e, and he only
left the committee-room to take his seat in the House of Commons, which
he never quitted till the House adjourned, always long past midnight,
and often at two o'clock in the morning. Here he was ready for all
comers, never omitting an opportunity to vindicate his opinions, or
watching with lynx-like vigilance the conduct of a public office. What
was not his least remarkable trait is, that although he only breakfasted
on dry toast, he took no sustenance all this time, dining at White's
at half-past two o'clock in the morning. After his severe attack of
the influenza he broke through this habit a little during the last
few months of his life, moved by the advice of his physician and the
instance of his friends. The writer of these observations prevailed
upon him a little the last year to fall into the easy habit of dining
at Bellamy's, which saves much time, and permits the transaction of
business in conversation with a congenial friend. But he grudged it:
he always thought that something would be said or done in his absence,
which would not have occurred had he been there; some motion whisked
through, or some return altered. His principle was that a member should
never be absent from his seat.

The session of '48 had been one of unexampled length, having lasted ten
months, and, as usual under such circumstances, the obstacles to the
transaction of public business were sought everywhere except in the
real quarter. The forms of the House and the propensity to unnecessary
discussion among its members were chiefly denounced. Lord George
Bentinck did not agree in the justness of these criminations; they were
eagerly caught by the thoughtless and the superficial, but it was his
habit to investigate and analyze everything, and he found that these
charges had no basis. The forms of the House of Commons are the
result of accumulated experience and have rarely been tampered with
successfully, while on the other hand a parliamentary government is by
name and nature essentially a government of discussion. It is not at all
difficult to conceive a mode of governing a country more expeditious
than by a parliament; but where truth as well as strength is held to
be an essential element of legislation, opinion must be secured an
unrestricted organ. Superfluity of debate may often be inconvenient to
a minister, and sometimes perhaps even distasteful to the community;
but criticizing such a security for justice and liberty as