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 \ 
 
HON. WILIJAM B GLADSTONH 
 

 r\ 
 
 \, 
 
 
 \ 
 
 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 Hon. WM. E. GLADSTONE 
 
 ( ONTAININO A 
 
 Full Account of the Most Celebrated Orator and 
 Statesman of Modern Times 
 
 COMPRISING THE 
 
 GRAPHIC STORY OF HIS LIFE ; HIS BRILLIANT GENIUS AND 
 
 REMARKABLE TRAITS OF CHARACTER; GRAND 
 
 ACHIEVEMENTS AS A LEADER AND PRIME 
 
 MINISTER; HIS MAGNIFICENT TRN 
 
 UMPHS IN GREAT POLITICAL 
 
 STRUGGLES, ETC. 
 
 A NOBLE EXAMPLE TO ALL ASPIRING 
 YOUNG MEN 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 HIS Famous Speeches and Orations; Striking Incidents in 
 His Career; Personal Anecdotes, Reminiscences, Etc. 
 
 BY D. M. KELSEY 
 
 Author of "Gems of Genius," "Pioneer Heroes and Their Daring Deeds," Etc. 
 
 Embellished with a large number of Superb Phototype and 
 
 Wood Engravings 
 
 R. A. H. MORROW, 
 
 ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
Bntered according to Act^f Congress, in the year 1898, by 
 
 J. R. JONES, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. G 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 

 PREFACE, 
 
 QO other Englishman of the past or the present has 
 
 ' ^ oTadstre" 'tT'T ,■" "^'^ »-'^y than Mn 
 Lradstoue. This leeling in his behalf does not 
 
 spnng altogether from an admiration for his in ellec 
 
 Zf :^T: Z ''^ '^™='<' --i statesmanlike vi^ws" 
 eutertamed by him. Nor has it arisen only from svm 
 
 pathy w:th the liberality of his opinions. ItTs rafher" 
 toeeable to a sincere respect for his capacity for growth 
 We might easily elaborate this proposition by i £^1 ^i 
 references; but the field is too broad for thorouSi 
 
 would r" '' "^'^"''^"' ■"°"'^"'' -" '■ cur.oryXee 
 would be worse than useless K'<'nce 
 
 Believing that it is this quality which has made him 
 I le aim of the writer to trace the progress vear S„ 
 
 S^Tib'^""' T''""^^'^ Tor^^snf to :nr;uaH^ 
 positive Liberalism. At the same time there has been 
 no efifort made to fit the facts to the thoory as I some 
 t.mes done under similar circumstances, fbr the sfmolJ 
 reason that nothing of the kind was nec^sar ^ 
 
 There are a number of biographies of Mr Gladstone 
 of more or less value, to which the writer be^sil.' 
 express indebtedness. Chief amonlT, -l ^^ "* 
 work of Mr r R c v^" ^ ^ "'^'" '^ '''^ '^^reful 
 umes there if'nf T ' '" ''^'"' '^° '"S^ °^t«vo vol- 
 Journdtt " r ''"^*'"^ °^^<'^"'- A "London 
 
 not, hotver been r" T}'' '"^^P"^' -'"^'^ I"- 
 admini adon If ,>r^^* t'V''^'" "'^" *^^ ^-""-^ 
 
 applicable to the .Imf^fAir J H ''"'''''^ '' 
 
 C. W Tones' litfl 1 • ^- Emerso-. Mr. 
 
 w. Jones little volume ,s an admirable one as far as 
 
4 Preface, 
 
 it goes; and Mr. Lucy's merit in co:.nection vvitli this 
 subject IS too well known for comment to be necessaty 
 here. It is to be regretted that his book contains no 
 more matter than an average magaj^ine article. 
 
 In addition to these biographies, there lias been fre- 
 quent consultation of works of a less special character. 
 'The Gladstone Government," by a Templar- T P 
 O'Connor's "Gladstone's House of Commons," and 
 Justm McCarthy's " England Under Gladstone,' will 
 at once suggest themselves. But in addition to these 
 there should be specified the Rev. W. N. Molesworth's 
 ^'History of England Since 1830," and others of like 
 character. Cooke's ''History of Party," McCarthys 
 "Epoch of Reform," and several memoirs of the time, 
 have been used in writing of the Reform Bill of 1832 ; 
 and there has been careful reference to special biogra- 
 pnies of Sir Robert Peel and others of similar importance 
 in the narrative. 
 
 The tone of these works has been so uniformly kind 
 and admiring that Louis J. Jennings' work, " Mr. Glad- 
 stone : a Study," has perhaps been invaluable as giving 
 the extreme view of the other side of the question. 
 
 The writer has also studied, in this connection, Mr. 
 Gladstone's own writings, both in the " Gleanings of 
 Past Years " and elsewhere. 
 
 Many points of interest have been drawn from the 
 periodicals,— daily, weekly, and monthly. All of the 
 leading American publications have been made to con- 
 tribute something; while 7emple Bar, the Times and 
 other London dailies, and the Loudon illustrated week- 
 lies, may be named in the same connection. Of course 
 the whole thread of the latter portion of the narrati^'e 
 is drawn from the newspapers, since the biography is 
 complete up to the time of issue. 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 9 
 
 CHAP^aR I. 
 
 ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION. 
 
 Napole.>n and Wellingion-yreat Pi.. ,c Questions-Family of tiie Cladstones- 
 
 Birth (,t- the Subject of the Present Memoir-Scotch Parentage-Ea 
 
 Education-Wealth of the Family-Sketcli of Lord Brougham-Mr 
 
 Gladstone at Eton-A Gulprit Called Up for Correction-.Wvu .t of 
 
 Arthur Henry Ha) lau. -Papers Published at Eton-Troublen in Ireiand- 
 
 Cann.ng an.l His Ministry-Mr. Gladstone Brought Up as a Tory-Clhur- 
 
 acteristic Anecdote-The Future Premier at Oxford-Life as a Student- 
 
 Jiarly Promise of Great Distinction ,„ 
 
 ■ • • • ly 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OP PUBLIC LIFE. 
 
 Interest in Political Questions-Keaction After the War-Destitution of tl-e 
 toIh^rs-Seuts m Parliament Bought and Sold-How Elections were 
 Ccnduoted-Duke of Wellington as Priu.e Minister-Plan of Reform 
 Fury of the Tory Peeis-Address to the Electors at Newark-Mr. Gh,,'.. 
 stone Elected to Parliament -The Slavery Question-Eloquent Speeches- 
 Bec^ues Identified wxth Great Public Questions-Rising Star in t' e Po" t- 
 icai i'lrmament. . . ^-im 
 
 44 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. 
 
 Whig ye,^us Tories -Trained in Early Life to Speak in Public- Account of 
 S.r Robert Peel-Even.s Following the Pa-.age of the Reform IT-Lf 
 G a stone as Jan.or L-rd of the Treasury-Canadian Troubles of ISsV- 
 Death of King v., Iham IV. -Address to His Constituents-Accession of 
 
 uT; wa:':iu cr~'';" ^^^r " ''- ^---y Questionei: 
 
 Prince Jonsorr ^'""^-^"^^" ^ '^*-'"'« M.rriage-Popularity of the 
 
 : ' 09 
 
Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI. 
 
 Repeal of the Corn Laws— DisriPli ;« p i- 
 
 j;!thy Savings a^ :^t ^S:^^^ :, ^^^^^^^ ^'^^-^^- 
 Division Among the Tories-Glad to...' T > ' ''"'^ l^rotectionists - 
 -His Growing Lib«ranr-'iW, V ^"f" °" *''^ Navigation Laws 
 
 ^ents-KemonstranoT of Fran :andt;" .^""''^-^^ 
 n^erston-The Celebrated JorE^^l^^^^^^ ^^^d 1.1- 
 
 tion-Ecclesiastical Titles Bill-Mr n: • ^^^f''«"« -^^^eud^ His Ac- 
 Eulog, on the Du.e of Wellingt;n.:SCt::n,:^1i;:;:;;^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MINISTRY OP ALL THE TALENTS. 
 
 Mr. Gla Istone's Early Political Faith-His Act of « ir , • . 
 
 Toward Leaving the Conservative Party-Hl./;"'"'-''"^* ""''^ 
 New Chancellor of the Excheauerrwir, "^ ^"'"^ons and the 
 
 Debate ou the IncoraeT^^^^^^^ 
 
 be Obeved-MeasurL IT p^ ^"^ War-Will of the People Must 
 Views W th P erconfort vf ' ^r"-'^^"^^ ^^""^'^ ^-- I>--H - 
 
 Lord Paimei^tcn-Lord John R,!!" r '°"' '^^^^ ^^""'^'r^' ^7 
 
 Continuance of the wir Deb"tf " 'P*^'''^ °^ ^'^••- «'-'«tonei 
 
 • . . 132 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PROGRESSING TOWi^RDS LIBERALISM. 
 
 Treaty Following the Crimean W-^ p r, , 
 
 cerningth'eConlinen :i P,t-^H:„^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ""' Pan-Agitation Con- 
 Enlistment of Foreigners ni p"' .""'^\ f "^^''^^n-Bill Providing f.r , he 
 
 Criticism Upon tirG;rn";int'?F"- p^^'" ^"^''^"^ '"'"'^ ^-"i-^ 
 
 MHJority Against the Government-' ttomnt to ^ "'' ."^ ' °™'"«"«- 
 
 the French-RemarkablePernrat on by Mr m" ;\"""'";*^ ''^ ^-U-eror of 
 Cabinet-Lord Derby at the -o^:!:;:^! ^L:^" ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. 
 
 Lord Macau'ay-Eminent Men in Parlir,i 
 
 O 
 
 reece - 
 
 Pn^i; 
 
 Bright'a Return to Pari 
 
 inentaiy Reform 
 ment 
 
 iment -The Ionian Islands- A 
 
 -For 
 
 VffUS 
 
 n HI 
 
 lai 
 
 ign Relations of England — M 
 
 A Mm Ahead of His Time-Con 
 
 trov 
 
 ersy 
 
Contents. « 
 
 Fear of I,n„,i„„bv;L,t ??!;„' ! °"""'.7-l'»'"'-'™ in OHice- 
 
 COMPTER VIII. 
 
 EMANCIPATION PROM TORYISM. 
 
 Wet Weather and Poor H.orvests-Dull Session in P r 
 
 ings Banks-Garibaldi and His Sd S" ? ^,f '^"^^^^'-I'^ostv ^ce Say- 
 Liberal, of Italy-I,„pro~\fn M ^^^^^^^^ ^^"''*'""« ^^f^"^« ^J^- 
 Opposition-Bitter Att'ekon g" Ion! f "" ^ Finances-Protest of ,he 
 Jonian Islands again-l^Jl n ^^'^'"' ""^ '^' ^'«P«^ Duty-The 
 
 Reduction of the' 1^1^' C:T '"' J'" ^"^"«^" Civil War- 
 Working Classes-Osbone-^ I~' f s " f .^r^""" '^^ ^^^-^he 
 and State-Mr. Gladstone ^^Z^I^ZT:'- ".^.^^ 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 REPRESENTING SOUTH LANCASHIRE 
 
 Vioto,y- Speeches irS.nd'nT' P ''". ^-"'^•'--Oladstone's 
 Reforn. RiH-Raisin/ ^c^T^r .t l"^""^' '^ ^^^''^ ^-^y-A New 
 Mr. CUadstone- Scotch and IH^: 4tr.i^s n"\"'~u'^"'"^ ^^""'"^"* «» 
 ^r the Liberals-Various Bil^t ti^'!:;;!!;: "!'. ^'--^"^^0"^^ 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRT 
 
 I'een-r,i.h I „„d SvMemlRn f° ,u f '"'"''P™''"" ''"""g the 
 Ed«a,i„„--En,!M. Ton*,, S "irb^G^rt t ■' 'T'-X-^* '- of 
 F™noe.,„a P„.,;,_«„,„, Co;,l,'':ftt,lT*TZ" «-- 
 
 265 
 
s 
 
 Contents. 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 
 (COM'INUED.) 
 Dangerous Illness of the Prince of Wales— Trouble on the Liquor Question- 
 Gladstone's Sharp Retort on Disraeli— Army of Titmouses— Uallct Bill 
 Again Introduced— Third Attempt to Settle tlie Irish Question- Justice to 
 Ireland— Gladstone Determines to Resign -Important Clianges in the 
 Ministry— Disraeli's Manifesto— Circular to the Liberal Members of Par- 
 liament-Bill for the Regulation of Public Worship -Endowed Schools - 
 Gladstone's Retirement from the Leadership of tiie Liberal Party— Pre- 
 paring for New Legislation— Active Interest in Public Aliairs. ... 300 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. 
 
 Eastern Question— Turkey Does Nothing but Pro> .ise- Suicide of the Turkish 
 Sultan— Oriental Races— Explanations by Disraeli— Raised to the Peerage 
 —Bulgarian Horrors— Lord Salisbury in the East— Earl of Shaftesbury— 
 Duke of Argyle— Lord George Hamilton— Gladstone's Pamphlet on the 
 TurkishQuestion— Action in Parliament on tlie Turkish Situation— Pro- 
 tracted Debate— Vote of Credit— " Peace with Honor"— Sir Stafford 
 Northcote— (iladstone Arraigns the C^overnment— Triumphal March 
 Through Scotland— " Grand Old Man "—Great Ovations Everywhere. 318 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE SECOND GLADSTONE MiNISTRY. 
 
 Great Liberal IMnjority— Imi)o:\ance of the Irish Question— Mr. Bradlaugh in 
 Parliament— Lord Randolph Churchill— Great Expectations from the 
 Ciladstone Ministry— Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro— Claims 
 of Greece— Trying to Adjust Domestic Taxes— Game Laws— Post-oflice 
 Department— Illness of Mr. Gladstone— Irish Laud Law not Satisfactory 
 —Peace Preservation Act— Irish Eviction (-Home Rulers— Land League 
 —Long Debate— Coercion Bills- Eloquent Speecii of John Bright— Mem- 
 orable Scene in the House of Commons— Ludicrous Incidents- Mr. Rir- 
 uell and Irish Legislation -Final Passage of the Irish Bill 330 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 
 (CoxTrxFKn.) 
 
 Mr. Bradlaugh Once Mr)re— Home Rule— The Lords and the Land Act— Amena- 
 ment of the Rules— Arrears Bill— Concessions to th? Irish— Phoeuix Park 
 
■i. 
 
 Contents. 
 
 9 
 
 M.irders -Crimes Bill - Obstruction - Friends Failiug-The Egyptian 
 tiuestiou-Bombardment of Alexandria-Autumn Sebsion-Forster's At- 
 tack on Gladstone-The Reply-Explosives BiU-And Still, Mr. Brad- 
 iaugh— Minor Legislation— The Soudan Difficulties-Irrepressible Mr. 
 Bradlaugh-The Egyptian Trouble Continues-The Afghan Boundary- 
 Failure of the Soudan War— The Budget- A Sleepy Time— Waking Up— 
 A Great Speech— A Great Surprise— Fall of the Ministry 387 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THIRD AND FOURTH ADMINISTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone Again in Scotland— Lord Salisbury on Public Questions-Eesult 
 of the Elections— Third Gladstone Ministry— Advocaes Giving Ireland 
 the Right to Make Her Own Laws— Irish Land Purciiase Bill— Second 
 Reading of Irish Home Rule Bill-Eloquent Appeal on Behalf of Ireland 
 —Irish Bills Condemned by John J^right-Rupture Between the Two 
 Great Leaders-General Election of 1886-Defeat of the Liberals-Policy 
 of Coercion— Action of the Tory Government— The Premier's Retirement 
 —Lord Rosebery.. Successor to Mr. Gladstone 4iy 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, DOMESTIC RELA- 
 TIONS, AND LITERARY CAREER. 
 
 Estimates of Mr. Gladstone's Ability— General Appear.ince-Not a Narrow Man 
 -Marr;age and Home Life— Hawarden Estate— Mannerisms— Speed; 
 id Licerary Style— Spontaneous Eloquence- Great Partv Lendfir—Stnrlo 
 
 and 
 
 les 
 oquence- Great Party Leader— Student 
 and Man of Lettera— Private Library— Scholar and Writer-Religious 
 Character ^^430 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MR. GliADSTONE'S DEATH AND OBSEQUIES. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone in the South of France— Return from Cauties-Signs of Growing 
 "Weakness— Peaceful Death— Universal Demonstrations of Grief-Tele- 
 grams ot Sympathy— Adjournment of the House of Commons -The 
 Queen and Prince of Wales Express Their Sympathy-Tributes from the 
 Newspnper Press— Telegrams fr. the Government of the United States- 
 Estimate of Mr. Gladstone by Prominent Americans— Lying in State at 
 Westminster-Great Throngs of People View the Remains-Remarkable 
 Demonstration at Mr. Gladstone's Public Funeral— Burial in Westminster 
 Abbey ^^g 
 
10 
 
 Contents. 
 
 O 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MR. GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. 
 
 Not a Party Question-The Resolutions-Dreadlnl Words to Speak-Witnesbes 
 to the Massacres-Report of Dr. Dillon-Ilunder, Murder, Rape, and 
 Torture— Responsibiliiy of the Turkish Government-The Turk Ouglit to 
 Marcli Out cf Armenia- What is to Become of Cliristians in the Turkish 
 Empire?— Sad and Terrible Story 4(.2 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GLADSTONE ON THE BEACONSFIELD MINISTRY. 
 
 Dissolution of Parliament-Reply to Opponents— A Serious Position-Policy of 
 the Government— Responsible for Other Countries— Turkey a Scaudal to 
 the World-Derby and Beaconsfield— Turkey Encouraged to Ho to V/ar— 
 Treaties With Europian Nations-Policy of Austria -Worshi}=pers of 
 Success—Treatment of the Sultan— Tory Government to be Tried by its 
 Principles _^-o 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE IRISH QUESTION. 
 
 Personal Explanation— Domestic Government for Ireland- Six Conditions for 
 Home Rule-Repelling Attacks - Trivial Disputes-All Great Movements 
 Small in the Beginning- Fnilure of Parliament to Legislate for Ireland- 
 Attempt to do Justice to the Irish— Union of the Kingdoms to be Main- 
 taiued-Trish Affairs to Be Settled in Ireland— Movement Against Rent- 
 Mr. Parnell's Party— Central Authority— Home Rule to Be Safeguarded— 
 Urgency of the <4uestion— Charge of Being in Haste 489 
 
 ■». 
 
 f 
 
!sa 
 
 i 
 
LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION 
 
 Napoleon and Welliugion— Greaf PmKi;-, n • 
 
 Birth of the lubject of i,! p'^rAr"""''""''^^' '""^ Glad«tones- 
 Ech^cation-Wealth of t FamH^ Mernoir-Scotch Parentage- Earl v 
 Gladstone at Eton-A Sdp.it ri^rw?\"' ^^'^ Brougham-M;. 
 Arthur Henry Ifaliam-S VS^ i" ^^«"«=^-"-Account of 
 
 Canning and His Ministo'-Tir n ,1 «*/*«"-Troubles in Jreland- 
 aeteristic Anecdote-The Future pl' .TT''* ^^ '' ^ Tory-Chur- 
 Early Promise of Great D,^S^^^^^ '' Oxford-Life as a Stude.t- 
 
 ^*- name • ItaW n„,l t ■ r.'^'" ^"'^ '» te^or of his 
 
 l'a.l been erusl,e<l to tl" arti S v^ " T",'" f °""' 'y'' P™-'" 
 -Is as the hei.. to he; croC '; G^te" td t"" "'" °' '"'' ^^- 
 but was merdy a province of Turkev Kn"? TT*" '^''''"''■- 
 
 bad endeavored to ei-ipple her res„, IIk ? '?'"""' °^ ^'"•'''' 
 Euro,« to her ships. Ha<I the Z k ^ '''""'"»' ""- P"'* »f 
 would indee,! have\e7„, :,"To 'e- r",""?"' T"' "•^' ^''^ 
 ""("■acticable; and, one afte „oth„ T ' '■ ''"' ""^ """S ™^ 
 'l"it they mus connive at he „ir.-' '^,™»0"'* ™™tries found 
 MeanwWIe, the Sh artv "^ f'''' ''•'■'■'^''' "^""o "<^'"y- 
 
 very Dul<e of Wei Won Z^ ^ , '"c-"'" "'''''' ''^»''«' V 'I'nt 
 
 ™<ndT„I^LTad^'rL^:f'-^. -^-[posse.^^^^ o^-^ -.ch 
 more than one time beforp fh;. t '. i i ' '"' ''^'^ ^^^" "'^•'^ne at 
 .e. s„n,. i„to that ^^'^^^ '^^ti^t^j; 
 
 19 -^ 
 
20 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 death delivered him. The I)uke of Portland was Prime Minis- 
 ter; the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, so important a 
 minister in this time of war, was George Canning, the fame of 
 whoso eloquence had gone through the land ton years before. 
 Besides the measures relating to the war, which of course oc- 
 cupi ^ the thoughts of all men to the exclusion of much which 
 would otherwise have claimed their attention, there wore two 
 questions of importance that at this date were continually forc- 
 ing themselves into prominence ; these were the slave-trade, of 
 which we shall have more to say hereafter, and Catholic Eman- 
 cipation—a sub-division of that great Irish Question which has 
 
 been a cause of per- 
 plexity to English rul- 
 ers and their advisers 
 since the days of Hen- 
 ry II. The most ardent 
 and best known advo- 
 cate of this latter meas- 
 ure was no other than 
 the disciple of Pitt, 
 who had been so active 
 an assistant to the gov- 
 ernment which had 
 passed the Irish Act of 
 Union in 1300; and the 
 name of Canning is iii- 
 dissolubly linked with 
 the memory of this act 
 of long-delayed just- 
 ice. We hardly realize 
 the severity of the laws 
 against the communicants of the Church of Eomo, as they existed 
 at this period, in what wo a^e accustomed to regard as the most 
 enlightened and liberal country of Europe ; excluded from every 
 office of trust, civil or military, they could not make their griev- 
 ances known to the legislature, for every mombev of that body, 
 whether of the Lords or the Commons, must, before taking his 
 seat, take such oaths as were impossible to a Catholic. Their 
 only hope was in the generosity of their enemies; and of these, 
 Canning was the first, after Pitt had been obliged to break his 
 promises to them, to urge their claims. 
 
 George Cunning. 
 
GATEWAY FROM HAWARDEN RECTORY TO THE CHU 
 
 RCH 
 
 X. 
 
Ancestry and Education. 
 
 21 
 
 In times of peace, the thoughts of the wise statesman and the 
 prudent citizen turn to the improvements which it is possible to 
 make in the condition of the country or the race; in times of 
 war, the same men are only anxious to preserve the advantages 
 which have alrea<ly been obtained. To apply this axiom to En- 
 glish politic nd political parties, men incline to Conservatism 
 in war and Liberalism in peace. Those who are Conservatives 
 in quiet times will naturally have this feeling strengthened at a 
 period of doubt and n^xiety, and become Tories. Such, at any 
 rate, was the case with a great merchant of Liverpool, at the 
 date of which we write; but his ancestry, his education, his suc- 
 cess in life, and his Toryism, are all of such importance to the 
 pages whicli follow, that we are not ready to begin his history 
 in tlm year 1809. 
 
 The family of the Gledstanes or Gladstanes vrm settled in Clydes- 
 dale at an early day. In the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury they were landed proprietors in that county, and wome of 
 the name are known to have been in business at Biggar ^r 
 more than fifty years before the middle of the last century. They 
 wore uniformly successful in their efforts to make a living, if wo 
 may judge from the recora of those who retired from active bus- 
 iness life to the calm and quiet of the estates which they had 
 themselves acquired ; for this seems to have been a younger 
 hrancli of the family, who derived no share of the estates of 
 Arthurshiel and Gladstanes, the first-mentioned as possessed by 
 those bearing this now widely honored name. 
 
 Some differences in the ppelling of n,o family cognomen will 
 be noted. The orthography above given seems to have prevail- 
 ed until the middle of the last century; for it is Thomas Glad- 
 stones, who was born in 1732, who first writes it with an '' o" in 
 the last syllable. This was ihc grandfather of the great states- 
 man. He left his father's house and settled in Leith, where he 
 married. A numerous family grew up around him, the eldest of 
 whom was a son called John. His business in the corn trade wr s 
 so well managed and successful that ho was able to make gener- 
 ous provision for each of the twelve children who grew to man- 
 hood and womanhood. 
 
 John Gladstones had scarcely attained his raajoriiy when 
 he was sent by his father to Liverpool, to sell a cargo of 
 grain which had arrived at that port. The young Scotchman had 
 dealings with a leading corn merchant of that place, the head 
 
!l 
 
 22 
 
 A cestry and Education. 
 
 the house of Corrio & Co.; uud displayed such capabilities for 
 business that Mr. Corrie wrote to th. elder Glud.to' e.s, r'Tuost- 
 
 oLTrnl?f I'fiT, .r'" *' ''''''■^" '" Liverpool. So woil did the 
 joung man fulfill the promise of his first acquaintance, that he- 
 fore very long we find the firm of Corrie ^ Co. mergU into a 
 
 above .ts doors. The now member of the firm soon made his 
 name a synonym for push and energy; and at leant oneoccu.io. 
 IS recorded, when, by his activity, perseverence and indomitable 
 plucic, he saved the house from utter ruin 
 
 After being a member of this firm for sixtee. years, John 
 Gladstones upon the retirement of his partner., associated his 
 
 ran: "fT. ''"^ '" ''" ^"^'"^«'^' ""^ ^-'^'^^^^ -tended the 
 range of h,s transactions. With these, however, we have little 
 
 to do J ,t IS enough to have seen something of the success with 
 which he met, and -now what was his standing among men. He 
 hud made his name well I:nown in the country of^u's adop- 
 tion e.en b fore it was made illustrious by his famous soli. 
 That name It will again be observed, still differed slightly fro n 
 the form wln.Ms so familiar to us; the final " s" was retained 
 until the yea;. l?.?A, when an ac. of Parliament sanctioned the dis- 
 use of It; th.ugh the name seems practically to have had its 
 present form for some years before that date. 
 
 Mr. John Gladstone's first wife died, leaving no children ; and 
 after a due interval, the merchant, who seems still to have had 
 frequent communication with his Scotch home, though all his six 
 brothers had settled in Liverpool, married Ann, the daughter of 
 Mr. Andrew Robertson, of Stornoway. Onewhoknewthesecond 
 Mrs. G.adstono intimately says of her that she was '^i I dv of 
 very great accomplishuonts, of fascinating manners, comm^uid- 
 mg presence, and high intellect ; one to grace any home and en 
 dear anj' heart" Of the six children .fthis n-.rriage, the sec- 
 GiIdItoNE ^^' ^^^^' '^''^ ™ named WILLIAM EWART 
 
 In addition to the personal qualities of the statesman's r^other 
 to which we have jast heard such glowing tribute paid, she was 
 descended, genealogists claim, - om a stock held in hi-.h honor 
 iNo less an authority than Su Bernard Burke, perhaps the hi<.h; 
 est that could be quoted in such a connection, gives a royal ances- 
 try to him who might well be cnlled, like a .tat.,man of an older 
 uay, the Great Commoner. The editor of *ho Peerage traces the 
 
Anccsfn/ ,i,i<l Rilunitiov. 23 
 
 descent of Ann Robertson Giadstano. step by stop, back to that 
 James of Scotland, who, in his captivity, fell in lovo with Lady 
 Jane Beaufort, a descendant of Henry III. of England. Other 
 authort.es add, that besides this claim to the blood of the Bruce 
 the Robertsons were akin to the ancient kings of Man and .ome' 
 other notable nobles of the far past. Burke .' , too excellent aa 
 authority to bo met on his own ground ; 1 is assertions in such a 
 case, made contidontly as they arc in this, are not to be ligt.tlv 
 «eta.sido; and n o ono has had the temerity to do so. But if the 
 
 Bbihplace of Gladstone. Rodney Street, Liverpool. 
 Statement that Gladstone is descended from Robert Bruce and 
 the Plantagenets has never been contradicted, it is treated with 
 the most Goveroign contempt by the one most interested. Glad- 
 stone has spoken ofhis ancestors, indeed 3 but if he is proud of 
 
 teipne, have carved their own fortunes, and risen to positions 
 
 cfpubhcostoemand eminence. Whci, in^ovomber, 18P.5 t.-ePar- 
 ImmentaryRc.form Union presented .naddro.oto hmin'cho Glas- 
 gow Tr.de Hall, he thanked those who had signod the aldre" 
 for renum .n. him of his connection with Scotland ; and added ': 
 
 ashamed of S.r T ''^''?"' '' '''''' «^"«' "^^ «°-^ -- "ot 
 ashamed of Scotland; and the memory of the parents to whom 
 
 I owe my being combine, with various other considerations to 
 
24 
 
 Ancestry and Education, 
 
 make me glad and thankful to remember that the blood which 
 runs in my veins is exclusively Scottish." 
 
 A little later than this, he had occasion to deliver an address 
 at the Liverpool Collegiate Institute, in which, in frank and 
 rc.nly words, the Prime Minister of Great Britain recounted his 
 obligations to commerce. Standing in his native city, before 
 ihose to whose fathers and grandfathers his father had been 
 known as one of the most eminent merchants and shipowners in 
 Lancashire, he said : 
 
 '' I know not why commerce in England should not have its 
 old families, rejoicing to bo connected with commerce from gen- 
 eration to generation. It has been so in other countries j I trust 
 it will be so in this country. I think it a subject of sorrow, and 
 almost of scandal, when those families who have either acquired 
 or recovered wealth or station throuj;h commerce, turn their 
 backs upon it, and seemed to be ashamed of it. It certainly is 
 not so with my brother or me. His sons are treading in his 
 steps, and one of my sons, I rejoice to say, is treading in the 
 steps of my father and my brother." 
 
 Whatever illustrious names, then, may be ranked jimong his 
 mother's ancestors in the fifteenth century, it is clear that the 
 statesman himself makes no claim to a connecti on with any but the 
 middle class, as it is ranked in England. But it will be remem- 
 bered that, with ail the advantages which are the perquisites of 
 birth and wea'th, the aristocracy has produced fewer really great 
 men than this same middle class; and it will be found, upon 
 careful consideration, that the majority of these few that we con- 
 cede to thom, are sprung, not of the old houses, but of those re- 
 cently ennobled. The Grand Old Man has reason to be proud that 
 he sprang from the middle class ; and, to use an antithesis sim- 
 ilar to his own when ho spoke of Scotland and her sons, we may 
 add that the middle class is proud of him. 
 
 When wo have once fairly begun upon the story of the states- 
 man's life, we shall turn aside only to notice those of ^is contem- 
 poraries who, in any respect, approach to the plane upon which 
 he stands ; let us, then, in this place, trace out something further 
 of his family, as we shall not again return to the subject. 
 
 Mr. John Gladstone had already been chairman of the West 
 India Association when, in 1814, his name was closely associated 
 with the trading carried on with the East Indies. The old 
 monopoly was broken in that year, and his firm was the first to 
 
 i 
 
Ancestry and Education. 
 
 25 
 
 end a privao vessel to the ports so Ion,, .nder the control of 
 the ^ast Ind.a Company, ^or was ho progressive and enter- 
 pr.s.ng in matters relating to his business alone. It is interesting 
 to trace ,n the father the liberal public spirit, the breadth of 
 view^nd the desire for the amelioration of the condition of 
 
 Olad^tone and Ills Si.fcr (From a picture pMinted in 1811). 
 
 'i^oiil^^' ";f ''''.' '" ^""'^^ ^''" .nanifestcd in the son. The 
 fad that he addressed, with no mean eloquence, a meeting which 
 
 ;vas ca ..d n, 1818 ^<to consid.rthoproprictyof petition^gP.:; 
 ament to talce into consideration the progressive and alarming 
 norease in the crimes of forging and uttering forged notes o? 
 o Ban. of England," may be thought only prope? to the prud- 
 ent .md prominent business man, anxious to check the spread of 
 an offence peculiarly troublesome to him and his associates. His 
 -tivity ,n another matter, however, shows him to be warm- 
 
 18-3 he Steamboat Act included a provision that each vo^sel 
 ^diould bo obliged to carry a sufficient number of boats toaocom-" 
 modate the passengers, in case of any accident ; a simple enough 
 
« 
 
 26 
 
 Ancestry and Fducction. 
 
 precaution it seems to us, but so neglected previous to this tir-" 
 that, in one case, a public packet-boat which was wrecked wi 
 nearly one hundred and fifty souls on board, had only one jmall 
 shallop, twelve feet long, to convey the passengers and seamen to 
 shore. It was also due to him that means were taken to enlist the 
 general sympathy for the Greeks, when they were struggling for 
 their independence j and he spoke most impressively at the meet- 
 ing which was held for that purpose. 
 
 These are but a few actions which show the character of the 
 man. That he did not lack appreciation, is shown by the fact 
 that a magnificent service of plate, consisting of twenty-eight 
 pieces, was formally presented to him in the name of his fellow- 
 townsmen in 1824 ; the inscription ran: "To John Gladstone, 
 Esq., M. P., this service of plate was presented MDCCCXXIV, 
 by his fellow-townsmen and friends, to mark their high sense of 
 his successful exertions for trade and commerce, and in acknowl- 
 edgment of his most important services rendered to the town of 
 Liverpool." 
 
 While probably not possessed of the scholarship which has en- 
 abled the Premier to turn from the cares of '?tate to enjoy Hom- 
 er, Mr. Gladstone was well able to express his opinions on paper 
 in such a way that men were glad to read them. His contribu- 
 tions to the literature of the day have not survived, because they 
 were from their very nature ephemeral ; buttliey had their share 
 in molding the opinions of the men who made the laws by which 
 England is now governed. 
 
 This Mr. Gladstone Avas a member of Parliament for nine years 
 in all, representin,; several boroughs at diiferent times. For a 
 portion of the time that ho sat in the House of Commons, his son 
 was a member of the same body; and he heard the earliest efforts 
 of that persuasive eloquence which has been able to make even a 
 dry array of figures interesting. Partly out of recognition of his 
 own services, partly as a compliment to his son, he was created 
 a baronc '" 1845, during the second administi'ation of Sir Robert 
 Peel. He oied six years later, his title descending to his eldest 
 son, Thomas. Sir Thomas Gladstone w-.s as ?ongn membcrof Par- 
 liament, though completely overshadowed by hisyounger brother. 
 He enjoyed the reflected glory of being frequently mistaken for 
 the distinguished member of the family, so strong was the resem- 
 blance between tlicm; tliough, of course, it was only tlioso wlio 
 were comparative strangers who were liable to this error. A third 
 

 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 27 
 
 brother was a captain in the army, then M. P. for Portarlihgton ; 
 and a fourth was, like his father, a merchant of Liverpool— the 
 same to whom reference was made in the speech at the Collegi- 
 ate Institute. Of the two sisters, neither was ever married. 
 
 Sir John Gladstone's enormous wealth enabled him to make a 
 handsome provision for each of his children during his lifetime, 
 without crippling his own resources. Thus that son to whom na- 
 ture had been most generous in her gifts of intellect was enabled 
 to devote his time to the consideration of those questions which 
 should occupy the mind of a statesman, without being compelled 
 to enter the arena of that life in which bread must be won by 
 hard and continuous labor. This advantage, we are taught by 
 the example of others, is not entirely necessary to the devel- 
 opment of genius; but even genius cannot afford to neglect any 
 assistance which may be offered. 
 
 In the year 1812, a general election was held, and in this Mr 
 John Gladstone took a keen interest. A Conservative in time of 
 peace, he had become an ardent Tory, and supported Mr. Can- 
 ning with all the warmth of enthusiasm. This eloquent orator had 
 been before the public, as a member of the House of Commons 
 for almost twenty years j and it was only five years after hi. first 
 election that he had reached the summit of his reputation as a 
 speaker, by his brilliant advocacy of the abolition of the slave 
 trade, and his bitter sarcasms regarding the " XewPhilosophv " 
 as the doctrines of the French Eevolutionists were styled He 
 had not been silent when the suspension of the habeas corpus act 
 was moved and carried in the year 1794, and bills intended to 
 suppress seditious meetings were hurried through Parliament- 
 his eloquent speeches had been eagerly looked f^r in the days of 
 the Irish Eebellion of 1798. A zealous adherent of Pitt, when that 
 statesman went out of office he resigned, too, though his chief nd- 
 v.sod him not to do so. The issue of the hour, in Canning's eyes 
 
 was CatholicEmancipation, and the electionceringsp.eches which 
 he made were full of it. This had been a darling scheme of Pitt's 
 over since the Union; but George III. had been seized with 
 qualms of conscience when the Ministry proposed such moas- 
 uros, and pleaded his coronation oath as an insuperable bar to 
 his royal assent. But now, though he was still nominally the 
 sovereign, ho was in reality but a helpless old man, in,hoc;ie 
 and verging upon that blindness and dcf^fness which a little later 
 out him oi\ from even so much communication with tho world as 
 
I 
 
 ii!i 
 
 28 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 his darkened intellect could comprehend. The Prince Eegent had 
 no coronation oath to consider, and probably no conscience; so 
 that the reformers hoped from the carelessness of a bad man what 
 the scruples of a weak man had denied them. 
 
 At a meeting presided over by Mr. John Gladstone, Mr. Can- 
 ning had been invited to stand for Liverpool. The lead'. ig Whig 
 was young Henry Brougham, who had not yet been raised to 
 the peerage under the title so much more familiar to us. A sort 
 of coalition was formed, between the two political parties, by 
 which Canning and Brougham were to be returned as colleagues""; 
 
 Lord lirotu/hum. 
 
 but into this agreement one of the candidates refused to enter. 
 In one of the fits of perversity which too often marred his ca- 
 reer,^ Brougham refused to be a party to this agreement, and 
 cast in his lot with an ultra-Eadical j as the result of this action, 
 he and his self-chosen colleague were both defeated. Canning and 
 another Tory being returned. What was the case when the elec- 
 tion was exciting in Jioso days, wc mnv infer from the fact that 
 Brougham, in his memoirs, records i. a " two or three men were 
 killed, but the town was quiet." 
 
 This " quiot" election having taken place, and the results hav- 
 ing been announced, the victors gave their enthusiasm the rein, 
 
had 
 J so 
 
 Jan- 
 Ihig 
 I to 
 sort 
 
 by 
 
 les ; 
 
 ier, 
 Ca- 
 in d 
 on, 
 md 
 ce- 
 ll at 
 ero 
 
 m, 
 
/P'l.iV 
 
 THE TURKISH CRISIS-MR. GLADSTONE SPEAKING AT LIVERPOOL 
 
Ancestry and Education. 
 
 29 
 
 DL 
 
 and tho successful candidates were chaired and carried in 
 triumph through the streets. The procession halted before the 
 house of Mr. Gladstone, who had been one of those most ardent- 
 ly desirous of tho election of Canning and Brougham ; and from 
 the balcony of this dwelling Mr. Canning addressed hisconsiitu- 
 ents. From the window looked some childish heads, the round 
 eyes gazing wonderingly at the unwonted scene. One of the lit- 
 tle ones was less than three years old at tho time, but ho assured 
 admiring listeners, not many years ago, that he remembered tho 
 first election of Mr. Canning in Liverpool. This may fairly bo 
 
 ranked, then, as the earliest recollection of tho distinguished man, 
 the course of whoso life wo are now to trace ; and certainly the 
 remembrance of Canning himself, at this and later times, never 
 faded from his mind. Mr. Canning and the elder Gladstone were 
 warm friends after this, and the son was early imbued with a 
 deep admiration for the famous Tory. Perhaps it was this which 
 in a large measure attached him to that party of which he was 
 not only the '' rising hope," but one of the chief ornaments for 
 many j-ears. 
 
 The first school to which young William Ewart was sent was 
 a small one near Liverpool, of which the venerable Archdeacon 
 Jones was the head. Ho was six years old wlien he entered 
 and remained six years. Of his progress at this school wo dci 
 not hear very flattering accounts. 8aid Dean Sfanley : " There 
 is a small school nea/ Liverpool at which Mr. Gladstone was 
 brought up before he went to Eton. A few years afterward an- 
 other little boy who went to this school" (it is not hard to guess 
 who) " and whose -amo I will not mention, called upon the old 
 clergyman who was the head master. Tho boy was now a youno- 
 man, and he said to the old clergyman : ' There is one thino- in 
 which I have never in the least degree improved since I was at 
 school-the casting up of figures.' ' Well', replied the master 
 It IS very extraordinary that it should bo so, because certainly no 
 one could be a more incapable arithmetician at school than you 
 were; but I will tell you a curious thing: when Mr. Glad.^tone 
 was at the school, he was just as incapable at addition and sub- 
 traction as you were : now you see what he has become. He is 
 one of the greatest of our financiers." 
 
 ^ The knowledge which a child acquires from his school-books 
 IS a trifle compared to that which he insensibly accumulates in a 
 well ordered home, where his elders are thoughtful of his desire 
 
80 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 for knowledge. With a!l his business and other cares Mr John 
 
 father .o^,drer;h;::at:LTh eh irthC:^. •^^' '' 
 
 ance, and teach him how to form intlllitlrr '"P"'''" 
 
 suit ot this training, cannot be told T« .,c^ *v , ^" ''"^^^ 
 
 ftiel, or that tho quickness and intolligence of childhom' win , 
 
 rar:r:iettro:t « ''^ "i -»'"oo<.ipp™::it': ^0,:; » : 
 
 was an exception to th,s rule, m so far that solidity of judgment 
 
 ..n unusual ordoi. His genius was not of the purely concentive 
 and imaginative type, bnt hepossessed au intelleetuaUptitude of 
 
 :nJ:fntr';s.ro;;;! '""''' '° "^'"°" -^'^ - -« 
 
 m nd of L ^'""?°''°°'' "'""•■' "'"' R-gby.standsoutintre 
 mind of the average American reader as the type of English d "b 
 
 vinity as can be gained fron, construing tlit otek TeTanL " 
 and reading a portion of Toniline ou the Thii-tv ninoTM!!] ' 
 and a Httie ancient and modern geography." sth'sthe til 
 mony of no less an authority than tho Edinburgh Eeview a^d ' 
 vc read it, and recall the testimony of Archdeleon Jonls'reeor 1 
 d above wo are involuntarily moved to ask where Mr Zd- 
 
 atone s udieu financiering to such an excellent advantage 
 Another question suggests itself: If they devote on?v'„l„ 
 
 hours to seliool work at Eton (and in 1845facc„rdi„° o':':;;; 
 
 ofthnt date, the time was even less than ihnt^ ,.^ T-.'^,^ 
 
 ...pi upf Ihe Public Schools Commission inveaM<,„t„d matt,,, 
 .oce, and Lord Morley «s called as a witness. Zsked whZr 
 
Ancestry and Eduratinn. si 
 
 a boy would be .ooked down upon at Eton for being industrious 
 
 •nrhabl r ; !.l'''^''P replied, with what se^s to us « 
 laughable naiveto, "Kot if he could do something else well " 
 
 A. u^fu"^ ? %^'i"g, with its manifold evils, has been well 
 descnbedbythea.^.horof "Tom Brown's .ehooldays at Eug! 
 by and the scenes drawn from the life of another school are 
 not inapphcable to Eton. But there were honorable exceptions! 
 
 oL A\'' '\f 'f '^^^ '"^'^ "^^^ "^* - ^-"^'y *--tedj and b; 
 one of these the future statesman profited, being his elder broth- 
 er 3 Jag. By the time that Thomas Gladstone nud leftEton Wil- 
 liam was sufficiently high in rank to have a fag of his own ' and 
 one who filled that position said, in after yearsf that howlsh'edhe 
 could be certain that he had treated his own fag- as well as he 
 had been treated by Gladstone. 
 
 There were but few honors to be won at Eton in those days 
 tor the pupils were promoted by seniority after they had passed 
 a certain stage, so that examinations, with their disappointments 
 and triumphs, were not. The one reward for excellence consist- 
 ed in being '' sent up for good" on account of Latin or Greek 
 verses; and this honor was won several times by young Glad- 
 slo no* 
 
 The head master in those days was an exceedingly cruel little 
 martinet. He was often more pleased with a sharp excuse than 
 .-.th a really good one ; this proved to be of material advantage to 
 Gladstone on one occasion. He had been made "prropostor" of his 
 form and had neglected to report a boy who had come late. A 
 ^xrch was at once called for, and the head master addressed the 
 delinquent official with words which may be translated into the 
 speech ofthe day by the single sentence: ''A public office is a 
 public trust." The culprit listened to the harangue which ex- 
 pressed this in many a grandiloquent phrase, and then excused 
 himself wuh : If you please, sir, my pr^epostorship would have 
 been an office of trust if I had sought it of my own accord, but it 
 was forced upon me." His sharp wit saved him, and the boy of 
 iourteen was victor in the wordy contest. 
 
 Though, as has been remarked, the school at Eton did not da 
 rnuch towa>--' educating the pupils there, they did a good deal in 
 the way of educating themselves. One of the means which they 
 employed for this purpose was the Eton Deb.,ting Societv of 
 winch our snhjocl. became a member in 1826; and which he 
 aided much, by his own work, and by getting others interested 
 
32 
 
 Anrcstrt) an,l Education. 
 
 In the «amo form with Gladstone was Arthur Honry Hallam 
 the oldest son of the historian, and th. fnond .-hoso L,\ t2 
 
 Eton School. 
 
 nyson has made the subject of In Memoriam; and the two were 
 iilmost inseparable. It was to please Ilallam that Gladstone re- 
 
Ancestry and Education. 33 
 
 nounced those athletic «ports in which he would otherwise have 
 
 Ind W ',"" pT'''^ '"' '"""° '° ^""^' ^^"•'^^ "bout the fields 
 ana VVindsor Park. 
 
 wlihf 7'""',' 5""":"« '•"'''"' *='""'" "24, in tl,o courso of 
 wl ch 1,0 found t„„„ for „„ l,„„,.', talk with tl,o bo„ of I.U fnena 
 and supporter, doubtless did much towurd establishing on a 
 firmer bas.s that admiration for the brilliant statesman which 
 w,^ so nofceablo in Gladstone's later years. The talk was upon 
 the lead.ng questions of the day; and the Minister of the Crown 
 
 elder brother, and was closely followed by his young admirer. 
 
 stul„r:f "r ■'""" "'^^ ^'"'""""•"' """- '""' "'one time th. 
 students of Fton were accustomed to celebrate a festivrl pecu- 
 .ar to themselves, called Montem. Costumed in various e„^°rs 
 sometimes m imitation of historical characters or national dress 
 ''[IZ r:"".'"'""! »"Wb«tions from visitors to support tho 
 captain during at least a portion of his Cambridge or Oxford 
 course. At the "Montem" of 1826, Gladstone was i^n Greek cos 
 tnme ; and was one of the " salt-bearers," as these collectors were 
 called It was tho rule that the captain should pay out of th! 
 sum thus collected, for all tho damage that was d'on'c' bT h r, m! 
 pant schoolboys during the festival; and Mr. Gladstone was one 
 
 It , , d""" "^ "" '■°"°'" '"""> "•■■"" '" k""? Bueh orde! 
 that these damages would not molt all the salt 
 
 ,:!''" p*""" ^^V"""""' ""P™ P"Wi»l-J at' Eton before this 
 hme. Prominent amr ^ them were the Microcosm, in which 
 Canning and Frere had given to the world tho earliest sdn if 
 
 ^oduct?;f P 1 "" ""'''"'""^ ''y *'"' dolioately finished 
 
 pioducts of Praeds genius. It was almost exclusivelv to th- J 
 forts of young Gladstone that anotiier m„g„.i„e wasdue-The 
 ^to» M,scd!any. Of this ha was the editor and the principal eon 
 
 intn hi Tt^'f f "^ '"""P''""' '" '"» summer o'f 1826, 
 until he left the school. T the tirst volume he contributed 
 thineen articles, incLiding a poem of two hundred and fifty ites 
 on Eic hard Coeur do Lion. How far the general popularUy of 
 
 oenai.ly the Wi.ard of the ^"a^aekn^o "redg'ed':: rt' 
 onto poet both of Gladstone and h.. friend Hallam 
 
84 
 
 Ancestry atul Education. 
 
 To thosociytid voiiirno of tho Eton Miscellany ho contributed 
 seventeen jvrticlcs ; both those numbers of course representing 
 separate contributions, and not editorials, introductions, *;tc. His 
 pen name was Jiarthdomno Bouveria ; and this v/aa the epitaph 
 which he composed for himself as editor: 
 
 Ilero lietli Bartlo Bouvcrio ; 
 u^ merry soul and quiiiiit wiis lio ; 
 . He lived fur gain, ho wrote for polf, 
 
 Then took his pen and stabbed himself. 
 
 Perhaps the most notable of his contributions is the tribute to 
 Canning, written on the occasion v.; that statesman's premature 
 death. He had died just when triumph was awaiting him. The 
 aim ofhis labors for many years had boon Catholic Emancipa- 
 tion. We cannot pause hero to describe the disabilities under 
 which Catholics labored at this period. Those earlier and more 
 oppressive laws, which forbade a communicant of the Eoman 
 Church the privilege of educating his own children, and gave his 
 estate to the child who would profess himself a Protestant, had 
 long ceased to bo enforced j but thero were many respects in 
 which the laws of the land Avero scarcely less unjust. Canning 
 had made this the turning point of the campaign of 1S12; but the 
 state of Europe worked against his plans. It was the old story; 
 Grattan had said, as car'/ as 1782 : » England's weakness is Ire- 
 land's strength." Conversely, the truth is the same. The Irish 
 were obliged to wait for a threatened invasion of Napoleon's 
 army before the frightened English Parliament. - ould even prom- 
 ise them this -edress j and tiio promise was not lulfilled soon. 
 
 Canning's efforts in this direction had i.uide him unpopular at 
 court, and this disfavor was increased by the course which he 
 took in regard to Queen Caroline's divorce. During the regency, 
 Canning had shown himself no approver of the treatment which 
 the I rincess of Wales received from the royal roue whom she 
 had married; and when matters came to a head upon the acces- 
 sion of George IV tendered his resignation; being openly 
 opposed to any pr^ .ngs against her. The King, however, 
 refused to accept it, since it would mjilerially weaken the Cab- 
 inet; and the indispensable Minister received full peiinission to 
 hold alooffrom all proceeding's against the Que n. The same 
 trouble being expected to absorb the attention of Parliament 
 during the next session ho again tendered his resi^-nation which 
 was accepted this time, and Mr. Peel appointed. 
 
Ancestry and Education. gg 
 
 But the business of royal family quarrels settled, for the time 
 at least, the old question of Catholic Emancipation came up 
 Hitherto, the statesman had boon u advance of histim-j; the 
 time was now catching up with the statesman. The bill received 
 greater majorities than over before in the Commons, though u 
 hilled to pass the Lords, 
 
 The death of Lord Castloreagh in 1822 made Canning absolute- 
 ly indispensable in the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister re lest^ 
 od the permission of the King to make the aj.pointmcnt. After 
 considerable argument on the subject, the King wrote a letter 
 which he requested might be shown to Mr. Canning, and which 
 he intended to be very gracious. «' The Xing is aware " t' ! t- 
 ter ran, " that the brightest jewel in his crown is the power of 
 extending grace and favor to a subject who may have incurred 
 his displeasure." Canning was duly shown this letter, and wrote 
 one in reply which was not at all gracious, and which he in turn 
 requosted might be shown to the King. He was with difficulty 
 restrained from sending it, and the breach was healed. Prom this 
 time we do not find that George x.. ^lilod to rate the Minister 
 at his true worth The only excopti n to this was in 1827, when 
 the death of the Premier made it necessary to form a new Min- 
 istry. This was not an easy matter. The King w.s bent upon 
 forming an ant.-Catholic Administration; Canning would not 
 serve m such a Ministry. When his Majesty gave this idea up, 
 and .ttempted to form a Cabinet on some other basis, there was 
 still tTo ible, for Canning and Peel both seemed necessary. But 
 Canning would not serve under Peel, and Peel would not serve 
 under Canning After two months had passed, however, the 
 King decided that Canning, even with hi. favorite measure was 
 the man whom he must have ; and the apostle of Catholic Eman- 
 cipation bacame Prime Minister of England. 
 
 But thi did not bring peace to the political world. The Duke 
 of Welhn ton so bitterly opposed the appointment of Canning 
 tha he res^gned, not only the civil office that he held, but hft 
 post as commander-in-chief of the British army; and every 
 measure which the new Government brought forwa! 1 was mo.t 
 bitterly opposed by - the Duke" in the House of Lords, and by 
 his lieutenant. Peel, in the Commons. Harassed by such oppol 
 
 ition, and conscious that the Kinsr entertnin^H no -e - ' 5 
 
 ing for l..m, tlie lot of the Prime Minister caVhardly^h^rbcen a 
 pleasant one. He kept bravely on, however, and prepLed hi plan 
 
36 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 of campaign for the next session of Parliament. But a severe 
 cold told heavily upon a system already broken by hard work 
 and anxiety, and before the session of 1827 o^ oned ho was dead. 
 Since his election in 1812, if not before, Mr. Canning had been 
 a frequent visitor at Seaforth House, as the Gladstone residence 
 at Liverpool was culled j and the elder Gladstone was without 
 doubt a loader of tho popular enthusiasm for him. The groat 
 Tory had been returned four successive times from that borough, 
 and always by handsome majorities. The Cunning Club was one 
 of the most prosperous organizations of the kind to bo found in 
 
 Duke of Wellington {at t/ie Penod of the Battle of Waterloo). 
 
 the Inrge, progressive, commercial city. Was it any wonder that 
 the young student at Eton, distinguished as he had boon by such 
 marks of the statesman's favor, should share the enthusiasm of 
 his fellow-townsmen, led as they were by his own father, its ob- 
 ject a man whom his earliest recollections pictured as ruling 
 men bv the maeric of hia words? An.'i wlmn ht> /inmr^o^^^i o^^;«»,* 
 and modern genius, is it any wonder that he should grow elo- 
 
MR. AND MRS. GLADSTONE ON THE CELEBRATION OF 
 THE;r fin I nc-M lA/rr-.m.,^ 
 
 e=!.. L-t-l-i »TC.lJuii-VU 
 
» _ 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
» _ 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 87 
 
 quent over the object of his boyish admiration, and award the 
 palm to the genius of the time ? We have space for the perora 
 tion only : 
 
 ^ "It is for those who revered him in the plenitude of his mer- 
 idian glory to mourn over him in the darkness of his premature 
 extinction; to mourn over the hopes that are buried in his grave 
 and the evils that arise from his withdrawing from the scone of 
 life. Surely, if eloquence never excelled and seldom equalled, 
 if an expanded mind, and judgment whose vigor was only par- 
 alleled by its soundness, if brilliant wit, if a glowing imagina- 
 tion, if a warm heart and unbending firmness, could have 
 strengthened the frail tenure, and prolonged the momentary en- 
 durance of human existence, that man had been immortal. But 
 nature could endure no longer. Thus had Providence ordained 
 that inasmuch as the intellect is more brilliant, it shall be more 
 short-lived ; as its sphere is more expanded, more swiftly is it 
 summoned away. Lest we should give to man the honor due 
 to God, lest we should exalt the object of our admiration into a 
 divinity for our worship. He who calls the mourner and the 
 weary to eternal rest hath been p' eased to remove him from our 
 
 eyes The decrees of inscrutable wisdom are unknown to us- 
 
 but if ever there was a man for whose sake it was meet to ir' 
 dulge the kindly though frail feelings of our nature, for whom 
 the tear of sorrow was both prompted by affection and dictated 
 by duty, that man was George Canning." 
 
 Whatever be the faults of this passage, it will compare favor- 
 ab y with the majority of schoolboy productions; and perhaps it 
 will not surprise the reader who has not been told the author's 
 name to learn that the boy of eighteen afterward became ono of 
 the most eloquent members of the British Parliament. We discern 
 already the indications of that fluency which his enemies have 
 sometimes styled verbosity; that wonderful flow of words 
 which piles up invective after invective, argument upon argu^ 
 ment, until the whole becomes unanswerable. 
 
 We have already mentioned Halkm as one' of Gladstone's con- 
 tempoiaries at Eton. Next to him, in the estimation of the stu- 
 dent in whom we are specially interested, came George A Sel- 
 wyn afterward a bishop; and he who, as Sir Francis Hastings 
 Doyle, became Professor of Poetry at the Universitvof Ovfnvd 
 Though the esteem of the bend master of this time does "not 
 seem to be worth wishing for, it was possessed in large measure 
 
88 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 li i 
 
 
 by tho pnpil who could outwit him in argument, and who never 
 betrayed fear of his tyranny. It was won mainly by young 
 Gladstone's persistence in study, and retained by that and other 
 qualities. Alluding to the fact that Mr. Gladstone .ho elder had 
 been undecided whether to send his second son to Eton or the 
 Charterhouse, Dr. Keats once said : 
 
 " That would have been a pity for both of us, Gladstone--ror 
 you and f )r me." 
 
 During his year in the Sixth Form, or highest class of the 
 school, Mr. Gladstone became President of tho Debating Society 
 and tho acknowledged head of the school in literary attain 
 ments and oratory. His home training had indeed been such as 
 to fit him for this standing in a pnculiar degree. All tho chil- 
 dren of tho family were accustomed to argue with each other 
 every point that admitted of argument ; it was this trainingthat 
 has made him such a master of the art of persuasion. The argu- 
 ments were all perfectly good-humored ; but they were not ad- 
 vanced rashly, or abandoned without conviction. Nor were they 
 averse to acknowledging themselves beaten when such was felt 
 to be the case. It was early recognized that the second son pos- 
 sessed the greatest powers of persuasion. On one occasion, an old 
 Scotch servant was directed to hang a certain picture, but the 
 side of tho room on whi h it should bo placed was not specified. 
 Master Willie, as he was called at home, and his sister. Miss 
 Mary, proceeded to discuss tho question, each choosing a dif- 
 erent place as the one to be preferred. The feminine tongue 
 was tho longer, or else her enemy was too gallant to insist upon 
 fighting it to the end, even with his sister; for he was silent af- 
 ter a while, though evidently not convinced. The servant hung 
 the picture as Miss Mary wished, then drove a nail on the oppos""- 
 ite wall. 
 
 "What are you doing that for, Sandy?" demanded the vounjr 
 lady. " ^ 
 
 "Aweel, Miss, that'll do to hang tho picture on when ye'll 
 have coom roond to Maister Willie's opeenion." 
 
 We have already spoken of the lack of mathematical training 
 at Eton. Ko arithmetic beyond the suhjoct of division was taught 
 by the master, who was allowed to give his lessons out of school 
 hours, as extras, to those who particul.ady wished to excel ; and 
 for many years after Mr. Gladstone left the school this state of 
 things continued. While the requirements at Cambridge were 
 

 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 89 
 
 such that this would have boon very insufficient propagation, in- 
 volving the necessity of studyii ^ under a private tutor, it 'was 
 different at Oxford. It seems almost incredible that during the 
 present century it was nuito possible for a man to take his de- 
 gree at this ancient seat of learning, and yet have no more knowl- 
 edge of mathematics than the boy in our own primary schools. 
 Yet so it was; and if young Gladstone had been content simply 
 to take the classical course at Oxford ho migh^„ have gone direct 
 to the university. His homo training, however, had given him 
 habits of thoroughness with which this was inconsistent j and for 
 nearly two years he read with a private tutor, Dr. Turner, after- 
 ward the Bishop of Calcutta. When he did enter Oxford in 1829, 
 ho knew almost as much mathematics as the average Cambridge 
 sophomore. 
 
 His career at scnool had given him the reputation of uncom- 
 mon ability, and because he was regarded as a young man of ex- 
 ceptional promise he was nominated to a studentship at Christ 
 Church. This brought him an income of about £irO per annum. 
 The scholarships are now given to those who oxo^l in the com* 
 petitive examinations, and it is not usual for th/.se who are in 
 affluent circumstances to compete for them ; but fifty or sixty 
 years ago, they were at the disposal of the Dean, and were not 
 often bestowed upon those who really had need of them. 
 
 The student impressed himself strongly upon the minds of his 
 comrades. It was his intense conviction of being in the right 
 which made him so persevering, not to say stubborn, in an argu- 
 ment; and thus assured him the victory over those who did 
 not ponder very deeply on their opinions, and hence were not 
 prepared to defend them vigorously when attacked. Yet one of 
 his tutors has borne evidence to his readiness to acknowledge 
 that he had been in the wrong, when he really thought that it 
 was so. Thus early wore the traits developed, which made it 
 possible for him to be first a Tory, then the most progressive of 
 Liberals; first to permit the use of coercion by a member of his 
 Ministry, as a means of ruling the Irish; then to advocate the 
 extension of homo rule to that country. 
 
 It was a thoroug-: knowledge of his nature, as displayed at 
 college, which enabled one of his old college friends to say forty 
 years afterward : '' You must know Gladstone to understand how 
 much It costs him to give up any clause in a bill which he has 
 framed. He hates compromise as a concession of good to evil. 
 
<0 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 He cannot ivckrnwlodgo half truths or admit tho value of half 
 good. What grieves him is not tho humiliation of being beaten 
 by liis sysLomatic foes, but tho misery of having failed *,o con- 
 vince those who profes:, to bo his friends and to let themselves 
 be guided by him; and again, when he surrenders a particle of 
 what ho considers right, ho is at war with his restive conscience, 
 
 askinghimselfwhother ho was morally justified in yielding to 
 servo party ends." 
 
 I 
 
 Chnst Church College, Oxford. 
 
 It was small wonder that a youth with such abilities and such 
 characteristics should soon become a notable figure in the Ox- 
 ford Union, tlio foremost literary and debating society of tho 
 
Ancestry and Education. 
 
 41 
 
 nmversity. This association had boon founded in 1823, chiefly by 
 Balhol men, but by 1829 Christ Church and Oriel Colleges furnish- 
 ed a majority of the members. It possessed a respectable library 
 and a well-furnished reading room. Something of the earnest- 
 ness of the members may be inferred from the fact that, until 
 1826, proposals to buy the Wavcrly Novels and other works of 
 fiction were resolutely thrown out. The debates were principally 
 on subjects conneclod with tL . conduct of national affairs : and 
 the young students gravely advised and directed the Ministers 
 of the Crown, as Columbus commanded the sun to hide his face 
 from the recusant red men; that there was an eclipse, history re- 
 cords; and sometimes the British Empire was ruled in accord- 
 ance with the ideas of the Oxford Union; but the command was 
 probably the reason in one case as much as in the other. 
 
 It is curious to rote the stand which the embryo statesman took 
 upon the questions of the day. Like a true Tory, ho was vio- 
 lently opposed to the question of Parliamentary Eeform, which 
 was then the subject uppermost in the minds of all concerned 
 with public affairs; and spoke in the Union with considerable 
 ability upon this side of the question. This speech is of consid- 
 erable importance, considered as a step in his career; for it pro- 
 duced such an impression upon the young Earl of Lincoln the 
 eldest son of the Duke of Newcastle, that ho wrote home to his 
 father : " A man has uprisen in Israel." The young nobleman's 
 admiration for his fellow-student had begun some time before 
 this, and continued strong as ever for -^any years afterward • it 
 was the means of exciting the interest of his father, one of the 
 most powerful Tories of the day; and was the reason why Mr 
 Gladstone was invited to stand for the duke's pocket-borouirh of 
 Newark. ^ 
 
 For the present, however, we have but to deal with his uni- 
 versity life. The deba.o upon the relative excellences of Byron 
 and Shelley, an inter-university contest to which Cambridge 
 challenged Oxford, took place while Gladstone was in his fresh- 
 man year, and therefore not eligible to more than a probation- 
 ary membership. Though debarred the privilege of .-cakino-in 
 this notable debate, ho was accorded the honor of a place upon 
 the reception committee; for his reputation for hospitalitv was 
 as great as for scholarship. 
 
 The offices ofsecretary and president of the Union were con- 
 ferred upon him at a later period ; but all his oratorical triumphs 
 
.'A- '^'^ K 
 
 •f.f 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 Ancestry and Education, 
 
 woro not in its rooms. IIo became the founder of another de- 
 bating society, wliicli seems to have included only a few special 
 friends as its members. This club was called the "Weg," from the 
 Initials of its founder, and its assemblies were well known for 
 their brilliancy. 
 
 The leader of the Weg was regarded as the most religious 
 man of his sot. Ho was what was called an "enquirer after 
 truth" in those days J and as such, he was a fairly regular at- 
 tendant upon church, with frequent visits to the chapels of the 
 Dissenters. Ho was untiring in his efforts to induce his fellow- 
 students to go with him to hear the University Sermons, preach- 
 ed Sunday afternoons; and one unlucky occasion, when he yield- 
 ed to the heat and prosiness of the preacher, furnished Doyle 
 with an unfailing retort for future invitations of the kind. 
 "Thank you," the future poet would say to the future states- 
 man, '' I can sleep as well in my own chair." 
 
 Ho went up for his degree at the Michaelmas term of 1831. 
 Moderations had not then been instituted, and the students were 
 utterly ignorant as to whether their attainments were anything 
 near the mark, until the final examinations were held. An under- 
 graduate's scholarship was never tested until the time came at 
 which he tried for his degree. It was therefore with some ner- 
 vousness about the result that Mr. Gladstone entered upon this 
 test; and when ho went home for the Christmas holidays, with- 
 out having learned anything definite about the examination, he 
 was decidedly anxious. Though it be not in mortals to command 
 success, he had deserved it; and in this case desert was reward- 
 ed. Ho was among the forty-seven who took a ''first-class" in 
 classics, and among the five who achieved the same distinction 
 in mathematics. Ho had thus the distinction of a " double first 
 class," an honor which had been first won by Sir Eobert Peel. 
 "The world lies at the feet of first-class men." Everything now 
 combined to insure his success in political life — wealth, position, 
 influential friends, all that could bo wished for were given to him 
 who so richly deserved them by his abilities. 
 
 What was the effect of his university training upon the mind 
 and the after life of the student ? For unless this be shown the 
 record becomes a mere gratification of idle curiosity. Lik'^i the 
 Conservatives of the day, ho had dreaded innovation, and had 
 seen clearlv tho ex'ils "which "ollow in her train. Tliat these evils 
 were mere visionary ones, does not matter; he had become im- 
 

 
 <>.%!;;"*% 
 
 Ancestry and Education. 
 
 48 
 
 buod with tho ideas, so prevalent there, and indeed in strict ac- 
 cordance with those of his father and his father's famous friend, 
 which considered any confidence in tho people as only too like- 
 ly to lead to a repetition, in London, of tho horrors perpetrated 
 in Paris in tho days of Louis XVL His admiration of Canning, 
 and his education at Oxford, were two mighty barriers between 
 him and that party of which ho has since become the acknowl- 
 edged and beloved chief. But let us hear what he has himself 
 said upon tho subject, in a speech delivered at theopeningof tho 
 Palmerston Club in Oxford, in 1878: 
 
 " I trace in the education of Oxford of my own time one grea' 
 defect. Perhaps it was my own fault; but 1 must i^dmit that 1 
 did not learn, while at Oxford, that which I havo learned since, 
 viz.: to sot i\ due value on the impciishableand inestimable prin 
 ciples of human liberty. The temper which, I think, too much 
 prevailed in academic circles was, that liberty was regarded 
 with jealousy, and fear could not be wholly dispensed with....l 
 think that the principle of the Conservative party is jealousy of 
 liberty and of the people, only qualified by fear; but I think 
 t: at the policy of the Liberal party is trust in tho people, only 
 qualified by prudence. I can only assure you, gentlemen, that 
 now I am in front of extended popular privileges, I havo no fear 
 of those enlargements of tho Constitution which seem to be ap- 
 proaching. On the contrary, I hail them with desire. I am not 
 in the least degree conscious that I havo less reverence for anti- 
 quity, for the ben"-^"**!'!, good, and glorious charges which our 
 ancestors have handed down to us as a patrimony to our race, 
 than I had in other days when I held other political opinions. I 
 have learned to set the true value upon human liberty, and in 
 whatever I havo changed, there, and there only, has been the ex- 
 planation of the change." 
 
 Such is the explanation which, standing upon the thr shold of 
 threescore and ten, he made upon the actions and opinions of 
 the student of twenty-two. 
 
 ^m 
 
I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC LIFE. 
 
 Interest iu Political Qnestion«— Reaction After the War— Destitution of the 
 Colliers— Seats in rarliameiit Eoiight and Sc'd— How Elections were 
 Conducted— Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister— Plan of Koform - 
 Fury of the i'ory Peers— Address to the Electors at Newark— Mr. Glad- 
 stone Elected to Parliament -The Slavery Ciiiestion— Eloquent Speeches- 
 Becomes Identified with Great Public Questions— Rising Star in the Polit- 
 ical Firmament. 
 
 ^UEING tho Spring of 1831 Mr. Ghidstone took an acti^ ,^ 
 interest in political questions. Among other proofs o.' 
 this, wof'-'l un aecotint of a Reform meeting published 
 in a paper of t: j period, writt^ n by the young graduate; in 
 which ho showed that tho vast crowd vi^eia present was not to 
 betaken as an indication of tho popularity of the movement, 
 lie was not backward ir assailing the characters of those who 
 wore active at this meeting, as ho deemed to be evidenced by 
 their previous standing and their performance on the occasion. 
 
 During the summer of that year, tho young gentleman went 
 to the continent, where be expected to enjoy an extended tour. 
 Ho was recalled to England during that very summer, however. 
 One of the most important measures of the century had just 
 passed the two Houses, and reoeived the unwilling assent of tho 
 King. But the Ee^brm Bill of 1832 is too important a measure 
 in itself, and as a forerunner of what came after it, to be light- 
 ly passed over in the life of an English statesman who, like 
 Gladstone, sat in tho first Reform Parliament, and was active in 
 I those later eflPorts for Reform which grew out of the liberty as- 
 sured by the first law. 
 
 As long as the country was at war, the Conservatives natural- 
 ly held the reins of government; it was not safe to make con- 
 cessions to the people in the face of the outrages perpetrated by 
 the French ; the monarchy would be overturned, social order 
 destroyed, and general pandemonium ensue, should such encour- 
 
 44 
 
 
 w 
 

 .w 
 

 HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
 ,* 
 
The BeginnuKj of PuhUc Life, 
 
 45 
 
 i 
 
 ngement bo given. True, tho Bill for fJutholio Emancipation 
 hud boon carried, but that was an act of just'ee, long-ciolayod, in- 
 deed, but thorougl.ly difloreiit from such a purely political 
 measure as increasing the number of electors for the membcraof 
 Parliament. There was no real representation of the people of 
 England at that time; and it must be remembered that thoT- had 
 never had any rights, aside from *' ; landed proprietors. To 
 go back to the very co nor-stono of English liberty, Ma.^na 
 Charta itself, that instrument protected the barons against t e 
 tyranny of the king; but there was no human power which 
 could protect th. vagc-earners against the tyranny of the bar- 
 ons. Hampden pheld the rights of the Commons against 
 Charles I., but those Commons were, like himself, men of large 
 property and high standing. In 1886, there were thirteen work- 
 ingmen in Pari... ..ent; not agitators, who lived off the contribu- 
 tions of their misguided disciples, and never did a day's honest 
 work in their lives, but the regulation " horny-handed sons of 
 toil," who by their skill had first gained the respect of their 
 fellows, and retained it by their sterling good sense; supported 
 by tlio trades union?, it is true (for they must live), they gave to 
 the goo. 1 of the community the time which they had formerly 
 devoted the manual labor which providod food and shelter 
 for their i*>milies; but were in no sense adventurers. Such were 
 the facts in 1886 ; but in 1826 such a prophecy would have been 
 looked upon as the wildest dream of an unscrupulous rcvolu- 
 tionis+>j and it was not rendered possible for forty years later. 
 
 But when tho v/ar was over, the reaction began to set in. It 
 began with the abolition of most of the sinecures which had bc:-^ 
 held by the great nobles at enormous salaries. Having cut off from 
 the list those offices where there was nothing to do, the reform- 
 ers next considered those where the work was done chiefly by 
 dep-ties; and the practice of allowing officers so to discharge 
 their duties was to a conuderablo extent abolished. Ecligiotis 
 tests were dono away with j Catholics might sit in Parliament 
 Dissenters might hold any kind of civil or political office, Jews 
 wereeli-ibleas civic officers of London. The cHminal code, 
 too, had been changed, and tho death penalty limited to those 
 great crimes which are now punished by the extreme sentence 
 of the law. All these changes, while they seem to us to em- 
 brace only those principles which must rule the intercourse be- 
 tween man and man. were then real reforms. 
 
46 
 
 The Beijinning of Public Life. 
 
 The people hud tried to make themselves heard, but had not 
 succeeded. " In 1817 some starving colliers of the North had 
 thought of making a pilgrimage to the house of the Prince Re- 
 gent in London, in the hope of being allowed to tell their tale 
 of misery to him, and induce him to do something on their be- 
 half. Following ti;e examj^le of these poor fellows, a large body 
 of Manchester workingmen resolved that they would walk to 
 London, make known their grievances to the authoriti s there, 
 and ask for Parliam.entary Reform as one means of i iproving 
 their condition." Destitute as they were, they had no money to 
 spend upon this melancholy pilgrimage for anything but the 
 food which was an absolute neeessily; and each carried with 
 him his blanket, that he might not bo without a bed at night. 
 When this became known among those who had never felt the 
 hardships of poverty, the foot-sore and shelterless travelers were 
 styled the "Bhmketcers." But it was useless to make such an ap- 
 peal to the Prince Regent or his Ministry. The men in author- 
 ity saw nothing pitiful in ihis array of hai'd-working men, ask- 
 ing to be allowed the bare right of living by their own labor, 
 for such a privilege was what they hoped Reform would bring 
 thorn. They were rioto , revolutionary, seditious; and the 
 soldiery posted along ti roads which they traveled arrested 
 some, who were brought to trial and committed to prison ; while 
 the rest were turned back homeward, to endure as well as they 
 could the old burdens. 
 
 The Peterloo Massacre took place about two years after the 
 journey of the Bhinketeers; and these are but specimens of the 
 tyranny which was practised upon Englishmen of that day, un- 
 der the disguise of a representative government. It seems in- 
 credible that such abuses should have arisen in a system origin- 
 ally intended as a safeguard of the liberties of the subject; but 
 it must be remembered that the sovereign alone had the power to 
 summon a borough or county to return a representative to Par- 
 liament; such a call once given, the member was elected time af- 
 ter time; in many cases, the original population had dwindled 
 to a mere handful, and in some it was altogether gone; v/hile, 
 on the other hand, the great manufacturing centers, which had 
 crrjwn uj, of late years, were wholly unrepresented. Two-thirds 
 of the House of Commons consisted of mt-mbers from "rotten 
 bnronp-hs." as thov were callcMl ; borou<?ha in which the voters, if 
 thero wore any, wore so completely under the domination of the 
 
The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 47 
 
 lord of tho soil that the election was a mere furco, in which they 
 hud no power to act but as tho owner of tho seat dictated. Old 
 Sarum, a town from which Salisbury had drawn all tho pojiula- 
 tion, still sent one member to Parliament, as it had done in the days 
 when it was a flourishing town; Gatton, which had but seven 
 electors, had twc representatives in t)ic councils of tho nation. 
 Ludgershall, in Wiltshire, was, lilce CM Sarum, without inhabi- 
 tants, but with a Tarliamentary franchise. The owner of thisseat 
 elected himself to Parliament, but was so far sensible of the in- 
 
 77i(j Vninhahitcd Bonnigh of Old Sarutn. 
 
 justice of his own rights that he told his colleagues, when the 
 question of Eeform came before tho House: "Gentlemen I 
 am the patron of Ludgershall, I am tho constituency of Ludger- 
 shall, and I i.m tho member for Ludgershall; but in all thrco°ca- 
 pacities I mean to vote for tho disfranchisement of Ludgershall." 
 Nor was this all. Not only did tho owners of the seats return 
 the members in whom thoy took a personal interest, or whom 
 they hoped to bind to themselves politically, but when one of 
 these loi'tunate individuals hud no special candidate in view, ho 
 had no hesitation in disposing of his property to the best ad- 
 vantage. Scats wore not only often botight and sold— all tho re- 
 form in tho world does not seem to bo able to prevent that, in 
 England or elsewhere— but thoy were publicly advertised for 
 
V M 
 
 
 48 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 sale. Elections lasted for fifteen days, in some cases— it had been 
 necessary to limit their duration to that length of time by a law 
 passed in 1784— and the whole period was given up to the most 
 notous debauchery in the counties and boroughs where there 
 were still a respectable number of electors. Such was the state 
 of affairs in England; and in Scotland and Ireland, incredibleas 
 it may seem, it was even worse. 
 
 The project ofParliamentary Reform was one wkich had for 
 many years been in the minds of statesmen. The elder Pitt had 
 brought it forward, but the successful resistancoof the American 
 colonies to the power of a non-representative Parliament made 
 such schemes unpopular for a number of years. The public ten- 
 dency to Conservatism caused by the American Revolution had 
 but begun to set the other way, when the French Revolution 
 again turned it, and men once more determined thatit would not 
 do to make bad worse. The Duke of Wellington, in particular, 
 was a determined opponent of the question, and affirmed that he 
 believed such a concession to the masses would bring about a 
 civil war. With a solemnity which gave the words of the great 
 soldier, the military idol of the people, a depth of meaning 
 which no other man's could have had, he told his listeners that 
 to save his country from one month of civil war, ho would will- 
 ingly lay down his life. Such was the earnest belief of many 
 wise statesmen. But there were others more in sympathy with 
 thospiritofthetimes, and these bad never ceased to plead the 
 cause in which they so earnestly believed. One of these was that 
 Earl Grey to whoso lofty eloquence Macaulay has borne testi- 
 mony; another was his son-in-law, Lord Durham, by whose 
 masterful mind the somewhat slower nature of the elder noble 
 was often dM-ected ; then there was Henry Brougham, who had 
 not yet been created a peer, but whose restless, untiring energy 
 made him incapable of Conservatism. But foremost of all, in 
 the earnestness of his efforts, the untiring patience with which 
 he worked for the advancement of the measure, and the powers • 
 which he brought to tho contest, was Lord John Russell. No 
 man, without genius, has ever bo impressed himself upon the 
 history of his age. Clear-sighted, strong-willed, with undevia- 
 tmg principles, it was the sole advantage which tho system of 
 electing the members of Parliament which prevailed at that time 
 possessed, that it provided for the training and advancement, 
 in their early youth, of such men as he was. 
 
 ^ ^U 
 
The Beijinning of Public Life. 
 
 49 
 
 At last an event which did more forthoEeform than any other 
 could have done, occurred. This was the death of George IV., 
 which took place June 26, 1830. It had long been tacitly under' 
 stood that as long as the '< First Gentleman in Europe" was 
 alive, it was useless to think of bettering the condition of his un- 
 fortunate subjects. But William IV. had been popular in his 
 youth, and longed to have that state of affairs restored. Perhaps 
 it would be more just to say that ho seems to have wished, with 
 all the earnestness of which he was capable, to bo a good king. 
 At any rate, his people thought that his accession was a step for- 
 ward in the cause of Reform. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington was Prime Minister at the time of 
 this change. His Ministry had indeed passed the Catholic Eman- 
 cipation Bill, but it was gen- 
 erally acknowledged that 
 they had not done this be- 
 cause they had recognized the 
 justice of the measure, but be- 
 cause they had been convinced 
 tliut it would not be safe to de- 
 lay it aii;^ longer. The reform 
 question had reached that 
 stage at this time. Added to 
 this, matters in Franco were 
 having their effect upon Eng- 
 lish politics, as they have al- 
 ways had, sooner or later. 
 The brother of Louis XVI. 
 had been compelled to abdi- 
 cate, and the Orleans branch 
 of the royal family had been 
 called to the throne. This 
 change had resulted from the 
 
 refusal of the French Ministry to consider questions which wore 
 forced upon their attention by the people ; the English Ministry 
 took the lesson to heart. 
 
 But Wellington denied that the distress which existed in the 
 country was general; and even if it were, he refused to bo con- 
 vinced that Reform was a cure for it, or indeed anything but 
 an cviL Tlse Tory Ministry grow moio and more unpopular, and 
 at last was compelled to resign. Earl Grey was his successor 
 
 William IV. 
 
60 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 and most of the men who had long been prominent in the cause 
 of Keform were in his cabinet. Brougham was made Lord Chan- 
 cellor j Melbourne, Stanley (afterwards Lord Derby), Plunkett, 
 and Durham, were also chosen for this honor. Lord John Eus- 
 sell was in office, but not in the Cabinet. One member of the 
 Government, Lord Althorp, possessed the confidence of the 
 House in a remarkable degree. On one occasion he was replying 
 to an opponent whose arguments had been very plausible. '' I 
 do not now recollect," he said, " the reasons which prove his ob- 
 jections to bo groundless ; but I know that those reasons were 
 perfectly satifactory to my own mind." And the House, with a 
 devotion seldom, if ever, paralleled, took Lord Aithorp's word 
 for it, and gave a largo majority against his opponent. 
 
 Lord John Russell was commissioned to draw up a plan to be 
 submitted to the House ; for it was understood that this Ministry 
 was appointed for the special purpose of carrying out some Re- 
 form measure. This was duly submittod to the Premier, and a 
 bill drawn up in accordance with his modifications of the 
 draught. 
 
 While the author of the plan of Reform did not, as he tells us 
 in his own work on the " The English Government and Consti- 
 tution," think it well to make any changes which could possibly 
 bo avoided, it was necessary to make this measure complete in 
 itself; to leave no room for their enemies to say that they were 
 only playing at Reform. But the secret was carefully kept, and 
 until the actual introduction of the Bill into Parliament, its 
 enemies did not know the nature of the measure which they 
 would have to fight. They had supposed that Old Saium and 
 Gatton would bo struck from the list; they felt sure that Man- 
 chester and Birmingham would be added to it; but as Lord John, 
 who introduced the Bill, proceeded with his s])ooch, and the 
 names of sixty boroughs were given, as the ones which it was pro- 
 posed to leave without representation, and forty-seven which 
 were to have but one member each, the Tories began to feel 
 that all breaches within their party must be forgotten, in 
 fighting this common foe. Reform. Seven nights of debate fol- 
 lowed in the House of Commons and at the close of the 
 seventh, one member remarked that no speaker had expressed 
 himself as opposed to all Reform " a remarkable change," com- 
 ments Cooke, in his ''History ot Party." The bill was defeated at 
 last, the opposition having a majority of eight ; and the kingdis- 
 

 The Beginning of Public Life. 61 
 
 t2\ ^'''^"'"^"*- ^\ ''^' ^«" tt^at he did so ; for the Ministry 
 must have resigned, after a division and defeat on the main oh 
 cot which they advocated; and that would in all probability have 
 involved a popular rising like that of the first Revolution in 
 
 If tho Torios did not hesitate to „se all the influence which 
 
 «^oy possessed, the Whigs were in the van with them. True, e 
 
 Wh.gs, or Liberals, us they began to bo more generally ca led 
 
 owned but few boroughs, co„,|,uvod with their opponents but 
 
 hnbery was a powerful force with .nunyofthoelee' rs, and'they 
 
 d-d not hesitate to figlM the devil with tire. Then, too, thcelectors 
 
 .n many cases, east eft their forn.cr allegiance and defied the 
 
 power to which they had so long been subject. The rcsu t was 
 
 that when the new Parliament met, and the Bill was on o Jr' 
 
 subn,,tte , the Ministry had a majority of ,09; not fl ^ TZ 
 
 bcrs of the minority, says the eminent authority above quoted 
 
 that were not direcly interested in the result, as members 1; 
 dislranclilsod boroughs. "".moers tor 
 
 But the measure was not yet a law; it must pass the House 
 of Lords " What will the Lords do ?" was the question Tn ev- 
 ery mouth, echoed in one of the most powerful pam, Met, 
 wh.ch proceeded from the pen of Brougham; widle Za lav 
 
 ity, who had been swept away, as ho declared, " because thev 
 had no symp.,tl,y with the people." Earl Grey was the fir Uo 
 speak upon the question. There was no need L him to a tua 
 .n favor of Eeform ; ,|,at even the Tories were wining ,7ac! 
 
 ^ytz: iiteVir^n: -Ttrt;': r- 
 
 .in/i *K„ I • j'ii.-5»i.u u voie or confic cn<-(> 
 
 erywhcro gatherings of anirrv men. d„,;„„li„. " '..^ ""'; 
 ircemen. Parliament met again in December'' im -tV, 
 »ga.„ passed the Commons, and the sccolTrtd/nrpL'sTd f 
 
Ill 
 
 52 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life, 
 
 I! 
 
 Lorda by a majority of nine. But this was not sufficient to in- 
 sure its final success, and the Premier demanded, as a last resort, 
 the power of creating a sufficient number of peers to insure its 
 success. It was refused; he resigned; the king sent for the 
 Duke of Wellington, and commissioned him to form a Ministry. 
 " The Duke," as he was called par excellence, essayed the task ; 
 but Sir Robert Peel would have nothing to do with the matter, 
 and without his assistance the Duke could not prevail upon a 
 single man to accept office in such a Ministry. As he could not 
 well do all himself, he resigned, and Grey was restored, with the 
 power which ho had demanded. 
 
 The Tory peers were furious, but helpless. One of them, when 
 he learned what had been done, arose and left the House. Others 
 continued their personal attacks upon the Premier; but it was 
 all useless. On the 4th of June, 1832, *;he Reform Bill passed, re- 
 ceived the assent of the Sovereign, and became the law of the land. 
 
 It is because the first Parliament elected after the passage of 
 this famous measure was the first in which Mr. Gladstone sat, 
 that we have devoted so much space to its consideration. The 
 history of a statesman must include at least something of the 
 history of the country during the time that ho is active in her 
 councils; sometimes, as in the present case, thishistory must ex- 
 tend still farther back ; for, as we have seen, and shall see, the 
 political creed of Gladstone was largely influenced by his admir- 
 ation for a statesman whose life closed just as the ardent admirer 
 entered upon manhood. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was an intimate friend of the young Earl of Lin- 
 coln, the son of the Duke of Newcastle. That high-born oppon- 
 ent of Reform had demanded of the Reformers : "Have 1 not a 
 right to do as I like with my own ?" The question of course re- 
 ferred to the boroughs of which he was the patron; and passed 
 into a political maxim. The new law decided the answer — that 
 the boroughs were no longer his own but the property of a con- 
 siderably increased number of electors, whose franchises were 
 based on a property qualification much smaller than such a re- 
 quirement had been under the old order of things. But His 
 Grace had not accepted the anr.wer, and resolved that he would 
 still have the disposal of his borough of Newark. Accordingly, 
 he invited his son's friend to stand for it. It was this invitation 
 which cut Mr. Gladstone's continental tour short; he hurried 
 back to England, to make his canvass. 
 
 U 
 

 £?»"!•- ■ ..i&^^i.- SfS?;'V; 
 
 m'::^m^&m 
 
 THE LAST SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
 AS PRIME MINISTER 
 
The Beginnituj of Public Life. 53 
 
 woT,M be° thlT ™° '?• " '""" °^ ''"""■'•^'' «-P«ot»tion. What 
 mo f Th°Wh"'"'f' ?"J''^*''°*"' ^°"'™<"' House of C„m- 
 
 „.. __^^ CUNTOK Arms, Newaiik, Oct. 9, 1832. 
 
 T-oft. Wmhj and Indepe„Uent Electors of tkc Borough of Mwari ■ 
 
 JIav,ng„o„con>plotedmycanva.,s,Ithi„kitnowmyd„lv„s 
 «K„ unenquirin;^ and indiscrim natino- desiro f«^ 
 
 e=ttrai:tTr;t^-r''T-?^--"^^^^^^ 
 
 classes; which by Uturbn* '^ .'"■' °"' "f-'^'-l'-^trial 
 
 strikes'at the 00(0 p^Ztv'"' P™™' "^^''-/^ eonSdence, and 
 
 thus, wo must tho,:2eZi:;tH wm do " °" "'""'^ ' "»" 
 
 " For the mitigation ofthoso evils, we mnsf T .k;„i, 1 , 
 only to p,articular measures, but to tie rostoralio ' !f T* 
 
 uals, are bound to carry thioughout thoir n.t .t' • '^''''^• 
 
 high truths they have ilknowlodg d Prin M 1 1^^"'* '' *'° 
 ed ngainst our institutions; and, not bylTc ifn.rhvT^'^- 
 ism^, not by oppression nor corruption ''"f 1'"^"°^^^ t^-^Por- 
 must be met. corruption, but oy pnncip/es they 
 
 -imoner their /l,-..t. results should be a ...d„ln.. „.^ ^p^^.^j . 
 
 te 
 
 •ests of the poor, foun<' ^d 
 
 those who are the least able to tak 
 
 upon the rule that 
 
 care of themselves should be 
 
II 
 

 CD 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 en 
 & 
 
 W 
 
 O 
 M 
 O 
 
 H 
 
 ;?; 
 
 H 
 
 K 
 
 00 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 I— I 
 
 H 
 
 M 
 M 
 M 
 
 w 
 
 Ixl 
 O 
 
 ^Ae Be<jinnin,j of Public Life. ' 55 
 
 bTelrr™.''':rn''t ^"^''«"'"'y - ^^ ^ -iu^y to o„do„vor, 
 winch, »„h„,,,„ly among sovornl classes of our fellow-countrt' 
 men, ,s „ot now tl,e case. Whatever n,o«,„rcs-thcr ^orc ITeX" 
 
 "IprococI 10 (1,0 momentous question of slavery whiohllmv^ 
 found en,ert„i„c,l among y„„, in tl.at candid and .™p atos W 
 
 t r" l''?""";" ""'""' "'■ !'■■<""-- to -emove' ts diffl „ 
 
 ... aosire to Lz z^:^. c;:::tcr:itr;'r: 
 
 of Ut.ng those reasons to him, in his character of a voter 
 
 ^""gli-Js the abstract lawfulness of slavervll?, a 
 tsimpi, as importing the right of oltin .?the o";! ^^ 
 
 :l^v„;o;:rc;::;„irjrerd';;:!ef^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 in the relation of mas.erto 'sfave fo t i^ ond"^: Trtrr","^ 
 
 -i:;ro;-;r;rorn::^-::-"- 
 
 physical andT:o™i:r::;f)i"''r"^'™' *'"" ^-"^ «>« 
 
 The question is as to" „ ord f a^fd L oJd" "^ ? '' °'°''^''^''- 
 ture attacks the moral cv,l bcTonl! . "'"'",''"'>• i ""^^ Scrip- 
 poral through the mZTLl ^l P"''"' '""'> ••""' """"n- 
 
 which scripirfLrei:;:,::,;:;' ' "■" ""'^"' """ "- -"- 
 ti:ii:;:rr:;itro:;ra':^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 Christian instruction, „ot inLndcd to ^ s" rVf^IIX-id 
 "»! P.oly and wisdom for the religious improvenTent of . 
 g.;ocs b,n to do thoroughly what1heycan^n;i p\:. a'; ""• 
 
 Asregards,mmcdiatecmaneipati„n,witho^wUho,' ^' 
 sat.on, there are several minor reasons against it hHJ rf T 
 wcghs with me is, that it would, I much Tar ch. I "'"''''"«'• 
 now affecting the negro for othc;s whi:h t:;,:-::Zlt::t 
 
!V.;v?.V.i-- .^JTW *'" 
 
 rr^ 
 
 
 ill 
 
 iiij 
 
 : j| 
 
 hii 
 
 The lie<j inning of Public Life. 
 
 lapse into doepor debasement, if not for bloodshed and internal 
 war. Lot fitness be made a condition for emancipation ; and let 
 us strive to bring him to that fitness by the shortest possible 
 course. Lot him enjoy the means of earning bis freedom through 
 honest and industrious habits; thus the same instruments which 
 attain bis liberty sluill rend r bim competent to use it ; and thus, 
 I earnestly trust, without risk of blood, without violation of prop- 
 erty, with unimpaired benefit to the negro, and with the utmost 
 speed which prudence will admit, wo shall arrive at that exceed- 
 ingly desirable consummation, the utter extinction of slavery. 
 
 "And now, gentlemen, as regards the enthusiasm with which 
 you bavo rallied round your ancient fljig, and welcomed tne 
 humble representative of those principles whose emblem it is, I 
 trust that neither the lapse of time nor the seductions of pros- 
 perity can ever efface it from my memory. To my opponents, 
 my acknowlegments are due for the good bumor and kindness 
 with which they have received me; and while I would thankmy 
 friends for their zealous and unwearied exertions in my favor, I 
 briefly but emphatically assure them, that if promises be an ad- 
 quate foundation of confidence, or experience a reasonable 
 ground of calculation, our victory is sure. 
 
 " I have the honor to be. Gentlemen, 
 
 Your obliged and obedient Servant, 
 
 W. E. Gladstone." 
 
 This address suggests that Gladstone's opinions on the subject 
 of slavery had been called in question by a society having for its 
 object the suppression of slavery in the British dominions. Such 
 was indeed the case; and the young Candida 3 had good reasons 
 for not desiring to state his opinions t)ut>Iicly. A considerable 
 portion of his father's wealth was drawn from the West Indies, 
 where ho had large estates, worked wholly by slave labor. 
 He was somewhat in the position of a scion of a Southern 
 family, in American ante-bellum days, when called upon to de- 
 fend the ^'peculiar institution" against the accusations of North- 
 ern friends. More positive condemnation of the slave question 
 we could not expect; and we must admire the dexterity with 
 which he has avoided committing himself. 
 
 The opponents of Mr, Gladstone were not to be despised. Mr. 
 Handley appears i:, have been of much less note than Sergeant 
 Wilde, who had much personal popularity in Newark, and was -a 
 
The B€<j'nninij oj Public Life. 
 
 67 
 
 veteran platform orator. This gentleman, says a paper of tho 
 time, which bitterly opposed tho Tories, was, on his entrance in- 
 to town, mot by almost the whole population j ho had unsuccess- 
 fully contested tho borough in tho elections of 1829 and 1830; in 
 1831 he had been more Buccessful, and had formed one of tho 
 mnjority for the Eoform Bill. But tho very measure which 
 his Liberal supporters had hoped wculd secure his -^lection 
 was to bo hero condemned by tho election of a Tory candidate. ' 
 The election did not take pluco until December, In the mean 
 time, it may bo believed that tho varioiui cunui js and their 
 friends were not idle. Mr. Gladstone, though a stranger to the 
 town, and hence under some disadvantage as compared with tho 
 well-known and popular Mr. Wilde, had made many friends amon'^ 
 tho electors; and had won the highest praises from tho member 
 of tho Ecf" Club, an influential Tory organization. Thisrumber- 
 ed some six hundred and fifty or more voters, and these wcrodi 
 pledged to the support of tho duke's candidate. Others there 
 were, who were positively promised; and the cloction was well- 
 nigh assured. 
 
 It was not to'bo won without the usual disagreeable concomit- 
 ants, however. "Who is Mr. Gladstone?" was tho qiesiion some- 
 what contemptuously asked by tho adherents of tho lato mem- 
 ber for the borough. Tho question w- o^ couiso answered -n 
 two ways ; said tho Tory organ, Old 1 ,.... : 
 
 "He is tho son of tho friend of Mr. -..■ . ,..g, the great Liv- 
 erpool merchant. Ho is, we understand, not more thau four 
 or five and twenty, but ho has won golden opinions from all 
 sorts of people, and promises to be an crnamcntto tho Iloiiso 
 of Commons." On the other hand, tho Bcgxdator, tho Whig 
 ..rgan, answered the sumo query in this way: "Mr. Gladstone 
 IS the son of Gladstone of Liverpool, a person who (u-o are 
 now speaking of tho father) has amassed a larire forluno by 
 West India dealings. In other words, a great part of his gold has 
 
 sprungfromthebloodofblackslaves. Kospcctingthoyouthhim- 
 se-f, a person fresh froTi coMogo, and whose mind is as much like 
 a sneet of foolscap paper ..s possible, he was utterly unknown 
 Ho came recommended by no claim in tho world except the will 
 of^t^he duke." All of which was perfect^ true, though stated with 
 ^.+ ... 4... j^-^eh eouteraj fc fur what we think of the long famous 
 
 Liberal. 
 
 The campaign was a hot on( 
 
 and not unmarked by those at- 
 
58 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 uuftot ^'^''' freiuently no n.oro than so many in~ 
 
 okes of the more innocent and allowal le kind was arroeession 
 
 wh?w 7"' ""r''^'"'"''''' '""'^'"i"^"' forhim, even „r,cn. those 
 who had formerly supported Sergeant Wilde for his stf-ai^u 
 fomard manner and speeches mado friends among all. New'ar t 
 was not altogether a poelcet borough, i„ t|,„ 3,^,,, \,,Tlo2l 
 
 hundred and many of them h-.d mlnr]« r>f ^i • , 
 
 . . , „ •' im 111 lUiu mintis ot then* own. vorv d ffpr- 
 
 en .„ bent from that of the d„ke. His influeneo w'as e^nt d . 
 
 Kefoim Wh.gs newly enconraged by the passage of the creat 
 measure, that it was said that if the dnke bad Wonghforwa" 
 
 .tfcrd.""' ^'"•'' '''"""'"' "^ " ^•^"'"''"'"' >- -ou.d^have ;::„ 
 
 f h Ji°,r'"!,"foT ^"" '"^'"' »°'' "'!>, tl.o eleetion being fixed for 
 the 12th and 13lh. Mr. Gladstone was the third of tl.e e ndU 
 
 la es ,n the nomination. His cxperieneo upon the hustings "a , 
 not have been a very pleasant one, .. he was assailed by" „, es. 
 
 .ons from Ins opponent's snpporters. One of these hoslilo e eo- 
 tors demanded if ho were not the D„ke of Neweastle's nomi e„ 
 .W, ,„ ,, „ t „f.f,.,t_ 1,^ „.^, ,,_^ j,_^j^^ ^^ Neweaslle's nom ee' 
 
 a.,^ everybodythcro present wasperfectlyaware of thefi,""bt 
 he question was asked, that an argument n.ighi be based , no 
 
 ho answer ; for the faet was not to be deniel. Mr. Gla.| ,0 e ' 
 ener.Ks aver tnat he is sMIled in the art of talking without a,- 
 ng anyth.ng; of salis.ying his listeners without mtuing a y as 
 ert,o,,., to eomm t himself. If this is so, he began at an eaX 
 ago ; for he certainly evaded this embarr,..,sing questio" , 0" 
 a neat .nanner He informed the gentleman that he w u ,7 
 to know wh,at ho meant by tho expression n.,nd ; if ,ho ele . „r 
 would tell him what was in,plie,| by the tenn'. ', , I, u „ 
 I.e, castle s no,n„ ee." he (Mr. Gladstone) would tell ■ n, whet 
 
 that he had V-''''"^ *" ''■'" "'■ ■""■ ^'>« ^'"■"■•l--. -Lothoug 
 
 ino duke s nominee lie "v^ ..Jn^ri , -.> . 
 1 , , ' -Apiameu -was a person sent in ^^'^ 
 
 pushed down tho throats of the electors, whelr the^likci him 
 
' ■■' ^' o J''-''JiM:MiugTiumr-i»iiMnMWiriiini>il(l<iiiriSti 
 
 7'he Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 59 
 
 or not. Whereupon Mr. Gladstone suavely answered that, accord- 
 iDg to that definition, ho was not the duke's nominee; he had 
 come to Newark upon the invitation of the Eed Club, the re- 
 spectability and intelligence of which no one could impugn. This 
 invitation, he said, had doubtless been extended to him in eon- 
 sequence of .,s friendship with the Earl of Lincoln, as the cl.b 
 had applied to the duke to know if he could recommend a suit- 
 able candidate to them; and his Grace had replied by suggest- 
 ing himself (Mr. Gladstone). It is to be hoped that the elector 
 was satisfied with the answer; at any rate, he seems to have had 
 >o more to say. 
 
 Another quc.^^tion remained to be met— it was that which he 
 ..ad evaded so b .llfully in his address. His answer upon the 
 histmgs socns to have been simply an enlargement of that 
 which had Dcen given in print, bnt so stated that it was less 
 equivocal in its condemnatio.i of the slave traflic and more cer- 
 tr.inly in favor of emancipation. 
 
 T'le candidates being called upon to address the meeting Ser- 
 geant Wilde chose the slavery question as the chief subject of his 
 speech, which lasted for more than three hours. He was follow- 
 ed by Mr. Handley, who also spoke a long time, and mainly on 
 the same topic, to show that h.s humanity was at least equal to 
 that of the first speaker. Mr. Gladstone was thus .t a consider- 
 erablo disadvantage; not only did he have to repl^ to these 
 speeches on a subject which ho could ' .rdly discuss freely but 
 .0 must speak to men worn out by li cni.g to two long speech- 
 es, following the lively dialogues, some small portion of which 
 we have described. He had hardly begun to speak when his 
 .o.ce was drowned by the hooting and hissing which showed 
 vhe.r disinclination to listen to him, and he soon found it would 
 be impossible to proceed. A show of hands was demanded. 
 There were few or none for Mr. Gladstone, beyond his support- 
 tors on the hust-ngs; and a y oil was demanded. From the L-st 
 this told a very iliiferont tale; for he to-k the lead from the 
 start, and wa. never overtaken by his rivals. When the votinjr 
 
 X^'^^n'^k *^'' '''"'* ''^^^^'' ^•''^d«to«^» 882; Hanuley, 793- 
 VVildo, 719. ' 
 
 A few days after this election, Mr. GladsLcne addressed a 
 noi?!.- ' ' Constitutional Club at Nottinghum. Commenting 
 
 7'^ ''-""^■-^»J""l•"aloIli,o day observed; "Ho is a rroti 
 
 tlemancf amiable manners and the most extraordinary talent 
 
 ig 
 
 IS a gen- 
 
^li i 
 
 i 
 
 t^ r 
 
 60 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life, 
 
 and wo venture to predict, without tl.o slightest exaggeration, 
 that ho will ono day bo classed amongst tho most able statesmen 
 in tho British Senate." Without exaggeration, ho has been class- 
 ed amongst the most able statesmen in tho British Senate. 
 
 ThefirstEeformParliamcntmetJan.29,1833. Its composition 
 was not what had been expected - for now that the great measure 
 had been carried, m-iny of the Liberal-Conservatives had return- 
 
 ed to tho allegiance from which tho popular commotion had fright- 
 ened them; tho Whig majority was not nearly so largo as the 
 Whigg themselves had hoped, or tho Tories had feared. But there 
 was still a sufficient majority to make tho party of Eeform a 
 formidable enemy. 
 
 There remained at least one great question to be settled, which 
 had been agitated for a number of years. Before tlie American 
 Eevolution began, William Wilberforce, then a boy at school 
 had begun his long crusade against slavery by a letter written 
 to a York newspaper. Of efforta in that direction he never 
 wearied, until the hand of death itself was upon him. The slave- 
 trade was abolished in England and her colonies in 1806, two 
 years before the time when, by tho Constitution framed in'l7S7 
 It was abolished in this country. But slavery still existed, and 
 the friends of freedom, cheered by this partial success, brou-ht 
 new energy to tho completion of their task. At tho timo^of 
 which wo write, Wilberforce was more than seventy years ol<l 
 and tho ill health from which ho had suffered for a number of' 
 yearshad long kept him from active exertions. Compelled in 1825 
 to retire from Parliament, where for thirty-six years ho had nev- 
 er ceased to press the great question, his mantio fell upon Sir 
 Thomas Fowcll Buxton, then plain Mr. Buxton, who had long 
 been a Parliamentary advocate of every measure which could 
 improve the condition of tho helpless and oppressed. He was no 
 unworthy successor of the groat apostle of tho abolition of slav- 
 erj', and it was by his efforts that the bill to do away with slav- 
 ery in tho British colonies was introduced in this session of Par- 
 liament. 
 
 Nor wa3 the slave without other and powerful advocates. The 
 brilliant eloquence of Macaulay, tho son of that Zachary Macau- 
 lay who had done as much as any one for tho abolition of slav- 
 ery, was enlisted in its behalf; and Brougham had thrilled the 
 House with his appalling stories of tho abuse of despotic pov/er 
 in the colonies. 
 

 J:*i* -V'S 
 
 - V'. ■» ■ ■■'J.', u 
 
"VW" 
 
 i 
 
 MR. GLADSTONE CUTTING TREES AT HAWARDEN 
 
The Be(jlnnin(j of Publio Life 
 
 61 
 
 Much to tho disappointment ofthoso so much interested in this 
 
 (question, tho royal speech did not make any mention of it. Tho 
 
 abolitionists at once demanded to know if the Government meant 
 
 to take any action in this connection. The Ministry asked for time 
 
 to consider, which was granted. Tho matter was submitted to Lord 
 
 Stanley, afterward Earl of Derby. lie was the vory man to whom 
 
 it should have been intrusted, forwhcn his feelings wore aroused 
 
 ho rose to the height of a genuine eloquence, and tho rarity of 
 
 such occasions niado them doubly influential upon his listeners. 
 
 Ilis sympathies were excited on behalf of the slaves, and aided by 
 
 the steady forethought which Avas one of his marked qualities, 
 
 he was able to devise a 
 
 plan which, witli a few 
 
 modifications, proved to 
 
 bo acceptable to the two 
 
 parties. All cliildron 
 
 born after tho passage of 
 
 the act, or loss tha, six 
 
 yeai's old at the time of 
 
 its passage, were declared 
 
 free, though subject to 
 
 such restrictions as might 
 
 be necessaiy for their sup- 
 
 l)ortand maintenance; all 
 
 persons over that age, 
 
 registered as slaves, were 
 
 to bo apprenticed to their ^ 
 
 masters fora stated length 
 of time, to be fixed by William Wilbcrfurcc. 
 
 Parliamentj tho Government was to renumerate the slave-owners 
 for tho loss thus occasioned, and the sum of i;20,00(),000 was set 
 aside for that purpose. This was the Act of Emancipation as it 
 passed the ILousc; it differed but slightly from the bill proposed 
 by the Colonial Secretary. 
 
 The debate was a bitter one, and sometimes assumed a person- 
 al form, or as nearly that as the rules of the House of Commons 
 will allow. It was the business of those who had profited by it to 
 defend tho iniquitous system of traffic in human beings and the 
 evils resulting from it. There was at least one such in the House. 
 "There is not a stone in the walls of Liverpool but is cemented 
 by the blood of Africans," the people of that city had once been 
 
62 
 
 'The beginning of Public Life. 
 
 told, and truly. Much of the wealth which had enabled Mr. 
 Gladstone the elder to take such a high position among his fel- 
 low-merchants had been, like theirs, drawn from West Indian es- 
 tates, whore the labor was done altogether by slaves. These es- 
 lates were so large, and Mr. Gladstone's name so well known 
 (Sir Eobort Peol hud in 1819 quoted the opinion of «' Mr. Glad- 
 stone, the great Liverpool merchant," as high authority upon 
 ;, some question of expedience), that they formed a convenient ex- 
 ample. During the course of the debate, Lord Howick referred 
 to the decrease in the number of slaves on an estate in Dem- 
 erara, owned by Mr. Gladstone, and which ho claimed was pro- 
 duced by the inhuman manner in which the slaves were worked. 
 The elder Gladstone was without a seat in the House of Com- 
 mons at this time, and hence he was referred to by name; and 
 his son found himself obliged to answer the accusations thus 
 brought against the name. His maiden speech in the House was 
 delivered May 17, 1833. He did not defend slavery in general, 
 but contented himself with asserting the groundlessness of some 
 oftho statements which Lord Howick had made; an<l showed 
 that the decrease had been caused by the transfer of some of the 
 slaves to other estates. Ho admitted that the cultivation of sugar 
 was more detrimental to those engaged in it than some other 
 crops, but instanced trades in England itself, such as painting, 
 and working in lead mines, which were similarly injurious to 
 those engaged in them. The speech docs not seem to have been 
 regai-ded as of any importance to the subject in general ; it was 
 rather a defense of his father personally, and a proof of the 
 well-known kindness of the overseer employed by him. 
 
 His second speech followed this after but a short interval, and 
 was of the same general character. But in this he took a some- 
 what broader view of the matter, and defined his own opinions 
 regarding the subject with more precision. Beginning with the 
 •charges which Lord Howick had made, ho showed yet more 
 plainly that these especial wrongs of the slave were without ac- 
 tual existence. Proceeding to the discussion of the general prin- 
 ciples involved, he confessed with shame and pain that many 
 cases of wanton cruelty had occurred in the colonies, both 
 in branding the slaves, and whipping them beyond the limits of 
 human endurance; he added that those cruelties would always 
 bo practised, under any system of slaver 
 
 least 
 
 and while the West Indie.s ..-^Dresented th 
 
 y, in some instances 
 
 III. 
 
 ese as rare and 
 
The ^eginni7ig of Public Life. gj 
 
 mlTrJTT "' "^"^^'-^^-^ that the ordinary relation of 
 m Mstor an.l shivo was a fn-ndly one, he admitted that a system 
 winch povm.ttod those things is necessarily repugnant to tl^ 
 pnuciples of civilisation and Christianity by whicf the Brit h 
 
 Gladstone's First Speech in t}^ House of Commons. 
 
 empire is ruled. Ho demanded that the planters should be v. 
 
 compensed for the loss which would b- ii •] a . 
 
 "^^"'^ "^ oniaiied UDon fbfim Kir 
 
 Alo,000,000 to enable the planters to carry on their 
 
i^^l-*aj;>%iffn 
 
 u 
 
 TJie Beginning of J-'ublic Life. 
 
 plantations), and that a plan should be adopted by which the de- 
 serving negroes might be freed before the idle and incompetent 
 ones. 
 
 When wo consider the circumstances in which the young M. P. 
 was placed, and the feelings with which he had boon educated 
 we can hardly expect any more generous speech than this utter- 
 ance. Had he been brought up with such an abhorrence of slav- 
 ery as had been inculcated in the minds of Wilbcrforce's child- 
 ren, he would doubtless have spoken more strongly; but ho was 
 naturally one of the opponents of abolition, like the slave-own- 
 ers of America. Had the American Abolitionists acted with as 
 much consideration as Lord Stanlej', the slave-owners would 
 perhaps have responded in the same spirit; and Emancipation 
 would have been a peaceful measure. 
 
 The bill passed its second reading ten days before the death of 
 "Wilberforcc; its success was assured by the majorities which 
 had sanctioned it thus far, and the known attitude of many of the 
 Lords; thus the great, good old man had the satisfaction of 
 knowing, in the hours of death, that his life had not boon spent 
 in vain ; that the impetus which he had given to this philanthro- 
 pic effort had secured its ultimate success, and laid the founda- 
 tion for the happiness of thousands of oppressed and benighted 
 men. 
 
 The question of the abolition of slavery having been settled, 
 there arose that gliost which continually haunts the halls of 
 Parliament, and, like Banquo's, will not down. This was a form 
 of the Irish question, at that particular time embodied in an ef- 
 fort to settle the difficulties arising from the difference between 
 the Established Church of Ireland and that of the people. The 
 act of Uninr had provided that the Episcopal Church, as wo know 
 it, should be the Church of Ireland as it was the Church of Eng- 
 land ; and in every parish there was a duly presented incum- 
 bent. Sometimes the whole representation of the Established 
 Church in a parish would bo the incumbent and his clerk. Un- 
 der such circumstances, the collection of tithes, from people who * 
 supported another church, was not only a great hardship, but 
 well-nigh impossible. The Government persisted in supporting 
 churches and the clergy, whether there were any communicants 
 or not. The priests had been tacitly exempted from tho pay- 
 ment of tithes until about 1830, when some over-zealous tithe- 
 proctor seized a priest's horse in default of payment. The peo' 
 

 ?;^ii 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 65 
 
 pie in general had long been accustomed to allow their property 
 to be seized in this way, as they would not pay voluntarily for 
 the maintenance oftho Establishment, and the Government in- 
 sisted upon making collections. But to have the priest himself 
 thus taxed for the support of the alien religion, was too much 
 for their patience. Thore had been riots before this time, when 
 the police had fired among the crowd with deadly effect: riots 
 described with sue. vvthos by the great Irish orator, O'Con- 
 nell^ that young Charles Dickens, a reporter in the House 
 of Commons, and the most skillful that ever did that work, laid 
 down his pencil and declared that he could not go on; that 
 speaker's subject and manner had too powerfully affected him 
 The priests now denounced the payment of tithes from the pul- 
 pit ; It was the one thing which had been wanting j and the dex- 
 terity and perseverance which the people exorcised in avoiding 
 the payment of the hated tax would, if applied to their daily 
 work, have enabled them to pay it ten times over. But as in the 
 case of a celebrated small tax upon tea, which the British Gov- 
 ernment once imposed, it was the principle which was at stake 
 The authorities tried every plan to collect the tithes, but it was 
 of no avail. Finally, in this session of Parliament, a plan was 
 proposed, which would enable the incumbents to hold their own 
 for a while at least. The Government was not without feeling 
 for the clergy, whose lot was not a very enviable one; this same 
 tax, which there was such an ado about collecting, was their 
 means of subsistence; whatever were the merits of the case they 
 were not to blame for the fact that the Church of the State and 
 the Church of the people were not the same ; and the Govern- 
 ment which had placed them in their present position could not 
 with common decency, leave them to starve. Tho arrears of the 
 tithes amounted, in 1833, to more than a million and a quarter 
 sterling; an arrearage which was distributed amonganimmeBse 
 number of men whoso sole means of living it was. Lord Althorp 
 brought forward a bill which provided for the Government as- 
 suming this debt, and looking to its own collectors for repay- 
 ment Mr. Gladstone spoke against this bill, which, he said, he 
 feared would place the Irish Church on an untenable foundation. 
 Admitting the principle that the State ought to maintain the Es- 
 tablished Church, he denied that the means provided in this plan 
 were adapted to secure the ends wished. Mr. Gladstone seems 
 to have been extremely unfortunate in his choice of subjects on 
 5 
 

 fpiiiii 
 
 
 66 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 which to speak, for in this case, as in tho first, he was loft wo- 
 fully in tho minority when it came to a division. 
 
 iSV'! did any bettor effects result from his speech on the sub- 
 joct of admission to tho universities, upon which Parliament 
 found it necessary to legislate. It was proposed to remove the 
 necessity of subscription to tho Thirty-nine Articles; and the 
 bill passed by a majority of 89. Wo find no further evidence of 
 tho activity cf t'.is young member of tho opposition during tho 
 remaini.or of this year. Tho topics of importance had all been 
 discussed and settled, for tho time at least. Slavery was abol- 
 ished, though it would not actually cease for several years to 
 come ; and tho affair had been managed in such a way that tho 
 fears of tho planters had been allayed, and the numerous pi-edic- 
 tions of ungovernable tumults and murderous riots by tho ne- 
 groes as the result of their emancipation had been completely 
 falsified by the event. Tho troubles of the Irish Church had boon 
 settled for as long a time as tho amount of money appropriated 
 would pay the tithes; though tho Irish people were still to be 
 oppressed, to repay tho Government for this outlay. The re- 
 quirements of admission to tho University of Oxford had been 
 so far changed that otiiers than members of the Established 
 Church might now enter that institution of learning, which had 
 never swayed from strict orthodoxy since its early lapse in de- 
 fending Wiclif. Such were three of the great measures of tho 
 Parliament which met immediately after the passage of the first 
 Eeform Bill. 
 
 But tho Government which had passed these measures was 
 materially weakened by tho loss of one of its members. Lord Al- 
 thorp, who had held the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 had, by the death of his father, become I;ord Spencer and a 
 member of the House of Lords. This made it necessary for a 
 new Chancellor to bo appointed, and raised further difficulties 
 peculiar to tho situation. Lord Althorp's influence had been suf- 
 ficient to keep the party of tho Government tolerably united; 
 tho Prime Minister, Earl Grey, and his successor, Viscount Mel- 
 bourne, being of course removed from any direct influence over 
 the members of tho lower house; but now there was no one who 
 could prevent fatal divisions among tho Whigs of tho Commons. 
 
 The king saw tho difficulties which had arisen, and was be- 
 sides of the opinion that tho days of this party were numbered, so 
 far as their present tenure of office was concerned. He refused, 
 
 iMi" 
 

 '-'M-mM' 
 
 
 
 '^^^^<iS^^ :2:_ 
 
 67 
 
68 
 
 The Beginning of Public Life. 
 
 then, to allow tbo appointment of Lord Althorp's successor; Lord 
 Melbourne and his colleagues were dismissed, and the Duke of 
 Wellington was summoned. Ho advised that Sir Eobcrt Peel 
 should be sent for, as ho felt unequal or unwilling himself to un- 
 dortake tho work of forming a cabinet; the old soldier had not 
 quite forgiven tho people of England for passing ti.o Eeiorm 
 Bill, and could not stoop to take office under a Reformed Govern- 
 ment. II's counsel was accepted, and Sir Robert, who was trav- 
 eling in I;aly, hastened homo. 
 
 This was in December, 1834. The xiow Premier had watched, 
 as all men of ability in similar position.^ must, tho riso of the 
 younger members of Parliament, who wc"e destined to carry on 
 the work of ruling tho country when ho and his generatior 
 should have parsed away. Among such tho young men'ber for 
 Newark had not been unnoted. Tho skill and ability with which 
 he had spoken against the measures of the Government had not 
 escaped the watchful c} es of tho elder m.in ; and when the new 
 cabinet was formed, though there was no room in it for a man of 
 barely twenty-five, tho subordinate post of Junior Lord of 
 the Treasury was offered him, and, as ma> easily bo guessed, not 
 declined. 
 
 In this connection, wo note that though the action of William 
 IV. in dismissing a Ministry winch had as yet sustai; u no nota- 
 ble defeat in the House of Commons appears arbitrary and op- 
 posed to tho principles of Constitutional Government, it was in 
 strict accordance with the practice of his father, his brother, and 
 himself at other times. Q-ioen Victoria is the first English sov- 
 ereign whoso ministers have invariably been chosen with refe.. 
 ence to the demands of the Commons, and retained in office un- 
 til the Commons have demanded a change. 
 
1- » 
 
 or; Lord 
 Duke of 
 crt Pool 
 L'lf to jn- 
 had not 
 » Ilfubrm 
 [ Govern- 
 wan trav- 
 
 watched, 
 of the 
 cany on 
 Micratior 
 pber for 
 itli which 
 , had not 
 the new 
 a man of 
 Lord of 
 sssed,not 
 
 ^'illiam 
 no nota- 
 and op- 
 it was in 
 ther, and 
 ;lish sov- 
 fh rcfe.. 
 cflSce un. 
 
 ymti 
 
 z 
 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 o 
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 CO 
 
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CHAPTER III. 
 
 EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. 
 
 Whigs Versus Tories - Trained in Early Life to Speak in fublic-Accoanfc of 
 Sir Robert Peel— P:vent8 FollowiDg the Passage of the Reform Act— Mr. 
 Gladstone m Junior Lord of the Treajury-Canadian Troubles of 1837— 
 Death of King William IV.-Address to His Constituents-Accession of 
 Victoria to the Throne-More Agitation of the Slavery Question-Debate 
 on the War with China-Queen Victoria's Marriage-Popularity of the 
 Prince Consort. 
 
 'IR EGBERT PEEL was the eldest son of a baronet of the 
 same name, whose wealth and prominence as a manufactur- 
 er had secured the elevation to a baronetage from Mr. Pitt. 
 His Toryism was well defined and uncompromising; so 
 that when, on the birth of his son, ho vowed he would give him 
 to his country, it was understood by all hearers that the boy was 
 to be devoted to the Tory party. But in the days which the young, 
 er Peel was to see, the old-time distinctions of Tory and Whig 
 were to go out of fashion ; and in their place were to come 
 Conservatives and Liberals. There had indeed been use for 
 these two later names before, but only as minor branches of the 
 two parties, after the passage of the Reform Bill, it seems that 
 the broadly marked distinctions werepermittcd to fadeout; and 
 the more moderate parties obtained the ascendency. There are 
 still Whigs and Tories, it is true, but thoy are looked upon as 
 followers of a fashion which has long ago passed away. It is our 
 pride that we lean toward our opponents' party so far that we 
 can see the reasons M'hich influence their actions. 
 
 The education of the boy thus devoted to his party was con- 
 ducted by the father with the most jealous care that it should be 
 
 such as would fit him to take part in parliamentary proceedings to 
 the best possible advantage. From childhood he was trained to 
 speak in public, by being placed upon a table each Sunday, when 
 tho family returned from church, and bidden to repeat as much of 
 the sermon as ho could recuii. At Harrow, where ho was the 
 
 69 
 
70 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 form-fellow of Lord Byron, he won golden opinions by his dili- 
 gence and ability. At Oxford, where he was entered at Christ 
 Church, ho was the iirst to win a double-first class under the new 
 and more stringent examination. Hampdon and Whateley were 
 among the competitors whom ho diptanced. He entered the 
 House of Commons for the first time as the member for a bor- 
 ough which was regularly sold to the highest bidder, and his first 
 speech showed that the Tory Government had gained a valuable 
 supporter. Ho had won his reputation as a speaker by an elo- 
 quent oulogy upon the Duke of Wellington, which he found oc- 
 casion to deliver in 1811, on the occasion of the British Govern- 
 ment subsidizing some Portuguese troops. How far this influ- 
 enced the Duke in his after treatment of Mr. Peel, it is impossi- 
 ble to say J the man of the strictest justice is often unconscious- 
 ly swayed by some such action of those with whom he has to 
 deal. He was barely twenty -four when ho was made Chief Sec- 
 retary for Ireland ; a post which then, as now, was not without 
 its diflSculties. It is hard to say whether it is a matter of greater 
 difficulty to deal with an opponent like O'Conncll, or one like Par- 
 ncll; the scathing satire and coarso rough hum^r were quite 
 enough to keep the young minister busy, v/ithout imagining the 
 difficulties which might beset some i.iuccessor from quite a differ- 
 ent kind of man. 
 
 As a matter of course, he was opposed to the claims of the 
 Catholics being granted; there were but few of the Tories who 
 were not ; and this led to the conferring of a nickname upon him 
 which is remembered now as one of the happiest puns ever per- 
 petrated in politics: the opponent of the Irish Catholics was 
 dubbed "Orange Peel." But he was not wholly acceptable to the 
 party for who n ho was thus named. His moderation in some 
 respects offended them J but ho held the office for a long time. 
 His duel with O'Conncll was long made the moans of casting 
 a good deal of ridicule upon him. O'Coi.nclI had taunted Peel 
 with being afraid to uso certain expressions in any place where 
 he could bo called to account for them. Pcci resented this at 
 once, and authorized a friend to act as his second. O'Connell 
 promptly named one of his friends for the same duty. The two 
 seconds met, but were unable to agree from which party the 
 challenge was due. To settle this question, thoy eventually 
 challenged one another. O'Connell claimed that Peel was trying 
 by this means to get out of it J Peel found another second, less 
 
^ 2^.^ ■J':2m: 
 
 
 nuairA-jiemit 
 
 ,, -^.;u4^'fA.-i4l4t''-;''^<-.".-' •-? J;-'-'-' 
 
 quarrelsome than the first, and challenged O'Connoll. The latter 
 wus arrested and bound over to keep the peace ; th /agreed to 
 
 end of the frmous duel between O'Conn.u and Peel, if it is „o^, 
 too great a bull to speak of the end of an affair whicLever took 
 pirtce. 
 
 To go back to the graver events of Peel's life. There is om 
 thing which was done in connection with his Irish Secretarvship 
 which was a real and much-needed reform : the military cia cd 
 
 c ml force of police was substituted. It seems to make but little 
 
 difference by what agency oppression is carried on ; but a lit te 
 
 the^r"; "v ' '' ^'^''^ *''^^^ P^^'- force, r^sponsiblto 
 
 d bv thefr"! 'r^ '' '"''^ ^'"'^"^''^ *« soldiery, command- 
 
 undoftirr '.'''' '"^'"^^'^S^ '^'' ^^'^'^ ^re nominally 
 under the direction of the magistrates. ^ 
 
 Resigning the Irish Secretaryship in 1817, he was out of office 
 forthreeyears In 1819heshowed remarkable financial ability . 
 
 of Bank of England notes in gold. The Bank Act, which he was 
 mainly instrumental in framing, is still the law ^hich goveL 
 the monetary system of the country. governs 
 
 Go^vernmlSr""''' '^'""'>'' ''''''' '^'^"^^^ ^^^^ — ^^ the 
 -government in those oppressions which culminated in the Peter- 
 loo Massacre ; and, like Canning, he would have nothi^^ . to do 
 with the action of the king against his queen, wh.n Ca oline o^ 
 Brunswick claimed the title .f Queen Consort M.de Hom^ 
 Secretary in 1821, ho was subordinate, in a me" ..""to M^^^^^^ 
 n.ng, whose brilliant talents overshadowed all of hi's eotas" 
 though he was not the nominal head of the ^^ovc.nmen Her' 
 again he introduced reforms, simplifyin,^ -..l hu^na If 1 
 laws in regard to c.-ime. Un to 1970 ih., ^"'"anizing J,e 
 
 ♦,., 1 1 , , " ^" -^^^^j there were no fewer thin 
 
 two hundred and cfghty-throc l,uvs npon Iho .tatuto book rel-!t 
 ng to oflcnco, for which death was the ronalty! Pccl'rwt 
 ho first hand that dealt a biow at this ornel and iMffcctive let 
 .slat,on; and althongh the refor,a wi.ich he instituted wrnot^" 
 complete one, it n,„st be remembered .(,at there are Mm ts to t ,^ 
 pos„b,l>t,os of changing existing l.w., which do nof^ arf 
 from the unwillingness of the statesman. 
 We have already noted the contest which ensued when Lord 
 
72 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 Liverpool died. After the death of Canning, Peel found that it was 
 impossible to resist the claims of the Catholics any longer. It 
 had been \ odicted by a close observer, who watched the course 
 of affairs from a place of privilege, that "the march of time 
 and the state of Ireland will effect it in spite of everything," and 
 Catholic Emancipation became an accomplished fact. 
 
 With his party, Peel had been in the minority during the Parlia- 
 ment elected after the passage of the Eeform Act ; but this mi- 
 nority diminished daily. It was at this time that Sir Eobert, 
 
 Sir Robert Peel. 
 the leader of his party, had the good sense to adopt the newer 
 name by which it has been known since his time ; and men who 
 had been bitterly opposed to Tories found themselves not unwil- 
 ling to give support to Conservative measures. At the same time, 
 the services which h'- had himself rendered to the old Tory par- 
 ty made the contin... ..'co of its supporters' allegiance sure. 
 
 The Whigs were suffering from the consequences of victory, 
 and it had become impossible for the leaders of the party to 
 
Early Official Life. 73 
 
 ploaso the loss progressive adherents and the new WhiVs orLib- 
 
 Tui!' ^'w7 ^^/^ ^'^"" *^ '"^^ themselves, at the same time. 
 Although thei-e had been no direct rebuke of the Whig policy in 
 the House of Commons, the king was not far out of the way in 
 dismissing h,s ministers, and forming a Conservative cabinet. 
 Mr. Gladstone s acceptance of the office of Junior Lord of the 
 
 IiTd Tr '""' ^"'' ''' ''''• ^^^^^'^^'"^ '^ E"gi-h ^-^--^ 
 
 piecedent, by accepting an office of profit under the Crown, he 
 vacated his seat and the Speaker issued his writ for a new elec- 
 
 ^o?i .TT '• ^^^\' "^^^'^'^ *" '^' ^'^^«t-«' G^Xnasio., re- 
 viewed the history of the session, showing how the relative po- 
 
 TrJ"^ H r K ^Tr ^"^ ««««"tially changed since the mem- 
 be shad subscribed the roll. He seems to have thought that 
 
 fTct tut J '' ""*'^ ''''^^" '^' ^'"^ -ad,anddepreLesthe 
 fact that there were even "those among the servants of the king 
 
 who did not scruple to solicit the suffrages of their constituents 
 wi h promises to act on the principles of Radicalism." An in- 
 telligent man could not deny the necessity for many reforms- 
 Z t^u ^''""? «\«didate attempt such a hopeless and useless 
 task "The question has then," he went on to say, "as it appears 
 to n e, become, whether we are to hurryonward at intervals, but 
 not long ones through the medium of the ballot, short parlia- 
 ments and other measures called popular, into republicanism or 
 anarchy; or whether, independently of all party considerations, 
 he people will support the Crown, in the discharge of its dut; 
 to n.aintain in efficiency and transmit in safety those old and 
 va.uab e institutions under which our country has greatly flour- 
 .shed." In regard to Church matters, however, \e saw that 
 there was real need of reform. "Let me ad ^ shortly but em- 
 phatically, concerning the reform of actual abuses, whether in 
 Church or State, that I regard i, as a sacred duty-I duty at aU 
 inie^and certainly not least at n period like thiL, when the dan- 
 ger of neglecting it is most clear and imminent-a duty not inim- 
 ml T ""!l^^*f-^^"<^^ Conservative principle, nor a curtail- 
 ment and modification of such principle, but its legitimate con- 
 seq^ience, or rather an actual element of its composition." 
 
 He was confronted at first by the same opponents who had 
 contested the former election; but Mr. Handley having wSi 
 drawn, Mr. G adstono and the Liberal candidate, Sergeant Wilde 
 tirtr^l". "''''"' opposition. The people of Newark feU 
 that they had reason to be proud of their representative: his 
 
74 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 Iff 
 
 had been a brilliant record, for a young man who had but recent- 
 ly entered upon the arena of political life. According to the 
 time-honorod custom, he was chaired, and as the procession 
 wended Its way through the streets, he was received by all parties 
 with the most flattering enthusiasm. At the rooms of his Com- 
 mittee, Mr. Gladstone addressed the electors to the number of 
 SIX thousand, and was greeted with deafening cheers. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone did uot long hold the office to which he had 
 been appointed so shortly after his chief's accession to power • 
 but ho left It to accept one which was more desirable— that of 
 Under-Secretary for the Colonies. This change took place 
 shortly after Parliament assembled, in February, 1835. Act- 
 ing in this capacity, he brought in his first bill in March of that 
 year. Intended for the better regulation of the carriaf^e of pas- 
 sengers in merchant vessels to North Americr it contained 
 many humane provisions, and was most favorably received 
 
 But the Peel Ministry was a short-lived one. It came to grief 
 upon the question of the Irish Church, and the ministers were 
 again defeated on the question of appropriating the surplus 
 funds of the Church to the general education of all classes of 
 Christians. In the bitter and acrimonious debates which attend- 
 ed these two defeats, Mr. Gladstone was noticeable by the cour- 
 teous bearing which has always distinguished him, and the gen- 
 eral urbanity of his manners. 
 
 Having thus lost the support of the House, the Peel Ministry of 
 course resigned, including the officers who were without seats in 
 the cabinet. Mr. Gladstone was again in opposition, and remain- 
 ed there for some time. 
 
 Shortly after this, we find him again defending the West In- 
 dian planters from the accusations which were brought against 
 them as a class, but based upon the cruelties practiced by a few • 
 for the apprenticeship system gave the masters almost as much 
 power, while it lasted, as the old system of slavery. 
 
 After a speech supporting the Government against the House 
 of Assembly of Canada, when the Canadian troubles of 1837 
 came before Parli-imcnt, Mr. Gladstone again spoke in opposi- 
 tion on the question of Church Eates; and it is said by a compe- 
 tent authority that this was the best and most impassioned 
 speech which he had yet made. His opposition, however, did 
 not produce any appreciable effect, as the Government carried 
 the measure which had been nronospd 
 

 
 
 
 "' * , '■St.'. '" •', - . 
 
 ■|ii 
 
 ^flr/y Official Life. 
 
 76 
 
 ThedeathofKingWilliamIV,whichoccurrodJune20th ISqy 
 
 Princess Victoria in Girihood. 
 
 and tho Tones of 3Ianchestcr desired to show their appreciation 
 ot It. A deputation of three gentlemen waited upon Mr. Glad- 
 stone, and invited him to stand for Manchester. Tho invitation 
 was perhaps as great a compliment as thev conld r..^ him but 
 unfortunately, in the great manufacturing'conter, [h^ defeat of 
 
79 
 
 Early Official Life, 
 
 i 1 iS 
 
 the Tory candidates was almost a certainty. To use the express- 
 ive language of a newspaper of the day, <'ho did not allow them 
 to make a fool of him, and declined the invitation." Of course 
 the mere question of victory or defeat was not the reason on 
 which the declination was based j Newark was the first borough 
 /or which he had stood ; it hud shown its appreciation of him at 
 the second election at which he hud been a candidate; and to de- 
 sert them now, after again presenting himself to them, and issu- 
 ing an address, would have been wholly unjustifiable- 
 
 But the Manchester people would not take no for an answer • 
 and although Mr. Gladstone hud flatly refused to stand, thev 
 placed his name before the electors. This was calculated to make 
 trouble at Newark, and the much sought member issued an ad- 
 dress to his constituents, dated July 22d, 1837. In this address 
 he said : 
 
 " My attention has just been called to a paragraph in the Not- 
 tingham and Newark Mercury of this morning, which announ- 
 ces, on the authority of some person unknown, that I have con- 
 sented to be put in nomination for Manchester, and have prom- 
 ised, if elected, to sit in Parliament as its representative. I have 
 to inform you that these reports are wholly without foundation 
 I was honored on Wednesday with adej ntution from Manchester 
 empowered to request that I would become a candidate for the' 
 borough. I felt the honor, but I answered unequivocally und 
 at once, that I must absolutely decline the invitation ; and I am 
 much at a loss to conceive how ' a most respectable correspond- 
 ent could have cited language which I never used, from a letter 
 which I never wrote. Lastly, I bog to state in terms as explicit 
 as I can command, that I hold myself bound in honor to the 
 electors of Newark, that I adhere in every particular to theten- 
 or of my late address, and that I place my humble services dur- 
 ing the ensuing Parliament entirely and unconditionally attheir 
 disposal." 
 
 But in spite of this explicit and emphatic denial that he had 
 accepted the invitation, his name was still used at Manchester 
 It was reported that he hud promised £500 toward the expenses 
 of the election, if he were returned ; and his name was actually 
 presented at the polls. Although the candidate himself hud thus 
 discountenanced the whole affair, the Liberals were ruther taken 
 aback at the strength of the Tory vote. The Conservatives, after 
 the election was over, g^,e a dinner to their unwiliin^candidntn 
 
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 at which ho conffrntn'-vto.l thorn on tho energy which they had 
 shown, and predicted that their strength would be tho nucleus 
 of future success. 
 
 Tho accession of the young Princess Victoria to tho throno of 
 Great Biitani, upon tho death of William lY., was an event of 
 profound in.port to tho whole English-speaking race and to hu- 
 manity at largo. George III. had left seven sons. Of these tho eld- 
 
 Duchetss of Kent, Mother of queen Victoria. , , 
 
 est, who succeeded him as George IV., had but one child, the 
 i nncess Charlotte, who died in 1817. Tho second son died with- 
 out hen-s; WiHiam IV. had no children. After tho death of tho 
 1 nncess Charlotte, tho fourth son, Edward, then a man well on 
 toward middle age, had married tho Dowager Princess of Leiw- 
 eugcH, whose brother had been the husband of the Princess 
 

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Early Official Life. 79 
 
 Queen of England. There was but one child born of this mar- 
 nage,adaughter, who was intended to be named for h ^ uncTe 
 
 dslTth f;;' '"' '^^ ^^^^^°^^^ ^- '' ^--'^ ^"t the c"a 
 ms^stedthatAIexandrina must be the first name; whereupon 
 
 the PnnceEegent declared that Georgina should be second' to 
 no other name m the li.st of those borne by an English princess. 
 The baby was accordingly christened Alexandrina ViJoria, the 
 latter being her mother's name. 
 
 The Princess Victoria was born May 24th, 1818: and eight 
 months later her father, the Duke of Kent, died. The widowed 
 mother of the heiress presumptive to the throne had a difficult 
 task to perform in the education of a daughter destined for such 
 a lofty position ; but she received no help from her husband's 
 family. She was decidedly unpopular with them and with the 
 people generally; and she did not make mucb effort to pleas! 
 the family ,nto which she had married, having her own opinion 
 of the.r^ 13 i^ .^ ^^ j^^^.^^,^^.^ ^^^^ ^^^ resolutely stifled 
 
 all those naurallongings for her native land and thesocietyof 
 her own relatives, and educated her daughter entirely in Eng- 
 land, surrounded by English influences. ^ 
 
 The little princess grew up without any clear idea of her own 
 importance, although, as Mrs. Oliphant says, in hor Zife ofle 
 Queen, "wherever the little maiden went, as was natural, she was 
 th centre of attraction" to the people who realized Lr hTgh 
 
 earn that she was next in the line of succession. The import- 
 
 unde'rsrdT'"" ^'V''" "^'^ ^^'^ ^^ «^'^«^ ^^-* «he m'^^ght 
 understand the reason for imposing more tasks upon her than 
 
 were required of her cousins of less importance ; and the strict 
 
 discipline which had always been used was in no way rdrxed 
 
 thl tir'IoT r *'"' "^^ ""^' ^^'"P^^-* ^-- the King thai 
 the heir to the throne was not permitted to join in the festivities 
 
 dL\V°" \^"* *'° ^"^'^^^ wisely judged that her young 
 
 thl; nfVu rt" "'"'^' *'^' '""^'* of George IV. infamous, and 
 thatof William IV. ridiculous." 
 
 The Princess Victoria was declared of age upon her oiffhteenth 
 
 birthday, May 24th, 1837. When, a month lat'er, her ul dTed 
 
 she b came Queen of England. His death took place at two 
 
 o clock m the morning, and at five the Archbishop of Cantor- 
 
80 
 
 Early Official Life, 
 
 bury and Lord Conyngham arrived at Kensington Palace, y nd de. 
 raanded to see the Princess Victoria. Her lady-in-waiting went 
 to arouse her, but returned, saying that she waP in such a sweet 
 s.eep that she did not like to disturb her. 
 
 "Madam," was the grave reply, -we are come upon business of 
 btate, and even the slumbers of THE QUEEN must give way 
 to that. •' 
 
 Thus rebuked, the startled attendant awakened sleeping and 
 unconsei^aus Majesty, and Victoria, clad only in a night-dress, 
 with a dressing-gown hastily thrown over it, and with slip- 
 pers on her bare feet, came down at once. 
 
 "Your Majesty," began Lord Conyngham; but he was stopped 
 by a simple gesture from the young girl, who held out her hand 
 tor him to kiss. He knelt and kissed it, and then told the news 
 At eleven o'clock that day the first Council of the new reign 
 was held. The death of the King was officially announced, and 
 the two archbishops, the two royal dukes, the Prime Minister, 
 and the Lord Chancellor were sent to inform the Queen. They 
 returned to the council-room, the doors were flung open, and the 
 new sovereign entered alone. Bowing to her assembled advis- 
 ei-s, she took her seat, and read her speech clearly and audibly. 
 Ihe only sign of emotion she gave was when her two uncles did 
 her homage, when she blushed deeply. Said the old Duke of 
 We hngton, frankly: -If she had been my own daughter she 
 could not have done better." 
 
 We have turned a moment aside from the strict subject narra- 
 tive of this volume to mention some interesting features of this 
 epoch, because the ascending of the throne by Victoria was per- 
 haps of more importance to the kingdom than any other similar 
 change had ever been. The accession of this young girl seems 
 to have made possible a progress toward liberty which could 
 scarcely have been attained under the rule of a man ; but there 
 IS something higher than chivalry to be considered. Such re- 
 forms as were made were bound to come at some time, and in 
 some way; efforts at change in the days of the Stuarts had 
 brought about a civil war, and resulted in the overthrow of the 
 dynasty; efforts at change in the days of Victoria have ended 
 in the triumphs of emancipation from the long rule by mere 
 right of birth. If a different sovereign had succeeded to the 
 throne, would even a Gladstone have accomplished as much for 
 the liberties of his fellow-countrymen ? 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 Early Official Life, gi 
 
 • 
 
 The Conservatives had not much hope of a change in the min- 
 istry. Lord Melbourne was an adviser especially fitted to please 
 a young queen, by the grace of his bearing and the suavity of 
 his manners. Nor did the old Duke of Wellington credit the 
 new sovereign with any betterjudgment in regard to men than 
 was founded upon personal advantages. "The Tories will never 
 have any chance with a young woman for a sovereio-n " be 
 growled, "for I have no small talk, and Peel has no manners." 
 Fortunately for the Conservatives, they were notobliged to wait 
 until the Queen became old, or their leaders cultivated the miss- 
 ing graces. For the present, indeed, she adopted somcthiuo- of 
 Lord MelDourne's own policy; when urged to undertake much 
 needed reforms, the answer which this indolent and debonair 
 statesman most frequently gave was : " Can't you let it alone V 
 The young queen agreed to let him alone, for a while ut least, in 
 the office which he held ; being so little skilled in state-craft that 
 she did not know whether a change was needed or not The 
 country aprroved of her action; and the new Parliament was 
 Ijiberal by u considerable majority. 
 
 The most important question which the new Parliament had 
 to consider was another phase of the Canadian trouble, or rath- 
 er, the same disturbances increased. There had always been 
 bad feeling in Canada between the old French settlers and the 
 -Lnghsh who had come after the victory of Wolfe; in addition 
 to this, was the feeling that the Legislative Council, the mem- 
 bers of which wore nominated by the Crown, ought to be elect- 
 ive, like the Representative Assembly. From these germs grew 
 a rebellion, which required the presence of troops to subdue it. 
 IhoGovernmentproposed to suspend the constitution of both 
 Upper and Lower Canada, which were then separate govern- 
 ments, though both had been involved in the Eebollion • and to 
 send out a Governor-General and High Commissioner, with pow- 
 er to remodel the constitution of both provinces if they saw fit 
 Mr. Eoebuck, who had been in Parliament from the time of the 
 Reform Bill until this session, was the paid agent of the Cana- 
 dian governments, and he demanded the right to plaad their 
 cause before the bar of both houses. Mr. Gladstone protested 
 against this in the House of Commons, but without avail The 
 agent was heard as he demanded. Mr. Hume's motion for the re- 
 jection of the Government bill was followed by a lively debate 
 in which the member for Newark took uo small part. Beviewing 
 
iff I 
 
 I': 
 
 f 
 
 ■ 
 
 liS 
 
 82 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 I , 
 
 the ent.ro series of events and the legislation and rulings which 
 had led to the present complications, he pointed out the most 
 glanng contradictions in the correspondence of Lord Gosford 
 the Colonial Secretary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer en' 
 deavored to answer this speech, but in the opinion of Sir Robert 
 Pee at least, the attempt was a miserable failure. Notwithstand- 
 ing this triumph of eloquence, the House wentinto committee by 
 a considerable majority. ^ 
 
 At this same session there was another ag-'tation of thes'avery 
 question on which ^1... Gladstone, as before, spoke in the'inter 
 ests of the slaveholders. But in this speech, which occupies 
 
 !n'7K ^rt ''"^^"'"'^' ^° ^^^'^ * b^^'d^r stand than 
 
 any that ho has yef, assumed, and reproaches these reformers 
 who are so eager for complete emancipation that they cannot 
 awaitthe time to which they once agreed, with the encourage- 
 ment which they give to slave labor in consuming the cotton 
 raised in the United States. The speech also disposed of many 
 of the accusations which were made against the planters, and 
 proved conclusively that the condition of the negro was con- 
 stantly improving and had been doing so since the passage of 
 the Act of 1833. Although this speech was on the unpopular side 
 of the question, It greatly enhanced his reputation as a parlia- 
 mentary orator. This, indeed, rested upon foundations which had 
 been laid before this. It was his eloquence which had attracted 
 Su Robert Pee s attention ; arid in 1835, the Duke of Bucking- 
 
 aTissue' ^''"^ """'"'" "' '''' '^^'"'"■''' ''^^^'-'^'^^S ^ point 
 
 -If argument could have done it, they must have succeeded; for 
 among the speakers on their side ^ ,re Sir Edward Knatchbull 
 
 Sir James Graham, Sir Robert Inglis, Lord Stanley, Mv. W e' 
 Gladstone, Sir William Follett, Mr. Praed, and Mi^' Goulbui-n/' 
 So that barely two years after his entrance on the scenes at 
 St Stephens we find his name not the last that suggested itself 
 when a close observer of political events counted over those sup- 
 porters of the Ministry who were remarkable for their elo- 
 quence. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone had at this time already appeared before the 
 public as an aut.or. To him the Edinburgh Review paid this trib- 
 ute, which came from Macaulay's pen • 
 
 "The author of this volume is a young man of unblemished 
 chaiacter, and of distinguished parliamentary talents, the rising 
 
Queen Victo^na in he Coronation Robes, 1S37. 
 
 83 
 
84 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 hope of those stern and unbending Tories who follow, reluctant- 
 ly and mutinously, a leader whoso experience and eloquence are 
 indispensable to them, but whose cautious temper and moderate 
 opinions they abhor. It wouid not be at all strange if Mr. Glad- 
 stone were one of the most unpopular men in England. But we 
 bcheve that wo do him no more than justice when wesay that his 
 abilities and demeanor have obtained for him tho respect and 
 gooJ will of all parties. His first appearance in the character 
 of an author is therefore an interesting event; and it is natural 
 thatthegentlewishesof the public should go with him to his 
 trial. * * * * We dissent from his opinions, but we admire his 
 talents; we respect his integrity and benevolence; and we hope 
 that he will not suffer political avocation so entirely to engross 
 him as to leave him no leisure for literature or philosophy." 
 
 The question of National Education was introduced into the 
 House in June, 1839, and in the course of debate, this recently 
 published work was referred to in such terms as brought the 
 member for Newark upon his feet, in derense of the propositions 
 which he had there enunciated, and which the opposition wished 
 to apply to the bill under consideration. The fundamental princi- 
 ple of his argument had been, that the propagation of religious 
 ti-uth IS one of the principal ends of government, as government. 
 The Ministry wished to provide free schools in which the child- 
 ren of all classes, of Dissenters, Catholics, and Jews, as well as 
 of the adherents of the Established Church, could be educated 
 without hearing the religion of their parents exposed to insult 
 or directly contradicted by the teaching of the schools. This 
 was a measure especially distasteful to the Tories, who have al- 
 ways been strenuous supporters of tho Establishment ; buttheirs 
 was the unpopular side of the question ; and Mr. Gladstone, in 
 these early years, seems to have had a positive genius for get- 
 ting on that side. 
 
 In the debate on the war with China, the next year, Mr. Glad- 
 stone again made a speech which wasfavorably commented on at 
 the time. Tho Ministry was supported in its motion, but the 
 majority was so small as to give the Conservatives ground for 
 hope. The Liberal Government had for some time past been 
 steadily losing ground in the public opinion; and this was 
 naturally reflected by the House of Commons, where there are 
 usually enough independent or semi-indcDendent members tode- 
 prive the Ministry of that unreasoning and unwavering support 
 
■eluctant- 
 leuco are 
 Tioderate 
 Ir. Glad- 
 But we 
 i^that his 
 pect and 
 haraeter 
 natural 
 a to his 
 in ire his 
 wo hope 
 engross 
 ly." 
 into the 
 recently 
 ght the 
 ositions 
 I wished 
 Iprinci- 
 eligious 
 rnment. 
 9 child- 
 well as 
 iucated 
 insult, 
 . This 
 ave al- 
 t theirs 
 one, in 
 or get- 
 
 '. Glad- 
 (l on at 
 ut the 
 nd for 
 t beea 
 is was 
 re are 
 5 to de- 
 ipport 
 
 LORD ROSEBERY-MR. GLADSTONE'S SUCCESSOR AS PREMIER 
 
'Mxm/j^: 
 
^.■M^%-':\r'*^:$iJ:-': '''■' # ■■, I'i^'S. ■ Iff:/ 
 
 ^arly Official Life. j. 
 
 which would bo theirs, if all thoir adhoronl, at the time of talc- 
 .ng offleo were enthusiasts for the party, right or wrong. The 
 
 the r A f"'' ""/i'""'"""' »''»<'""'" "y their leaning toward 
 the Cathol.es, and Catholies by thoir efforts to gain the DisZt 
 .ng interest. Toward tLe close of May, 1841, Sir Eobcr Pee 
 
 one. Small as th,s majority was, it was snfflcitnttoshowhowthe 
 case stood ; there was but one thing for the ministry to do nil ess 
 they resigned .mmediately. Parliament was at once dis o^^ld 
 the Government had appealed to the country. ' 
 
 The appeal was answered, but not in the way which the Liber- 
 als, hoping against hope, had looked for. The gain of the Tor- 
 
 ZtZ^^'^rTJ''" """■■ "O'' '""«-■"" -P-tations had 
 wTfl' " "'"""■^ "•"''S-""* '""•"diately after the open- 
 
 ing of the new session. Sir Eobert Peel was at once made Pri .0 
 
 Mimrter and among the appointments which he made was that 
 of Mr. Gladstone to be Tice-Presidcnt of the Board of Trade 
 and Master of the Mint. He shortly after succeeded the E^.rrof 
 
 ^T^^.i" -?°f °"' "'■ *'■" ''''™^' •'""y. »° ">■'» the fact that 
 he held ho subordinate position is sometimes lost sight of 
 
 lost s 1 Thl, "•""r'-".;' 'I' parliamentary success, we have 
 
 riod Ml;?l,h ?"■"." "*^°- /" ^"^y- ^'^»' M"- «'»<•»*<'"<' mar. 
 nod M,ss Catherine Glynne, the daughter of Sir Stephen Rich 
 
 ard Glynne, of Hawarden Castlo, Flintshire This ladv h». 
 
 feaVThnfh' *'"' ^""^"^ '," -'' *''"-'"'' --^l conslrrr. 
 fea while her own peculiar tastes have led her to a.oid rath- 
 
 er than seek, the social pre-eminence which the wife „f Tulb 
 a man might have won, she has not shrunk frol he Xre 
 of publicity When it was necessary to her husband's success 
 xn the latter part of 1886, wishing to exonerate him from the 
 charge which his enemies were making, that he bad on Iv o7 Zl 
 years shown any interest in Ireland^Lid the t," „b,ef ^f the 
 Irish, implying that his alliance with Mr Parnell w.. » 
 trick of the oiSce-seckcr, she sent for Mr. G ,T" ratio„::;r 
 and one of tjie staff of United Ireland, that herltimon; might' 
 be heard in his behalf. One of the statements which she then 
 made shows his feeling with regard to the offlce which had at 
 this time been allotted to him by his chief- 
 
 "From the very outset of his political career, Mr Gladstone', 
 most ardent wiLb, his strongest ambition, ha, helf .^ :'°-!!!!! " 
 
IJf' 
 
 B I 
 
 i I 
 
Eorhj Official Life. g^ 
 
 wnioh he recoiled his fi-at -^^w.r.^, • 7 ^ ^ "^"^^ "PO" 
 
 h.d hoped to «:. Sh So ottx u.oi:h''';r'"'"'7'- ."- 
 
 on then as » far les, important post/' '^' "^ ' '"" '"'"""' 
 
 to!^'c:;s!r:t!:r',tz'':r''h' ^"^^ *™'""'"°'- ""-^ "»-« 
 
 Govornmen ," th ;1 thll "^ •'"r''""f °"^° """- ""«- 
 question av that tin^e I^nd a faT,„ „ '"-'r'* "'"■ ""> ^"»'' 
 look with less oontfde'neeto h°n"n th 7 T'^^' ?"" """''' "">» 
 
 Off thoseshac..„sfor:rereZ" \?r rr^nt"^^^^^^ 
 progressive Liberals. ^°°^ *^^ "^^I'e 
 
 .^Xint "L":ir:, r:rr^;r rr- - 
 
 the n,atoh..aki„g was'so "skint ; dlVe t'hItTho'"* """' '■"" 
 people came together Quito „„.„„r """'"""'« tho two young 
 on both sides. The pTclptor ofTh V «''"°""<' """^hmenl 
 Boigium, Who, as ^'^C^t: LtZZ'lZ!:"^''''', '■ "' 
 fully prepared himself fnr the verv duMe, ? K ^ ' '""^ """• 
 devolve upon his brother', «o„ ™'y ^"t™ wh.ch wore now to 
 
 tor The'early dea::':^ h^P ■„ l" ot^L^ TT '"'''■ 
 bacic to Germany, there to h.T °''"'"'*° '>•■«' sent him 
 
 brother, „„ti, eleo ed tot ,e throne^orfi'T ""'"'^ " ^'"""S^ 
 somothingpatheticintho Lilt "fv .«'"■"' ""'' '*"'''' '« 
 up the thread of life where Chat,/ ?;'" """ ^"""•« '»•""« 
 it. Prinee Albert brouITto his di« T. "?°"' '''■"' "'•"PP"^ 
 to be the Queen's best cfnnsl fo t"o lo:d'";>? " ""'°'" ^''^^ 
 although he was not at flrstToo 1 ' „ f """'■• Poople ; and 
 
 was regarded with much affeetrhv h " T '""S '"'f"" ''» 
 duty nohl ■. '""'°" '•y >•'"' People, ho fulfilled this 
 
 appottmrVas'/^tirrLI'"' '""""^'' «'^ «<>-' ^'-'a 
 was nothing of importnoftl -"""^ ■"""'' """^ "^ tb-re 
 »- aistrfss in t=— r ;e! %-- -^ 
 
88 
 
 W i' 
 
 I 
 
 H 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 TheCornLawswhiehwereinforrfifltthio+;«, i ^ t. 
 the ,oar thatthe batt.e of ^Y.^^L'ZlTC.Z. "l IZCZl 
 through Pari.ament, despite the most emphalio .>ro c™fr„m h! 
 manufacturingaad commercial classes. There were r X „ W 
 don, there were riots elsewhere; for the duty was proh.b'uve 
 unless home-grown wheat reached the price o/eiffhtv shilliJ™ , 
 ,u„rte,j^ and it was far below that price' TimeZdTp Z,ot 
 allow the d,sc„ss,on of the principle involved, whether it is w"sc 
 to taxone classof the community for the benelit of anotherorto 
 benefit oneclassattheexpenseof all others. Certain it is thktthe 
 Corn Laws had long been looked upon by many Eng i hmen a! 
 the ch.cf cause of the distress which had so long exfstcd vari 
 
 zzt^:fT "' *'"'" """^ """^ ^"""^^ ditrfrent time's ;:: 
 
 Sir Robert Peel now proposed a plan, which was a modification 
 of one wh.eh had been broached some time ago, and ;°rtlv 
 adopted This was a sliding scale by which the dut; wis hLh s^ 
 when wheat was cheapest, and gradually diminishL wUh tl ! 
 
 proved to brth^t^h" "'*'' "'^ """■"« '""'0 ""-"-d 
 proved to be that other countries, from which a supply must be 
 
 drawn .n case of a short crop, were not always ready to s„ 'ply 
 
 t: ':■ r;c7ui:;i;."^''- "^'-^ "--'^ ^°- " --''- --'«''' ''^ 
 
 The people of Manchester had naturally been the most deter- 
 
 ■ ernted P '7- "' "''' r^'" ''" ^"''"'- """ "" -""er ™s it rep- 
 .osented m Parlmment than its voice was heard, demanding the 
 
 abo mon of the Corn Laws. But the experience of the late Lib! 
 e a, M,n,stry had shown that the revenue was insufficient even 
 w.th taxes as thoy were; to reduce the income would be ^n act 
 ot to^lj . Under these crcnmstauces the Conservatives came in- 
 to office, expressly to uphold the Corn Laws 
 
 Clreat excitement prevailed throughout the country when this 
 s!.d,„g scale was introduced. Its wisdom was questioned by Lord 
 John Eussel , the leader of the Opposition, in one of ti.e ablest 
 
 V'»3 rr 11 
 
 ich bad been maue upon the subject. Mr. Gladstone 
 
Early Official Life. gg 
 
 answered him, in an address of at least equal ability ; and the 
 Government was supported by a considerable majority. This did 
 not evidence the feelings of the people, however; for about this 
 time the Premier, who had brought this measure forward, had 
 the honor of being the chief attraction at a riot in Northamp- 
 ton where he was burned in ^^gy. And other towns were not 
 tar behind Korlhampton. 
 
 The Conservatives, high tariff men as they were, became 
 speedily converted to the principles of free trade by that stern 
 teacher, Necessity. The session of 1842 dealt mainly with the 
 question of import duty, and a complete revision of the t riff 
 was the fruit of their labors. This was no light task to Mr. 
 bladstone, in the position which he now held ; for the record 
 shows that he was on his Tcet one hundred and twenty-nine times 
 during this session ; and generally spoke in connection with the 
 provisions of the Tariff Bill. 
 
 Almost immediately upon the opening of the session of 1843 
 JMr. trladstone was speaking on the question of Free Trade and 
 advocating the abolition of the Corn Laws. This, he admitted 
 
 whthr.?fnn"'/.?"''j *^''^^ ^' ^'^""'^ '^'^' *^« ^"^^^^s 
 which had followed the reduction of duties in the previous year 
 
 had paved the way for it. In a second speech on the same sub- 
 jectvvhich" bristled with facts," he indeed deprecated the im- 
 mediate re-opening of the question. A month later, the Oppos- 
 ition again broached the subject, but the Ministers wore again 
 sustained. But in these various debates, the successive divisions 
 showed a steady diminution in the majoritiesof the Government 
 which had established the tariff in force 
 
 J\*t 'Ti^" ^^ ^^^*' ^PP'^"' '^' ^''' important measure in 
 which Mr. Gladstone was prime mover. Hitherto he had been 
 in such subordinate positions that l.e co Jd only figure as a sup- 
 porter of others It is true that in the previous session, acting 
 as President of the Board of Trade, he had brought foi'ward I 
 bill pro-iding for the export of machinery free of duty but 
 his was merely to repeal a law which had never been practicable, 
 and whi.h had, therefore, from the time of its passage, been a dead 
 letter on the statute book. The present bill, which, like the oth- 
 er, was suggested by the duties of his special office, was design- 
 ed for the regulation of the railwavs. with c,.n.;„i .-.__. ^ 
 
 gardingpussengertrams. This wastheAct which first established 
 what IS known as the " Parliamentary Train." It required every 
 
90 
 
 Mirly Official Life. 
 
 railway to start at least one traiu each day from each end of 
 
 charge for each not oxeoeding one pom>v per mile Provision 
 
 was made for the reduction of this rL in tL eas'fehZr 
 It s a regulafon for which the English traveling public, e'rc: 
 .ally the poorer classes, have reason to be exfcmely latefnl 
 and ,t .s in forc3 without material amendment to-d"y^ ^ ' 
 
 The session of 1845 brought a new perplexity to the vonn» 
 statesman Peel brought forward a meiure which, in Mr 'gm 
 Btone's op,n,on was inconsistent with the views whiehhad been 
 expressed ,„ the volume, "On the relations of Church and 
 State," to wh.ch reference has already been made. In such a crse 
 
 iTmZ" 7 '=°"'-'».' °P» '» ""^ subordinate : either to a low 
 the measure to pass without protest, preserving a discreet silence 
 as to h,s own opinions, or to resign his o(Bce%hat he may be 
 f ee o oppose a measure which he does not approve. This wa 
 
 he alternat,ve which presented itself to Mr. Gladstone, mile 
 the first coarse does not appear to possess that straightforward 
 ness wh,ch should distinguish any man in an oiHce of trult it 
 has not always seemed inconsistent with honor, by fL o who 
 have been called upon to decide the ,i„estion for themselves • 
 the ministers of the Crown have sometimes differed about sueh 
 minor points of policy, but considered that their agreement „„ 
 on so many more subjects entitled them still to retain office! '^ 
 
 Ml. Gladstone however, was in a somewhat unusual position • 
 and one ,n which he ...ight easily have thought himsef e'cus^ 
 
 nuWic°n?: '"^ '" """ '" "'0 «--"«>-.'• JSnteri g uTon 
 public life as an uncompromising Tory, the admirer of CannC 
 the protege of that Duke of Newcastle who had so vei;eme"tlv 
 oppc.ed the Whig .neasures of Keform, he had come to find thl^ 
 many of the views which he at first held would not endure tCe 
 test of mature consideration. The Tory party had been adva n 
 cing since the days of George lY. and'his'^brothcr, and th ' 
 brilliant young statesman, who had been characterized as the 
 rising hope of the most intolerant of the party had ToLZZ 
 outgrown that designation, and was now in t I'e'van of cL ge 
 of progress The Conservatives were losing their hold upon 
 him ough they did not know it, and he wfuld perhans h' v^ 
 bocu the first -.. deny such a charge. But leaving out'of 7oo! 
 
Early Official Zife. 91 
 
 t be ranks of the Liberals, we find a minor one in liis opinions 
 of the re at,ons of Church and State. He no longer held Z 
 views wh.ch he had publicly avowed seven years before he had 
 come to acknowledge the justice of M.cauh.y, st ct„Vo, „pon 
 1..8 fj-gumcnts; but to announce this change, at this nncZe 
 
 rirchiefTl :"":"-"-.»' -^*'"« to mo'dify his opSs by 
 nis cniei 8, in order to retain hi<j nffl/.« tt j- , ^ 
 
 hi'o^^o- \.- . /" ^^'^^"n ^ IS office. Ho accordinirv placed 
 
 waVa !:: r o'tJT'^ "' *"" ^'■'""' "'■™»-- "^ -'- " 
 
 was ucceptea. uid politicians gonerall v looked nnnn +v,,-o „ *• 
 as Quixotic; it would have been so r gar^„d b^s" me 7f .?"" 
 had not been the change of opinion whT^h mIgM h v « 
 .t m more scrupulous minds ; but there was not one who dTd not 
 
 rZ '' 7r°1 "'T'™ "'■° ""^ ""l-W" °f making ueh a sac 
 r.flce for the sake of a conscientiousness fow couM u„der,tLd 
 
 The question which Mr. Gladstone was willing to support as'a 
 
 private member of the House in 1845, though h!s con Jom^atTon 
 
 of Its principle in 1888 drove him from <.fflc„, was the ,„"" se 
 
 n the endowment of Maynooth College. Thi institutirn loci 
 
 1 I "■\^"'"''' Government in 1795, when the de traction of 
 the Freijeh schools by the Eevolutionists had deprived the Calh 
 »l.o Irish of the privileges of edueation.for their priesthood It' 
 
 ta, ,r" '7rT '^ """""' «™"''' *•"» oontinnanee orwhici 
 «.as assured by the act of Union of 1800; but these grant7had 
 for many years k .en insufficier.t for the purpose. TheTuidint' 
 had fallen ,„t„ rum, and there was no money to repair liem 
 .he apparatus and library needed renewing; the yelf vineon? 
 was not sufficient to p„y tho professors even .h ^"""J'"™"'" 
 end ITnH«- .k . 1" J' "" P'oieisois even the scantiest stn- 
 lel^V^ ^ circumstances, the Government could do no 
 
 ess than make .ts gift large enough to serve the pnrpose which 
 t intended, or to withdraw it altogether. The increase was bt 
 terly opposed by a considerable party in Parliament bn. ,1 
 measure was carried by no small majority ''""'""'°'' ■"" the 
 
 EoW.T'T^.r^"''^'";'""^ '"'cn highly eomplimented by Sir 
 Robert Peel and Lord John Eussell, the leader of the Opnosr 
 ^o„. on the occasion when his resign, ion was announced in'^Z 
 House of Commons. The change in the Ministry was of cout 
 no victory for their opponents, for Mr. Gladst„„„ ...Z? /'° 
 fr "'»"."?'"'"«''<' «"PPort to the Conservatives: TlicbilTfor 
 the establishment in Ireland of what a rabid Church of Eng and 
 
92 
 
 ^arly Official Life. 
 
 man dubbod "godless colleges," a name Avhich was speedily 
 caught up by O'Conncll and his Catholic followers, was warmly 
 supported by him; and to that measure, as well as to the one 
 lor the increase of the Maynooth endowment, he lent all the aid 
 of his now renowned eloquence. 
 
 Peel had come into power for the support of the Corn Laws • 
 It had been necessary tc modify them at once, if they we-e to be 
 retained at all ; but the experience of five years under the form 
 which they had assumed then had not been favorable to their 
 perpetuation. Dec. 4th, 1845, the Times announced thaf. the 
 speech from the Throne would recommend the abolition of the»o 
 regulations; the statement was indign£;ntly denied by the other 
 journals, but was admitted by them to be true after several days 
 had passed; and the event confirmed it. Many of Peel's col 
 leagues were as much opposed to the repeal of these laws as they 
 had ever been ; and two of them, when at a meeting of the Cab- 
 b;net the First Lord of the Treasury stated what the course of 
 the Government must be, declined to support that course. The 
 difficulties by which he was surrounded seemed to be irremedi- 
 able; and on the 6th of December he tendered his resi/.nation to 
 the t^ueen. 
 
 Lord John Russell had been active in promoting a general dis- 
 trust of the wisdom of the Corn Laws, though his aciion in this 
 respect was stigmatized as a mere bid for office. Whatever it 
 was. It secured for him the appointment to the coveted post for 
 the Queen immediately sent for him. Peel had signified his de- 
 sire to co-operate with a Liberal Government for the repeal of 
 the obnoxious laws, and this was a most welcome assurance to 
 Jt ."; Butanew obstacle arose: both Lord Palmerston 
 and Lord Grey ought to be included in such a Ministry ; indeed 
 it could not well stand without them; Lord Palmerston would 
 not accept anything but the Foreign Office, and if Lord Palmer- 
 ston was made Secretary of State for Foreign Afi^airs, Lord 
 Grey would have nothing tc do with it. The reason for this per- 
 versity was, that Lord Palmerston had a high opinion of his 
 ability in conducting business with other countries ; Lord Grey 
 upon the other hand, dreaded his "talent of keeping perpetual- 
 ly open all vital questions and dangerous controversies " 
 
 Confronted by this difficulty, the Liberal leader decided that it 
 would be impossible to form a cabinet which could stand and 
 so iniormed the Queen, who at once sent for the late Premier 
 
edily 
 
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 ^ar??/ Official Life. 93 
 
 and reinstated him in office. Of the two ministers who had re- 
 s.fcned, and thus compelled Sir Robert Peel to follow their ex- 
 ample, the Duke of B.iccleugh was persuaded to remain in the 
 ministry; Lord Stanley retired, and his post of Colonial Secre- 
 tary was filled by Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 The member for Newark had been elected because he was the 
 protege of the duke-the Duke of Newcastle's nominee, not- 
 withstanding his ingenious evasion on the occasion of his firs, 
 election But this nobleman was a warm advocate of the prin- 
 ciple 01 Protection ; as an upholder of Free Trade Mr Glad- 
 stone could never have gained his support. Accordingly, on the 
 5th of January, 1846, he issued an address to his constituents in- 
 forming them of the necessity for his retirement as their repre- 
 sentative, since he no longer held the principles on which he had 
 been elected. Newark was too thoroughly in favor of Prolec- 
 tion, and perhaps too much under the influence of the duke, to re- 
 am as her member the young man who had won such speedy rec- 
 ognition; and Mr. Gladstone was left without a seat in the 
 
 House ofComraons during the session in which the Corn Laws 
 were repealed. 
 
 Nor had he been simply the follower of others in regard to 
 the measure to which he thus sacrix^ced his seat in the House • it 
 was no secret that ho was the most advanced in opinion of 'all 
 ti 3 menr.bers of the Cabinet, in his desire for Free Trade In 
 the preceding year, he had published a pamphlet entitled " Re- 
 marks Upon Recent Commercial Legislation," which would have 
 indicated this most clearly, had nothing else been said by him 
 But he has been justly regarded as one of the pioneers of the 
 movement— perhaps the earliest. 
 
 Though the subject of this biography was not entitled to speak 
 upon the momentous subject for which he had thus paved the 
 way, a brief paragraph respecting the Ministry which carried it 
 hvough willnot be out of place. The motion was of course made 
 by the Premier, and supported by him in apowerf. 1 speech '' Ho 
 played upon the House of Commons as on an o.d fiddle" said 
 Disraeh, who heard him from the Opposition benches. But J.he 
 marvelously eloquent speech onco ended, he was exposed 'to 
 such a torrent of personal abuse as has seldom fallen to the lot 
 of any one statesman to endure. Calmly he acknowledged that 
 he had opposed the repeal, as he had opposed other measures 
 which nis Government had carried through; notably, Cuthollo 
 
04 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 ^i 
 
 Emancipi.tion and Parliamentary Koform 
 inat these changes of 
 
 . . . but he denied 
 
 thinff but an ^'n^; -/P"""" ^^«''o «"dJcn, or produced by any- 
 Tholt uTeC 2 i^^^^^^^ ^'-l -- ^-^ ^- the n'atio^. 
 
 mostsimultanl sdef^tof theT' r '"* *^^^ ^'^ 
 
 oflice in wh ch ho had accorapiished so many notable things 
 had sat for the Universitv in +h« T "^'"' '^''^ 
 
 densely crowdedti^t «n„ ,, ° '""'" P'"""' ""« so 
 
 The toi, n™ ;'?',:;"«:,■; ';3, -- --'^l out fainting. 
 
 coding election, and Mr^ardrneTafruTneTbV' "d""/"- 
 majority ^eiurnea by a decisive 
 
 swore to perform l,is duty "on the trne faith of a Chr',, I' ' 
 
 Major, the Aldermen, and even the Conncilmen of the Citv of 
 London wore obliged to make use of the same phrase a,^Jof 
 
 .r Lo* d° jo^h"; e' "T.'"' 'T ""■ "■-" "«»-"» -"-^7 
 
 W,'f, I: '"■" '"'""Silt forward aresolution imr.-ediate 
 
 Im r r T"'"^ "'■ ^"■•"™»'. "ffl^ing that Jews were eU 
 
 recollect that t„e ^tate and Chnrch are closely connected in the 
 

 Mr. Gladstone in 1846. 
 
 9o 
 
9G 
 
 Early Official Life. 
 
 mother country ; and it is only to bo oxpccted that Kon-oonfor- 
 
 those offices wh.ch, although civil, may bo called upon for some 
 decision or action in connection with the Church 
 
 The resolution which Lord John proposed was bitterly oppos- 
 ed by Sir Robo.-t J nglis, the same who had named the Queen's 
 
 ^'JJ'':;]"]^!'^^^^^^ seems to have 
 
 been at all times and under all circumstance., a supporter of the 
 Estabhshment E-s co league, Mr. Gladstone, on the other hand, 
 upheld the Liberal opinions of the Prime Minister, and made 
 one of h,s powerful speeches in favor of admitting the Jew to 
 Parliament. lie admitted that he had opposed the previous bills 
 which had given privileges to this .lass; but since they had 
 passed, he saw no reason why this should b- denied. The con- 
 stituencies were mixed, and the representation ought to be so • 
 If the Jew were permitted a voice in the elections, he ought to' 
 have a voice in Parliament. It had been urged that this tended 
 to un-Christianize Parliament; but so long as the constituencies 
 w re mainly Christian, he replied, the House of Commons would 
 be so. 
 
 The logic of the speech was unanswerable, but, as was remark- 
 ed at the time, had it been made before instead of after the elec- 
 tion, the speaker would not have ; oen returned by the Univer- 
 sit)' of Oxford. 
 
 The country had long been in a state that was far from tran- 
 quil The successive failures of the crops for several seasons had 
 produced a terrible condition among the poor; we are onlv for- 
 getful of the state of England at this period because the p'eople 
 of L-eland were so much more to bo pitied; but in ordinary 
 times, when there was no darker background against which to 
 place It, the distress in England in 1847-8 would be remembered 
 with dread, even ir. other countries. As before, the situation in 
 ijranco was reflected in England ; after eighteen years of rule, 
 the Orleans dynasty, which had displaced the strictly legitimate 
 successor of Louis XVL, was in turn displaced by theSec^ond Ee- 
 public, which had been established with a provisional govern- 
 ment. The agitators demanded a Charter for the English peo- 
 ple; the latter phrase meaning, as a historian of our own time 
 had pointed out, not the whole people, for the heretofore ruling 
 classes were ignored ; but the wage-earners. It was to be a free 
 country for the lower classes, but something else for the higher 
 
 . -^•' 
 
dd 
 
 Ea.ly Official Life, 
 
 classes. Thoj'wcro from Ihisdcmar.d termed "Churtista." There 
 were, as is generally the case in any extensive movement, men 
 whoweroreallyluw-abiding citizens, but who saw the existing 
 ovils, and hoped to reform them. There were also many who 
 longed for a collision with the authorities; enil.usir.sts perhap,^, 
 but still earnest in their wish to achirvu better things for them- 
 selves and their fellows. Excitemer.t ran to a high pitch in Lon 
 don when it was learned that r. monster procession of the Chart 
 ists was to bo iormed and to march to the doors of the two 
 houses of Parliament, where they would demand the rights of 
 
 sj^^<T*'"^*'^=^ 
 
 on- 
 
 Dukc of WeHlngton in ;:J50. 
 
 the English people. A repetition of the scones of the French 
 Revolution was seriously feared, for the Chartists made no se- 
 cret of the fact that a republican form of government was one 
 of their demands. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington took charge of the preparations and 
 arrangements for defying any outbreak against the public peace. 
 Ho acted with extrefno caution, so that though there were sol- 
 diers everywhere, they were so concealed Ua not to add to the 
 
 -r-^. 
 
^"'ly Official life. gg 
 
 po'i™;„"Ll'rI.\';;"NelH?.w"l°;'r"f''f" '■''"" '•"•""•"g their 
 
 woro sworn i„ f„r i|,i, ,,„t„ " (i,u,T "^ 1° """"'" "''*"<>'"' who 
 to Lo elected Pro,i,le„t oTC ^l/:"'™ ''"""' '*'">>l''<'''.»"0„ 
 
 '•<•; trio Duke of 
 
 to be elected Vr., ull7n "'"" "■"'™ ''»" 
 Norfolk, Lord d: ";,:[ ^ ," '7"-" ^'P""' 
 
 were not nearly ho „,„',. , „.„''" , "'T'"'"'' ' """'«'' ""•■•« 
 loaders fo„„d it would no K "' '""'" l'«"li<'te.l. Their 
 
 »"'< forhado It. nr^et^i ,t'h';:: ::: *;:.:,"?■■;■ *• "•- ..-ooe.io„, 
 
 '"«, "s was declared bu Mr O'Z, ' Tu ■' "PP""""J, hav- 
 fundred thousand siK,:at„ e, iTT'' "'^ ''"" '"'"''"" »-«" 
 ■nittee, „ho set to wtrk " exam „ f,' ^^ "■"'''"■■•"'' '" * «°«- 
 'i^tanee of an army of cle "s A "'T'""'' "'"' '^^ «- 
 
 "F'eared .hat the n,,mb.' of X„ "'"'" °' "">''• '"''-■■«. it 
 
 thi.i of what had been «;= d .l ,t :r' ""' "?' """^ """■ °- 
 ly two million,, of the Oull' , ■ "■*" "'" ''""'•'o^ °f "ear- 
 
 wuh respect. An a'nllytTf h^ Xl"/;; ^' '" "^ '-'«" 
 «vor, reassured the frightened pe„nr„ F , , "S-M'"-''^ bow- 
 
 were those of women; wholsh!.? ''''!'"P?--<'»nt,of the names 
 
 hand; "any signature Ire renrd::™ T^" ''' ""^ -">« 
 made the whol. thin, ridienlo,!: 1 '^^ "'"" "S"'" ! b" what 
 
 thoQueo„,thePrin":Co„Lr'l '""''''■'' "■" "''■"•^' "f 
 Sir Eobert Peel, Lord John Ku" 7 1"'?"'" "' ^'-'""S""'. 
 equally likely to sign a petitiof^r',, ■""'' ^''"' """W ••« 
 
 can form of government in R,!., '"-^"'"ion of a republi- 
 
 'i.0 nnme, of charrt ZZtr"'''''' ^''""^ »'"» -i'" 
 
 the mo»t curious nicknames „„Se '7^: "' '"' ^"^ ""^ 
 •ig"..n and again. Tlio Oharti,. 1. . '" """'"' "Peated 
 
 bythisohildisblistof, „"";'"" ""' *■■'«" '» l^oive 
 wi.ore any one who deseed ;;T, ^'T' '""^ ""> ^'-'» 
 some fun out of it. As the st^rf !*,"' "",'' "'"™S^ '>'-^ '■ad 
 i-ludi„g those classes «: TZ fo .tT ' "'r,''"«"^" """P'"' 
 -having any rights, had ClZZZl^ ''!!'' ^'^^^-'^ 
 
 Char , St rcvolniio,, became a byword and u ' "'" »™' 
 
 It is well for a countrv tl, ""'"'"'S'',njr.stcck forever. 
 
 'axghter.butitmustb rfmlm "r'd^,';;? ?""«"■•»'-"» «"ds in 
 landwasn„thr,,,„ " , ""'"hat the situation in E„,.. 
 
 thoiastyeaVso'f lTu IyI wV '"'. '""" '" I"-- dudn; 
 of centuries were re ven.eY' Til''"' "'? "'" --""lated evil! 
 
 enged. The great danger in England was 
 
i 
 
 F 
 
 
 1 
 
 Hi 1 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 1 
 
a 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 :Early Official Life. 
 
 101 
 
 m Eeform being carried forward ut too great strides. That; dan- 
 ger the Conservative party may be said to have averted. But 
 
 It for the Liberal, as a direct and legitimate result of the princi- 
 ples v.hich had guided hinx in the former organisation, but 
 which carried a little further, landed him among^is late oppon- 
 ents. The transition had already begun, with his conversion to 
 Free Trade h,s advocacy of the extension of privileges to the 
 Jews, his change of opinion with regard to the relations of 
 
 to Mr rTd ; ^' ''^^" ''' '^^ ^^"'^"^"^^ '' ^^^"-« P-'^tent 
 
 to Mr Gladstone's own mind that he was no longer a member 
 
 of that party in whose opinions his earliest youth had been 
 trained. 
 
lljl" 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI 
 
 me.ton-The Celebrated j2TZlZrcZ\''''''T'''' "^'^ ^^'- 
 tion-EccIesiastical Titles Bill Mr n r '^'*^«^""« defends His Ac- 
 Eulogy on the Duke of W^U~Z O """m '" 'J' ^^'^'"-^-Gladstone', 
 
 vveiiiiigton-Overthrow of the Ministry. 
 
 ''^ We reserved until now all mention nf « 
 
 ^paee fo/ret,.„.,pt'ti„„ whltt tl "Tt "'" '""= "^ '■"'° 
 t'-ie inciplency of the r^n^ A "" °°™° '■"According 
 
 The A„t lido oVt To'lL: r:":*'':''''°''",r""' "--"• 
 
 the late chief of the T„,y ' rtvfo "^^^^ '"^«"" '"° "' '^ Tory; 
 »n advanced Libcnl ■. Rnd^ i ^t^ many years began lifeas 
 
 at the outset of t^ k e^ tot n^HT ^ T"""''' '""^»"-' 
 ed, by education and oth ; 0!^^,^. ^''°" '" *™'^ «^- 
 
 as a well-known critic of thri/"""'' "' «'"<'''"'"<=■'' were; 
 was rather in search of olf "'.?"''°"''- *"""' '""^ "• "-^ 
 However this may have bee' r' ■" P''*'"^-'". "f thorn. 
 
 I'e offered hin^elftHle elect sTw " '''k""' '"""'"'"' *'"" 
 that Gladstor, ■ - as rct„ nod trNelCr; '" '"" """> ^^"^ 
 ed by sueh apost.es of Eadiea i,m ,, OV ' V""", '•"™"""end. 
 he was defeated. Nothing dlt^d by S iTln "iV """^ ","' 
 presented himself again tnd a-.ai„ h,, i, """""'' ''" 
 
 fourth time that ow.Wr to tir„ "« ' ' ■"' "°' ""'''' the 
 
 Who foresaw sometl If ^f """"•'" "^ '''■• ^^y""''--"™ I^oW^, 
 
 something of the ge„,„s f„r government which th. 
 
'iifWmii^'&S'Mlfi-fWf^'-^^ 
 
 Queen Victona at Her Accession to the Throne. 
 
 m 
 
104 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 young man was to develon Iin «ro * , 
 
 the House of Commons! 'it Lr^efirr*!*'^' *^ ^^^^ - 
 accession .r -ueen Victoria in whlh . ^^^'''^^^^nt after the 
 soai. '''''^'^ '" ^fa'ch he gained tlie long-coveted 
 
 The maiden speech of Pin i + 
 
 almost foreed upon lam, by helir^^'attT.^'t -"'r'"^ «^^"' "- 
 on his father and his at^ents t/ "^''^^''''^^^^^"^adoup- 
 
 n.-tv, and by earnestnL's h; Z^'IZ^T '' '^^'^^*^' ''•>' '^^ 
 associates saw in him only a vTuth 1 ^ ^^"7 " ^* *^« ^'^^^ ? ^^^ 
 
 "iy a youth whom influence had sent to 
 
 Disraeli in 18S0. 
 
 ho WW an essentially middle !H . '°°"' ^P'-ovements 
 
 "on th„t he w.. posCod' rn^:.:S "„" ,.^""^'' ^^ "° ■•»<"- 
 
 the «„„ of the autl,o, of so many exeell". """""''• ^"' 
 
 ftr^nt stamp; he was already well kn„l„h ,u^ ™' ""^ '"'"'- 
 ««d won for himself i„ liteU:..'""^". "^^ '*■; "'''»» "hieb he 
 
 , VTivian Gloy" had bee» 
 
Gladstone vs. Disraeli. jq^ 
 
 "or were hiswritin^s. th!f i ' °''°" "'"' """" <=<">tempt; 
 have since then elided IT "'"■ ''^ "•"'I"'"' "'•^'^ '^V 
 •'venturer, who mTK^^rhTeh-r'^^"'''''-*'' »' »" ««"""■!« 
 d not been so r^dfen „„;" wf " ^^'T' '' '''' »»»»'■"-„, 
 for the first time in the Ho„„ /n °"'^°''''' ''° ■'"<' "> h'' t'^'- 
 august body prepared tl^Z! ^°""".'""' ">» ">"">''-» of that 
 ed " in . bottUre n f oeT!„r' '7 -Joj""™*- He was dress- 
 Dick SwivellerLttern u r "t " """'"">"*■ ot white, of the 
 Of glittering chain?, a' ef '""'""' """'"'^^ " ""'"ork 
 
 tie above wiieh""':: 'shX^ ^w^ S"'''''''^' ";" " "-' 
 ward man. A eonntenanee liv dl^pa le sit' ,T """' "^ °"'- 
 tensoly blaek eyes, and a brlad buf not ^-V''' "*■'"- 
 
 overhung by elusteHng ringlets of coal b 77 -^'^^ '°'''''""''^' 
 ed away from the righf temple feMinKK ''"'■'' '''"''^' "''"'>'■ 
 od ringlets over the left cl"fk " H s s^Cr ' °', """" "°"-°"- 
 gent, his rhetoric constant y deg^e^IfeHSL "^ ^'"^"™- 
 American critic has said of him ,1.1 " ^'"'ga'-ity; an 
 
 in his actions and feelTng: t™,, dat: T ''T'"'" ""'■""■- 
 ly expect to find all the faul of ,' '7'"" *" '"'""■•■"• 
 strongly marked, because eo taet with P"''"'";"""'"- ">ost 
 
 them down to that smooth levTwh7ch-,th:'m r "°^ "'"^'' 
 groat genius and mediocrity he did nn, V """"""S-P'aeo of 
 His manner was intensely Theatric 1? '■.'"•Wo'nt the House, 
 agant. There was nothin Jin tltl *"? S™""'='» ""d and extrav- 
 
 other had delivered It^h^TettrttS;:^ 
 
 What he said , h'e JlJZ^^; ZZZZZ f'^f " ""'^ '° 
 rision ; and at last he sat down wilh that ^h.^^'f't"'''"'' ''''■ 
 come historic, as the expression of a ,„ If IT "^""^ ^"^ ""=• 
 seldom justified • « I h,vIT «elf-eonfidence which is too 
 
 I have oV: s:e;eedc Tt 1 r :v":r' "r:,' •"""^">'"«». -d 
 
 now,thetimewi„comelh:'y:[';;,'i'rrmr"^" ' '" "''"» 
 
 cofpit'n :r:;n:: VchZt;: "jr ""-■ -^ ■•- '^- 
 
 garded as the highest a, the L?,, Pa^'ament which is re- 
 
 diction was manufretu 1 bv 1 r'"''' '"''' """ ""'» P-'e- 
 
 •ne... <■...«,,.,. ?'",.''>^ """"e admirer Ions after it had 
 ■e.. ,„,„,,„„. It was the indomitable resolnti„„„f. I 
 
 -.ngitselr,aperseverane.whi,hh,dsrr:i;i:t,;:-;; 
 
106 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 when the Ho„.e lirtoned to hinV ^ ""' ^"^ """" 
 
 the Conservatives; and 
 it was this division of 
 strength which brought 
 about the fall of the Min- 
 istrj, immediately after 
 t-'-~ success M'hich was 
 achieved by the Repeal 
 Act. Disraeli had j.ersist- 
 
 Ajm^mm^. iiim^i^r ^'' '" ^"« efforts to gain 
 
 the ear of the House and 
 liad at last succeeded. He 
 was second only to Lord 
 George Bcntinck in the 
 leadership of the men who 
 still clung to Protection; 
 I and his speeches in the 
 I House, during the dtbate 
 on that famous measure 
 which had made the name 
 of Peel best known, "Arere 
 Lord Odo Ems4L received witii an attention 
 
 eloquent con.meutary on the progress ^vITd;theTan\id1L^ 
 Te se ep.grams and merciless satire marked his speeches tbZh ' 
 
 p lieZr? ' "'"'' "f' '" ^•'^"^'^* "J^ ^-^ -P-t'^' -^J again!: 
 plied to the men and measures which he thus characterizeu Thl 
 
 |"cleed ,s the n.aiu power which Disraeli's speeches i o essedZ e 
 Z'"?^li^^'"""'' -'--J^ ^-re readily remembered, T he exTrer 
 s.on, -Subl.me mediocrity." which he then applied not wX, ," 
 some justice, to the Prime Minister ^ ' ''"""^ 
 
 ponists, ,t was a long fme before the two wings of the prtv 
 
y - 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. iqj 
 
 atrvo, still hold to Pe„l L ,1, 7 ' / ""^ ™<"lerate Conserv- 
 
 looked to Be„ti„:/a„1, B^Z'tlr "'"^ '"^ ^^'^^"^ ^"'- 
 that not far off when th„ (t ^"""^o "■"»» t,mo coming, and 
 
 without t:,ci,.l,rdo° tatthlr"' ""'^ "°"''' """ ">on.soIv,s 
 foe; and when idid'c'rth.r"'"r'P™° '» ««"■' ""d 
 onts, „„d that ono tho Zn' ii ° T-T "' '"""' o"" "f ^'^ adher- 
 did not „„ito wi^h tho p" , '°"- '°r '"" ""^ '■'•'losing, who 
 political indoncndenco^h^r''''''"' '" ""' '"""^^"^"l 
 widely fron, tKo^P X' • """'""" '"""'^ ^''" "-« 
 
 ly the power to thicrtho „; p "i^oZ"- ''';™' "°'° """"■"'■ 
 from without- andtheWM r?"^ " '"""^ of agitation 
 
 -npopniar. ihTont hig InthllhTo' k"' Irt"^- ^™^'"^ 
 failed, was in reducing the drflc it wh.-h h'"" "'"''"■>' '""' 
 amounted to more thin t<vo Jn 7 ""^ ''-'''"^''. This 
 
 cellorof thoEx Lauer Zr T f I'""""'. »»" the Chan- 
 Incomo Tax, whth wo,Hd c !^' """' '" "" J-dgment, the 
 
 newed for fl k y arsller '"'J "' ^™''' """'O '"'" *" l-e ro- 
 
 Imposed whiieSr^: t'offioeTnVrr- ^''" "'"' ''°'='' 
 fonded, from the Opposition hen^L .K <"'-I"-<""'«- "ow de- 
 Ministry. DisraeliTo w " In ' •! ° "'""•''' P™?"^'^'' ''>' ">e 
 istry, bit to the Te de -s of the O^" ."' """ °"'^' '» ">° «■"- 
 the extreme Tories did the I . °°"'"^'-™"™'' • "-epresenting, „s 
 ponent of a measm-o whi h h" '"'"7"'' ''" ^"^ «"> »t"n!l op. 
 men of leisu.e H L sn!' h '" """' '■""ily upon the wealthy 
 ing with c2 ;„, Th h T r """" ^'""•"•'"'"^tic one, spark 
 tee-ho du S ""h J ,:,';^';; - °f ''^ '"■""' »»'■- Commit, 
 nineteenth centu ry h^'a, n odnld " 'i" ™»gi"»'ion which the 
 i^ed the authority nnl Idfi"' "'/"'"S *''°'' '=''™o'- 
 Ministry an<l t rfriendl ' ' '"""? °' """ ^''"-^"'onts of the 
 
 school," and argu I at U.X io V"?.°°'°'" '"'*''« Manchester 
 
 bo.,tK.uece.rwi:ict::rd]:^\°::rft"::;:^°''-'-- 
 
 w«w ^0^, iho tonservfttivo took but 
 
^ v* 
 
Gladstone vs. J)israeti. 
 
 lod 
 
 s 
 
 
 .o 
 
 little note of the personalities of the speech, which had been the 
 most hnlliant part of it. He answered them by dismissing them 
 as unworthy serious consideration, in the discussion of a meas- 
 ure affecting the welfare of the nation. Bringi-.g from his marv- 
 elous memory fact after fact to support the cause of his chief, he 
 c inched each argument with statistics which made it unanswer- 
 able; and with a wealth of language which, in the mouth of any 
 other m„n, would but have seemed the weakness of ro<lundancy 
 he made every word tell against the arguments which he was 
 opposing. Finally, with a dignified appeal to the now thor- 
 oughly serious House, he sat down. The measure was carried 
 
 This session was also marked by ihe delivery of an important 
 speech on the Navigation Laws by Mr. Gladstone, in which he 
 opposed the sweeping changes advocated by the Government- 
 the question was so delayed, however, that the final considera- 
 tion had to DO postponed until the next session of Parliament 
 But leaving out of consideration the minor spc-cches upon such 
 subjects of transitory importance as the cession of Vancouver's 
 Island to the Hudson Bay Company and the Sugar Duties Bill 
 the most noteworthy speech of the session which feli from his 
 lips was that upon the measure designed to legalize diplomatic 
 relations with the Vatican. 
 
 I -nco the time when H.nry VIII. had openly defied the pow- 
 er of the Pope and announced himself as the Head of the Eul- 
 lish Church, the English Government had held no formal rela- 
 tion, with the Court of Rome. Whatever communications might 
 be absolutely necessary were made in an underhand and round- 
 about manner which was hardly consistent with the dignity of 
 either court. The bill which was now brought forward was 
 most severely condemned by many statesmen of the day as 
 hkely to offend both parties by the moderation of its terms • the 
 Catholics by the concessions which were demanded from the 
 apostolic see, and the Protestants by the concessions which were 
 made to the same power. Mr. Gladstone supported the bill 
 though he admitted that there were several reasons why it was 
 painful for him ^o do so. The question had been brought to their 
 consideration, ho said, at an unfortunate time j for such was the 
 state of affaire, in Italy that it might prove to have been unneces- 
 sary o legislate upon this question. But the enactment of the law 
 establishing the Irish Colleges had made it absolutely necessary 
 to conduct negotiations with the Pope. As lung as the actual 
 
110 
 
 Otudstone vs. t)israeli. 
 
 
 .iiouw bo forbfj,, „" t fo „:::":;'""""" ^""' ""■ ^•"-«» 
 
 cation should not uZLVZ '7^'''' '-'"""""^ "f "■™""""- 
 
 ».-bIe „o„n,. ,.„a ,„„„.,a ,t„t to' ; Lt', n'.f,---^!'"" 
 to liuvo froo coinmi.njcation -vi,], ,i ' '"'Oo»s,u-y 
 
 publication of his work oT vL '^ '"'■''""° '""' -"'"o. since the 
 od from 1840 to 1855 r °'"" ''•'',•■""' »""«• The whole pod- 
 t^-sitio,;:" wJ! ' ^^^J;: '^,''» -«a.-dod .. a period of 
 
 was L.eco„ ing &Z "Xl'l' l^^'T "' '"" >''""''. "'"l 
 
 came one of the mos VJ T ' "'^ "'""'' *"> ""erward be- 
 indeed, thffi'lt i^ar ' °'""''""' »" ''P"°'''-«. 'f -t, 
 
 ae2'rb;;r;;fj.;:'rJr„:"tr''"'"°"'™- -" ^"■•"— . 
 
 which Lord Jol n E, Lm K * Tf""" '°''''°" "I'"" " '"«""■■■« 
 which the Lm ,.fof P ,.i Z' ""'• '•"'"''™ '» ""> »""- 
 
 Laws; and" the mX te e| "!'"" ''f.7<"'i-!"« "- Navigation 
 Minist'c.. wore su^. Tb^^TaZ^f' were proposed by the 
 
 tions for chan.e'^.hich .t't:^^ 'br;:"^,:^:;:;" :;■«-;■ 
 ti;:rir,:::^r;"nt;r"^°r'"'°"*"™'^^^ 
 
 stage o>the p.-oceed , M ''T" r"'"'',''""''" ^' "'""■■• 
 an.on„tofperso„ari,^ oeH/ T^ '''"''"' """ ""^ "»"al 
 
 Gladstone, wo d .;,;",„ " ""^ f" '''■'■"'°'' "«»"-' «'■• 
 Trade, to proven ho' ot hi „T° r"^'''' '" "" ^'""■" "' 
 mcasnre. >fr Glad tone', ,, . , '" "P"" ""« i-'POrtant 
 
 tbo»ewords: -■ S;rf::ti;ttC;e; tit'itr^ "" 
 :::::: :::^,S:e::ei::^i^r^t ^ -- -.^^ ->;::; : 
 i" one who consci^uili'rdrffe ?f .or;i:.':;;r 7"t"'"' 
 
 trade, and endeavors to r-ali^e it "° " '^''°°''"™ "^ 
 
 the cause of the distress o' , c'o„X"7; T '", '''°'" ''' ""^'"^ 
 
 » ii .'1 countly, It has been, under the 
 
Ghdstone vs. Disraeli, m 
 
 mercy of God, the most f^'v^mX and effoetual incah.4 of mitiLNitinLr 
 this distress, and ftccelorati.ig tho duwn of the day of returninfr 
 prosperity." Tho tono of this reply to ; bitter pergonal attack 
 «hows most conclusively >vhat has been frequently claimed foi' 
 Gludstone, that he has no trace of personal bitterness in his na- 
 tme; that h.s opposition of measures does not imply his enmity 
 toward tho men who support them; and that he frequently felt 
 the most sincere admiration for tho men whom ho most persist- 
 ently fought. 
 
 Ti.o condition of Canada again camo up for consideration in 
 tins session, and Mr. Gladstone spoke several times, both in the 
 House and in committee, supporting tho right of Parliament to 
 interfere in all imperial concerns. His direct opponent in this 
 question wr.8 Mr. Eoebuck, who had before acted us a-ent for 
 the Canadians, though ho was now u member of Parliament 
 In the opinion of Lord John Russell, tho course which Mr* 
 Gladstone recommended would tend to aggravate tho troubles 
 in Canada, where tho public peace had already been violated by 
 many riots, some of them widespread. Tho question could not 
 be decided in that session, but frequently came up for discus- 
 sion, tho House being desirous that tho matter might bo ixi 
 such shape as to show the various colonies, particularly those 
 most interested, what was likely to be the course pursued • tint 
 the colonial assemblies might he able to make such su<r..estions 
 us would improve tho course to be taken. Mr. Gladstite's ex- 
 perience in tho Colonial Office of course made his statements of 
 value ; and although no di ,c action was taken, he seems to 
 have bad no small part in modifying the original opinions of 
 many member^ on this subject. He was already a Dower in the 
 House. 
 
 During this session there was brought forward that bill which 
 appears to possess perennial interest for a small, thou-h con- 
 stantly increasing, class of British legislttors-of whom the 
 1 r.nce of Wales is now the head-intended to legalize marria-e 
 with a deceased wife's sister. W. find Mr. Gladstone stronWv 
 opposing the bill, on theological, social and moral grounds. The 
 bill was, as usual, supported only by a minority. 
 The session of 1850 opened with a discussion of the Poor 
 
 Laws of the kinfd 
 
 om 
 
 distr 
 
 appears as the supporter of Mr. D 
 
 most important subject, in view of 
 
 ess so generally prevailing. In this debate Mr. GI 
 
 the 
 
 idsto 
 
 ne 
 
 isra 
 
 wh 
 
 o made the moiioa 
 

 112 
 
 ii 
 
Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 118 
 
 I: 
 
 for tho couflidorution of these ro^'ulations. Tho Preo-Trndor 
 however, expressly roaerved the ri^^ht to withdraw liis support 
 if the Protoetionist ventured to introduce any peculiar doctrine 
 of h.8 section of tho party into ^e question; but thj motion 
 was lost by a small majority. It is to bo noted that in this case 
 Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Gladstone took opposite sides of the 
 question. 
 
 The subject of Colonial Governments was also one which oc- 
 cupied the attention of British lo.irislators at this time; a-' when 
 the Prime Minister unfolded tho j.oiicy of the Government, we 
 find Mr. Gladstone the earnest 8ui)porter of those amendments 
 which were calculated to emancipate tho colonies from the rule 
 of tho central power in as raany respeeis as were consis* .i -ith 
 theirdepcndence finally upon the mother country. When ho saw 
 that this view of tho question would not bo adopted bv a majority 
 of the members, ho enUeavoi :.d to delay the final decision until the 
 Colonial Governments should have an opportunity of express- 
 ing themselves upon a question in which they were so deeply 
 interested; but although his arfruments were based upon privi- 
 leges that had been given to ^ .!,^o colonies, and should not 
 therefore, bo withheld from any, h^ motion to delay was lost by 
 a very considerable majority. It is curious to note that among 
 those who then supported him, as appears from the. list of those 
 who, in division, voted for his motion, were st no of tho men 
 who have since most persistently opposed him, Disraeli amom- 
 ♦Ijo ni.mber. ° 
 
 We again find tho old question of tho slave-trade revived in 
 this session, in tho form of a debate upoi: restoring the duties 
 upoa sugar grown by slave labor. England had for some time 
 been endeavoring to put an end to ti. slave trade, having en- 
 tered into treaties with other countries to maintain armed ves- 
 sels along tho coast of Africa for that purpose; but this had 
 been p^ onounced futile by no less an authority than Sir Fowell 
 Buxtoi who had been so prominent in the measures for aboli- 
 tion. Though Mr. Gladstone conceded tho necessitv of Pro- 
 tection in this instance, his support did not bring success to the 
 motion. 
 
 Piissing over the debate on the inquiry into tho condition of 
 the English Universities, in which Mr. Gladstone opposed th. 
 issuing of a Royal Commission, we next hoar of him in connec- 
 tion with the troubles with Greece. Perhaps there never was more 
 S 
 
lit 
 
 h 
 
 114 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 smoke with less fire than in these same Greek troubles. Vari- 
 o!is outrages had hecn committed by Greeks against British 
 citizens; but tliey were of such a nature as might have been 
 readily repaired if tlio Greek Government had been n little less 
 dilatory and tlio British a little less impatient. Many of the 
 claims -vvero absurdly exaggerated ; one of the complainants 
 was Don Pacifico, a Jew of i'ortugneso descent, a native of Gib- 
 raltar, a subject of Great Britain, and a resident of Athens; the 
 house of this cosmopolitan gentleman had been destroyed by an 
 angry mob, and he wanted compensation for it and its contents ; 
 the justice of his claim may bo inferred from the fact that he 
 rated his pillow-cases as worth ten pounds each. Others there 
 were whose claims possessed more moderation, but the Greek 
 Government seems, at this lapse of time, entirely justifiable in 
 its delays. Lord Palmerstcn, however, who was at the head of 
 the Foreign Office, thought that the efforts of England to assist 
 Greece in maintaining her independence, deserved some consid- 
 eration ; and had, besides, taken up the idea that the represen- 
 tives of other powers at the Court of Athens were constantly 
 caballing against England. An English fleet was sent to the 
 Pirasus, and blockaded that port, seizing all the vessels of the 
 Greek Government and of private merchants which it found 
 there. 
 
 France and Eussia remonstrated at this high-handed pro- 
 ceeding; the Foreign Secretary, who was always inclined to re- 
 sent interference with his independence of action, replied, with 
 due formality, that it was a matter wholly between Great Brit- 
 ain and Greece, and that other Powers had nothing to do with 
 it. This somewhat brusque reply did not carry with it the 
 weight which was intended, and both Franco and Russia persist- 
 ed until the matter was made a question for international arbi- 
 tration, and finally settled in that way. 
 
 But while it was still undecided, the debate in both Houses 
 of Parliament was keen, and in some respects entitled to rank 
 among the most remarkable which have ever been heard there- 
 certainly, there was never such a flood of eloquence poured 
 forth about such trivial questions before or since. The course 
 of Lord Palmerston was regarded as a very high-handed pro- 
 ceeding, and a vote of censure was proposed in the House of 
 Lords; to offset this, Mr. Roebuck, an independent member of 
 the House, was induced to bring forward a motion affirming 
 
Crhidsione vs. t)israeU. 
 
 115 
 
 h 
 
 that tho policy of the Govei.iment was approved by the 
 Commons. This was a cunning device to entrap tho mem- 
 bers who did not wholly approve of the action of Palmerston, 
 but wore unwilling to condemn the general policy of the Gov- 
 ernment, into an expression favorable to tho i)articnlar action 
 then under consideration. Lord Palmerston had supported his 
 course in one of the most brilliant speeches ever heard in the 
 House of Lords. All the arguments based upon the triviality of 
 the claims or the character and station of the men who desired 
 redress, he answered with the unanswerable one that there was 
 no man entitled to protection .v- the hands of the British Gov- 
 ernment whom that Government would not protect, be he ever 
 so lowly or even ridiculous. Ridicule and laughter were out of 
 place when the smallest right of a British subject, violated by a 
 foreign power, was to be redressed. It was in this famous speech 
 that ho used the comparison between the privileges of a Roman 
 citizen and these of a British subject, and protested that one 
 should be as safe as the other had been. The oration was a mar- 
 velous one, occupying full five hours in tho delivery, full of 
 facts, names, dates, figures, references of all kinds, but deliver- 
 ed without the help of a single note. But all was summed up in 
 the one phrase, Civis Bomanm sum, and it was that which carried 
 the day for the speaker, in spite of all opposition. 
 
 But there were those in the House of Commons, who, as far as 
 argument could reply to enthusiasm, were quite capable of an- 
 swering this speech. We pass over tho defense of Palmerston's 
 policy by Mr. Cockburn, since Lord Chief Justice of England, a 
 speech which was only second to Palmerston's own as a brilliant 
 defense, and which first assured the rank of tho speaker as an 
 orator; and the ''calm, grave, studiously moderate remon- 
 strance of Sir Robert Peel." The most exhaustive answer, and 
 the one upon which the Opposition chiefly relied as an expres- 
 sion oi their opinion, was Mr. C ladstone's. He put the Roman 
 citizen business in the strong light of common sense; tho Roman 
 was tho representative of tho conqueror, a member of a privi- 
 leged caste, a citizen of a nation which had one law for him and 
 another for tho subject world ; tho British subject, on the other 
 hand, should claim only such privileges as his Government was 
 willing to grant to others. But it was all of no avail, contrast- 
 ed as it must be with ^ho briUiancy of Paimer«t<.n ; the British 
 subject was at least the equal of the Roman citizen, and the 
 
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 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 course of tho Government Avhich maintained this was approved. 
 It is pleasing to find tliis utterance of Peel on tiiis occasion 
 free from that bitterness which is apt to creep into political con- 
 troversies; and to learn that ho had spoken in tho hi<rliost praise 
 of the elo<ni(>rico of the man whoso policy ho thoti,<cht wrong. 
 We say that this generosity is pleasing, for this was to bo tlu3 
 last debate in which the great Tory was to take part; and his 
 life had not been spent in bitter struggles, but in earnest ones. 
 Leaving tho House of Commons early on tho morning of Juno 
 29th, 18;)0 (for tho division on this question was not taken until 
 four in the morning), ho was thrown from his horso tho afternoon 
 of tho saino day, and died July 2n(l, from tiio injuries received. 
 His death took place at a comparatively early age, for ho was 
 sixty-two, an age at which many an English statesman has been 
 in the xvry lieyday of his career. Indeed, Palmerston, who was 
 some years older, was just beginning to taste success; and the 
 examples of Gladstone and Disraeli, who were premiers at the 
 respective ages of sixty and sixty-three for tho first time, arc 
 other instances of th j lato hour at which the highest success is 
 often achieved. Although Peel's health had for some time beer 
 so bad that he had announced his intention to live a quieter life, 
 there is littlo doubt that tho growing unpopularity of tho Min- 
 istry would soon have brougiit about their resignation, when 
 Peel must again have been placed at the head of affairs. 
 
 It is idle to speculate upon the turn which English politics 
 would have taken, in caso Peel had lived to secure a speedy Con- 
 servative victory; nor do our limits allow it. His death was re- 
 garded as a ])ublic calamity, and even those statesmen who had 
 been most opposed to him spoke in praise of tlie qualities which 
 he had rihown himself possessed of. The old Duke of Welling- 
 ton spoke of him with tears running down his cheeks, which l^e 
 did not attempt to hide. In tho Commons, which had been tho 
 immediate jceno of so many of his triumphs, tho respect shown 
 was equally great. Praises, not extravagant, but well-deserved, 
 wore showered upon the dead statesman ; and his most illustrious 
 follower only voiced tho general opiiMon of tho man when he 
 pronounced that funeral oration which js justly conceded to be 
 not unworthy of tho namo of Gladstone. 
 
 Tho Ecclesiastical Titles Bill camo up for consideration in the 
 latter part of tho year 1850, and tho debates upon it ran over in- 
 to tho next year. This bill, which lioebuck characterized as 
 
118 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 " Gi.o of t,ho meanest, pettiest, and most /utile measures which 
 ever disgraced bi-otry itself," and which sturdy John Bright de- 
 clared was " little, paltry and miserable, a mere sham to bolster 
 Church ascendency," was introduced by Lord John Eussell him- 
 self, and proposed to forbid, under certain penalties, the assump- 
 tion by Eoman Catholic ecclesiastics of any title taken from the 
 name of any territory or place in the United Kingdom. Disraeli 
 who did n -t oppose it, spoke in terms of contempt of it, as a 
 mere piece of petty persecution ; and this seems to have been 
 
 the attitude of many 
 who voted for the in- 
 troduction of the bill. 
 When the division 
 was taken on the ques- 
 tion as to whether it 
 should be considered, 
 there were three hun- 
 dred and ninety-five 
 ayes to only sixty- 
 three noes; but among 
 those who made up 
 this small number, be- 
 sides the Catholic 
 members, were such 
 men as Mr. Gladstone, 
 Sir James Graham, 
 Mr. Cobdon, Mr. 
 Bright, and others of 
 nearly equal note. 
 
 In the debates en- 
 suing, the Opposition 
 John Bright in His Youth. was materially weak- 
 
 ened by the character of some of the men who c.ime to their 
 assistance, men who, dubbed " Tiie Pope's Brass Band," were 
 equally distrusted by the more intelligent Catholics and the 
 more bigoted Tories; while to the former the bill appeared only 
 in the light of an insult. 
 
 But the Government lost ground steadily. During the time at 
 which the bill was in debate, another question was brought up, on 
 which the Ministry obtained a majority of only fourteen ; a bill 
 brought in by a member of the Oppc^jition left tho Governmout 
 
 I 
 
Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 119 
 
 in a minority of forty-eight, though the attendance -was so small 
 when the division was callcv' for as to prove it a " snap vote." 
 The budget, had been received with much dissatisfaction, which 
 was daily increasing. Under such circumstances, Lord John 
 Eusscll concluded that there was nothing for him to do but to 
 resign; and resign he did, leaving the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill 
 still pending. 
 
 A year before, the question as to who was to bo his successor 
 would probably have been answered at once; but Peel was dead, 
 and his mantle did not seem to have fallen upon any one of his 
 followers. True, there was a considerable party known as the 
 " Peelites," who were distinct from the Tories, to which organ- 
 ization most of them once belonged, and had not yet assimila- 
 ted with the Liberals, to which most of them were tending. The 
 death of Sir Eobort Peel had increased the political independ- 
 ence of his followers, for he was so closely connected with the tra- 
 ditions of the Conservatives, if rot of the Tories, that ho was 
 claimed as a member of that party ; and his personal adherents 
 were not likely to leave him. But with his death, the principles 
 which had seemed but occasional differences with those held by 
 the body of the party, grow into the essential ones of their polit- 
 ical faith; and the Poelites became quite distinct from the Con- 
 servatives. 
 
 There were then three great parties, the Liberals, the Conser- 
 vatives, and the Peelites; and any ministry must be formed of 
 members of two of these, for no Government could stand against 
 two united in opposition. But the Whigs insisted upon the Ec- 
 clesiastical Titles Bill, and the Tories upon Protection, and the 
 Poelites would not join either party while these principles were 
 supported. On the other hand, the party which thus held the 
 balance of power would not try tho extent of it, though the post 
 of First Lord of the Treasury was offered to Lord Aberdeen, tho 
 chief of tho party in the IIouso of Lords; for some action 
 must be taken on the bill still pending, and a Peelite Govern- 
 ment would bo defeated at once. Such being tho case. Lord John 
 Eussell resumed offico, and the bill which had excited such op- 
 position was parsed. Before its passage, however, the efforts of 
 its enemies had shorn success of its value, by making such 
 amendments as made tho bill practically worthless for tho tinr- 
 pose which it was originally intended to serve. It was never en- 
 forced, even in this modified form. 
 
^ 
 
 120 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 «! 
 
 It is immediatelj' after this debate that we learn of another 
 trip to the cont..ient on the part of Mr. Gladstone. This was not 
 thefirsf, of course, since that from which he had been recalled 
 to stand lor Newark; but its results were so important ihat it 
 deserves mention. Purely domestic circumstances, he himself 
 tells us, occasioned his residenceat Naples for some monthsabout 
 this time ; but tliough he had not gone on any errand of political 
 criticism or censorship, he could not but be interested in the 
 state of affairs in that country. 
 
 The accession of Ferdinand IL, had been hailed as the begin- 
 ning of a new era for the wretched kingdom of the Two Sicilies- 
 and the new reign began with many acts of royal clemency to- 
 ward political offenders. But the liberal measures of the king 
 were regarded as dangerous by his royal relatives in Austria 
 and other countries, and he was forced, perhaps notunwillingly 
 to abandon them. The result was insurrection throughout the 
 country, which, after the French Eevolution of 1848, terminated 
 in the king's granting a constitution to his people. When the 
 reaction came in Italy, ho set aside the constitution thus grant- 
 ed and proceeded to wreak his vengeance upon all who hud 
 taken part in the effort for refo-m. At the time of Mr Glad- 
 stone's temporary residence there, more than one-half of the 
 legislative body were in confinement as political prisoners; or 
 exiled; and other subjects to the number of twenty thousand 
 were deprived of their liberty. This number seems incredibly 
 large, but some estimates placed the figures half as high again 
 while the refusal of the Neapolitan Government to make any 
 statement whatever rendered it impossible to get at exact fig- 
 gures Hundreds were indicted for capital offences. These po- 
 litical prisoners were confined in the same apartments with the 
 vilest criminals, and, like them, were loaded with chains. Suffer- 
 ing from diseases contracted by their confinement in the loath- 
 some dungeons and the insufficient food with which they were 
 furnished they were obliged to crawl painfully up long flights 
 of steps for the medical assistance which the Government vouch- 
 safed to give them; because the apartments which they occupied 
 were such that no physician would enter, out of regard for his 
 own health In such circumstances, it is not plain why any 
 physicians should be allowed to relievo them, if such a feat were 
 possible to medicine. Nor was this all. Thnnxrh it was the be 
 ginmng of the latter half of the nineteenth c^entury, some of 
 
^ 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 121 
 
 these offenders against the divine right of kings were subjected 
 to tortures which would have done credit to the Middle Ages. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's action was characterist-c. First making such 
 close and accurate observations as the jealousy of the Govern- 
 ment would permit, and thoroughly informing himself of the 
 extent of these outrages upon the liberty of the subject, he ad- 
 dressed himself to the Earl of Aberdeen, who, as we have seen 
 was regarded as the chief of the Peelite party, of which Mr! 
 Gladstone was so p-ominent a member. His reasons for taking 
 action ho carefully stated: as a member of the Conservative 
 party (with which the Peelites were still nominally classed) he 
 was concerned in the stability of all the established govern- 
 ments of Europe, aad the outrages perpetrated by the king would 
 surely lead to Eopublicanism ; but, more than this, Ferdinand 
 and his creatures had offended against the laws of humanity, 
 and all who loved the cause of humanity, of civilization, of 
 religion, of decency, must unite to condemn him and his actions. 
 The appeal was a stirring one; -nd when, shortly afterward, it 
 was followed by another from the same pen, the writer's wishes 
 were fully realized. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was careful to maKo his accusations against the 
 Neapolitan tyrant purely personal, and to avoid mixing up any 
 official, diplomatical, or political British agencies in them • and 
 this course had precisely the effect which he had looked for His 
 remonstrances came in the name of common humanity: he was 
 defending the right ofall men to liberty which has never been 
 forfeited by crime; and he did so, not as the representative of any 
 Government, but as a clear-sighted man, a warm-hearted liberal- 
 minded statesman. As such he was recognized, by the officers 
 of the British Goverment; and the popular interest in the Ne-i- 
 pol.tan prisons was voiced in the proceedings which were taken 
 by the Foreign Office. Mr. Gladstone's second letter did some- 
 thing more than merely reiterate the statements contained in 
 the first. They were broadened and deepened, until the case 
 which ho made out seemed altogether damning. :N^o public trial 
 had ever been accorded these unfortunates; and when a form 
 had been gone through with, the accuser had been one of the 
 judges, and had given the casting vote. Whatever the mind can 
 imagine as typical of tyranny in the treatment of p./^-npi 
 enemies, that, without exaggeration, seems from Mr. Gladstone's 
 two letters, and the specific statements contained m them to 
 
122 
 
*•• .•^fi.'"-..V :.■ -;.">' 
 
 ■3^; 
 
 >«-■'.•?:■'!-' 
 
 
 
 Gladstone I's. Disraeli. 
 
 128 
 
 ^ 
 i."^ 
 ^ 
 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 
 •vi 
 
 ^ 
 
 o> 
 
 s 
 
 I 
 
 have been the fate of those Neapolitans who had sought their 
 rights in the days of Garibaldi. And these statements, it is need- 
 less to add, were not the wild assertions which are sometimes 
 rife; they were all based upon the best authority; in some cases, 
 upon the results of his personal investigation ; in others, they 
 were so notorious that there was no attempt made to deny them 
 at any time. 
 
 Attention was drawn in the House of Commons to the state- 
 ments thus made and substantiated, and the question was direct- 
 ly put, whether the British Minister at Naples could not bo 
 instructed to interfere, to secure the more humane treatment of 
 the prisoners. But diplomacy does not admit of such a direct 
 course. The matter wrs one which affected only the internal 
 economy of an independent kingdom, and as such Great Britain 
 had no cause to interfere. At the same time, the matter was one 
 which men of feeling could not pass over; and though the Gov- 
 ernment could not directly act in this matter, the Foreign Sec- 
 retary said (and he was vociferously cheered when ho said it), 
 that he had sent copies of Mr. Gladstone's open letters to the 
 T^lnglJsh Ministers at all the courts of Europe, with instructions 
 to call the attention of tho Powers to the state of affairs thero 
 graphically described. 
 
 Of course the Neapolitan Government was far from being as 
 well pleased with this action of Palmerston's as the House of 
 Commons had been ; and determined to vindicate itself. There 
 had bc;en some an'^wors to Gladstone's letters published, but it is 
 noticeable that these content themselves with assertions which 
 are foreign to the subject, or praises of the virtues of Ferdinand, 
 who is gravely said to have been a very religious man. They 
 do not seem to have thought that Gladstone, the upholder of the 
 union of Church and State, believed in mixing religion and 
 politics so far that the latter was not entirely destitute of traces 
 of the influence of the former. 
 
 This was the first reply which the accuser thought worthy of 
 an answer; and this merely because it was an official utterance, 
 not because the arguments there brought forward were such as 
 to overthrow his own. Nine-tenths of the accusations were 
 tacitly admitted ; and the authorities which the Neapolitan Gov- 
 ernment invoked to disprove the others were poor and meager 
 compared with tho wealth of testimony which Mr. Gladstone had 
 adduced. Houdraitted what they clairacd, that in five iustancea 
 
124 
 
 Gladstone vs. .Disraeli. 
 
 ho had been mistaken ; but ho reiterated the charges which they 
 ha, not denied, and added proof to proof to convince the world 
 at large that more than twenty thousand men were suffering 
 from the tyranny of Ferdinand. The blunders of his crUics were 
 merc.lessly exposed. Their greatest blunder, according to the 
 .uthor of an anonymous pamphlet on the subject, which appeared 
 Jn i^bl. was in answering at all. 
 
 But no direct action was taken by the European Governmpnts 
 and Ferdinand cared nothing for mere opinions. Only the re' 
 membrance of these outrages was stored up in the hearts of men 
 and made them the more ready to look upon Garibaldi as the' 
 hand and brain which, in liberating Itah; from the dominion of 
 her petty tyrants, should do much for the cause of liberty 
 , throughout the world. Not until the last of December, 1858 
 does the Neapolitan Government seem to have taken any action 
 to amehorate the condition of their prisoners; ninety-one poli- 
 tical offenders then had their punishment commuted to perpetual 
 banishment; but it is a sufficient Commentary upon the treat- 
 ment which they had received, that fourteen of these had died 
 m their dunj. -^^ ., while others were too ill to be moved. 
 
 We have fo;.owed the conr.. of event, in the English Parlia- 
 ment during the greater part of this year, the visit to Naples 
 having preceded the passage of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill 
 To the story, thus to),, without interruption from the recountin.; 
 of events with which it had little connection, we have but to ad3 
 some statements regarding a change in the Mir \stry. Lord Pal 
 merston.so long connected with the Foreign Office, left it 'in 
 December, 1851. His retirement was not a voluntary one, as he 
 had given great offence by frequently acting without consulting 
 his superiors in office, or laying hi. plans of action before the 
 Queen. More than this, he had, both in public dispatches and 
 private conversation, expressed a most decided opinion in re 
 gard to the Prince-President of France, Louis Napoleon ; in dis- 
 tinct violation of the wishes of the Queen and of the Cabinet 
 
 Lord Jonn Russell resigned the premiership in February, 1852 
 and Lord Derby, who had but recently succeeded to that title' 
 and was better known as Lord Stanley, was appointed in his 
 place. Disraeh had happily christened this nobleman the -Ru- 
 pert of Debate," in allusion to his ability and his blunders; as 
 Pnnco Rupert frequently lost the battles which his headlonir 
 courage had almest won, by the mistakes which he made in th^ 
 
Oladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 125 
 
 tiso of his advantages. It is significant of the state of English 
 politics at tliis time, d.at Mr. Gladstone, who afterward virtually 
 drove this Ministry from power, could have had a place in it 
 if ho would have accepted it. 
 
 The new Ministry w- s not a strong one. Palmerstousaid that 
 it " contained two men a d a number of ciphers." The two men 
 were Derby and Disraeli; the others had neither ability or ex- 
 perience to recommend them. The old Duke of Wellingion, 
 who was at this time more than eighty, was very much interest- 
 ed in this Ministry, and anxious to know its personnel. Being 
 very deaf, his conversation with Lord Derby was heard over 
 the House of Lords. The Duke would inquire as to the appointee 
 to some particular office; the Earl would reply, " Who ? Who?" 
 The Duke would ask again, not hearing the unfamiliar names 
 with the same readiness as if they had been well-known to him ; 
 and ♦he same performance would bo repeated with the next name. 
 The story was told by those who heard the conversation, and 
 the new Government was irreverently dubbed the "Who? Who? 
 Ministry." 
 
 Mr. Disraeli wa ..e Chancellor of the Exchequer and at the 
 same time the leader of the House of Commons. But it has been 
 aptly said that his party was more afraid of his genius than of 
 the dullness of his colleagues. He was placed in a situation of 
 peculiar difficulty. The Conservatives claimed to have a con- 
 siderable majority in the House of Commons; they would per- 
 haps have a larger one in the next Parliament; but the Liberal 
 Ministry was nontiniiod in power solely for the reason that no 
 one was ready to take the reins of office out of their hands. 
 The disadvantage of being in a Ministry which cannot com- 
 mand a majority, was shared with all his colleagues ; but Mr. 
 Disraeli was undertaking a task for which ho had been thought 
 to display no aptitu le whatever. He had never before held'of- 
 fice; he was not creuited with any capacity for the mastery of 
 figures; and the clevcipcss of the speech with which he entered 
 upon the duties of his office was.a surprise to all - ho heard him. 
 The position o.f the Ministry upon the importu.it subject of 
 Protection was a rlrange one, and one which was only too likely 
 to involve it in difficulties. Lord Derby had indiscreetly dc- 
 clared that he did not re, ard the question as definitely settled 
 although it was now six years since the repeal of the Corn Laws,' 
 and the prosperity of the country had been increasing ever since 
 
r 
 
 I i 
 
 126 
 
Ghulxfonc r.<f. Disrnelt. 
 
 li>7 
 
 e 
 
 o 
 
 C^" 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 the effect of tho repeal hnd been felt. But Mr. Disrneli was by 
 no means of the saino opinion. lie saw, or.ly too clearly, that 
 tho position was an untenable one; and with n coolness which at 
 least bordered upon cffrontary, told tho IIouso of Commons that 
 ho had never attempted to reverse the principle of Free Trade. 
 This, however, was not until tho session which began in No\ em- 
 ber, 1852, when tho considerable losses with which tho Ministry 
 "i.id met in tho elections may have t- /hfc tho right honorable 
 gentleman what were tho ef 5Cts of re-opening tho question whii h 
 had so long been cor.siderci settled. 
 
 Tlio session had opened with eulogies upon tho Duke of Wel- 
 lington, who had ^ ^Ml in the previous September. Prominent 
 among theso speak >rs on tho hero of n, war so long past, we 
 find Mr. GIndstonu, who appears by this time to bo so far recog- 
 nized as tho leading speaker in the IIouso that he was expected to 
 speak on all sucu occasions. Tho peculiar dignity to which 
 'Mho Duke," as he was always called in these last yours of his life, 
 as if there were no other of that rank in tho country, had attain- 
 ed, -v/as well described by Mr. Gladstone: 
 
 "It may never be given to another subject of tho British 
 Crown to perform services so brilliant as ho performed j it may 
 never be given to another man to hold tho sword which was to 
 gain the ii ependenco of Europe, to rally tho nations around it, 
 and while a^igland saved herself by her constancy, to s; vo Eu- 
 rope by her example; it may never bo given to another man, 
 after having attained such eminence, after such an unexampled 
 series cf victories, to show equal moderation in peace as ho had 
 shown greatness in war, and to dcvoto tho remainder of his life 
 to tho cause of internal and external peace for the country which 
 he has so served j it may never bo given to another man to have 
 equal authority both with the Sovereign ho served, and with the 
 senate of which ho was to the end a venerated member ; it may 
 never be given to another man, after such a cp.reer, to preserve 
 even to the last tho full possession of those great faculties with 
 which ho was endowed, and to cany on tho services of one of 
 tho most important departments of tho State with unexampled 
 regularity and .aiccess, even to tho latest day of his l;fe." 
 
 Tho IIouso Avas at onro involved in discussions on tho question 
 of Free Trade ; a resolution was proposed, affirminir that the im- 
 proved condition of tho people was mainly duo to The repeal of 
 the duties in 1846; and although this was negatived, an amend- 
 
m 
 
 Gladstone vs. l)lsr, 
 
 'ceu. 
 
 gethc... wi,h t fo bo, tb "f !:,!^: °f. ""-'™'»<' competition, .„. 
 oo.t «„d i„o,.on.ed tlsm°2' .",?'"« •""■'' '""< '"""-"i-^hed the 
 
 - i>.o„„,,t about t,:' ^;^r ^; , : : -^ »■■"'■'- «f f-od, „„d 
 
 o<l by tl.o tromondo,,, mni"^,! „f f '''° ?"""■>'- ^"^ -"iTt- 
 "Hou.,0 of little over J 'wd,",°'"' ?""""■<•■" ""-^ «f'»™. i" 
 Oobatothat Mr. Dis.aol ,1^ ""'"". ■"■, I' --<"■■">« this 
 -inch rofereneo has al,- .l^,, Z,U TT^ '""™''»'» '" 
 'cngth of assaulting the memorof S ',,. "^ " ""-'""o ">» 
 more than the foll„„.„,° Tf ha, ,. ! "•"■'''' ^ ^■'- ^Lis was 
 
 than one of bis adb r nts was , e d '™"", """^ """"> ""« -""■■« 
 lifcnndeonvsoinpomi: :: , f^ """ " -"^-ation of his 
 
 arly in Decern hor Ar,. -n* i. , 
 I>".l«ct^ Hiss, h "ndcd"™ ■""«" '"■•"■'"■'^ i"^ fi-t 
 
 first budget had of co^,r,„ \ ' """''" "'"" "" '>°"'-^- His 
 
 lK.a ti„,e^.o p^T-oo ■;,,?;" :™r:V"--'''-'"«. -■<■■• '- bad „ot 
 c-s in that dfrocL," Tl w ''° " '"'' '"'' °f •>'» P""- 
 
 vomblecivcms, ^e", Ts oTletT r'^ """=' *''« -°^' '»- 
 and the House was ::;Z o ., Ht'l ."f ";^' °T """" «^P-'' 
 able man would present to H«," "I'la- this reraarfc- 
 
 «o favorable. He had ol , ^'" *'" """"■«°"-'i'io"» were not 
 .-cpreseuted ft, so I'o [, f ! ,' """"'' "''"'' '"' '""' """■• 
 bowbewastodotbr ^i o„rs ", Ir?,"""^,-'""' '"™"-"' """'' 
 itos and J.'.-ee Trade,-s wa rnr„ '"' "'"""■■""'S the Peel. 
 
 Tbo budget p.-oposeV;r..„":r p::tTt::;:?"" ""-" r- 
 
 ""dsng..r; to extend the incotne uL ,o f f ^""''"' ""'• 
 salaries in Ireland, to ,nake ,,„ T , « '"'' I"-°l'crty and 
 
 -n ; and to mal.e'son,rc:.Cs in :■:',"""" ''/ "^" ■™'- 
 t"c bouse ta. was also to bo o^::n;e ' ;-':e;"ea:: "" ""''"''' ' 
 
 ^^^^^i^:^^::-:^---^--^^ --P- 
 
 «ombered,hathe™ '"r- ^''''"f "'' """ '' ™"'" ''^ ■•"■ 
 ti.c ,nan ,vho l.^dso 1 .w;,'! ,:,:■• *'',° "'?"f"' "■"' "'- "as 
 
 be b.^ served, „„d J ^:^:^°'t^tT'' ^'"'^ 
 have been gi-eat durin.r hi. l,f, j . -^ ""^ "''' «C3m3 to 
 
 death. M,^ Disra i°„ e ' ' T, "" '""'"' '""« ""^ '■- 
 <-K'ks ft,, which ho h d al .ead^; h "7 "' "'"'" I""-™""' a'" 
 
 G-ham, who was Cked ,, '^ ^Z^"Vrf' '™™ 
 
 *- "--f cwn.o„s, a!,d wh„:^t;::;,t:'i^:rb;<: 
 
Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 129 
 
 111 
 
 that it was commonly said that a speech from him was worth 
 fifty votes to any measure. He then turned upon Sir Charles 
 Wood, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and leaning across 
 the table and directing his words full at him, said : "I care not 
 to be the right honorable gentlemtin's critic; but if he has learn- 
 ed his business, he has yet to learn that petulance is not sar- 
 casm, and that insolence is not invective." It was two o'clock 
 in the morning, but the members had no thought o^ sleep ; the 
 contest was too exciting for that; Mr. Disraeli had hardly ut- 
 tered the last sentence of his speech when Mr. Gladstone leaped 
 upon his feet to answer him. This debate upo^ the budget was 
 the first time that they had como into such bitter collision ; and 
 this second speech of Mr. Gladstone was burning with more 
 than the energy of the first. The House had been listening to 
 Disraeli with an interest rarely felt in the speeches of the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer; and when Gladstone arose it was 
 thought that after such a speech even he could make but little 
 impression. But they who judged so wore in the wrong. A yet 
 greater effect was produced by the reply of Mr. Gladstone,''alI 
 unpremeditated as it was ; and when the division was taken two 
 hours Irter, the Government was left in a minority of nineteen. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer left the building with a 
 friend ; us they looked out upon the streets, dim and grey with 
 
 the lights of the night which had not yet ended, and shining with 
 the rain which was falling steadily and drearily, ho remarked 
 coolly, as he buttoned up his coat: -It will bo an unpleasant 
 day for going to Osborne." Such was his only expression re- 
 garding the resignation which had been forced so early in his 
 ofi^cial career. 
 
 There was no other course for the Ministry, thus defeated up- 
 on their most important measure, to pursue; and that day the 
 resignation cf the various members was duly placed in Her 
 Majesty's hands. A few days afterward, the Coalition Ministry 
 was formed. The Earl of Aberdeen was Prime Minister Lord 
 John Russell Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Pal- 
 merston was at the Home Office, and Mr. Gladstone was Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer. Having made such a brilliant on- 
 slaught upon the late budget, and such a crushing expose of its 
 blunders, ho had now an opportunity of trying his own powers 
 at the task in which his rival had failed so disastrously. 
 
 Thus the chapter begins and ends with a conflict with Disraeli- 
 
130 
 
 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 a conflict which, as McCarthy observes, ended only when Dis- 
 raeli crossed the threshold of the House of Commons for the 
 last time, to take his place in the House of Lords as the Earl of 
 Beaconsfield. Perhaps the real antagonism of the men, who 
 represented such essentially different ideas, lasted longer than 
 this; until the Earl of Beaconsfield, the first and last to bear 
 the title, was carried out from his homo of Hughonden, its mas- 
 ter no longer, to rest beside that remarkable wife who was the 
 chief helpei in his many struggles. The life duel was carried 
 on both in and out of the House of Commons, but it is of the 
 former to which history will have most reference. The very 
 formation of the hall in which the House met emphasized the 
 antagonism. Although the scene of some of the most brilliant 
 debates of modern times and the cradle of British oratory, the 
 House is more like a committee-room, in point of size, than a 
 legislative assembly. For j'cars there have been over 600 mem- 
 bers and an attendance of 500 is quite common. But there is 
 only sitting accommodation for about 360, or at most 400, on 
 the floor of the House. There are neither tables nor desks for 
 the convenience of members, who are ranged on cushioned 
 benches with a minimum of space both as regards width and 
 leg room. Members wear their hats during the transaction of 
 business, being expected to uncover only when rising to address 
 the House or during the reading of a royal message. The bench- 
 es run up and down the Hall, »vith a space in the centre, and 
 thus ministerialists and members in opposition sit face to face on 
 either side of the aisle in front of the Speaker. The front row 
 on the Government side of tlie House is assigned to Cabinet 
 Ministers and others holding oflice. Disraeli, when Premier, 
 occupied the seat nearest the Speaker, but Gladstone always 
 favored a position a little farther down. The corresponding 
 bench on the Opposition side is occupied by the leader of the 
 Opposition and by ex-ministers. 
 
 Thus the leading party men sit very close to each other, but 
 are separated by the Historical table, on which stands the sym- 
 bolic maco, the oflficial documents and papers of the House, the 
 oath boy. and the Ministers' despatch boxes. If this table could 
 but speak and recount its wrongs, it would tell of scores, nay 
 thousands of vicious and vinlont blows, Gladstone has em.r)ha- 
 sized some of his brilliant efforts by means of blows with clench- 
 ed fists, such as could only be dealt by a man who is an athlete 
 
 ^ ^^ 
 
Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 
 
 181 
 
 nay 
 
 1 as well as a statesman; Disraeli has 
 also pounded it pretty badly. Once 
 the latter became so enraged in 
 the course of a word eonfliet with 
 Gladstone, that ho shouted out with 
 great vehemence, that he was thank- 
 ful the table divided them. 
 
 The mace is the most important 
 piece of furniture in this severely 
 simple looking hall. Its antiquity 
 is very great; it is borne before 
 the Speaker when he enters the 
 House and when he leaves it; it is 
 supposed by some to symbolize the 
 authority of the Crown, and its 
 presence on the table also indi- 
 cates that the House is in session. 
 When Cromwell forcibly dissolved a 
 disobedientlTouso, hodid so by coarse- 
 ly ordering his altendjints to "take 
 away this bauble," and the solemn and 
 imposing emblem wns for once dishon- 
 ored. It is in the conventionalized form 
 of a head wearing a crown, thus, per- 
 haps, signifying a supposed presence 
 of the Sovereign. There are several 
 maces, but the one in our illustration 
 is most commonly used, and probably 
 the most ancient. From the irn'tials 
 ''C. H.," repeatedly stamped upon it, 
 it is presumed to date from the reign 
 of either Charles I. or Charles IT, The 
 quality of the metal work is not of 
 the finest known in the history of the 
 goldsmith's artin England, being rath- 
 er inferior to the best examples. It is, 
 however, an interesting piece of plate, 
 and, like every antiq-ie article in the 
 House, is preserved vith the usual 
 British reverence for ago and prece- 
 dent. 
 
i 
 
 w 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MINISTRY OF ALL THE TALENTS. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's Early Political Faith— His Act of Self-denial— First Step 
 Toward Leaving the Conservative Party— House of Commons and the 
 New Chancellor of the Exchequer -Grows Eloquent Over a Dry Subject — 
 Debate on the Incomf Tax -Impending War— Will of the People Must 
 be Obeyed— Measures I'or Eaising Kevenue— Bitter Taunts from Disraeli- 
 Views of the Prince Consort— Miss Florence Nightingale -Th<3 Crimean 
 War— Impressive Scene in the House of Commons -New Ministry by 
 Lord Palmerston— Lord John Russell— Great Speech bv Mr. Gladstone- 
 Continuance of the War Debates. 
 
 'HEI^ Mr. Gladstone entered Parliament in 1832, he was 
 an ardent supporter of all those measures with which 
 the ultra Tories were then associated; he would have 
 condemned Eeform, perhaps, had he been in the previous Par- 
 liament ; as it was, he sat for what was really a pocket-borough, 
 and one which was not likely to be given up by its virtual own- 
 er, since he was one of the most stubborn anti-Eeformers in all 
 England. He was then an advocate of Protection ; he upheld 
 the union of Church and State, and boldly proclaimed his opin- 
 ion that the State had (or ought to have) a conscience ; he was 
 ready to fight to the death all contemners of the Established 
 Church of Ireland. With the latter feeling, and the changes 
 which it underwent, we shall have more to do hereafter; the 
 subject of the disestablishment of the Irish Church is one of such 
 importance, both in itself, and, what is of more moment to us, 
 as one of the main points of Mr. Gladstone's careei-, that we 
 shall consider that apart from nil other measures in the success 
 or defeat of which this most liberal minded of English states- 
 men has had a hand. 
 
 In his "Chapter of Autobiography," which is in the main a 
 defence of his change of opinion regarding the Irish Church, he 
 alludes to the three great measures which Sir Eobert Peel at 
 first vehementiv onnoand. hnt, nffftvwnrH wna ninnTifr +V>o fl..of +n 
 
 carry out — Catholic Emancipation, Parliamentary Eeform, and 
 Free Trade. Such changes, the writer argues, are due to a lack 
 
 182 
 
3 ' 
 1 I 
 
 
 I I 
 
 f^ 
 
The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 133 
 
 of foresight; n( ^ that the statesmen who have thus altered their 
 opinions possessed less of this desirable quality than their pre- 
 decessors who have been more consistent; but the enlarL^ement 
 of the governing class, the gradual transfer of political power 
 from groups and limited classes to the community, has render- 
 ed a much larger range necessary-a range greater than is pos- 
 sible to mere men. His further argument is even stronger than 
 this; admitting that such foresight were possessed by a states- 
 man — "^ 
 
 " The public mind is, to a great degree, unconscious of its own 
 progression ; and it would resent and repudiate, if offerod to its 
 mature judgment, the verj policy which after a while it will 
 gravely consider, and after another while enthusiastically em- 
 brace. "^ 
 
 This paragraph is the real defense which Gladstone makes, 
 and It IS the best that can be made, against those who upbraid 
 him for his change of principle. It should be noted that they 
 who do so are members of the party which he left, which has 
 felt his loss severely. Ho expressly disclaims all desire of de- 
 fending those who have made sudden modifications of the prin- 
 ciples which they have previously upheld, for too obvious rea- 
 sons; but his own political belief, though it may be radically 
 different from what it was when he entered public life, has 
 changed so gradually that it is plain to see the alterations are 
 the results of conviction. 
 
 As a proof of this, it is unnecessary to refer to more than one 
 instance, in that part of his career which has already been con- 
 sidered : his resignation from Sir Robert Peel's ministry in 1845 
 Commented on at the time as one of those rare instances in 
 which a public man really injures himself by an act of self-de- 
 n.al, It yet had its advantage as showing how entirely earnest he 
 was in any change which his convictions might undergo It 
 proved his sincerity then, and for all time to come. There i» ^-.. 
 view of the case, however, which must not be overlooked- ii 
 has been said that Mr. Gladstone is so skilled at argument,' so 
 well able to convince the doubtful of the truth of the point 
 which he supports, that he is often led to believe that his own 
 original position is untenable, simply by the force of the reasoning 
 whiehhooringstob.ur upon the weak points which all posi^ 
 tions nriust have. «' Ho can convince himself of anything which 
 he wishes to believe," is the not too flattering verdict of one of 
 

 1S4 
 
 TAe Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 his self-constituted judges ; it is a defect which is perhaps an os- 
 sontial element of a subtle rcasoner's mental constitution; but 
 this judgment, though it has a show of profundity, leaves the 
 question in exactly the same state as before ; the Liberals of the 
 present day will still hold that hp has always wished to believe 
 in those principles which are, according to them, at the basis 
 of all good government; while the Tories will express the op- 
 posite opinion. 
 
 A more scathing criticism would bo, that he has always man- 
 aged to persuade himself that the measure which would serve 
 him best was that which it was his duty to fupport, as the one 
 which would be the best for the country ; but since the day when 
 the London iVe^^^s recorded the first step which he took in a direc- 
 tion opposite to that in which he had been walking, and con- 
 demned the sacrifice as one which was far removed from wisdom, 
 no one has made this assertion. 
 
 In 1852 was taken the first decisive action toward leaving the 
 Conservative party. Hitherto his convictions might have changed 
 from time to time, but so had those of many of the Tory leaders; 
 in one case, at any rate, he had but followed Peel and the great 
 majority of his adherents; he had in all crises considered him- 
 self bound to support the policy advocated by the Conservative 
 chief; but now there was coming a period of uncertainty as 
 much in his own mind as in the minds of those about him ; per- 
 haps, indeed, his own doubts were sooner aroused, and more 
 sharply defined, than those of others; certainly he was off-ered 
 a position in a Conservative cabinet long after the beginning of 
 the period that we usually consider him a member of the oppos- 
 ing party. ' 
 
 His joining the Coalition Ministry of 1852 had no significance, 
 however, in this connection ; for the chief of that Government 
 was Lord Aberdeen, the leader of the Peelites; the Conserva 
 tiye members of that Cabinet certainly yielded no more than the 
 Liberals did, and Palmerston and Russell were thoroughly identi- 
 fied with that party, and continued to be so after the fall of 
 Aberdeen's administration. It was simply a temporary alliance 
 made necessary by the state of the great parties at that date. 
 
 The newly appointed ministers had to seek re-election, and in 
 this special contest Mr. Gladstone discovered, what ho could not 
 fail to have foreseen, that his tendencies to Liberalism were not 
 approved by the electors of the University of Oxford. His 
 

 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 135 
 
 seat was hotly contested, though the only opponent that could 
 be found for him was a gentleman who was merely the son of 
 his father. The father was Perceval, that Prime Minister who 
 in 1812 had been assassinated in the lobby of the House of Com- 
 mons; the son was so little known, that the Tiiiu vhich was 
 then a bettor friend to Mr. Gladstone and his ai..o^ than in 
 1887-8, sarcastically described him "a- a very near relative of 
 our old friend Mrs. Harris," and called upon his supporters to 
 prove his actual existence. But Mr. Gladstone's course, in regard 
 to the divisions upon ecclesiastical subjects, hud been very offen- 
 sive to many of the Oxonians; and his majority, even over this 
 unknown and untried man, could hardly be called a manifestation 
 of grout popularity. Perhaps a more eloquent testimony to the 
 esteem in which he was then held by the thinkers is the fact that 
 of the one hundred and one professors whose votes were record- 
 ed, and of whom twelve were neutral, no less than seventy-four 
 voted for Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's first feat in connection with the important of- 
 fice which he now held was the maturing of a plan for the re- 
 duction of the National Debt. Supported by the prominent Ead- 
 ical members of the House, as well as by those who ordinarily 
 adhered to the Government, this plan was adopted and put into 
 immediate operation. Before the outbreak of the war which be- 
 gan a year later, the debt had been reduced more than eleven 
 millions of pounds. 
 
 Ten days later, the House of Commons sat spell-bound, listen- 
 ing to the schemes of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for deal- 
 ing with the finances of the country. The expression sounds like 
 that bitterest of all sarcasm, which condemns by extravagant 
 praise ; but it is the universal testimony that it was the bare truth. 
 Never has there been any other Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 who could thus entrance the House with his arrays of fi-^ures; 
 but the depths of philosophy from which Mr. Gladstone builtup 
 the foundations of his policy have rarely been fathomed by oth- 
 ers, who have generally been content with a much more super- 
 ficial structure. Although he sT)oke for five hours upon this oc- 
 casion, the House followed him throughout with unabated inter- 
 est. During the whole time, his command of words never once 
 failed him; and each abtsruse financial detail was clothed with 
 the language which best fitted it for presentation in the most 
 favorable guise to the minds of his listeners. 
 
1 
 
 I 11 
 
 i! 
 
 Lobby of the House of Commom. The Speaker Entering the Hall, 
 yyn 'f^i'th the ISIace Borne Before Him. 
 
 i! 
 
Wy. 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 137 
 
 The most important point which was touched upon in this budg- 
 et and the speech in which it was presented to the House, was the 
 Income Tax. This duty, which had been proposed for the first 
 time in the days of Pitt, to enable the Government to meet the 
 expenses arising out of the Napoleonic wars, had come to bo re- 
 garded as a necessity by the financiers, though there was much 
 dissatisfaction with it outside of the small circle of those who 
 were charged with ♦^o settlement of the national expenses. It 
 was certain that its a.olition would lead to increased prosperity, 
 if only the period between the present and that future when the 
 effects of its abolition should be clearly felt could be bridged; 
 and Mr. Gladstone showed that this was not impossible. The 
 tax was not to be done away with at once, but being continued 
 for a period of two years, and after that gradually lessened, it 
 would have disappeared by the beginning of 1860. In that year, 
 the Chancellor argued. Parliament would find it possible to 
 dispense with the Income Tax altogether. The trouble had here- 
 tofore been, not that there was no attempt made to deal with 
 this duty ; but that all the action which had been taken in con- 
 nection with it had been such as to unsettle the public mind 
 with reference to it; whatever was done now, he told them, must 
 be bold and decisive. 
 
 An amendment affirming thnt the continuance of the Income 
 Tax was unjust and impolitic was brought forward by Sir E. 
 Bulwer-Lytton, and warmly supported by Mr. Disraeli, who 
 seized the opportunity of making a personal attack upon Lord 
 John Eussell for having joined the Coalition Ministry, and thus 
 deserting the Whig party, as the speaker claimed, for an alliance 
 with the former followers of Peel. In that portion of his speech 
 which related directly to the matter under consideration, the ex- 
 Chancellor said that the proposals of his successor added to the 
 burdens on land, while they lightened those which pressed upon 
 particular classes ; and with that happy faculty for using striking 
 phrases which had always distinguished him, he added that he 
 could see no difference, so far as the danger of a system of privi- 
 leged classes was concerned, between a pi'iviicged noble and a 
 privileged tobacconist. Mr. Cobden and Mr. Hume supported the 
 amendment, while Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Lowe took part in this 
 animated debate on the side of the Government. Nor was Eus- 
 sell silent; but in well chosen words showed the various incon- 
 sistencies of which Mr. Disraeli had been guilty, in his former 
 

 138 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talen-o. 
 
 schemes and present attitude toward the Income Tax ; and closed 
 with a punogyrio upon the author of the present plan, saying that 
 he was to bo envied among English Finuiico Ministers. This ic 
 the second time that wo find this ardent Whig speaking in warm 
 praise of Mr. Gladstone, before the tribunal to which they both 
 looked for approval of their political course. 
 
 The ministerial scheme for the continuance and partial exten- 
 sion of the Income Tax, to be followed by its gradual diminution 
 and final abolition, was adopted by a considerable majority. 
 That the prophecies of Mr. Gladstone regarding the condition 
 in which the country would be in 1860 were not fulfilled, was 
 due to no lack of foresight; the cause of the increased expendi- 
 ture was one which, dopenJing as it did upon the action of other 
 Governments, could not be foretold by human agency. The cloud 
 which presaged the storm of the next year was not visible in 
 1852 to the naked eye. 
 
 It was at the beginning of 1853 that it first became certain that a 
 European war was the only meank of deciding between the 
 claims of the Czar and the unwillingness of the Sultan to grant 
 those claims. The trouble grew out of the desire of Eussia to 
 protect the interests of the Greek Church in the Holy Land ; but 
 the original cause of the trouble was soon lost sight of. Various 
 reasons were assigned for the part which England took in this 
 conflict; itwassaid by some that she was anxious to protect Tur- 
 key, solely to secure the safety of her Indian dominions; it was 
 said by others that seeing a contest between a strong and a weak 
 country, she was prompted by chivalry and generosity to inter- 
 fere in behalf of the weaker. Such were the extreme views of the 
 reason for war; as in all cases of the kind, neither one is alto- 
 gether true, or wholly false ; but the real reason lies midway be- 
 tween, and partakes of both. 
 
 It was not until the middle of the year that actual hostilities 
 began. It was still hoped, as late as October, that war might be 
 averted, though the Czar's troops had taken possession of Mol- 
 davia and Wallachia three months before. At the beginning of 
 October, however, the Sultan formally declared war. The popu- 
 lar voice in England was altogether against the Czar, who was 
 looked upon as menacing the libert'es of P^urope by his efforts 
 to overide Turkey. The Ministry could not long delay decisive 
 action upon the question of whether active support should be 
 given to the Ottomans, 
 
The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 189 
 
 Tho question had donbtloss boon fully discussed at those mys- 
 terious meetings in Downing Street of which i.i." niiiiutes are ever 
 itoptj but there seems to hiive been no immediate announcement 
 of policy until after tho 12th of that month. At that date, Mr. 
 Gladstone went to Manchester, to attend tho unvailing of a 
 statue to Sir Eobert Peel. Tho country was in a state of greatex- 
 citoment, and meetings and conferences for and against the war 
 were being held everywhere. Loder such circumstances, the 
 utterances of this eloquent member ov' tho AdrainiLlnit'.on wore 
 looked for with the keenest expectation. 
 
 His speech was unequivocal as to tho views o*'*! > Government. 
 Russia threatened to override all tlio other Pow^i.<, and prove a 
 source of danger to the rest of the world; and the overthrow of 
 tho Ottoman Empire must be a blow to England, as well as to 
 other countries. But tho Government desired peace, if possibi 
 he reminded them that tho intrigue, delay and chicanery whicu 
 too often attend negotiations arc far less to bo dreaded than war; 
 and rebuked the inconsiderate impatience of those who looked 
 only at tho meretricious glory which a war might bring. To save 
 tho country from a calamity which would deprive tho nation of 
 subsistence and arrest the operations of industry, ho said, the 
 Ministry "have persevered in exercising that self-command and 
 self-restraint, which impatience may mistake for indifference, fee- 
 bleness, or cowardice, but which are truly tho crowning greatness 
 of a great people, and do not evince -'-'i.t of readinesb to 
 
 vindicate, w^hen the time comes, the I > .-.: this country." He 
 expressly stated that the Governmenr. , ^ not engaged in mnin- 
 taining tho independence and integrity of tho Ottoman Empire ; 
 and referring to tho anomalies of tho Eastern Empire, and the 
 probabilities of its future, disclaimed all wish on tho part of the 
 British Government to do more than protect tho interests of all 
 by curbing the ambition of one. Thia disclaimer, coming full 
 twenty-five years before the date of the Bulgarian atrocities, 
 shows conclusively that some of his critics wlio have ventured 
 -statements regarding his attitude on the Eastern question have 
 been mistaken in tho premises drawn from bis actions in 1853. 
 
 But the moderation of ho Ministers was not met by a similar 
 feeling on tho part of the people. Their voice was still for war, 
 and when, after many endeavors on the part of England and oth- 
 er powers to negotiate i peace, the British Government declared 
 war against Eussia, the popular satisfaction was unbounded. 
 
140 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 li • 
 
 I 
 
 Even Sifter this decisive step had been taken, the Powers hesi- 
 tated, and expres>.od their willingness to enter into an armistice 
 at once, if tho Czar slunved any inclination to settle the matter 
 peaceably. But Nicholas persisted in tho course which he had 
 marked out for himself, whicli nothing but death ended for him, 
 and only defeat terminated for his successor and his people. 
 
 A considerable party in England were bitterly opposed to the 
 war, and a deputation from the Peace Society actually went to 
 St. Petersburg to interview the Czar. As Mr. Molcsworth puts 
 it, Nicholas " had already decided on the coarse he would pur- 
 sue, and neither imperial nor Quaker remonstrances could turn 
 him from it." Prominent among tho advocates of peace was John 
 Bright, who was so sternly opposed to war that, even after it had 
 begun, and the country was beginning to feel the distress occas- 
 ioned by it, he would have nothing to do with the measures in- 
 tended to alleviate that distress. Mr. Gladstone was as earnest- 
 ly desirous as any one of avoiding the horrors which hostilities 
 would bring upon tiie country, but when once it was seen to be 
 inevitable, he bent all his energies to do the best that he could 
 under the circumstaiices. Perhaps Bright's course was the more 
 consistent, especially for one reared among the non-combatant 
 Quakers; but a otatosman Avho would be perfectly consistent 
 would ofter. find himself in the wrong, unless ho possessed om- 
 nipotence to mould the minds aud direct the wills of men. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had expressed his intention of resigning if a 
 war became inevitable ; but the whole trouble came on so gradu- 
 ally that he *'ound his Government involved in the contest before 
 there had been anything which should give warrant for that step. 
 Much as Mr. Gladstone desired to prevent war, if poscible, even 
 he was forced to see, ' ith his chief, that the will of the peop)- 
 nuist bo obeyed. It was not the Queen, it was not tho Ministry, 
 it was not the House of Lords or of Commons, that declared 
 war against Kussia in 1^53 ; they were but the means by which 
 the people of Great Britain made their protest against the over- 
 whelming power of tho Czar being further extended. 
 J War had been declared, and the Ministry had to make tho best 
 of it. The chiof burden fell upon the Chanceller of the Ex- 
 chequer, who saw tho schemes so carefully proparca for the re- 
 duction of taxation swept away at one breath. Tho surplus 
 which was to have been a valuable aid in reducing the Income 
 Tax must be diverted from that use, and applied to warlike pur- 
 
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The Ministry of All the Talents, 
 
 141 
 
 posos ; the Income Tax, the Malt Tux, nTid tho Spirit Duties, 
 must all bo increased, with no prospect of their reduction for 
 years to come. But with a courage rai'cly manifested by Finance 
 Ministers in time of war, when the resources of the country are 
 always crippled, and taxes are harder than ever to pay, he pro- 
 posed to pay for the war out of the current revenue, provided 
 that not more than ten millions sterling would be required, in 
 addition to the usual expenditure. Taxes would of course be 
 increased, but at the close of the war the country would be free 
 to resume the course of prosperity which had been interrupted 
 
 Bar of the House. 
 
 by it, clear of debt, so often a long enduring bitter after-taste of 
 tho glory that may have been acquired. 
 
 Mr. Disraeli opposed this plan, which the Prince-Consort char- 
 acterized as "manly, statcsmanllko. and lioncst." Tho Tory was 
 opposed to tho increase of taxos, but would rather advocate bor- 
 rowing, by which means, he argued, tho burden of the war 
 would fall less heavily upon tho people, the expense being paid 
 at lunger intervals. But his course, which ministers have too 
 often pursued because it is tho most likely to secure their pop- 
 ularity, was not approved by the country at large. Tho people 
 
>,y-w-. r..,^. , 
 
 i^ '\ 
 
 .*? ^?i 
 
 
 f[ 
 
 I 
 
 142 
 
 r/ie Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 saw the wisdom of Gladstone's plan, and it was everywhere 
 endorsed. What was of more immediate importance, as afford- 
 ing him the opportunity of putting the plan into practice, the 
 House of Commons approved it by a large majority. 
 
 But before the division took place, tl>ere were some bitter 
 taunts from Mr. Disraeli ; and his language was such on one oc- 
 casion ti.at he was reminded that no crifcism should be pro- 
 nounced upon the ministerial policy unless he were prepared to 
 propose a vote of no confidence. This he declined to do, but as- 
 serted that, while he should not vote against the necessary ap- 
 propriations, being bound to support Her Majesty in all just 
 and necessary wars, he was not prepared to admit that this was a 
 necessary war. Had the Cabinet been united, he claimed, it 
 would not have been forced upon thom ; but it was a Coalition 
 Ministry, and that act detracted from its strength at such critical 
 moments. To this speech Mr. Gladstone replied. The conclu- 
 sion of Mr. Disraeli's argument hk denounced as illogical and rc- 
 orsant • and showed that the reasons which he gave for not pro- 
 posing a vote of no confidence (the lack of unity of opinion re- 
 garding the war, which he alleged was the -ase among the Min- 
 isters), was the very reason why he should have taken that 
 course'. The remainder of his speech was a vindication of his 
 policy, and an appeal to be sustained. 
 
 Early in May we find him again urging the necessity of pay- 
 ing the expenses of the war out of the current revenue, and de- 
 nouncing that attempt to conciliate the people, which Mr. Dis- 
 raeli had made by promising the abolition of taxes without hav- 
 ing made any provision for fulfilling his word. He rehearsed 
 the difficulties through which the Napoleonic wars had been car- 
 ried on and recalled to their minds how enormous were the du- 
 ties which were imposed by Pitt, and how cheerfully the burden 
 was borne; he reminded them that even the war had not inter- 
 rupted the prosperity of the" country to any considerable ex- 
 tent as the constant increase of the imports showed; and ex- 
 plained his plans with a minuteness which need not here be im- 
 itated The speech took the chiefs of the Opposition by sur- 
 rpise accustomed as they were to Mr. Gladstone's powers; and 
 the division showed an unusually large majority fo.- the Mniistry. 
 
 A few days later, Mr. Disraeli made yet another effort to 
 arouse the feeling of the House against Mr. Gladstone's admin- 
 istration of the finances. Inaccurate and deceptive statements, 
 

 *1f 
 
 m 
 
 •S ?5' r 
 
 M^^^^ "■^•'n.^^ immw 
 
 TAe Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 143 
 
 ho said, had boon made in successive budgets, fallacions estimates 
 given of the cost of the Avar, and delusive announcements made 
 regarding the aids that would bo required to meet tlie growing 
 charges upon the revenue. The Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 was boldly accused of incompetence, not only in one instance, 
 
 Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 but in many. ]ir. Gladstone replied to each of these charges in 
 turn, his speech followed closoly by those who were in sym- 
 pathy with him; and on the division the majority fcr the Min- 
 istry caused the collapse of all eiforts to oppose the budget. 
 
144 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 ii!! 
 
 Mr. Disraeli had not yet given up his opposition to the gov- 
 ernment, however, but toward the end of July again severely at- 
 tacked the policy of the Ministry. Lord John Russell had moved 
 a vote of credit of three million sterling for the expenses of the 
 war, and this became, by the opposition of Mr. Disraeli, a vote 
 of confidence. A great debate was confidently expected, but the 
 courage of the Opposition gave way as the time approached, and 
 they dared not imperil the existence of the Ministry at such a 
 juncture. The amendment requesting Her Majesty not to pro- 
 rogue Parliament until the matter was settled was negatived 
 without a division and Parliament was prorogued Aug. 12th. 
 
 There were some hopes of a peaceful settlement of the diflScul- 
 ty at the beginning of 1854 ; but though Austria and Prussia had 
 promised their decided support, their defection when the time 
 came for such action left matters as they were at first. The war 
 had not yet begun in earnest, but by the middle of the year 
 there was no longer any hope of peace. A combined army of 
 English, French and Turks marched upon Sebastopol early in 
 September, there to begin the siege so memorable in the history 
 of the war. 
 
 But though the war continued as popular as ever, there were 
 some symptoms that showed, at this very time, that the Ministry 
 which had declared the war was beginning to lose its popularity. 
 There were many reasons why such a Cabinet should lose its 
 strength. In the first place, its very constitution forbade the 
 hope of a long continuance in that harmony which is so neces- 
 sary to a Government. In regard to this, there have been two 
 statements made, which could scarcely be reconciled, were they 
 both given without qualification ; and it is difficult to decide 
 which is the better authority. Mr. Martin, the author of the 
 Life of the Prince Consort, a biography for which the Queen 
 herself furnished many of the materials, and for the statements 
 in which she is really responsible, the work having been pre- 
 pared under her supervision, says positively that no cordial un- 
 animity existed b"tween the Peelito m.embersof the cabinet and 
 their colleagues; Mr. Gladstone denies that there was any dis- 
 cord among the Ministers ; but, adds the right honorable gentle- 
 man, in a clause which serves to reconcile this denial with the 
 ..«! a:^», ^f +Kp ofh"^ '< riffa fhpvft were without doubt in the 
 
 II III I ill a LIU 11 V^l 111'-- • !l II> ; J li-„ 
 
 imposing structure, butthey were dueentirely to individual views 
 or pretensions, and in no wuy to sectional antagonism." When 
 
The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 145 
 
 wo consider that Palmerston was in this Ministry, we can see 
 verj cleprly that these personal differences of opinion might be 
 made a serious matter. 
 
 Whutover was the true extent of these differences, the fact that 
 there were such was speedily noised abroad, and perhaps much 
 more iniide of the report than was warranted by the facts. At 
 any rate, it was generally believed that there were serious dis- 
 agreements among the Ministers, and this gave rise to a feeling 
 of uncertainty in the House of Commons. The followers of the 
 Government, says Mr. Martin, did not hesitate to attack the 
 Prime Minister openly in the House; nor was he always sup- 
 ported as warmly by his colleagues as the absent Premier ex- 
 pects to be. 
 
 The defeat of the ministry was delayed for some time by the 
 necessity of action upon a secondary matter connected with the 
 conduct of the war. , This was the management of the hospitals, 
 which were grossly neglected by those in charge of them. An 
 ample supply of medical and other stores had been sent out from 
 England, but they lay rotting in the holds of the vessels which 
 had carried them out, or stored away in places where they were 
 not wanted. The men were simply dj'ing of exhaustion, while 
 provisions had been despatched in abundance. Under such cir- 
 cumstances. Miss Florence Nightingale, who had become well- 
 known in London for her enlightened, skillful and self-denying 
 benevolence, was induced to go out to take charge of the hospi- 
 tals; an almost dictatorial authority, which could override all 
 red-tapeism, being given her. U nder her management, chaos was 
 reduced to order, and the wounded and sick received the care 
 of which they were so sorely in need. 
 
 Parliament was called together shortly before Christmas, and 
 after a session lasting eleven days, adjourned for a month. But 
 in this short session it accomplished more business than had ever 
 been dispatched within a similar period, in the memorj'' of living 
 man. The most important measure brought forward was per- 
 haps that providing for tlie enlistment of foreign soldiers. This 
 provoked a keen debate upon the war and the Ministry's con- 
 duct of it. Mr. Bright maintained that the English were fight- 
 ing in a hopeless cause and for a worthless ally ; Mr. Disraeli an- 
 nounced that ho should oppose the measure a' 
 
 )pp( 
 
 ^ery stage ; 
 
 painted the situation at the Crimea in the darkest colors. The 
 course of the Ministry was defended by Lord John Eussell and 
 
 lO 
 
'MI 
 
 !Si 
 
 146 
 
 The Ministry of All the 7\dents. 
 
 Lord Palmorston. Similar uttncks wero made in the House of 
 Lords, and Lord Abordoon had all ho could do to answer them. 
 When Parliament mot at the beginning of 1855, Mr. Roebuck 
 gave formal notice that ho should move for the appointment of 
 a select committee to inquire into the condition of the army be- 
 fore Sobastopol, and into the conductof those departments of the 
 Government whoso duty it was to minister to the wants of the 
 army. This was a direct challenge to the Government. Lord 
 John Eussell, convinced that the Ministry could not stand before 
 such an attack, tendered his resignation at once. This was look- 
 ed upon as ])artaking something of the nature of cowardice; he 
 should have braved out the storm with them, thought his collea- 
 gues ; and one of them, the Duke of Newcastle, oft'ered to make 
 himself the scapegoat for the Ministry ; an ofler M'hich was not 
 entirely Avithout reason, as he was the Secretary of War. After 
 much discussion, hv. wcver, it was resolved that the remaining 
 members of the cabinet should l.old together as long as the House 
 of Commons would permit. Mr. Roebuck's motion came up in 
 due time, and the Minister of war, Mr. Herbert, attempted to 
 stem the tide by the assertion that the existing evils had been 
 greatly overrated, and that many improvements had already 
 tiikon place. But the effect which this mild speech might possi- 
 bly have had was totally lost when the reply to it was heard. 
 This was a speech by Mr. Stafford, who told of the things that 
 ho had himself seeti j and excepting from censure Miss Nightin- 
 gale and her assistants, drew such a picture of suffering and 
 neglect as could not bo equalled by the imagination. 
 
 To this speech Mr. Gladstone was the one to rej)ly. If the Op- 
 position had expected the resignation of Lord .John Russell would 
 be followed by that of his colleagues, this address gave them dis- 
 tinctly to Uiiderstand that they wero mistaken. After giving 
 some short history of the defection which had so recently taken 
 place, not without courteous allusion to the encomium which Lord 
 John had recentlj' bestowed upon him, the speaker proceeded to 
 characterize a Ministry which could resign under such circum- 
 stances, or without a direct intimation from the House of Com- 
 mons. If by thus resigning they shrank from a judgment of 
 the House upon their past acts, what sort of epitaph should be 
 written over their remains ? He himself would write it thus: 
 
 "Here lie the dishonored aslies of a Ministry which found 
 England at peace and left it at war, which was content to enjoy 
 
y^ 
 
 &■-.' 
 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 tho emoluments of office and to wio'd the scepter of power bo 
 long as no miiH bad tho courage to question their existence. 
 They saw tho storm gathering over tho country ; tiiey heard tho 
 agonizing accounts which were almost daily received of tho 
 stftto of tho silk and wounded in tho East. These things did not 
 move thorn. But so soon as tho Ilonorable Member for Sheffield 
 raised his hand v.o point tho thunderbolt, they became conscience 
 stricken with v. «onso of guilt, and, hoping to escape punishment, 
 they ran away tx t: duty." 
 
 This rebuke, strangely at variance with tho studied courtesy 
 which custom obliged him to use in his direct refcrenco to the 
 man who had run away 
 from duty, was received 
 with tumultuous cheers 
 by a considerable portion 
 of tho House. Wlien the 
 excitement had subsided, 
 Mr. Gladstone proceeded, 
 lie showed conclusively 
 that tnere had been exag- 
 gerations as to tho state 
 of tho army; and that 
 matters were improving, 
 as Mr. Herbert had al- 
 ready told them. Tho 
 adoption of Mr. Roebuck's 
 motion would paralyze 
 the Government, and 
 throw things back into 
 that very state of chaotic 
 confusion from which 
 they were just beginning 
 to emerge. Tho speech 
 was a powerful one, and 
 
 Sidney Herbert. 
 
 produced a telling effect upon tho House ; but tho advantage 
 thus gained was fur from being sufficient for tho needs of the 
 Ministry. Mr. Disraeli attacked tho war policy of tho Govern- 
 ment and announced that ho should bo obliged to give his veto 
 against *-'a deplorable administration j" Lord John Russell at- 
 tempted tojustify his course in resigning, and Lord Palmerston 
 made an energetic and brilliant defense of the Government; but 
 
 H."^, 
 
^ymu^f:i^i^j¥:k-^>m*fj 
 
 
 ^ ■ ■^^m^si0»r-.^'mh:^m^^:^^w^^^fmm 
 
 148 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 * i! 
 
 the tide had sot too strongly against the Coalition, and no ^.o- 
 qiience could save it, 
 
 "Every one knows," says Justin McCarthy, "what a scone us- 
 ually r .kes place when a Ministry is defeated in the House of 
 '"'om.nons — cheering again and again renewed, counter cheers of 
 defiance, wild exultation, vehement indignation, a whole whirl- 
 pool of emotions seething in that little hall in St. Stephen's." 
 Such is the ordinary scene, as described by one who has fre- 
 quently been r, participant; but this was decidedly extraordin- 
 ary. Wiien the result of the division was announced, says 
 Molesworth, *< the House seemed to bo surprised and almost 
 stunned by its own act; there was no cheering; but for a few 
 , moments a dead silence, which was followed by a burst of de- 
 risive laughter." Never before had a Ministry fallen by jo de- 
 cisive a vote ; the vote in favor of the motion was three hundred 
 and five; against it, one hundred and forty-eight. In other 
 words, what was virtually a vote of no confidence showed that 
 the Ministers could not command the suffrage of one-thii'd the 
 members of the House. 
 
 The resignation of Lord Aberdeen and his colleagues was an- 
 nounced in the House of Commons Feb. 1st, 1855. Speculation 
 had already been rife as to the next Prime Minister. The Queen 
 thought to answer the question which was in all men's minds by 
 sending for Lord Derby, thus recognizing the principle that in 
 time of war the Conservative party is naturally the leader of the 
 national councils. Lord Derby at once undertook the task, and 
 proceeded to form his cabinet. The one man who was essential to 
 it was Lord Palmerston ; in spite of the faults which ho made no 
 effort to conceal, and which made it so difficult for both super- 
 iors and subordinates to get along with him, he had some very 
 essential powers of mind in these troublous times. He certainly 
 knew his own mind, and saw his way clear before him ; he pos- 
 sessed a fund of common sense, which was not to bo baffled by 
 those artificial beliefs that have grown up in the minds of the 
 world; when he was Home Secretarj^, for instance, the Presby- 
 tery of Scotland had sent to ask him whether it would not be 
 advisable, in view of the cholera which was threatened, to ap- 
 point a national fast day ; Palmerston replied, with all thegrav^- 
 ity which the occasion demanded, that the laws which Provi- 
 dence has ordained for the government of this world require us 
 to avoid such diseases by rigid attention to the cleanliness of our 
 

 MR. AND IVlRG. GLADSTONt 
 

 %s 
 
 ^'KL-d 
 
 
 "■ "I 
 
 
 J , H 
 If- •« 
 
 '-*.., 
 
The Minmtry of AU the Talents. 
 
 149 
 
 habitations and thoir surroundings, and advised them that if the 
 c. ies were not kept in proper sanitary condition, all t')o fasting 
 and prayer would not suffice against the dreaded scourge; and 
 there are many instances of such answers, which, while they are 
 l»ased on truth and good sense, were yet offensive to the persons 
 to whoiii th(!y were addressc J, and often shocked the minds of 
 others. Lord Palmcrston was clear-sighted and far-sighted ; but 
 in that involuntary adjustment of the mental sight to the dis- 
 tan<^ bject which ho was engaged in examining, his eye failed to 
 take in those particulars which require a shorter range of vis- 
 ion. In ridding himself of prejudice, he had unconsciously, and 
 perhaps unavoidably, done violence to those sympathetic fVicul- 
 ties which enable us to judge the acts of others rgt equitably, 
 by finding what their motives most probably were. Palmcrston 
 never allowed for any diflference between himself and others; 
 were he in a given position, such an act could only be dictated by 
 such a motive ; that moti.e therefore must be the one which act- 
 uated the man who had decided upon that course. His lev- 
 ity was not intended to be offensive to the men whom he an- 
 swered ; he could not understand how it could be so ; and thus 
 he kept on considering gravely those questions which were sub- 
 mitted to him, and answering them jocosely. 
 
 But in spite of all the offense that he had given, both by word 
 and action, this man was so essential to the stability of a Con- 
 servative Ministry that Disraeli agreed to waive all claim to the 
 leadership of the House of Commons, if that would induce the 
 most eminent of Irish peers to cast in his lot with the L»erbyad- 
 ministration. While the answer of Lord Palmcrston was still 
 awaited, or perhaps at the same time that the offer had been 
 made to him. Lord Derby tendered places in his cabinet to Mr. 
 Gladstone and Mr. Herbert, the late Minister of War. These 
 three members of the late Government intimated to Lord Derby 
 th.at they could only extend to him an independent support. 
 That nobleman accordingly waited upon her Majesty, and inform- 
 ed her of the result of his efforts. 
 
 "What is an independent support?" asked the Queen, to 
 whom the phrase was probably new, anr' .ertainly seemed con- 
 trad ictoi'v. 
 
 "Madam," replied Derby, "an independent support is, like 
 an independent Member of Parliament, one that cannot be de- 
 ponded upon." 
 
 a:|L 
 
160 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 Kb-: iJf; il 
 
 This explanation seems to have made the m«ttcr clear to the 
 royal mind, and Derby was relieved from the task to which he 
 proved unequal. In accordance with that custom which pre- 
 scribes that the tender of thip, offirfc should bo made to members 
 of the great parties in aiternat':>n, Lord John Eussell wj^s sum- 
 moned to the Queen's assisto^ce. But his resignation from i, Min- 
 istry vrhich was in imminent danger had brought discredit up- 
 on him in the eyes of his followers, and he was obliged to con- 
 fess his inability. There was but one other in whos9 oxpeinenco 
 and ability there wis sumcient confidence to warrant his being 
 placed at the head of aflfiiirs, and the post of the First Lord of 
 the Treasury was tendered to Yiscount Palmerston. 
 
 On February 6th, the announcement was formally made that 
 Lord Palmorston had formed his Ministry. In th:g Cabinet, 
 most of the members of the Aberdeen Groyernmeut were their 
 own successors; the chief changes were the substitution of Pal- 
 mcrston's name for that of Lord Aberdeen, and of Lord Pan- 
 niure's for the Duke of Newcastle. Mr. Gladstone retained the 
 post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The appointment of Lord 
 Panmure, like the accession of Palmerston himself to power, 
 argi'cd a much more vigorous conduct of the war; for both of 
 these men wore ardent advocates of the struggle in the East, 
 and replaced men who were desirous of peace though at great 
 cost. Palmerston, indeed, with his accustomed independence of 
 action, had spoken in favor of war, and had caused those journ- 
 als whoso utterances he largely controlled, to advocate it, even 
 while the Ministry of which ho was a member deprecated a re- 
 sort to actual hostilities. This was essentially a War Ministry. 
 The Eocbuck motion, which had caused the resignation of 
 Lord Aberdeen, had been carried, as we have already recorded; 
 and the committee of inquiry for -;hich 't called had been ap- 
 pointed. The new Ministry was thus placed in a situation of 
 some difficulty at the very beginning of its existence. Lord Pal- 
 merston was of the opinion that the Grovernment could not re- 
 sist the investigation demanded by so largo a majority of the 
 House of Commons, and by the whole people as well ; some of 
 the members of his Cabinet were resolutely opposed to the ap- 
 pointment of a committee vested with such powers. The takin/^ 
 of this matter out of the hands of the Government wnis establish- 
 ing a precedent which in the future, no ma+ter what the circum- 
 stances, it would be impossible to sot aside. Other objeetior:! 
 

 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 151 
 
 there were, but this was the one advanced by Mr. Gladstone, and 
 the one which insists upon the constitutional principle involved 
 with the most earnestness; the others conccr.iing themselves 
 mainly with the objections to the committee on less general 
 grounds. Lord Palmerston thought it would be sufficient to 
 change the personnel of the committee, and substitute mem- 
 bers selected by the Government; Mr. Roebuck accepted the 
 altered list, but the dissatisfied Ministers declined to do so. 
 In consequence of this disagreement wi'h the head of the 
 Government, three of the ablest and most distinguished mem- 
 bers of the Cabinet resigned their positions, and their places 
 were at once filled by members of tho political party to which 
 the Premier belonged. Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone 
 and Mr. Herbert, were the retiring officials, and were suc- 
 ceeded in their respective positions by Sir Charles Wood, Sir 
 Corncwall Lewis, and Lord John Eussell. " The Ministry of Ah 
 tho Talents," as the Coalition Cabinet, whose downfall we have 
 thus w'tncssed, was not untruly termed, had been succeeded by 
 a Government in which the only talent recognized was that found 
 within the boundaries of the Liberal party. 
 
 At the time of his appointment to this office, Lord John Rus- 
 sell was on his way to Vienna, as plenipotentiary of the British 
 Government in a Conference of t'lo Great Powers for the settle- 
 ment of tho trouble without further fighting. Sliortly afterward, 
 there occurred another event, which, with tho beginningof nego- 
 tiations at Vienna, made an early treaty of peace appear among 
 the probabilities. This was the sudden death of tho Czar, March 
 2,V 5. Nicholas had stated his intentions with regard to Tur- 
 key with a frankness almost phenomenal in the history of diplo- 
 macy; and had all but made direct proposals to England to di- 
 vide that country between tho British and Russian Empires. 
 England refused ; but ho was not daunted, and proceeded to car- 
 ry out his policy, which ha'l only changed by the omission of 
 England from the list of proposed beneficiaries, by attacking tho 
 Turks. His son and successor, Alexander IIL, was of a ditferent 
 temper ; it was thought that ho would bo more ready to accede 
 to proposals for peace, as it was well known that he was of a 
 more liberal and pacific nature than his father. But "scratch a 
 Russian and you'll find a Tartar," says tho proverb ; and when 
 it was once aroused, there was as much of the Tartar in Alexan- 
 der as there had been in Nicholas ; and the war was prosecuted 
 

 152 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 under the son as vigorously as it had been under the father. 
 
 Nor was this hope the only one that failed. TheConferencu of 
 Vierma broke up, without having accomplished its object, as 
 Kussia would not yield that one of the famoua " Four Points" 
 which required her to limit her naval force in the jSlaek Sea. 
 Austria finally made propositions which the representatives of 
 England and France regarded as affording a prospect of the set- 
 tlement of the case, and accepted for the Governments which they 
 represented, subject, of course, to ratification at the hands of the 
 supreme power in the State ; but unfortunately for them, these 
 propositions were a virtual surrender of the chief points for 
 which England and France had been contending; the home 
 ■authorities refused the ratification on which they had relied, and 
 the plenipotentiaries themselves sunk very low in public opinion. 
 The French Minister was obliged to resign the position which 
 he had held for some years ; and although the denouement was 
 delayed for some time in the case of Russell, it was this which 
 ultimately caused his resignation from Palmerston's Ministry. 
 
 The failure of the Conference to restore peace was a great dis- 
 appointment to the English people, who looked witl much dis- 
 favor upon the fact that concessions had been made with this ob- 
 ject. The war was still popular with the great majority of the 
 people ; and it was intolerable to think that England had offer- 
 ed peace, and had the offer refused. This feeling was reflected 
 in the House of Commons, as was to be expected ; and the Min- 
 isters were frequently attacked by members of both Houses, for 
 the uncertain policy which they had adopted. Mr. Disraeli 
 brought forward a motion condemning this fault, and supported 
 it in a speech three hours long. A member of the Opposition 
 had affirmed for'-mlly that the propositions of Eussia were reas- 
 onable, and that some blame attached to the Government for re- 
 f'ising thorn; and Mr. Disraeli denounced, with his accustomed 
 vigor, this combination of war and diplomroy, at the head of 
 which was an embassador distinguished for his inflammatory de- 
 nunciations of Russia, and totally incompetent to negotiate a 
 peace. 
 
 When Mr. Disraeli made one of his fierce attacks upon the 
 ruling party, it had by this time become an established thing 
 that Mr. Gladstone was to answer him ; and the late Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer engaged in the congenial task upon this occas- 
 ion. The Four Points, which had sometime before been pro- 
 
The Ministry All the Talents. 
 
 153 
 
 posed as the basis for negotiations, had been so distasteful to 
 Russia that sbo had refused to consider them at all in August, 
 1854 ; but the events in the Crimea had been such that in the fol- 
 lowing December she had been brought to accept them for con- 
 sideration. This proved that the er; <ition to the Crimea had 
 not, been wholly unsuccessful. When the Four Points came to be 
 considered, he called their attention to the present state of af- 
 fairs. Russia had acceded to the First and Second, which abol- 
 ished the Russian Protectorate over the Principalities of YluX- 
 lachia, Moldavia and Servia, and placed these provinces under a 
 collective guarantee of the Powers, provided for the navigation 
 of the Danube to be freed from obstacles at its mouth and regu- 
 lated by the principles established by the Congress of Vienna. 
 The Third Point was intended to put an end to the preponder- 
 ance of Russia in the Black Goa, and this was the one which that 
 Power would not yield. The Fourth, which related to the sub- 
 ject which had nominally caused tlio war, the treatment of the 
 believers in one form of religion by those who held to another, 
 the speaker declared that Russia would grant at any time. Nor 
 was this all ; the great Northern nation had already acceded to 
 a portion of the demands included in the Third Point, and had 
 agreed that Turkey might have tho power of opening and shut- 
 ting the straits. The political purposes of the war had been 
 completely gained, ho said, although Ihe adverse party had not 
 been prostrated, and he felt that ho would be incurring a fearful 
 responsibility if he did not raise his voice to beseech the House 
 to pause before they persevered in a war so bloody and so dec- 
 imating, while thero was a chance of returnir;^^ to a condition of 
 happy and honorable peace. If the war was continued solely for 
 thesakeof military success, "let the House ,Kik at this senti- 
 ment with tho eye of reason, and it will app^n.r immoral, inhu- 
 man and unchristian. If the war is cot •■ -.,.,1 in order to obtain 
 military glory, we shall tempt tho jus'" ,1' Him in whoso hands 
 is the fate of armies, to launch upon u? His wrath." 
 
 But although his eloquence aroused the House to admiration, it 
 could do no more. Tho new Government .vas still too strong to be 
 carried away on tho tide of an Opposition speech; and Lord 
 John Russell, who replied to Mr. Gladstone, was on tho popular 
 side. Russia was regarded as ». dangerous enemy, whoso 
 schemes of aggrandizement must he checked while it was pos- 
 sible, and before thero could bo security for Turkey or Europe. 
 
154 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 Mr, Gladstone's speech excited wide-spread comment, which 
 was not by any means universally favorable. It was regarded as 
 lukowarr n the English cause; the Prince-Consort stigmatized it 
 as apt to give a wrong opinion as to the determination of the nation 
 to support the Queen in the war, and render all chance of ob- 
 taining an honorable peace without still greater sacrifices of 
 
 J. A. Roebuck. 
 
 blood and treasure impossible, by giving new hopes and spirit to 
 the enemy. Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton spoke on the subject in the 
 House, and was vehemently cheered when he reproached Mr. 
 Gladstone with desiring to make of no avail the blood which 
 had been shed in this cause. Lord Palmcrston and Lord John 
 Eussell were cheer ' to the echo when they announced that the 
 war would be vigorously prosecuted. 
 A vote of no confidence, based upon th.o conduct of the repre- 
 
Ill»>lllll>llll 
 
 l'^ 
 
 
 The Ministry of All the Talents. 
 
 156 
 
 ch 
 as 
 it 
 on 
 >h- 
 of 
 
 to 
 \e 
 
 V. 
 
 3h 
 
 in 
 
 sentative of the Government in the Congress of Vienna, was 
 proposed by Sir. E. Bulwer-Lytton. The day fixed for the con- 
 sideration of this motion was July 16th; but on the 13th Lord 
 John Eussell again resigned his seat in a Cabinet whose position 
 was challenged by the Opposition. The announcement of this 
 on the day fixed for the debate, caused the withdrawal of the 
 motion. There was a debate of considerable interest upon this 
 motion even ur'ter it had been withdrawn, the interest lurning 
 chiefly upon the personal references which were made to two 
 great men of that day by two great men of our own. Mr. Dis- 
 raeli attacked Lord Palmerston, whom he accused of machina- 
 tions intended to get Lord John out of office ; and declared that 
 the Premier had addressed the House that very night in a tone 
 and with accents which showed that if the honor and interests of 
 England were much longer entrusted to him, the one would be 
 tarnished and the other betrayed. Such was the language which 
 might bo used in the House of Commons, thirty years or more 
 ago. Mr. Gladstone complained that Lord John had condemned 
 propositions which were virtually the same with those which, as 
 Minister Plenipotentiary, he hud accepted at Vienna. Differing 
 from Mr. Disraeli, who accused the Governmentof inconsistency 
 in having at one time been disposed to accept these terms of 
 peace, yet ho blamed them for now abruptly closing the hope of 
 an honorable peace. 
 
 The committee which had been appointed upon Mr. Eoebuck's 
 motion reported about the middle of summer, and Mr. Roebuck 
 r ade a motion which was virtually a vote of censure upon every 
 member of the Aberdeen*Cabinet. His speech, however, was re- 
 garded as an extreme one, and the proposition to postpone the 
 matter for six months, really a condemnation of the speaker's 
 position, was carried by an overwhelming majority of those 
 members present. 
 
 The war debates continued throughout the brief remainder of 
 the session. Mr. Gladstone frequently spoke to urge peace, say- 
 ing Turkey was such an ally to England in this war as Anchises 
 was to ^Eneas in the flight from Troy; aiu! predicting the grad- 
 ual falling off of otaer Powers, if England persisted in maintain- 
 ing a war, the virtual advantages of which had been already 
 gained. 
 
 But the peace for which he was pleading was aboiit to come, 
 though cannon, and not ^vords, were the instruments by which it 
 
I\ 
 
 156 
 
 'T/ie Ministry All the Talents. 
 
 was brought about. The " August City," Sebastopol, had been 
 considered impregnable; and a city which will stand a siege of 
 eleven months may well be considered as nearly so as fortress- 
 es can be made by human hands and natural advantages. The 
 siege had begun in October, 1854; and had lasted, with little 
 success on the part of the allied forces, until the following Sep- 
 tember. It had com.!- to be regarded as the central point of in- 
 terest; the war could not end until Sebastopol was taken; and 
 the excitement was unbounded when it was known that the Mal- 
 akoff and Eedati had been taken by simultaneous attacks by the 
 French and British. Following fast upon this announcement, 
 came the news that the Eussians had retreated; the war was 
 over. 
 
 Negotiations for peace were immediately entered into ; and a 
 treaty wa6 concluded at Pai'is in the following March. 
 

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CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PROGRESSING TOWARDS LIBERALISM. 
 
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 Treaty Following the Crimean War — Peace Concluded at Paris — Agitation Con- 
 cerning the Continental Press — National Education— Bill Providing for the 
 Enlistment of Foreigners — 111 Feeling Between England and America — 
 Criticism Upon the Government's Foreign Policy — Mr. Gladstone's Alliance 
 with His Rival — Government Losing Strength in the House of Commons — 
 Mnjority Against the Government — Attempt to Assassinate the Emperor 
 of the French — Remarkable Peroration by Mr. Gladstone — r^ormation of a 
 New Cabinet — Lord Derby at the Front — Financial Outlook Depressing. 
 
 'HE treaty which closed the Crimean war was not a popu- 
 lar one j it was felt tiiat England had not gained the suc- 
 cess which ought to have been hers before she consented to 
 negotiate for peace ; on the other hand, the French sol- 
 vlicrs were tliought to have won all the honor which ought to 
 have belonged to their allies across the channel. There was not 
 one soldier in either army, however, who gained in this war the 
 rank of a great general ; the only one who could be said to have 
 profited by the hostilities in point of military reputation was on 
 the enemy's side — Gen. Todleben. At the same time, there was 
 really no dciilnite reason for carrying on the war any longer; 
 and the hearty desire manifested by France for peace made it 
 impossible for England to hold back, even if her Government 
 had been so inclined. It was a singular circumstance, that the 
 country which gained all the gloiy wliich was awarded by com- 
 mon consent to the Allies, was France, where the war had never 
 been popular; while England, where the ])eople were enthusias- 
 tically in favor of it, had but a small share in the successes which 
 ultimately determined the result. 
 
 The French army was well equipped and well managed from 
 the first; the English had just begun to be prepared for the cam- 
 paign when it ended. Of twenty-two thousand Englishmen who 
 died in the Crimea, eighteen thousand perished from disease, 
 brought about by the Avant of proper food, clothing or shelter 
 froni the inclemency of the weather. Nor was the wisdom of go- 
 
168 
 
 Progressing Toioards Liberalism. 
 
 ing to war in tho first place universally admitted. Wo have al- 
 ready had occasion to speak of the societies for tho promotion 
 of peace, which wore organized early in tho beginning of the 
 trouble, when an appeal to arms had not yet been made by the 
 Governments of tho west of Europe; wo have seen how strenu- 
 ously Bright and other members of Parliament opposed going 
 to war upon any pretext whatever; we havo said that Lord 
 ^ Aberdeen never lost hope of a peaceful solution of tho difficulty, 
 until tho declaration of war had actually been made; and although 
 ho had said that ho would resign sooner than engage in war 
 he was carried along so insensibly that his resignation was not 
 tendered i ntil tho Ministry of which ho was tho head had been 
 severely condemned for their mismanagement of matters relating 
 to the sustenance and caro of tho army. So great was this 
 statesman's aversion to tho war, which ho averred would not pro- 
 duce any good results to England. Tho most that it would do, 
 ho claimed, would bo to preserve the peace in tho east of Europe' 
 for a quarter of a century. This utterance was looked upon at 
 tho time as tho dictum of a man utterly at variance with those 
 who were directing affairs, who would seo only the dark side of 
 tho question ; but tho event proved that he had not spoken with 
 too little confidence; three years before tho expiration of the 
 term of years assigned for the duration of tho peace between 
 Russia and Turkey, those countries were again at war with each 
 other. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone seems to have disapproved of the war quite as 
 much as his quondam chief. Before England had formally ox- 
 pressed her intention of taking part in tho struggle, indeed, be- 
 fore it was at all probable that sho would do so, he had made 
 public an interpretation of tho existing treaty between Russia 
 and Turkey which recognized the right of Russia to punish Tur- 
 key for tho violation of this agreement. The cl.iuso which he thus 
 understood was the first lino of tho seventh article, in which tho 
 Sublime Porto agrees to protect tho Christian religion and its 
 churches. This was generally taken in connection with the re- 
 mainder of the article, which dealt with the management of the 
 new church at Constantinople; and the context, particularly the 
 reference to tho fourteenth article of tho same treaty, appeared 
 to prove that tho promise in the first line was specific, and not 
 general, as it was assumed by Mr. Gladstone to be. According 
 to him, the promise of the Sultan to protect the Christian relia-- 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 150 
 
 if n wfts a distinct cnga^^ement from those which follow in the 
 sumo article, an a^'r< otneiit entered into with the sovereign of 
 Russia, because ho had been defeated by the Russian arms and 
 obliged to accept the terms of peace which the CV.ar dictated to 
 him ; and this was duly made by treaty. If he broke any pro- 
 vision of this treaty, the nation with which it had been made was 
 . entitled to call him to account for such a violation, without the 
 intervention of any other government, as none other had been 
 concerned in the ratification of the original peace; and this 
 was not excepted from the general sacredness of those provis- 
 ions. We are bound to call the reader's attention to the fact 
 that this was Mr. Gladstone's interpretation, not that generally 
 accepted; so iar as we can learn, be was alone in his under- 
 standing of the agreement, though others justified Russia on 
 diflferent grounds. The Czar himself did not rest his right to an 
 appeal to arms upon this clause, but up^n the fact that the four- 
 teenth article, which gave him a virtual protectorate over the 
 Christians in Asiatic Turkey, had been disregarded by the 
 Porte. 
 
 We have quoted this interpretation of a treaty which was 
 broken more than thirty years ago, and has been forgotten near- 
 ly as long, to justify Mr. Gladstone's course during the wrr 
 That course was not approved by Parliament; as we have ^l- 
 ready seen, the whole Aberdeen Ministry was condemned be- 
 cause it gave but a lukewarm support by its measures athomo to 
 an army which was already in the field. The members of t 
 Cabinet had opposed the war from the first, acting in their c..- 
 porato capacity; the few who approved of it were transferred to 
 the next Ministry; but we can hardly wonder that a man who 
 looked upon the war as one based upon a mistaken idea— upon 
 indefensible interference with another nation's business— should 
 hesitate about lending a cordial support to its prosecution. 
 
 March 31st, 1856, Lord Palmerston announced to the House of 
 Commons that a treaty of peace had been concluded at Paris; a 
 similar announcement was made in the House of Lords at the 
 same time. The terms of the treaty became the subject of de- 
 bate as soon as they were announced. An address to the Queen 
 was at once moved in both Houses; the amendment proposed in 
 the House of Commons was merely the substitution of the word 
 "satisfaction" fortheword "joy" at the conclusion of peace; but 
 this trifling alteration was sufficient to bring the subject into the 
 
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 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 arena of debate. After the speeches by the mover and seconder 
 of this address, and that made to introduce this amendment, Mr. 
 Gladstone addressed the House. It had been admitted that 
 the peace was .lot a popular one, because the majority of Eng- 
 lishmen thought it had been concluded at a time when Eng- 
 land might have won further successes ; and Mr. Gladstone and 
 his allies were not regarded with any favor by the House on ac- 
 count of their connection with the war. Such were the feelings 
 of many of his listeners on this occasion. 
 
 The treaty was an honorable one, ho said, because the objects 
 of the war had been obtained. Those who had spoken against it 
 had said that Great Britain, with the other Christian Powers, 
 had become bound for the maintenanco of Turkey, not only agai nst 
 foreign aggression, but as a Mohammedan State. In reply to 
 this, Mr. Gladstone said that if ho had so understood the words 
 of the treaty, ho would not support an address which expressed 
 either joy or satisfaction at the eoncjusion of such a peace, but 
 would look for the most emphatic word to express his condem- 
 nation of an agreement to support a set of institutions which 
 Christendom must endeavor to reform if she could, though he was 
 not sanguine as to the result of that effort. It would be the work 
 and caro of many generations, ho said, to bring such an effort to 
 ahappy and prosperous conclusion; and he did not underrate 
 the difficulties presented by tho juxtaposition of a people pro- 
 fessing the Mohammedan religion with a rising Christian popu- 
 lation having adverse and conflicting interests. But there was 
 another point to be considered in connection with this treatv. 
 The encroachment of Eussia upon Turkey, and the final absorp- 
 tion of tho one by tho other, would be an evil as groat as any 
 which could arise from tho maintenance of Turkey as a Moham- 
 medan state. Such a danger to the peace, liberties and privileges 
 of all Europe, Great Britain was bound to resist by all the moans in 
 her power. It was a thing to be regretted that a more substan- 
 tive existence had not boon secured to the principalities, but this 
 was not the fiuilt of England or of Franco. The neutralization 
 of the Black Sea he also onndemned, as meaning nothing but a 
 scries of pitfalls in time of war; and ho thought that recognized 
 rules to regulate interference on behalf of the Christians should 
 have been established. It was a great triumph that the Powers 
 had agreed to submit international differences to arbitration, 
 though in this very agreement there was much danger of diplo' 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 161 
 
 matic contention promoting the quarrels which it was intended 
 to preveLt. Ho argued that no country ought to submit claims 
 for arbitration unless those claims were such as it would be wil- 
 ling to support by an appeal to arms ; such a course might lead 
 to the reduction of the standing armies which were so severe a 
 tax upon all the countries of Europe j and the speaker rejoiced 
 that the anticipation of this state of affairs had already led the 
 two leading military nations to contemplate a reduction of their 
 establishment j for Eussia and France were about to set this bold 
 example. 
 
 Although it was an innovation to entertain such subjects in 
 Conferences of pacification, Mr. Gladstone expressed his satis- 
 faction with the course which had been taken with regard to 
 Naples; but he regretted that the records inscribed upon the 
 protocols were not treaty engagements, and did not approximate 
 that character. As the case stood, they were authoritative doc- 
 ments, which might be appealed to by those whose case they 
 strengthened, but which were fur from possessing the authority 
 of a treaty with those who desired to disregard them. Confus- 
 ion would inevitably arise from these serni-authoritative engage- 
 inents, and infinite discussion be based upon their character. 
 
 The most important question which had been decided at this 
 conference, regarding the nations which had not actually taken 
 part in the war, was that relating to the Belgian press. The ex- 
 cess in which the journals of that country had indulged with im- 
 punity was represented as having been condemned by all the 
 plenipotentiaries present, though Lord Clarendon, one of the 
 British representatives, had told them that the scheme suggested 
 would find no support or sympathy in England. The embassa- 
 dors of Prussia and Austria had said that the repression of the 
 press was a European necessity; the French negotiator had said 
 that legislation on the subject of the Belgian press was required; 
 Count Orloif, on the part of Eussia, declined to express any opin- 
 ion, having no instructions from his Government. The speaker 
 said that he hoped these statements were not declarations of pol- 
 icy, and that they would be regretted and forgotten, as having 
 issued lightly from their mouths. He pointed out that the Bel- 
 gian Constitution required a trial by jury in case of such offen- 
 ces; and that this provision could not be readily changed. He 
 concluded by urging that this appeal, contemplated under the 
 compulsion of foreign Powers, some of whom were remote in 
 
162 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 situation, having for its object the limitation of the dearest, 
 rights and most cherished liberties of the gallant and high-spir- 
 ited people to which it was addressed, was not a policy which 
 tended to clear the political horizon, but rather to render it more 
 gloomy. 
 
 Lord Palmerston closed the debate with a speech in which he 
 
 Lwd Cla7'endon. 
 
 assured the House that the British Government would take no 
 part in any interference with an independent nat'.on with the 
 view of dictating what steps she should take to gag the press. 
 The amendment was withdrawn after this assurance from the 
 Prime Minister, and the address was agreed upon. The Crimean 
 War was formally at an end. 
 
 I 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 168 
 
 The subject of National Education was the next important 
 top.c brought before the House. Lord John Eussell introduced 
 a series of resolutions, providing that the funds available for pub- 
 he instruction should be applied in accordance with certain pro- 
 
 tioTof ' vn '^V"^ '^°''° '''^^'^""^'' ^"" '^' compulsory educa- 
 tion of children from nine to fifteen, who were employed at any 
 k.ndof work. These resolutions were opposed bv Mr. Grad"^ 
 stone, who asserted that the system of education which they tend- 
 ed to create was lacking in the most important element of moral 
 nfluence upon the character of the pupil; and that the system of 
 inspection proposed tended to create a central controlling power 
 involving secular instruction and endless religious controversy' 
 
 tlnr- '">"^'"'' ^"'''^°°' "^^"' '^'^ ^^^^^"^«" do now leave 
 hechairj' was negatived by a majority of more than a hundred' 
 and as this was virtually a condemnation of the measures pro! 
 posed, the resolutions were not proceeded with. In the list of 
 the divisions on this question, we find some strange groupings 
 of name: Cockburn, Grey, Horsman, Pulmerston, ViHiers and 
 Wood were recorded as voting in the aflirmative; while LZl 
 those who were agreed to condemn the resolutions were Glad 
 stone and Disraeli, with the Lord Eobert Cecil who, in 1^84 as 
 
 Ml Gladstone commented with some severity upon the bud^^f 
 wh.eh the Chancellor of the Exchequer brough"^ Twa^^ in M^v 
 after a somewhat lengthy statement in February, which had aS 
 met with the disapproval of the late official, who had sWn h ' 
 
 TentTe 'TT ^' ''""^^^ '"^ ^^« P-Positions of he inc m-" 
 ben^ were finally agreed to. The Palmerston Govern mentTs 
 
 ::eir ritr^id^"^ "^ ^--^^^- ^^ -- - ^— - 
 
 The English Parliament had in 1855 passed a bill providin^for 
 he enlistment of foreigners in the Crimean army Tnd the ^ 
 rbeTotbetr^'t"^'"^ ^^""^^'^ iu.d 'p;odld eot' 
 
 had insisto^l +h..+ 4i i ''"" ^i-nsn aimy. Lord Clarendon 
 
 nau insisted that the embassador had not been guilty of anv of 
 
 ... .»a„j.i!.feion vas aciuaiiy dismissed. 
 
164 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 While this feeling was at its height (June 30th) a motion was intro- 
 duced which was really an attempt lo censure the Government for 
 the course which had been pursued. The debate was a long one, as 
 there were several views which might be tak 2n of the measure. Of 
 the Opposition, there were some who, for mere sake of party ad- 
 vantage, were reacy to support such an attempt; there were 
 some, on both sets of benches, who thought that the United 
 States had just reason to complain; and there were some who 
 held this last view, and some who held the opposite, who would 
 not join i:; any such vote, intended as it was to embavrass the 
 Government. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was one of those who, while he did not defend 
 the conduct of the Minister at Washington, was not ready to 
 weaken the hands of the Ministers when the party which he re- 
 presented was not prepared to displace them. In his speech, he 
 said that it appeared to him that there were two cardinal aims 
 which ought to be kept in view ; these ■^cre peace and a thorough- 
 ly cordial understanding with America for one, and the honor 
 and fame of England for the other. But he was not satisfied with 
 the existing state of things in regard to either of these, or with 
 the conduct of the Government. A cordial understanding with 
 America had not been preserved, and the honor of England had 
 been compromised. He had had great difficuliyin coming to a de 
 cision as to the vote which he should give upon this question ; but 
 could not iTieet the resolution with a direct negative. Explain- 
 ing the position in which he stood, he proceeded to inquire into 
 the true state of he case. He charged the British Government 
 with practising concealment, and asserted that the United States 
 Government had been deceived and misled. The law had know- 
 ingly been broken by the agents of the British Government ; 
 and the American Government had cause to complain, since an 
 agency within the United States had been employed to give in- 
 formation and to tempt, by the offer of valuable considerations, 
 citizens of the United States to go beyond their boundaries for 
 the purpose of enlibting in the English army. The British em- 
 bassador had not only failed to inform the United Statos that 
 this was being done, thus justifying the charge of concealment, 
 but he had wilfully broken his engagement not to communicate, 
 except to those who addressed themselves to him, the terms up- 
 on which they would be received into the army. Mr. Gladstone 
 maintained that those four officials who had been punished had 
 

 MR. 
 
 GLADSTONE IN HIS LIBRARY AT HAWARDEN 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 165 
 
 
 only been made scupe-goats for the Government which had up- 
 hold their actions in the main. The question was a most remark- 
 able illustration, he said, of the disorganized state of the great 
 particp ; such a disagreement upon any subject of foreign policy 
 would have been impossible in the days when Lord John Russell 
 and his allies occupied the Treasury Benches, and Sir Robert 
 Pool sat opposite. 
 
 As wo have already intimated, Mr. Gladstone, though he con- 
 demned the policy of the Government upon this question, was 
 not ready to give his vote to an ineffectual attempt to overthrow 
 that Government. There were many others who thought as he 
 did, and the Ministry had a majority of nearly two hundred up- 
 on the division. * 
 
 At the opening of the session of 1857, when the royal speech 
 was read and the address came up for consideration, Mr. Dis- 
 raeli made some severe strictures upon the Government, mainly 
 m relation to its foreign policy. To these criticisms the Chancel- 
 lor of the Exchequer, who obtained the floor immediately after- 
 ward to make a statement with relation to his financial measures 
 made not the slightest reply. The omission was a notable one' 
 and Mr. Gladstone pointed it out. After expressing his surprise 
 that such censure of the Ministry had been unanswered by the 
 member of theCabinct who had spoken, he proceeded to speak of 
 the questions of foreign policy with which the Government had 
 at that time to deal. There had been difficulties with China- 
 there were actual hostilities with Persia; there was a dispute 
 with regard to Central America; there were some points of the 
 
 Treaty of Paris on which information was desirable. A 11 these were 
 points which the Government had had opportunity to consider 
 and on which there ought to be some explanation furnished to 
 the House. Coming to the statement just made by the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone dealt at length with the old 
 question of the Income Tax, which was again revived by the ne- 
 cessity of increasing the revenue to meet the expenses of the war. 
 Again he protested against a loan designed to meet this neces- 
 sity ; and he was likewise opposed to new taxation. The Gov- 
 ernment had in 1853 pledged itself to abolish this tax in seven 
 years; and that pledge, which had been given and received in 
 good faith, ought not to be recalled, now that four years of the 
 seven had passed. As far as his duty was concerned, he would give 
 his effort and labor to fulfll! those pledges, which ho had notfor- 
 
(66 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 gotten, and was not likely to forget. Ho should always remem- 
 ber with ffratitudo, ho said, the conduct of the House of Com- 
 mons at the time when those measure? wore adopted, and the 
 generosity which they had evinced ; and he promised that that 
 gratitude should be evinced hy his efforts to secure tho extinc- 
 tion of tho Income Tax at the time fixed. 
 
 The budget was brought before tho house Feb. 13th, in a speech 
 which, though it did not havo tho same effect which Mr. Glad- 
 stone's addresses on the same subject had had for the House, and 
 did not prove as entertaining as Mr. Disraeli's had been upon a 
 similar occasion, was yet superior to the general run of budget 
 speeches. Tho plan proposed was one of considerable merit, 
 being clearly stated and ably justified. But it had tho one great 
 disadvantage of being a total innovation upon the plan which 
 had been established by this Parliament in previous sessions, 
 based upon the financial measures inaugurated by Sir Eobori 
 Peel, which Mr. Gladstone, while holding this office, had natural- 
 \y carried out, and now defended. Nor was there any startling 
 merit about this plan, to compensate for tho disadvantage of its 
 being so totally different from tho measures which had been ap- 
 proved and carried out. But the part of the plan which Mr. 
 Gladstone most severely condemned, was tho increase in the tax 
 upon tea and sugar. He stigmatized tho proposition of tho 
 Chancellor as a plan to remit the taxes which bore heavily upon 
 tho wealthy, and make up the deficiency thus occasioned by du- 
 ties upon those articles which were used in tho family of every 
 laborer in the country. He added that he should oppose this 
 policy at every stage of its progress before tho House. 
 
 In the division which took place upon this question, we find 
 Mr. Gladstone again side by side with Mr. Disraeli. But the 
 alliance of the two rivals was not sufficient to defeat the Govern- 
 ment in its financial schemes, and tho amcndm.ent to tho budget 
 which was the immediate cause of this speech was lost by a ma- 
 jority of eighty votes. 
 
 A few weeks later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer intro- 
 duced an amended scale for the tea duty ; and, true to his prom- 
 ise, Mr. Gladstone opposed the measure. In tho course of tho 
 speech which he made at this time, he told the Ministry that if 
 ho wished to advocate an extendod and organic reform in the 
 parliamentary representation, he could not desire a better case 
 than tho one which the Government's financial policy had furnish- 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 167 
 
 ed him. The Chancellor of tho Exchequer professed his inahil- 
 .^ to prepare a scheme upon tho principles recommended by 
 Mr. Gladstone, and the division proved that ho had no need to 
 do so, tho Government being supported by a majority of fifty- 
 
 Division Barrier and Lohhy of the House of Commons. Taking a Divisim. 
 
 come Tax BnTt" iff'^''^^'^ '^^ «^^ond reading of the In- 
 come lax Jjill, iMr. Gladstone affam d'-sw f^ii^y^*\ 
 
 iivvvuiivu 
 
 Xo tho 
 
 great 
 
168 
 
 Progressing Towards L^beraUr^m. 
 
 oxponditviro of Iho rovonno, nnd charged that tho foroign policy 
 of tho Govornmont 'vns not iincorinoctcd with tho oxcessivo tux- 
 atlon and high cxp'^ndituro of tho country; in a subsequent 
 speech, hi called attention to tho enormous incronso in tho mili- 
 tary ostimiitof. In this latt« r c;uso, hovyever, ho c.i('. not press a 
 division, and tho proposals of tho Government on tho Nuval Es- 
 timate passed tho House. 
 
 Wo find him in tho minority in the division on the Divorce 
 Bill which passed tho House this session ; contending gallantly, 
 though vainly, for tho equality of woman with man in all tho 
 rights pertaining to marriage, and dealing with tho question on 
 social, moral and legal grounds. 
 
 Tho Government was gradually losing strength in tho ITouso, 
 though it was still popular in tho country; the next import- 
 ant debate was one that showed its weakness. There had 
 been considorablo trouble with China regarding the opium trade, 
 in which tho British wcro charged with conniving at smuggling. 
 Tho crow of a lorcha which had been licensed to carry tho Brit- 
 ish flag had been seized, in tho harbor of Canton, by Chinese au- 
 thorities ; it was said Ly tho Opposition that tho license had ex- 
 pired, and that X\\o Arrow was in no sense a British vessel ; it 
 was said by the Go-'-ernment that the Chinese mandarin who 
 made tho seizure actually caused tho British flag to bo hauled 
 down from tho mast, and replaced by the Chines^> ensign. A mo- 
 tion condemning tho ac'ion of tho Government in reference to 
 this affair was introduced into tho House of Lords, where it was 
 defeated by a majority of thirty-six; a similar motion was 
 brought before tho House of Commons by Mr. Cobden. Tho de- 
 bate lasted four nights, and almost every member of tho House 
 who was distinguished as an orator expressed an opinion upon 
 tho side which ho supported, the discussion thus attaining an un- 
 usually high level of parliamentary oratory. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was among the last who spoke, and thus had the 
 advantage of summing up and answering the arguments of his 
 adversaries. Ho denied that the British Government had any- 
 thing to complain of in the treatment which had been received 
 from the Chinese, which had been strictly in accordance with 
 the engagements entered into in tho treaty of 1842. He called 
 attention to the number of times that British subjects had of- 
 fended against the provisions of this treaty and their conduct 
 been condoned by the Chinese Government, he defended Sir 
 
* >. 
 
 Progrtssimj Towards Liberalism, 
 
 169 
 
 (I 
 
 
 .Tftmes Graham, who had been attacked by Sir Goor^'o Groy rnd 
 ridiculed for his roforenco to Christinn principles as tho ba'sis of 
 the aciion of the Government. Ho said that sineo this npponl to 
 Christian principles Mas thus forbidden, ho would appeal to 
 something older than Christianity; broader, since it was whore 
 Christianity is not; to that which underlies Christianity, for 
 Christianity appeals to it— tho justice which binds man to" man. 
 It was this which must regulate tho intercour,«o between Gov- 
 ornm-jnts, and ho denied that it had been tho principle upon 
 which tho British Mi'ilstiy had boon guid.'d in this affair, as well 
 as others in w '^n the- had had to deal with tho Chinese. 
 
 Tho position of tho Govornmont was stated by Lord Palmer- 
 ston, though ho had tho disadvantage of speakig at a time of tho 
 night when '10 n^embers were tired out; notwithstanding the 
 lateness of the hour, however, ho was immo^' toly followed by 
 Mr. Disraeli, who accepted Iho construction which had been put 
 upon tho motion, that it was a voto of c ... jro upon tho Govern- 
 ment; and replying to Palmerston'g alarm over a suggested com- 
 bination, bade him appeal to tho country if ho thought himself 
 tho victim of a political conspiracy. 
 
 Mr. Cobden closed tho debate in a bvief speech, and at two 
 o^cIock in the morning, on the fourth night of tho debate, the 
 division was taken. It showed a majority of sixteen against tho 
 Government. Lord Palmei'ston, when this result was announ- 
 ced, stated that although tho usual course nndorsuch circumstan- 
 ces would bo to resign, ho did not believe that tho present Min- 
 istry was to be held to that rule. Ho therefore decided to dis- 
 solve Parliament, and appeal to the country. 
 
 Af, had been anticipated, the Government received a consider- 
 able accession of strength at tho general election which ensued. 
 Liberals ja. i Peelites suffered considerably, Cobden and Bright 
 being prominent members of the former party who failed of elec- 
 tion. Mr. Gladstone, however, was again returned by the Uni- 
 versity, this time without opposition. It should bo here men- 
 tioned that although tho P-.^uito party was a small one, tho abil- 
 ity of its members was g^eat, and it therefore commanded a great- 
 er degree of respect than has been the portion of mosfcorga za- 
 tionsof similar numerical strength, and possessed an influence 
 proportioned to this moral standing,. 
 
 Parliament met or a short session before Christmas, when an 
 — ^ ,,, .,,^,„„^j^^ vciine ap lOx uuuaiaerauoa. xne sus- 
 
170 
 
 Progressinrj Towards Liberalism. 
 
 1^' 
 
 pension of several banks in the United States had created a mon- 
 etary panic, and the directors of the Bank of England, desiring 
 to increase their issue of notes to meet the demand thus created, 
 asked authority to do so. To grant this permission, the Govern- 
 ment was obliged to ask for a suspension of the Bank Charter 
 Act of 1844, and brought a Bill of Indemnity before the House 
 for that purpose Mr. Gladstone did not oppose the bill, but ar- 
 gued that it would be wiser to investigate the causes of the lato 
 panic, and how far they wore connected with the state of banking. 
 The effect of referring a heap of subjects to an overburdened 
 committee would be to postpone legislation, and obstruct inquiry 
 into the causes of the recent panic and the present embarrass- 
 ment. When the bill came up for the third reading, Mr. Glad- 
 stone reiterated these arguments, and showed what evils arose 
 from the confusion prevailing between the functions of bunking 
 and currency. The bill passed the House, an amendment pro- 
 posed by Mr. Disraeli being rejected by a considerable majority. 
 When the House met after the Christmas recess, there was con- 
 siderable excitement prevailingoverthoattempt to assassinate the 
 Emperor of the French which had recently been made byOrsini. 
 There was a good deal of sympathy existing in England for the 
 proposed victim, but this was not understood by the French, 
 who charged that England afforded an asylum for conspirators 
 against the peace and welfare of other stales. Foreign refugees, 
 they claimed, were allowed to concoct and mature plots to be 
 carried into execution elsewhere. This was not an accusation 
 brought merely by agitators and irresponsible journals, brt 
 gravely preferred by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
 though in such a modified form as diplomacy permits. He urged 
 upon the Premier the necessity of legislation on this subject; 
 and at the beginning of the session of 1858 Lord Palmerston in- 
 troduced his Conspivac}'- to Murder Bill. The first reading was 
 carried by an immense majority; but by the time that it came 
 before the House again, the impression had obtained that the 
 Ministers were simply puppets in the hands of Napoleon III. 
 Mr. Gibson accordingly moved an amendment inquiring why the 
 dispatch of the French Minister had not been answered. The 
 statement that England was a lair of savage beasts and u labora- 
 tory of assassins was quoted as die utterance of a prominent 
 French orator; it was assorted that the bill was introduced at 
 the dictation of a foreign government ; and Lord Palmerston 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 171 
 
 was accused, by a quotation from tho Times which was cited with 
 approval by tho speaker, of being capable of making any sacri- 
 fice of principle or interest to secure the good-will of a foreign 
 power which he had made up his mind to'court. But the most 
 powerful speech that was made in this connection, and the on 
 
 Iwo'th ""f/"'"'';V''"^""^^ * ^^-^^^ ^"'l statesmanlike 
 t1^, V^ : "u "/ *^' *^^"^"' ^"« '^^' «f ^''- Gladstone, 
 l^ord Palmerston had stated that tho dispatch referred to in 
 the amendment had been answered verbally; but llv. Gladstone 
 pointed out that this was the weakest kind of an answerro a, 
 explanations which could be oifered to he House, this was the 
 most ,,,3f,,,, ^,^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^.^^^^,^ ^ , as^^^ 
 
 Innd ",l «"«w«red by stating the law already existing in Eng- 
 land on the subject. In place of this reply, the Houses of Parlif- 
 ment were asked to answer by passing the Bill whieh had been 
 proposed by the Premier. Mr. Gladstone's peroration is a re 
 m.ukable commentary upon tho English Government and its 
 measures of repression thirty years later : 
 "If there is any feeling in this House for the honor of Enir- 
 
 necess ty of reforming tho criminal law. Let us insist nnon ih. 
 necessity of vindicating that law. As far as justirrlXes le 
 
 amend it if ,t be found necessary. But do not let us allow it to 
 1 under a cloud of accusations of which we are convinced hat 
 t IS totally innocent. These times are grave for liberty We 
 hvo in tho nineteenth century ; we talk of progress ; we'belil 
 that we are advancing; but can any man of observation who has 
 watched the events of the last, few years in Europe have fltd 
 to perceive that there is a movement indeed but thalir. 
 
 over doos re,,,„„sibility center upon the institutions of Zw 
 and .f ,t does center upon England, upon her prineipir unon 
 or 1.WS, and upon her governors, then I say \.t~Z- 
 pa»sou oy ih,» iionso of Commons, the chief "hone of fT'T 
 wh.ch attempt,, to establish a moral comptu/rweln ^^ aTd 
 
172 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 those who sock safety in repressive measures will be a blow ana 
 discouragement to that sacred cause in every country of the 
 world." 
 
 After a number of speeches, chief among which was one in 
 which Mr, Disraeli called the attention of the debaters to the fact 
 that the real question before the HondC was not iiplomatic or 
 political, but one between the House and the Ministers of the 
 Crown, Lord Palmerston rose to reply. He deprecated the de- 
 partures which hud been made from the topic under considera- 
 tion, particularly by Messrs. Gibson and Gladstone, who, he com- 
 plained, had entered into an elaborate attack upon his conduct 
 
 when he was Secretary for 
 Foreign Affairs; his attack 
 upon Mr. Gibson was a bit- 
 ter, pergonal one, which was 
 interrupted by strong ex- 
 pressions of disapproval 
 from the House j and he ad- 
 dressed himself to a consid- 
 eration of the point at issue. 
 His defense of the course 
 of the Gove ament did not 
 justify it in the eyes of the 
 House, however, for the di- 
 vision showed that the Min- 
 istry was in a minority of 
 nineteen. Many of those who 
 thus voted did not wihh to 
 overthrow the Government, 
 and it is probable that if 
 Palmerston had asked for a 
 vote of confidence it would have been granted by a majority suf- 
 cient to justify him in retaining the reins of power ; but his gov- 
 ernment had been defeated very recently by a majority which, 
 although small, Nvas such that the Opposition had expected the 
 resignation of the Ministry to follow it ; he had appealed to the 
 country; and although he had then received the encouragement 
 for which ho had hoped, this fresh defeat, coming immediately 
 after the reassembling of Parliament, determined his course. Am- 
 bitious of office he might be, but ho had never shown an undue 
 tenacity of it; and he accordingly resigned his post. 
 
 Rt. Hon. T. Milner Gibson. 
 
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Proyressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 173 
 
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 Lord Derby was sent for by the Queen, and accepted the task 
 imposed upon him of forming a Ministry. With a good deal of 
 difficulty he at last succeeded. In this cabinet, Mr. Disraeli was 
 again Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is significant of tho grad- 
 ual change in his opiiions that at this late day, Mr. Gladstone 
 was offered a post (that of Colonial Secretary) in this Conserva- 
 tive Government. We are not informed If ho proposed to extend 
 only an independent support, or if ho positively and unhesitat- 
 ingly declined the offer. Certainly he did not again take office 
 under a Tory Minister. 
 
 The Houses adjourned, to give the new Premioi an opportun- 
 ity of forming his Cabinet; and reassembled March 1st. Lord 
 Derby, in his first speech to the House of Lords, begged their 
 forbearance for his failure to make a complete statement of his 
 intended policy; the time had been too short to allow him to 
 prepare such an important resume ; there were two points which 
 required immediate consideration, however; these were the 
 changes to be effected in tho system of government of India, and 
 the question of parliamentary reform. The first of these had al- 
 ready been under consideration for some time, a bill forthat pur- 
 pose having been introduced into the House of Commons by Lord 
 Palmerston. This, however, had not gone beyond its first read- 
 ing ; and it became necessary for the present Government to pre- 
 sent a measure in place of that proposed by its predecessor. Mr. 
 Disraeli, who had by this change of Ministry become the leader 
 of the House of Commons, brought forward the measure, usu- 
 ally denominated India Bill No. 2, to distinguish it from that 
 introduced by Lord John Russell on behalf of the Palmerston 
 Ministry; but this bill, like its predecessor, never got beyond 
 the first reading. A sort of compromise, however, was pro- 
 posed by Lord John Russell, and gladly accepted by Mr. Dis- 
 raeli, by which the question was dealt with by way of resolution. 
 Before these resolutions could be considered, however, by the 
 House, the Ministry was brought to tho brink of dissolution. 
 Lord Canning, the Governor-General of India, sent back a draft 
 of a proclamation which ho proposed to issue, announcing a 
 scheme of confiscation which was certainly open to very grave 
 objection, and which would probably have caused tho flames of 
 rebellion, so recently extinguished, to burst forth with renewed 
 fury. Lord Ellenborough, the President of the Indian Board of 
 Control, wrote a strongly worded protest against the policy thus 
 
174 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 I 
 
 recommended. This should of course have been kept private 
 until it reached its destination ; but copies of it were sent to 
 Lord Granville, the intimate friend of Lord Cunning, and to 
 John Bright, who was the most eminent advocate of a mild and 
 generous policy toward the natives of India. The consequence 
 was that the purport of Lord Canning's proclamation and Lord 
 Ellenborough's strictures upon it, became known, and Lord 
 Shaftesbury in the House of Lords, and Mr. Ca^-dwell in the 
 House of Commons, brought forward motions which were vir- 
 tually votes of censure upon the Government. If these had been 
 carried, there would of course have been a change of Ministry 
 within a week of the time when Lord Derby had first addressed 
 the House of Lords upon his accession to office; but Lord Ellen- 
 borough, who seems to have boon the only one to blame in this 
 indiscreet publicity given to unsettled questions, saved the Minis- 
 try by sacrificinpr himself; and made room for his successor. 
 
 Lord Shaftesbury's motion had been defeated by theliords be- 
 fore this resignation was announced; but Mr. Cardwoll's was" 
 still the subject of debate in the House of Commons. This dis- 
 cussion had extended over four nights when Lord Ellenborough's 
 resignation was announced, and the motion was withdrawn by 
 the member who had presented it. Ho was induced to do this by 
 the requests of many members who had agreed to support it, but 
 declined to do so after the matter had taken this turn. Disraeli, 
 whose power of coining telling phrases would have made him a 
 power in a state which was, like the government of the First 
 ITapolcon, " a despotism tempered by epigrams," has described 
 this scene in such graphic language that, although it is a depar- 
 ture from the strict line of our subject, we cannot refrain from 
 quoting: 
 
 "There is nothing like that last Friday i..^nt in the history of 
 the House of Commons. We came down to the House expecting 
 to divide at four o'clock in the morning; I myself probably ex- 
 pecting to deliver an address two hours after midnight; and I 
 believe that, even with the consciousness of a good cause, that is 
 no mean effort. Well, gentlemen, we were all assembled ; our 
 benches with their serried ranks seemed to rival those of our 
 proud opponents; when suddenly there arose a wail of distress, 
 but not from us. I can only liken the scene to the mutiny of 
 the Bengal army. ELgimcnt after regiment, corps after corps, 
 general after general all acknowledged that they could not march 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 175 
 
 through Coventry. It was like a convulsion of nature rather 
 than an ordinary transaction of human life. I can only liken it to 
 one of those earthquakes which take place in Calabria andPeru. 
 
 lt7iJZ "" '"S ^"^ r^'"'"'' "" ^'■^""' ^ «h^-^«k, asound of dis. 
 tan thunder. No one knew whether it came from the top or the 
 bottom of the Hou«e. There was a rent, a fissure in the ground 
 and then a village disappeared, then a tall tower topple! down 
 and the whole of the Opposition Benches became one grentS 
 solving view of anarchy." ^ 
 
 i.t'7f?3 *' ^"'"^ ^''^^' *^"* ^^^^'^ '"^^^ peculiarly apper- 
 tamed to this passage, above wit, and clearness, and humor, was 
 the undeniable truth ; it was not exaggerated, he adds, for ihere 
 was no exaggeration possible; and this is the testimony of an 
 eye-witness. j- vi »u 
 
 There wero many passages in the address from which this ex- 
 tract is taken which gave great offence at the time: they were 
 strongly disputed by the late Ministry whose course ;as thus as' 
 sailed, but still insisted upon by Lord Derby and Mr Disraeli 
 After this interrruption, which had so nearly proved fatal to 
 the new Government, the House of Commons^i-e'tumed to the 
 consideration of those resolutions upon which India Bill m 3 
 was to be bused They provided that the government of India 
 should be transferred from the Company to the Crown A Sep 
 retail of State for India was to be appo'inted, wh was'to be s-" 
 sisted by a counc 1 of fifteen. These advisers who were to I old 
 office during good behavior, were to be nominated by different 
 powers Of the number, eight were to held their app'^intm nt 
 ft-om the Crown, while the remainder were to be no'^inatTd by 
 the board of directors the first time; afterward by the councn 
 Itself. The various civil offices, the appointments [o whi h had 
 been under the direct control of the directors, were to be filled 
 m future in accordance with the results of certain examinations 
 which were to be competitive. This is the beginning of tZt 
 Civil Service Reform which has since been so largely adopted in 
 England and which has excited so much controversy 711;" 
 ica. It had been advocated as early us 1827 hJ II 
 vation upon English customs had been^to^tly reL's :d -te GoT 
 ernment was quite willing to try an experiment in Inda hoT 
 ever, which thev worn Ar.uh*M ^Ko-if W n •• • , ' 
 
 The chief advocate of the s.-rtem, at the time of /hioh w write' 
 was no less a political economist than John Stuart J ill. ' 
 
176 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 I 
 
 This plan of govornment for India was earnestly opposed by- 
 Mr. Gladstone, who enunciated principles in connection with the 
 management of Indian affairs by the English Parliament which 
 ho, long afterward, was brought to admit ought to bo applied to 
 the case of another country. The interests of the people of In- 
 dia had hitherto been protected by the Court of Directors ; but 
 by the provisions of this bill they were left at the mercy of the 
 ignorance, or error, or indiscretion of the people and Parlia- 
 ment of England. There was no limitation to the power of the 
 Executive through the treasury and army of India, by which 
 wars might be commenced without the knowlege or consont of 
 Parliament, and an accumulation of debt would be cast upon 
 
 India. 
 
 This bill was finally withdrawn by Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Glad- 
 stone endeavored to prevent further ill-considered legislation up- 
 on this important subject by a resolution which he introduced 
 June 7th. This resolution afRrm<id that it was expedient to 
 create the Court of Directors of the East India Company, to ad- 
 minister the government of India in the name of the Queen, un- 
 til the end of that session of Parliament. It was not possible, he 
 said, during the session of Parliament to perfect a scheme of 
 government which would be worthy to stand as the plan for rul- 
 ing a people like that of India j the problem was one of the 
 most formidable ones ever presented to any legislature or any 
 nation, and the evils of delay were insignificant in comparison 
 with those of crude and hasty legislation. After a long discus- 
 sion, this was negatived by a considerable majority, and the 
 Government formally i .roduced the India Bill No. 3. 
 
 Mr. Bright's idea of good government in India would be se- 
 cured, he thought, by the constitution of five Presidencies of 
 equal rank, among which there would bo a generous rivalry for 
 good, instead of utter stagnation ; evil ambition would be check- 
 ed, and there would be no governor so great that he could not be 
 controlled. This, however, was not regarded as wholly practica- 
 ble, Mr. Gladstone's amendment, which was proposed later on, 
 met with more favor. It provid ;d that the forces maintained out 
 of the revenue of India should not be employed in any military 
 operation outside of India, except for ropelling invasion, or un- 
 der some othei urgent and sudden necessity, without the consent 
 of Parliament for the purpo^e. This amendment was carried, 
 and on the 8th of July the bill passed the House of Uommoos. 
 
Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 177 
 
 Another speech which Kv. Gladstone delivered during this 
 session has great interest when taken in connection with his at- 
 titude and utterances on the same subject some years later. This 
 was on the subject of the Danubian Principalities, the people of 
 wluch were extremely anxious foi- the union which had been dis- 
 cussed at the Congress of Paris. The question had been submitted • 
 to the people themselves, and they had boon found to bo almost 
 unanimously in favor of it. They asked something more than 
 
 Earl of Derby. 
 
 mere union, however; it would bo necessary, in order to guard 
 against local jealousies, that they should havo a prince or chief 
 taken from a foreign family. This would secure peace between 
 Turkey and Eussia by interposing a boundary of neutral terri- 
 tory, or what would bo practically neutral, between the two fron- 
 tiers. The feeling in these Principalities was favorable to Tur- 
 key, because their rolfttinna with Tm.i.-.^Tr ^.r,,,./^ f^ 1_ j ^ 
 
 , - '-J ^"^'^•■j iv>iiiiuu!.t, upon a 
 
 liberal basis, and there had thus far been no sensible collision of 
 interests. If the union did not take place, the Principalities 
 
 12 
 
178 
 
 Progressing Towards Liberalism. 
 
 would be a constant source of anxiety to Europe; nor could it 
 have the slightest injurious effect upon the Ottoman Empire, 
 which had never possessed the sovereignty of the Principalities. 
 Ho said that it would have been far better to have said nothing 
 about the union, than to hold out the hope of it, and then re- 
 verse the policy. The speech concluded with these words : 
 
 " I must really say that if it wore our desire to embroil the 
 East, to sow the seeds and create the elements of permanent dif- 
 ficulty and disunion, to aggravate every danger which threatens 
 Turkey, and to prepare willing auxiliaries for Eussia in her pro- 
 jects southwards, wo could not attain those objects by any means 
 better than that of abandoning our pledges and promises, and 
 giving" in to the Austrian policy." 
 
 This speech, which was made in support of a motion to pres- 
 ent an address to the Queen upon the subject, was answered by 
 Mr. Disraeli, who said that he could not conceive a step which 
 would be more embarrassing to the Government than che adop- 
 tion of Mr. Gladstone's motion. Upon a division, the Government" 
 obtained a majority of nearly two hundred votes. 
 
 Many circumstances combined to make the financial outlook 
 depressing, a^^d Mr. Disi'aoli's supporters looked forward to his 
 budget with not a little anxiety and trepida^Jon. But when the 
 statement was made, it obtained favor with the country general- 
 ly ; and what contributed largely to its success in the House, Mr. 
 Gladstone's speech on the subject was verj'- friendly to the 
 schemes which were there proposed. 
 
 The next series of duties in which we find Mr. Gladstone en- 
 gaged differ bo widely from the Parliamentary routine which has 
 been described in the present chapter, that its consideration muy 
 well be postponed to the next division of this biography. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. 
 
 Lord Macaulay— Eminent Men in Pari iamont -The Ionian Inlands-Agitation in 
 Greece -Parliamentary Itefomi- Foreign Kelatious of England — Mr 
 JJriglit'H Keuirn to I'arliarnent-A Man Ahead of His Time-Controversy 
 Over the Reform 15ill-Mr. (Jladstone's Speech on the Pending (^nestion^ 
 Defeat of the Ministry- Appeal to the Cimtry-Palmerst-n in Otli.e- 
 Fear of Invasion by France -Tax on Paper-Proceedings in the House of 
 Lords- l..berai8 and Tories-Lord Knssell Withdraws His Keform Bill— 
 Cr)88 Purposes in Parliament— Kivalry Among Opp)sing Factions. 
 
 $'HE Ministry which camo into powt • at tho beginning of 
 tho year 1858, was, fro n a literary point of view, a rc- 
 ^ n^arknblo one j and one which woiiJd bo almost if not quite 
 impossible in America, whore tho necessity of achieving 
 name and place by his 
 
 own exertions renders it 
 less likely that a man 
 can succeed in many di- 
 rections, Tho Earl of 
 Derby may becom^ omin- 
 ont in literature and poli- 
 tics with less exertion 
 than is required for an 
 Abraham Lincoln to gain 
 admittance to the bar; it 
 is for this reason that 
 we find so many English 
 statesmen and so few 
 Americans excelling in 
 other things than state- 
 craft. It is true that all 
 schokrly British states- 
 men do not reach the em- Lord Macaulay. 
 inence in letters of Macaulay, who died u . mt the penod wo 
 have now reached in this his.ory. But, on the other hand. Ma- 
 
 179 
 
180 
 
 The Palmerston Minis ry. 
 
 cnulay, who figures ivith somo prominonco in ilio carl}' stages of 
 tliis narrativo, in order to become great as an historian and ch- 
 sayiat, was obiigod to rotiro almost entirely from the strife for 
 political honors. 
 
 At the head of tho Government at this date was that brilliant, 
 impulsive speak .r, whoso words wore sometimes fiery eloquence, 
 and sometimes grandiloquent nonsense; who was often carried 
 away by tho jjassions which, subdued, ho might have useu a.i ef- 
 ficient weapons against tho evils of tho cause which had aroused 
 them; wlioso blunders often lost 'no victories which his head- 
 long daring had almost won, so that Disraeli, his brilliant sub- 
 ordinate had already clnistcned him "Tho Er.port of Debate," 
 after the fiery Stuart; ho was long eminent as a statesman, first 
 as Lord Rlanley, afterward becoming Earl of Derby, but had not 
 at this time become known as a translator of tho Iliad, which 
 will more surely perpetuate his name and fame than any repu- 
 tation which ho over acquired witliin tho walls of Parliament. 
 
 That chief subordinate, and tho leader of tho House of Com- ' 
 mons, was better known and more highly esteemed as a rovclist 
 than when he first entered Parliament; his reputation as a wri- 
 ter, indeed, grew with his rank as a statesman, and tho novels 
 which had been looked upon as tho mere ebullitions of an ec- 
 centricity which ho himself mistook for genius, were now rank- 
 ed as tho productions of a new school of fiction. The Right 
 Honorable Benjamin Disraeli, Chancellor of the Exchequer and 
 Leader of tho House of Commons, was quite a different person- 
 age from that loud-locking youth whose first speech had so en- 
 tertained the Commons. 
 
 Asulo from Lord John Manners, who was in control of the 
 Woods and ;' .r. sla, and Lord Stanley, who became, on tho death 
 of his fathi r, t'.e ^llecnth ''a;! of Derby, and attained some 
 cmincnco m luo arena of pr.Itics, there is but one other name 
 in tho list that is familiar to cur cars ; and b«. is less known to 
 us in tho world of politics than in the world of letters. Edward 
 Lytton-Bulwer, born tho same year as Disraeli, and consequent- 
 ly bowecn fn .c and five years older than Gladstone, had enter- 
 ed Parlia nent when barely twenty-one. It would have been 
 long before he achieved eminence as an orator, for the few 
 speeches which he m'ado in tho course of his parliamentary ca- 
 reer were rather thoughtful and earnest, evincing a it.rgo and 
 liberal view of national interests, than brilliant and "taking." 
 

 The Palmenton Ministry. 
 
 181 
 
 Ho bogan lifo as nn cxtromo ndvocato of Eoform moasurijs j and 
 ho wae scarcely thirty whon ho publishod ono of tho most pow- 
 erful political pamphlets of tho century j a form of support 
 which vaa so gnilcful to Lord Melbourne that tho author was 
 at once offered a seat in the Cabinet. This, however, ho de- 
 clined; but accepted tho baronetcy which iu 1838 was conferred 
 for that and similar services to tho party then in j)()wer. Ouc- 
 coeding in 1844 to tho estates of his mother's family, ho assumed 
 hor name in connection with that of his father, and became Sir 
 Edward Bulwer-I ytio \ About tho time that Gladstone finally 
 left the Conservative yu.-ty (if tbut expression can bo iisod as in- 
 dicating any definite period;, Hulwer-Lytton took tho opposite 
 step, and left tho Liberals fur tho Conservatives. lie had not 
 boon in tho Derby administrali«n as it was originally formed ; 
 but vhen Lord Ellonborough , csigned tho control of Indian 
 nffairs, Lord Stanley, who had been Colonial Socreta.y, was 
 transferred to this position, and the brilliant novelist appointed 
 to tho place thus v..jated. Perhaps it was natural that when 
 tho necessity arose for sending a special envoy to Greece, u man 
 like Bulwer-Lytton should think of a representative who had 
 ulreadj distinguished Mmsclf in literature by his studies of 
 Homer; and tho Premier who was afterward to bo known as 
 tho translator of tho Iliad world bo likely to see a fitness in tho 
 selection. The comments upon this appointment were not alto- 
 gether favorable "A writer of novels is leaucr of the House 
 of Commons," said tho scandalized politicians who did not pro- 
 tend to scholarship ; "and ho has another writer of novels at his 
 side as Colonial Secretary; worse than that, ho is actually a 
 playwright; and betwcon them t'ley can think of nothing bet- 
 ter than to send out a man to the Ionian Islands to listen to tho 
 tirades of Greek demagogues simply because ho happens to bo 
 fond of reading Ilomer." 
 
 This readci- of the blind old bard was Jlr. Gladstone, who had 
 already become well J nown as a scholar in this special depart- 
 ment ; wo have not iiithcrto traced hie literarj' course, reserving 
 that for another timo, wien our pages shall be free from the 
 rush and W'.irl of political action. 
 
 Tho Ionian Is'.ards had been erected in tho year 1800 into the 
 Ecpublic of the Sever United Islands ; in iSlo, they were placed 
 under the Protectorate of Great Britain; a few years later had 
 come the assertion of the independence of Groece, finally ac- 
 
182 
 
 The Pafincrston Mirustry. 
 
 knowledged by the Powers, and forced upon Turkey. For many 
 years after tlie achievement of this condition, the louians had 
 looked longingly upon the country to whi^h they naturally be- 
 longed by race, tradition and geographical position ; but they 
 had no cause for formal complaint, and were not strong enough 
 to assert themselves by force. They could only await the action 
 of England. 
 
 That the sympathy of England was on the side of popular liberty 
 was well understood and needed no formal pr^of A weak power, 
 
 Lord John Monno's, 
 
 or ci feeble people struggling to be free, tan always depend upon 
 the active suj)port of the masses of the j)eoplc everywhere. For 
 years the lonians had been dissatisfied and earnestly strivir';; to 
 better their condition. 
 
 The popular constitution which had been given them about 
 ten years before this time did not do away with this desire 
 to be united to Greece; it only enabled the people to express 
 their wish in a manner which would command more attention 
 in England, because it was intensely resj^ectable ; the protest 
 of a Iog!?latnre is or may be worth listening to, v.'hile the 
 wish of the people expressed by themselves directly, is not 
 
 
The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 183 
 
 to bo regarded, lest it lead to revolution. And now press, leg- 
 islature and peop-le had but one vJce, and with that were cry- 
 ing out for freedom. 
 
 Were they not free? asked the British Govornmont. They 
 had a constitution which guaranteed their rights, as the English 
 had iheirsj they had their Legislative Assembly of forty mem- 
 bers, and a Senate of a round half dozen. What if they wore 
 presided over by an English Lord High Commissioner? His 
 position was but an emblem of the watchful care which England 
 kept over them. But the unreasonable Greeks were not satis- 
 fied. All this was very true : they had a constitution and a rep- 
 resentative government, and the English authorities had made 
 excellent roads, improved the harbors, established regular com- 
 munication by steamships with the rest of the world— far great- 
 er conveniences than KingOtho's subjects had; but still these 
 unreasonable Greeks did not think themselves free so Ion"- as 
 this Lord High Commissioner was also Commander-in-Chief of 
 a considerable body of British troops garrisoned among them. 
 And though they had a representative assembly, the Lord High 
 Commissioner aforesaid had a very ugly trick of dissolving it 
 whenever it declined to legislate as he wished it to do. Taking 
 it all in all, they did not quite believe the Englishmen who said 
 that the Ionian Islands *»njoyed the blessings of liberty. 
 
 The more loudly an Ionian politician exclaimed against this 
 order of things, the more pleasing he was to the people; and 
 the more the people clamored for freedom, the angrier grew the 
 English public at such iiigratitude. Theio were but few men 
 in public life in England wl>o were not thoroughly disgusted 
 with the unreasonable Greeks; and this feeling was shared by 
 som-o eminent Frenchmen; notably by M. Edmond About, 
 whoso description of the oxuellent roads in these islands 's so 
 earnest that we may almost imagine that he wrote with tears in 
 his eyes. Others there were, of broader sympathies, who saw 
 how far the Greeks were right; and of this number were the 
 Colonial Secretary and his newly chosen envoy. 
 
 Although Mr. Gladstone was simply dispatched upon a com- 
 mission of inquiry, his appointment for that purpose was hailed 
 by the Greeks as clear evidence that tho English Government 
 intended to abandon its Protectorate over the Islands, Tho En- 
 glish Government had no such intention; at least, it was not def- 
 initely understood what would he best; but just at this time two 
 
184 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 dispatches were publishod by tho iVeu's which ht to have been 
 kej)!, ijrivato until acted upon, but which some enterprising re- 
 porter ha'1 got hold of. They were written by tho Lord High 
 Commissioner, and recommended that all the islands except 
 Corfu should bo abandoned to their own wili. This excepted 
 island was to bo retained as a military post. A dispatch written 
 by tho Colonial Secretary about tho same time seemed to point 
 tho same way, and Mr. Gladstone was received with all tho effu- 
 siveness of welcome of which the people of a Southern race 
 caji show themselves possessed. He at once set to work to as- 
 certain how fur the clamor for separation from England and an- 
 nexation to Greece was the voice of the people, and how far it 
 was simply the loud-mouthed vociferations of blatant dema- 
 gogues. Ho seems to have been speedily convinced that this 
 popular movement was one worthy the respect of all liberty-lov- 
 ing men. After a number of weeks spent in the Islands, tho 
 matter was formally presented to tbo Ionian Parliament, in the. 
 form of a proposal to annex their republic to the kingdom of 
 Greece. This obtained thi assent of tho representatives, and a 
 petition to that eff'ect was presented to Mr. Gladstone. In in- 
 forming the English sovereign of the result of his mission, he 
 stated that "tho single and UT;animous will of the Ionian people 
 has been and is for their union with the kingdom of Greece." 
 This short dispatch tells the whole story of his embassy and tho 
 accomplishment of the task set him, A couple of weeks after- 
 ward, ho left for England ; his official connection with the Ionian 
 "slands was at an end. 
 
 Not so tho influence which he had over their fortunes. The 
 hopes which had been rais(3d bj' his appointment were not to be 
 readily dampened by his return ; the Greeks continued to agi- 
 tato more strenuously than ever, and ti.ey were listened to with 
 more respect at the Colonial Office and in Parliament^ sinco so 
 eminent an Englishman had become impressed with tho justice 
 of their claims. It vas some years before tho final result of 
 this mission was achieved ; but when tho Ionian Islands at last 
 became a part of the kingdom of Greece, it was in no small 
 measure duo to tho influence which Mr. Gladstone's opinion had 
 upon tho councils of his country. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone returned to England in February, 1859. The 
 Derby Ministry had been in offiro scarcely a year. It was al- 
 ready beginning to show signs of weakness, of that inevitable 
 
The l^almerston Ministry. ^ 155 
 
 loss of power which sooner or later comes to every Cxovern- 
 
 There were two important questions before the public mind ut 
 this juncture: Parliamentary Reform and the state of the foreign 
 relations of England. The measure which had excited such en- 
 mitynuhe early thirties had become an insufficient measure for 
 
 Mr. Speaker. 
 
 exl'ZT^V'''T"" '' ^he people's rights; and a further 
 sUu'ho r.. "^' ''"' ^""^'^ demanded. Unable to 
 
 s uigglc against !,o unmistakable expression of the popular will 
 
 but this had rather excited than allayed the popular feeling. ' 
 
186 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 1 Iw! 
 
 i 
 
 It was hardly a time at which to bring up such a measure ; 
 for all Europe was trembling at the innovations which were be- 
 ing introduced, and a country like England would seem to have 
 desired rather a continuance of the old state of things at this 
 period of revolution. Under the ausiJces of Cavour, who ha( 
 spent some time in England, and was a warm admirer of the En- 
 glish system of Government, the petty state of which he was a 
 subject had been modeled after the great empire, and Sardinia 
 had, in consequence, attained a rank as a constitutional mon- 
 archy for which she would otherwise have striven in vain. This 
 country had first been heard of in European politics, as a state 
 which was at all worthy of consideration, during the Crimean 
 War, whei. it became the ally of England and Franco. Savoy 
 had grown into Sardinia, Sardinia was soon to grow into Italy. 
 
 It is not probable that the Premier had any decided wish for 
 Parliamentary Eeform. Ho had thrown himself, heart and soul, 
 into the work when the subject was first brought to the serious 
 attention of Parliament; but that had been nearly thirty years 
 before this time, and age was beginning to cool the ardor of his 
 nature. The chief advocate of a further extension of the suf- 
 fri had been Lord John Eussell, who had brought forward such 
 a I 11 in 1852, and supported it with all his powers only to have 
 it luil. Disraeli was now eager for Reform, because ho saw clear- 
 ly enough that it was the only means by which the Conserva- 
 tives could hope to retain power; the instant the Government 
 should venture to oppose or disregard the popular wish, that in- 
 stant their divided opponents would unite, and the union would 
 be fatal to the fot.5 cf Reform. 
 
 But chief among those who advocated the passage of such a 
 measure was that stuidy Quaker whose earnestness in the cause 
 of the people has gi-own stronger and stronger as the years have 
 gone by. John Bright had been out of Parliament for several 
 years, on account of ill health, when in 1857 he was returned for 
 Birmingham. In the first period of his parliamontary life, he 
 had been one of the most ardent supporters of the Fj-ee Trade 
 system ; and ho -^ perhaps the most widely known advocate 
 of it ; certainly tin, re was no one else who permitted himself to 
 be so completely absorbed by this measure. He was one of the 
 delegates sout bv the Society of Friends In the Cr.jvr "t the be- 
 ginning of the Crimean War, to intercede for peace. This had 
 been his last public act in this first period. His return to Parlia- 
 
The Palmerston Ministry. 157 
 
 ment was signalized by his opposition to the Conspiracy Bill 
 which was the cause of Lord Palmerston's going out of office,' 
 ho now threw himself with all his strength into this effort to se- 
 cure a more universal suffrage, and never relaxed his endeavors 
 until the attainment of that object, nearly twenty years after 
 Lord Derby went out of office. 
 
 il^nTtTT!; ^"^ ^'"^^'' ^'^' '"'""'^ ^'^^'^^ "ke a resurrec 
 tion, so fully had people been convinced that he would be heard 
 
 no more. It was small wonder, then, that his audiences should 
 bo large and enthusiastic. His efforts were not wholly successful- 
 though the popular outcry was loud, it was not universal : try- 
 ing to arouse a Eeform spirit in the North, Bright himself said, 
 was like flogging a dead horse." The upper and middle class- 
 es cared very little about the quostion, for their rights had been 
 assured by the measure of 1832; it was mainly tho laboring 
 classes who were now dissatisfied ; and many of the Conserva 
 tives were inclmed to treat the demand as the mere outcry of 
 proxessional agitators. Bright himself was generally regarded 
 by parliamentarians as only an eloquent and respectable dema- 
 gogue; and most of the Conservatives, and some of tho Whiffs 
 were inclined to look upon him as scarcely worthy of being ta- 
 ken into account. Perhaps the Conservative who had the hiirh- 
 est opinion of him was no other than Mr. Disraeli, who saw that 
 the Manchester orator must be taken into account as a genuine 
 political power. ^ 
 
 Mr. Bright was persuaded to formulate a bill, expressing his 
 Ideas on this momentous question of public policy ; but as Sight 
 have been expected, his views were not those of the Ministry 
 His enemies said it was such a measure as Jack Cade might have' 
 proposed, had that ancient agitator ever got so far as the subject 
 of Parliamentary Eeform; he had so few friends, as far as this 
 bill was concerned, that it did not make much matcor what they 
 said. Certainly the bill had but few supporters, though it was 
 so near yl.Ke that which the party adopted later that we can 
 only rate Bright as far ahead of his time. 
 
 Disraeli who saw that he could not resist the tendency in that 
 direction, had been studying the question of Eeform, and was 
 ready with a bill at the beginning of the session of .859. It was 
 tr.„i.in,!a.i^ a v.onsei-vuLivo measure, since it left things very near- 
 ly as .t found them. The great need of the time was a law which 
 would not only increase the number of voters, but would extend 
 
V - 
 
 188 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 tho franchise to classes which were as yet without representation) 
 but Disraeli's i)!iin did not aim at this. It was said by one of the 
 opposite party that it looked like a bill framed to increase tho 
 Conservative majority; and that was doubtless its intention. 
 Tho chief change which was made was the extension of tho fran- 
 chise to pf rsons who had property in the funds, bank stock, or 
 stock in the East India Company, also to those who had a cer- 
 tain amount of money in savings-banks or received a pension 
 from the Government, aid to certain professional classes which 
 had not hitherto been permitted a "^'ote. " The working-classes 
 cried out for the franchise, and Mr. Disraeli proposed to answer 
 tho cry by giving tho vote to graduates of universities, medical 
 practitioners and schoolmasters," 
 
 Tho bill passed the first reading by a party vote, procured by 
 the unflagging efforts of the Whigs. But the bill was not a fav- 
 orite with tho Conservative party itself. Tho Home Secretary 
 urged that no member of tho Ministry would support such a biJl, 
 were it brought forviird by Lord John Russell or Lord Palmer- 
 ston ; and ho urged this in a letter in which he conveyed his res- 
 ignation to the Premier. Mr. Henley, the President of the 
 Board of Trade, followed tho example of Mr. Walpole. When 
 the bill which had thus won the contempt of its proposer's party 
 friends came up for a second reading, it met -with hard treatment 
 at the hands of his foes. Lord John Eussell moved an amend- 
 ment to the effect that the proposed readjustment of tho county 
 franchise was unsatisfactory to the House, and that any bill 
 which attempted to deal with this question ought to include a 
 plan for tho greater extension rf the suffrage in cities and bor- 
 roughs. Tho experienced statesman sup])orted this amendment 
 with an able speech, expressing in touching language his long- 
 continued clTorts for Parliamentary Eeform; and the debate bo- 
 came animated. 
 
 Mr. Bright and his immediate adherents of course opposed tho 
 measure of tho Ministry, as it was very far from their ideas of 
 what such a bill should be. More moderate Liberals thought it 
 could be so modified in Committee as to meet tho requirements 
 of the time. Mr. Gladstone, who, in the division which followed, 
 voted against tho amendment, found it necessary to explain his 
 course in a somewhat lengthy speech, an abstiact of which will 
 state tho objections to this bill, and also the diflSculties ensuing 
 from its rejection, more clearly than is otherwise possible. 
 
V - 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 189 
 
 As there was no controversy traceable to differences between 
 political parties, but a remarkable unanimity on all sides with 
 -egard to the necessity for Ecform, ho regretted that the House 
 was now in debate which would estrange those whose united ef- 
 forts were necessery to a satisfactory settlement. Ho objected 
 to the form of the resolution, and only the weakness of the Gov- 
 ernment could induco him to vote for it. Like all others of the 
 time, he saw grave evils arising from a chanf^-e at this jancturo; 
 and tho Liberals especially had cause to fear such a change, for 
 they would bo called to power, and that would only emphasize 
 the divisions in that party. Mr. Gladstone was now identified 
 with the Liberals, tho name Peel te having gone almost com- 
 pletely out of use. Ho next proceeded to sketch the history of 
 Ecform as his own recollection afforded him tho materials : 
 
 "In 1851 my noble friend [Lord J. Russell], then the First 
 Minister of the Crown, approached tho question of Ecform, and 
 commenced with a pro'niso of what was to bo done twelve 
 months afterward. In 1852 he brought in a bill, and it disap- 
 peared, together with the Ministry. In 1853 we had the Ministry 
 of Lord Aberdeen, which commenced with a promise of Ecform 
 in twelve months' time. Well, 1854 arrived; with it arrived the 
 bill, but with it also arri'f ed tho war, and in the war was a rea- 
 son, and I believe a good reason, for abandoning the bill. Then 
 came the Government of my n^ble friend tho member for Tiver- 
 ton [Palmerston] which was not less unfortunate in tho circum- 
 stances which prevented tho redemption of those pledges which 
 had been given to tho people from the mouth uf tho Sovereign 
 on the throne. In 1855 my noble friend escaped all responsibil- 
 ity for a Ecform Bill on account of the war; in 1856 ho escaped 
 all responsibility for Ecform on account of the peace ; in 1857 
 he escaped that inconvenient responsibility by the dissolution of 
 Parliament; and in 1858 he escaped again by the dissolution of 
 his Government." 
 
 Frequently interrupted by the cheers and laughter of tho House 
 while thus summing up tho history of Ecform during the past 
 seven or eight years, the speaker proceeded to point the moral 
 of this "ower true tale." Tho people had come to think that the 
 House was only too willing to oppose this question; and this 
 had made it hazardous to oppose the bill. Ho did not advocate 
 the passage of the bill, however, as it stood, but urged strongly 
 the reduction of the qualification, and declared that the small 
 
190 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 boroughs decerved more consideration. They were the nursery 
 gronnd of men who were destined to lead the House and be an 
 ornament to their country, he said ; and he maintained that the 
 extension and durability of English liberty vero to be attributed, 
 under Providence, to distinguished statesmen introduced into 
 the House at an early age. Upon al) these grounds he urged 
 the House to go into committee, thus to discuss the bill more 
 freely, and to make such alterations as might be necessary. 
 
 It should be remembered that the rules of the House of Com- 
 mons preclude any member from speaking twice on the same 
 subject ; but if the House go into committee, the Speaker leaving 
 the chair, this restriction is removed and a freer discussion 
 thereby made possible. 
 
 The division was taken shortly after the conclusion of Mr. 
 Gladstone's speech. Though the House of Commons consisted 
 of six hundred and fifty-eight members, it is ri-re that over five 
 hundred take part in a division ; :and the House frequently ad- 
 journs for lack of the necessary quorum of forty. On thisocea- 
 pioiJ, however, there were present the almost unprecedented num- 
 ber of six hundred and twenty-one members; and by this pro- 
 portion of the House was the momentous question decided. 
 
 The division was taken, and showed that the Opposition had a 
 majority of thirty-nine. This was a surprise to the members of 
 the Government, and indeed to the Liberals ; for the whole ques- 
 tion was so open, and party lines so confused, ♦hat the wisest old 
 politician in the House could hardly have foretold the result with 
 certainty. 
 
 Lord Derby decided to appeal to the country; a stop which 
 occasioned much inconvenience, said John Bright, but was con- 
 stitutional and perhaps necessary. Parliament was prorogued 
 April 19th, and dissolved the next day. Writs were now is- 
 sued for a new election, returnable at once j and the new Parlia- 
 ment met May 31st. In this assembly, Mr. Gladstoiie again sat 
 for the University of Oxford. The Government was in a con- 
 siderablo minority in the new House, and the eifects of thisstato 
 of afi'airs were felt at once. A week had been spent in swearing' 
 in new members, so that it was not until the 7th of June that 
 Her Majesty opened Parliament in person, it having boen opened 
 by commission upon first assembling,. The first business was the 
 preparation of an address to the Queen ; the regular routine at 
 the beginning of the session ; and to thip, address, as moved in 
 
The Pabnerston Ministry, jgj 
 
 the House of Comraons, the Marquis of Hartington offerod an 
 amendment. This was equivalent to proposing a vote of want of 
 confidence, and the result was eagerly looked for. The debate 
 lasted three nights, and ter:..inatod with a division which showed 
 a majority of nineteen against the Minictry. Having been twice 
 defeased in the House, there was no option but for them to re- 
 sign; and resign thoy did. 
 
 Lord Palmersion. 
 
 The Liberal party, to whom the power had thus fallen, was 
 divided against itself; Lord John Russell headed one portion 
 while Lord Palmerston was the chief of the other. A coolness 
 had existed between these two for some time, though it was said 
 that at the date of Lord Derby's resignation they had been re- 
 conciled, and V ould act together. But it was at least doubtful 
 ow long Eusscll would endure Falraersion as his chief, and more 
 than doubtful whether Palmerston would consent to act under 
 Kussell. In this dilemma, the Queen sent for Lord Grai^ville, 
 
192 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 who ,vns the confessed loader of the Liberal Party in the House 
 ol Lords ; and gave him her command to form a Ministry. 
 
 Contrary to precedent, a portion of the interview in which 
 this arrangement was made was published in the Times; and it is 
 from this article that we learn the reasons for this choice, as well 
 as the Queen'« fear of offending either of these eminent states- 
 men by nominating tho other to the highest honor in her gift. 
 Ihopubi.eutionof this account was regarded ly some of the 
 8tr,oter politicians of the old school as the sign of a general 
 breaking up of all the boundaries of decency and respect for 
 royalty ; but was easily and naturally explained by Lord Gran- 
 ville who had obtained permission to state to his politicalfriends 
 what hud occurred, and tho interview had thus indirectly cot 
 around to the newspaper. 
 
 But the Queen did not understand her ex-ministers as well as 
 she thought. For some reason, which is not clearly explained. 
 Lord Jol;n Russell declined to servo under Lord Granville but 
 professed his readiness to accept office in a Palmerston Govern- 
 ment. Under such circumstances, Lord Granville bavin., con- 
 fessed that he would not form a Cabinet, the post was offered to 
 Lord Palmerston. 
 
 Three of the important offices in this Ministry were filled by 
 the same men who had occupied those posts in tho first Palmer- 
 ston administration ; of these, we are most interested in the per- 
 formance of the duties of the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 which Mr. Gladstone was again called upon to perform. Regard- 
 ing this appointment, Molesworth, whoso "History of En^rland 
 from the Year 1830," John Bright commends as - honestly writ- 
 ten, uses the following language : 
 
 "Anothergentleman whoso accession to the Ministry gave it 
 great streugth and stability, and whose presence in it was per- 
 haps necessary to its existence, certainly to its permanence, was 
 Mr. Gladstone. He had to face a strong contest for his seat for 
 the University of Oxford ; but his friends succeeded, though not 
 without difficulty, in obtaining his re-election, notwithstanding 
 the opposition of many members of the university who had for''- 
 merly given him their support, but who were becoming intoler- 
 ant of the more and more pronounced liberality of his views 
 and whoso anger and suspicions were further roused by his ac- 
 ceptance of office in the Palmerston administration." 
 i- Ithough Mr. Gladstone had at such length explained that his 
 

 
 i'sS- ■'■.■TWr^m'^i '■'£;♦ y 'v,iHwK;:-»'-'9«^ 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 193 
 
 voto for Mr. Disraeli's Eoform Bill was merely given because ho 
 feared the results of a change of Government, and was not an 
 indorsement either oi the mea.suro itself, or of the general course 
 of the Ministry which had framed it, his opjjonent in this elec- 
 tion was not slow to accuse him of tergiversation in accepting 
 ofBce immediately in the Ministry formed by Lord Derby's op- 
 ponent and successor. This charge was best answered by a plain 
 unvarnished statement of the facts in the case, and quotations 
 from Mr. Gladstone's speech on that occasion ; and seems to liave 
 been lightly thought of by the electors; for the vote of 859 for 
 Lord Chandos against 1050 for Mr. Gladstone is not a large one, 
 when we consider how deeply Mr. Ghidstone's lihoralistic ten- 
 dencies had offended many of the electors long \^h,\'q he signal- 
 ized those tendencies by his course on tin present occiision. 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry had been formed early in Juii<? ; the 
 nominations at Oxford took place the 27th of the same month, 
 and the polling continued for five days. But the new Chancel- 
 lor of the Exchequer had his budget ready the 18th of July. His 
 speech was given the same flattering reception which had al- 
 ways been accorded him, the strict attention which was so rarely- 
 given to speeches on financial questions. It was a thoroughly 
 simple and at the same time a thoroughly honest measure. Ho 
 had to provide for a largo addition to the naval and military os- 
 tablishmi^nts, in consequence of which it was estimated that 
 while the revenue for the ensuing year would bo £64,340,000, the 
 expend"""re would be £69,207,000. True to the principle upon 
 which lie had acted when the war created such an enormous deficit 
 in the estimated revenue, Mr. Gladstone did not propose to mako 
 up this deficiency of nearly five million pounds by a loan, or by 
 any of the expedients usually adopted by those Chancellors of 
 the Exchequer who aro desirous only of delaying the evil. By 
 an addition of Ad in the pound to the tax on incomes above £150, 
 a penny stamp on bankers' cheques drawn across tho counter, 
 and by the diminution of the malt credits from eighteen to 
 twelve weeivS, thus anticipating a portion of the next year's in- 
 come, he calculated that the deficit would be met without adding 
 to the debt. 
 
 This budget was of course attacked by Mr. Disraeli, who ob- 
 jected to the raising of seventy inillions annually, and urged 
 that it would be brtter to hav-e some understanding with Prance, 
 SO that the expense of maintaining the army might be material- 
 
t&4 
 
 The Palme-ston Ministry. 
 
 I 
 
 y rodueod. It may hero bo noted that a popular movement of 
 this year accomplished more in this direction than any speech 
 which was made in the House of Commons. The people had been 
 considerably aln'-med by some intemperate languar^o used by 
 
 wh cTfl T ' tr""' ''"" "'-^^ " ^•^«"'"^- ^'-«-" P-i' 
 wh ch t le Pnme Mm.ster is sah! to have encouraged. The re' 
 
 -iultof fins was the formation of rifle corps, whica, surviving 
 the a,,rm that caused them to bo organised, made the reduction 
 of the regular army possible, without reducing at the same time 
 the available r,.htnry strength to resist invasion. 
 Tho danger of invasion, as wo havo hinted, was supposed to 
 
 thoC." W ^'^^"^^'^^^^ *-^ «-»^-- had been' allies in 
 
 the Ci .moan War, wo can hardly reckon that Napoleon III. waj 
 
 bulk 17Z ^T'l" '" ^"^'l""'' '^ -or thoroughly trusted by the 
 bulk of tho thinking people. His allianco with England airainst 
 Euss.a counted for nothing, for he had but used on? nation as a 
 tool with which to wreak his ven^^eance upon tho other; ho had 
 extorted Nice and Savoy from Sardinia, as tho price of 'the sup- 
 port ,n the war between Italy and Austria which Cavour had 
 forced him to giyo; ho had turned against Austria, with which 
 heh.ad proviously been in firm allianco; and it was doubtful 
 
 land. bo felt tho people of tho time; though tho record of sue!- 
 fears reads strangely enough to us who have been told of Sedan 
 and Chiselhurst, and of that fierce sortie of Zulu warriors, which 
 finally extinguished his liiic. , ^ 'cu 
 
 '.'^'-^Poloon III," saiU clover opigramatist, "deceived Europe 
 
 ing It to believo that he was a statesman." At this time the im- 
 pression obtained that ho was a statesman, and had the Eno-lish 
 people but been .-ise, they might soon have discovered that Kice 
 and Savoy were not what ho thought they would betohim; that 
 th. Italians had decidedly the best of tho bargain. But they 
 1 ^ot w,so. Tho most reasonable and harmless actions of the 
 
 i h Government were made tho ground of suspicion and 
 
 a arm; It even occasioned uneasinc . that the Power across the 
 channel sh..uld push the projoct of the "impracticable sL. 
 Canal. It .vas under such circumstances as this that a commer- 
 cial treaty with Franco was proposed in tho early days of ISGO- 
 i-.^ .^nic!. hud uucrt arranged m a peculiar way: Mr Cob 
 den, who was looked upon as being much safer and more' Con." 
 
 "v.. 
 
-r- 
 
 The Patmerston Ministry. 195 
 
 sorvativo than Mr. Bright, though ho wa« really tho more rest- 
 ess roformor. was Bont to Franco to talk tho mattor over with 
 tho Emperor. lN..poIoon III. novor let his dignity stand in tho 
 w,.y of any real or fancied advantage, and readily agreed to d s! 
 held I """T 'Vr T'"^'"'^ "'^^ '''-' ^^'^HlenfwU had never 
 
 ston had offered h.m tho Board cf Trade in th. present Ministry 
 Ih.s arranger.ent was mainly brought i .out by Mr. Gladstone 
 who most ardently desired tho treaty. The grelt ma o! Uy of tho 
 pooplo of Franco were ardent Protectionists , tho EmperorXm" 
 self, however, was a Free ' 
 
 Trader; and if tho treaty 
 should bo concluded, it must 
 bo by tho exertion of his 
 imperial will and authority, 
 not by any consent of tho 
 representatives of tho peo- 
 ple. 
 
 The treaty itsclfwill be 
 best summed up in ho words 
 which Mr. Gladstone used 
 in stating its provisions, to 
 tho House of Commons. 
 Tho occasion was the intro- 
 duction of the budget in 
 February, 1860. 
 
 "Perhaps, sir, as tho oom- 
 mittoo have not yot had an 
 
 opportunity of reading the instrument itself, it may be conv< nient 
 t^mt I should m the first place state to them very bHefly the p n^i 
 pal covenants. Fust, I shall tuko tho engagements of F.a ee 
 ^olZTfT^lZ'"''''''' *'" '"^^ ^'^ I^nglfsircoal and cokc^m 
 en bor i860 "^L , ' "^ '"''^ "^' ma^lnory, from the 1st of Dec- 
 in^ I Ll ' 1 """ {''"'"' ^"^ Soods in flux and hemp, includ- 
 >ng, I behove, jute-this last an article comparatively new in 
 
 n rr.l "?"r " T'^^'.^ ^ ^''^' ^"^ -^-^ -^ -t-st ^f't 
 s tho firf ; ; 5 <^-tricts-from the 1st of June, 1861. That 
 
 ::l/: VTf!!"^. ^"^'"^^^-"* -^^ -^-^ ^--o enters. Her 
 ^ . Ki ,a ,, ,„^„^.^^^,.^^ ^^ postponed to tho Istof October 
 
 th!t th f '' '" P'"^"^^^ '"^ '^'' knowledge of the committee' 
 
 that this postponement is stipulated under a pledge given by th^ 
 
 Richard Cobden. 
 
196 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 \i 
 
 Govommont of Franco to the classes who there, as hore, have 
 supposed thomsclves to 1 o interested in the maintenance of pro- 
 hibition. On tljo 1st of October, then, in the year 1861, Franco 
 engages to reduce the duties and take away the prohibitions on 
 all articles of British production mentioned in a certain list, in 
 such a manner that no duty upon any ono of these articles shall 
 exceed thirty per cent, ad valorem. I do not speak of articl'-^ of 
 food, which do not materially enter into tho treaty; but the list to 
 which I refer, sir, includes all tho staples of British manufacture, 
 whether of yarns, flax, hemp, hair, wool, silk, or cotton; all 
 manufactures of skins, leather, bark, wood ; iron and all other 
 metals ; glass, stoneware, earthenware, or porcelain. I will not 
 go through tho whole list; it is indeed needless, for I am not 
 aware of any great or material article that is om'tted. Franco 
 also engages to commute those ad valorem duties into rated duties 
 by a separate convention, to bo framed for tho purpose of giving 
 effect to tho terras which I have 'described. But if there should 
 bo a disagreement as to tho terms on which they should be rated 
 by tlio convention, then tho maximum chargeable on every class at 
 thirty per cent, ad valorem will be levied at tho proper period, not 
 in tho form of a rated duty, but upon tho value; and the value 
 will bo determined by the process now in use in the English cus- 
 toms. 
 
 "I come next, sir, to the English covenants. England engages, 
 with a limited power of exception, which wo propose to exercise 
 only with regard to two or three articles, to abolish immediate- 
 ly and totally all duties upon all manufactured goods. There 
 will be a sweep, summary, entire and absolute, of what are 
 known as manufactured goods from tho face of the British tariff. 
 Further, England engages to reduce the duty on brandy from 15s 
 the gallon to tho level of tho colonial duty ; namely, 8.s2(Z tho gal- 
 lon. She engages to reduce immediatelj'- the duty on foreign 
 wine. In the treaty it is of course French wine which is speci- 
 fied ; but it was perfectly understood between France and our- 
 selves, that wo proceed with regard to tho commodities of all 
 countries alike. England engages, ther to reduce tho duty on 
 wine from a rate nearly reaching 5s lOd per gallon, to 3s per gal- 
 lon. She engages, beside a present reduction, further to reduce 
 that duty from the 1st of April, 1861, to a scale which has refer- 
 ence to the strength of the wine measured by the quantity of 
 spirit it contains," 
 
The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 197 
 
 The provisions of the treaty would of course cause a reduction 
 in the revenue ; but this was considerably less, Mr. Gladstone 
 calculated, than the relief which the measure would give. The 
 deficit thus occasioned would be made up, he argi .d, by the fall- 
 ing in of long annuities ; and the measure which was designed 
 to be a permanent benefit would thus bo attended by not even a 
 temporary inconvenience. 
 
 But the house was by no means ready to assent to this plan. 
 Not only did the Conservatives oppose it, as might have been ex- 
 pected, but some of the Liberals wore equally bitter in their de- 
 nunciations of such a compromise measure. It was a curious fea- 
 ture of the debate, that some of the most eminent Free Traders 
 in the House, including Gladstone, Bright and Cobden, were ac- 
 cused of renouncing their principles in favor of a measure of 
 Protection; and by urging the conclusion of a treaty which 
 could only be carried out on the other side by the will of the 
 Emperor, opposed to the sentiments of his people, they were ob- 
 liged to defend themselves from a charge of rejecting the prin- 
 ciples of representative government. Such a charge, applied to 
 Gladstone, is only less ridiculous than a similar one having 
 Bright for its object. 
 
 The Government did not attempt to deny that this was a com- 
 promise measure ; but it was the best that could be done ; and as 
 such it was presented to the House. When the budj^ot had been 
 fully presented, the Opposition armed itself for the fight. The 
 battle was opened by a shot from Mr. Disraeli, who offered an 
 amendment affirming that the House was not ready to go into 
 committee upon the Customs act until it should have considered 
 and assented to the provisions of the treaty. The right honor- 
 orablo gentleman attacked the treaty, attacked the Government 
 attacked Mr, Cobden, with all the warmth which was character- 
 istic of his SjOeeches on such occasions. Ho cited the example of 
 Pitt in 1786; and doubtless considered his shot atelling one. But 
 it had missed its mark ; and the return fire was one which rat- 
 tled long about his ears and those of his confederates. 
 
 Of the speech in which Mr. Gladstone answered this attack of 
 the ex-chancellor, a contemporary newspaper said : <' The Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer has won his Magenta gallantly, and 
 with extraordinary d.amngo to the oncmy. The bnttle has boon ro- 
 new3d, and is raging while we write, but the Opposition army is 
 dispirited and charges lan^ruidl^, and all soom^ teiiding towftr4 
 
198 
 
 The Palmevston Ministry. 
 
 a ministerial Solferino. Mr. Gladstone distinguished himself in 
 the first engagement by a feat of arms of the most brilliant char- 
 acter, and none of his own Homeric heroes could have more ter- 
 ribly poured in thunder on the foe. Dropping martial meta- 
 phor, it may be said that the best debater in the House of Com- 
 mons delivered, in answer to Mr. Disraeli — no unworthy antag- 
 onist — a speech in which tiie lucidity of the argument was worthy 
 of the powerful declamation of the orator. From the outset he 
 
 Hon. John BrigkL 
 
 showed his masterly grasp of the subject and an ability quite as 
 conspicuous as if he had made this one question the great study of 
 his life. With perfect ease and self-possession he rose to the occa- 
 sion, pointed out clearly the salient features of Parliamentai}" 
 action, and indicated the far reaching effects of the principles under 
 consideration. He showed his familiarity witii minute details, 
 gaining at once the attentive ear of his auditors. In all these 
 respects he showed his mental superiority. "When Mr. Glad- 
 stone addresses hSnself in his best manner to his work, as he di4 
 

 TAe Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 199 
 
 upon the occasion in question, the House of Commons is justly 
 proud of its illustrious mcrabor. Sometimes, like Burke, 
 
 " Ho goes on refining, 
 And thinks of convincing, while they think of dining," 
 
 (or rather of dividing, for ho seldom throws himseit away upon 
 the Impransi); but there was no such waste of thought upon this 
 occasion, when he closed with his adversary like a man who 
 meant mischief— and ho did it. Mr. Disraeli knows best wheth- 
 er it was wise to got his forces so exceedingly well beaten at the 
 beginning of the financial campaign j but that is his affair and 
 Prince Rupert's." 
 
 The House divided upon the amendment which was thus ably 
 argued against, and the Government found itself in a majority 
 of sixty-three. An amendment to the budget brought forward 
 by a minor member of the Opposition was less fortunate than 
 Mr. Disraeli's had proved, for this condemnation of the propo- 
 sition to re- impose tho income tax, though only for a brief per- 
 iod, was defeated by more than one hundred. 
 
 There was a'other important feature of the .udgot; tho pro- 
 posed abolition of the tax on paper. When we consider the dif- 
 ficulties with which newspapers, those principal consumers of pa- 
 per, have had to contend, we should be astonished, not at the 
 faults that they show, but that they exist. It is true that the 
 great newspaper is a power in the community, no less in conser- 
 vative England than in the United States, which sometimes ap- 
 pears to be as fond of novelties as ever were the Athenians j but 
 the English newspapers of the beginning of this century pro- 
 ceeded upon a mistaken course; they encouraged tho tax which 
 tended to raise the price of their publications, in the belief that 
 their profits would bo diminished if they lost the practical mo- 
 nopoly ; the ostensible reason for their opposition being that 
 cheap journalism would necessarily be nasty. Originally im- 
 posed with the idea of checking tho establishment of seditious 
 newspapers, tho duty in 1836 was a penny upon each copy. Add- 
 ed to this, there waa a sixpence tax on each advertisement; bo- 
 sides this thero was a considerable tax upon tho white paper, 
 represented by a duty imposed for the benefit of the manufac- 
 turer. Tho tax on advertisements was abolished; in 1855 the 
 penny duty upon each copy was no longer exacted ; it remained 
 for Mr. Gladstone to take the final step in promoting the inter- 
 ests of the million readers, by recommending the abolition of 
 
I i 
 
 1 f 1 
 
 200 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry, 
 
 this p/otoctivo duty. Of course there was opposition from the 
 nuinufacturcrs nrul their representatives in Parliament ; for the 
 British Parliament differs from the American Congress in this, 
 that most of the great interests of the country have their ac- 
 knowledged represen tatives. There are others, as there must bo 
 in every representative assembly, who care but little about such 
 things, but are ready enough to vote for a certain measure to 
 oblige a friciul. There was a good deal of rallying up of such 
 men to sustain the cause of the paper-making and journal-selling 
 monopoly. The result was that although the propositions of 
 the Government .vero finally carried, they were carried by con- 
 stantly decreasing majorities. In place of votes which ran a 
 hundred or so ahead of the numbers on the opposite side, as the 
 other portions of the same plan had received, the resolutions 
 to abolish the excise on paper were won, on the second reading, 
 by fifty-three ; on the third, by only nine. 
 
 The bill which had met with this obstinate resistance in the 
 Commons was not more fortunate in the Lords. It was fought 
 with persistent argument; Lord Lyndhurst, who had been per- 
 haps the most powerful supporter of tne Conservative party in 
 his day, a. id the most able and distinguished member of the Peel 
 3Iiristry of 1834, as well as of the later Cabinets formed by Con- 
 servative Premiers, was especially vigorous in his opposition to 
 it. All the force of that brilliant and powerful oratory which 
 hud secured his advancement a half-century before, was employ- 
 ed by the old man, now nearly eighty-nine years old, to defeat 
 this ])lan which was so distasteful to the hereditary legislators. 
 While the question was still being debated in the House of 
 Lords, where Lord Montcaglo had given notice of a hostile mo- 
 tion, and Lord Derby had announced his intention of supporting 
 it, although ho admitted that he thought, if the income could 
 stand it, the tax ought to bo abolished, the members of the House 
 of Commons were protesting indignantly against this usurpation 
 of their privileges. Like our own House of Representatives, the 
 Commons alone can originate bills relating to revenue; and this 
 effort of the Lords to prevent the abolition of a tax against 
 which the Commons had decided, was looked upon as equivalent 
 to imposing a nevr tax. Perhaps the Lords would not have ven- 
 tured upon this course, had the majorities in the House of Commons 
 been greater; ccrcainly they only hold what power they have on 
 condition of never using it, and their attitude of indepondencv 
 
The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 201 
 
 i 
 
 upon this occasion -was looked upon us subversive of all ropres- 
 ontativo government. Public meetings were held, to protest 
 against their usurpation of power, which Mr. Gladstone de- 
 nounced as a " gigantic innovation." At these meetings, John 
 Bright and his immediate adherents were of course the leading 
 spirits, but there were others who did not always act with thom, 
 
 Lo7'd Lynuhurst. 
 
 who were now only too willing io bo at choir side. It was said 
 •t the time that the Chancellor of the Exchequer showed himself 
 the worst Eadical of thom all; quite " out-IIcrodod Herod" in 
 his assertions of the rights of the people. 
 
 The Lords kept on in the course which they had marked out 
 for themsevcs, quite regardless of the popular agitation. The 
 debate finally ended; not without some strange and apparently 
 
:-j| 
 
 il ! 
 
 t 
 
 t ' 
 
 Sil 
 
 M 
 
 ^J 
 
 202 
 
 The Palmcrston Ministry. 
 
 irroconcilablo assertions from Lord Derby, the acknowledged 
 head of the Conservative party; ho would support the abolition 
 oi the tax, if ho thought that the revenue could stand it, ho said 
 again ; forgetting that the recognized authority, the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, who was in possession of data which others 
 could not readily obtain, and who was besides his official advan- 
 tages gifted as few financiers have been, had announced it as his 
 deliberate opinion that the revenue could stand it; ho further 
 acknowledged, to a deputation which waited upon him, com- 
 posed of nijiny cminnt men who represented literature and jour- 
 nalism, that the House of Lords had no right to modify a tux in 
 the slightest degree. This last acknowledgment, however, was 
 not to bo obtained from Lyndhurst, who had been Lord Chan- 
 cellor during three administrations, and the clearness of whose 
 judgments bad never been excelled ; the " old man eloquent" 
 continued to maintain the privileges of that order to which his 
 legal acumen had caused his admission. 
 
 Others there were of less note to speak on the same side ; and 
 wo do not hear of any strong speech in support of the Govern- 
 ment in the Upper House. This branch of the national legisla- 
 ture is always largely Conservative, if anything like its full 
 strength be brought ^ut; and upon this division there were no 
 fewer than two hundred and ninety-seven votes cast, or more 
 than three-fourths of the whole number of peers, including those 
 who, not being of age, were not entitled to a voice in the pro- 
 ceedings. Of these votes, one hundred and ninety-three were 
 against the Government, which was thus left in a minority of 
 eighty-nine in the Upper House. 
 
 The story goes, that Lord Palmcrston was asked what he in- 
 tended to do about it; with the almost American habit of joking 
 which characterized so many of his utterances, he replied : " 1 
 mean to tell them that it was a very good joke for once, but they 
 must not give it to us again." Whether the Premier actually gave 
 this reply or not, is a question which is not answered by any 
 competent authority ; but it was quite in his line to have spoken 
 so to any one who made such an inquiry; and this very policy 
 was the one which ho actually pursued. Immediately upon the 
 reassembling of Parliament, after the recess, Lord Palmcrston 
 brought forward a scries of resolutions affirming Hint the Com- 
 mons alone possessed the power of re-imposing taxes, and say- 
 ing, in effect, that the Lords had better not try it again. 
 
The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 203 
 
 Mr. Gladstone had done it all, said the Conservatives, who 
 wore not far wrong. The whole question is of little importance 
 at this da3% save as it bears directly upon our subject ; the Lords 
 had had their lesson, and neither in the next session, when the 
 same measure was again proposed, nor since that time, under 
 similar circumstances, have they ventured to resist the abolition 
 of a tax which the House of Conmons has decided shall be im- 
 posed no longer. The main interest is that attaching to Mr. 
 Gladstone in this question ; not as showing what eminence he had 
 attained, or what influence ho possessed, for that is a thing which 
 the veriest tyro in English history can tell us, but as evidencing 
 the progress which ho had made in liberalism of opinion and 
 feeling. Ho had even outrun some of his later Whig colleagues. 
 The position which ho took in this controversy was entirely dif- 
 fcient from that assumed by Lord Palmerston. Ho condemned 
 without reserve or mitigation the conduct of the Lords, and 
 the grounds on which he based this decision made it allthe'more 
 welcome to the Eadicals. Ho did not indeed support the course 
 of extreme self-assertion which some Eadical members recom- 
 mended to the House of Commons; but he made it clear that he 
 disclaimed such measures only because he lelt that the House of 
 Lords would soon come to its senses again, and would refrain 
 from similar acts of unconstitutional interference in the future. 
 Hitherto he had been Liberal in feeling and opinion, but this 
 was hardly patent to himself, so gradually had the change been 
 wrought, and so faint were the lines between the moderate Lib- 
 erals and the moderate Conservatives ; much less was it apparent 
 toothers. The first decisive intimation of the course which he was 
 henceforward to tread was his declaration that the constitution- 
 al privileges of the representative assembly were not safe in the 
 hands of the Conservative Opposition. Mr. Gladstone was dis- 
 tinctly regarded during that debate as the advocate of a policy 
 far more energetic than that supported by Lord Palmerston. 
 The promoters of the meetings which had been held to protest 
 against the interference of the Lords found full warrant for the 
 course they had taken in Mr. Glaustone's arguments. Lord 
 Palmerston, on the other hand, certainly suffered somewhat in 
 the eyes of these stern and uncompromi.*- g upholders of the 
 risrhta of the Commons. It was urged that he who was ready 
 enough to sanction Eadical movement)? on the continent was far 
 less tolerant of them at home. But whatever the reasons upon 
 
204 
 
 The Palmerston Minist if. 
 
 E 
 
 :|| I 
 
 which the two men based their disapproval, theirs, added to that 
 which was heard on every side, was quite sufficient to frighten 
 the Lords, who did not try their little joke again, even when the 
 same measure was again sent up by the Commons. 
 
 There rcjiiains one other important measure introduced dur- 
 ing the session of 1860, to be noted in this connection. The 
 Derby Ministry had gone out of office because of their failure to 
 carry u Reform Bill. Lord John Eussell, whose efforts in this 
 direction had been made the subject of Mr. Gladstone's kindly 
 ridicule in the previous session, was naturally the one most inter- 
 ested in the measure, and he was the Minister to whom the work 
 was intrusted. The bill wasbrought in March 1st, and read for the 
 second time on the 19th of the same month. The debate lasted, 
 at intervals, until the 11th of June. A measure which thus hangs 
 on cannot be said to be a popular one with the House ; nor was 
 this. The bill as it was proposed was rather more offensive to the 
 conservative Liberals than to' the Tories themselves; and of 
 this division of the party in power the Premier was the head. 
 Lord John Eussell was the chief of the more popular section, 
 and his Eeform Bill, which was a moderate and simple scheme 
 enough, was called The People's Bill. Palmerston was all but 
 openly opposed to this darling measure of his colleague, how- 
 ever J and although ho was usually a regular attendant upon the 
 sessions of the House, he managed to bo absent at nearly all the 
 sessions that the measure came up for discussion; when ho did 
 chance to be present, ho preserved a silence, which on the part 
 of the Prime Minister when a Government bill was being dis- 
 cussed, was extremely significant. 
 
 The bill proposed that the county franchise should be lowered 
 to ten pounds, the borough to six; and made a considerable 
 change in the apportionment of members; it also provided that 
 where a constituency returned three members, the electors should 
 vote for but two, thus giving a rcpresentntive to tho minority. 
 This was in strict accordance with the ideas of the Manchester 
 school, and partly because it was so pleasing to Messrs. Bright, 
 Cobden, et ah, the more Conservative members of the Cabinet 
 found it extremely distasteful. Had tho Premier spoken once in 
 its favor, it would probably have been carried ; but tho Consor- 
 vati"es had an cnsy task before them. The Opposition dared not 
 oppose the measure openly: Disraeli saw that clearly ; ho might 
 have occasion to intx'oduce a Eeform Bill some day himself • and 
 
 1 
 
 i] 
 
The Palmer ston Ministry. 
 
 206 
 
 tbough ho did not shrink from inconsistency, and had frequently 
 disavowed principles of which ho hud formerly been the ardent 
 
 Mr. Gladstone as Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh. 
 
 supporter, there was no use of providing his enemies with argu- 
 ments against him. He contented himself with a quiet, languid 
 stylo of speech, which seemed to say, "You may think that this is 
 
206 
 
 The Palmerston Ministry. 
 
 a Eoform Bill, but you just ought to sco what I could do, if I had 
 tho opportunity and was so inclined." Tho bill needed norosis- 
 tanco from its enemies; tho passivity of its friends was quite 
 enough to kill it. 
 
 There wore not wanting those who saw what the Premier's si- 
 lence meant, and endeavored to reason with him. 
 
 "Why should you oppose this measure?" asked a friend of 
 him; " Tlio representatives who would be sent to a informed Par- 
 liament would be men of tho same character und ...unding with 
 those who sit in tho present Parliament." 
 
 " Yes," ho answered, grimly, <' I suppose they would ; but 
 they would play to tho galleries instead of tho boxes." 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was a warm supporter of tho bill, und spoke in 
 vindication of the conduct and consistency of tho introducer. He 
 ridiculed the fears of those who thought that tho proposed fran- 
 chise would deteriorate tho constituencies of the country; and 
 urged that the new electors W(Suld bo fully as intelligent and 
 capable of judging men und measures, as many who already 
 held it. Tho apprehensions that tho six pound electors would 
 becomo s > numerous as to swamp the representation of property 
 und station in tho House were utterly unfounded and delusive. 
 
 The bill was rend a second time withouta division, but finding 
 k impossible to carry it through, Lord John Russel! withdrew 
 it; preferring delay to defeat. 
 
 As we began this chap' or with an account of a mission on 
 which Mr. Gladstone was dispatched because he was a profound 
 Greek scholar, wo close with tho mention of an honor which was 
 shown him because of tho same eminence in learning. April 16th 
 1860, ho was installed as Lord Rector of the University of Edin- 
 burgh, having previously to the installation received the def-oe 
 of LL.D. " 
 
 In an address, the great value of which was its practical view 
 of the work performed by tho universities, and the responsibil- 
 ities of those who were students there, Mr. Gladstone told the 
 assembled students how broad was the field of knowledge which 
 they were to till; and how broad the field of time over which 
 tho human mind has sowed and reaped its harvest. 
 
and 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EMANCIPATION FROM TORYISM. 
 
 Wet Weather and Poor Harvests-Dull Session in Parliament-Post Office Sat 
 ings lianka -Garibaldi ana His Red Shirt— Mr. Gladstone Defends the 
 Liberator of Italy— Improvement in the Nation's Finances— Prc^t of the 
 Opiwsition- Bitter Attack on Gladstone— Repeal of the Paper Duty— The 
 Ionian Islands again— English Opinion and the American Civil War- 
 Reduction of the Income Tax— Surplus in the Revenues for 18G4— The 
 Working Classes— Osborne's Amusing Speech— The (Question of Church 
 and State— Mr. Gladstone Declares Himself Unranzzle<'.. 
 
 'O talk about tho weather of the present day is bad enough; 
 but what shall wo say when the records of nearly thirty 
 years ago are brought forward to explain tho course of 
 politics '{ Yet so it must bo now ; for the weather in tho 
 summer of 1860 was tho means of vindicating tho wisdom of 
 those statesmen Avho had so persistently maintained tho doctrine 
 of Free Trade. During the months of June, July and August, 
 there was a provalenceof severe, cold, heavy rains, violent "Mes, 
 and destructive floods j and the long continuance of this . or- 
 
 able weather gave rise to tho fear that there would be a.. ..iitire 
 failuio of the crops. Toward the end of August, indeed, there 
 was somo slight amelioration; so that the crop was really bet- 
 ter than was anticipated, though it was by no means up to the 
 avr '-age. Tho removal of the restrictions which had so long im- 
 peded the free intercha'ige of commodities with other countries 
 now acted in a most salutary manner, when tho enlarged neces- 
 sities of the country had driven her to the resources of a foreign 
 supply. Under tho operation of protective laws, the country 
 would have suffered most severely but the working-classes es- 
 pecially, now realized tho beneficial effects of Free Trade; and 
 tiiose statesmen who had advocated it so strongly became cor- 
 respondi-^gly popular. 
 
 Tho sp ech from the Throne .at the beginning of tho session of 
 1861 was a disappointment to many of the supporters of the 
 Government, as well as to some actually in the Cabinet. Thero 
 
 207 
 
208 
 
 JUmannpntlon from Toryism. 
 
 was no mention of iho groat qnostion of Parliamentary Reform ; 
 th'. only jH'oJiiiso of legislation which was hold out had roforonoe 
 to some of those law-reforms which hr.d already boon under the 
 consideration of Parliament. An umendmont oxpressive of the 
 dissatisfaction that was felt at this notable omission was at once 
 brought forward, but was opposed by Mr. Disraeli, who had no 
 notion of the Liberals achieving distinction by their advocacy of 
 Reform ; and by Lord John Russell, who eontnndod that it 
 would bo better to take no action at all until such changes as 
 would work definite improvement in tho existing system could 
 be made. Though this view of the matter was strenuously oppos- 
 ed by Mr. Bright, who spoko strongly in regard to the inconsisten- 
 cy of Lord Russell in now manifesting such lukowarmnoss to- 
 ward a measure which ho had formerly supported with such ar- 
 dent enthusiasm. But tho Ministry was divided in itself upca 
 this very question ; in tho previous session, the l^ill had been lost 
 because of the Premier's open hostility; the majority of tho 
 members of tho House of Commons wore beyond a doubt anx- 
 ious to get rid of tho whole question ; and the amendment call- 
 ing for a consideration of Reform was vetoed by a majority of 
 eighty-three. 
 
 ^ne Palmorston Government then, had replaced the Derby 
 Government because the Reform Bill which tho latter had pro- 
 posed was not sufficiently comprehensive to meet the demands 
 of the people ; and the Ministry which had come into power "ri- 
 der such circumstances had now coolly set aside the whole thing, 
 as something which it was not expedient to consider nt all. Pal- 
 merston's colleagues must of course share the blamo which attach- 
 ed to such conduct by continuing to hold office under a Minister 
 who had boon capable of such gross inconsistency. 
 
 Tho debates of this session were characterized by unusual 
 tamoness and dullness. In tho House of Lords, the Ec.rl of 
 Derby strongly condemned tho policy of tho Government re- 
 garding Franco and Italy ; a policy which he described as plac- 
 ing upon the shoulders of the people " an amount of taxation 
 absolutely unprecedented in time of peace, and only made more 
 intolerable by the financial freaks of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer." To this attack we ^avo the most eloquent of all ans- 
 •^yerg — that which tho subsequent prosperity, brought about by 
 those very financial freaks, gives for Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 Perhaps the most important measure which was this session 
 
ISmancipation from Toryism. 
 
 20D 
 
 brought forward by this high officer of the rovonuo wr% that 
 which established th;3 Post, Office having Banks. This is uio sec- 
 ond notable reform, esprciully affecting the nn('dle and low-r 
 classes, which was the result of Gladstone's labors; the reader 
 will recall the provisions of that bill which, while ho was Presi- 
 dent of the Board of Trade during Sir Eobert Peel's administra- 
 tion, established Iho Parliamentary Tr.-in on the Kailwuys of 
 Great Britain, .ho ostablishmont of tl-o Post Office Savings 
 Bank,' has undoubtedly been of incstim bio benefit to many 
 classes of the British community. 
 
 Following the course of the session, we find Mr. Gladstone 
 •aking part in the discussion on the vexed subject of Church 
 Rates. After an eloquent speech, ho concluded by suggesting 
 that an arrangement might bo made by which the power of a 
 majority of a parish to accept or reject Church Eates as a right, 
 should be agreed to, at the same time allowing r. parish tc lax 
 itself by the will of the majority. This proposit'on was assailed 
 by Mr. Bright, as leaving the question exactly where it was al- 
 ready, that whero you could not get Church Pates you were to 
 let them alone. The bill to abolish Chuich Rates was carried 
 by a small majority, which included Lord Palmerston and Loru 
 John Russell, with other members of the Government; but Mr. 
 Gladstone voted against the measure. 
 
 If the questions which related to internal affairs were few and 
 of but slight consequence, when viewed from this distance of 
 time and space, those which had to do with foreign affairs were 
 neither few nor unimportant. Italy was convulsed with that 
 struggle which finally resulted in her independence and union; 
 the United States were just beginning that war which was to 
 rage for four years, with an incalculable expenditure of blood 
 and treasure. Austria was defending her Italian possessions and 
 allies ; France was drawn into the struggle, as an ally of Victor 
 Emmanuel; the utmost efforts would be necessary to prevent 
 England's being compelled to take part, either with Italy or 
 Austria, with the United States or the Confederate States. 
 
 Victor Emmanuel comes to our minds with the prestige of suc- 
 cess for lin added jewel to his crown; and dazzled by that, and 
 by the knowledge that his sovereignty of a united Italy has un- 
 doubtedly worked much good to its people, we can hardly inder- 
 stand how the King of Naples could find friends und defenders 
 in liberty-loving England. Ferdinand II., who was responsible 
 
 s*^ 
 
1 
 
 m 
 
 Queen I'^iciona at the Op,-iiiii(j of Padiament in 18G1. 
 
 210 
 
T7i^.^ -* ^i^"4 -sr 
 
 ■MMOb 
 
 AiiiilMesBg TWM«M i tu >iaiMM«MMiea«iato^^ 
 
 Mmaticipati > from Toryism, 211 
 
 for those abuses which Mr. Gladstone had been the main instru- 
 ment in correcting by his fearless exposure of the condition of 
 the J^eapol.tan prisons, had now been dead for nearly two years 
 and hi8 son, Francis II., reigned in his stead. The new king 
 was a not unworthy son of such a father, but his power had been 
 first curtailed, then forever nullified, by the acts of Garibaldi. 
 Ihe hero of Italy had more than twenty-five years before this 
 time been condemned to death for participating in a futile 
 revolutionary outbreak at Genoa; his life since the failure of 
 that effort had been devoted to the cause of freedom. Pursued 
 by the Austrians, his wif. had d;ed in his arms, exhausted by the 
 dangers and terrible exertions of their flight. An exile from his 
 country, he had made himself famous as the liberator of others 
 When he returned to Italy, it was as the acknowledged repre- 
 sentative of the people's desire for freedom and union. Success 
 had followed him; and his army had grown steadily. In Sep- 
 tember, 1860, he entered Naples; not at the head of his troops 
 as a conqueror, but with one or two friends; that it might be 
 seen how his coming was awaited by the people. At last the 
 message was flashed along the wires, at the close of that last bat- 
 tle which Garibaldi fought as commander ia this struggle— 
 "Complete victory along the whole line." Victor Emmanuel 
 crossed the Papal frontier and resumed command of the army • 
 Garibaldi relinquished into the hands of the constitutional sover- 
 eign, whose authority he had agreed to recognize, in place of 
 that of a republic, the absolute sway which he had acquired 
 over the ISTeapolitan provinces. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs at the beginning of the year 1861 
 when the question was brought up for discussion in the British 
 Parliament. At that time, as we have already said, there were 
 some supporters in England of Ferdinand II., and Victor Em- 
 manuel was strongly condemned by many for the recognition 
 of Garibaldi, for supporti ig him and approving the invasion of 
 iNapIes. Ihe conservative element was startled at the idea of a 
 sailor's son presuming to interfere in the government of king- 
 doms and the questions of dynasties and thrones, which belon^e"!! 
 properly to high-born statesman ; and was scarcely loss shocked 
 at the Idea of a scion of royalty accepting the assistance of such a 
 man. Mr. Eoebuck predicted that if Garibaldi f^iiom^^i.^ tr. a^ 
 in Venctia what he had already done in Kapler and Sicily, tie 
 would bo hanged within a week. 
 
' "■ ST,' < 
 
 
 & 
 
 mimm 
 
 
 '.'■f-f. v. V 
 
 
 
 .X-; 
 
 !l 
 
 212 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 A motion for goi»ng into Committee of Supply having been 
 made in the Houso of Commons, Mr. Pope Honnossy rose to call 
 attention to the "active interference of the Secretary of State in 
 promoting Picdmonteso policy," and condemned that policy as 
 causing the increase of the national burdens in Piedmont, the 
 decline of its trade and commerce, the waste of the population in 
 predator}' war, and the consequent decay of agriculture. This mo- 
 tion gave rise to the most exciting debate of the session. It was 
 
 warmly supported by 
 Sir George Bowyer, 
 who, in addition to 
 the contrast between 
 Piedmont and the Pa- 
 pal States, which had 
 been boldly drawn by 
 Mr. Hennessy, urged 
 that the English sup- 
 port of Napoleon III. 
 was paralyzing all 
 other European allies. 
 The policy of the 
 present Grovernment, 
 he said, had destroy- 
 ed that prestige of 
 honor and justice 
 which used to attend 
 the British flag, since 
 it encouraged none 
 but the revolutionary 
 Garibaldi. party in Europe, who 
 
 were the unprincipled tools of the unbounded ambition of the 
 French Emperor. 
 
 The second night of the debate, Mr. Gladstone rose to speak 
 on the other side. There were other speeches, of course, in the 
 defense of the liberator of Italy, and of England's recognition of 
 his services to the race ; but his is, as usual, reckoned the most 
 eloquent, the most crushing expose of the errors which his op- 
 ponents were supporting. 
 
 Had the debate been confined to criticisms of the King of 
 Sardinia, he said, or if it concerned only the policy pursued by 
 the English Foreign Minister, he would have remained silent. 
 

 1 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 213 
 
 confident of the wide-spread approval which that policy com- 
 manded. He believed it to bo stamped with approval through- 
 out the great body of the people of England, from the greatest 
 to the least. But the speakers upon the motion had called upon 
 the House to lament the foreign policy of the Government, 
 which they alleged was founded upon injustice, and said that the 
 cause which the Ministry favored in Italy was the pcrsscoution 
 of righteous governments. The revolution in Naples was called 
 a wicked conspiracy, carried on by an unprincipled king and a 
 cunning minister; and the people of Naples had been said to bo 
 governed by benignant laws, wisely administered, and were de- 
 voted to their king. Mr. Gladstone, in reply tc this characteriza- 
 tion, sketched the history of Naples from the accession of Fer- 
 dinand II. ; and the story was an unanswerable argument against 
 the house which had been so lately dethroned. Francis had 
 been lauded for the courage Avhich he had displayed at Gaeta. To 
 this Gladstone replied: "It is all very well to claim considera- 
 tion for him on account of his courage; but I confess I feci much 
 more admiration for the courage of the honorable Member for Dun- 
 dalk and the honorable member for King's County (Bowyer and 
 Hennessy); for I think I would rather live in a stout and well- 
 built casemate, listening to the whizzing of bullets and the burst- 
 ing of shells, than come before a free assembly to vindicate—" 
 Mr. Gladstone was here interrupted by the tumultuous cheering, 
 and was for some time unable to proceed. When the confusion 
 had subsided, he continued : "—than to vindicate such a cause as 
 that which those honorable gentlemen have espoused." With 
 merciless exactitude he went on piling up accusations against 
 Francis, and substantiating each by indisputable proofs. Nor 
 was Naples the only state on which he turned the brilliant light 
 of his eloquence. The Eomagna, Ferugia, Modena, all fell under 
 the lash; and the Italians were exonerated from the charge of 
 rebellion by a recital of the policy which had been pursued by 
 Austria. Ho closed with a felicitous reference to the manner in 
 which the revolution had been accomplished, and the lasting 
 blessing which the consolidation of Italy, and her restoration to 
 national life, would be to Europe at largo as well as to herself. 
 
 So eloquent wore the supporters of the Government, and so 
 popular was the cause of Garibaldi and Victor Emnumuel, that 
 the debate terminated withotit a division. The subject again 
 came up for discussion during the latter part of tho session, when 
 
 ■mi 
 
 II 
 
214 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone took occasion to deny the charge of promoting 
 revolutionary movements in Italy, which had been brought 
 against the Ministry; and adduced facts and circumstances in 
 justification of his previous attack upon the Duke of Modena, by 
 which he showed how criminal justice was administered in that 
 
 duchy. 
 
 The budget of the year was presented to the House on the 
 fifteenth of April. The House was densely crowded when Mr. 
 Gladstone rose, immediately upon the opening of the d .ly 
 pcssion. He briefly sketched the previous year's budget ana its 
 provisions, and the financial history of the year. It had been 
 signalized by the commercial treaty with France, by the re- 
 moval of great national burdens, by the abolition of the last pro- 
 tective duty from the system; it had been a year of the largest 
 expenditure that had occurred in the time of peace, v/hilo it was 
 characterized by an unparallelled severity of the seasons. The 
 apparent deficiency was £2,559,000; but certain deductions re- 
 duced this to an actual deficiency of £221,000. We need not here 
 recount the various taxes which were held, by their reduction or 
 abolition, to have brought about this deficit; we may barely say 
 that Mr. Gladstone, in contrasting the revenue of this year with 
 that of 1853, when there had been another such change in the 
 sources from which the income of the state was derived, while 
 he did not attempt to deny that the revenue was not so elastic in 
 the latter case as in the earlier, contended that this was due in 
 some part to the vast increase in the expenditure, which was full 
 twenty millions sterling greater than it had been seven years 
 
 before. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone next proceeded to show that the legislation of 
 the past year, especially that relating to the treaty with France, 
 had not been without a salutary effect; for though times were 
 hard," and many of the people without employment, that was 
 owing to the unexampled harvest. He commended the efforts 
 which the French Ministry had made to fulfill their part of the 
 treaty, and again adverted to the service which Mr. Cobden had 
 performed in negotiating it. 
 
 The estimated revenue for the ensuing year was so considera- 
 bly in excess of the estimated expenditure that the Chancellor 
 of the Exuhcqucr stated ihtit it wns proposed to remit the ad- 
 ditional penny of the Income Tax which had been imposed the 
 year before. "Under the magic wand of the great financial en- 
 
215 
 
216 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism, 
 
 Of this speech, a writer of the time said : "Amoj g those who 
 ought to be judges there is an almost unanimous opinion that, 
 take it for all in all, this was the very best speech Mr. Gladstone 
 ever made. As wo now know, he was conscious that ho had a 
 pleasant surprise in store for those hearers who had come to lis- 
 ten to a woeful palinode, and there was a lurking sense of tri- 
 umph over his avowed opponents, and still more over his skin- 
 deep friends, which gave a lightness and buoyancy to his de- 
 meanor which of course spread to his audience. It even gave a 
 racincss to his occasional flights of humor. His quotations 
 were happy and neatly introduced, and that in Latin was loudly 
 cheered by the gentlemen below the gangway, probably because, 
 they not understanding it, it had a great effect upon them. But 
 the chief merit of the speech, in reference to its object, was the 
 remarkable dexterity with which it appealed to the tastes, feel- 
 ings, and opinions of the House. At one sentence, delivered 
 with his face half turned to the benches behind, Mr. Bright would 
 break out into an involuntary cheer, at once both natural and 
 hearty j while the very next moment the orator would lean, with 
 a fascinating smile on his countenance, over the table to the 
 gentlemen opposite, and minister to their weaknesses or preju- 
 dices with equal power and success. ***** In every 
 possible respect it was a masterpiece of oratory j and as it in the 
 result actually led to something tangible — that is to say, to a 
 surplus and a reduction of taxation — it was in every sense tri- 
 umphant." 
 
 But this triumphant eloquence was not received by the House 
 without a protest from the Opposition. Although the budget 
 was generally regarded in a very favorable light, Mr. Bentinck, 
 Mr. Baring, Lord Eobcrt Montagu, Sir Stafford Northcote, and 
 cr.jcrs on the Conservative benches, warmly opposed it. Ben- 
 tinck and Montagu, indeed, undertook several times during the 
 session the task of demolishing the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequei'. It would appear that they did not succeed. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone defended his scheme in detail against these at- 
 tacks, and demanded that a division should take the place of 
 long debates J but the opposition to the budget did not assume 
 that definite form. 
 
 The Governnienl had determined to present the budget as a 
 whole to the House; not, as was usual, in the form of separate 
 propositions, which might be separately discussed, and meet with 
 

 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 217 
 
 different fates in case of divisions. This was bitterly opposed 
 by the Conservatives, who know that their only chance lay with 
 some of the less popular features, not with the measure as a 
 whole. The Opposition charged that this was done with the in- 
 tent of compelling the Lords to assent to the abolition of the 
 paper duty; and at the second reading, May 13th, the whole bat- 
 tle was fought over again. Sir James Graham was the most 
 powerful defender of the Government in the early part of this 
 section of the debate. His speech was followed by what was 
 perhaps the most violent personal attack which, up to that time, 
 had ever been mado upon Mr. Gladstone; the speaker was Lord 
 Robert Cecil (afterward Marquis of Salisbury). The budget 
 was a personal one, he said; they had no guarantee for it but 
 the promises of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and experience 
 had taught them that he was not a financier who was always to 
 be relied upon. At this stage of his speech, he was interrupted 
 by loud cries of "Oh! Oh!", and it was some time before he 
 could ugain make himself heard. He had already described the 
 policy of the Government as worthy only of a country attorney; 
 but now he thought that he had done injustice to the attorneys! 
 Again interrupted by the cries of his colleagues, he went on, 
 when order had been restored, to characterize the co irse which 
 the Ministry had pursued as one distinguished by all the in- 
 genuity of legal chicane— a dodge. Americanized finance was to 
 be a consequence of Americanized institutions; with much more 
 to the same effect. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone made no answer to this at the time; nor, in- 
 deed, did he ever make any direct and extended reply to this 
 bitter personal attack. Speaking on tho same subject a few days 
 later, he referred to the fact that perscnnl matters hud been intro- 
 duced in the course of the debate, which ho thought it best to 
 pass by without comment; but legitimate cri<iVv«rns upon his plan 
 he would endeavor to meet. Whatever may be the censure passed 
 upon the "Grand Old Man," he was never accused of vituper- 
 ation, or unkindly treatment of those who had exposed them- 
 selves to the terrors of that eloquence which might have been so 
 sharp a weapon against them. His opposition was always to 
 measures, not to men; and his enemies received as courteous 
 treatment as his friends. 
 
 Whatever change the proposed plan might make in the Con- 
 stitution, he said, was one fully justified by the necessity of the 
 
i I' 
 
 218 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 ^ 
 
 8 
 
 case, and by precedent. Mr. Horsman had declared that it gave a 
 mortal stab to the Constitution. Mr. Gladstone thought that the 
 Constitution would bo all the better for the operation. In re- 
 gard to the Constitution as Mr. Horsman understood and ox- 
 plained it, with that division of responsibility which most ef- 
 fectually did away with all responsibility, Mr. Gladstone thought 
 that the sooner it received a mortal stab the better. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's colleague in the representation of the Univer- 
 sity of Oxford, and the Chairman of the Committee of Prece- 
 dents, both prominent Conservatives, approved of the course 
 which he recommended as strictly constitutional ; and in spite 
 of Mr. Disraeli's active opposition, the bill was road the second 
 
 time. 
 
 The discussion upon the repeal of the paper duty on this sec- 
 ond reading was the most critical stage at which the bill had yet 
 arrived; and in some quarters the fall of the Government was 
 confidently predicted. Among those who spoke upon this oc- 
 casion were Lord Palmerston, Mr. Gladstone, Lord John Eussell, 
 Mr. Cobden, Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Baring. The question finally 
 came to a division, the result of which was waited for with great 
 anxiety. It showed a majority for the Government of fifteen, 
 five hundred and seventy-seven votes being cast. The rejection 
 of the bill was moved iu the House of Lords, but the motion 
 was, upon the advice of the Earl of Derby, who seemed to be 
 something of Viscount Palmerston's opinion about the action of 
 the Lords on this subject, not pressed ; and the bill became law. 
 
 The subject of the Ionian Islands again came up in this ses- 
 sion, and Mr. Gladstone replied to the member who had demand- 
 ed information about them. The information was withhold by 
 the Government, who did not think it prudent to make all the 
 circumstances public at that time and the conciliatory speech of 
 the Chancellor of the Exchequer caused the motion to be with- 
 drawn. 
 
 The budget for 1862 was of less interest than those which Mr. 
 Gladstone bad previously presented for the consideration of the 
 House. There were certain reasons for a decreased income. One 
 of these was the depression arising from lack of cotton j for 
 those were the days when the Confederates were asserting "Cot- 
 ton is King," and seemed to have a fair hope of convincing neu- 
 tral nations of the truth of their statement. But the treaty with 
 France had accomplished all that was hoped from it; and al' 
 

 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 219 
 
 though there would be no remission of taxation, there wonld be 
 no new duties imposed. 
 
 Mr. Disraeli attacked this bud- H, with what he called a his- 
 torical survey of the finances oi entyearsj and Sir Stafford 
 Northcoto examined it closely; but these critics were fully an- 
 swered by Mr. Glac' .tone, to the satisfaction of the Liberals, as 
 the result of the voting made evident. 
 
 As in the previous session, there was an attack made by Sir 
 George Bowycr upon the Government and people of Italy. To 
 this, as before, Mr. Gladstone replied, though 3owyer's speech 
 commanded little or no sympathy from the House. «' Bowyer's 
 unrivalled capacity for ignoring the march of events was unden- 
 iable," says one writer; and he repeated the same arguments which 
 he had used ayoar ago, and heard them seconded, as before, by Mr. 
 Hennessy. Mr. Gladstone's powcrfiii speech began with a state- 
 ment of the reception which Garibaldi had met with at Naples, 
 and argued that where an army of 80,000 men had melted away 
 like snow before a handful of rcd-shirted volunteers, ti o people 
 could not be said to be very warmly attached to their king. On 
 the other hand, it was maintained that Italy was not a kingdom, 
 because it had not been recognized as such by any of the Euro- 
 pean Powers except England and France. To this Mr. Gladstone 
 retorted that a kingdom which had secured the recognition of 
 those Governments had made very considerable progress. When 
 the cheers which greeted this sally had subsided, Mr. Gladstone 
 proceeded to speak of the occupation of Eome, which he depre- 
 cated, although ho desired to see the Pope's temporal power 
 abolished. 
 
 Turning from the English feeling and opinion regarding Italy, 
 which were fairly expressed by Mr. Gladstone's voice in this in- 
 stance, wo come to regard the English attitude with relation to 
 the affairs of America. The engagements of Manassas and 
 Shiloh had been favorable to the Confederates ; other battles, of 
 less note, had followed, in which the success had frequently been 
 on the other side. At this time, however, the palm remained 
 with the Southern States; it was not until the middle of 1863 
 when the tide was finally turned, that it became evident to clear- 
 sighted onlookers that the South was doomed to inevitable defeat. 
 There had been many collisions between the British and Ameri- 
 can Governments, when the direction of affairs at Washington 
 was largely in the uands of Southern men ; and the Lincoln Ad^ 
 
220 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism, 
 
 ministration hoped, for that reason, tc secure the unshaken 
 friendship of the English. But those conflicts wore remembered 
 at London as differences with Americana, undistinguished by sec- 
 tions; and British Government did many things which even a 
 friend of the South cannot consider strictly impartial. We pass 
 over the course pursued with regard to those Confederate com- 
 missioners to London and Paris, who were forcibly taken, by a 
 United States man-of-war, from under the protection of a neutral 
 flag J for President Lincoln was the first to condemn the action of 
 the officer who made the seizure, on the same grounds on which 
 the American Government had resisted the right of British men- 
 of-war to seize men from under the American flag, previous to 
 the warof 1812, which was fought to decide that principle. But the 
 action of the British Government in allowing privateers for the 
 Confederate service to be fitted out in British ports was an un- 
 mistakable evidence of tho. popular feeling. 
 
 It is not our purpose to enter upon an extended indictment of 
 of the Engl ish people or the authorities constituted by th e m, for 
 the atttitude assumed during tho American Civil War. We have 
 only to note the opinion which Mr. Gladstone held, having already 
 shown what was the standpoint of his colleagues and their con- 
 stituents. In a speech at Newcastle he expressed the decided 
 convici/ion ^hat Jeff'erson Davis had already succeeded in making 
 the Confederate States into a nation. As a member of the Min- 
 istry of a neutral country, ho was undoubtedly indiscreet in 
 saying so j bat the success with which the Confederate arms had 
 met seems certainly to have justified him in thinking so. Writ- 
 ing to a correspondent in New York, five years later, he said : "I 
 must confess that I was wrong ; that I took too much upon my- 
 self in expressing such an opinion. Yet the motive was not bad. 
 My sympathies were then, as they are now, with the whole Am- 
 erican people. I, probably, like many Europeans, did not un- 
 derstand the nature and working of the American Union. I had 
 imbibed conscientiously, if erroneously, an opinion that twenty 
 or twenty-four millions of the North would be happic :, and 
 would be stronger (of course assuming that they would hold to- 
 gether) without the South than with it, and also that the negroes 
 would be much nearer to emancipation under a Southern Gov- 
 ernment than under tho old system of the Union, which hud not 
 at that date (August, 1862) been abandoned, and which always 
 appeared to me to place the whole power of the North at the com- 
 
^ 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 221 
 
 mand of the slave-holding interests of the South. As far as re- 
 gards the special or separate interests of England in thj matter, 
 I, differing from many others, had always contended that it was 
 best for onr interests that the Union should bo kept entire." 
 
 To retrace our stops a few months, there had occurred, in De- 
 cember, 1861, an event which exerted a considerable influence 
 upon tae English court. How far the death of the Prince Con- 
 
 Prince Albeii. 
 
 sort affected the history of the country, it is idle to speculate; 
 but he so fretjuently took occasion to express his admiration of 
 Mr. G ladstone and the measures which he proposed, that it is not 
 improbable that, had the Prince Consort lived, the Queen would 
 ..„Li.„..... ..i.,.,.^.G^i noi iTtrii-jiuuwu uisiiKo lor ine lorornost Jjib- 
 
 eral statesman of her reign. On the other hand, it can hardly 
 be said with certainty that the Prince would always have ap- 
 
2}2^ 
 
 Emanctpailon from Toryispi. 
 
 proved tlio course which Mr. Gladstone has taken, tending aft 
 it has to enhance the rights of the people to a greater degree 
 than the prerogatives of the Crown, as well <.s to incroasuu lib- 
 erality of sentiment. 
 
 The session of 1863 promised little of into- est. The budget 
 was the chief topic of discussion, and that did r.ot roach the 
 point in men's minds which hud been filled by some of ita more 
 notable predecessors. A considerable surplus of inoonio over 
 expenditure having become a certainty, speculation was rife us 
 to how it should be employed. In accordance with the dictates 
 of public opinion, Mr. Gladstone recommended the reduction of 
 the Income Tax and the abolition of tho war duties on sugar and 
 tea. Tho causes which gave peculiar interest to tho financial 
 statements of tho last few years vrcve not such, Mr. Gladstone 
 said in tho speech in which ho introduced tho budget, as it was 
 desirable should be permanent; and with this apology for tho 
 tamencss of the plans which ho hud to propose, and tho state- 
 ments which ho had to make, the right honorable gentleman 
 proceeded to state tho case. His speech of three hours contains 
 nothing more interesting than his tribute to Lancashire, that 
 great northern county in tho metropolis of whic i he first sawthe 
 light. It will bo remembered that at this time tho factory- 
 hands of England wore suffering severely from tho effects of the 
 American war, which deprived them of the larger part of their 
 cotton supply. Nearly two millions of persons had been thrown 
 out of employment, and fully half a million wero at this time 
 wholly dependent upon charity. From tho QuvC.i to tho ag- 
 ricultural laborer, who could hardly spar© from his own neces- 
 sities tho occasiona. half-penny wh'ch ho gave, tho charity of 
 tho nation flowed in upon these unfortunates j but there wa^ *> 
 vast amount of distress which could not be relieved. But the 
 burden had been borne manfully, and so Mr. Gladstone knew, when 
 he said: 
 
 "Towards that Lancashire, to which up to this time every 
 Englishman has referred, if not with pride, j'et Avith satisfaction 
 and thankfrlness, as among the most remarkable, or perhaps the 
 most remarkable of all the symbols that could bo presented cf 
 the power, the progress, and the prosperity of England — towards 
 thit Lancashire we f?el now more warmly and more thankfully 
 than ever in regard to every moral aspect of its condition. The 
 lesson which within tho past twelve months havo been con- 
 
Emancipation from Toryism, 
 
 2^8 
 
 Voyed, if in ono aspect tho/ huve been painful and even bitter, 
 yet in other aspects, and those too, which mere intimately and 
 permanently relate to the condition and prospects of the coun- 
 try, have been lessons such as I will venture to say none of us 
 could have hoped to learn. For however sanguine may have 
 been the anticipations entertained as to the enduriii<r power and 
 pluck of the English people, I do not think that any one could 
 have estimated that power of eL.' - *nce, that patience, thrt true 
 magnanimity in h amble life, at a point as high as we now soe 
 that it has actually roachoc^ " 
 
 Unfortunately, this unoxpv-^ted power of endurance was to be 
 yet more fully tested; for cotton had risen from 8d. per pound 
 to 25. The blockade hcd not been raised, and there ^ as no cot* 
 ton to export if it had been— that is, in ounts considerable 
 enough to make any material difference to j^ngland; and India 
 and Egypt, which have since entered into the competition, were 
 not yet fully equipped for the contest. Another cause of de- 
 pression was the condition of Ireland, which wj.s, as usual, worse 
 than it had ever been before; the products being one-third less 
 than the/ had been seven years previous. 
 
 The remission of the tea duty and the income tax were rery 
 popular with iho country; and the budget generally was more 
 acjeptable to the House as a whole than any other had been for 
 a number of year ^T" ^lisraeli even had not p, word to say 
 against it, but ro? ; ^nc the House as soon as Mr. Gladstone 
 had finished his sp i. 
 
 The one proposition which aroused formidable ' Od'ility wa? 
 that provision by which charities wero no longer c cmpt fron 
 the Income Tax. One of the largest and most influent!;.' delega- 
 tions that ever waited upon a Mmisier of the State endeavored 
 to persuade Mr. Gladstone that this course was unjust and im- 
 politic. The Duko of Cambridge and the Archbishop oi" Canter- 
 bury headed the deputation, to which Mr. Gladstone renlied 
 t'.iat he would statT the reasons for the course recommendei by 
 the Government to the House of Commons, and that upon the 
 decip' n of the Commons the questioi should rest. Ho accord- 
 ingly addressed the House the same evening, shov.ing that many 
 of the charities which would be taxed were of such a nature as to 
 woi < a real injury in character to those whor hey professed to 
 benefit, and that the measure was eminently a just one. The 
 whole Ministry had agreed that it was a proper course to be pur- 
 
i^BB" 
 
 ! 
 
 224 Mmancipation from loryim. 
 
 sued but the sense of the House was so largely against it that 
 the scheme was withdrawn by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 At a later penod, an amendment to the proposition regarding 
 the Income Tax was introduced, providing that this duty should 
 fall upon the not income of invested property, and the net 
 amount of industrial earnings, which latter should be subject to 
 such an abatement as would equitably adjust the burden thrown 
 upon intelligcnco and skill ap, compared with property. This 
 amendment, the substance of which was regularly brought for- 
 ward whenever the Income Tax came up for discussion, and 
 which had in this instance been negative^', by the committee 
 which had first considered it, was rejected by a considerab' 
 
 majority. . . 
 
 Viewed from a standpoint of entire religious freedom, it is 
 curious to note that in the year 1863, the British Parliament 
 should seriously be asked to pass a law enabling Dissenters to be 
 buried in the common cemeteries without the rites of the Church 
 of En^rland being performed over the bodies. Yet so it was. Nor 
 was it^a mere act of tardy justi-^ the repeal of a law which had 
 bf^come a dead letter, and was therefore unanimously decreed 
 should remain no longer upon the statute book ; there was ac- 
 tive oppo-it^.on to it, and it was finally rejected by a vote of 
 
 221 to 0(3. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone felt the anomaly, and did not hesitate to express 
 himself freely. In his speech upon the subject, he said : " J. do 
 not see tbat'thero is sufficient reason, or indeed, any reusop at 
 all why, after having granted, and most properly granted, to the 
 entire community the power of professing and practicing what 
 form of religion they please during life, vou .-.hould say to them- 
 selves or their relatives, when dead, 'We will at the last lay our 
 hands upon you, and will not permit you to enjoy the privilege 
 of being buried in the church-yard, where, i:crhaps, the ashes of 
 your ancestors repose, or, at any rate, in too place of which you 
 'are parishioners, unless you appear there r.s members of the 
 Church of Entr'and, and as members of that Chuich,havo her 
 services rcad^'ovcr your remains.' That appears to mo an in- 
 consistency and an anom^.y in the present state of the law, and 
 is in the nature of a grievance." 
 
 such utterances as this that Mr. Gladstone first cre- 
 
 It 
 
 by 
 
 ated, and then wi 
 
 dened, that bieuch between himtclf and his 
 
 eonsiiiuency 
 
 at 
 
 Oxford, which eiidod in 
 
 his failure to be re- 
 
Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 225 
 
 elected. In some cases, it would appear, it is an honor to fail. 
 On but one other occasion did Mr. Gladstone, during this ses- 
 sion, engage in a debate of any importance j and the interest at- 
 taching to that discussion rather arises from the fact that the 
 Government was defeated by a considerable majority, than from 
 any inherent value it may have for us. The proposition was 
 made to appropriate a considerable sui'^, in addition to that 
 which had already been voted for the purchase of the ground, 
 for t-he buildings of the International Exhibition which had been 
 held at Souch Kensington. Lord Palmerston being kept away 
 from the House by illness, the duty of bringing this bill before 
 the House devolved upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who 
 pointed out that the Government was under the necess'+y of pro- 
 viding suitable accommodations for the Portrait Gallery, the 
 Patent Museum, and the Nat'.ral History Collections of the 
 British Museum, and that this wns the only opportunity that of- 
 fered, Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Lowe were both anxious to express 
 their approvnl of this scheme of the Government, but neither of 
 them could obtain a hearing, so great was the confusion in the 
 House, the Independent members of which surprised both the 
 Government and the Opposition by their attitude upon this 
 question. Althougli the majority against the Government was 
 an overwhelming one, the question was not of suff cicnt itnport- 
 auee to warrant its being regarded as a vote of no confidence- 
 and the defeat was therefore passed over as a matter of small 
 moment. 
 
 The budget c i.^64 was brought before the House in April. It 
 was well known that there was a considerable surplus, and there 
 was much interest manifested in the disposition of this sum. It 
 proved to be somewhat larger than even the most sanguine had 
 anticipated — more than two millions sterling when the expenses 
 of fortifications had been allowed for. Mr. Gladstone's state- 
 ment of tlie condition of the national finances commanded the 
 same flattering attention which had oeen accorded to him en 
 similar occasions pr.viously, the House being packed in every 
 part, with the members, peers, foreign minisiors, and other dis- 
 tinguished visitors crowding the places assigned to them. 
 
 The prosperity of the country v/as indicated by the trade sta- 
 tistics which he brought forward, and pauperism was shown to 
 bo no greater, outside of Lancashire, which was stiii sufi^ering 
 for cotton, than was usual. The estimated income and expendi- 
 
In — 
 
 II 
 
 h ' 
 
 I ^1' 
 
 226 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 ture for the ensuing year showed, upon comparison, that there 
 would then be a considerable surplus. It was the duty of the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer to order the taxation in such a way 
 that this suiplus would be returned to the tax-payers, by the re- 
 
 Receiving News of the Miimterial Crisis. 
 
 ductlon of certain duties. To do this required a readjustment of 
 the taxes according to the best calculations possible, and even then 
 it was not within human power to foretell what the actual result 
 would prove to be. The tax on sugar was to be reduced, 
 and also that on fire insurance ; and the Income Tax was to be 
 
 i 
 

 Emancipation from Toryism. 227 
 
 one penny less on each pound than it had been. The budget was 
 most favorably received, and although there were notices given 
 of opposition on some minor points, all the propositions were 
 dnaliy carried without a division. 
 
 A third measure which was conceived in the special interestof 
 the working-classes was brought forward this session by Mr 
 (xiadstone. This was a bill to amend the law relating to the pur- 
 chase of Government annuities through the medium of savings- 
 banks, and to enable the granting of life insurances by the Gov- 
 ernment. During his long public life, Mr. Gladstone said in the 
 debate on this question, he had never received so many letters as 
 he had upon this measure, from various classes of the com- 
 munity, all expressing their approval of the bill, and their grat- 
 itude for it. Although this was the outside estimate of it, the 
 House was by no means so unanimous, and there were many 
 who inveighed against the evils of a paternal government. Af- 
 ter the defeat of an amendment which was directed against the 
 whole scheme, the bill was referred to a select committee, by 
 which It was favorably reported back, with a few minor changes 
 recommended, and finally it passed both Houses, being warmly 
 supported by many of both parties. 
 
 It was during this session that Mr. Baines brought forward his 
 bill for lowering the borough franchise; and Mr. Gladstone 
 startled the House, and ultimately his constituents and the 
 country, by his utterances upon the subject of Reform. His 
 words evince so clearly the advanced liberalism of his views 
 and are so applicable, not only to English affairs of that time' 
 but to the labor troubles of the present, that wo make no' 
 apology for quoting them : 
 
 " We are told that the working-class don't agitate; but is it 
 desirable that we should wait until thev do agitate? In my 
 opinion, agitation by the working-classes upon any political 
 subject whatever is a thing not to bo waited for, not to bo made 
 a condition previous to any Parliamentary movement, but on 
 the contrary, is to be deprecated, and, if possible, prevented' by 
 wise and provident measures. An agitation by the working. 
 classes is not like an agitation by the classes above them having 
 leisure. The agitation of the classes having leisure is easily con- 
 
 '' r,.v,j. xioar ot thuix- iime has not u money value- their 
 
 wives and children are not dependent on the application of those 
 
 hours to labor. TThen a worki 
 
 ng-man finds himself in such 
 
 a 
 
w 
 
 1 i 
 
 228 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 condition that ho must abandon that daily labor on which he is 
 strictly dependent for his daily bread, it is only because then, in 
 railway language, the danger signal is turned on, and because he 
 feels a strong necessity for action, and a distrust of the rulers 
 who have driven him to that necessity. The present state ot 
 things I rejoice to say, does not indicate that distrust j but if we 
 admit that, wo must not allege the absence of agitation on the 
 part of the working-classes as a reason why the Parliament ot 
 England and the public mind of England should be indisposed 
 to entertain the discussion of this question." 
 
 The resolution was defeated, but the majority was not a very 
 largo one, and Mr. Gladstone's speech was thought at the time to 
 have influenced many who would otherwise have voted against 
 it The expression of such opinions went fur to restore conh- 
 dence in the Ministry which had come into office pledged to Ke- 
 form, but which had become divided in itself upon that very 
 
 subject. • *v,« 
 
 July 4th Mr. Disraeli proposed a resolution censuring the 
 Government for its foreign policy, particularly in connection 
 with the war then in progress between Germany and Denmark. 
 This was the highest point which the hostility to the Govern- 
 ment had yet reached, and Mr. Disraeli was loudly cheered by 
 his political friends as he spoke in support of his motion It ieli 
 to the lot of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reply to the 
 leader of the Opposition, and his eloquent speech was the open- 
 ing of a protracted debate. The motion was so worded that, as 
 Mr. Gladstone expressed it, it could not transfix the Government 
 without first passing through the honor of England. 
 
 An amusing feature of this debate was the speech of Mr. Bernal 
 Osborne, in which he compared the Cabinet to a collection of 
 birds of rare and noble plumage, some alive, some stuff-ed. Un- 
 fortunately, ho said, there had been a difficulty in keeping up the 
 breed and it had been found necessary to cross it with the fa- 
 mous 'Peelitcs. The honorable member continued: ''Iwlldo 
 them the justice t- say that they have a very great and able 
 Minister among theia in the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and it 
 is to his measures alone that they owe the little popularity and 
 the little support that they get from this Liberal Party." Mr. 
 
 „., 1 x.i ,^^c i;ir« iho flv in amber, as the wonder was 
 
 *'how the devil he got there;" and he proposed, as an epitaph 
 for the S0on-to-be-defunct Ministry, " Kest and be Thankful. 
 
?^. m 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism, 
 
 229 
 
 Although the inscription for the mausoleum was thus kindly 
 furnished in advance, there was no immediate use for it, as a di- 
 vision showed that the Ministers had a majority of eighteen. 
 
 The Opposition had done its best to defeat the Ministry, and 
 had failed ; it is then without surprise that we learn that there 
 were no more debates of interest during the remainder of the 
 s.)ssion. The session of 1865 affords us but one clear view of the 
 central figure of our narrative, excepting, of course, his official 
 speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In March of this year 
 Mr. Dillwyn moved a resolution affirming that the state of the 
 Irish Church was unsatisfactory, and called for the early atten- 
 tion of her Majesty's Government. After several speeches, Mr. 
 Gladstone rose and entered into a full examination of the ques- 
 tion of the Irish Church. He frankly admitted that its state was 
 unsatisfactory, but said that having regard to the difficulties 
 which stood in the way of removing the anomalies it presented, 
 he could not support the resolution. This declaration, to which 
 , ubsequent events gave great significance, intimated that Mr. 
 Gladstone, who had always been regarded as a firm supporter of 
 the Irish as well as of the English Church, believed that the 
 days of the former institution were numbered ; and that its dis- 
 establishment was only n, question of time. This declaration car- 
 ried consternation not only into the Conservative ranks but into 
 those of the Government, and caused him to be regarded as the 
 leader of the party which favored the disestablishment of the 
 Irish Church. The opinions of Mr. Gladstone had more signifi- 
 cance at this time than they had ever had before; for it was upon 
 his shoulders that the mantle of the leader must soon descend. 
 Lord Palmerston was now past his eightieth year, Earl Eussell, 
 who had in 1861 ceased to bear the courtesy title of Lord John 
 by which he had long been known, was considerably past sev- 
 enty. The Premier could not long retain the reins of office, and 
 then Mr. Gladstone must succeed to the leadership of the House or 
 of the Opposition, as the case might be. In any event, whether 
 the present Ministry retained office or not, the Liberal leader 
 would have much to do with the question of the Irish Church. 
 Mr. Baines again brought forward his measure during this 
 session for the reduction of the Franchise. Sir George Grey, 
 speaking on behalf of his colleagues in the Cabinet, maintained 
 that they had fulfilled their pledges, but declined to make any 
 promises for the next session. Mr. Gladstone sat by in silence 
 
lii' 
 
 280 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 during the debate. It was reported at the time that his col- 
 leagues had exacted from him a promise not to speak on the 
 subject; but this has been authoritatively denied. Certainly such 
 a promise could do little good, in view of the emphatio words 
 which he had used in support of the proposed measure a year 
 
 before. 
 
 The budget of the year showed a considerable decrease in the 
 distress which had existed for some time past; and the termin- 
 ation of the American Civil War gave reason to hope that there 
 would not again be a scarcity of that staple of manufactures 
 which was now being in some measure supplied by India and 
 Egypt. Eeductions of taxation amounting to nearly f ve and a 
 half millions sterling were proposed; and the Chancellor as- 
 sured the House that there would still be a surplu , at the dis- 
 posal of the Government. 
 
 The close of the session saw great irregularity in the number 
 of members present at diifercnt times ; for a general election was 
 rapidly approaching, and the representatives of the people fre- 
 quently had occasion to leave their seats in Parliament to ad- 
 dress their constituents. There were few or no measures of im- 
 portance, the one of most general interest being the attack upon 
 Lord Chancellor Westbury, originating in the House of Lords, 
 but finally carried to the House of Commons, and resulting in his 
 resignation. 
 
 Parliament would expire by limitation that summer, and it 
 was accordingly prorogued, with a view to immediate dissolu- 
 tion early in July. The Conservatives looked for immense 
 gains, basing their hopes upon some victories which they had 
 recently obtained. The Liberals seem to have been doubtful 
 as to the result. But the result for which one had hoped, and 
 the other had feared, was not to be; the Conservatives had been 
 far too sanguine. 
 
 To turn from the general aspect to that which more nearly 
 concerns the hero of our biography, is a duty which now be- 
 comes especially imperative. Of all the elections of this period 
 the one which excited the most intense interest was that for the 
 fJniversity of Oxford, where Mr. Gladstone was opposed by Mr. 
 Gathorno Hardy. Mr. Gladstone was there recognized as an 
 H^.leman it is true- but he was thought too brilliant to bo en- 
 tireiv safe. No such intellectual pre-eminence has ever been 
 claimed for his opponent in this contest, as a historian of the 
 

 r •'••%-■#' '^^^ 
 
 '>^%w^-^^fi^^^m^w^'^ 
 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 231 
 
 time naively observes. Certainly, Mr. Gladstone's advanced 
 Lib< ralism was extremely distasteful to the Tories of Oxford, 
 whom he was supposed to represent. In anticipation of his de- 
 feat there, which was not considered improbable even by his 
 friends, arrangements were made for bringing him forward for 
 South Lancashire at. once. It is a somewhat singular phase of 
 the question, that his Liberal friends were as desirous that he 
 should bo defeated at Oxford as the most vehement Tory could be. 
 ^ Finding that the seat was in danger, when the polling had con- 
 tinued for four of the five days, the chairman of the committee 
 which had Mr. Gladstone's interests in charge issued a circular 
 to the electors who were still unpledged, pressing upon them the 
 duty of recording their votes for the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer. " The Committee do not scruple to advocate his cause 
 on grounds above the common level of politics," said this docu- 
 ment. '' They claim for him the gratitude due to one whoso pub- 
 lie life has for eighteen years reflected a lustre upon the Univer- 
 sity herself. They confidently invite you to consider whether his 
 pure and exalted character, his splendid abilities, and his 
 eminent services to Church and State, do not constitute the 
 highest of all qualifications for an academical seat, and entitle 
 him to be judged by his constituents as ho will assuredly be 
 judged by posterity." Among the voters who endorsed this 
 document by their action, taken before or after its appearance, 
 were some of the men whose names are most splendid in the roll 
 of modern scholars. Keble and Pusey, Alford and Stanley, Wil- 
 bcrforce and Farrar, Pnlgrave and Freeman, Max Muller, Lnd a 
 host of others whom we have not space to record, upheld the 
 scholarly financier as their choice. It was not academic Oxford 
 which defeated him— for defeated he was— but the vast body of 
 outsiders who had votes. 
 
 The Thunderer launched its stately sentences against the in- 
 stitution of learning which had thus rejected as its represent- 
 ative a man of Mr. Gladstone's distinction as a scholar; and 
 added to its fulminations against Oxford the assurance that 
 "henceforth Mr. Gladstone will belong to the country, but no 
 longer to the University. Those Oxford influences and tradi- 
 tions which have so long colored his views, and so greatly in- 
 terfered with hia bett.fir inrlo-mont mr"* "■"o/^nolK, !«„- ■'»--i- u-!-" 
 upon him." To the words of the Times the crisper sentences 
 of the Dally News, the chief Liberal organ, were a fitting echo: 
 
--gg|gg||||||||g|||g|g|g||||j|^^^^^ 
 
 232 
 
 Emancipation from Toryism. 
 
 "The late Sir Robert Peel was but the chief of a party, until 
 admonished by one ostracism, he linully became emancipated by 
 another. It is thus that men rise from ojjposition to greater 
 etibrt, and the instances are not few in which by facing public 
 
 Cathedral of St. Paul — London. 
 
 scorn they have risen to a hiprher piano, and have rendered 
 their names illustrious — nam'^s that might have been almost 
 buried in oblivion but for the ostracism they were compelled to 
 suffer. Not every one is able to learn wisdom from past experi- 
 ences. Then, as now, the statesman who was destined to give 
 up to mankind what was never meant for the barren service of a 
 
Emancipation from Toryism, 
 
 233 
 
 party, could say to those honest bigots who thus rejected him: 
 
 "I biinish you; 
 Thoro is a world elsewhere." 
 
 As soon as it became evident that he would be defeated at Ox- 
 ford, Mr. Gladstone hastened down to Lancashire, and lost no 
 time in presenting himself as a candidate for the southern di- 
 vision of that county, where three Conservatives and two Lib- 
 erals were already in nomination for the three seats. It was on 
 Tuesday, the day of the groat Manchester weekly market, that 
 he arrived there, and the exchange of the city was crowded, as 
 usual, by the merchants and manufacturers, not only of Man- 
 chester, but of all the populous district surrounding the cotton 
 metropolis of Britain. About three o'clock it was announced 
 that Mr. Gladstone was in Mancliostcr ; that ho had come for- 
 ward as a candidate for the representation of the southern di- 
 vision of the county; and that ho was about to deliver an ad- 
 dress to the electors in the great room of Free Trade Hall. In a 
 few moments that immense room was packed by an eager au- 
 dience, the enthusiasm of which was raised to the highest pitch. 
 In that silvery voice which was not the least charm of his oratory, 
 the famous statesman began his speech, asking these ""stitu- 
 ents, for the first time, for their suffrages. They heard o..^ 
 sentence; it was enough to make their self-restraint no longer 
 endurable. 
 
 "At last, my friends, I am come among you ; and I am come — 
 to use an expression which has become very famous, and is not 
 likely to be forgotten — I am come among j-ou unmuzzled." 
 
 The shout that arose as soon as these words were uttered was 
 the expression of the Liberal triumph in the acquisition of such 
 a leader from the enemy. From that time, the last tie was sev- 
 ered that had bound the great statesman to the party of his early 
 youth; from that time ho was only to grow into wider and 
 deeper sympathy with the people of England, with the cause of 
 human liberty. No longer trammeled by the thought of what was 
 due to his constituents, when he would have spoken freely on the 
 great questions which were awaiting solution, he was now rep- 
 resenting men whose ideas, like his own, were in fuller accord- 
 ance with the progressive spirit of the age. 
 
 
^m&M 
 
 nx 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 REPRESENTESra SOUTH LANCASHIRE. ,* 
 
 Love for the University — Address to the Electors of Liverpool — Popularity in 
 the Lare:e Towns Death of Lord Palmerston — Grave Concern Over the 
 Irish Troubles— Old Question of Church Rates— Criticism of the Reform 
 Bill — "Cave of AduUam" — Extension of the Franchise — Gladstone's 
 Victory— Speeches in Scotland — Ministry Formed by Earl Derby — A New 
 Reform Rill — Raising Income for the Government — Public Comment on 
 Mr. Gladstone— Scotch and Irish Affairs — The Irish Church — Majority 
 for the Liberals — Various Bills in the Commons. 
 
 E. GLADSTONE could hardly be said to have been elect 
 ted by an overwhelming majority; for he was third or 
 
 T the list of the six candidates for the three seats. Bui 
 the majority of the votes cast were for Conservatives; for his 
 new colleagues both belonged to that party, and the fourth on 
 the list was also a supporter of the Opposition. This renders his 
 election the more remarkable tribute to the man, independent of 
 parties. 
 
 That emancipation from the thraldom of the University's de- 
 mands was not an unmixed joy to Mr. Gladstone, however it 
 may have been welcomed by his friends. In that very speech, 
 ihe first sentence of which had been so enthusiastically cheered, 
 he said : 
 
 "I have loved the University with a deep and passionate love, 
 and as long as I breathe, that attachment will continue; if my 
 aifection is of the smallest advantage to that great, that ancient, 
 that noble institution, that advantage, such as it is — and it is 
 most insignificant — Oxford will possess as long as I live, lint 
 don't mistake the issue which has been raised. The University 
 has at length, after eighteen years of self-denial, been drawn by 
 what I might, perhaps, call an overweening exercise of power, 
 into the vortex of mere politics. Well, you will readily under- 
 stand why, as long as I had a hope that the zeal and kindness of 
 my friends might keep me in my place, it was impossible for me 
 to abandon them. Could they have returned me by amajority of 
 
 334 
 
Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 280 
 
 one. painful as it is to a man of my time of life, and feeling the 
 weight of public cares, to bo incessantly struggling for his seat, 
 nothing could have induced me to quit that University to which 
 I had so long ago devoted my best care and attachment. But by 
 no act of mine, I am free to come among you. And having been 
 thus set free, I need hardly tell you that it is with joy, with 
 thankfulness and enthusiasm, that I now, at this eleventh hour, 
 a candidate without an address, make my appeal to the heart 
 and the mind of South Lancashire, and ask you to pro- 
 nounce upon that appeal. As I have said, I am aware of no 
 cause for the votes which have given a majority against me in 
 the University of Oxford, except the fact that the strongest con- 
 viction that the human mind can receive, that an overpowering 
 sense of the public interests, that the practical teachings of ex- 
 perience, to which from my youth Oxford herself taught me to 
 lay open my mind, all these had shown mo the folly, and I will 
 say, the madness of refusing to join in the generous sympathies 
 of my countrymen, by adopting what I may call an obstructfve 
 policy." 
 
 In an address to the electors of Liverpool, he felicitously re- 
 ferred to the peculiar features of the two constituencies. 
 
 " We see represented in that ancient institution— represented 
 more nobly, perhaps, and more conspicuously than in any other 
 place, at any rate with more remarkable concentration— the 
 most prominent features which relate to the past of England. I 
 come into South Lancashire, and I find around mo an assemblage 
 of different phenomena. I find development of industry ; I find 
 growth of enterprise ; I find progress of social philanthropy; I 
 find prevalence of toleration; and I find an ardent desire for free- 
 dom * * * * I have honestly, I have earnestly, although I may 
 have feebly, striven to unite in my insignificant person that 
 which is represented by Oxford and that which is represented by 
 Lancashire. My desire is that they should know and love one 
 another. If I have clung to the representation of the Univer- 
 sity with desperate fondness, it is because I would not desert 
 that post in which I seem to have been placed. I have not aban- 
 doned it. I have been dismissed from it, not by academical, but 
 by political agencies. I don't complain of those political influ- 
 ences by whi-h I have been displaced. The free constitutional 
 spirit of the country requires that the voice of the majority 
 should prevail. I hope tKat the voice of the majority will pre- 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 ■'i! : ! 
 
 236 
 
 Bepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 vail in South Lancashire. I do not for a moment complain tl 't 
 it should have prevailed in Oxford. But, gentlemen, I comr row 
 to ask you a question, waother, because I have been dcclav 'dun- 
 fit longer to servo the University on account of my politici'". po- 
 sition, there is anything in tluvt position, tl>,-re Is anything ii 
 what I have said and done, ill tlio ard-jnns office which T hold, 
 which is to unfit mo for the rcprescntiition of my native co^'nt '"' 
 Mr. Gladstone's strength, as shown by this election, lay in 
 the large towns rather than in the country boroughs; for in 
 Liverpool, Manchestei', and all the other towns in this portion of 
 the county, his name stood at the head of the poll. Wo snail 
 look to see him, then roj. resenting the sentiments of the Liber- 
 als of the cities, rather than the more modified sentiments 
 which are usual in the English country districts, which are Ir vge- 
 ly Conservative. 
 
 But although the han-^s of the Ministry wore strengthened by 
 considerable Liberal giuns in this general election, contrary to 
 the expectations of both parties, it had met with a severe loss 
 in the death of one of its ablest supporters. This was Richard 
 Cobden, who had been named " The Apostle of Free trade." Ho 
 was not a member of the Cabinet, for he had declined the ap- 
 pointment which Palmcrston had offered him, on account of his 
 opposition to the Premier's ideas i.gurding the foreign policy 
 to be pursued; but his closest political ally, Mr. Milner Gibson, 
 had accepted the post which Cobden declined, and it was under- 
 stood that th's was nearly equivalent to his taking office himself. 
 He died early in April, 1865. While his loss was severely felt by 
 the Liberals, it was still more a blow to that little band of Eadi- 
 cals of whom he was really tho ffM-^most member, though the 
 polished sauvity of his manner, contrasiod with the abrupt force 
 of Bright, gave most persons the impression that he was rather 
 more conservative than his great comrade. To the sturdy 
 Quaker personally it was a severe blow ; and his tribute to his 
 friend, spoken too soon after that friend's death to be esteemed 
 a formal memorial address, is one of the most pathetic of its 
 'J kind: " After a close friendship of many years, I never knew 
 how much I lov^ed him till I lost him." And the strong, firm-set 
 man sat down and wept, regardless of the gaze of his colleagues. 
 The death of Cobden had occm- during the session of 1865. 
 Before Parliament was again called together, there was anoth- 
 er vacancy in the ranks of the Liberal party— the man who wr.s 
 
Bepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 287 
 
 nominally utits head, by reason of I. le position which ho had held. 
 Lord Piilrnerston was nearly oigjity-onc, but although he had oc- 
 casionally been kept from the House by attacks of tho gout, he 
 was far more regular in his attendance thco than many a young- 
 er man. While Premier, ho underwent an amount of work which 
 at his age seemed phenomenal ; and all Iho strength and spright- 
 liness of his character were maintained to tho last. Ho died af- 
 ter an illness of six days, in tho latter part of October. There 
 wa«' but C'lo man whom publi: opinion named as him to whom 
 tho vacant post of right belonged. Earl Russell tho former op- 
 ponent, the recent associate, of ♦he Head Premier, was appointed 
 by tho Queen the First Min Lor of the Crown. His age, his 
 great services, his high reputation, his honorable character, made 
 his claims generally admitted. Five years before, tho Prime Min- 
 ister would have been the leauor of the House of Commons ; but 
 the courtesy title had given place to one borne by right, and the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer succeeded to tho first rank in tho 
 lower branch of tho national councils. It may here bo no'ed, in 
 explanation of tho apparent anomaly of Palmorston's being in 
 the House of Commons, that ho was an Irish Poor, and as such 
 not entitled to a seat in tho House of Lords unless elected to it 
 by tho whole body of Irish Peers. 
 
 Tho death of Lord Pulmerston removed all doubt as to what 
 the Ministry would do upon the subjectof Eeform. But before en- 
 tering upon this much vexed question, it will perhaps bo ^cst to 
 consider briefly some other subjects which c.^iio before Parlia- 
 ment this session. Having thus cleared the stage, the progress 
 of iliat great political drama can be watched without interrup- 
 tion. 
 
 The budget was introduced May 3rJ, during a suspension of 
 the hostilities then raging in regard to the GovernmeivL'a Reform 
 Bill. There was a surplus of sufficient magnitude to warrant 
 certain reductions of duties. The duty on timber was to be abol- 
 ished, as well as that on pepper; and tho duty on wino in bottles 
 and that on wino in wood Avero to be equalized. Certain changes 
 were recommended la the duties on locomotion j but in recom- 
 mending these changes the right honorable gentleman took care 
 not to add to the burdens of the middle and lower classes. The 
 tea duties were to be renewed, and the Income Tax was to be4J. in 
 the pound. The National Debt had been reduced from £18,- 
 000,000 in 1858 to £8,267,000, and the time for further reduction 
 
238 
 
 Bepresentiag South Lancashire. 
 
 '. i 
 
 I 
 
 is 
 
 was most favorable. T^heso provisions met with little opposition. 
 A proposition to convert a portion of the National Debt into 
 terminable annuities was made thn subject of a separate bill, 
 which d-d not pass beyond the second reading, owing to the 
 chang'js which took place during Ihe session. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone had visited Glasgow in the autumn of 1865, a.ad 
 had been, with due formalities, presented with the freedom of the 
 city He had then spoken most feelingly of the loss which the 
 country had recently sustained in the death of a statesman like 
 Palmerston. He was now called upon, by the duties of hisposition 
 as Leader of the House, for an official utterance. The subject was 
 an address to the Queen, praying her to order the erection of a 
 monument to the late Premier in Westminster Abbey. His eu- 
 logy was a masterly analysis of the character of his late chief. 
 He was followed by Ilr. Disraeli, who added another tribute to 
 the memory of the popular Minister. 
 
 The Irish troubles which had recently arisen, or rather gix)wn 
 from their normal condition, demand some share of attention. 
 Thosjwho had emigrated to America in consequence of the iara- 
 iP-^ of 1846-7, and some who had been banished on account of the 
 part which they had taken in the insurrection of the followingyear, 
 had not been without warm affection for the country which they 
 had thus been compelled to leave. The result had been an organiza- 
 tion which originated in the United States-but which was by no 
 means confined to that country-designed to establish u rep.ib- 
 1=-^ in Ireland. The cessation of the Civil War had given the 
 Fenirns a considerable accession of dangerous assistants by re- 
 leasing from their sworn duty to the United States or the Con- 
 federate States a number of disciplined veterans, whose experience 
 
 enabled th m to t.uin others for military service. In addition to 
 this certain plans had been formed for seducing the Irish soldiers 
 in the British army from their allegiance. At first the movement 
 had seemed to be wildly impracticable; the end at which they 
 were aiming seemed as little possible as the origin which they 
 claimed, from some forgotten national militia, of Ireland, four 
 hundred years before Christ. But the British Government soon 
 found that the visionary character of its claims and its hope? 
 was not all there was of it. Fenianism was a real danger men- 
 acin- British rule :n Ireland ; the greater, perhaps, because the 
 priests, whose counsels had generally ^een for moderation and 
 patience, were carefully excluded from the control of thu 
 
Bepresentiny South Lancashire. 239 
 
 organization und from knowledge of its movements. The Gov- 
 ernment was driven to propose a bill for .-ispending the Habeas 
 
 rr\f'^i'' ^^""^ '''""^'^- ^^''' ^^^^^"^« "^^^ violently oppos- 
 ed by Mr. Bright, who seems to have seen something of the 
 wrong which the Fenians were striving to - ido. He called up- 
 on the '' two great and trusted leaders," Gladstone and Disraeli 
 to throw aside ali animosity for the time, and unite in some 
 measure which would bring peace to Ireland. The cause of the 
 discontentshouldbef und, and a remedy applied; therewassome 
 way to make Ireland loyal, and it was the duty of the Imperial 
 Parliament to find that way. So spoke this champion of the peo- 
 ple more than twenty years ago ; fighting in hale of a wron^ 
 not his own. ° 
 
 It was the duty of the Leader of the House to defend this 
 Government measure against the voices which condemned if 
 and he was not without power in doing so, Howevor much we 
 may admire the attitude of Bright, who would thus have yield- 
 ed the rights that were demanded, or at least a portion of them 
 we must recognize the wisdom of Gladstone in his arguments 
 against this course. The Irish members had acquiesced in this 
 bill, and they were the legal representatives of the Irish people 
 Much of Mr. Bright's speech, he said, was open to question, and 
 was ill-timod ; it was the duty of the House to strengthen the 
 handsof theExecutivo in the preservation of law and order Mr 
 Gladstone in later years showed that he was not so blindly prej- 
 udiced in this course as the Fenians would have had us believe • 
 when the Iruh people demanded their rights in moderation and 
 self-control, he urged that these rights be granted; but it will be 
 remembered that that demand had not then been made by the 
 voice of their representatives in Parliament. '' The mills of the 
 gods grind slowly;" and the Fenians were premature in the tur- 
 bulent violence of their eftbrts. Ireland will some day be free 
 as her sons, from Emmet to Parnell, have wished to see her- the 
 day will sometime dawn when every nation upon earth shall have 
 the American ideal of - a govern Tient of the people, for the peo- 
 ple, and by the people." 
 
 The Government carried out other vigorous measures for the 
 suppression of the conspiracy, such as the suspension of the 
 newspaper which was the chief organ, the arrest of suspected 
 persons, theorder of additional troops to Ireland; soon leaving 
 only those embers which tinaliy kindled the fires of ParnollJsm 
 
 /^ 
 
240 
 
 Representing South Znncashirc, 
 
 
 The old question of Church Rates camo up again this session, 
 id Mr. Gladstone pressed a measure providing for the abolition 
 
 Earl Russell. 
 of compulsory Church Rates; but the question was left in the 
 same doubtful position which it had so long occupied. 
 The war between Austria and Prussia brought about a warm 
 
mf:'~^,--^~ ^l!^.» 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 241 
 
 discussion on continental affairs, in which Mr. Gladstone warned 
 the Foreign Secretary that the cause of Italy was dear to the 
 people of England, who would not readily forgive a policy 
 which attacked hor unity and independence. It may here be re- 
 marked that Ve "a was added to Italy by the treaty which 
 closed this war, a few months after Mr. Gladstone's speech on 
 the subject; and with the exception of the States of the Church, 
 which came under his dominion in 1870, the kingdom of Victor 
 Emmanuel was the same as that over which Humbert has sway. 
 
 Tlu. decks thus cleared for action, we come to the disenssion 
 of the all-important measure of Parlianr ontary Eeform. When 
 it was known that Earl Enssell had succeeded Viscount Pal. 
 merston as the head of the Government, it was confidently an- 
 ticipated that there would bo a sweeping change ui the mode of 
 representation; that the franchise would be considerably ex- 
 tended, in accordance with the veteran reformer's ideas as ex- 
 pressed in that bill which his late chief had literally "damned 
 with faint pniiso," The measure vas introduced by the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer on the 12th of March, and me^ with much 
 opposition; not from the Conservatives only, from whom of 
 course it was to be expected, but from many Liberals as well. It 
 has been remaiked by the careful historian whom we have quoted 
 several times before this, that it was scarcely politic, if the Min- 
 istry had looked only to its "wn stability, to introduce, at the 
 beginning of the first session of a new Parliament, a measure 
 which would have the effect of renewing the risks and expense 
 of a general election. If Earl Eussell and Mr. Gladstone had 
 been content to wait anotlicr session or two before introducing 
 the Eeform Bill they would have addressed themselves to mem- 
 bers whose recollectioi. of the election was less vivid, whose 
 pui'ses would have in sor ..j degree at least hnve recovered from 
 the enormous drair .•. h'ch Englirh election expenses entail ; and 
 the reception of r j oill would most probably have been more 
 fortunate. 
 
 But Lord Eussell b".d long been an enthusiast upon this suV 
 jec! He hod mado his first motion in favor of Parliamentary 
 Eeform dur'ng the year of Queen Victoria's birth; he had been 
 one of the fou) members of the Government to whom Earl Grej'- 
 intrusted the task of framing the first Eeform Bill, which passed 
 in 1831 ; and ho hnd proposed that famous measure to the House 
 of Commons. He was then verging close upon forty; more than 
 
 l6 
 
242 
 
 Itepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 thirty years later, his ancient ardor had not diminished; and he 
 had a worthy second in Mr. Gladstone. " Too fond of the right 
 to pursue the expedient," they considered thems(.lves pledged to 
 the people; and they redeemed that pledge at the earliest pos- 
 sible opportunity. 
 
 The House was crowded in every part as it had been when 
 Lord John arose to introduce the first measure of the kind. In a 
 speech of two hours Mr. Gladstone explained the provisions of 
 the bill. It did not deal with the question of redistribution of 
 seats, but simply with the extension of the Franchise; nor did 
 Mr. Gladstone promise that the important omission should be 
 dealt with during the next session. The bill, though a good and 
 honest measure, was evidently a compromise; for that scheme 
 which Lord John Eussell had introduced, and which Mr. Glad- 
 stone had so warmly supported in 1860 had advocated the re- 
 duction of the franchise in the towns to £6, and in the counties 
 to £10; and the figures in this bill stood at £7 and £14 re- 
 spectively. 
 
 As we have said, the bill met with uncompromising opposition 
 from a considerable portion of the Liberal party. Of this sec- 
 tion, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman were the recognized leaders. 
 Mi'. Bright, who was of course n, warm supporter of the measure, 
 spoke in defense of it with all that keenness which so often 
 makes his speeches unanswerable. The malcontent Whigs were 
 the victims of his sarcasm, which was dealt out with no sparing 
 hand : 
 
 " The right honorable gentleman [Mr. Horsman] is the first of 
 the new party who has expressed his great grief, who has retired 
 into what may be called his political "Cave of Adullam," and he 
 has called about him every one ihat was in distress and every 
 one that was discontented. The right honorable gentleman has 
 been long anxious to Torm a party in this House. There is 
 scarcely any one on this side of the House who is able to address 
 the House with effect, or to take much part in our debates, whom 
 he has not tried to bring over to his party or cabal; and at last 
 the right honorable gentleman has succeeded in hooking the 
 right honorable gentleman the Member for Calne [Mr. Lowe]. 
 I know there was an opinion expressed many years ago by a 
 member of the Treasury Bench and of the Cabinet, that two men 
 would make a party. When a party is formed of two men so 
 amiable, so discreet, as the two right honorable gentlemen, we 
 
Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 243 
 
 may hope to see, for ^.he first time in Parliament, a party per- 
 fectly harmonious, and distinguished by mutual and unbroken 
 trust. But there is one difficulty which it is impohsiblo to re- 
 move. This party of two reminds me of the Scotch terrier, 
 which was so covered with hair that you could not tell which 
 was the head and which was the tail of it." 
 
 But Mr. Bright's contempt for the weakness of this party of 
 . two was premature. Since the days when David retired into the 
 Cave of Adullam, and 
 there gathered to him 
 every one that was in 
 distress, or in debt, or 
 discontented, there have 
 always been found fol- 
 lowers for such com- 
 plainers against the ex- 
 isting state of things. 
 There were many Adul- 
 lamites, as the Palmer- 
 stonians, or anti-Ecform 
 Whigs, began to be call- 
 ed ; and the party was 
 not without its influence. 
 The speeches which 
 were delivered against 
 the bill by the members 
 of this new party were 
 of such a nature that 
 the Conservative party Jii- Hofu Edward Horaman. 
 
 took fresh courage. Had the Liberals remained united, there 
 would have been little chance for the Opposition, so con- 
 siderable was the majority which had been returned for the 
 Government in the general election. The Conservative lead- 
 ers summoned a meeting of their supporters for the purpose of 
 considering the m..nncr in which they should deal with the min- 
 isterial proposal. Lord Derby was absent on account of illness, 
 so that Mr. Disraeli was the foremost figure. He delivered ar, 
 address which aroused the enthusiasm of his auditors, and it was 
 resolved that the bill should be strenuously opposed. Their 
 hopes were no longer confined to mere de}ay, or some slight con- 
 cessions which might be wrung from the Government; nothing 
 
' : 
 
 244 Bepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 loss than a total rout of the ministerial forces --1^ satisfy 
 them; and the alliance of the Adullamites would enable them to 
 
 achieve this victory. 
 
 It caused no small dismay in the Eeform camp when it was 
 k^ own that Earl Grosvenor, the eldest son of the Marquis of 
 Westminster, had gone over to the enemy; for they had confi- 
 dently reckoned upon his continued support. Upon the second 
 reading of the bill, however, he proposed a resolution affiiming 
 that the House did not think it expedient to discuss any bUl for 
 the reduction of the franchise until the whole plan of the Gov- 
 ernment should have been laid before it. 
 
 As Mr. Gladstone had already stated that the Government 
 would not attempt anything that session beyond the extension 
 of the franchise, this was regarded as a vote of no confiden o 
 and coming as the proposition did from one who had so lately 
 been an alty upon whom they could always depend, the effect 
 was peculiarly discouraging to the friends of Reform. 
 
 This opposition was natural on the part of the representatives 
 of small boroughs, who were anxious that their constituents 
 should not be immediately disfranchised ; there are few men 
 capable of the serio-comic self-sacrifice of that Member for Lud- 
 gershall who was his own constituency, ^s we have mentioned in 
 L chronicles of the days of Earl Grey's Reform BilL Oh 
 there were ^<ho were jealous of the influence which Mi. Bnght 
 and his adherents were supposed to have cxortod over the Cab- 
 inet, in framing this bill. Others still feared that if the exten- 
 sion of the franchise were carried, it would be the means of ob- 
 tainino- a much larger measure of redistribution than the old 
 Whigmrty was willing to consent to. By the Conservatives it 
 was regarded as a dangerous concession to democracy. Such 
 were the sentiments of the majority of the House of Commons; 
 but the bill was more generally approved in the country. 
 
 The combination between the Tories and the Adu lamites was 
 one which could not easily be defeated without makmg conces- 
 rn^which, in the eyes of the Leader of the House, were ca cu- 
 lated to lower the dignity of the Government; -"^ Mi GUd- 
 stone was the last man in the world to compromise that dignity 
 even for the sake of avoiding a defeat. At the same time it was 
 his duty to avoid that contingency, if possible to do so by means 
 cln^rtent with the honor of the Ministry. He there ore ^ave a 
 short explanation on the evening before the House udjuux ue. for 
 
Eepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 245 
 
 the Easter holidays. After the second reading of the franchise 
 bill, and before it was committed, the Government would state 
 their intentions with regard to the franchise of Scotland and 
 Ireland and the questions connected with the redistribution of 
 seats. After that they would proceed with the franchise bill un- 
 til until its fate was determined. But the motion ot Lord Gros- 
 venor would bo opposed as a proposed vote of want of confi- 
 dence. 
 
 During the Easter holidays, the friends of the Eeform Bill 
 worked hard. Mr. Bright told a large meeting at Birmingham 
 that their representation was a sham and a farce, and that if they 
 wanted Eeform, they must bring a strong pressure to bear upon 
 Parliament from without. Mr. Gladstone delivered two address- 
 es upon the same subject at Liverpool, declaring that he and his 
 colleagues had determined to stand or fall by their franchise bill; 
 that ti.'y had crossed the Eubicon, whence there was no possi- 
 bility of retreat. 
 
 When the second reading of the bill came up, just a month af- 
 ter it had been introduced, there was but little interest in the 
 debate, for it was thought that argument on the topic had been 
 exhausted; every one was looking anxiously forward to the di- 
 vision. But the debate dragged on, night after night. It was 
 the 28th of April before the divi;:lon was reached. The number 
 of members voting was perhaps the largest proportion of tiio 
 House of Commons that over expressed an opinion in that way ; 
 no less than six-hundred and thirty-one votes were cast; so that 
 there were but twenty-six, besides the speaker, who did not vote. 
 The majority in favor of the Government was five. 
 
 When the result of the division was announced, the excite- 
 ment in the House was unparalleled ; it broke forth in shouts of 
 triumph, not from the Ministry that had nominally conquered, 
 but from the Adullamites who had so nearly defeated them. In- 
 deed, such a victory was worse than a defeat; for while it did 
 not permit the Ministry to withdraw the bill, it gave a most un- 
 equivocal indication that it would meet with a decisive defeat at 
 the next stage. The only alternatives were to dissolve or re- 
 sign. 
 
 The division had taken place Saturday morning, and at five 
 o'clock Monday afternoon Mr. Gladstone rose to announce the 
 programme of the Ministers. The bill was to be proceeded with ; 
 in a week's time leave would be asked to introduce the bill for 
 
 i 
 
 '5 J 
 
 if 
 
246 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 tho redistribution of seats ; bills for Scotland and Ireland were 
 to bo brought in on tho same evening, and would be proceeded 
 with at the same time as the franchise bill. The House received 
 the announcement in silence; the decisive battle was yet to be 
 fought. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone further announced, on the evening that these 
 bills were introduced, that the Queen would not be advised by 
 the Government to prorogue Parliament until these bills should 
 become law. Tho franchise and redistribution bills were finally 
 combined, and submitted to one committee. The question was 
 not finally decided until Juno 18th, when, on an amendment pro- 
 posed by an Adullamite, tho House divided, and gave a major- 
 ity of eleven against tho Ministers. The Opposition, both Tories 
 and Whigs, received the announcement with deafening cheers. 
 The Eussell Government was to stand or fall by its Eeform 
 measure, and the bill had failed. 
 
 Tho Queen was in Scotland, and it was some time before the 
 suspense of the House was relieved. Would the Cabinet resign, 
 dissolve, or go on with the bill ? Eight days later it was an- 
 nounced that they had determined to resign j and that her 
 Majesty had finally accepted their resignations, though not with- 
 out consideral 'e hesitation. Mr. Gladstone thus stated the rea- 
 sons which haa actuated them in this course : 
 
 "The question before the Government was, whether they 
 should resign their offices or whether they should accept the vote 
 that had been come to, and endeavor to adapt it to the frame- 
 work of their measure of Eeform. * * * * By accepting the vote 
 there would have been a breaking-up of the framework of the 
 measure. But besides this, the Government had to consider the 
 previous history of tho bill, especially with reference to the 
 pledges given from time to time — advisedly and deliberately giv- 
 en — to stand or fall by the measure. That is a pledge which 
 should rarely be given by a government, but it has been given 
 by this Government under the deepest conviction of public duty 
 in regard to dealing with the question of Eeform, and with re- 
 spect to tho character of public men and of Parliament. There- 
 fore it was that the life of the Administration was attached to 
 the life of the measure they proposed. ***** Looking, I say, 
 at all this, the Government found it impossible to carry on the 
 bill, and we had no alternative but a resignation, and a persis- 
 tence in our resignation." 
 

 Bepresenting South Lancashire. 
 
 247 
 
 Tho fact that the measure had met with such favor in the coun- 
 try suggests that tho Ministry might have appealed to that last re- 
 sort, and thus secured the victory ; but there were many "Whigs in 
 the Cabinet, who were by no means friends of tho measure, 
 though they could not openly oppose a bill introduced by their col- 
 leagues; they were not willing, however, to make any sacrifices 
 
 Mt. Hon. Robert Lowe. 
 
 for it, nor would they make great efforts to push it; in view of 
 this disagreement, such a course would have been impracticable. 
 
 A new Ministry was formed, with the Earl of Derby at the 
 head, and Mr. Disraeli as Chancellor of Exchequer itnd Leader 
 of the House. The composition of the new Ministry was an- 
 nounced on the 9th of July. 
 
 In addressing the House of Lords upon the policy which the 
 

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 248 
 
 Mepresenting ISouth Lancashire. 
 
 Govornmont would pursue, Lord Derby said that they wore en- 
 tirely unpledged upon the subject of Eeform j and that they 
 would not take up the question unless there was a fair prospect 
 oi carrying it through. With many promises of needed legisla- 
 tion, he addressed himself to the task of winding up the business 
 of the session as soon as possible; but this was not accomplish- 
 ed in less than a month. 
 
 During this time, when the question of Eeform remained in 
 abeyance in Parliament, it was eagerly discussed by the people. 
 Several associations were formed for the purpose of giving a 
 plain and practical contradiction of the statement that the peo- 
 ple were indifferent to it. The Eeform League was the most con- 
 siderable of these. A London barrister, Mr. Beales, was its pres- 
 ident, and it owed much of its efficiency to his energy and tal- 
 ents. The League wished to hold a monster mass-meeting, and 
 the president advised them that this might be done without in- 
 fringement of the law. The place was fixed for Hyde Park, but 
 the police forbade this, and the spectators, guided by Beales, 
 went to Trafalgar Square, where the meeting was held. Eesolu- 
 tions in favor of Eeform, and votes of thanks to Messrs. Glad- 
 stone and Bright for their constancy in the cause which so many 
 had deserted, were carried unanimously. The members of the 
 leairue and their friends then dispersed quietly. There was no 
 disturbance; though a number of roughs, who had followed 
 them to Hyde Park and remained there when the League with- 
 drew to Trafalgar Square, created considerable trouble, which was 
 wrongly laid to the door of the advocates of Eeform. But this 
 riotous conduct was not without its use; the Government heard 
 the loud voices of the mob calling thus tumultuously more clearly 
 than it had heard the voices of the more orderly who had been 
 beseeching and claiming as a simple right the extension of the 
 
 franchise. 
 
 The Dorby Government could not shirk the question of Ee- 
 form. They must go on with it, and it must be no half measure. 
 But they left it in suspense almost to the last moment, for the 
 Cabinet, as in the case of that which had been displaced, was di- 
 vided upon the subject. Finally, however. Lord Derby and Mr. 
 Disraeli succeeded in persuading their colleagues to consent to 
 the introduction o^ a bill upon this subject in the session of 1867. 
 
 Mr. Disraeli's position was hardly an enviable one, unless we 
 consider that man fortunate whose powers are displayed by the 
 
 .« 
 

 ->.^*> 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 249 
 
 magnitudo of tho obstacles which ho has to surmount. Ho was 
 leader of a party that had all along dreaded and opposed any ex- 
 tension of tho suffrage, being regarded with jealousy and suspi- 
 cion by many whose support was necessary to tho success of his 
 scheme. Opposed by a considerable majority, which, although 
 divided, might unite at any time; supported by a party that fol- 
 lowed him with undisguised repugnance, and which, to borrow 
 his own phrase, required to be educated up to the point of accept- 
 ing such a measure as ho would bo obliged, by the pressure from 
 without, to propose; and hampered by tho declarations which ho 
 himself had made regarding the numerous Reform Bills which 
 his opponents had brought forward at different times — he yet rose 
 to the difficulty of his task with consummate ability. There were 
 two plans possible: one a mild and conservative measure, the 
 other a bolder or ^. It was tho latter which was finally brought 
 before the House. 
 
 In less than a week after Parliament assembled, tho Leader of 
 the House explained the provisions of the proposcdbill. He gave 
 notice later that the bill would bo introduced March 18th. Mr. 
 Gladstone spoke in answer to this notice, expressing a hope that 
 when tho Reform measure appeared, i^ would bo simple and 
 straightforward J not having a double &e.; of provisions, one of 
 which seemed to give, while the other eally took away liberty. 
 If the plan promised to effect good in a simple, straightforward, 
 intelligible and constitutional mannc it would bo received on 
 his side of tho House in no grudging s- it, with no recollection 
 of the past, and no revival of mutual suspicions and complaints. 
 It would have been well if tho Government could have embraced 
 these generous overtures; but there was a considerable section 
 of the Conservative party who wanted no Reform at all, and Mr. 
 Disraeli was obliged to satisfy them as wel' as those who were 
 clamoring loudly for the changes. 
 
 Three of the Ministers had resigned because they could not 
 give their assent to tho bill approved by the majority of their 
 colleagues. Instead of drawing a five, six, or seven pound limit, 
 to cut off those from the franchise whose extreme poverty would 
 rondci them more susceptible to bribes, the Government boldly 
 adopted household suffrage with the simple qualification of the 
 payment of rates. Mr. Disraeli calculated that this would en- 
 franchise 237,000 additional voters, and that of the whole num- 
 ber of thoRo who would have a voice in tho election of the 
 
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 250 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 House of Commons, one-half would belong to the middle class 
 and one-fourth each to the higher and lower classes. Such was: his 
 much talked of " balance of power." But the bill did not give 
 a vote to those householders whose rates were paid by their 
 landlords ; so that although the bill was on its face extremely 
 generous, it was not really as much so as that which Mr. Glad- 
 stone had introduced. 
 
 A novel feature of the bill, and one which was by no means 
 approved of, was that provision which gave a man two votes if 
 he paid the requisite amount of assessed taxes or income tax, 
 and was also a rate-paying householder. This was strongly as- 
 sailed by speakers on both sides of the House, among the most 
 emphatic of whom was Mr. Gladstone. A meeting of one hun- 
 dred and forty members of the Liberal party was held at Mr. 
 Gladstone's residence early in April, to arrange what course of 
 action should be taken in opposing this bill. Some difference of 
 opinion was expressed as to what should bo done, but it was 
 finally understood that Mr. Coleridge was to introduce a resolu- 
 tion aflSrming that the committee should have power to alter the 
 rating and make other changes. On that very evening a meet- 
 ing of some forty or fifty members was held in the tea-room of 
 the House of Commons, who agreed that they would unite to 
 limit the instructions to be proposed by Mr. Coleridge. They 
 then appointed a deputation to convey to Mr. Gladstone the feel- 
 ing of the meeting, and to assure him that the members compos- 
 ing this meeting would continue to give him a loyal support in 
 committee. M-. Gladstoro, finding that by the defection of so 
 many of his adherents he was almost certain to incur a defeat, 
 yielded to their demands, and the resolution was altered accord- 
 ingly. The House went into committee, Mr. Disraeli having ac- 
 cepted the altered resolution. Mr. Gladstone gave notice of sev- 
 eral important amendments, which Mr. Disraeli stigmatized as 
 merely the resolutions which had been abandoned by the tea- 
 room party, cast into another form; and he announced that if 
 they were insisted upon, the Government would not proceed 
 with the bill. As most of the tea-room party held together, 
 the Government triumphed by a majority of twenty-one in the di- 
 vision on the first of Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, After this, he 
 could not hope to carry any of the others, and they were with- 
 drawn. Nor was this all; he determined to withdraw from the 
 leadership of the Liberal Party He announced his intention, 
 
Mepresenting South Lancashire. 251 
 
 Jtnd explained the reasons for it, in a letter to one of the vnem- 
 
 bers for the City, who had asked him if he intended to persevere 
 
 n moving the amendments of which he had given notice In 
 
 taici ff";f • ^'^'^^^"^ ^^^^-'^ ^^P^'^^-^ his'intention of not 
 taking further steps to combat the action of the Government- 
 hough he promised to follow any one who would undertake the 
 leadership in this matter. 
 
 His action was sincerely regretted by those who still support- 
 ed him though they saw that he was justified in the course which 
 he had taken. Mr. Bright took the opportunity which a great 
 Reform demonstration at Birmingham aflForded, to denounce the 
 action of those Liberals who had thus dpserted their leader at 
 sucu a critical time. Eulogizing Mr. Gladstoneas having brought 
 to the consideration of this question of Reform more earnest- 
 ness, conviction, and zeal than any statesman since the measure 
 of Earl Grey had excited all England, he asked : - Who is there 
 in the House of Commons that equals him in knowledge of all 
 political questions? Who equals him in earnestness? Who equals 
 him in eloquence? Who equals him in courage and fidelity to 
 his convictions ? If these gentlemen who sav they will not fol- 
 low him have any one who is equal, let them show him. If thev 
 can point out any statesman who can add dignity and grandeur 
 to the stature of Mr. Gladstone, let them produce him It is a 
 deplorable thing that last year a small section of forty men or 
 thereabouts, of professing Liberals, destroyed the honest and ac 
 ceptable (I speak of the people) bill of the late Government, and 
 with It destroyed also the Government which proposed it. About 
 an equal number have this year to a great extent destroyed the 
 power of tne Opposition, and may assist an anti-Reforming Gov- 
 ernment to pass a very bad measure on the greatest question of 
 our time. ***** What can be done in parliamentary parties 
 If every man is to pursue his own little game ? A costermonger 
 and donkey would take a week to travel from here to London • 
 and yet, by running athwart the London and Northwestern line' 
 they might bring to total destruction a great express train • and 
 so very small men, who during their whole political lives 'have 
 not advanced the question of Reform by one hair's breadth or 
 one moment of time, can in a critical hour like this throw them- 
 selves athwart the objects of a great party, and perhaps mar a 
 great measure that sought to affect the interests of the country 
 'beneficially for all time." 
 
252 
 
 Represent imj South Lancashire. 
 
 The plain truth and justice of Mr. Bright's speech carried with 
 his censures weight that made them to be folt by men, who, pro- 
 fessing to desire a real extension of the franchise, were yet 
 adopting a course which was nullifying that object, and were 
 placing at the disposal of the minority a power which ought to 
 be exercised by the majority. 
 
 The bill made no provisions for granting the franchise to lodg- 
 ers, but this was conceded as time went on. Other modifications 
 were made both in the franchise and in the re-distribution of 
 seats; and the Government announced that from this position 
 they would not recede further. Various amendments were pro- 
 posed, but the House was only too anxious to have the question 
 settled, and these were rejected, though by very small majorities. 
 Some other concessions were wrung from the Ministry, notwith- 
 standing Mr. Disraeli's positive statement; so that one of those 
 ministers who had resigned office because he could not support 
 this bill, observed that it seemed there was nothing with less vi- 
 tality than a vital point, nothing so insecure as the securities 
 which the bill offered, and nothing so elastic as the conscience of 
 a Cabinet Minister. Certainly he had cause for these biting re- 
 monstrances, for the Conservative Ministry had so modified this 
 measure that it was one which might have been introduced by 
 Mr. Bright himself, and far surpassed the expectations even of 
 the Reform League. 
 
 The later clauses of the bill were hurried along, for it was the 
 latter part of July; amendments were negatived after very 
 slight consideration; and the bill at last came up for the third 
 reading. 
 
 The caustic severity of the language which was used in de- 
 scribing Mr. Disraeli's course in this matter has scarcely been 
 equalled in Parliament. It recalled to the minds of the elder 
 members his own attack upon Sir Robert Peel. Mr. Disraeli, 
 however, was not without weapons to repel such an attack; and 
 answered by reviewing the action of the Palmerston Govern- 
 ment, which had come into existence because the Derby Cabinet 
 could not or would not grant Reform, and shirked the responsi- 
 bility for which they Lad been appointed. The bill was read a 
 third time, a single dissenting voice being heard when the Speak- 
 er put the question; and when the motion was made, "that the 
 bill do pass," the announcement of the vote was received with 
 more than usually tumultuous cheering. 
 
Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 258 
 
 The Eeform Bill passed the House of Lords in August, and be- 
 came law shortly afterward. Mr. Disraeli gave not a little of- 
 fence to his adherents by the language which he shortly after- 
 ward used in epeaking of it. *' I had to prepare the mind of the 
 country," he said, at a Conservative banquet in Edinburgh, "and 
 to educate— if it be not arrogant to use such a phrase— to educate 
 our party." There was much comment upon the expression, 
 and the newspapers continued to quote it for a long time. 
 
 The author of this much amended Eeform Bill was shortly to 
 be called to occupy a higher position than Lis talents had yet 
 won for him. The Earl of Derby had been in ill-health for a 
 long time, frequently being unable to attend the sessions of the 
 House of Lords; at other times he forced himself to be pres- 
 ent when he was manifestly unfitted for the exertion. He re- 
 tired in February, 1868, and Mr. Disraeli became Prime Minister. 
 Of this elevation, the newspapers had much to sayj and what 
 they said was not always exactly. .;omplimontary to tYn brilliant 
 novelist-politician. While not as violently worded as some of 
 the attacks which the press of this country sometimes makes up- 
 on high officials, from the President down— for they would not be 
 guilty of formal disrespect to thetheFirstMinisterof the Crown 
 —there was yet a mingling of unanswerable raillery and sar- 
 casm. Perhaps an extract from the Pall Mall Gazette will be the 
 best example : 
 
 " One of the most grievous and constant puzzles of King 
 David was the prosperity of the wicked and scornful ; and the 
 same tremendous moral enigma has come down to our own days. 
 In this respect the earth is in its older times what it was in its 
 youth. Even so recently as last week the riddle presented itself 
 once more in its most impressive shape. Like the Psalmist, the 
 Liberal loader may v/ell protest that, 'verily, he has cleansed 
 his heart in vain and washed his hands in innocency; all day 
 long he has been plagued by' Whig Lords, 'and chastened every 
 morning by' Radical manufacturers; as blamelessly as any cur- 
 ate he has written about Ecce Homo, and ho has never made a 
 speech, even in the smallest country town, without calling out 
 with David, 'How foolish am I, and how ignorant!' For all 
 this, what does he see? The scorner who shot out the lip and 
 shook the head at hira across the table of the House of Cc m- 
 mons last session, has now more than heart could wish ; his eyes 
 speaking in an Oriental manner, stand out with fatness, he speak- 
 
254 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 eth loftily, and prido compasseth him about as with a chain. * * 
 * * That the writer of frivolous stories about Vivian Grey and 
 Coningsby should grasp the sceptre before the writer of beauti- 
 ful and serious things about Ecce Homo— the man who is epigram- 
 matic, flashy, arrogant, before the man who never perpetrated an 
 epigram in his life, is always fervid, and would as soon dia as 
 admit that he had a shade more brain than his footman— the 
 ;, Eadical corrupted into a Tory, before the Tory purified and ele- 
 vated into a Eadical— is not this enough to make an honest man 
 rend his mantle, and shave his head, and sit down among the ashes 
 inconsolable? Let us play the too underrated part of Bildad 
 the Shuhite for a space, while our chiefs have thus unwelcome leis- 
 ure to scrape themselves with potsherds, and to meditate upon 
 the evil ways of the world." 
 
 Beneath the scoffing and pretended condolence of this para- 
 graph, there is no small vein of truth. The characters of the two 
 men are not inaptly drawn ; for although it is a palpable exag- 
 geration to say that Mr. Gladstone would ''as soon die as admit 
 that he had any more brains than his footman," ho is not keenly 
 self-appreciative; and the quality thus lacking in his mental 
 composition was possessed in double share by the most eminent 
 of his rivals. 
 
 Parliament had been summoned in November, 1867, to consid- 
 er the Abyssinian War. This was uruiertai<en for the deliver- 
 ence of certain British subjects who were hold captive by King 
 Theodore. Mr. Gladstone was among those who spoke on the 
 subject. There had been certain statements made by M: Dis- 
 raeli during the recess, regarding Parliamentary matters, which 
 he, as Leader of the Opposition, was fully justified in asking an 
 explanation for; but the illness of Mrs. Disraeli had atthistime 
 assumed such a form that she was in a precarious condition • and 
 the brilliant novelist was as deeply attached to his wife as he 
 •was indebted to her. Profticing his speech, therefore, with the 
 statement that he would refrain from asking for any explana- 
 tions, and by an expression of his sympathy with Mr. Disraeli 
 in his domestic affliction, Mr. Gladstone pointed out that while 
 there was a clear casws belli, it was not at all clear that there 
 would be much gained by a war; the Ministry would have to 
 convince the House that the objects of tho axpedition were ob- 
 tainable, and show both how it was proposed to carry on the ex- 
 pedition, and what would be its limits. He pressed for a settle- 
 
Representing South Lancashire. 355 
 
 ment of the troubles in Ireland, where the Fc-ian outbreak was 
 ut Its height. Hetrusto.l that the r.inx.r was incorrect which 
 assigned to the Irish Chmch Commission the function of draw- 
 ing up plans for its reorganization. Mr. Disraeli was unusually 
 moved when he rose to reply, thanking Mr. Gladstone for the 
 expression of sympathy, and the House for the manner in which 
 - u had been received. His speech did not promise m.ch defin- 
 itely The Government hoped to accomplish all that was de- 
 manded of them j they were still unpledged to the Abyssinian 
 JUxpcdition; they would introduce a bill dealing with the Irish 
 troubles; and were giving their earnest attention to Church mat- 
 ters The House a few days later voted a sufficient sum to carry 
 on the African war, and, agreeably to the plan for which Mr. 
 Gladstone had on this occasion as on others so warmly pleaded 
 imposed an additional tax to meet the expense without adding 
 to the debt. The House adjourned about the middle of Decern- 
 ber, the objects of this special session having been accomplished. 
 _ -Kefoi-m Bills rclatingtoScotlandandlreland were carried dur- 
 ing the session of 1868, and the work for which Earl Russell had 
 so long hoped was thus accomplished by his political opponents, 
 who had opposed nothing so vehemently and persistently 
 
 A question whi^h had long occupied the attention of Parlia- 
 ment was definitely settled this session, chiefly by the efforts of 
 Mr. Gladstone The measure, which was the Compulsory 
 Church Eates Abolition Bill, passed both houses, though not 
 without some opposition from the Conservatives. It provided 
 that there should be no legal proceedings for the collection of 
 Church Eates, unless money had been borrowed on them as se- 
 curity ; but voluntary agreements might be made, and the money 
 so promised might be collected in the same way that any other 
 contr^icts might be enforced. While this bill was looked upon as 
 a Ead.cal measure, it is not clear that itreally made much change 
 in the real state of affairs. Parliament simply agreed that the 
 Church would waive the right which she had asserted, in case 
 she could not secure the recognition of that right from those 
 who supported ether places of worship. 
 
 The Irish Cnurch had long boon a subject which had perplexed 
 the legislators of the Empire. If the Dissenters in England had 
 been strong enough to compel that act of justice which has just 
 been chronicled, the Non-conformists of Ireland were strong 
 enough numerically to have done much more, had all other 
 
256 
 
 Representing iSouth Lancdishire. 
 
 tilings been equal. But the mere assertion of a right by an Irish- 
 man seems always to have been enough to arouse the opposition 
 
 Hon. Charles Stewart. PmmelL 
 
 
 wm^m 
 
 
 
 k 
 
 k 
 
 of Engh'shmon. A nation which prides itself upon Its sense of jus- 
 tice, its regard for the rights of man, its love of liljerty,. has 
 never hesitated to grind a subject nation to the dust. The Irish 
 
Representing Houlh Ijiineashire. 267 
 
 Chnroh ya, oxotio, and only th» care which was given it by Par- 
 country. A, long ago „s 1885, i„ t|,„t p„„p,,,„;. J^.i^^ ;„„" 
 
 Irsrcwf, "' ''™'.,^'''"'''--^^""" l.a/said'that t.e woTd 
 InshCnurch were the greatest bull in the language: that it 
 was caled the Church of Ireland bc.ansa U was nSt tL C urcl 
 
 diftcnlty which was experienced in collecting tithes; ihat diffi- 
 culty had not diminished in the least. To men^'d the matter for t 
 .ncumbents who were thus «nable to collect their incomes, he 
 Government had formulated a scheme by which the Chnrch 
 would belcs.,cmbarr..ssed, this was the plan of ch.argingthe 
 andlord w, b the ti.hcs, .»„.! allowing him to add a corLpond^ 
 .ng sum to the rent which had bcfo.-e been exacted. A refractory 
 
 Irishman, who p..„d a hundred poundsaycar for hisho-ding, thus 
 bad his rent raised to one hundred and ten pounds, in ordf; that 
 a church or which ho bad no regard might be enabled to su;": 
 er ministers. This -vas the chief change -bat i,ad been m.ade in 
 the government of the Irish Church since the daysof O'Oonnell 
 and It was one that bore heavily upon an alrcad^ over-burdened' 
 
 On the I6th of March, 1868, Mr. Maguire having moved that 
 the House resolve itself into a committee of the whole to con- 
 „lar the Ir,.,h question, Mr. Gladstone struck the first blow in 
 tl flght which was to end in the disestablishment of the Irish 
 Church After speaking feelingly of the wrongs which the Irish 
 had endured at the hands of the English for centuries, he Id 
 
 m-i cZof r r "°''^'°"' "^""'"y ostablished; but that the 
 piincip e of leveling up was a most pernicious error. The Irish 
 people had repeatedly been urged to loyalty and to union ■ tTa 
 was what he would advocate, too ; but it w.as idle, it w.^;, k 
 
 Trf'v^iich !"• ,'''"•""T'"y'?^"°''''"'P'''"■''"S^f"»">»-■ 
 ure which has long since bccomelaw; but his conclusion is perti- 
 nent to the present, and will be so until Ireland is free • 
 
 If we are prudent men, I hope wo shall endeavor as far asin 
 uslies to make some provision for a contingent, a dinbtf I and 
 probably a dangerous future. If we bo chivalro'us m n 't^st 
 we hall endeavor to wipe away those stains which the dviuTd 
 world for ages has seen, or seemed to see, on the shield of Eng 
 laud ,n her treatment of Ireland. If wo be compassionate m™ 
 ■If 
 
258 
 
 Representifuj South Lancashire. 
 
 |i 
 
 I hope that wo shall now, onco for nil, listen to tho tulo of woo 
 which comes from hor, and tlio roality of which, if not its jiis- 
 tico, is testified to by tho continuous emigration of hor pooploj 
 that wo shall endeavor to 
 
 ' Razo out tho writton trouolos from her bruin, 
 Pluck from lior memory tho rooted Borrow.' 
 
 But, above all, if wo bo Just men, wo Bhall go forward in tho 
 namo of truth and right, bearingtliis in mind ; tiiatwhoji tho ca8o 
 is proved, and tho hour is come, justico delayed is justice denied." 
 This eloquent appeal carried consternation into tho camj) of 
 tho enemy. Mr. Disraeli bewailed his own misfortune in being 
 confronted with this ancient problem at tho very outset of 
 his career as Premierj tho same state of atfairs had existed 
 whilo the Pt'Jmorston and Russell Governments were in ])ower, 
 to both of which Mr. Gladstone bad belonged, and no attempt 
 had been made to deal with it. lie strongly objected to tho de- 
 struction of tho Irish Church, being personally in lavorof eccles- 
 iastical endowments. At Mr. Gladstone's request Mr. Maguire 
 withdrew his motion. 
 
 But tho spectre had been raised, and could not bo laid. The 
 Irish Cliurch question had moved forward an enormous stride 
 when Mr. Gladstone had made that ap])eal, and it was impossible 
 to go back, or even to stand still. Tho country speedily took up 
 tho cry of disestablishment, and it became the ono aim of the 
 Liberal party of tho time. Mr. Gladstone himself did notrecede 
 from tho advanced position which ho had taken, but laid upon 
 the table of tho House of Commons a series of resolutions, 
 which he intended to move in committee of tho whole, affirming 
 that it was necessary that the Estjiblished Church of Ireland 
 should cease to exist as an establishment, due regard being had 
 to all personal rights and individual interests; and that an ad- 
 dress should be presented to Her Majesty, praying that her inter- 
 erest in tho temporalities, dignities, and benefices in Ireland bo 
 placed at the disposal of Parliament. To these resolutions Lord 
 Stanley, a few days later, gave notice of an amendment to the 
 effect that the whole subject might well bo left to tho considera- 
 tion of a new Parliament. 
 
 March 30th, Mr. Gladstone delivered his famous speech in con- 
 nection with these resolutions. Having given assurance that his 
 measure did not contemplate the violation of any vested right or 
 interest, but would endeavor to work this great reform without 
 
Kepresentituj Simth hoirashire. 
 
 25d 
 
 injiiMtico to any ono, ho procoodo.l briefly to .•tu.ftpitt.luto hjspor- 
 Honul history in oonnrction with tho Huhjcntt. Wo no.-.i ncarcoly 
 remind tho render what changes his opinions hud undergone: 
 those who are so interested in tho subjeet as to desire u detailed 
 account, may bo referred to the pages of Hanhard, or tho pub- 
 lished speeches of the groat Liberal, or to that resume of hisown 
 which we have before had occasion to quote, "A Chapter of Auto- 
 biograj)liy." 
 
 The speaker showed the futility of the attempt to Protestant- 
 ize Irehmd by the maintenance of tho Establishment: though 
 the census of 18«)1 showed a small proportionate increase, the 
 rate was so small that it would take 1500 or 2000 years to of- 
 foct tho conversion of tho entire people. lie recognized that 
 many felt that it was an unhallowed act to disestablish a Church 
 and while he fully understood the feeling, hothoughtitan error,' 
 which it was lus duty to overcome and repress. Throughout the 
 whole speech there ran a tone of deepest sympathy with those 
 earnest thinkers who looked upon this measure as almost, if not 
 quite, an act of sacrilege; a sympathy tho more profound be- 
 cause tho speaker had himself passed through that sta-^o of 
 thinking; he had held tho faiUi which they now held ; but hav- 
 ing grown out of it, ho called to them to rise to tho level which 
 ho had reached. That jounu,] which had called him a Tory ele- 
 vated and purified intoaKadical, might well now have styled 
 him a Churchman purified and elevated into a Christian. 
 
 Lord Stanley justified his amendment upon tho ground that 
 Mr. Gladstone's resolutions merely affirmed tho necessity for ac- 
 tion, without spocifying what should bo done. Lord Cranborne, 
 on the other hand, condemned tho amendment as ambiguous; it 
 left all to the future policy of tho Government, which he would 
 as soon undertake to predict as to tell the House which way the 
 weather-cock would point to-morrow. This fling at tho Premier's 
 inconsistency was followed by a thoroughly Conservative speech 
 by Mr. Gathorne Hardy, who it will bo remembered was that 
 successor of Mr. Gladstone as tho representative of Oxford 
 who was not regarded as dangerous on account of any phenom- 
 enal ability. Mr. Bright, of course, justified disestablishment, 
 on the ground that the Irish Church had been, both as apolitical 
 institution and a missionary church, a most deplorable failure. 
 The Conservative party had resist^^d Tree Trade, Heform and 
 other measures, and this was not more serious than they had been. 
 
'Ill 
 
 
 IP tSaiM 
 
 M 
 
 u 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 260 
 
 27ie First Gladair.ne Afinistry, 
 
 Mr. Lowe spoke forcibly in fy.vor of (lisestabllslunent, arguing 
 that the Irish Church was founded upon au Injustice, on the dom- 
 inant right of the few over the many ; as a missionary work, it 
 was a miserable faiiure; and, like Mr. Bright ht sliowed how 
 disproportionate to tl^c eH(»rt in tiiis direction had been the resulJ, 
 a fact that musL be universally conceded. 
 
 
 Hon. Gathorne Hardy. 
 
 To all these Mr. Disraeli answered in a speech which even for 
 him was of an unusually personal character. Lord Salisbury, he 
 said, wa*' a man of great talent, and had vigor in his language. 
 As soon as the noble lord heard the amendment, he concluded 
 that the Government was about to betray its trust. Mr. Lowe 
 suiFered more severely at his hands. There was nothing that he 
 liked, and almost everything that he hated. Mr. Disraeli then 
 stated, with that coolness which distinguished him upon such 
 
./". " 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 261 
 
 occasions, that ho had never attacked any ov^ in his life. He 
 wan intorruptetl by loud erios, in which the name ot Pool wus'plain- 
 ly heard ; and tliese became so numerous that he adroitly added 
 Iho proviso, " unless I was first attacked." But even thisprudent 
 audition did not hush the cries. H.- talked of having fathomed 
 a conspiracy between Kitunlisin and Popery to overthrow the 
 throne ; and declared that as long o«, by the favor of the Queen, 
 he stood there, ho would oppose this nefarious effort of Mr! 
 Gladstone and his friends. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone retorted that there were some parts of Hie 
 Prime Minister's speech the relevancy of which he cov'u not 
 discern ; while others were duo to a heated imagination. For 
 himself, he did not wish to deny that ho advocated the disestab- 
 lishment of tlio Irish Church ; and he demanded that . .s Par- 
 liament should at least prepare the way for that necessary meas- 
 ure. 
 
 The debate had lasted four nights before divisions were taken. 
 In the two which were taken at the close of the discussion, the 
 Government was defoated by majorities of fifty-six and sixty. 
 
 The Liberals had not dared to hope for such a decisive major- 
 ity. The party was now united as it had not been for & long 
 time, and the popular feeling \va? largely with them in this ques- 
 tion. But the Conservatives were not willing to allow that they 
 were wholly beaten, especially in the opinion of the people. If 
 a Liberal meeting wero held, a Conservative followed. Various 
 means, not always fair ones, were resorted to, to prove the Op- 
 position in the wrong. Serious charges wore circulated against 
 the leader of the Liberal party. When he was at Eome, he had 
 made arrangements wilh the Pope, being a CathoUc at heart, to 
 destroy the Established Church of Ireland ; ho had publicly con- 
 demned the support of the clergy in tho three kingdoms out of 
 public or Church funds ; ho had, when at Balmoral, refused to at- 
 tend the Queen to church ; he had received the thanks of the 
 Pope for his course with regard to the Irish Church; and he was 
 a member of a High-Church Eitualistic congregation. " These 
 statements, one and all," wroto Mr. Gladstone, when they were 
 brought to his knowledge, "are untrue iu letter and in spirit, 
 from beginning to end." 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's resolutions were stigmatized as unconstitution- 
 al by Lord Derby, who spoke in the House of Lords while t..e 
 measures were yet ©ending in the Commons. "When the debate 
 
262 
 
 Representing South Lancashire. 
 
 was summed up, on tho night when the fJrst resolution was car- 
 ried, Mr. Gladstone repelled this charge, and d3clared that he 
 would not take the word of command from tho House of Lords. 
 Urging the resolution as a part of a policy which would add to 
 the glory and strength of the Empire, he gave pkce to his rival, 
 who merely reiterated his objections to disestablishment. The 
 division followed the speeches of the two leaders, and the Op- 
 position found that they had a majority of sixty-five. 
 
 The decreac^e of the Government's strength was unmistakable, 
 and Mr. Disraeli waited upon the Queen. Tho proper constitu- 
 tional course, ho told her, was to dissolve Parliament and appeal 
 to the country, though at the same time he offered the resigna- 
 nation of the Ministry; but 'f the House would co-operate with 
 the Government, he thought it would be better to delay dissolu- 
 tion until the Autumn. 
 
 But this was by no means what the Liberals wanted and had 
 worked for. Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe protest- 
 ed against this failure to dissolve at once under such circum- 
 stancos as unconstitutional ; but the Premier had laid his plans 
 cunningly. To dissolve at once was to appeal to the existing 
 constituencies J there must be an appeal very shortly to the con- 
 stituencies established by the Eeform Bill of the previous year, 
 so that the new Parliament would sit for only a single very short 
 session. Under such circumstances, the desired delay was grant- 
 ed ; and the Ministers having agreed to confine themselves to 
 such business as was absolutely necessary, the Opposition yield- 
 ed the point. 
 
 The remaining resolutions which Mr. Gladstone had intro- 
 troduced were put and carried without serious opposition. The 
 Ministers negatived them as a matter of course, as they were but 
 corollaries of the first ; but there was no division. Then arose 
 such a scene as the House of Commons has seldom beheld. A 
 Scotch member, a Liberal, elated with the victory which had al- 
 reaciy been gained^ and thinking that matters might as well be 
 pushed to the utmost, moved the abolition of the Maynooth 
 grant and the regiur: domim (separate annual grants of public 
 money by the Government to the Catholics and Presbyterian 
 clergy in Ireland). This was more than Mr. Gladstone and his 
 immediate adherents had bargained for, and the Liberals 
 were at once re-dividcd among thomseives. Tlse Ministers 
 walked out of the House, leaving the Opposition to fight out 
 
 
Bepresentiny South Lancashire. 
 
 268 
 
 their civil war in their own way. The uproar was at its height. 
 Bellowing, screeching, cheering, yelling, echoed and re-echoed 
 in that hall which should have been the scene of dignified delib- 
 eration. Everywhere there was extravagant gesticulation from 
 members who had the floor, and members who wanted it In the 
 midst of the confusion the Pi-ime Minister returned. His ex- 
 pectations had been realized, he said, and the ^ ..tlemen on the 
 opposite side of the House were now quarreling over their 
 booty. But this sarcasm did not shame them j it only added to 
 the disordorj and in the midst of the confusion the Scotch mem- 
 ber's rider to Mr. Gladstone's resolution was adopted. 
 
 The Scotch Eeforni Bill necessitatf^d some further changes in 
 that measure which applied to the souchern kingdom ; but these 
 were passed without much opposition. There were some minor 
 measures passed, and some of considerable importance to the 
 country, such as the authorization of the puichaso of the vari- 
 ous telegraph lines; but none that are of interest in connection 
 with our subject. Mr. Gladstone was too closely identified with 
 that great measure which he finally passed, to speak at length on 
 other topics. 
 
 His Suspenso. Bill, which was preliminary to one abolishing 
 the Establishment inlrelii d, was at lust introduced and passed 
 the House by a majority of fifty-four ; but it was defeated in the 
 House of Lords, where the Conservative element so far outnum- 
 bers the Liberal. 
 
 If there were exciting times in the House of Commons, the 
 memborc were not froe from cares connected with their seats 
 when they had left St. Stephen's. Parliament was prorogued 
 the last day of July, with a view to its dissolution +he middle of 
 November. The candidates at once proceeded to make their 
 canvass. 
 
 The election speeches of Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone, 
 while nominally addressed to their special constituents, were of 
 course meant as general expositions c^ the policy of their re- 
 spective parties. As such, wc need not qucte them, as they 
 dealt mainly with that great question which had defeated the 
 Ministry One sentence of a speech which Mr. Gladstone de- 
 livered at St. Helen's is so apt a description of the Irish Church 
 that we give it, alone: "You must not take away its abuses, be- 
 cause, if you take them away, there will bo nothing left." 
 It was well knoM^n that the Conservatives would spare no «f- 
 
264 
 
 Bepresenting South Lancashire, 
 
 fort to defeat Mr. Gladstone in Southwest Lancashire. Though 
 the weather was bitterly cold when the nominations took place, 
 the space around the hustings was crowded. The Conservatives 
 had displayed their wit upon numerous placards, which were en- 
 joyed by Mr. Gladstone as well as by his enemies. "Bright's 
 Disease and Lowe Fcvor," "Time-table to Greenwich," and 
 similar happy hits were to be seen. During Mr. Gladstone's 
 speech of forty minutes, he was regaled with a choral perform- 
 ance of the national anthem. Notwithstanding this, he proceed- 
 ed, with much eloquence, to state the Liberal policy. 
 
 While there was a great preponderance of feeling in favor of 
 Mr. Gladstone at the hustings, the polls told a different story, 
 and the foremost Liberal would have been left without a seat in 
 Parliament, had not the Liberals of Greenwich, fearful of such a 
 contingc , placed him in nomination and elected him by a 
 triumphant majority. Other notable members of the party who 
 were defeated at this el,ection were the Marquis of Ilartington 
 and Mr. John Stuart Mill. 
 
 But in spite of these notable single defeats, the Liberals had 
 carried the day. More than half a million voters of the three 
 kingdoms were the majority for the Opposition. Since 1832 no 
 such party majority had been known. 
 
 Under such circumstances, Mr. Disraeli did not think it nec- 
 essary to wait until Parliament should assemble ; but at once 
 tendered his resignation, and those of his colleagues, to the 
 Queen. There was no question as to w^o was to be his successor; 
 for although Earl Russell was still a noi inactive member of the 
 House of Lords, ho had practicull}^ renounced the leadership of 
 tho party. After him there was but one, the man who had been 
 the most illustrious of his colleagues, who had occupied the most 
 responsible post in t' Administration which had resigned to 
 make way for Derby and Disraeli. For him the Queen sent • 
 and William Ewart Gladstone now reached that highest emin- 
 ence attainable by a British subject— that of First Minister of 
 the Crown, or, as more familiarly designated, Prime Minister of 
 Great Britain. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 
 Prime Minister of England-DibeHtablishmeut of the Irish Church-Disraeli's 
 Sarcasm— Eloquent Defense by John E.ight— Opposition Among the 
 Peers— Irish Land System— Bill for the Kelief of Ireland-System of 
 Education - English Tourists Seized by Greek Brigands— War Between 
 France and Pru.ssia— Russia's Control of the Black Sea-Marriage of the 
 Princess Louise Army Regulation Bill— Tory Abuse of Mr. Gladstone- 
 Ballot Bill— Proposal to Admit Women to the Franchise- Much Opposi- 
 tion to the Government- Able Speeches by tlie Premier. 
 
 R. GLADSTONE was fifty -nine years old the sumo 
 month that ho became Prime Minister of England for ihe 
 first time. There were scarcely any evidences of ad- 
 vancing years to bo seen in his face and he had all the fire of 
 youth in hlG voice and manner. Ho was at the head of a power- 
 ful party, which had come into ofiice with a strength that had not 
 been equalled for nearly forty years. His Government was a 
 strong one; what might he not hope to accomplish ? 
 
 When it was known that the Librrals were in the majority, no 
 one had the least doubt but that Mr. Gladstone would be Prime 
 Minister ; and it was equally certain that certain men would be 
 included in his Cabinet. But there was considerable surprise ex- 
 cited by one appointment which he made. This was the nomin- 
 ation of John Bright to bo President of the Board of Trade. It 
 was thought that Mr. Bright would not consent to be hampered 
 in the expression of his individual opinions, as a Cabinet Minis- 
 ter must be when ho is not in full accord with his colleagues; 
 Lord Palmerston had humorously complained, some years be- 
 fore this time, that a Prime Minister was no longer able to do just 
 as he liked ; men with consciences, ideas, abilities of tl ir own, 
 were in office, and w.uld not consent to be the mere clerks of 
 their chief. It was indeed with soFno reluctance that Mr. Bright 
 accepted this post, and he was careful to cxj)]ain to his constitu- 
 ents that they must Tiot think he had changed his opinions, if 
 the measures of th" ilinistry were sometimes opposed to his 
 
 206 
 
I 
 
 Win. E. Gladstone at Age of Fifty-nine. 
 
 266 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 267 
 
 known ideas, unless ho himselfshouldannouncesuch modification 
 to them. It had been originally planned to make him Secretary 
 for India, but the possibility of circumstances arising in which he 
 would be obliged to direct military operations made it desirable 
 to place him in some office where ho would not be called upon to 
 do that which was in direct antagonism with his opinions as a 
 member of the Society of Friends. 
 
 If the Government was a strong ono, it had need of all its 
 strength. The task before it was an exceedingly difficult one J 
 and although the policy of the party had been approved by such 
 a vast majority of the people, there were not wanting those who 
 regarded the disestablishment of the Irish church as an act of 
 sacrilege, and did not hesitate to sa^ so. At public meetings it 
 was characterized as a wicked, ungodly and abominable measure, 
 framed in a spirit of inveterate hostility to the Church, a great 
 national sin, a dreadful thing, a perilous weakening of the foun- 
 dations of property, which the Queen must, at all hazards, inter- 
 fere to prevent, as she had better jeopardize her crown than de- 
 stroy the Church. 
 
 These were expressions used by bishops and other clergymen 
 and by noblemen, who were presumably civil-spoken. The laity 
 of lower rank, as was to be expected, were even more unmeas- 
 ured in their denunciations. The statements of the Liberal press 
 and the Liberal speakers were lies ; the members of the Govern- 
 ment were traitors, robbers, political brigands ; if there were any 
 form of abuse that was not used, it was because it was unknown 
 to these zealous defenders of the Establishment. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, of course, paid not the slightest attention to 
 these outcries of the defeated party. He gave notice that he 
 should bring in his bill on the 1st of March. His speech occupied 
 three hours in the delivery, but even Mr. Disraeli, who seems to 
 have been in an unusually complimentary mood, admitted that 
 there was not one sentence that the subject and the argument 
 could have spared. 
 
 The bill was a simple one, and seems to have been a justly 
 framed measure. The Irish Church was to cease to exist as a 
 State Establishment, and was to become a free Episcopal Church. 
 The bishops would of course lose their seats in the House of 
 Lords. A governing body, elected from the eloi^y and laity, 
 would be recognized by the Government; the union between the 
 English and Irish Churches was to b© dissolved, and the Irish 
 
268 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Courts were to be abolished. Then there were 
 provisions for the disposal of the revenue in such a way as to 
 prevent any injustice being done to those who had claims upon 
 the Establishment. There would be a considerable surplus after 
 all claims were satisfied, and it was proposed to use this toallev- 
 uite unavoidable suffering in Ireland. There was some discussion 
 with regard to this, as it was thought to be somewhat indefinite j 
 Mr. Gladstone spoke of making provision for the blind, the deaf 
 and dumb, for reformatories, schools for the training of nurses 
 and the support of county infirn.aries. Of this disposition of 
 the funds Mr. Bright was the ardent champion. 
 
 Along with the Establishment, the Maynooth grant and the 
 regium donum came to an end. We have in a previous chapter 
 spoken of the former; the latter was a royal allowance for the 
 maintenance of Presbyterian ministe/s in Ireland. It had begun 
 under the Stuart., and been abolished under the same iHouse • 
 but was restored by William III., who had reason to be grateful 
 to Irish Presbyterians. Both were small things, but their abolition 
 established the equality of religious denominations in Ireland. 
 The bill was of course resisted, but it was not such a resistance 
 as IS opposed when the Opposition has any hope of succeed- 
 ing. Mr. Disraeli spoke, but his speech was characterized as 
 " flimsiness relieved by spangles— the definition of a columbine's 
 skirt." "He began in the philosophical vein," said the Times 
 which had given this definition; ''and while we acknowledge 
 that Mr. Disraeli's fun is exquisite, his philosophy is detestable '" 
 He had no faith in the possibility of success, it was evident to 
 his hearers J the speech was a perfunctory one, a mero matter 
 of form ; and contrasted badly, sparkling and bewildering in its 
 conceits and illustrations as it was, with that in which the Prime 
 Minister had introduced the measure, which was said at the time 
 to be " a Parliamentary achievement unequalled even by him- 
 self." 
 
 But if Mr. Disraeli took little interest in the contest in which he 
 had only to expect defeat, it was not so with some of his adher- 
 ents. Mr. Gathorne Hardy, in particular, who is said to have 
 been so constituted that he could see but one side of a question 
 at a time, saw what was most decidedly the Conservative side 
 of this one, and did not hesitate to say so, in a speech so filled 
 with the conviotion that this was an act of spoliati-.n and sacri- 
 lege that it was almost up to the level of eloquence. 
 
269 
 
2TO 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 Mr. Bright was one of the most eloquent defenders of the 
 measure. Ho spoke in reply to Mr. Disraeli's speeeli. Alvud- 
 ing to the statement that the Establishment was a protect- 
 or of the freedom of religion and toleration, which had been 
 advanced by the ex-Premier, bo said that Mr. Disraeli "seem- 
 ed to read a different history from everyone else, or else he 
 made his own, and, like Voltaire, made it better without facts 
 than with them." He closed what was justly called a magnificent 
 oration, with a noble and dignified appeal, which, coming from 
 any other lips, would have seemed daring, but which from him 
 exercised a powerful and impressive effect upon the House. 
 
 Mr. Lowe, who had come out of theCaveof Adullam long ago, 
 and was now Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an Utack up- 
 on Mr. Disraeli, and proved to his own satisfaction, if not to that 
 of the Conservative chief, that the Irish Church had neglected 
 all its opportunities of conciliating the people. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone reviewed ithe course of the debate. Mr. Hardy, 
 he said, had, by his accusations of the Irish people, shown that 
 he dare do what Burke would not attempt—-' draw an indict- 
 ment against a whole people." But .ven in this picture of the 
 Irish people, which was little, if any, short of libellous, there 
 were evils displayed for which Mr. Hardy had no remedy. He 
 then went on to consider the charge that this bill would necessi- 
 tate a change in the Coronation Oath, and showed the ground- 
 lessness of that argument. One after another, the pleas which 
 had been advanced for the maintenance of a Church in which the 
 people had no part, save to be taxed for its support, were 
 taken up and pulled to pieces. Mr. Gladstone showed that these 
 arguments were like Mr. Disraeli's speech in one respect only- 
 there was flimsiness without the spangles. 
 
 The division was then taken. There was intense excitement 
 throughout the House, though the Government was secure in a 
 majority suflSoient to carry the measure through. But the whips 
 had been hard at work, and it was not known how this might be 
 diminished. There were actually present in the House six hun- 
 dred and twenty-two members, a number which has seldom been 
 exceeded, or even equalled. Much to the surprise of both sides, 
 the majority was nearly double those of the previous year upon 
 the same qr- tion ; and the progress of public opinion was -.iear- 
 
 The furthei progress of the bill was slow, but sure. It was 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 271 
 
 three months before the final reading came on, and it was at last 
 adopted by the Commons. The ordeal of the House of Lords 
 yet remained ; and for some time its fate was doubtful. Some of 
 the debates in the House of Lords are said to have been more in- 
 teresting than those in the Commons. The hereditary legislators 
 dared not set themselves directly against a clear expression of 
 public opinion, but, mindful of the condition on which they are 
 said to hold their power, contented themselves with discussing 
 amendments. There was at one time a rumor that the Poerswould 
 reject orgreatly delay the bill, and Mr. Bright wrote an angry let- 
 ter on the subject, addressed to a Birmingham meeting, in which 
 he said that if the Lords persisted in throwing themselves athwart 
 the national cou'rse they might meet with accidents not pleasant 
 for them to thi k of. The Peers were many of them shocked and 
 scandalized that a Cabinet Minister should give such plain and 
 forcible expression to his opinions, and it was made the subject 
 of some sharp discussion among them as well as in the Com- 
 mons. But the very publicity and unexpectedness of the 
 menace gave it a force which made it irresistible. If Cab- 
 inet Ministers had been in the habit of expressing themselves 
 ■30 openly when they held such opinions, there would have 
 been nothing thought of it; but even Pal merston, when he de- 
 clared that the Lords should not be allowed to resist the will of 
 the people, as expressed by the vote of the Commons, had put it 
 into the form of a jest. Mr. Bright, however, had a peculiar priv- 
 ilege in England ; he could say just what he meant. Perhaps this 
 unusual permission was accorded him because it was well under- 
 stood that he would do as he pleased anyhow. 
 
 But the attacks which had been made upon the bill and its au- 
 thor outside, were renewed in the House of Lords. The Earl of 
 Winchelsea compared Mr. Gladstone to Jack Cade, and after 
 hinting at the coming of an Oliver Cromwell, declared that he 
 would go to the block before he would surrender. Lord Grey said 
 that the Lords were humiliated and degraded. 
 
 The passage of the Act for the Disestablishment of the Irish 
 Church, introduced and carried within a space of five months 
 has been called the most remarkable legislative achievement of 
 modern times. It vas carried mainly by the resolute will and 
 unflinching energy of the man with whom it had originated, and 
 who had become Prime Minister because of it. 
 
 But the thing could not end here. One reform is never ac- 
 
The Election Campaign— Mr. Gladstone in the Assembly Hall at Edinburgh. 
 
 272 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 273 
 
 complishod without making another more necessary. There is 
 no possibility of strict conservatism in politics; there must he 
 progress, or there is retrogression. Having settled the question 
 of the Irish Church, the Gladstone Government found itself face to 
 face with t»^ Irish Land Problem. It had ried the one; but oven 
 the prestige of that victory would not avail the.n if they failed 
 to do anything with the other. There had been some who said 
 that the State Church was merely a sentimental r,rievancej lut 
 as an eminent Irish writer of the present day observes, if the 
 land system were a grievance at all, it must be acknowledged 
 that it was a terribly practical one. 
 
 The Irish Land System is one which has seldom been under- 
 stood, simply because a bare and simple statement of the facts 
 seems incredible. The upholders of it have instanced landlords 
 who were all that could bo wished, just as the upholders of 
 ■slavery in our own country brought forward hundreds of cases 
 in which the slaves were better off before than after emancipa- 
 tion; It would of course be impossible to find any state of affairs 
 however crying the evil, where there were not good men whoso 
 conduct ameliorated the evil as fur as their influence extended- 
 and there have been Irish landlords who have had consideration 
 for their tenants, just as there were humane slaveholders. But 
 a system which put such power 'nto the hands of any body of 
 men, some of whom were certain to misuse it, was at best a 
 faulty one. 
 
 The Irish tenant held his land at the will of his landlord. If 
 he cultivated the land so as to raise a greater crop than it had 
 before produced, he showed that it was of more value than the 
 owner had supposed it was, and his rent was raised. If he put 
 any improvements upon the place, he added to its value and his 
 rent was raised. If the little farm seemed a desirable'holding 
 to any one else, and an offer were made to the landlord or agent 
 in accordance with this opinion, the unfortunate tenant had 
 reason to congratulate himself that his rent was simply raised, 
 and that he and his family were not turned adrift to shift for 
 themselves. The demand was so great that men would offer any 
 price for land— a price which they must have known they could 
 not get out of it. True, there was but a slip-shod system of 
 farming in vogue among them, but what more could be expected? 
 There was literally no room for improvement, until a better law 
 should widen the limits of their exertions. 
 i8 
 
274 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 II 
 
 It was not 8o in all parts of Ireland. Thcro was on3 province 
 in which the stronger law of custom had ovorcon>e che weaker 
 written rule. The principle of "tenant-right" prevail in Ulster 
 — tenant-right, which Lord Palmcrston, with more wit than hu- 
 manity or justice, had defined as " landlord-wrong." A man was 
 oUowed to remain in possession us long as ha paid hi? rontj ho 
 was entitled, on giving up his holding, to compensation for un- 
 exhausted improvements ; and ho was at liberty to sell what may 
 be called the good-will of his farm for what it would bring in the 
 market. Wherever this tenant-right principle prevailed, there 
 was industry and prosperity ; where it was unknown, there were 
 idleness and poverty, with discontent and crime as their natural 
 consequences. 
 
 Hu i'T far the fact that this right had been asserted in Ulster and 
 not in the other provinces was due to the character of the people, 
 and how far the maintenance of it was duo to the diiferent 
 estimation in whi'ih the inhabit;-.its of the North and of the 
 South were held in England, is o question which each must de- 
 termine for himself. It is difficult '•'» state one's opinion exactly 
 without either unjustly accusing the English people of a re- 
 ligious intolerance, which made an^- act of oppression seem justi- 
 fiable, or, on the other hand, exonerating them from a charge 
 which is not in all respects undeserved. 
 
 Such was the state of aflPairs when, on the 15th of February, 
 1870, Mr. Gladstone introduced his Irish Land BUI into the 
 House of Commons. It was thought inefficient and unsatis- 
 factory by some of the Irish members, and was for that reason 
 opposed by them. The mosL that it did was to establish as the 
 law for the whole island what custom had already made law in 
 Ulster. Landlords, under certain conditions, we allowed to 
 contract for themselves out of the provisions of tho bill ; and 
 hence it arose that these opposing members a]ip''ared to be 
 justified in their course by the fact that eventually there were 
 more evictions, immediately after the passage of tho bill, than 
 there had been before. 
 
 If the bill were regarded as a half-measure by the ^rish, it was 
 not so esteemed by the landlords, who declared It to be revolu- 
 tionary. It put an end to the landlord's absolute power, and 
 recognized that the Government could interfere with the right of 
 the land-owner, to limit it for the good of the community, just as 
 it can interfere for the same purpose with the rights of others. 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry, 
 
 275 
 
 The bill was not put forward by the Government as a i^orfoct 
 measure. The}' had worked hard at it, Mr. Gladstone told the 
 House, and it was the best that they could do; but thoy invited, 
 in perfect good faith, the co-operation of all parties and all mem- 
 bers in its improvement. Thoy desired that the moaaure should 
 bo a great boon to Ireland, and put an end to the grievances and 
 sufferings which her people had so long endured. They had not 
 knowingly proceeded in any spirit of partisanship; and as thoy 
 had aftorded the occupier improved security of tenure, so they 
 afforded the landlord a better security for his rent and for the 
 better cultivation of his land. With regard to the Irish laborer, 
 the only thing which thoy could hope to do for him— and it was 
 a great thing—was to increase the demand for his labor; this 
 wouM bo done by stimulatiug the agr-oultural interests of the 
 country; a course which, by making more demand for labor, 
 would raise the price o" it. The landlord might suffer some at 
 first; but he would not ultimately be the loser. Ho believed 
 that there was a store of uudevelopod wealth in the Irish soil 
 which cou!d only be developed by che joint action of landlord 
 and tenant. He hoped that this bill would be accepted by both 
 classes, because it was just. He said that the Govcnment hoped 
 by this measure to effect a great change in Ire!i»nd, but to effect 
 it by gentle means. Every line had been carefully studied, so 
 that it should import as little as possible of violent shock or al- 
 teration into the existent condition of things ; it was desired that 
 the operation of the bill should be like that cf nature, when she 
 restores upon a desolated land what has been laid waste by the 
 hand of man. This they know could not be done in a day. The 
 evils had grown up through a long period of time, and could not 
 be suddenly corrected ".ithout injuring many innocent persons. 
 That the bill might pass, it was necessary to view it, not as the 
 triumph of one class over another, or of party over party, but 
 as a common work of common lore and good-will to the common 
 good of the common country. The only enduring ties by which 
 Ireland might be united to England and Scotland were freewill 
 and free affection. 
 
 The Opposition of course spoke against it with more or less 
 effect— generally less. Sir Eoundell Palmer, while he described 
 the bill as large and important, called it a bumiliaiing neces- 
 sity ; ^xr. ri.srnen sasd fhat " a more complicated, a more clum- 
 sy, or more heterogeneous measure was never yet brought before 
 
The Fird (Uudstone Ministry. 
 
 the attention of Parliament." The sehomo of course included 
 some means of enforcing the changes which were made, and Mr. 
 Disraeli described at length, and with some effect upon the risi- 
 bilities of the Hous^, the difficulties which would beset the 
 courts thus established. v 
 
 Sir Roundell Palmer {afterward Lord Selborne). 
 
 In closing the debate, Mr. Gladstone had few arguments to re- 
 ply to; the speeches of his opponents had been mainly invec- 
 tive. One portion of this speech well deserves place in our re- 
 cord, as an expression of the Government's duly: 
 
 " It is our desire to be just, but to be just we must be just to 
 all. The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the 
 oppression of n minority is only hy one degree lens detestable 
 and odious. The face of Justice is like that of the god Janus. It 
 
The First Glailstone Ministry. 
 
 211 
 
 is like the face of those lions, the work of Landseer, which keep 
 watch and ward around the record of our country's greatness. 
 She presents the tranquil and majestic countenance towards 
 every point of the compass and every quarter of the globe. That 
 rare, that noble, that imperial virtue has this above all other 
 qualities, that she is no respecter of persons, and she will not 
 take advantage of an unfavorable moment to oppress the wealthy 
 for the sake of flattering the poor, any more than she will con- 
 descend to oppress the poor for the sake of pampering the luxur- 
 ies of the rich." 
 
 The Opposition had not intended to divide, but a division was 
 forced upon them, with an extraordinary result. Mr. Disraeli 
 and many of his influential supporters went into the lobby with 
 Mr. Gladstone, so that the whole number of votes for the Gov- 
 ernment the first reading was four hundred and forty-two. The 
 teller o.i the other side had an unusually easy time of it, for he 
 h;ui but eleven men to reckon over. 
 
 When the bill went into committee, there was more serious op- 
 position. There were no fewer than three hundred amendments 
 moved ; one of which, proposed by Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone 
 declared was an effort to overthrow one of the cardinal principles 
 of the bill. Upon a division on this question the Government 
 had a majority of seventy-six. 
 
 The further discussions in the House of Commons, prolonged 
 as they were, did not aifeci the fortunes of the bill, which went 
 up to the Lords at the end of May. It passed the Upper 
 House without important alt-^ration, and received the royal as- 
 sent on the 1st of August. 
 
 Mr. Gladstoiio had said some t'me before this that the Irish 
 Upas-tree had three Brandies— the Established Church, the 
 Land System, ar.d the System of Education ; and that he meant 
 to hew them al. down if he could. The figure met with not a 
 little ridicule at the time it was used, but it expressed a resolute 
 purpose, which was now two-thirds accomplished. Perhaps, in 
 view of the principle before enunciated, that one reform is' al- 
 ways followed by another, it would bo nearer the truth to say 
 that his purpose was almost accomplished; for certainly the dis- 
 establishment of the Irish Church, and the change which had 
 boon effected in the tenure of land, had gone a long way toward 
 preparing men's minds for the fall of the third branch of that 
 deadly tree. 
 
278 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministri 
 
 The second important measure which had passed the House 
 during this session related to elementary ediuation in England 
 and Wales, which was in a very unsatisfactory condition. The 
 Government bill which was introduced by Mr. Forster, was 
 based upon the principle of direct compulsory attendance. The 
 Government and the Opposition agreed so cordially about this 
 measure that the ire of some of the Liberals was aroused, and 
 the Ministry were charged with having thrown the Non-confor- 
 mists overboard, in order to secure the support of the Conserva- 
 tives. The Premier had led one section of the Liberal party 
 through the Valley of Humiliation, complained Mr. Miall, speak- 
 ing on behalf of the Non-conformists, and they would not again 
 be betrayed by him. " Once bit, twice shy," he concluded, " and 
 we can't stand this sort of thing much longer." 
 
 This speech stung the Premier to an unusually sharp retort. 
 If they thought it better to withdraw for the sake of the cause 
 which they had at heart, let them withdraw from the support of 
 the Government. The Government did not want their support 
 any longer than it was consistent with their own sense of duty 
 and right. But when the Government thought that Mr. Miall 
 and his companions had the interests of the communities which 
 they represented too mach at heurt, to the detriment of the gen- 
 eral interests, the Ministry which was willing to co-operate 
 with them for the common good of all, could no longer aid 
 them; they must then recollect that they were the Government 
 of the Queen, and propose to themseVes no meaner nor narrower 
 object than the welfare of the Empire at large. 
 
 The measure eventually passed both houses, and became law, 
 in spite of the protests of Messrs. Miall & Co. 
 
 A profound sensation was created in England by an outrage 
 which was perpetrated in Greece during the spring of this year. 
 A party of English tourist" W".s seized by Greek brigands, and 
 held for an enormous ransom .u money coupled with a demand 
 for certain immunities. An effort to rescue them resulted in the 
 murder of the prisoners. The matter being formally brought to 
 the attention of Parliament, the Government interfered with 
 such effect as to secure the execution of muny brigands, and al- 
 most complete extirpation of the band immediately implicated. 
 It was thought at the time that this would lead to a complete in- 
 vestigation o-f the condition of Greece, but the stirring events 
 elsewhere during the latter portion of the year caused it to bo 
 
The First Gladstone Ilinistry, 
 
 279 
 
 came law. 
 
 iorgotten by all except those families to whom it was a matter of 
 sad interest, and who were obliged to content themselves with many 
 sincere expressions of public sympathy, 
 
 _ During the latter days of the session of 1870, there arose the 
 dispute concerning ihe succession to the Spanish crovrn which 
 ended in the Franco Prussian War. Isabella II. had abdicated 
 
 Emperor Napoleon III. 
 
 in favor of her eldest son, Alphonso, Prince of the Asturias; who 
 was for some time a resident of England and a student at Wool- 
 wich ; his nominal accession not bringing the cares of state 
 witli it for some years afterward. But the Powers wore speedily 
 busying iliemselves to find a successor to Isabella, whose forceii 
 abdication was due to circumstances which naturally drove the 
 whole family from Spain, for the time at least. Prince Leopold 
 
280 
 
 Th^ Pint Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 m 
 
 
 sfan^nl'^'fllr? ^"^ "^'"''^ated. but the candidacy of a Prus 
 
 Emperor persisted i„ making ,,1ema„d„ which the SVprl, 
 sia was unable to ffrant IVannlpr^n ttt . ^ -rrus- 
 
 disgrace which had a^t^nhp.! ? . T' '™^'*'°S under the 
 
 and hadresultd in^t^h^^^^^^^^ r"' ""T '^''''''''' of Maximilian, 
 FmnpZ. K u J . deposition and execution of the Mexican 
 
 warlike hulr .t !?,« f ^jie English seem to have been in a 
 
 waniKe Jiumor at this time, and determined to fight some onp if 
 did not much matter who it mitrht bp- hnf f 7 f^^om, it 
 
 the oMs..^^t T-:cz 1 tarr„7 S" 
 
281 
 
282 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 
 prisoners. The Fenians had actually oflFended against the laws, 
 not only of the British Empire, but against those broader prin- 
 ciples which are at the bottom of every legal system. They were 
 in actual and open rebellion against constituted authority. As 
 long, therefore, as that authority could uphold its jlf, just so long 
 their rebellion was not revolution ; and they rauGi be punished as 
 traitors. Whatever be our personal feelings with regard to the 
 efforts which have been made, from time to time, for the libera- 
 tion of Ireland, we must acknowledge that any government must 
 punish rebels against its authority or consent to forego its right 
 to govern. But with a generosity to the fallen, and with a wise 
 recollection that persecution only strengthens a cause, Mr. Glad- 
 stone declined to prosecute the prisoners who were accused of 
 treason. They would be releab^d on condition of their not re- 
 maining in the United Kingdom, or returning to it. This course, 
 he said in his letter to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, he believed 
 was <* perfectly compatible with the paramount interests of rub- 
 lie safety, and, being so, wiU tend to strengthen the cause of 
 peace and loyalty in Ireland." 
 
 During the recess, the Government had to deal with the vexed 
 question of Eussia's control of the Black Sea. The Czar had de- 
 clined to recognize its neutrality any longer, and it was necessary 
 for the Powers to take some action for the protection of Turkey 
 and their own interests. A conference was held in London to 
 discuss the question; and the assembled diplomats wisely con- 
 cluded that as the Euxine was only a Enssian lake anyhow, do 
 what they would, tho Powers might as well let that member of 
 their body huve control of it. There were certain concessions 
 demanded for the Porte, and these, being chiefly matters of 
 form, were granted ; the Porte was permitted to open the Dar- 
 denelles and the Bosphorus for the passage of vessels of war of 
 friendly and allied powers, in case it should be necessary for the 
 maintenance of the treaty which closed the Crimean Warj but 
 the power of Eussia was too great to be easily limited. 
 
 At the opening of the session of 1871, Mr. Disraeli severely 
 criticised the foreign policy of the Government. The naval force 
 particularly was the subject of his amusing sarcasm; and he en- 
 tertained the House with an account of the "attenuated arma- 
 ment" which made impossible au armed neutrality. Mr. Glad- 
 stone retorted that what he now called an attenuated armament 
 he had characterized as a bloated armament ten years before ; 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 283 
 
 and showed conclusively that England was not to blame for not 
 having secured the strict neutrality of the Black Sea, since all 
 the Powers besides were opposed to the continuance of a state of 
 
 affairs whichallthestatesmen of theday, including Lord Clarendon 
 and Lord Palmerston, had believed would be only temporary. 
 
 The foreign policy continued to be the subject of discussion 
 for some time, though the Leader of the Opposition would not 
 bring the thing to a head by moving an amendment to the Ad- 
 dress, or by any course which would cause a division to betaken. 
 Mr. Herbert, however, soon brought forward a motion affirming 
 that the House thought it the duty of the Government to inter- 
 fere, together with other neutral Powers, to secure terms of 
 peace as favorable as possible for the vanquished in the war 
 which had cost Napoleon IIL his throne. Mr. Gladstone answer- 
 ed that the attitude of the Government had not been one of self- 
 ish isolation, as the speaker had stigmatized it ; that concerted ac- 
 tion with Kussia was impossible ; that an extorted peace was what 
 England had to fear; that the greater the magnanimity shown 
 by the victor, the better it would be for all the neutral Powers, 
 as well as for Germany herself; that neither of the belligerents 
 desired the intervention of others; that England had no cause 
 to be discontented with the position which she occupied in Eu- 
 rope, but that the action of neutrals, to be effective, must be con- 
 certed. Mr. Herbert finally expressed himself satisfied with the 
 position of England, as stated by Mr. Gladstone, and withdrew 
 his motion. 
 
 The marriage of the Princess Louise occurred in March of 
 this year, and Parliament was of course asked to make some 
 provision for her. The proposed grant aroused the opposition 
 of some members, who aflirmcd that they represented the inter- 
 ets and sentiments ot a considerable number of the people. The 
 position of the ministry was warmly supported by its head, 
 who defended the moderate nature of the grant asked for, and 
 showed with what economy the royal expenditure was managed. 
 He also dwelt upon the value of a stable dynasty, and the un- 
 wisdom of making calculations of a minute nature upon such oc- 
 casions. "Whether the opposing members were converted to this 
 
 view of tha mmsiinn ot* fiimnl''' oVv°"r'+"'' ■^'^ .o-u- -. - • 
 
 came to a vote, does not appear ; but when the resolution for the 
 marriage portion came to be reported, there was but one dissent- 
 ing voice in a House of three hundred and fifty-one members. 
 
statue of Mr. Gladstone in St. George's Hall, Liverpool. 
 
 9fi± 
 
 284 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 285 
 
 ^ Tho condition of affairs in Ireland again commanded the atten- 
 tion of the Government. Tho special difficulty at this time was 
 the spread of an agrarian conspiracy in Westmeath and the ad- 
 joining counties. A motion was made for a .ommittce to inquire 
 into the existing state of affairs there, Lord Ilartington, who 
 was Chief Secretary for Ireland, admitting that it was with feel- 
 ings of painful dismay that ho did so. The lawless condition of 
 things in that particular section, however, was no criterion of the 
 general condition of the country. Crime had subsided, and the 
 constabulary reports evidenced a marked improvement. In West- 
 meath, and the adjoining parts of Mcath and King's County, how- 
 ever, tho state of things had become intolerable, and the appoint- 
 ment of a committee was desired by the Government, so that when 
 further powers were asked for, it would be certain that such ad- 
 ditional authority was necessary for the maintenance of the 
 peace. The policy of the Government was bitterly condemned 
 by Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Hardy, who seems to have been at this 
 time tho right-hand man of tho Tory leader. Tho Chief of tho 
 Opposition said that Mr. Gladstone was regarded by his i.arty 
 as having possession of tho philosopher's stone, so far as Irish 
 ^ affairs were concerned ; that he had como into power with an im- 
 mense majority, for the express purpose of securing the tran- 
 quility and content of Jiat country; that neither time, labor 
 nor devotion had been begrudged him ; that under his influence' 
 and at his instance, Parliament had legalized confiscation, conse- 
 crated sacrilege, and co..aonod high treason j destroyed church- 
 es, shaken property to its foundations, and emptied jails; and 
 now ho Dould not govern Ireland, without coming to Parliament 
 for a committee. After all his heroic exploits, and at tho head 
 of his great majority, ho was making Government ridiculous. 
 
 Mr. Hardy's denunciations were hardly less unmeasured. Mur- 
 der was stalking abroad, he said; the Government was becoming 
 contemptible; with much more to tho same effect. Mr. Glad- 
 stone, who has always appeared to be as nearly insensible to per- 
 sonal attacks as it is possible for a man to be, and to content him- 
 self with defending tho policy a-'-ocated by him, replied to 
 these intemperate speeches with his accustomed coolness. Mr 
 Hardy's heated language was rebuked; but that was the duty of 
 the Head of the Government which had been so insulfngly 
 characterized; and he announced that the Government could 
 not, consistently with its sense of duty, withdraw the motion 
 
^ 
 
 286 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 for a committeo. Mr. Disraeli's expressions seem to us sevoro • 
 but Mr. Gludstono was happy to learn that tl.o right honorablJ 
 gentleman had got down to expressions so moderate and judicial 
 •as " legalized confiscation and consecrated sacrilege," after the 
 language which ho had used in opposing the disestablishment of 
 the Irish Church. Mr. Disraeli had admitted that in 18o2 he had 
 not adopted the means which he believed most suitable for the 
 •. protection of life and proj)crty in the three counties of Ireland 
 because the Government was weak. Mr. Gladstone made most 
 oifectivo use of this admission; and concluded by .raying that the 
 Government, acting upon its immediate elementary obligations, 
 to secure personal peace and freedom in the transactions of life' 
 felt assured of the endorsement of the House. ' 
 
 In a humorous speech by a member of the Opposition, the 
 Cabinet was doscWbed as consisting chiefly of " Whig Marion- 
 ettes;" the same speaker alluded to the changes which had been 
 made in that organization as similar to a shuffling which left 
 them in tho same positions ns at first. Over the door was plainly 
 written tho legend, «' No Irish need apply." The Solicitor-Gen- 
 eral replied to these strictures in a speech which was an argu- 
 ment ad hominem; saying that if tho last speaker were given an 
 ui'Hc^ he would speedily become a supporter of the Government • 
 and that his boast that he was a member for an Irish constituen- 
 cy, and his self-gratulations on that honor, would last till the 
 next general election. This rejoinder seems to have silenced the 
 Opposition, whoso chief strength lay in personal attacks; and 
 tho committee was appointed. After events fully justified the 
 course of the Government in this respect. 
 
 An Army Regulation Bill was introduced by Mr. Cardwell, the 
 Minister for AYar. This was the topic which excited the most in- 
 terest of the session. His scheme for tho reconstruction of the 
 army included several changes of importance. Tho various 
 branches of the service, regular troops, militia, volunteers, and 
 reserve, were to be combined und'^r one system of discipline. 
 But the point which excited tho most opposition was the pro- 
 vision that tho purchase systc.-i siiould be abolished. This was 
 a great abuse, which, like other abuses, had grown up so gradual- 
 ly that it has come to bo looked upon by many as a necessary con- 
 dition of the existence of tho army. An officer bought his first 
 commission, he bought his promotions, step by step. Mr. Card- 
 woU's bill proposed to do away with this, and substitute pro- 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 287 
 
 motion by merit nnd soniorify. ('ommissionB wore looked upon as 
 vested interests, us jjorsonul property, for the holders of them 
 had bought thoni, and expected to sell them on promotion or re- 
 tirement. 
 
 The abolition of the purchase systom had boon advocated by 
 generations of roformo -s, but withoutsuccess. Because tho army, 
 when tiiis was tho rule, contrived to get along and do its duty in 
 some sort of fashion, there wore not wanting inose who stoutly 
 maintained that it was necessary ; that if it wore abolished, the 
 army would waste away, and the military glory of Britain be 
 forever at an end. For many years past there had boon a motion 
 for its abolition made an- 
 nually by Sir DoLacy 
 Evans; but his unweari- 
 ed persistence came to be 
 tho laughing stock of 
 many. Mr. Trcvolyan had 
 supported it, and Lord 
 Stanley, whose cool good 
 sense saw the advantages 
 of tho reform, hjid boon 
 its friend. But there were 
 none of these who had 
 both tl.o will and tho 
 power to press tho sub- 
 ject upon Parliament in 
 sucli a way that there 
 was no getting rid of it. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, on his accession to power, had resolved to in- 
 clude it in tho list of reforms to bo attempted by his Govern- 
 ment. Of course it was bitterly opposed. It was essentially a 
 Liberal measure, in the sense that tho Liberal party is the repre- 
 sentative of tho people as opposed to the aristocracy, of which 
 the Conservative or Tory party is the natural exponent. As such 
 the reform was acrimoniously opposed by the Conservatives, who 
 were convinced that the aristocratic system was the only one 
 under which tho English army could prosper; that promotion by 
 merit was too French or too American, or at any rate too un-En- 
 glish. They therefore proposed all manner of amendments, and 
 offered all kinds of obstructions. The same arg-arncnts were re- 
 peated again and again, almost in the same words. Bes; ^x a the 
 
 Rt. Hon. Edwc , Cardwell, 
 
288 
 
 The First Ghuhtone Ministry. 
 
 ! \ 
 
 other ohjoctionnblo fcivtures, it was fur from being jin economical 
 measure, as the Government would bo obliged to expend a largo 
 sum of money to rc-purehase commissions lield ui the time that 
 tho system shouhi bo abolished. The Liberal Gove/nmont had 
 frequently been censured by the Opposition for its pinchingpar- 
 simony, but here ; s an instance of unnecessary extravaganco; 
 and tho Consorvnl'ro orators m.ide vho most of it. Meanwhile, 
 tho ses.sion was wearing along; iT the matter were not speedily 
 settled, it would Ho overuntil tho next session, when it would 
 have to be tnlcon up again wi-th all tho disadvantr^o which at- 
 taches to a bill abandoned in ono session and brought up again 
 by the same ^Finistry in the next. The Governinont accordingly 
 resolved to abandon the greater part of its complicated scheme 
 for tho reorganization, of the army. Tho part of tho bill which 
 was nearest the heart of tiie l^reniior, was that which related to 
 the purchase system ; and this was almost all that was retained. 
 Sh( vn of its fair proportions it passed the second reading, 
 though not by a very large majority. Meanwhile tlie Lords had 
 been looking on with ahirin. If this reform were demanded by 
 tho Commons, they could not long resist it j but something must 
 be done to express ti.eir sense of tho national danger. Tho bill 
 iiad not yet come before them for action U, is true ; but for that 
 they could not wait. At a sort of caucus of Conservative Peers, 
 it was rr solved that tho Government should be asked for further 
 infornrition before tho Lords considered the bill. It was worded 
 cunningly; they did not object to the bill; <hey pimply askcJ u 
 what it was to lead. The amendment of the Lords was adopted, 
 and the bill was got rid of for tho present. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Gladstone was the object of a good deal of abuse 
 by tho ultra Tories who so strenuously opposed the reform. The 
 reason for this was the course which ho took to defe.tthe Lords. 
 It was an ingenious plan, tho audacity of which almost took 
 away tho breath of tho Opposition. A^". Gladstone announced 
 that as tho system of purchase was reation of royal regula- 
 
 tion, he had advised the Queen to t^,. . Jie decisive ster of can- 
 celling the royal warrant which made purchase legal. 
 
 It was a blow for the House of Lords. Having made public 
 beforehand what tliey were going to say, they for.nd that there was 
 no chance to say it. Tlie only part of the hill which remained was 
 that relating to the compensation of officers, but which had been 
 deprived of their money value ; to refuse to pass this would sim- 
 
/ - 
 
 -#b 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE 
 

19 
 
 289 
 
290 
 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 ply be to refuse the officers, for whose interests they were con- 
 tending, the one small compensation which the Government would 
 give thorn. Nothing was left for tho House of Lords but to pass 
 the bill as quickly as possible, and this they did; coupling its 
 passing, however, with a resolution announcing that it was pass- 
 ed only in order to secure to officers of the army the compensa- 
 tion they were entitled to receive, and censuring the Govern- 
 ment for having obtained, by the exercise of the Eoyal P.-eroga- 
 tive, and without the aid of Parliament, that which Parliament 
 was not likely to have granted. 
 
 When the course of the Government was announced in the 
 House of Commons, it was received after a moment of bewilder- 
 ment with a wild outburst of Liberal exultation. It was at once 
 felt to be a splendid party triumph. But after the first enthusi- 
 asm of victory was over, there were not a few Liberals who, 
 looking at it more coolly, saw it with less favorable eyes. It was 
 then felt to have beeh an act of tyranny, almost ; it was the ex- 
 ercise of the Prerogative to combat the will of Parliament. Of 
 course, Mr. Disraeli and his adherents were the first to utter 
 such censures, but they were echoed by men who had heretofore 
 supported the Government. 
 
 Among the opponent!} of this course of proceeding, who had 
 been counted among Mv. Gladstone's own friends, was Mr. Faw- 
 cett, whose eminence as a Parliamentary debater was achieved 
 in spite of disadvantages (he was totally Mind) which would have 
 deterred many a man from the attempt. He was a thorough Lib- 
 eral in principles, but absolutely independent of the expedients 
 and sometimes of the mere discipline of party. If he believed 
 that the Liberal Ministers wore going wrong, he censured them 
 as freely as if they had been Tories; on this occasion he felt 
 strongly about the course which Mr. Gladstone had pursued, and 
 did not hesitate to condemn it before the House. 
 
 Mr. Disraeli had characterized the action of the Government, 
 and had reserved, until further consideration, the more objec- 
 tionable epithet, illegal. There was no question of the legality 
 of this step, however. At the advice of her principal Minister, 
 the Queen had exercised what was undoubtedly her constitution- 
 al power. It was strictly in accordance with the forms which 
 custom had prescribed. But it was generally felt to bo an unfair 
 course, one not sanctioned by the spirit of the constitution which 
 had grown up by such slow degrees. The unfairness lay in this : 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 291 
 
 tvere con- 
 intwould 
 lit to pass 
 pling its 
 was pass- 
 ompensa- 
 Govern- 
 Pi'eroga- 
 irliament 
 
 d in the 
 Dewilder- 
 is at once 
 erithusi- 
 als who, 
 s. It was 
 1 the ex- 
 ent. Of 
 to utter 
 jretofore 
 
 who had 
 dr. Faw- 
 achioved 
 uld have 
 ugh Lib- 
 pedients 
 believed 
 od them 
 he felt 
 ued, and 
 
 rnment, 
 e objcc- 
 legality 
 [inister, 
 titution- 
 3 which 
 n unfair 
 n which 
 in this : 
 
 while the measure was before ParliarriPnf *r. ^u- u • . 
 submitted With the tacH S.^Z^^^, " "'"' "^^ 
 
 ts being pro- 
 
 J-'rof. Fawcett 
 
 l^...., ... ^,,^ xi^y^8vn,ihiit their decision wnnlH K^ ^ j • 
 
 was suddenly, „,,„„ the first hint of tie r rt tio "tZ "f ' " 
 the. „,™dieti„„,„„d piaeed in an entirely dSl'ltron'T 
 
1^ 
 
 Jll- 
 
 Im 
 
 292 
 
 7he First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 the decision of the Lords and Commons wore not to be final, 
 the question should not have been submitted to them at all, but the 
 ±io/al Prerogative invoked in the first place. 
 
 Certain'y- the reform was a much needed one, and the most vio- 
 lent Tory would not now desire the restoration of the system 
 which was thus abolished ; but whether or not Mr. Gladstone 
 was j.istified in the means which he used for iis abolition, is an- 
 o+licr qnr^tion. It was doing evil that good might come; and 
 that which is wrong in a moral point of view can hardly be 
 right in politics. Had he not taken this course, there would 
 certainly have been delay ; the Lords would probably have re- 
 jected the bill ; but it would have beon for one session only. If 
 it were re-introduced the next session, it would again be carried 
 by the Commons, and the Peers would not again dare to reject a 
 bill thus doubly approved by the representatives of the people ; 
 possibly it would haye passed the Upper House the same session, 
 though not, of course, immediately. 
 
 Whatever judgment we may now express on the matter, it was 
 a course which brought about its own result. It was the cause of 
 considerable loss of strength by the Government, whose major- 
 ity was rapidly waning. 
 
 Another important measure which w..3 brought before the 
 House this session was the Ballot Bill. This dragged its slow 
 length along the House of Commons, violently opposed by the 
 Conservatives, and amended until it was but the skeleton of the 
 original measure. It then went up to the Lords, where it was 
 rejected by a considerable majority. 
 
 The Lords had rejected the University Tests Bill which had 
 been introduced the previous year, but a measure which was 
 substantially the same was again introduced by Mr. Gladstone 
 this session, and finally carried. The Peers amended it, but the 
 Commons rejected the amendment; then the Lords rejected the 
 very amendment which they themselves had proposed, and the 
 bill went through. The substance of this bill was that all lay 
 students, of whatever creed, should thereafter be admitted to the 
 universities on equal terms. 
 
 A bill to admit women to the franchise was proposed this ses- 
 sion, but rejected. In a speech on the subject, the Premier 
 caused a commotion in the House by tho assertion of hiy oT>inion 
 that if the ballot were established, he did not see why the frai^- 
 chise could not be extended to women. 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 203 
 
 Ipn^I'.f '^K^^', '''"'' Non-conformist who had tl .catened to 
 
 was Vt HK ^7 ^r''^' \"^ ^^' ^"^ ^^^" ^"^^ ^y ^'' h«-^ that ho 
 was at hberty to do so, brought forward a bill for the disestab- 
 
 hshmont of the Church of England. This was opposed by both 
 
 Disraeli and Gladstone. The former announced his belief that 
 
 Mr. Edtuard MiuU. 
 
 the great majority, both in the House and in the country we-e 
 in favor of the Church ; and he opposed the motion more for the 
 sake of the State than of the Church. The Premier said that 
 the Government was emj.huticaily opposed to the motion, and 
 showed clearly the distinction botwo.n the Irish Church, which 
 had been a foreign church, enirvaftod bv conqueror^ upon the 
 people, avd the English 'Church, which was essentially a nation- 
 al institution, and had grown up with the nation. Space does 
 
294 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 not permit us to quote his eloquent words defending the Church 
 from this assailant; he claimed it was the mere effort of a dis- 
 contented sect to do away with what was firmly established n 
 the hearts of the people. 
 , There had been considerable trouble with the United States, 
 which at one time appeared to be growing beyond the bounds 
 of peace. Tht tJnitcd States Government had always resented 
 the part which England took in the War between the States, 
 claiming that neutrality was not preserved. We have already 
 spoken of ihe manner in which the Alabama was built and sent 
 out to sea, notwithstanding the protests of the United States 
 representative. The British Government was held to be re- 
 sponsible for depredations which it had not tried to prevent. 
 There were other subjects of dispute which had arisen, and each 
 tended to make the others harder to settle peaceably. The 
 threatened rupture was averted by a treaty concluded at Washing- 
 ton in May of this year, by which it was agreed to referthe dispu- 
 ted claims to two boards of arbitration, established by the treaty. 
 
 The Government was fated to sustain some severe defeats on 
 several different questions. One of these was on the match tax. 
 The abolition of purchase in the army made the estimated ex- 
 penditure much larger than it had been in time of peace, and it 
 was proposed in the budget of this year to meet the additional 
 expense by means o2 a tax upon matches. There was a general 
 outcry against this impost, which threatened, indeed, the whole 
 trade. Mr. Lowe, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, finally 
 found himself compelled to abandon this scheme, and to substi- 
 tute an increase in the income tax for it. Several bills on finan- 
 cial subjects were abandoned by the Government when their 
 failure became apparent. 
 
 A motion which proposed to secure the uninclosed portions of 
 Epping Forest as an open space for the enjoyment of the people 
 of the metropolis, was opposed by the Government, Mr. Glad- 
 stone stating that the Government had secured one thousand 
 acres of the inclosure as a pleasure ground for the public; but 
 the motion was carried by a considerable majority. 
 
 The loss of the Captain and the Magoiva caused the Admiralty 
 to be gravely censured, but the conduct of the Board was elab- 
 orately defended. This was the last action of interest on the 
 part of the Government or the Opposition, and the session came 
 to an end early in August. 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 296 
 
 During the recess, Mr, Gladstone was again called upon to 
 disavow membership of the Church of Eome. While he was for 
 a longtime, perhaps, the most popular of all Englishmen, he 
 was well hated by a small portion of his countrymen, who nev- 
 er lost an opportunity of villifying him. The reader will find 
 an instance of one of these haters by reading Jenkin's work on 
 the subject of the great statesman's life; if that r .thor's state- 
 ments and sentiments are not hero quoted, it is because they 
 have not the value which criticisms uttered at the time of any 
 particular action must have, and do not seem to be in other re- 
 spects worthy of the space which they would require. 
 
 The question as to whether he was a member of the Catholic 
 Church was put to him in a letter by Mr. Whalley, on behalf of 
 his constituents of Peterborough. Mr. Gladstone, in reply, 
 pointed out the insult which was contained in this question) 
 since it presupposed that he had systematically concealed his re- 
 ligion, professing to belong to another church. He concluded • 
 " If I have said this much upon the present subject, it has been 
 out of personal respect to you. For I am entirely convinced 
 that while the question you have put to me is in truth an insult- 
 ing one, you have put it only from having failed to notice its 
 true character, since I have observed during my experience of 
 many years that, even when you undertake the most startling 
 duties, you perform them in the gentlest and most considerate 
 manner." The last sentence irresistibly recalls one of Dis-ael's 
 happiest epigrammatic speeches or letters. The member for Pe- 
 terborough was generally and severely condemned for permit- 
 ting himself to be made the mouthpiece of such an uncalled for 
 inquisition into Mr. Gladstone's religious opinions. 
 
 A speech of Mr. Gladstone's made during this'recess has a 
 peculiar interest, in connection with the attitude which he after- 
 wards took upon a similar question ; and his course upon this 
 subject shows that capacity for growth which is manifested by 
 few statesmen, unless they be of the highest rank. In receiving 
 the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen, he alluded to the cry of 
 the Irish for Home Eule. He said that he did not quite know 
 what was meant by Home Rule ; but he was glad to know em- 
 phatically that it did not mean a dismemberment of the Em- 
 pire ; and he hoped that all who beard him felt the same, and 
 intended that the United Kingdom should remain united. The 
 Irish people were more or less liable to become from time to 
 
Ill 
 
 29C 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 time the victims of this or that political delusion j but there was 
 nothing that Ireland had asked which this Parliament had re- 
 fused. There were no inequalities between England and Ire- 
 land, he maintained, except such as wore in favor of the latter. 
 But if the doctrines of Home Eule were to be admitted with re- 
 spect to Ireland, ho did not see why they should not bo admit- 
 ted with respect to Scotland and Wales, the latter especially as 
 the people generally spoke the national tongue. Ireland might 
 be conciliated, but Parliament had a higher duty to bo perform- 
 ed than was included in conciliation ; it had to do its duty, and 
 if this were done, and it set itself right with tho national con- 
 science, with the opinion of tho world, and with the principles 
 of justice, its position would bo invulnerable, whether Ireland 
 were conciliated or not. To this speech even tho most inveter- 
 ate Home Euler can give assent, affirming that when this is done 
 Ireland will bo satisfied j that the opinion of tho world, and 
 the principles of justice require all that Ireland demands; and 
 that if the national conscience fell short, so much the worse for 
 tho regulators of it. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone defended the course of the Government in sev- 
 eral other speeches during tho recess; but the very fact that it 
 required defense was in itself significant. The popularity of the 
 J'inistry was declining; many of the soberer Whigs were alarm- 
 ed at tho reforms which had been carried through. Tho more 
 conservative members of tho party were out of breath with the 
 rapidity with which they had been hurried along from the abo- 
 lition of one abuse to another; and they had begun to think 
 that the Premier was a dangerously brilliant statesman. It was 
 this feeling which induced a considerable number of his own 
 constituents of Greenwich to draw up a petition requesting him to 
 resign his seat for that borough. A meeting was called at the 
 Lecture Hall in support of this requisition ; but the Liberals re- 
 pudiated all connection with tho movement, and after a scene 
 of considerable violence, the tables were turned upon the dis- 
 satisfied Whigs, and a vote of confidence was passed, which was 
 received with a volley of cheers for the distinguished representa- 
 tive. 
 
 Perhaps the reason of this decrease in popularity was due to 
 tho elements of which the Cabinev; was c 'mposed. Mr. Lowe 
 a.jQ Mr. Ayrton particularly, were hard to deal with ; for al- 
 though they wore both men of unquestioned ability, they were 
 
Tke First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 297 
 
 not skillfulin reading the popular pulse. However able were 
 the measures which they advocated, they were almost sure to 
 be such as could not by any possibility be carried. To make 
 him responsible for the actions of such subordinates was to im- 
 pose upon the First Minister of the Crown a burden such as no 
 man could bear for many months. 
 
 During October of this year Mr. Gladstone made his famous 
 speech on Blackheath, to an audience of some twenty thousand 
 persons. This address, which was in the main a review of the 
 history of the last Parliamentary session, occupied two hours in 
 its delivery. Mr. Gladstone was introduced to the vast assem- 
 bly by Mr. Aigerstein, but such was the confusion that not one 
 word of the introduction could be heard ten feet away. There 
 was loud cheering when Mr. Gladstone stood forth; but in the 
 intervals there was heard a steady, persistent hissing. As he 
 seemed about to speak, an intense silence fell upon the vast 
 crowd J but the first word that he uttered was a signal for a fear- 
 ful din. From all around the skirts of the crowd arose some- 
 thing between a groan and a howl; while, as if to drown this, 
 the Liberals present again began to cheer. Still in the intervals 
 between the cheering was card the hissing. At last there came 
 to them something of a sense of shame, at not allowing this 
 man to be heard in his own defense. While the battle had raged 
 so fiercely between the two conflicting sounds, Mr. Gladstone 
 had stood looking straight at the excited crowd — calm, resolute, 
 patient. Perhaps it was this bearing which gained him a hearing 
 at last. At any rate the confusion sabsided, and after that he 
 may be said to have had it all his own way. Of course, there 
 were instances when he was interrupted by their cries, but 
 they wore comparatively few. When at length the speech was 
 over, and the question was put, it being substantially whether 
 Mr. Gladstone had cleared away from the minds of his constit- 
 uents the fog of prejudice and ill-feeling that unquestionably 
 encircled him and his Ministry, the afiirmativo reply was given 
 in bursts of tumultuous cheering, as earnest as ever greeted and 
 satisfied any political leader. lie had thrown himself upon the 
 sympathies of the great mass of the people, and their verdict had 
 not disappointed him. 
 
 This unpopularity of the Ministry did not mean that they had 
 deserved the censure of the people. The Liberal Government 
 had come into existence because the people demanded that cer- 
 
Mr. Gladstone Beading the Lessons at Hawarden Church. 
 
 298 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 299 
 
 tain abuses should bo reformed, and the Conservatives were 
 unwilling to carry through the measures which would accom- 
 plish this. The Liberals had made the reforms which were 
 demanded; but they w^.o now as far ahead of public opinion 
 as the Conservatives had bjen behind it. ]So' was this all; 
 many changes necessarily weaken every Governnent; for there 
 arc none so nr: -^ssary to the groat body of the people but what 
 they V • distasteful to individuals, and will be opposed by them. 
 The Gladstone Ministry had offended many; some by this re- 
 form, some by that; their day was beginning to draw to a close; 
 high noon was long past. 
 
 1—19 
 

 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 
 (Cux-nxvED.) 
 
 Dangerous ll!;,c, „f iiie PI , ,,, 
 
 UM>,.„e, W,„.„ J "r ° " "»-Tr™bte „„ ,|,e Liquor Q„e„i„n_ 
 
 Again ■n.roduL-™" ;Ltu:nH";r f .T''"'<'«-B.Ho. Bill 
 .Mini,,rv-Di,,r,,c.|i'.M'S ° , ■^'«"-,'™l'»"«« Cl,„nge. in ,l,e 
 
 01».ta„„e™L r; r™ r^^^^^ "f '? "■7l'iP-E".lowed School. - 
 
 paring for N.„ C,l" !« A • ''T'"''"': "' ">» Lil^ral Parly-P,^- 
 , i-jj-p l-efc,»la(ion-Active interest in Public AHiiir, 
 
 ^ P^urrr'th?, "rr T'"' " Thanksgiving Service i„ S,. 
 T from tint :^ ; • '?'°, "r""-^ "" ""^ I"'--- "f ^Valos 
 
 whatdtw VLTub,"' at.'''",'""- r '■'''' ■•°^-"' P-'o^'-"- -"'"• 
 'lament, for .a. „,c and " r '^b " "'"' "■''"'"''•''"fe- "f Par- 
 nosp oially r„p„,„,. state Jan at thi tile tI.A ."T ""' 
 
 Gladstone?, m^ty mIVZ^TJT ^'^ "'■'!"— "t of 
 a "spiteful problem^ ,„,«;,r? '?" """"*"!, it was 
 
 Gove'ntnenrtho nlir™ T dT : :"t''™;; th" '° """' °" "'" 
 mediate .esnlt. The great qnes itn 'o CanToT "" 
 
 ment, even ,vith the cordial Lolp of il., ,„ JV ot™ '"" 
 
 iosineere friends, .anage .0 ree^eive the' "t:"' „:';rth:r r^ul^ 
 
 300 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 801 
 
 f Question— 
 -Ballot Bill 
 1 — Justice to 
 nges in tlie 
 bers of I'ar- 
 ;d Schools - 
 Party— Pre- 
 
 ice in St. 
 of Wales 
 ir xtened 
 3SS n'onie- 
 s of Par- 
 " tho heir 
 liero was 
 it alvvaya 
 that po- 
 inatural- 
 cumstan- 
 ussplen- 
 
 ' predict 
 of 1872, 
 f^ which 
 nent of 
 I, it was 
 t on the 
 nof im- 
 xovcrn- 
 ies and 
 
 3umula- 
 iOO 
 
 ted dislikes of so many different sections, and yot survive tho 
 session ?" 
 
 At tlio very beginning of the session, tho struggle began. In 
 his speech upon tho Address to tho Throne, Mr. Disraeli re- 
 marked upon tho frequent expositions of the Government's pol- 
 icy which had been made during tho recess. *< Wo really have 
 had no time to forgot anything," ho complained; "HorMaj'^ /a 
 Ministers may have been said during tho last six lonths to have 
 lived in a blazo of apology." He again brought up iho question of 
 tho Admiralty's responsibility for the loss of two vessels; ho 
 found fault with tho Treaty of Washington . rnd demanded to bo in- 
 formed if tho Americans agreed to the iiiterpretatlon which the 
 English Government had putupon it; ho referred sarcastically to 
 tho third branch of tho Upas Tree of T^'oland ; and condemned 
 tho Government for preferring the Ballot Act to the Mines Regv- 
 latio.i Act and important sanitary legislation. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's answer was of course a justification of the 
 Government. Tho concessions that had been made by England 
 in tho treaty of Washington were justifiable, and tho Americans 
 had by their silence accepted tho interpretation which the En- 
 glish Government put upon cena'n clauses, which allowed room 
 for difference of opinion. The 'reaty was not ambiguous in any 
 of its parts ; and there was a friendly feeling between the two 
 countries. The Leader of tho Opposition was assured that ho 
 was mistaken in rv,gard to his assnwiption about Irish education, 
 which would be taken up by Parliament at the earliest possible 
 moment; and ho was assured likewise that the Government 
 would fiiinish every assistance in the investigation of the charges 
 agains+ +he Admiralty. 
 
 Two appointments made under the authority of Mr. Gladstone 
 gave rise to much debate, and finally showed how great was the 
 loss of strength which tho Government had suffered since com- 
 ing into power. It was desired to place Sir Robert Collier, the 
 Attorney General, on the bonca of a new Court of Appeal, the 
 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. But for this position 
 none were eligible except those who had been judge of one of 
 the ordinary courts. To qualify him in this particular, ho was 
 appointed to a Puisne Judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas. 
 There was no question as to his real fitness fur the position; it 
 was admitted that ho had helped the Government out of a diffi- 
 culty by taking an appointment which several judges had de- 
 
302 
 
 2! 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 ch- i, and which had not quite such a position as that which the 
 traditions of his office entitled him to expect. But it seemed to 
 many as if it were something of a trick, this fct which passed 
 h.m through one court in order to give him a technical qualifica- 
 tion for another. The Premier was accused of casuistry, of Jesu- 
 itism ; and the whispers that he was at heart a Catholic were re- 
 newed at this evidence of his following in the footsteps of the 
 famous order. So strong was the feeling that a vote of censure 
 was moved in both Houces; the Lords rejected it by eighty-nine 
 to eighty-seven, which was doing fairly well for the Conserva- 
 tive Chamber J but when it came before the House of Commons 
 upon a similar proposition, the Government's majority was found 
 to have dwindled to twenty-seven. 
 
 Another appointment was of a somewhat similar character. A 
 clergyman was to be appointed to a living which must be filled 
 by a member of the Convocation of Oxford; the Eev.W. W.Har- 
 vey, a graduate of Cambridge, was made a member of thisbody 
 by the University of Oxford, and was then presented to the Rec- 
 tory of Ewelme. As in the former case, there was no question 
 of fitness; the technical quaLacation had been provided, in or- 
 der that a man possessing all other qu fications might' be ap- 
 pointed ; but Mr. Gladstone was critici d as severely as if ho 
 had given the places to men for whom he had provided the only 
 qualifications they possessed. 
 
 The Government had got i .to trouble on the liquor question. 
 The United Kingdom Alliance for the suppression of the Liquor 
 Traffic was represented in Parliament by Sir Wilfred Lawson 
 who advocated the doctrine of Prohibition in spoeches which 
 never failed to amuse and finally interest his listeners. At the 
 instance of the Alliance, an effort was made to regulate the trade 
 in liquors ; but the measure which was proposed by the Govern- 
 ment pleased neither side; the Prohibitionists looked disdain- 
 fully upon it as a half-measure, and the liquor-dealers of all 
 classes saw in it only n renewal of that hostility to them and 
 their trade which Mr. Gladstone had already shown, when he 
 advocated that innovation upon the traditional ways of England 
 by which light wines were allowed to be sold by grocers and 
 pastry-cooks. 
 
 There was a war of repartee, in which Mr. Gladstone was not 
 the vanquished, when Mr. Ayrton's bill for the Regulation of 
 Parks came before the House. Mr. Hardy stigmatized the Gov- 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 303 
 
 yrnment's eiforts to throw the responsibility of certain by-laws for 
 the parks upon Parliament as a cowardly proceeding; whereupon 
 Mr. Gladstone rebuked him for bringing an acrid and venomous 
 spirit into the debate, and said that it was the late Government 
 whose bungling and feeble conduct had led to the present diffi- 
 culties. This brought Mr. Disraeli to his feet, who accused Mr. 
 Gladstone of sitting sullen and silent when the question was before 
 discussed, and only expressing himself to the crowd which gathered 
 about his residence. Mr. Gladstone retorted with a quotation 
 from that speech of Sheri- 
 dan's in which the brilliant 
 wit accuses his opponent oi 
 drawing upon his memory 
 for his jokes and his imagi- 
 nation for his facts ; and ad- 
 vised Mr. Disraeli, before 
 he accuse* I others of forget- 
 ting the course they had 
 formerly pursued, to prac- 
 tice what he preached, and 
 oe sure that his accusations 
 were well founded. The 
 shot told homo, and the 
 cheers and laughter of the 
 House were renewed when 
 Mr. Gladstone told Col. Gil- 
 pin, a member of the Op- 
 position who had renewed 
 the attack, that he did no*, 
 think the i.nagination which 
 j)revailed on the front bench had extended so far back as the 
 third and had infected that row of mcnnbers. 
 
 The session of 1 <S72 is remarkable for one of the most tumult- 
 ous scenes which ever took place in the House of Commons. Sir 
 Charles Dilke had, during the previous autumn, been making him- 
 self notorious as an advocate of Republicanism. He had during 
 that time been the best abused man in Great Britain ; the comic 
 papers and theatrical burlesques had made free with his name; the 
 telegraph had carried his doipgs everywhere; newspaper corres- 
 pondents had interviewed him, and then held him up to rdicile 
 as the " President of England." When the Prince of Wales was 
 
 Lord Littleton. 
 
304 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 \\ 
 
 \ 
 
 taken sick, the abuse which was heaped upon Dili<o was such as 
 might have been merited if he had had a hand in filling the roy- 
 al system with the germs of disease. And yet, he was not so far 
 ahead of the time. , The countries of Europe, which had at first 
 looked upon the establishment of the American Eepublic as an 
 experiment which was doomed to speedy failure, had come to 
 have their doubts about it when fifty years and more passed by, 
 and the United States still flourished. An eminent French poli- 
 tical economist had declared that the only test which it had not 
 stood was a great war; if it should be thus tried, and should 
 come out triumphant from the ordeal, there was no other danger.. 
 The war had come ; the very earth had yawned, as if to engulf 
 the structure, which was shaken to its foundations ; but that 
 structure stood firm ; and the seven years which had passed since 
 the earthquake ceased had seen that " bloody chasm," about 
 which we have heard so much, gradually closing. It was appar- 
 ent then that a republic was possible, and the recent events in 
 France had led the English to think a European republic might 
 be as stable as the American. There has always been more or 
 less republican sentiment on the surface of the radicalism of 
 Great Britain ; and Dilke had but crystallized this in his own 
 mind, and e;iven it expression. 
 
 lie had been challenged to repeat in the House of Commons 
 the statements which he had made in the country ; so in March 
 ho brought on a motion for inquiring into the manner in which 
 the income and allowance of the Crown are expended. What- 
 ever we may think of the wisdom of the man who thus tackled, 
 almost single-handed, a system which had been growing for 
 more than a thousand years, and which limitation and change 
 had but rendered more stable, we cannot but admire his courage 
 in thus facing the House where all, save two or three, were bit- 
 terly opposed to what he advocated. Ho faced his antagonists 
 with dogged calmness; he brought forward his array of facts 
 and figures, and presented them with well-arranged arguments; 
 Vit his quiet, dry and labored style was far from being eloquent, 
 and the House began to grow apathetic before he was nearly 
 through. 
 
 The duty of answering such a demand of course devolved up- 
 on the First Minister of the Crown, and Mr. Grladstono did so 
 with a zeal and warmth which surprised those who thought him 
 half* Radical, and almost a sympathizer with Sir Charles Dilko 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 305 
 
 himself. No one thought that he could be so passionately mer- 
 ciless as he shewed himself to be. He said that a detailed refutal 
 of the charges against the Crown's extravagant expenditure would 
 be impossible without some previous notice ; but he asserted that 
 the information now before the House in another form would 
 show that the Civil List had been largely reduced during this 
 reign as compared with the two preceding it. He concluded by 
 asking the House to reject the motion without further discus- 
 
 The Speaker had not ruled against the motion as irregular, 
 and the mover and sec- 
 onder were therefore en- 
 titled to be heard. But 
 when Mr. Auberon Her- 
 bert arose to second it, 
 the scene which ensued 
 was, it is to bo hoped, one 
 which was never witness- 
 ed before and will never 
 be repeated. The author 
 of a noted novel has told 
 us how Tittlebat Titmouse 
 defeated a measure 
 against which his whole 
 party was powerless, sim- 
 ply by his imitations of 
 the crowing of a cock, 
 which caused a divorsion 
 and gave the members 
 time to alter their minds. 
 There was a small army 
 army of Titmouses present, to all appearance ; and the crowing, 
 hooting, groaning, hissing, howling and yelling, drowned the 
 voice of the unfortunate speaker completely. Nothing daunted, 
 he waited until the cries had lulled sufficiently to permit him to 
 be heard, though still with difficulty, when he apologized for 
 Sir Charles Dilke, who had been far from wishing to make a 
 personal attack upon the Sovereign, and announced that he, 
 too, preferred a republican form of government. Here a con- 
 siderable number of members arose and left the House, while 
 those who remained renewed the noises which had before pre- 
 
 Sir Charles Dilke. 
 
306 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministiy. 
 
 vented his being heard. Mr. Herbert sent out for a glass of wa- 
 ter with as much sang froid as if his speech had been greeted 
 with cheers, and continued speaking; but the remainder consis- 
 ted merely of disjointed sentences. 
 
 Many times during the period that he remained upon his feet 
 he was interrupted by demands that the House be counted. No 
 less than three counts were taken, but each time it was found 
 that there were more than forty members present. At last the 
 Speaker's attention was blandly called to the fact that there 
 were strangers present. This, of course, included the reporters; 
 and while the Speaker can be as blind as he pleases to their 
 presence upon all other occasions, the instant a member of the 
 Hou^e informs him that there are others than members present, 
 he is bound to order their expulsion. The remainder of the 
 debate was then without witness save the members themselves ; 
 and the absence of the outsiders did not conduce to the order- 
 liness of the debate. The question was at last put, and !he re- 
 sult showed 2 ayes to 276 noes, those members who had left the 
 House having returned in the meantime. 
 
 The Ballot Bill was again introduced this session. An amend- 
 ment was proposed, which was carried against the Government j 
 but a modified form of it being accepted by the Ministry, the 
 bill finally prevailed and went up to the Lords. It was there 
 amended and sent back to the Commons, where the changes 
 were at first hotly contested; but eventually a -compromise was 
 effected, and this important measure, effecting a complete change 
 in the system of voting, became a law, Mr. Gladstone had the 
 satisfaction of seeing the first elections conducted under the law 
 which had been one of his darling projects, of the most orderly 
 and satisfactory character. 
 
 Butwhilesuchan important measure excited little comment 
 in the country at large, there was another subject on which the 
 popular feeling was at white heat. This was the Alabama claims, 
 as presented before the Arbitration Commission at Geneva! 
 Much to the surprise of the English, it was found that the Uni- 
 ted States claimed compensation for indirect losses as well as 
 direct; and Mr. Gladstone was violently assailed for his assur-- 
 ances that the treaty permitted but one interpretation. It was 
 only another instance of his nice distinctions being misnnHor^ 
 stood by intellects of less subtle keenness. 
 The Commissioners finally decided that the British Government; 
 

 •k.Sv. 
 
 t:>i 
 
 i 
 
 
 -is 
 
 307 
 
308 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 was not justly liable for claims for indirect damages, but was to 
 pay for direct injuries inflicted by the Alabama, the Florida 
 and the Shenandoah. The sum total awarded to the United 
 States was a little more than one-third of the original claim. 
 I The session of 1872 was not a barren one, as far as the enact- 
 ment of laws relating to domestic affjvirs was concerned. JSTot 
 only the Ballot Act, but various others, relating to the regula- 
 lation of mines, the adulteration of food, the public health, and 
 licensing, owed their final enactment to this session. 
 
 Fifteen years after the date of which we are writing, one of 
 the great London dailies styled the Irish Question " the Old 
 Man of the Sea of Parliament." The comparison is no inapt one, 
 and is unfortunately likely to be applicable for a long time to 
 come. The Gladstone Ministry had made two great attempts to 
 settle it, but there was a third task to be undertaken before Ihey 
 should have accomplished all that had been promised in their 
 original programme. 
 
 Feb. 13th, the Government introduced the bill which it was 
 hoped would hew down the third branch of the Upas Tree. It 
 dealt altogether v.ith the state of education in Ireland. In his 
 speech introducing the bill, Mr. Gladstone showed that so far 
 from the Queen's Colleges which had been established, being the 
 means of increasing educational facilities, they seemed rather to 
 have alienated the Irish still further; for the number of collegi- 
 ate students in 1872 was actually less than it hud been in 1832. 
 The Eoman Catholic population of Ireland contributed but one- 
 eighth of the whole number of students, and of these not more 
 than one-half would in England be ranked as university stud- 
 ents. The bill provided for the abolition of all religious tests; 
 for the incorporation of Dublin University and the union of the 
 Queen's Colleges with it; for the maintenance of all the chairs 
 usual in such institutions of learning which were not incompati- 
 ble with perfect religious equality for the students; this latter 
 exception excluding, as was. specially stated, chairs in theology, 
 moral philosophy, and modern history. The Government hoped 
 that this bill would conciliate the Catholics by the concessions 
 which were made to them, and the English Liberals would be 
 pleased with its moderation. But as is usually the case when the 
 attempt is made to please two parties of opposite opinions by 
 one and the same measure, each one saw what the other was in- 
 tended to see ; the Catholic Bishops denounced the measure, and 
 

 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 309 
 
 while they did not decline what it offered, let it be known that 
 they wanted much more; the Catholic members, who had been 
 expected to be its warmest supporters, were its bitterest oppos- 
 ers ; and the Liberals objected strongly to the proposed omissions 
 from the curriculum. 
 
 At the request of Mr. Disraeli, the second reading of this bill 
 was postponed until the beginning of March ; as the opposition 
 desired time to consider so important and complicated a meas- 
 ure. It was then demanded that the Government should specify 
 the members of the governing body which the bill proposed for 
 the university ; but this was, as Mr. Gladstone pointed out, im- 
 possible; as the positions could not be offered until the bill had 
 made some progress in committee, nor until there was some pros- 
 pect that there would be positions to accept. The opposition to 
 the bill was remarkable both for the variety of the arguments 
 and the diversity of the parties represented by those who spoke 
 against it. The debate ended with speeches by Mr. Disraeli and 
 Mr. Gladstone. The ex-Premier's oration was a brilliant one, 
 though not always relevant to the subject; it called forth vehe- 
 ment cheering from the members on the Opposition benches. Be- 
 fore this had fairly subsided, Mr. Gladstone arose to reply. His 
 powerful speech was a summing up of the arguments pro and con, 
 and a strengthening of those for the bill, with an appeal to the 
 House for the justice which was demanded. In his eyes, it was 
 all that was necessary to satisfy Ireland ; all that justice demand- 
 ed for her; and so tiie conclusion of his speech assured them : 
 
 " To mete out justice to Ireland, according to the best view 
 that with human infirmity wo could form, has been the work, I 
 will almost say the sacred work of this Parliament. Having put 
 our hand to the plow, let us not turn back. Let not what we 
 think the fault or pervei'seness of those whom we are attempting 
 to assist have the slightest effect m turning us even by a hair's 
 breadth from the path on which we have entered. As we nave 
 begun, so let us persevere even until the end, and with firm and 
 resolute hand let us efface from the law and practice of this 
 country the last — for I believe it is the last — of the religious and 
 social grievances of Ireland." 
 
 All the eloquence of this speech, however, was not sufficient 
 to convinco those who were opposed to it; and the division 
 showed that the Government was in a minority of three. Up- 
 on this defeat they bad not counted, as the bill had at first met 
 
310 
 
 The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 with a favorable reception ; even Mr. Horsman, who had vio- 
 lently opposed it on tlie second reading, had in a letter to Mr. 
 Lowe, written immediately after the first presentation of the 
 bill, spoken of it in the most favorable terms ; the letter was 
 read to the House during the debate, but seems to have pro- 
 duced no effect upon the Opposition, Questioned some years af- 
 terward regarding this measure, Mr. Gladstone said that consid- 
 ering the extremely favorable reception with which the bill had 
 met at the outset, he was most emphatically astonished at its 
 ultimate fate. 
 
 Although the majority of the Opposition had been so small, 
 the importance of the measure which the Government liad wish- 
 ed to carry was such that Mr. Gladstone determined to resign; 
 and he did so at once. But then arose a peculiar difficulty. Dis- 
 raeli was his only possible successor ; but it would have been im- 
 possible for him to form a Government, with the majority of the 
 House of Commons opposed to him, as it undoubtedly was ; a 
 few days later, therefore, Mr. Gladstone announced that he and 
 his colleagues had consented to resume the positions which they 
 had felt obliged to resign. Mr. Disri^eli's refusal to accept office 
 had been unconditional, and Mr. Gladstone contended that his 
 action was contrary to precedent and parliamentary usage. Mr. 
 Disraeli replied that a considerable part of the majority against 
 the Government in the late contest consisted of Liberals, with 
 whom he had no bond of union whatever. A Government could 
 not well dissolve without entering upon its duties, and there was 
 at present nothing to dissolve upon ; such a course required some 
 definite policy, to be submitted to the electors for their decision. 
 Mr. Gladstone, he said, had resigned upon very inadequate 
 grounds; ana his return to office was the best possible solution 
 of the difficulty. Ho had had some experience of the difficulty 
 of carrying on a Government in the face of a majority opposed 
 to it, and was not anxious to try it again. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett, who had strenuously opposed the Irish Uni- 
 versity Bill, brought forward a measure relating to the same sub- 
 ject, during this session ; the changes made were such that it be- 
 came simply an abolition of religious tests before it was carried. 
 There were several bills relating to financial measures, which 
 were carried by the Government. Mr. Miall pressed the Bill for 
 the Disestablishment of the English Church, which was opposed 
 by Mr. Gladstone in the strongest speech made during the de- 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 811 
 
 bate; and a proposal to permit laymen and Dissenters to deliver 
 sermons in the churches was also negatived. 
 
 Shortly after the close of the session, there were some impor- 
 tant changes in the Ministry. Mr. Lowe having resigned the 
 post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone undertook 
 the double duties of that office and of those of the First Lord of 
 the Treasury. Throe otfc er members of less note, Lord Kipon, M.-. 
 Childers, and Mr. Baxter, retired ; and Mr. Bright re-entered it 
 as Chancellor ot the Duchy of Lancaster. 
 
 The Government grew more and more unpopular as time went 
 on. Its reforms had been too sweeping and sudden j they had 
 frightened the people, whom the Conservatives easily convinced 
 that everything was in danger from this mania for change j the 
 by-elections which had taken place were all considerable Con- 
 servative victories j not only was the Bible in danger from the 
 course which the Liberal Government had taken with regard to 
 the Irish Catholics, but the changes which had been made in the 
 license law threatened Beer. Says one of Mr. Gladstone's most 
 reliable and minute biographers: "The joint flag of 'Beer and 
 Bible' having been hoisted the cry against the Ministry became 
 
 irresistible " 
 
 Mr Gladstone recognized that it would not be long after the 
 meeting of the new session before he would be compelled to re- 
 sign , be foresaw the difficulties into which the Opposition, thus 
 transferred to the Treasury Benches, would be thrown ; and he 
 knew that evil to the country would result from a weak Govern- 
 ment In these circumstances, he determined to appeal to the 
 country , that> if his course were approved, he might have the 
 strength necessary to carry out his measures ; if it were disap- 
 pioved, there would be fewer obstacles in the path of his succes- 
 ors. He probably had little hope of the result when, on the 23rd 
 of January, he issued a manifesto to the electors of Greenwich, 
 announcing that the existing Parliament would be dissolved 
 without defay, and writs immediately issued for a general elec- 
 tion This document, which was an unusually long one, is fairly 
 entitled, from its political and historical importance, to rank as 
 a state paper. Reviewing the history of that Parliament, he 
 retraced the steps by which the Cabinet had proceeded, from 
 
 _-, „-,..K«i,v,;«n. rwr»nMl«irifv in the nresent state of unDODularitv ; 
 
 and admitting that the state of affairs had not improved dur- 
 ing the recess, asked that the people should show that they 
 
i 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 313 
 
 s 
 
 :§ 
 
 ft; 
 
 were with tho Government which had wrought such important 
 reforms. Ho reviewed tho policy which had been pursued in 
 financial matters, and promised a reduction of taxation for the 
 future. Eeferring to the charge which the Conserwtives had not 
 hesitated to make, that the Liberal party had endangered the in- 
 stitutions and worried all the intei'csts of tho country, he denied 
 its truth, and claimed that if any were offended, it was because 
 the Grovernment had honestly tried to do -11 that was in its 
 power to promote tho highest interests of the nation. lie chal- 
 lenged a comparison between the years of Liberal and the years 
 of Tory rule, with their results. 
 
 The newspapers of the day, of course, accorded a reception to 
 this address which varied with the standpoint generally taken. 
 On the one hand, the News said that it was a policy which would 
 revive the enthusiasm of the Liberal party, and greatly benefit 
 the country; on the other hand, the Standard declared that the 
 policy followed must bo described as one of surprise and in- 
 trigue. 
 
 Mr. Disraeli lost no time in issuing a manifesto to his con- 
 stituents, as a reply to this address of Mr. Grladstone's. It was 
 brusque, in some parts at least ; and its flippanyy contrasted as 
 strangely as usual with the dignity and gravity of Mr. Glad- 
 stone's style. 
 
 Parliament was dissolved the 26th of January, and the new 
 House was summoned to meet March 6th. Thus there was but 
 a little over a month for the electioneering campaign, and it be- 
 gan in good earnest. It was the first general election at which 
 the voting was by ballot, and it passed off with orderliness and 
 peace. The result showed considerable gains for the Conserva- 
 tives, that party having a majority of forty-six votes in a full 
 house. There were many interests arrayed against the Ministry 
 which had instituted so many reforms; and there were some 
 whose support was given to the Conservatives in the hope that 
 there would be legislation for their benefit as soon' as a Tory 
 Ministry took charge of affairs. 
 
 As soon as the national verdict was known, Mr. Gladstone 
 placed his resignation in the hands of the Queen. Ho had in- 
 curred the displeasure of the people of whom he had been the 
 virtual ruler ; but, as it was said at the time that he went out of 
 oflice, *'a great many people entercain towards Mr. Gladstone's 
 Government the same sort of sentiment as that which worthy 
 
314 
 
 The First Gladstone Afinistry. 
 
 Mrs. Bertram, in Scott's romance, felt for the energetic revenue 
 officer who would persist in doing his duty, instead of following 
 the example of his predecessor, who sang his aong, and took his 
 drink, and drew his salary without troubling any one." 
 
 Such being the otfense which had been committed, it seems 
 more honorable to have oflfended than it would have been to 
 
 have pleased. ^ttv/t r\ a 
 
 There were some political wiseacres who said that if Mr.triaa- 
 stone had not dissolved, but had brought forward a budget an- 
 nouncing the repeal of the income tax, a measure which he had 
 announced as one which would be supported by his Government 
 if the country endorsed its policy, he would have regained the 
 support of the Liberal party in toto. But this was not done ; he 
 had dissolved; his rival had come into office, and was, for the 
 first time, at the head of a Ministry which was endorsed by a 
 majority of the House. Nor was the election all ; there were 
 not wanting former professed friends of Mr. Gladstone who jeer- 
 ed at his fall from power. 
 
 Shortly before the House met for active business, Mr. Glad- 
 stone addressed a circular to the Liberal members of Parliament, 
 reiterating the intention which he had expressed conditionally 
 before the election, to retire from the leadership of the Liberal 
 party. The condition had been fulfilled, in the failure to secure 
 an endorsement of his policy; and he wrote to Lord Granville 
 who had long been the leading Liberal Peer, a more explicit 
 statement of his reasons for so doing. From this letter we learn 
 little however, beyond the bare fact that he considered his age 
 to entitle him to some rest; and he alleged "various personal 
 reasons" for not engaging himself as closely with ParliameLtary 
 
 matters as he had done- 
 
 The new Ministerialists indulged in a little pleasantry con- 
 cerning an Opposition without a leader, and the party which 
 had so lately divided its support found how necessary Mr. Glad- 
 stone was to its success. But the opposing parties did not 
 measure swords at once. For a while there was quite a Utopian 
 state of things in Parliament; true, an over-zealous Tory did 
 propose a vote of censure upon the late Ministry for dissolving, 
 but Mr. Disraeli promptly silenced him, making Mr. Gladstone s 
 annihilation of his arguments quite un::;eco33ary. Tho new -...an- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, Sir Statford Northcote, confessed that 
 the calculations of the late Prime Minister -ere quite correct, 
 
The First Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 81b 
 
 and there wi\8 a surplus, as stated, in the revenue. The Govern- 
 irient made no pretensions to any original policy, but followed 
 tha- which their yredecessors had intended to pursue ; and every- 
 thing was lovely. 
 
 Suf !i a state of affairs could not last very long, however, and 
 the introduction of several important religious measur<58 speed- 
 ily aroused the sleeping lion of contention. The first cf these 
 concerned itself with the Church Patronage of Scotland ; this 
 had been a subject of agitation for the last three hundred yeors, 
 or ever since the regent Murray set aside the authority and the 
 religion of his royal sister. The General Assembly had passed 
 various resolutions expressing their dissatisfaction with the ex- 
 isting state of affairs, but nothing definite had been brought for- 
 ward by any Government until this time. The present bill, a 
 short but comprehensive one, was supported by some influential 
 Liberal Peers, being introduced in that House ; but was op- 
 posed by the Liberal members of the Lower Chamber. The chief 
 feature of the debate was a vigorous speech by Mr. Gladstone, 
 who had not appeared in the House for some timj, and whose 
 rising was therefore greeted with unusual warmth by his adher- 
 ents. While the motive of tae bill was laudable, he considered 
 its details as extremely objectionable, and as such opposed them 
 with all the force of his eloquence. The statoment, " I am not an 
 idolater of Establishments," called forth ironical cheers " ' ^ 
 the Treasury Benches, which were speedily drowned in ger .d 
 applnuse from his own friends. The opposition was frui. 
 howeve., "or the second reading was carried by a considerable 
 
 majority. 
 
 A bill for the Regulation of Public Worship was introduced ia- 
 to the House of Loi.'h ;by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and 
 upon this, when it came down to the Commons, Mr. Gladstone 
 made another important speech. " He fairly electrified the as- 
 sembly," said a contemporary newspaper. It opposed the bill on 
 the ground that it was an undue interference with freedom j and 
 claimed that perfect uniformity of ritual was impossible. His 
 speech was described by Sir William Harcourt who replied to it, 
 as a powerful plea for universal Non-conformity, or optional con- 
 formity; and the resolutions which he proposed as a substitute 
 
 f-„+i. - uMi \A ««i^ «/^;»i+ o<-.f.rirHinof to M' . Disraeli's .^nder- 
 
 Standing of them, to the abolition of that religious settlement 
 which had prevailed in England for more than two centuries. 
 1—20 
 
316 
 
 The First Glad/stone Ministry. 
 
 The Governm-^nt, by these declaraiious and others of the same 
 nature, clearly adopted the bill, and it soon became evident that 
 Mr. Cxladstono s resolutions Were distasteful to many of \ is own 
 supporters, lie withdrew his resolutions when it became ap- 
 parent that the greater part of the House was in favor of the 
 bill; and the measure eventually became law, though it has 
 never accomplished the object for which it was intended 
 
 The Endowed Schools Act Amendment Bill was looked upon 
 by the Liberals as a step backward, and opposed accordingly 
 Ihat party, when in power, had given into national control the 
 schools which had formerly been under sectarian government- 
 and this was a reversal of that policy, in effect. It was moved by 
 Mr. Forster that the bill ghould be rejected, and the motion was 
 strongly supported by Mr. Gladstone, The ex-Premier pointed 
 out that this was a reversal of the policy of the last Parliament 
 and was unwise a^ well as unusual. The Liberal party, ho said' 
 during the last forty or fifty years, had taken the initiative of 
 policy in almost every instance, and had been followed by the 
 Conservatives, acting in prudence and honesty. It was the first 
 instance, he claimed, of any direct attempt bein- madobyr.Min- 
 istry at retrogression. The only similar case which he could find 
 in history dated back to the reign of William IIL, and the act 
 then passed was now proposed for repeal. Although the Govern- 
 ment had a considerable majority upon the second reading and 
 also upon the motion to go into committee, they found that it 
 would bo so hotly contested in committee that they judged it 
 best to make some important modifications; and it in its mutil- 
 ated state finally passed and received the royal ass.nit. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's retirement from the leadership of the Liber- 
 al party had been a igned a possible limit in his letter to Lord 
 Granville J that limit was reached Jan. 1st, 1875, but the same cir- 
 cumscances still existed, and he definitely withdrew from poiiti- 
 cal life, so far as anything more than o-jcasional presence in the 
 House of Commons was concerned. His withdrawal brought con 
 sternation to his political friends, who had been willin- to -mi- 
 duro his absence for a time, if they might look forward S) iiis re- 
 turn ; but his resolution was unalterable. Words of praise were 
 showered upon him by all alike; and it was feared that he had 
 finally left the strife of party. 
 
 It was of course necessary to elect a new leader There were 
 two men vrhoso names first occurred to the observer of the field 
 
The First (iladstimc Ministry, 
 
 t) 1 ' 
 
 —Mr. Bright and Mr. Low«. Mr. Briirht, it was well known, 
 would not accept thovnoimt post, for tlio .sjuno rouson tiiat \w 
 had hesitated about accepting' office ; as for Mr. Lowe, ho was a 
 man of undoubted ability— but— then the speaker would .shako 
 his head significantly, and the listener would knowexaetly what 
 was meant regarding that erratic g- .ins, and agree with him. 
 The list was thus reduced to Mr. Forster, Sir W. Ilarcoiirt, Mr. 
 Gosciien, and the Marquis of Ilartington. The first three 'w( re 
 subsequently withdrawn, and Lord Uartington unanimously 
 olectcu to the vacant place. 
 
 T'le choice was not a*^ unwise one ; for although the now lead- 
 er was indolent and la, ' m..ny of the brilliant (]ualities of his 
 predecessor, ho defeate. Jie i)rophecie- f those who had i)re- 
 dicted his failure; ai:d ju-Ufied verv largely the eulogy which 
 Mr. Bright had pronounced upon him at the time of his election. 
 Mr. Gladstone did not often appear in the Jloiisf> during the 
 session of 1875. IFis first important speech was upon Mr. Os- 
 borne Morgan's Burials Bill, which proposed that the friends of 
 the deceased should have the privilege of deciding upon the ser- 
 vice to bo used in a parish graveyard. It seems to bo something 
 similar to that which Mr. Gladstone ..ad before advocate.!. JTe 
 spoke in favor of this, as did Mr. Bright, but it was li.ially nega- 
 tived by a majorifj of fourt(>en. 
 
 The budget intr.xluced by Sir Stafford Northcote was the sub- 
 ject of another speech. Mr. (Jla<lstono objocted to various me. '^■ 
 ures which were propos'^d by the Chanceilor of the Mxche(| r, 
 and maintained that the surplus for tlie ensuing yoai was over- 
 estimated. Thoi)lan for reducing the National Debt, he maiii- 
 taineu. was founded up^ , the supposition that there would be a 
 large surplus every yea»> for the next thirty years, and that suc- 
 ceeding Chancellors of the Exchequer would do the reverse of 
 what Sir S. Northcote had done. The plafi was, howovor, adopt- 
 ed. 
 
 There were other speeches made during tho session, but not 
 many; and they were upon topicsof ittlcor no j)ermanent intor- 
 crt. During tho autumn, Mr. Gladstone met the Ilawarden ten- 
 iintry, and made the most pleasing speech of the yur. The 
 reason for his continued silence was found afterward" to be tho 
 preparation '^f controversial works, which forever settled tlio 
 question of hi.s secret membership of tho Catholic Church, and 
 whi;.h we shall consider in a later chapter. 
 
 •V- 1 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. 
 
 Q 
 
 Eastern Question — Turkey Does Nothing but Promise — Suicide of the Turkish 
 Sii.Han — Oriental Races — Explanations by Disraeli — Raised to the Peerage 
 Bulgarian Honors — Lord Salisbury in the East — Earl of Shaftesbury — 
 Duke of Argyle — Lord George Hamilton — Gladstone's Pamphlet on the 
 Turkish Question — Action in Parliament on the Turkish Situation — Pro- 
 tracted Debate — Vote of Credit — "Peace with Honor" — Sir Stafford 
 Northcote — Gladstone Arraigns tiie Government — Triumphal March 
 Through Scotland — " Grand Old Man " — Great Ovations Everywhere. 
 
 'LTHOUGH Mr. Gladstone had thus formally retired from 
 the leadership of the Liberal party, he was not destined 
 to remain in retirement for a long period. Perhaps it 
 would have been impossible for a man constituted as he was, and 
 accustomed for many j^ears to take a prominent part in direct- 
 in J the affairs of the nation, to content himself with merely liter- 
 ary activity; certainly the events of the years immediately suc- 
 ceeding his effort to demote himself to purely intellectual pursuits 
 were stirring enough to arouse him from the repose which he had 
 promised himself. 
 
 When the Crimean war closed, Lord Aberdeen had said that 
 the treaty might possibly remain intact for five and twenty 
 years j ho was laughed at as a pessimist, but the event proved 
 that ho was rather optimistic than otherwise. Before the quar- 
 ter century had elapsed, the Eastern Question was once more the 
 problem of the hour. 
 
 The fact that many of the provinces of Turkey were inhabited 
 by alien races wag bound to lead to foreign interference on the 
 behalf of such peoples. Such interference was rendered more 
 frequent because of the difference in religion, which was often 
 made the excuse when there was no real need of outside assis- 
 tance. The Danubian Principalities had been under the protec- 
 torate of the Czar, but this state of affairs was never recognized 
 at Constantinople, and the Treaty of Paris had restored them to 
 Turkey. Their subjection was only nominal, however, for when 
 
 bis 
 

 he Turkish 
 he Peerage 
 aftesbury — 
 hlet on the 
 aticn — Pro- 
 lir Stafford 
 hal March 
 ywhere. 
 
 ired from 
 destined 
 erhaps it 
 ) was, and 
 in direct- 
 I'ely liter- 
 ately suc- 
 1 pursuits 
 chhe had 
 
 said that 
 i twenty 
 it pi'oved 
 tho quar- 
 more the 
 
 inhabited 
 
 on the 
 [•ed more 
 vas often 
 ido assis- 
 e protec- 
 jcognized 
 
 1 them to 
 for when 
 
 818 
 
 I 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 819 
 
 Moldavia and "Wallachia united themselves under one govern- 
 ment, and expelled their ruler, tho Porto could only look help- 
 lessly on. Encouraged by this success, and probably by the 
 fact that the Cretan rebellion had not been a complete failure, 
 tho Servians demanded that the Turkish garrisons should bo re- 
 moved from their midst, and the Turks complied. Eussia had 
 declared that she was no longer bound by the Treaty of Paris, 
 and this gave fresh courage to the provinces which were always 
 ready to revolt when occasion offered. But although the Turks 
 hard withdrawn the garrisons when required to do so, they had 
 not relaxed the oppression which was practiced in other ways. 
 It has frequently been remarked that there is in Turkish rule no 
 medium between neglect and tyranny; and that the portions of 
 the Empire where tyranny might be excusable, as being the only 
 means of maintaining public order, are the very portions where 
 the hand of P^iaority is never felt. Tho strength which should 
 be used, under a just government, in repressing crime and disor- 
 der, is exercised in the oppression of those quiet and law abid- 
 ing provinces which should be protected from others. It must be 
 admitted, however, that the Christian provinces were not at this 
 time, and had not been for many years, orderly and law-abiding; 
 they had suffered so much from the tyranny of their Mahometan 
 masters that they were always in a ferment of revolt. 
 
 Early in July, 1875, the news reached England that the op- 
 pression had at last become unbearable, and that tho Herzegov- 
 ina was in open rebellion. It became quite clear at once that a 
 new chapter of the old troubles was beginning. The Turkish 
 statesmen insisted that the rebels were receiving outside assis- 
 tance, and called upon England to interfere. England was the 
 enemy of Russia, and as such was regarded as the friend of the 
 Porto. Austria was one of the offenders against whom complaint 
 was made. Servia and Montenegro were requested to stop send- 
 ing supplies of arms and men to the insurgent^;. But none of tho 
 Governments thus appealed to seem to have done anything. 
 Lord Derby, tho Foreign Secretary, pursued a decidedly feeble 
 course. Ho knew that tho oppression of tlie Turkish Christians 
 would bo unpopuhu', but, on the other hand, the repression of 
 tho Turkish cruelties would bo pleasing to Russia, who always 
 desired to SCO tho Ottoman humbled ; and anything vvhich 
 pleased Russia was sure to displease tho English people. Undei 
 3uch circumstances, ho decided to act with the Porte; and urged 
 
820 
 
 In 0}i 
 
 vosiiion 
 
 the Government at Constantinople to put down the insurrection 
 as quickly as possible, and not allow it to swell to the magnitude 
 of a matter for European intervention. This offended, not only 
 popular feeing, but the popular conscience; and somewhat in- 
 terfered with the popularity of tho Disraeli Government. 
 
 But the recommendation to the Porte was more than he could 
 obey. It was impossible to put down tho insurrection, wl ich 
 continued to spread. Finally, on the last day but one of the 
 year 1875, Count Andrassy, the Austrian Minister, in conjunction 
 with the representatives of Germany ,and Eussia, addressed a 
 note to the Porte. This Note from the three great Empires de- 
 clared that the promises of reform made by Turkey had been 
 broken, and that some combined action of the Powers of Europe 
 was nee essary to insure their fulfiilment. If this were not done 
 they declared, the governments of Servia and Montenegro, 
 would be compelled by the enthusiasm of those peoples to sup- 
 port the revolutionary cause in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and 
 this would mean a general outbreak. This Note was communi- 
 cated to the Powers which had signed the Treaty of Paris; 
 France and It'^Iy at once signified their concurrence ; England 
 alone hesitated. It was not until Lord Derby received a request 
 from the Turkish Government that he would join in it, that he 
 complied. It seems at first strange that such a request should 
 come from the Porte ; the reason for it is scarcely honorable to 
 England, for she was regarded as a secret friend by Turkey. 
 
 Lord Derby joined in the Andrassy Note, and it was sent to 
 the Porte. Tho Turks listened gravely to the complaints and de- 
 mands, and promised all sorts of good behavior for the future. 
 The Powers had evidently gained their point at once. 
 
 But Turkey did nothing but promise. Not one of the griev- 
 ances was redressed, and it soon became apparent that she did not 
 intend to take any steps to meet the demands. The Berlin Mem- 
 orandum was accordingly drawn up by the three Imperial Min- 
 isters, pointing out the increasing danger of disturbance, and tho 
 necessity for carrying irto ett'ect i\t once the objects of the An- 
 drassy Note. It was proposed that hostilites should bo susper /• 
 ed for two months between the Porte and the insurgents, while a 
 peace was being negotiated ; and that tho consuls and other rep- 
 resentatives of the powers should watch over tho proposed re- 
 forms. Tho Memorandum significantly intimated that if the 
 desired objects were not attained during the period of two 
 
~-^ 
 
 J-'»sJ 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 d2i 
 
 months, the Powers would have to see what should be done. 
 This threat meant tliat the matter must be settled as the Note 
 and Memorandum had intimated ; for Turkey could not think of 
 resisting the arms of united Europe. 
 
 Unfortunately, the English Government did not see its way 
 clear to join in this Memorandum. The general impression was, 
 that Eussia had been stirring up the discontent which had cul- 
 minated in these difficulties, that the Christian Powers might be 
 compelled to interfere in Turkish matters, to the manifest disad- 
 vantage of the Porte. Lord Derby himself was of the opinion 
 that a secret agreement had existed among the empires since 
 1873, and ho feared that England would be drawn into a danger- 
 ous complication. His refusal made concert among the Powers 
 impossible for the time, and the Memorandum was never pre- 
 sented. Then every one in Europe and America knew that war 
 was certain in the East. This refusal of the English Govern- 
 ment seems to have given fresh courage to the Turks, who had 
 been pretty well frightened by the magnitu le of the storm which 
 had threatened them a little while before. There was an out- 
 break of Mussulman fanaticism at Salonica, and the French and 
 German consuls were murdered. There was a revolution in Con- 
 stantinople itself, and Abdul Aziz was dethroned to make way 
 for a sultan capable of carrying on a war with an empty treas- 
 ury. This rara avis, it was thought, they had found in his 
 nephew, whom the Softas made Murad V.; but three months af- 
 ter this remarkable discovery was made, they had proved to 
 their own satisfaction that they were mistaken ; and Murad 
 siepjied down and out to make room for his brother Hamid. 
 
 Nobody expressed any special regret when Abdul Aziz open- 
 ed the arteries of his arm, and bled to death in his palace; but 
 thei'e were circumstances more terrible than these changes, which 
 were soon to alarm and horrify all Europe. An insurrection 
 broke out in Bulgaria, and the Turkish Government sent large 
 numbers of Bashi-Bazouks and other irregular troops to crush 
 it. The insurrection was duly crushed, but the Bashi-Bazouks 
 did not cease their horrible work. Eopression turned to massa- 
 cre, and rumors began to reach Constantinopleof hideous whole- 
 sale unprovoked murders in the northern province. Tho cor- 
 respondent of the London Daily News heard them, and resolved 
 to investigate them ; ho did so, and found that tho reports were 
 but too well founded in fact. In a few days afterward accounts 
 
 21 
 
822 
 
 In Opposition, 
 
 were published in England of what has ever since been known 
 as the Bulgarian Atrocities. Thousands of innocent men, women 
 and children had been slaughtered; at least sixty villages had 
 been destroyed, after the extermination of their inhabitants j for- 
 ty girls were shut up in a straw loft and burned alive ; the mosi 
 unnamable outrages were committed ; and a district once the 
 most fertile in the Ottoman Empire had been ruined. 
 
 While the English public was reading these tales of horror, 
 and shuddering at the tortures to which the prisoners had been 
 subjected before death came to relieve them, the Prime Minister 
 was taking things very coolly. He made it very evident that he 
 did not know much about the Turkish provinces of the time, nor 
 about Turkish affairs in general; he had not considered the 
 charges worth investigating ; but assuming that such atrocious 
 crimes were greatly exaggerated in the telling, endeavored to 
 set the matter before the House of Commons in the light in 
 which he saw it. The newspaper correspondent had been in 
 search of sensations ; of course ho had not mado the picture any 
 the less dark ; rumor has a thousand tongues ; juul there must be 
 much allowance made for "coffee-house babble." The Bashi- 
 Bazouks, ho informed his hearers, were the r>jgular occupants ot 
 Bulgaria, being a Circassian race who had settled there long ago, 
 with the concurrence of all Europe. As for the torture, Orient 
 al races "generally terminated their connection with culprits 
 in a moi'e exjieditious manner.'* 
 
 Mr. Disraeli's debonair treatment of the question did not sat- 
 isfy the House. The Bashi-Bazouks were not the gentle, harm- 
 less creatures that he had represented tliem to be ; tliey believed 
 that the statements in the Kews were entitled to more creditthaii 
 he was willing to give them ; and they grew more and more in- 
 dignant that the Prime Minister of England should speak thus 
 lightly of the outrages committed by Mahometan soldiery. 
 
 That the newspaper statements were not exaggerated, was 
 shown by the report of Mr. Barinsjr, who was sent out to investi- 
 gate the matter ; he reported that so far from the only deaths be- 
 ing those which took place in battle, between armed insurgents 
 and the soldiers, he had himself seen whole masses of the bodies 
 of woman and children piled together. In places whero no bodies 
 of combatants were to be seen. iSo fewer than twelve thousand 
 persons had been killed in the single di i ^t of Phillppopolis. 
 This report from a man who was generally supposed to be ir) 
 

 In Op2JOsUion. 
 
 823 
 
 sympathy with Turkey upon tho question as a whole, was indis- 
 putable; and tho Turkish Government showed that they had no 
 intention of disowning thf^so n' oeities by their action, soon af- 
 terward, in rewarding tho chief perpetrators by now honors con- 
 ferred upon them, presumably for the part borne in these mur- 
 ders. 
 
 What followed in England ? The Premier became only too anx- 
 ious to explain away his words. There had been no levity, he 
 assured his listeners, in tho expression which he hdd used when 
 he spoke of tho improbability of Turks torturing their prison- 
 ers ; he had not denied the existence of the Bulgarian atrocities, 
 but having no oiiicial information that they had taken place, 
 was bound not express his intentions regarding them. The 
 public excitement was at white heat; the words of Mr. Disraeli 
 were regarded simply as another instance of his inconsistency ; 
 they were swept impatiently aside, while the people looked 
 about them for a leader. N^ot the man who had scoffed at the 
 story of outrage ; not any of the Government which had half 
 condoned the offenses oT the Turks; not Mr. Bright, whoso health 
 was too uncertain to allow him to take tho part which his down- 
 right antagonism to what he believed wrong would have led 
 him; not the n(w leader of the Liberal party, who was some- 
 what slow ; but a man whose eloquence could inflame the cold- 
 est; a man whoso principles were unquestioned ; a man whose 
 standing was such that lis slightest word must command atten- 
 tion ; a man skilled in dealing with others — such was the leader 
 that was sought for what Bright characterized as " an upris- 
 ing of the English people." Was there such a man ? And would 
 he lead them when he was found? Such were the questions 
 which were earnestly asked. The former was perhaps easily an- 
 swered, as men turned their eyes to one who was but seldom 
 heard now-a-days ; tho latter was fully answered when William 
 Ewurt Gladstone, casting aside polemics and criticism, forgetful 
 alike of the Bard of Greece and the Popo of Eome, emerged 
 from his semi-retiremeut and took up the gauntlet which Dis- 
 raeli had allowed to drop from his over-careless hand. He had 
 now nearly approached the limit of three score and ten ; at six- 
 ty-seven wo scarcely expect much ardor from the advocate of 
 any cause; but ho flung himself into the contest with all the 
 keen and impassioned energy of a youth. "Ho made speeches 
 in the House of Commons and out of it ; he attended monster 
 
324 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 '-\ 
 
 Benjamin D-itti'atll, tlarl vj Jieucoriitfiekl. 
 
 meetings in doors and out of dnors ; lie published p{UTi))iilets; h(> 
 wrote letters ; lie brouglit forward motions in Parliament; lie 
 
In OppoaiUon. 
 
 WIU 
 
 AowonnvoA tlio (!ritn(^s of Tiirki^y jiiid llio |t<»li<iy which woiilfi 
 sii])|)()rt, Tiirkoy, with iiii ci()([Uoiic!o timt lor tho tiino.sot l^lngiiiiul 
 uflaino." 
 
 Princo Milan liad loft Bol/^rudo in ,TinH>, (hjcliirioi; thut Stirvin 
 could not loiigor ondiiro tho oi)])rcssions of Tiirkoy ; uiid his 
 ]):'ovinco was, liko its noif^hbors, in ojxu; revolt. Wo iiood not 
 follow tho wholo courso o.f cvi-nls in tho l*];ist ; woni'o intorostod 
 only in what was dono in Knglainl. T ■vo woi-o frctnuMit do- 
 hates in Parliament upon tho suhject, ana Mr. Gladstone, who 
 had so rarely boon present at tho daily sessionH, now Bpoko al- 
 most every ni/^ht upon some t(>i)ic oonncelcd with tho outrages 
 and tho course whi(;h the (Jov(M-Mm('iit ])iifsiiiMl. It was in vain 
 that Mr. Disraeli explaincil tliat the Hi'itish (Jovernment liad /'c- 
 fiised to join in tho Berlin Memorandum, hecauso that represented 
 a policy of aggression, with which England would have nothing 
 to do ; that tho British fleet liad boon sent to Besika Bay, not for 
 tho ])rotection of tho Turkish Em])ire, Init to maintain tho rights 
 of tho British ; it was in vain that Ijord Dcuhy defined the (!(Mirso 
 of tho Government as one of s^riet n(Mitrality, and approver! by 
 tho other Powei-s. Tho ])ooplo had made up their mind, and their 
 decision was not favorable to tho stand which tho (loverninent 
 had taken. 
 
 August 11th, li^in, Mr. Disraeli made his last reply to Mr. 
 Gladstone and his adiiei-eiits in the House of (!ommotis. It was 
 upon this suhject ; ho afllrmed that tho Turks Wiiie not the es- 
 peeial proteges of Kngland, and that sho was not responsible for 
 what bad occurred in Turkey ; ho announced that tho solo duty 
 of tho Government, according lo his understanding of tho case, 
 was to maintain tho Kmpiro of England, and that they would 
 never agree to any step which bazardcd tho existence of tho l']m- 
 piro. After this speech, Mr. Disraeli left the House, neveragain 
 to address it from tho Ministerial or ()p])osilion benches; for 
 tho next morning's ])apers contained wiiat Ikk' hithei'io been a 
 well-kept secret: The Prime Minister had been ci'eatcMl Earl of 
 Bcaconsfield. 
 
 Perhaps it will not be out of place to tui-ri aside at Ibis mo- 
 ment to note what was the nature of this i-eward, and for whatit 
 was bestowed. Mr. Disraeli had long been a faithful servant of the 
 Crown J iio had served it with the best of what was no mean ability; 
 upon entering on tho discharge of tho duties of the First Lord of 
 iho Treasury at tho beginning of the present session of Parlia- 
 
326 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 mcnt, ho had dotormined upon tiio aggrandizement of the Crown 
 by every legitimate moans j there was to bo another Eiizabclli- 
 un period, tho I'ooplo were told; and every one waited with 
 confident f xi<c' laney to see tlio Elizabethan revival. To some 
 extent they did see it; but whatever power great men may pos- 
 sess to inould circumstances to their will, they cannot wholly 
 create those circumstances. There was much that was lacking to 
 make the Victorian Era a. i oprodnction of tho Elizabethan ; per- 
 haps, if tho matter had L .in. strictly analyzed, tho Tories would 
 not have become tho more popular by their efforts to bring back 
 tho glory of tho tyrannical Tudor; but tho phrase, like so many 
 to which tho brilliant novelist gave currency, was a taking one, 
 and tho Ministry was lauded lor tho intention. Tho Queen 
 was given tho new title of " Empress of India," though tho Op- 
 position carried an amendment which prohibited tho uso of the 
 new title in tho United Kingdom ; the Princo of Wales was par- 
 aded through India, that ho might see some of tho princes who 
 were well-disposed toward his royal mother, or who were afraid 
 to bo anything else ; tho Government bought a certain number 
 of shares in tho Suez Canal, which were just then goingbegging, 
 and thus acquired tho controlling interest in it; and tho Eliza- 
 bethan revival was completed. 
 
 When Mr. Disraeli resigned at the close of the year 1868, he 
 was offered that reward so dear to the heart of an Ei)glishman — 
 elevation to tho peerage. Somewhat to tho surprise of those 
 who knew him, ho declined it for himself; accepting it for the 
 wife to whom ho owed so much. The Viscou.ntess Beaconsfield 
 died four years later, childless. Tho Premier, by his talents as 
 a debater, and his persistency under defeat, had won tho admir- 
 ation of his opponents as well as of his adherents; personally lie 
 wasmostacceptable to the Queen ; and it was not a matter of won- 
 der when tho announcement above meiitioned was made. JNTo one 
 objected ; no one cried out that he had not deserved well of the 
 Sovereign ; if ho wanted an earldom, by all means let him have 
 it; and his enemies were among the first to applaud the royal 
 recognition, for his transfer from tho House of Commons to 
 tho House of Lords was a material weakening of his party m 
 the legislative chamber where his party was tho less strong. 
 
 Throe <h\y?r, after this, Parliament was prorogued. In tho very 
 beginning of tho recess appeared tho official report of Mr. Baring 
 concerning the Bulgarian atrocities ; and Beaconsfield was con- 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 32T 
 
 victcd by the evidence of one of liia own subordinates of gloss- 
 ing over crimes wbich well deserved punishment, because he did 
 not choose to investigate the truth of the charges until public 
 opinion compelled him to do so. Far different was the course 
 taken by the great Liberal leader, as be still ranked in men's 
 minds, though ho had chosen that another should have that title. 
 Scarcely a month after the prorogation, ho published a pamphlet 
 entitled, ''Bulgarian Horrors, and the Question of the East." Eng- 
 land, he maintained, should not only aim at the termination of 
 the war actually in progress, but should demand the accomplish- 
 ment of three groat objects, before she rested from her labors. 
 The first thing to be done was to put an end to the anarchical 
 misrule, the plundering, the murdering, which still desolated 
 Bulgaria; there must then bo effective measures taken to pre- 
 vent the repetition of such outrages as had been recently perpe- 
 trated under the sanction of the Ottoman Government, by ex- 
 cluding its administrative action for the future, not only from 
 Bosnia and Herzegovina, but from Bulgaria as well; the latter 
 province being the one, really, which it was most essential to 
 protect in this manner. The third object to be attained, to which 
 these were the steps, was the redemption of the honor of the 
 British name, which in the deplorable events of the past year 
 had been more gravely compromised than ever before within his 
 recollection. He supported his position with all the force of his 
 powerful eloquence ; and that had ripened year by year, so that 
 now, when be had so nearly reachcc^ lo limit of average human 
 life, this f-iculty was at its very zt th ; nor could that star, 
 which had thus risen, and which cast so glorious a light upon 
 the progress of human liberty, decline until everlasting night 
 should blot it from the vision of men. 
 
 A few days after the publication of this pamphlet, Mr. Glad- 
 stone addressed his constituents at an immense meeting on Black- 
 heath. The speech, which was among the most eloquentand im- 
 passioned of his political orations, furnished the watchwords of 
 his party in the campaign which followed. At various points in 
 his address the audience was completely carried away by the 
 emotions which bo aroused. There had been an effort made to 
 compare these to other massacres and outrages, of which his- 
 4-^,.,, VjoH to-'- " bu^ 'ihc f>Mport was sb.nwn to he futile and Duerile. 
 But, he told them, if all these dark pages in English history 
 gould be conqenti'atQd into a single spot, that spot would not b© 
 
I I 
 
In Oj)j)OsitioH. 
 
 329 
 
 
 ,3 
 
 worthy to apponr "pon *ho p. ^ro» which should horoaftcr toll of 
 tlio infutnous j»"c i!^nMiin';'8 of tho Turl'.s in JJiilguria. llo iidvo- 
 cjitod, not the >b()lit;;>ij of tho Turkish Ern[)iro, but tho limita- 
 lion of its pow r in luch manner that it could not again practice 
 thoso diro rofinri m • of cruelty. This could only bo Hono by 
 tho combined action of all tho Power? ; though there wore two 
 whoso rospon?'>i i'\s were greater than any other's ; these two 
 were England and Jtussia. lie d"d not claim that Ilussia was ex- 
 empt from ambition ; but sho had within her tho pulse of human- 
 ity, and it was this pulse which ho now believed was throbbing 
 almost ungovernably in tho minds of her people. Tho power of 
 liussia \^^on land was irresistible; that of jiMgland by sea was at 
 Ic! st as great J lie closed with tho signiUcant question, wh'C'h tho 
 Foreign Secreta y essayed to answe/ not long afterward : 
 
 " I ask 3''ou, what would be tho condition of tho Turkish arm- 
 ies if the British admiral now in Besika Bay wore to inform tho 
 rfovornmcnt that, from tliat hour, until atonement had boon made 
 — until punishment had descended, until justice had been vindi- 
 cated — not a man, not a ship, not a boat should crf)ss tho waters 
 of tho Bosphorus, or tho cloudy Euxine, or tho bright vEgean, to 
 carry aid to tho Turkish troops?" 
 
 This address created too much enthusiasm among tho people 
 to be loft unanswered ; and tho Premier himself undei-took tho 
 task. Speaking at Aylesbury, ho admitted that the JMinisterial 
 policy was unpopular, but strongly condemned those "designing 
 politicians who take advantage of sublime sentiments, and apply 
 them for tho furtherance of their own sinister ends," This lan- 
 guage was of course quoted with approval among tho ultra-Con- 
 servatives ; but it was warmly denounced as extraordinary tri- 
 fling, by those who were less bitter in their persoi'al dislike of 
 tho great Liberal and his followers. 
 
 Lord Derby directed tho British embassador at Constantinople 
 to lay Mr. Baring's report upon the Bulgai-ian atrocities before 
 tho Ottoman Government, and tc demand that tho offenders 
 should bo punished. This was said at tho time to bo an answer 
 to that question which Mr. Gladstone propounded to his listen- 
 ers on Blackheath, and which wo have quoted above; and it 
 would have been, had tho demand been enforced. But that was 
 tho last of it ; the British Government never pressed tho Porte for 
 a definite answor, and tho Government which had rewarded Ach- 
 niet Agha, the Turkish general in Bulgaria, with Ihe Order of 
 
330 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 tho McfJJidie, was not likely to givo such satisfaction until -. om- 
 pcU'd to do ro. Turkey finally agreed to an armistice cf eight 
 weeks, and tho Czar who had brought tho pressure to bear which 
 resulted in this, pledged his sacred word of honor to tho En- 
 glish ambassador that ho had no intention o. occupying Constan- 
 tinople ; and that if necessity compelled iiimto occupy a portion 
 of Bulgaria, it would only be provisionally, and until tho safety 
 and peace of tho Ciiristian population were secured. A week 
 after this. Lord Beaconsfield delivered a warlike speech at the 
 Ministerial banquet at Guildhall ; whereupon the Czar declared 
 tha if Turkey did not acccdo to his demands, Eussia would be 
 prepared to act independently. 
 
 Lord Salisbury, who had been accredited as che English rep- 
 resentative at the Conference of Constantinople, arrived in that 
 city Dec. 5th. Three days later, there was a great meeting at 
 St. James' Hall for tho purpose of discussing the Easterii Ques- 
 tion. The Duke of Westminster was tho Chairman, and the 
 meeting was addressed by men eminent in politics, letters, 
 science, religion and tho army. At a second meeting, the even- 
 ing of tho same day, Lord Shaftesbury, tlie well-known and now 
 lamented statesp an and philanthropist, presided, and the address- 
 es were at least as interesting as in tho afternoon. Mr. Gladstone 
 spoke at this time, in company with Mr. Fawcett, Canon Liddon, 
 Mr. E. A. Freeman, and others of similiar standing. Mr. Free- 
 man urged that the right must be maintained atall costs, even of 
 the interests of England ; Mr. Fawcett, referring to tho injunc- 
 tion, "forgive and forget," insisted that there was one man 
 whose acts ought never to bo forgiven by Englishmen, and that 
 man was tho Prime Minister of England. After such speeches 
 as ihcbu, Mr. Gladstone arose, to clinch their denunciations with 
 his own. As at Blackheath, he was receivovi with deafening 
 cheers. Repudiating tho accusation that these meetings were 
 neld for tho purpose of embarrassing tho Government, he 
 charged Lord Beaconsfield with pursuing a policy which he 
 knew was in direct antagonism to the sentiment of the country ; 
 it was not until the Aylesbury speech that Lord Beaconsfield had 
 given any evidence that he thought England had duties toward 
 tiie Christian population of Turkey. This acknowledgment was 
 one which tho Opposition '^ ad tried in' vain to draw from the 
 Ministry during tho last session j the first declaration of this 
 knowledge was made by Sir Staflford iVorthcote, who had re- 
 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 331 
 
 marked, daring a speech somewhere in the North, " Of course 
 wo are all aware of our duties to the Christian population of 
 Turkey." Mr. Gladstone said that he was glad they were aware 
 of it, but the recognition of that obligation was not to be found 
 
 Lord Shaftesbury. 
 
 in the proceedings of Parliament or the official correspondence 
 lor the past year. 
 
 Expressing a hope that Lord Salisbury's instructions were not 
 in accordance with Lord Boaconsficld's recent speech at Guild- 
 hall, which had so directly influenced the Czar, he trusted that 
 tlie English representative would be permitted to give scope 
 
332 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 to bis own generous in;itincts, and that the Plenipotentiaries in 
 general would insist upon the future independence of the provin- 
 ces, or at least upon such a form of government as would insure 
 them freedom from oppression. _ 
 
 While the meetings at St. James' Hall were not without their 
 effect, their influence would have been even deeper and wider if 
 it had not been for the fact that the Conference at Constan- 
 tinople was sitting, and was expected to accomplish all that 
 could be hoped. These hopes were, however, doomed to be dis- 
 appointed ; for the Confuience found its demands rejected by the 
 Turkish Government. These demands had finally been reduced 
 to two : that the Powers should nominate an International Com- 
 mission, without executive powers ; and that the Sultan should 
 appoint governors-general, holding their office for the terni of 
 five years, the appointments to be subject to the approval of 
 the guaranteeing Governments. But the " Unspeakable Turk, 
 as Mr. Gladstone was fond of apostrophizing the brutal Ma- 
 hometans, found these propositions ''contrary to their. integrity, 
 independence and dignity," and would have none of them. 
 
 The responsibility of this situation of affairs, Mr. Gladstone 
 did not hesitate to declare, belonged to the Government. He 
 and hi-* friends had been told to mind their own business. To 
 this exceedingly impolite injunction, the statesman replied that 
 the Eastern Question was their own business. 
 
 The plea was urged that the Treaty of 1856 had been broken. 
 To this he made answer that Turkey had trampled all treaties 
 under foot. If the treaties were in force, they were as binding 
 upon Turkey as upon England ; but when one disregarded them 
 the othe was not bound to observe them. 
 
 Whei. Parliament opened, in February, the war wnich had 
 been laginr in meetings and other public gatherings broke out 
 afresh in the two Houses. In reply to the Duke of Argyll, who 
 had urged the necessity for decisive action upon iho Govern- 
 ment the Premier said that any interference at the present 
 would tend to make the condition of the Turkish Christians 
 worse than it was at this time. Mr. Gladstone, in the House of 
 Commons, enlarged upon the contradictory statements of recent 
 negotiations. Foreign Office documents, the Queen's speech, and 
 the orations of the Ministers. Mr. Hardy replied for the Gov- 
 crnment, and p.aid that the time had not yet come for England 
 to cut this Gordian knot with the sword. 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 833 
 
 aries in 
 
 Mr. Chaplin complained that Mr. Gladstone and other Liber- 
 als had endeavored to regulate the sentiment of the country by 
 the publication of pamphlets upon the subject, and by the deliv- 
 ery of numerous speeches, and by the so-culled National Con- 
 ference at St. James'. There was one of two things which >. 
 Gladstone must do— he must either make good or withdraw nis 
 assertions; the-e was was no other course which was open to a 
 man of honor. The last expression was ruled out by the Speak- 
 er as unparliamentary, and it was accordingly withdrawn. Mr. 
 Chaplin then went on 
 to say that he regret- 
 ted most sincerely Mr. 
 Gladstone's course du- 
 ring the recess ; he had 
 done so much to impair 
 the respect and esteem 
 which were felt for 
 him by all members of 
 the House and to shake 
 to its foundations the 
 reputation of a man 
 whom all England had 
 long boon accustomed 
 to regard as one of the 
 greatest of her sons. 
 He moved the adjourn- 
 ment of the debate. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's re- 
 ply io thi attack was 
 ' •' . , Duke of Argyll. 
 
 an impromptu one, 
 
 which fully sustained his reputation as one of the ablest dobaters 
 who over t . ■ : ^- the House of Commons. In seconding the mo- 
 tion for an adj<; .rnment, ho said that he was surprised to h, - 
 cused, for the first time in a public career extendlig over near- 
 ly hf^.''' a cntury, of an unwillingness to meet his opponents in 
 fairf '..u Why had not the honorcble gentleman attended tl..j<sy 
 meetings of which he complained so much? He spoke of his own 
 reluctance to enter upon this question, and declared that it was 
 only the strength of the public sentiment which had made him 
 feel an avoidance of its manifestation impossible. Ho adminis- 
 tered a scathing rebuke to Lord George ilamllLon, who had in- 
 
 \.mm 
 
 '■■-<^^' 
 
S34 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 torrupted him twice, and then turned again to the original 
 assailant. Upon him '.o floods of wrath were poured. If he 
 (Mr. Gladstone) by his speeches and his pamphlet had done all 
 this mischief, why did not Mr. Chaplin write another pamphlet 
 and make other speeches, which would set the people right? It 
 was the nation which had led the leaders and the Classen's in this 
 matter, not the classes and tho leaders who had led the nation • 
 the speeches and pamphlet had been no more than the match 
 
 which is applied to fuel 
 already prepared. The 
 attack had been a viru- 
 lent one ; the reply was 
 such as to make Mr. Chap- 
 lin sincerely regret that 
 he had aroused the sleep- 
 ing lion. Said Mr. Glai 
 stone: 
 
 "He says, sir, that I 
 have been an inflamma- 
 tory agitator, and that as 
 soon as I have got into 
 this House I have no dis- 
 I position to chant in the 
 r same key. But before 
 these debates are over, 
 before this question is set- 
 tled, tho honorable gen- 
 ,-„,.-/ /^. t^ -.u tleman will know more 
 
 Jjoi-d (ieovqe. Hamilton, , .nuio 
 
 about my opinions than 
 he knows at present, or is likely to know to-night. lam notabout 
 to reveal now to the I'onorablo gonfleman tho secrets of a mind ^o 
 inferior to his own. I am notsoyoungas tothink thathisobiigin.r 
 inquiries supply me with opportunities tho most advantageous to 
 the public interest for laying out the plan of a campaign. By the 
 
 time the honorable member is as old as I am, if becomes in his turn 
 to be accused of cowardice by a man of the next generation to 
 himself, he probably may find it convenient to refer to the reply 
 I am now making, and to mako '• a model, or, at all events, to 
 take from it hints and suggestions, with which to dispose of the 
 antagonist that ma}- then rise against him. * * * j ,vi!i |..j{ 
 tho honorable gentleman something in answer to his questions, 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 385 
 
 and it is that I will tell him nothing at all. I will take my 
 own counsel, and beg to inform him that ho shall have no rea- 
 son whatever to complain, when the accounts como to be settled 
 and cast up at the end of the whole matter, of any reticence or 
 suppressions on my part." 
 
 Mr. Gladstone went on to correct the mis-statements of what 
 he had really said at Taunton. Ho hiid said that it was neces- 
 sary to watch closely the policy of the Government; that ho 
 had great confidence in Lord Salisbury, but he did not know 
 whether tho Government had one policy or two. This was the 
 greatest question, he added, which had come before Parliament 
 in his time ; and it behooved all who were responsible for the 
 course of England to consider that course most carefully. He 
 urged upon them tho setting aside of all party considerations, 
 and the duty of striving to tho utmost that justice should be 
 
 done. 
 
 It 13 rare that Mr. Gladstone condescended to a personal 
 speech ; he was in general so taken up with measures that ho 
 had nr time in which to consider men; his opposition to tlie 
 course which a Government might pursue did not involve any 
 personal animosity to its members ; but the above extracts will 
 show that he was perfectly able to defend himself when neces- 
 sarJ^ Certainly Mr. Chaplin was provided with an excellent 
 model for the repelling of future attacks on himself. 
 
 The appeal which closed this speech was received with pro- 
 tracted cheering. Su( h was its effect upon those who heard it, 
 that the Chancellor oi the Exchequer himself remarked that he 
 was not surprised at the enthusiastic applause which followed 
 the speech. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet before mentioned had argued thai 
 tho only way to secure any permanent good for the Christian 
 provinces of Turkey was to turn the Turkish officials " bag and 
 baggage" out of them. His enemies were not slow to quote 
 garbled extracts from this argument to prove that Mr. Glad- 
 stone favored nothing less than tho expulsion of all the Turks 
 from Europe. Against this accusation, }>nd against the charf^o 
 that ho had advocated a different policy at tho close of the Crim- 
 ean war from that which ho upheld now, he was obliged to de- 
 fend himself in Parliament as well as out of it. But tho mis- 
 chief was more easily done than undone. He was represented 
 as demanding tho instant expulsion of every Turk— man, wo- 
 
336 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 337 
 
 man and child — from Europe; if this were done, the Russians 
 would at once occupy Constantinople, and the power of Russia 
 be indefinitely increased. Lord Bcaconsfield, on the other hand, 
 was opposed to any extension of the Czar's dominions, and took 
 f^reat care to keep this continually before the minds of the 
 people. There were many sneers, too, from the Government and 
 its supporters, about sentimentality introduced in questions of 
 statesmanship. Thus it came to pass that Lord Bcaconsfield 
 was looked u})on as the champion of England, and the enemy of 
 licr enemy ; while his great rival was openly accused of being 
 the friend and instrument of Russia, by thousands of English- 
 men -who honestly believed what they said. So, by degrees, 
 the great masses of the people began to look with different eyes 
 upon the war, and to think that the interests of the country 
 were perhaps safe in Beaconsfield's hands after all. 
 
 But Mr. Gladstone was not left without suuporturs of his 
 cause. There were still many who thought as ho did. A close 
 observer has said that men who prided themselves upon being 
 practical politicians upheld the course of the Government, main- 
 taining that Turkey must bo held as a barrier against Russia at 
 all hazards J while men who held that sound politics cannot ex- 
 ist without sound morals, protested with the Liberal chief against 
 England making herself responsible for the crimes of Turkey. 
 The one cried out for the interests of morality, the other for the 
 interests of England; and exclaimed against the ambition of 
 Russia or the atrocities of Turkey, as the case might be. 
 
 A Protocol was signed at the English Foreign Office on the 
 last day of March, 1877, stating that the Powers intended to 
 watch carefully over the Christian provinces of Turkey, and if 
 their condition should not be improved, in accordance with the 
 demands which had already been made, in such a way as to pre- 
 vent the return of the complications which periodically disturb- 
 ed the peace of the East, such a state of aff'airs would be con- 
 sidered incompatible with the interests of Europe in general, 
 and the Powers in particular. The Turkish Government pro- 
 tested against the humiliating situation in which it was placed 
 by the Protocol, and Russia accordingly declared war April 
 24th. A week later, England, France, and Italy issued proclam- 
 ations of strict neutral itj*. 
 
 On the 7th of May, Mr. Gladstone gave notice of certain reso- 
 lutions which he intended to move, and which on the face of 
 
 22 
 

 ^ 
 
 ii 
 
 m 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 them were extremely hostile to the foreign policy of the Gov- 
 ernment. Many members of the Libenil party declined to sup- 
 port them, on the ground that they pledged England to co-op- 
 erate with EusSia's policy of force; and Mr. Gladstone ultim- 
 ately amended them so that they did little more than affirm that 
 Turkej'^ had forfeited all claim to moral or material support from 
 the British Crown. 
 
 In the speech which introduced these altered resolutions to 
 the House, Mr. Gladstone called attention to the vast numbers 
 of meetings which were being held for the discussion of tne 
 subject; and assorted that in nineteen eases out of twenty, the 
 general scope of the resolutions passed at these meetings had 
 been co-extensive with, not the mild and moderate declarations 
 which he now offered to the consideration of the House, but the 
 more incisive statements which he liad first proposed. His speech 
 was a noble effort; fixing the responsibility for the atrocities 
 upon the shoulders of the Turkish Government, ho declared that 
 the remonstrances of England had no efi'ect, because tne Porte 
 knew that they began and ended in mere words. Hetaughtthem 
 what right the Christians of Turkey had to look to Christian 
 Europe for protection against their Mussulman masters ; he told 
 of the time when England was the hope of f eedom, when the- 
 eyes of the oppressed were always turned to her, as the home of 
 so much privilege and so much happiness; and pleaded that this 
 should still be the light in which she was regarded. He told 
 of the hci'oism of the Montenegrins and the Bulgarians; and 
 what a great and noble prize was the privilege of removing their 
 load of woo and shame. 
 
 The debate lasted for five nights, and some of the most elo- 
 quent speakers in the House, if not all of them, were heard up- 
 on the subject. Some of the Liberals spoke in support of the 
 Government, whose policy was defined, now that the war had 
 actually begun, as one of strict neutrality; among these was Mr. 
 Roebuck, who, however, paid high tribute to Mr. Gladstone as 
 " a man whom the country has believed to be one of its greatest 
 and most deserving and patriotic Ministers at one time or an- 
 other; a man endowed with great ability, with vast power, with 
 a winning manner, and whose influence in this House has been 
 almost illimitable." It is well said by one of Mr. Gladstone's 
 bioerrapbars that it was the high moral courage and loftiness of 
 
 purpose which had been so conspicuously displayed in iiis atti- 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 839 
 
 tudo npon that Eastern Qnestion, which had given him this " al- 
 most illimitable" influence. 
 
 Lord Hartington, who had opposed the resolutions in their 
 original shape, was now one of their most determined support- 
 ers. Mr. Gladstone, in closing the debate, pointed out the dif- 
 ferent courses which the Government had seemed to pursue at 
 different times. Ho did not believe that the time when united 
 Europe could make an authoritative demand had gone by; that 
 demand should bo made at once; coercion did not moan war. If 
 Kussia failed in the work which she had undertaken, he pointed 
 out, the condition of the Christian Provinces would be infinitely 
 worse than it had over been before ; if she succeeded, as she de- 
 served, to do in such a cause, the performance of such a work 
 would secure for her undying fame ; v/hen that day came, he con- 
 cluded — 
 
 " When that work shall be accomplished, though it would not 
 be in the way and by the means I would have chosen, as an Eng- 
 lishman I shall hide my head, but as a man I shall rejoice. Nev- 
 ertheless, to my latest day I shall exclaim : Would God that in 
 this crisis the voice of the nation had been suft'ered to prevail; 
 would God that in this great, this holy deed, England hi*d not 
 been refused her share !" 
 
 But the eloquence was in vain; the re-action against the so- 
 called sentimentalism had strengthened the hands of the Govern- 
 ment; and the first resolution was defeated by a majority of one 
 hundred and thirty-one. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone addressed a large meeting at Birmingham, be- 
 fore the close of the session, upon the topic of the hour; and up- 
 on his return from a visit fo Ireland in the autumn he again 
 spoke at various points. While the country, as represented by 
 the House of Commons, seemed to bo content with a policy of 
 strict neutrality and watchfulness, the people themselves seem 
 never to have tired of hearing the great advocate of the rights 
 of the Turkish Christians. 
 
 In November of this year Mr. Gladstone was again elected 
 Lord Eector of the University of Edinburgh, Lord Beaconsfield 
 retiring. His opponent was Sir Stafford Northcote, the Chancel- 
 lor of the Exchequer ; but the member of the Government re- 
 ceived only a little more thr.n one-third the whole number of 
 votes polled. 
 
 We need not follow the fortures of the Eussians and the Turks 
 
t 
 
 340 In Opposition. 
 
 upon the field of battle, or tell of the fall of Kars and Plevna, or 
 the capture of Schipka Pass. It in enough here to record that 
 on the 23rd of January, 1878. the Turkish Plenipotentiaries at 
 Adrianople received orders from the Porte to accept the bases 
 of peace as submitted to them by the Grand Duke Nicholas. 
 
 
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 Fac-Simite of Mr. Gladstone's Letter to Lord BeacoTu^field. 
 
 A week after this, Mr. Gladstone addressed a meeting which 
 was held at Oxford, by a number of the umler-graduates, to cele- 
 brate the formation of a Liberal Palmerston Club. He said that 
 for the past eighteen months he had been styled an agitator ; the 
 accusation was well founded; during that period he had been an 
 
M'A^wmm 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 841 
 
 agitator. He had never once lost sight of his purpose, which was 
 to counterwork what ho believed to bo tiio policy of Lord 
 Beaconsfield. The vote of credit for which the Government had 
 asked he condemned as the most indefensible proposition which 
 iiad been in his time submitted to Parliament. 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield attacked Mr. Gladstonefor the personalities 
 which he had used in his various speeches upon the subject. Mr. 
 Gladstone courteously requested that reference to those person- 
 alities should be furnished him; the Premier declined to search 
 over the speeches of the past two and one-half years, and admit- 
 ted that certain expressions which he had accused his opponent 
 of using were not to be found in the Oxford speech or elsewhere. 
 This was the only reparation which Mr. Gladstone could obtain 
 from the brilliant but erratic Minister of the Crown. 
 
 In the House debate upon the vote of credit, Mr. Gladston' 
 alluded to the vileness of the motives which had been con- 
 stantly imputed to him, while he had not impugned the motives 
 of an;/ one. He was willing, however, to let bygones be by- 
 gones ; and with this amicable declaration proceeded to give his 
 reasons for opposing the vote proposed. It would not strengthen 
 the bands of the Government; it was unconstitutional, because its 
 necessity had not been clearly shown; it would be destructive 
 of the peaceful character of the Conference which was about to 
 meet, thus to usher it in with the news that the war establish- 
 mont of England, which was now upon an equality with that of 
 other Powers, should be thus increased upon the eve of its meet- 
 
 The Government would have the support of the Opposition, he 
 said, if certain points were in^^isted upon at the Conference. A 
 cession of Eoumanian territoiy, which would interfere with the 
 .Voedom of the mouth of the Danube, must be resisted ; the 
 claims of the subject races to a fair and just government must be 
 supported; though he saw no reason why Bulgaria, having re- 
 lied upon the efforts of others for her liberty, should not pay a 
 tribute. He suggested that the Government should postpone the 
 proposed vote for a time, and renew it if it became necessary; 
 and closed by saying that an address should be presented to the 
 Queen by both Houses, expressing their readiness to support the 
 Government in bringing about a permanent peace. 
 
 The vote of credit was ultimately carried by a very large ma- 
 iority, the Marquis of Hartington and several other ■^rorainent 
 
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 In Opposition. 
 
 Liberals not voting at all. Shortly afterward, the conditions of 
 the treaty were announced J but the terms were regarded us op- 
 pressive by the British Government, and the demand was made 
 that the whole question should bo submitted to the proposed 
 Congress at Berlin. 
 
 Before the end of the month (March) there was considerable 
 public uneasiness in England. Not only were the chances very 
 shadowy that the Berlin Congress would ever meet, but the Gov- 
 ernment had taken the extreme step of calling out the reserves. 
 In consequence of this action of the Cabinet, Lord Derby resign- 
 ed his post as Foreign Secretary. The Marquis of Salisbury be- 
 came his successor, and distinctly expressed the opinion that a 
 Congress under the limitations on which Prince GoHschakoff 
 insisted would not consult the interests which England was 
 bound to guard, nor the well-being of the regions with which 
 the treaty dealt. A long diplomatic correspondence ensued, and 
 Salisbury and Gortschakoff finally agreed upon terms, so that the 
 Congress met the last of June. 
 
 The course which Lord Beaconsfield took in connection with 
 this Congress was a surprise to most persons. He was himself 
 one of the Plenipotentiaries of England, Lord Salisbury being 
 the other. It was the first instance in which a Prime Minister 
 had left England, while Parliament was sitting, to act as the rep- 
 resentative of England abroad. It was an irresistible temptation 
 to one of his nature, essentially barbaric in its love of show and 
 state and pomp, and its manifestation was fitly termed "Jingo- 
 ism" by his opponents. His journey to Berlin was almost a tri- 
 umphal progress; at every station crowds turned out to look 
 upon him — the determined enemy of Russia 
 
 It suited the plans of Prince Bismarck that at this time he 
 should act as peacemaker; and he was a most effectual one. The 
 Congress of Berlin was in session but a month before the four or 
 five distinct and important questions were decided, the treaty 
 prepared and signed. Lord Beaconsfield returned home. If ho 
 had been honored when he set out upon this mission, what shall 
 we say of his reception when he returned ? It was a series of 
 ovations, from the time that he landed upon English soil until he 
 reached London. He had brought back " Peace with Honor " 
 he told the wildly enthusiastic crowds that had gathered about 
 the Foreign Ofiice to hear the popular idol speak ; and the phrase 
 wr-8 caught up, like so many others from his speeches, and ran 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 343 
 
 inditionsof 
 rdod us op- 
 was made 
 e proposed 
 
 onsiderable 
 lauces V(!ry 
 utthe Gov- 
 16 reserves, 
 srby resign- 
 ilisbury be- 
 ion that a 
 »rtscIiakoff 
 gland was 
 vith which 
 nsued, and 
 so that the 
 
 ction with 
 IS himself 
 bury being 
 
 Minister 
 as the rep- 
 iemptation 
 
 show and 
 d "Jingo- 
 nost a tri- 
 tt to look 
 
 8 time he 
 
 1 one. The 
 he four or 
 ho treaty 
 le. If ho 
 ?hat shall 
 series of 
 •il until he 
 
 Honor," 
 'ed about 
 he phrase 
 
 and ran 
 
 like wildfire. It was the highest altitude that he had yet attain- 
 ed in the minds of men. It was the highest that he was ever to 
 attain. 
 
 Meanwhile, what was the standing of Mr. Gladstone in the 
 popular estimation? In the provinces, Liberalism was still pop- 
 ular; and the Liberal chief would still have been su.'e of the 
 cheers of a great provincal meeting. But in the metropolis, 
 which often stands for the.whole country, so much more loudly 
 are its opinions expressed, he was completely overshadowed by 
 the glory of his rival. Of the great newspapers, the daily News 
 was the only one which did not laud Beaconsfield to the skies; 
 the Spectator and the Echo were allies of the News among the 
 weeklies, but there was not one besides. Nor was it the newspa- 
 pers alone that were opposed to him; they reflected the public sen- 
 timent of the city. There now came a day when this man, who 
 had held the highest office in the gift of his sovereign, and had 
 commanded an overwhelming majority of the representatives of 
 the people, could not puss through the streets of London in safe- 
 ty with his wife by his side; but was obliged to seek the shelter 
 of a friendly hall door, until the little mob of patriots returning 
 from a Jingo carnival should have ceased their threatening dem- 
 onstrations. 
 
 Secure in the consciousness of his own rectitude, Mr. Glad- 
 stone did not falter in the course which he had murked out for 
 himself, but pursued it as calmly and with as certain a step as if 
 he had been supported by such a majority as had voted with the 
 earliest measures of his Ministry. The employment of the In- 
 dian troops, who had been ordered to Malta by the Government, 
 gave rise to a spirited debate. The Chaucellor of the Exchequer 
 was accused by Mr. Gladstone of an unconstitutional act in con- 
 cealing a heavy item of expense which he know was to bo incur- 
 red; the Government ought to have consulted the House upon 
 the subject before taking any action at all. By their violation 
 of the Bill of Eights and the Indian Government act, they had 
 made a most dangerous precedent. But the clear violation of 
 the statutes was supported, as Lord Beaconsfield had calculated 
 it would be, by many whose eyes were dazzled by the glory 
 achieved in bringing home " Peace with Honor." Men had not 
 yet discovered that what was so called was, emphatically, "Peace 
 v/ithout Honor." The Government was supported by a majority 
 
 of more than a hundred when the o[uestion came to a vote, T 
 
 "V 
 
mmt 
 
 mm 
 
 in- 
 
 844 
 
 In Opposition, 
 
 Marquis of Salisbury compared his relative and predecessor, the 
 Earl of Derby, to Titus Gates ; an article of Mr. Gladstone's in tht 
 Nineteenth Century was made the pretext for a charge of treason, 
 which was gravely brought against him in the House of Com- 
 mons. But the Conservatives themselves saw that this was carry- 
 ing things a little too far; and the motion was quietly dropped. 
 Mr. Gla^'stono was " not greatly concerned" about this accusa- 
 tion; if it were treason to spoak in condemnation of the Gov- 
 ernment's course, he was determined that there should be no 
 half-way guilt; having been thus warned of the consequences. 
 he went on exactly as he had been doing. In an address deliver- 
 ed toward the last of July at a meeting of Liberals in Bermond- 
 sey,hepolntcdouttho necessity for union in the party; postponing 
 merely sectional questions, out of consideration to the elections 
 which would follow dissolution, now not long to bo delayed. He 
 spoke freely concerning the course which the Government had 
 pursued, and while ho expressed his satisfaction that it was not 
 the Liberals who had carried through such measn^es, he regret- 
 ted that there was any party in England capable of such a 
 course. 
 
 Shortly before the close of the session, a great debate upon the 
 whole of the Eastern Question was brought about by a resolu- 
 tion which Lord Hartington proposed, affirming that the House 
 was dissatisfied with the provisions of the Berlin Treaty; the 
 undefined engagements entered into by the Government having 
 imposed heavy responsibilities upon the State, with no means of 
 securing their fufiUmcnt; such engagements having been enter- 
 ed into without the knowledge or consent of Parliament. Mr. 
 Gladstone's speech on this occasion was characterized as " un- 
 surpassable for its comprehensive grasp of the subject, its lu- 
 cidity, point, and the high tone which animated it throughout." 
 Lord Bcaconsfield had alleged that his attacks upon the Govern- 
 ment constituted a personal provocation. If criticism of this 
 kind were forbidden, ho said, they might as well shut the doors 
 of the House. " The liberty of speech which we enjoy, and the 
 publicity which attends our political life and action are, I be- 
 lieve, the matters in which wo have the greatest amount of ad- 
 vantage over some other countries of the civilized world. That 
 liberty of speech is the liberty which secures all other liberties, 
 and the abridgment of which would render all other liberties 
 vain and use«ess possessions." 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 345 
 
 Butthemajorityof the Ministers were still unchanged; nndthe 
 resolutions were lost by a large adverse vote. There 
 
 .vas a 
 
 The Front. Opposit'nn Bench in a Night Session During the 
 Beaconsfield Administration, 
 
 growing fear, however, that the Imperial Policy i-f the Govern- 
 raent was working against the interests of the people; and that 
 
846 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 thoco«rsewh>ch the Ministry had marked out, would, if pursu- 
 sued to us egitimate end, make the English Parliament what 
 Napoleon III. had made the French Parliament-a merely lorm- 
 al assembly which was really powerless to resist his will 
 
 It wonld have been the part of wisdom if Beaconsfield had 
 dissolved immediately after his return from Berlin. A dissolu- 
 tion was confidently expected by all, but their expectations were 
 d.sappointed. He was urged by some of his advisers not to 
 put the country to the expense of a general election at that 
 time, as the drain caused by bad trade had been so heavy as to 
 make this course un.dvisable. It wo.ld have given him an ir- 
 rosistib.e majority had he appealed to the country in the first 
 flush of his immense popularity; but ho failed to do so. From 
 UK.tt,,ne, his star having reached its zenith, began to decline. 
 Iheie were many circumstances which combined to destroy the 
 prestige which the Ministry had acquired; some of these would 
 have operated equally against any Government which mi-^ht 
 nave been in existence at that time; but by far the greater 
 namber of reasons for the final fall of the Conservatives was 
 due to their own actions. 
 The secret engagements which the Plenipotentaries had en- 
 red into with both Eussia and Turkey becLe known, and did 
 much to rob Beaconsficld of all the honor which he had gained 
 by his pare n the treaty, ai,. perhaps more. When all was 
 known people saw that this professed enemy of Eussiu had ce- 
 ded to her all that she demanded; that of those provisions 
 of the treaty of 1856 which had been distasteful to heVno on 
 remained in force Nor was this all. To counterbalLnce the 
 concessions which had thus been made to Russia, England had 
 jeed to guarantee to Turkey all her Asiatic poss;ssiot against 
 all invasion, on condition that Turkey handed over CypL to 
 
 th':; the r" '^ \^'r ^' "'"^- ^'^"« '' -- made manife 
 
 and that '^ Peace with Honor" had been secured b/agreeinT: 
 beforehand to give the enemy what was demanded. ^ ^ ^ 
 
 Iherewere other circumstances besides this, which was not 
 wholly sufficient to hav3 accomplished such 1 result. There 
 was great depression of trade throughout the country; the 
 (government was not of course responsible for this in the first 
 place; but their policy, which had consisted so largely of a se- 
 ries of surprises, had tended to unsettle affairs and mak^ hard 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 347 
 
 times still harder through the uncertainty of the future. They 
 had not satisfied the country party, to which the Conservatives 
 are always so largely indebted ; the malt tax remained a griev- 
 ance, in spite of the strictures upon the course pursued by the 
 Gladstone Government; and thoy had bogun to clash with the 
 Homo Eulo party, which was then beginning a new life. The 
 former loader of this organization, Mr. Butt, had long been fail- 
 ing in health, and of late months his place had been supplied by 
 a young man who was destined to become far more prominent 
 than Mr. Butt— the most remarkable politician, says McCarthy, 
 who had arisen on the field of Irish politics since the day when 
 John Mitchell was conveyed away from Dublin to Bermuda, This 
 was Charles Stewart Parnell, whose obstructive policy was, during 
 this administration, highly successful. The Government was 
 blamed for allowing the course of legislation to be thus imped- 
 ed; but good-natured men of respectable ability and no great 
 force of character, like the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were 
 hnable to oomo off victor in a contest where such tactics wore 
 employed. A new chapter of the Irish Question would begin be- 
 fore the Eastern difficulty was fairly settled ; and those who dis- 
 liked the prospect blamed the Government that it should be so. 
 
 In addition to all this, there was an evident disagreement 
 among the members of the Cabinet as to the general tendency 
 of the policy of the Ministry. In his speeches in the House of 
 Lords, the Premier always endeavored to magnify his office and 
 to glorify the ambitious imperial policy which he had adopted. 
 When such a speech was made, Sir Stafford Norlhcote and Mr. 
 Cross would follow it up with explanations in the House of Com- 
 mons of all the questionable points and reduced to the must 
 practicable limits the objects of the ruling foreign policy. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone having announced his intention of retiring 
 from the representation of Greenwich at the next general elec- 
 tion, paid a farewell visit to his constituency Nov. SOth. In a 
 speech delivered before a meeting of the Liberal Association, ho 
 urged upon them the necessity for united action ; the votes 
 which the Liberal party had given to its opponent at the last 
 election were tw aty-six in number; and the Government had at 
 times been carried on for years \/ith a majority no greater. At a 
 subsequent meeting, an address was pres(!nted, expressing the 
 regret of his constituents that he should have thought it neces- 
 sary to retire from the representation of this borough. 
 
348 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 Tho position of tho Govornmcnt with regard to Russia was a 
 subject upon wliich ho dwelt with special emphasis in his reply 
 to this ati.lross, showing that wiiilo tho Oppocition had been 
 charged with undue leanings to that Power, the Ministry had been 
 the real friend of her ambition , lince it was the British Govern- 
 ment wbioh nad been concerned in the conclusion of that treaty 
 
 Sir Staford Northcote [nftenuard Earl of Iddesleigh). 
 
 which had given her all that she had lost in 1856. Passing from 
 this topic to the subject of the Afghan War, which was then just 
 begun, he blamed the Government severely for its injustice to an 
 inferior Power, on which il had forced a war. 
 
 This war was another thing which contributed to make the 
 Ministry less popular. The Ameer had declined to receive Euro- 
 pean Residents at his capital ; Russia, in violation of the treaty by 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 349 
 
 which she had covenanted to exercise no influence in Afghanis- 
 tan, sent a Mission thither, which, when the English Govern- 
 ment remonstrated, she declared was no more than a Mission of 
 courtesy. The Government " sang small to Russia," us Mr. 
 Gladstone expressed it, but dispiitched troops to Afghanistan, to 
 force the Ameer to receive an Eni^iish Resident. The war had 
 been begun upon the responsibilily of the Ministry j Parliament 
 would shortly bo called upon to divide the responsibility with 
 them J and to the people, who would soon have to indorse or re- 
 pudiate the policy of the Government, ho called for a rebuke of 
 this great injustice. His closing words are significant, not only 
 in connection with this long-past war, but considered as a com- 
 mentary upon all governmeiital action : 
 
 " It is written in the eternal laws of the universe of God that 
 sin shall be followed by suffering. An unjust war is a tremend- 
 ous sin. The question which you have to consider is whether 
 this war is just or unjust. So far as I am able to collect the evi- 
 dence, it is unjust. It fills me with the greatest alarm lest it 
 should bo proved to be grossly and totally unjust. If so, we 
 should come under the stroke of the everlasting law that suffer- 
 ing shall follow sin ; and the day will arrive, come it soon or 
 come it late, when the people of England will discover that 
 national injustice is the surest road to national downfall." 
 
 There was a short session of Parliament held in December, 
 during which there was a long debate upon this war. Mr. Glad- 
 stone's speech was a powerful arraignment of the Government for 
 the blunders and the negligence which, joined to its insane desire 
 for the extension of its imperial policy, had led to this war. The 
 vote of censure was, however, defeated ; though it is not improb- 
 able that many voted for the Government who w^ere really op- 
 posed to this war, but would not lend their voice to call for the 
 downfall of Disraeli. 
 
 A question which engaged the attention of the House of Com- 
 mons early in the session of 1879 was the claims of Greece, 
 which had been provided for by a Protocol of the Berlin Con- 
 gress; but which the English Government had taken no steps 
 toward recognizing. Mr. Gladstone supported the resolution 
 which called for an inquiry into the state of the case, and urged 
 the redemption of the pledges which had been given by England. 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that the matter was 
 one which engaged the serious attention of the Government, and 
 
350 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 n'j 
 
 10. 
 
 he hoped thai his assurance of that fact would be sufficient ibr 
 the House. It was sufficient, and the question was allowed to 
 rest upon the promise of the Government; a promise, which, we 
 need hardly say, there was never any attempt made to fulfill. 
 
 There was a debate of some importance upon the use which 
 the Beacon:sfiold Ministry had made of the Prerogative j and a 
 motion was introduced by Mr. Dillwyn, affirming that it was 
 necessary to look more strictly into the mode and limits of its 
 action, in order to correct the growing extension and abuse of it 
 by the Ministry, who had used the supposed personal interposi- 
 tion of the Sovereign to forward their policy. Mr. Gladstone 
 said that this abuse of the Prerogative had been sanctioned in 
 every case by a large majority, and that censure ought to be di- 
 rected against the whole number of members who composed that 
 majority. 
 
 After a debate upon the Zulu war, which is of little interest 
 now, wo find what is the first instance of serious conflict be- 
 tween Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell. Tiie Speaker had order- 
 ed notes of the proceedings and debates of the House to be tak- 
 en for his own private use. The Home Eulers interpreted this 
 as aimed especially against their small but active party ; and Mr. 
 Parnoll brought forward a resolution that this was contrary to 
 precedent, a broach of the privileges of Parl'ament, and a dan- 
 ger to the liberty and independence of debate. Mr. Gladstone 
 was among the first to speak upon the subject, after the resolu- 
 tion had been proposed. It was the first instance which he had 
 witnessed of a House impugning the motives of its Speaker. lie 
 demanded that the motion should be subjected to a direct nega- 
 tive ; this was done, and a majority of two hundred and sixty- 
 eight, in a House but half full, demonstrated that the Home 
 Rulers could not depend on any one but the immediate members 
 of their own party in such a question. 
 
 The Liberals, led by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Hartington, 
 made a gallant effort to abolish corporal punishment in the 
 army; but the Government, so rapidly losing prestige outside, 
 was still strong in the House ; and they were not successful. 
 
 Nor was the financial policy such as the great financier could 
 approve. The course of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in 
 submitting two budgets a year, was subversive of the principle 
 that the Government should bo immediately dependent upon 
 Parliament for a ratification of its plans in this respect. Mr. 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 861 
 
 Gladstone's donunciationa of the Government have Ijeen called 
 unmeasured and unwarruntjiblo; but surely he whoso own ox- 
 cellence in this dopurtment of the Administration has never been 
 questioned was entitled to judge of the success which others had 
 attained, and the measure of praise or censure which justly be- 
 longed to them. He had done the work well ; the present Gov- 
 ernment was not content until it had reversed every point of his 
 domestic policy. The future pointed out which was the wiser 
 course. 
 
 John Sfunrt Mill. 
 
 Ii would seem, indeed, that the Conservative party has never 
 possessed the wisdom of the Liberals, in dealing witf« questions 
 which affect the domestic policy of the Government. The Tories 
 have never led in such matters, but have been content to follow, at 
 long distances in some cases, in the footsteps of their rivals on 
 the path of i form. Part of this disposition is doubtless duo to 
 the composition of the party, which includes many timid and 
 fearful souls. Some there are, as Mr. Gladstone once pointed out 
 in speaking of S'w Eobert Peel and other leaders, who have been 
 as far advanced as the Libera! leaders themselves ; but there is 
 
I 
 
 352 
 
/; Opposition, 
 
 863 
 
 much meaning in John Stuart Mill's dictum regarding this party. 
 He had been accused of saying that they were all stupid. " 1 
 did not say that all Conservatives were stupid," he replied, with 
 elaborate euro; *' what I did say was that all stupid people are 
 Consorvativoa." 
 
 The House of Commons was becoming demoralized. What 
 would have boon tho case if Mr. Disraeli hud retained the leader- 
 ship, it is impossible to say j but Sir Stallord Northcote generally 
 tried to bo strong where he ought to have been yielding, and 
 was frequently compelled to be yielding where he ought to have 
 boon utrong. A scheme for university education in Ireland was 
 brought in by the Government, which was really a mutilation of 
 Mr. Gladstone's rejected measure. It was carried through both 
 Houses vory quickly, and ■''-e Ministers flattered themselves that 
 they had secured tho attachment of tho Irish witliout alienating 
 their Conservative suppo'ers in Great Britain. But tho Irish 
 were n(>t conciliated by a iaw which did net concede nearly 
 enough of their dom?. i' ■; ; and many of the Non-conformists were 
 oflFendod oven by this moderate measure. 
 
 Tho Liberals loudly demanded dissolution Tho Parliament 
 would expire by limitation the next year, and many of the Op- 
 position, among whom Mr. Gladstone was the most prominent, 
 urged that tho Parliament ought not to run to its full length. 
 But the Government would not listen to this argument; indeed, 
 the persistency with which they shut their ears to it caused the 
 frequent remark that they wore afraid to meet the people at the 
 polls. This once said, it was eagerly caught up by the Liberals, 
 who insisted vehemently thai all they wished was an appeal to 
 the people. Perhaps in their hearts thoy wore not at all certain 
 of the effect of such an appeal j but thoy kept up a bold front 
 and persistently demanded dissolution. Tho more the challenge 
 was repeated, the more tho Government held back. Tho result 
 of several byo-elections during the autumn of 1879 and the suc- 
 ceeding winter revived the spirits of the Conserv.-itives, which 
 hs>,d begun to droop under tho persistent boasts of the rival par- 
 ty ; ar"* of course had the opposite effect upon the Liberals. It 
 mattered little that in the most notable of these Conservative 
 victories tho question had been ono of en luther JxziX of par- 
 ties, and that the personal popularity of the su:3essful candidate 
 was such that defeat would have been most improbable; the ef- 
 fect upon the parties was the same 
 
 23 
 
i m 
 
 
 w m 
 
 
 I 1 
 
 
 
 
 ' 1 li 
 1 
 
 ■ 
 
 1 i 
 
 
 354 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 355 
 
 Becoming the candidate for Midlothian, in the latter part of 
 the year 1879 Mr. Gladstone visited Scotland and poured out 
 the floods of his eloquence in vigorous attacks on the Govern- 
 ment and its policy. His progress through "the land o' cakes" 
 was a continued ovation from all classes. Beceptions, proces- 
 sions, illuminations, followed one after the other, while the 
 "Grand Old Man" delivered his most telling and sledge-hammer- 
 like blows upon his opponents. Scotland has generally been 
 loyal to her eminent son, and it seemed as if the enthusiasm of 
 the people knew no bounds. 
 
 Eeturned to the House by his \k\mi\ triumphant majority, Par- 
 liament met in Fobrujiry, and there was no promise of a dis- 
 solution before the expiration of the legal term. It was to be 
 a fair working session, the Government declared. Suddenly, to 
 the surprise of all, it was announced that they had accepted Mr. 
 Gladstone'^ challenge; they would dissolve at the Easter recess. 
 The dissolution accordingly took place March 24th, 1880, and 
 writs were at once issued for a new election. For a graphic de- 
 scription of the result, the reader is advised to turn back to the 
 page where Mr. Disraeli's words are quoted as the most eloquent 
 account of the rout of the Opposition in Lord Derby's time. 
 Put "Ministerial" in place of "Opposition," and the change 
 makes it entirely applicable. 
 
 With all the buoyancy of youth, Mr. Gladstone immediately 
 returned to Scotland, and the scenes of his just previous visit 
 and election were gone through with again, with, if possible, 
 more enthusiasm than before. Speech followed speech, and po- 
 litical excitement raged in all its intensity. Of the result here 
 and over the whole kingdom, there is no need to speak. Local 
 influence and opposition in every shape were doomed to igno- 
 minious failure. Young Lord Eosebery, standing by his side on 
 the balcony of the Eosebery mansion at Edinburgh on the even- 
 ing of April 5th, declared to the delighted populace heaving and 
 cheering below, that "it was a great night for Midlothian, for 
 Scotland, for Great Britain, and for the world," whilst a wag in 
 the crowd capped the climax by adding, "and a bad night for 
 Dizzy." 
 
 For the very first day of the election demonstrated that the 
 Conservatives would be defeated. The certainty was made more 
 apparent as time went on ; defeat became disaster; disaster be- 
 came utter rout. The Liberals came back to power with a ma- 
 
356 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 jority of u hundred and twenty— unparalleled in the history of 
 the party. 
 
 There had been one man who had brought this about, by a 
 persistence under defeat which had scarcely been rivalled by 
 Bcaconsfield himself. When others would have sat still, folding: 
 their hands when they saw that failure was inevitable at the 
 
 Mr. Gladstone Speaking at Lurd Ruxebenjs Huuse after the Election. 
 
 time, ho had labored. " Tic had draij^.ujcd his party after him 
 into many a daiit^er. Ho had compelled thorn more than once 
 to fight where many of them would fain have held back, and 
 whore none of them saw any chance of victory. Now, at last, 
 the battle had boon given into his hands, and it was a matter of 
 necessity that the triumph should bring back to power the man 
 whof,"! energy and oloqucucc bad inspired the struggle," To him 
 
In Opposition. 
 
 357 
 
 all cyos in Britain were turned as the next Prime Minister. 
 But the Queen, whose shining domestic virtues arc not incom- 
 patible with an overweening appreciation of her own dignity, 
 
 Chance/for Norfhcote Announcinrj the Dissolution of Parliament. 
 
 could not forgive the overthrow of the Minister who had done 
 so much to magnify the respect paid her. To Beaconsficld she 
 owed, not only the empty title of ''Empress of India," but a 
 more real extension of the power of the Crov;n, since his Gov- 
 
358 
 
 In Opposition. 
 
 eminent had so frequently invoked the royal Prerogative. To 
 the man who had opposed su^h measures, and successfally, she 
 was not willing to accord the reward which the popular voice 
 would have given him. The Liberals must certainly have the 
 direction of affairs; but Mr. Gladstone should not be at the head 
 of the now Ministry. The post was offered to Lord Hartington, 
 , the chosen leader of the party and the chief figure in the Oppo- 
 sition—whenever Mr. Gladstone was absent. But the noble Mar- 
 quis declined the offer of the post, and assured Her Majesty that 
 there was only one Liberal Premier possible. The Queen was 
 obdurate, and persisted. Lord Granville, the leading Liberal in 
 the House of Lords, was sent for; he attended Her Majesty, but 
 declined, like his Commoner associate, to receive the command 
 to form a Ministry; there was but one man, he assured the 
 Queen, who could fill that position. The ease was a hopeless 
 one. The Liberal party was indeed united in this hour of tri- 
 umph. The Queen sent for Mr. Gladstone at last, and command- 
 ed him to form a Cabinet. There was no hesitation this time. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 
 Great Liberal Majority-Importance of the Irish Question-Mr. Bradlaugh in 
 Parlmment-Lord Kandolph Churchill-Great Expectations from the 
 Gladstone Ministry- Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro-Claims 
 ot Greece-Trying to .Adjust Domestic Taxes-Game Laws-Post-office 
 Department-Illness of Mr. Gladstone-Irish Land Law not Satisfactory 
 -Peace Preservation Act-Irish Evictions-Home Rulers-Land League 
 -Long Debate-Coercion B'^.s-Eloquent Speech of John Bright-Mem- 
 orable Scene m the House of Commons-Ludicrous Incidents-Mr Par- 
 nell and Irish Legislation-Final Passage of the Irish Bill. 
 ^^HE Immense majority which had swept Mr. Gladstone into 
 {^ power did not remove the first difficulty which presented 
 ^ itself after his appointment as First Minister of the 
 Crown. If he had had about six Cabinets to form, it might 
 have been all very well; but having only one, there was con- 
 siderable difficulty in deciding upon the rival claims of the many 
 men who were thought to be entitled to positions in it. Of 
 course Lord Hartingtoi, who had been the leader of the Lib- 
 eral party under peculiarly trying circumstances, being con- 
 stantly overshadowed by Mr. Gladstone himself, who could not 
 keep away from the House of Commons or political life in gen- 
 eral, must be included in it; equally certain was it that Lord 
 Granville must bo offered a post of importance. Mr. Bright was 
 likewise necessary; and, much to the dismay of the Whigs, the 
 Eadicals demanded recognition. Eadicalism was indeed what 
 had helped to swell the Liberal majority more than any other 
 element except the party itself; Radicalism was too formidable 
 an ally to be offended ; it would be better to let the Whigs growl. 
 Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke were the most promin- 
 ent men of this party, and they agreed that each would heartily 
 support the other. The former was accordingly made Presi- 
 dent of the Board of Trade, and the latter, for whom no seat in 
 the Cabinet eouid be found, was made Under-Secretary for For- 
 eign Affairs. 
 Lord Granville being Foreign Secretary, Lord Hartington, 
 
 359 
 
,1 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 361 
 
 sSecrotary for India, and Mr. Bright, Chancellor of the Duchy of 
 Lancaster, there was but one more office of importance to the 
 after history of the Ministry. This was filled by Mr. Forster as 
 Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. 
 
 The Irish Question was indeed one of importance. It was the 
 prime cause of the late unexpected dissolution; and Lord Bea- 
 consfield had characterized the Home Rule movement as "scarce- 
 ly less disastrous than pestilence and famine." Perhaps support 
 of that movement waa the legitimate outgrowth of that anti- 
 imperialism which had brought the Liberals back to power; it 
 became later the cause ^f division in the party which material- 
 ly increased the strength of a Conservative Government, and de- 
 layed still longer the justice for which Ireland had been crying 
 out so long. The Irish vote, while it was not large enough in 
 many constituencies to send a representative to Parliament, was 
 yet often the casting vote between Liberals and Conservatives. 
 In the election of 1880 their voice was wholly for the Liberals; 
 not because they were Liberals, but because they were not To- 
 ries, "Anything to beat Bcaconsfield," was the motto under 
 which they i-a!lied ; if we may be permitted so to parody a cam- 
 paign battle-cry of American politics. 
 
 The places in the Cabinet having all been filled, there were 
 some men omitted who must be placated ; and to these a title 
 wasoffered. Among them, Mr. Lowe was the chief. Mr. Lowowas 
 not reliable as a supporter of his chief; he was too incapable of 
 sacrificing his own opinion or abandoning his own ideas ever to 
 become a successful assistant to any minister; Mr. Gladstone 
 had tried to get on with him, but was well assured by that ex- 
 perience that it would be much easier to get on without him. 
 Mr. Lowo accordingly disappeared from the House of Com- 
 mons as Lord Sherbrooke took his seat in the House of Lords. 
 But the bitter, brilliant speaker, a man of splendid gifts and 
 wide and original ideas, as well as profoundly cultured, seemed 
 to find the atmosphere of the Upper House anything but stimu- 
 latin--^. He sank into a state which was almost apathy, as com- 
 pared with the finriness of Mr. Lowe, and he seldom addressed 
 the Peers upon the subjects of debate. 
 
 Among the most remarkable circumstances attending this 
 change of Ministry, was the conversion of Lord Derby. This 
 nobleman had, as wo have already seen, held no mean post in 
 the late Conservative Cabinet, wnich he had resigned when he saw 
 
•t \ 
 
 362 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 that the coui-ho which the Foreign Minister was expected to par- 
 sue was one which he could not follow. He was openly compared 
 to Titus Oates by a political ally and a near relative; but Lord 
 Salisbury, in so resenting his change of political opinions, was 
 apparently oblivious of the fact that his chief had begun life as 
 a Radical of the most pronounced type. At any rate, the Earl 
 of Derby now ranked himself as a Liberal Peer. 
 
 There had been other changes than this. Mr. Bright, who had 
 been regarded as a Eadical of the Eadicals, when he first came in- 
 
 Lo7'd Granville. 
 to political prominence, had paled into compai'ative conservatism 
 beside the new apostles of that school, of whom Mr. Chamber- 
 lain was the accepted representative. Sir Charles Dilke, who 
 had openly announced himself as a Ecpublican, and been stern- 
 ly rebuked therefor by Mr. Gladstone, had now softened his be- 
 lief so far as to accept a post in Mr. Gladstone's Ministry. 
 
 Lord Sclborne's political views, on the other hand, had been 
 modified as gradually as Mr. Gladstone's own ; and even at this 
 date, he did not admit that he was altogether a Liberal, but 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 363 
 
 styled himself a Liberal-Conservative. As Sir Eound 11 Palmer, 
 ho had opposed the action of the Ministry in the disestablish- 
 
 Members of a New Parliament Signing the Roll. 
 
 ment of the Irish Church ; but he had proved himself a sound 
 lawyer and an honorable politician ; so that his appointment as 
 Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the G-reat Seal was felt to be a 
 real recognition of desert. 
 
364 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry/. 
 
 Great interest was awakened during this session concerning the 
 admission of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh to the House of Commons. 
 He vfzs born near London in 1833, of very poor parents, and early 
 gave promise of a remarkable career. Having become an atheist, 
 and being widely known as a writer and speaker upon atheistical 
 subjects, his next achievement was to obtain an election tv. \irlia- 
 ment. On the 3d of May he presented himself at the table of the 
 House of Commons, and said that he wished to be allowed to make 
 affirmation, instead of taking the oath in the usual manner. His 
 reason was well known to be his aversion to acknowledging the 
 supremacy of the Christian religion, or, indeed, any religion at all, 
 as he must do in taking an oath. 
 
 The Speaker declined to take the responsibility of a decision, and 
 left the matter to the judgment of the House. It was proposed to 
 appoint a select committee to decide the question, and the motion 
 was approved by the Opposition as well as by the Government. 
 The Government, however, aroused the indignation of the House 
 ay proposing the names of several members who had recently taken 
 oflSce, and were therefore not in the strictest sense members of the 
 House, since they were obliged to go before their constituents again. 
 The ministry was accused of weakness in its desire to hurry matters, 
 and the accusation was perhaps not undeserved. After a sharp 
 debate, however, the Government carried its point, and the com- 
 mittee was nominated. 
 
 Mr. Bradlaugh had claimed the right to make an affirmation 
 under the Parliamentary Oaths Act; but the committee decided, 
 by the casting vote of the chairman, that Mr. Bradlaugh did not 
 belong to the privileged classes of Moravians and Quakers, who 
 Vi'ere the persons for whose benefit this act had been passed. 
 
 This was an unexpected difficulty for the Government, which 
 had fully expected the decision to be favorable to Mr. Bradlaugh. 
 The Opposition flattered itself that it had got rid of Mr. Bradlaugh, 
 but now arose a new difficulty. Mr. Bradlau'^h presented himself 
 at the table of the House of Commons again and announced that 
 he was readv to take the oath. 
 
 A new committee was appointed, and this authority decided that 
 Mr. B-radlaugh ought not to be permitted to take the oath, though 
 it might be wise to let him affirm. Mr. Labouchce, his colleague 
 
ning the 
 ommoiis. 
 iiid early 
 1 atheist, 
 tbeistieal 
 ^ ^irlia- 
 le of the 
 to make 
 er. His 
 ging the 
 on at all, 
 
 sion, and 
 jposed to 
 e motion 
 ernment. 
 le House 
 tly taken 
 rs of the 
 its again. 
 '• matters, 
 r a sharp 
 the com- 
 
 firraation 
 
 decided, 
 
 did not 
 
 :ers, who 
 
 it, which 
 "adlaugh. 
 'adlaugh, 
 1 hiniself 
 iced that 
 
 lided that 
 1, though 
 colleague 
 
 365 
 
866 
 
 The Second Oladstone Ministry. 
 
 In the representation of Nortlmmpton, otfereil n it-solution declaring 
 his rigiit to make aiHrniation. This resolution war- nuppor<«Hl by 
 the Prime Minister; but thia measure, the first trial of strengtn 
 between the Ministry and the Opposition, if a question which 
 involved no part of the Government's policy could be so coiled 
 res< ilted in a defeat to the Cabinet's cause. Tl'e resolution was lost by 
 a vote of two hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and thirty. 
 
 But Mr. Bradlaugh was not willing to accept defeat. On the 
 following day he presented himself at the table to be sworn. The 
 Spea'cer gravely informed him of the resolution of the House, and 
 re<iuested him to withdraw. He claimed the privilege of being 
 hoaid at the bar of the House, and this he was not refused. His 
 speech was an eloquent one, but it did not avail him. Advancing 
 at its conclusion to the table, he again demanded that the oath be 
 administered; the sergeant-at-arms touched him on the shoulder, 
 and he again retired below the bar, but nly to advance and plead, 
 from the very floor of the House, for wh.it he believed to be hi • 
 right. The S[>eaker appealed to the House, and Mr. Bradlaugh 
 was arrested in due form. 
 
 He was not kept under restraint for a long time, h(>wever, but 
 was released in the course of the week. Immediately upon his 
 release, the Government introduced a resolution to the effect that 
 any one claiming the privilege of making an affirmaaon should be 
 allowed to do so, at his own risk of the statutory penalties provided 
 in case of any one not duly qualified to sit and vote, attempting to 
 do so. This resolution was carried, and under it Mr. Bradlaugh 
 was finally rd lowed to take his seat. An action was immediately 
 brought against him, however, to recover he£.vy penalties for having 
 sat ana voted without having previously taken the oath. As the 
 penalty for each vote so cast was £500, the sum claimed rapidly 
 grew to tremendous proportions. 
 
 The Bradlaugh episode was a windfall to the Conservatives, dis- 
 heartened as they had been by the severe losses in the late election. 
 They saw that the immense Liberal majority was not a sure support 
 of the Government ; that the party was not really as united as the 
 leader would have had it. It was an unexpected source of strength ; 
 if not of absolute ■nowfsr in debate it was yet a powerful 
 with which to annoy tlie JMinistry. 
 
 
The Second Gkuhtone Ministry. 
 
 J67 
 
 There waa yet another effect of *ie Bradlaugh controverHv. Ont 
 of it arose the Fourth Party, as .. was called, derisively at first. 
 In the House of Commons th.re was the sou of a great Tory duke, 
 to whom uohody had ever paid much attention. He had boeu 
 listened to, of couise, but simply beoau3e he was the son of the 
 
 Lffi'd Randolph Churchill. 
 
 Duke of Marlborough ; not for any interest which he had been 
 able to excite by his speeches. This was a golden oppovtrnity, 
 and 'le seized upon it. He was the bitter opponent of the atheistic 
 claimant of a seat, -"..id of the Government which suppofte<l that 
 cla: m. 
 
 All the members laughed at the young Lord Randolph Churchill, 
 as they have laughed in other days at many who became famous in 
 spte of the laughter; remembering Burke and Disraeli, Lord 
 
368 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 Randolph paid no attention to the ridicule, and spoke when he 
 pleased ; he also said what he pleased, regardless of the Conserva- 
 tive traditions whicli were constantly being thrown at his head. 
 He soon found adherents. In the days of the Adullamites, Mr. 
 Bright liad quoted authorities to prove that two men might con- 
 stitute a party : Lord Randolph had a superabundance of followers, 
 reckoned on that basis, for, including the leader, the Fourth l*arty 
 soon numbered four members. These fated invigorators of the 
 enervated To'-y Party were Sir Henry Wolff, Mr. Gorst and Mr. 
 Arthur Balfour. 
 
 When the intentions of the new party were announced by its 
 leaders, the gentlemen sitting on the Treasury benches were accus- 
 tomed to smile in a good-natured sort of way, as indulgent elders 
 smile at wayward children; the gentUmen on the opposite side of 
 the House would reflect this smile; and perhaps it would often 
 extend to the small Third Party, the Parnellites. But this was 
 soon changed. They saw that the Conservative jiarty, since Sir 
 Stafford Northcote had succeeded Mr. Disraeli as its leader in the 
 House of Commons, had lost "all of its passion and most oi" its 
 vitality," Its chief characteristic, says a keen-sighted critic, ap- 
 peared to be a " comprehpnsive amiability." But there was noth- 
 ing amiable about the Fourth Party, politically considered. It 
 was their business to annoy and obstruct the Government ; and 
 their perseverance and unflagging energy certainly entitled them 
 to the success which they obtained. 
 
 Passing now from the diflSculties which encompassed the Gov- 
 ernment in its foreign policy, we come to the domeiitlc legislation. 
 It was but a broken sess'ou, and theie was not much accomplished 
 in this direction. The supplementary budget wis introduced by 
 Mr. Gladstone early in June; the Premier holding the double 
 oftice of First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer. It was proposed to reduce the tax on liglit foreign wines, 
 to re-adjust the tax upon alcoholic liquors; to abolish the malt-tax, 
 and substitute a duty upon beer; and to supply the deficiency 
 which these changes Avould create by adding a penny to the 
 income tax. 
 
 This budget was accepted with slight modifications, though then; 
 waa some dissatisfaction expressed that it said nothing about the 
 
Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 369 
 
 Indian deficiency ; Mr. Gladstone stating in the speech with whicli 
 lie introduced the financial scheme of the Government, that he was- 
 not as yet prepare(? to make any statement on that subject. 
 
 The old measure to permit the burial of Non-conformists in 
 church yards with the rites of the sect to which their friends be- 
 longed was again brought forward this session. It originated iu 
 the House of Lords and was finally carried. 
 
 iliis session. 
 
 "S'lV William Vernon Harcour*. 
 
 Other very important legislation was carried 
 Among this was an amendment to the iniquitous game laws. 
 Hitherto no tenant farmer dared kill a hare or rabbit, no matter 
 how his crops wore damaged, and these pests were preserved for 
 the landlords' sport. Harcourts' " Hare and Rabbit Bill," how- 
 ever, gave the right to the tcnan.t to kill in fiertain seasons and 
 made such right inalienable. There was also a n-easure for the 
 
 remission of cumulative penalties for failure to vaccinate, but the 
 24 
 
370 
 
 Tlie I? lond 0-ladstone Ministry. 
 
 Government "'as obliged to withdraw it, as it was bitterly opposed 
 by many L. als as well as Conservatives. The Government 
 also brought forward a bill to regulate the responsibility of em- 
 ployei-s with regard to accidents by which their workmen might 
 be injured. Under the old law, an employer was not responsible 
 unless the accident were proved to be the result of his direct personal 
 negligence ; the bill thus introduced made his immediate delegate 
 or person implied as such, his full representative. 
 
 While this bill did not go far enough to please the advocates of 
 the workingmen, it went too far to please the Lords, who desired 
 to limit its operation to the term of two years. The Commons 
 extended this to seven, when the bill came down again with the 
 amendment of the Peers, and the Upper Chamber accepted this 
 compromise. 
 
 This action was perhaps due to the fact that the workingman 
 was represented 'in this Parliament as he had never been before. 
 T^'' r the first time in English history, men who had supported 
 themselves and their families by actual manual labor sat !i the 
 House of Commons, and took part in the councils of the nation. 
 There had been theorists there, who had contended for the rights 
 of the lower classes as something in which they took a kintlly 
 interest or which they advocated because, without any speeia 
 regard for the workingman individually, they saw that his welfare 
 meant the welfare of all other classes ; out never before had one 
 of themselves spoken for him. It was the direct result, Jie ultra 
 Tories told each other, of that Reform Bill, which had been 
 entirely too sweeping in its provisions ; and the Tory advocates of 
 the Reform Bill were forced to admit that it was. Of course the 
 workingmen sat on the benches at the right of the Speaker, and 
 that made it all the worse. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett made a number of propositions in connection witli 
 the Post Office Department, over which he j)resided. With that 
 same resolute determination which put aside his blindness as no 
 insuperable bar to political prominence, he had mastered the details 
 of his work, and had seen clearly what clianges were needed. 
 Perhaps the best tribute to the wisdom of the measures which ho 
 proposed is to be f')und in their speedy passage. They were recog- 
 nized as things which the public demanded, and as valuable aids to 
 
Tfie Second Gladstone Ministry. 371 
 
 increasing the prosperity of the people. The Post Office Savings 
 Banks which Mr. Gladstone had advocated so strongly in 1861 had 
 proved a great success ; and Mr. Fawcett secured the extension of 
 tneir influence. He also passed a bill providing for the issuing of 
 Postal Notes, similar to those which were subsequently introduced 
 into use in this country. 
 
 The proposal to erect a tablet in Westminster Abbey to the 
 memory of the young Prince Imperial, who had been killed a 
 year before in the Zulu war, excited intense opposition among 
 those members who had been so bitterly opposed to Napoleon 
 111., and the motion was not carried. A debate which was not 
 of much interest otherwise, and of no more importance than 
 this nieasu-e, was the nomination of M. Challemel Lacour as 
 Frencn embassador to England. Mr. O'Donnell having attacked 
 tlie proposed representative of France for his actions during the 
 Commune Mr. Gladstone moved that Mr. O'Donnell be no longer 
 heard. This was a revival of a custom which had not been in 
 use for more than two centuries, and was adversely commented 
 on at the time, as tending to recall the days of the first Stuarts 
 
 In the latter part of July Mr. Gladstone fell ill. His disease 
 proved to be but a slight fever; but for a few days there was 
 intense anxiety regarding him. Visitors thronged tlie door of 
 the house in Do-nf„. street, among whom Lord Beaconsfield 
 was a conspicuous figure. His medical advisers forbiddino- him to 
 return to political life for a time, upon his partial recovery he 
 acceptecl the use of Sir Donald Currie's vessel. ^Grantullv Cas- 
 tle, and did not return to Parliament until Sept. 4th. His place 
 m the House of Commons as leader of the Government, was of 
 course fi led by Lord Hartington, who plodded along with that 
 sturdy determination which has always been characterisfc of 
 Ins political life. 
 
 The Indian Budget was brought before the House during Mr 
 Gladstone's absence. There was, as had been supposed, an enor" 
 mous deficit. Lord Hartington declined to make any definite 
 statement as to how this was to be met until the exact amount 
 was known : but it wa. proposed to supply the deficiency tern- 
 porarily by means of loans. 
 
 In connection with the session of 1880, there remains one sub- 
 
372 
 
 Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 ject to be noticed ; a subject whicb was brought up first in the 
 Queen's speech, and which at tlie close oi' the session was left in 
 
 1 
 
 Lmd Hariing'on. 
 
 nrettv mnch the same state as it was at the beginnine:. This was 
 nothing else than the Irish Question. If the spirit of all the men 
 who ever sat iu the House of Commons could be assembled in 
 
The Second Crladsfone Ministry. 
 
 373 
 
 ghostly conclave, they would, from sheer force of habit, fall to 
 discussing the Irish question; it is the only topic which could 
 interest all, from the days of King John to the days of Queen 
 Victoria; other wrongs have been redressed, other rights have 
 been asserted and maintained ; the rights and wrongs of Ireland 
 and Ireland alone, are the unfailing source of the waters of strife. 
 
 The first Gladstone Ministry had passed two measures which 
 were intended to give the long-delayed justice to the unfortun?^te 
 sister-island, and had fallen on the attempt to pass a third. But 
 the Land Law then passed was far from being satisfactory. What 
 were known as the Bvight clauses, intended to make the pur- 
 chase of land by the tenant possible, were found especially im- 
 practicable. By the law disestablishing the Irish Church it was 
 arranged that the church tenants who wished to buy their hold- 
 ings outright should be allowed to do so, certain very easy terms 
 being arranged. 
 
 Mr. Bright endeavored to incorporate something of the same 
 kind in the general Land Law ; but the land was so encumbered 
 with tithe-charges, and quit-rents, and drainage charges, that there 
 was a constant wrangle between the original holders and the pur- 
 chasers. Besides this, the necessity for a strict investigation of the 
 title, and other expenses of the transfer, sometimes amounted to as 
 much as thirty per cent, of the whole value ; for the law required 
 the title to be a Landed Estates Court document, which is abso- 
 lutely binding, no matter what claims may be made after the con- 
 veyance. The Government had aimed to establish a class of peasant 
 proprietors ; but the scheme was an impracticable one. 
 
 There was really but one thing accomplished by this act, and 
 that was the establishment of the Ulster system of tenant-right, 
 as far as a custom varying on each estate could be reduced to a 
 general system. That was I it one of the things at which the Gov- 
 ernment aimed. Something at which they did uot aim, but which 
 the la,w did, nevertheless, was the fresh impetus v/hich was thus 
 given to the Land Question. The Irish began to feel that this 
 was not all that would be done ; that there really was some hope 
 of a better time coming. 
 
 The Queen's speech at the opening of the session made one 
 most important announcement with regard to Irish affairs. The 
 
V - 
 
 374 
 
 The Second Ghdstone Ministry. 
 
 Peace Preservation Act v/ould uot be renevvetl. This meant that 
 the ordinary law would be allowed to take its course, and the 
 Govern tnent would try to rule Ireland without resorting to coer- 
 cion. Another important point was the promise that the borou<;h 
 franchise of Ireland should be extended. Notable as these prom- 
 ises were, the Irish leaders were scarcely satisfied, however ; there 
 should be something done to stay evictions, they thought, since 
 these had increased in an alarming ratio of late years. 
 
 The Irish members made a gallant attempt to perform the 
 duty for which they had been elected, in preparing a bill for the 
 purpose of staying evictions. This the government refused to 
 accept ; but proposed in place of it a Compensation for Disturb- 
 ance bill, which adopted some of their suggestions. In cases 
 where a non-payment of rent was due to insolvency caused by a 
 failure of crops, the county court judges were authorized to allow 
 compensation. Mr. Forster explained to the House that this 
 was simply an extension of the act of 1870, and denied that it 
 was a concession to the anti-rent agitation. At the same time he 
 admitted that since 1877 the annual rate at which evictions had 
 increased was nearly double that of previous years. 
 
 The bill passed the House of Commons after a protracted de- 
 bate, and went up to the Lords. But the Peers did not see as the 
 Commons^: did, and rejected it by an immense majority. The vio- 
 lence with which many evictions had been resisted, and the out- 
 rages which had been perpetuated in revenge for the wrongs in- 
 flicted, in the eyes of the peasants, by the landlord class, were an 
 insup rable bar to any favorable consideration of the claims of 
 the Irish. Perhaps, had this measure passed the Lords, there 
 would have been less agitation in Ireland since that time ; but 
 after the lapse of a decade the same state of affairs obtained. 
 
 Thvj Irish members pleaded vainly with the Government for 
 some resistance of this fiat of the Peers. The most that the Min- 
 istry would do was to promise a comprehensive measure next 
 session with a committee, for the present, to inquire into the agri- 
 cultural condition of the country. Perhaps the Ministers, in t'le 
 absence of their chief, hesitated to take any decided action ; and 
 certainly such action, taken by Hartington, would have had much 
 less weight than if Gladstone had insisted upon it. 
 
Tlie Second Gladstone Ministri/. 
 
 375 
 
 The Home Rulers were of course bitterly opposed to this 
 quiescence, and did not hesitate to say so, in many speeches which 
 the Government considered inflammatory ; and this judgment was 
 perhaps not without foundation. The Ministry had made the 
 mistake of not cousuli-ng a single Irish member in connection with 
 
 fcf-a^ S-;^,_«=g^ I'-^^S^* -^ "-i 
 
 Hon. Edward Forster. 
 
 its Irish policy ; incredible as it may seem, not even those moder- 
 ate members, who, under the leadership of Mr. Shaw, 5at and. 
 voted with the Liberals, were treated as political friends an 1 allies 
 in this respect. 
 Among the speeches outside of Parliament which thus aroused 
 
376 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 the ire of the Government waa one delivered by Mr. Dillon, in 
 which he called upon the young farmers of Ireland to defend those 
 wiio were threatened with eviction. The attention of the Irish 
 Secretary having been called to this speech, he denounced it '•s 
 wicked and cowardly. Mr. Dillon replied ; Mr. Forster retorted. 
 Then camo one debate after auother, upon Irish topics; during one 
 of these discussions, the Secretary took occasion to defend the Irish 
 constabulary for the use of buck-shot as ammunition, and thus built 
 himself an everlasting name, as " Buckshot Forster." 
 
 Parliament was prorogued September 7th, noth'ng of import- 
 ance havmg been done toward the settlement of this vexed ques- 
 tion. But the Land Leaguers were not silenced. The tenants were 
 advised to form a sort of protective union, for the purpose of oppos- 
 ing a passive resistance to evictions, and also to the exactic n of an 
 unjust amount of rent over the valuation authorized by the Par- 
 liament of 1824, And finally made in 1852. 
 
 The leaders of the Land League were anxious to avoid all vio- 
 lation of the law; and hence a strictly legal mode of freezing 
 out the obnoxious landlords and agents was resorted to. This 
 was called, from the name of the first victim, " Boycotting ; " and 
 was an ingenious means of evading the letter of the law, worthy 
 of an Irisn man's quick wit. 
 
 Still there were outrages, though the Land League claimed that 
 it did all in its power to prevent them. '* While we abuse coer- 
 cion, we must not be guilty of coercion," was the principle which 
 Davitt and his associates constantly enunciated ; but there was 
 much for which the Government held them responsible ; and the 
 trouble culminated in a State prosecution of fifteen prominent 
 members of the society, among whom Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, 
 Sexton, Sullivan and Biggar, all members of Parliament, were 
 of course included. The charge was seditious conspiracy, but the 
 jury was unable to agree, and the trial came to nothing. 
 
 At the end of the session of 1880, Mr. Forster had said that the 
 Gover'^ment would introduce an Irish Land Bill a: ■ a Coercion 
 Bill the next session. He intimated that coercion would precede 
 
 1/1n.1Q1o4■i/^n nn +V>P ^anA nr.oafmn Tbo TriaVi mpmhprfl vvprp hiirdlv 
 
 surprised then, when at the opening of the session of 1881, the 
 Queen's speech declared that the multiplication of agrarian crimes. 
 
Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 377 
 
 and the insecurity of life and property in Ireland demanded coer- 
 cive measures. On the otlier iiaud it wa.< admitted that the con- 
 dition of Ireland called for an extension of the Land Act of 1870. 
 
 MoLuay, January 24th, Mr. Forster introduced his first coer- 
 cion measure. Liberals and Conservatives alike loolc^d at his 
 statistics of outrages perpetrated in Ireland with horror, until Mr. 
 Labouchere showed that in most cases one outrage was made to 
 stand for several, by multiplying ''t by the number of men con- 
 cerned with it. This somewhat weakened the force of the argu- 
 ment based on the statistics, but Mr. x^'orster did not look upon it 
 in that light. The bill gave the Lord Lieutenant the power of 
 arresting any one who was suspected of treasonable practices, and 
 tho commission of crimes of intimidation, or incitement thereto. 
 It was an ex-post facto law, as it did not limit the arrest to those 
 who had offended after the passage of the Mil. 
 
 On the day after the introduction of this bill, Mr. Gladstone 
 moved to declare urgency for the coercion bills, and thus give 
 them precedence over all other business. Then ensued a series 
 of sittings without precedent in the history of Parliament. The 
 first sitting of the House at which this was the business of the 
 hour wa& prolonged, not only all night, but until two o'clock the 
 next afternoon. The debate was resumed on Thursday, with a 
 speech from Mr. Bright. The Radical of the old school had long 
 been regarded as a friend to Home Rule, and it had been confi- 
 dently asserted that the silence which he had hitherto preserved 
 upon this all-absorbing topic was due to his disapproval of the 
 course which his colleagues were pursuing. But if this opinion 
 really obtained, it was most effectually dissipated by this speech. 
 The Land League had oeen compared to the anti-Corn Law 
 League, and the impression that Mr. Bright was a devoted friend 
 of the Irish was perhaps due in no small degree to this compari- 
 son. But now he angrily denied the parallel, and with more than 
 his usual vehemence literally flung himself upon the Irish party. 
 The Irish national press was exasperated to find Mr. Bright thus 
 decisively arrayed upon the side of their enemies ; he was the last 
 link thac had bound the extreme Irish party to tae vjovernnient ; 
 and now that had been snapped. 
 
 But Mr. Bright's speech, eloquent as it was in its fierce denun- 
 
378 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 ciatious of the Land Leaguers, was completely overshadowed by 
 one from Mr. Gladstone the next day, upoi« the same subject. 
 His speech was a justification of coercion in the disorganized con- 
 dition of Ireland, and a bitter denunciation of many of the si)eechea 
 which had been made by Mr. Parnell and Mr. Biggar. The fierce- 
 ness of his attack had had no precedent since the time when he 
 had defended the mona-chy against the republicanism of Sir 
 Charles Dilke. 
 
 " Passion is the spell which most sursly uulocks Mr. Gladstone's 
 ski)l as an orator of attack. The fury of his indignation swept 
 over the House and stirred it to its depths, arousing tumultuous 
 enthusiasm in the majority of his hearers, and angry protest from 
 the minority he was assailing. The pale, unmoved face of Mr. 
 Parnell occasionally showed tiirough the storm as he rose to cor- 
 rect the Prime Minister in his quotations from his speeches, and 
 was howled and shouted, if not into silence, at least into being 
 inaudible." 
 
 Such is the description of an eye-witness, who was certainly not 
 unfavorable to Parnell. But the House was not to be swept along 
 on this tide of fiery eloquence. There were breakers ahead, in the 
 obstruction policy of the Irish members ; the members of the Gov- 
 ernment sat in their places; some doggedly defiant of these efforts, 
 some appearing to be extremely depressed because the measure was 
 not carried through with a rush. Entirely different was the atti- 
 tude of the Opposition during this prolonged sitting ; what was 
 death to the frogs in the fable was fun for the boys ; and the 
 members of that party whose Irish policy had been so severely 
 condemned by the party in pov/er, and who were promised that 
 they should see how speedily the Irish difficulties would be settled 
 by the Liberals, enjoyed themselves immensely during this exciting 
 debate. 
 
 Finally the Speaker proceeded to put the main question. An 
 Irish member rose ; the Speaker refused to hear him. Then there 
 arose a cry which had not been heard in the House of Commons 
 since 1 642, when Charles I. suddenly appeared in its sacred pre- 
 cincts and demanded that the members whom he accused of hi~b 
 treason should be delivered up to him. " Privilege, Privilege !" 
 shouted the whole Irish party, leaping to their feet as one man. 
 

 wm 
 
 
 TAc >SIeconi Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 379 
 
 Then, bowing to the Chair, they marched out of the House in the 
 same unbroken phalanx. 
 
 ""■hus ended a 8cen'3 without parallel in Parliamentary histor/. 
 The long sitting was the first actual triumph of obstruction, which 
 had often delayed business, but which had never before revolu- 
 tionized parliamentary law and precedent. The occasion was full 
 of weird interest, and was chiefly remarkable for the daring audacity 
 of the pj'incipal actors in it. 
 
 Again and again did the Irish patriots move that the House 
 adjourn, that progress be reported, that the Speaker leave the chair, 
 and a variety of similar motions. Again and again did the sonorous 
 voice of Mr. Biggar break the stillness of the air with his peculiarly 
 pronounced " Misthur Spake, 3ui-r-r." Under cover of motions 
 to adjourn, the whole question was re-opened, until, on tHe morn- 
 ing of the second day, it was discovered that one of the solid gang 
 hud not addressed himself to the bill itselfl Up rose this zealous 
 patriot, and when it was found he insisted on reading the measure, 
 clause by clause, a groan escaped from a score of li)>s. 
 
 When the lights were put out at daybreak on Tuesday, the ap- 
 pearance of the House was miserable. The uaual sweeping and 
 cleaning had been impossible, and the floor was strewn with 
 rubbish of all kinds, torn newspapers, and even pieces of orange 
 peel abounding in every direction. Then the Liberals commenced 
 going home to sleep in sections, and every few hours a score or 
 two members would appear clothed and in their right minds, to 
 replace an equal number of dirty and sleepy legislators, who in 
 turn went home to recuperate. 
 
 For the nonce all party feeling was forgotten, and the Opposi- 
 tion loyally supported the Government in its attempt to silence 
 Irish protests and Irish demands for justice. Sir Staflbrd North- 
 cot'^ personally appealed to Mr. Gladstone to go home and sleep, 
 pledging himself to remain in his absence and " keep a Hor.se." 
 
 Of ludicrous incidents there were several. It is " strictly out of 
 order " for members or strangers to bring ref'^3shments on to the 
 floor of the House. This rule did not hurt the English and Scotch 
 members, who could easily ""et awav to eat • but it was not so with 
 the Irish, who ate sandwiches and drank out of flasks to their 
 heart's c>-ntent. Among the lunch eaters was an Irish obstruc- 
 
:80 
 
 'Uie Second Oladdonf Ministry, 
 
 tionist whose reputation as a drinker of whiskey exceeded his elo- 
 ([uence. Mr. Wharton called the Speaker's attention to the fact 
 that tliis gentleman was eating and drinking, whereupon the wine- 
 bibber proceeded to sta'id up and empty his flask in face of the 
 Speaker's studied rebuke. 
 
 The bill was immediately brought in, and the first reading car- 
 ried. The House adjourned till noon of the same day, this single 
 .sitting having lasted about forty-one hours, and being the longest 
 then on record. The Irish members thought better of it when the 
 time came for re-assembling, and were promptly on hand to criti- 
 cise the action of the Speaker in thus bringing tho debate to a close 
 upon his own motion. 
 
 The Speaker ruled that it was not a question of privilege ; 
 whereupon an Irish member moved the adjournment of the House, 
 and the debate on that question was kept up until nearly six 
 o'clock, when, Upon division, it was found that but forty-four 
 members out of more than three hundred were in favor of it. As 
 it was six o'clock by the time that the result of the division v/as 
 announced, and the day was Wednesday, the House was obliged, 
 by its own rules, to adjourn. 
 
 The Irish were resisting with all their might. They could only 
 hope to weary out the Govern mer*, and thus obtain some conces- 
 sions. If the ministry would not pass a law for the relief of Ire- 
 land, they should not pass one for her oppression. So they rea- 
 soned ; and the members who sat on the right hand of the Speaker 
 were doubtful as to the result, until their chief found a way out of 
 the difficulty. The obstruction policy of the very small Irish party 
 must be the excuse for the revival of rules which had been allowed 
 to sink into oblivion. The Irish had brought th j cry of •* Privi- 
 lege" from the echoing chambers of the past and they were 
 silenced with thunders from the same stormy reg >n. 
 
 When question time came on Thursday, Mr. i*:;rnell suddenly 
 asked if it were true that Mr. Davitt had been arrested. The 
 Hoi^e Secretary answered that he had; whereupon the wildest 
 Peering ensued ; when the noise subsided, Sir William Harcourt 
 went on to state that the Irish Secretary and he, after due consulta- 
 tion with their colleagues and the legal advisprs of the Govern- 
 ment, had decided that Mr. Davitt had violated the conditions of 
 
7^ Second Gladstone Ministry, 
 
 381 
 
 his ticket-of-leave. Mr. Parnell trio<i to apoertain wlnt conditions 
 had been broken, but the Speaker decided tliat Mr. Gladstone, who 
 was waiting with his Urgency Motion, had the floor. Mr. Dillon 
 arose to a point of order, but was not allowed to stote it. 
 
 Amid much noise from all parts of the House, the Speaker 
 declared that Mr. Gladstone was entitlefl to be heard. Mr. Dillon 
 did not sit down when the Speaker rose, but remained defiantly 
 standing facing him ; Me demanded his privilege of speech. In 
 the noise which ensued there were few or no me iibers silent. The 
 Irish members shouted vociferously, "Point of Order I" The 
 other members, with more volume of voice, but with no more 
 vehemence, demanded t' t Mr. Dillon should be named by the 
 Speaker. This last demrtud was the one Vv'th which the Speaker 
 complied, the offense which was thus punished being Mr Dillon'' 
 defiance of the rules by remaining on his feet after the Speaker lu. . 
 risen. In view of the somewhat frequent use of this means of dis- 
 cipline of late years, we may here remark that the last member 
 " named," prior to Mr. Dillon on this occasion, was Fergus O'Con- 
 nor, who, in the heat of debate, had struck the member sitting 
 beside hi n in 1848. 
 
 Mr. Dillon was silenced for the time ; and the Prime Minister 
 at once move 1 that he be suspended from the service of the Honpe 
 for the remainder of the sitting. This wai? carried by c.n immense 
 majority, and the speaker called upon Mr. Dillon to wit'>draw. 
 He began to speak, but there was such confusion that nothing 
 could be distinguished ; finally, the Sergeant-at-Arms approached 
 him, accompanied by several attendants, and Mr. Dillon left the 
 
 Iiouse. 
 
 After the excitement had somewhat lessened, Mr. Gladstone 
 made another effort to go on with his s )eech, but v^as interrupted 
 by several Irish members, chief among whom was INIr. Parnell, 
 who moved that Mr. Gladstone be no longer heard. The Speaker 
 declined to recognize the member for Cork; thp member from 
 Corkdeclin 1 in effect to recognize the Speaker, since he refused 
 to sit down. This was the very oflFense for which Mr. Dillon had 
 just been expelled, and a similar fate awaited Mr. Parnell. Thirty- 
 ^li-ec members had voted against the expulsion of Mr. Dillon ; 
 there were but seven in the minority when Mr. Gladstone proposed 
 
382 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 a similar course with regard to Mr. Parnell. The Irish members 
 remained in tiieir seats, refusing to vote when the division was 
 called for. 
 
 It was not without reason that they complained of the treatment 
 v/hich they had received. This was indeed an antiquated mode of 
 procedure, to demand that a Speaker be no longer heard ; but Mr. 
 Parnell would hardly have made use of it had not the Prime 
 Minister himself done so in the first place. It was simply a turn- 
 ing of his own weapon against him, though the majority decided 
 that the Premier might use arms which were not permitted to 
 others. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, who was literally speaking under difficulties, was 
 again interrupted by an Irish member, Mr. Finigan, and there was 
 a repetition of the little comedy which had been twice before per- 
 formed before the House. There were twenty-eight members of 
 the Irish party remaining, and the Speaker having called the 
 attention of the House to their refusal to vote, named them one 
 after another. Mr. Gladstone moved their expulsion in a body ; 
 it was carried with but six dissenting voices. 
 
 Then ensued a scene which was ludicrous in its monotonv. Each 
 member as he was named, rose and made a speech protesting against 
 the action of the Government, and declining to obey the order to 
 leave unless compelled to do so; the sergeant at aims would 
 solemnly approach him witii his attendants at his heels; touch 
 him on the shoulder witnout saying a word. In most cases the 
 memb(T obeyed this mute summons; but in some cases they refused 
 to do so until a sufficient number of attendants had been brought 
 to show that resistance was absolutely hopeless. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone again rose and tried to go on with his motion, 
 but it v/as not to be as yet. Some of the Irish party who had not 
 been in the House while this was taking place now returned, and 
 tried the same tactics. It was necessary to suspend six of these 
 before he was at last permitted tc proceed. 
 
 Steps were at once taken to amend the rules of the House in 
 such manner that the obstruction policy could not be used to such 
 an advantage. A fall upon the ice having confined Mr. Gladstone 
 to his house for a few days, the final passage of the bill took place 
 in his absence. February 27th, Lord Hartington moved that the 
 
sh members 
 iivisiou was 
 
 le treatment 
 ted mode of 
 d ; but Mr. 
 the Prime 
 iply a turn- 
 rity decided 
 ermitted to 
 
 iculties, was 
 d there was 
 before per- 
 nembers of 
 
 called the 
 1 them one 
 
 in a body ; 
 
 onv. Each 
 ing against 
 lie order to 
 i-ms would 
 ;els ; touch 
 t cases the 
 hey refused 
 en brought 
 
 lis motion, 
 ho had not 
 urned, and 
 X of these 
 
 House in 
 led to such 
 
 Gladstone 
 
 took place 
 
 id that the 
 
 Inquiring Concerning Mr. Olaislcme's Tnjuriut. 
 
 383 
 
384 
 
 The Second Gladstone Minidry. 
 
 debate on the bill, which was at that time in committee, and about 
 to be reported, should end at seven the next day. Any amend- 
 ments which were unreported upon at that time were to be denied 
 consideration. This motion, which did not admit of being dis- 
 cussed, ;vas carried, and the Speaker promptly cut the debate shor*^ 
 at the hour named. The Coercion Bill was carried with but thirty- 
 six negatives in the Commons, and passing rapidly through all its 
 stages in the House of Lords, became a law March 2d. 
 
 The long premised Land Bill was introduced April 7th. It was 
 supposed to be based upon the reports of two Commissions which 
 had been nppointed, one by the late and one by the existing Gov- 
 ernment, for the purpose of investigating the land question in Ire- 
 land. The number of reports presented by these two Commissions 
 seems to have been limited only by the number of gentlemen who 
 had been appointed to investigate the subject ; but with one excep- 
 tion they agreed th?.t there ought to be a court which should decide 
 between \? .dlord and tenant when they differed with regard to rent. 
 Fair rent. Fixity of Tenure, and Free Sale— the three F's, as 
 they were called— were the main objects of the Bill ; and the 
 vexed question of peasant proprietary was not omitted. It was 
 a moderate measure ; and if it should prove practicable, the Gov- 
 ernment hoped that the condition cf the Irish would be greatly 
 ameliorated by its action. 
 
 It was bitterly opjiosed by the Conservatives, who characterized 
 it as communistic, revolutionary, socialistic, and by any other 
 epitliets that appeared sufficiently condemnatory. The Irish mem- 
 bers, perhaps, were astonished at the introduction of such a measure 
 by the Government ; but although it was more than they had 
 hoped for, it was less than they wished. They set themselves to 
 work to widen its scoi)e, and in this they were fairly successful. 
 It was nut finally presented to the House until tho end of July, 
 when it passed the third reading. 
 
 The Bill was tiien sent up to the Lords If the Irish members 
 had done their best to obstruct tlic Coercion Bill, the Lords were 
 equally imreasonable with regard to the Land Bill. It was 
 amended so that it was hardly recognizable, and the Peers, flat- 
 tering themselves that they had done great things, passed it in its 
 altered form, and it went again to the Commons. 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 885 
 
 The Commons declined to accept the changes, and sent it back 
 to the Lords. The Lords made new amendments, p.ud sent it down 
 to the Commons again. The ministry made some minor conces- 
 sions, but declined once more to accept those sweeping changes on 
 which the Peers had insisted. At last the Lords, afisr all their 
 bluster, yielded some points, and the Land Bill of 1881 became law. 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Bradlaugh's seat had been formally de- 
 clared vacant, and a writ for a new election issued. He was iigain 
 elected, and the old trouble began afresh. The Government held 
 to the opinion that the House could not interfere when a duly 
 elected member presented himself to take the oath, as Mr. Brad- 
 laugh now did ; and the Opposition having carried a resolution 
 affirming that Mr. Bradlaugh should not be permitted to repeat 
 the oath, which he regarded as a mere, meaningless, empty cere- 
 mony, Mr. Gladstone informed them, in answer to their inquiries, 
 that it was their business to carry out that resolution, against which 
 he had voted. 
 
 The government promised to deal with the question in the usual 
 way, and the Parliamentary Oaths Bill was brought in ; but it 
 was finally decided that it would be impossible to proceed with it, 
 and the matter was allowed to lie over until the next session. The 
 disturbance excited by Mr. Bradlaugh's persistency in urging his 
 claims to a seat therefore continued until nearly the time for pro- 
 rogation. 
 
 Cobden, speaking to a friend of Disraeli and his brilliant career, 
 had asked, '* How will it be with him when all .< retrospect?" 
 That solemn question, like an echo of the archangel's blast, now 
 was brought to the minds of men. On the 19th of April, 1881, 
 all became restrospect with the great Tory statesman. The long, 
 long rivalry was ended, and Mr. Gladstone was left without a peer 
 in the ranks of living Englishmen. 
 
 After the passage of a number of measures of special im- 
 portance only in a local or temporary sense, the stormy session 
 came to a close. Up to its end the Government had not shown 
 any special animosity to the Irish members, and seemed disposed 
 to treat the Land Leaguers in general with more lenity than ever. 
 This was evidenced by the release of Father Sheehy, who had been 
 imprisoned as an agitator. But the advocates of T ish freedom 
 25 
 
386 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 from British rule contirued their self-appcinted task, and the 
 patience of the Ministry was finally worn out. Mr. Gladstone 
 spoke at Leeds on the 7th of October, in reply to an address from 
 the Mayor and Town Council. His speech touched upon the all- 
 absorbing Irish Question; and as he warmed to the work, he 
 spoke of Mr. Parnell in such terms that he was accused of a bitter, 
 personal attack. The extreme views of the Parnellites were com- 
 pared unfavorabl} with those of the men of the 1848 school, and 
 even with those of the moderate men of to-day, like Mr. Dillon. 
 Mr. Parnell promptly replied to these strictures, and Mr. Dillon 
 refused to accept Mr. Gladstone's compliment. One speech fol- 
 lowed another from the lips of the incensed Irishmen, and the 
 Government finally issued warrants for the arrest of the prominent 
 Land Leaguers. 
 
 This was announced by the Prime Minister in a most dramati- 
 callv effective manner. In the midst of an address to a crowded 
 assembly at Guildhall, he made an eloquent plea for the preserva- 
 tion of law and order. Suddenly he produced a telegram, an- 
 nouncing that the Land League leaders had been arrested and 
 conveyed to jail. The effect was marvellous. Friends and foes 
 strove to outdo each other in their wild applause. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 i_. 
 
 THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. 
 (Continued.) 
 
 Mr. Bradliuigh Once More— Home Rule— The Lords and the Land Act— Amend- 
 ment of the Rules— Arreai-8 Bill— Concessions to the Irish— Phcenix Park 
 Murders — Crimes Bill — Obstruction — Friends Failing— The Egyptian 
 Question— Bombardment of Alexandria — Autumn Session — Forster's At- 
 tack on Gladstone— The Reply— Explosives Bill— And Still, Mr. Brad- 
 laugh— Minor Le^'islation— The Soudan DitBculties— Irrepressible Mr. 
 Bradlaugh — The P^gyptian Trouble Continues— The Afghan Boundary- 
 Failure of the Soudan War — The Budget— A Sleepy Time— Waking Up — 
 A Remarkable Speech — A Great Surprise — Fall of the Ministry. 
 
 p^ARLIAMENT opened February 7, 1882. The chief ♦^^opic 
 of discussion, always excepting the omnipresent Irish Ques- 
 tion, was the amendment of the rules. This had been in- 
 trusted to a committee the year before, and was expected to come 
 up before the House very early in the session. The subject was of 
 special interest, because, upon the passage of a rule which would 
 render obstruction more difficult, the Irish Question could be more 
 speedily discussed, if not more easily settled ; and the reforms in 
 this direction had gone just far enough to make the oppressed more 
 eagerly desirous of aid. 
 
 But the first question which came before the House was the 
 Bradlaugh difficulty. Mr. Bradlaugh had been excluded from the 
 House the year before by a sessional order, which, of course, re- 
 mained in force only until the prorogation. On the demand of his 
 rights, Mr. Gladstone expressed the opinion that the courts of law 
 were the only authority competent to deal with the question ; but 
 the matter was otherwise decided by the House of Commons, and 
 Ml-. Bradhii crh was once more directed to withdraw. Mr. Labou- 
 chere having moved for a new writ for Northampton, the motion 
 was negatived by a large majority. 
 
 Thereupon Mr. Rr.n.dl.ojig],^ ,^.f^yarj(.|ng fj.f)|^ ^iie seat which he 
 liad been occupying, and which was not in the technical limits of 
 the House, drew a New Testament from his coat-pocket and gravely 
 
 387 
 
388 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 proceeded to swear himself in as a Member of Parliament. This 
 done, 'le produced a paper stating that he had duly taken the oath, 
 signed it and laid it upon the table. The House was literally 
 struck dumb by this performance, and only began to recover itself 
 as Mr. Bradlaugh concluded the extraordinary ceremony. 
 
 Then there was " confusion worse confounded." Lord Randolph 
 Churchill led the argument, and when that has been said the 
 aggressive nature of it may be inferred. But the law-offi(!ers of 
 the Crown could not decide that Mr. Bradlaugh had really violated 
 any statute, and Mr. Gladstone succeeded in postponing the con- 
 sideration of the question until the next day. 
 
 The wrangle thus delayed ended in the expulsion of Mr. Brad- 
 laugh, the issuing of a new writ, and the re-election of Mr. Brad- 
 laugh. This had come to be quite the recognized order of things ; 
 but there was a slight change in what followed. Mr. Labouchere 
 having proposed that Mr. Bradlaugh should be heard in his own 
 behalf^ instead of addressing the Commons from below the bar, as 
 usual, that gentleman boldly advanced to the sacred precincts of 
 the House itself, and, taking a seat below the gangway, proceeded 
 to argue the point with the Speaker as a member of the House of 
 Commons. He was expelled by a vote of 297 to 80 ; a new y.Tit 
 was immediately granted, and Mr. Bradlaugh was again re-elected. 
 
 A resolution of Sir Stafford Northcote, carried by a majority of 
 fifteen, affirmed the sessional resolution, and forbade him to take 
 the oath. The strife extended to the House of Lords, where there 
 was a bill brought in to exclude all atheists from Parliament, suc- 
 ceeded, when it was lost, by an Affirmation Bill, which shared the 
 same fate. The Government arrived at an understanding with 
 Mr. Bradlaugh, by which he was to be permitted to occupy a seat 
 on one of the benches, on condition that he did not join in the 
 debates, and did nothing to disturb the House. 
 
 The Irish Question had been broached during the debate upon 
 the Address, but had not been discussed in any other form. But 
 this debate is not without interest, since it disproves the assertions 
 which have sometimes been made, that the alliance of Mr. Glad- 
 stone with Mr. Parnell v/as merely a device to reg.ain power by tlie 
 aid of the Irish vote. If, in the height of his career as Prime 
 Minister for the second time, he began to advocate Home Rule, it 
 
iiisiiaift 
 
 .■»,., '-'tv 
 
 
390 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ilinistry. 
 
 is clear that it could not have been a sudden change, made for any 
 sinister motive. 
 
 It was quite characteristic of the man, whose whole political life 
 was signalized by gradual growth from extreme Toryism to extreme 
 Liberal views. Had it been poasible for Gladstone to have lived 
 ten years longer, in the full possession of his mental and physical 
 powers, it is not improbable that he would have come to uphold 
 those very principles which he had so severely condemned wiien 
 answering Sir Charles Dilke's speech on Republicanism. The 
 change would have been no greater than others which took place 
 in his life. 
 
 Mr. P. J. Smyiii had moved an amendment supporting a restora- 
 tion of the Irish Parliament, but this had been lost after he oifered 
 to withdraw it. Mr. Gladstone had spoken upon the subject, and, 
 in a later stage of the controversy, he was called to account for this 
 speech. The Irish members themselves demanded the explanation, 
 some passages seeming to indicate that he was not averse to Home 
 Rule. Mr. Gladstone replied that he had always considered that a 
 demand for the local government of Irelanc' was not too dangerous 
 to be considered, as it was rated by the Conservatives ; but up to 
 this time no case, which combined a jiroper formulation of the 
 Iri.sh claims with a due regard for the supremacy of the British 
 Crown, had ever been submitted to the Government. 
 
 Such cautious admissions meant that the time would come when 
 Gladstone would advocate Home Rule. The utterances Woit ,.ot 
 so interpreted at the time, for the party most interested scarcely 
 dared to trust such hopes, and the Irish Question was considered 
 of less importance for the present until the working of the new 
 Land Act should be tried, than it had been the previous session. 
 
 But to give the new Land Act a fair trial was just what the 
 Tories did not intend to do. It was agitated anew in the quarter 
 whence trouble was least expected — the House of Lords. Many 
 of the peers regretted bitterly that the Land Act had been forced 
 upon them, and they embraced the first opportunity to protest. 
 The Miniftry was now embarrassed by the Bradlaugh difficulty. 
 Their action was unpopular with the great majority of people, who 
 looked upon atheistical tendencies with horror. 
 
 The landlord party in the House of Lords attacked Mr. Glad- 
 

 r/ig Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 391 
 
 stone fiercely because of his utterances upon Home Rule, and dwelt 
 with malicious emphasis upon a pamph'et which had recently been 
 reprinted by its author, who had been appointed Secretary to the 
 Irish Land Commission. This pamphlet defended peasant pro- 
 prietorship, and spoke of the " cause for which Parnell and Dillon 
 and Davitt had labored and snf jred." Although the writer re- 
 signed his office as soon as the pamphlet became the subject of 
 unfavorable comment, this did not serve to excuse the Government. 
 A motion for a select committee to inquire into the workings of the 
 Land Act was made and carried by a majority of more than forty 
 of the Lords, and in spite of the attitude of the Commons, the com- 
 mittee was appointed. 
 
 It must have delighted the soul of Sir Charles Dilkeand his co- 
 republicans when the vote concerning Prince Leopold's allowance, 
 in view of his approaching marriage, was announced ; f^^ the pro- 
 position to increase it from £10,000 to £25,000 was carried against 
 the largest minority that ever opposed a grant to a royal prince. 
 
 It was the general opinion among Englishmen that Protection 
 had been dead and buried long ago, but during this session there 
 was an effort made to revive it, under the name of fair trade. The 
 motion for a committee, in the interests of fair trade, to consider 
 the operations of foreign tariffs upon British commerce, was nega- 
 tived by a vote of 140 to 89. 
 
 All this time Mr. Parnell was in prison. It is true that at some 
 time during the month of April he was released on parole, to 
 attend the funeral of a relative, but he was not free to occupy his 
 seat in Parliament. He occupied his time in drafting a bill to 
 meet the diflSculty of the arrears of rent, which weighed down the 
 tenant farmers. This Irish Arrears Bill was kindly received by 
 Mr. Gladstone, as an evidence that the Irish members would do 
 their best to make the Land Law of 1881 effective. But this 
 attitude of the head of the Government was not a little puzzling to 
 observers. Would the Ministry accept a measure proposed by a 
 man whom they had imprisoned for his course in this very matter? 
 The thing was so glaringly inconsistent that it was speedily 
 rumored that the Irinh ■nolicy would immediatelv be ."ihanfed. 
 
 The prisoners had been privately offered their liberty if they 
 would leave the country, if for ever so short a time; they might 
 
392 
 
 The Second Gladstovi. Minhtry. 
 
 only cross the Channe; and return at once ; but to this they wouUl 
 not agree; they had been imprisoned unjustly, as they consids'-ed, 
 and they would make no compromise to secure their release. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's significant words to which we have before 
 alluded seem to have been prorapied by a kindly feeling for Ir-- 
 land; he was already progressing toward his later attitude. And 
 here we may add a word regarding this change in opinion. The 
 subject of Irish affairs is one on wiii(!h the densest ignorance pre- 
 vails in England, cr di '■ prevail until the time of which we write. 
 Mr. Gladstone was no exception to the rule ; he has told us himself 
 that he did not undeistand the case until the beginning of his 
 second administration, when he set to work to study it more 
 thoroughly than ever before. He had been devoting himself 
 mainly to this subject, and the more he studied it, the more he was 
 convinced that Ireland was the victim of tyranny. 
 
 Finally, on M^y Ist, Lord Salisbury addressed a string of ques- 
 tions to Lo: d Granville, who was the head of the Government in 
 the House of Lords. In answer to these, Lord Granville announced 
 that Earl Cowper had resigned the Lord-Lieutenancy of J land 
 some weeks ago, but had left it with the Premier to say when it 
 should take effect ; that it had been accepted, and Lord Spencer 
 appointed in his stead. The Government had decided to release 
 the three imprisoned members, and would introduce legislation on 
 the arrears question and the Bright clauses of the Land Act. 
 
 An Irishman might say that everything was rose-colored in the 
 Emerald Isle; it was indeed true that the Irish Question was 
 nearer its solution than it had been for many a day. The Govorn- 
 ment was favorably disposed, or at least Mr. Gladstone was, and 
 his strong will controlled his subordinates. But from this cltar sky 
 fell a thunderbolt. 
 
 The announcements thus made, and similar ones in the Hou.^e of 
 Commons at the same time, were the most important, as indicath\ff 
 a change of ministerial policy, that had been made since Sir Robert 
 Peel informed the House that he had abandoned the principle of 
 Protection ; and they produced a corresponding effect. Of course 
 there was but one line of action for Mr, Forster to follow, his Irish 
 policy had been severely condemned by the colleagues who had thu^ 
 decided to pursue exactly the opposite course, and he resigned. 
 
ft-**-.".,,* -*.»'»■<•■««. .• ; s . ' ,■!,* ■ ,-" •• ■■! V- ■■^•■'"t'B*^ 
 
 r/ic Second Gladstone Ministry, 
 
 393 
 
 This was highly satisfactoiy to tlie Irish members, one of whom 
 had said that under the new Government Ireland had suffered from 
 three things— famine, the House of Lords, and Mr. Forster ; the 
 speaker and his hearers inclining to the opinion that the last was 
 the worst infliction. 
 
 Earl Spencer. 
 
 But everything was not lovely as yet. The Opposition de- 
 manded to be informed if the withdrawal of the famous No-rent 
 manifesto \. 3 a condition of the release of the Irish members. Mr. 
 Gladstone replied that information tendered the Government had 
 justified and mainly prompted their action in releasing the prisoners, 
 and that this was one of the subjects upon which that information 
 had touched. Thereupon Mr. Dillon demanded to know if his 
 
•^ *■ fcj iT"* > * « jiS* ^ I r»Ti».\r» -s^jM - SB.'" - **t* • ■'ill-- .^ • ' * 
 
 )«>; 
 
 
 
 
 394 
 
 TAg Second G/fulslone Ministry. 
 
 name had been used in connection with the manifesto. Mr. Glad- 
 stone replied in the negative. Similar questions were asked by 
 Messrs. O'Kelly and Sexton, all three disclaiming such use of their 
 names, if it had been made ; but Mr. Gladstone answered as before. 
 Pressed for a definite reply, he said that the information had been 
 voluntarily given by members of the House, viiose duty it was to 
 make explanations when they were present, but he declined to 
 answer further questions <)n the subject for the present. 
 
 This was followed by a speech from Mr. Forster, who desired to 
 explain the reasons for his resignation; and who, in doing this, 
 managed to attack the whole policy of the Government. ^. was 
 a man who made carelessness an art ; even the arrangement oi his 
 hair, which had the appearance of never having been combed, was 
 always so exactly the same that it, studied effect became evident. 
 His speech on this occasion had the appearance or candor and rug- 
 ged honesty; but like the disorder of his dress, it was carefully 
 prepared for the occasion. 
 
 In answering this speech, Mr. Gladstone assumed a more defiant 
 attitude than on the occasion when he was questioned about the 
 mr ^iifesto. After the usual compliments upon a late member of 
 the Government, he regretted that Mr. Forster shou' have allowed 
 hin^self to charge the Government with giving the q'^estion of the 
 rules precedence over all others, regardless of the condition of Irish 
 affairs. As far as the release of Mr. Darnell and his associates was 
 concerned, the Government was fully responsible for it as for their 
 arrest. There had been no concessions made, because there had 
 been none required. 
 
 Mr. Parnell and his friends had not been required to make any 
 statement that their views had changed. The promised arrears bill 
 had nothing to do with their release, for when it was promised the 
 Ministry had not come into possession of the information which 
 prompted their action in this matter. Possessed of this informa- 
 tion, it was not possible for Ministers of the Crown to behave as if 
 it had never reached them, and continue the raembpr? in their con- 
 finement. 
 
 This speech was the prelud<^ to a snirlted debate, in the course of 
 which the Government was bitterly attacked by the Conservatives, 
 and defended by Lord Hartington and Sir William Harcourt, since 
 
 ■41 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 395 
 
 the rules would not permit Mr. Gladstone to speak again on the 
 same subject. 
 
 Three days later, the Euglish public— indeed, the reading public 
 of the world — was horrified by an occurrence in Dublin which was 
 speedily told by the wires. The place which Mr. x .rster vacated 
 had been filled by the appointment of Lord Frederick Cavendish, 
 a younger sou of the Luke of Devi^nshire, and a brother of the 
 xfiarquis of Hartington. The new Secretary arrived in Dublin, 
 Saturday, May 6th, and to k r>art in the procession which attendecl 
 the entry of Lord Spencer, i lie ceremony over, he took an outside 
 car to drive to his new official residence. 
 
 As he drove through Phoenix Park, he overt'^ok Mr. Burke, a 
 Castle official of long standing; and alighted to walk with him. 
 Some bicyclists met the two within a few yards of the monument ; 
 going around the monument, these mei-. met an outside car with 
 four men in it driving rapidly a'viy. During the bri^f interval. 
 Lord Spencer and some of his /riends, looking out from the win- 
 dows of the vice-regal mansion into the moonlighted park, had seen 
 some sort of a scuffie going on in the road, but thought it was only 
 rough horse-play; but it had been the struggle -otween Cavendish 
 and Burke and their murderers. Tht assassins had made their 
 escape before any susi)icions were aroused; it seemed that the 
 earth had opened and swallowed them up. 
 
 The news created the most profound sensation everywhere. Some 
 of the more violent Tories shook their heads and bade their lis- 
 teners see what came of a promised abolition of coercion ; but in 
 general there was no wild ''nwl for revenge upon the Irish people. 
 The Irish parliamentary leaders held a hurried consultation, and 
 most emphatically and publicly condemned the deed of the un- 
 known assassins ; solemnly declaring that until the murderers were 
 brought to justice, a stain would rest upon the good name of the 
 Irish people. Public meetings were held at various points in Ire- 
 land, and responsibility for the murder, or sympathy with the mur- 
 derers, solemnly disclaimed. 
 
 Up to the date of this murder, it had seemed that Ireland was at 
 last to be ;^overned in acoordanne with Uio ideas of her reoresenta- 
 tives; but the dreadful crime had made that, for the present at 
 least, an impossibility. The very day after the murder took place. 
 
396 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 there was a hurried Cabinet meeting, at which it was resolved to 
 abandon the rules for the present, and bring forward bills for 
 amending and extending the Land and Coercion Acts of the pre- 
 vious session. It was perhaps unfortunate for Ireland at this time 
 tliat Sir Charles Dilke and Mr. Chamberlain would not accept the 
 Secretaryship without a seat in tlie Cabinet, and this the Govern- 
 ment would not consent to; 
 so that Mr. George Otto Tre- 
 I velyan was up})ointed to the 
 I position. 
 
 3 We may here note that there 
 I were several other changes in 
 the Ministry at this time; but 
 the more imj)ortant ones came 
 later on, when Mr. Gladstone 
 resigned the Chancellorship of 
 the Exchequer to Mr. Chil- 
 ders, Hartington and Ivimbcr- 
 ley assumed other duties than 
 those for which they had been 
 originally appointed. Lord 
 Derby became Colonial Secre- 
 S tary, and Mr. Bright resigned 
 the post of Chancellor of the 
 Duchy of Lancaster, Mr, 
 Herbert Gladstone had been 
 appointed to a subordinate 
 post in the summer of the 
 advanced to a vacancy in the 
 
 Hon. Herbert Gladstone. 
 
 previous year, 
 
 and 
 
 was now 
 
 Treasury. He had been for some years rather a pt'oniinent figure 
 in parliament, though so woefidly overshadowed by the greatness 
 of his name. 
 
 The funeral of Lord Frederick Cavendish took place May lltli, 
 and on the evening of that day the new Crimes Bill was introduced 
 into the House of Commons. This was a meu.-)''ire with which Mr. 
 Gladstone does not seem to have been in full accord ; it was one 
 instance in which his dominant will had to give way. It had fre- 
 quently been remarked that he was the one prominent figure in the 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 397 
 
 Ministry; it was he who replied to all questions, on all subjects 
 whatever; the spociril Minister contenting himself with the briefest 
 of answers; but Sir William llarcourt had threatened to resign if 
 the Government would not support his bill ; and Mr, Gladstone did 
 not feel his support so certain that he could afford to dispense with 
 so great an ally in debate. 
 
 ' The Whigs were almost mutinous; they had never thoroughly 
 trusted the " Grand Old Man," thinking him, as did the Tories of 
 Oxford, too brilliant to be entirely safe ; and the progressiveness 
 of his policy alarmed them ; they were not his only foes concealed 
 under the guise of friends ; for although Mr. Forster had not gone 
 so far as to take a seat on the Opposition benches he was ail but 
 an avowed enemy to the Government. 
 
 The Crimes Bill was, to say the least, alarming to the Irish 
 members. Its first provision was for ihe abolition of trial by jury 
 in certain cases, when it was supposed that jurors would be pre- 
 vented from returning a condemnatory verdict by intimidation. 
 This v/as not in itself specially objectionable, for the necessity of it 
 was recognized ; but what was strenuously opposed was the inclu- 
 sion of treason and treason-felony in the list of crimes to be so tried. 
 The danger of such a provision to the Irish members themselves 
 will be readily seen, and the Bill was bitterly opposed. 
 
 While the new Bill was still pending, the question of the Kil- 
 mainham Treaty, as the agreement by which Mr. Parnell and his 
 colleagues had been released from jail was called, was again brought 
 before the House, After what an Irishman would call " A very 
 pretty quarrel, barring no heads were broken," Mr. Balfour 
 attacked the Government for making a compromise with Mr. Par- 
 noil, Mr, Gladstone angrily replied that there was no truth in the 
 assertion wlii(!h Mr. Balfour had made about the part of the Gov- 
 ernm^jni. The Kilmainliam business was not settled by this 
 debate, but kept cropping up throughout the remainder of the ses- 
 sion ; though the interest was lessened by the condition of the main 
 Irish Question. 
 
 The Irish members obstructed the passage of the Crimes Bill by 
 everv means in their power; but so cunningly was their work done 
 that there was no excuse for an " urgency motion," or for other 
 strong measures. The obstruction came to a head on the last 
 
% 
 
 ■^^S^^^BffiL.^- 
 
 ^^^mimr^^i 
 
 
 
 398 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 night of June. Early in the afternoon rumors of an all-night sit- 
 ting began to circulate in the lobbies, and the prediction did not 
 lack fulfillment. It was nine o'clock in the morning when Mr. 
 Playfair rose to warn the Plouse that legislation had been system- 
 atically obstructed, and that he should have to indicate the members 
 who were engaged in it. At this warning, those members who had 
 been in other parts of the building came hurrying to the legislative 
 chamber, and there was a good audience when, in accordance with 
 
 his threat, Mr. Playfair rose 
 to indicate the obstructionists. 
 Fifteen members were 
 found in the list ; but Mr. 
 Childers, whose duty it was, 
 in the absence of Mr. Glad- 
 stone, to move their suspen- 
 sion, inserted another; and 
 the motion was carried by a 
 vote of a hundred and twenty- 
 six to twei'ty-scven. The 
 remaining Irish members, 
 nothing daunted by the fate 
 of their colleagues, carried 
 on the debate with as much 
 vigor as ever, until the sus- 
 pension of nine more of them 
 rendered it possible to rush 
 the bill through. After a 
 Hon. Arthur Balfour. Continuous sitting of twenty- 
 
 three hours, the comnuttee of the whole was enabled to report pro- 
 gress, and the bill was passed as far as the thirtieth clause. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone moved Miat the business of the House was urgent 
 on the following Tuesday (July 4th) ; but the haste with which the 
 bill was pushed was not altogether favorable to the Government, 
 for the Irish members who had not been suspended refused to take 
 any further part in the proceedings, and their withdrawal from the 
 House caused the defeat of the Government on one of the amend- 
 ments ; since the Whigs were opposed to any amendment whieli 
 lessened the stringency, and their defection made the Government 
 
l^ili^liiPiiii 
 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry . 
 
 399 
 
 dependent upon the Third Party. There were many prophecies of 
 a change which was supposed to be imminent — either a resignation 
 or an appeal to the country ; but Mr. Gladstone explained that the 
 state of Ireland was such that he would not withdraw the bill, nor 
 would he resign. 
 
 The bill was finally passed on the 9th, and went up to the Lords. 
 Tiiey accorded it a much more gracious reception than they gave to 
 the Arrears Bill, a measure which they sent back to the Commons 
 with several amendments which rendered it practically valueless. 
 It was a direct challenge to the Premier, who very coolly picked up 
 the glove thus arrogantly flung down. He would compromise with 
 the Peers ; certainly, but the compromise which he was \»illing to 
 make consisted in the acceptance of an amendment which did not 
 mean anything, and the rejection of those which did. Lord Salis- 
 bury wanted to fight it out, but Mr. Gladstone had the House of 
 Commons at his back, and the House of Lords was by no means 
 ready to follow Lord Salisbury into the battle ; so the Peers 
 yielded, and passed the Arrears Bill. 
 
 The debate on the Crimes Bill and the difficulty with the 
 Arrears Bill had been such that it was confidently expected that the 
 Government must fall. We have alluded to the stand which the 
 Whigs had taken of late, and have seen that no help was to be ex- 
 pected from those Home Rulers who ordinarily sat on the Liberal 
 side. Mr. Forster was no mean adversary, and many of the Min- 
 istry were bitterly angry with Mr. Gladstone for his dominating 
 control of the Government. Mr. Bright was almost the only man 
 of prominence who clung to the Premier with all of his old admira- 
 tion, which amounted almost to adoration ; and the middle of July 
 saw him leave the Ministry. His resignation was forced upon him 
 by the action of the Government with regard to Kgypt, it being 
 well known that he could not be a member of any Ministry which 
 was a party to war. 
 
 It is time that we should give some attention to this contest in 
 which England was now involved. The financial condition of 
 Egypt was such that the Khedive had requested the intervention of 
 tiie Powers, and a Ministry has been formed with an Englishman 
 and a Freiufhman in it; the latter being appointed solely to satisfy 
 France tnat England was not seeking any undue advantage. But 
 
400 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 there was a National Party in Egypt which resented these appoint- 
 ments very much, and finally succeeded in making its power felt. 
 The Khedive found that he had exchanged masters ; for Arabi Bey 
 was the real ruler. 
 
 During the first months of 1882 there was indeed a calm, but it 
 was the calm which precedes the storm. The English Government 
 regarded Arabi as simply an adventurer, who was not worth any 
 attention. France and England were both agreed, however, that 
 they would have a hand in the g vernment of Egypt, and Egypt 
 could not defy both. But a change of Ministry in France caused 
 that country to change her policy, and the Egyptian Nationalists 
 saw that this was their opportunity. 
 
 In April, 1882, a plot was discovered, so said Arabi's oflScer8,to 
 assassinate that high dignitary. The accused were tried in secret 
 and found guilty of a plot to overthrow both Tewfik and Arabi, 
 and restore Ismail Pasha ; but the Khedive refused to sign the 
 decrees of the court. It was hinted that this refusal would cause 
 the massacre of foreigners in Egypt, and the English and French 
 Governments at once ordered their ironclads to Alexandria, the 
 order coupled with a demand that Arabi Pasha, as he was now 
 titled, should be compelled to leave the country, along with 
 his imme<Hate allies. 
 
 In the meantime the utmost confusion reigned in Alexandria, 
 where there is a considerable number of European residents. The 
 crisis came June 11 ; we do not propose to discu s who struck the 
 first blow, for that has never been definitely settled, but there were 
 many people killed, and all the Europeans who could get away did 
 80. The British Government hesitated about landing troops, even 
 after this riot, and much was trusted to diplomacy. But suddenly 
 England, after many endeavors to secure European concert, resolved 
 to act alone. Due notice was given of the proposed interference by 
 arms; but the Egyptians kept on with their fortifications. Tlie 
 French fleet steamed away ; the English vessels took up their 
 positions for the siege. 
 
 The bombardment continued until a flag of truce was raised; 
 but the admiral had not a sufficient force to occupy the town, and 
 a scene of the wildest confusion ensued. Finally, order was re- 
 stored by the stern action of the marines, and the Khedive was 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 401 
 
 escorted back to the city. The action of the English Government 
 was bitterly condemned as inconsistent with the former opposition 
 of the Liberals to war, when the Conservatives had been in power ; 
 and the progress of the war during the summer of 1882 was such 
 tliat their fault was not hidden by their success, as the faults of a 
 Ministry sometimes are. 
 
 The health of Mr. Gladstone during these months had been such 
 as to give room for the gravest apprehension. Not only was his 
 physical strength rapidly failing, but it was seriously alleged hat 
 his mental powers were g-iving way. Still, with a dogged persist- 
 ency, he kept on ; and his ircn will still made itself felt in the 
 Cabinet. 
 
 Parliament was prorogued in August until October 24th. During 
 the recess, the war with Egypt became a little more popular, the 
 battle of Tel-el-Kebir resulting in a victory for the British. This 
 was practically the end of the war, for Arabi was a prisoner ; and 
 although there were some positions which the Nationalists still 
 held, it was not long before they surrendered. 
 
 The autimn session was for the purpose of considering the new 
 rules which had been set aside when the Phoenix Park murders 
 made coercion the question of the hour. Mr. Gladstone at once 
 made an urgency motion, which was carried without difficulty, and 
 the House adjourned. The debate began again the next day, and 
 was continued with varying interest. The Conservatives had no 
 leader worthy of the name, and the party suffered thereby. Sir 
 Stafford Northcote was nominally the head of the Opposition, but 
 there was no attention whatever paid to his opinions. His mild 
 urbanity was not sufficient to make him a trusted and efficient 
 leader ; and the members of his own party, notably of that branch 
 of it which was led by Lord Randolph Churchill, lost no opportu- 
 nity of displaying their contempt for him. 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Gladstone seemed to have regained all 
 that he seemed on the verge of losine;. Richard was himself again, 
 and the Liberals had fresh courage. Said a newspaper writer of 
 the time : " It is marvellous how small need be the occasion to 
 elicit from him a speech which dazzles, amuses, inspires and be- 
 wilders the hearer. When poor, dull, shambling Sir Stafford 
 Northcote gets up after one of these displays, the effect is about as 
 
 26 
 
402 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 pleasant as the shrill note of a tin whistle after the sublime notes 
 of an organ fugue." 
 
 At this time the figure of Gladstone towered higher than ever 
 above the level of the House of Commons. He was without a 
 rival of importance; all his enemies seemed utterly powerless 
 against him; it was Gladstone or utter chaos; and the Tories 
 ground their teeth when they saw that it was so. 
 
 If the leader of the Conservatives was like oatmeal porridge, well 
 sweetened, palatable and nutritious, but not in the least stimulating 
 there was one man who aspired to his position who was decidedly 
 champagny. This was Lord Randolph Churchill, whose long- 
 continued contempt for Northcote culminated in an open attack 
 during this autumn session. The Opposition was badly demoral- 
 ized, and the Government carried its point in regard to the long 
 discussed rules. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's improvement in health had been only temporary, 
 and at the beginning of winter he was advised by his physicians to 
 try the south of France. He had of late been subject to fits of pro- 
 found depression, and this was regarded as a most ominous symp- 
 tom. He remained at Cannes all winter, not returning to Parlia- 
 liament until March 10th. It was during his absence that the 
 evidence of Carey regarding the Phoenix Park murders was 
 taken. The prosecution of Messrs. O'Brien, Harrington and 
 others also took place; but these events hardly have a place 
 in the biography of the Premier. 
 
 There was very hearty advice tendered him by his colleagues 
 to remain at Cannes until after Easter ; but although the mild 
 climate had not done all that it was expected to do, he was 
 unwilling to give more time to the care of his health. The 
 Ministers without Mr. Gladstone were like schoolboys in the 
 absence of their teacher; they enjoyed their liberty exceedingly, 
 and we cannot say that they made good use of it in all re- 
 spects. 
 
 There had been a very distinct announcement that this was 
 not to be an Irish session ; but the Parnellites kept hammer- 
 ing away at the Irish Question as if they had heard nothing 
 of the kind. This gave the impression that the Irishmen would 
 break the session, and the session would break Mr. Gladstone, 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 403 
 
 His critics did not know what a wonderful fund of vitality 
 there was in the man of seventy-three. 
 
 But if Mr. Gladstone were hardly equal to any sustained con- 
 test, there was no prospect that the Conservatives would be 
 able to force any such upon him. Their ranks appeared to be 
 hopelessly disorganized; Sir Stafford Northcote had added ill- 
 ness to the natural unfitness for his position; and Lord Ran- 
 dolph Churchill and his allies never failed to cast disrespect 
 upon the titular leaders of the party. It was openly said that the 
 young nobleman was but an instrument of his father, the Duke 
 of Marlborough, in the endeavor to make Lord Salisbury the 
 chief of the Conservative party ; an effort which was not with- 
 out success later on. 
 
 The Tories, thus disabled from serious combat, adopted the 
 tactics which had been so brilliantly successful under the skillful 
 management of the Irish leader, and became indomitable ob- 
 structionists. 
 
 If the Conservatives had their worst enemies within their 
 own party the Liberals were hardly more fortunate. Mr. Forster 
 had never recovered his good temper since the Government 
 so emphatically condemned his Irish policy, and the culmina- 
 tion of this ill humor came in a bitter personal attack upon 
 Mr. Gladstone. This was fun for the Tories, who frequently 
 interrupted him by their ecstatic cheers, for his speech was 
 chiefly about the war policy of the Government. This attack 
 was a most successful one, for it had a tremendous effect upon 
 Mr. Gladstone. He was naturally easily affected, and when 
 he arose to reply his frame fairly quivered with his emotions. 
 He slashed at Forster without stint or mercy, calling him 
 '<the man of peace who preached war." The storehouse of 
 his scorn was ransacked for expressions su?':ed to the occasion. 
 Meanwhile Mr. Forst.;. sat ixembling at the spirit which he 
 had himself invoked ; shading his face with his hand he made no 
 sign of reply to the great orator. 
 
 The Government found itself involved in difficulties which threat- 
 ened to be very serious, when the result of the negotiations with 
 M. de Lesseps was announced. That eminent engineer was then 
 advocating the cutting of a" second Suez canal, and in this project 
 
404 
 
 The Second Gladstone Minvdry. 
 
 the Ministry agreed to help him. But the plan raised opposition 
 at once ; not only among the Tories, from whom it was only to be 
 expected, but among many of the Liberals as well. Under such 
 circumstances, the Government quietly withdrew its promises to 
 M. de Lesseps, on the ground that it had acted in the way that it 
 thought would be most acceptable to the country, but the country 
 had emphatically disapproved of that course. The Opposition at 
 one time had an excellent opportunity to defeat the Government 
 upon this measure, but lost it by their bungling. The Gove'-n- 
 ment had stood many storms, and was not to fall for two years. 
 
 But before this had come up for discussion, there had been a 
 measure forced upon Parliament by the attempt to blow up the 
 public buildings. About the middle of March, there had been an 
 effort directed against the oifice of the Local Government Board, 
 but beyond the breaking of a great many windows, and the shat- 
 tering of one wall, there was not much damage done. Other 
 attempts were frustrated by accidents to the infernal machines used, 
 but some were partially successful. Finally, in the first week of 
 April, the police discovered a conspiracy of eight men who were 
 engaged in the importation of the materials for the explosive, and 
 the manufactured article. Their connection with Irish-American 
 advocates of the use of dynamite was clearly provsd. To meet 
 SMch cases the Explosives Bill was introduced into the House of 
 Commons, April 9th, and passed through all its stages within two 
 hours, was sent to the Lords, and became a law at once. 
 
 The Bradlaugh question came up again this session. Lord 
 Hartington had announced at the beginning of the session, in 
 answer to a question that the Government intended to bring in a 
 bill affirming that members who objected to the oath should be 
 permitted to affirm ; and this bill came up for its second reading 
 early in May. There was a bitter debate, and the defeat of the 
 Government was inevitable; it was thought that the Opposition 
 would have a considerable majority. But the Ministry took care 
 to state that this was a question upon which the House must decide, 
 not a measure which would by its passage or otherwise mean a 
 defeat for the Government. 
 
 When, therefore, after a scene of intense excitement, the division 
 was taken, the only thing surprising about the vote was the fact 
 
The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 405 
 
 that the nays had a majority of no more than three. But although 
 the Government had declared that this was not regarded as a vote 
 of confidence, the defeat had its effect upon the minds of mrin. 
 Difficulties had ""set the second Gladstone administration since its 
 very inception; hung, ofttinies, by a thread which a single vote 
 mi^ht snap ; and men felt that that thread wdtz worn thinner and 
 thinner by such events as this. 
 
 The Egyptian troubles of the Government had not come to an 
 end with the victory of Telel-Kebir, but were to continue for 
 some time yet under the form of the Soudan difficulties. Briefly 
 stated, the people of the Soudan had revolted against the authority of 
 Egypt, their leader being El Mahdi, or the Prophet, as he was called 
 by his followers. The coming of a prophet who was to perform 
 certain things for the waiting Mussulmans had been foretold, it was 
 said, by the Koran; and this man's career was a fulfillment of the 
 prophecies. Armed with such authority as this claim gave hii.'' 
 over the people of this section, he had defied the rule of the 
 Khedive. 
 
 The Soudan was a desolate district, the Government argued, and 
 not worth asserting a claim over ; and it was far from certain that 
 the Khedive had any real right to control it. England, therefore, 
 advised Egypt to abandon it, and fix the southern boundary of her 
 possessions considerably to the north of the late position ; but there 
 were European residents and garrisons in the disputed territory 
 which she was thus virtually commanded to relinquish, and the 
 safety of these must be cared for. It was to protect these that 
 England was now anxious ; and the disasters which, later on, made 
 the name of the Soudan memorable, were directly traceable to this 
 endeavor. 
 
 Such was the mai.. question that occupied the minds of the Min- 
 isters during the recess. Other threatened troubles there were, in 
 connection with other Powers ; Russia appeared to be aiming at 
 more than her due share of Asiatic territory ; and France was 
 apparently offending in the same quarter. The Russian advance 
 was considered especially inimical to England, as threatening her 
 overland intercourse with her Indian possessions. 
 
 Parliament opened February 5th. Mr. Gladstone was in more 
 robust health than he had been for some time, and had amused 
 
406 
 
 The Second Glachtone Ministry. 
 
 himself during the recess by felling trees, as if it were the midst 
 of summer. It was well that he had this store of strength in 
 reserve, for all of it was to be needed dining the coming session. 
 
 At the Cabinet meetings preceding the opening of Parliament it 
 was decided to introduce a Reform measure. Such a bill was 
 accordingly considered, and the conclusion arrived at that, notwith- 
 standing the dis- 
 turbed state 
 that country, Ire- 
 land must he 
 given her share of 
 the extended rej)- 
 resentation. But 
 the Conservatives 
 
 Mr. Gladstone as a Woodman — His Favorite Recreation. 
 
 were bitterly opposed to any measure of Reform, considering that 
 the Act passed by the Disraeli Cvernment had been quite liberal 
 euough ; and their opposition manifested itself long before the 
 opening of the session. One prominent Conservative declared that 
 the session would begin, continue, and end in a storm. 
 
 But the chief difficulty of the Government was in regard to the 
 Egyptian troubles. The problem received its solution, they thought, 
 

 
 The Second Gladstone Mmistry. 
 
 407 
 
 when "Chinese" Gordon agreed to nndertake the task of pacifica- 
 tion. He was appointed I'or this task in January, and was on his 
 way to the Soudan before the session began. He refused a military 
 escort, believing that it would render his plans futile, and set otF 
 across the desert with a mere handful of followers. The character 
 of Gordon has been too often delineated of late years for it to be 
 necessary here to expatiate upon his virtues ; and we shall take for 
 granted that our readers are well acquainted with the course of 
 these comparatively recent events, and make only such reference 
 as may be necessary to explain the position of the Gladstone 
 Ministry, 
 
 It remains only for us to say, that the course which England had 
 nursued in this matter was unanimously approved by the other 
 nations of Europe ; and that while the general anxiety regarding 
 the fate of Gordon was intense, ii was felt that he could settle the 
 difficulty, if it were in human power. 
 
 The Queen's speech promised a great deal of legislation. It was 
 naively remarked by a journal of the day, that the Ministers 
 seemed to think that Parliament met with the intention of transact- 
 ing business. It was announced that there would be a Bill for the 
 Extension of the Franchise, which would apply to Ireland as well 
 as to the sister kingdoms ; that the extension and reform of local 
 government would be considered ; that it was proposed to extend 
 municipal government to the whole of the metropolis; and many 
 minor reforms were promised. 
 
 The Houses had hardly met before the Egyptian troubles came 
 up for discussion. An amendment to the address, censuring the 
 Government for its course in this matter, was presented ; but 
 although there were but ninety-seven membere present when the 
 division was taken, the Ministry had a majority of fifty-five. The 
 vote was the more favorable, because of the disaster to Baker 
 Pasha's force for the relief of Tokar. But this was not the last of 
 the subject. 
 
 A week after Parliament met, there was a vote of censure pro- 
 posed in both Houses. This, of itself, indicated the growing con- 
 fidence of the Conservatives, since the proposing such a vote, when 
 there was small prospect of carrying it through, was a great mistake. 
 In the House* of Lords the vote was carried by a majority of or ? 
 
408 
 
 The Second Gkiutitone Ministry. 
 
 liundred, after a very brief debate ; but the Commons had more to 
 say about it. 
 
 The Preinier deunded his course ' \ a spoecii which was remark- 
 ably eloqueut even fo* him. Tiic troubles Imd ij^rown directly out of 
 the Dual Control, a syst< m which had been the result of Con.serva- 
 tive ingenuity when tiiat party held the reigns of power, antl for 
 which the Liberal (iovernment could not therefore be held fairly 
 responsible. lie was ably seconded by other members of the 
 Ministry; indeed, the LiUu-als had by far the best of the argu- 
 ment, and as the Irish members had promised to hold aloof from 
 the question, a considerable majority was hoped for. But the 
 Parnellites reconsidered this pledge, and finally followed the Con- 
 servatives into the lobby. The debate had lasted a week, and 
 resulted in a -.najority for the Government of forty-nine. 
 
 This result was without doubt brought about by the success for 
 the time being of the Government's policy ; had the fortunes of 
 war been less favorable, the majority might have been on the other 
 side. 
 
 During the time that the vote of censure was still pending, Mr. 
 Bradlaugh showed him.self as irrepressible as ever; but being 
 excluded from the House, he a})plied for the Chiltern Plunureds. 
 an office without pay or duties, but appointment to which is inconi- 
 patible with membership of Parliament ; as the latter is an honor 
 which cannot be resigned, a British legislator who desires to retire 
 applies for this post, forfeits his seat, and resigns the stewardship 
 of the Chiltern Hundreds ..t :>nce, that it may be vacant and wait- 
 ing for the next applicant. Mr. Bradlaugh, having gone through 
 this little ceremony, the Government went through that other little 
 ceremony of issuing a new writ for Northampton, and Mr. Brad- 
 laugh went through the third ceremony of being elected. 
 
 The two Houses of Parliament may be said (somewhat irrever- 
 ently) to resemble that little girl T^ongfellow tells of, who, 
 
 " When she was good, she was very gooil indeed, 
 But when she was bad slie was I'orrid." 
 
 They showed themselves very good indeed over the question of 
 erecting better dwellings for the poor in the great centres of j)v)pu- 
 lation ; and there was quite a remarkable case of party union. 
 In the meantime the Egyptian question had raised its head again, 
 
"' .^ '\ 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 409 
 
 and was spittiiif? fire at the Ministry. In a debate which took 
 place at the beginning of April, Mr. Gladstone inveighed bitterly 
 against the opposition's constant harping on this subject; sevente»'n 
 nights, he said, had been spent in fVuitlcss discussion of the Soudan 
 question, and the Ministry had been much embarrassed by this crijwf' 
 
 QmercU (Chinese) Gordon. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, it was said, had ''rarely, if .'vcr surpassed, this re- 
 markable philippic for energy or earnestness. ' T'; i Government was 
 sustained by the testimony of Gordon himself at this time as com- 
 munication with Khartoum had rot yet been interrupted, and dis- 
 patches were frequently received I'rom him, stating that he was 
 entirely safe, and had much '* pe of the success of his mission. 
 A little later, however, the dispatches assumed a less confident 
 
410 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 toue, and the Government determined to send an expedition to rescue 
 the popular hero. This determination was perhaps the result of Mr. 
 Gladstone's restoration to health ; as there was a perceptible difference 
 in the vigor of the Government's Egyptian policy during his pros- 
 tration and after his return to the active conduct of affairs. 
 
 But the Conservatives were not deterred from the'»' attack. Sir 
 Michael Hicks- Beach replied to Mr. (xladstone's speech a few days 
 latei", by moving a vote of (iensure upon the Government's Egyp- 
 tian policy ; a vote of cen- 
 sure had come to be quite 
 the usual thing at this 
 me. Mr, Gladstone's im- 
 passioned spc .1 during 
 nis debati pledged the 
 Government to secure Gor- 
 don's personal safety, if 
 such a thing were within 
 human power. The debate 
 was a warm one, and in- 
 cluded a bll'-^r personal at- 
 tack upon the Premier l,y 
 his pretended ally and late 
 colleague, Mr. Forster; 
 who was answered by Lord 
 Hartington, since the rules 
 of the House did not allow 
 Mr. Gladstone to speak 
 the second ti'^- on die question then jtforo it. 
 
 There was consi»lerable anxiety to know what would bo the 
 course of the Parnollites upon thio occasion. They remained stub- 
 bornly in their p its as the Liberals and Conservatives filed out to 
 the lobbies; then rising at last followed the Opposition. Notwith- 
 standing this adverse vote, the m..tion rvas lost by a majority of 
 twenty-eight; and the members of the Government party went 
 '-ome triumphant through the gray of that early May morning. 
 The Government Jiad certainly lost prestige, but it was ecpinlly 
 certain that the Oppositio;: had not gained any. 
 
 Prorogued in August, I'arlianient did not meet again uutil 
 
 iS"):;- Michficl Ilicki^-Bmch. 
 

 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 411 
 
 October 24th. In the meantime, Mr. Gladstone had paid a visit to 
 his Scotch constituents and their neighbors, and been received with 
 an enthusiasm which made amends for much that was unpleasant 
 in his parliamentary life. His passage through the crowded streets 
 of Aberdeen was a veritable triumphal progress. 
 
 Parliament adjourned over the Christmas holidays, not meeting 
 again until February Ib'th. 
 
 The debate upon the Address furnished an opportunity to Lord 
 Salisbury to attack the Government on the old question of the 
 Soudan troubles ; Sir Stafford Northcote also proposed a vote of 
 censure in tne lower House. Mr. Gladstone, who had looked care- 
 worn and pale at the opening of the session, was more like himself 
 when the resolution came up for debate, and addressed the House 
 with his usual vigor. After a thrilling eulogium of Gordon, he 
 asserted that the pcMcy which the Governuient had pursued had 
 maintained the safety of Egypt, and Iiad checked the progress of 
 the slave tnide. It should be noted that while the Opposition 
 never lost an opportunity of attacking tho Egyptian policy of the 
 Government, the Cotiservatives appeared to have no other course 
 to recommend ; they did not know just bow to do it, excepting 
 that they did v.-^t like the Government's way. 
 
 Anothe- difficulty had arisen in the Russian advance in Central 
 Asia. Russia teemed to be tiie embodiment to the Britisii mind of 
 all that is selfishly ambitiop'', and every m'>vement was watched with 
 a distrustful jealousy. The English had had more trouble with 
 Afghanistan than it was w '11 worth, but they wore willing to take 
 nmch more rather than see their overland patii to India barred by 
 Ilussian encroachments. Mr. Gladstone, however, was ill hopes 
 tha*^^ tiie troubles would be siviisfactorily settled by negotiations 
 which were in progress, but it proved that he was too sanguine. 
 
 The Russian Government continued to disown the acts of its 
 agents and to proiiJse to give instructions that would prevent fur- 
 ther diflficulties; but the agents were evidently not advised that 
 they were acting contrary to the Government's wishes, and the 
 instructions were never given. AVar was therefore imminent, and 
 the (Tovernmont as'-ed for a war votv of i:ll,()(K),000. This was 
 not to be applied exclusively to military uses in Afghanistan, but 
 might also be applied toward the exi)enses of operations in the 
 
 V • 1 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
412 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 Soudan if necessary. To this the Conservatives would not consent ; 
 the Soudan had cost the country enough already, not only in money, 
 but in life ; above all, in the loss of gallant Gordon, whose death 
 had saddened many a heart in England. Kartoum had fallen, the 
 Soudan expedition was practically a failure, and the Opposition did 
 not believe in sending good money after bad ; if the Government 
 wanted two war votes, let them ask for them separately. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone made one of the most remarkable speeches of this 
 Ministry upon the occasion of asking for this vote of credit, and the 
 request of the Government was finally granted. But it proved that 
 the fears of war were not well grounded ; for the resumption of 
 friendly relations was duly chronicled by Mr. Gladstone, whose 
 statement was received with enthusiastic cheers. 
 
 The budget was introduced April 30th. Those of the preceding 
 two years had been simple measures ; the most notable provision of 
 that of 1884 l)eing the issuiiig of ten shilling tokens, worth intrin- 
 sically only nine shillings ; the difference between the real and the 
 legal tender value being intended to defray the cost of calling 
 in and recoiuing the numerous coins which had become light 
 weight by long wear. Though this plan had received the approba- 
 tion of many leading economists, it was hotly opposed by Lord 
 Randolph Churchill and some others, and ridiculed by most of the 
 newspapers. 
 
 The budget of 1885 was much more complex, dealing with the 
 war vote as it must. The estimated expenditure was £99,872,000, 
 and there was an estimated deficit of .£14,912,000. To meet this 
 enormous deficiency, it was proposed to raise the income tax one 
 penny, increase the duty upon spirituous and malt liquors, and raise 
 some other duties of minor importance. The Conservatives opposed 
 these taxes on spirituous and malt liquors, on the ground that there 
 should be a corresponding increase in the tax on wines, but it was 
 not thought that this contest v/ould assume a % ery serious form. 
 
 About the middle of May there were two announcements made, 
 which showed well for the country's prosperity; the troops were to 
 be finally withdrawn from the Soudan, thus doing away with that 
 sour(!e of expense ; and the two governments had agreed as to the 
 Aftrhan boundary. 
 
 On the occasion of the vote upon the Civil Service and Revenue 
 
m 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 413 
 
 Departments' Estimate, Lord Randolph Churchill and some others 
 having indulged in frequent interruptions of Mr. Gladstone's 
 speech, the venerable statesman uttered one ot the most touching 
 rebukes which the House of Commons has ever heard. It was not 
 that he complained for one whose term of membership in that 
 House might be numbered by da^'s, he said, and must certainly be 
 bounded by months rather than by years, but for the sake of the 
 dignity of the House, he protested against these frequent and un- 
 called-for interruptions. The rebuke seems to have had its desired 
 effect. 
 
 The budget came up for final discussion June 7th. The House 
 seemed half asleep. It looked as if there was nothing which could 
 rouse the members on either side to the height of cheering ; and Sir 
 Michael Hicks-Beach spoke unaided by signs of sympathy from 
 the Conservatives, uninterrupted by dissenting voices on the Lib- 
 eral side. Nobody seemed to care whether he spoke or not, and 
 even Mr. Wartou, who nearly always caused the House to unbend 
 to merriment, found the members unresponsive. There was no ex- 
 citement in the lobbies ; there was no interest anywhere. 
 
 It was after midnight when Mr. Childers concluded his speech, 
 and Mr. Gladstone rose to close the debate. His appearance was 
 not promising; for some time past he had been accustomed to leave 
 the House before this hour, and he looked thoroughly tired out. 
 His voice was feeble, and his manner deprecatory ; the House pre- 
 pared to doze again. 
 
 But suddenly he burst into brilliancy. The speech which began 
 thus unpromisingly was the brightest and most vivacious that had 
 been heard from his lips for many a day. There were not wanting 
 those who said that it was the best speech he had ever deliv- 
 ered ; but this was perhaps an exaggeration, due to the immense 
 difference between this and the ])revious efforts of the night. He 
 seemed to court the interruption which he had rebuked a short 
 time before; it only afforded opportunities for him to retaliate upon 
 his enemies 
 
 He was especially strong in his attacks upon Lord Randolph 
 Churchill, and one of his happiest hits was in speaking of the Op- 
 position which " calls itself sometimes Conservative and sometimes 
 the Tory Democracy ; " in reply to which Lord Randolph took off 
 
■M-iM^^^.^^:9 
 
 414 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 his hat with a bow in ironical acknowledgment. " To sum up, 
 Mr. Gladstone thoroughly enjoyed himself, and the House thor- 
 oughly enjoyed Mr. Gladstone." The great speech ended amid the 
 vehement cheers of the Ministry, and the division was taken. 
 There was no hope among the Tories ; the only question was, what 
 would be the Government's majority? And this did not excite 
 any special interest. 
 
 The suspicion of the real state of affairs did not begin to dawn 
 upon the Opposition until the division was approaching its end. 
 Then, as they saw that the stream of men going into the Conser- 
 vative lobby was as full as ever, that going into the other was per- 
 ceptibly diminishing. Then began the excitement of the night, or 
 rather morning, " What's your number?" was eagerly demanded 
 of each Conservative as he returned to the House, by a score of his 
 eager comrades. At last the teller for the Government was seen 
 approaching tlie table, and there was an intense stillness until they 
 had heard the number — two hundred and fifty-two. Had the Con- 
 servatives beaten this ? It was soon known that they had, and 
 then began the uproar. 
 
 The most vehement was of course Lord Randolph Churchill. 
 He was like a schoolboy whose club has beaten in a great match. 
 He waved his hat at arm's length, then got upon his seat and 
 waved it over the heads of the excited assemblage, There were 
 others to follow his example, and they cheered until they were 
 hoarse. The Ministry answered by defiant counter-cheers, and the 
 Parnellites took up the cry. " Coercion ! " " Buckshot ! " " Spen- 
 cer ! " they shouted, forgetful of all that had been done for them 
 by this Government. 
 
 There were but two men in the House who were entirely silent. 
 One of these sat among his handful of followers, a happy smile 
 upon his pale face, but his habitual self-control strong now as ever; 
 he was Charles Stuart Parnell. The other sat with his portfolio 
 on his knees, writing as composedly as the reporters in the gallery 
 above the account of the fall of his Ministry. 
 
 At last the numbers were told, and the House was reduced to 
 some sort of order. Then the man who had been thus coolly writ- 
 ing arose. There was a burst of enthusiastic cheers from his fol- 
 lowers, answered by loud siiouts of triumph from the other side. 
 

 
 -'<1f,. .. 
 
 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 
 
 415 
 
 For a moment it seemed as if he would not be heard at all ; but he 
 stood calmly waiting for quiet, now and then dotting an i or cross- 
 ing a < in his dispatch. At last he made his voice heard ; he 
 simply moved an adjournment. 
 
 The House began to empty at once. The Conservatives went 
 home to dream of the success which they had so unexpectedly 
 achieved ; the Liberals to brood over their equally unexpected 
 defeat. It seems strange that a Government whose fall had been 
 predicted so many times should at last succumb when it was 
 thought to be strong ; after tottering so many times from its incep- 
 tion, its iiual fall was a surprise to all. 
 

 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THIRD AND FOURTH ADMINISTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone Again in Scotland — Lord Salisbury on Public Questions — Eesult 
 of the Elections — Third Gladstone Ministry — Advocates Giving Ireland 
 the Eight to Make Her Own Laws — Irish Land Purchase Bill — Second 
 Heading of Irish Home Rule Bill— Eloquent Appeal on Behalf of Ireland 
 — Irish Bills Condemm by John Bright — Rupture Between the Two 
 Great Leaders — General Election of 1886 — Defeat of the Liberals — Policy 
 of Coercion — Action of the Torv Government — The Premier's Retirement 
 — Lord Rosebery Successor to Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 TTTHE first general eleouon under the new Reform Act was held 
 (^ I fe in November, 1885. Mr. Gladstone again appeared before 
 his Midlothian constituents, and, although nearly seventy- 
 six years of age, spoke with an energy md force far beyond all his 
 contemporaries. By his attitude on the Disestablishment question 
 he drew back many wavering Scotch votes. Discussing the Irish 
 question at Edinburg, he said that, so long as we dealt liberally, 
 equitably, and prudently with Ireland, this country had nothing to 
 fear from any change ; but whatever demands were entertained must 
 be subject to the condition that the unity of the empire, and all the 
 powers of the Imperial Parliament for maintaining that authority, 
 must be preserved. 
 
 In a second address he affirmed his conviction that the day had 
 not come when the disestablishment of the church should be made 
 a test question. Land reform, local government, parliamentary 
 procedure, and the imperial relations between Ireland and England 
 were questions pressing for settlement by the next Parliament, and 
 every sensible man would admit that it was right to direct attention 
 to them rather than to a matter impossible of immediate solution. 
 
 In a speech at West Calder, Mr. Gladstone approved Lord Salis- 
 bury's action with regard to Servia, complained of the ministerial 
 condemnation of Lord Ripon's Indian administration, ridiculed the 
 idea of benefit resulting from a royal commission on trade depres- 
 sion, warned the electors against remedies which were really worse 
 than the disease, and defended free trade principles. He further 
 416 
 
 
 ■}^ 
 
 fm 
 
 r 
 
 1 
 
 # ! 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 27 
 
f^ 
 
 Ci 
 
 to 
 
 
 27 
 
 417 
 

 418 
 
 Third and Fourth Adminlatrations. 
 
 advocated comprehensive land reforms, including free transfer, 
 facility of registration, and the uprooting of mortmain. 
 
 Again speaking at Edinburgh, he vindicated the policy of the 
 late Government in the Transvaal, and, alluding to Mr. Parnell's 
 manifesto directing that a solid Irish vote should be cast for the 
 Tories at the impending elections, he said that the Liberal party 
 would continue to act in the same friendly and generous spirit 
 towards Ireland as it had shown during the last fifty y-y ^ unde- 
 terred by the threats or opprobrious language of Mr. Parneii. 
 
 The elections resulted in the return of 333 Liberals, 249 Con- 
 servatives, 86 Parnellites, and 2 Independents. The Liberals thus 
 secured a substantial triumph ; but one of the most gratifying fea- 
 tures of the electoral contest was the return of Mr. Gladstone for 
 Midlothian by an overwhelming majority. 
 
 The parliamentary session of 1886 had scarcely opened before 
 the Salisbury Gbvernment was defeated upon an amendment to 
 the Address, moved by Mr. Jesse Collings, affirming the necessity 
 for aifording facilities to agricultural laborers to obtain allotments 
 and small holdings. Several influential Liberals opposed the 
 amendment, but Mr. Gladstone warmly supported it, as a recog- 
 nition of the agricultural laborer's position, and of the mischiefs 
 arising from the divorce of so large a portion of the population 
 from the land. The Irish membera coalesced with the Liberals, 
 and the Government was placed in a minority of 79. Lord Salis- 
 bury immediately resigned. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was sent for by the Queen, and succeeded in 
 forming his third Ministry, February, 1886. The new Premier 
 was faced by unusual difficulties; but after anxious thought he 
 had come to the conchision that it was no longer possible to deal 
 with the Irish difficulty upon the old stereotyped lines. He was 
 resolved to treat this all-absorbing question upon large and gener- 
 ous principles. Accordingly on the 8th of April, in a House 
 densely crowded and profoundly interested, the Prime Minister 
 brought forward his Bill to amend the provisions for the future 
 government of Ireland — in effect, a measure for granting Home 
 Rule to the Irish people; but with certain Imperial reservations 
 and safeguards. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone traced the history of the Irish question, and ex- 
 

 Thii'd and Fourth Adminiatrationa. 
 
 419 
 
 preb^^d his conviction that the time had come for granting to Ire- 
 land that which she liad long been loudly demanding — the right to 
 make her own laws. The bill, however, was not only opposed by 
 the Conservatives, but by Lord Hartington, Mr. Chamberlain, and 
 other Liberal dissentients, who wei*e subsequently known as Liberal 
 Unionists, in contradistinction to the Gladstonian Liberals, who 
 
 Hon. Joseph M. Chamberlain. 
 
 continued to form the great bulk of the Liberal party, and who 
 are still in fact the Liberal party. 
 
 The Bill having been read a first time, on the 16th of April 
 Mr. Gladstone supplemented it by introducing the Irish Land Pur- 
 chase Bill, which was intende<l to come into operation on the same 
 day as the Home Rule Bill. The object of the measure was to 
 give to all Irisli landowners the option of being bought out on the 
 terms of the Act ; to give all Irish landowners an opening towards 
 the exercise of that option where the rent was from agricultural 
 
420 
 
 Third and Fourth Adminutrationa. 
 
 land. But it did not pretend to deal with mansionii, demesnes, and 
 woods. The State authority was to be the purchaser, and the 
 occupier was to become the proprietor. In certain congested dis- 
 tricts, however, the State authority would also be the proprietor. 
 
 The Premier proposed to fix the nominal purchase-price at 
 twenty years' purchasi! of the net rental, ascertained by deducting 
 law charges, bad debts, and cost of management from the judi<!ial 
 
 rent. Where there 
 was no judicial ren- 
 tal, the Land Couit 
 could, if it chose, 
 make use of Griffith's 
 valuation for coming 
 to a fair decision. To 
 meet the demand for 
 the means of pur- 
 chase thus estab- 
 lished, Mr. Gladstone 
 proposed to create 
 i;50, 000,000 Three 
 per Cents. The re- 
 payment of advances 
 would be secured by 
 a Receiver -general, 
 appointed by and 
 acting unaer British 
 authority. 
 The Land Purchase 
 Bill was also opposed, and it was the final cause which led to Mr. 
 Chamberlain's retirement from the Government. The Land scheme 
 was not destined to make progress, in consequence of the defeat 
 of the Home Rule Bill. The country speedily became agitated on 
 the subject of the latter measure, which was energetically supported 
 by Mr. John Morley at Glasgow, and by Mr. Gladstone in a letter 
 addressed to his Midlothian constituents. 
 
 The second reading of the Irish Home Rule Bill was taken on 
 May 10th, when the Premier replied to the criticisms of his oppo- 
 nents, and denied that he had ever, at any period of his life. 
 
 Jlon. John Morley, 
 

 Third and Fourth Administrations. 
 
 421 
 
 declared Home Rule in Ireland to be incompatible with Imperial 
 unity. He now accepted it as a remedy imperatively necessary for 
 the repression of social disorder, and pointed out that while the 
 policy of the Opposition was coercion, that of th^ Government was 
 autonomy. " We have before us," he said, " a great opportunity of 
 putting an end to the controversy of seven hundred years, ay, and 
 of knitting together, by bonds firmer and higher in their character 
 than those which heretofore we have mainly used, the hearts and 
 affections of this people, and the noble fabric of the British Empire." 
 
 The debate extended over many nights; and while it was 
 in progress, a Bill directed against the carrying of arms in 
 Ireland was introduced, and pushed forward rapidly through 
 both Houses until it became law. 
 
 The position of Ministers on the Home Rule and Land Bills 
 was explained by Mr. Gladstone at a meeting of Liberals, held at 
 the Foreign Office on the 27th of May. The Premier stated that 
 the Government at present only asked for an endorsement of 
 the leading principles of the two measures; and in afterwards 
 closing the debate on the second reading of the Home Rule 
 Bill in the House of Commons, he made an eloquent appeal 
 on behalf of Ireland. The division, nevertheless, left the Govern- 
 ment in a minority of 30, the numbers being — for the meas- 
 ure, 313; against, 343. It was found that 93 Liberals had 
 voted in the majority. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone now appealed to the country on his Irish 
 policy, and on the 14th of June issued his address to the electors of 
 Midlothian. He stated that the ministerial plan gave to Ireland, 
 imder well considered conditions, power to transact her own 
 atFairs. This would secure a real union, and not a mere paper 
 union, between the two countries. The Premier folic wed up 
 his address by a visit to Midlothian and likewise to Glas- 
 gow, where he delivered powerful speeches in favor of the 
 Government policy. 
 
 On the 25th of June he appeared at Manchester, and was 
 the subject of a magnificent and enthusiastic reception at the 
 Free Trade Hall. With unusual force and elonuence he in- 
 sisted that while Irish nationality might be enlisted in the 
 service of law and order with infinite advantag*!, yet if Eng- 
 
422 
 
 Third and Fourth A<lmhmlratioaa. 
 
 land made it an enemy, it w .A teach her ly sorrowful and 
 painful lessons, that ita claims . .*" not .e resisted with im- 
 punity/ Passing on to Lv/crpooi, ae here also pleaded the 
 Irish cause, aid called upoi. .W people to "ring out the old, 
 ring in the new." 
 
 Mr. Bright whi had separate, i'rom his old colleague and 
 leader on liie Irish question, ad'^»- . ;.d his constituents at Birming- 
 ham, condemning the Houk i.aie and Land Purchase Bills, 
 and making some observations which Mr. Gladstone felt called 
 upon to challenge. In a letter addressed to Mr. Bright, the 
 Premier denied having successadly concealed his thoughts on 
 the Irish question in the previous November, seeing tiiat he 
 had expressly st-ted that if the Irisli elections went as was 
 expected, the magnitude of t'e Irish question would put all 
 others into the shade. Mr. Gladstone also pointed out that 
 the position in^ Ireland had wholly changed from what it was 
 in 1881, when there was a conspiracy for marching through 
 rapine to the disintegration of the United Kingdom. 
 
 The right honorable gentleman also denied that he had en- 
 deavored to thrust the details of the Land Purchase Bill upon his 
 colleagues and upon the House of Commons. *' If I am a 
 man c»nable of such an intention, I wonder you ever took office 
 with one so ignorant of the spirit of the Constitution and so 
 arbitmry in its character. Though this appears to be )our 
 opinion of me, I do not think it is the opinion held by my 
 countrymen in general. You quote not a word in support of your 
 charge. It is ab'-olutely untrue." Mr. Bright replied, remarking 
 that trie liberal leader had asked the constituencies to send him a 
 majority large enough to make him independent of Mr. Parnell 
 and his party, and yet he had since completely surrendered to Mr. 
 Parnell. 
 
 Mr. Bright s letter was not a satisfactory answer to the various 
 points urged by Mr. Gladstone, but the member for Central Bir- 
 mingham addea, " Though I thus differ from you at this time and 
 on this question, do not imagine that I ever cease to admire your 
 great qualities, or to value the great services you have rendered to 
 your CO ^ry." 
 
 A correspondence between Mr. Gladstoni.' and Mr. A. J. Bal- 
 
 '■A: 
 
Tlurd and Fourth Admlfiidrationa. 
 
 423 
 
 four, published in July, demonstrated that the former had urged 
 upon Lord Salisbuiy the absolute necessity of dealing immediately 
 with the Irish question, and expressed a strong hope that the sub- 
 ject should not fall into the lines of party conf iot. 
 
 The general election of July, 1880, was fought out under cir- 
 cumstances of great excitement, and much misropresentn;'* • of the 
 Liberal position on the part of Conservative and Lib* *' iJnionist 
 candidates. The Liberals were defeated, and the new House of 
 
 Casket Presenlid t Mr. Oladstone hy his Liverpool Comtitiienfg. 
 
 Commons v/as composed as follows: Conservatives, P)16; Lib- 
 oral Unionists, 78 ; GladstonijM* Liberals, 191 ; and Irish Home 
 Rulers, 85, 
 
 With such a decided majority against him, Mr. Gladstone 
 resigned office, and Lord Salisbury again became Prime Minister. 
 Mr. Gladstone congratulated the Government on not announcing a 
 policy of Coercion in the House of Commons, and said that with 
 every admission that '"^oercion would not be applied again, he 
 Koljoved Home Rule came nearer and nearer. Until law was 
 administered in Ireland in an Irish spirit, there would be no 
 security for social order in the siste" country. 
 
 ^tv-AJt^i 
 
^L24 
 
 Third and Fourth Administratmia. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone left England for a tour in Bavaria in the autumn, 
 but before doing so he issued a pamphlet on the Irish question, 
 divided into two parts : I. History of an Idea ; and, II. Lessons 
 of the Elections. In the former section he traced the several 
 stages by which the great question of autonomy for Ireland had 
 been b -ought to a state of ripeness for practical legislation ; and in 
 the second part showed that, of the four nationalities in the United 
 Kingdom, Scotland approved his Irish policy by three to two Ire- 
 land by four and a half to one, and " gallant Wales " by five to 
 one ; whilst England decided against Ireland by returning 336 op- 
 ponents to 129 supporters. 
 
 In October Mr. Gladstone received five deputations at Ha warden. 
 One of them presented an address from 400,000 women of Ireland, 
 while the other four conveyed to him the freedom of four Irish 
 cities — Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Clonmel. The Liberal 
 leader expressed his conviction of the success of Home Rule, and 
 denied that Ireland wished fo*" separation. 
 
 Much to the surprise of the Liberal i)arty, the Tory Government 
 introduced a Crimes Prevention (Ireland) Bill of exceptional 
 severity in the session of 1887. It had been u-nderstood that there 
 was to be no Coercion, and many Conservative members were 
 returned on this clear understanding. Moreover, Ireland was far 
 freer from ordinary crime than England. The Bill was obviously 
 drawn to suppress the fre<i expression of political opinion in 
 Ireland, and to destroy the influence of the National League. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone and the great bulk of the T.jberal party strongly 
 opposed this arbitrary and unnecessary measure, but it was carried 
 by the aid of Liberal Dissentient votes. The Act was applied with 
 groat stringency during the recess, and Mr. O'Brien and other Irish 
 members were thrown into prison, but the Coercion Act entirely 
 failed to achieve its leading object, namely, the suppression of 
 the Land T,eague. 
 
 Irish debates were of frequent occurrence in the House of 
 Commons in 1888, but the session was chiefly signalized by the 
 passing of the Local Government Act, a measure of a democratic 
 character, establishing County Councils throughout the kingdom ; 
 and by the appointment of a Commission, consisting of three 
 judges, to try the Timoi' charges against Mr. Parnell and various 
 
 siasm *.jc 
 
Third and Fourth Administrations, 
 
 425 
 
 other persons. The Commission sat for upwards of fifty days, 
 and then passed through a series of sensational and startling 
 episodes. Tlie letters alle'^ed to have been written by Mr, Parnell 
 implicating him in assassination and crime were confessed to be 
 forgeries by an Irish witness .amed Richard Pigott, and the Times 
 abandoned tha charges for ded upon the letters and made an 
 apology to the Irish leader. 
 
 In November, 1888, Mr. Gladstone paid a memorable visit to 
 Birr ingham. On the 5th he appeared at the Town Hall, which 
 was crowded to excess. Replying to an address from the Birming- 
 ham Liberal Association, he first paid a touching tribute to John 
 Bright, expressing a fervent wish for his restoration to health, and 
 then went on to condemn the administration of the Coercion Act, 
 dealing also with other public questions. Next day he received a 
 deputation from Walsall, assuring them that the Liberal Unionists 
 were visibly approaching their doom. It was a question between 
 doing justice to Ireland on the one hand in conjunction with the 
 Liberal party at large, and on the other of swallowing Toryism 
 bodily and wholly. 
 
 In the schoolroom attached to the Church of the Redeemer, 
 Edgbas^on, Mr. Gladstone received a number of handsome pres- 
 ents from the workingmen of Birmingham. He afterwards visited 
 the Council House and Art Gallery, and attended the Mayor's 
 reception in the evening. On the following morning he accom- 
 j)anied Mrs. Gladstone to Ashfield House, where a medallion cameo 
 portrait of the ex-premier was presented to Mrs. Gladstone by the 
 Liberal ladies of Birmingham. 
 
 On the evening of the 7th a great demonstration was held in the 
 Hingley Hall, a building which in its normal state is capable of 
 holding about 20,000 people, but which for this occasion was made 
 to hold many more. The meeting was one of the most enthusiastic 
 and remarkable in the annals of ihe Liberal party, upwards of one 
 hundred members of Parliament and many other influential per- 
 sons supporting the ex-Premier on the platform. The chair 
 was taken by Mr. Osier, President of the Birmingham L'beral 
 Association. 
 
 When Mr. Gladstone rose to speak an unparalleled scene of erthn- 
 siasm cjcurred. He was kept standing for some minutes, while 
 
426 
 
 Third and Fourth AdnunktrauK.n9. 
 
 volleys of cheering rang through the hall, and handkerchiefs were 
 waved hy the ladies. When quiet was at length restored, Mr. 
 Gladstone at once plunged into the subject of Ireland.' He 
 impeached the Government as a government of unequal law, as a 
 lawless government, a government whose policy and operations the 
 Irish people had a right to resent. The right of combination 
 given in P:ngland, was withheld in Ireland ; and the right of public 
 meeting was in the hands of the Lord-Lieutenant, whose will was 
 executed and confirmed by magistrates removable at the will of the 
 Executive. Irish members were tried for offences far less series 
 than sedition, and treated as common felons. He believed that the 
 world generally looked upon our treatment of Ireland as dishonor- 
 able to England. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone forcibly said—" You are invited to maintain this 
 system— and why? Is it economical? The waste of Imperial 
 treasure under this system is enormous. I ought to know some- 
 thing of the finances of the country, and I do not hesitate to say 
 that to place the waste of the present system of governing Ireland 
 at from three to four millions a year of hard monev, is but a 
 moderate estimate of the facts. This waste to produce what ? Not 
 to produce content, but to produce discontent. Does it ji-oduce 
 Imperial strength ? Suppose we were involved in great diffifulties, 
 suppose we had-God forbid that we should oave— a crisis like the 
 original American war brouglit upon us. At this time would Irelnnd 
 add to our strength what she ought to add ? No. We have now 
 got Ireland making a thoroughly constitutional demand— demand- 
 ing what is in her own language a subordinate Parliament, acknowK 
 edging in the fullest term., ^he supremacy of the Parliament at 
 Westminster. How can you know that under all circumstances 
 that moderation of demand will continue?" 
 
 Another scene of intense eu-'.usiasm was witnessed when the 
 ex-Premier resumed his seat, after having spoken with great energy 
 and clearness of enunciation for a hour and fifty minutes. On the 
 8th Mr. Gladstone recf ,d a deputation and an address from the 
 Irish Nationalists of Birmingham and district. He subsequently 
 planted a tree in Sir Walter Foster's garden, and then left for West 
 Bromwich on a visit to the Hon. P. Stanhope. Replying to a 
 number of addresses presented to him at West Bromwich. he said 
 
 K4 
 
■^TO. ' :'*>Vfm 
 
 Third and Fourth AdministratioriH. 
 
 427 
 
 the balance at the last election was cast not by the true sense of 
 the population considered individually as men, but by plural votes 
 given by owners of property, who had already enjoyed occupation 
 votes. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's prediction that the policy of Home Rule would 
 make rapid progress was abundantly justified by the course of 
 events. A number of Liberal dissentients, like Sir George Tevelyan, 
 who had promised to support Home Rule if certain Imperial guar- 
 antees were conceded, re' urned to the Liberal fold on receiving Mr. 
 Gladstone's assurances ; but Mr. Chamberlain, who had also asked 
 for these safeguards, instead of accepting them as he agreed to do, 
 attacked his old leader and his plans with a rancor and hostility 
 which lost him the esteem of all true Liberals. Wherever the 
 country had an opportunity of declaring itself on the burning 
 question o^ the day- -from Southampton in the extreme south to 
 Govan and East Perthshire in the north — it pronounced an over- 
 whelming verdict in favor of Home Rule, and in condemnation of 
 the policy of L^rd Salisbury' s Government. 
 
 In December Mr. Gladstone wjat to Italy for the benefit of his 
 health, making his headquarters at Naples. He was warmly 
 greeted by the Italian people, gratitude mingling with their enthu- 
 siasm for the important services which the Englic^h statesman had 
 rendered in the past to the cause of Italian freedom and unity. 
 After a sojourn of two months in the south of Europe he returned 
 to England much refreshed and invigorated, and ready to take part 
 in the labors of a session which promised to be unusually animated 
 and t ■, entful. 
 
 On August 4, 1892, Mr. Gladstone, in his eighty-third year, 
 begUxi the administration that most statesmen twenty years !*s 
 would have hesita^od to undertake. 
 
 iiinii 
 
 le was rot destined, however, to witness the triumph of his 
 ambition to confer home rule upon Ireland. His intellectual vigor 
 continued unabated, and on October 24, 1892, he delivered the first 
 .<t the Romanes lectures at Oxford, his subject being " Mediaeval 
 Universities," and his welcome at his old university was enthu- 
 siastic. He was presented with the freedom of the city of Liverpool 
 on December 30th, shortly after paying a visit to Biarritz, where his 
 eighty-third year was spent. On April 6th of the following year 
 
 I 
 
Lord Rosebery — Oladstone's Successor, 
 
 he moved 
 of Comm( 
 bin with I 
 During 
 his life wi 
 t'flfect upo 
 opening ol 
 Reprosenti 
 ing at Edi 
 returning 
 bling of ] 
 weeks wit 
 the Hous 
 ch>se,=t frii 
 
 Tiie Pc 
 hy publi.s 
 from pub 
 Mr. Glad 
 Before th( 
 of the daj 
 afterward 
 first time 
 sight and 
 
 During 
 right eye 
 him to a 
 ia Parlia 
 b queatht 
 a poetica 
 write and 
 close of I 
 cing and 
 
 His ch 
 nient froi 
 Salisbury 
 Christian 
 were spe 
 advanced 
 
 428 
 
Third and Fourth Administrations. 
 
 429 
 
 'i 
 
 he moved the second reading of the Home Rule bill in the House 
 of Commons, and subsequently superintended tlie progress of the 
 bin with unparalleled vigor and patience. 
 
 During that month a lunatic made n unsuccessful attempt upon 
 his life without disturbing his serenity or producing any apparent 
 effect upon his nervous system. He delivered a speech at the 
 opening of the new Havvarden Institute on May 23d on "Labor 
 Representation." He made a trip to Scotland in September speak- 
 ing at Edinburgh on the relations between Lords and Commons, 
 returning to his place in the House of Commons on the reassem- 
 bling of Paliament. During the winter recess he spent several 
 weeks with his family and a few close personal friends at Biarritz, 
 the House meeting in his absence. It was now evident to his 
 closest friends that his great work as a statesman was nearly done. 
 
 The Pall Mall Gazette, early in 1894, startled the English public 
 by publishing a report that Mr. Gladstone contemplated retiring 
 from public life. The report was contradicted for the time, and 
 Mr. Gladstone returned to his seat in the House of Commons. 
 Before the end of February, however, he, in speaking to the order 
 of the day, aiuiounced his own retirement and resigned very shortly 
 afterward, to be succeeded by Lord Rosebery. It then, for the 
 first time, became known to the public that he was losing both 
 sight and hearing. 
 
 During May, 1894, a successful operation was performed upon his 
 j-ight eye for cataract, but the restoration of his sight did not induce 
 him to again enter public life. He .shortly after resigned his seat 
 ia Parliament, and engaged in the formation of a library to be 
 b queathed to the public and in important literary work, including 
 a poetical translation of the Odes of Horace. He continued to 
 write and lecture in defense of the Christian religion until near the 
 close of his remarkable life, and what was probably more convin- 
 cing and important — lived the faith he professed. 
 
 His chief public utterances on political subjects after his retire- 
 ment from public life consisted of trenchant criticLsras upon the 
 Salisbury Government for its course in abandoning the Armenian 
 Christians to Turkish massacre and spoliation. His closing years 
 were spent in such domestic enjoyment as the infirmities of his 
 advanced age rendered possible. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, DOMESTIC RELA- 
 TIONS, AND LITERARY CAREER. 
 
 1 I f URNING back to the earliest time at which the personal 
 ® I ® appearance and manner of Mr. Gladstone were of sufficient 
 general interest to warrant a descriptior. in the journals of 
 the day, we find him noticed in Mr. Cornelius Brown's "• History of 
 Newark." At the date of his first election to Parliament he Avas 
 somewhat robust in appearance, and was considered a handsome 
 man, possessing a most intelligent and expressive countenance. He 
 made friends, says one who speaks from a personal recollection .f 
 this contest, by his tiioughtful look and attractive bearing. 
 
 A portrait in oils, executed a few years later fcjr the Newark 
 Conservative Club, was engraved, though but few copies of the 
 engraving exist. At first sight, says one who has seen it, it is 
 hardly recognizable as the former appearance of the rugged face 
 with whose outlines we are all familiar; the plump face soon 
 became thin and furrowed by the cares of state, and it is only after 
 a closer look that we recognize the somewhat prominent nose, the 
 intellectual forehead, the anxious eyes, and the earnest expression 
 which even then gave promise of his conscientiousness in later 
 years. 
 
 It is perhaps significant, in this connection, that these early de- 
 scriptions, especially those which are drawn from the newspapers 
 of the time, invariably speak of Mr. Gladstone as older than he 
 really was at that date. Whether it was his mental or moral char- 
 acteristics that gave him tiie appearance of a longer acquaintance 
 with the world, would require the contemporary testimony of an 
 eye-witness, and this we do not jwssess. 
 
 Although Mr. Gladstone had impressed all with whom he came 
 
 in contact with the idea that he was a young man of considerable 
 
 ability, his later pre eminence was not universally accorded to hitn 
 
 by the prophets of the political world ; but it can hardly be matter 
 
 430 
 

 .:::.^'- 
 
 ■s- ■^-.■. ^rc■^^%^:!;^=^5^i^r£^^^:^•T^^^•■ v 
 
 
 Personal Oharaderiatics. 
 
 431 
 
 for wonder that those observers who sneered at the pretensions of 
 young Disraeli as absurd should be mistaken in his great rival. 
 In the work, "The British Senate in 1838/' the writer, after speak- 
 ing of the great things which Mr. Gladstone's party expects from 
 him, and alluding to the successes with which he had already met, 
 goes on to say : 
 
 "He is a man of very considerable talent, but has nothing 
 approaching to genius. His abilities are much more the result of 
 an excellent etlucation, and of mature study, than of any prodigality 
 of nature in the distribution of bar mental gifts. I have no idea 
 that he will ever acquire the reputation of a great statesman. His 
 views are not sufficiently profound or enlarged for that; his celeb- 
 rity in the House of Commons will chiefly depend on his readiness 
 and dexterity as a debaier, in conjunction with the excellence of 
 his elocution, and the gracefulness of his manner when speaking." 
 
 So much for a general estimate of the man, written at a time 
 when he had been long enough in Parliament to afford data for a 
 reasonably fair criticism. When the writer leaves prophecy, and 
 devotes himself to description, he is more interesting : 
 
 "Mr. Gladstone's appearance and manner are much in his favor. 
 He is a fine-looking man. He is about the usual height, and of 
 good figure. His countenance is mild and pleasant, and has a 
 highly intellectual expression. His eyes are clear and quick. His 
 eyebrows are dark and rather prominent. There is not a dandy in 
 the House but envies what Truefit would call his fine head of jet- 
 black hair. It is always carefully parted from the crown down- 
 ward to his brow, where it is tastefully shaded. His features are 
 small and regular, and his comi)lpxion must be very unworthy 
 witness if he does not possess an abundant stock of health. 
 
 " Mr. Gladstone's gesture is varied, but not violent, When he 
 rises he generally puts both hands behind his back, and having 
 there suffered them to embrace each other for a short time, he un- 
 clasps them, and allows them to drop on either side. They are not 
 permitted to remain long in that locality before you see them again 
 closed together, and hanging down before him. Their re-union is 
 not suffered to last for any length of time. Again a separation 
 takes place, and now the right hand is seen moving up and down 
 before him. Having thus exercised it a little, he thrusts it into the 
 
432 
 
 Personal Characterhlicn. 
 
 pocket of his coat, and then orders the left hand to follow its exam- 
 ple. Having granted them a momentary repose there, they are 
 again put into gentle motion, and in a few seconds they are seen 
 reposing vis-a-vis on his breast. He moves his face and body from 
 one direction to another, not forgetting to bestow a liberal share of 
 attention upon his own party. 
 
 " He is always listened to with much attention by the House, and 
 appears to be highly respected by men of all parties. He is a man 
 of good business habits ; of this he furnished abundant proof when 
 Under-Secretary for the Colonies, during the short-lived adminis- 
 tration of Sir Robert Peel. ... His style is polished, but has no 
 appearance of the effect of previous preparation. 
 
 "He displays considerable acuteness in leplying to an opponent; 
 he is quick in his perception of anything vulnerable in the speech 
 to which he replies, and happy in laying the weak point bare to 
 the gaze of the House. He now and then indulges in sarcasm, 
 which is, in most cases, very felicitous. He is plausible even when 
 most in error. When it suits himself or his party, he can apply 
 himself with the strictest closeness to the real point at issue ; when 
 to evade the point is deemed most politic, no man can wander from 
 it more widely." 
 
 In the case of an individual .so eminent as the " Grand Old 
 Man," it is scarcely an idle curiosity which delights in such details. 
 It may fairly be claimed that the mo.st determined enemy of per- 
 soual gossip might listen with delight to those trifles which indicato 
 the character of the man, and something of the advantages which 
 he has enjoyed, or the disadvantages which he has conquered. Of 
 the latter there are few or none that beset the life of Mr. Gladstone, 
 outside of the difficulties which the constitution of his own mind 
 placed in his path. Delaying the consideration of these qualities 
 and their results for a moment, we would point out that the ges- 
 tures, so fully described in the above extract, are not without 
 meaning. 
 
 Young Disraeli, mocked and ridiculed as he was by the House 
 of Commons during the very time that Gladstone was winning 
 such golden opinions, would never have changed the position of 
 his hands so frequently during the course of a speech. Tiiese are 
 the movements of a man whose earnestness is so great that it 
 

 Personal Characteristics. 
 
 433 
 
 makes liina distrustful of his own powers; who feeliJ that the bur- 
 den of oare may weight him to the ground ; they are the move- 
 ments of a man capable of ohanging his course when his opinions 
 have changed, regardless of the sneers which his inconsistency may 
 
 provoke. 
 
 Out of his very conscientiousness arose this inconsistency, as his 
 enemies are pleased to call it. In his work, " Mr. Gladstone : a 
 Study," Louis J. Jennings has taken some pains to collate all the 
 unfavorable criticisms of the eminent Liberal ; three of these are 
 applicable to the portion of the subject now under consideration. 
 We append them : 
 
 " His conscience is so tender, he will never go straight." Rev. 
 Augustus Page Saunders, in 1832 (later, the Dean of Peterborough). 
 
 " I think his intellect can persuade his conscience of anything." 
 Dr. Lake, Dean of Durham, in 1860. 
 
 " He can persuade most people of most things ; but above all, 
 he cm persuade himself of anything." Rt. Hon. W. E. Forster, 
 in 1883. 
 
 This is the testimony of his enemies ; for although Forster had 
 held office under the Liberal Premier, these words were uttered in 
 a speech delivered in the House of Commons after his resignation 
 from the office of Irish Secretary, while he was smarting under the 
 sense of defeat, and the knowledge that his policy in that position 
 had been condemned by its results. To these words we add no 
 comment; believing their recognition of his conscientiousness as 
 of more import than their insinuated criticisms upon his judgment. 
 The one is a fact ; the other is a matter of opinion. 
 
 We are prepared to admit, with the author whose description of 
 him in his youth has already been quoted, that Mr. Gladstone does 
 not possess the highest of all attributes, an absolutely informing 
 genius. But if not " born for the universe," he has never narrowed 
 his mind to cater to the requirements of any party, or any portion 
 of the community; he has never concerned himself with one de- 
 partment of public affairs to the exclusion of all others. This 
 has been well put by R. H. Hutton, the author of " Sketches in 
 Parliament : " 
 
 *' He cares even more than trades-unions for the welfare of the 
 workingmen ; more than the manufacturers for the interests of 
 28 
 
434 
 
 Personal Clui ruder U lea. 
 
 capital ; more for the cause of retrenchment than the moat jealous 
 and avowed foes of government expenditure; more for the spread 
 of national educatioQ than the advocates of a compulsory national 
 education; more lor careful constitutional precedent than the 
 Whigs; and more fbr the spiritual independence of the Churcl. 
 tlum the Tories. Pie unites cotton with culture, Manchester with 
 Oxford, the deep classical y>y over the Italian resurrection and 
 Greek mdependence with the deep English interest on the amount 
 of the duty on Zante raisins and Italian rags. The great raj]. 
 way boards and the bishops are about equally interested in Mr 
 Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone's mind mediates between the moral 
 and material interests of the age and rests in neither. He moralizes 
 finance and commerce, and (if we may be allowed the barbarian.) 
 institutionalizes ethics and faith." 
 
 Perhaps it is this very appreciation of all interests that has led 
 to his defeat and unpopularity at times ; since the attention paid f, 
 one would often be offensive to the other, each demanding all the 
 aid which the statesman had to give to all interests. Thus the rail- 
 way boards would he displeased when lie neglected them for churcl, 
 matters, and the bishops would feel themselves aggrieved when he 
 devoted himself to matters of transportation. 
 
 This union of qualities had hardly been fully evidenced at tli< 
 time of whicjh we write ; we have anticipated somewhat our analy- 
 sis of his character. Let us proceed to another topic, upon which 
 we have already touched. 
 
 In July, 1839, Mr. (Jladstone married Miss Catherine Glynno 
 the daughter of Sir Stephen Richard Glynno, of Ilawarden distle,' 
 Flintshire. The bride was not remarkable for her personal beauty,' 
 being not very flatteringly described as a tall, long-featured, sedate 
 Englishwoman, whose manners were shy to awkwardness. The 
 same authority which speaks thus of her personal appearance pays 
 ample tribute to her amiability ; and the awkward shyness in the 
 presence of others gave place in privacy to the quiet strength whi<Ii 
 has sustained the statesman in many an hour of trial. Her name 
 was not unknown, at an early day, as a practical philanthropist ; 
 and later on she became something of a power in the political world ; 
 deriving her strength from her intellectual character and her high 
 womanly integrity. 
 
;:i^iite-if#^ 
 
 
 
 Personal CharacUriatics. 
 
 435 
 
 Seven of licr eight children have atUiined to years of discretion. 
 Of the four sons, two have taken part in political life, though tlipy 
 are, of course, overshadowed by the greatness of the name which 
 tiiey bear; but they have shown themselves not unworthy of their 
 father. One is a nian of business, as his grandfather was ; and the 
 other is tiie rector of Ifawarden. Two of his daughters are niar- 
 ried ; not wisely, according t(> the voice of the world, which gauges 
 wisdom in such matters by tiie establishment which is secured ; but 
 certainly very well, when the character of their husbands is consid- 
 ered. Miss Helen Gladstone has made herself a name in educa- 
 tional matters, and is at the head of a department of Newuham 
 College for Women. 
 
 We see from this that the home which has become so famous, 
 belongs not to the master, but to the mistress of the household. Mr. 
 iiladstono inherited from his father a considerable fortune, but it 
 was not in the enduring form of real estate, and much of it has 
 been dissipated by the expenses of traveling, and in the gratification 
 of refined tastes. There is considerable disparity in the statements 
 which have been made regarding his circumstances in the later years 
 of his life, some writer appearing to think that he was on the 
 verge of genteel poverty, while others maintained that he was pos- 
 sess(!<l of a considerable income. 
 
 His removal from Carlton House Terrace, and the sale of his 
 collections of china ai -rticles of virtue have always been regarded 
 as evidences that the n-. who could take such excellent care of the 
 nation's finances had sorely neglected his own. However this may 
 be, it is certain that his income has never been permanently increased 
 by the princely salaries that he has received, while there have been 
 many and heavy drains upon it. There was no expense spared in 
 the education of his children, as there was none spared in his own, 
 and as we have before said, the family ha.s had every wish and 
 taste indulged. 
 
 The estate connected with Hawarden Castle consists of about 
 seven thousand acres, and is supposed to yield an annual income of 
 $90,000, so that there is no danger of coming to real want. The 
 house itself is a noble specimen of the " stately homes of England." 
 It was built in the year 1752, and its solid masonry may defy the 
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 Personal Characteristics. 
 
 rounding it give beauty and grandeur to the scene without dwarf- 
 ing the work of maa. The granite towers reach skyward so far 
 that they can be seen above the intervening screen of trees at Queen's 
 Ferry railroad station, a mile and a half away. 
 
 Just across a beautiful ravine, and within the grounds of the 
 modern dwelling, m the ancient edifice of which this is the suc- 
 cessor Old Hawarden Caotle dates from the eleventh century, 
 being one of the earliest of that army of military posts which the 
 victorious Normans used as sentinels over the conquered land, and 
 within the grim walls of which they were equally ready for ban- 
 quets and music or for resistance to the king and oppression of the 
 commons. 
 
 It is on an elevation of ground so steep that it is only with some 
 difficulty the modern tourist can reach the base of the building ; and 
 the military advantages of its natural position have been heightened 
 by art. The dungeons have been compared by an irreverent Amer- 
 ican newspaper correspondent to an immense brick oven ; space does 
 not permit us to give a more dignified comparison, or, indeed, to say 
 more upon the subject. Let the graphic art be more eloquent than 
 words. 
 
 It was in this atmosphere that the career of the great statesman 
 was planned ; it was in smoky, busy London that those plans were 
 carried out. Here again we see some of the strange contrasts which 
 environed the man, and helped to shape the character. 
 
 Having thus dealt with the personal history of his earlier life, 
 and described his appearance at that period, we come to a time more 
 nearly approaching the present. We have quoted an extended 
 description of his appearance and manner in 1838 ; let us listen to 
 the comments of H. W. Lucy upon that very passage, premising 
 that Mr. Lucy is one of the best authorities upon Gladstonlana : 
 
 " It is curious to note that some of these mannerisms of forty 
 years ago [Mr. Lucy wrote in 1878] are preserved by the great 
 statesman we know to-day. It is particularly notable that to this 
 day, when Mr. Gladstone rises and begins what is intended to be a 
 great oration, he has a tendency to clasp his hands behind his back. 
 This attitude, however, like the subdued mood of which it is the 
 indication, prevails only during the opening sentences. Age has 
 fired ratlier than duUed his oratorical energy. 
 
Personal Charaderistica. 
 
 437 
 
 "He has even, during the existence of the present Parlianaent, 
 increased in rapidity of gesture almost to the point of fury. The 
 jet-black hair of forty years ago has faded and fallen, leaving only 
 a few thin wisps of gray carefully disposed over the graadly-formed 
 head with which, as he told a Scotch deputation the other day, 
 London hatters have had such trouble. The rounded cheeks are 
 sunken, and their bloom has given place to pallor ; the full brow is 
 wrinkled ; the dark eyes, bright and flashing still, are underset with 
 innumerable wrinkles ; the good figure is somewhat rounded at the 
 shoulders ; and the sprightly step is growing deliberate. 
 
 " But the intellectual fire of forty years ago is rather quickened 
 than quenched, and the promise of health has been abundantly ful- 
 filled in a maintenance of physical strength and activity that seems 
 phenomenal. Mr. Gladstone will outsit the youngest member of 
 the House if the issue at stake claims his vote in the pending divi- 
 He can speak for three hours at a stretch, and he will put 
 
 sion. 
 
 into the three hours as much mental and physical energy as, 
 judiciously distributed, would suffice for the whole debate. His 
 magnificent voice is as true in tone and as insensible to fatigue as 
 when it was first heard within the walls of the House. 
 
 " By comparison he is far more emphatic when addressing the 
 House of Commons than when standing before a public meeting. 
 This, doubtless, is explicable by the fact that, while in the one case 
 he is free from contradiction, in the other he is, more particularly 
 in a period of Tory ascendancy, outrageously subject to it. Trem- 
 bling through every nerve with conviction and the wrath of battle, 
 he almost literally smites his opponent hip and thigh. Taking the 
 brass-bound box upon the table as representative of the right 
 honorable gentleman or the noble lord opposite, he will beat it 
 violently with his right hand, creating a resounding noise that 
 sometimes makes it difficult to catch the words he desires to 
 emphasize. 
 
 " Or, standing with heels closely pressed together and feet spread 
 out fanwise, so that he may turn as on a pivot to watch the effect 
 of his speech upon either side of the House, he will assume that the 
 palm of his left hand is his adversary of the moment, and straight- 
 way he beats upon it with his right hand with a ferocity that causes 
 to curdle the blood of the occupants of the ladies' gallery. At this 
 
438 
 
 Personal Characteristics. 
 
 stage will be noted the most marked retention of the early House 
 of Commons habit, in the way in which the orator continually iunu 
 around to address his own followers, to the outraging of the funda- 
 mental point of etiquette that all speech should be directed to the 
 Chair." 
 
 His manner as an orator brings us to the consideration of his 
 qualities as an orator. Our space has not permitt'-i us to give 
 many or long extracts frora his speeches, but perhaps enough has 
 be3n quoted to show what is his literary style. His enemies find 
 fault with it in two respects : he is too verbose, and his statements 
 are often so indirect as to be ambiguous. As to his verbosity they 
 may well complain, for it is the heaping of argument upon argu- 
 ment, of epithet upon epithet, of invective upon invective, which 
 makes him so terrible a foe. The charge that he can talk a good 
 deal without saying anything is perhaps true; but their caviling is 
 mere jealousy, for it is often an inestimable power to the minister 
 of the Crown who must reply to questions, but is not yet ready to 
 announce his policy. 
 
 Mr. Hayward, in his "Critical and Biographical Essays," 
 awards the first place among parliamentary debaters to Mr. Glad- 
 stone, on the ground that he has made more fine speeches than any 
 other orator of the day. " He may lack Mr. Bright's impressive 
 diction, impressive by its simplicity, or Mr. Disraeli's humor and 
 sarcasm, but he has made ten eminently successful speeches where 
 Mr. Bright or Mr. Disraeli has made one." To this dictum eTustin 
 McCarthy demurs, on the ground that it is not the number of pro- 
 ductions, but the merit of the best, that makes a man pre-eminent 
 over his fellows. 
 
 " We are not, therefore, inclined to call Mr. Gladstone the 
 greatest English orator of our time when we remember some of the 
 finest speeches of Mr. Bright ; but did we regard parliamentary 
 speaking as a mere instrument of parliamentary busmess and 
 debate, then unquestionably Mr. Gladstone is not only the greatest, 
 but by far the greatest, English orator of our time, for he has a 
 richer combination of gifts than any other man we can remember, 
 and he could use them oftenest with effect. He was like a racer 
 which cannot, indeed, always go faster than every rival, but can 
 win more races in a year than any other horse. 
 
Personal Characteristics. 
 
 439 
 
 Mr. Gladstone could get up at any moment, and no matter how 
 many t:raes a night, in the House of Commons and be argumenta- 
 tive or indignant, pour out a stream of impassioned eloquence or a 
 shower of figures, just as the exigency of the debate and the moment 
 required. He was not, of course, always equal, but he was always 
 eloquent and effective. He seemed as if he could not be anything 
 but eloquent. Perhaps, judged in this way, he never had an equal 
 in the English Parliament. Probably no one, past or present, had 
 in combination so many gifts of voice, manner, fluency, and argu- 
 ment, style, reason, and passion, as Mr. Gladstone." 
 
 The style of his speeches is wonderful, when we consider that 
 he never writes out a line of them, and that some of his most 
 effective orations have been delivered in reply to those which had 
 just ended when he rose to his feet. Mr. Bright, on the contrary 
 was in the habit of writing out the peroration of his speeches, and 
 not infrequently sent the slip of paper to the reporters, that they 
 might be cr: - lin to get his words correctly. Mr. Disraeli some- 
 times wrote out the whole of a speech which he intended to be 
 especially effective; and on one occasion at least a speech of his 
 was in type before it was delivered. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's eloquence, however, is in a certain sense spon- 
 taneous. A notable exambie of this faculty was the speech at the 
 close of the debate on the Irish University bill, a rare example of 
 close reasoning, brilliant illustration, and powerful eloquence. This 
 was begun when Mr. Disraeli sat down, and was for the greatest 
 and best part an answer to what the Tory leader had just said. 
 
 We have limited the assertion that Mr. Gladstone's eloquence 
 was spontaneous. While he never wrote out his speeches, and 
 apparently could speak as well without preparation as with it, he 
 was always careful to inform himself fully upon the subject' on 
 which he intended to speak. Fortified with facts, and if noed be 
 figures, his command of language was such that he was enabled to 
 put these not only into the best form possible, but what was of more 
 immediate importance, into the form most acceptable to his hearers. 
 We have alluded to what is sometimes termed his verbosity. He 
 was often diffuse, because oi' his extreme care to state the case just 
 as he saw it, with all the arguments which led him to a given 
 determination ; but he could be concise if .here was a reason for it. 
 
440 
 
 Personal C/iaracteriaties. 
 
 Mr. Werayss lieid, in liis " Cabinet Portraits," describes a scene 
 in which Mr. Gladstone held in check his tendency to extreme 
 flueucy : 
 
 " He is never seen to so much advantage as when, at the close of 
 a long discussion, he rises in the raidst of a crowded House, in^pa- 
 tieut for a division, to rep'y to Mr. Disraeli or Mr. Hardy, Tiie 
 readiness with which he replies to a speech just delive ed is 
 amazing. He will take up, or-j after another, the ars^uipents of 
 his opponent, and examine them and debate them with as much 
 precision and fluency as though he had spent weeks in the prepara- 
 tion of his answer. Then, too, at such moments time is precious, 
 and he is compelled to repress that tendency to prolixity which is 
 one of his greatest faults as an orator. His sentences, instead 
 of wandering on interminably, are short and clear, and from 
 beginning to end of the speech there is hardly a word which seems 
 unnecessary. 
 
 "The excitement, too, which prevails around him always infects 
 him strongly ; his pale face twitches, his magnificent voice quivers, 
 his body sways from side to side as he pours forth argument, plead- 
 ing and invective, strangely intermingled. The storm of cheers 
 and counter-cheers rages around him, as it can rage nowhere except 
 in the House of Commons oa such an occasion ; but high and clear 
 above the tumult rings out his voice, like the trumpet sounding 
 through the din of the battle field. 
 
 " As he draws to a close something like a calm comes over the 
 scene, and upon both ' es men listen eagerly to his words, anxious 
 to catch each sentence of his peroration, always delivered with an 
 artiatic care, which only one other member of Parliament can equal, 
 and seldom failing to impress the House with its beauty. Then it 
 is that his great powers are seen to the best and fullest advantage — 
 voice and accent and gesture all giving life and force to the words 
 which he utters," 
 
 There have been many witty sayings regarding Mr. Gladstone's 
 oratory. It was said that he was the only man in the House who 
 could talk in italics — a significant saying. It was something like 
 the American talent for exaggeration which prompted another 
 observer to say that Mr. Gladstone could speak upon a subject 
 every night for a week, and then say coolly : " After these 
 
Feraonal Charactenstics. 
 
 441 
 
 few preliminary remarks, I will proceed to the full discussion 
 of the subject." Assertions that he never seemed weary must of 
 course be limited; perhaps it would be nearest the truth to 
 say that up to the age of seventy- live he was indefatigable as 
 a speaker. His voice seemed not to grow weak or husky, what, 
 ever the demands that were made upon it, but rang out in all 
 its silvery clearness at the close as at the beginning. 
 
 So much for Mr. Gladstone ai ^n orator. As a party leader he 
 did not meet with the same unvarying success. The reason of this 
 was that he was never able to understand a mind of less power 
 than his own. "He is incapable of making any allowances for the 
 weaknesses of his fellovv-<;reatures," says the excellent analyst above 
 quoted ; " he has great strength of his own ; his soul, when he is 
 engaged on any question of importance, is filled with an earnest- 
 ness which is almost heroic, and he sees only one road to the 
 end at which he aims — the shortest, 
 
 "Under these circumstances he is incapable of understand- 
 ing how any of his followers, who share his creed, and pro- 
 fess to be anxious to reach the same goal as himself, can 
 demur to the path he is taking. For their individual crotchets 
 he makes no allowances, and he is especially regardless of the 
 unwillingness of the English gentleman to be driven in any 
 particular direction. It is curious to see as the result of this 
 how much needless Irritation he succeeds, at times, in causing 
 among his followers. Over and over again the Liberal clubs 
 have rung with complaints of his 'temper' — it ought rather to 
 be temperament — of his want of consideration for the ideas, the 
 foibles, the prejudicas of the rank and file of his party. 
 
 " The general result is that he makes a bad leader. Indeed, it 
 would be safer to say that he does not lead at all, in the 
 common sense of the word— others lead for him. Equally certain 
 is it that he has a will of enormous strength. Lord Salisbury has 
 spoken of it in Parliament as an arrogant will, and it is un- 
 doubtedly in the 'Cabinet a dominant will-— that he holds, in 
 a very considerable degree, that the end justifies the i jans, 
 and that he is in the heat of debate a victim of an impetu- 
 osity which sometimes hurries him into false positions, from 
 which he is generally too proud to retreat afterward." 
 
442 
 
 Personal Charaderistioa. 
 
 The last sentence is hardly just, though we have quoted it 
 With the rest. Perhaps it would be nearer the truth to say 
 that when Mr. Gladstone was thus hurried by impetuosity into 
 false positions, he has argued the case with himself until he 
 has persuaded himself that the position was not a false one 
 Taken in connection with the judgment of the Dean of Peters^ 
 borough and his brother of Durham, this theory is not untenable 
 
 As a Parliamentary leader, Mr. Gladstone stands in strong 
 contrast to his* great rival, who was never so thoroughly in 
 earnest that he forgot to consider the failings of those who were his 
 followers, or who might be made so. These failings of the 
 great Liberal may be well illustrated by two anecdotes which 
 are told upon good authority. 
 
 One of the Ministers was twitted by some friends with hav- 
 ing supported by his vote certain measures to which they had 
 supposed he would not consent, as a member of the Cabinet • 
 and it was rather broadly hinted that a Minister who protests' 
 unavaihngly against a policy has always the privilege of re- 
 signing. 
 
 "I have not agreed with a single measure that Mr Glad- 
 stone has brought in this session (1882)," he returned somewhat 
 indignantly, « but I voted for them all, and I have not felt called 
 upon to resign, for I was never consulted about any of them." 
 
 On another occasion, when the division of the Liberal party had 
 become a fact, a prominent member of it asked a Gladstoniau what 
 was done at a considerable meeting of the party. 
 "Nothing," was the nonchalant reply. 
 
 "Nothing?" repeated the interrogator; " then what was the use 
 of the meeting? " 
 
 "Oh, it put us all in a good humor." 
 
 Mr. Gladstone is full of reminiscences, and thinks that every- 
 body's memory ought to be as tenacious as his own. One night 
 during his second administration he sat on the Treasury bench 
 with only one colleague beside him. He was apparently aslesp, 
 and the other man thought that he might venture on a doze. But 
 presently the Tory who was opeaking ventured upon some histori- 
 cal statement. Mr. Gladstone was at once on the alert. 
 
 "That is entirely wrong," he said, rousing himself and turning 
 
Personal Charaderisticfi. 
 
 443 
 
 to his colleague. "This fellow is mixing up his facts and his 
 dates. Don't you reraember so-and-so." 
 
 He proceeded to recall, in all its minuteness, some obscure pas- 
 sage of political history, of which the subordinate was obliged to 
 confess that he knew nothing. Mr. Gladstone looked at him a 
 moment in pitying wonder, and as soou as he dared the hapless 
 man slunk away In the lobby he met a friend to whom he said : 
 
 '' xm go.iig hon^e. I can't staud that fiendish old man any more. 
 Why, he actually cross-examined me about something that had 
 happened before I was born." 
 
 Having thus briefly reviewed Mr. Gladstone's career as an orator 
 and a party leader, we come to the consideration of his work as a 
 stunent and a man of letters. He was distinguished from the very 
 first as a hard worker. While at Oxford he was accustomed to 
 iintertain in no niggardly way ; but when his friends had left him, 
 for further pleasures or for rest, he was hard at work once more. It 
 was the marvel of all, l>ow he managed to get so much done, without 
 devoting himself to study to the exclusion of all besides. 
 
 The secret lay in the system with which he labored. " It mattered 
 not where he was, in college rooms or in country mansion, from 
 10 A.M. to 2 p. M. no one ever saw William Ewart Gladstone. He 
 was locked up with his books. From the age of eighteen to the 
 age of twenty-one he never missed these precious four hours except 
 when he was ^raveling. And his ordeal in the evening was not less 
 severe; eight o'clock saw him once more engaged in a stiff bout 
 with Aristotle, or plunged deep in the text of Thucydides." 
 
 As a reader, he devoted himself to those books which would be 
 useful to him; and was especially averse to reading a borrowed 
 book, since it denies the reader the privilege of making notes upon 
 the margin. His immense library at Hawarden has never been 
 catalogued, such a thing being unnecessary to a man who could go 
 to the shelf and put his hand at once upon the very book he wished. 
 Within the walls containing the finest private library in the 
 world (for so his book-treasures have been ranked), the thoughtful 
 writer did most of his writing. But he never confined his reading 
 to the one apartment ; that was done anywhere, in the house or 
 out of it ; he accustomed himself even to read while strolling along 
 the country roads and across the fields ; throughout, his residence 
 
444 
 
 Personal Characteristics. 
 
 at Hawarden became, at an early period, pre-eminently a stu< 
 dent's life. 
 
 The productions of this life have their chief interest in their 
 authorship ; though they are of no small literary value. His first 
 published work was " The State ii* its iielations with the Church," 
 to 'vhich ample reference has already been made. Twenty years 
 afterward, or in 1858, he publi3he<l a work in three volumes, 
 entitled " Homer and the Homeric Age." This has been descril)e(l 
 as a great, but very unequal work ; though the same critic says 
 that as the work of one of the first of orators and statesmen the 
 volumes are altogether wonderful. 
 
 From the overflowings of this vast reservoir of Homeric knowl- 
 edge, have been gathered a number of magazine articles, which have 
 excited much interest among scholars ; and the earlier important 
 work has been followed by two others, involving scarcely less labor 
 and thought — Juventus Mundi and Homeric Synchronism; the 
 former in 1869, and the latter in 1876. 
 
 During the period that Mr. Gladstone professed to be in retire- 
 ment, though it soon became evident that retirement from political 
 life was impossible for him as long as his health, physical and 
 mental, permitted him to take part, he chiefly occupied himself with 
 controversial writings. To this period we must assign his pamphlet 
 on " The Vatican Decrees," and that on " Vaticanism," written in 
 reply to those who had answered the first. The essays on Ritualism 
 had preceded those upon Catholicism ; and he had not done with 
 his criticisms upon Pius IX, before the necessities of the political 
 situation demanded that he should turn his pen to another use — the 
 picturing of the atrocities perpetrated in Bulgaria. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone was long a valued contributor to the Reviews, 
 his subjects being drawn from the wide range indicated by the 
 varying nature of his published volumes. These minor contribu- 
 tions to literature were collected some years since into a series of 
 seven volumes, entitled " Gleanings of Past Years." These include 
 all of his essays except those of a controversial or political charac- 
 ter, as far as then published ; but this is a most important excep- 
 tion. His writings on Vaticanism have also been collected and 
 published in two volumes. 
 
 Of the " Gleanings of Paot Years," perhaps the essay of most 
 
 k 
 
Personal Characteristics. 
 
 445 
 
 interest to us as Americans is that entitled " Kin beyond Sea," 
 which originally appeared in the North American Review in 1878. 
 Mr. Gladstone was most severely taken to task for this essay, as he 
 had di-olared in it that America would ultimately become " the 
 head servant in the great household of the world," and that Eng- 
 land would do well to prepare herself in time for the loss of this 
 position. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's style as a writer can hardly be called an attrac- 
 tive one ; it " looks fatiguing." But the force of his words is such 
 that we are carried along in spite of ourselves ; the untiring energy 
 and earnestness of the man become infectious ; and we are hurried 
 along on a swift stream of thought, where we had supposed we 
 would find it hard work to row. 
 
 In the midst of profound research and scholarly thought, of the 
 statesman's anxious cares and the financier's close calculations, he 
 great Liberal never shut himself away from his kind. A discern- 
 ing writer says of his social qualities : 
 
 " He is as merry as a child when acting host or being a private 
 guest. But however gay his talk, there is always a pervading 
 dignity in his bearing and language, and no one will ever presume 
 to be fi miliar with him. Lowell says, you remember, that John 
 Milton was not a man to be slapped on the back. Neither is 
 Gladstone. You may laugh at his jest, and return anecdote for 
 anecdote to his gleeful satisfaction. But no man ever saw him out 
 of that noble suavity which be^^omes so well his age, his rank in 
 the world of state-craft and of letters, and his achievements in both. 
 
 " His conversational capacity is evidently boundless. Having a 
 memory almost phenomenal in range and tenacity, he draws upon it 
 as gaily as a vintner upon his cellar; and like wine, the oldest stock 
 is often the most delijious. He can summon personal recollections 
 of interesting men in all walks of life with spontaneous accuracy ; 
 and only those who have heard him at the table, when all political 
 care was dismissed for the day, can credit the amazing range of his 
 acquaintance with the curious and picturesque life f England 
 wholly apart from his politics." 
 
 The same writer says : *' The untaught rustic winding his long 
 whip over a team of oxen down the highway would look with im- 
 pulsive pleasure upon a man in his shirt sleeves hacking away at 
 
446 
 
 Personal CimravterUtica. 
 
 the solid trunk of a giant oak ; but the moment he 8aw the axeman's 
 eyes, tlie moment the litiie, strong hiAy of the chopper assi'ratMJ an 
 upright pose, even he would pull off his hat and silently acknowl- 
 edge tiie preaeuc3 of a man of power." 
 
 This, however, is something of an exaggeration ; for it is a well- 
 attested fact that Mr. Gladstone once received a practical lesson in 
 chopping from a peasant who did not recognize him, and who wus 
 not at all satisfied with the great man's way of going to work; nor 
 was his ignorance dispelled by his pupil, who humbly received the 
 instructions of the man who could do this and nothing else ; and it 
 is to be presumed that he profited by the lesson. 
 
 Though Hawarden Castle is by no means easy of access, being 
 no little distance from the nearest railway station, the roads to 
 which are not always in the best possible condition, it became a 
 very Mecca to political pilgrims; some of them even coming from 
 Scotland, as well as i)oints nearer by. Indeed, there seems always 
 to have been a sincere admiration in the northern kingdom for this 
 son of her ancient race, who partook of many of the qualities char- 
 acteristic of the canny Scot; to such an extent that even one of the 
 Liberal organs once dubbed him " a self-willed old Scotchman." 
 
 A correspondent of the New York Smi thus describes the end of 
 one of these pilgrimages in i887 : 
 
 " Working away ir his library, the old man is told that a crowd 
 is outside, and would be pleased to see him. He drops his pen or 
 book as soon as mental convenience will admit, dons an old hat, 
 seeks Mrs. Gladstone, v.ho throws some light wrap over her 
 shoulders and a veil of black lace or silk netting over lier very 
 gray hair, and out they go together like boy and girl. The lawn 
 terrace is eight feet higher than the roadway, and is reached by 
 wooden steps descending from a narrow platform. Standing en this 
 platform, the two Gladstones greet the people, who cheer and cheer 
 and wave hats and iiandkerchiefs and umbrellas. 
 
 " Then, if the old man be hoarse, or not in a mood for talk, 
 Mrs. Gladstone, leaning over the edge of the platform, tells the peo- 
 ple in a silvery, clear voice that Mr. Gladstone is delighted to see 
 them, and is thankful for the cordial feeling which has brought 
 them so far, but that, as he is not well, they will kindly excuse hira 
 from speaking. Cheers are mingled with expressions of sympathy. 
 
Personal Charade, Uien. 447 
 
 and, if there be not too many of tham, Mrs. Gladstone invites them 
 up to the platform, wIk"^ a patient scene of handshaking is gone 
 through, with smiles on the oU man's face and happines^ shining 
 out of his glorious old eyes." 
 
 Wo have left till the last the consideration of his character from 
 he religious point of view. Here it seems that we are indee<l 
 treading upon holy ground ; his mental characteristics, his physical 
 appearance, the actions of his life, the impressions which he has 
 made upon the minds of othei-s, his studies, the measures of his Min- 
 istry, even his demeanor in society, and his recreations, may fairly 
 be deemed public property; we hav intrudtd slightly UDon his 
 domestic privacy, and now remains the task of describing the altars 
 ot the inmost recesses of his spirit. 
 
 The college student was reckonc. an " enquirer." That is he 
 was among those thoughtful natures which were not content with 
 the Lscablished Church unless acqu:iint^nce with others should 
 prove that it was the best. It was no blind and unreasoning 
 attachment to the Church of his childhood, then, that held Mr 
 Gladstone; it was a deliberate conviction. His Oxford training 
 never wholly faded from his mind in this respect, so that he «lways 
 retained a ieaning to the High Chu-eh party, the bulk of whom 
 are Pones. Wisely discarding politics from hia mind ,n this con- 
 nection, he held to the course which his conscience approved 
 
 His life was an exemplification of the belief that Christianity is " 
 a living, vitalizing force in the individual, and he endeavored prac 
 ticaily to illustrate it. influence. Nor did he hold himself aloof 
 from thosa who were in need of help and advicie. Even when 
 T^rime Minister of England, he has been found in the humblest 
 houses, reading to the sic^k or dyinrr consolatory massages of Scrip- 
 ture 111 his soft, melodious tones. His personal charitv became pro- 
 verbial among those who knew him best, and his generosity was 
 never bounded by pecuniary limits. 
 
 On Sunday morning, as the bells of Hawarden church rang out 
 upon the heavy autumn air, vigorous peilcstrians might be observed 
 marching up the hill, their dusty raiment and shining countenances 
 proclaiming that their walk had been u long one. This determin- 
 ation toward Hawarden as a place of devotion was not owing to a 
 dearth of churches in the neighborhood. There are churches at 
 
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 5 » '■A ' 
 
 
 448 
 
 Personal Characteristics. 
 
 Mold and elsewhere ; but in none of these were the lessons read in 
 the sonorous tones of tiie ex-Preaiier of England. 
 
 These church-goers saw a group coino in sight from the opposite 
 direction ; foremost would be tiie venerable couple, who had shared 
 life for more than fifty yean^; followii-g them, those of their chil- 
 dren who had remained with them, or who had returned home for 
 a visit ; with, perhaps, a representative of the rising generation in 
 the person of a grandchild. They would pause at the entrance to 
 the church, to greet those who had waited for such an opportunity; 
 there would, perhaps, be a word or two with the rector. Rev. 
 Stephen Gladstone, and then the service would begin. 
 
 More profound than the great Premier's scholarship, more con- 
 spicuous than his commanding genius, more control ling than his 
 consecration to the welfare of his country, was his life-long devo- 
 tion to his sense of religious duty and to the high ideal of Chris- 
 tian manhood, which always stood before him like the cross of 
 Constantine, painted on the sky, and which allured his gaze and 
 inspired his most earnest endeavors. 
 
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 Mr. 
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 break it 
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 ralgia ^ 
 jonrn a 
 time to 
 being I 
 uary 2< 
 ing gr 
 effect. 
 
 The 
 arrangi 
 the tra 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MR. GLADSTONE'S DEATH AND OBSEQUIES. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone in the South of France— Return from Cannes— Signs of Growing 
 Weakness— Peaceful Death— Universal Demonstrations of Grief— Tele- 
 grams of Sympathy — Adjournment of the House of Commons — The 
 Queen and Prince of Wales Express Their Sympathy— Tributes from the 
 Newspaper Press— Telegram from the Government of the United States- 
 Estimate of Mr. Gladstone by Prominent Americans— Lying in State at 
 Westminster— Great Throngs of People View the Eemah.s— Eemarkable 
 Demonstration at Mr. Gladstone's Funeral— Burial in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 M' 
 
 R. GLADSTONE'S exceptionally strong constitution pre- 
 vented any serious illness or any rumor of failure or decay 
 until the close of his eighty-eighth year. On November 21 , 
 1897, a rumor circulated in London of a sudden breaking up, start- 
 lingly reminded the world of the possibility of his removal Insom- 
 rania was generally stated to be his chief trouble, but the confident 
 contradictions from the family allayed the first dread fears. It 
 was said at this time his mind was as keen as ever, but that he was 
 more feeble on account of his sedentary life. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone started for Canr^s in company with Mrs. Glad- 
 stone, Miss Gladstone and Mr. Henry Gladstone on November 26, 
 breaking the journey at Folkestone and Paris. He felt no ill effects 
 from the journey, and it was announced ac this time that the neu- 
 ralgia with which he had been troubled had diminished. His so- 
 journ at Cannes for two months was quiet, and varying reports from 
 time to time left the general impression that the aged Premier was 
 being benefited. Great was the surprise, therefore, when on Jan- 
 uary 20 it was announced that Mr. Gladstone's condition was caus- 
 ing grave anxiety, and that his sojourn had not had the desired 
 
 effect. 
 
 The former Premier returnc on February 19, and although 
 arrangements were made at Calais for two men to carry him from 
 the train to the boat, he insisted on walking the distance of about 
 29 *^» 
 
450 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 thirty yards. His changed and tottering appearance was the sub- 
 ject of general remarlc. Arrived at Charing Cross, many of the 
 aged Premier's friends awaited him, and lie was driven to Carl- 
 ton House Terrace, his son's residence. After remaining in Lon- 
 don for a few days he was medically advised to go to Bourne- 
 mouth, and Lord Vernon placed his beautiful residence at Mr. 
 Gladstone's disposal. 
 
 No benefit accrued. On March 6th ho stopped all work, and 
 his friends read or played to him. He v/as taken home on March 
 20th. Later it was announced that he was about to undergo an 
 operation for necrosis of the bone of the nose from which he had 
 been suffering. Day by day lie got weaker and weaker, and in the 
 early part of April took to his bed. At times during the month he 
 suffered violent twinges of neuralgic pain, but in the early days of 
 May a general renewal of strength, and frequent injections of 
 morphine under the tongue relieved him. 
 
 His state during the few days preceding his death was one of 
 great weakness, the patient remaining s:lent in a semi-comatose 
 state. From time to time he roused to give his benediction to his 
 friends, and the week before he died he bade a pathetic farewell to 
 two of his most trusted colleagues and friends — Lord Kosebery 
 and Mr. John Morley. 
 
 On May 18th Mr. Gladstone was slowly dying at his castle at 
 Hawarden. His physician said in the afternoon, " The end is now 
 near. He breathes heavily for a few minutes, and then his breath- 
 ing is hardly perceptible. Mrs. Gladstone is with her dying hus- 
 band. She and others of the family do not leave the room for 
 more than a few minutes at a time." 
 
 Shortly after nine o'clock in the evening he rallied a little and 
 slept calmly. It was believed he would pass away during the 
 period of rest. At a quarter past eleven o'clock, however, this 
 bulletin was issued : " Mr. Gladstone's condition is unchanged. 
 The slight rally is maintained and he is sleeping peacefully." He 
 was still sleeping at an early hour in the morning, and the family, 
 anticipating the end, watched at his bedside. 
 
 His pulse was hardly perceptible at the wrists and his extremi- 
 ties were cold. When offered medicine at half-past four o'clock, 
 Mr. Gladstone exclaimed : " No, no." Apart from this he seldom 
 
Ms. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies, 
 
 461 
 
 spoke except to commence a prayer. He was practically uncon- 
 scious. The attending physician said : " It is a strange fact that 
 when addressed in English Mr. Gladstone murmurs a few words 
 iu French, and sometimes seems to be toying to pray in French. 
 He has had very serious attacks of the heart in the last forty-eight 
 hours, and there has been an altogether very rapid failure. He 
 lies partially unconscious, is delirious and has what is medically 
 called changed stroke in breathing. He is no longer in pain." 
 
 An official bulletin which was issued at five o'clock on the after- 
 noon of the 18th; said: " Mr. Gladstone has taken a serious turn 
 for the worst. His death may be expected in twenty-four hours." 
 All the servants of the household were admitted to the sick room 
 late in the evening for a final farewell. They found Mr. Glad- 
 stone lying on his right side, in deep sleep, as if dead. Each in 
 turn touched his hand and left the room tearfully. 
 
 The deepest manifestations of grief over the death of Mr. Glad- 
 stone were reported throughout the country. Flags were every- 
 where half masted, the bells were tolled and in the public galleries 
 of London the pictures of Mr. Gladstone were draped with crape. 
 The Q,iieen and the Prince of Wales received an early intimation 
 of the bad nev,'s, and immediately sent touching expressions of con- 
 dolence to the widow. 
 
 Further details from Hawarden Castle of the passing away of 
 the great English statesman showed that his end was the most 
 peaceful imaginable. There was no sign of pain or distress. Mrs. 
 Gladstone clasped her husband's hand and occasionally kissed it, 
 while the Rev. Stephen Gladstone read prayers and repeated 
 hymns. The only other evidence that Mr. Gladstone realized his 
 surroundings was when his son recited the Litany. Then the 
 dying man feebly murmured "Amen." This was the last word 
 spoken by Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 Very many telegrams of sympathy arrived at Hawarden Castle. 
 Among them was one from P'-esident Faure expressing his condol- 
 ences. Another, from United States Ambassador Hay, addressed 
 to the Right Hon. Herbert Gladstone, said : " I beg to present to 
 all your family my heartfelt expression of sympathy at your per- 
 sonal loss, and at the same time to reverently congratulate you and 
 the English race everywhere upon the glorious completion of a life 
 
452 
 
 Mr. Gladdone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 filled with splendid achievements and consecrated to the noblest 
 purposes." 
 
 The House of Commons was crowded during the day following 
 Mr. Gladstone's death, and when the Speaker, Mr. William Court 
 Gully, called upon the government leader, Mr. A. J. Balfour, the 
 First Lord of the Treasury, all present uncovered their heads. Mr. 
 Balfour said : " I think it will be felt in all parts of the House 
 that we should, by adjourning, do fitting honor to the great man 
 whose long and splendid career closed to-day. 
 
 " Tliis is not the occasion for uttering the thoughts which natur- 
 ally suggest themselverj. That occasion will present itself to-morrow, 
 when it will be my duty to submit to the House an address to the 
 Queen, praying her to grant the honor of a public funeral, if such 
 honor is not inconsistent with the expressed wisiies of himself or of 
 tnose who have a right to speak in his behalf, and also praying the 
 Queen to direct that a public monument be erected at Westminster 
 with an inscription expressive of the public admiration, attachmeut 
 and high sense entertained by the House of Mr. Gladstone's rare 
 and splendid gifts and devoted labors in Parliament and in the high 
 offices of State. Before actually moving the adjournment I have to 
 propose a formal resolution that the House to-morrow resolve itself 
 into committee to draw up an address, the contents of which 1 have 
 just indicated." 
 
 After a word of assent from Sir Y/illiam Vernon Harcourt, the 
 liberal leader, the resolution was adopted and the House adjourned. 
 
 All the Continental papers published tributes to Mr. Gladstone. 
 The French papers were especially sympathetic, and the Greek 
 newspapers expressed their deep gratitude for what Mr. Gladstone 
 did for Greece, 
 
 Public opinion in England was profoundly stirred by the death 
 of Mr. Gladstone. A member of the Cabinet, in the course of a 
 long interview, said . "It is difficult to find words adequate to 
 express one's feelings at such an event. The disappearance of such 
 a central figure is a tremendous loss. In Parliament and through- 
 out the country his influence over our public life was unparalleled." 
 
 All the papers came out with special editions with heavy, black 
 borders, announcing the death of Mr, Gladstone. Tue Daily 
 Chronicle headed its editorial with a quotation from WordsT/orth : 
 
Mr. Oladatore'a Death and Obsequies. 
 
 453 
 
 " This is the happy warrior ; this is he ; 
 That every man in arms should wish to be." 
 
 The editorial said : " A glorious light has been extinguished in the 
 land. Mr. Gladstone is dead ; and all his li'e lies in the past, a 
 ijQttiiDry to us and our children, an inspiration and possession for- 
 ever. The end has come as to a soldier at his post. It found him 
 calm, expectant, faithful, unshaken. Death has come robed in the 
 terrors of mortal pain ; but what better can be said than that as i^e 
 taught his fellows how to live, so he has taught them how to die ? 
 It is impossible at this hour to survey the mighty range of this 
 splendid life." 
 
 The Daily News said : " We cannot help dwelling upon the opin- 
 ions which Mr. Gladstone held most strongly and the sentiments 
 which he felt most deeply, because they are the only key which un- 
 locks his character and his life. One of his most characteristic 
 qualities was his personal humanity. He was not easy to persuade. 
 He paid little attention to other j)eople's opinions when his mind 
 was made up. He was quite aware of his own ascendancy in coun- 
 sel and his supremacy in debate. On other questions he did, in- 
 deed, instruct his own judgment. On politics he did not ; but the 
 secret of his humility was an abiding sense that these things were 
 of no importance compared with the relations between God's crea- 
 tures and their Creator." 
 
 The Standard said : " Whether men agreed with him or differed 
 from him in matters of party politics, they could not come within 
 the range of his influence as an administrator without being pro- 
 foundly impressed alike with his extraordinary powers of despatch- 
 ing public business most efficiently and his absolute devotion to 
 what he believed to be the highest interests of his country." 
 
 The formal sympathy of the United States government was em- 
 bodied in the cablegram of the Secretary of State to Ambassador 
 Hay, as follows : 
 
 " Through appropriate channels express to Mr. Gladstone's fam- 
 ily the sympathy and sorrow of the American people at the passing 
 away in the ripeness of years and fulness of honors of one of the 
 most notable figures of modern civil statesmanship." 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons spoke as f;)llows concerning the great states- 
 man : "Posterity will rank Gladstone among the few great states- 
 
454 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 men of the nineteenth century. Sixty years ago, when he was only 
 thirty years of age, Macaulay, in the Edinburgh Review, predicted 
 the political eminence which Giadstone would attain. That predic- 
 tion has been amply fulfilled. His chief claim to gratitude and 
 greatness is foiiud in his advocacy of home rule, because the meas- 
 ure was so unpopular with the majority of his countrymen." 
 
 Hon. John Sherman said : " Mr. Gladstone, while living, was 
 regarded by the American people as a statesman of the highest 
 grade in this century ; honorable in private life, patriotic as an 
 Englishman, and just to the people of the many countries with 
 whom he had diplomatic relations. I knew him personally, and 
 had some corre.spondence with him. He was, without limitation, a 
 pure and honorable man, and his memory should be treasured by 
 every Englishman and American." 
 
 Another tribute came from former Senator Edmunds : " Mr. 
 Gladstone was a really great man, from the force and independence 
 of his own character, rather than from the accident of birth or for- 
 tune. Thus fortified, he changed his opinion when he was con- 
 v^xiced, not fearing the temper of critics. His labors have been on 
 the whole of great benefit to the cause of free thought and better 
 social and political conditions." 
 
 Ex-President Harrison said : " There were but a few men in 
 Gladstone's class. He had a rare combination of accomplishments 
 — a statesman, an orator <ind a scholar — and in all three those of 
 the first grade. When we add to these the gifts of serene faith, 
 the purest home virtues and wide benevolence, we have a man 
 whose knighthood is recorded n a choicer list than that of the 
 British peerage." 
 
 United States Senator Lodge spoke as follows : " The death of 
 Mr. Gladstone takes from the world one of the greatest figures of 
 this century. Whether one agreed with him or not, nobody could 
 fail to admire the marvellous vitality, the noble eloquence, which 
 never failed, the eager sympathy with every oppressed people, the 
 fertility and resource in every field of public life, which have for 
 so many years engaged the attention of the world, which made Mr, 
 Gladstone one of tht greatest statesmen of his time, and which 
 will cause mourning for his death by all English-speaking people.'' 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's body was removed from Ha warden Castle to 
 
M.1\ Gladitone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 465 
 
 
 London, where it lay in state in order that the multitude of his 
 friends and admirers miglit pay a last tribute of resjiect to the 
 illustrious dead. Remarkably impressive scenes were witnessed at 
 Westminster when the arrivals commenced of those anxious to 
 view the remains. The line formed was continually augmented by 
 all classes of people, from peers, peeresses, Cabinet Ministers, mem- 
 bers of the House of Commons, military and naval officers and 
 clergymen to costermongers, old and young, until at six o'clock in 
 the morning, when the doors were opened, the procession com- 
 menced to stream past the catafalque. 
 
 By ten o'clock it was computed that one hundred perso ^ *o the 
 minute were passing the body, and at noon over 40,000 pec^le had 
 already taken a last glance at the face of the great statesman. Sir 
 William Vernon Harcourt, the liberal leader in the House of Com- 
 mons, who arrived at noon, was greatly moved, so great was the 
 popular demonstration of sorrow. 
 
 As the afternoon advanced the unending stream lengthened. 
 About two thousand policemen were engaged in guiding the people, 
 and by three o'clock 75,000 persons had passed the coffin. 
 
 On May 28th the body of England's greatest man, William E. 
 Gladstone, was laid in the Valhalla of his race. Military pomp 
 and the outward trappings of pageantry were absent, but the cere- 
 mony was glorified by the homage of his greatest surviving con- 
 temporaries and by the sentiment of universal reverence expressed 
 in the outspoken gratitude of a free people. His grave is beside 
 that of his life-long adversary, Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beacons- 
 field), whose marble effigy looks down upon it, decked with tiie 
 regalia which Gladstone had refused. 
 
 Whatever meagreness in grandeur there was during the lying in 
 state there was none about the funeral. In every respect that cere- 
 mony was impressive, lofty, dignified. This was fitting to the 
 funeral of one who, after all, was essentially civilian. There were 
 no nodding plumes, no mighty procession, for the coffin was carried 
 on a simple funeral carriage and tlie distance between Westminster 
 Hall and Westminster Abbey in but a few steps. But the people, 
 as during the lying in state, were an impressive sight. Every spot 
 on which the eye rested swarmed with human beings. They peeped 
 at you from the windows of the hospital, from the roofs of houses. 
 
466 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 Everybody nearly was dressed in black, and there was the same 
 unbroken sorabreness in demeanor wliich has been so characteristic 
 of the past few days. The unbroken silence of this vast multitude 
 added immensely to one's sense of the magnitude and solemnity of 
 the occasion. 
 
 The procession of the members of Parliament formed in the 
 House of Copamons as early as 9.30 o'clock. The chamber pre- 
 sented an appearance at once curious and impressive. There nuist 
 have been four hundred members present, and considering the 
 holidays have already begun, this was marvellous. It is said not a 
 single Liberal member was absent, except invalids, and Gladstone's 
 opponents, the Tories, were also fully represented. The Irish mem- 
 bers were some forty strong, a very considerable number, considering 
 that it is vacation time and the present conditions of the party. 
 
 Mr. Dillon sat in his usual phce, and close beside h'.m were the 
 men who are most closely associated with his leadership. Among 
 them was Mr. Blake, one of the most impressive figures of the 
 day, with his tali stature, clear-cut features and look of distinction. 
 None of the Parnellites were present, nor was Mr. Healy. Every- 
 body in the House w .s in the deepest black, aijd the- House looked 
 to some extent like a funeral chamber. There was just one bit of 
 color. The sergeant-at-arms had around his neck a silver-colored 
 tie, with white bows, a curious and an unusual addition to his 
 uniform. 
 
 When the Speaker entered there was a surprise in store for the 
 House, which saw ito sombreness at least broken by a splendid bit 
 of color, for the Speaker appeared for the first time in our recollec- 
 tion in full, gorgeous robes. He wore a black gown, richly em- 
 broidered with gold lace, a garment that seemed at once sternly 
 simple and brilliantly rich, and that added greatly to the impres- 
 siveness of his handsome face and fine figure. Afler considerable 
 delay the Speaker rose, and at once every member was on his feet, 
 and then the sergeant-at-arms, placing his mace on his shoulder, 
 with the chaplain and attendants, formed into procession, follow^'^ 
 by the members present and the late Govern ment and members of 
 the Privy Council, a dignity frequently bestowed upon political 
 supporters whom the Government find it impossible to otherwise 
 reward. 
 
 V >f 
 
Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 467 
 
 The Irishiucii had resolved to walk by themselves, so as to dis- 
 tinguish their group from the rest. Mr. Dillon was to give them 
 the signal, and just as the other niemhors were leaving the House 
 he rose from his place and the Irish niemhors followed his load. 
 The procession r Ay wended its way to VVestminster Hall, where 
 the coffin lay, still giving that impression of smalluess, remoteness 
 oud loneliness in the vast hall. There was a look for a second as 
 the members passed the criiiu, but no nause, and slowly but regu- 
 larly the procession passed on until it got into open air again. 
 Then the great majority of the members put on their hats ; but 
 some of the Irishmen, and especially tliose who walked in the first 
 four with Mr. Dillon, kept uncovered throughout, as more in 
 accord with the sense of pathos and the solemnity of the occasion. 
 Some few of the English members did the same thing. 
 
 The crowd pressed close to see the procession as it passed, but 
 whatever he felt, the Londoner held his tongue. The same 
 impressive, solemn, unbroken silence continued as the procession 
 wound its way onward. 
 
 The procession moved in the following order : 
 
 Four heralds in court dress bearing the arms. 
 
 The Speaker, the Right Hon. William Court Gully; clerks and 
 officers of the House of Commons, in robes and wigs, carrying the 
 mace. 
 
 Four hundred members of the House of Commons, marching 
 four abreast and wearing frock coats and iiigh hats, with the solitary 
 and conspicuous exception of John Burns, the labor leader, who 
 wore his usual derby hat and short coat. 
 
 Four heralds escorting half a dozen privy councillors, not mem- 
 bers of Parliament. 
 
 More heralds ushering the officers of the House of Lords. 
 
 The Lord Chancellors in their robes, with a mace bearer. 
 
 Two hundred members of the House of Lords, attired like the 
 members of the House of Commons, with the exception of the 
 bishops, who wore robes. 
 
 Then came a group of members of Mr. Gladstone's last Ministry, 
 followed bv representatives of various royal families and the foreign 
 Ambassadors, including Colonel John Hay, the United States 
 Ambassador. 
 
468 
 
 Mr. Gladstones Death and Ohseq.'ies. 
 
 Next the Duke of Cambridge aiul tlie Duke of Connaught, 
 escorted by equerries, oad the Earl of l*eiubroke, rcpreseuting the 
 Queen. 
 
 Then came the funeral car, plainly dra[)ed with ulat^k anu drawn 
 by two horses, preceded by the Earl Marsiial of the Kingdt)tn, the 
 Duke of Norfolk, the su])porters of the pall walking besi''e the 
 car. 
 
 After the car walked Stephen Gladstone, the chief mourner, and 
 the near relatives and friends. 
 
 The only sound that broke the silence while the cortege passed 
 was a broken voice w\nc\i shouted : " God give ye rest, old man !" 
 In the meanwhile the tolling of the Abbey bell had notified the 
 waiting assemblage within the edifice that the procession was 
 approaching. 
 
 Mrs. Gladstone, supported on the arras of her sons, Herbert 
 a...l Stephen, and other members of the family were grouped about 
 the grave. The dean read the appointed sentence committing the 
 bo') to the earth, and the Archbishop of Canterbury j)ronounce'' 
 tha benediction. 
 
 Mrs. Gladstone stood bravely, with great composure, throughout 
 the service. Her face was lifted upward and her lips were moving 
 as though repeating the lines of the service. She also kept stand- 
 ing during the only official feature of the service, "The Procla- 
 mation by Gartar of the Style of the Deceased," as the official pro- 
 gramme had it. The Gartar enumerated the various offices which 
 Mr. Gladstone had held in his lifetime, beginning with "Some- 
 time Privy Councillor" and ending "Envoy i xtraordinary to the 
 Ionian Islands." 
 
 The organ then played the " Dead March" in "Saul." Finally 
 the Prince of \Y::l(s^ Lne Duke of York and other pall-bearers 
 shook hands with Mrs. Gladstone, the mourners defied past the 
 grave, taking a last view of the coffin, and, when they had been 
 escorted down the nave to the entrance, the people slowly de|>arted 
 Memorial services ' .i honor of Mr. Gladstone were held ail over 
 England. 
 
 The ceremony in the case of the House of Lords was practically 
 the same. The Lord Chancellor, who is the Speaker of that 
 assembly, unlike the Speaker uf the House of Commons, was not 
 
Mr. Gf2(hto7ie'» Death and Obaequiea. 
 
 459 
 
 !n full dress. He wore his gro' wig, and the sergeant-at-arms 
 carried the brazen mace, the emblem of royal authority; and there 
 was the usual retinue of pufsebcarer and trainbearer, and other 
 officials that form his little court. 
 
 The attendance of peers was on m great a scale as that of the 
 Commoners. This was wonderful testimony to th« universulity of 
 grief over Mr. Gladstone's death, as he was not a favorite with that 
 body, ani \m very last si)ecch in the House of Commons was de- 
 livered in opposition to their claims. The pall-bearers, who walked 
 on each side of the colli n, were perl ap. the ])ers<;nages who 
 attracted the most attention during the day. 
 
 The sight of the Prince of Wales and his son and heir doing 
 hopcr to th^ leader of the great popular Liberal forces was suffi- 
 cient to excite comment and curiosity, but, in additi h, 'lie leaders 
 of tho Tory party, in both houses of Parliament, were joined in 
 the same homage. Lc>rd Salisbury was a picturesque figure in his 
 way — massive in height, still more massive in weight and heavily 
 stooped, he added to the impressiveness ot his massiveness and to 
 the curiousness of his appearance by wearing a small black-velvot 
 skullcap. 
 
 A country with such a vact system of class distinction and old 
 institution as England cannot be without picturesqueness or differ- 
 ence or color on ever so studiously simple an occiasion as this. 
 Several times the eye was ca jght by the sight of a beautiful patch 
 of color; choir-boys dressed in scarlet tuiiics, gorgeous footmen 
 with powdered hair and other indications of this land of opulence, 
 magnificence and caste ; but the prevalent color was sombre. 
 
 The abbey was filled in most parts, though there was no over- 
 crowding, and there was something almost oppressive in those tre- 
 mendous rows of \7omen all dressed in the same deep universal 
 black— black gowns, black jackets, black hats, black f'^athers, black 
 gloves. There was something almost like relief in the white sur- 
 plices of the ecclesiastics. Through the dim-lighted nave the dif- 
 ferent processions took their slow, solemn way. 
 
 In due order the t\7o houses of Parliameut faced e^ch other in 
 the galleries erected for the occaMon, and in the space left between 
 them was the open grave in the floor of the Abbey, waiting to 
 receive its illustrious occupant. There was something that resembled 
 
460 
 
 Mr. Gladstone's Death and Obsequies. 
 
 a great theatrical performance in this arrangement of the two houses 
 and the spectators in their long tiers of galleries around the grave. 
 But the sombreness of colors, the dim light that came in through 
 the windows and the hosts of ecclesiastics soon baniohed this idea, 
 and the whole ceremonial was solemn, beautiful. In the centre of 
 each gallery was a presiding officer with the mace beside him. Each 
 sj)eaker seemed to be a sort of core to the galleries, its central most 
 prominent figure. Down below one caught a sight of the pall- 
 bearers as they stood around the small and simple c^^ffin. 
 
 Looking p, little closer you saw a number of peo])le that you 
 began slowly to recognize as members of the bereaved family. 
 There was a thrill and a hush, though no spoken exclamation as 
 the devoted wife walked tc her place, leaning on the arms of her 
 two sons — one, Stephen, the rector of his ancestral home, Hawarden ; 
 the other, Henry, an East Indian merchant. 
 
 Behind them came Herbert Gladstone, the only son who has 
 adopted a i)o]itical career, and in his charge were a number of 
 young people, boys and girls, who looked sweet and touching in 
 their mourning, and with the innocent interest in all that was 
 going on. 
 
 The choir of Westminster Abbey is fine at any time, but for this 
 occasion special arrangement had been made, and there was a 
 rec uiting of the best voices from several other choirs of ihe metro- 
 polis. The result was to win general praise for the beauty, har- 
 mony and jierfection of the music. The selection of hymns for the 
 occasion was according to the tastes of the Grand Old Man himself 
 It is known that Newman's hymn, "Praise to Holiest in the 
 Highest," was his favorite, and this hymn found a prominent pince 
 in the music of the day. " Rock of Ages " was also one of Glad- 
 stone's favorites, so much so that he made a Latin translation 
 of it which was printed in the programme beside the English 
 words. 
 
 The musical selections were typical of all such ceremonies, that 
 is to say, there was a mixture of inevitable sadness, death and 
 parting, of the joy founded on hopes of a blessed immortality. At 
 one time the music fell to a low, solemn, tender whisper; then ngain 
 you heard the trombones resound througli tliC vast building, giving 
 a sense of joy and exaltation, of final victory over death and corrup- 
 
Mr. OladUlone^s Death and Obsequies. 
 
 461 
 
 tion that had a most startling and at the same time most thrilling 
 effect upon the imagination. 
 
 There was no sermon. It would have been too small in the 
 great proportions of the ceremony and surroundings. The great 
 Epistle of St. Paul with its final pean of victory over death was 
 read ; but the voice of the reader was partially lost in the vast space 
 and those always impressive words sounded almost weak and intru- 
 sive. When the lescon had been read and the last hymn, " Oh, 
 God ! Our Help in Ages Past," had been sung, the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, in liis loud, almost harsh, voice, pronounced the final 
 benediction. 
 
 The " Dead March " from " Saul " and the " Messe Solenuelle " 
 of Schubert were plajad as the congregation slowly wended its 
 way out. The crowds were there, and the sunshine and the 
 already impatient throb of the great metropolis, to resume its fev- 
 erish, hurried life; and so the great Legislature, in which Glad- 
 stone had roigned as a foremost figure for nearly sixty years, paid 
 its last farewell. 
 
 The pathos of Mr. Gladstone's funeral centered around the grief- 
 stricken figure of his aged and devoted wife. The shock of his 
 death lightened for a time at least the clouds that had begun to 
 darken her mind, and spared her the pain of realizing her beloved 
 husband's sufferings. 
 
 A moment of sublime emotion, bringing tears to all eyes in that 
 unique gatiiering of princes, divines and statesmen gathered round 
 the grave of England's greatest citizen, was wlvn the widow sup- 
 ported lovingly by her two weeping sons, tottered feebly, her frame 
 shaken with heart-broken sobs, to the brink of the grave, and cast 
 a lonp, lingering look of anguish at the casket containing the 
 mortal remains of her illustrious husband. 
 
 When the stricken woman turned away and sank back into her 
 chair, the Prince of Wales, inspired by one of those touches of fine 
 feeling which account so largely for his popularity, tool: Mrs. 
 Gladstone's hand in his, and, with a whispered word of consola- 
 tion, kissed it reverently. The other pall-bearers all followed this 
 manly example, providing a spontaneous demonstration of sym- 
 pathy more affecting than any st^ite pageant ever devised. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 MR. GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. 
 
 Not a Party Question — The Kesolutions — Dreadful Words to Speak — Witnesses 
 to the Massacres —Report of Dr. Dillon — Plunder, Murder, Rape, and 
 Torture — Responsibility of the Turkish Government- -The Turk Ought to 
 March Out of Armenia — What is to Become of Christians in the Turkish 
 Empire ? — Sad and Terrible Story. 
 
 IT will interest the reader to peruse some of Mr. Gladstone's 
 famous speeches in the exact form in which they were deliv- 
 ered. We have therefore made selections from his addresses 
 which not only embrace the most important subjects and such as 
 occupied public thought and attention at the time, but have also 
 endeavored to make such selections as "ill show the variety of 
 topics which he discussed and the masterly manner in which he 
 treated them. 
 
 A meeting was held in the Town Hall, Chester, England, on the 
 6th of August, 1895, for the purpose of discussing the claims of the 
 Armenians in Turkey. The assembly room at the Town Hall was 
 crowded to excess, and many thousa^ids of persons had to be refused 
 admission. 
 
 The Duke of Westminster presided and among those present 
 were a great number of members of Parliament. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone, who was received with prolonged cheers, said : — 
 My Lord Duke, my Lords, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — My first 
 observation shall be a repetition of what has already been said by 
 the noble Duke, who has assured you tiiat this meetin"^ is not a 
 meeting called in the interests of any party (hear, hear), or having 
 \e smallest connection wi*:h those difforcnces of opinion which 
 naturally and warrantably i i this free country will spring up in a 
 complex state of affairs, dividing us on certain questions man from 
 man. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 But, my Lord Duke, it is satisfactory to observe that freedom of 
 opinion and even these divisions themselves upon certain que.stions 
 give increased weight and auufmented emphasis to the concurrence 
 462 
 
 of the p( 
 matters 
 mou jusi 
 
 It is 
 to inipej 
 that the 
 Christiai 
 great dej 
 excesses 
 the v/ors 
 have no\ 
 new cha] 
 enforced, 
 ministral 
 concerns 
 
 But tl 
 Governn 
 tian subj 
 was capa 
 indignati 
 (Cheers.) 
 which ha 
 press wit 
 ''ery com 
 tertaininj 
 large. ( 
 
 Allow 
 entertain: 
 manity, i 
 personal 
 sympathi 
 from An 
 the Unit 
 tainod on 
 and even 
 of the pe( 
 
 The tc 
 
 "That 
 
Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 
 
 463 
 
 of the people to the cordial agreement of the whole nation in these 
 matters vvliere the broad principles of common humanity and com- 
 mon justice prevail. (Cheers.) 
 
 It is perfectly true that the Government whose deeds we have 
 to impeach is a Mahometan Government, and it is perfectly true 
 that the sufferers under those outrages, under those afflictions, are 
 Christian sufferers. The Mahometan subjects of Turkey suffer a 
 great deal, but what they suffer is only in the way of the ordinary 
 excesses and defects of an intolerably bad Government— perhaps 
 the worst on the face of the earth. (Hear, hear.) That which we 
 have now to do is, I am sorry to say, the opening up of an entirely 
 new chapter. It is not a question of indiiferent laws indifferently 
 enforced. It is not a question of administrative violence and ad- 
 ministrative abuse. It cuts further and goes to the root of all that 
 concerns human life in its elementary conditions. 
 
 But this I will say, that if, instead of dealing with the Turkish 
 Government, and impeaching it foj its misdeed? towards Chris- 
 tian subjects, we wer- dealing with a Christian Government that 
 was capable of similar misdeeds towards Mahometan subjects, our 
 indignation ought to be not less, but greater, than it is now. 
 (Cheers.) Well, I will take the liberty of reading a resolution 
 which has been placed in my hands, and which seems to me to ex- 
 press with firmness, but with moderation, the opinions which I am 
 '•ery confident this meeting will entertain, and this meeting, in en- 
 tertaining such op! ions, is but the representative of the country at 
 large. (Cheers.) 
 
 Allow me to go further and to say that the country at large in 
 entertaining these ideas is only a representative of civilized hu- 
 manity, and I will presume to speak on the ground, in part, of 
 personal knowledge; I will presume to speak of the opinions and 
 sympathies that are entertained in that part which is most remote 
 from Armenia — I mean among our own Transatlantic brethren of 
 the United States. If possible, the sentiment in America enter- 
 tained on the snijject of these recent occurrences is even more vivid 
 and even stronger, if it can be, than that which beats in the hearts 
 of the people of this country. 
 
 The terms of the rcsohUioii arc 
 
 as follows 
 
 That this meeting expresses its conviction that her Majesty's 
 
464 
 
 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Qnedion. 
 
 Government will have the cordial support of the entire nation, 
 without distinction of party, in any measures which it may adopt 
 for securing to the people of Turkish Armenia such reforms in the 
 administration of that province as shall provide effective guarantees 
 for the safety of life, honor, religion, and property, and that no 
 reforms can be effective whicli are not placeo under the continuous 
 control of the Great Powers of Europe." (Cheers.) 
 
 That means, without doubt, the great Powers of Europe, all who 
 choose to combine, and those great Powers which happily have com- 
 bined and have already, in my judgment, pledged their honor, as 
 well as their power, to the attainment of the object we have in 
 view. (Cheers) 
 
 Now, it was my fate, I think some six or more months ago, to 
 address a very limited number, not a public assembly, but a limited 
 number of Armenian gentlemen, and ge;jtlemeu interested in 
 Armenia, on this subject ; and at that time I ventured to point out 
 that one of our duties was to avoid premature judgments. 
 
 There was no authoritative and impartial declaration before the 
 world at that period on the subject of what is known as the Sassoun 
 massacre; that massacre to which the noble duke has alluded, and 
 with i\ pect to which, horrible as that massacre was, one of the 
 most in ortant witnesses in this case declares that it is thrown into 
 the shadv', and has become pale and ineffective by the side of the 
 unspeakable horrors which are being enacted from month to month, 
 from week to week, and day to day, in the different provinces of 
 Armenia . (Cheers.) 
 
 It was a duty to avoid premature judgment, and I think it was 
 avoided. There was a great reserve ; but at last the engine of dis- 
 passionate inquiry was brought to bear, and then it was found that 
 another duty, very important in general in these cases, really in 
 this particular instance had no particular place at all, and though it 
 is a duty to avoid exaggeration — a most sacred duty — it b, a duty 
 that has little or no place in the case before us, because it is too 
 well known that the powers of language hardly suffice to de.>crib 
 what has been and is 1 ■ in^r done, and that exaggeration, if we were 
 ever so much disposed to it, is in such a case really beyond our 
 power. (Cheers, ) 
 
 Those are dreadful words to speak. It is a painful office to per- 
 
Mr. Gladstone on the Aiinenlan Question. 
 
 465 
 
 form, and nothing but a strong sense of duty could gather us 
 together between these walls or could induce a man of my age, and 
 a man who is not wholly without other difficulties to contend with 
 to resign for the moment that repose and quietude which are the 
 lust of many great earthly blessings remaining to him, in order to 
 Invite you to enter into a consideration of this questson — I will not 
 say in order to invite you to allow yourselves to be flooded with 
 the sickening details that it involves. 
 
 I shall not attempt to lead you into that dreadful field, but I 
 make this appeal to you. I do.hope that every one of you will for 
 himself and herself 'endeavor, in such a degree as your position may 
 allow of you, to endeavo" to acquire some acquaintance with them 
 (hear, hear), because I know that, when I say that a case of this 
 kind puts exaggeration out of the question, I am making a very 
 broad assertion, which would in most cases be violent, which would 
 in all ordinary cases be unwarrantable. 
 
 But those who will go through the proctss I have described, or 
 even a limited portion of the process, will find that the words are 
 not too strong for the occasion. (Cheers.) What witnesses ought 
 we to call before us? I should be disposed to say that it matters 
 very little what witnesses you call. So far as the character of the 
 testimony you will receive is concerned, the witnesses are all agreed. 
 At the time that I have just spoken of, six or eight months ago, 
 they were private witnesses. 
 
 Since that time, although we have not seen the detailed docu- 
 ments of public authority, yet we know that all the broader state- 
 ments which had been made up to that time and which have made 
 the blood of this nation run cold have been confirmed and verified. 
 They have not been overstated, not withdrawn, not qualified, not 
 reduced, but confirmed in all their breadth, in all their horrible 
 substance, in all their sickening details. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 And here I may say that it is not merely European witnesses 
 with whom we have to deal. We have American witnesses also 
 in the field, and the testimony of the American witnesses is the 
 same as that of the European ; but it is of still greater importance 
 and for this reason — that everybody knows that America has no 
 separate or sinister political interest of any kind in the affairs of the 
 Levant. 
 
 30 
 

 466 
 
 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 
 
 She comes into court perfectly honest and perfectly unsuspected, 
 and that which she says possesses on that account a double weight. 
 I will not refer to the witnesses in particular, as I have been told 
 you will receive a statemerit by my reverend frieud, Canon McColl, 
 who is one 6f them (ciheers) ; but I believe they are absolutely 
 agreed, that there is no shade of ditference prevailing among 
 them. 
 
 I will refer to the last of these witnesses, one i^hom I must say 
 I am disposed to name with honor : it is D-'. Dillon (cheers), whose 
 name has appeared within the last jthree or four days at the foot of 
 an article of unusual length — Ah ! and good were the reasons for 
 extending it to an unusual length — in the Contemporary Revieio. 
 (Cheers.) Perhaps you will ask, as I asked, " Who is Dr. Dillon?" 
 and I am able to describe him to his honor. 
 
 Dr. Dillon is a man who, as the special commissioner of the Daily 
 Telegraph newspaper, some months ago, with care and labor, and 
 with the hazard of his life (hear, hear), v/ent into Turkey, laudably 
 making use of a disguise for l,iie purpose, and went into Armenia, 
 so that he might make himself thoroughly master of the facts. 
 (Cheers.) He published his results before any public authority had 
 given utterance to its judgments, and those results which he^ I rather 
 think, was the first to give to the world in a connected shape — at 
 any rate he was very early in the field — these results have been 
 completely confirmed and established by the inquiries of the dele- 
 gates appointed by the three Powers — England, France and Russia. 
 (Cheers.) 
 
 I say lie has, at the risk of his life, acqtiired a title to be believed, 
 and here he gives us an account which bears upon it all the murks 
 of truth, but which, at the same time that we must believe it to be 
 true, you would say is hardly credible. Unhappily some of those 
 matters which are not credible do, in *Ms strange and wayward 
 world of ours, turn out to be true ; and here it is hardly credible 
 that there can dwell in the human form a spirit of such intense 
 and diabolical wickedness as is unha])pi1y displayed in some of the 
 narratives Dr. Dillon has laid before the world. 
 
 I shall not quote from them, in detail, though I mean to make 
 a single citation, which will be a citation, if I may say so, rather 
 of principle than of detail. I f-hall not quote the details, but I 
 
^ - 
 
 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 467 
 
 will say to you that when you begin to read them you will see the 
 truth of what I just now said-namely, that we are not dealing at 
 all with a common and ordinary question of abuses of government 
 or the defects of them. We are dealing with something that goes 
 ar deeper, far wider, and that imposes upon us and upon you far 
 heavier obligations. 
 
 The whole substance of this remarkable article— and it agrees 
 as I have said, with the testimony of the other witnesses— I am 
 quoting ,t because ii, is the latest-the whole substance of this 
 article may be summed up in four awful words— plunder murder 
 rape and torture. ("Shame.") Every incident turns upon one or 
 upon several of those awful words. Plunder and murder you 
 would think are bad enough, but plunder and murder are almost 
 venial by the side of the work of the ravisher and the work of the 
 torturer, as it is described in those pages, and as it is now fully 
 and authentically known to be going on, 
 
 I will keep my word, and I will not be tempted by— what shall 
 I say?— the dramatic interest attached to such exaggeration of 
 liuman action as we find here to travel into the details of the facts. 
 They are fitter for private perusal than they are for public discus- 
 sion. I will not be tempted to travel into them; I will ask you 
 for a moment, any of you who have not yourselves verified thp 
 particulars of the case, to credit me with speaking the truth, until 
 I go on to consider who are the doors of these deeds. 
 
 In all ordinary cases, when we have before us instances of crime, 
 perhaps of very horrible crime— for example, there is a sad story 
 in the papers to-day of a massacre in a portion of China— we at 
 once assume that in all countries, unfortunately, there are male- 
 factors, there are plunderers whose deeds we are going to consider. 
 Here, my F.ord Duke, it is nothing of the kind ; we have nothing 
 to do here with what are called the dangerous classes of the com- 
 munity ; it is not their proceedings which you are asked to con- 
 sider; it is the proceedings of the Government of Const^mtinople 
 and its agents. (Cheers.) 
 
 There is not one of these misdeeds for which the Government of 
 Constantinople is not morally responsible. (Cheers.) Now, who 
 are these agents? Let me tell you very briefly. They fall into 
 three classes. The first have been mentioned by the noble duke— 
 
 
 I 
 
468 
 
 Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 
 
 namely, the savage Kurds, who arc, unhappily, the neighbors of 
 the Armenians, the Armenians being the representatives of one of 
 the oldest civilized Christian races, an*;! being, beyond all doubt, 
 one of the most pacific, one of the most industrious, and one of the 
 most intelligent races in the world. (Cheers.) 
 
 These Kurds are by them ; they are wild, savage clans. There 
 was but one word, my Lord Duke, in your address that I should 
 have been disposed to literally criticise, and it was the expression 
 that fell from you that the SuKan had "organized" these Kurds. 
 They are, in my belief, in no sense organized — that is to say, there 
 is no more organization among them tiian is to be found, say, in a 
 band of robbers ; they have no other organization, being nothing 
 but a baud of robbers. (Cheers.) 
 
 These the Sultan and the Government at Constantinople have 
 enrolled, though in a nominal fashion, not without military disci- 
 pline, into pretended cavalry regiments and then set them loose 
 with the authority of soldiers of the Sultan to harry and destroy 
 the peoph of Armenia. (Cheers.) Well, these Kurds are the first 
 of the agents in this horrible business ; tha next are the Turkish 
 soldiers, who are in no sense behind the Kurds in their perform- 
 aaces; the third are the peace officers, the police and the tax- 
 gatherers of the Turkish Government ; and there seems to be a 
 deadly competition among all these classes which shall most prove 
 itself an adept in the horrible and infernal work that is before them, 
 but above them all and more guilty than they, are the higher officers 
 of the Turkish Government. 
 
 You will find, if you look into this paper of Dr. Dillon's, that at 
 every point he has exposed himself to confutation if what he says 
 is inaccurate or untrue. He gives names, titles, places, dates, every 
 particular which would enable the Turkish Government to track 
 him out and detect him <".nd hold him up to public reprobation 
 
 You will nev^er hear of an answer from the Turkish Ciovernraent 
 to that article. That may be a bold thing for me to say ; but I am 
 confident you will never hear an ans-^er from them which shall 
 follow these statements of Dr. Dillon's, k\ised on his own personal 
 experience, through the details, and attempt to shake the fabric of 
 previously composed materials which he has built up in the face of 
 the world ! 
 
Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Question. 
 
 469 
 
 I think there are certain matters, such as those which have been 
 discussed to-day and discussed in many otlier forms, on which it is 
 perfectly possible to make up our minds. And what I should say 
 is, that the whole position may be summed up in three brief propo- 
 sitions. I do not know to which of these propositions to assign the 
 less or the greater importance. It appears to me that they are 
 probably each and every one of them absolutely indispensable. The 
 first proposition is this, You ought to moderate your demands. 
 
 You ought to ask for nothing but that whi^li is strictly necessary, 
 and that possibly according to all that we know of the proposals 
 before, the rule has been rigidly complied with. I do not hesitate 
 to say, ladies and gentlemen, tiiat the cleanest and clearest method 
 of dealing with this subject, if we should have done it, would have 
 been to tell the Turk to march out of Armenia. (Loud cheers.) 
 He has no right to remain there, and it would have been an excel- 
 lent settlement of the question. 
 
 But it is by no means certain that Europe or even the three 
 Powers would have been unanimous in seeking after that end. 
 Therefore, let us part with everything except what is known to be 
 indispensable. Then I come to the other two rules, and of these the 
 first is that you should accept no Turkish promises. (Hear, hear.) 
 They are absolutely and entirely worthless. They are worse than 
 worthless, because they may serve to delude a few persons, who 
 without information or experience, naturally would suppose, when 
 promises are given, tiiat there is something like an intention of ful- 
 fillment. Recollect that no scheme is worth having unless it be 
 supported by efficient guarantees entirely outside the promises of 
 the Turkish Government. (Applause.) 
 
 There is another word whicii I must speak, and that is this : 
 Don't be too much afraid if you hear introduced into this discussion 
 a word that I admit, in ordinary cases, ought to be excluded from 
 all diplomatic proceedings, namely, the word coercion. Coercion is 
 a word perfectly well understood in Constantinople, and it is a word 
 highly appreciated in Constantinoi:!e. It is a drastic dose-i-(laugh- 
 ter) — wiiich never fails of its aim when it is administered in that 
 quarter. (Laughter.) 
 
 Gentlemen, I would not use these words if I had not myself 
 personally had large and close experience of the proceedings of the 
 
470 
 
 Mr. Oladstone on the Armenian Question, 
 
 Turkish Government. I say, first make your case good, and when 
 your case is made good, determine that it slmll prevail. (Cheers.) 
 Grammar has something to do with this case. Recollect that while 
 the word " ought " sounded in Constantinople, passes in thin air, 
 ar.d has no force or solidity whatever attaching to it ; on the con- 
 trary, the brother or sister monosyllable, the word "must" is 
 perfectly understood~(cheers)— and it is a known fact supported 
 by positive exDerionce, which can be verified up-ja the map of 
 Europe, that a timely aud judicious use of this word never fails in 
 its effect. (Cheers.) 
 
 Gentlemen, I must point out to you that we have reached a very 
 critical position, indeed. How are three great Governments in 
 Europe, ruling a population of more than two hundred million 
 souls, with perhaps eight or ten times the population of Turkey, 
 with twenty times the wealth of Turkey, with fifty times the influ- 
 ence aud power of Turkey, who have committed themselves in this 
 matter before the world, I put it to you that if they recede before 
 an irrational resistance— and remember that I have in the first 
 instance postulated that our demands should be reasonable— if they 
 recede before the irrational resistance of the Sultin and the Otto- 
 man Government, they are disgraced in the face of the world. 
 
 Every motive of duty coincides with every motive of self-respect, 
 «nd, ray Lord Duke, you yourself let drop a word which is unhap- 
 pily not wholly out of place, and that word is extermination. 
 
 There has gone abroad— I don't say that I feel myself competent 
 to judge the matter, I don't think I do, but there has gone abroad, 
 and there is widely entertained a belief, that the recen-t proceedings 
 of the Turkish Government in Armenia i)articularly, but not in 
 Armenia exclusively, are founded upon deliberate determination to 
 exterminate the Christians in that Empire. I hope it is not true, 
 but at the same time I must say that there are evidences tending to 
 support it— (hear, hear)— and the grand evidence which tends to 
 support it is this : the perfect infatuation of the Turkish Govern- 
 ment. Now, in my time there have been periods when Turkey 
 was ruled by men of honesty and ability. 
 
 I will say that, until about thirty years ago, you could trust the 
 word of the Turkish Government as well as any Government in 
 Europe ; yon might not approve of their proceedings, but you 
 
Mr. Gladstone on the Armenian Questi(m. 
 
 471 
 
 could trust their word ; but a kind of judicial infatuation appears 
 to have come down upon them. What has happened in Turkey? 
 To hear of this vaunting on the pi t of its (jrovennnent, and this 
 game of brag that is from time to time being played, that it cannot 
 compromise its dignity, it cannot waive any of its rights. 
 
 What would come of its rights in one-third part of its empire? 
 Within my lifetime Turkey has been reduced by one-third part of 
 iier territory, and sixteen or eighteen millions of people, inhabiting 
 some of the most beautiful and formerly most famous countries in 
 the world, who were under the Ottoman rule, are now as free as we 
 are. (Cheers,) 
 
 The Ottoman Government are as well aware of that as we, and 
 yet we find it pursuing these insane courses. On the other hp;.J, 
 my Lord Duke most judiciously referred to the plan of (jr( vernment 
 that was introduced in the Lebanon about 1801, whereby a reason- 
 able share of stability to local institutions and popular control has 
 been given in Turkey, and the results have been most satisfactory. 
 
 There is also a part of the country, although not a very large 
 part, where something like local self-government is permitted, and 
 it has been very hopeful in its (character. But when we see these 
 things — on the one hand that these experiments, in a sense of 
 justice, have all succeeded, and that when adapted to the Greeks 
 and the Bulgarians, an(^ four or five other States, have resulted in 
 the loss of those States, then I say that the Turkish Govenmient is 
 evidently in such a p'-'*e of infatuation that it is fain to believe it 
 may, under certain Ciicumstan(!es, be infatuated enough to schema 
 the extermination of the Christian population. 
 
 Well, this a sad and terrible story, and I have been a very long 
 time in telling it, but a very small part of it; but I hope that, 
 having heard the terms of the resolution that will be submitted to 
 you, you will agree that a case is made out. (Cheers.) I for one, 
 for the sake of avoiding other complications, would rejoice if the 
 Government of Turkey "ould come to its senses. If only men 
 like Friad Pacha and Ali Pacha, who were in the Government 
 of Turkey after the Crimean War, could be raised from the dead 
 and could inspire the Turkish policy with their spirit and with 
 their principles ! 
 
 That is, in my opinion, wha"- v^e ought all to desire, and though 
 
 Jl 
 
472 
 
 Mr. O-ladstone on the Ai^mmian Question. 
 
 it would be more agreeable to clear Turkey than to find her guilty 
 of these terrible charges, yet, if we have the smallest regard to 
 humanity, if we are sensible at all of what is due to our own honor, 
 after the step which h«ve been taken within the last twelv*» or 
 eighteen months, we must interfere. We must be careful to 
 demand no more than what is just — hut at least as much as is 
 necessary — and we must be determined that, witii the help ot God, 
 thai; which is necessary and that which is just shall be done, 
 whether there will be a response or whether there be none. (Loud 
 cheers.^ 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GLADSTONE ON THE BEAOONSFIELD MINISTRY, * 
 
 Dissolution of Parliament- Reply to Opponents— A Serious Position Policy of 
 the (iovernmenf-Kesponsible for Other Countries— Turkey a Scandal to 
 the World - Derby and HeaconH.'leld— Turkey Encouraged to Go to War- 
 Treaties With European Nations— Policy of Austria-Worshippers of 
 Success— Treatment of the Sultan- Tory Government to be Tried by its 
 Principles. 
 
 SENTLEMEN— When I last had the honor of addressing 
 you in tliis Hall, I endeavored, in some degree, to open the 
 great case which I was in hopes would, in conformity witli 
 what I may call constitutional usage, then have been brought at 
 once before you. The argun— ^s which we made for a dissolution 
 were received with he usual coi.cempt, and the Parliament was 
 summoned to attempt, for the firs^ dme in our history, the regular 
 business of a seventh session. I am not going now to argue on the 
 propriety of this course, because, meeting you i^jre in the capital 
 of the county and of Scotland, I am anxious to go straight to the 
 vary heart of the matter, and, amidst the crowd of topics that .ush 
 upoi the mind, to touch upon some of those which you will judge 
 to be niost closely and most intimately connected with the true 
 merits of tlie great issue that is before us. 
 
 ^ At last the dissolution has come, ai f I postpone the considera- 
 tion of the question why it has come, the question how it has come, 
 on w lich there are many things to be said. It has come, and you 
 are a >out to give your votes upon an occasion which, allow me to 
 tell yco. entails not only upon me, but upon you, a responsibility 
 greater than you ever had to undergo. I believe that I have the 
 
 * Previous to the date of this address Mr. Gladstone had addressed the electore 
 of Midlothian on three great occasions. He now opened his famous Midlothian 
 Campaign in earnest, taking the Government to task with such tremendous 
 cuurgy as to force iiis convictions upon the people. The place of meeting on 
 this occasion was the Music Hall, Edinburgh, Mr. Duncan McLaren, M. P., 
 pr«siding. 
 
 473 
 
 h 11 
 
474 
 
 Gladstone on the Beaconsficld Ministry. 
 
 honor of addressing a mixed meeting, a meeting principally and 
 very largely composed of freeholders of the county, but in which 
 warm and decided friends are free.y mingled with those who have 
 not declared in our favor, or even with those who may intend to 
 vote against us. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, let me say a word in the first place to those 
 whom I must for the moment call opponents. I am not going to 
 address them in the language of flattery. I am not going to sup- 
 plic3.te them for the conferring of a favor. I am not going to 
 appeal to them on any secondary or any social ground. I aoi 
 going to speak to them as Scotchmen and as citizens ; I atu going 
 to speak to them of the duty that they owe to the Empire at this 
 moment ; I am going to speak to them of the condition of the 
 Empire, of the strength of the Empire, and of the honor of the 
 Empire ; and it is upon these issues that I respectfully ask for 
 their support. 
 
 I am glad that, notwithstanding ray Scotch blood, and notwith- 
 standing the association of my father and my grandfather with this 
 country, it is open to our opponents, if they like, to describe me as 
 a strang'^r; because I am free to admit that I stand here in conse- 
 quence of an invitation, and in consequence of treatment the most 
 generous and the most gratifying that ever was accorded to man. 
 And I venture to assure every one of my opponents, that if I beg 
 respectfully to have some credit for upright motives, that credit I 
 at once accord to them. 
 
 I know very well they are not accustomed to hear it given me; 
 I know very well that in the newspapers which they read they will 
 find that violent passion, that outrageous hatred, that sordid greed 
 for office, are the motives, and the only motives, by which I am 
 governed. Many of these papers constitute, in some sense, their 
 daily food ; but I have such faith in their intelligence, and in the 
 healthiness of their constitution as Scotchmen, that I believe that 
 many of them will, by the inherent vigor of that constitution, 
 correct and neutralize the poison thus administ'^'-ed ; will consent 
 to meet me upon equal grounds, and will listen to the appeal which 
 I make. 
 
 lie aj-r|-rcai itiiiv;ii x ;Uan.c Lu lliciii is tlltn . xi illy puoiLluiJ ijcic 
 
 is a serious one, their position is serious, too. My allegations have 
 
Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 
 
 475 
 
 ,'^ 
 
 HM 
 
 *■?.£ 
 ^ 1 
 
 : 1 
 
 been before you for a length of time. I will not now again read 
 to a Midlothian audience the letter in which I first accepted this 
 candidature. By every word of that letter I abide; in support of 
 every allegation which that letter contains, I am ready to bring 
 detailed and conclusive proof. These allegations — I say to you, 
 Gentlemen, to that portion of my audience — these allegations are 
 of the most serious character. I admit, as freely as you can urge 
 that if they be unfounded, then my responsibility — nay, my culpa- 
 bility — before my country cannot be exaggerated. 
 
 But, on the other hand, if these allegations be true — if it be true 
 that the resources of Great Britain have been misused; if it be true 
 that the international law of Europe has been broken ; if it be true 
 that the law of this country has been broken ; if it be true that the 
 good name of this land has been tarnished and defaced; if it be 
 true that its condition has been needlessly aggravated by measures 
 both useless, and wanton, and mischievous in themselves— then 
 your responsibility is as great as mine. For I fully admit that in 
 1874 you incurred no great or special responsibility. 
 
 You were tired of the Liberal Government ; you were dissatis- 
 fied wi:h them. [Cries of " No, no ! "] Oh, I beg pardon ; I am 
 addressing my opponents. Scotchmen, I believe, ai much as 
 Englishmen, like plain speaking, and I hope I have given you 
 some proof that if that be your taste I endeavor to meet it as well 
 as I can ; and I thank you heartily for the manner in which, by 
 your kindly attention, you have enabled me to say what I think is 
 the truth, whether it be palatable or whether it be not. 
 
 Now the great question Avhich we have been debating for the last 
 three or four years— for I do not carry back the pith of what I 
 have principally to say to the six years of the Government— is the 
 question of the policy which ha^ been pursued during that time; 
 most especially by far the policy of the last two years, and the 
 effect of that policy upon the condition of the country, upon the 
 legislation of the country, upon the strength of the Empire, and, 
 above all, upon the honor of the Empire. I am now going to com- 
 pare the conduct of the present Government, which is commended 
 to you as masterly in forethought and sagacity, and truly English 
 in spirit — I am going to compare it with the conduct of the last 
 Government, and to lay before you the proceedings of the results. 
 
476 
 
 Gladstone on the Beaconsjield Ministry. 
 
 It so happens that their histories are a not inconvenient means of 
 comparison. 
 
 England, as you are aware, has been involved in many guaran- 
 tees. I said England — do not be shocked ; it is the shortest word 
 — Great Britain or the United Kingdom is what one ought to say 
 The United Kingdom — the British Empire has been and is in" 
 volved in m-'nj guarantees for the condition of other countries. 
 Among others we were involved, especially since the Peace of 
 Paris, but also before the Peace of Paris, in a guars.; itee for Turkey, 
 aiming to maintain its integrity and its independence; and we Vv^ere 
 involved in another guarantee for Belgium, aiming to maintain its 
 integrity and its independence. In the time of the present Govern, 
 ment the integrity and the independence of Turkey were menaced — 
 menaced by the consequences of rank, festering corruption from 
 within. 
 
 In the tim^e of the late Government the integrity and independ- 
 ence of Belgium were not less seriously menaced. We had been 
 living in perfect harmony and friendship with two great Military 
 States of Europe — with Prussia and with France. France and 
 Prussia came into conflict, and at the moment of their coming into 
 conflict a document was revealed to us which the Miubters of those 
 two States had had in their hands. Whoever was its author, who- 
 ever was its promoter, that is no affair of mine — it is due to Prince 
 Bismap k to say that he was the person who brought it to light— 
 but they had in their hands an instrument of a formal character, 
 touching a subject that was considered and entertained. And that 
 bad instrument was an instrument for the destruction of the free- 
 dom, independence and integrity of Belgium. Could there be a 
 graver danger to Europe than that ? 
 
 Here was a State — not like Turkey, the F^andal of the world, and 
 the danger of the world from misgovernment, and from the horri- 
 ble degradation it inflicted upon its subject races — but a country 
 which was a marvel to all Europe for the peaceful exercise of the 
 rights of freedom, and for progress in all the arts and all pursuits 
 that tend to make mankind good and happy. And this country, 
 having nothing but its weakness that could be urged against it, 
 with ita four or five millions of ^eo'^le^ was deliberatelv uointed out 
 by somebody and indicated to be destroyed, to be offered up as a 
 
Gfladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 
 
 477 
 
 Id, and 
 
 sacrifice to territorial lust by one or other of those Ministers of 
 Powei-s with whom we were living in close friendship and affection. 
 We felt called upon to enlist ourselves on the part of the British 
 nation as advocates aud as champions of the integrity and inde- 
 pendence of Belgium. And if we had gone to war, we should have 
 gone to war for freedom, we should have gone to war for public 
 right, we should have gone to war to save human happiness from 
 being invaded by tyrannous and lawless power. This is what I 
 call a good cause, Gentlemen. And though I detest war, and there 
 are no epithets too strong, if you could supply me with them, that 
 I will not endeavor to heap upon its head — in such a war as that, 
 while the breath in my body is continued to me, I am ready to en- 
 gage. I am ready to support it, I am ready to jrive all the help 
 and aid I can to those who carry this country into it. 
 
 Well, Gentlemen, pledged to support the integrity and independ- 
 ence of Belgium, what did we do? We proposed to Prussia to 
 enter into a new and solemn Treaty with us to resist the French 
 Empire, if the French Empire attempted to violate the sanctity 
 of freedom in Belgium; and we ^)roposed to France to enter into 
 a similar Treaty with us to pursue exactly the same measures 
 against Prussia, if Prussia should make the like nefarious attempt. 
 And we undertook that, in concert with the one, or in concert 
 with the other, whichever the case might be, we would pledge 
 all the resources of this Empire, and carry it into war, for the 
 purpose of resisting mischief and maintaining the principles of 
 European law and peace. 
 
 I ask you whether it is not ridiculous to apply the doctrine or 
 the imputation, if it be an imputation, that we belong to the "Man- 
 chester School," or to a Peace Party— we who made these engage- 
 ments to n-o to war with France if necessary, or to go to war with 
 Prussia, if necessary, for the sake of the independence of Belgium? 
 But now I want you to observe tlie upshot. I must say that, in 
 one -espect, we were very inferior to the present Government- 
 very inferior indeed. Our ciphers, our figures, were perfectly con- 
 temptible. We took nothing except two millions of money. 
 
 We knew perfectly well that what was required was an indica- 
 tion, and t'nat that indication would be quite intelligible when it 
 was read in the light of the new treaty engagement which we were 
 
478 
 
 Gladstone on the Beacoiisfield Ministry. 
 
 contracting ; and consequently we asked Parliament to give u? two 
 millions of money for the sake of somewhat enlarging the numbers 
 of available soldiers, and we were quite prepared to meet that con- 
 tingency had it arrived. The great man who directs the Councils 
 of the German Empire (Bismarck) acted with his usual prompti- 
 tude. Our proposal went to him by telegraph, and he ausweretl by 
 telegraph, " Yes," the same afternoon. \7e were not quite so 
 fortunate with France, for at that time the Council? of France 
 were under the domination of some evil genius which it is difficult 
 to trace, and needless to attempt to trace. 
 
 There was some delry in France— a little unnecessary haggling 
 —but after two or three days France also came into this engage- 
 ment, and from that moment the peace of Belgium was perfectly 
 secured. When we aad our integrity and our independence to 
 protect, we took the measures which we believed to be necessary 
 and sufficient for that protection ; and in every year since those 
 measures, Belgium, not unharmed only, but strengthened by having 
 been carried safely and unhurt through a terrible danger, has pur- 
 sued her peaceful career, rising continually in her prosperity and 
 happiness, and still holding out an example before all Europe to 
 teach the nations how to live. 
 
 Well, Gentlemen, as that occasion came to us with respect to Bel- 
 gium, so it came to our successors with respect to Turkey. How 
 did they manage it? They thought themselves bound to maintain 
 the integrity and independence of'Turkey, and they were undoubt- 
 edly bound conditionally to maintain it. I am not now going into 
 the question of right, but into the question of the adaptation of the 
 means to an end. These are the gentlemen who are set before you 
 as the people whose continuance in office it is necessary to maintain 
 to attract the confidence of Europe; these are the gentlemen whom 
 patriotic associations laud to the skies as if they had a monopoly of 
 human intelligence ; these are the gentlemen who bring you " Peace 
 with Honor ; " these are the gentlemen who go in special trains to 
 attend august assemblies, and receive the compliments of august 
 statesmen ; these are the gentlemen who for all these years have 
 been calling upon you to pay any number of millions that might 
 be required as a very cheap and insignificant consideration for the 
 immense advantages thp.t you derive from their administration. 
 
G-ladstone on the Beaconafield Ministry. 479 
 
 Therefore I want you to know, and I have shown you, how we 
 set about to maintain integrity and independence, and how it was 
 maintained then. I ask how tiiey have set about it. But, Gentle- 
 men, on their own showing, they have done wrong. We have it 
 out of their own mouths. I won't go to Lord Derby; I will go 
 to the only man whose authority is higher for this purpose than 
 Lord Derby's, namely. Lord Beaconsfield. He tells you plainly 
 Uiat what the Government ought to have done was to have said to 
 Kussia, You shall not invade Turkey." 
 
 Gentlemen, that course is intelligible. It is a guilty course in 
 ray opinion, to have taken up arms for maintaining the integrity of 
 rurkey against her subject races, or to take up arms against what 
 the Emperor of Russia believed to be a great honor to humanity in 
 going to apply a remedy to these mischiefs. But Lord Beacons- 
 field has confessed in a public speech that the proper course for the 
 Government to have taken was t. have planted their foot, and to 
 have said to the Emperor of Russia: "Cross not the Danube- if 
 you cross the Danube, expect to confront the power of England' on 
 the southern shore." Now, Gentlemen, chat course is intelligible 
 perfectly mtelligible; and if you are prepared for the responsibilit; 
 of maintaining such an integrity, and such an independence, irre- 
 spectively of other considerations against the Christian races in 
 iurkey, that was the course for you to pursue. 
 
 It was not pursued, because the agitation, which is called the 
 Bulgarian agitation, was too inconvenient to allow the Government 
 to pursue It, because they saw that if they did that which Lord 
 Beaconsfield now tells us it would have been right to do, the senti- 
 
 TTw? ''r"°*'''^ '"'^"''^ "^* ^'^^^ permitted them to continue to 
 hold their office ; and hence came that vacillation, hence came that 
 ineptitude of policy which they now endeavor to cover by hector- 
 ing and by boasting, and which, within the last year or two they 
 have striven, and not quite unsuccessfully, to hide from the eyes of 
 many by carrying measures of violence into ether lands if not 
 against Russia, if not against the strong, yet against the weak, and 
 endeavoring to attract to themselves the credit and glory of main- 
 taining the power and influence of England. 
 
 Well. GfinHomon fliQir ivr^!"> *-/i —-J-f-:- ji • , ., . . . 
 
 , ^.., ..,,^ AC!^ 10 uiauituiii itie integrity and inde- 
 pendence of Turkey. How did they set about it? They were not 
 
480 
 
 Gladstone on the Beaeonsjield Ministry. 
 
 satisfied with asking for our Iiumble two millions; they asked for 
 bix millions. What did they do, first of all ? First of all they 
 encouraged Turkey to go to war. They d=d not counsel Turkey's 
 submission to superior force ; they neither would advise her to sub- 
 mit, nor would they assist her to resist. They were the great causes 
 of her plunging into that deplorable and ruinous war, from the 
 consequences of which, her Majesty's speech states this year, Turkey 
 has not yet recovered, and there is not the smallest appearance of 
 hope that she will ever recover. 
 
 But afterwards, and when the war had taken place, they came 
 and asked you for a vote of six millions. What did they do with 
 the six millions? They flourished it in the face of the world. 
 Wliat did they gain for Turkey ? In the first place, they sent a 
 fleet to the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. Are you aware that in 
 sending that fleet they broke the law of Europe ? They applied for 
 a firman to the Sultan. The Sultan refused, and they had no right 
 to send that fleet. But, however that may be, what was the use of 
 sending that fleet ? The cons(>quence was that the Eussian army, 
 which had been at a considerable distance from Constantinople 
 marched close up to Constantinople. 
 
 Is it possible to conceive an idea more absurd than that which I 
 really believe was entertaineu by many of our friends — I do not say 
 our friends in Midlothian, but in places where the intelligence is 
 high — that the presence of certain British ironclads in the Sea of 
 Marmora prevented the victorious Russian armies from entering 
 Constantinople? What could these ironclads do? They could 
 have battered down Constantinople, no doubt ; but what consola- 
 tion would that have been to Turkey, or how would it have pre- 
 vented Russian armies from entering? T'hat piu-tof the pretext set 
 is too thin and threadbare to require any confutation. But they 
 may say that that vote of six millions was an indication of the 
 intention of England to act in case of need ; and when it was first 
 proposed, it was to strengthen the hands of England at the 
 Congress. 
 
 But did it strengthen the hands of England ; and if so, to what 
 purpose was that strength used ? The Treaty of San Stefano had 
 been signed between Russia and Turkey ; the Treaty of Berlin was 
 substituted for it. What the grand difference between the Treaty 
 
Gladstone on the Beacomfield Ministry. 481 
 
 of Berlm and the Treaty of San Stefano ? There was a portion of 
 Bessarabia which down to the time of the Treaty of Berlin, enjoyed 
 free institutions, and by the Treaty of Berlin, and mainly through 
 the agency of the British Government, which had pledged itself 
 beforehand by what is called the Salisbury-Schouvaloff Memoran- 
 dum, to support Kussia in her demand for that territory, if Russia 
 adhered to that demand, England, with che vote of six millions 
 given to strengtb^n her influence, made herself specially responsible 
 for handing back that territory, which enjoyed free institutions, to 
 be governed despotically by the Russian Empire. 
 
 That is the first purpose for which, as I have shown you, your 
 vote of six millions was available. What was the second ? It was 
 to draw a line along the Balkan Mountains, by means of which 
 Northern Bulgaria was separated from Southern Bulgaria, and 
 Southern Bulgaria was re-named Eastern Roumelia. 
 
 The Sultan has not marched, and cannot march, a man into 
 Eastern Roumelia. If he did, the consequences would be that the 
 whole of that population, who are determined to fight for their 
 rights, would rise against him and his troops, and would be 
 supported by other forces that could be drawn to it under the 
 resistless influences of sympathy with freedom. You may remember 
 that three or four years ago utter scorn was poured upon what was 
 called the " bag-and-baggage policy." Are you aware that that 
 policy is at this moment the basis upon which are regulated the 
 whole of the civil state of things iu Bulgaria and Eastern Rou- 
 melia ? What that policy asked was that every Turkish authority 
 should be marched out of Bulgaria, and every Turkish authority 
 has gone out of Bulgaria. 
 
 There is not a Turk at this moment who, as a Turk, holds office 
 under the Sultan ei^ier in Bulgaria or in Southern Bulgaria, which 
 is called Eastern Roumelia— no, not one. The despised « bag-and 
 baggage policy " is at this moment the law of Europe, and that is 
 the result of itj and it is for that, Gentlemen, that the humble 
 individual who stands before you was held up a-.d reviled as a 
 visionary enthusiast and a verbose— I forget what— rhetoricians 
 although I believe myself there was not much verb'i^^i'tv in that 
 particular pliraae. It appnarcd to me the people of England 
 understood it pretty well— nay, more, the Congress of Berlin 
 31 
 
482 
 
 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 
 
 seemed to have understood it, and the slate of th.ngs which I 
 recommended was irresistible, and now, I thank God, is irre- 
 versibly established in those once unhappy provinces. 
 
 Gentlemen, we have got one more thing to do in regard to these 
 provinces, and that is this — I urged it at the same time when I 
 produced this monstrous conception of the " bag-and-baggage 
 policy " — it is this, to take great care that the majority of the in- 
 habitants of these provinces, who are Christians, do not oppress 
 either the Mohammedans, or the Jewish, or any other minority. 
 That is a sacred duty ; I don't believe it to be a difficult duty ; it is 
 a sacred duty. I stated to you just now that there was not a Turk 
 holding office, as a Turk, in these provinces. 
 
 I believe there are Turks holding office — and I rejoice to hear it 
 — holding office through the free suffi-age of their countrymen, and 
 by degrees I hope that they, when they are once rid of all the pesti- 
 lent and poisonous associations, and the recollections of the old 
 ascendancy, will become good and peaceful citizens like other 
 people. I believe the people of Turkey have in them many fine 
 qualities, whatever the Governors may be, capable under proper 
 education. Gentlemen, of bringing them to a state of capacity and 
 competency for every civil duty. 
 
 Gentlemen, it still remains for me to ask you ho^ this great and 
 powerful Government has performed its duty of maintaining the 
 integrity and independence of Turkey. It has had great and extra- 
 ordinary advantages. It has had the advantage of disciplined 
 support from its majority in the House of Commons. Though I 
 am not making any complaint, as my friend in the Chair knows, it 
 was not exactly the same as happened in the days of recent Liberal 
 Governments. It had had unflinching and incessant support from 
 the large majority of the Lords. 
 
 That was very far from being our case in our day. There is no 
 reason why I should not say so. I say freely — it is an historical 
 fact — that the House of Lords, when the people's representatives 
 are backed by a strong national feeling, when it would be danger- 
 ous to oppose, confront, or resist, then the House of Lords pass our 
 measuies. So they passed the Disestablishment of the Irish 
 Church, and so they passed the Irish Land Act; and I have no 
 doubt that, if it pleases the Almighty, they will pass many more 
 good measures. 
 
Gladstone on the Beaconsjkld Ministry. 
 
 483 
 
 .-e, t,.,v .eject the ,o«. . J^Z go'u rt^' '"'^ ^^ 
 traL:ii:L'°"The!'" '"^"'^V"''^'' ""' present Admin:. 
 
 -t for the British AmbaaJ^^r H 1 JlTl t M t"' 
 that a pestilent person, a certain Individ JL^Uewt 
 
 of you, give your votL"T^» .""" ^' "'' """ >"«■ ''^'>^^^> "U 
 
 Bea'con'siMr win G ntkZ f '"'"'"" ""^ '''"'^'■^ o'"^"' 
 of Austria, the fot^ign ^^ Jv h'- '12X7" "''n°"'^" P"""^ 
 advise you to do thaf ver^ Mn. r-f "'™"^ P""-^"""' I 
 
 foreign'poliey do.TltTn t C „„rof ^h' '° ""^ "" ^"''™" 
 votes as the E»peror of Au^L'Z:!!' '^ "'""'^' ^'^^ ^""' 
 
 has got better m<=,i{fui'^^r.. «* k V ^ ^ ^"^^^' because it 
 
 .a.i w a;::::sr:ntx iL*:;:^^^^ ^^ ^-^n 
 
 to what that policy has hppn a /. ™^"®«- -i: et I must look 
 ing foe of freTdom i' evt eonntn e" "" "l" ''^ """'"«''- 
 ™der foot Austria resisted' raiftTany^"^'™ '™-'"«' 
 
 int::ft:e^TreZiiru:rr"?^'""''"»' ^ 
 
 Slavonic freedom • h,,t 7'''P'."'"-K"»'-a has been the friend of 
 
 SlavonicfX ' A 'strtdra 111"™;.':" '"^ '™'"' -™ o'' 
 of Belgium Austrt „. « . ™"''' '" P"*™"' "-e creation 
 
 constitutrn of Ore" Th " ""^^ '''" '"^ '^S--"'-" -<» 
 
 spot upon the wtr^ap"^^ rir:: -'-"-f.e.e is not a 
 " There Austria did .J.'' 72°^. 71 ''^ ^™/ ""^^^ ^"'' -^n 
 0^ Us gene.1 tendenc, I d; ^ :h:nd':nT;Te ^^1^^ 
 
484 
 
 Gladstone on the Beaconsfield Ministry. 
 
 ment in the future, but we must look to the past and to the j)resent 
 for the guidance of our judgments at tliis moment. 
 
 And in the Congress of Berlin Austria resisted the extension of 
 freedom, and did not promote it ; and therefore, I say, if you want 
 the spirit of Austria to inspire the Councils of this country, in 
 Heaven's name take the Emperor's counsel ; and I advise you to 
 lift the Austrian flag yrhen you go about your purposes of canvass 
 or of public meetings. It will best express the purpose you have 
 in view, and I, for one, cannot complain of your consistency, liat- 
 ever, in that case, I might think of the tendency of your views in 
 respect of principle, of justic;;, of the happiness of mankind, or of 
 the greatness, the dignity, and the honor of this great Empire. 
 
 But, Gentlemen, still one word more, because I have not spoken 
 of what has been the upshot of all this. There are a great many 
 persons in this country, I am afraid, as well as in other countries, 
 who are what is called Worshippers of Success, •^nd at the time of 
 the famous " Peace with Honor " demonstratioi: there was a very 
 ■^"ppt appearance of success. I was not myself at that time par- 
 u<iuiarly safe wh' n 1 walked in the streets of London. I have 
 walked with my wife fium my own house, I have walked owing 
 my protection to the police ; but that was the time, Gentlemen, 
 when all .aose curious methods of maintaining British fionor and 
 British dignity were supposed to have been wonderfully euccessful. 
 
 And now I want to ask you, a" I have shown the way we went 
 about maintaining the independence and integrity of Belgium — 
 what has become of the independence and integrity of Turkey ? 
 I have shown that they neither knew in the first instance the ends 
 towards which they should first have directed their efforts, nor, 
 when they have chosen ends, have they been able rationally to 
 adapt their means to the attainment of those ends. I am not 
 speaking of the moral character of the means, but how they are 
 adapted tc the end. And what did the vote of six millions achieve 
 for Turkey? I will tell you what it achieved. It did achieve one 
 result, and I want you well to consider v/hether you are satisfied 
 with it or not, especially those of you who are Conservatives. It 
 undoubtedly cut down largely the division of Bulgaria, established 
 by the Treaty of San Stefano. 
 
 Now, I am not going to maintain that that division was a right 
 
a/addone on the Beacomfield Ministry. 485 
 
 buMt' ^'"V^r""^' "' ' ^"'^^'^^^ "'"^^ """"'« ^1^«» J possess ; 
 but the eiieet ci U was to cut it dow«. as i« perfectly well known- 
 hut .put back under the direct rule of the Sultan of Turkey 
 and m the exact condition in ^hich all European Turkey, except 
 he Pr.c.paht.e. had been before the war, the' population' nfabl 
 ing the country oi Macedonia, and about a million of people the 
 vast majority of them Christians. ^^ ' 
 
 Two substantive and definite results, the two most definite 
 results, produced were these-first of all, that Bessarabia, tha 1 d 
 been a country w.th free institutions, was handed back o despot 
 sm ; and second y, a million and a half of people inhabiting Mace- 
 doma to w om free institutions had been promised by the^Tre"; 
 o San btefano, are now again placed under the Turkish Pashas 
 and have not received one grain of benefit of importance as com-' 
 pared with their condition before the war 
 
 But hovv as regards Turkey ? I have shown results bad enough 
 
 Sfn ; Tl "• • .^^l'^' ''' ^'^ ^"^'^^ Pleuipotentiaries say 
 at Berlin ? They said that some people seemed to suppose we 
 had come tc c and carve Turkey. That is quite a mistake sad 
 tl e i lenipotentiaries ; we have come to consolidate Turkey. Some 
 of the scribes of the Foreign Office coined a new word, and sai U 
 was to " rejuvenate " Turkey. 
 
 How did they rejuvenate this unfortunate Empire, this misera- 
 ble Empire this unhappy Government which they have lured into 
 war and allowed and encouraged to pass into war because th^y 
 allowed tneir Ambassadors at Constentinople, Sir Henry Elliot 
 and Sir Austen Layard, to whisper into the ear of the Turk that 
 British interests would compel us to interfere and help her? What 
 has been the result to Turkey? Now, I will say, 'much as tl!e 
 Christian populations have the right to complain, the Sultan of 
 Inrkey has a light to complain very little less. How has the 
 Sultan been treated? We condescended to obtain from him the 
 island of Cyprus, at a time when Austria wa oulling at him on 
 one side and freedom on the other. We condescended to take from 
 liim that miserable paltry share of the spoil 
 
 That^ is not all. What is the condition of Turkey in Eurnnp 9 
 It IS neither integrii/ nor independence. The Sultan is liable'^'to 
 interference at any moment, at every point of his territory from 
 
486 
 
 Gladati ue on the Beacomfield Ministry. 
 
 every one that signed the Treaty of Berlin, lie has lost ten 
 millions of subjects altogether, ten millions more are in some kind 
 of dependence or other — in a condition that the Sultan does 
 not know whether they will be his subjects to-morrow or the next 
 day. Albania is possessed by a League. Macedonia, as you read 
 in the papers, is traversed by brigands. Thessaly and Epirus, 
 according to the Treaty of Berlin, should be given to Greece. 
 
 The treasury of Turkey is perfectly empty, disturbance? liave 
 spread through Turkey in Asia, and the condition of that Govern- 
 ment, whose integrity and independence you were told that " Peace 
 with Honor " had secured, is more miserable than at any previous 
 period of its history ; and wise and merciful indeed would be the 
 man that would devise some method of improving it. 
 
 To those gentlemen who talk of the great vigor and determina- 
 tion and success of the Tory Government, I ask you to compare the 
 case of Belgium and Turkey. Try them by principles, or try them 
 by results, I care not which, we knew what we were about and 
 what was to be done when we had integrity and independence to 
 support. 
 
 When they had integrity "nd inde'>endence to protect, they 
 talked, in'^' '., loud enough about supporting Turkey, and you 
 would suppose they were prepared to spend their whole resources 
 upon it ; but all their measures have ended in nothing except that 
 they have reduced Turkey to a state of greater weakness than at 
 any portion of her history, whereas, on the other hand, in regard to 
 the twelve or thirteen millions of Slavs and Roumanian population, 
 they have made the name of England odious throughout the whole 
 population, and done everything in their power to throw that ponu- 
 lation into the arms of Russia, to be the tool of Russia in its plans 
 and schemes, unless, indeed, as I hope and am inclined to believe, 
 the virtue of free institutions the} have obtained will make them 
 too wise to become the tools of any foreign Power whatever, will 
 make them intent upon maintaining their own liberties as becomes 
 a free people playing a noble part in the history of Europe. 
 
 I have detained you too long, and I will not, though I would, 
 pursue this subject further. I have sho^n you what I think the 
 miserable failure of the policy of the Government. Remember we 
 have a fixed point from which to draw our mea, urements. Rem em- 
 
Gladstone on the lieaconsjidd MiniHti^. 487 
 
 ber what in 1876 tho proposal of those who approved of the Bui- 
 ganan agitation and who were dcnouacoilas the enemies of Turkey 
 remember what that proposal woiild ha/e done. 
 
 It would have given Autonomy to Bulgaria, which ha.s now got 
 Autonomy; but it would have saved all the remainder at L 
 detriment to the rest of the Turkish Kmpire. Turkey would have 
 had a fair chance. Turkey would not have suffered tie territorial 
 losses which she has elsewhen .lilered, and which she \x,b suflered 
 I must say, In cons, ^uence of her being betrayed into the falne and 
 mischievous, the tempting and seductive, but unreal and unwise 
 jwlicy of th- present* Administration. 
 
 Tliere ->. ther matters which must be reserved for other times 
 ^ e are told about the Crimean War. Sir Stallord Northcote tells 
 us the Crimean War, made by the I.iberal (iovernment, cost the 
 country . \y millions of debt, and an income tax of Is 4d per 
 pound. Now what is the use of telling us that? I will discL.s 
 the Crimean War on some future occasion, but not now If the 
 Liberal Government were so clever, that they contrived to burden 
 the country with forty millions of debt for this Crimean War why 
 does he not go back to the war before that, and tell us what the 
 lorv Government did with the Revolutionary War, when they 
 le... a debt on the country of some nine hundred millions, of which 
 SIX hundred and fifty millions they had made in the Revolutionary 
 War, and not only so, but they left the blessing and legacy of the Corn 
 Laws, and of a high protective system, and impoverished country 
 and a di-samtented population-so much so, that for years that 
 followed that great Revolutionary War, no man could say 'whether 
 the Constitution of this country was or was not worth five years' 
 purchase. 
 
 They might even go further back than the Revolutionary War 
 They have been talking loudly of the Colonies, and say that, for- 
 sooth, the Liberal party do nothing for the Colonies. What did 
 tho Tory party do for the Colonies? I can tell you. Go to tho 
 war that preceded the Revolutionary War. They made war agair.^t 
 the American Continent. They added to the debt of the country 
 two hundred midions in order to deat: oy freedon. in America. 
 They alienated it and drove it from this country. They were com- 
 pelled to bring this cmintrv to make an ignominious ncnco- anu 
 
488 
 
 Gladdone on the Beacnnsfield Ministry. 
 
 as far as I know, that attempt to put down freedom in America, 
 with its results to this country, is the only one great fact which has 
 ever distinguished the relations between a Tory Government and 
 the Colonies. 
 
 But, Gentlemen, these must be matters postponed for another 
 cicasion. I thank you very cordially, both friends and opponents, 
 if opponents you be, for the extreme kindness with which you have 
 heard me. I have spoken, and I must s? ak in very strong terms 
 of the acts done by my opponents. I wil never say that they did it 
 from vindictiveness, I will never say that they did it from passion, 
 I will never say that they did it from a sordidjoveof oflSce ; I have 
 no right to use such words ; I have no right to entertain such senti- 
 ments ; I repudiate and abjure them. I give them credit for 
 patriotic motives— I give them credit for those patriotic motives, 
 which are incessantly and gratuitously denied to us. I believe we 
 are all united in a fond attachment to the great country to which 
 we belong, to the great Empire which has committed to it a trust 
 and function from Providence, as special and remarkable as was 
 ev<^r entrusted to any portion of the family of man. 
 
 When I ^peak of that tru?t and that function I feel that words 
 fail. I a lot tell you what I think of the nobleness of the inher- 
 itance whi( ii has descended upon us, of the sacredness of the duty 
 of maintaining it. I will not condescend to make it a part of con- 
 troversial politics. Jt is a part of my being, of my flesh and blood 
 of my heart and soul. For those ends I have labored through my 
 youth and manhood, and, more than that, till my hairs are grey. 
 In that faith and practice I have lived, and in that faith and 
 practice I shall die. 
 
ffi' 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE IRISH QUESTION. 
 
 Personal Explanation-Domestic Government for Ireland-Six Conditions for 
 Home Eu e-Repell.ng Attacks-Trivial Disputes-All Great Movements 
 ^naall ,„ the Beginning-Failure of Parliament to Legislate fo Ire a„d^^ 
 Attempt to do Justice to the Irish-Uni.n of the Kingdoms to Be Maih- 
 
 SrPaTndr Pa ;r^r ^ fft '" ^-'-^-^-eme'nt AgainsTR'n^ 
 Mr. Darnell s Party-Central Authority-Home Eule to Be Safeguarded- 
 Urgency of the Question-Charge of Being in Haste. ""^''S^^'^^^a 
 
 |R. GLADSTONE, iu a pamphlet published durino- the 
 agitation of Home Kale for Ireland, defended his action 
 IP the following terms, which did much to silence hostile 
 criticism aud secure friends for the cause he advocated so earnestly- 
 In the year 1868, I was closely associated with the policy of 
 disestablishing the Irish Church. It was then, not unflly, 
 attempted to assail the cause in the person of its advocate. To 
 defeat this attempt, an act became necessary which would other- 
 wise have been presumptuous and obtrusive. In order to save the 
 policy from suffering, I laid a personal explanation before the 
 world. The same motive now obliges me to repeat the act, and 
 will 1 hope form a sufficient excuse for my repeating it 
 
 The substance of my defence or apology will, howe'ver, on the 
 present occasion be altogether different. I had then to explain the 
 reasons for which, and the mode in which, I changed the opinions 
 and conduct with respect to the Church of Ireland then established, 
 which I had held half a century ago. I had shown my practical 
 acceptance of the rule that change of opinion should if possible be 
 accompanied with proof of independence and disinterested motive • 
 tor 1 liad resigned my place in the Cabinet of Sir Robert Peel in 
 order to make good my title to a new point of departure. On the 
 present occasion I have no such change to vindicate; but only to 
 po.nt out the mode in which my language and conduct, govorned 
 by uniformity of principle, have simply followed the several stages, 
 
 489 
 

 
 490 
 
 The Irish Quedion. 
 
 by which the great question of autonomy for Ireland has been 
 brought to a state of ripeness for practical legislation. 
 
 It is a satisfaction to me that, in confuting imputations upon 
 myself, I shall not be obliged to cast imputations on any individual 
 opponent. 
 
 The subject of a domestic government for Ireland, without any 
 distinct specification of its form, has been presented to us from time 
 to time. I have at no time regarded it as necessarily replete with 
 danger, or as a question which ought to be blocked out by the asser- 
 tion of seme high constitutional doctrine with which it could not be 
 reconciled. But I have considered it to be a question involving 
 such an amount and such a kind of change, and likely to be 
 encountered with so much of prejudice apart from reason, as to 
 make it a duty to look rigidly to the conditions, upon the fulfill- 
 ment of which alone it could warrantably be entertained. They 
 were in my view as follows : 
 
 1. It could not be entertained, except upon a final surrender 
 of the hope that Parliament could so far serve as a legislative 
 instrument for Ireland, as to be able to establish honorable and 
 friendly relations between Great Britain and the people of that 
 country. 
 
 2. Nor unless the demand for it were made in obedience to the 
 unequivocal and rooted desire of Ireland, expressed through the 
 constitutional medium of the Irish representatives. 
 
 3. Nor unless, being thus made, it were likewise so defined, as 
 to bring it within the limits of safety and prudence, and to obviate 
 all danger to the unity and security of the Empire. 
 
 4. Nor was it, in my view, allowable to deal with Ireland upon 
 any principle, the benefit of which could not be allowed to Scot- 
 land in circumstances of equal and equally clear desire, 
 
 5. Upein the fulfillment of these conditions, it appeared to m'3 
 an evident duty to avoid, as long as possible, all steps which would 
 bring this great settlement into the category of party measures. 
 
 6. And, subject to the foregoing considerations, I deemed it to 
 be of great moment to the public weal that the question should be 
 promptly and expeditiously dealt with ; inasmuch as it must other- 
 wise gravely disturb the action of our nnllfJcal svQfom hv nhanrrps 
 of Ministry, by Dissolutions of Parliament, and by impeding the 
 
 ^ ^U 
 
■^^NMr 
 
 The Irifih Question. 49^ 
 
 of cZ::' '""'"'"^ '""''^^ *■'"' "- ^•'"™'- of the H„u. 
 These were the principles, which I deeme<! applicable to tl,. 
 
 dwell upon the undeniable truth that many things mav be for. 
 Zlnl ^""\«f " »' ■=!•' b-k. wotUd be confined wS^ 
 
 .X":ra;tte;X\lr:;:-j?"^t Y^' 
 
 Ztrrunfldfii;:; ■- "^™~'-'.-.d which bad bee: 
 
 plot =gah,st .y friend, the hrst af an at frpTt^ elpe fti ^ 
 
 «t"af:troT thf ""= """'^^ ""-^ '" -"^^' bylTJrTt 
 J«t aspect of the ca«, wa, presented by Lor<l HartinM„„ ;„ ,.,. 
 
 Huu»„ „, .commons, and by Mr. Chamberla.n, on the 20th of June" 
 at B,r,„,n,han,. The se«,nd wa, p„t forwa^J hv Mr B igh ".i 
 
492 
 
 The Irish Queation. 
 
 addressing his constitueuts, and, with much point and force by 
 Lord Hartington, at Sheffield. ' . 
 
 In substance lie argued thus : " Mr. Gladstone has never durinn- 
 fiiteen years, condemned the principle of Home Rule. Either then 
 lie had not considered it, or he had assented to it But in his 
 position as Minister, he must have considered it. Therefore the 
 proper conclusion is, that he had assented to it. And yet, though 
 I was Secretary for Ireland, with Lord Spencer as Viceroy, when 
 he was Prime Minister, to neither of as did he convey the smallest 
 idea of such assent." 
 
 Telling .8 this statement evidently was, it abounds in leakages 
 In the hrst place I deny that it is the duty of every minister to 
 make known, even to his colleagues, every idea which has formed 
 Itself ;n his mind. I should even say that the contradictory pro- 
 position would be absurd. So far as my experience of government 
 Jias gone, subjects ripe for action supply a minister with abundant 
 material for communication with his colleagues, and to make a rule 
 Of mixing with them matters still contingent and remote would 
 confuse and retard business, instead of aiding it. But letting pass 
 for argument sake, a very irrational proposition, I grapple with the 
 dilemma, and say non sequitur— the consequence asserted is no con- 
 sequence at all. It was no consequence from my not having con- 
 demned Home Rule, that I had either not considered it, or had 
 adopted it. 
 
 What 18 true is, that I had not publicly and in principle con- 
 demned it, and also that I had mentally considered it. But I had 
 neither adopted nor rejected it; and for the very simple reason, 
 that It was not ripe either for adoption or rejection. It had not 
 become the unequivocal demand of Ireland ; and it had not been 
 so defined by its promoters, as to prove that it was a safe demand 
 It may and should be known to many who are or have been my 
 colleagues, that I made some abortive efforts towards increasing 
 Irish influence over Irish affairs, beyond the mere extension of 
 county government, but not in a shape to which the terra Home 
 Rule could be properly applied. 
 
 Nor have I been able to trace a single imputation upon me, 
 whether of omission or commissinp \n rp^r^^f -f ,..u:-^ t -u-„ij 
 not, by acting according to the orders of my censors, have offended 
 
The Irish Question. 493 
 
 against all or some of the rules, which I have pointed out as the 
 guides of my conduct, and by which I seek to stand or fall 
 
 As these disputes of ours, trivial enough from one point of view 
 are in a certain sense making history, it may be well if, in connec- 
 tion with the thread of these observations, I recall, by means of a 
 very brief outline, some particulars relating to the Government of 
 Ireland, and to the demand for a domestic legislature, during the 
 last half century. For that demand, constant in the hearts of 
 Irishmen, has nevertheless been intermittent in its manifestation • 
 sometimes wider, sometimes narrower in its form ; sometimes as 
 m the famine, put aside by imperative necessity; sometimes yield- 
 ing the ground to partial and lawless action ; sometimes excl>ang,^d 
 for attempts at practical legislation, which, for the moment, threw 
 it into the shade. 
 
 The great controversy of Free Trade, the reformation of the 
 lariff. and the care of finance, provided me, in common with many 
 others, nay, in the main provided the Three Kingdoms, with a 
 serious and usually an absorbing political occupation for a quarter of 
 a century, from the time when the GovernL.ent of Sir R Peel waa 
 formed in 1841. When that period has passed, and when the 
 question of the franchise had been dealt with, the general condi- 
 tion of Ireland became the main subject of my anxiety. 
 ^ The question of a home-government for Ireland was at that 
 time in abeyance. The grant of such a government to that coun- 
 ty had only been known to us, in the past, either as the demand 
 for a repeal of the Legislative Union, or in the still more formid- 
 able shape, which it presented when the policy of O'Connell was 
 superseded by the r of action, and when the too just discontent 
 ot Ireland assumed the violent and extravagant form of Fenianism 
 The movement for Repeal appeared to merge into this dangerous 
 conspiracy, which it was obvious could only be met by measures of 
 lepression. In none of these controversies had I personally taken 
 any direct share, beyond following the statesmen of 1834" and of 
 1844 by my vote against Repeal of the Union. Mournfully as I 
 am struck, in retrospect, by the almost absolute failure of Parlia- 
 ment, at and long after those periods, to perform its duties to Ire- 
 land, I see no reason to repent of any such vote. Unspeakably 
 criminal, I own, were the means by which the Union was brought 
 
494 
 
 The Irish Question. 
 
 abou and utterly ,„sufficiem were the .masons for its adoption- 
 8t,ll uwusameasure vast in itself and in its consequential armZ-' 
 .nents, and .t could not be n,ade the subject of experlLnrfX 
 year to year, or from Parliament to Parliament. 
 
 I here was then a yet stronger reason for declining to impart a 
 «hock to the legtslative fabric by Repeal. Before us lay a^ a r 
 na, ve pohcy, the relief of Ireland from grievance; and [his mTcv 
 had not been tr.ed in any manner at all approachi,^ to So!^„^ 
 It was not possible, at the time, to prognostLt^ how in a shor time 
 Parhament would stumble and almost writhe under its c»nstanr 
 aeoumulatmg burdens, or to pronounce that it would even ua ly 
 prove .ncapable of meeting the wants of Ireland. Evidently the 
 Zl?;™ :,""" ^"^'' P^'™"^™' ^ ^^P'-^^-'"' V O'ConnelT 
 on t [X I' T" ""' '"""""^^ P°"«^- '''' "'' «-«i -- «- 
 rallow that '*' "f^^' '"' H""* Government, and seemed 
 
 :strtorji'r::;:;:;r2^^ 
 
 unhappily had been met by an obstinac; of LC ,' C cl t- 
 
 aepr.ved them of their gracious aspect, and made even our i-eme- 
 djal^plans play the part of corroborative witnesses to an evil s^l 
 
 It will be admitted that the Government of 1868-74 endeavored 
 on a more adequate scale, principally by what is still callrf n™me 
 
 «lnn P ■ , Jn-Tl: '" ''<=''°<"^I«dg'»ent of the«= efforts, the Na- 
 onal Party fell into hue. But, on the important question of Edu- 
 ction, we were defeated in 1873, not by an English, but b/an 
 Insh resis ance. Other measures, to which I had looked wi h in" 
 terest, could no, oe brought to birth. But a happy eifect hid been 
 produced upon Irish feeling; and prosperity, both agricultural ai^ 
 general singularly it might be said unduly, favored for some yls 
 he operation of the Land Act of 1870. We had taken seriously 
 
 !he uZ."™ '™™""' " "'^ ''"^™»''- f^'^y "> ^^^ 
 
 So much had been nnhievpr! wifh flio -roi-,, /• i . 
 
 ..^uif.\fu, witn tne /x-aiuua support of the elect- 
 

 'W^^^" ■ """ "'" ^^'' '^"'" '^' '''"'■ .:^x '"'""' "^^T*^ /-" '" ; '■'^'- '..■r ■■:[" 
 
 The Irish Question. 4yg 
 
 constj, ,,„ of the LpeHal Parlia.en Zll tl tf^^ 
 hshed to our satisfaction, or conclusively shown to be the fixir ^ 
 rooted conviction of the Irish ueonJP tLt P • ^°^ 
 
 to the work of governing I IknT' / Parhament ^as unequal 
 erned. governing Iieland as a free people should be gov- 
 
 At this time it was, that the new formula of TTnm. t? i 
 Who was at that time simply an individual of remarkable abilitv 
 
 well known that in some cases where those wants hnrl r..f u 
 
 be :;'d"ra„ elf" "'"'"■^ '" "''"« -/'a„ -,age'wtr:t,d 
 dLUfe'CisIatur"^™^"' '» '"^ ~"' »■■ •>e''a!f of a 
 
 Accordingly I contended at Aberdeen in the summer of 1871 
 Aa .0 case l,ad been established to prove the incoletcnrof 
 Parhament or to give authority to the demand of Mr Butt I 
 ftit and r.gl,tly felt, the strongest objections to breaking nn an 
 ex,st,ng constitution of the Legislature without proorof "fs neces 
 .tj of .ts safety, and of the sufficiency of the au'thor-ty by S" 
 the demand was made. B„t even at that time I did not clole he 
 
 hir'^r iLT"'""; ;' "'"'"^^"- >« - -^.-fferl stteo 
 Tnings. 1 ditfered as widely as possible even at tl^nf f;,« ^ 
 
 tt,ose .ith whom I have biln in conflicUW ng\ t ^r^^J ^^ 
 For, .nstead of denouncing the idea of Home Rule as one in it^ 
 
 zz'/z^if'" ""■•'^."^'"^ ^-p---" f.ef:,::i g 
 
 woras 1 accepte(l the assurance sriven to thp oon* — t • 
 " Let me do the promoters of this movement''the fullest justice. 
 
 I 
 
496 
 
 The Irish Question. 
 
 Always speaking under the conviction, as lliey most emphatically 
 declare, and as I fully believe them, that the union of these kini 
 doms under Her Majesty is to be maintained, but that Parliament 
 IS to be broken up." 
 
 Thus, at the very first inception of the question. I threw aside 
 the mam doctrine on which opposition to Irish autonomy is 
 founded. This was the first step, and I think a considerable step, 
 towards placing the controversy on its true basis 
 
 In the General Election of 1874, a great progress became visi- 
 ble. Mr. Butt was returned to Parliament as the chief of a party 
 formed on behalf of Irish self-government. It was a considerable 
 party, amounting, as is sa?d, to a small nominal majority, yet 
 rather conventionally agreed on a formula than united by any idea 
 worked into practical form. But a new stage had been reached, 
 and I thus referred at the opening of the Session to the proposal 
 ot the Irish leader: 
 
 ^ "That plan is this-that exclusively Irish affairs are to be 
 judged in Ireland, and that then the Irish members are to come to 
 the Imperial Parliament and to judge as they may think fit of the 
 general affairs of the Empire, and also of affairs exclusively English 
 and Scotch [Mr. Butt : No, No.] It is all very well for gentle- 
 men to cry* No 'when the blot has been hit by the honorable 
 gentleman opposite." (Mr. Newdegate). 
 
 "I cannot quit this subject without recording the satisfaction 
 with which I heard one declaration made by the right honorable 
 gent eman who seconded the amendment (Mr. Brooks). My hon- 
 orable and learned friend said, that Ireland has entirely given up 
 the idea of separation from this country." 
 
 Thus I again accepted without qualification the principle that 
 ±iome Kule had no necessary connection with separation ; and took 
 my objection simply to a proposal that Irishmen should deal ex- 
 clusively with their own affairs, and also, jointly, with ours 
 
 After the death of Mr. Butt, Mr. Shaw became the leader of his 
 party, and in 1884 delivered an exposition of his views in a spirit 
 so frank and loyal to the Constitution, that I felt it my duty at 
 once to meet such an utterance in a friendly manner. I could not 
 indeed, consistently with the conditions I have laid down make 
 his opinion my own. But I extract a portion of my reference to 
 nis speecn, as it is reported. 
 

 TU Jmh (JuiatiiM. ^jjj 
 
 " 1 imist say tlmt ti.e spirit „f d.orougl, ,uauline« iu winch te 
 approadiea thia 4„e8tio., and which i.e unites with a n Z 
 .l.o.o,,gh ktndliness to us, and with au cvideu, dispol „ 
 .espcc. both the funotiouaofthis House, and the spirit of ^ E,i- 
 ^sh Co„st,tut,o„ does give hope that if velations ttt f , 
 
 England and Ireland are to become thorougnly satisfactm Z 
 most ..nportant contribution to hat essential^'d w i, '/jj l" 
 a.ade by a,y honorable ftic„,l, an.l those who speak like h , " 
 
 to !h " T""* f xi'" ^"'''"'""' "" '■''^'^•'■"g •■"' "'l'''^^. I --everted 
 to the subject of Home Rule. This was the pe,io,l (Oct ,ber 1881 
 
 en deen,ed it my duty nrore than once !o ,leno,n,ce i 's ,1 i 
 
 te.ns the movement against rent i„ Ireland, and with it (I,: 
 
 extravagant claims which seemed to me to be made in the name of 
 
 Aat.onal Indc|,e„,leuee. Yet I then spoke as follows- 
 
 -It ,s not on a.,y point connected with the exercise of loc-al gov- 
 
 vha ,s popularly known in that country as Home Rule, and 
 
 ..ch may e understood in any one of a hundred senses, some" 
 . .em ,K.rfec ly acceptable, and even desirable, others of them mi" 
 cinevous and revolutionary-it is not upon any of those points t at 
 »e arc at present at issue. With regard to local gov ™ l„t h 
 Irchand, after what I have said of local governmem in genel 
 an.. , s rmmeasnrable benefits, you will not be .surprised if I y 
 ... t I for one wdl had with satisfaction and delight any n.easure 
 of loc.,1 government for Ireland, or for any portio.T of the eonntrv 
 provaled only that it conform to this one condition, that it sha ™; 
 break down or ,n,pair the supren.acy of the Lnpe^al Parlian.e, " 
 Once more I entered on the subject, in the House of Commons 
 o 1 ebruary ,882. I referred to the party led then, as now,' 
 by Mr. Parnell. The citation is from Hausa.d • 
 
 "Neither they, nor so far as I k,=ow Mr. Butt before them, nor 
 so far as I know Jlr. O'Connell before him, ever distiucti; ex- 
 S'Tk'" ^" ,""<^"«"'"'= »"'l P^'ti^We form, the manner iu 
 wh ch the real knot of this question was to be untied. The prin- 
 c.p e upon which the honorable members propose to proceed is this- 
 that purely Irish matters should be dealt with bv a purely Irish 
 authontv ni„l (t„. 1.. T - _ l'"<''y i.'sn 
 
 by 
 
 uthority. and that purely Imperial matters sh. .. ,.,,„ ,,,,, 
 
 an Imperial Chamber in which Ireland is to be represented 
 
 ouid be dealt with 
 
4i)S 
 
 The Irish Quedion. 
 
 But they iiave not told us by wlmt authority it is to be determine<l 
 what matters, when taken one by one, are Irish, and what matters 
 are Imperial. 
 
 '• Until, Sir, they lay before this House a plan in which they go 
 to the very bottom of that subject, and give us to und-rstand in 
 what manner that division of jurisdiction is to be accomplished, 
 the practical consideration of this subject cannot really be arrived 
 at, and, for my own part, I know not how any elfective judgment 
 upon it can be pronounced. Whatever may be the outcome of the 
 honorable member's proposal, of this I am well convinced, that neither 
 this House of Commons, nor any other that may succeed it, will at 
 any time asseno to any measure by which the one paramount C.i- 
 tral Authority, necessary for holding together iu perfect union and 
 compactness this great Empire, can possibly be either iu the great- 
 est or the slightest degree imi)aired. 
 
 " We are not to depart from that principle; and what I put to the 
 honorable gentleman who has just sat down, and to the honorable 
 member who precexled him is this— that their first duty to usand their 
 first duty to themselves, their first obligation in the prosecution of the 
 p'irpose which they have in view— namely, the purpose of securing 
 the management of purely Irish affairs by Irish hands— is to point 
 out to ua by what autho'-ity, and by what instrument, affairs purely 
 Irish are to be divided and distinguished, in order that they may 
 be appropriately a.-d s>'parately dealt with from those Imperial 
 affairs and interests whic.'i they have frankly admitted must remain 
 in the hands of the Imperial Parliament." 
 
 Mr. Pluukett hereupon sleeted that he had taken down my words, 
 and that he could only understand them as an invitation to Irish 
 mend)ors to re-open the question of Home Rule. Nor did he see 
 how I could after using such words resist a motion for a Commit- 
 tee on the subject. To any and every plan for referring such a 
 subject to a Committee of Parliament I have at all times been op- 
 posed. But Mr. rimdvctt's meaning was evident, nor could I dis- 
 pute the substance of his interpretation. 
 
 I will not weary my reader by adding to citations by which his 
 patience has already been so severely tried. But I ask him to 
 remember that down to this time no safe-guarding definition of 
 Home Rule had been supplied, and no demand, in the constitu- 
 
The Irish (Jue.^(ion. ^yy 
 
 tional sense, had been made by the Irish j.aflrn. T i i • , 
 
 I uext pm to the pcri,Kl preoodmg ,|., election of 1886 It 
 had now bec-ome morally certain that Ireland wonid Ztl, ! 
 
 tonal ae„,,e. But no light had l.ee„ thrown, to my knowlo," '. 
 
 to Mr larnell, and wh.ch was sui),,oscd to have civen hin. 
 throngh .t. Lord Lientenant or o.honvi., assurances' rZeo,^ 
 
 U„de7t7""""-"' """'■ '" '"" ''^"'"' "'»- - '- -"•' "^ 
 Unde these croumstances, I conceival that „,y duty ,va, clelr' 
 
 and that ,t was sun.n.cl up in certain particuL. T ,ey were 
 
 h se^ To do nothing to hinder the pr„.,eoition of the que I by 
 
 h Tory Government if it should continue in offic-c (of ZZ 
 
 v,th„„t prcj„d,ce to n,y making all the efforts in mv nowT to 
 
 P ooure a liberal majority). Entirely to avoid any laTlge 
 
 wh eh would place the question in the category of party n.e tZ 
 
 But to use my best efforts ,„ in.press the public mL, an.eZu 
 
 a ly he L.beral mind with the supren.e importance, a, d t e 
 
 probable urgency of the question. And lastly, to lay down the 
 
 pn,,c,ple on wh.ch it should be dealt with. ThJe rules of act on 
 
 apphcd to the circumstance, of the hour those governing pi 
 
 «ples winch I have above enumerated. I preceded on them ^ 
 
 It was impossible for me, while ignorant of the nature and 
 l.m ts of the Insh demand, to give an opinion upon it; and even 
 had ,t been poss.ble, it would have been in eonSict with th. cn„. 
 dmon wh,ch I have numbered as the fifth. But, to give emi 
 phas,s to the tmportance of the question, I severed it in my 
 
500 
 
 T, :■' 7/'wA (^Ut'tifidn, 
 
 Aihhean from the general .snltject of Local (Jovernment fWr thtj 
 three kingtloins. Irehind had arrived, 1 slid, at an important 
 epotfh in her history; she had ehu ins to a special interpretation of 
 the principles of Local Govcruwent. It would he the K:>lnti()n of 
 a prohlcin, testing the political genius of these nation,-. Wq he to 
 the man who should prevent or retard the conHUinnuition. It 
 would probahly throw into the shade all the important measures, 
 which in my Address I had set out as ripe for action. And t!ie 
 suhject is one " which goes down to the very roots and foundations 
 of our whole civil and political constitution." And yet it has hc^u 
 said, strangely enough, that I gave no indication to my friends, 
 except of Local Governaient in the sense of County Government 
 for It eland. 
 
 Lastly, I laid down, over and over again, the principle on which 
 we ought to proceed. It was to give to Ireland cerything which 
 was compatible with "the Su{)remacy of the Crown, the Unity of 
 the Empire, and all the authority of Parliament necessary for the 
 conservation of that Unity." It appears to me that the whole of 
 the provisions of the Irish Government Bill, lately buried, but 
 perhaps not altogether dead, lies well within these lines, and that 
 my case thus far is complete. 
 
 What I have in these pages urged has been a defence against a 
 charge of reticence. On the charge of precipitancy I need not 
 bestow many words. What antagonists call precipitancy I call 
 promptitude. Had Mr. Pitt in 1801 carried Roman Catholic 
 Emancipation, as we suppose he wished, many an Englis-iman 
 would have thought him precipitate. Precipitancy, indeed, \, i? 
 avoide<l, but at what cost? For niue-and-twenty years the ques- 
 tion was trifled with on one side I'le Channel, and 'eft festering on 
 the other, and emancipation was at last accepted as an alternative 
 to civil war. 
 
 Such is not the manner in which I desire to see the business of 
 the Empire carried on. It was not pondering the case ; it was 
 paltering with the public interests. I do not deny that promptitude 
 is disagreeable in politics, as it often is to a doctor's or a surgeon's 
 ])atient. But if the practitioner sees that, by every day's delav, the 
 malady takes hold and the chances of health or life are dwindling 
 away, it is his duty to press the operation or the drug, and the 
 
The Irish Qncsfion. rjQ^ 
 
 snffi.rer will in due ti.uc l,o grnldnl to hi... for the courage aiid 
 hdehty whuh at Hrnt he .nistalvonly (•(.ndemiiwl. 
 
 I have eiuh-avoml to point out t'he conditions under vvliicl. aU>ne 
 the (jui^stion of a statutory I'arha.nent ior Jrehvnd coi;kl be war- 
 lantal.ly entertai..e.l. The real test may he .stated i„ uuo word- 
 the ri,,ene.ss or unripeness of the questi.,n. All men do not per- 
 ceive, all men do mt appieeiate, ripeness, with the same deuree of 
 rea< hness or aptitude; and the slow n.ust ever suffer ineor.venience 
 m the race of life, lint, .vhen the s.dyeel .;. e was ripe, the time 
 for actio.. ha<l come. Just .-.s if it had bee., a corn-fiehl, we we.-e 
 not to wait till it was over-ripe. 
 
 The healh.g of inveterate sons wouh. only become n.orcdillieult 
 the growth of budding hop. .s more liable to be checked and „n.-al- 
 •zed oy the fn,sts of politic-s. For England, in her soft ar.n ehab. 
 a le.surely, ve.y leisu.-ely consideration, with adjourn .. its inter- 
 posed as It had been ..st.al, so also would have been comfortable. 
 liiit for Trelan,!. in her leaky cabin, it was of consequence to stop 
 out the weather. To n^ss the oppo,t..nity vvo.ild have Ikcm not 
 loss clearly wn,„g tj.nn to refuse waiting until it came. Tl,<. (irst 
 Po .(.cal juncture wlucli made acti<.n permissible also made it 
 •»bligatory. So much, then, for precipitancy. 
 
 If I am not eg.-egiously wrong in all that has been said Iieh.nd 
 lias now lying before her a broad a.id even way, in which to walk 
 to the co.isummation of he ' i-c Jjefbre her eves is opened 
 tliat same path of eonstitu*;,... d peaceful action, of stendy, 
 free, and f.dl .hscussion, wIhc. ..as led England and Scotland • 
 the aclMevemcnt of all their pacific triumphs. Like the walls ^^ 
 Jei-icho. falling, not in blood an^^ conflagration, but at the trumpets 
 pcal, so, under the action of purely moral forces, have a., hundred 
 /ortres.ses of prejudice, privilege, a.id ..hallow pro.scription .succe«. 
 sively given away. 
 
 It is the potent .«pell of legality, which has done all this or 
 enabled it to be done. The evil spirit of illegality and violenc-e 
 has thus far had no part or lot in the ,K,litical action of Ireland 
 s.nce,_ through M.e F.-anchise Act of 1885, she came into that 
 ...hentance of adequate representation, from which she had before 
 been barred. Ireland, in her present action, is not to be held 
 responsd^le fo. those agrarian offences, which a.'e in truth e indi- 
 
ft,k.?r.a?ifS--:'( 
 
 502 
 
 The Irish Quedum. 
 
 catiou and symptom of her disease, fron, whicl, l.er public opinion 
 1ms, througli the recent beneficial action, become greatly more 
 estrar.ged; and to which she herself ardently entreats us to apply 
 the only effectual remedy, by such a reconciliation betvyeen the 
 people and the law, ab is the necessary condition of civilized life 
 
 The moderation of the Irish demands, as tliey were presented 
 and understood in the Session of 188G, has been brightly reflected 
 in the calm, conflicting, and constitutional attitude of the nation 
 J make no specific reference to the means ihat have been used in 
 one deplorable case, under guilty recommendations from above 
 with a view to disturbing this attitude, and arresting the progress 
 of the movement; fur I believe that the employment of such 
 means, and the issuing of such recommendations, will eventually 
 aid the cause they were designed to injure. It is true that, in the 
 ^ ose of the last century, the obstinate refusal of just demands, and 
 the deliberate and dreadful acts of Ireland's enemies, drove her 
 people widely into disaffection, and partially inio the ways of actual 
 violence. 
 
 But she was then down trodden and ga^tred. She has now a 
 lull constitutional equipment of all the means necessary for raisino- 
 and determining the issues of moral force. She has also the 
 strongest sympatiiies within, as well as beyond, these shores to 
 cheer, moderate, and guide her. Ihe position is for lier a novel 
 one and in its novelty lies its only risk. But she is quick and 
 ready of perception ; she has the rapid comprehensive glance 
 ^vhuh the generals she has found for us have shown on many a 
 fiehl of battle. The qualities siie has so emmently exhibited this 
 year have already earned for her a rich reward in confiden-o and 
 good will. There is no more to ask of her. She '..as only to 
 persevere. 
 
 ^ The statesmen who deemed coercive measures an absolute neces- 
 sity do not now propose them, although agrarian crime ha. rather 
 increased and Ireland has been perturbed (so they said) by the pro- 
 posal of home rule. This is a heavy blow to coercimi and a 
 marked sign of progress. I am concerned to say that on no other 
 hea(: do the announcements supply ar, causes for congratula- 
 tion : 
 
 1. Large Irish subjects, ripe for treatment, are to be referred to 
 
The Irish Qaesfion. ^r^^ 
 
 commi,si„„, of inquiry. This i,, a policy (wl.ile social order i, i„ 
 question) of almost indefinite delay. 
 
 2. Moreover, while a co„,mi.«i;, i3 ,o inquire whether the rate, 
 
 of jud,e,al rents are or are not such as ,..n be paid, the aid of tie 
 
 la., for evymg the present rents in November has been sp«.iahv 
 
 and emphafeally pr„,„is.,i. This is a marked discouragemen .1 
 
 >.>m,ss,ons of rent and a powerful stimulus to evictions 
 
 P'.v;ui''of 111 ''" '"" '■''' -''1 "'■ '"''"'^"'*=' "I"'" "- State the 
 a,,„in of all moneys re,,n,red to meet the difference between 
 
 these actual rents and what the land can fairly bear. This n |ee 
 s,npru,c,ple radically bad, and it would be an act of rapi^-Tn 
 the treasury of the country. ' 
 
 4. Whereas the greatest evil of Ireland is that its magisterial 
 and adm,„,strat,ve systems are felt to be other than Irish, no pro 
 posa IS n,ado for the reconstruction of what is kn^wn as the Dub- 
 im Castle government. 
 
 5 It is proposed to spead large sums of public money on public 
 works of a k.nds for the material development of IreLud Cd 
 E .ghsh author,tyand Dublin Custle ad.niuistration. This .Z 
 1) m the highest degree wasteful ; (2) it is unjust to' the Br ns 
 taxpayer; and (3) t is an obvious attempt L divert the i 
 nation by pecuniary ,nd„eemeDt from its honorable aim of national 
 self-government, and will as such be resented 
 
 6, The limitation of local .Government in L-eland to wli.t mavat 
 th s moment be desired for (reat Britain is just to none of o,' 
 ..ationalities, rests upon r, r.cog„i.,ed principle, and is e. .lial 
 an unjus hniitatiou of the Irish national desire I„ .,.-^'i 
 such a policy for dealing with the Irish question ought uo^ to 
 and caiinoc be adopted. ^ 
 
 There are at least four g^reat cases, whioli have been placed ou 
 reco.-d M-,th.n my nie.nory, and in every one of which a Conserva- 
 tive Government, after having resisted a great pr.^)osaI up to the 
 nK,ment nnnied-ately prece<ling the surrender, then became its 
 of.cml sponsor and carried it into law. They are the case, of the 
 Test Act in 1828, of the Roman Catholic Relief in 1829. of Corn 
 Ljnv Repeal in 1846 ,svhen, however, Sir Robert Peel had done 
 nil m h.s power to throw the conduct of the question into Liberal 
 liands), and of Extension of the Franchise in 1867. 
 
 •V- 1 
 
r- 
 
 
 504 
 
 The Irish Question. 
 
 In the last of these cases, not only had the measure been re- 
 sisted, but a Liberal Government had been overthrown in the pre- 
 ceding year on account of a measure less extended, not indeed than 
 the very meagre original proposal of 1867, but than the measure 
 which, by the strength of Liberal votes, and with the sanction of 
 the Derby-Disraeli Gover'uuent, was eventually carried. 
 
 It seems extremely doubtful whether anv one of these measures 
 would (nve been adopted through both Houses, except under the 
 peculiar conditions which secured for them on each occasion, both 
 the aid of the Liberal vote in the House of Commons, and the 
 authority of the Tory Government in the House of Lords. 
 
 One other case stands alone. The Tory chiefs of 1832, with the 
 exception of Sir Robert Peel, fiercely resisting the Reform Bill of 
 Lord Grey, and stopping its progress in their own familiar fortress, 
 the House of Lords, declared thimselves nevertheless willing to 
 take charge of the question. Bu: public indignation was' too 
 strong to permit the progress of the experiment. 
 
^lL.m^^ 
 
 
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