ONE SHIELING.
The Life of
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE W. E.
Gladstone
M.P.
(From a Pnotograph by Messrs, Elliott and Fry).
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE X SONS
London, Glasgow, Manchester, and New York,
THE LIFE
OF THE
right honourable
E. GLADSTONE
M.P., D.C.L., Etc.
THE LIFE
OF THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE
W. E. GLADSTONE
M.P., D.C.L., ETC,
A POPULAR BIOGRAPHY.
LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
GLASGOW, MANCHESTER, AND NEW YORK
1889
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
Publistjtts
LONDON . BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL, E.G.
GLASGOW . . 335, ST. VINCENT STREET.
MANCHESTER 76, MOSLEY STREET.
NEW TORE . 9, LAFAYETTE PLACE.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
BIRTH AND EDUCATION 7
CHAPTER II.
EARLY YEARS IN PARLIAMENT l6
CHAPTER III,
TRAVEL, LITERATURE, AND MARRIAGE ... 28
CHAPTER IV.
PROGRESSIVE OPINIONS—MR. GLADSTONE'S FIRST BUDGET 37
CHAPTER V.
THE CRIMEAN WAR 57
CHAPTER VI.
IN OPPOSITION
68
vi
Contents.
CHAPTER VII.
page
mr. Gladstone's great budgets 77
CHAPTER VIII.
parliamentary reform and ireland • • • 95
CHAPTER IX.
political controversy and the eastern question 120
CHAPTER X.
mr, Gladstone's second administration . . . 139
CHAPTER XI.
home rule for ireland 171
CHAPTER XII.
the man and the statesman . . . . . 189
THE LIFE OF
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
W. E. GLADSTONE,
M.P., D.C.L., Etc.
CHAPTER I.
birth and education.
Among all the statesmen of the nineteenth century,
no one has so completely dominated his age as Mr.
Gladstone. Confessedly the first of parliamentary
orators, and the greatest preponderating force in the
politics of our time, his strong personality has im¬
pressed itself upon all ranks and classes of the people.
His public career has covered more than half a
century of most momentous years in the annals of
Great Britain. There have been periods in English
history which have been marked by greater social
upheavals and more violent revolutions; there have
been even national convulsions resulting sometimes
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in a change of dynasty; but there has been no period
which can compare with the last fifty years for the
vast number of reforms which have been peaceably
effected—reforms ecclesiastical, social, colonial, finan¬
cial, and political. And with all these vast and pro¬
gressive changes, the name of William Ewart Glad¬
stone has been more or less inextricably interwoven.
The Gladstone family is of Scottish origin, the
chief stock having been originally settled at Liberton,
in the upper ward of Clydesdale. After many gene¬
rations, a younger branch effected a settlement in the
town of Biggar, in Lanarkshire, and from this branch
the statesman is descended. Without going through all
the ramifications of the family, it will be sufficient to
state that Thomas Gladstone—Mr. Gladstone's grand¬
father—was born at Mid Toftcombs in 1732, and
migrated to Leith, where he became a corn merchant,
and married Helen, daughter of Walter Neilson, of
Springfield. Sixteen children were born to them, of
whom twelve reached maturity. The eldest son,
John Gladstone, was born at Leith in 1763. Entering
his father's business, not long after his majority he
received an invitation from a Liverpool corn merchant
to settle in that town. He consented, and entered
Rt. Hon. TV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 9
the house of Corrie and Co., where his business
capacity developed so rapidly that in a short time he
became a partner in the firm, and his name was soon
known not only on the Liverpool Exchange, but also
on those of Manchester and London.
On the dissolution of the firm, John Gladstone
alone remained in the business, and he took into
partnership his .brother Robert. Besides having a
large trade with Russia, they opened up extensive
connections as West India merchants and sugar
importers. All the sons of Thomas Gladstone of
Leith eventually settled in Liverpool. When the
China and East India trade was thrown open in 1814,
the firm of John Gladstone and Co. was the first to
despatch a private vessel to Calcutta. In politics
John Gladstone was originally a Whig, but towards
the close of his life he became a Liberal-Conserva¬
tive, and was a warm admirer and friend of George
Canning. His son has referred to the fact that he
was brought up " under the shadow of the great
name of Canning." John Gladstone took an active
part in the public affairs of Liverpool, and in 1824 he
was presented with a magnificent service of plate by
his fellow-citizens for his successful exertions in the
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promotion of trade and commerce, and in acknow¬
ledgment of the important services he had rendered
to the town and district. Mr. Gladstone sat for some
time in the House of Commons for Lancaster, Wood¬
stock, and Berwick respectively; and in 1845 he was
created a baronet by Sir Robert Peel. He died in
1851 at the venerable age of eighty-eight.
Sir John Gladstone was twice married. He had
no issue by his first marriage, but by his second wife,
Ann Robertson—daughter of Mr. Andrew Robertson,
of Stornoway, and sometime Provost of Dingwall—
he had four sons and two daughters. The eldest son
became Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart., of Fasque; the
second was William Ewart Gladstone; the third was
Captain John Neilson Gladstone, sometime M.P. for
Portarlington, who died in 1863 ; and the fourth was
Mr. Robertson Gladstone, a highly-respected Liver¬
pool merchant, who died in 1875. The two daughters,
Anne McKenzie and Helen Jane Gladstone, died
unmarried. Burke and other genealogists have claimed
for the Gladstones royal descent from Henry HI. of
England, and Robert Bruce, King of Scotland; but
neither Sir John Gladstone nor his sons vaunted the
pride of long descent. The great wealth of Sir
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 11
John enabled him to provide for each of his children
during his lifetime.
William Evvart Gladstone was born on the 29th of
December, 1809, in the house No. 62, Rodney Street,
Liverpool. It was a double-fronted dwelling of red
brick, imposing outside, and commodious and com¬
fortable within. In the immediate vicinity of Rodney
Street, and within a few years before or after the future
statesman first saw the light, were born a number of
eminent persons, including William Roscoe, the writer
and philanthropist, John Gibson, the sculptor, Dr,
Bickersteth, the late Bishop of Ripon, Mrs. Hemans,
the poetess, and Dr. James Martineau. Considering
his surroundings and influences, it is not surprising that
Mr. Gladstone began life as a Tory. His original
bent, however, was not towards politics, but the
Church ; and it was only at the earnest desire of
his father that he ultimately decided to enter Parlia¬
ment, and serve his country in the Legislature.
Mr. Gladstone's earliest preceptor was the Rev.
William Rawson, first Yicar of Seaforth, a clergyman
whom he always highly esteemed, and whom he
visited upon his death-bed. After some years of
private study, young Gladstone was sent to Eton in
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September, 1821. There were not many inducements
to excel in scholarship at this time in the famous
school, but a number of students laboured diligently
and acquired great fame. Mr. Gladstone was one of
these, and he was several times distinguished on
account of his compositions, especially those in verse.
In 1827—the last year of his stay at Eton—he was
largely instrumental in launching the Eton Miscellany,
to whose pages he was likewise the most frequent
contributor. The introduction written by Mr. Glad¬
stone for this magazine, contained the following
interesting passage :—" In my present undertaking
there is one gulf in which I fear to sink, and that
gulf is Lethe. There is one stream which I dread my
inability to stem, it is the tide of Popular Opinion. . . .
But still there is something within me that bids me
hope that I may be able to glide prosperously down
the stream of public estimation." The diffident and
youthful editor lived to occupy the highest position
in the State ! Among other contributions to the
Miscellany by Mr. Gladstone, were a poem on
" Richard Cceur de Lion," an " Ode to the Shade
of Wat Tyler," and a paper on " Eloquence." In the
last-named effort the writer had visions of parlia-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 13
mentary oratory, and of a successful debut in the
House of Commons, with perhaps an offer from the
Minister, a Secretaryship of State, and even the
Premiership itself in the distance. In another paper,
entitled, "Ancient and Modern Genius Compared,"
the young Etonian ardently and affectionately apos¬
trophised the memory of Canning, who had just then
perished untimely amid universal regret.
In 1827, Mr. Gladstone left Eton, and for two
years was the private pupil of Dr. Turner, after¬
wards Bishop of Calcutta. Then he was entered at
Christ Church, Oxford, where he was made a student
on the foundation. An interesting fact has trans¬
pired as to his studies at the university. He wrote
home stating that he disliked mathematics, and that
he intended to concentrate his attention upon classics.
This was a great blow to his father, who at once
replied that he did not think a man was a man unless
he knew mathematics. The son gave way to his
father's wishes, abandoned his own plan, and applied
himself with his usual energy to the study of mathe¬
matics. But for this change of study he might not
have become the greatest of Chancellors of the Ex¬
chequer. Although he had no prizes at Oxford of
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the highest description, he secured an unusual
number of honours; and when he went up for his
examination in the year 1831, he crowned his
academical education by attaining the highest
honours of the university, graduating double first-
class.
The atmosphere of Oxford naturally strengthened
Mr. Gladstone in his Conservative principles, and as
English statesmen at that period had not learnt to
put their trust in the people, the cause of Reform
found few friends at Oxford. Mr. Gladstone was
among those hostile to it, and he was known for his
Tory and High Church principles. He was a pro¬
minent speaker in the famous debating society known
as the Oxford Union, and in 1831 was elected secre¬
tary, and subsequently president. He carried by a
majority of one only, 57 votes to 56, a motion that
the Wellington Administration was undeserving of the
confidence of the country. In another debate he de¬
fended the results of Catholic Emancipation, but on
yet another occasion he opposed a motion for the
removal of Jewish Disabilities. His eloquence per¬
suaded 94 undergraduates out of 130 to condemn
Earl Grey's Reform Bill as a measure " which threat-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 15
ened not only to change the form of Government, but
ultimately to break up the very foundation of social
order." His last speech at the Oxford Union was in
support of his own amendment to a motion for the
immediate emancipation of the slaves in the West
Indies. On a memorable occasion young Gladstone
entertained a party of undergraduates from Cam¬
bridge, consisting of Sir Francis Doyle, Monckton
Milnes, Sunderland, and Arthur H. Hallam, who
went over to discuss the question of the superiority
of Shelley over Byron as a poet. The motion was
opposed by one Oxonian, now Archbishop Manning,
but Shelley received 90 votes to 33 for Byron.
Mr. Gladstone left Oxford in 1831. Many years
afterwards, he frankly stated that he did not learn,
when at the university, what he had learnt since, to
set a due value on the imperishable and the inestim¬
able principles of human liberty. He very happily
described the principle of the Conservative party to
be jealousy of the people qualified by fear: and the
policy of the Liberal party to be trust in the people,
only qualified by prudence. The time came when he
was universally recognised as the ablest and most
brilliant expounder of Liberal policy.
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The Life of the
CHAPTER II.
early years in parliament.
After the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832,
Mr. Gladstone received an invitation from the Duke
of Newcastle to contest the representation of Newark.
He was one of those young and rising Conservatives
upon whom many hopes were built. The duke was
the father of Mr. Gladstone's intimate friend, the Earl
of Lincoln, with whom, after he had succeeded to the
dukedom, he sat in Lord Aberdeen's Cabinet during
the Crimean War. To receive an invitation from the
Duke of Newcastle to contest Newark had hitherto
meant practically to be returned for that borough;
and indeed it was this very duke who not long before
had propounded the extraordinary political maxim,
" Have I not a right to do what I like with my
own ? "
Mr. Gladstone was on the Continent when he
received the duke's invitation, but as he decided to
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 17
accept it he returned home at once, and began to
canvass the Newark constituency before the close of
September, 1832. The Opposition candidates were
Mr. W. F. Handley and Mr. Serjeant Wilde, the
latter being an advanced Liberal, who had already
twice unsuccessfully contested the borough. Mr.
Gladstone, who was only twenty-two years of age at
this time, was somewhat robust in appearance, and
had a bright thoughtful look and attractive bearing.
He had plump features, a full face, large dark eyes
and eyebrows, a prominent nose, and the broad
intellectual forehead characteristic of him in later
years. The young Tory's first election address was
dated October 9th, 1832, and was inscribed " To the
worthy and independent electors of the borough of
Newark." It began by deprecating the unenquiring
and indiscriminating desire for change then prevalent,
but it acknowledged—what is even now not conceded
in many quarters—that labour has a right to "receive
adequate remuneration." On the momentous ques¬
tion of Slavery, which was then uppermost, the candi¬
date observed—" We are agreed that both the
physical and the moral bondage of the slave are to
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The Life of the
be abolished. The question is as to the order, and
the order only; now Scripture attacks the moral evil
before the temporal one, and the temporal through the
moral one, and I am content with the order which
Scripture has established." He therefore recom¬
mended a system of Christian instruction, and with
regard to immediate emancipation, in addition to
minor reasons against it, there was the weightier one
to his mind, that they would but exchange the evils
now affecting the negro for greater ones—for a relapse
into deeper debasement, if not for bloodshed and
internal war. He therefore recommended that the
slaves should be made fit for emancipation. Then,
without risk of blood, without violation of property,
and with unimpaired benefit to the negro, they might
reach that desirable consummation, the utter extinction
of slavery.
Mr. Gladstone was " heckled " at the hustings, and
he failed to obtain the show of hands, but on the day
of election he was placed at the head of the poll by a
considerable majority—the numbers being—Glad¬
stone, 882; Handley, 793; Wilde, 719. A few days
afterwards the young member for Newark addressed a
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 19
meeting of the Constitutional Club at Nottingham,
when a Conservative journalist made the first prophecy
as to Mr. Gladstone's great political future. "He
will one day," he said, " be classed amongst the most
able statesmen in the British Senate."
The Parliamentary session of 1833, the first in
which Mr. Gladstone assisted, was rendered memor¬
able by the abolition of slavery in the British colonies,
at a cost of ^20,000,000 sterling. The maiden
speech of the member for Newark differed widely
from the bombastic display of his great rival Disraeli.
Mr. Gladstone was fluent, earnest, and self-possessed,
and at once gained the ear of the House. His topic
was the ministerial proposition for the emancipation
of slaves, brought forward on the 14th of May.
Lord Howick, ex-Under Secretary for the Colonies,
referred to an estate in Demerara owned by Mr.
Gladstone's father, in order to show that a great
destruction of human life had taken place in the
West Indies, as the result of the severe labour of the
slaves. Mr. Gladstone denied this, and said that
the real cause of the mortality lay in the large
number of Africans upon the estate. His father had
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The Life of the
found the estate so inefficiently worked that he had
been obliged to take on 200 more people. But there
was at the same time an increase going on in the
Creole population, which would be a sufficient answer
to the statement of the noble lord. He could also
prove that the quantity of sugar produced was small
in proportion to that produced on many other estates.
He was ready to admit that sugar cultivation was of
a more trying character than some others, but he
would ask whether there were not certain employ¬
ments in England and other countries more de¬
structive to life than others? A few weeks later
Mr. Gladstone again entered at length into the
charges which Lord Howick had brought against the
management of his father's estates in Demerara, and
showed their groundlessness. He then went on to
say that he deprecated slavery, and deprecated cruelty,
both of which were abhorrent to the nature of Eng¬
lishmen; but, conceding these things, he asked,
" Were not Englishmen to retain a right to their own
honestly and legally-acquired property ? " He hoped
the House would make a point to adopt the principle
of compensation, and to stimulate the slave to genuine
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 21
and spontaneous industry: if this were not done, and
moral instruction were not imparted to the slaves,
liberty would prove a curse instead of a blessing to
them. If the labours of the House should be con¬
ducted to a satisfactory issue it would redound to the
honour of the nation.
Mr. Gladstone was thus not hostile to emancipation,
but to immediate and indiscriminate enfranchisement.
However, Wilberforce's grand work was crowned this
session, and Parliament swept away the indignity of
slavery. Among other subjects on which Mr. Glad¬
stone spoke in the House were bribery, the defence
of the Irish Church, and Mr. Hume's Universities
Admission Bill, which he opposed. So rapidly did
he make his mark as a debater, that when Sir Robert
Peel became Prime Minister in December, 1834, he
was offered, and accepted, the office of Junior Lord
of the Treasury. More than fifty-four years have
thus elapsed since he first became a servant of the
Crown! ,
Re-elected for Newark without opposition, Mr.
Gladstone was promoted to the office of Under-Secre¬
tary for the Colonies, soon after the assembling of
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The Life of the
Parliament in February, 1835. His first Bill, one for
the better regulation of the carriage of passengers in
merchant vessels to the Continent and the Islands of
North America, was very favourably received by the
House. But the Ministry quickly fell on troublous
times. Lord John Russell brought forward a resolu¬
tion for dealing with the temporalities of the Irish
Church, which Mr. Gladstone opposed as giving an
impetus to the movement for a separation of Church
and State. Ministers were nevertheless defeated by
322 votes to 289, and a Bill was brought in. Again
being worsted on the question of appropriating the
surplus funds of the Church to the general education
of all classes of Christians, Sir Robert Peel and his
colleagues went out of office.
A good deal of personal feeling was at this time
imported into the Parliamentary debates, but Mr.
Gladstone never mingled in these recriminations.
His most important speech for some time was one in
defence of Church Rates, and against a plan pro¬
pounded for their re-arrangement by Mr. Spring-Rice.
In his peroration, he instituted a comparison between
Rome and England, and insisted upon religion being
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone; M.P. 23
the basis of the greatness of the State. The whole
address was sustained at a very high level. In the elec¬
tions consequent upon the death of King William IV.
in 1837, the Conservatives of Manchester nominated
Mr. Gladstone much against his will. The polling
resulted as follows:—Mr. Poulett Thomson, 4,155;
Mr. Mark Phillips, 3,760; Mr. W. E. Gladstone,
2,294. The Liberals, however, were surprised at the
strength of the Tory vote, considering the candidate's
absence from the scene.
In the session of 1838 the slavery question again
agitated Parliament, and resolutions for the immediate
abolition of negro apprenticeship were introduced in
both Houses. In the Commons, Mr. Gladstone spoke
long and powerfully against immediate abolition.
His sentiments were antagonistic to those of the'
House and the country generally, but his speech from
the debating point of view greatly enhanced his repu¬
tation. He warmly defended the planters from the
exaggerated charges made against them, and then
observed:—"You consumed forty-five millions of
pounds of cotton in 1837 which proceeded from free
labour; and, proceeding from slave labour, three hun-
24
The Life of the
dred and eighteen millions of pounds! And this
while the vast regions of India afford the means of
obtaining at a cheaper rate, and by a slight original
outlay, to facilitate transport, all that you can require.
If, Sir, the complaints against the general body of the
West Indians had been substantiated, I should have
deemed it an unworthy artifice to attempt diverting
the attention of the House from the question imme¬
diately at issue, by merely proving that delinquencies
existed in other quarters; but feeling as I do that
those charges have been overthrown in debate, I
think myself entitled and bound to show how capri¬
cious are hon. gentlemen in the distribution of their
sympathies among those different objects which call
for their application." The speaker concluded by
demanding justice, and the motion before the House
was rejected by 269 to 215 votes. There is no doubt,
however, that there were many serious evils in con¬
nection with negro apprenticeship which loudly called
for a remedy.
The member for Newark was now one of the most
rising young men on the Tory side of the House, and
great things were expected from him by his party.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 25
He was well-informed, skilful in using his knowledge,
great in extempore resources, and able to render
effective support to his friends at any time in debate,
however abstruse the subject might be. Highly
respected by men of all parties, he was listened to
with attention, and esteemed for his business habits,
his integrity, and high moral character.
In r839 and 1840 he spoke on such subjects as
National Education and Jewish Disabilities, taking of
course the Conservative view. It was in the latter
session that he supported the motion of his friend
Sir James Graham, condemning the war in China,
Taking up the speech of Macaulay, the celebrated
historian, made the previous evening, Mr. Gladstone
forcibly said :—" The right hon. gentleman spoke last
night, in eloquent terms, of the British flag waving in
glory at Canton, and of the animating effects produced
on the minds of our sailors by the knowledge that in
no country under Heaven was it permitted to be
insulted. But how comes it to pass that the sight of
that flag always raises the spirit of Englishmen ? It
is because it has always been associated with the
cause of justice, with opposition to oppression, with
26
The Life of the
respect for national rights, with honourable commer¬
cial enterprise; but now, under the auspices of the
noble lord (Palmerston), that flag is hoisted to protect
an infamous contraband traffic, and if it were never to
be hoisted except as it is now hoisted on the coast
of China, we should recoil from its sight with horror,
and should never again feel our hearts thrill, as they
now thrill with emotion, when it floats proudly and
magnificently on the breeze." The division went in
favour of Ministers, though only by the narrow
majority of 271 votes to 262.
During the recess the popularity of the Whig
Government waned rapidly; and when the session
of 1841 opened, there was, among other grounds of
complaint, a deficit in the revenue of two millions
and a half. On the 27th of May Sir Robert Peel
proposed a vote of want of confidence in Ministers;
and after a five nights' debate it was carried by a
majority of one—31.2 votes to 311. The Premier (Lord
Melbourne) appealed to the country, but the elections
went against the Government; and when the House
of Commons met in August, the Ministerial Address
was rejected by 360 to 269—a hostile majority of 91.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 27
Ministers resigned; and on the 31st of August
Sir Robert Peel accepted Her Majesty's commands
to form a Government. Mr. Gladstone was appointed
Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and Master of
the Mint. In appealing at Newark for re-election,
he promised the British farmer adequate protection
through the means of the sliding scale. But before
this Ministry fell it was destined to effect a complete
revolution in domestic and financial legislation on
behalf of the people of England.
28
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CHAPTER III.
travel, literature, and marriage.
It was the custom at the beginning of this cen¬
tury, even more than it is now, for the sons of
gentlemen to spend some months in continental
travel on the completion of their university studies.
Mr. Gladstone was no exception to the rule ; and in
January, 1833, he went abroad, spending nearly the
whole of the next six months in Italy. He was so
impressed by what he saw, that some years later he
again visited Italy; and on this occasion likewise
explored Sicily. He kept a journal of his tour; and
his recorded observations show the keenness of his
perceptions, and the intensity with which he enjoyed
the beautiful and the wonderful in Nature.
Etna moved him greatly; and he made an ascent
of the mountain at the commencement of the erup¬
tion of 1838. Every point of the ascent testified to
the volcanic character of the mountain; but many
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 29
of the slopes were crowned with rich vegetation,
upon which sheep were quietly browsing. Trees
of enormous girth were also found, whose age
was upwards of a thousand years. Before reaching
the summit of the mountain, the travellers had a
magnificent view of sunrise. On arriving at the'
crater itself, they found it filled with lava almost to
the brim. A stick put into the burning element took
fire immediately. Close to the lava were found pieces
of ice, formed on the outside of the stones by Frost,
which here disputes every inch of ground with his
fierce rival Fire. Mr. Gladstone and his companions
were the first fortunate spectators of the great volcanic
action of the year. They saw enormous masses of
lava, from 150 to 200 pounds in weight, thrown to
a distance of probably a mile and a half. The
showers were continuous, and the scene brought to
mind a fine passage in Virgil, descriptive of a similar
eruption. Then, from the highest peak attainable on
Etna, Mr. Gladstone was able to look down on a
splendid prospect, embracing the Messina moun¬
tains to the East, and the noble kindred outline of
the Calabrian coast, described by Virgil in the third
book of the ALneid. This tour excited the liveliest
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The Life of the
feelings of awe and satisfaction in Mr. Gladstone's
breast.
Ever a staunch defender of the Church, Mr. Glad¬
stone's first appearance in literature was by a remark¬
able work in its defence. Perceiving that the bases
of the State Church were being assailed, he put
forward, in 1838, his treatise entitled The State in its
Relations with the Church. Some of the positions
assumed in this work have since been abandoned
as untenable; but its ability as a whole, its breadth,
and its learning called forth the encomiums of
Macaulay, and other eminent critics. After an exa¬
mination and a defence of the theory of the con¬
nection between Church and State, Mr. Gladstone
thus summarised his principal reasons for the main-'
tenance of the Church Establishment:—
"Because the Government stands with us in a
paternal relation to the people, and is bound in all
things not merely to consider their existing tastes,
but the capabilities and ways of their improvement;
because it has both an intrinsic competency, and
external means to amend and assist their choice;
because to be in accordance with God's mind and
will, it must have a religion, and because to be in
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 31
accordance with its conscience that religion must be
the truth, as held by it under the most solemn and
accumulated responsibilities; because this is the
only sanctifying and preserving principle of society,
as well as to the individual that particular benefit
without which all others are worse than valueless;
we must, therefore, disregard the din of political
contention, and the pressure of novelty and momen¬
tary motives, and in behalf of our regard to man, as
well as of our allegiance to God, maintain among
ourselves, where happily it still exists, the union
between the Church and the State."
Macaulay, who, in the Edinburgh Review\ was
Mr. Gladstone's most formidable critic, paid a [high
tribute to the author's talents and character, but
vigorously attacked his great fundamental proposi¬
tion—that the propagation of religious truth was one
of the great ends of Government as Government.
From a variety of points of view he demonstrated
the weakness of the theory, and showed that persecu¬
tions would naturally follow, or be justifiable, in a
society where Mr. Gladstone's views were in the
ascendant. With a force which specially bore upon
the Irish Church, the critic held that no circum-
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The Life of the
stances could be conceived in which it would be
proper to establish, as the one exclusive religion of
the State, the religion of the minority.
Another work by Mr. Gladstone, entitled, Church
Principles Considered in their Results, was published
in 1840. It was supplementary to his former defence
of Church and State, and was written " beneath the
shades of Hagley," and dedicated "in token of sincere
affection " to the author's life-long friend and relative,
Lord Lyttelton. Dwelling upon the great moral
characteristics of the English Church, which were
full of intrinsic value and were also adapted to the
circumstances of the time, he defined these charac¬
teristics to be the doctrine of the visibility of the
Church, the apostolical succession in the Ministry,
the authority of the Church in matters of faith, and
the truths symbolized in the Sacraments.
In a chapter on Rationalism, Mr. Gladstone strongly
attacked it as a reference of Christian doctrine to the
human understanding as its measure and criterion.
"To rely upon the understanding, misinformed as it
is by depraved affections, as our adequate instructor
in matters of religion, is most highly irrational." At
the same time, " the understanding has a great func-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 33
tion in religion, and is a medium of access to the affec¬
tions, and may even correct their particular impulses."
On the question of England's reconversion to
Rome, Mr. Gladstone forcibly observed—" England,
which with ill grace, and ceaseless efforts at remon¬
strance, endured the yoke when Rome was in her
zenith, and when her powers were but here and there
evoked—will the same England, afraid of the truth
which she has vindicated, or even with the licence
which has mingled like a weed with its growth, recur
to that system in its decrepitude which she repudiated
in its vigour ? " If the- Church of England lost her
power, it would not be by submission to Rome, " but
by that principle of religious insubordination and self-
dependence which, if it refuse her tempered rule and
succeed in its overthrow, will much more surely refuse,
and much more easily succeed in resisting, the unequi¬
vocally arbitrary impositions of the Roman scheme."
Mr. Gladstone's opposition to Rome, and his
defence of the English Church and its principles,
have been unchanging features in his religious ex¬
perience. But as in later years he carried through
the work of Irish Church Disestablishment, there
were not wanting those who severely criticised that
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34
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legislative act in the light of these earlier utterances.
To meet these charges of inconsistency, Mr. Glad¬
stone issued, in 1868, A Chapter of Autobiography.
" He denied that he had ever propounded the maxim,
simpliciter., that we were to maintain the Establishment.
He admitted that his opinion of the Church of Ireland
was the exact opposite of what it had been; but if
the propositions of his work were in conflict with an
assault upon the existence of the Irish Establishment,
they were even more hostile to the grounds upon
which it was now sought to maintain it. He did not
wish to maintain the Church upon the basis usually
advanced, but for the benefit of the whole people of
Ireland; and if it could not be maintained as the
truth, it could not be maintained at all." Mr. Glad¬
stone held that the Irish Church had fallen out of
harmony with the spirit and use of the time, and it
must be judged like all establishments of religion, by
a practical rather than a theoretical test. When an
establishment had failed so completely as the Irish
Church had done, it would " do well for its own sake,
and for the sake of its creed, to divest itself, as soon
as may be, of gauds and trappings, and commence a
hew career, in which, renouncing at once the credit
Rt. Hon, W. E. Gladstone, M.P, 35
and the discredit of the civil sanction, it shall seek its
strength from within, and put a fearless trust in the
message that it bears." Such, briefly, were the argu¬
ments by which Mr. Gladstone justified his later
action in regard to the Irish Church.
The most interesting personal event in Mr. Glad¬
stone's life was his marriage in July, 1839, to Miss
Catherine Glynne. It is strange that some time
before this, when Miss Glynne met her future husband
at a dinner-party, but was as yet unknown to him, an
English minister sitting next to her had thus drawn
her attention to Mr. Gladstone—Mark that young
man; he will yet be Prime Minister of England !"
Miss Glynne and her sister were known as " the
handsome Miss Glynnes." They were the daughters
of Sir Stephen R. Glynne, of Hawarden Castle, Flint¬
shire, and they were married on the same day at
Hawarden, Catherine Glynne becoming Mrs. Glad¬
stone, and Mary Glynne becoming Lady Lyttelton.
Mrs. Gladstone is widely and deservedly known for
her many philanthropic enterprises, but even better
perhaps than this she has proved herself to be a noble
and devoted wife and mother. She has cheered by
her sympathy her illustrious husband in the many
c 2
3$
The Life of the
great undertakings of his political career, while as a
mother she nursed and reared all her children, and
ever kept them in the maternal eye, carefully watching
over and tending them.
Their union was blessed by eight children, all of
whom save one survive. The eldest son, William
Henry, was for some time in the Legislature; the
second, the Rev. Stephen Edward Gladstone, is
rector of Hawarden ; the third, Henry Neville Glad¬
stone, is engaged in commerce ; and the fourth,
Herbert John Gladstone, is the popular member for
Leeds. The eldest daughter, Anne, is married to the
Rev. E. C. Wickham, M.A., head-master of Wellington
College; the second, Miss Catherine Jessy Gladstone,
died in 1850; the third daughter, Miss Mary Glad¬
stone, is married to the Rev. W. Drew ; and the
fourth, Miss Helen Gladstone, is the Principal of
Newnham College. When away from the trammels
of office, Mr. Gladstone taught his elder children
Italian. All the sons went to Eton and Oxford, and
the daughters were educated at home by English,
French, and German governesses. A close union of
affection and sentiment has always been a marked
characteristic of this typical English family.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 37
CHAPTER IV.
progressive opinions.—mr. gladstone's first
budget.
When Sir Robert Peel acceded to office in 1841,
the times were critical. The Free Trade agitation
was already making great headway in the country,
and when the Premier brought forward his new
sliding scale of duties in the House of Commons,
it was denounced by Mr. Cobden as an insult to a
suffering people. The Budget for 1842 was produced
under depressing circumstances. There was a deficit
of ^£2,750,000, and taxation upon articles of con¬
sumption had been pushed to its utmost limit. Peel
was a great financier, but the fiscal difficulties by
which he was now surrounded were enough to appal
the most ingenious of finance Ministers.
Mr. Gladstone rendered his chief invaluable service
both in the preparation of his budget and of his tariff
scheme. The merit of the budget was its taxation of
wealth and the relief of the manufacturing industry.
38 The Life of the
The income-tax, calculated at id. in the pound on
incomes of and upwards, was to be limited to
three years, with a possible extension to five, at the
discretion of the House. The propositions were
carried. The second branch of the financial plan,
the revised tariff, or Customs duties scheme, was very
important, and it was understood to be mainly, the
work of Mr. Gladstone. Out of nearly 1,200 duty-
paying articles, a total abolition, or a considerable
reduction, was made in no fewer than 750. This was
certainly a great step towards freedom of manufac¬
tures. Mr. Gladstone's labours at this time were
very great: during the session of 1842 he spoke 129
times, chiefly on subjects connected with the new
fiscal legislation. He demonstrated his capacity for
grasping all the most complicated details of finance,
and also his power of comprehending the scope and
necessities of the commercial interests of the country.
But while this great relief to industry was welcomed,
the Opposition did not relax their efforts for the
abolition of the Corn Laws.
Mr. Gladstone having succeeded the Earl of Ripon
as President of the Board of Trade, in the session of
1843, he introduced and carried a very valuable
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 39
measure for the abolition of restrictions on the ex¬
portation of machinery. In the following year he
brought forward his Railway Bill—a measure also of
the first importance. By it the Board of Trade had
a conditional power to purchase railways which had
not adopted a revised scale of tolls. The Bill also
compulsorily provided for one third-class train per
day upon every line of railway, regulated the speed
of travelling, &c., and arranged for the carrying of
children at reduced fares. This measure, conceived
so distinctly in the interests of the poorer classes, met
with considerable opposition at first from the various
railway companies, but it ultimately passed into
law.
Early in 1845 Mr. Gladstone resigned office, in
consequence of the intentions of the Ministry with
regard to Maynooth College. The contemplated
increase in the Maynooth endowment, and the
establishment of non-sectarian colleges, were at
variance with the views he had put forth in his
published treatises on Church and State. But about
this time he supported a Bill for confirming the
possession of religious endowments in the hands of
Dissenters \ and, in speaking during the debates on
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The Life of the
the Maynooth Improvement Bill, he admitted that
exclusive support to the Established Church was a
doctrine that was being more and more abandoned
every day. There was something almost Quixotic in
Mr. Gladstone's honourable resignation of his post,
for, as soon as he felt himself free, he gave his
support to the Maynooth Bill. He also supported
the Government scheme for the extension of academi¬
cal education in Ireland, which was described by Sir
R. Inglis as "a gigantic scheme of godless edu¬
cation." There were thus several questions with
respect to which Mr. Gladstone had left his old
Toryism far behind.
Towards the close of the year 1845, Mr. Gladstone
issued a pamphlet entitled, Remarks upon recent Com¬
mercial Legislation, in which he not only discussed
the salutary effects of the late commercial policy, but
used arguments clearly showing that he was advanc¬
ing to the position of a Free Trader. In December,
Peel announced his intention of abolishing the Corn
Laws; and in his Ministry, reconstituted for that
purpose, Mr. Gladstone appeared as Secretary for the
Colonies. As he had been elected for Newark as a
Protectionist, however, he now retired from the
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 41
representation of that borough. Being for a brief
period out of the House of Commons, he could not
support from his place in Parliament the great repeal
measure of 1846. But he was the most advanced
Free Trader in the Peel Cabinet, and it was under¬
stood that the policy of the Government on this
important question was largely moulded by him.
Peel having been defeated on his Bill for the Sup¬
pression of Outrage in Ireland, Mr. Gladstone retired
from office with the rest of his colleagues.
At the general election in July-August, 1847, Mr.
Gladstone was returned for Oxford University, though
the ultra-Protestant and Tory interest was strongly
arrayed against him. He soon gave offence to some
of his constituents by speaking eloquently for Lord
John Russell's proposal to admit Jews to Parliament.
He held that if they removed the legislative dis¬
abilities of the Jews, while prejudice might be
awakened for a time, the good sense of the people
would soon allay it, and members would have the
consolation of knowing that in a case of difficulty
they had yielded to a sense of justice, and by so
doing had not disparaged religion or lowered
Christianity, but had rather elevated both in all
42
The Life of the
reflecting and well-regulated minds. The right to sit
in Parliament was ultimately secured to the Jews.
The year 1848 was a troubled one for Europe, and
what with revolutions abroad and Chartist riots at
home, one also of anxiety for English statesmen. In
view of the great Chartist demonstration on Ken-
nington Common—rendered innocuous, fortunately,
by rain—special constables were sworn in, and among
those who came forward in this service in London
were Prince Louis Napoleon, the Earl of Derby, and
William Ewart Gladstone. During the session of
1848 Mr. Gladstone strongly defended Sir Robert
Peel's Free Trade policy, which had been attacked
by Mr. Disraeli, and in another speech he admitted
the necessity for the repeal of the Navigation Laws.
It was apparent at this time that changes were taking
place in Mr. Gladstone's convictions upon ecclesias¬
tical and other questions. In one speech he ex¬
pressed his deliberate conviction that the civil and
political claims of the Jews to the discharge of civil
and political duties ought not, in justice, to be barred,
and could not beneficially be barred, because of a
difference in religion. Upon the question of Church
Rates, he said he felt as strongly as anyone the desir-
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 43
ability of settling the subject, for the evils attending
the existing system were enormous. The repeal of
the Navigation Laws was accomplished in 1849, Mr.
Gladstone defending the measure in an elaborate
speech. Riots in Canada opened up the whole
subject of Colonial legislation, and in supporting a
motion for inquiry into the administration of the
Colonies, made by Sir W. Molesworth, Mr. Gladstone
said the time had come when an attempt should be
made to improve our Colonial system. A Commission
appointed by the Executive Government, and acting
in harmony with it, might secure useful results. He
pointed out that if we studied the welfare of the
Colonies it would be the way to maintain our con¬
nection with them, and to maintain that which was
even more important than the mere political con¬
nection between the Colonies and England—namely,
the love of the Colonies for the mother country, and
a desire to imitate the laws and institutions of the
great country from which they had sprung.
The House of Commons met in its new chamber
for the first time in 1850. The most important
debate of the session arose out of the affairs of
Greece. Compensation in regard to the claims of
44
The Life of the
Don Pacifico, Mr. Finlay, and other British and
foreign subjects, having been refused by the Greek
Government, Admiral Sir William Parker blockaded
the Pirseus. The act was severely condemned in
some quarters, and the stability of Lord John Rus¬
sell's Administration depended upon the verdict of
the House of Commons. Rarely has St. Stephen's
witnessed so fine a display of oratory as on this
occasion. Lord Palmerston (Foreign Secretary), Sir
Robert Peel, Mr. Cockburn, Mr. Cobden, Mr. Disraeli,
and Mr. Gladstone all delivered orations which were
confessedly rhetorical efforts of the highest order.
Lord Palmerston's spirited defence of his foreign
policy closed with the assurance that as a subject of
ancient Rome could hold himself free from indignity
by saying Civis Romanus sum, so a British subject in
a foreign country must be protected by the vigilant
eye and the strong arm of the Government against
injustice and wrong.
Mr. Gladstone's reply to Palmerston was trenchant
and exhaustive, and produced a great effect on the
House. He went through the cases of complaint
individually, and blamed the Foreign Secretary for
not trying the Greek tribunals, and employing diplo-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 45
matic agency simply as a supplemental resource,
instead of interfering at once by force of arms. Lord
Palmerston's policy generally had been one of active
interference abroad, which was contrary to English
traditions; and as to his vaunted claim of Civis
Romanus sum, the conditions between ancient Rome
and modern England were altogether different. " What,
sir," asked Mr. Gladstone, " ought a Foreign Secretary
to be? Is he to be like some gallant knight at a
tournament of old, pricking forth into the lists, armed
at all points, confiding in his sinews and his skill,
challenging all comers for the sake of honour, and
having no other duty than to lay as many as possible
of his adversaries sprawling in the dust ? If such is
the idea of a good Foreign Secretary, I, for one,
would vote to the noble lord his present appointment
for his life. But, sir, I do not understand the duty
of a Secretary for Foreign Affairs to be of such a
character. I understand it to be his duty to conciliate
peace with dignity. I think it to be the very first of
all his duties studiously to observe, and to exalt in
honour among mankind, that great code of principles
which is termed the law of nations."
Mr. Gladstone closed his powerful speech with this
46
The Life of the
remarkable peroration:—" Sir, I say the policy of
the noble lord tends to encourage and confirm in us
that which is our besetting fault and weakness, both
as a nation and as individuals. Let an English¬
man travel where he will as a private person, he is
found in general to be upright, high-minded, brave,
liberal, and true; but with all this, foreigners are often
sensible of something that galls them in his presence,
and I apprehend it is because he has too great a
tendency to self-esteem — too little disposition to
regard the feelings, the habits, and the ideas of
others. Sir, I find this characteristic too plainly
legible in the policy of the noble lord. I doubt not
that use will be made of our present debate to work
upon this peculiar weakness of the English mind.
The people will be told that those who oppose the
motion are governed by personal motives, have no
regard for public principles, no enlarged ideas of
national policy. You will take your case before a
favourable jury, and you think to gain your verdict;
but, sir, let the House of Commons be warned—let it
warn itself—against all illusions. There is in this
case also a course of appeal. There is an appeal,
such as the honourable and learned member for
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 47
Sheffield has made, from the one House of Parliament
to the other. There is a further appeal from this
House of Parliament to the people of England; but,
lastly, there is also an appeal from the people of
England to the general sentiment of the civilized
world; and I, for my part, am of the opinion that
England will stand shorn of a chief part of her glory
and pride if she shall be found to have separated
herself, through the policy she pursues abroad, from
the moral supports which the general and fixed con¬
victions of mankind afford—if the day shall come
when she may continue to excite the wonder and the
fear of other nations, but in which she shall have no
part in their affection and regard.
" No, sir, let it not be so; let us recognize, and
recognize with frankness, the equality of the weak
with the strong; the principles of brotherhood among
nations, and of their sacred independence. When we
are asking for the maintenance of the rights which
belong to our fellow-subjects resident in Greece, let
us do as we would be done by, and let us pay all the
respect to a feeble State, and to the infancy of free
institutions, which we should desire and should exact
from others towards their maturity and their strength.
48
The Life of the
Let us refrain from all gratuitous and arbitrary
meddling in the internal concerns of other States,
even as we should resent the same interference if it
were attempted to be practised towards ourselves. If
the noble lord has indeed acted on these principles,
let the Government to which he belongs have your
verdict in its favour; but if he has departed from
them, as I contend, and as I humbly think and urge
upon you that it has been too amply proved, then the
House of Commons must not shrink from the per¬
formance of its duty under whatever expectations of
momentary obloquy or reproach, because we shall have
done what is right; we shall enjoy the peace of our
own consciences, and receive, whether a little sooner
or a little later, the approval of the public voice for
having entered our solemn protest against a system of
policy which we believe, nay, which we know, what¬
ever may be its first aspect, must, of necessity, in its
final results be unfavourable even to the security of
British subjects resident abroad, which it professes so
much to study—unfavourable to the dignity of the
country, which the motion of the honourable and
learned member asserts it preserves—and equally
unfavourable to that other great and sacred object,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 49
which also it suggests to our recollection, the main¬
tenance of peace with the nations of the world."
From a debating point of view, Mr. Gladstone's
speech was the greatest he had yet delivered. Cock-
burn observed of the speaker: " I suppose we are
now to consider him as the representative of Lord
Stanley in this House; Gladstone vice Disraeli, am I
to say, resigned or superseded ?" Ministers suc¬
ceeded in obtaining a majority of 46 on the vote of
confidence in them proposed by Mr. Roebuck,
member for Sheffield, the numbers being, ayes, 310;
noes, 264.
The melancholy death of Sir Robert Peel, which
was due to an accident whilst riding, was mourned by
all classes; and his ablest pupil delivered a brief but
touching address in connection with the sad event in
the House of Commons. The disintegration of the
brilliant band known by Sir Robert's name now took
place, and from this time forward the Peelites took
each his individual course.
Papal aggression alarmed many leading Englishmen
of all classes in 1851. Lord John Russell, who had
written his famous letter to the Bishop of Durham,
brought in his Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, aimed at the
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The Life of the
assumption of British titles by Roman Catholic
Bishops, and rendering void all acts done by persons
under these titles. The whole country was in a
ferment, and Ministers obtained great majorities in
the House of Commons upon their Bill. The second
reading was carried by 438 against 95, though many
eloquent speeches were made against the measure,
and the minority included such distinguished names
as Gladstone, Bright, Cobden, Graham, and Roundell
Palmer. Mr. Gladstone said he chose to rest his case
upon the fact that our Constitution was strong enough
to resist any aggression by any power whatsoever. If
the Papal authorities had interfered with the temporal
affairs of the country, in a manner not permitted to
any other religious body, legislation was not only per¬
missible and just, but necessary. But till that could
be shown we had no right to interfere. No doubt the
Papal documents were of a vaunting and boastful
character, but our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects
were not responsible for them, and by this legislation
they would be driven back upon the Pope, and
alienated and estranged from ourselves. The
Government Bill was carried, however.
Mr. Gladstone published about this time his cele-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 51
brated letters to Lord Aberdeen, on the condition of
the Neapolitan prisons, and the inhuman treatment of
the political prisoners, including Baron Poerio. These
revelations produced an immense effect in England
and Europe. Great Britain made official remon¬
strances with the Court of Naples, and although much
immediate good did not result, Mr. Gladstone's letters
formed one of the precipitating causes in the subse¬
quent overthrow of the Neapolitan Government—a
government which was described as " the negation of
God." Mr. Barnett Smith, in his Life of Mr. Glad¬
stone, observes that, " Lord Palmerston reflected the
national sentiment of England when he declared from
his place in the House of Commons, that Mr. Glad¬
stone had done himself honour by the course he had
pursued in relation to the Neapolitan prisons. He
had lifted his voice with energy and effect on behalf
of oppressed humanity, and in condemnation of one
of the worst and most despotic Governments that
have ever afflicted mankind. This episode remains,
and ever will remain—in the estimation both of his
fellow-countrymen and the friends of justice and
freedom throughout the world—one of the brightest
in his career."
52
The Life of the
In December, 1851, Lord Palmerston was dis¬
missed from the office of Foreign Secretary for having
officially approved of the coup d'itat of Louis
Napoleon. Early in the session of 1852, however,
he was instrumental in defeating his old colleagues on
their Militia Bill. Lord John Russell resigned office,
and the Earl of Derby formed a Ministry which he
made overtures to Mr. Gladstone to join. These
were declined, and Mr. Disraeli became Chancellor
of the Exchequer for the first time. In bringing
forward his budget, the new Chancellor proposed to
remit a portion of the taxes upon malt, tea, and sugar,
but to counterbalance these losses he also proposed
to extend the income-tax and the house-tax. The
remissions and the extensions of taxation were alike
assailed, and Mr. Gladstone delivered a crushing
speech, which was generally regarded as giving the
death-blow to this financial scheme. Towards the
close of the debate, Mr. Disraeli attacked his foes
with equal bitterness and cleverness, and, speakiqg of
Sir James Graham, said that he regarded him but
he did not respect him. This brought up Mr. Glad¬
stone, who defended his friend, and administered a
severe rebuke to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 53
amid the cheers of the House. Altogether, the scene
was one of the most lively and personal ever witnessed
in the House of Commons. The Government were
defeated by a majority of 19, and resigned office.
The Earl of Aberdeen became Prime Minister, and
as there was but one possible Chancellor of the Ex¬
chequer, Mr. Gladstone, the latter accepted the office
with great expectations on the part of his friends.
On going down to Oxford for re-election, he was
opposed by a son of Spencer Perceval, but was
returned by 1022 to 898 votes. The new Chancellor
did not disappoint the prognostications of his friends
in regard to his fiscal abilities. On the contrary, he
speedily inaugurated a new and brilliant era in
finance. He first brought forward a scheme for
the reduction of the National Debt, which was
adopted by the House, and which • worked most
successfully until the breaking out of the Crimean
War, During this very short period, the public debt
was reduced by no less a sum than ,£11,533,581.
Then, on the 18th of April, Mr. Gladstone in¬
troduced the first, and one of the greatest, of his
budgets. For statesmanlike breadth of conception it
has never been surpassed, and in bringing it forward
54
The Life of the
Mr. Gladstone spoke for five hours with the greatest
ease and perspicuity. The budget provided for the
gradual reduction of the income-tax, to expire in
i860; the equalization of the spirit duties; the aboli¬
tion of the soap duties; the introduction of the penny
receipt stamp; the reduction of the tax on cabs and
hackney coaches; and the equalization of the assessed
taxes. Altogether the duty on 123 articles was
abolished, and the duty on 133 others reduced—the
total relief amounting to ^5,000,000. Mr. Gladstone
gave a lucid dissertation on the income-tax, which he
said was never intended to be permanent, and he
thus concluded his speech:—"These are the pro¬
posals of the Government. They may be approved,
or they may be condemned, but I have this full
confidence, that it will be admitted that we have not
sought to evade the difficulties of the position; that
we have not concealed those difficulties either from
ourselves or from others; that we have not attempted
to counteract them by narrow or flimsy expedients;
that we have prepared plans which, if you will adopt
them, will go some way to close up many vexed
financial questions, which, if not now settled, may be
attended with public inconvenience, and even with
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 55
public danger, in future years and under less favour¬
able circumstances ; that we have endeavoured, in the
plans we have now submitted to you, to make the
path of our successors in future years not more
arduous but more easy; and I may be permitted to
add that, while we have sought to do justice to the
great labour community of England by furthering
their relief from indirect taxation, we have not been
guided by any desire to put one class against another.
We have felt we should best maintain our own
honour, that we should best meet the views of
Parliament, and best promote the interests of the
country, by declining to draw any invidious distinc¬
tion between class and class, by adopting it to our¬
selves as a sacred aim to diffuse and distribute the
burdens with equal and impartial hand; and we have
the consolation of believing that by proposals such as
these we contribute, as far as in us lies, not only to
develope the material resources of the country, but to
knit the various parts of this great nation yet more
closely than ever to that Throne and to those insti¬
tutions under which it is our happiness to live."
The House, which had listened spell-bound to
Mr. Gladstone's financial statement, broke into loud
56
The Life of the
plaudits when the orator sat down. There was but
one impression through the whole of that crowded
and brilliant assembly, namely, that England had at
length found a skilful financier, upon whom the
mantle of Pitt and Peel had descended. The budget,
considered as a whole, was looked upon as the most
able, far-sighted, and practicable of financial measures
since Peel's celebrated budget of 1844. Although
some portions of it were opposed, all its main features
were adopted, and it finally passed the House of
Commons on the 27th of June. As the budget,
moreover, was constructed upon Free Trade lines, it
was welcomed by the press and the country, and it
had the effect of greatly enhancing the popularity of
the new Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Rt. Hon. TV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 57
CHAPTER V.
the crimean war.
The great act with which the Aberdeen Cabinet is
associated in history is the Crimean War. That war,
as the Prince Consort said, was undertaken to put an
end to a policy which not only threatened the exist¬
ence of the Ottoman Empire, but seriously endangered
the balance of power in Europe, by making all the
countries bordering on the Black Sea dependencies
of Russia. Mr. Gladstone also held that the policy
which drew England into the war was that of repress¬
ing an offence against the public law of Europe, but
only by the united authority of the Powers of Europe.
France and Sardinia joined this country in resisting
the course of Russia, which was fraught with danger
to the future peace of the Continent.
The dispute between Russia and Turkey as to the
possession of the Holy Places was the precipitating
cause of the war; but negotiations on this subject
having failed, the quarrel widened. On the 2nd of
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July, 1853, the Russian troops crossed the Pruth for
the purpose of occupying the Danubian Principalities.
Lord Aberdeen still hesitated to believe that the Czar
Nicholas seriously meant war; but by the beginning
of 1854 it was obvious that all hopes of peace were
at an end. The attitude of Russia compelled Turkey
formally to declare war against her, and on the 28th
of March, England also assumed hostilities against the
Northern Power. The British Government was sup¬
ported in this step by a remarkable exhibition of
national enthusiasm; and it must be admitted that
rarely has a war been entered upon with such prac¬
tical unanimity of feeling on the part of the people.
Mr. Gladstone was most anxious to avoid war, both
for its own sake, and because the preparation of a
war budget overthrew all his financial hopes. But
he saw that the struggle was inevitable. Bending
himself, therefore, to the task imposed upon him, he
conceived a scheme for discharging the expenses of
the war out of current revenue, so that the country
should not be permanently burdened. Yet to do
this it would be necessary to impose fresh taxes. In
introducing his budget on the 6th of March, Mr.
Gladstone proposed an extraordinary military expen-
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 59
diture of ;£i, 250,000; and besides this there was
a deficiency of nearly three millions to provide for.
To meet these charges, he recommended the increase
of the income-tax by one-half, levying this whole addi¬
tion for and in respect of the first moiety of the
year—that is, to double the tax for the half-year.
Taking the amount of the income-tax for 1854-55
at ^6,275,000, a moiety of that sum was ^3,137,500;
but as the cost of collecting the income-tax diminished
in proportion as the amount increased, he took the
real moiety at ^3,307,000, which would make the
whole produce of the income-tax ^9,582,000. The
aggregate income for 1854-55 would be ^56,656,000,
and the expenditure ^56,186,000; so that there
would be a small surplus of ^470,000. The resolu¬
tion for doubling the income-tax was adopted in the
House of Commons without a division; and a Bill
founded upon it was subsequently passed.
The war went forward, notwithstanding the eloquent
protests of Mr. Bright and his friends, and on the 8th
of May, the Chancellor of the Exchequer brought for¬
ward in Parliament additional proposals in connection
with his war budget. He was obliged to ask for
^6,850,000, in addition to the amount already
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The Life of the
granted. To raise this, it was proposed to repeat
during the war the operation which had already been
performed upon the income-tax. That would yield
two-thirds of the additional expenses to be provided
for, and the balance it was proposed to gain by
an increased spirit tax, a new classification of the
sugar duties, and an augmentation of the malt tax.
To meet a possible rapid increase in the rate of war
expenditure, Mr. Gladstone proposed to issue a
second series of Exchequer Bonds, and new Exche¬
quer Bills to the amount of two millions.
The financial policy thus unfolded was a very
masterly one, and although Mr. Disraeli opposed the
chief proposals, they were carried through; and the
vote of credit, as the Prince Consort expressed it in a
letter to Baron Stockmar, was really a vote of
confidence in the Ministry.
By September, 1854, 58,000 English, French, and
Turkish troops had landed at Eupatoria, and begun
their march upon Sebastopol. Yet while the war was
extremely popular in England, Lord Aberdeen's
Ministry fell into disfavour, in consequence of
rumoured dissensions within it, and the alleged luke-
warmness of its chief. The Queen was very anxious
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 61
to witness a united Government, and on the 12th of
December, 1854, Parliament re-assembled under
momentous circumstances. The Allies had won the
brilliant victories of the Alma, Balaclava, and Inker-
man ; but there was terrible suffering amongst the
British troops, notwithstanding the efforts of Miss
Florence Nightingale and her noble band of nurses
to assuage it. There was also scandalous mismanage¬
ment in the commissariat department. Mr. Gladstone
replied to the critics of the Government when the
Report of the Address was brought up. Ministers,
he said, had never supposed that an impression could
be made upon Russia with an army of 50,000 men—
but France alone had now despatched to the seat of
war upwards of 90,000 men. A Bill for the Enlistment
of Foreigners was carried through both Houses after
great opposition, and Parliament adjourned on the
23rd of December.
When the Commons reassembled towards the close
of January, 1855, Mr. Roebuck brought forward his
motion for a Select Committee to inquire into the con¬
dition of the army before Sebastopol. Lord John
Russell resigned his office as President of the Council,
but all his colleagues remained to face the vote. Mr.
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The Life of the
Gladstone made a spirited defence of the Ministry in
standing by their guns, and in a fine passage thus
described what their position would have been if
they had shrunk from duty :—" What sort of epitaph
would have been written over their remains! He
himself would have written it thus : Here lie the dis¬
honoured ashes of a Ministry which found England at
peace and left it in war, which was content to enjoy
the emoluments of office and to wield the sceptre of
power so long as no man had the courage to question
their existence. They saw the storm gathering over
the country; they heard the agonising accounts
which were almost daily received of the state of the
sick and wounded in the East. These things did not
move them. But so soon as the hon. member for
Sheffield raised his hand to point the thunderbolt,
they became conscience-stricken with a sense of guilt
and, hoping to escape punishment, they ran away
from duty."
Mr. Gladstone then said that there had been many
exaggerations as to the state of the army, and there
were then more than 30,000 British troops under
arms before Sebastopol. The administration of the
War Departments at home was no doubt defective,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 63
but he declined to admit that it had not improved,
or that it was so bad as to deserve formal censure.
The division, however, was a strange surprise for all
parties. The numbers for Mr. Roebuck's Committee
were 305 ; against, 148. The overwhelming majority
of 157 against Ministers was hailed first with cheers,
and then with a burst of general laughter. The
famous Coalition Cabinet of Lord Aberdeen—one of
the most brilliant ever seen—was thus overthrown.
Lord Palmerston formed a new Government, which
Mr. Gladstone at first declined to join, out of a
chivalrous feeling for his friends, Lord Aberdeen and
the Duke of Newcastle; but these noblemen begged
him not to deprive the country of his great services,
and he ultimately resumed his old post of Chancellor
of the Exchequer. Lord Panmure was appointed
War Minister. The new Government did not pull
together very long. Mr. Roebuck determined to
move for the appointment of his Committee forthwith,
and upon this announcement, Mr. Gladstone, Sir
James Graham, and Mr. Sidney Herbert, retired
from the Ministry. In justifying the step, Mr. Glad¬
stone said that "the Committee being neither for
punishment nor remedy—those who voted for it
64
The Life of the
disclaiming hostility to the Ministry—must be for
Government, and could not fail to deprive the execu¬
tive of its most important functions." As the appoint¬
ment of the Committee, however, was the only way to
allay the popular excitement, there were many who
thought that the Peelites would have done well to
recognise the urgency of the crisis, and not to have
abandoned the Government.
The Emperor Nicholas died suddenly on the 2nd
of March, and there were momentary hopes of peace,
but his successor, Alexander, resolved on prosecuting
the struggle to the end. An abortive attempt at
pacification was made by the Plenipotentiaries at the
Vienna Conference, and Sardinia now joined the
Anglo-French alliance. Speaking during a debate in
the House of Commons on the failure of the Vienna
Conference, Mr. Gladstone defended the expedition
to the Crimea. He considered that it had by no
means failed, for Russia now agreed to most of the
points raised by the Allies, and the only matter to be
settled was the proposed limitation of the power of
Russia in the Black Sea. Personally, he had formerly
been in favour of limiting this power, but he now
thought that such a proposition implied a great in-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 65
dignity to Russia. He believed that the Russian
proposal to give to Turkey the power of opening and
shutting the Straits was one calculated to bring about
a settlement. The time was favourable for peace. " If
we now fought merely for military success," said
Mr. Gladstone, " let the House look at this sentiment
with the eye of reason, and it would appear immoral,
inhuman, and un-Christian. If the war were continued
in order to obtain military glory, we should tempt
the justice of Him in whose hands was the fate of
armies, to launch upon us His wrath." Lord John
Russell vigorously replied to Mr. Gladstone. The
House decided, by a majority of xoo, to support her
Majesty in the prosecution of the war, until a safe
and honourable peace could be secured.
But on the 10th of July, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton gave
notice of the following resolution:—" That the conduct
of our Ministry, in the recent negotiations at Vienna,
has, in the opinion of this House, shaken the confi¬
dence of this country in those to whom its affairs are
entrusted." Lord John Russell, the British Plenipo¬
tentiary at Vienna, once more declined to face dis¬
cussion as a Minister, and resigned office on the 13th.
Three days later the motion came on for debate.
D
66
The Life of the
Mr. Disraeli bitterly attacked Lord John, but Was
equally severe against the Premier, Lord Palmerston.
Mr. Gladstone, so far from blaming the Government
for hesitating about the Vienna offers of peace, blamed
them for not giving the propositions that considera¬
tion which their gravity demanded, and for abruptly
closing the hope of an honourable peace.
The Sebastopol Committee having now reported,
Mr. Roebuck brought forward a strongly hostile
motion. As it was practically, however, a vote of
censure upon every member of the Aberdeen Cabinet,
as being responsible for the sufferings of the army in
the Crimea, the House declined to entertain it by the
large majority of 107. On the 3rd of August, Mr.
Gladstone made one more powerful appeal for the
cessation of the war. He held that there was now no
definite object for prolonging the struggle; defied the
Western Powers to control the future destinies of
Russia, save for a moment, and placed "the undivided
responsibility of the continuance of the war on the
head of the Ministry."
The war, nevertheless, went forward, for it was felt
that there could be no real hopes of peace so long as
Sebastopol held out. That fortress, hitherto regarded
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 67
as impregnable, was taken and destroyed in Sep¬
tember, the power of Russia having already been
broken in the north by the destruction of Sveaborg.
The Czar now gave up the struggle, and the Peace of
Paris was concluded in March, 1856.
Mr. Gladstone, many'years later, put forth a defence
of his conduct during the Crimean War, urging that
the course which he and his fellow Peelites pursued
was the only one open to them. He was blamed for
leaving the Ministry, and blamed for recommending
a cessation of the war; but it is quite true that " the
question which broke up one Cabinet, and formidably
rent another, which agitated England, and sorely
stained her military reputation in the eyes of Europe,
remained then, and remains now, untried by any
final court of appeal." Such being the case, we can
but leave the question to the judgment of posterity,
with a firm faith in the honourable conduct and inten¬
tions of those statesmen who were mainly responsible
for the war.
d 2
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CHAPTER VI.
in opposition.
When the Treaty of Paris was discussed in the
House of Comnlons on the 31st of March, 1856,
Mr. Gladstone delivered a final speech of justification
in regard to his share in the Crimean War. Describ¬
ing the treaty as an honourable one, because the
objects of the war had been attained, he strenuously
denied that England ever had in view the mainten¬
ance of the law and institutions of Turkey as a
Mahomedan State. The war was undertaken to save
Turkey from foreign aggression, and not with the
object of settling any question touching her internal
condition. As Russia endangered the peace, liberties,
and privileges of alt Europe, England was bound to
resist her by all the means in her power. Mr. Glad¬
stone regretted that a more substantive existence had
not been secured to. the Principalities, and he objected
to the neutralisatic in of the Black Sea j but the pro-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 69
posal to submit international differences to arbitration
he regarded as a great triumph.
During the same session Mr. Gladstone vindicated
the freedom of the Belgian Press; opposed Lord
John Russell's resolutions on National Education, as
tending to create a central controlling power, in¬
volving secular instruction and endless religious
quarrels; and condemned the action of the Govern¬
ment with respect to the enlistment of recruits in the
United States for the British army. He also opposed
the budget of Sir G. C. Lewis, which imposed more
duties upon the tea and sugar of the working man,
and was generally at variance with the policy pursued
by every great and enlightened finance minister. He
likewise severely attacked the Divorce Bill, eloquently
contending for the equality of woman with man in all
the rights pertaining to marriage; but after a pro¬
longed contest the bill passed into law.
In the session of 1857 Mr. Gladstone delivered a
notable speech on the Chinese policy of the Govern¬
ment. Lord Palmerston, though very popular with
the country, had offended a large section of the
House of Commons by his interference in China. A
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The Life of the
lorcha, called the Arrow, showing British colours, had
been seized by the Chinese, and the question arose
as to the right of the vessel to the protection of the
British flag. The opponents of the Government held
that a vessel built in China, captured by pirates, and
recaptured by Chinese, could have no claim upon us.
Moreover, Sir John Bowring, our representative in
China, had stated that the licence to carry the British
flag had expired some time before. Mr. Cobden, to
bring the matter to an issue, proposed the following
resolution: " That this House has heard with concern
of the conflicts which have occurred between the
British and Chinese authorities in the Canton river \
and without expressing an opinion as to the extent to
which the Government of China may have afforded
this country cause of complaint respecting the non-
fulfilment of the Treaty of 1842, this House considers
that the papers which have been laid upon the table
fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent
measures resorted to at Canton in the late affair ot
the Arrow; and that a Select Committee be appointed
to enquire into the state of our commercial relations
with China."
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. J i
The debate extended over four nights, many
powerful speeches being made on both sides. Mr.
Gladstone was one of the most effective speakers
against the Government. He regretted that Sir John
Bowring, from an excess of zeal in the public service,
had been led into proceedings in themselves un¬
warrantable. But the Government had endorsed his
action. He then dwelt upon the calamities which
our high-handed policy had inflicted upon the
Cantonese, and called upon Parliament to put an
end to this state of things. Mr. Gladstone concluded
his speech as follows " Every member of the House
of Commons is proudly conscious that he belongs to
an assembly which in its collective capacity is the
paramount power of the State. But if it is the para¬
mount power of the State, it can never separate from
that paramount power a similar and paramount
responsibility. The vote of the Plouse of Lords will
not acquit us; the sentence of the Government will
not acquit us. It is with us to determine whether
this wrong shall remain unchecked and uncorrected.
And at a time when sentiments are so much divided,
gvery man, I trust, will give his vote with the
7 2
The Life of the
recollection and the consciousness that it may
depend upon his single vote whether the miseries,
the crimes, the atrocities that I fear are now pro¬
ceeding in China are to be discountenanced or not.
We have now come to the crisis of the case.
England is not yet committed. With you, then, with
us, with every one of us, it rests to show that this
House, which is the first, the most ancient, and the
noblest temple of freedom in the world, is also the
temple of that everlasting justice without which
freedom itself would only be a name or only a curse
to mankind. And I cherish the trust and belief that
when you, Sir, rise to declare in your place to-night
the numbers of the division from the chair which you
adorn, the words which you speak will go forth from
the walls of the House of Commons not only as a
message of mercy and peace, but also as a message of
British justice and British wisdom, to the farthest
corners of the world."
Lord Palmerston defended himself with spirit, but
Mr. Cobden's motion was carried by 263 votes to
247. The Premier appealed to the country, and his
enemies suffered a severe defeat at the polls. Cobden,
lit. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 73
Bright, and Milner Gibson lost their seats, but Mr.
Gladstone was again returned, unopposed, for Oxford
University. But Lord Palmerston's triumph was only
short-lived. Early in the session of 1858, he intro¬
duced his ill-fated Conspiracy to Murder Bill. Or-
sini's attempt to assassinate Napoleon III. had evoked
a good deal of sympathy in England for the French
Emperor; and under the influence of this feeling
Palmerston introduced his bill, which proposed to
make conspiracy to murder a felony punishable with
penal servitude for five years. Before the second
reading came on, however, the conviction spread that
the measure was introduced solely at the dictation of
the Emperor Napoleon. Mr. Milner Gibson accord¬
ingly brought forward an amendment against the
Government, and the one speech during the debate
which most deeply impressed the House was that
delivered by Mr. Gladstone. While anxious, he said,
to maintain the French alliance, he must yet severely
blame Ministers for not having answered the charges
of the French Government, and explained the state of
the English law. Instead of doing that, they asked
the House to pass this bill. In conclusion, Mr.
74
The Life of the
Gladstone said :—" If there is any feeling in this
House for the honour of England, don't let us be
led away by some vague statement about the necessity
of reforming the criminal law. Let us insist upon the
necessity of vindicating that law. As far as justice
requires, let us have the existing law vindicated, and
then let us proceed to amend it if it be found neces¬
sary. But do not let us allow it to lie under a cloud
of accusations of which we are convinced that it is
totally innocent. These times are grave for liberty.
We live in the nineteenth century; we talk of pro¬
gress ; we believe that we are advancing, but can any
man of observation who has watched the events of the
last few years in Europe have failed to perceive that
there is a movement indeed, but a downward and
backward movement ? There are a few spots in which
institutions that claim our sympathy still exist and
flourish. They are secondary places—nay, they are
almost the holes and corners of Europe so far as mere
material greatness is concerned, although their moral
greatness will, I trust, ensure them long prosperity
and happiness. But in these times more than ever
does responsibility centre upon the institutions of
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 75
England; and if it does centre upon England, upon
her principles, upon her laws, and upon her governors,
then I say that a measure passed by this House of
Commons — the chief hope of freedom — which
attempts to establish a moral complicity between
us and those who seek safety in repressive measures,
will be a blow and a discouragement to that sacred
cause in every country in the world."
Ministers were defeated by 234 votes to 215, and
Lord Palmerston resigned. Lord Derby once more
came into power, and the new Government, which
existed largely on sufferance, passed some useful
measures. The most important of these was the
India Bill, by which the Government of India was
transferred to the Crown. Mr. Gladstone succeeded
in incorporating an important clause in this measure,
providing that the Indian troops should not be
employed in military operations beyond the frontiers
of India without the consent of Parliament. In
November, 1858, Mr. Gladstone—who had declined
the office of Secretary for the Colonies offered him by
Lord Derby—accepted from the Premier the post of
High Commissioner Extraordinary to the Ionian
7b
The Life of the
Islands, and went out to Corfu. A few years after his
mission the islands were formally incorporated with
Greece.
Mr. Gladstone's industry and ability were con¬
spicuous at this time in the publication of his
important work, Studies on Homer. It yet remains
his magnum opus in literature, and exhibits wide and
laborious research. It discusses the Homeric con¬
troversy in its broad aspects, the relation of Homer
to the Sacred Writings, his place in education, his
historic aims, the probable period of the poet's life,
the Homeric text, the ethnology of the Greek races,
and the politics and poetry of Homer. Among sub¬
sequent Greek studies by Mr. Gladstone were his
Juventus Mundi and the Homeric Synchronism.
There is probably no greater living authority on the
text of Homer than Mr. Gladstone, and the ancient
Greek race and literature have exercised over him a
perennial fascination.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 77
CHAPTER VII.
mr. Gladstone's great budgets.
The Derby Government having been defeated on
their Reform Bill in the session of 1859, the Premier
decided upon dissolving Parliament. But the elec¬
tions placed him in no better position, and when the
House of Commons re-assembled, a vote of want of
confidence in the Ministry was carried by 323 votes to
310. Lord Derby resigned, and Lord Palmerston
again became Prime Minister, with Mr. Gladstone as
Chancellor of the Exchequer. The latter was strongly
opposed by the Marquis of Chandos on applying for
re-election at Oxford University, but after an exciting
contest the Chancellor of the Exchequer was returned
by 1,050 votes as against 859 given for Lord Chandos.
The finance measures of i860 formed a new and
memorable departure in the domestic history of Great
Britain. The new Chancellor's budget for 1859 had
presented no very striking features, for he had had
78
The Life of the
scant breathing-space in which to prepare it: but that
of i860 was the greatest of all his financial measures.
It was awaited with intense interest, and was produced
on the 10th of February before a densely crowded
House. Mr. Cobden, acting on behalf of the English
Government, had been successful in negotiating with
France a treaty based on Free Trade principles—"a
treaty which gave an impetus to the trade of this
country, whose far-reaching effects are felt even to
our day." Mr. Cobden's work gave an additional
fascination to Mr. Gladstone's budget. Explaining
the various propositions of his financial statement, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that there was a
relief of ^2,146,000 in connection with the annual pay¬
ments of interest on the National Debt. This would
afford a considerable relief in taxation. The war
duties on tea and sugar were to be continued for
fifteen months, but the duties on butter, cheese, tallow,
eggs, oranges, &c., would be abolished; those on
timber, currants, hops, &c., would be reduced; and
other beneficial changes were proposed, including the
abolition of the paper duty. There was, however, no
option but to retain the income-tax, which would not
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 79
have been borne without discontent, but for the
strength which the country had derived from recent
commercial legislation, and the confidence of the
nation in the integrity and wisdom of Parliament.
After detailing the leading provisions of the Treaty
with France, Mr. Gladstone passed this glowing
eulogium upon Mr. Cobden:—" Sir, I cannot pass
from the subject of the French Treaty without paying
a tribute of respect to two persons, at least, who have
been the main authors of it. I am bound to bear this
witness, at any rate, with regard to the Emperor of the
French: that he has given the most unequivocal
proofs of sincerity and earnestness in the progress of
this great work, a work which he has prosecuted with
clear-sighted resolution, not doubtless, for British pur¬
poses, but in a spirit of enlightened patriotism, with
a view to commercial reforms at home, and to the
advantage and happiness of his own people by means
of those reforms. With regard to Mr. Cobden,
speaking as I do at a time when every angry passion
has passed away, I cannot help expressing our obliga¬
tions to him for the labour he has, at no small per¬
sonal sacrifice, bestowed upon a measure which he,
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The Life of the
not the least among the apostles of Free Trade—
believes to be one of the most memorable triumphs
Free Trade has ever achieved. Rare is the privilege
of any man who, having fourteen years ago rendered
to his country one signal and splendid service, now
again, within the same brief span of life, decorated
neither by rank nor title, bearing no mark to distin¬
guish him from the people whom he loves, has been
permitted again to perform a great and memorable
service to his Sovereign and to his country."
After the cheers which greeted this tribute had died
away, Mr. Gladstone went on to observe that the
total reduction of duties under the budget would
amount to ^1,039,000. A slight extension of
taxation would be resorted to, in order to compensate
this loss, and by this means ^"982,000 would be re¬
stored to the general revenue. The loss to the
revenue by the French Treaty and the reduction of
duties combined he estimated at ^2,146,000, but of
this sum half was redeemed by the imposts specified.
In advocating the abolition of the paper duty, the
Chancellor said he augured the happiest results from
a spread of cheap literature. Reviewing, then,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 81
the budget as a whole, he said that the alterations
and reductions he proposed would give a total relief
to the consumer of ,£3,931,000, and cause a net loss
to the revenue of £2,108,000, a sum about equivalent
to the amount falling in from the cessation of Govern¬
ment annuities that year. The number of articles
remaining on the Customs tariff would be forty-eight,
and next year forty-four; but only fifteen of the whole
would be retained for purposes of revenue. He
expected to obtain £1,400,000 by taking up the malt
and hop duties within the year. Coming to the last
of the chief points of his budget, the income-tax, he
proposed that, in order to supply the remainder of an
estimated deficit of £9,400,000, the tax should be
renewed at the rate of 10d. in the pound on incomes
of upwards of £150 a year, and at 7d. below that
sum; the tax to be taken for one year only, and
three-quarters of the year's rate to be collected within
the year, which would give a sum of £8,472,000.
This would bring the total income up to £70,564,000 ;
and as the total charge was £70,100,000, there thus
remained an apparent or estimated surplus of
£464,000. In his peroration, Mr. Gladstone thus
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The Life of the
generally left this remarkable financial statement to
the consideration of the House :—" There were times,
now long gone by, when sovereigns made their progress
through the land, and when, at the proclamation of their
heralds, they caused to be scattered whole showers of
coin among the people who thronged upon their
steps. That may have been a goodly spectacle;
but it is also a goodly spectacle, and one adapted to
the altered spirit and circumstances of our times,
when our Sovereign is enabled through the wisdom of
her great Council, assembled in Parliament around
her, again to scatter blessings among her subjects by
means of wise and prudent laws; of laws which do
not sap in any respect the foundations of duty or of
manhood, but which strike away the shackles from
the arm of industry, which give new incentives and
new rewards to toil, and which win more and more
for the Throne and for the institutions of the country
the gratitude, the confidence, and the love of an
united people. Let me say even to those who are
anxious, and justly anxious, on the subject of our
national defences, that that which stirs the flame of
patriotism in men, that which binds them in one
Rt. Hon. W, E, Gladstone, M.P. 83
heart and soul, that which gives them increased
confidence in their rulers, that which makes them feel
and know that they are treated with justice, and that
we who represent them are labouring incessantly and
earnestly for their good—is in itself no small, and no
feeble, and no transitory part of national defence.
We recommend these proposals to your impartial
and searching inquiry. We do not presume, indeed,
to make a claim on your acknowledgments; but
neither do we desire to draw on your unrequited
confidence, nor to lodge an appeal to your com¬
passion. We ask for nothing more than your dis¬
passionate judgment, and for nothing less. We know
that our plan will receive that justice at your hands;
and we confidently anticipate on its behalf the ap¬
proval alike of the Parliament and the nation."
This speech, which occupied four hours in delivery,
kept the House interested to the very last. " It was
an oration in the form of a great State paper made
eloquent, in which there was a proper restraint over
the crowding ideas, the most exact accuracy in the
sentences, and even in the very words chosen; the
most perfect balancing of parts; and, more than all,
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there were no errors of omission : nothing was put
wrongly, and nothing was overlooked." Mr. Glad¬
stone was so little discomposed and exhausted by his
great effort, that it was laughingly said he could
address the House for a whole week, and then take
a new departure, with the observation, " After these
preliminary remarks, I will now proceed to deal
with the subject-matter of my financial plan."
The Opposition joined issue on some points of the
Budget; but the Government were supported by
large majorities, and carried their scheme. When
the bill for the repeal of the paper duty, however,
came before the House of Lords, it was rejected by
a majority of eighty-nine votes, and Mr. Gladstone
was confronted with a grave constitutional crisis.
But Lord Palmerston introduced and carried through
the Commons a series of resolutions, to the effect
that the right of granting aids and supplies to the
Crown is vested in the Commons alone, thus reaffirm¬
ing the ancient power of the House over all legisla¬
tion bearing upon finance. The country was greatly
moved on the subject of the paper duty; and while
the hands of the Government were strengthened, the
Rt. II011. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 85
course which the Lords had taken was severely con-
demned. Mr. Gladstone assured the House and
the nation that he reserved to himself the privilege
of submitting such practical measures as would
completely secure the object in view.
On the 16th of April, i860, Mr. Gladstone, who
had been elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh Uni¬
versity, was duly installed, and delivered his address
to the students. He took for his subject the work
of the University as a great organ of preparation for
after-life, with the view of assisting and arming the
students in the efforts and trials of their career.
Debates arose on the events transpiring in Italy in
the session of 1861, when Mr. Gladstone and Sir
Robert Peel delivered impassioned speeches in ap¬
proval of the struggles for Italian liberty, in reply to
Mr. Pope Hennessy and Sir G. Bowyer. Referring to
the manner in which the Revolution in Italy had
been accomplished, Mr. Gladstone said that never
were changes so great and important effected with so
little to raise a blush on the cheeks of those who
promoted them. " The miseries of Italy," he added,
" have been the danger of Europe. The consolida-
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tion of Italy—her restoration to national life (if it be
the will of God to grant her that boon)—will be,
I believe, a blessing as great to Europe as it is to all
the people of the Peninsula. It will add to the
general peace and welfare of the civilised world a
new and solid guarantee." The country and the
House were almost unanimous in viewing the struggles
of the Italian people with enthusiastic approval.
Garibaldi's campaign of the previous year had proved
completely successful, and Victor Emmanuel had
been proclaimed King of Italy at Naples.
The advantages of Free Trade to the British Empire
were made clearly apparent in 1861, when the scarcity
of the harvest drove us to rely upon foreign sources
for a large portion of our necessary commodities.
Had it not been for the legislation of 1846, England
must have been greatly crippled in her trade and
commerce at this juncture. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer continued his beneficial legislation for the
people, and brought forward his Post Office Savings
Bank Bill, which passed into law, and proved a great
boon to the masses of the community. The Budget
was produced on the 15th of April. There was a
Rt. Hon. W. £. Gladstone, M.P. 87
surplus of ,£1,923,000 over the estimated expenditure.
Amid great satisfaction, Mr. Gladstone announced that
he proposed to remit the penny on the income-tax
which had been imposed in the preceding year. Then
it was proposed to repeal the duty on paper on the
1 st of October. The income-tax and the tea and
sugar duties would only be re-enacted for one year. In
listening to this statement of 1861, the House vibrated
to the Chancellor's touch, like an instrument of music
to the touch of genius. It was regarded by many as
one of the best and happiest of his speeches. In
order to secure the abolition of the paper duties,
Mr. Gladstone circumvented the Lords by including
his chief financial propositions in one bill. This
course was strongly opposed by Mr. Disraeli and
Lord Robert Cecil (now Marquis of Salisbury), but
approved by such eminent constitutional authorities
as Sir William Heathcote and Mr. Walpole, both of
whom were Conservatives. The Duke of Rutland
moved the rejection of the whole scheme in the
Lords, but the Earl of Derby counselled its acceptance.
The bill became law, and a great constitutional crisis
between the two Houses was thus averted.
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After the American Civil War broke out, and in a
speech delivered at Newcastle towards the close of
1862, Mr. Gladstone expressed his conviction that
Mr. Jefferson Davis had already succeeded in making
the Southern States an independent nation. As
many of the warmest admirers of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer were ardent defenders of the North in
the great struggle, this declaration caused them much
pain. Moreover, as the utterance of a member of
the Government, it was injudicious ; for Earl Russell
had only just before declined to recognise the Con¬
federate States as a separate and independent power.
Some years later (1867) Mr. Gladstone frankly con¬
fessed that he had committed an error of judgment
in this matter.
The Budget of 1862 was a stationary one. The
Government had come to the conclusion to do with¬
out a surplus, and to impose no new taxes, reserving
to themselves the privilege of taking the necessary
steps to meet any contingency which might arise.
There could be no remission of taxes, but by various
adjustments the burdens of the country would be
lighter by ^600,000 or ^700^000. The financial
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 89
statement of 1863, however, was another masterly
exposition of finance, and its leading propositions
were cordially received. There was a considerable
surplus, which allowed a reduction of twopence upon
the income-tax, and the reduction of the tea duty to
one shilling, besides several minor items of relief.
The whole remission of taxation on the year was
4°,0°o, or reckoning the total remissions, pre¬
sent and prospective, of ^4,601,000. Beyond these
remissions, there was still an actual surplus of
400,000, but this was not interfered with. A pro¬
posal to subject charities to the income-tax led to
such powerful opposition outside the House, that
it was withdrawn, although the Chancellor's argu¬
ments were endorsed by many who were opposed to
the indiscriminate and mistaken beneficence which
was so prevalent.
The year 1864 was comparatively uneventful. The
country was at peace, and its trade advanced by
" leaps and bounds," as a natural result of the opera¬
tion of Free Trade principles. Mr. Gladstone intro¬
duced his Budget in the House of Commons on the
7 th of April. It was equivalent to a declaration of
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The Life of the
domestic policy on behalf of the Government—a
policy of which peace, progress, and retrenchment
were the watchwords. There was an available surplus
of ^2,560,000, which allowed of a reduction of the
sugar duty, the remission of a penny in the income-
tax, and the reduction of the duty on fire insurances.
All the proposals were carried after some opposition.
During this session, also, the Chancellor of the Ex¬
chequer introduced a bill for amending the law
relating to the purchase of Government annuities
through the medium of savings banks, and to facilitate
the granting of life insurances by the Government.
The bill was opposed by the friendly societies, but it
ultimately passed both Houses and became law. It
was a measure " conceived in the true interests of the
working classes," and it has proved of inestimable
service to them.
Mr. Gladstone declared in favour of a good measure
of Parliamentary Reform at this time, and it was chiefly
owing to his defence that the House rejected Mr.
Disraeli's motion of want of confidence in the Govern¬
ment on the Danish question. Early in 1865, during
a debate on a mation by Mr. Dillwyn, Mr. Gladstone
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 91
admitted that the existing position of the Irish Church
Establishment was unsatisfactory.
The financial statement for 1865 was brought for¬
ward on the 27 th of April, and the prosperous con¬
dition of the national finances again justified the
hopes of a reduction of taxation. There was a surplus
°f The tea duty was reduced by 6d.
in the pound, the income-tax was brought down from
6d. to 4d., and relief was granted in the matter of
fire insurances. The total relief in taxation amounted,
in fact, this year to no less than ^5,420,000. Such
a Budget naturally excited little opposition in the
House, and it gained the warm approval of the
country. It was evident that a master-hand was
guiding the national finances, and fortunately the
Chancellor's calculations were verified by the con¬
tinued prosperity of the country.
Parliament was dissolved in July, 1865, having run
its full course. In consequence of his rapidly-growing
Liberalism, Mr. Gladstone found himself opposed at
Oxford University by Mr. Gathorne Hardy, and the
electors preferred the uncompromising defender of the
Church and of Toryism, to the brilliant statesman and
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The Life of ihe
financier. Sir William Heathcote, the other sitting
member, was supported by men of both political
parties. The numbers were finally declared as fol¬
lows: Heathcote, 3236; Hardy, 1904; Gladstone,
1724—the two former being elected. Most of the
distinguished residents, and thre^-fourths of the tutors
and lecturers of the University, voted for the Chan¬
cellor of the Exchequer, and his rejection was entirely
due to the non-residents, the bigotry of the country
vicarage being called into play. It was now felt that
henceforth Mr. Gladstone must belong to the country,
and not to the University. Driven from Oxford, he
went down to South Lancashire. Appearing at the
Free Trade Hall, Manchester, he used the now
famous phrage, "At last, my friends, I am come
among you, and I am come among you unmuzzled."
He next addressed an immense audience in the
Liverpool Amphitheatre. There was something of
pathos in his references to Oxford, and he said that if
he had clung to the representation of the University
with desperate fondness, it was because he would not
desert a post to which he seemed to have been called.
But he had now been dismissed from it, not by
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 93
academical, but by political agencies. Together with
the Hon. A. Egerton and Mr. Turner (Conservatives),
Mr. Gladstone was returned for his native division,
and he was at the head of the poll in Manchester,
Liverpool, and all the large towns.
The Government was strengthened by the elections
generally, but in the autumn the Liberal party
sustained a severe loss by the death of Lord Palmer-
ston. The Government was now reconstructed, with
Earl Russell as Premier, and Mr. Gladstone, who was
still Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Leader in the
Lower House. On the 3rd of May, 1866, Mr. Glad¬
stone brought forward what was destined to be his
last Budget for some years. There was a surplus of
^1,350,000, which allowed a further and considerable
reduction of taxation. The Chancellor also brought
forward a plan for the conversion of a portion of the
National Debt into terminable annuities, with a view
to its gradual liquidation, but after the bill had
passed the second reading its further progress was
arrested in consequence of a change of Ministry.
The condition of Ireland was very grave at this
time, and as apprehensions were indulged in
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with regard to the Fenians, a bill suspending the
Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland was brought in and
passed. Explaining the necessity for this measure,
Mr. Gladstone said the Government were ready at
the fitting time to consider any measures that might
be proposed for the benefit of Ireland, but it was the
single duty of the House at the moment to strengthen
the hands of the Executive in the preservation of law
and order. Ministers and their successors were sub¬
sequently justified by events for the precautionary
measures which they took in Ireland in 1866-7.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 95
CHAPTER VIII.
parliamentary reform and ireland.
Parliamentary Reform was now grappled with in
an earnest spirit by the Russell-Gladstone Ministry.
The history of this important question had been a
very chequered one. Various Governments had
essayed to settle it, but from a variety of causes all
their efforts had proved abortive. The friends of
Reform, indeed, had charged several Administrations
with betraying the people on this subject. To wipe
away this reproach, and to secure a settlement which
should have some degree of permanence, the Govern¬
ment of Earl Russell and Mr. Gladstone resolved
upon introducing a measure based on a liberal
extension of the suffrage.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer brought forward
the Reform scheme in the House of Commons 011
the 12th of March. It was a Franchise Bill alone, time
only permitting of the settlement of this main branch
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The Life of the
of the question. It proposed to create an occupation
franchise in counties, including houses at ^14 rental ;
to establish a savings-banks franchise; a lodger
franchise, and other new franchises, together with
greater facilities for voters; and it was calculated
that altogether the number of new electors of all
classes would be 400,000. Mr. Gladstone asked
that if issue was taken adversely upon the bill, it
should be a plain and direct issue.
Although the bill satisfied the great majority of the
Liberal party, Mr. Robert Lowe, while belonging to
that party, became one of its most powerful assailants,
and delivered the most eloquent speeches against
the measure. His ill-concealed enmity to the work¬
ing classes made him in consequence extremely un¬
popular with the country. Mr. Horsman also joined
the Conservatives in opposing the bill, and Mr. Bright
fastened upon the small party led by Messrs. Lowe
and Horsman the epithet of " Adullamites." Earl
Grosvenor proposed a hostile amendment on the
second reading, and the debate that ensued was one
of the most remarkable for power and eloquence ever
listened to in the House of Commons. It continued
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 97
for eight nights. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
moved the second reading, and besought the House
" to be wise, and above all to be wise in time."
Vehement speeches in opposition were made by Lord
Stanley, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Mr. Lowe, and Mr.
Disraeli; but Mr. Stuart Mill and Mr. Bright
rendered able support to the bill. Mr. Gladstone
wound up the debate in his best vein. After replying
to Mr. Lowe's charges against the working classes,
and Mr. Disraeli's taunts against himself for his
change of view with regard to Reform, he closed
with this impassioned peroration :—" Sir, we are
assailed; this bill is in a state of crisis and peril, and
the Government along with it. We stand or fall with
it, as has been declared by my noble friend Lord
Russell. We Stand with it now; we may fall with it
a short time hence. If we do so fall, we, or others in
our places, shall rise with it hereafter. I shall not
attempt to measure with precision the forces that are
to be arrayed against us in the coming issue. Perhaps
the great division of to-night is not the last that must
take place in the struggle. At some point of the
contest you may possibly succeed. You may drive
E
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The Life of the
us from our seats. You may bury the bill that we
have introduced, but we will write upon its grave¬
stone for an epitaph this line, with certain confidence
in its fulfilment—
'Exoriare aliquis nostris ex'ossibus ultorf
You cannot fight against the future. Time is on our
side. The great social forces which move onwards
in their might and majesty, and which the tumult of
our debates does not for a moment impede or disturb
—those great social forces are against you: they are
marshalled on our side; and the banner which we
now carry in this fight, though perhaps at some
moment it may droop over our sinking heads, yet it
soon again will float in the eye of Heaven, and it will
be borne by the firm hands of the united people of
the three kingdoms, perhaps not to an easy, but to a
certain and to a not far distant victory."
The division was taken amid great excitement, but
when the numbers were declared there was found to
be a majority of 5 in favour of the Government, the
ayes being 318, and the noes 313. Further dangers
which threatened the bill -were also overcome; but on
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 99
the 18th of June it was unexpectedly wrecked on a
motion by Lord Dunkellin, substituting a ratal instead
of a rental basis for the borough franchise. The
Government regarded this as a vital point, threw up
their measure, and resigned office. Lord Derby
formed a Conservative Administration; but the failure
of the Reform legislation led to great dissatisfaction in
London and throughout the country. A great demon¬
stration was held in Trafalgar Square, and a serious
riot occurred in Hyde Park, in consequence of the
Government prohibition of the meeting of the Reform
League. Reform demonstrations continued during
the whole of the recess. Mr. Gladstone spoke
at Salisbury, and Mr. Bright delivered stirring
addresses at Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and
Glasgow.
It became evident by the opening of the session, in
February, 1867, that the Tory Government would be
compelled to deal with the question. Indeed, in the
debate on the Address, Mr. Gladstone plainly inti¬
mated that the interests of the country demanded a
speedy settlement of the matter. Mr. Disraeli accord¬
ingly announced that he and his colleagues would
e 2
IOO
endeavour to bring the question to a settlement, and
that it was intended to proceed by way of resolutions.
A simple bill being demanded, however, he abandoned
his original plan, and brought in a measure which
caused the resignation of three members of the
Ministry—General Peel, the Earl of Carnarvon, and
Lord Cranborne (now Marquis of Salisbury). The
principles of the scheme were that in boroughs the
electors should be all who paid rates, or 205-. in direct
taxes; the franchise would also be extended to certain
classes qualified by education, or by the possession of
a stated amount in the Funds or savings banks ; rated
householders to have a second vote. There would
be a redistribution of seats, and to guard against the
power of mere numbers it was proposed to establish a
system of checks, based on residence, rating, and dual
voting. Mr. Gladstone strongly condemned these
securities. A reform measure was eventually carried,
but one of a much more sweeping character than that
originally introduced. As Lord Cranborne remarked,
the bill had been modified at the dictation of Mr.
Gladstone, who demanded, first, the lodger franchise,
which had been given; secondly, the aboljtiop of
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 101
distinctions between compounders and non-com-
pounders, which had been conceded; as had, thirdly,
a provision to prevent traffic in votes ; fourthly, the
omission of the taxing franchise ; fifthly, the omission
of the dual vote; sixthly, the enlargement of the dis¬
tribution of seats; seventhly, the reduction of the
county franchise; eighthly, the omission of voting
papers: ninthly, and tenthly, the omission of the
educational and savings banks franchises. Owing to
the exertions of Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright, the
bill, as finally passed, established household suffrage
pure and simple.
In February, 1868, Mr. Disraeli succeeded to the
Premiership on the retirement of Lord Derby. The
acceptance of Mr. Gladstone's Compulsory Church
Rates Abolition Bill, introduced this session, led to the
settlement of a long-agitated question. On the 16th
of March, Mr. Gladstone struck the first blow in that
struggle which was to end in the disestablishment of
the Irish Church. During the debate on a motion by
Mr. Maguire, he made the important declaration that
religious equality must be established in Ireland,
difficult as the operation might be. Observing that
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the Irish Church question pressed for immediate
settlement, he added:—" If we are prudent men, I
hope we shall endeavour as far as in us lies to make
some provision for a contingent, a doubtful, and
probably a dangerous future. If we be chivalrous
men, I trust we shall endeavour to wipe away all those
stains which the civilised world has for ages seen, or
seemed to see, on the shield of England in her treat¬
ment of Ireland. If we be compassionate men, I
hope we shall now, once for all, listen to the tale
of woe which comes from her, and the reality
of which, if not its justice, is testified by the con¬
tinuous emigration of her people,—that we shall
endeavour to—
' Pluck from her memory a rooted sorrow,
And raze the written troubles from her brain.'
But, above all, if we be just men, we shall go forward
in the name of truth and right, bearing this in mind—
that, when the case is proved, and the hour is come,
justice delayed is justice denied."
Mr. Gladstone's declaration became the basis of
action for the Liberal party, and the country speedily
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 103
took up the cause of disestablishment. Following up
the policy he had indicated, Mr. Gladstone brought
in a series of resolutions affirming that, in the opinion
of the House, the time had come when the Church of
Ireland should cease to exist as an establishment,
and moving that an address be presented to Her
Majesty praying her to place at the disposal of
Parliament her interest in the temporalities of the
Irish Church. Lord Stanley met the resolutions with
an amendment to the effect that the question should
be reserved for a new Parliament. Battle was joined
on the 30th of March, and the speaking on both sides
was very able, though the Opposition claimed the
weight of eloquence. Mr. Gladstone's speech in
opening the debate has always been regarded as one
of the greatest of his Parliamentary orations, and we
therefore reproduce its splendid conclusion in extenso,
as follows :—" There are many who think that to lay
hands upon the national Church Establishment of a
country is a profane and unhallowed act. I respect
that feeling. I sympathise with it. I sympathise
with it while I think it my duty to overcome and
repress it. But if it be an error, it is an error entitled
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to respect. There is something in the idea of a
national establishment of religion, of a solemn appro¬
priation of a part of the Commonwealth for conferring
upon all who are ready to receive it what we know to
be an inestimable benefit; of saving that portion of
the inheritance from private selfishness, in order to
extract from it, if we can, pure and unmixed ad¬
vantages of the highest order for the population at
large. There is something in this so attractive that it
is an image that must always command the homage
of the many. It is somewhat like the kingly ghost in
* Hamlet,' of which one of the characters of Shake¬
speare says:—
' We do it wrong, being so majestical,
To offer it the show of violence ;
For it is, as the air, invulnerable,
And our vain blows malicious mockery.'
But, sir, this is to view a religious establishment upon
one side, only upon what I may call the ethereal side.
It has likewise a side of earth; and here I cannot do
better than quote some lines written by the present
Archbishop of Dublin, at a time when his genius was
devoted to the muses.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 105
He said, in speaking of mankind :
' We who did our lineage high
Draw from beyond the starry sky,
Are yet upon the other side,
To earth and to its dust allied.'
And so the Church Establishment, regarded in its
theory and in its aim, is beautiful and attractive. Yet
what is it but an appropriation of public property, an
appropriation of the fruits of labour and of skill to
certain purposes, and unless these purposes are ful¬
filled, that appropriation cannot be justified. There¬
fore, Sir, I cannot but feel that we must set aside
fears which thrust themselves upon the imagination,
and act upon the sober dictates of our judgment. I
think it has been shown that the cause for action is
strong—not for precipitate action, not for action
beyond our powers, but for such action as the
opportunities of the times and the condition of Parlia¬
ment, if there be but a ready will, will amply and
easily admit of. If I am asked as to my expectations
of the issue of this struggle, I begin frankly by avowing
that I, for one, would not have entered into it unless
I believed that the final hour was about to sound—
' Venit summa dies et ineluctabile fahtm. '
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The Life of the
And I hope that the noble lord will forgive me if I
say that before Friday last I thought that the thread
of the remaining life of the Irish Established Church
was short, but that since Friday last, when at half-
past four o'clock in the afternoon the noble lord stood
at that table, I have regarded it as being shorter still.
The issue is not in our hands. What we had and
have to do is to consider well and deeply before we
take the first step in an engagement such as this; but
having entered into the controversy, there and then to
acquit ourselves like men, and to use every effort to
remove what still remains of the scandals and calami¬
ties in the relations which exist between England and
Ireland, and to use our best efforts at least to fill up
with the cement of human concord the noble fabric of
the British Empire."
Mr. Gladstone's resolutions were carried by a
majority of 56. The Queen, having replied to the
address that she would not suffer her interests to
stand in the way of any measures contemplated by
Parliament, Mr. Gladstone brought in his Irish Church
Suspensory Bill, which was adopted by the Commons
but rejected by the Lords. The question was then
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 107
remitted to the constituencies, the general election in
the following November being mainly fought out upon
this question. A great Liberal majority was returned,
which was placed at 115; but several signal individual
defeats were sustained. Mr. Gladstone himself was
rejected by South Lancashire, but received an
invitation from Greenwich, where he was most warmly
received by the electors, and returned for that borough
by a large majority over his Conservative opponents.
Mr. Disraeli resigned office, and Mr. Gladstone
became Prime Minister, Mr. Bright joining his
Cabinet as President of the Board of Trade.
A remarkable era in legislation was now inaugu¬
rated. On the 1 st of March, 1869, Mr. Gladstone
introduced his Irish Church Disestablishment Bill in
a House crowded to its utmost capacity. In a speech
of three hours' duration he explained in detail his
masterly and comprehensive scheme, dealing with the
monetary affairs of the Church, its spiritual interests,
and the best method for its future reorganization.
With this peroration, he concluded his striking and
luminous address :—" I do not know in what country
so great a change, so great a transition, has been
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The Life of the
proposed for the ministers of a religious communion
who have enjoyed for many ages the preferred position
of an Established Church. I can well understand
that to many in the Irish Establishment such a change
appears to be nothing less than ruin and destruction;
from the height on which they now stand the future
is to them an abyss, and their fears recall the words,
used in King Lear, when Edgar endeavours to
persuade Gloster that he has fallen over the cliffs of
Dover, and says:—
' Ten masts at each make not the altitude
Which thou hast perpendicularly fallen ;
Thy life's a miracle !'
And yet but a little while after the old man is relieved
from his delusion, and finds he has not fallen at all. •
So I trust that when, instead of the fictitious and
adventitious aid on which we have too long taught
the Irish Establishment to lean, it should come to
place its trust in its own resources, in its own great
mission, in all that it can draw from the energy of its
ministers and its members, and the high hopes and
promises of the gospel that it teaches, it will find that
it has entered upon a new era of existence—an era
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 109
bright with love and potent for good. At any rate, I
think the day has certainly come when an end is
finally to be put to that union, not between the
Church and the religious association, but between the
Establishment and the State, which was commenced
under circumstances little auspicious, and has endured
to be a source of unhappiness to Ireland, and of dis¬
credit and scandal to England. There is more to say.
This measure is in every sense a great measure—great
in its principles, great in the multitude of its dry,
technical, but interesting details, and great as a testing
measure : for it will show for one and all of us of
what metal we are made. Upon us all it brings a
great responsibility—great and foremost to those who
occupy this bench. We are especially chargeable,
nay, deeply guilty, if we have either dishonestly, as
some think, or even prematurely or unwisely, chal¬
lenged so gigantic an issue. I know well the punish¬
ments that follow rashness in public affairs, and that
ought to fall upon these men, these Phaetons of
politics, who, with hands unequal to the task, attempt
to drive the chariot of the sun. But the responsi¬
bility, though heavy, does not exclusively press upon
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The Life of the
us : it presses upon every man who has to take part
in the discussion and decision upon this bill. Every
man approaches the discussion under the most solemn
obligations to raise the level of his vision, and expand
its scope in proportion with the greatness of the
matter in hand. The working of our constitutional
government itself is upon its trial, for I do not believe
there ever was a time when the wheels of legislative
machinery were set in motion under conditions of
peace and order, or constitutional regularity, to deal
with a question greater or more profound. And more
especially, Sir, is the credit and fame of this great
assembly involved—this assembly which has inherited
through many ages the accumulated honours of bril¬
liant triumphs, of peaceful but courageous legislation,
and which is now called upon to address itself to a task
that would, indeed, have demanded all the best energies
of the very best among your fathers, and your an¬
cestors. I believe it will prove to be worthy of the
task. Should it fail, even the fame of the House of
Commons will suffer disparagement; should it suc¬
ceed, even that fame, I venture to say, will receive
no small, no insensible addition. I must not ask
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. hi
gentlemen opposite to concur in this view, emboldened
as I am by the kindness they have shown me in
listening with patience to a statement which could
not have been other than tedious; but I pray them
to bear with me for a moment, while for myself
and my colleagues, I say we are sanguine of the issue.
We believe, and for my part I am deeply convinced,
that when the final consummation shall arrive, and
when the words are spoken that shall give the force of
law to the work embodied in this measure—the work of
peace and justice—these words will be echoed upon
every shore where the name of Ireland, or the name
of Great Britain has been heard, and the answer
to them will come back in the approving verdict of
civilised mankind."
All through the various stages of the bill, the
Government were supported by large majorities;
and Mr. Bright's splendid eloquence did much for
the measure. Mr. Disraeli moved the rejection of
the bill on the second reading, but he was vigorously
answered by Mr, Bright. Sir Roundell Palmer and
Mr. Gathorne Hardy raised a number of constitutional
objections, but Mr. Gladstone completely exposed
I I 2
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their fallacious nature, and showed that the bill would
in no way touch the Royal supremacy. Then he
said, in conclusion :—
" As the clock points rapidly towards the dawn,
so are rapidly flowing out the years, the months,
the days, that remain to the existence of the Irish
Established Church . . . . Not now are we opening
this great question. Opened, perhaps, it was when
the Parliament which expired last year pronounced
upon it that emphatic judgment which can never be
recalled. Opened it was, further, when in the months
of autumn the discussions which were held in every
quarter of the country turned mainly on the subject
of the Irish Church. Prosecuted another stage it
was, when the completed elections discovered to us
a manifestation of the national verdict more emphatic
than, with the rarest exceptions, has been witnessed
during the whole of our Parliamentary history. The
good cause was further advanced towards its triumphant
issue when the silent acknowledgment of the late
Government, that they declined to contest the ques¬
tion, was given by their retirement from office, and
their choosing a less responsible position, from which
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 113
to carry on a more desultory warfare against the policy
which they had in the previous session unsuccessfully
attempted to resist. Another blow will soon be struck
in the same good cause, and I will not intercept it
one single moment more."
On a division, Ministers had an overwhelming
majority, the numbers being :—For the second read¬
ing, 368; against, 250. The majority on the third
reading was almost equally large, and the bill passed,
and went up to the Lords. Stormy debates occurred
in the Upper Chamber, but the Lords did not venture
to thwart the clearly-expressed will of the people; and
the measure, which has been described as the most
remarkable legislative achievement of modern times,
passed into law.
The session of 1870 was rendered memorable by
the passing of a scarcely less important and popular
measure—the Irish Land Bill. It was put forward as
the chief claim on behalf of Mr. Gladstone's Land
Scheme, that while it ensured for the tenant security
of holding, it did not confiscate a single valuable right
of the Irish landowner. The bill was founded on the
belief that free contract " lies at the root of every
The Life of the
healthy condition of society." The tenant was secured
against oppression on the part of his landlord, and
the landlord was secured legally against loss or detri¬
ment to his property. During the same session another
great measure, the Elementary Education Act, pro¬
viding for the establishment of School Boards, and
securing the benefits of education for the poor, was
passed. Some other acts of public importance
became law, while the halfpenny postage for news¬
papers, and the halfpenny postcards were among
the minor public advantages accruing from a very
memorable session.
The Army occupied a great part of the attention
of Parliament in 1871, when Mr. Gladstone adopted
the bold policy of issuing a Royal Warrant for the
Abolition of Purchase. This step was warmly ap¬
proved by the country, but censured by the House
of Lords, though it was sanctioned by such legal and
constitutional authorities as Sir Roundell Palmer.
The Treaty of Washington was also concluded to the
satisfaction of both countries. At Blackheath Mr.
Gladstone delivered a spirited address in defence of the
general policy of the Government; but signs were not
Rt. Hon. TV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 115
wanting that the popularity of the Ministry was waning.
Men began to complain that they were being reformed
off their feet, and that they must really have time to
draw their breath. Not long afterwards the Govern¬
ment suffered much damage by an ecclesiastical
appointment, which came to be spoken of as " the
Ewelme Scandal," by Sir Robert Collier's elevation
to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and
by other matters. Yet great legislative activity went
forward; and in the session of 1872 the Ballot Bill
was carried. The Alabama claims were also finally
and satisfactorily adjusted, though not without a
powerful protest on some points by our arbitrator,
Sir Alex. Cockburn. Some valuable domestic Acts
were passed, dealing with the public health, licensing;
adulteration, and the regulation of mines. An Edu¬
cation Act for Scotland was likewise carried; and in
the following session the greatest legal reforms which
had been accomplished for generations were secured
by the passing of the Supreme Judicature Act.
As Ireland had been the glory of Mr. Gladstone's
first Administration, so it was destined to be the
immediate means of its overthrow. In the session
The Life of the
of 1873 Premier endeavoured to add to his
former legislative triumphs by grappling with the
Irish University question. He introduced a large
and comprehensive measure ; but although it was
favourably received in the outset, a hostile feeling
soon began to manifest itself. On the nth of March,
and just before the division on the second reading,
Mr. Gladstone pleaded powerfully for the measure.
"If," he observed, "the labours of 1869 and 1870
are to be forgotten in Ireland—if, where we have
earnestly sought and toiled for peace, we find only
contention—if our tenders of relief are thrust aside
with scorn—let us still remember that there is a voice
which is not heard in the crackling of the fire, or in
the roaring of the whirlwind or the storm, but which
will and must be heard when they have passed away
—the still small voice of justice. To mete out justice
to Ireland, according to the best view that, with
human infirmity, we could form, has been the work
—I will almost say the sacred work—of this Parlia¬
ment. Having put our hand to the plough, let us
not turn back. Let not what we think the fault or
perverseness of those whom we are attempting to
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 117
assist have the slightest effect in turning us, even by
a hair's-breadth, from the path on which we have
entered. As we have begun, so let us persevere
even to the end, and with firm and resolute hand let
us efface from the law and the practice of the country
the last—for I believe it is the last—of the religious
and social grievances of Ireland."
This stirring appeal was made in vain; the bill
was lost by the narrow majority of three votes, 287
being recorded against, and 284 in favour of the
measure. Mr. Gladstone consequently resigned;
but Mr. Disraeli unconditionally declined to take
office with a majority of the House of Commons
against him. In the House of Commons Mr. Glad¬
stone read an extract from a letter he had addressed
to her Majesty, in which he contended that his rival's
summary refusal to accept office was contrary to
precedent and Parliamentary usage. But, under the
extraordinary circumstances, he said, the late Govern¬
ment had consented to resume office, and they would
endeavour to proceed, both with regard to legislation
and administration, upon the same principles as those
which had heretofore regulated their conduct.
T I 8
The Life of the
As the Recess did not see the Ministry at all
strengthened in the country, in January, 1874, Mr.
Gladstone issued a manifesto, dissolving Parliament.
In this important document he detailed the reasons
for taking so decisive a step, the chief of which was
that the welfare of the country could never be
effectually promoted by a Government that was not
invested with adequate authority. He was able to
lay before the nation a distinguished record of Liberal
services and measures; but the country desired a
change. Many powerful interests were allied against
the Ministry, the clergy and the publicans being
amongst the most hostile. The Conservatives were
successful at the polling-booths, returning 349 mem¬
bers to 303 returned by the Liberals. There was
thus a clear Tory majority of 46 votes. Mr. Glad¬
stone was again returned for Greenwich, though with
not so good a position on the poll as before.
When the verdict ot the constituencies became
known, Mr. Gladstone tendered his resignation to
the Queen. Thus was overthrown one of the greatest
Administrations of the century; indeed, it may be
doubted whether any other English Ministry was
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 119
ever able to show such a splendid record of great
legislative acts within so short a period. There was
not one measure,. but a dozen, which would have
shed lustre upon any Government; and the six years
of Mr. Gladstone's first Premiership are well entitled
to the epithet which has been accorded to them of
"the Golden Age of Liberalism."
i 20
The Life of the
CHAPTER IX.
political controversy and the eastern question.
In March, 1874, Mr. Gladstone wrote a letter to
Earl Granville, tentatively resigning the leadership of
the Liberal party, on the ground that he needed rest
from his public labours. But he quickly re-appeared
in the House of Commons, and among the measures
which he vigorously opposed was the Public Worship
Regulation Bill. This Bill provided that to the
bishops should be given that directory power as to
worship which, from sundry places in the Canons and
in the Prayer Book, would seem to have been intended
in the constitution of the Church. He was to be
guided by the advice of a board of assessors, clerical
and lay. Mr. Gladstone attacked the bill with a
power and vehemence which astonished the House.
His great objection to it was its interference with
liberty, and with the variety of customs which had
grown up in different parts of the country. To enforce
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M".P. 121
strict uniformity would be oppressive and inconve¬
nient. The bill became law, however, though it has
very largely proved inoperative.
Mr. Gladstone also opposed the Endowed Schools
Act Amendment Bill, which practically gave to the
Church of England the control of schools that were
thrown open to the whole nation by the policy of the
last Parliament. So great a storm was raised over
this reactionary bill that Mr. Disraeli was obliged to
modify its provisions considerably before it could
become law. About this time we find Mr. Gladstone
delivering interesting addresses on educational sub¬
jects at Liverpool College, the Buckley Institute, and
the well-known Nonconformist College at Mill Hill.
Early in January, 1875, he wrote a second letter to
Lord Granville definitely resigning the Liberal leader¬
ship, and during his temporary withdrawal his place
was occupied by Lord Hartington. Shortly afterwards
he plunged with surprising polemical vigour into
ecclesiastical controversy. In an essay entitled, What
is Ritualism ? he severely attacked the Romish
Church, which no one could now join "without re¬
nouncing his moral and mental freedom, and placing
122
The Life of the
his civil loyalty and duty at the mercy of another."
"Rome," he said, "had refurbished and paraded anew
every rusty tool she was fondly thought to have dis¬
used ; and she had equally repudiated modern thought
and ancient history." In reply to numerous criticisms,
the writer issued a second pamphlet showing that the
Church of England was well worth preserving; and in
answer to his Roman Catholic critics he issued an
essay on The Vatican Decrees in their bearing on Civil
Allegiance; a Political Expostulation. He defended
his previous propositions, but this new pamphlet drew
forth replies from most of the eminent English
Catholics, who were not altogether at one, however,
on the subject of the Vatican Decrees. Dealing yet
again with the Ultramontanes, Mr. Gladstone wrote a
further brochure, Vaticanism : an Answer to Replies
and Reproofs. The controversy excited widespread
interest, and lengthened discussions were conducted
in the daily, weekly, and monthly press.
In a work published in 1862, entitled Twe?ity Years
of Financial Policy, Sir Stafford Northcote paid a
striking tribute to Mr. Gladstone's skilful management
of the national finances. He showed that had not'
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, ]\f.P. 123
events occurred which led to a large increase in our
expenditure before the arrival of 1860, the calculations
made in Mr. Gladstone's first Budget in 1853 would
have been absolutely verified. England could not
have borne the strain of the Crimean War if it had
not been for the life which Sir Robert Peel first
infused, and which Mr. Gladstone afterwards renewed,
in our fiscal system, and but for which 1854 might
have found us struggling with an overwhelming defi¬
ciency, or inextricably entangled in the toils which
must attend a reconstruction of the income-tax. In
thirteen years during which the Liberals held office,
between 1857 and 1878, and when Mr. Gladstone was
almost solely responsible for the national finances,
they repealed or reduced taxes to the amount of
^42,816,329, and laid on taxes to the amount of only
,£3,050,086, showing a balance in their favour of
£39,766,243. The Conservatives, in their nine years
of power during the same period, reduced taxation by
,-£6,270,123 only; while they imposed new taxes to
the amount of £12,374,050, thus leaving a balance
against them of £6,103,927.
The Eastern Question again brought the Liberal
124
The Life of the
leader into the domain of politics. The spirit of the
war-horse could not be quenched, and the country
thrilled with his fiery condemnation of the Bulgarian
massacres. His pamphlet entitled Bulgarian Horrors
and the Question of the East, had an enormous
circulation. Mr. Gladstone called for a stop to be
put to the anarchy, the misrule, and the bloodshed in
Bulgaria; and he demanded that the Ottoman rule
should be excluded, not only from Bosnia and the
Herzegovina, but also from Bulgaria. The Turks
must clear out, " bag and baggage," from the province
they had desolated and profaned. At Blackheath
and St. James's Hall, he reviewed with severity the
Government policy on the Eastern question.
The venue was then transferred to the House of
Commons. In the course of a debate which took
place in February, 1877, Mr. Gladstone administered
a scathing rebuke to Mr. Chaplin for his taunt that he
shrank from meeting his opponents in fair fight, and
promised him that neither he nor his friends should
have reason to complain of his reticence. Then he
addressed himself to the Eastern question and the
Government policy in a masterly speech, and one
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M*.P. 125
which again exhibited him in the light of the foremost
debater of his time. He closed his speech with this
general appeal for justice:—" We have, I think, the
most solemn and the greatest question to determine
that has come before Parliament in my time. It is
only under very rare circumstances that such a
question—the question of the East—can be fully
raised, fully developed and exhibited, and fully
brought home to the minds of men with that force,
with that command, with that absorbing power, which
it ought to exercise over them. In the original
entrance of the Turks into Europe, it may be said
to have been a turning point in human history. To
a great extent it continues to be the cardinal question,
the question which casts into the shade every other
question, and the question which is now brought
before the mind of the country far more fully than at
any period of our history, far more fully than even at
the time of the Crimean War, when we were pouring
forth our blood and treasure in what we thought to be
the cause of justice and right. And I endeavoured
to impress upon the minds of my audience at Taunton,
not a blind prejudice against this man or that, but a
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The Life of the
great watchfulness, and the duty of great activity. It
is the duty of every man to feel that he is bound for
himself, according to his opportunities, to examine
what belongs to this question, with regard to which it
can never be forgotten that we are those who set up
the power of Turkey in 1854; that we are those who
gave her the strength which has been exhibited in the
Bulgarian massacres; that we are those who made the
treaty arrangements that have secured her for twenty
years from almost a single hour of uneasiness brought
about by foreign intervention ; and that, therefore,
nothing can be greater and nothing deeper than our
responsibility in the matter. It is incumbent upon
us, one and all, that we do not allow any considera¬
tion, either of party or personal convenience, to
prevent us from endeavouring to the best of our
ability to discharge this great duty, that now, at
length, in the East has sprung up; and that in the
midst of this great opportunity, when all Europe has
been called to collective action, and when something
like European concert has been established—when
we learn the deep human interests that are involved
in every stage of the question—as far as England
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 127
least is concerned, every Englishman should strive
to the utmost of his might that 'justice shall be
done."
On the 24th of April, 1877, Russia declared war,
the Czar's manifesto assigning as reasons for the step
the refusal of guarantees by the Porte for the proposed
reforms, the failure of the Conference, and the rejec¬
tion of the Protocol signed on the previous 31st of
March. England, France, and Italy issued proclama¬
tions of neutrality on the 1st of May, and on the 7th
Mr. Gladstone initiated a great debate in the House
of Commons. He brought forward a series of resolu¬
tions which, as amended, expressed grave dissatisfac¬
tion with the policy of Turkey, and declared that she
had forfeited all claim to support, moral and material.
After reviewing the progress of events, Mr. Gladstone
asked whether, with regard to the great battle of
freedom against oppression then going on, we in
England could lay our hands upon our hearts, and
in the face of God and man say, " We have well and
sufficiently performed our part ?" He closed with
this fine appeal on behalf of the oppressed races :—
" Sir, there were other days when England was the
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The Life of the
hope of freedom. Wherever in the world a high
aspiration was entertained or a noble blow was struck,
it was to England that the eyes of the oppressed were
always turned—to this favourite, this darling home of
so much privilege and so much happiness, where the
people that had built up a noble edifice for themselves
would, it was well known, be ready to do what in them
lay to secure the benefit of the inestimable boon for
others. You talk to me of the established tradition
and policy in regard to Turkey. I appeal to an esta¬
blished tradition, older, wider, nobler far—a tradition
not which disregards British interests, but which teaches
you to seek the promotion of these interests in obey¬
ing the dictates of honour and justice. And, Sir,
what is to be the end of this ? Are we to dress up
the fantastic ideas some people entertain about this
policy and that policy in the garb of British interests,
and then with a new and base idolatry, fall down and
worship them ? Or are we to look not at the senti¬
ment, but at the hard facts of the case which Lord
Derby told us fifteen years ago—viz., that it is the
populations of those countries that will ultimately
possess them—that will ultimately determine their
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 129
abiding condition ? It is to this fact, this law, that
we should look. There is now before the world a
glorious prize. A portion of those unhappy people
are still as yet making an effort to retrieve what they
have lost so long, but have not ceased to love or to
desire. I speak of those in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Another portion—a band of heroes such as the world
has rarely seen—stand on the rocks of Montenegro,
and are ready now, as they have ever been during the
400 years of their exile from their fertile plains, to
sweep down from their fastnesses, and meet the Turks
at any odds for the re-establishment of justice and of
peace in those countries. Another portion still, the
5,000,000 of Bulgarians, cowed and beaten down to
the ground, hardly venturing to look upwards, even
to their Father in Heaven, have extended their hands
to you ; they have sent you their petition, they have
prayed for your help and protection. They have told
you that they do not seek alliance with Russia or
with any foreign Power, but that they seek to be
delivered from an intolerable burden of woe and
shame. That burden of woe and shame—the greatest
that exists on God's earth—is one that we thought
F
13°
The Life of the
united Europe was about to remove, but to removing
which, for the present, you seem to have no
efficacious means of offering even the smallest
practical contribution. But, Sir, the removal of that
load of woe and shame is a great and noble prize. It
is a prize well worth competing for. It is not yet too
late to try and win it. I believe there are more in
the Cabinet who would try to win it if they were free
to act on their own beliefs and aspirations. It is not
yet too late, I say, to become competitors for that
prize, but be assured that whether you mean to claim
for yourselves even a single leaf in that immortal
chaplet of renown, which will be the reward of true
labour in that cause, or whether you turn your backs
upon that cause and upon your own duty, I believe
for one that the knell of Turkish tyranny in these
provinces has sounded. So far as human eye can
judge, it is about to be destroyed. The destruction
may not come in the way or by the means that we
should choose ; but come this boon from what hands
it may, it will be a noble boon, and as a noble boon
will gladly be accepted by Christendom and the
world."
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 131
The Government having given assurances during
the debate that if an opportunity offered for inter¬
posing their good offices, they would not fail to avail
themselves of it, this satisfied a large party in the
House and the country; and when the division came
the first resolution was lost by 354 votes to 223.
Shortly after this debate, Mr. Gladstone visited
Birmingham, and addressed a meeting of 20,000
persons in Bingley Hall, dwelling on the Eastern
Question and the condition of the Liberal party.
Politics at this time entered into everything, and it
was not without significance that in the ensuing
November Mr. Gladstone was elected Lord Rector
of Glasgow University by the large number of 1153
votes as against 609 votes given for Sir S. Northcote.
The War in the East went disastrously for Turkey.
She was completely crippled by the fall of Kars and
Plevna, and the. Russian capture of the Schipka Pass;
and on the 23rd of January, 1878, the Porte agreed
to accept the bases of peace as submitted in writing
by the Grand Duke Nicholas. On the 30th of January,
at a meeting of Oxford undergraduates held to cele¬
brate the formation of a Liberal Palmerston Club,
f 2
132
The Life of the
Mr. Gladstone strongly condemned the sending of
the British Fleet into the Dardanelles, which he
feared was a breach of European law. He admitted
that for eighteen months he had played the part of
an agitator, and had sought day and night to counter¬
act what he believed to be the evil purposes of Lord
Beaconsfield. In February, the House of Commons
passed a vote of credit, but on the 3rd of March a
treaty of peace was signed between Russia and Turkey
at San Stefano.
Yet again in 1878 and 1879 the foreign policy of
Lord Beaconsfield found a sleepless critic in Mr.
Gladstone; but while the strength, the vehemence,
and the success of the oratory remained with the
latter, the votes of the House of Commons were with
the former. The member for Greenwich condemned
the despatch of Indian troops to Malta as unconsti¬
tutional, pointed out the dangers of the Ministerial
policy, described the Anglo-Turkish treaty as " an
insane covenant," denounced our new responsibilities
in Asiatic Turkey, adversely criticised the proposed
scientific frontier of India, and strongly condemned
the Afghan war. He also attacked the financial
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 133
policy of the Government, and had no difficulty in
planting many serious and damaging blows in this
direction. In December, 1878, a brief sitting of
Parliament was held, when Mr. Whitbread moved the
following amendment to the Address :—" That this
House disapproves the conduct of her Majesty's
Government, which has resulted in the war with
Afghanistan." Mr. Gladstone vigorously condemned
our irritating policy towards the Ameer, and closed
with these eloquent references to the historical and
moral aspects of the Afghan difficulty :—" You have
made this war in concealment from Parliament, in
reversal of the policy of every Indian and Home
Government that has existed for the last twenty-five
years, in contempt of the supplication of the Anteer,
and in defiance of the advice of your own agent; and
all for the sake of obtaining a scientific frontier. We
made war in error upon Afghanistan in 1838. To
err is human and pardonable. But we have erred a
second time upon the same ground, and with no
better justification. This error has been repeated in
the face of every warning conceivable and imaginable,
and in the face of an unequalled mass of authorities.
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The Life of the
May Heaven avert a repetition of the calamity which
befell our army in 1841. . . . I remember a beautiful
description of one of our modern poets of a great
battle-field during the Punic wars, in which he
observed that for the moment Nature was laid waste
and nothing but the tokens of carnage were left upon
the ground; but day by day and hour by hour she
began her kindly task, and removed one by one and
put out of sight those hideous tokens, and restored
the scene to order, to beauty, and to peace. It was
such a process that the Viceroys of India had been
carrying on for years in Afghanistan. I now ask—is
all this to be undone? The sword is drawn, and
misery is to come upon this unhappy country again.
The struggle may perhaps be short. God grant that
it may be short! God grant that it may not be
sharp ! But you, having once entered upon it, cannot
tell whether it will be short or long. You have again
brought in devastation and again created a necessity
which, I hope, will be met by other men, with
other minds, in happier days; that other viceroys and
other governments, but other viceroys especially—
such men as Canning, Lawrence, Mayo, and North-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 135
brook—will undo this evil work in which you are
now engaged. It cannot be undone in a moment,
although the torch of a madman may burn down an
edifice which it has taken the genius, the skill, the
labour, and the lavish prodigality of ages to erect."
The weight of argument was with the Opposition,
but the vote of censure was defeated by 328 votes
to 227,
Mr. Gladstone now resolved upon an important,
and, as his enemies thought, a hopeless step. In the
*
autumn of 1879 he retired from the representation of
Greenwich, and boldly decided to contest Midlothian.
Proceeding to Scotland in November, he accom¬
plished an oratorical and intellectual feat unparalleled
in the history of any statesman who had attained his
seventieth year. In the course of a fortnight he
addressed audiences numbering seventy-five thousand
people, while a quarter of a million persons took part
in the demonstration evoked by his visit. Perth,
Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, and
Edinburgh were amongst the places at which he
spoke; and on the 5th of December he addressed
an immense audience of nearly 6000 persons in St.
17,6
The Life of ihe
Andrew's Hall, Glasgow. On this occasion he dealt
chiefly with Cyprus, the Suez Canal, India, and
Afghanistan. " We had Afghanistan ruined," he
urged, "India not advanced, but thrown back in
government, subjected to heavy and unjust charges,
subjected to what might well be termed, in com¬
parison with the mild government of former years, a
system of oppression; and with all this we had at
home the law broken and the rights of Parliament
invaded."
The immediate dissolution of Parliament was an¬
nounced on the 8th of March, 1880, and the news
created great excitement throughout the country.
Mr. Gladstone began the electoral battle with a
speech in Marylebone, and then he left London upon
his second Midlothian campaign. On the 17th of
March he delivered his first address in the Music
Hall, Edinburgh, dwelling at great length upon
various questions of foreign policy. The speaker con¬
cluded with these references to his opponents and
himself:—
" I give them credit for patriotic motives; I give
them credit for those patriotic motives which are
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 137
incessantly and gratuitously denied to us. I believe
that we are all united, gentlemen—indeed, it would
be most unnatural if we were not—in a fond attach¬
ment, perhaps in something of a proud attachment,
to the great country to which we belong—to this
great empire which has committed to it a trust and
a function given from Providence, as special and
remarkable as ever was entrusted to any portion of
the family of man. Gentlemen, I feel when I speak
of that trust and that function that words fail me;
I cannot tell you what I think of the nobleness of
the inheritance that has descended upon us, of the
sacredness of the duty of maintaining it. I will not
condescend to make it a part of controversial politics.
It is part of my being, of my flesh and blood, of my
heart and soul. For those ends I have laboured
through my youth and manhood till my hairs are
grey. In that faith and practice I have lived, in that
faith and practice I will die."
Mr. Gladstone succeeded in ousting Lord Dalkeith,
son of the Duke of Buccleuch, from the representa¬
tion of Midlothian, the numbers at the close of the
poll being—Gladstone, 1,579; Dalkeith, 1,368. It
138
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was a great victory, and was celebrated by enthusiastic
rejoicings. Mr. Gladstone was also returned for
Leeds, but this seat was afterwards filled by his son,
Mr. Herbert Gladstone. An extraordinary wave of
Liberal feeling passed over the whole country. The
election resulted in the return of 351 Liberals, with
241 Conservatives and 61 Irish Home Rulers. The
Liberals had thus a majority of 50 over the Con¬
servatives and the Irish party combined.
Lord Beaconsfield resigned office, and at first the
Queen summoned Lord Granville and Lord Harring¬
ton to form a Ministry. They failed, for the country
was unanimous in pointing to the great Liberal chief¬
tain. Mr. Gladstone was the only possible Prime
Minister, and being sent for by the Queen, he was
quickly successful in forming a Cabinet. Among
those who took office with him were Lords Selborne,
Granville, Spencer, and Hartington, and Messrs.
Bright, Forster, Childers, Harcourt, Fawcett, and
Chamberlain. For general ability and debating power,
it was one of the strongest Governments of the
century.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 139
CHAPTER X.
mr. Gladstone's second administration.
The new Government and Parliament were early
called upon to deal with several perplexing questions.
Foremost amongst these was the Bradlaugh case. Mr.
Bradlaugh had been elected member for Northampton,
and on the third day of the swearing-in of members
he presented himself at the table with a written claim
to be allowed to make a solemn affirmation or decla¬
ration of allegiance, instead of taking the oath. This
he submitted he had a right to do by the Parliamen¬
tary Oaths Act of 1866. The Speaker declined to
adjudicate upon the claim, and the Government moved
the appointment of a Select Committee to consider
and report upon the construction of the statutes.
The Select Committee was carried, and it reported
against Mr. Bradlaugh's claim by a majority of one.
Without waiting to see whether the House would
ratify this decision or not, on the 21st May the hon.
140
The Life of the
member presented himself at the table of the House
for the purpose of taking the oath or having it admi¬
nistered to him. Sir H. Drummond-Wolff objected
to this, and Mr. Bradlaugh was ordered to withdraw
until the matter had been discussed. Mr. Gladstone
pointed out that in interfering with a member's statu¬
tory duty it was treading upon delicate ground, and
was liable at every step to have its proceedings ques¬
tioned. He therefore proposed to refer the question
of the competence of the House to a Select Com¬
mittee. After an exciting debate, a Select Committee
was appointed, with Mr. Spencer Walpole as chair¬
man. At the close of its sittings, the committee
reported by a large majority that Mr. Bradlaugh could
not be allowed to take the oath, but appended a
recommendation that he should be allowed to make
an affirmation at his own risk, subject, that is to say,
to the penalties recoverable for taking his seat without
the statutory qualification.
But the matter did not end here. On the 21st of
June, Mr. Labouchere, the sitting member for North¬
ampton, moved a resolution in the House of Commons
to the effect that Mr. Bradlaugh be permitted to make
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 141
an affirmation or a declaration, contending that he
had a statutory right to do so if he pleased. Sir H.
Giffard proposed as an amendment that Mr. Bradlaugh
be neither permitted to make an affirmation nor to
take the oath. In the debate which followed Mr.
Bright and Mr. Gladstone delivered striking and
eloquent speeches in favour of toleration. The
Premier's speech was especially remarkable for its
vigour and breadth of view. The Government, he
said, did not make a new law under which Mr. Brad-
laugh might be admitted because they believed the
existing law to be sufficient. Their duty was very
limited : it was to give the best advice in their power,
and then to leave the matter in the hands of the
House. He earnestly begged members not to mix
up this question with a religious discussion. If they
undertook to interfere for the first time with a gentle¬
man who proposed to fulfil at the table of the House
what he considered to be his statutory duty, they
might find themselves engaged in one of two conflicts,
into neither of which was he (Mr. Gladstone) disposed
to enter, not being led thereto by obligation or by
precedent. He was not willing to enter into conflict
142
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with the courts of law, nor was he willing to enter
into conflict with the constituency of Northampton.
Mr. Gladstone then recapitulated the facts in the case
of John Wilkes, showing how the House of Commons
had been compelled to acknowledge its proceedings
against him as invalid and unconstitutional. He also
traced the progress of religious toleration since
1828, and enforced the statutory right of every legally-
elected member to take the oath. Until he had done
so the House of Commons had no jurisdiction over
him.
Sir H. Giflard's amendment was carried by 275 to
230, but still the difficulty remained unsettled. Mr.
Bradlaugh went down to Northampton in 1881 and
was re-elected. Elected for the third time in 1882,
and again for the fourth time in 1884, he was still
excluded from his seat. He was sued for penalties,
for at length taking his seat, making an affirmation,
and voting in several divisions. The matter occupied
the attention of the law courts at several sittings. In
the general election of 1885 Mr. Bradlaugh was again
returned for Northampton, and at last he was allowed
to take his seat in the House of Commons.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 143
Mr. Forster's measure, known as the Irish Compen¬
sation for Disturbance Bill, occupied a considerable
share of the session of 1880. In consequence of the
rapid increase of evictions, this protective measure
had become absolutely necessary in the interests of
the Irish tenants. After prolonged debates, the Bill
passed the Commons, but it was thrown out in the
Lords by 282 to 51 votes.
The great pressure of his public duties and respon¬
sibilities began to tell upon Mr. Gladstone, and
towards the close of the session he was prostrated by
an attack of fever. A great outburst of popular
sympathy was manifested, and frequent messages were
received from the Queen and many foreign potentates
and celebrities. The Premier's large store of vital
energy brought him through his dangerous illness,
and on approaching convalescence he took a sea
voyage round the entire coast of Great Britain, in
Sir Donald Currie's steamer the Grantully Castle.
On his return to London he had almost recovered his
accustomed health.
The session of 1881 was almost exclusively an
Irish session. In consequence of the disturbed state
144
The Life of the
of Ireland, a Coercion Act had become necessary,
though such a measure was naturally distasteful to
Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues. Property and life
had become insecure, however, and there was a start¬
ling increase of agrarian crime. But while passing a
Coercion Act, Mr. Gladstone accompanied it by a
great and beneficial measure—a second Irish Land
Bill. This measure instituted a court for the purpose
of dealing with the differences between landlord and
tenant. Appeal to it would not be compulsory, but
optional. Every tenant in Ireland would have a right
to go into the court to have fixed for his holding " a
judicial rent," which, when fixed, would endure for
fifteen years, during which time there could be no
eviction of the tenant except for specific breach of
certain specific covenants or non-payment of rent.
There would be no power of resumption on the part
of the landlord during that period, even with the
leave of the court, and the landlord's remedy would
take the form of a compulsory sale of the tenant-right.
At the conclusion of the statutory term of fifteen
years, application might be made to the court for a
renewal of tenancy toties quoties. If it were renewed,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 145
the conditions as to eviction would remain, but the
landlord would have a pre-emption of the tenant's
right if he wished to sell. The second part of .the
Bill provided for powers on the part of the Land
Commission to assist tenants to purchase their hold¬
ings, and purchase estates from willing landlords for
the purpose of re-selling them, where three-fourths of
the tenants were ready to buy. The Irish Land Bill, one
of the greatest among the great measures passed by
Mr. Gladstone, became law on the 23rd of August.
The Premier's ancient political antagonist, Lord
Beaconsfield, died on the 19th of April, 1881. Mr.
Gladstone proposed a public funeral in Westminster
Abbey, but this was declined, in accordance with the
terms of his lordship's will. The Premier then pro¬
posed that a monument should be erected in West¬
minster Abbey to the deceased earl, and although this
was opposed by a section of the Liberal party on the
ground of Lord Beaconsfield's foreign policy, the pro¬
posal was carried by 380 votes to 54.
Mr. Gladstone paid a visit to Leeds in October,
1881, and delivered several important addresses on
subjects which then absorbed the public attention,
146 The Life of the
especially dealing with the land question, local govern¬
ment, and Free Trade versus Fair Trade. A few
days after his return to London, Mr. Gladstone
received an address from the Corporation, presented
by the Recorder at the Guildhall. In his reply, after
some personal references, the Premier touched upon
Irish parliamentary obstruction, the condition of the
sister country (announcing incidentally the arrest of
Mr. Parnell), local government in Ireland, and the
position of affairs in South Africa.
The session of 1882 was one of unusual interest
and excitement. Early in May, all classes of the
community were overwhelmed with horror at the news
of the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish (the
new Chief Secretary) and Mr. Burke (Under-Secre¬
tary) in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. On behalf of the
Government, Sir William Harcourt brought forward a
Prevention of Crimes Bill of a very stringent character.
During the debates, warm discussions arose over an
" understanding " called " the Kilmainham Compact,"
but Mr. Gladstone vindicated the Ministry in regard
to its alleged negotiations with Mr. Parnell. The
Crimes Bill was directed against secret societies and
Rt. Hon, W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 147
illegal combinations, but the Irish members stoutly
contested it, although they had condemned the Phoenix
Park crime as the work of American conspirators.
Mr. Bright, who was frequently attacked for supporting
the bill, explained that his doctrine that " Force is no
remedy," was intended to apply not to outrages but
to grievances. In the course of an all-night sitting
on the 29th of June, Mr. Parnell and fifteen of his
followers were suspended for systematic obstruction.
Eventually, the bill was carried through both Houses,
and received the royal assent on the 12th of
July-
A crisis nearly arose between the Lords and the
Commons over the Irish Arrears Bill, introduced by
the Premier. This bill adopted the principle of gift
and compulsion, instead of that of loan and voluntary
arrangement, and proposed to give either landlord
or tenant power to apply to the Land Court, under
certain conditions, for carrying out a composition with
the aid of public funds. Lord Salisbury endeavoured
to deprive the tenant of the right , to apply to the
court without the landlord's consent. The peers at
first accepted this amendment, but as the Government
148
The Life of the
declared that it would be fatal to the bill, the Lords
gave way, and the bill became law.
Mr. Gladstone's Budget this year had, as was to be
expected, no novel feature to offer in the way of
financial reform. There was a vote of credit to meet,
for the Egyptian expedition, and it was proposed to
do this by an addition to the income-tax, making it
sixpence-halfpenny in the pound for the whole
year. The Chancellor's financial propositions were
agreed to.
In July, 1882, Mr. Bright retired from the Govern¬
ment, on the ground that it had interfered by force of
arms in Egypt, and directed the bombardment of
Alexandria. Mr. Gladstone denied that the Ministry
were at war with Egypt, and stated that the measures
taken at Alexandria were strictly measures of self-
defence. In justifying his resignation, Mr. Bright
said there had been a manifest violation of the moral
law; but the Premier, while agreeing with his late
colleague generally on the question of the moral law,
differed from him as to this particular application of
it. Speaking on Egyptian affairs at the Lord Mayor's
banquet on the 9th of August, Mr. Gladstone ob-
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 149
served: " Let it be well understood for what we go
and for what we do not go to Egypt. We do not go
to make war on its people, but to rescue them from
the oppression of a military tyranny which at present
extinguishes every free voice and chains every arm of
the people of that country. We do not go to make
war on the Mohammedan religion, for it is amongst
the proudest distinctions of Christianity to establish
tolerance; and we know that wherever the British
rule exists, the same respect which we claim for the
exercise of our own conscientious convictions is yielded
to the professors of every other faith on the surface
of the globe. We do not, my Lord Mayor, go to
repress the growth of Egyptian liberties. We wish
them well; for we have no interests in Egypt so great
as that Egypt should be prosperous, and Egypt cannot
in any other way so well and so effectually attain her
own prosperity as by the enjoyment of a well, a regu¬
lated, and an expanding freedom." Lord Wolseley's
victory at Tel-el-Kebir justified for the time Mr.
Gladstone's confidence as to the brevity of the
Egyptian war.
In consequence of frequent obstruction to the work
The Life of the
of Parliament, Government brought forward its new
Procedure resolutions, based on the rules of urgency
framed by the Speaker. They were strongly but
unsuccessfully opposed. The closure system was
rendered permanent, and not dependent upon a vote
of the House declaring public business urgent. The
rule with respect to closing debate was to be applied
on the initiative of the Speaker, subject to ratification
by the House by the vote of a bare majority, with
certain numerical limitations, specially protecting
small minorities as distinguished from the regular
Opposition. Considerable work was also in future
delegated to grand committees in connection with
special classes of bills.
On the 13th of December, Mr. Gladstone's political
jubilee was celebrated. He had been fifty years a
member of the Legislature, and congratulatory
addresses, letters, and telegrams reached him in
great numbers.
One of the features of the session of 1883 was a
measure brought forward by Mr. Parnell to amend
the Irish Land Act of 1881. Mr. Gladstone opposed
it on the ground that it amounted to a virtual recon-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M,P. 151
struction of the Irish Land Act, and the Government
at no time since the passing of that Act had used any
words or done any act which would justify any one in
supposing that they were prepared to concur in such
reconstruction. The Government believed that" in
the main the work of the Land Act was being done,
and they wished it to be understood that they could
give no encouragement to any plan for disturbing the
main provisions of the Act. Looking at the general
interest of the empire as a whole, said the Premier,
and looking especially at the interest of Ireland—
looking at the sacrifices they had demanded and
exacted from certain classes in Ireland, it would be
a violation of their duty were they now to give
encouragement to the demand for new sacrifices,
which they did not think in the main justice
required; while as regarded the people of Ireland,
they had done substantial justice to their demands,
and they could not be too clear in announcing that
no encouragement would be received from the
Government to the entertaining of further schemes
and proposals of change to which they were not
prepared to give support, and which they did not
The Life of the
believe would be either to the honour or to the
advantage of the country. Mr. Parnell's bill was
rejected by 250 to 63 votes.
The Government introduced this session an Affir¬
mation Bill, which provided that members who
objected to the oath might have the privilege of
simply affirming. It was intended to meet such
cases as that of Mr. Bradlaugh. Mr. Gladstone
delivered a speech in favour of the measure, which
was admitted by all who heard it to touch his own
highest level of eloquence. Starting from the con¬
tention that there was no legal power to prevent
atheists from entering the House, he went on to
argue in favour of the Bill upon its merits. He
dealt with the main contention of the Opposition,
that there ought to be some recognition of the super¬
natural in the oath. He objected to this first of all,
because, as Lord Lyndhurst put it, religious tests
ought not to debar a man from the discharge of
purely civil functions. In the second place, this
contention declared that Christianity might be
altogether dispensed with if only the name of the
Deity were retained. Mr. Gladstone said he was
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 153
convinced that on every religious ground, as well
as every political ground, the true and the wise
course was not to deal out religious liberty by halves,
quarters, and fractions, but to deal it out entire, and
make no distinction between man and man on the
ground of religious difference from one end of the
land to the other. There was very little difference
of opinion as to the original intention of the oath,
but it had now become a theistic test. It was bad
and demoralising to force this test upon those who
could not take it with a candid acceptance. He was
strongly of opinion that the Bradlaugh controversy
should come to a close, and in saying that, he had
no fear of theism in the .House. " I must painfully
record my opinion," he said in conclusion, " that grave
injury has been done to religion in many minds—not
in instructed minds, but in those which are ill-in¬
structed or partially instructed—in consequence of
things which ought never to have occurred. Great
mischief has been done in many minds by a resistance
offered to the man elected by the constituency of
Northampton, which a portion of the people believe
-|to be unjust. When they see the profession of
154
The Life of the
religion and the interests of religion ostensibly
associated with what they are deeply convinced is
injustice, it leads to questions about religion itself
which commonly end in impairing these convictions
and that belief, the loss of which I believe to be the
most inexpressible calamity which can fall either upon
a man or upon a nation." The speech was warmly
applauded, but the Bill was lost by three votes, the
numbers being, for the second reading 289, against
292.
The session of 1883 was by no means unfruitful.
The Bankruptcy Bill and the Patents Bill, both of
which passed into law, effected reforms which had
long been felt to be necessary. The Corrupt
Practices Act was a serious effort to remove from
British parliamentary and borough elections the
stigma which attached to them in so many parts of
the country. The Government, on the whole, more
than maintained its ground during the session, though
it sustained checks by the failure of its policy in the
Transvaal and Mr. Childers's action in regard to the
Suez Canal.
An extra-Parliamentary event of much interest
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone; M.P. 155
occurred this year. In the month of May the in¬
auguration of the National Liberal Club was celebrated
by a grand banquet, held at the Royal Aquarium.
The Prime • Minister was the chief speaker; and he
entered into a comprehensive review of the past
history of the Liberal party, predicting for it a useful
and brilliant future, if it remained faithful to its time-
honoured principles and traditions.
The Egyptian policy of the Government was
vigorously attacked in the session of 1884, when
Sir Stafford Northcote moved a vote of censure.
Mr. Gladstone defended the Ministerial action with
spirit and effect. He declared that the Government
had found, and not made, the situation in Egypt and
the Soudan. The Prime Minister " traced all the
mischief to Lord Salisbury's dual control. Though
the motive and object had been to secure a better
government for Egypt, a great error had been com¬
mitted. The British Government had fulfilled all the
obligations imposed upon them, and they were acting
fob the benefit of the civilised world. Reforms had
been effected in the judicature, legislature, police, and
military organisation of Egypt; and they were re-
156
The Life of the
solved to see all the vital points recommended carried
out by the Khedive's Government. As to the war in
the Soudan, it was hateful to the people of Egypt;
and England declined to have anything to do with
the reconquest of the Soudan. With regard to Hicks
Pasha's movements, Mr. Gladstone denied that the
British Government was in any way bound to support
or assist Hicks Pasha, or to give any advice as to
the conduct of the war. To do that would have
made them responsible for the war. After the defeat
of Hicks Pasha, the situation changed, and the
Government required the Egyptian Government to
abandon its operations in the Soudan. General
Gordon, whom Mr. Gladstone characterised as a
hero and a genius, had been despatched to Khartoum
for the purpose of withdrawing, if possible, in safety
the 29,000 soldiers of the Khedive scattered over the
Soudan. The General's mission was not the recon¬
quest of the Soudan, but its peaceful evacuation, and
the reconstitution of the country, by giving back to
the Sultan the ancestral power which had been sus¬
pended during the Egyptian occupation. The Govern¬
ment had to consider, in any steps which they took,
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 157
the danger of thwarting Gordon's peaceful mission
and endangering his life." In a speech on Sir
Wilfrid Lawson's amendment, Mr. Gladstone said
that the policy of the Government could not
be more happily described than by the words,
" Rescue and retire." Sir S. Northcote's resolution
was, after a prolonged debate, rejected by 311 to
292 votes.
At a later period of the session the Premier severely
rebuked the Opposition for constantly bringing for¬
ward the Egyptian question, when they had again
and again explained their views and policy upon it.
Brilliantly, eloquently, and dramatically he passed on
from the position of the arraigned to arraign his
accusers themselves as culprits. Maintaining tha.t
there was no real reason for the conduct of the
Opposition in renewing these discussions, he de¬
nounced their procedure as a farce, and as mischievous
to the public interests.
But General Gordon's pacific mission to Khartoum
having failed, there was great solicitude for that gal¬
lant soldier's welfare and safety. Sir M. Hicks Beach
brought fonvard another vote of censure, complaining
The Life of the
of the dilatory conduct of the Government in not
taking steps to ensure General Gordon's safety.
Mr. Gladstone, in reply, said he admitted to the
full the obligations of the Government to General
Gordon, and on reasonable proof of danger he would
be assisted. The nation would never grudge adequate
efforts for the protection of its agents; but it was the
duty of the Government to consider the treasure,
the blood, and the honour of the country, together
with the circumstances of the time, the season, the
climate, and the military difficulties. Conscious of
what their obligations were, they would continue to
use their best endeavours to fulfil them, unmoved by
the threats and the captious criticisms of the Oppo¬
sition. The proposed vote of censure was defeated
by 303 to 275 votes. A Conference of the Powers
on the Egyptian question proved abortive; and Mr.
Gladstone, while announcing that he wished to get
out of Egypt as soon as circumstances would allow,
admitted that institutions, however good, were not
likely to survive the withdrawal of our troops. Lord
Northbrook was next despatched by the Government
on a mission to Egypt, with the object of rescuing
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 159
her from her financial embarrassments, and averting
the impending dangers of a national bankruptcy.
Turning from foreign to home affairs, in February,
1884, Mr. Gladstone introduced the Government
Franchise Bill in the House of Commons. This
great measure, which completed the work of Parlia¬
mentary Reform, conferred the suffrage upon every
person throughout the United Kingdom who was the
head of a household. The effect of the bill, said the
Premier, would be to add to the English constituency
upwards of 1,300,000 voters; to the Scotch consti¬
tuency over 200,000, and to the Irish constituency
over 400,000—thus adding to the aggregate consti¬
tuency of the United Kingdom (which was taken at
3,000,000) 2,000,000 more, or nearly twice as many
as were added in 1832. Appealing for union on this
great question of reform, Mr. Gladstone said: " Let
us hold firmly together, and success will crown our
efforts. You will, as much as any former Parliament
that has conferred great legislative benefits on the
nation, have your reward, and read your history in a
nation's eyes; for you will have deserved all the
benefits you will have conferred. You will have
i6o
The Life of the
made a strong nation stronger still — stronger in
union without, and stronger against its foes (if and
when it has any foes) within; stronger in union
between class and class, and in rallying all classes
and portions of the community in one solid compact
mass round the ancient Throne which it has loved so
well, and round the constitution now to be more
than ever free and more than ever powerful." The
bill was keenly debated throughout all its stages, and
on the 26th of June, Mr. Gladstone, referring to the
ominous utterances out of doors threatening the
rejection of the scheme, said the attitude of the
Government hitherto had been, in Shakespeare's
words, " Beware of entrance to a quarrel; but, being
in, bear it that the opposer may beware of thee."
He declared, however, that everything had been done
by the Government to avoid a quarrel, and he ventured
to predict that a collision between the two Houses on
this question would open up a prospect more serious
than any he remembered since the first Reform Bill.
The Premier's firm bearing caused the bill to be read
a third time with only one dissentient voice, the great
bulk of the Opposition having left the House,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 161
In the Lords, however, a resolution was carried
that the House could not concur in any scheme of
reform without having a complete measure before it—
including redistribution and registration, as well as an
extension of the suffrage. Mr. Gladstone promised to
introduce a Redistribution Bill in the following session;
but Lord Salisbury declined to discuss the Redistri¬
bution Bill " with a rope round his neck "—that is, a
Franchise Act under which his party must appeal to
the people. Fruitless negotiations ensued between
the Liberal and Conservative chiefs, and ultimately
the House of Lords passed a resolution that it would
be desirable for Parliament to assemble for an autumn
session to consider the Representation of the People
Bill, in conjunction with the Redistribution Bill which
the Government had undertaken to bring in.
The question was now agitated by the constituen¬
cies, and the Tory policy was strongly condemned at
many large and influential public meetings. Mr.
Gladstone visited Midlothian at the end of August,
and in a powerful address delivered in the Edinburgh
Corn Exchange, he explained that the special purpose
for which he appeared before his constituents was to
G
162
The Life of the
promote, by every legitimate means in his power, the
speedy passing of the Franchise Bill. " The unfortu¬
nate rejection of the measure," he observed, "had
already drawn in its train other questions of the
gravest kind, and the vast proportion of the people
would soon be asking whether an organic change
was not required in the House of Lords. He, how¬
ever, did not believe that the House of Lords had as
yet placed itself in a position of irretrievable error.
He believed that it was possible for it to go back,
and to go back with dignity and honour. With
regard to the Foreign policy of the Government,
which had been much attacked, and compared un¬
favourably with the Midlothian programme of 1879,
Mr. Gladstone defended it with spirit. He expressed
his satisfaction with the expansion of Germany abroad,
and reviewed the policy of the Government in Eastern
Europe, Afghanistan, India, and South Africa. As to
the Transvaal, he contended that " they were strong
and could afford to be merciful," and that it was not
possible without the grossest and most shameful
breach of faith to persist in holding the Boers to
annexation, "when we had pledged ourselves before-
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 163
hand that they should not be annexed except with
their own good-will." In reply to the oft-repeated
question, " What took you to Egypt ?" the Premier
said, " Honour and plighted faith." The covenants
they were keeping were those entered into by their
Tory predecessors, and most unfortunate and most
unwise he considered them to be. The Government
had respected the sovereignty of the Porte and the
title of the European Powers to be concerned in all
matters territorially affecting the Turkish Empire;
they had discouraged the spirit of aggression as well
as they could, and had contracted no embarrassing
engagements. Great improvements had been intro¬
duced in the administration of Egypt, but he regretted
the total failure of the late Conference of the
Powers to solve the problem of Egyptian finance.
With regard to General Gordon, the Government
were considering the best means to be adopted for
fulfilling their obligations.
When Parliament met for the autumn session in
October, the Franchise Bill was reintroduced and
sent up to the Lords. Mr. Gladstone then brought
forward in the Commons the Government Bedistri-
G 2
164
The Life of the
bution Bill, upon which a compromise with the Oppo¬
sition had been arrived at. It was proposed to dis¬
franchise all boroughs with a population under 15,000,
to give only one member to towns with a population
between 15,000 and 50,000, and to take one member
each from the counties of Rutland and Hereford.
These proposals extinguished 160 seats, which, with
six seats extinguished some, years before, would be
revived and distributed as follows: — Eight new
boroughs would be created, the representation of
London, Liverpool, and other large cities and towns
would be greatly increased, while in dealing with the
remainder of the seats unappropriated, the Govern¬
ment would apply the principle of equal electoral
areas throughout the country. The Franchise Bill, a
truly democratic measure, was carried through both
Houses, and became law. The principle of the
Redistribution Bill was then affirmed by the second
reading of the measure in the House of Commons,
after which Parliament was prorogued.
The Houses re-assembled on the 19th of Feb. 1885.
The Redistribution scheme was at once proceeded
with, and after animated debates on various points,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 165
it was successfully carried through. Registration bills
for England, Scotland, and Ireland were also passed,
receiving the Royal assent on the 21st of May.
The news of the fall of Khartoum and the untoward
death of General Gordon caused a thrill of horror and
indignation throughout the country. The Govern¬
ment was severely condemned in many quarters for
its procrastination, but when the facts came to be fully
known and to be considered without prejudice, it was
seen that no blame could fairly attach to the Prime
Minister. Mr. Gladstone, however, who was strongly
moved by Gordon's death, rose to the situation, and
announced that it was necessary to overthrow the
Mahdi at Khartoum, to renew operations against
Osman Digna, and to construct a railway from Suakin
to Berber with a view to a campaign in the autumn.
A royal proclamation was issued calling out the
reserves. Sir Stafford Northcote brought forward a
motion affirming that the risks and sacrifices which
the Government appeared to be ready to encounter
could only be justified by a distinct recognition of our
responsibility for Egypt, and those portions of the
Soudan which were necessary to its security. Mr.
The Life of the
John Morley proposed an amendment to the motion,
waiving any judgment on the policy of the Ministry,
but expressing regret at its decision to continue the
conflict with the Mahdi. Mr. Gladstone replied with
great ability to both motion and amendment, and
appealed to the Liberal party to strengthen the hands
of the Government by an unmistakable vote of confi¬
dence. The amendment being disposed of, ministers
secured a majority of 14 on the motion, the numbers
being 302 in their favour with 288 against.
The Convention concluded with the Great Powers
for the settlement of the Egyptian finances was
brought before Parliament by Mr. Childers. A loan
of ^9,000,000 was proposed to save Egypt from
immediate bankruptcy; which loan was to be.issued
on an international guarantee, in consideration
whereof the Powers were ready to suspend the law
of liquidation, and to allow the coupons of all
Egyptian securities to be taxed at the rate of 5 per
cent., while the Suez Canal interest receivable by
England was to submit to a double reduction. The
arrangement was to last for two years, and at the end
of that time there was to be an international inquiry,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 167
if the financial equilibrium had not been established.
Mr. Gladstone, in declaring the urgency of the matter,
admitted that there was no stipulation barring the
right of interference by the Powers, but notwithstand¬
ing this drawback to the plan, the House sanctioned
the proposals of the Convention by 294 votes to 246.
Not long after this settlement, the Premier, in
announcing a vote of credit to provide against any
danger from Russian action, stated that no further
operations would be undertaken either on the Nile or
near Suakin, and that General Graham's campaign
would be abandoned, as well as the construction of
the new railway.
The advance of Russia on our Indian frontier
caused much excitement in England. On the 13th
of March, Mr. Gladstone made the important state¬
ment in Parliament, that, as the protests formerly
made against the advance of Russia had been allowed
to lapse, it had been agreed that, pending the delimi¬
tation of the frontier, there should be no further
advances on either side. In April, however, a
collision occurred between the Russians and the
Afghans, which seemed to indicate that General
i68
The Life of the
Komaroff had committed an act of unprovoked
aggression on the Ameer. Mr. Gladstone, in moving
a vote of credit on the 27th, delivered a speech whose
eloquence and energy greatly stirred both sides of the
House. He affirmed that England was bound in
honour to the Ameer, and that she also held Russia
to her obligations; denounced the breach of the
sacred covenant; traced the various stages of Russian
encroachment; declared that it must be ascertained
whose fault it was ; and asserted that, until right was
done, " this country would not consent to close the
book and say, We will look into it no more." So
unanimous was the spirit of patriotism that the Oppo¬
sition supported the vote even without criticism. The
vote of ;£i 1,000,000 covered a sum of ^4,500,000
placed to the credit of the Egyptian expeditions, and
^6,500,000 for special preparations. Happily the
difficulty with Russia was adjusted, that Power
receiving Penjdeh in consideration of the surrender
of Zulfikar to the Ameer.
Mr. Gladstone's Government had weathered through
many storms, but it was destined to fall in a wholly
unexpected manner upon a financial question. The
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 169
Budget for the year was produced very late, the Chan¬
cellor of the Exchequer being unable to introduce it
until the 30th of April. The financial position was
not an enviable one. There was a deficit of upwards
of a million, together with a greatly depressed revenue,
and an estimated expenditure for the current year
(including the vote of credit) of no less than
^100,000,000. Mr. Childers—who was now Chan¬
cellor of the Exchequer—proposed to levy upon land
taxation proportioned to that levied on personal pro¬
perty ; and he also suggested an augmentation of the
spirit duties, and of the beer duty. The country
members were dissatisfied, and demanded that no new
charges should be thrown on the land till the promised
relief of local taxation had been carried out. Further,
the agricultural and the liquor interests were discon¬
tented, as well as the Scotch and Irish members with
the whisky duty. Mr. Childers made various conces¬
sions, but they were regarded as insufficient by the
Opposition, and after the Whitsun holidays a debate
took place on a hostile motion by Sir M. Hicks-Beach.
Mr. Gladstone stated that the Government would
resign if defeated, but many Liberals were absent from
170
The Life of the
the division, regarding a Ministerial majority as cer¬
tain. The amendment was carried, however, by 264
votes to 252, and the Premier and his colleagues
resigned.
The Liberals were anxious to pass a vote of confi¬
dence in the Government, but Mr. Gladstone deprecated
this, as he felt the situation to be intolerable, and was
desirous of being relieved from the responsibilities of
office. Misfortunes at home and abroad had fallen
upon the Government, for many of which they were
not responsible, and the Ministry had been held toge¬
ther chiefly by the indomitable energy and the masterly
personality of its chief. It was therefore not without
a feeling of personal satisfaction that Mr. Gladstone
witnessed the accession of Lord Salisbury to office.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 171
CHAPTER XI.
home rule for ireland.
The first general election under the new Reform
Act was held in November, 1885. Mr. Gladstone
again appeared before his Midlothian constituents, and,
although nearly seventy-six years of age, spoke with an
energy and 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 Edinburgh, 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.
172
The Life of the
Land reform, local government, Parliamentary proce¬
dure, 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 ap¬
proved Lord Salisbury'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
depression, warned the electors against remedies
which were really worse than the disease, and defended
Free Trade principles. He further advocated com¬
prehensive 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 con¬
tinue to act in the same friendly and generous spirit
towards Ireland as it had shown during the last fifty
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 173
years, undeterred by the threats or opprobrious lan¬
guage of Mr. Parnell.
The elections resulted in the return of 333 Liberals,
249 Conservatives, 86 Parnellites, and 2 Independents.
The Liberals thus secured a substantial triumph ; but
one of the most gratifying features of the electoral
contest was the return of Mr. Gladstone for Mid¬
lothian by an overwhelming majority.
The parliamentary session of 1886 had scarcely
opened before the Salisbury Government was defeated
upon an amendment to the Address, moved by Mr.
Jesse Codings, affirming the necessity for affording
facilities to agricultural labourers to obtain allotments
and small holdings. Several influential Liberals
opposed the amendment, but Mr. Gladstone warmly
supported it, as a recognition of the agricultural
labourer's position, and of the mischiefs arising from
the divorce of so large a portion of the population
from the land. The Irish members coalesced with
the Liberals, and the Government was placed in a
minority of 79. Lord Salisbury immediately resigned.
Mr. Gladstone was sent for by the Queen, and
succeeded in forming his third Ministry, February,
174
The Life of the
1886. The new Premier was faced by unusual diffi¬
culties ; but after anxious thought he had come to the
conclusion 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 generous 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 grant¬
ing Home Rule to the Irish people ; but with certain
Imperial reservations and safeguards. Mr. Gladstone
traced the history of the Irish question, and expressed
his conviction that the time had come for granting to
Ireland that which she had long been loudly demand¬
ing—the right to make her own laws. The bill, how¬
ever, was not only opposed by the Conservatives, but
by Lord Hartington, Mr. Chamberlain, and other
Liberal dissentients, who were subsequently known
as Liberal Unionists, in contradistinction to the Glad-
stonian Liberals, who continued to form the great
bulk of the Liberal party, and who are still in fact the
Liberal party.
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 175
The Bill having been read a first time, on the 16th
of April Mr. Gladstone supplemented it by introducing
the Irish Land Purchase Bill, which was intended
to come into operation on the same day as the Home
Rule Bill. The object of the measure was to
give to all Irish landowners the option of being bought
out on the terms of the Act; to give all Irish land¬
owners an opening towards the exercise of that option
where their rent was from agricultural land. But it
did not pretend to deal with mansions, demesnes, and
woods. The State authority was to be the purchaser,
and the occupier was to become the proprietor. In
certain congested districts, however, the State authority
would also be the proprietor. The Premier proposed
to fix the nominal purchase-price at twenty years'
purchase of the net rental, ascertained by deducting
law charges, bad debts, and cost of management from
the judicial rent. Where there was no judicial rental,
the Land Court could, if it chose, make use of Griffith's
valuation for coming to a fair decision. To meet the
demand for the means of purchase thus established,
Mr. Gladstone proposed to create ^50,000,000 Three
per Cents. The repayment of advances would be
176 The Life of the
secured by a Receiver-general, appointed by and
acting under 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 10, when the Premier replied to
the criticisms of his opponents, and denied that he
had ever, at any period of his life, 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 the Government was autonomy.
"We have before us," he said, "a great opportunity
of putting an end to the controversy of 700 years, ay,
and of knitting together, by bonds firmer and higher
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 177
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 for¬
ward 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 Government in a
minority of 30, the numbers being—for the measure,
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
178
The Life of the
address to the electors of Midlothian. He stated
that the Ministerial plan gave to Ireland, under well-
considered conditions, power to transact her own
affairs. This would secure a real union, and not a
mere paper union, between the two countries. The
Premier followed up his address by a visit to Mid¬
lothian and likewise to Glasgow, where he delivered
powerful speeches in favour 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 eloquence he insisted that while Irish
nationality might be enlisted in the service of law and
order with infinite advantage, yet if England made it
an enemy, it would teach her by sorrowful and
painful lessons, that its claims could not be resisted
with impunity. Passing on to Liverpool, he here also
pleaded the Irish cause, and called upon the people
to " ring out the old, ring in the new."
Mr. Bright, who had separated from his old col¬
league and leader on the Irish question, addressed his
constituents at Birmingham, condemning the Home
Rule and Land Purchase Bills, and making some
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 179
observations which Mr. Gladstone felt called upon to
challenge. In a letter addressed to Mr. Bright, the
Premier denied having successfully concealed his
thoughts on the Irish question in the previous
November, seeing that he had expressly stated that
if the Irish elections went as was expected, the
magnitude of the 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 hon. gentleman also
denied that he had endeavoured to thrust the details
of the Land Purchase Bill upon his colleagues and
upon the House of Commons. " If I am a man
capable of such an intention, I wonder you ever took
office with one so ignorant of the spirit of the Con¬
stitution and so arbitrary in his character. Though
this appears to be your 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
absolutely untrue." Mr. Bright replied, remarking
that the Liberal leader had asked the constituencies
i8o
The Life of the
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 Birmingham added, "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 country."
A correspondence between Mr. Gladstone and Mr.
A. J. Balfour, published in July, demonstrated that
the former had urged upon Lord Salisbury the abso¬
lute necessity of dealing immediately with the Irish
question, and expressed a strong hope that the subject
should not fall into the lines of party conflict.
The general election of July, 1886, was fought out
under circumstances of great excitement, and much
misrepresentation of the Liberal position on the part
of Conservative and Liberal Unionist candidates.
The Liberals were defeated, and the new House of
Commons was composed as follows: Conservatives,
316; Liberal Unionists, 78; Gladstonian Liberals,
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 181
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 Govern¬
ment on not announcing a policy of Coercion in the
House of Commons, and said that with every admission
that Coercion would not be applied again, he believed
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 sister country.
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 brought 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, Ireland by
four and a half to one, and " gallant Wales " by five
to one; whilst England decided against Ireland by
returning 336 opponents to 129 supporters. In
182
The Life of the
October Mr. Gladstone received five deputations at
Hawarden. One of them presented an address from
400,000 women of Ireland, while the other four con¬
veyed 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 for
separation.
Much to the surprise of the Liberal party, the Tory
Government introduced a Crimes Prevention (Ireland)
Bill of exceptional severity in the session of 1887. It
had been understood that tliere 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 free expression of political opinion in Ireland,
and to destroy the influence of the National League.
Mr. Gladstone and the great bulk of the Liberal
party strongly opposed this arbitrary and unnecessary
measure, but it was carried by the aid of Liberal
Dissentient votes. The Act was applied with great
stringency during the recess, and Mr. O'Brien and
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 183
other Irish members were thrown into prison, but
the Coercion Act entirely failed to achieve its
leading object, namely, the suppression of the Land
League.
Irish debates were of frequent occurrence in the
House of Commons in 1888, but the session was chiefly
signalised 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 Times' charges against Mr. Parnell
and various other persons. The Commission sat for
upwards of fifty days, and then passed through a
series of sensational and startling episodes. The
letters alleged to have been written by Mr. Parnell
implicating him in assassination and crime were con¬
fessed to be forgeries by an Irish witness named
Richard Pigott, and the Times abandoned the charges
founded upon the letters and made an apology to the
Irish leader.
In November, 1888, Mr. Gladstone paid a memo¬
rable visit to Birmingham. On the 5th he appeared
at the Town Hall, which was crowded to excess.
184
The Life of the
Replying to an address from the Birmingham 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 administra¬
tion 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 ques¬
tion 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, Edgbaston, Mr. Gladstone received a
number of handsome presents from the working men
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 accompanied 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 Bingley Hall, a building which in its
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 185
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 enthu¬
siastic and remarkable in the annals of the Liberal
party, upwards of one hundred members of Parliament
and many other influential persons supporting the ex-
Premier on the platform. The chair was taken by
Mr. Osier, President of the Birmingham Liberal Asso¬
ciation. When Mr. Gladstone rose to speak an un¬
paralleled scene of enthusiasm occurred. He was
kept standing for some minutes, while volleys of
cheering rang through the hall, and handkerchiefs
were waved by 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 govern¬
ment, a government whose policy and operations the
Irish people had a right to resent. The right of
combination, given in England, 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
The Life of the
far less serious than sedition, and treated as common
felons. He believed that the world generally looked
upon our treatment of Ireland as dishonourable to
England. Mr. Gladstone then 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 something
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 money, is but a moderate estimate of the
facts. This waste to produce what ? Not to produce
content, but to produce discontent. Does it produce
Imperial strength? Suppose we were involved in
great difficulties, suppose we had—God forbid that
we should have—a crisis like the original American
war brought upon us. At this time would Ireland
add to our strength what it ought to add ? No. We
have now got Ireland making a thoroughly consti¬
tutional demand—demanding what is in her own
language a subordinate Parliament, acknowledging in
the fullest terms the supremacy of the Parliament
at Westminster. How can you know that under
Rt. Hon. IV. E. Gladstone, M.P. 187
all circumstances that moderation of demand will
continue ? "
Another scene of intense enthusiasm was witnessed
when the ex-Premier resumed his seat, after having
spoken with great energy and clearness of enunciation
for an hour and fifty minutes. On the 8th Mr. Glad¬
stone received a deputation and an address from the
Irish Rationalists 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 the balance at the last election was cast not by
the true sense of the population considered indivi¬
dually 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 justi¬
fied by the course of events. A number of Liberal
dissentients, like Sir George Trevelyan, who had pro¬
mised to support Home Rule if certain Imperial
guarantees were conceded, returned to the Liberal fold
188
The Life of the
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 rancour and hos¬
tility which lost him the esteem of all true Liberals.
Wherever the country had an opportunity of declaring
itself on the burning question of the day—from South¬
ampton in the extreme south to Govan ancj East
Perthshire in the north—it pronounced an overwhelm¬
ing verdict in favour of Home Rule, and in condem¬
nation of the policy of Lord Salisbury's Government.
In December Mr. Gladstone went 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 enthusiasm for
the important services which the English statesman
had rendered in the past to the cause of Italian free¬
dom 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 labours of a Session which promised to be unusually
animated and eventful.
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 189
CHAPTER XII.
the man and the statesman.
We have now reached the close of our brief survey
of Mr. Gladstone's career. As a statesman, and also
as a Chancellor of the Exchequer, no other Liberal
leader, past or present, can be placed in comparison
with him. The first of orators and debaters, he has
exercised a marvellous influence over his contempo¬
raries by the force of these gifts. But as a practical
statesman, also, where is the record of a Premiership
so fruitful as his has been in the passing of great
measures ? Besides the numerous fiscal reforms asso¬
ciated with his name, his first Administration gave to
us the Irish Church Act, the Endowed Schools Act,
the Bankruptcy Act, the Habitual Criminals Act,
the Irish Land Act, the Elementary Education Act,
the Abolition of Purchase in the Army, the success¬
ful negotiation of the Washington Treaty, the passing
of the University Tests Abolition Bill, the Trades
190
The Life of the
Union Bill, and the Repeal of the Ecclesiastical Titles
Act. His second Government passed another impor¬
tant Irish Land Act, the Irish Arrears Act, the Bank¬
ruptcy and Patents Acts, the Corrupt Practices Act,
and the Franchise, Redistribution, and Registration
Acts for England, Scotland, and Ireland. His third
Administration was prematurely cut short, but it may
yet be, in the disposition of events, that he will once
more be called to the head of affairs, in order that he
may give to Ireland the power of Home Government,
thus doing much to cement the bonds of a lasting
union between the English and Irish peoples.
But in addition to his political career—which
extends considerably beyond half a century of cease¬
less effort in, and devotion to, the public interests—
there is another side to Mr. Gladstone's character. As
a man of letters, his published writings would be
regarded as a fair average life's-work for a literary
man who had been exclusively devoted to the pro¬
fession. His works on Homer and Greece have
already been referred to, but mention also must be
made of his elaborate treatise on Ecce Homo, while
his seven volumes of Gleanings of Past Years cover a
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. 191
wide range of literary, theological, and political re¬
search. There is no form of art or industry in which
his countrymen engage, into which he has not sympa¬
thetically entered; and the fertility and resourceful¬
ness of his mind are almost without parallel. Beyond
all, we have seen infused into his multitudinous
labours, whether of a political or a social character, a
spirit of sincerity and a lofty morality.
His life at Hawarden has been sinlple to the last
degree. Abstemious in habits, and fond of outdoor
exercise, these things have doubtless had much to do
in conserving that wonderful vitality, which is as cha¬
racteristic of him in his eightieth year as it is of many
men at fifty. Hawarden is one of the few places of
political pilgrimage in England; and visitors to that now
famous spot have always been welcomed by the grand
old veteran, who has afforded as striking examples of
physical prowess in the levelling of Hawarden oaks,
as he has of mental and moral prowess in the sweep¬
ing away of abuses in Parliament. Many are the
anecdotes which could be told of his geniality, his
frankness, his generosity, and his sympathy with his
fellow-men.
192 Life of Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone.
" You will never know," said Canon Liddon on
one occasion, " none of us will ever know how great
Mr. Gladstone is; we shall never be able to measure
him until he is gone !" May the day still be far
distant when the most illustrious subject of Queen
Victoria shall be withdrawn from the midst of the
people for whom he has laboured with an earnestness
and a single-heartedness of purpose which shall give
him an immortal place amongst the worthies of
England !
THE END.
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITFFRIARS.