Sir Henry Drummond Wolff at once rose and objected to the administration of the oath, and, on the Speaker's allowing his objection, proceeded to make a remarkable speech. For flippancy of tone and sheer ineptitude of argument, not to speak of the crass and brutal quality of {148} the prejudice which inspired it, this deliverance possesses an unenviable pre-eminence among the many absurdities uttered by honourable members during the Bradlaugh parliamentary struggle. Wolff's argument rested on two grounds, both palpably false, while the second was entirely irrelevant to the point at issue. He maintained that Atheists who had made affirmations in courts of law (as Mr. Bradlaugh had done) thereby admitted that an oath "would not be binding on their conscience," and, furthermore, that Bradlaugh had stated, in his "Impeachment of the House of Brunswick," that "Parliament has the undoubted right to withhold the crown from Albert Edward, Prince of Wales." Sir Henry "could not see how a gentleman professing the views set forth in that work could take the oath of allegiance." He went on to say: "What we have now before us is the distinct negation of anything like perpetual morality or conscience, or the existence of God. And, as I believe that a person holding these views cannot be allowed to take the oath in this House, I beg to move my resolution." Mr. R. N. Forster seconded. Mr. Gladstone at once rose and, while refraining from expressing any personal opinion, suggested reference to a Select Committee. Sir Henry James supported the Prime Minister's amendment. Mr. Labouchere, speaking as the colleague of the honourable member in the representation of Northampton, said that he thought it right to state that his honourable friend was selected by the majority of the constituents solely on account of his political views. They did not occupy themselves with his religious convictions, because they were under the impression that they were giving him political, rather than theological, functions to fulfil in that House. A proposal had been made by the Prime Minister that this matter should be referred to a Select Committee. It certainly did appear to him (Mr. Labouchere) somewhat strange that a member who had been duly elected should be told that he could not take his seat because he was forbidden to make an affirmation on {149} account of his not being a Quaker or a Moravian, and because he was forbidden from taking the oath on account of certain speculative religious opinions, which he had professed. But that appeared to be the view of many gentlemen on the other side of the House, and he should be perfectly ready to discuss that view; but, as the Prime Minister had very rightly said, the matter was a judicial one, and it would be far better, in his humble opinion, that it should be referred to a Committee of the House to look at it in its judicial aspect rather than that there should be an acrimonious theological discussion in that House.