In the course of the debate, Mr. Labouchere created a
great sensation by saying that to him the final words of the oath carried no more meaning than "the trash of any mumbo-jumbo amongst African savages," for which he was rebuked with great dignity by Mr. Forster, who reminded him that to a great number of Members the words to which he referred had a very solemn meaning. Nevertheless, Mr. Forster held that he was bound to divide with Mr. Labouchere against Sir Stafford Northcote's motion, in spite of Mr. Labonchere's speech, because the division involved the right of the people of Northampton to elect any properly qualified Member on whom their choice was fixed. We can quite understand Mr. Labouchere's holding that a solemn invocation addressed to the Deity does not and cannot render the obligation to speak the truth more sacred. But we do not understand what Mr. Labouchere meant by say- ing that that solemn invocation has to him no meaning. Would he think that the act of a man who agreed to be a hostage for the life of another, had no meaning ? That is pretty nearly what the invocation at the end of an oath means for most persons, when they make it as a guarantee of their sincere belief in what they affirm.
Previous page
