The political and occasional poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed ::

I do not rise—I never will—
To make a speech about the Bill;
I only want to urge once more
What I have often urged before;
It can't be doubted or denied,
That members on the other side
Are talking, talking, day by day,
Just for the purpose of delay.

Why, Sir, the nation, as we know,
Passed all the Bill some months ago;

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And my constituents, Sir, object
To any members who reflect;
And therefore I am bold to state
I disapprove of all debate,
And sit in absolute dismay
When I observe so much delay.

Oh Mr. Bernal, don't forget
The burden of our monstrous debt!
Consider, Sir, how every year
Taxation's growing more severe;
I must assert that I, for one,
Believe the country quite undone;
Some fools dispute it—so they may;
But I protest against delay.

Why, Sir, I'll venture to advance
We were some years at war with France;
And now Britannia's flag is furled,
And we're at peace with all the world.
All honourable members ought
To think as much as I have thought;
Then they would work the shortest way,
And pass the Bill without delay.

And I'm prepared to prove, I trust,
That every word is true and just

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In all the speeches I have made
On import and on export trade.
Official values, I admit,
Are things beyond my humble wit;
But all these things, I'm sure, display
The dangerous folly of delay.

And Sir, I don't dislike a clause
Because it's full of faults and flaws;
And Sir, I think it's most perverse
To prate of better, or of worse;
And Sir, I find, though members laugh,
Too many lawyers here, by half;
And Sir, I shall advise Lord Grey
To gag them all without delay.

I should be very glad to touch
Upon the French, the Poles, and Dutch
And tell you why I think it sin
To let the foreign silks come in;
But I have always thought it right
To keep the question full in sight
And I should be ashamed to play
The game of men who want delay

Sir, I conclude, as I began,
By begging every honest man

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To end the nation's doubts and fears,
And hold his tongue, and stop his ears.
Of argument we've had enough;
It's very sudorific stuff;
And I have one thing more to say—
I can't account for this delay.

University of Virginia Library

X. SPEECH DELIVERED BY A WORTHY ALDERMAN, SEVERAL TIMES, IN COMMITTEE ON THE REFORM BILL.