Mundella tendered his resignation to Lord Rosebery, by then Prime Minister, who was disinclined to agree and requested him to withdraw it. After some consideration, Mundella insisted upon it and his resignation took effect on 12 May 1894. On 24 May, from a corner seat next the gangway on the second bench, immediately behind the Government ministers, he addressed the House of Commons on the matter. The magazine "Punch" wrote: "The House felt that here was a good man suffering with adversity. That it was undeserved, had swooped down, and blighted temporarily an honourable career when it seemed to have reached its serener heights, made the calamity none the less hard to bear. Mundella comported himself with the dignity that commanded the respect of the House. (He) sat down amid cheering on both sides".