The key sitting came on 9 February. In a charged Council session convened to rush through emergency powers, Sir Ugo Mifsud rose to oppose the measure as an assault on “fundamental rights” and a dangerous bending of constitutional limits in wartime. Partway through his speech he collapsed on the floor of the chamber. He never recovered, dying two days later. Despite the shock, the bill still went through, with George Borg Olivier the only member to vote against it. In 1942, de