wish to make this statement in the frankest manner, and without waiting for any criticism on that portion of my speech; but I may just add only this one word—that it may be my duty possibly to print in a corrected form that speech, and, if I do so, I shall certainly append to it this expression.
§ SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTEI am sure, however irregular it may be for me to say a word after what has fallen from the Prime Minister, the House will pardon me expressing my own great satisfaction and the feeling of others near me at the manner in which the right hon. Gentleman has spoken of what occurred the other night. It is obvious that the words which fell from the right hon. Gentleman were unpremeditated to a certain extent, and certainly they were words which were very much to be regretted. I can only say that we should have felt it to be our duty decidedly to challenge the statement of facts and the inferences drawn by the right hon. Gentleman; but with regard to the introduction of such matter into the discussion we did feel that it was painful to us, who were anxious to support the Government in the main, that we should have had matter of that sort introduced, and I am gratified to find that the right hon. Gentleman has of his own accord, spontaneously and without waiting for any challenge from us, expressed his regret for having introduced words not necessary to his argument, and inconsistent with the spirit of his speech.