When, however, it was referred to a Committee, he thought that he had a right to ask, in the name of his constituents, that that Committee should decide it as soon as possible. Should the Committee decide that the honourable gentleman was not to be allowed to take the oath, it would then become, if not his duty, the duty of some other honourable gentleman to bring in a bill to enable his colleague to make an affirmation in order that his constituents might enjoy the right which the constitution gave them of being represented by two members in that House. Lord Percy drily observed that he was sorry for the electors of Northampton if they were deprived of the services of one of their representatives, because the honourable gentleman was recommended to them by his honourable colleague, whose religious opinions were well known, and, after an eloquent speech from Mr. Bright, who recommended "the statesmanlike and judicious course which has been suggested to us by the First Minister of the Crown," the debate was adjourned. On the resumption of the debate the next day, the wildest remarks were made by Mr. Bradlaugh's opponents. Dr. Lyons proposed the solution that "Northampton should send us a God-fearing if not a God-loving man." Mr. Warton argued that "the man who does not fear God cannot honour the King," and Mr. Callan scoffed at Mr. Bright's tribute of respect to Mr. Bradlaugh's sense of honour and {150} conscience, "language," he said, "that should not be used with reference to an infidel blasphemer." After the din caused by this _ex parte_ criticism had subsided, the still small voice of Mr. Labouchere was heard mildly asking whether the honourable member was in order in referring to his colleague as an infidel blasphemer, and the Speaker having ruled the phrase out of order, Mr. Callan withdrew it. He was, however, an ardent polemist, and added that he was sure that Mr. Labouchere, in spite of his support of Mr. Bradlaugh, "would prefer in this House his old acquaintance Lambri Pasha to the gentleman who was the subject of the debate." And so the foolish wrangle went on, recalling the historian's account of the Œcumenical Council. It is true that the amateur theologians of Westminster stopped short of pulling each other's beards. Their zeal had not quite the professional note of that of the Fathers at Ephesus. After two days of this sort of thing, Sir Henry Drummond Wolff's motion was rejected by 289 votes to 219, and a second Select Committee of twenty-three was appointed. The members were: the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, Messrs. Bright, Chaplin, Childers, Sir Richard Cross, Mr. Gibson, Sir Gabriel Goldney, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Staveley Hill, Sir John Holker, Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Hopwood, Sir Henry Jackson, Lord Henry Lennox, Mr. Massey, Major Nolan, Messrs. Pemberton, Simon, Trevelyan, Walpole, Whitbread, and Watkin Williams.