"Let them put me,"
said Lord George, "at the head of that commission, and I will be
responsible for carrying out the plan, without the loss of a shilling to
the country; if I fail, I am willing to accept the risk of impeachment.
I offer no quarter; it is most just that I should receive no quarter. I
offer myself to carry out the measure at the risk of impeachment,
without its costing the country a single shilling. I am quite willing to
be answerable for its success. It is a measure offered on no old party
grounds; it is a measure that rests on no religious prejudices; it
confiscates no property; it introduces no agrarian law; it will feed
the hungry and clothe the naked, by borrowing from the superfluities of
the rich. It is my honest and earnest prayer that it may be successful;
and, should it fail, I care not if it be the last time I address this or
any other mortal assembly."
Although the more usual course would have been for the House to divide
after Lord George's address, during which the call for a division was
heard more than once, the Prime Minister, as a mark of respect to the
House, he said, rose and made a speech, thus giving the Government the
last word.
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