His parliamentary life continued, with the occasional foray to London to speak in the House of Lords on military matters and to continue to press for further official recognition of his glorious career. In 1866 he was, with Thomas Carlyle, one of the organisers of public demonstrations of support for Edward Eyre, controversial Governor of Jamaica, against allegations that he had dealt too harshly with the Morant Bay rebellion of the previous October. He surprised some commentators when, in 1867, he spoke in favour of the second Reform Bill. In acknowledging his change of heart he said that the time for trying to stem the tide of reform, an endeavour in which he had long strived, had passed and given "good luck" the extension of the vote would "confer... a great benefit upon every class of the community". In 1868 he presented to the House a petition calling for additional recognition of the late General Henry Shrapnel, inventor of the explosive artillery shell, in recognition of its effectiveness at Waterloo.