Just an Excerpt

Darcy Speaks to the House of Commons

Getting set to go to the Las Vegas Aces game at noon, so I was tweaking what I wrote yesterday. This is a scene from the debate over the Slave Trade Abolishment Bill in the British House of Commons on February 23, 1807. Bennet has already spoken, having "returned unexpectedly" to the House after being struck by a carriage a month earlier. Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana sit in the Stranger's Gallery. Wickham has tried to blackmail Darcy with Ramsgate to force him to turn his coat and fight the Bill. Here is where his (and those of his employers) hopes are dashed. This is about half of Darcy's speech to the House of Commons.

This excerpt from "In Westminster's Halls" is (c)2024 by Donald P. Jacobson. All rights reserved. Any reproduction or use is prohibited.

Chapter Fifty-four

Gascoyne and Tarleton were stunned—first by Bennet’s return to the House, bad enough when he disappointed them by not remaining in the country. But his speech was a tour de force that belied everything they had assumed of the man. His historical perspective may have been dry to Members unused to attending closely to their tutors at university. To those who listened, Bennet demolished arguments that asserted the trade was grounded in hallowed and uncontested tradition, usually sufficient to convince conservative Members. Then he called up two hallowed names—Pitt and Fox—and reminded the House of their dreams. This was Tarleton and Gascoyne’s fear; the House would abolish the trade, granting the two giants in death what they could not win in life. Yet, the pro-trade faction had not placed all their eggs in one basket. A potent arrow remained in their quiver.

The well-known and well-respected Darcy of Pemberley, the Darcy who was worth at least 10,000 a year and owned a large piece of Derbyshire’s arable land, sat two rows behind them. His mere presence on the pro-trade benches told the House exactly where he stood. Part of their bargain, though, was for a Darcy speech directed at breaking any tide running in favor of the anti-trade position. Now was that time before Bennet’s speech hardened the wavering and cost millions. Tarleton turned, threw an elbow over the bench’s back, and nodded at Darcy.

Darcy looked down at the older man, his face impassive, lips firmly set. He stood, and his six-foot frame caught the Speaker’s attention. However, Speaker Abbot was arrested by the way Darcy held his body. He carried himself like a great cat curled on a branch above an unsuspecting tapir. Dinner was waiting. The question was upon whom he would feast.

The Speaker was comfortable with Parliamentary drama. This was a tableau he wanted to see. “The Chair recognizes the Member for Kympton Abbey. For what purpose do you rise?”

Darcy shot his cuffs and looked like a man with something to say. His face changed.

Looking around, Darcy's eyes probed Tarleton and Gascoyne’s backs. “Mr. Speaker: I find that in my haste to enter the chamber, I have mistakenly placed myself on the wrong side of the House and, I believe, history. May I be permitted…” He waved a hand toward the other side of the House.

This was one of those instances when even the newest Member understood that something monumental, something unique and rare in Parliamentary lore, was about to happen: a Member physically crossing the floor and switching sides in the middle of a debate. As far as pointed statements about the worthiness of an initiative, short of resigning one’s seat, nothing more robust could be shown. The scribblers from the Times and the Advertiser nearly tumbled from the upper gallery. Another rumpus in the balcony ended with a muffled ‘ooof.’

Gascoyne and Tarleton fell into despair and glared at Darcy as he completed his thousand-mile journey and was enthusiastically greeted by Bingley. However, Darcy veered away before his friend could guide him to a seat behind the Government bench. He stopped before Bennet and bowed.

Only then did he climb three rows up and look at the Chair. Upon the Chair’s assent, he began again. “Mr. Speaker:..”

“Traitor!”

“Turncoat!”

“Order! Order! The House will be in order! The chair has recognized the Member for Kympton Abbey.”

Darcy again bowed to the Speaker. “There is something ironic in that I am accused of being faithless at this moment when only five minutes ago, I gave the impression that I had thrown my lot in with those who abhorred the measure under debate. Where were the catcalls then?”

Darcy gazed upon the angered faces and then stared up and away in a cut direct.

He paused before continuing, “I beg the Speaker’s indulgence to allow me to express a note of personal privilege.

“I regret that some of my honorable friends may have jumped to the conclusion that I supported a position which I did not. At no point did I aver that I was anti-abolishment. Instead, I assured those who asked me that I would vote in a manner consistent with my standing as a gentleman, not as a man compelled by threats. To do otherwise would be dishonorable.

“I am jealous of my honor. I would go so far as to suggest that I am a zealot about my honor and the integrity of those with whom I associate. My friendship is not without cost, although it is a fee any gentleman can pay as a matter of course in his daily life. I expect my friends to act honestly in all things, to never dissemble, and to protect those less able.

“This is the canon by which all in Britain who call themselves gentlemen vow to live. It is a code enshrined in our oldest legends, stretching back to Arthur and Camelot.

“Those who think otherwise will discover another sacred truth.

“My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.

“Let me disabuse any in this House of the notion that my vote has been for sale. My honor cannot be purchased. It is priceless.

“Even if I lose everything and still have my honor, I retain myself. I will be able to walk, head held high impoverished though I may be, into that long good night as all men must.

“Suffice it to say that my honor has been engaged in this matter.”

He pushed back the tails of his dark blue superfine topcoat and planted his right fist on his hip. “Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to define the ground upon which I stand.

“I cannot but agree with the sentiments expressed by both my honorable friend from Yorkshire, Mr. Wilberforce, and my honorable friend from Longbourn-Meryton Village, Mr. Bennet. Both gentlemen have never been fair-weather friends to the Cause. They, in their youth, joined with the current Prime Minister and Mr. Clarkson to fight this pernicious scourge. Today will see the attainment of their aspirations, those of their friends, and dreams yet undreamt by countless millions who are free today in the great continent to our south.

“The gentleman from Longbourn has canvased the fallacy of using historical precedent to justify inaction regarding demonstrable depravity and evil.

“The member for Longbourn-Meryton Village also has shown great wisdom, precisely what we have come to expect from him. I cannot improve on that. Instead, I will turn your eyes from the past to the present.

“My honorable friends, today’s debate is not about the abolition of slavery but rather the trade in human cargo. I would ask the House to separate the two in its mind: the institution and that which fuels it. We are here to consider ending the latter. Whether it starves the former of its supply of free labor may be a happy coincidence. But make no mistake, not one soul toiling in Jamaica’s cane fields will be freed because of what we decide today. The flow of sugar to our ports will not be interrupted. Disasters darkly forecast will not come to pass."