As far as I can guess, the next thing that happened was that some
timid or unawakened member of the Committee read my statement and was
frightened or scandalized out of his wits by it. At all events it is
certain that the majority of the Committee allowed themselves to be
persuaded to refuse to allow any statement to be read; but to avoid
the appearance of pointing this expressly at me, the form adopted was
a resolution to adhere strictly to precedent, the Committee being
then unaware that the precedents were on my side. Accordingly, when
I appeared before the Committee, and proposed to read my statement
"according to precedent," the Committee was visibly taken aback. The
Chairman was bound by the letter of the decision arrived at to allow me
to read my statement, since that course was according to precedent; but
as this was exactly what the decision was meant to prevent, the majority
of the Committee would have regarded this hoisting of them with their
own petard as a breach of faith on the part of the Chairman, who, I
infer, was not in agreement with the suppressive majority. There was
nothing for it, after a somewhat awkward pause, but to clear me and the
public out of the room and reconsider the situation IN CAMERA. When the
doors were opened again I was informed simply that the Committee would
not hear my statement, but as the Committee could not very decently
refuse my evidence altogether, the Chairman, with a printed copy of my
statement in his hand as "proof," was able to come to the rescue to some
extent by putting to me a series of questions to which no doubt I might
have replied by taking another copy out of my pocket, and quoting my
statement paragraph by paragraph, as some of the later witnesses did.
But as in offering the Committee my statement for burial in their
bluebook I had made a considerable sacrifice, being able to secure
greater publicity for it by independent publication on my own account;
and as, further, the circumstances of the refusal made it offensive
enough to take all heart out of the scrupulous consideration with which
I had so far treated the Committee, I was not disposed to give its
majority a second chance, or to lose the opportunity offered me by
the questions to fire an additional broadside into the censorship. I
pocketed my statement, and answered the questions VIVA VOCE. At the
conclusion of this, my examination-in-chief, the Committee adjourned,
asking me to present myself again for (virtually) cross-examination. But
this cross-examination never came off, as the sequel will shew.