After the discussion of the chief amendments, there arose a
curious little debate on an amendment of Lord Limerick's and another of Lord Kilmorey's, in which the question turned onLord Brabourne's attack, delivered a fortnight ago, on the Sub-Com- missioners. Lord Brabourne, with exquisite self.satisfaction, remarked that not one of his criticisms had been satisfactorily answered, or indeed answered at a11; whereupon the Lord Chan- cellor arose in his wrath, and casting away the usual placid and argumentative mood of the accomplished Judge, began to be- labour Lord Brabourne with an animation and vehemence of style and gesture which took the House quite by surprise, so that the Tory benches were quite dumb, while the Liberals cheered lustily. "Anything more odious than his [Lord Brabourne's] style of imputation," said Lord Selborne, "lie could not con- ceive." If the Sub-Commissioners had but belonged to the party to which the noble Lord belonged, "though he sat on the cross-benches," "they would at least have escaped the charge of the motives now cast upon them." Lord Salisbury was not very earnest in reply. He felt it necessary to temper the chastisement inflicted on his ambiguous ally, but his pleas were somewhat perfunctory. Lord Brabourne has no hearty friends in the House of Lords. He evidently has the approval of his own conscience, but that is a tribunal with much fewer admirers in the House of Lords than even the least fastidious of the Irish Sub.Commiseioners.
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