Page:Robert Barr - Lord Stranleigh Philanthropist.djvu/254

 sheets the horrible Stranleigh was held up as a typical Britisher, who had been found out. The English Press had given them the weapons, and quotation was free. Foreigners had no difficulty in showing what a mob of howling hypocrites the British really were, so freely censuring other countries, pretending to be virtuous and all that, when this hideous cancer festered in their own bosom. Patrick O'Finney arose from his place in Parliament, amidst the cheers of his compatriots, and asked a question of the Rt. Hon. Kirkstall Wilmot.

"Does the Government intend to take action with regard to the case of Lord Stranleigh, and if so, what action? The damages awarded against such a rich man as his lordship, large though their total amount appeared to be, was quite inadequate punishment for a crime so atrocious. Every humane man must in his own heart hope that drastic punishment be meted out to this titled scoundrel." Mr. O'Finney sat down amidst cheers from every part of the House of Commons. There was deep silence as the Right Honourable Kirkstall Wilmot rose to his feet. He spoke in a voice of solemnity which fitted the occasion.

"The information in possession of the Government does not accord exactly with the sensational