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GLADSTONE ( ONTAININO A Full Account of the Most Celebrated Orator and Statesman of Modern Times COMPRISING THE GRAPHIC STORY OF HIS LIFE ; HIS BRILLIANT GENIUS AND REMARKABLE TRAITS OF CHARACTER; GRAND ACHIEVEMENTS AS A LEADER AND PRIME MINISTER; HIS MAGNIFICENT TRN UMPHS IN GREAT POLITICAL STRUGGLES, ETC. A NOBLE EXAMPLE TO ALL ASPIRING YOUNG MEN INCLUDING HIS Famous Speeches and Orations; Striking Incidents in His Career; Personal Anecdotes, Reminiscences, Etc. BY D. M. KELSEY Author of "Gems of Genius," "Pioneer Heroes and Their Daring Deeds," Etc. Embellished with a large number of Superb Phototype and Wood Engravings R. A. H. MORROW, ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. Bntered according to Act^f Congress, in the year 1898, by J. R. JONES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. G All Rights Reserved. PREFACE, QO other Englishman of the past or the present has ' ^ oTadstre" 'tT'T ,■" "^'^ »-'^y than Mn Lradstoue. This leeling in his behalf does not spnng altogether from an admiration for his in ellec Zf :^T: Z ''^ '^™='<' --i statesmanlike vi^ws" eutertamed by him. Nor has it arisen only from svm pathy w:th the liberality of his opinions. ItTs rafher" toeeable to a sincere respect for his capacity for growth We might easily elaborate this proposition by i £^1 ^i references; but the field is too broad for thorouSi would r" '' "^'^"''^"' ■"°"'^"'' -" '■ cur.oryXee would be worse than useless K'<'nce Believing that it is this quality which has made him I le aim of the writer to trace the progress vear S„ S^Tib'^""' T''""^^'^ Tor^^snf to :nr;uaH^ positive Liberalism. At the same time there has been no efifort made to fit the facts to the thoory as I some t.mes done under similar circumstances, fbr the sfmolJ reason that nothing of the kind was nec^sar ^ There are a number of biographies of Mr Gladstone of more or less value, to which the writer be^sil.' express indebtedness. Chief amonlT, -l ^^ "* work of Mr r R c v^" ^ ^ "'^'" '^ '''^ '^^reful umes there if'nf T ' '" ''^'"' '^° '"S^ °^t«vo vol- Journdtt " r ''"^*'"^ °^^<'^"'- A "London not, hotver been r" T}'' '"^^P"^' -'"^'^ I"- admini adon If ,>r^^* t'V''^'" "'^" *^^ ^-""-^ applicable to the .Imf^fAir J H ''"'''''^ '' C. W Tones' litfl 1 • ^- Emerso-. Mr. w. Jones little volume ,s an admirable one as far as 4 Preface, it goes; and Mr. Lucy's merit in co:.nection vvitli this subject IS too well known for comment to be necessaty here. It is to be regretted that his book contains no more matter than an average magaj^ine article. In addition to these biographies, there lias been fre- quent consultation of works of a less special character. 'The Gladstone Government," by a Templar- T P O'Connor's "Gladstone's House of Commons," and Justm McCarthy's " England Under Gladstone,' will at once suggest themselves. But in addition to these there should be specified the Rev. W. N. Molesworth's ^'History of England Since 1830," and others of like character. Cooke's ''History of Party," McCarthys "Epoch of Reform," and several memoirs of the time, have been used in writing of the Reform Bill of 1832 ; and there has been careful reference to special biogra- pnies of Sir Robert Peel and others of similar importance in the narrative. The tone of these works has been so uniformly kind and admiring that Louis J. Jennings' work, " Mr. Glad- stone : a Study," has perhaps been invaluable as giving the extreme view of the other side of the question. The writer has also studied, in this connection, Mr. Gladstone's own writings, both in the " Gleanings of Past Years " and elsewhere. Many points of interest have been drawn from the periodicals,— daily, weekly, and monthly. All of the leading American publications have been made to con- tribute something; while 7emple Bar, the Times and other London dailies, and the Loudon illustrated week- lies, may be named in the same connection. Of course the whole thread of the latter portion of the narrati^'e is drawn from the newspapers, since the biography is complete up to the time of issue. I CONTENTS. 9 CHAP^aR I. ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION. Napole.>n and Wellingion-yreat Pi.. ,c Questions-Family of tiie Cladstones- Birth (,t- the Subject of the Present Memoir-Scotch Parentage-Ea Education-Wealth of the Family-Sketcli of Lord Brougham-Mr Gladstone at Eton-A Gulprit Called Up for Correction-.Wvu .t of Arthur Henry Ha) lau. -Papers Published at Eton-Troublen in Ireiand- Cann.ng an.l His Ministry-Mr. Gladstone Brought Up as a Tory-Clhur- acteristic Anecdote-The Future Premier at Oxford-Life as a Student- Jiarly Promise of Great Distinction ,„ ■ • • • ly CHAPTER II. THE BEGINNING OP PUBLIC LIFE. Interest in Political Questions-Keaction After the War-Destitution of tl-e toIh^rs-Seuts m Parliament Bought and Sold-How Elections were Ccnduoted-Duke of Wellington as Priu.e Minister-Plan of Reform Fury of the Tory Peeis-Address to the Electors at Newark-Mr. Gh,,'.. stone Elected to Parliament -The Slavery Question-Eloquent Speeches- Bec^ues Identified wxth Great Public Questions-Rising Star in t' e Po" t- icai i'lrmament. . . ^-im 44 CHAPTER III. EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. Whig ye,^us Tories -Trained in Early Life to Speak in Public- Account of S.r Robert Peel-Even.s Following the Pa-.age of the Reform IT-Lf G a stone as Jan.or L-rd of the Treasury-Canadian Troubles of ISsV- Death of King v., Iham IV. -Address to His Constituents-Accession of uT; wa:':iu cr~'';" ^^^r " ''- ^---y Questionei: Prince Jonsorr ^'""^-^"^^" ^ '^*-'"'« M.rriage-Popularity of the : ' 09 Contents. CHAPTER IV. GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI. Repeal of the Corn Laws— DisriPli ;« p i- j;!thy Savings a^ :^t ^S:^^^ :, ^^^^^^^ ^'^^-^^- Division Among the Tories-Glad to...' T > ' ''"'^ l^rotectionists - -His Growing Lib«ranr-'iW, V ^"f" °" *''^ Navigation Laws ^ents-KemonstranoT of Fran :andt;" .^""''^-^^ n^erston-The Celebrated JorE^^l^^^^^^ ^^^d 1.1- tion-Ecclesiastical Titles Bill-Mr n: • ^^^f''«"« -^^^eud^ His Ac- Eulog, on the Du.e of Wellingt;n.:SCt::n,:^1i;:;:;;^^^^^^^^^ CHAPTER V. THE MINISTRY OP ALL THE TALENTS. Mr. Gla Istone's Early Political Faith-His Act of « ir , • . Toward Leaving the Conservative Party-Hl./;"'"'-''"^* ""''^ New Chancellor of the Excheauerrwir, "^ ^"'"^ons and the Debate ou the IncoraeT^^^^^^^ be Obeved-MeasurL IT p^ ^"^ War-Will of the People Must Views W th P erconfort vf ' ^r"-'^^"^^ ^^""^'^ ^-- I>--H - Lord Paimei^tcn-Lord John R,!!" r '°"' '^^^^ ^^""'^'r^' ^7 Continuance of the wir Deb"tf " 'P*^'''^ °^ ^'^••- «'-'«tonei • . . 132 CHAPTER VI. PROGRESSING TOWi^RDS LIBERALISM. Treaty Following the Crimean W-^ p r, , cerningth'eConlinen :i P,t-^H:„^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ""' Pan-Agitation Con- Enlistment of Foreigners ni p"' .""'^\ f "^^''^^n-Bill Providing f.r , he Criticism Upon tirG;rn";int'?F"- p^^'" ^"^''^"^ '"'"'^ ^-"i-^ MHJority Against the Government-' ttomnt to ^ "'' ."^ ' °™'"«"«- the French-RemarkablePernrat on by Mr m" ;\"""'";*^ ''^ ^-U-eror of Cabinet-Lord Derby at the -o^:!:;:^! ^L:^" ^^ CHAPTER VII. THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. Lord Macau'ay-Eminent Men in Parlir,i O reece - Pn^i; Bright'a Return to Pari inentaiy Reform ment iment -The Ionian Islands- A -For VffUS n HI lai ign Relations of England — M A Mm Ahead of His Time-Con trov ersy Contents. « Fear of I,n„,i„„bv;L,t ??!;„' ! °"""'.7-l'»'"'-'™ in OHice- COMPTER VIII. EMANCIPATION PROM TORYISM. Wet Weather and Poor H.orvests-Dull Session in P r ings Banks-Garibaldi and His Sd S" ? ^,f '^"^^^^'-I'^ostv ^ce Say- Liberal, of Italy-I,„pro~\fn M ^^^^^^^^ ^^"''*'""« ^^f^"^« ^J^- Opposition-Bitter Att'ekon g" Ion! f "" ^ Finances-Protest of ,he Jonian Islands again-l^Jl n ^^'^'"' ""^ '^' ^'«P«^ Duty-The Reduction of the' 1^1^' C:T '"' J'" ^"^"«^" Civil War- Working Classes-Osbone-^ I~' f s " f .^r^""" '^^ ^^^-^he and State-Mr. Gladstone ^^Z^I^ZT:'- ".^.^^ CHAPTER IX. REPRESENTING SOUTH LANCASHIRE Vioto,y- Speeches irS.nd'nT' P ''". ^-"'^•'--Oladstone's Reforn. RiH-Raisin/ ^c^T^r .t l"^""^' '^ ^^^''^ ^-^y-A New Mr. CUadstone- Scotch and IH^: 4tr.i^s n"\"'~u'^"'"^ ^^""'"^"* «» ^r the Liberals-Various Bil^t ti^'!:;;!!;: "!'. ^'--^"^^0"^^ CHAPTER X. THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRT I'een-r,i.h I „„d SvMemlRn f° ,u f '"'"''P™''"" ''"""g the Ed«a,i„„--En,!M. Ton*,, S "irb^G^rt t ■' 'T'-X-^* '- of F™noe.,„a P„.,;,_«„,„, Co;,l,'':ftt,lT*TZ" «-- 265 s Contents. CHAPTER XI. THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. (COM'INUED.) Dangerous Illness of the Prince of Wales— Trouble on the Liquor Question- Gladstone's Sharp Retort on Disraeli— Army of Titmouses— Uallct Bill Again Introduced— Third Attempt to Settle tlie Irish Question- Justice to Ireland— Gladstone Determines to Resign -Important Clianges in the Ministry— Disraeli's Manifesto— Circular to the Liberal Members of Par- liament-Bill for the Regulation of Public Worship -Endowed Schools - Gladstone's Retirement from the Leadership of tiie Liberal Party— Pre- paring for New Legislation— Active Interest in Public Aliairs. ... 300 CHAPTER XII. GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. Eastern Question— Turkey Does Nothing but Pro> .ise- Suicide of the Turkish Sultan— Oriental Races— Explanations by Disraeli— Raised to the Peerage —Bulgarian Horrors— Lord Salisbury in the East— Earl of Shaftesbury— Duke of Argyle— Lord George Hamilton— Gladstone's Pamphlet on the TurkishQuestion— Action in Parliament on tlie Turkish Situation— Pro- tracted Debate— Vote of Credit— " Peace with Honor"— Sir Stafford Northcote— (iladstone Arraigns the C^overnment— Triumphal March Through Scotland— " Grand Old Man "—Great Ovations Everywhere. 318 CHAPTER XIII. THE SECOND GLADSTONE MiNISTRY. Great Liberal IMnjority— Imi)o:\ance of the Irish Question— Mr. Bradlaugh in Parliament— Lord Randolph Churchill— Great Expectations from the Ciladstone Ministry— Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro— Claims of Greece— Trying to Adjust Domestic Taxes— Game Laws— Post-oflice Department— Illness of Mr. Gladstone— Irish Laud Law not Satisfactory —Peace Preservation Act— Irish Eviction (-Home Rulers— Land League —Long Debate— Coercion Bills- Eloquent Speecii of John Bright— Mem- orable Scene in the House of Commons— Ludicrous Incidents- Mr. Rir- uell and Irish Legislation -Final Passage of the Irish Bill 330 CHAPTER XIV. THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. (CoxTrxFKn.) Mr. Bradlaugh Once Mr)re— Home Rule— The Lords and the Land Act— Amena- ment of the Rules— Arrears Bill— Concessions to th? Irish— Phoeuix Park ■i. Contents. 9 M.irders -Crimes Bill - Obstruction - Friends Failiug-The Egyptian tiuestiou-Bombardment of Alexandria-Autumn Sebsion-Forster's At- tack on Gladstone-The Reply-Explosives BiU-And Still, Mr. Brad- iaugh— Minor Legislation— The Soudan Difficulties-Irrepressible Mr. Bradlaugh-The Egyptian Trouble Continues-The Afghan Boundary- Failure of the Soudan War— The Budget- A Sleepy Time— Waking Up— A Great Speech— A Great Surprise— Fall of the Ministry 387 CHAPTER XV. THIRD AND FOURTH ADMINISTRATIONS. Mr. Gladstone Again in Scotland— Lord Salisbury on Public Questions-Eesult of the Elections— Third Gladstone Ministry— Advocaes Giving Ireland the Right to Make Her Own Laws— Irish Land Purciiase Bill— Second Reading of Irish Home Rule Bill-Eloquent Appeal on Behalf of Ireland —Irish Bills Condemned by John J^right-Rupture Between the Two Great Leaders-General Election of 1886-Defeat of the Liberals-Policy of Coercion— Action of the Tory Government— The Premier's Retirement —Lord Rosebery.. Successor to Mr. Gladstone 4iy CHAPTER XVI. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, DOMESTIC RELA- TIONS, AND LITERARY CAREER. Estimates of Mr. Gladstone's Ability— General Appear.ince-Not a Narrow Man -Marr;age and Home Life— Hawarden Estate— Mannerisms— Speed; id Licerary Style— Spontaneous Eloquence- Great Partv Lendfir—Stnrlo and les oquence- Great Party Leader— Student and Man of Lettera— Private Library— Scholar and Writer-Religious Character ^^430 CHAPTER XVII. MR. GliADSTONE'S DEATH AND OBSEQUIES. Mr. Gladstone in the South of France— Return from Cauties-Signs of Growing "Weakness— Peaceful Death— Universal Demonstrations of Grief-Tele- grams ot Sympathy— Adjournment of the House of Commons -The Queen and Prince of Wales Express Their Sympathy-Tributes from the Newspnper Press— Telegrams fr. the Government of the United States- Estimate of Mr. Gladstone by Prominent Americans— Lying in State at Westminster-Great Throngs of People View the Remains-Remarkable Demonstration at Mr. Gladstone's Public Funeral— Burial in Westminster Abbey ^^g 10 Contents. O CHAPTER XVIII. MR. GLADSTONE ON THE ARMENIAN QUESTION. Not a Party Question-The Resolutions-Dreadlnl Words to Speak-Witnesbes to the Massacres-Report of Dr. Dillon-Ilunder, Murder, Rape, and Torture— Responsibiliiy of the Turkish Government-The Turk Ouglit to Marcli Out cf Armenia- What is to Become of Cliristians in the Turkish Empire?— Sad and Terrible Story 4(.2 CHAPTER XIX. GLADSTONE ON THE BEACONSFIELD MINISTRY. Dissolution of Parliament-Reply to Opponents— A Serious Position-Policy of the Government— Responsible for Other Countries— Turkey a Scaudal to the World-Derby and Beaconsfield— Turkey Encouraged to Ho to V/ar— Treaties With Europian Nations-Policy of Austria -Worshi}=pers of Success—Treatment of the Sultan— Tory Government to be Tried by its Principles _^-o CHAPTER XX. THE IRISH QUESTION. Personal Explanation— Domestic Government for Ireland- Six Conditions for Home Rule-Repelling Attacks - Trivial Disputes-All Great Movements Small in the Beginning- Fnilure of Parliament to Legislate for Ireland- Attempt to do Justice to the Irish— Union of the Kingdoms to be Main- taiued-Trish Affairs to Be Settled in Ireland— Movement Against Rent- Mr. Parnell's Party— Central Authority— Home Rule to Be Safeguarded— Urgency of the <4uestion— Charge of Being in Haste 489 ■». f !sa i LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. CHAPTER I. ANCESTRY AND EDUCATION Napoleon and Welliugion— Greaf PmKi;-, n • Birth of the lubject of i,! p'^rAr"""''""''^^' '""^ Glad«tones- Ech^cation-Wealth of t FamH^ Mernoir-Scotch Parentage- Earl v Gladstone at Eton-A Sdp.it ri^rw?\"' ^^'^ Brougham-M;. Arthur Henry Ifaliam-S VS^ i" ^^«"«=^-"-Account of Canning and His Ministo'-Tir n ,1 «*/*«"-Troubles in Jreland- aeteristic Anecdote-The Future pl' .TT''* ^^ '' ^ Tory-Chur- Early Promise of Great D,^S^^^^^ '' Oxford-Life as a Stude.t- ^*- name • ItaW n„,l t ■ r.'^'" ^"'^ '» te^or of his l'a.l been erusl,e--' educating the pupils there, they did a good deal in the way of educating themselves. One of the means which they employed for this purpose was the Eton Deb.,ting Societv of winch our snhjocl. became a member in 1826; and which he aided much, by his own work, and by getting others interested 32 Anrcstrt) an,l Education. In the «amo form with Gladstone was Arthur Honry Hallam the oldest son of the historian, and th. fnond .-hoso L,\ t2 Eton School. nyson has made the subject of In Memoriam; and the two were iilmost inseparable. It was to please Ilallam that Gladstone re- Ancestry and Education. 33 nounced those athletic «ports in which he would otherwise have Ind W ',"" pT'''^ '"' '"""° '° ^""^' ^^"•'^^ "bout the fields ana VVindsor Park. wlihf 7'""',' 5""":"« '•"'''"' *='""'" "24, in tl,o courso of wl ch 1,0 found t„„„ for „„ l,„„,.', talk with tl,o bo„ of I.U fnena and supporter, doubtless did much towurd establishing on a firmer bas.s that admiration for the brilliant statesman which w,^ so nofceablo in Gladstone's later years. The talk was upon the lead.ng questions of the day; and the Minister of the Crown elder brother, and was closely followed by his young admirer. stul„r:f "r ■'""" "'^^ ^'"'""""•"' """- '""' "'one time th. students of Fton were accustomed to celebrate a festivrl pecu- .ar to themselves, called Montem. Costumed in various e„^°rs sometimes m imitation of historical characters or national dress ''[IZ r:"".'"'""! »"Wb«tions from visitors to support tho captain during at least a portion of his Cambridge or Oxford course. At the "Montem" of 1826, Gladstone was i^n Greek cos tnme ; and was one of the " salt-bearers," as these collectors were called It was tho rule that the captain should pay out of th! sum thus collected, for all tho damage that was d'on'c' bT h r, m! pant schoolboys during the festival; and Mr. Gladstone was one It , , d""" "^ "" '■°"°'" '"""> "•■■"" '" k""? Bueh orde! that these damages would not molt all the salt ,:!''" p*""" ^^V"""""' ""P™ P"Wi»l-J at' Eton before this hme. Prominent amr ^ them were the Microcosm, in which Canning and Frere had given to the world tho earliest sdn if ^oduct?;f P 1 "" ""'''"'""^ ''y *'"' dolioately finished pioducts of Praeds genius. It was almost exclusivelv to th- J forts of young Gladstone that anotiier m„g„.i„e wasdue-The ^to» M,scd!any. Of this ha was the editor and the principal eon intn hi Tt^'f f "^ '"""P''""' '" '"» summer o'f 1826, until he left the school. T the tirst volume he contributed thineen articles, incLiding a poem of two hundred and fifty ites on Eic hard Coeur do Lion. How far the general popularUy of oenai.ly the Wi.ard of the ^"a^aekn^o "redg'ed':: rt' onto poet both of Gladstone and h.. friend Hallam 84 Ancestry atul Education. To thosociytid voiiirno of tho Eton Miscellany ho contributed seventeen jvrticlcs ; both those numbers of course representing separate contributions, and not editorials, introductions, *;tc. His pen name was Jiarthdomno Bouveria ; and this v/aa the epitaph which he composed for himself as editor: Ilero lietli Bartlo Bouvcrio ; u^ merry soul and quiiiiit wiis lio ; . He lived fur gain, ho wrote for polf, Then took his pen and stabbed himself. Perhaps the most notable of his contributions is the tribute to Canning, written on the occasion v.; that statesman's premature death. He had died just when triumph was awaiting him. The aim ofhis labors for many years had boon Catholic Emancipa- tion. We cannot pause hero to describe the disabilities under which Catholics labored at this period. Those earlier and more oppressive laws, which forbade a communicant of the Eoman Church the privilege of educating his own children, and gave his estate to the child who would profess himself a Protestant, had long ceased to bo enforced j but thero were many respects in which the laws of the land Avero scarcely less unjust. Canning had made this the turning point of the campaign of 1S12; but the state of Europe worked against his plans. It was the old story; Grattan had said, as car'/ as 1782 : » England's weakness is Ire- land's strength." Conversely, the truth is the same. The Irish were obliged to wait for a threatened invasion of Napoleon's army before the frightened English Parliament. - ould even prom- ise them this -edress j and tiio promise was not lulfilled soon. Canning's efforts in this direction had i.uide him unpopular at court, and this disfavor was increased by the course which he took in regard to Queen Caroline's divorce. During the regency, Canning had shown himself no approver of the treatment which the I rincess of Wales received from the royal roue whom she had married; and when matters came to a head upon the acces- sion of George IV tendered his resignation; being openly opposed to any pr^ .ngs against her. The King, however, refused to accept it, since it would mjilerially weaken the Cab- inet; and the indispensable Minister received full peiinission to hold alooffrom all proceeding's against the Que n. The same trouble being expected to absorb the attention of Parliament during the next session ho again tendered his resi^-nation which was accepted this time, and Mr. Peel appointed. Ancestry and Education. gg But the business of royal family quarrels settled, for the time at least, the old question of Catholic Emancipation came up Hitherto, the statesman had boon u advance of histim-j; the time was now catching up with the statesman. The bill received greater majorities than over before in the Commons, though u hilled to pass the Lords, The death of Lord Castloreagh in 1822 made Canning absolute- ly indispensable in the Cabinet, and the Prime Minister re lest^ od the permission of the King to make the aj.pointmcnt. After considerable argument on the subject, the King wrote a letter which he requested might be shown to Mr. Canning, and which he intended to be very gracious. «' The Xing is aware " t' ! t- ter ran, " that the brightest jewel in his crown is the power of extending grace and favor to a subject who may have incurred his displeasure." Canning was duly shown this letter, and wrote one in reply which was not at all gracious, and which he in turn requosted might be shown to the King. He was with difficulty restrained from sending it, and the breach was healed. Prom this time we do not find that George x.. ^lilod to rate the Minister at his true worth The only excopti n to this was in 1827, when the death of the Premier made it necessary to form a new Min- istry. This was not an easy matter. The King w.s bent upon forming an ant.-Catholic Administration; Canning would not serve m such a Ministry. When his Majesty gave this idea up, and .ttempted to form a Cabinet on some other basis, there was still tTo ible, for Canning and Peel both seemed necessary. But Canning would not serve under Peel, and Peel would not serve under Canning After two months had passed, however, the King decided that Canning, even with hi. favorite measure was the man whom he must have ; and the apostle of Catholic Eman- cipation bacame Prime Minister of England. But thi did not bring peace to the political world. The Duke of Welhn ton so bitterly opposed the appointment of Canning tha he res^gned, not only the civil office that he held, but hft post as commander-in-chief of the British army; and every measure which the new Government brought forwa! 1 was mo.t bitterly opposed by - the Duke" in the House of Lords, and by his lieutenant. Peel, in the Commons. Harassed by such oppol ition, and conscious that the Kinsr entertnin^H no -e - ' 5 ing for l..m, tlie lot of the Prime Minister caVhardly^h^rbcen a pleasant one. He kept bravely on, however, and prepLed hi plan 36 Ancestry and Education. of campaign for the next session of Parliament. But a severe cold told heavily upon a system already broken by hard work and anxiety, and before the session of 1827 o^ oned ho was dead. Since his election in 1812, if not before, Mr. Canning had been a frequent visitor at Seaforth House, as the Gladstone residence at Liverpool was culled j and the elder Gladstone was without doubt a loader of tho popular enthusiasm for him. The groat Tory had been returned four successive times from that borough, and always by handsome majorities. The Cunning Club was one of the most prosperous organizations of the kind to bo found in Duke of Wellington {at t/ie Penod of the Battle of Waterloo). the Inrge, progressive, commercial city. Was it any wonder that the young student at Eton, distinguished as he had boon by such marks of the statesman's favor, should share the enthusiasm of his fellow-townsmen, led as they were by his own father, its ob- ject a man whom his earliest recollections pictured as ruling men bv the maeric of hia words? An.'i wlmn ht> /inmr^o^^^i o^^;«»,* and modern genius, is it any wonder that he should grow elo- MR. AND MRS. GLADSTONE ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE;r fin I nc-M lA/rr-.m.,^ e=!.. L-t-l-i »TC.lJuii-VU » _ I i » _ Ancestry and Education. 87 quent over the object of his boyish admiration, and award the palm to the genius of the time ? We have space for the perora tion only : ^ "It is for those who revered him in the plenitude of his mer- idian glory to mourn over him in the darkness of his premature extinction; to mourn over the hopes that are buried in his grave and the evils that arise from his withdrawing from the scone of life. Surely, if eloquence never excelled and seldom equalled, if an expanded mind, and judgment whose vigor was only par- alleled by its soundness, if brilliant wit, if a glowing imagina- tion, if a warm heart and unbending firmness, could have strengthened the frail tenure, and prolonged the momentary en- durance of human existence, that man had been immortal. But nature could endure no longer. Thus had Providence ordained that inasmuch as the intellect is more brilliant, it shall be more short-lived ; as its sphere is more expanded, more swiftly is it summoned away. Lest we should give to man the honor due to God, lest we should exalt the object of our admiration into a divinity for our worship. He who calls the mourner and the weary to eternal rest hath been p' eased to remove him from our eyes The decrees of inscrutable wisdom are unknown to us- but if ever there was a man for whose sake it was meet to ir' dulge the kindly though frail feelings of our nature, for whom the tear of sorrow was both prompted by affection and dictated by duty, that man was George Canning." Whatever be the faults of this passage, it will compare favor- ab y with the majority of schoolboy productions; and perhaps it will not surprise the reader who has not been told the author's name to learn that the boy of eighteen afterward became ono of the most eloquent members of the British Parliament. We discern already the indications of that fluency which his enemies have sometimes styled verbosity; that wonderful flow of words which piles up invective after invective, argument upon argu^ ment, until the whole becomes unanswerable. We have already mentioned Halkm as one' of Gladstone's con- tempoiaries at Eton. Next to him, in the estimation of the stu- dent in whom we are specially interested, came George A Sel- wyn afterward a bishop; and he who, as Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, became Professor of Poetry at the Universitvof Ovfnvd Though the esteem of the bend master of this time does "not seem to be worth wishing for, it was possessed in large measure 88 Ancestry and Education. li i by tho pnpil who could outwit him in argument, and who never betrayed fear of his tyranny. It was won mainly by young Gladstone's persistence in study, and retained by that and other qualities. Alluding to the fact that Mr. Gladstone .ho elder had been undecided whether to send his second son to Eton or the Charterhouse, Dr. Keats once said : " That would have been a pity for both of us, Gladstone--ror you and f )r me." During his year in the Sixth Form, or highest class of the school, Mr. Gladstone became President of tho Debating Society and tho acknowledged head of the school in literary attain ments and oratory. His home training had indeed been such as to fit him for this standing in a pnculiar degree. All tho chil- dren of tho family were accustomed to argue with each other every point that admitted of argument ; it was this trainingthat has made him such a master of the art of persuasion. The argu- ments were all perfectly good-humored ; but they were not ad- vanced rashly, or abandoned without conviction. Nor were they averse to acknowledging themselves beaten when such was felt to be the case. It was early recognized that the second son pos- sessed the greatest powers of persuasion. On one occasion, an old Scotch servant was directed to hang a certain picture, but the side of tho room on whi h it should bo placed was not specified. Master Willie, as he was called at home, and his sister. Miss Mary, proceeded to discuss tho question, each choosing a dif- erent place as the one to be preferred. The feminine tongue was tho longer, or else her enemy was too gallant to insist upon fighting it to the end, even with his sister; for he was silent af- ter a while, though evidently not convinced. The servant hung the picture as Miss Mary wished, then drove a nail on the oppos""- ite wall. "What are you doing that for, Sandy?" demanded the vounjr lady. " ^ "Aweel, Miss, that'll do to hang tho picture on when ye'll have coom roond to Maister Willie's opeenion." We have already spoken of the lack of mathematical training at Eton. Ko arithmetic beyond the suhjoct of division was taught by the master, who was allowed to give his lessons out of school hours, as extras, to those who particul.ady wished to excel ; and for many years after Mr. Gladstone left the school this state of things continued. While the requirements at Cambridge were Ancestry and Education. 89 such that this would have boon very insufficient propagation, in- volving the necessity of studyii ^ under a private tutor, it 'was different at Oxford. It seems almost incredible that during the present century it was nuito possible for a man to take his de- gree at this ancient seat of learning, and yet have no more knowl- edge of mathematics than the boy in our own primary schools. Yet so it was; and if young Gladstone had been content simply to take the classical course at Oxford ho migh^„ have gone direct to the university. His homo training, however, had given him habits of thoroughness with which this was inconsistent j and for nearly two years he read with a private tutor, Dr. Turner, after- ward the Bishop of Calcutta. When he did enter Oxford in 1829, ho knew almost as much mathematics as the average Cambridge sophomore. His career at scnool had given him the reputation of uncom- mon ability, and because he was regarded as a young man of ex- ceptional promise he was nominated to a studentship at Christ Church. This brought him an income of about £irO per annum. The scholarships are now given to those who oxo^l in the com* petitive examinations, and it is not usual for th/.se who are in affluent circumstances to compete for them ; but fifty or sixty years ago, they were at the disposal of the Dean, and were not often bestowed upon those who really had need of them. The student impressed himself strongly upon the minds of his comrades. It was his intense conviction of being in the right which made him so persevering, not to say stubborn, in an argu- ment; and thus assured him the victory over those who did not ponder very deeply on their opinions, and hence were not prepared to defend them vigorously when attacked. Yet one of his tutors has borne evidence to his readiness to acknowledge that he had been in the wrong, when he really thought that it was so. Thus early wore the traits developed, which made it possible for him to be first a Tory, then the most progressive of Liberals; first to permit the use of coercion by a member of his Ministry, as a means of ruling the Irish; then to advocate the extension of homo rule to that country. It was a thoroug-: knowledge of his nature, as displayed at college, which enabled one of his old college friends to say forty years afterward : '' You must know Gladstone to understand how much It costs him to give up any clause in a bill which he has framed. He hates compromise as a concession of good to evil. <0 Ancestry and Education. He cannot ivckrnwlodgo half truths or admit tho value of half good. What grieves him is not tho humiliation of being beaten by liis sysLomatic foes, but tho misery of having failed *,o con- vince those who profes:, to bo his friends and to let themselves be guided by him; and again, when he surrenders a particle of what ho considers right, ho is at war with his restive conscience, askinghimselfwhother ho was morally justified in yielding to servo party ends." I Chnst Church College, Oxford. It was small wonder that a youth with such abilities and such characteristics should soon become a notable figure in the Ox- ford Union, tlio foremost literary and debating society of tho Ancestry and Education. 41 nmversity. This association had boon founded in 1823, chiefly by Balhol men, but by 1829 Christ Church and Oriel Colleges furnish- ed a majority of the members. It possessed a respectable library and a well-furnished reading room. Something of the earnest- ness of the members may be inferred from the fact that, until 1826, proposals to buy the Wavcrly Novels and other works of fiction were resolutely thrown out. The debates were principally on subjects conneclod with tL . conduct of national affairs : and the young students gravely advised and directed the Ministers of the Crown, as Columbus commanded the sun to hide his face from the recusant red men; that there was an eclipse, history re- cords; and sometimes the British Empire was ruled in accord- ance with the ideas of the Oxford Union; but the command was probably the reason in one case as much as in the other. It is curious to rote the stand which the embryo statesman took upon the questions of the day. Like a true Tory, ho was vio- lently opposed to the question of Parliamentary Eeform, which was then the subject uppermost in the minds of all concerned with public affairs; and spoke in the Union with considerable ability upon this side of the question. This speech is of consid- erable importance, considered as a step in his career; for it pro- duced such an impression upon the young Earl of Lincoln the eldest son of the Duke of Newcastle, that ho wrote home to his father : " A man has uprisen in Israel." The young nobleman's admiration for his fellow-student had begun some time before this, and continued strong as ever for -^any years afterward • it was the means of exciting the interest of his father, one of the most powerful Tories of the day; and was the reason why Mr Gladstone was invited to stand for the duke's pocket-borouirh of Newark. ^ For the present, however, we have but to deal with his uni- versity life. The deba.o upon the relative excellences of Byron and Shelley, an inter-university contest to which Cambridge challenged Oxford, took place while Gladstone was in his fresh- man year, and therefore not eligible to more than a probation- ary membership. Though debarred the privilege of .-cakino-in this notable debate, ho was accorded the honor of a place upon the reception committee; for his reputation for hospitalitv was as great as for scholarship. The offices ofsecretary and president of the Union were con- ferred upon him at a later period ; but all his oratorical triumphs .'A- '^'^ K •f.f 42 Ancestry and Education, woro not in its rooms. IIo became the founder of another de- bating society, wliicli seems to have included only a few special friends as its members. This club was called the "Weg," from the Initials of its founder, and its assemblies were well known for their brilliancy. The leader of the Weg was regarded as the most religious man of his sot. Ho was what was called an "enquirer after truth" in those days J and as such, he was a fairly regular at- tendant upon church, with frequent visits to the chapels of the Dissenters. Ho was untiring in his efforts to induce his fellow- students to go with him to hear the University Sermons, preach- ed Sunday afternoons; and one unlucky occasion, when he yield- ed to the heat and prosiness of the preacher, furnished Doyle with an unfailing retort for future invitations of the kind. "Thank you," the future poet would say to the future states- man, '' I can sleep as well in my own chair." Ho went up for his degree at the Michaelmas term of 1831. Moderations had not then been instituted, and the students were utterly ignorant as to whether their attainments were anything near the mark, until the final examinations were held. An under- graduate's scholarship was never tested until the time came at which he tried for his degree. It was therefore with some ner- vousness about the result that Mr. Gladstone entered upon this test; and when ho went home for the Christmas holidays, with- out having learned anything definite about the examination, he was decidedly anxious. Though it be not in mortals to command success, he had deserved it; and in this case desert was reward- ed. Ho was among the forty-seven who took a ''first-class" in classics, and among the five who achieved the same distinction in mathematics. Ho had thus the distinction of a " double first class," an honor which had been first won by Sir Eobert Peel. "The world lies at the feet of first-class men." Everything now combined to insure his success in political life — wealth, position, influential friends, all that could bo wished for were given to him who so richly deserved them by his abilities. What was the effect of his university training upon the mind and the after life of the student ? For unless this be shown the record becomes a mere gratification of idle curiosity. Lik'^i the Conservatives of the day, ho had dreaded innovation, and had seen clearlv tho ex'ils "which "ollow in her train. Tliat these evils were mere visionary ones, does not matter; he had become im- <>.%!;;"*% Ancestry and Education. 48 buod with tho ideas, so prevalent there, and indeed in strict ac- cordance with those of his father and his father's famous friend, which considered any confidence in tho people as only too like- ly to lead to a repetition, in London, of tho horrors perpetrated in Paris in tho days of Louis XVL His admiration of Canning, and his education at Oxford, were two mighty barriers between him and that party of which ho has since become the acknowl- edged and beloved chief. But let us hear what he has himself said upon tho subject, in a speech delivered at theopeningof tho Palmerston Club in Oxford, in 1878: " I trace in the education of Oxford of my own time one grea' defect. Perhaps it was my own fault; but 1 must i^dmit that 1 did not learn, while at Oxford, that which I havo learned since, viz.: to sot i\ due value on the impciishableand inestimable prin ciples of human liberty. The temper which, I think, too much prevailed in academic circles was, that liberty was regarded with jealousy, and fear could not be wholly dispensed with....l think that the principle of the Conservative party is jealousy of liberty and of the people, only qualified by fear; but I think t: at the policy of the Liberal party is trust in tho people, only qualified by prudence. I can only assure you, gentlemen, that now I am in front of extended popular privileges, I havo no fear of those enlargements of tho Constitution which seem to be ap- proaching. On the contrary, I hail them with desire. I am not in the least degree conscious that I havo less reverence for anti- quity, for the ben"-^"**!'!, good, and glorious charges which our ancestors have handed down to us as a patrimony to our race, than I had in other days when I held other political opinions. I have learned to set the true value upon human liberty, and in whatever I havo changed, there, and there only, has been the ex- planation of the change." Such is the explanation which, standing upon the thr shold of threescore and ten, he made upon the actions and opinions of the student of twenty-two. ^m I CHAPTER II. THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC LIFE. Interest iu Political Qnestion«— Reaction After the War— Destitution of the Colliers— Seats in rarliameiit Eoiight and Sc'd— How Elections were Conducted— Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister— Plan of Koform - Fury of the i'ory Peers— Address to the Electors at Newark— Mr. Glad- stone Elected to Parliament -The Slavery Ciiiestion— Eloquent Speeches- Becomes Identified with Great Public Questions— Rising Star in the Polit- ical Firmament. ^UEING tho Spring of 1831 Mr. Ghidstone took an acti^ ,^ interest in political questions. Among other proofs o.' this, wof'-'l un aecotint of a Reform meeting published in a paper of t: j period, writt^ n by the young graduate; in which ho showed that tho vast crowd vi^eia present was not to betaken as an indication of tho popularity of the movement, lie was not backward ir assailing the characters of those who wore active at this meeting, as ho deemed to be evidenced by their previous standing and their performance on the occasion. During the summer of that year, tho young gentleman went to the continent, where be expected to enjoy an extended tour. Ho was recalled to England during that very summer, however. One of the most important measures of the century had just passed the two Houses, and reoeived the unwilling assent of tho King. But the Ee^brm Bill of 1832 is too important a measure in itself, and as a forerunner of what came after it, to be light- ly passed over in the life of an English statesman who, like Gladstone, sat in tho first Reform Parliament, and was active in I those later eflPorts for Reform which grew out of the liberty as- sured by the first law. As long as the country was at war, the Conservatives natural- ly held the reins of government; it was not safe to make con- cessions to the people in the face of the outrages perpetrated by the French ; the monarchy would be overturned, social order destroyed, and general pandemonium ensue, should such encour- 44 w .w HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA ,* The BeginnuKj of PuhUc Life, 45 i ngement bo given. True, tho Bill for fJutholio Emancipation hud boon carried, but that was an act of just'ee, long-ciolayod, in- deed, but thorougl.ly difloreiit from such a purely political measure as increasing the number of electors for the membcraof Parliament. There was no real representation of the people of England at that time; and it must be remembered that thoT- had never had any rights, aside from *' ; landed proprietors. To go back to the very co nor-stono of English liberty, Ma.^na Charta itself, that instrument protected the barons against t e tyranny of the king; but there was no human power which could protect th. vagc-earners against the tyranny of the bar- ons. Hampden pheld the rights of the Commons against Charles I., but those Commons were, like himself, men of large property and high standing. In 1886, there were thirteen work- ingmen in Pari... ..ent; not agitators, who lived off the contribu- tions of their misguided disciples, and never did a day's honest work in their lives, but the regulation " horny-handed sons of toil," who by their skill had first gained the respect of their fellows, and retained it by their sterling good sense; supported by tlio trades union?, it is true (for they must live), they gave to the goo. 1 of the community the time which they had formerly devoted the manual labor which providod food and shelter for their i*>milies; but were in no sense adventurers. Such were the facts in 1886 ; but in 1826 such a prophecy would have been looked upon as the wildest dream of an unscrupulous rcvolu- tionis+>j and it was not rendered possible for forty years later. But when tho v/ar was over, the reaction began to set in. It began with the abolition of most of the sinecures which had bc:-^ held by the great nobles at enormous salaries. Having cut off from the list those offices where there was nothing to do, the reform- ers next considered those where the work was done chiefly by dep-ties; and the practice of allowing officers so to discharge their duties was to a conuderablo extent abolished. Ecligiotis tests were dono away with j Catholics might sit in Parliament Dissenters might hold any kind of civil or political office, Jews wereeli-ibleas civic officers of London. The cHminal code, too, had been changed, and tho death penalty limited to those great crimes which are now punished by the extreme sentence of the law. All these changes, while they seem to us to em- brace only those principles which must rule the intercourse be- tween man and man. were then real reforms. 46 The Beijinning of Public Life. The people hud tried to make themselves heard, but had not succeeded. " In 1817 some starving colliers of the North had thought of making a pilgrimage to the house of the Prince Re- gent in London, in the hope of being allowed to tell their tale of misery to him, and induce him to do something on their be- half. Following ti;e examj^le of these poor fellows, a large body of Manchester workingmen resolved that they would walk to London, make known their grievances to the authoriti s there, and ask for Parliam.entary Reform as one means of i iproving their condition." Destitute as they were, they had no money to spend upon this melancholy pilgrimage for anything but the food which was an absolute neeessily; and each carried with him his blanket, that he might not bo without a bed at night. When this became known among those who had never felt the hardships of poverty, the foot-sore and shelterless travelers were styled the "Bhmketcers." But it was useless to make such an ap- peal to the Prince Regent or his Ministry. The men in author- ity saw nothing pitiful in ihis array of hai'd-working men, ask- ing to be allowed the bare right of living by their own labor, for such a privilege was what they hoped Reform would bring thorn. They were rioto , revolutionary, seditious; and the soldiery posted along ti roads which they traveled arrested some, who were brought to trial and committed to prison ; while the rest were turned back homeward, to endure as well as they could the old burdens. The Peterloo Massacre took place about two years after the journey of the Bhinketeers; and these are but specimens of the tyranny which was practised upon Englishmen of that day, un- der the disguise of a representative government. It seems in- credible that such abuses should have arisen in a system origin- ally intended as a safeguard of the liberties of the subject; but it must be remembered that the sovereign alone had the power to summon a borough or county to return a representative to Par- liament; such a call once given, the member was elected time af- ter time; in many cases, the original population had dwindled to a mere handful, and in some it was altogether gone; v/hile, on the other hand, the great manufacturing centers, which had crrjwn uj, of late years, were wholly unrepresented. Two-thirds of the House of Commons consisted of mt-mbers from "rotten bnronp-hs." as thov were callcMl ; borou erywhcro gatherings of anirrv men. d„,;„„li„. " '..^ ""'; ircemen. Parliament met again in December'' im -tV, »ga.„ passed the Commons, and the sccolTrtd/nrpL'sTd f Ill 52 The Beginning of Public Life, I! Lorda by a majority of nine. But this was not sufficient to in- sure its final success, and the Premier demanded, as a last resort, the power of creating a sufficient number of peers to insure its success. It was refused; he resigned; the king sent for the Duke of Wellington, and commissioned him to form a Ministry. " The Duke," as he was called par excellence, essayed the task ; but Sir Robert Peel would have nothing to do with the matter, and without his assistance the Duke could not prevail upon a single man to accept office in such a Ministry. As he could not well do all himself, he resigned, and Grey was restored, with the power which ho had demanded. The Tory peers were furious, but helpless. One of them, when he learned what had been done, arose and left the House. Others continued their personal attacks upon the Premier; but it was all useless. On the 4th of June, 1832, *;he Reform Bill passed, re- ceived the assent of the Sovereign, and became the law of the land. It is because the first Parliament elected after the passage of this famous measure was the first in which Mr. Gladstone sat, that we have devoted so much space to its consideration. The history of a statesman must include at least something of the history of the country during the time that ho is active in her councils; sometimes, as in the present case, thishistory must ex- tend still farther back ; for, as we have seen, and shall see, the political creed of Gladstone was largely influenced by his admir- ation for a statesman whose life closed just as the ardent admirer entered upon manhood. Mr. Gladstone was an intimate friend of the young Earl of Lin- coln, the son of the Duke of Newcastle. That high-born oppon- ent of Reform had demanded of the Reformers : "Have 1 not a right to do as I like with my own ?" The question of course re- ferred to the boroughs of which he was the patron; and passed into a political maxim. The new law decided the answer — that the boroughs were no longer his own but the property of a con- siderably increased number of electors, whose franchises were based on a property qualification much smaller than such a re- quirement had been under the old order of things. But His Grace had not accepted the anr.wer, and resolved that he would still have the disposal of his borough of Newark. Accordingly, he invited his son's friend to stand for it. It was this invitation which cut Mr. Gladstone's continental tour short; he hurried back to England, to make his canvass. U £?»"!•- ■ ..i&^^i.- SfS?;'V; m'::^m^&m THE LAST SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AS PRIME MINISTER The Beginnituj of Public Life. 53 woT,M be° thlT ™° '?• " '""" °^ ''"""■'•^'' «-P«ot»tion. What mo f Th°Wh"'"'f' ?"J''^*''°*"' ^°"'™<"' House of C„m- „.. __^^ CUNTOK Arms, Newaiik, Oct. 9, 1832. T-oft. Wmhj and Indepe„Uent Electors of tkc Borough of Mwari ■ JIav,ng„o„con>plotedmycanva.,s,Ithi„kitnowmyd„lv„s «K„ unenquirin;^ and indiscrim natino- desiro f«^ e=ttrai:tTr;t^-r''T-?^--"^^^^^^ classes; which by Uturbn* '^ .'"■' °"' "f-'^'-l'-^trial strikes'at the 00(0 p^Ztv'"' P™™' "^^''-/^ eonSdence, and thus, wo must tho,:2eZi:;tH wm do " °" "'""'^ ' "»" " For the mitigation ofthoso evils, we mnsf T .k;„i, 1 , only to p,articular measures, but to tie rostoralio ' !f T* uals, are bound to carry thioughout thoir n.t .t' • '^''''^• high truths they have ilknowlodg d Prin M 1 1^^"'* '' *'° ed ngainst our institutions; and, not bylTc ifn.rhvT^'^- ism^, not by oppression nor corruption ''"f 1'"^"°^^^ t^-^Por- must be met. corruption, but oy pnncip/es they -imoner their /l,-..t. results should be a ...d„ln.. „.^ ^p^^.^j . te •ests of the poor, foun<' ^d those who are the least able to tak upon the rule that care of themselves should be II CD o H en & W O M O H ;?; H K 00 CO o I— I H M M M w Ixl O ^Ae Be« The question is as to" „ ord f a^fd L oJd" "^ ? '' °'°''^''^''- ture attacks the moral cv,l bcTonl! . "'"'",''"'>• i ""^^ Scrip- poral through the mZTLl ^l P"''"' '""'> ••""' """"n- which scripirfLrei:;:,::,;:;' ' "■" ""'^"' """ "- -"- ti:ii:;:rr:;itro:;ra':^^^^^^^^^^ Christian instruction, „ot inLndcd to ^ s" rVf^IIX-id "»! P.oly and wisdom for the religious improvenTent of . g.;ocs b,n to do thoroughly what1heycan^n;i p\:. a'; ""• Asregards,mmcdiatecmaneipati„n,witho^wUho,' ^' sat.on, there are several minor reasons against it hHJ rf T wcghs with me is, that it would, I much Tar ch. I "'"''''"«'• now affecting the negro for othc;s whi:h t:;,:-::Zlt::t !V.;v?.V.i-- .^JTW *'" rr^ ill iiij : j| hii The lieIicly. A considerable portion of his father's wealth was drawn from the West Indies, where ho had large estates, worked wholly by slave labor. He was somewhat in the position of a scion of a Southern family, in American ante-bellum days, when called upon to de- fend the ^'peculiar institution" against the accusations of North- ern friends. More positive condemnation of the slave question we could not expect; and we must admire the dexterity with which he has avoided committing himself. The opponents of Mr, Gladstone were not to be despised. Mr. Handley appears i:, have been of much less note than Sergeant Wilde, who had much personal popularity in Newark, and was -a The B€f ^i • , . . , „ •' im 111 lUiu mintis ot then* own. vorv d ffpr- en .„ bent from that of the d„ke. His influeneo w'as e^nt d . Kefoim Wh.gs newly enconraged by the passage of the creat measure, that it was said that if the dnke bad Wonghforwa" .tfcrd.""' ^'"•'' '''"""'"' "^ " ^•^"'"''"'"' >- -ou.d^have ;::„ f h Ji°,r'"!,"foT ^"" '"^'"' »°'' "'!>, tl.o eleetion being fixed for the 12th and 13lh. Mr. Gladstone was the third of tl.e e ndU la es ,n the nomination. His cxperieneo upon the hustings "a , not have been a very pleasant one, .. he was assailed by" „, es. .ons from Ins opponent's snpporters. One of these hoslilo e eo- tors demanded if ho were not the D„ke of Neweastle's nomi e„ .W, ,„ ,, „ t „f.f,.,t_ 1,^ „.^, ,,_^ j,_^j^^ ^^ Neweaslle's nom ee' a.,^ everybodythcro present wasperfectlyaware of thefi,""bt he question was asked, that an argument n.ighi be based , no ho answer ; for the faet was not to be deniel. Mr. Gla.| ,0 e ' ener.Ks aver tnat he is sMIled in the art of talking without a,- ng anyth.ng; of salis.ying his listeners without mtuing a y as ert,o,,., to eomm t himself. If this is so, he began at an eaX ago ; for he certainly evaded this embarr,..,sing questio" , 0" a neat .nanner He informed the gentleman that he w u ,7 to know wh,at ho meant by tho expression n.,nd ; if ,ho ele . „r would tell him what was in,plie,| by the tenn'. ', , I, u „ I.e, castle s no,n„ ee." he (Mr. Gladstone) would tell ■ n, whet that he had V-''''"^ *" ''■'" "'■ ■""■ ^'>« ^'"■"■•l--. -Lothoug ino duke s nominee lie "v^ ..Jn^ri , -.> . 1 , , ' -Apiameu -was a person sent in ^^'^ pushed down tho throats of the electors, whelr the^likci him ' ■■' ^' o J''-''JiM:MiugTiumr-i»iiMnMWiriiini>il(lo more to say. Another quc.^^tion remained to be met— it was that which he ..ad evaded so b .llfully in his address. His answer upon the histmgs socns to have been simply an enlargement of that which had Dcen given in print, bnt so stated that it was less equivocal in its condemnatio.i of the slave traflic and more cer- tr.inly in favor of emancipation. T'le candidates being called upon to address the meeting Ser- geant Wilde chose the slavery question as the chief subject of his speech, which lasted for more than three hours. He was follow- ed by Mr. Handley, who also spoke a long time, and mainly on the same topic, to show that h.s humanity was at least equal to that of the first speaker. Mr. Gladstone was thus .t a consider- erablo disadvantage; not only did he have to repl^ to these speeches on a subject which ho could ' .rdly discuss freely but .0 must speak to men worn out by li cni.g to two long speech- es, following the lively dialogues, some small portion of which we have described. He had hardly begun to speak when his .o.ce was drowned by the hooting and hissing which showed vhe.r disinclination to listen to him, and he soon found it would be impossible to proceed. A show of hands was demanded. There were few or none for Mr. Gladstone, beyond his support- tors on the hust-ngs; and a y oil was demanded. From the L-st this told a very iliiferont tale; for he to-k the lead from the start, and wa. never overtaken by his rivals. When the votinjr X^'^^n'^k *^'' '''"'* ''^^^^'' ^•''^d«to«^» 882; Hanuley, 793- VVildo, 719. ' A few days after this election, Mr. GladsLcne addressed a noi?!.- ' ' Constitutional Club at Nottinghum. Commenting 7'^ ''-""^■-^»J""l•"aloIli,o day observed; "Ho is a rroti tlemancf amiable manners and the most extraordinary talent ig IS a gen- ^li i i t^ r 60 The Beginning of Public Life, and wo venture to predict, without tl.o slightest exaggeration, that ho will ono day bo classed amongst tho most able statesmen in tho British Senate." Without exaggeration, ho has been class- ed amongst the most able statesmen in tho British Senate. ThefirstEeformParliamcntmetJan.29,1833. Its composition was not what had been expected - for now that the great measure had been carried, m-iny of the Liberal-Conservatives had return- ed to tho allegiance from which tho popular commotion had fright- ened them; tho Whig majority was not nearly so largo as the Whigg themselves had hoped, or tho Tories had feared. But there was still a sufficient majority to make tho party of Eeform a formidable enemy. There remained at least one great question to be settled, which had been agitated for a number of years. Before tlie American Eevolution began, William Wilberforce, then a boy at school had begun his long crusade against slavery by a letter written to a York newspaper. Of efforta in that direction he never wearied, until the hand of death itself was upon him. The slave- trade was abolished in England and her colonies in 1806, two years before the time when, by tho Constitution framed in'l7S7 It was abolished in this country. But slavery still existed, and the friends of freedom, cheered by this partial success, brou-ht new energy to tho completion of their task. At tho timo^of which wo write, Wilberforce was more than seventy years ol%iffn u TJie Beginning of J-'ublic Life. plantations), and that a plan should be adopted by which the de- serving negroes might be freed before the idle and incompetent ones. When wo consider the circumstances in which the young M. P. was placed, and the feelings with which he had boon educated we can hardly expect any more generous speech than this utter- ance. Had he been brought up with such an abhorrence of slav- ery as had been inculcated in the minds of Wilbcrforce's child- ren, he would doubtless have spoken more strongly; but ho was naturally one of the opponents of abolition, like the slave-own- ers of America. Had the American Abolitionists acted with as much consideration as Lord Stanlej', the slave-owners would perhaps have responded in the same spirit; and Emancipation would have been a peaceful measure. The bill passed its second reading ten days before the death of "Wilberforcc; its success was assured by the majorities which had sanctioned it thus far, and the known attitude of many of the Lords; thus the great, good old man had the satisfaction of knowing, in the hours of death, that his life had not boon spent in vain ; that the impetus which he had given to this philanthro- pic effort had secured its ultimate success, and laid the founda- tion for the happiness of thousands of oppressed and benighted men. The question of the abolition of slavery having been settled, there arose that gliost which continually haunts the halls of Parliament, and, like Banquo's, will not down. This was a form of the Irish question, at that particular time embodied in an ef- fort to settle the difficulties arising from the difference between the Established Church of Ireland and that of the people. The act of Uninr had provided that the Episcopal Church, as wo know it, should be the Church of Ireland as it was the Church of Eng- land ; and in every parish there was a duly presented incum- bent. Sometimes the whole representation of the Established Church in a parish would bo the incumbent and his clerk. Un- der such circumstances, the collection of tithes, from people who * supported another church, was not only a great hardship, but well-nigh impossible. The Government persisted in supporting churches and the clergy, whether there were any communicants or not. The priests had been tacitly exempted from tho pay- ment of tithes until about 1830, when some over-zealous tithe- proctor seized a priest's horse in default of payment. The peo' ?;^ii The Beginning of Public Life. 65 pie in general had long been accustomed to allow their property to be seized in this way, as they would not pay voluntarily for the maintenance oftho Establishment, and the Government in- sisted upon making collections. But to have the priest himself thus taxed for the support of the alien religion, was too much for their patience. Thore had been riots before this time, when the police had fired among the crowd with deadly effect: riots described with sue. vvthos by the great Irish orator, O'Con- nell^ that young Charles Dickens, a reporter in the House of Commons, and the most skillful that ever did that work, laid down his pencil and declared that he could not go on; that speaker's subject and manner had too powerfully affected him The priests now denounced the payment of tithes from the pul- pit ; It was the one thing which had been wanting j and the dex- terity and perseverance which the people exorcised in avoiding the payment of the hated tax would, if applied to their daily work, have enabled them to pay it ten times over. But as in the case of a celebrated small tax upon tea, which the British Gov- ernment once imposed, it was the principle which was at stake The authorities tried every plan to collect the tithes, but it was of no avail. Finally, in this session of Parliament, a plan was proposed, which would enable the incumbents to hold their own for a while at least. The Government was not without feeling for the clergy, whose lot was not a very enviable one; this same tax, which there was such an ado about collecting, was their means of subsistence; whatever were the merits of the case they were not to blame for the fact that the Church of the State and the Church of the people were not the same ; and the Govern- ment which had placed them in their present position could not with common decency, leave them to starve. Tho arrears of the tithes amounted, in 1833, to more than a million and a quarter sterling; an arrearage which was distributed amonganimmeBse number of men whoso sole means of living it was. Lord Althorp brought forward a bill which provided for the Government as- suming this debt, and looking to its own collectors for repay- ment Mr. Gladstone spoke against this bill, which, he said, he feared would place the Irish Church on an untenable foundation. Admitting the principle that the State ought to maintain the Es- tablished Church, he denied that the means provided in this plan were adapted to secure the ends wished. Mr. Gladstone seems to have been extremely unfortunate in his choice of subjects on 5 fpiiiii 66 The Beginning of Public Life. which to speak, for in this case, as in tho first, he was loft wo- fully in tho minority when it came to a division. iSV'! did any bettor effects result from his speech on the sub- joct of admission to tho universities, upon which Parliament found it necessary to legislate. It was proposed to remove the necessity of subscription to tho Thirty-nine Articles; and the bill passed by a majority of 89. Wo find no further evidence of tho activity cf t'.is young member of tho opposition during tho remaini.or of this year. Tho topics of importance had all been discussed and settled, for tho time at least. Slavery was abol- ished, though it would not actually cease for several years to come ; and tho affair had been managed in such a way that tho fears of tho planters had been allayed, and the numerous pi-edic- tions of ungovernable tumults and murderous riots by tho ne- groes as the result of their emancipation had been completely falsified by the event. Tho troubles of the Irish Church had boon settled for as long a time as tho amount of money appropriated would pay the tithes; though tho Irish people were still to be oppressed, to repay tho Government for this outlay. The re- quirements of admission to tho University of Oxford had been so far changed that otiiers than members of the Established Church might now enter that institution of learning, which had never swayed from strict orthodoxy since its early lapse in de- fending Wiclif. Such were three of the great measures of tho Parliament which met immediately after the passage of the first Eeform Bill. But tho Government which had passed these measures was materially weakened by tho loss of one of its members. Lord Al- thorp, who had held the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, had, by the death of his father, become I;ord Spencer and a member of the House of Lords. This made it necessary for a new Chancellor to bo appointed, and raised further difficulties peculiar to tho situation. Lord Althorp's influence had been suf- ficient to keep the party of tho Government tolerably united; tho Prime Minister, Earl Grey, and his successor, Viscount Mel- bourne, being of course removed from any direct influence over the members of tho lower house; but now there was no one who could prevent fatal divisions among tho Whigs of tho Commons. The king saw tho difficulties which had arisen, and was be- sides of the opinion that tho days of this party were numbered, so far as their present tenure of office was concerned. He refused, iMi" '-'M-mM' '^^^^ easily bo guessed, not declined. In this connection, wo note that though the action of William IV. in dismissing a Ministry winch had as yet sustai; u no nota- ble defeat in the House of Commons appears arbitrary and op- posed to tho principles of Constitutional Government, it was in strict accordance with the practice of his father, his brother, and himself at other times. Q-ioen Victoria is the first English sov- ereign whoso ministers have invariably been chosen with refe.. ence to the demands of the Commons, and retained in office un- til the Commons have demanded a change. 1- » or; Lord Duke of crt Pool L'lf to jn- had not » Ilfubrm [ Govern- wan trav- watched, of the cany on Micratior pber for itli which , had not the new a man of Lord of sssed,not ^'illiam no nota- and op- it was in ther, and ;lish sov- fh rcfe.. cflSce un. ymti z o s o o o CO Q X u) I I- > CO oa o _i z g CO CHAPTER III. EARLY OFFICIAL LIFE. Whigs Versus Tories - Trained in Early Life to Speak in fublic-Accoanfc of Sir Robert Peel— P:vent8 FollowiDg the Passage of the Reform Act— Mr. Gladstone m Junior Lord of the Treajury-Canadian Troubles of 1837— Death of King William IV.-Address to His Constituents-Accession of Victoria to the Throne-More Agitation of the Slavery Question-Debate on the War with China-Queen Victoria's Marriage-Popularity of the Prince Consort. 'IR EGBERT PEEL was the eldest son of a baronet of the same name, whose wealth and prominence as a manufactur- er had secured the elevation to a baronetage from Mr. Pitt. His Toryism was well defined and uncompromising; so that when, on the birth of his son, ho vowed he would give him to his country, it was understood by all hearers that the boy was to be devoted to the Tory party. But in the days which the young, er Peel was to see, the old-time distinctions of Tory and Whig were to go out of fashion ; and in their place were to come Conservatives and Liberals. There had indeed been use for these two later names before, but only as minor branches of the two parties, after the passage of the Reform Bill, it seems that the broadly marked distinctions werepermittcd to fadeout; and the more moderate parties obtained the ascendency. There are still Whigs and Tories, it is true, but thoy are looked upon as followers of a fashion which has long ago passed away. It is our pride that we lean toward our opponents' party so far that we can see the reasons M'hich influence their actions. The education of the boy thus devoted to his party was con- ducted by the father with the most jealous care that it should be such as would fit him to take part in parliamentary proceedings to the best possible advantage. From childhood he was trained to speak in public, by being placed upon a table each Sunday, when tho family returned from church, and bidden to repeat as much of the sermon as ho could recuii. At Harrow, where ho was the 69 70 Early Official Life. form-fellow of Lord Byron, he won golden opinions by his dili- gence and ability. At Oxford, where he was entered at Christ Church, ho was the iirst to win a double-first class under the new and more stringent examination. Hampdon and Whateley were among the competitors whom ho diptanced. He entered the House of Commons for the first time as the member for a bor- ough which was regularly sold to the highest bidder, and his first speech showed that the Tory Government had gained a valuable supporter. Ho had won his reputation as a speaker by an elo- quent oulogy upon the Duke of Wellington, which he found oc- casion to deliver in 1811, on the occasion of the British Govern- ment subsidizing some Portuguese troops. How far this influ- enced the Duke in his after treatment of Mr. Peel, it is impossi- ble to say J the man of the strictest justice is often unconscious- ly swayed by some such action of those with whom he has to deal. He was barely twenty -four when ho was made Chief Sec- retary for Ireland ; a post which then, as now, was not without its diflSculties. It is hard to say whether it is a matter of greater difficulty to deal with an opponent like O'Conncll, or one like Par- ncll; the scathing satire and coarso rough hum^r were quite enough to keep the young minister busy, v/ithout imagining the difficulties which might beset some i.iuccessor from quite a differ- ent kind of man. As a matter of course, he was opposed to the claims of the Catholics being granted; there were but few of the Tories who were not ; and this led to the conferring of a nickname upon him which is remembered now as one of the happiest puns ever per- petrated in politics: the opponent of the Irish Catholics was dubbed "Orange Peel." But he was not wholly acceptable to the party for who n ho was thus named. His moderation in some respects offended them J but ho held the office for a long time. His duel with O'Conncll was long made the moans of casting a good deal of ridicule upon him. O'Coi.nclI had taunted Peel with being afraid to uso certain expressions in any place where he could bo called to account for them. Pcci resented this at once, and authorized a friend to act as his second. O'Connell promptly named one of his friends for the same duty. The two seconds met, but were unable to agree from which party the challenge was due. To settle this question, thoy eventually challenged one another. O'Connell claimed that Peel was trying by this means to get out of it J Peel found another second, less ^ 2^.^ ■J':2m: nuairA-jiemit ,, -^.;u4^'fA.-i4l4t''-;''^<-.".-' •-? J;-'-'-' quarrelsome than the first, and challenged O'Connoll. The latter wus arrested and bound over to keep the peace ; th /agreed to end of the frmous duel between O'Conn.u and Peel, if it is „o^, too great a bull to speak of the end of an affair whicLever took pirtce. To go back to the graver events of Peel's life. There is om thing which was done in connection with his Irish Secretarvship which was a real and much-needed reform : the military cia cd c ml force of police was substituted. It seems to make but little difference by what agency oppression is carried on ; but a lit te the^r"; "v ' '' ^'^''^ *''^^^ P^^'- force, r^sponsiblto d bv thefr"! 'r^ '' '"''^ ^'"'^"^''^ *« soldiery, command- undoftirr '.'''' '"^'"^^'^S^ '^'' ^^'^'^ ^re nominally under the direction of the magistrates. ^ Resigning the Irish Secretaryship in 1817, he was out of office forthreeyears In 1819heshowed remarkable financial ability . of Bank of England notes in gold. The Bank Act, which he was mainly instrumental in framing, is still the law ^hich goveL the monetary system of the country. governs Go^vernmlSr""''' '^'""'>'' ''''''' '^'^"^^^ ^^^^ — ^^ the -government in those oppressions which culminated in the Peter- loo Massacre ; and, like Canning, he would have nothi^^ . to do with the action of the king against his queen, wh.n Ca oline o^ Brunswick claimed the title .f Queen Consort M.de Hom^ Secretary in 1821, ho was subordinate, in a me" ..""to M^^^^^^ n.ng, whose brilliant talents overshadowed all of hi's eotas" though he was not the nominal head of the ^^ovc.nmen Her' again he introduced reforms, simplifyin,^ -..l hu^na If 1 laws in regard to c.-ime. Un to 1970 ih., ^"'"anizing J,e ♦,., 1 1 , , " ^" -^^^^j there were no fewer thin two hundred and cfghty-throc l,uvs npon Iho .tatuto book rel-!t ng to oflcnco, for which death was the ronalty! Pccl'rwt ho first hand that dealt a biow at this ornel and iMffcctive let .slat,on; and althongh the refor,a wi.ich he instituted wrnot^" complete one, it n,„st be remembered .(,at there are Mm ts to t ,^ pos„b,l>t,os of changing existing l.w., which do nof^ arf from the unwillingness of the statesman. We have already noted the contest which ensued when Lord 72 Early Official Life. Liverpool died. After the death of Canning, Peel found that it was impossible to resist the claims of the Catholics any longer. It had been \ odicted by a close observer, who watched the course of affairs from a place of privilege, that "the march of time and the state of Ireland will effect it in spite of everything," and Catholic Emancipation became an accomplished fact. With his party, Peel had been in the minority during the Parlia- ment elected after the passage of the Eeform Act ; but this mi- nority diminished daily. It was at this time that Sir Eobert, Sir Robert Peel. the leader of his party, had the good sense to adopt the newer name by which it has been known since his time ; and men who had been bitterly opposed to Tories found themselves not unwil- ling to give support to Conservative measures. At the same time, the services which h'- had himself rendered to the old Tory par- ty made the contin... ..'co of its supporters' allegiance sure. The Whigs were suffering from the consequences of victory, and it had become impossible for the leaders of the party to Early Official Life. 73 ploaso the loss progressive adherents and the new WhiVs orLib- Tui!' ^'w7 ^^/^ ^'^"" *^ '"^^ themselves, at the same time. Although thei-e had been no direct rebuke of the Whig policy in the House of Commons, the king was not far out of the way in dismissing h,s ministers, and forming a Conservative cabinet. Mr. Gladstone s acceptance of the office of Junior Lord of the IiTd Tr '""' ^"'' ''' ''''• ^^^^^'^^'"^ '^ E"gi-h ^-^--^ piecedent, by accepting an office of profit under the Crown, he vacated his seat and the Speaker issued his writ for a new elec- ^o?i .TT '• ^^^\' "^^^'^'^ *" '^' ^'^^«t-«' G^Xnasio., re- viewed the history of the session, showing how the relative po- TrJ"^ H r K ^Tr ^"^ ««««"tially changed since the mem- be shad subscribed the roll. He seems to have thought that fTct tut J '' ""*'^ ''''^^" '^' ^'"^ -ad,anddepreLesthe fact that there were even "those among the servants of the king who did not scruple to solicit the suffrages of their constituents wi h promises to act on the principles of Radicalism." An in- telligent man could not deny the necessity for many reforms- Z t^u ^''""? «\«didate attempt such a hopeless and useless task "The question has then," he went on to say, "as it appears to n e, become, whether we are to hurryonward at intervals, but not long ones through the medium of the ballot, short parlia- ments and other measures called popular, into republicanism or anarchy; or whether, independently of all party considerations, he people will support the Crown, in the discharge of its dut; to n.aintain in efficiency and transmit in safety those old and va.uab e institutions under which our country has greatly flour- .shed." In regard to Church matters, however, \e saw that there was real need of reform. "Let me ad ^ shortly but em- phatically, concerning the reform of actual abuses, whether in Church or State, that I regard i, as a sacred duty-I duty at aU inie^and certainly not least at n period like thiL, when the dan- ger of neglecting it is most clear and imminent-a duty not inim- ml T ""!l^^*f-^^"<^^ Conservative principle, nor a curtail- ment and modification of such principle, but its legitimate con- seq^ience, or rather an actual element of its composition." He was confronted at first by the same opponents who had contested the former election; but Mr. Handley having wSi drawn, Mr. G adstono and the Liberal candidate, Sergeant Wilde tirtr^l". "''''"' opposition. The people of Newark feU that they had reason to be proud of their representative: his 74 Early Official Life. Iff had been a brilliant record, for a young man who had but recent- ly entered upon the arena of political life. According to the time-honorod custom, he was chaired, and as the procession wended Its way through the streets, he was received by all parties with the most flattering enthusiasm. At the rooms of his Com- mittee, Mr. Gladstone addressed the electors to the number of SIX thousand, and was greeted with deafening cheers. Mr. Gladstone did uot long hold the office to which he had been appointed so shortly after his chief's accession to power • but ho left It to accept one which was more desirable— that of Under-Secretary for the Colonies. This change took place shortly after Parliament assembled, in February, 1835. Act- ing in this capacity, he brought in his first bill in March of that year. Intended for the better regulation of the carriaf^e of pas- sengers in merchant vessels to North Americr it contained many humane provisions, and was most favorably received But the Peel Ministry was a short-lived one. It came to grief upon the question of the Irish Church, and the ministers were again defeated on the question of appropriating the surplus funds of the Church to the general education of all classes of Christians. In the bitter and acrimonious debates which attend- ed these two defeats, Mr. Gladstone was noticeable by the cour- teous bearing which has always distinguished him, and the gen- eral urbanity of his manners. Having thus lost the support of the House, the Peel Ministry of course resigned, including the officers who were without seats in the cabinet. Mr. Gladstone was again in opposition, and remain- ed there for some time. Shortly after this, we find him again defending the West In- dian planters from the accusations which were brought against them as a class, but based upon the cruelties practiced by a few • for the apprenticeship system gave the masters almost as much power, while it lasted, as the old system of slavery. After a speech supporting the Government against the House of Assembly of Canada, when the Canadian troubles of 1837 came before Parli-imcnt, Mr. Gladstone again spoke in opposi- tion on the question of Church Eates; and it is said by a compe- tent authority that this was the best and most impassioned speech which he had yet made. His opposition, however, did not produce any appreciable effect, as the Government carried the measure which had been nronospd "' * , '■St.'. '" •', - . ■|ii ^flr/y Official Life. 76 ThedeathofKingWilliamIV,whichoccurrodJune20th ISqy Princess Victoria in Girihood. and tho Tones of 3Ianchestcr desired to show their appreciation ot It. A deputation of three gentlemen waited upon Mr. Glad- stone, and invited him to stand for Manchester. Tho invitation was perhaps as great a compliment as thev conld r..^ him but unfortunately, in the great manufacturing'conter, [h^ defeat of 79 Early Official Life, i 1 iS the Tory candidates was almost a certainty. To use the express- ive language of a newspaper of the day, <'ho did not allow them to make a fool of him, and declined the invitation." Of course the mere question of victory or defeat was not the reason on which the declination was based j Newark was the first borough /or which he had stood ; it hud shown its appreciation of him at the second election at which he hud been a candidate; and to de- sert them now, after again presenting himself to them, and issu- ing an address, would have been wholly unjustifiable- But the Manchester people would not take no for an answer • and although Mr. Gladstone hud flatly refused to stand, thev placed his name before the electors. This was calculated to make trouble at Newark, and the much sought member issued an ad- dress to his constituents, dated July 22d, 1837. In this address he said : " My attention has just been called to a paragraph in the Not- tingham and Newark Mercury of this morning, which announ- ces, on the authority of some person unknown, that I have con- sented to be put in nomination for Manchester, and have prom- ised, if elected, to sit in Parliament as its representative. I have to inform you that these reports are wholly without foundation I was honored on Wednesday with adej ntution from Manchester empowered to request that I would become a candidate for the' borough. I felt the honor, but I answered unequivocally und at once, that I must absolutely decline the invitation ; and I am much at a loss to conceive how ' a most respectable correspond- ent could have cited language which I never used, from a letter which I never wrote. Lastly, I bog to state in terms as explicit as I can command, that I hold myself bound in honor to the electors of Newark, that I adhere in every particular to theten- or of my late address, and that I place my humble services dur- ing the ensuing Parliament entirely and unconditionally attheir disposal." But in spite of this explicit and emphatic denial that he had accepted the invitation, his name was still used at Manchester It was reported that he hud promised £500 toward the expenses of the election, if he were returned ; and his name was actually presented at the polls. Although the candidate himself hud thus discountenanced the whole affair, the Liberals were ruther taken aback at the strength of the Tory vote. The Conservatives, after the election was over, g^,e a dinner to their unwiliin^candidntn ■M.ji ross- horn arso I on ugh a at do- ssu- cr J liey ako ad- 'ess ot- un- on- m- ive 511. er, ho nd im id- or 3it tio n- v- ir r Early Official Life. 77 ^ _r \~ CO < o z o ir < < I < > <• £E to I z < I a z I o z < z o o < o at which ho conffrntn'-vto.l thorn on tho energy which they had shown, and predicted that their strength would be tho nucleus of future success. Tho accession of the young Princess Victoria to tho throno of Great Biitani, upon tho death of William lY., was an event of profound in.port to tho whole English-speaking race and to hu- manity at largo. George III. had left seven sons. Of these tho eld- Duchetss of Kent, Mother of queen Victoria. , , est, who succeeded him as George IV., had but one child, the i nncess Charlotte, who died in 1817. Tho second son died with- out hen-s; WiHiam IV. had no children. After tho death of tho 1 nncess Charlotte, tho fourth son, Edward, then a man well on toward middle age, had married tho Dowager Princess of Leiw- eugcH, whose brother had been the husband of the Princess r^F^" -T'^'^z.jr^is^T':^^-^.^ % IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 // 4i^ y. €£/. 1.0 I.I 1.25 •i^lllM 11125 ti 3.2 1^ I 2.2 M 1.8 U 11.6 <^ A '<^. A^/"^ W ^ r* ^3%- r Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 873-4503 # L1>^ i\ '^ 9> 4^ •^ # 6^ <^ L^. ^A '^ C^ ^ 1 If. i 1 I i :\ i 1 1 78 Early Official Life. 79 Queen of England. There was but one child born of this mar- nage,adaughter, who was intended to be named for h ^ uncTe dslTth f;;' '"' '^^ ^^^^^°^^^ ^- '' ^--'^ ^"t the c"a ms^stedthatAIexandrina must be the first name; whereupon the PnnceEegent declared that Georgina should be second' to no other name m the li.st of those borne by an English princess. The baby was accordingly christened Alexandrina ViJoria, the latter being her mother's name. The Princess Victoria was born May 24th, 1818: and eight months later her father, the Duke of Kent, died. The widowed mother of the heiress presumptive to the throne had a difficult task to perform in the education of a daughter destined for such a lofty position ; but she received no help from her husband's family. She was decidedly unpopular with them and with the people generally; and she did not make mucb effort to pleas! the family ,nto which she had married, having her own opinion of the.r^ 13 i^ .^ ^^ j^^^.^^,^^.^ ^^^^ ^^^ resolutely stifled all those naurallongings for her native land and thesocietyof her own relatives, and educated her daughter entirely in Eng- land, surrounded by English influences. ^ The little princess grew up without any clear idea of her own importance, although, as Mrs. Oliphant says, in hor Zife ofle Queen, "wherever the little maiden went, as was natural, she was th centre of attraction" to the people who realized Lr hTgh earn that she was next in the line of succession. The import- unde'rsrdT'"" ^'V''" "^'^ ^^'^ ^^ «^'^«^ ^^-* «he m'^^ght understand the reason for imposing more tasks upon her than were required of her cousins of less importance ; and the strict discipline which had always been used was in no way rdrxed thl tir'IoT r *'"' "^^ ""^' ^^'"P^^-* ^-- the King thai the heir to the throne was not permitted to join in the festivities dL\V°" \^"* *'° ^"^'^^^ wisely judged that her young thl; nfVu rt" "'"'^' *'^' '""^'* of George IV. infamous, and thatof William IV. ridiculous." The Princess Victoria was declared of age upon her oiffhteenth birthday, May 24th, 1837. When, a month lat'er, her ul dTed she b came Queen of England. His death took place at two o clock m the morning, and at five the Archbishop of Cantor- 80 Early Official Life, bury and Lord Conyngham arrived at Kensington Palace, y nd de. raanded to see the Princess Victoria. Her lady-in-waiting went to arouse her, but returned, saying that she waP in such a sweet s.eep that she did not like to disturb her. "Madam," was the grave reply, -we are come upon business of btate, and even the slumbers of THE QUEEN must give way to that. •' Thus rebuked, the startled attendant awakened sleeping and unconsei^aus Majesty, and Victoria, clad only in a night-dress, with a dressing-gown hastily thrown over it, and with slip- pers on her bare feet, came down at once. "Your Majesty," began Lord Conyngham; but he was stopped by a simple gesture from the young girl, who held out her hand tor him to kiss. He knelt and kissed it, and then told the news At eleven o'clock that day the first Council of the new reign was held. The death of the King was officially announced, and the two archbishops, the two royal dukes, the Prime Minister, and the Lord Chancellor were sent to inform the Queen. They returned to the council-room, the doors were flung open, and the new sovereign entered alone. Bowing to her assembled advis- ei-s, she took her seat, and read her speech clearly and audibly. Ihe only sign of emotion she gave was when her two uncles did her homage, when she blushed deeply. Said the old Duke of We hngton, frankly: -If she had been my own daughter she could not have done better." We have turned a moment aside from the strict subject narra- tive of this volume to mention some interesting features of this epoch, because the ascending of the throne by Victoria was per- haps of more importance to the kingdom than any other similar change had ever been. The accession of this young girl seems to have made possible a progress toward liberty which could scarcely have been attained under the rule of a man ; but there IS something higher than chivalry to be considered. Such re- forms as were made were bound to come at some time, and in some way; efforts at change in the days of the Stuarts had brought about a civil war, and resulted in the overthrow of the dynasty; efforts at change in the days of Victoria have ended in the triumphs of emancipation from the long rule by mere right of birth. If a different sovereign had succeeded to the throne, would even a Gladstone have accomplished as much for the liberties of his fellow-countrymen ? I I Early Official Life, gi • The Conservatives had not much hope of a change in the min- istry. Lord Melbourne was an adviser especially fitted to please a young queen, by the grace of his bearing and the suavity of his manners. Nor did the old Duke of Wellington credit the new sovereign with any betterjudgment in regard to men than was founded upon personal advantages. "The Tories will never have any chance with a young woman for a sovereio-n " be growled, "for I have no small talk, and Peel has no manners." Fortunately for the Conservatives, they were notobliged to wait until the Queen became old, or their leaders cultivated the miss- ing graces. For the present, indeed, she adopted somcthiuo- of Lord MelDourne's own policy; when urged to undertake much needed reforms, the answer which this indolent and debonair statesman most frequently gave was : " Can't you let it alone V The young queen agreed to let him alone, for a while ut least, in the office which he held ; being so little skilled in state-craft that she did not know whether a change was needed or not The country aprroved of her action; and the new Parliament was Ijiberal by u considerable majority. The most important question which the new Parliament had to consider was another phase of the Canadian trouble, or rath- er, the same disturbances increased. There had always been bad feeling in Canada between the old French settlers and the -Lnghsh who had come after the victory of Wolfe; in addition to this, was the feeling that the Legislative Council, the mem- bers of which wore nominated by the Crown, ought to be elect- ive, like the Representative Assembly. From these germs grew a rebellion, which required the presence of troops to subdue it. IhoGovernmentproposed to suspend the constitution of both Upper and Lower Canada, which were then separate govern- ments, though both had been involved in the Eebollion • and to send out a Governor-General and High Commissioner, with pow- er to remodel the constitution of both provinces if they saw fit Mr. Eoebuck, who had been in Parliament from the time of the Reform Bill until this session, was the paid agent of the Cana- dian governments, and he demanded the right to plaad their cause before the bar of both houses. Mr. Gladstone protested against this in the House of Commons, but without avail The agent was heard as he demanded. Mr. Hume's motion for the re- jection of the Government bill was followed by a lively debate in which the member for Newark took uo small part. Beviewing iff I I': f ■ liS 82 Early Official Life. I , the ent.ro series of events and the legislation and rulings which had led to the present complications, he pointed out the most glanng contradictions in the correspondence of Lord Gosford the Colonial Secretary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer en' deavored to answer this speech, but in the opinion of Sir Robert Pee at least, the attempt was a miserable failure. Notwithstand- ing this triumph of eloquence, the House wentinto committee by a considerable majority. ^ At this same session there was another ag-'tation of thes'avery question on which ^1... Gladstone, as before, spoke in the'inter ests of the slaveholders. But in this speech, which occupies !n'7K ^rt ''"^^"'"'^' ^° ^^^'^ * b^^'d^r stand than any that ho has yef, assumed, and reproaches these reformers who are so eager for complete emancipation that they cannot awaitthe time to which they once agreed, with the encourage- ment which they give to slave labor in consuming the cotton raised in the United States. The speech also disposed of many of the accusations which were made against the planters, and proved conclusively that the condition of the negro was con- stantly improving and had been doing so since the passage of the Act of 1833. Although this speech was on the unpopular side of the question, It greatly enhanced his reputation as a parlia- mentary orator. This, indeed, rested upon foundations which had been laid before this. It was his eloquence which had attracted Su Robert Pee s attention ; arid in 1835, the Duke of Bucking- aTissue' ^''"^ """'"'" "' '''' '^^'"'"■''' ''^^^'-'^'^^S ^ point -If argument could have done it, they must have succeeded; for among the speakers on their side ^ ,re Sir Edward Knatchbull Sir James Graham, Sir Robert Inglis, Lord Stanley, Mv. W e' Gladstone, Sir William Follett, Mr. Praed, and Mi^' Goulbui-n/' So that barely two years after his entrance on the scenes at St Stephens we find his name not the last that suggested itself when a close observer of political events counted over those sup- porters of the Ministry who were remarkable for their elo- quence. Mr. Gladstone had at this time already appeared before the public as an aut.or. To him the Edinburgh Review paid this trib- ute, which came from Macaulay's pen • "The author of this volume is a young man of unblemished chaiacter, and of distinguished parliamentary talents, the rising Queen Victo^na in he Coronation Robes, 1S37. 83 84 Early Official Life. hope of those stern and unbending Tories who follow, reluctant- ly and mutinously, a leader whoso experience and eloquence are indispensable to them, but whose cautious temper and moderate opinions they abhor. It wouid not be at all strange if Mr. Glad- stone were one of the most unpopular men in England. But we bcheve that wo do him no more than justice when wesay that his abilities and demeanor have obtained for him tho respect and gooJ will of all parties. His first appearance in the character of an author is therefore an interesting event; and it is natural thatthegentlewishesof the public should go with him to his trial. * * * * We dissent from his opinions, but we admire his talents; we respect his integrity and benevolence; and we hope that he will not suffer political avocation so entirely to engross him as to leave him no leisure for literature or philosophy." The question of National Education was introduced into the House in June, 1839, and in the course of debate, this recently published work was referred to in such terms as brought the member for Newark upon his feet, in derense of the propositions which he had there enunciated, and which the opposition wished to apply to the bill under consideration. The fundamental princi- ple of his argument had been, that the propagation of religious ti-uth IS one of the principal ends of government, as government. The Ministry wished to provide free schools in which the child- ren of all classes, of Dissenters, Catholics, and Jews, as well as of the adherents of the Established Church, could be educated without hearing the religion of their parents exposed to insult or directly contradicted by the teaching of the schools. This was a measure especially distasteful to the Tories, who have al- ways been strenuous supporters of tho Establishment ; buttheirs was the unpopular side of the question ; and Mr. Gladstone, in these early years, seems to have had a positive genius for get- ting on that side. In the debate on the war with China, the next year, Mr. Glad- stone again made a speech which wasfavorably commented on at the time. Tho Ministry was supported in its motion, but the majority was so small as to give the Conservatives ground for hope. The Liberal Government had for some time past been steadily losing ground in the public opinion; and this was naturally reflected by the House of Commons, where there are usually enough independent or semi-indcDendent members tode- prive the Ministry of that unreasoning and unwavering support ■eluctant- leuco are Tioderate Ir. Glad- But we i^that his pect and haraeter natural a to his in ire his wo hope engross ly." into the recently ght the ositions I wished Iprinci- eligious rnment. 9 child- well as iucated insult, . This ave al- t theirs one, in or get- '. Glad- (l on at ut the nd for t beea is was re are 5 to de- ipport LORD ROSEBERY-MR. GLADSTONE'S SUCCESSOR AS PREMIER 'Mxm/j^: ^.■M^%-':\r'*^:$iJ:-': '''■' # ■■, I'i^'S. ■ Iff:/ ^arly Official Life. j. which would bo theirs, if all thoir adhoronl, at the time of talc- .ng offleo were enthusiasts for the party, right or wrong. The the r A f"'' ""/i'""'"""' »''»<'""'" "y their leaning toward the Cathol.es, and Catholies by thoir efforts to gain the DisZt .ng interest. Toward tLe close of May, 1841, Sir Eobcr Pee one. Small as th,s majority was, it was snfflcitnttoshowhowthe case stood ; there was but one thing for the ministry to do nil ess they resigned .mmediately. Parliament was at once dis o^^ld the Government had appealed to the country. ' The appeal was answered, but not in the way which the Liber- als, hoping against hope, had looked for. The gain of the Tor- ZtZ^^'^rTJ''" """■■ "O'' '""«-■"" -P-tations had wTfl' " "'"""■^ "•"''S-""* '""•"diately after the open- ing of the new session. Sir Eobert Peel was at once made Pri .0 Mimrter and among the appointments which he made was that of Mr. Gladstone to be Tice-Presidcnt of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint. He shortly after succeeded the E^.rrof ^T^^.i" -?°f °"' "'■ *'■" ''''™^' •'""y. »° ">■'» the fact that he held ho subordinate position is sometimes lost sight of lost s 1 Thl, "•""r'-".;' 'I' parliamentary success, we have riod Ml;?l,h ?"■"." "*^°- /" ^"^y- ^'^»' M"- «'»<•»*<'"<' mar. nod M,ss Catherine Glynne, the daughter of Sir Stephen Rich ard Glynne, of Hawarden Castlo, Flintshire This ladv h». feaVThnfh' *'"' ^""^"^ '," -'' *''"-'"'' --^l conslrrr. fea while her own peculiar tastes have led her to a.oid rath- er than seek, the social pre-eminence which the wife „f Tulb a man might have won, she has not shrunk frol he Xre of publicity When it was necessary to her husband's success xn the latter part of 1886, wishing to exonerate him from the charge which his enemies were making, that he bad on Iv o7 Zl years shown any interest in Ireland^Lid the t," „b,ef ^f the Irish, implying that his alliance with Mr Parnell w.. » trick of the oiSce-seckcr, she sent for Mr. G ,T" ratio„::;r and one of tjie staff of United Ireland, that herltimon; might' be heard in his behalf. One of the statements which she then made shows his feeling with regard to the offlce which had at this time been allotted to him by his chief- "From the very outset of his political career, Mr Gladstone', most ardent wiLb, his strongest ambition, ha, helf .^ :'°-!!!!! " IJf' B I i I Eorhj Official Life. g^ wnioh he recoiled his fi-at -^^w.r.^, • 7 ^ ^ "^"^^ "PO" h.d hoped to «:. Sh So ottx u.oi:h''';r'"'"'7'- ."- on then as » far les, important post/' '^' "^ ' '"" '"'"""' to!^'c:;s!r:t!:r',tz'':r''h' ^"^^ *™'""'"°'- ""-^ "»-« Govornmen ," th ;1 thll "^ •'"r''""f °"^° """- ""«- question av that tin^e I^nd a faT,„ „ '"-'r'* "'"■ ""> ^"»'' look with less oontfde'neeto h°n"n th 7 T'^^' ?"" """''' "">» Off thoseshac..„sfor:rereZ" \?r rr^nt"^^^^^^ progressive Liberals. ^°°^ *^^ "^^I'e .^Xint "L":ir:, r:rr^;r rr- - the n,atoh..aki„g was'so "skint ; dlVe t'hItTho'"* """' '■"" people came together Quito „„.„„r """'"""'« tho two young on both sides. The pTclptor ofTh V «''"°""<' """^hmenl Boigium, Who, as ^'^C^t: LtZZ'lZ!:"^''''', '■ "' fully prepared himself fnr the verv duMe, ? K ^ ' '""^ """• devolve upon his brother', «o„ ™'y ^"t™ wh.ch wore now to tor The'early dea::':^ h^P ■„ l" ot^L^ TT '"'''■ bacic to Germany, there to h.T °''"'"'*° '>•■«' sent him brother, „„ti, eleo ed tot ,e throne^orfi'T ""'"'^ " ^'"""S^ somothingpatheticintho Lilt "fv .«'"■"' ""'' '*"'''' '« up the thread of life where Chat,/ ?;'" """ ^"""•« '»•""« it. Prinee Albert brouITto his di« T. "?°"' '''■"' "'•"PP"^ to be the Queen's best cfnnsl fo t"o lo:d'";>? " ""'°'" ^''^^ although he was not at flrstToo 1 ' „ f """'■• Poople ; and was regarded with much affeetrhv h " T '""S '"'f"" ''» duty nohl ■. '""'°" '•y >•'"' People, ho fulfilled this appottmrVas'/^tirrLI'"' '""""^'' «'^ «<>-' ^'-'a was nothing of importnoftl -"""^ ■"""'' """^ "^ tb-re »- aistrfss in t=— r ;e! %-- -^ 88 W i' I H Early Official Life. TheCornLawswhiehwereinforrfifltthio+;«, i ^ t. the ,oar thatthe batt.e of ^Y.^^L'ZlTC.Z. "l IZCZl through Pari.ament, despite the most emphalio .>ro c™fr„m h! manufacturingaad commercial classes. There were r X „ W don, there were riots elsewhere; for the duty was proh.b'uve unless home-grown wheat reached the price o/eiffhtv shilliJ™ , ,u„rte,j^ and it was far below that price' TimeZdTp Z,ot allow the d,sc„ss,on of the principle involved, whether it is w"sc to taxone classof the community for the benelit of anotherorto benefit oneclassattheexpenseof all others. Certain it is thktthe Corn Laws had long been looked upon by many Eng i hmen a! the ch.cf cause of the distress which had so long exfstcd vari zzt^:fT "' *'"'" """^ """^ ^"""^^ ditrfrent time's ;:: Sir Robert Peel now proposed a plan, which was a modification of one wh.eh had been broached some time ago, and ;°rtlv adopted This was a sliding scale by which the dut; wis hLh s^ when wheat was cheapest, and gradually diminishL wUh tl ! proved to brth^t^h" "'*'' "'^ """■"« '""'0 ""-"-d proved to be that other countries, from which a supply must be drawn .n case of a short crop, were not always ready to s„ 'ply t: ':■ r;c7ui:;i;."^''- "^'-^ "--'^ ^°- " --''- --'«''' ''^ The people of Manchester had naturally been the most deter- ■ ernted P '7- "' "''' r^'" ''" ^"''"'- """ "" -""er ™s it rep- .osented m Parlmment than its voice was heard, demanding the abo mon of the Corn Laws. But the experience of the late Lib! e a, M,n,stry had shown that the revenue was insufficient even w.th taxes as thoy were; to reduce the income would be ^n act ot to^lj . Under these crcnmstauces the Conservatives came in- to office, expressly to uphold the Corn Laws Clreat excitement prevailed throughout the country when this s!.d,„g scale was introduced. Its wisdom was questioned by Lord John Eussel , the leader of the Opposition, in one of ti.e ablest V'»3 rr 11 ich bad been maue upon the subject. Mr. Gladstone Early Official Life. gg answered him, in an address of at least equal ability ; and the Government was supported by a considerable majority. This did not evidence the feelings of the people, however; for about this time the Premier, who had brought this measure forward, had the honor of being the chief attraction at a riot in Northamp- ton where he was burned in ^^gy. And other towns were not tar behind Korlhampton. The Conservatives, high tariff men as they were, became speedily converted to the principles of free trade by that stern teacher, Necessity. The session of 1842 dealt mainly with the question of import duty, and a complete revision of the t riff was the fruit of their labors. This was no light task to Mr. bladstone, in the position which he now held ; for the record shows that he was on his Tcet one hundred and twenty-nine times during this session ; and generally spoke in connection with the provisions of the Tariff Bill. Almost immediately upon the opening of the session of 1843 JMr. trladstone was speaking on the question of Free Trade and advocating the abolition of the Corn Laws. This, he admitted whthr.?fnn"'/.?"''j *^''^^ ^' ^'^""'^ '^'^' *^« ^"^^^^s which had followed the reduction of duties in the previous year had paved the way for it. In a second speech on the same sub- jectvvhich" bristled with facts," he indeed deprecated the im- mediate re-opening of the question. A month later, the Oppos- ition again broached the subject, but the Ministers wore again sustained. But in these various debates, the successive divisions showed a steady diminution in the majoritiesof the Government which had established the tariff in force J\*t 'Ti^" ^^ ^^^*' ^PP'^"' '^' ^''' important measure in which Mr. Gladstone was prime mover. Hitherto he had been in such subordinate positions that l.e co Jd only figure as a sup- porter of others It is true that in the previous session, acting as President of the Board of Trade, he had brought foi'ward I bill pro-iding for the export of machinery free of duty but his was merely to repeal a law which had never been practicable, and whi.h had, therefore, from the time of its passage, been a dead letter on the statute book. The present bill, which, like the oth- er, was suggested by the duties of his special office, was design- ed for the regulation of the railwavs. with c,.n.;„i .-.__. ^ gardingpussengertrams. This wastheAct which first established what IS known as the " Parliamentary Train." It required every 90 Mirly Official Life. railway to start at least one traiu each day from each end of charge for each not oxeoeding one pom>v per mile Provision was made for the reduction of this rL in tL eas'fehZr It s a regulafon for which the English traveling public, e'rc: .ally the poorer classes, have reason to be exfcmely latefnl and ,t .s in forc3 without material amendment to-d"y^ ^ ' The session of 1845 brought a new perplexity to the vonn» statesman Peel brought forward a meiure which, in Mr 'gm Btone's op,n,on was inconsistent with the views whiehhad been expressed ,„ the volume, "On the relations of Church and State," to wh.ch reference has already been made. In such a crse iTmZ" 7 '=°"'-'».' °P» '» ""^ subordinate : either to a low the measure to pass without protest, preserving a discreet silence as to h,s own opinions, or to resign his o(Bce%hat he may be f ee o oppose a measure which he does not approve. This wa he alternat,ve which presented itself to Mr. Gladstone, mile the first coarse does not appear to possess that straightforward ness wh,ch should distinguish any man in an oiHce of trult it has not always seemed inconsistent with honor, by fL o who have been called upon to decide the ,i„estion for themselves • the ministers of the Crown have sometimes differed about sueh minor points of policy, but considered that their agreement „„ on so many more subjects entitled them still to retain office! '^ Ml. Gladstone however, was in a somewhat unusual position • and one ,n which he ...ight easily have thought himsef e'cus^ nuWic°n?: '"^ '" """ '" "'0 «--"«>-.'• JSnteri g uTon public life as an uncompromising Tory, the admirer of CannC the protege of that Duke of Newcastle who had so vei;eme"tlv oppc.ed the Whig .neasures of Keform, he had come to find thl^ many of the views which he at first held would not endure tCe test of mature consideration. The Tory party had been adva n cing since the days of George lY. and'his'^brothcr, and th ' brilliant young statesman, who had been characterized as the rising hope of the most intolerant of the party had ToLZZ outgrown that designation, and was now in t I'e'van of cL ge of progress The Conservatives were losing their hold upon him ough they did not know it, and he wfuld perhans h' v^ bocu the first -.. deny such a charge. But leaving out'of 7oo! Early Official Zife. 91 t be ranks of the Liberals, we find a minor one in liis opinions of the re at,ons of Church and State. He no longer held Z views wh.ch he had publicly avowed seven years before he had come to acknowledge the justice of M.cauh.y, st ct„Vo, „pon 1..8 fj-gumcnts; but to announce this change, at this nncZe rirchiefTl :"":"-"-.»' -^*'"« to mo'dify his opSs by nis cniei 8, in order to retain hi'"' who to Lo elected Pro,i,le„t oTC ^l/:"'™ ''"""' '*'">>l''<'''.»"0„ '•<•; trio Duke of to be elected Vr., ull7n "'"" "■"'™ ''»" Norfolk, Lord d: ";,:[ ^ ," '7"-" ^'P""' were not nearly ho „,„',. , „.„''" , "'T'"'"'' ' """'«'' ""•■•« loaders fo„„d it would no K "' '""'" l'«"li<'te.l. Their »"'< forhado It. nr^et^i ,t'h';:: ::: *;:.:,"?■■;■ *• "•- ..-ooe.io„, '"«, "s was declared bu Mr O'Z, ' Tu ■' "PP""""J, hav- fundred thousand siK,:at„ e, iTT'' "'^ ''"" '"'"''"" »-«" ■nittee, „ho set to wtrk " exam „ f,' ^^ "■"'''"■■•"'' '" * «°«- 'i^tanee of an army of cle "s A "'T'""'' "'"' '^^ «- "F'eared .hat the n,,mb.' of X„ "'"'" °' "">''• '"''-■■«. it thi.i of what had been «;= d .l ,t :r' ""' "?' """^ """■ °- ly two million,, of the Oull' , ■ "■*" "'" ''""'•'o^ °f "ear- wuh respect. An a'nllytTf h^ Xl"/;; ^' '" "^ '-'«" «vor, reassured the frightened pe„nr„ F , , "S-M'"-''^ bow- were those of women; wholsh!.? ''''!'"P?--<'»nt,of the names hand; "any signature Ire renrd::™ T^" ''' ""^ -">« made the whol. thin, ridienlo,!: 1 '^^ "'"" "S"'" ! b" what thoQueo„,thePrin":Co„Lr'l '""''''■'' "■" "''■"•^' "f Sir Eobert Peel, Lord John Ku" 7 1"'?"'" "' ^'-'""S""'. equally likely to sign a petitiof^r',, ■""'' ^''"' """W ••« can form of government in R,!., '"-^"'"ion of a republi- 'i.0 nnme, of charrt ZZtr"'''''' ^''""^ »'"» -i'" the mo»t curious nicknames „„Se '7^: "' '"' ^"^ ""^ •ig"..n and again. Tlio Oharti,. 1. . '" """'"' "Peated bythisohildisblistof, „"";'"" ""' *■■'«" '» l^oive wi.ore any one who deseed ;;T, ^'T' '""^ ""> ^'-'» some fun out of it. As the st^rf !*,"' "",'' "'"™S^ '>'-^ '■ad i-ludi„g those classes «: TZ fo .tT ' "'r,''"«"^" """P'"' -having any rights, had ClZZZl^ ''!!'' ^'^^^-'^ Char , St rcvolniio,, became a byword and u ' "'" »™' It is well for a countrv tl, ""'"'"'S'',njr.stcck forever. 'axghter.butitmustb rfmlm "r'd^,';;? ?""«"■•»'-"» «"ds in landwasn„thr,,,„ " , ""'"hat the situation in E„,.. thoiastyeaVso'f lTu IyI wV '"'. '""" '" I"-- dudn; of centuries were re ven.eY' Til''"' "'? "'" --""lated evil! enged. The great danger in England was i F 1 Hi 1 i i 1 a m I o a :Early Official Life. 101 m Eeform being carried forward ut too great strides. That; dan- ger the Conservative party may be said to have averted. But It for the Liberal, as a direct and legitimate result of the princi- ples v.hich had guided hinx in the former organisation, but which carried a little further, landed him among^is late oppon- ents. The transition had already begun, with his conversion to Free Trade h,s advocacy of the extension of privileges to the Jews, his change of opinion with regard to the relations of to Mr rTd ; ^' ''^^" ''' '^^ ^^"'^"^"^^ '' ^^^"-« P-'^tent to Mr Gladstone's own mind that he was no longer a member of that party in whose opinions his earliest youth had been trained. lljl" CHAPTER IV. GLADSTONE VS. DISRAELI me.ton-The Celebrated j2TZlZrcZ\''''''T'''' "^'^ ^^'- tion-EccIesiastical Titles Bill Mr n r '^'*^«^""« defends His Ac- Eulogy on the Duke of W^U~Z O """m '" 'J' ^^'^'"-^-Gladstone', vveiiiiigton-Overthrow of the Ministry. ''^ We reserved until now all mention nf « ^paee fo/ret,.„.,pt'ti„„ whltt tl "Tt "'" '""= "^ '■"'° t'-ie inciplency of the r^n^ A "" °°™° '■"According The A„t lido oVt To'lL: r:":*'':''''°''",r""' "--"• the late chief of the T„,y ' rtvfo "^^^^ '"^«"" '"° "' '^ Tory; »n advanced Libcnl ■. Rnd^ i ^t^ many years began lifeas at the outset of t^ k e^ tot n^HT ^ T"""''' '""^»"-' ed, by education and oth ; 0!^^,^. ^''°" '" *™'^ «^- as a well-known critic of thri/"""'' "' «'"<'''"'"<=■'' were; was rather in search of olf "'.?"''°"''- *"""' '""^ "• "-^ However this may have bee' r' ■" P''*'"^-'". "f thorn. I'e offered hin^elftHle elect sTw " '''k""' '"""'"'"' *'"" that Gladstor, ■ - as rct„ nod trNelCr; '" '"" """> ^^"^ ed by sueh apost.es of Eadiea i,m ,, OV ' V""", '•"™"""end. he was defeated. Nothing dlt^d by S iTln "iV """^ ","' presented himself again tnd a-.ai„ h,, i, """""'' ''" fourth time that ow.Wr to tir„ "« ' ' ■"' "°' ""'''' the Who foresaw sometl If ^f """"•'" "^ '''■• ^^y""''--"™ I^oW^, something of the ge„,„s f„r government which th. 'iifWmii^'&S'Mlfi-fWf^'-^^ Queen Victona at Her Accession to the Throne. m 104 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. young man was to develon Iin «ro * , the House of Commons! 'it Lr^efirr*!*'^' *^ ^^^^ - accession .r -ueen Victoria in whlh . ^^^'''^^^^nt after the soai. '''''^'^ '" ^fa'ch he gained tlie long-coveted The maiden speech of Pin i + almost foreed upon lam, by helir^^'attT.^'t -"'r'"^ «^^"' "- on his father and his at^ents t/ "^''^^''''^^^^^"^adoup- n.-tv, and by earnestnL's h; Z^'IZ^T '' '^^'^^*^' ''•>' '^^ associates saw in him only a vTuth 1 ^ ^^"7 " ^* *^« ^'^^^ ? ^^^ "iy a youth whom influence had sent to Disraeli in 18S0. ho WW an essentially middle !H . '°°"' ^P'-ovements "on th„t he w.. posCod' rn^:.:S "„" ,.^""^'' ^^ "° ■•»<"- the «„„ of the autl,o, of so many exeell". """""''• ^"' ftr^nt stamp; he was already well kn„l„h ,u^ ™' ""^ '"'"'- ««d won for himself i„ liteU:..'""^". "^^ '*■; "'''»» "hieb he , VTivian Gloy" had bee» Gladstone vs. Disraeli. jq^ "or were hiswritin^s. th!f i ' °''°" "'"' """" <=<">tempt; have since then elided IT "'"■ ''^ "•"'I"'"' "'•^'^ '^V •'venturer, who mTK^^rhTeh-r'^^"'''''-*'' »' »" ««"""■!« d not been so r^dfen „„;" wf " ^^'T' '' '''' »»»»'■"-„, for the first time in the Ho„„ /n °"'^°''''' ''° ■'"<' "> h'' t'^'- august body prepared tl^Z! ^°""".'""' ">» ">"">''-» of that ed " in . bottUre n f oeT!„r' '7 -Joj""™*- He was dress- Dick SwivellerLttern u r "t " """'"">"*■ ot white, of the Of glittering chain?, a' ef '""'""' """'"'^^ " ""'"ork tie above wiieh""':: 'shX^ ^w^ S"'''''''^' ";" " "-' ward man. A eonntenanee liv dl^pa le sit' ,T """' "^ °"'- tensoly blaek eyes, and a brlad buf not ^-V''' "*■'"- overhung by elusteHng ringlets of coal b 77 -^'^^ '°'''''""''^' ed away from the righf temple feMinKK ''"'■'' '''"''^' "''"'>'■ od ringlets over the left cl"fk " H s s^Cr ' °', """" "°"-°"- gent, his rhetoric constant y deg^e^IfeHSL "^ ^'"^"™- American critic has said of him ,1.1 " ^'"'ga'-ity; an in his actions and feelTng: t™,, dat: T ''T'"'" ""'■""■- ly expect to find all the faul of ,' '7'"" *" '"'""■•■"• strongly marked, because eo taet with P"''"'";"""'"- ">ost them down to that smooth levTwh7ch-,th:'m r "°^ "'"^'' groat genius and mediocrity he did nn, V """"""S-P'aeo of His manner was intensely Theatric 1? '■.'"•Wo'nt the House, agant. There was nothin Jin tltl *"? S™""'='» ""d and extrav- other had delivered It^h^TettrttS;:^ What he said , h'e JlJZ^^; ZZZZZ f'^f " ""'^ '° rision ; and at last he sat down wilh that ^h.^^'f't"'''"'' ''''■ come historic, as the expression of a ,„ If IT "^""^ ^"^ ""=• seldom justified • « I h,vIT «elf-eonfidence which is too I have oV: s:e;eedc Tt 1 r :v":r' "r:,' •"""^">'"«». -d now,thetimewi„comelh:'y:[';;,'i'rrmr"^" ' '" "''"» cofpit'n :r:;n:: VchZt;: "jr ""-■ -^ ■•- '^- garded as the highest a, the L?,, Pa^'ament which is re- diction was manufretu 1 bv 1 r'"''' '"''' """ ""'» P-'e- •ne... <■...«,,.,. ?'",.''>^ """"e admirer Ions after it had ■e.. ,„,„,,„„. It was the indomitable resolnti„„„f. I -.ngitselr,aperseverane.whi,hh,dsrr:i;i:t,;:-;; 106 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. when the Ho„.e lirtoned to hinV ^ ""' ^"^ """" the Conservatives; and it was this division of strength which brought about the fall of the Min- istrj, immediately after t-'-~ success M'hich was achieved by the Repeal Act. Disraeli had j.ersist- Ajm^mm^. iiim^i^r ^'' '" ^"« efforts to gain the ear of the House and liad at last succeeded. He was second only to Lord George Bcntinck in the leadership of the men who still clung to Protection; I and his speeches in the I House, during the dtbate on that famous measure which had made the name of Peel best known, "Arere Lord Odo Ems4L received witii an attention eloquent con.meutary on the progress ^vITd;theTan\id1L^ Te se ep.grams and merciless satire marked his speeches tbZh ' p lieZr? ' "'"'' "f' '" ^•'^"^'^* "J^ ^-^ -P-t'^' -^J again!: plied to the men and measures which he thus characterizeu Thl |"cleed ,s the n.aiu power which Disraeli's speeches i o essedZ e Z'"?^li^^'"""'' -'--J^ ^-re readily remembered, T he exTrer s.on, -Subl.me mediocrity." which he then applied not wX, ," some justice, to the Prime Minister ^ ' ''"""^ ponists, ,t was a long fme before the two wings of the prtv y - Gladstone vs. Disraeli. iqj atrvo, still hold to Pe„l L ,1, 7 ' / ""^ ™<"lerate Conserv- looked to Be„ti„:/a„1, B^Z'tlr "'"^ '"^ ^^'^^"^ ^"'- that not far off when th„ (t ^"""^o "■"»» t,mo coming, and without t:,ci,.l,rdo° tatthlr"' ""'^ "°"''' """ ">on.soIv,s foe; and when idid'c'rth.r"'"r'P™° '» ««"■' ""d onts, „„d that ono tho Zn' ii ° T-T "' '"""' o"" "f ^'^ adher- did not „„ito wi^h tho p" , '°"- '°r '"" ""^ '■'•'losing, who political indoncndenco^h^r''''''"' '" ""' '"""^^"^"l widely fron, tKo^P X' • """'""" '"""'^ ^''" "-« ly the power to thicrtho „; p "i^oZ"- ''';™' "°'° """"■"'■ from without- andtheWM r?"^ " '"""^ of agitation -npopniar. ihTont hig InthllhTo' k"' Irt"^- ^™^'"^ failed, was in reducing the drflc it wh.-h h'"" "'"''"■>' '""' amounted to more thin t' ">e istry, bit to the Te de -s of the O^" ."' """ °"'^' '» ">° «■"- the extreme Tories did the I . °°"'"^'-™"™'' • "-epresenting, „s ponent of a measm-o whi h h" '"'"7"'' ''" ^"^ «"> »t"n!l op. men of leisu.e H L sn!' h '" """' '■""ily upon the wealthy ing with c2 ;„, Th h T r """" ^'""•"•'"'"^tic one, spark tee-ho du S ""h J ,:,';^';; - °f ''^ '"■""' »»'■- Commit, nineteenth centu ry h^'a, n odnld " 'i" ™»gi"»'ion which the i^ed the authority nnl Idfi"' "'/"'"S *''°'' '=''™o'- Ministry an''""''. "'"l came one of the mos VJ T ' "'^ "'""'' *"> ""erward be- indeed, thffi'lt i^ar ' °'""''""' »" ''P"°'''-«. 'f -t, ae2'rb;;r;;fj.;:'rJr„:"tr''"'"°"'™- -" ^"■•"— . which Lord Jol n E, Lm K * Tf""" '°''''°" "I'"" " '"«""■■■« which the Lm ,.fof P ,.i Z' ""'• '•"'"''™ '» ""> »""- Laws; and" the mX te e| "!'"" ''f.7<"'i-!"« "- Navigation Minist'c.. wore su^. Tb^^TaZ^f' were proposed by the tions for chan.e'^.hich .t't:^^ 'br;:"^,:^:;:;" :;■«-;■ ti;:rir,:::^r;"nt;r"^°r'"'°"*"™'^^^ stage o>the p.-oceed , M ''T" r"'"'',''""''" ^' "'""■■• an.on„tofperso„ari,^ oeH/ T^ '''"''"' """ ""^ "»"al Gladstone, wo d .;,;",„ " ""^ f" '''■'■"'°'' "«»"-' «'■• Trade, to proven ho' ot hi „T° r"^'''' '" "" ^'""■" "' mcasnre. >fr Glad tone', ,, . , '" "P"" ""« i-'POrtant tbo»ewords: -■ S;rf::ti;ttC;e; tit'itr^ "" :::::: :::^,S:e::ei::^i^r^t ^ -- -.^^ ->;::; : i" one who consci^uili'rdrffe ?f .or;i:.':;;r 7"t"'"' trade, and endeavors to r-ali^e it "° " '^''°°''"™ "^ the cause of the distress o' , c'o„X"7; T '", '''°'" ''' ""^'"^ » ii .'1 countly, It has been, under the Ghdstone vs. Disraeli, m mercy of God, the most f^'v^mX and effoetual incah.4 of mitiLNitinLr this distress, and ftccelorati.ig tho duwn of the day of returninfr prosperity." Tho tono of this reply to ; bitter pergonal attack «hows most conclusively >vhat has been frequently claimed foi' Gludstone, that he has no trace of personal bitterness in his na- tme; that h.s opposition of measures does not imply his enmity toward tho men who support them; and that he frequently felt the most sincere admiration for tho men whom ho most persist- ently fought. Ti.o condition of Canada again camo up for consideration in tins session, and Mr. Gladstone spoke several times, both in the House and in committee, supporting tho right of Parliament to interfere in all imperial concerns. His direct opponent in this question wr.8 Mr. Eoebuck, who had before acted us a-ent for the Canadians, though ho was now u member of Parliament In the opinion of Lord John Russell, tho course which Mr* Gladstone recommended would tend to aggravate tho troubles in Canada, where tho public peace had already been violated by many riots, some of them widespread. Tho question could not be decided in that session, but frequently came up for discus- sion, tho House being desirous that tho matter might bo ixi such shape as to show the various colonies, particularly those most interested, what was likely to be the course pursued • tint the colonial assemblies might he able to make such su* C ■ -^ hS ^H *«; mm O HH » w ^H ~y ^^1 ^Hl ^ ^H =C ^Hl 15 ^H| ss ^11 f> Gladstone vs. Disraeli. course of tho Government Avhich maintained this was approved. It is pleasing to find tliis utterance of Peel on tiiis occasion free from that bitterness which is apt to creep into political con- troversies; and to learn that ho had spoken in tho hirico of the man whoso policy ho thoti,' ■3^; >«-■'.•?:■'!-' Gladstone I's. Disraeli. 128 ^ i."^ ^ s o •vi ^ o> s I have been the fate of those Neapolitans who had sought their rights in the days of Garibaldi. And these statements, it is need- less to add, were not the wild assertions which are sometimes rife; they were all based upon the best authority; in some cases, upon the results of his personal investigation ; in others, they were so notorious that there was no attempt made to deny them at any time. Attention was drawn in the House of Commons to the state- ments thus made and substantiated, and the question was direct- ly put, whether the British Minister at Naples could not bo instructed to interfere, to secure the more humane treatment of the prisoners. But diplomacy does not admit of such a direct course. The matter wrs one which affected only the internal economy of an independent kingdom, and as such Great Britain had no cause to interfere. At the same time, the matter was one which men of feeling could not pass over; and though the Gov- ernment could not directly act in this matter, the Foreign Sec- retary said (and he was vociferously cheered when ho said it), that he had sent copies of Mr. Gladstone's open letters to the T^lnglJsh Ministers at all the courts of Europe, with instructions to call the attention of tho Powers to the state of affairs thero graphically described. Of course the Neapolitan Government was far from being as well pleased with this action of Palmerston's as the House of Commons had been ; and determined to vindicate itself. There had bc;en some an'^wors to Gladstone's letters published, but it is noticeable that these content themselves with assertions which are foreign to the subject, or praises of the virtues of Ferdinand, who is gravely said to have been a very religious man. They do not seem to have thought that Gladstone, the upholder of the union of Church and State, believed in mixing religion and politics so far that the latter was not entirely destitute of traces of the influence of the former. This was the first reply which the accuser thought worthy of an answer; and this merely because it was an official utterance, not because the arguments there brought forward were such as to overthrow his own. Nine-tenths of the accusations were tacitly admitted ; and the authorities which the Neapolitan Gov- ernment invoked to disprove the others were poor and meager compared with tho wealth of testimony which Mr. Gladstone had adduced. Houdraitted what they clairacd, that in five iustancea 124 Gladstone vs. .Disraeli. ho had been mistaken ; but ho reiterated the charges which they ha, not denied, and added proof to proof to convince the world at large that more than twenty thousand men were suffering from the tyranny of Ferdinand. The blunders of his crUics were merc.lessly exposed. Their greatest blunder, according to the .uthor of an anonymous pamphlet on the subject, which appeared Jn i^bl. was in answering at all. But no direct action was taken by the European Governmpnts and Ferdinand cared nothing for mere opinions. Only the re' membrance of these outrages was stored up in the hearts of men and made them the more ready to look upon Garibaldi as the' hand and brain which, in liberating Itah; from the dominion of her petty tyrants, should do much for the cause of liberty , throughout the world. Not until the last of December, 1858 does the Neapolitan Government seem to have taken any action to amehorate the condition of their prisoners; ninety-one poli- tical offenders then had their punishment commuted to perpetual banishment; but it is a sufficient Commentary upon the treat- ment which they had received, that fourteen of these had died m their dunj. -^^ ., while others were too ill to be moved. We have fo;.owed the conr.. of event, in the English Parlia- ment during the greater part of this year, the visit to Naples having preceded the passage of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill To the story, thus to),, without interruption from the recountin.; of events with which it had little connection, we have but to ad3 some statements regarding a change in the Mir \stry. Lord Pal merston.so long connected with the Foreign Office, left it 'in December, 1851. His retirement was not a voluntary one, as he had given great offence by frequently acting without consulting his superiors in office, or laying hi. plans of action before the Queen. More than this, he had, both in public dispatches and private conversation, expressed a most decided opinion in re gard to the Prince-President of France, Louis Napoleon ; in dis- tinct violation of the wishes of the Queen and of the Cabinet Lord Jonn Russell resigned the premiership in February, 1852 and Lord Derby, who had but recently succeeded to that title' and was better known as Lord Stanley, was appointed in his place. Disraeh had happily christened this nobleman the -Ru- pert of Debate," in allusion to his ability and his blunders; as Pnnco Rupert frequently lost the battles which his headlonir courage had almest won, by the mistakes which he made in th^ Oladstone vs. Disraeli. 125 tiso of his advantages. It is significant of the state of English politics at tliis time, d.at Mr. Gladstone, who afterward virtually drove this Ministry from power, could have had a place in it if ho would have accepted it. The new Ministry w- s not a strong one. Palmerstousaid that it " contained two men a d a number of ciphers." The two men were Derby and Disraeli; the others had neither ability or ex- perience to recommend them. The old Duke of Wellingion, who was at this time more than eighty, was very much interest- ed in this Ministry, and anxious to know its personnel. Being very deaf, his conversation with Lord Derby was heard over the House of Lords. The Duke would inquire as to the appointee to some particular office; the Earl would reply, " Who ? Who?" The Duke would ask again, not hearing the unfamiliar names with the same readiness as if they had been well-known to him ; and ♦he same performance would bo repeated with the next name. The story was told by those who heard the conversation, and the new Government was irreverently dubbed the "Who? Who? Ministry." Mr. Disraeli wa ..e Chancellor of the Exchequer and at the same time the leader of the House of Commons. But it has been aptly said that his party was more afraid of his genius than of the dullness of his colleagues. He was placed in a situation of peculiar difficulty. The Conservatives claimed to have a con- siderable majority in the House of Commons; they would per- haps have a larger one in the next Parliament; but the Liberal Ministry was nontiniiod in power solely for the reason that no one was ready to take the reins of office out of their hands. The disadvantage of being in a Ministry which cannot com- mand a majority, was shared with all his colleagues ; but Mr. Disraeli was undertaking a task for which ho had been thought to display no aptitu le whatever. He had never before held'of- fice; he was not creuited with any capacity for the mastery of figures; and the clevcipcss of the speech with which he entered upon the duties of his office was.a surprise to all - ho heard him. The position o.f the Ministry upon the importu.it subject of Protection was a rlrange one, and one which was only too likely to involve it in difficulties. Lord Derby had indiscreetly dc- clared that he did not re, ard the question as definitely settled although it was now six years since the repeal of the Corn Laws,' and the prosperity of the country had been increasing ever since r I i 126 Ghulxfonc r.7 e o C^" ^ I a a the effect of tho repeal hnd been felt. But Mr. Disrneli was by no means of the saino opinion. lie saw, or.ly too clearly, that tho position was an untenable one; and with n coolness which at least bordered upon cffrontary, told tho IIouso of Commons that ho had never attempted to reverse the principle of Free Trade. This, however, was not until tho session which began in No\ em- ber, 1852, when tho considerable losses with which tho Ministry "i.id met in tho elections may have t- /hfc tho right honorable gentleman what were tho ef 5Cts of re-opening tho question whii h had so long been cor.siderci settled. Tlio session had opened with eulogies upon tho Duke of Wel- lington, who had ^ ^Ml in the previous September. Prominent among theso speak >rs on tho hero of n, war so long past, we find Mr. GIndstonu, who appears by this time to bo so far recog- nized as tho leading speaker in the IIouso that he was expected to speak on all sucu occasions. Tho peculiar dignity to which 'Mho Duke," as he was always called in these last yours of his life, as if there were no other of that rank in tho country, had attain- ed, -v/as well described by Mr. Gladstone: "It may never be given to another subject of tho British Crown to perform services so brilliant as ho performed j it may never be given to another man to hold tho sword which was to gain the ii ependenco of Europe, to rally tho nations around it, and while a^igland saved herself by her constancy, to s; vo Eu- rope by her example; it may never bo given to another man, after having attained such eminence, after such an unexampled series cf victories, to show equal moderation in peace as ho had shown greatness in war, and to dcvoto tho remainder of his life to tho cause of internal and external peace for the country which he has so served j it may never bo given to another man to have equal authority both with the Sovereign ho served, and with the senate of which ho was to the end a venerated member ; it may never be given to another man, after such a cp.reer, to preserve even to the last tho full possession of those great faculties with which ho was endowed, and to cany on tho services of one of tho most important departments of tho State with unexampled regularity and .aiccess, even to tho latest day of his l;fe." Tho IIouso Avas at onro involved in discussions on tho question of Free Trade ; a resolution was proposed, affirminir that the im- proved condition of tho people was mainly duo to The repeal of the duties in 1846; and although this was negatived, an amend- m Gladstone vs. l)lsr, 'ceu. gethc... wi,h t fo bo, tb "f !:,!^: °f. ""-'™'»<' competition, .„. oo.t «„d i„o,.on.ed tlsm°2' .",?'"« •""■'' '""< '"""-"i-^hed the - i>.o„„,,t about t,:' ^;^r ^; , : : -^ »■■"'■'- «f f-od, „„d o'- ^"^ -"iTt- "Hou.,0 of little over J 'wd,",°'"' ?""""■<•■" ""-^ «f'»™. i" Oobatothat Mr. Dis.aol ,1^ ""'"". ■"■, I' --<"■■">« this -inch rofereneo has al,- .l^,, Z,U TT^ '""™''»'» '" 'cngth of assaulting the memorof S ',,. "^ " ""-'""o ">» more than the foll„„.„,° Tf ha, ,. ! "•"■'''' ^ ^■'- ^Lis was than one of bis adb r nts was , e d '™"", """^ """"> ""« -""■■« lifcnndeonvsoinpomi: :: , f^ """ " -"^-ation of his arly in Decern hor Ar,. -n* i. , I>".l«ct^ Hiss, h "ndcd"™ ■""«" '"■•"■'"■'^ i"^ fi-t first budget had of co^,r,„ \ ' """''" "'"" "" '>°"'-^- His lK.a ti„,e^.o p^T-oo ■;,,?;" :™r:V"--'''-'"«. -■<■■• '- bad „ot c-s in that dfrocL," Tl w ''° " '"'' '"'' °f •>'» P""- vomblecivcms, ^e", Ts oTletT r'^ """=' *''« -°^' '»- and the House was ::;Z o ., Ht'l ."f ";^' °T """" «^P-'' able man would present to H«," "I'la- this reraarfc- «o favorable. He had ol , ^'" *'" """"■«°"-'i'io"» were not .-cpreseuted ft, so I'o [, f ! ,' """"'' "''"'' '"' '""' """■• bowbewastodotbr ^i o„rs ", Ir?,"""^,-'""' '"™"-"' """'' itos and J.'.-ee Trade,-s wa rnr„ '"' "'"""■■""'S the Peel. Tbo budget p.-oposeV;r..„":r p::tTt::;:?"" ""-" r- ""dsng..r; to extend the incotne uL ,o f f ^""''"' ""'• salaries in Ireland, to ,nake ,,„ T , « '"'' I"-°l'crty and -n ; and to mal.e'son,rc:.Cs in :■:',"""" ''/ "^" ■™'- t"c bouse ta. was also to bo o^::n;e ' ;-':e;"ea:: "" ""''"''' ' ^^^^^i^:^^::-:^---^--^^ --P- «ombered,hathe™ '"r- ^''''"f "'' """ '' ™"'" ''^ ■•"■ ti.c ,nan ,vho l.^dso 1 .w;,'! ,:,:■• *'',° "'?"f"' "■"' "'- "as be b.^ served, „„d J ^:^:^°'t^tT'' ^'"'^ have been gi-eat durin.r hi. l,f, j . -^ ""^ "''' «C3m3 to death. M,^ Disra i°„ e ' ' T, "" '""'"' '""« ""^ '■- <-K'ks ft,, which ho h d al .ead^; h "7 "' "'"'" I""-™""' a'" G-ham, who was Cked ,, '^ ^Z^"Vrf' '™™ *- "--f cwn.o„s, a!,d wh„:^t;::;,t:'i^:rb;<: Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 129 111 that it was commonly said that a speech from him was worth fifty votes to any measure. He then turned upon Sir Charles Wood, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, and leaning across the table and directing his words full at him, said : "I care not to be the right honorable gentlemtin's critic; but if he has learn- ed his business, he has yet to learn that petulance is not sar- casm, and that insolence is not invective." It was two o'clock in the morning, but the members had no thought o^ sleep ; the contest was too exciting for that; Mr. Disraeli had hardly ut- tered the last sentence of his speech when Mr. Gladstone leaped upon his feet to answer him. This debate upo^ the budget was the first time that they had como into such bitter collision ; and this second speech of Mr. Gladstone was burning with more than the energy of the first. The House had been listening to Disraeli with an interest rarely felt in the speeches of the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer; and when Gladstone arose it was thought that after such a speech even he could make but little impression. But they who judged so wore in the wrong. A yet greater effect was produced by the reply of Mr. Gladstone,''alI unpremeditated as it was ; and when the division was taken two hours Irter, the Government was left in a minority of nineteen. The Chancellor of the Exchequer left the building with a friend ; us they looked out upon the streets, dim and grey with the lights of the night which had not yet ended, and shining with the rain which was falling steadily and drearily, ho remarked coolly, as he buttoned up his coat: -It will bo an unpleasant day for going to Osborne." Such was his only expression re- garding the resignation which had been forced so early in his ofi^cial career. There was no other course for the Ministry, thus defeated up- on their most important measure, to pursue; and that day the resignation cf the various members was duly placed in Her Majesty's hands. A few days afterward, the Coalition Ministry was formed. The Earl of Aberdeen was Prime Minister Lord John Russell Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Pal- merston was at the Home Office, and Mr. Gladstone was Chan- cellor of the Exchequer. Having made such a brilliant on- slaught upon the late budget, and such a crushing expose of its blunders, ho had now an opportunity of trying his own powers at the task in which his rival had failed so disastrously. Thus the chapter begins and ends with a conflict with Disraeli- 130 Gladstone vs. Disraeli. a conflict which, as McCarthy observes, ended only when Dis- raeli crossed the threshold of the House of Commons for the last time, to take his place in the House of Lords as the Earl of Beaconsfield. Perhaps the real antagonism of the men, who represented such essentially different ideas, lasted longer than this; until the Earl of Beaconsfield, the first and last to bear the title, was carried out from his homo of Hughonden, its mas- ter no longer, to rest beside that remarkable wife who was the chief helpei in his many struggles. The life duel was carried on both in and out of the House of Commons, but it is of the former to which history will have most reference. The very formation of the hall in which the House met emphasized the antagonism. Although the scene of some of the most brilliant debates of modern times and the cradle of British oratory, the House is more like a committee-room, in point of size, than a legislative assembly. For j'cars there have been over 600 mem- bers and an attendance of 500 is quite common. But there is only sitting accommodation for about 360, or at most 400, on the floor of the House. There are neither tables nor desks for the convenience of members, who are ranged on cushioned benches with a minimum of space both as regards width and leg room. Members wear their hats during the transaction of business, being expected to uncover only when rising to address the House or during the reading of a royal message. The bench- es run up and down the Hall, »vith a space in the centre, and thus ministerialists and members in opposition sit face to face on either side of the aisle in front of the Speaker. The front row on the Government side of tlie House is assigned to Cabinet Ministers and others holding oflice. Disraeli, when Premier, occupied the seat nearest the Speaker, but Gladstone always favored a position a little farther down. The corresponding bench on the Opposition side is occupied by the leader of the Opposition and by ex-ministers. Thus the leading party men sit very close to each other, but are separated by the Historical table, on which stands the sym- bolic maco, the oflficial documents and papers of the House, the oath boy. and the Ministers' despatch boxes. If this table could but speak and recount its wrongs, it would tell of scores, nay thousands of vicious and vinlont blows, Gladstone has em.r)ha- sized some of his brilliant efforts by means of blows with clench- ed fists, such as could only be dealt by a man who is an athlete ^ ^^ Gladstone vs. Disraeli. 181 nay 1 as well as a statesman; Disraeli has also pounded it pretty badly. Once the latter became so enraged in the course of a word eonfliet with Gladstone, that ho shouted out with great vehemence, that he was thank- ful the table divided them. The mace is the most important piece of furniture in this severely simple looking hall. Its antiquity is very great; it is borne before the Speaker when he enters the House and when he leaves it; it is supposed by some to symbolize the authority of the Crown, and its presence on the table also indi- cates that the House is in session. When Cromwell forcibly dissolved a disobedientlTouso, hodid so by coarse- ly ordering his altendjints to "take away this bauble," and the solemn and imposing emblem wns for once dishon- ored. It is in the conventionalized form of a head wearing a crown, thus, per- haps, signifying a supposed presence of the Sovereign. There are several maces, but the one in our illustration is most commonly used, and probably the most ancient. From the irn'tials ''C. H.," repeatedly stamped upon it, it is presumed to date from the reign of either Charles I. or Charles IT, The quality of the metal work is not of the finest known in the history of the goldsmith's artin England, being rath- er inferior to the best examples. It is, however, an interesting piece of plate, and, like every antiq-ie article in the House, is preserved vith the usual British reverence for ago and prece- dent. i w CHAPTER V. THE MINISTRY OF ALL THE TALENTS. Mr. Gladstone's Early Political Faith— His Act of Self-denial— First Step Toward Leaving the Conservative Party— House of Commons and the New Chancellor of the Exchequer -Grows Eloquent Over a Dry Subject — Debate on the Incomf Tax -Impending War— Will of the People Must be Obeyed— Measures I'or Eaising Kevenue— Bitter Taunts from Disraeli- Views of the Prince Consort— Miss Florence Nightingale -Th<3 Crimean War— Impressive Scene in the House of Commons -New Ministry by Lord Palmerston— Lord John Russell— Great Speech bv Mr. Gladstone- Continuance of the War Debates. 'HEI^ Mr. Gladstone entered Parliament in 1832, he was an ardent supporter of all those measures with which the ultra Tories were then associated; he would have condemned Eeform, perhaps, had he been in the previous Par- liament ; as it was, he sat for what was really a pocket-borough, and one which was not likely to be given up by its virtual own- er, since he was one of the most stubborn anti-Eeformers in all England. He was then an advocate of Protection ; he upheld the union of Church and State, and boldly proclaimed his opin- ion that the State had (or ought to have) a conscience ; he was ready to fight to the death all contemners of the Established Church of Ireland. With the latter feeling, and the changes which it underwent, we shall have more to do hereafter; the subject of the disestablishment of the Irish Church is one of such importance, both in itself, and, what is of more moment to us, as one of the main points of Mr. Gladstone's careei-, that we shall consider that apart from nil other measures in the success or defeat of which this most liberal minded of English states- men has had a hand. In his "Chapter of Autobiography," which is in the main a defence of his change of opinion regarding the Irish Church, he alludes to the three great measures which Sir Eobert Peel at first vehementiv onnoand. hnt, nffftvwnrH wna ninnTifr +V>o fl..of +n carry out — Catholic Emancipation, Parliamentary Eeform, and Free Trade. Such changes, the writer argues, are due to a lack 182 3 ' 1 I I I f^ The Ministry of All the Talents. 133 of foresight; n( ^ that the statesmen who have thus altered their opinions possessed less of this desirable quality than their pre- decessors who have been more consistent; but the enlarL^ement of the governing class, the gradual transfer of political power from groups and limited classes to the community, has render- ed a much larger range necessary-a range greater than is pos- sible to mere men. His further argument is even stronger than this; admitting that such foresight were possessed by a states- man — "^ " The public mind is, to a great degree, unconscious of its own progression ; and it would resent and repudiate, if offerod to its mature judgment, the verj policy which after a while it will gravely consider, and after another while enthusiastically em- brace. "^ This paragraph is the real defense which Gladstone makes, and It IS the best that can be made, against those who upbraid him for his change of principle. It should be noted that they who do so are members of the party which he left, which has felt his loss severely. Ho expressly disclaims all desire of de- fending those who have made sudden modifications of the prin- ciples which they have previously upheld, for too obvious rea- sons; but his own political belief, though it may be radically different from what it was when he entered public life, has changed so gradually that it is plain to see the alterations are the results of conviction. As a proof of this, it is unnecessary to refer to more than one instance, in that part of his career which has already been con- sidered : his resignation from Sir Robert Peel's ministry in 1845 Commented on at the time as one of those rare instances in which a public man really injures himself by an act of self-de- n.al, It yet had its advantage as showing how entirely earnest he was in any change which his convictions might undergo It proved his sincerity then, and for all time to come. There i» ^-.. view of the case, however, which must not be overlooked- ii has been said that Mr. Gladstone is so skilled at argument,' so well able to convince the doubtful of the truth of the point which he supports, that he is often led to believe that his own original position is untenable, simply by the force of the reasoning whiehhooringstob.ur upon the weak points which all posi^ tions nriust have. «' Ho can convince himself of anything which he wishes to believe," is the not too flattering verdict of one of 1S4 TAe Ministry of All the Talents. his self-constituted judges ; it is a defect which is perhaps an os- sontial element of a subtle rcasoner's mental constitution; but this judgment, though it has a show of profundity, leaves the question in exactly the same state as before ; the Liberals of the present day will still hold that hp has always wished to believe in those principles which are, according to them, at the basis of all good government; while the Tories will express the op- posite opinion. A more scathing criticism would bo, that he has always man- aged to persuade himself that the measure which would serve him best was that which it was his duty to fupport, as the one which would be the best for the country ; but since the day when the London iVe^^^s recorded the first step which he took in a direc- tion opposite to that in which he had been walking, and con- demned the sacrifice as one which was far removed from wisdom, no one has made this assertion. In 1852 was taken the first decisive action toward leaving the Conservative party. Hitherto his convictions might have changed from time to time, but so had those of many of the Tory leaders; in one case, at any rate, he had but followed Peel and the great majority of his adherents; he had in all crises considered him- self bound to support the policy advocated by the Conservative chief; but now there was coming a period of uncertainty as much in his own mind as in the minds of those about him ; per- haps, indeed, his own doubts were sooner aroused, and more sharply defined, than those of others; certainly he was off-ered a position in a Conservative cabinet long after the beginning of the period that we usually consider him a member of the oppos- ing party. ' His joining the Coalition Ministry of 1852 had no significance, however, in this connection ; for the chief of that Government was Lord Aberdeen, the leader of the Peelites; the Conserva tiye members of that Cabinet certainly yielded no more than the Liberals did, and Palmerston and Russell were thoroughly identi- fied with that party, and continued to be so after the fall of Aberdeen's administration. It was simply a temporary alliance made necessary by the state of the great parties at that date. The newly appointed ministers had to seek re-election, and in this special contest Mr. Gladstone discovered, what ho could not fail to have foreseen, that his tendencies to Liberalism were not approved by the electors of the University of Oxford. His The Ministry of All the Talents. 135 seat was hotly contested, though the only opponent that could be found for him was a gentleman who was merely the son of his father. The father was Perceval, that Prime Minister who in 1812 had been assassinated in the lobby of the House of Com- mons; the son was so little known, that the Tiiiu vhich was then a bettor friend to Mr. Gladstone and his ai..o^ than in 1887-8, sarcastically described him "a- a very near relative of our old friend Mrs. Harris," and called upon his supporters to prove his actual existence. But Mr. Gladstone's course, in regard to the divisions upon ecclesiastical subjects, hud been very offen- sive to many of the Oxonians; and his majority, even over this unknown and untried man, could hardly be called a manifestation of grout popularity. Perhaps a more eloquent testimony to the esteem in which he was then held by the thinkers is the fact that of the one hundred and one professors whose votes were record- ed, and of whom twelve were neutral, no less than seventy-four voted for Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Gladstone's first feat in connection with the important of- fice which he now held was the maturing of a plan for the re- duction of the National Debt. Supported by the prominent Ead- ical members of the House, as well as by those who ordinarily adhered to the Government, this plan was adopted and put into immediate operation. Before the outbreak of the war which be- gan a year later, the debt had been reduced more than eleven millions of pounds. Ten days later, the House of Commons sat spell-bound, listen- ing to the schemes of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for deal- ing with the finances of the country. The expression sounds like that bitterest of all sarcasm, which condemns by extravagant praise ; but it is the universal testimony that it was the bare truth. Never has there been any other Chancellor of the Exchequer who could thus entrance the House with his arrays of fi-^ures; but the depths of philosophy from which Mr. Gladstone builtup the foundations of his policy have rarely been fathomed by oth- ers, who have generally been content with a much more super- ficial structure. Although he sT)oke for five hours upon this oc- casion, the House followed him throughout with unabated inter- est. During the whole time, his command of words never once failed him; and each abtsruse financial detail was clothed with the language which best fitted it for presentation in the most favorable guise to the minds of his listeners. 1 I 11 i! Lobby of the House of Commom. The Speaker Entering the Hall, yyn 'f^i'th the ISIace Borne Before Him. i! Wy. The Ministry of All the Talents. 137 The most important point which was touched upon in this budg- et and the speech in which it was presented to the House, was the Income Tax. This duty, which had been proposed for the first time in the days of Pitt, to enable the Government to meet the expenses arising out of the Napoleonic wars, had come to bo re- garded as a necessity by the financiers, though there was much dissatisfaction with it outside of the small circle of those who were charged with ♦^o settlement of the national expenses. It was certain that its a.olition would lead to increased prosperity, if only the period between the present and that future when the effects of its abolition should be clearly felt could be bridged; and Mr. Gladstone showed that this was not impossible. The tax was not to be done away with at once, but being continued for a period of two years, and after that gradually lessened, it would have disappeared by the beginning of 1860. In that year, the Chancellor argued. Parliament would find it possible to dispense with the Income Tax altogether. The trouble had here- tofore been, not that there was no attempt made to deal with this duty ; but that all the action which had been taken in con- nection with it had been such as to unsettle the public mind with reference to it; whatever was done now, he told them, must be bold and decisive. An amendment affirming thnt the continuance of the Income Tax was unjust and impolitic was brought forward by Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton, and warmly supported by Mr. Disraeli, who seized the opportunity of making a personal attack upon Lord John Eussell for having joined the Coalition Ministry, and thus deserting the Whig party, as the speaker claimed, for an alliance with the former followers of Peel. In that portion of his speech which related directly to the matter under consideration, the ex- Chancellor said that the proposals of his successor added to the burdens on land, while they lightened those which pressed upon particular classes ; and with that happy faculty for using striking phrases which had always distinguished him, he added that he could see no difference, so far as the danger of a system of privi- leged classes was concerned, between a pi'iviicged noble and a privileged tobacconist. Mr. Cobden and Mr. Hume supported the amendment, while Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Lowe took part in this animated debate on the side of the Government. Nor was Eus- sell silent; but in well chosen words showed the various incon- sistencies of which Mr. Disraeli had been guilty, in his former 138 The Ministry of All the Talen-o. schemes and present attitude toward the Income Tax ; and closed with a punogyrio upon the author of the present plan, saying that he was to bo envied among English Finuiico Ministers. This ic the second time that wo find this ardent Whig speaking in warm praise of Mr. Gladstone, before the tribunal to which they both looked for approval of their political course. The ministerial scheme for the continuance and partial exten- sion of the Income Tax, to be followed by its gradual diminution and final abolition, was adopted by a considerable majority. That the prophecies of Mr. Gladstone regarding the condition in which the country would be in 1860 were not fulfilled, was due to no lack of foresight; the cause of the increased expendi- ture was one which, dopenJing as it did upon the action of other Governments, could not be foretold by human agency. The cloud which presaged the storm of the next year was not visible in 1852 to the naked eye. It was at the beginning of 1853 that it first became certain that a European war was the only meank of deciding between the claims of the Czar and the unwillingness of the Sultan to grant those claims. The trouble grew out of the desire of Eussia to protect the interests of the Greek Church in the Holy Land ; but the original cause of the trouble was soon lost sight of. Various reasons were assigned for the part which England took in this conflict; itwassaid by some that she was anxious to protect Tur- key, solely to secure the safety of her Indian dominions; it was said by others that seeing a contest between a strong and a weak country, she was prompted by chivalry and generosity to inter- fere in behalf of the weaker. Such were the extreme views of the reason for war; as in all cases of the kind, neither one is alto- gether true, or wholly false ; but the real reason lies midway be- tween, and partakes of both. It was not until the middle of the year that actual hostilities began. It was still hoped, as late as October, that war might be averted, though the Czar's troops had taken possession of Mol- davia and Wallachia three months before. At the beginning of October, however, the Sultan formally declared war. The popu- lar voice in England was altogether against the Czar, who was looked upon as menacing the libert'es of P^urope by his efforts to overide Turkey. The Ministry could not long delay decisive action upon the question of whether active support should be given to the Ottomans, The Ministry of All the Talents. 189 Tho question had donbtloss boon fully discussed at those mys- terious meetings in Downing Street of which i.i." niiiiutes are ever itoptj but there seems to hiive been no immediate announcement of policy until after tho 12th of that month. At that date, Mr. Gladstone went to Manchester, to attend tho unvailing of a statue to Sir Eobert Peel. Tho country was in a state of greatex- citoment, and meetings and conferences for and against the war were being held everywhere. Loder such circumstances, the utterances of this eloquent member ov' tho AdrainiLlnit'.on wore looked for with the keenest expectation. His speech was unequivocal as to tho views o*'*! > Government. Russia threatened to override all tlio other Pow^i.<, and prove a source of danger to the rest of the world; and the overthrow of tho Ottoman Empire must be a blow to England, as well as to other countries. But tho Government desired peace, if possibi he reminded them that tho intrigue, delay and chicanery whicu too often attend negotiations arc far less to bo dreaded than war; and rebuked the inconsiderate impatience of those who looked only at tho meretricious glory which a war might bring. To save tho country from a calamity which would deprive tho nation of subsistence and arrest the operations of industry, ho said, the Ministry "have persevered in exercising that self-command and self-restraint, which impatience may mistake for indifference, fee- bleness, or cowardice, but which are truly tho crowning greatness of a great people, and do not evince -'-'i.t of readinesb to vindicate, w^hen the time comes, the I > .-.: this country." He expressly stated that the Governmenr. , ^ not engaged in mnin- taining tho independence and integrity of tho Ottoman Empire ; and referring to tho anomalies of tho Eastern Empire, and the probabilities of its future, disclaimed all wish on tho part of the British Government to do more than protect tho interests of all by curbing the ambition of one. Thia disclaimer, coming full twenty-five years before the date of the Bulgarian atrocities, shows conclusively that some of his critics wlio have ventured -statements regarding his attitude on the Eastern question have been mistaken in tho premises drawn from bis actions in 1853. But the moderation of ho Ministers was not met by a similar feeling on tho part of the people. Their voice was still for war, and when, after many endeavors on the part of England and oth- er powers to negotiate i peace, the British Government declared war against Eussia, the popular satisfaction was unbounded. 140 The Ministry of All the Talents. li • I Even Sifter this decisive step had been taken, the Powers hesi- tated, and expres>.od their willingness to enter into an armistice at once, if tho Czar slunved any inclination to settle the matter peaceably. But Nicholas persisted in tho course which he had marked out for himself, whicli nothing but death ended for him, and only defeat terminated for his successor and his people. A considerable party in England were bitterly opposed to the war, and a deputation from the Peace Society actually went to St. Petersburg to interview the Czar. As Mr. Molcsworth puts it, Nicholas " had already decided on the coarse he would pur- sue, and neither imperial nor Quaker remonstrances could turn him from it." Prominent among tho advocates of peace was John Bright, who was so sternly opposed to war that, even after it had begun, and the country was beginning to feel the distress occas- ioned by it, he would have nothing to do with the measures in- tended to alleviate that distress. Mr. Gladstone was as earnest- ly desirous as any one of avoiding the horrors which hostilities would bring upon tiie country, but when once it was seen to be inevitable, he bent all his energies to do the best that he could under the circumstaiices. Perhaps Bright's course was the more consistent, especially for one reared among the non-combatant Quakers; but a otatosman Avho would be perfectly consistent would ofter. find himself in the wrong, unless ho possessed om- nipotence to mould the minds aud direct the wills of men. Lord Aberdeen had expressed his intention of resigning if a war became inevitable ; but the whole trouble came on so gradu- ally that he *'ound his Government involved in the contest before there had been anything which should give warrant for that step. Much as Mr. Gladstone desired to prevent war, if poscible, even he was forced to see, ' ith his chief, that the will of the peop)- nuist bo obeyed. It was not the Queen, it was not tho Ministry, it was not the House of Lords or of Commons, that declared war against Kussia in 1^53 ; they were but the means by which the people of Great Britain made their protest against the over- whelming power of tho Czar being further extended. J War had been declared, and the Ministry had to make tho best of it. The chiof burden fell upon the Chanceller of the Ex- chequer, who saw tho schemes so carefully proparca for the re- duction of taxation swept away at one breath. Tho surplus which was to have been a valuable aid in reducing the Income Tax must be diverted from that use, and applied to warlike pur- M ■• hesi- listico flatter 3 had him, Lo the lit to puts pui- turi) John it had )ccas- )s in- •nest- lities o be 30Ulu more atant stent om- if a •adu- jfore stop, even op)" ared hieh vcr- best Ex- re- plus imc 3ur- V. ;i!'^"^-*''*mi M^'-^'^h^^E - ^:!k ,3^ ■ yyjt ■'• -s- 'ifi V-JJ" '" WK ' . j' J!*"*. 5 ju^ .■fi)ll 1 I t UJ z o h co o < o z Ui X Q. UJ I- CO > UJ cc z o CO CO I I I- z o < o < CQ < -i Q. UJ z o I- co o < o s The Ministry of All the Talents, 141 posos ; the Income Tax, the Malt Tux, nTid tho Spirit Duties, must all bo increased, with no prospect of their reduction for years to come. But with a courage rai'cly manifested by Finance Ministers in time of war, when the resources of the country are always crippled, and taxes are harder than ever to pay, he pro- posed to pay for the war out of the current revenue, provided that not more than ten millions sterling would be required, in addition to the usual expenditure. Taxes would of course be increased, but at the close of the war the country would be free to resume the course of prosperity which had been interrupted Bar of the House. by it, clear of debt, so often a long enduring bitter after-taste of tho glory that may have been acquired. Mr. Disraeli opposed this plan, which the Prince-Consort char- acterized as "manly, statcsmanllko. and lioncst." Tho Tory was opposed to tho increase of taxos, but would rather advocate bor- rowing, by which means, he argued, tho burden of the war would fall less heavily upon tho people, the expense being paid at lunger intervals. But his course, which ministers have too often pursued because it is tho most likely to secure their pop- ularity, was not approved by the country at large. Tho people >,y-w-. r..,^. , i^ '\ .*? ^?i f[ I 142 r/ie Ministry of All the Talents. saw the wisdom of Gladstone's plan, and it was everywhere endorsed. What was of more immediate importance, as afford- ing him the opportunity of putting the plan into practice, the House of Commons approved it by a large majority. But before the division took place, tl>ere were some bitter taunts from Mr. Disraeli ; and his language was such on one oc- casion ti.at he was reminded that no crifcism should be pro- nounced upon the ministerial policy unless he were prepared to propose a vote of no confidence. This he declined to do, but as- serted that, while he should not vote against the necessary ap- propriations, being bound to support Her Majesty in all just and necessary wars, he was not prepared to admit that this was a necessary war. Had the Cabinet been united, he claimed, it would not have been forced upon thom ; but it was a Coalition Ministry, and that act detracted from its strength at such critical moments. To this speech Mr. Gladstone replied. The conclu- sion of Mr. Disraeli's argument hk denounced as illogical and rc- orsant • and showed that the reasons which he gave for not pro- posing a vote of no confidence (the lack of unity of opinion re- garding the war, which he alleged was the -ase among the Min- isters), was the very reason why he should have taken that course'. The remainder of his speech was a vindication of his policy, and an appeal to be sustained. Early in May we find him again urging the necessity of pay- ing the expenses of the war out of the current revenue, and de- nouncing that attempt to conciliate the people, which Mr. Dis- raeli had made by promising the abolition of taxes without hav- ing made any provision for fulfilling his word. He rehearsed the difficulties through which the Napoleonic wars had been car- ried on and recalled to their minds how enormous were the du- ties which were imposed by Pitt, and how cheerfully the burden was borne; he reminded them that even the war had not inter- rupted the prosperity of the" country to any considerable ex- tent as the constant increase of the imports showed; and ex- plained his plans with a minuteness which need not here be im- itated The speech took the chiefs of the Opposition by sur- rpise accustomed as they were to Mr. Gladstone's powers; and the division showed an unusually large majority fo.- the Mniistry. A few days later, Mr. Disraeli made yet another effort to arouse the feeling of the House against Mr. Gladstone's admin- istration of the finances. Inaccurate and deceptive statements, *1f m •S ?5' r M^^^^ "■^•'n.^^ immw TAe Ministry of All the Talents. 143 ho said, had boon made in successive budgets, fallacions estimates given of the cost of the Avar, and delusive announcements made regarding the aids that would bo required to meet tlie growing charges upon the revenue. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was boldly accused of incompetence, not only in one instance, Lord Aberdeen. but in many. ]ir. Gladstone replied to each of these charges in turn, his speech followed closoly by those who were in sym- pathy with him; and on the division the majority fcr the Min- istry caused the collapse of all eiforts to oppose the budget. 144 The Ministry of All the Talents. ii!! Mr. Disraeli had not yet given up his opposition to the gov- ernment, however, but toward the end of July again severely at- tacked the policy of the Ministry. Lord John Russell had moved a vote of credit of three million sterling for the expenses of the war, and this became, by the opposition of Mr. Disraeli, a vote of confidence. A great debate was confidently expected, but the courage of the Opposition gave way as the time approached, and they dared not imperil the existence of the Ministry at such a juncture. The amendment requesting Her Majesty not to pro- rogue Parliament until the matter was settled was negatived without a division and Parliament was prorogued Aug. 12th. There were some hopes of a peaceful settlement of the diflScul- ty at the beginning of 1854 ; but though Austria and Prussia had promised their decided support, their defection when the time came for such action left matters as they were at first. The war had not yet begun in earnest, but by the middle of the year there was no longer any hope of peace. A combined army of English, French and Turks marched upon Sebastopol early in September, there to begin the siege so memorable in the history of the war. But though the war continued as popular as ever, there were some symptoms that showed, at this very time, that the Ministry which had declared the war was beginning to lose its popularity. There were many reasons why such a Cabinet should lose its strength. In the first place, its very constitution forbade the hope of a long continuance in that harmony which is so neces- sary to a Government. In regard to this, there have been two statements made, which could scarcely be reconciled, were they both given without qualification ; and it is difficult to decide which is the better authority. Mr. Martin, the author of the Life of the Prince Consort, a biography for which the Queen herself furnished many of the materials, and for the statements in which she is really responsible, the work having been pre- pared under her supervision, says positively that no cordial un- animity existed b"tween the Peelito m.embersof the cabinet and their colleagues; Mr. Gladstone denies that there was any dis- cord among the Ministers ; but, adds the right honorable gentle- man, in a clause which serves to reconcile this denial with the ..«! a:^», ^f +Kp ofh"^ '< riffa fhpvft were without doubt in the II III I ill a LIU 11 V^l 111'-- • !l II> ; J li-„ imposing structure, butthey were dueentirely to individual views or pretensions, and in no wuy to sectional antagonism." When The Ministry of All the Talents. 145 wo consider that Palmerston was in this Ministry, we can see verj cleprly that these personal differences of opinion might be made a serious matter. Whutover was the true extent of these differences, the fact that there were such was speedily noised abroad, and perhaps much more iniide of the report than was warranted by the facts. At any rate, it was generally believed that there were serious dis- agreements among the Ministers, and this gave rise to a feeling of uncertainty in the House of Commons. The followers of the Government, says Mr. Martin, did not hesitate to attack the Prime Minister openly in the House; nor was he always sup- ported as warmly by his colleagues as the absent Premier ex- pects to be. The defeat of the ministry was delayed for some time by the necessity of action upon a secondary matter connected with the conduct of the war. , This was the management of the hospitals, which were grossly neglected by those in charge of them. An ample supply of medical and other stores had been sent out from England, but they lay rotting in the holds of the vessels which had carried them out, or stored away in places where they were not wanted. The men were simply dj'ing of exhaustion, while provisions had been despatched in abundance. Under such cir- cumstances. Miss Florence Nightingale, who had become well- known in London for her enlightened, skillful and self-denying benevolence, was induced to go out to take charge of the hospi- tals; an almost dictatorial authority, which could override all red-tapeism, being given her. U nder her management, chaos was reduced to order, and the wounded and sick received the care of which they were so sorely in need. Parliament was called together shortly before Christmas, and after a session lasting eleven days, adjourned for a month. But in this short session it accomplished more business than had ever been dispatched within a similar period, in the memorj'' of living man. The most important measure brought forward was per- haps that providing for tlie enlistment of foreign soldiers. This provoked a keen debate upon the war and the Ministry's con- duct of it. Mr. Bright maintained that the English were fight- ing in a hopeless cause and for a worthless ally ; Mr. Disraeli an- nounced that ho should oppose the measure a' )pp( ^ery stage ; painted the situation at the Crimea in the darkest colors. The course of the Ministry was defended by Lord John Eussell and lO 'MI !Si 146 The Ministry of All the 7\dents. Lord Palmorston. Similar uttncks wero made in the House of Lords, and Lord Abordoon had all ho could do to answer them. When Parliament mot at the beginning of 1855, Mr. Roebuck gave formal notice that ho should move for the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the condition of the army be- fore Sobastopol, and into the conductof those departments of the Government whoso duty it was to minister to the wants of the army. This was a direct challenge to the Government. Lord John Eussell, convinced that the Ministry could not stand before such an attack, tendered his resignation at once. This was look- ed upon as ])artaking something of the nature of cowardice; he should have braved out the storm with them, thought his collea- gues ; and one of them, the Duke of Newcastle, oft'ered to make himself the scapegoat for the Ministry ; an ofler M'hich was not entirely Avithout reason, as he was the Secretary of War. After much discussion, hv. wcver, it was resolved that the remaining members of the cabinet should l.old together as long as the House of Commons would permit. Mr. Roebuck's motion came up in due time, and the Minister of war, Mr. Herbert, attempted to stem the tide by the assertion that the existing evils had been greatly overrated, and that many improvements had already tiikon place. But the effect which this mild speech might possi- bly have had was totally lost when the reply to it was heard. This was a speech by Mr. Stafford, who told of the things that ho had himself seeti j and excepting from censure Miss Nightin- gale and her assistants, drew such a picture of suffering and neglect as could not bo equalled by the imagination. To this speech Mr. Gladstone was the one to rej)ly. If the Op- position had expected the resignation of Lord .John Russell would be followed by that of his colleagues, this address gave them dis- tinctly to Uiiderstand that they wero mistaken. After giving some short history of the defection which had so recently taken place, not without courteous allusion to the encomium which Lord John had recentlj' bestowed upon him, the speaker proceeded to characterize a Ministry which could resign under such circum- stances, or without a direct intimation from the House of Com- mons. If by thus resigning they shrank from a judgment of the House upon their past acts, what sort of epitaph should be written over their remains ? He himself would write it thus: "Here lie the dishonored aslies of a Ministry which found England at peace and left it at war, which was content to enjoy y^ &■-.' The Ministry of All the Talents. tho emoluments of office and to wio'd the scepter of power bo long as no miiH bad tho courage to question their existence. They saw tho storm gathering over tho country ; tiiey heard tho agonizing accounts which were almost daily received of tho stftto of tho silk and wounded in tho East. These things did not move thorn. But so soon as tho Ilonorable Member for Sheffield raised his hand v.o point tho thunderbolt, they became conscience stricken with v. «onso of guilt, and, hoping to escape punishment, they ran away tx t: duty." This rebuke, strangely at variance with tho studied courtesy which custom obliged him to use in his direct refcrenco to the man who had run away from duty, was received with tumultuous cheers by a considerable portion of tho House. Wlien the excitement had subsided, Mr. Gladstone proceeded, lie showed conclusively that tnere had been exag- gerations as to tho state of tho army; and that matters were improving, as Mr. Herbert had al- ready told them. Tho adoption of Mr. Roebuck's motion would paralyze the Government, and throw things back into that very state of chaotic confusion from which they were just beginning to emerge. Tho speech was a powerful one, and Sidney Herbert. produced a telling effect upon tho House ; but tho advantage thus gained was fur from being sufficient for tho needs of the Ministry. Mr. Disraeli attacked tho war policy of tho Govern- ment and announced that ho should bo obliged to give his veto against *-'a deplorable administration j" Lord John Russell at- tempted tojustify his course in resigning, and Lord Palmerston made an energetic and brilliant defense of the Government; but H."^, ^ymu^f:i^i^j¥:k-^>m*fj ^ ■ ■^^m^si0»r-.^'mh:^m^^:^^w^^^fmm 148 The Ministry of All the Talents. * i! the tide had sot too strongly against the Coalition, and no ^.o- qiience could save it, "Every one knows," says Justin McCarthy, "what a scone us- ually r .kes place when a Ministry is defeated in the House of '"'om.nons — cheering again and again renewed, counter cheers of defiance, wild exultation, vehement indignation, a whole whirl- pool of emotions seething in that little hall in St. Stephen's." Such is the ordinary scene, as described by one who has fre- quently been r, participant; but this was decidedly extraordin- ary. Wiien the result of the division was announced, says Molesworth, *< the House seemed to bo surprised and almost stunned by its own act; there was no cheering; but for a few , moments a dead silence, which was followed by a burst of de- risive laughter." Never before had a Ministry fallen by jo de- cisive a vote ; the vote in favor of the motion was three hundred and five; against it, one hundred and forty-eight. In other words, what was virtually a vote of no confidence showed that the Ministers could not command the suffrage of one-thii'd the members of the House. The resignation of Lord Aberdeen and his colleagues was an- nounced in the House of Commons Feb. 1st, 1855. Speculation had already been rife as to the next Prime Minister. The Queen thought to answer the question which was in all men's minds by sending for Lord Derby, thus recognizing the principle that in time of war the Conservative party is naturally the leader of the national councils. Lord Derby at once undertook the task, and proceeded to form his cabinet. The one man who was essential to it was Lord Palmerston ; in spite of the faults which ho made no effort to conceal, and which made it so difficult for both super- iors and subordinates to get along with him, he had some very essential powers of mind in these troublous times. He certainly knew his own mind, and saw his way clear before him ; he pos- sessed a fund of common sense, which was not to bo baffled by those artificial beliefs that have grown up in the minds of the world; when he was Home Secretarj^, for instance, the Presby- tery of Scotland had sent to ask him whether it would not be advisable, in view of the cholera which was threatened, to ap- point a national fast day ; Palmerston replied, with all thegrav^- ity which the occasion demanded, that the laws which Provi- dence has ordained for the government of this world require us to avoid such diseases by rigid attention to the cleanliness of our MR. AND IVlRG. GLADSTONt %s ^'KL-d "■ "I J , H If- •« '-*.., The Minmtry of AU the Talents. 149 habitations and thoir surroundings, and advised them that if the c. ies were not kept in proper sanitary condition, all t')o fasting and prayer would not suffice against the dreaded scourge; and there are many instances of such answers, which, while they are l»ased on truth and good sense, were yet offensive to the persons to whoiii th(!y were addressc J, and often shocked the minds of others. Lord Palmcrston was clear-sighted and far-sighted ; but in that involuntary adjustment of the mental sight to the dis- tan<^ bject which ho was engaged in examining, his eye failed to take in those particulars which require a shorter range of vis- ion. In ridding himself of prejudice, he had unconsciously, and perhaps unavoidably, done violence to those sympathetic fVicul- ties which enable us to judge the acts of others rgt equitably, by finding what their motives most probably were. Palmcrston never allowed for any diflference between himself and others; were he in a given position, such an act could only be dictated by such a motive ; that moti.e therefore must be the one which act- uated the man who had decided upon that course. His lev- ity was not intended to be offensive to the men whom he an- swered ; he could not understand how it could be so ; and thus he kept on considering gravely those questions which were sub- mitted to him, and answering them jocosely. But in spite of all the offense that he had given, both by word and action, this man was so essential to the stability of a Con- servative Ministry that Disraeli agreed to waive all claim to the leadership of the House of Commons, if that would induce the most eminent of Irish peers to cast in his lot with the L»erbyad- ministration. While the answer of Lord Palmcrston was still awaited, or perhaps at the same time that the offer had been made to him. Lord Derby tendered places in his cabinet to Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Herbert, the late Minister of War. These three members of the late Government intimated to Lord Derby th.at they could only extend to him an independent support. That nobleman accordingly waited upon her Majesty, and inform- ed her of the result of his efforts. "What is an independent support?" asked the Queen, to whom the phrase was probably new, anr' .ertainly seemed con- trad ictoi'v. "Madam," replied Derby, "an independent support is, like an independent Member of Parliament, one that cannot be de- ponded upon." a:|L 160 The Ministry of All the Talents. Kb-: iJf; il This explanation seems to have made the m«ttcr clear to the royal mind, and Derby was relieved from the task to which he proved unequal. In accordance with that custom which pre- scribes that the tender of thip, offirfc should bo made to members of the great parties in aiternat':>n, Lord John Eussell wj^s sum- moned to the Queen's assisto^ce. But his resignation from i, Min- istry vrhich was in imminent danger had brought discredit up- on him in the eyes of his followers, and he was obliged to con- fess his inability. There was but one other in whos9 oxpeinenco and ability there wis sumcient confidence to warrant his being placed at the head of aflfiiirs, and the post of the First Lord of the Treasury was tendered to Yiscount Palmerston. On February 6th, the announcement was formally made that Lord Palmorston had formed his Ministry. In th:g Cabinet, most of the members of the Aberdeen Groyernmeut were their own successors; the chief changes were the substitution of Pal- mcrston's name for that of Lord Aberdeen, and of Lord Pan- niure's for the Duke of Newcastle. Mr. Gladstone retained the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The appointment of Lord Panmure, like the accession of Palmerston himself to power, argi'cd a much more vigorous conduct of the war; for both of these men wore ardent advocates of the struggle in the East, and replaced men who were desirous of peace though at great cost. Palmerston, indeed, with his accustomed independence of action, had spoken in favor of war, and had caused those journ- als whoso utterances he largely controlled, to advocate it, even while the Ministry of which ho was a member deprecated a re- sort to actual hostilities. This was essentially a War Ministry. The Eocbuck motion, which had caused the resignation of Lord Aberdeen, had been carried, as we have already recorded; and the committee of inquiry for -;hich 't called had been ap- pointed. The new Ministry was thus placed in a situation of some difficulty at the very beginning of its existence. Lord Pal- merston was of the opinion that the Grovernment could not re- sist the investigation demanded by so largo a majority of the House of Commons, and by the whole people as well ; some of the members of his Cabinet were resolutely opposed to the ap- pointment of a committee vested with such powers. The takin/^ of this matter out of the hands of the Government wnis establish- ing a precedent which in the future, no ma+ter what the circum- stances, it would be impossible to sot aside. Other objeetior:! The Ministry of All the Talents. 151 there were, but this was the one advanced by Mr. Gladstone, and the one which insists upon the constitutional principle involved with the most earnestness; the others conccr.iing themselves mainly with the objections to the committee on less general grounds. Lord Palmerston thought it would be sufficient to change the personnel of the committee, and substitute mem- bers selected by the Government; Mr. Roebuck accepted the altered list, but the dissatisfied Ministers declined to do so. In consequence of this disagreement wi'h the head of the Government, three of the ablest and most distinguished mem- bers of the Cabinet resigned their positions, and their places were at once filled by members of tho political party to which the Premier belonged. Sir James Graham, Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Herbert, were the retiring officials, and were suc- ceeded in their respective positions by Sir Charles Wood, Sir Corncwall Lewis, and Lord John Eussell. " The Ministry of Ah tho Talents," as the Coalition Cabinet, whose downfall we have thus w'tncssed, was not untruly termed, had been succeeded by a Government in which the only talent recognized was that found within the boundaries of the Liberal party. At the time of his appointment to this office, Lord John Rus- sell was on his way to Vienna, as plenipotentiary of the British Government in a Conference of t'lo Great Powers for the settle- ment of tho trouble without further fighting. Sliortly afterward, there occurred another event, which, with tho beginningof nego- tiations at Vienna, made an early treaty of peace appear among the probabilities. This was the sudden death of tho Czar, March 2,V 5. Nicholas had stated his intentions with regard to Tur- key with a frankness almost phenomenal in the history of diplo- macy; and had all but made direct proposals to England to di- vide that country between tho British and Russian Empires. England refused ; but ho was not daunted, and proceeded to car- ry out his policy, which ha'l only changed by the omission of England from the list of proposed beneficiaries, by attacking tho Turks. His son and successor, Alexander IIL, was of a ditferent temper ; it was thought that ho would bo more ready to accede to proposals for peace, as it was well known that he was of a more liberal and pacific nature than his father. But "scratch a Russian and you'll find a Tartar," says tho proverb ; and when it was once aroused, there was as much of the Tartar in Alexan- der as there had been in Nicholas ; and the war was prosecuted 152 The Ministry of All the Talents. under the son as vigorously as it had been under the father. Nor was this hope the only one that failed. TheConferencu of Vierma broke up, without having accomplished its object, as Kussia would not yield that one of the famoua " Four Points" which required her to limit her naval force in the jSlaek Sea. Austria finally made propositions which the representatives of England and France regarded as affording a prospect of the set- tlement of the case, and accepted for the Governments which they represented, subject, of course, to ratification at the hands of the supreme power in the State ; but unfortunately for them, these propositions were a virtual surrender of the chief points for which England and France had been contending; the home ■authorities refused the ratification on which they had relied, and the plenipotentiaries themselves sunk very low in public opinion. The French Minister was obliged to resign the position which he had held for some years ; and although the denouement was delayed for some time in the case of Russell, it was this which ultimately caused his resignation from Palmerston's Ministry. The failure of the Conference to restore peace was a great dis- appointment to the English people, who looked witl much dis- favor upon the fact that concessions had been made with this ob- ject. The war was still popular with the great majority of the people ; and it was intolerable to think that England had offer- ed peace, and had the offer refused. This feeling was reflected in the House of Commons, as was to be expected ; and the Min- isters were frequently attacked by members of both Houses, for the uncertain policy which they had adopted. Mr. Disraeli brought forward a motion condemning this fault, and supported it in a speech three hours long. A member of the Opposition had affirmed for'-mlly that the propositions of Eussia were reas- onable, and that some blame attached to the Government for re- f'ising thorn; and Mr. Disraeli denounced, with his accustomed vigor, this combination of war and diplomroy, at the head of which was an embassador distinguished for his inflammatory de- nunciations of Russia, and totally incompetent to negotiate a peace. When Mr. Disraeli made one of his fierce attacks upon the ruling party, it had by this time become an established thing that Mr. Gladstone was to answer him ; and the late Chancellor of the Exchequer engaged in the congenial task upon this occas- ion. The Four Points, which had sometime before been pro- The Ministry All the Talents. 153 posed as the basis for negotiations, had been so distasteful to Russia that sbo had refused to consider them at all in August, 1854 ; but the events in the Crimea had been such that in the fol- lowing December she had been brought to accept them for con- sideration. This proved that the er; lllll>llll l'^ The Ministry of All the Talents. 156 ch as it on >h- of to \e V. 3h in sentative of the Government in the Congress of Vienna, was proposed by Sir. E. Bulwer-Lytton. The day fixed for the con- sideration of this motion was July 16th; but on the 13th Lord John Eussell again resigned his seat in a Cabinet whose position was challenged by the Opposition. The announcement of this on the day fixed for the debate, caused the withdrawal of the motion. There was a debate of considerable interest upon this motion even ur'ter it had been withdrawn, the interest lurning chiefly upon the personal references which were made to two great men of that day by two great men of our own. Mr. Dis- raeli attacked Lord Palmerston, whom he accused of machina- tions intended to get Lord John out of office ; and declared that the Premier had addressed the House that very night in a tone and with accents which showed that if the honor and interests of England were much longer entrusted to him, the one would be tarnished and the other betrayed. Such was the language which might bo used in the House of Commons, thirty years or more ago. Mr. Gladstone complained that Lord John had condemned propositions which were virtually the same with those which, as Minister Plenipotentiary, he hud accepted at Vienna. Differing from Mr. Disraeli, who accused the Governmentof inconsistency in having at one time been disposed to accept these terms of peace, yet ho blamed them for now abruptly closing the hope of an honorable peace. The committee which had been appointed upon Mr. Eoebuck's motion reported about the middle of summer, and Mr. Roebuck r ade a motion which was virtually a vote of censure upon every member of the Aberdeen*Cabinet. His speech, however, was re- garded as an extreme one, and the proposition to postpone the matter for six months, really a condemnation of the speaker's position, was carried by an overwhelming majority of those members present. The war debates continued throughout the brief remainder of the session. Mr. Gladstone frequently spoke to urge peace, say- ing Turkey was such an ally to England in this war as Anchises was to ^Eneas in the flight from Troy; aiu! predicting the grad- ual falling off of otaer Powers, if England persisted in maintain- ing a war, the virtual advantages of which had been already gained. But the peace for which he was pleading was aboiit to come, though cannon, and not ^vords, were the instruments by which it I\ 156 'T/ie Ministry All the Talents. was brought about. The " August City," Sebastopol, had been considered impregnable; and a city which will stand a siege of eleven months may well be considered as nearly so as fortress- es can be made by human hands and natural advantages. The siege had begun in October, 1854; and had lasted, with little success on the part of the allied forces, until the following Sep- tember. It had com.!- to be regarded as the central point of in- terest; the war could not end until Sebastopol was taken; and the excitement was unbounded when it was known that the Mal- akoff and Eedati had been taken by simultaneous attacks by the French and British. Following fast upon this announcement, came the news that the Eussians had retreated; the war was over. Negotiations for peace were immediately entered into ; and a treaty wa6 concluded at Pai'is in the following March. »Bii iai« wMwmihj i «MUJi. wMa z < Q Z < cc o LU I k u. O < en \- cc o a. \- (f) UJ H < -J UJ I I- CHAPTER VI. PROGRESSING TOWARDS LIBERALISM. z < s o o z < cc o UI X H u. O < oc oc O 0. h co UJ H < UJ I t- Treaty Following the Crimean War — Peace Concluded at Paris — Agitation Con- cerning the Continental Press — National Education— Bill Providing for the Enlistment of Foreigners — 111 Feeling Between England and America — Criticism Upon the Government's Foreign Policy — Mr. Gladstone's Alliance with His Rival — Government Losing Strength in the House of Commons — Mnjority Against the Government — Attempt to Assassinate the Emperor of the French — Remarkable Peroration by Mr. Gladstone — r^ormation of a New Cabinet — Lord Derby at the Front — Financial Outlook Depressing. 'HE treaty which closed the Crimean war was not a popu- lar one j it was felt tiiat England had not gained the suc- cess which ought to have been hers before she consented to negotiate for peace ; on the other hand, the French sol- vlicrs were tliought to have won all the honor which ought to have belonged to their allies across the channel. There was not one soldier in either army, however, who gained in this war the rank of a great general ; the only one who could be said to have profited by the hostilities in point of military reputation was on the enemy's side — Gen. Todleben. At the same time, there was really no dciilnite reason for carrying on the war any longer; and the hearty desire manifested by France for peace made it impossible for England to hold back, even if her Government had been so inclined. It was a singular circumstance, that the country which gained all the gloiy wliich was awarded by com- mon consent to the Allies, was France, where the war had never been popular; while England, where the ])eople were enthusias- tically in favor of it, had but a small share in the successes which ultimately determined the result. The French army was well equipped and well managed from the first; the English had just begun to be prepared for the cam- paign when it ended. Of twenty-two thousand Englishmen who died in the Crimea, eighteen thousand perished from disease, brought about by the Avant of proper food, clothing or shelter froni the inclemency of the weather. Nor was the wisdom of go- 168 Progressing Toioards Liberalism. ing to war in tho first place universally admitted. Wo have al- ready had occasion to speak of the societies for tho promotion of peace, which wore organized early in tho beginning of the trouble, when an appeal to arms had not yet been made by the Governments of tho west of Europe; wo have seen how strenu- ously Bright and other members of Parliament opposed going to war upon any pretext whatever; we havo said that Lord ^ Aberdeen never lost hope of a peaceful solution of tho difficulty, until tho declaration of war had actually been made; and although ho had said that ho would resign sooner than engage in war he was carried along so insensibly that his resignation was not tendered i ntil tho Ministry of which ho was tho head had been severely condemned for their mismanagement of matters relating to the sustenance and caro of tho army. So great was this statesman's aversion to tho war, which ho averred would not pro- duce any good results to England. Tho most that it would do, ho claimed, would bo to preserve the peace in tho east of Europe' for a quarter of a century. This utterance was looked upon at tho time as tho dictum of a man utterly at variance with those who were directing affairs, who would seo only the dark side of tho question ; but tho event proved that he had not spoken with too little confidence; three years before tho expiration of the term of years assigned for the duration of tho peace between Russia and Turkey, those countries were again at war with each other. Mr. Gladstone seems to have disapproved of the war quite as much as his quondam chief. Before England had formally ox- pressed her intention of taking part in tho struggle, indeed, be- fore it was at all probable that sho would do so, he had made public an interpretation of tho existing treaty between Russia and Turkey which recognized the right of Russia to punish Tur- key for tho violation of this agreement. The cl.iuso which he thus understood was the first lino of tho seventh article, in which tho Sublime Porto agrees to protect tho Christian religion and its churches. This was generally taken in connection with the re- mainder of the article, which dealt with the management of the new church at Constantinople; and the context, particularly the reference to tho fourteenth article of tho same treaty, appeared to prove that tho promise in the first line was specific, and not general, as it was assumed by Mr. Gladstone to be. According to him, the promise of the Sultan to protect the Christian relia-- Progressing Towards Liberalism. 150 if n wfts a distinct cnga^^ement from those which follow in the sumo article, an a^'r< otneiit entered into with the sovereign of Russia, because ho had been defeated by the Russian arms and obliged to accept the terms of peace which the CV.ar dictated to him ; and this was duly made by treaty. If he broke any pro- vision of this treaty, the nation with which it had been made was . entitled to call him to account for such a violation, without the intervention of any other government, as none other had been concerned in the ratification of the original peace; and this was not excepted from the general sacredness of those provis- ions. We are bound to call the reader's attention to the fact that this was Mr. Gladstone's interpretation, not that generally accepted; so iar as we can learn, be was alone in his under- standing of the agreement, though others justified Russia on diflferent grounds. The Czar himself did not rest his right to an appeal to arms upon this clause, but up^n the fact that the four- teenth article, which gave him a virtual protectorate over the Christians in Asiatic Turkey, had been disregarded by the Porte. We have quoted this interpretation of a treaty which was broken more than thirty years ago, and has been forgotten near- ly as long, to justify Mr. Gladstone's course during the wrr That course was not approved by Parliament; as we have ^l- ready seen, the whole Aberdeen Ministry was condemned be- cause it gave but a lukewarm support by its measures athomo to an army which was already in the field. The members of t Cabinet had opposed the war from the first, acting in their c..- porato capacity; the few who approved of it were transferred to the next Ministry; but we can hardly wonder that a man who looked upon the war as one based upon a mistaken idea— upon indefensible interference with another nation's business— should hesitate about lending a cordial support to its prosecution. March 31st, 1856, Lord Palmerston announced to the House of Commons that a treaty of peace had been concluded at Paris; a similar announcement was made in the House of Lords at the same time. The terms of the treaty became the subject of de- bate as soon as they were announced. An address to the Queen was at once moved in both Houses; the amendment proposed in the House of Commons was merely the substitution of the word "satisfaction" fortheword "joy" at the conclusion of peace; but this trifling alteration was sufficient to bring the subject into the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1. "!■-;; M 12.0 1.8 L25 iJA 1 1.6 v] vl ^;. '<3 'c*; %:^*> '>/ > vx /A "4V '^ (?;?!' Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. M580 (716) 872-4503 iV V %^ \ :\ % V <^ % ^J^ ,ij^ «i!^ .^•i. ^ 6^ -U ^,* fe^ f^. Q, 7x ^ 160 Progressing Towards Liberalism. arena of debate. After the speeches by the mover and seconder of this address, and that made to introduce this amendment, Mr. Gladstone addressed the House. It had been admitted that the peace was .lot a popular one, because the majority of Eng- lishmen thought it had been concluded at a time when Eng- land might have won further successes ; and Mr. Gladstone and his allies were not regarded with any favor by the House on ac- count of their connection with the war. Such were the feelings of many of his listeners on this occasion. The treaty was an honorable one, ho said, because the objects of the war had been obtained. Those who had spoken against it had said that Great Britain, with the other Christian Powers, had become bound for the maintenanco of Turkey, not only agai nst foreign aggression, but as a Mohammedan State. In reply to this, Mr. Gladstone said that if ho had so understood the words of the treaty, ho would not support an address which expressed either joy or satisfaction at the eoncjusion of such a peace, but would look for the most emphatic word to express his condem- nation of an agreement to support a set of institutions which Christendom must endeavor to reform if she could, though he was not sanguine as to the result of that effort. It would be the work and caro of many generations, ho said, to bring such an effort to ahappy and prosperous conclusion; and he did not underrate the difficulties presented by tho juxtaposition of a people pro- fessing the Mohammedan religion with a rising Christian popu- lation having adverse and conflicting interests. But there was another point to be considered in connection with this treatv. The encroachment of Eussia upon Turkey, and the final absorp- tion of tho one by tho other, would be an evil as groat as any which could arise from tho maintenance of Turkey as a Moham- medan state. Such a danger to the peace, liberties and privileges of all Europe, Great Britain was bound to resist by all the moans in her power. It was a thing to be regretted that a more substan- tive existence had not boon secured to the principalities, but this was not the fiuilt of England or of Franco. The neutralization of the Black Sea he also onndemned, as meaning nothing but a scries of pitfalls in time of war; and ho thought that recognized rules to regulate interference on behalf of the Christians should have been established. It was a great triumph that the Powers had agreed to submit international differences to arbitration, though in this very agreement there was much danger of diplo' Progressing Towards Liberalism. 161 matic contention promoting the quarrels which it was intended to preveLt. Ho argued that no country ought to submit claims for arbitration unless those claims were such as it would be wil- ling to support by an appeal to arms ; such a course might lead to the reduction of the standing armies which were so severe a tax upon all the countries of Europe j and the speaker rejoiced that the anticipation of this state of affairs had already led the two leading military nations to contemplate a reduction of their establishment j for Eussia and France were about to set this bold example. Although it was an innovation to entertain such subjects in Conferences of pacification, Mr. Gladstone expressed his satis- faction with the course which had been taken with regard to Naples; but he regretted that the records inscribed upon the protocols were not treaty engagements, and did not approximate that character. As the case stood, they were authoritative doc- ments, which might be appealed to by those whose case they strengthened, but which were fur from possessing the authority of a treaty with those who desired to disregard them. Confus- ion would inevitably arise from these serni-authoritative engage- inents, and infinite discussion be based upon their character. The most important question which had been decided at this conference, regarding the nations which had not actually taken part in the war, was that relating to the Belgian press. The ex- cess in which the journals of that country had indulged with im- punity was represented as having been condemned by all the plenipotentiaries present, though Lord Clarendon, one of the British representatives, had told them that the scheme suggested would find no support or sympathy in England. The embassa- dors of Prussia and Austria had said that the repression of the press was a European necessity; the French negotiator had said that legislation on the subject of the Belgian press was required; Count Orloif, on the part of Eussia, declined to express any opin- ion, having no instructions from his Government. The speaker said that he hoped these statements were not declarations of pol- icy, and that they would be regretted and forgotten, as having issued lightly from their mouths. He pointed out that the Bel- gian Constitution required a trial by jury in case of such offen- ces; and that this provision could not be readily changed. He concluded by urging that this appeal, contemplated under the compulsion of foreign Powers, some of whom were remote in 162 Progressing Towards Liberalism. situation, having for its object the limitation of the dearest, rights and most cherished liberties of the gallant and high-spir- ited people to which it was addressed, was not a policy which tended to clear the political horizon, but rather to render it more gloomy. Lord Palmerston closed the debate with a speech in which he Lwd Cla7'endon. assured the House that the British Government would take no part in any interference with an independent nat'.on with the view of dictating what steps she should take to gag the press. The amendment was withdrawn after this assurance from the Prime Minister, and the address was agreed upon. The Crimean War was formally at an end. I Progressing Towards Liberalism. 168 The subject of National Education was the next important top.c brought before the House. Lord John Eussell introduced a series of resolutions, providing that the funds available for pub- he instruction should be applied in accordance with certain pro- tioTof ' vn '^V"^ '^°''° '''^^'^""^'' ^"" '^' compulsory educa- tion of children from nine to fifteen, who were employed at any k.ndof work. These resolutions were opposed bv Mr. Grad"^ stone, who asserted that the system of education which they tend- ed to create was lacking in the most important element of moral nfluence upon the character of the pupil; and that the system of inspection proposed tended to create a central controlling power involving secular instruction and endless religious controversy' tlnr- '">"^'"'' ^"'''^°°' "^^"' '^'^ ^^^^^"^«" do now leave hechairj' was negatived by a majority of more than a hundred' and as this was virtually a condemnation of the measures pro! posed, the resolutions were not proceeded with. In the list of the divisions on this question, we find some strange groupings of name: Cockburn, Grey, Horsman, Pulmerston, ViHiers and Wood were recorded as voting in the aflirmative; while LZl those who were agreed to condemn the resolutions were Glad stone and Disraeli, with the Lord Eobert Cecil who, in 1^84 as Ml Gladstone commented with some severity upon the bud^^f wh.eh the Chancellor of the Exchequer brough"^ Twa^^ in M^v after a somewhat lengthy statement in February, which had aS met with the disapproval of the late official, who had sWn h ' TentTe 'TT ^' ''""^^^ '"^ ^^« P-Positions of he inc m-" ben^ were finally agreed to. The Palmerston Govern mentTs ::eir ritr^id^"^ "^ ^--^^^- ^^ -- - ^— - The English Parliament had in 1855 passed a bill providin^for he enlistment of foreigners in the Crimean army Tnd the ^ rbeTotbetr^'t"^'"^ ^^""^^'^ iu.d 'p;odld eot' had insisto^l +h..+ 4i i ''"" ^i-nsn aimy. Lord Clarendon nau insisted that the embassador had not been guilty of anv of ... .»a„j.i!.feion vas aciuaiiy dismissed. 164 Progressing Towards Liberalism. While this feeling was at its height (June 30th) a motion was intro- duced which was really an attempt lo censure the Government for the course which had been pursued. The debate was a long one, as there were several views which might be tak 2n of the measure. Of the Opposition, there were some who, for mere sake of party ad- vantage, were reacy to support such an attempt; there were some, on both sets of benches, who thought that the United States had just reason to complain; and there were some who held this last view, and some who held the opposite, who would not join i:; any such vote, intended as it was to embavrass the Government. Mr. Gladstone was one of those who, while he did not defend the conduct of the Minister at Washington, was not ready to weaken the hands of the Ministers when the party which he re- presented was not prepared to displace them. In his speech, he said that it appeared to him that there were two cardinal aims which ought to be kept in view ; these ■^cre peace and a thorough- ly cordial understanding with America for one, and the honor and fame of England for the other. But he was not satisfied with the existing state of things in regard to either of these, or with the conduct of the Government. A cordial understanding with America had not been preserved, and the honor of England had been compromised. He had had great difficuliyin coming to a de cision as to the vote which he should give upon this question ; but could not iTieet the resolution with a direct negative. Explain- ing the position in which he stood, he proceeded to inquire into the true state of he case. He charged the British Government with practising concealment, and asserted that the United States Government had been deceived and misled. The law had know- ingly been broken by the agents of the British Government ; and the American Government had cause to complain, since an agency within the United States had been employed to give in- formation and to tempt, by the offer of valuable considerations, citizens of the United States to go beyond their boundaries for the purpose of enlibting in the English army. The British em- bassador had not only failed to inform the United Statos that this was being done, thus justifying the charge of concealment, but he had wilfully broken his engagement not to communicate, except to those who addressed themselves to him, the terms up- on which they would be received into the army. Mr. Gladstone maintained that those four officials who had been punished had MR. GLADSTONE IN HIS LIBRARY AT HAWARDEN Progressing Towards Liberalism. 165 only been made scupe-goats for the Government which had up- hold their actions in the main. The question was a most remark- able illustration, he said, of the disorganized state of the great particp ; such a disagreement upon any subject of foreign policy would have been impossible in the days when Lord John Russell and his allies occupied the Treasury Benches, and Sir Robert Pool sat opposite. As wo have already intimated, Mr. Gladstone, though he con- demned the policy of the Government upon this question, was not ready to give his vote to an ineffectual attempt to overthrow that Government. There were many others who thought as he did, and the Ministry had a majority of nearly two hundred up- on the division. * At the opening of the session of 1857, when the royal speech was read and the address came up for consideration, Mr. Dis- raeli made some severe strictures upon the Government, mainly m relation to its foreign policy. To these criticisms the Chancel- lor of the Exchequer, who obtained the floor immediately after- ward to make a statement with relation to his financial measures made not the slightest reply. The omission was a notable one' and Mr. Gladstone pointed it out. After expressing his surprise that such censure of the Ministry had been unanswered by the member of theCabinct who had spoken, he proceeded to speak of the questions of foreign policy with which the Government had at that time to deal. There had been difficulties with China- there were actual hostilities with Persia; there was a dispute with regard to Central America; there were some points of the Treaty of Paris on which information was desirable. A 11 these were points which the Government had had opportunity to consider and on which there ought to be some explanation furnished to the House. Coming to the statement just made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone dealt at length with the old question of the Income Tax, which was again revived by the ne- cessity of increasing the revenue to meet the expenses of the war. Again he protested against a loan designed to meet this neces- sity ; and he was likewise opposed to new taxation. The Gov- ernment had in 1853 pledged itself to abolish this tax in seven years; and that pledge, which had been given and received in good faith, ought not to be recalled, now that four years of the seven had passed. As far as his duty was concerned, he would give his effort and labor to fulfll! those pledges, which ho had notfor- (66 Progressing Towards Liberalism. gotten, and was not likely to forget. Ho should always remem- ber with ffratitudo, ho said, the conduct of the House of Com- mons at the time when those measure? wore adopted, and the generosity which they had evinced ; and he promised that that gratitude should be evinced hy his efforts to secure tho extinc- tion of tho Income Tax at the time fixed. The budget was brought before tho house Feb. 13th, in a speech which, though it did not havo tho same effect which Mr. Glad- stone's addresses on the same subject had had for the House, and did not prove as entertaining as Mr. Disraeli's had been upon a similar occasion, was yet superior to the general run of budget speeches. Tho plan proposed was one of considerable merit, being clearly stated and ably justified. But it had tho one great disadvantage of being a total innovation upon the plan which had been established by this Parliament in previous sessions, based upon the financial measures inaugurated by Sir Eobori Peel, which Mr. Gladstone, while holding this office, had natural- \y carried out, and now defended. Nor was there any startling merit about this plan, to compensate for tho disadvantage of its being so totally different from tho measures which had been ap- proved and carried out. But the part of the plan which Mr. Gladstone most severely condemned, was tho increase in the tax upon tea and sugar. He stigmatized tho proposition of tho Chancellor as a plan to remit the taxes which bore heavily upon tho wealthy, and make up the deficiency thus occasioned by du- ties upon those articles which were used in tho family of every laborer in the country. He added that he should oppose this policy at every stage of its progress before tho House. In the division which took place upon this question, we find Mr. Gladstone again side by side with Mr. Disraeli. But the alliance of the two rivals was not sufficient to defeat the Govern- ment in its financial schemes, and tho amcndm.ent to tho budget which was the immediate cause of this speech was lost by a ma- jority of eighty votes. A few weeks later, the Chancellor of the Exchequer intro- duced an amended scale for the tea duty ; and, true to his prom- ise, Mr. Gladstone opposed the measure. In tho course of tho speech which he made at this time, he told the Ministry that if ho wished to advocate an extendod and organic reform in the parliamentary representation, he could not desire a better case than tho one which the Government's financial policy had furnish- Progressing Towards Liberalism. 167 ed him. The Chancellor of tho Exchequer professed his inahil- .^ to prepare a scheme upon tho principles recommended by Mr. Gladstone, and the division proved that ho had no need to do so, tho Government being supported by a majority of fifty- Division Barrier and Lohhy of the House of Commons. Taking a Divisim. come Tax BnTt" iff'^''^^'^ '^^ «^^ond reading of the In- come lax Jjill, iMr. Gladstone affam d'-sw f^ii^y^*\ iivvvuiivu Xo tho great 168 Progressing Towards L^beraUr^m. oxponditviro of Iho rovonno, nnd charged that tho foroign policy of tho Govornmont 'vns not iincorinoctcd with tho oxcessivo tux- atlon and high cxp'^ndituro of tho country; in a subsequent speech, hi called attention to tho enormous incronso in tho mili- tary ostimiitof. In this latt« r c;uso, hovyever, ho c.i('. not press a division, and tho proposals of tho Government on tho Nuval Es- timate passed tho House. Wo find him in tho minority in the division on the Divorce Bill which passed tho House this session ; contending gallantly, though vainly, for tho equality of woman with man in all tho rights pertaining to marriage, and dealing with tho question on social, moral and legal grounds. Tho Government was gradually losing strength in tho ITouso, though it was still popular in tho country; the next import- ant debate was one that showed its weakness. There had been considorablo trouble with China regarding the opium trade, in which tho British wcro charged with conniving at smuggling. Tho crow of a lorcha which had been licensed to carry tho Brit- ish flag had been seized, in tho harbor of Canton, by Chinese au- thorities ; it was said Ly tho Opposition that tho license had ex- pired, and that X\\o Arrow was in no sense a British vessel ; it was said by the Go-'-ernment that the Chinese mandarin who made tho seizure actually caused tho British flag to bo hauled down from tho mast, and replaced by the Chines^> ensign. A mo- tion condemning tho ac'ion of tho Government in reference to this affair was introduced into tho House of Lords, where it was defeated by a majority of thirty-six; a similar motion was brought before tho House of Commons by Mr. Cobden. Tho de- bate lasted four nights, and almost every member of tho House who was distinguished as an orator expressed an opinion upon tho side which ho supported, the discussion thus attaining an un- usually high level of parliamentary oratory. Mr. Gladstone was among the last who spoke, and thus had the advantage of summing up and answering the arguments of his adversaries. Ho denied that the British Government had any- thing to complain of in the treatment which had been received from the Chinese, which had been strictly in accordance with the engagements entered into in tho treaty of 1842. He called attention to the number of times that British subjects had of- fended against the provisions of this treaty and their conduct been condoned by the Chinese Government, he defended Sir * >. Progrtssimj Towards Liberalism, 169 (I .Tftmes Graham, who had been attacked by Sir Goor^'o Groy rnd ridiculed for his roforenco to Christinn principles as tho ba'sis of the aciion of the Government. Ho said that sineo this npponl to Christian principles Mas thus forbidden, ho would appeal to something older than Christianity; broader, since it was whore Christianity is not; to that which underlies Christianity, for Christianity appeals to it— tho justice which binds man to" man. It was this which must regulate tho intercour,«o between Gov- ornm-jnts, and ho denied that it had been tho principle upon which tho British Mi'ilstiy had boon guid.'d in this affair, as well as others in w '^n the- had had to deal with tho Chinese. Tho position of tho Govornmont was stated by Lord Palmer- ston, though ho had tho disadvantage of speakig at a time of tho night when '10 n^embers were tired out; notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, however, ho was immo^' toly followed by Mr. Disraeli, who accepted Iho construction which had been put upon tho motion, that it was a voto of c ... jro upon tho Govern- ment; and replying to Palmerston'g alarm over a suggested com- bination, bade him appeal to tho country if ho thought himself tho victim of a political conspiracy. Mr. Cobden closed tho debate in a bvief speech, and at two o^cIock in the morning, on the fourth night of tho debate, the division was taken. It showed a majority of sixteen against tho Government. Lord Palmei'ston, when this result was announ- ced, stated that although tho usual course nndorsuch circumstan- ces would bo to resign, ho did not believe that tho present Min- istry was to be held to that rule. Ho therefore decided to dis- solve Parliament, and appeal to the country. Af, had been anticipated, the Government received a consider- able accession of strength at tho general election which ensued. Liberals ja. i Peelites suffered considerably, Cobden and Bright being prominent members of the former party who failed of elec- tion. Mr. Gladstone, however, was again returned by the Uni- versity, this time without opposition. It should bo here men- tioned that although tho P-.^uito party was a small one, tho abil- ity of its members was g^eat, and it therefore commanded a great- er degree of respect than has been the portion of mosfcorga za- tionsof similar numerical strength, and possessed an influence proportioned to this moral standing,. Parliament met or a short session before Christmas, when an — ^ ,,, .,,^,„„^j^^ vciine ap lOx uuuaiaerauoa. xne sus- 170 Progressinrj Towards Liberalism. 1^' pension of several banks in the United States had created a mon- etary panic, and the directors of the Bank of England, desiring to increase their issue of notes to meet the demand thus created, asked authority to do so. To grant this permission, the Govern- ment was obliged to ask for a suspension of the Bank Charter Act of 1844, and brought a Bill of Indemnity before the House for that purpose Mr. Gladstone did not oppose the bill, but ar- gued that it would be wiser to investigate the causes of the lato panic, and how far they wore connected with the state of banking. The effect of referring a heap of subjects to an overburdened committee would be to postpone legislation, and obstruct inquiry into the causes of the recent panic and the present embarrass- ment. When the bill came up for the third reading, Mr. Glad- stone reiterated these arguments, and showed what evils arose from the confusion prevailing between the functions of bunking and currency. The bill passed the House, an amendment pro- posed by Mr. Disraeli being rejected by a considerable majority. When the House met after the Christmas recess, there was con- siderable excitement prevailingoverthoattempt to assassinate the Emperor of the French which had recently been made byOrsini. There was a good deal of sympathy existing in England for the proposed victim, but this was not understood by the French, who charged that England afforded an asylum for conspirators against the peace and welfare of other stales. Foreign refugees, they claimed, were allowed to concoct and mature plots to be carried into execution elsewhere. This was not an accusation brought merely by agitators and irresponsible journals, brt gravely preferred by the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, though in such a modified form as diplomacy permits. He urged upon the Premier the necessity of legislation on this subject; and at the beginning of the session of 1858 Lord Palmerston in- troduced his Conspivac}'- to Murder Bill. The first reading was carried by an immense majority; but by the time that it came before the House again, the impression had obtained that the Ministers were simply puppets in the hands of Napoleon III. Mr. Gibson accordingly moved an amendment inquiring why the dispatch of the French Minister had not been answered. The statement that England was a lair of savage beasts and u labora- tory of assassins was quoted as die utterance of a prominent French orator; it was assorted that the bill was introduced at the dictation of a foreign government ; and Lord Palmerston Progressing Towards Liberalism. 171 was accused, by a quotation from tho Times which was cited with approval by tho speaker, of being capable of making any sacri- fice of principle or interest to secure the good-will of a foreign power which he had made up his mind to'court. But the most powerful speech that was made in this connection, and the on Iwo'th ""f/"'"'';V''"^""^^ * ^^-^^^ ^"'l statesmanlike t1^, V^ : "u "/ *^' *^^"^"' ^"« '^^' «f ^''- Gladstone, l^ord Palmerston had stated that tho dispatch referred to in the amendment had been answered verbally; but llv. Gladstone pointed out that this was the weakest kind of an answerro a, explanations which could be oifered to he House, this was the most ,,,3f,,,, ^,^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^.^^^^,^ ^ , as^^^ Innd ",l «"«w«red by stating the law already existing in Eng- land on the subject. In place of this reply, the Houses of Parlif- ment were asked to answer by passing the Bill whieh had been proposed by the Premier. Mr. Gladstone's peroration is a re m.ukable commentary upon tho English Government and its measures of repression thirty years later : "If there is any feeling in this House for the honor of Enir- necess ty of reforming tho criminal law. Let us insist nnon ih. necessity of vindicating that law. As far as justirrlXes le amend it if ,t be found necessary. But do not let us allow it to 1 under a cloud of accusations of which we are convinced hat t IS totally innocent. These times are grave for liberty We hvo in tho nineteenth century ; we talk of progress ; we'belil that we are advancing; but can any man of observation who has watched the events of the last, few years in Europe have fltd to perceive that there is a movement indeed but thalir. over doos re,,,„„sibility center upon the institutions of Zw and .f ,t does center upon England, upon her prineipir unon or 1.WS, and upon her governors, then I say \.t~Z- pa»sou oy ih,» iionso of Commons, the chief "hone of fT'T wh.ch attempt,, to establish a moral comptu/rweln ^^ aTd 172 Progressing Towards Liberalism. those who sock safety in repressive measures will be a blow ana discouragement to that sacred cause in every country of the world." After a number of speeches, chief among which was one in which Mr, Disraeli called the attention of the debaters to the fact that the real question before the HondC was not iiplomatic or political, but one between the House and the Ministers of the Crown, Lord Palmerston rose to reply. He deprecated the de- partures which hud been made from the topic under considera- tion, particularly by Messrs. Gibson and Gladstone, who, he com- plained, had entered into an elaborate attack upon his conduct when he was Secretary for Foreign Affairs; his attack upon Mr. Gibson was a bit- ter, pergonal one, which was interrupted by strong ex- pressions of disapproval from the House j and he ad- dressed himself to a consid- eration of the point at issue. His defense of the course of the Gove ament did not justify it in the eyes of the House, however, for the di- vision showed that the Min- istry was in a minority of nineteen. Many of those who thus voted did not wihh to overthrow the Government, and it is probable that if Palmerston had asked for a vote of confidence it would have been granted by a majority suf- cient to justify him in retaining the reins of power ; but his gov- ernment had been defeated very recently by a majority which, although small, Nvas such that the Opposition had expected the resignation of the Ministry to follow it ; he had appealed to the country; and although he had then received the encouragement for which ho had hoped, this fresh defeat, coming immediately after the reassembling of Parliament, determined his course. Am- bitious of office he might be, but ho had never shown an undue tenacity of it; and he accordingly resigned his post. Rt. Hon. T. Milner Gibson. o < > Hi -I 3 o ca UJ I I- > DC Q < I CO Lit z z < o < hi z o H o < o cc f' Proyressing Towards Liberalism. 173 o < > LU -I O oa LU I H Z P > o < I CO Ui z z < o H < Ui z o H co o < o oc s Lord Derby was sent for by the Queen, and accepted the task imposed upon him of forming a Ministry. With a good deal of difficulty he at last succeeded. In this cabinet, Mr. Disraeli was again Chancellor of the Exchequer. It is significant of tho grad- ual change in his opiiions that at this late day, Mr. Gladstone was offered a post (that of Colonial Secretary) in this Conserva- tive Government. We are not informed If ho proposed to extend only an independent support, or if ho positively and unhesitat- ingly declined the offer. Certainly he did not again take office under a Tory Minister. The Houses adjourned, to give the new Premioi an opportun- ity of forming his Cabinet; and reassembled March 1st. Lord Derby, in his first speech to the House of Lords, begged their forbearance for his failure to make a complete statement of his intended policy; the time had been too short to allow him to prepare such an important resume ; there were two points which required immediate consideration, however; these were the changes to be effected in tho system of government of India, and the question of parliamentary reform. The first of these had al- ready been under consideration for some time, a bill forthat pur- pose having been introduced into the House of Commons by Lord Palmerston. This, however, had not gone beyond its first read- ing ; and it became necessary for the present Government to pre- sent a measure in place of that proposed by its predecessor. Mr. Disraeli, who had by this change of Ministry become the leader of the House of Commons, brought forward the measure, usu- ally denominated India Bill No. 2, to distinguish it from that introduced by Lord John Russell on behalf of the Palmerston Ministry; but this bill, like its predecessor, never got beyond the first reading. A sort of compromise, however, was pro- posed by Lord John Russell, and gladly accepted by Mr. Dis- raeli, by which the question was dealt with by way of resolution. Before these resolutions could be considered, however, by the House, the Ministry was brought to tho brink of dissolution. Lord Canning, the Governor-General of India, sent back a draft of a proclamation which ho proposed to issue, announcing a scheme of confiscation which was certainly open to very grave objection, and which would probably have caused tho flames of rebellion, so recently extinguished, to burst forth with renewed fury. Lord Ellenborough, the President of the Indian Board of Control, wrote a strongly worded protest against the policy thus 174 Progressing Towards Liberalism. I recommended. This should of course have been kept private until it reached its destination ; but copies of it were sent to Lord Granville, the intimate friend of Lord Cunning, and to John Bright, who was the most eminent advocate of a mild and generous policy toward the natives of India. The consequence was that the purport of Lord Canning's proclamation and Lord Ellenborough's strictures upon it, became known, and Lord Shaftesbury in the House of Lords, and Mr. Ca^-dwell in the House of Commons, brought forward motions which were vir- tually votes of censure upon the Government. If these had been carried, there would of course have been a change of Ministry within a week of the time when Lord Derby had first addressed the House of Lords upon his accession to office; but Lord Ellen- borough, who seems to have boon the only one to blame in this indiscreet publicity given to unsettled questions, saved the Minis- try by sacrificinpr himself; and made room for his successor. Lord Shaftesbury's motion had been defeated by theliords be- fore this resignation was announced; but Mr. Cardwoll's was" still the subject of debate in the House of Commons. This dis- cussion had extended over four nights when Lord Ellenborough's resignation was announced, and the motion was withdrawn by the member who had presented it. Ho was induced to do this by the requests of many members who had agreed to support it, but declined to do so after the matter had taken this turn. Disraeli, whose power of coining telling phrases would have made him a power in a state which was, like the government of the First ITapolcon, " a despotism tempered by epigrams," has described this scene in such graphic language that, although it is a depar- ture from the strict line of our subject, we cannot refrain from quoting: "There is nothing like that last Friday i..^nt in the history of the House of Commons. We came down to the House expecting to divide at four o'clock in the morning; I myself probably ex- pecting to deliver an address two hours after midnight; and I believe that, even with the consciousness of a good cause, that is no mean effort. Well, gentlemen, we were all assembled ; our benches with their serried ranks seemed to rival those of our proud opponents; when suddenly there arose a wail of distress, but not from us. I can only liken the scene to the mutiny of the Bengal army. ELgimcnt after regiment, corps after corps, general after general all acknowledged that they could not march Progressing Towards Liberalism. 175 through Coventry. It was like a convulsion of nature rather than an ordinary transaction of human life. I can only liken it to one of those earthquakes which take place in Calabria andPeru. lt7iJZ "" '"S ^"^ r^'"'"'' "" ^'■^""' ^ «h^-^«k, asound of dis. tan thunder. No one knew whether it came from the top or the bottom of the Hou«e. There was a rent, a fissure in the ground and then a village disappeared, then a tall tower topple! down and the whole of the Opposition Benches became one grentS solving view of anarchy." ^ i.t'7f?3 *' ^"'"^ ^''^^' *^"* ^^^^'^ '"^^^ peculiarly apper- tamed to this passage, above wit, and clearness, and humor, was the undeniable truth ; it was not exaggerated, he adds, for ihere was no exaggeration possible; and this is the testimony of an eye-witness. j- vi »u There wero many passages in the address from which this ex- tract is taken which gave great offence at the time: they were strongly disputed by the late Ministry whose course ;as thus as' sailed, but still insisted upon by Lord Derby and Mr Disraeli After this interrruption, which had so nearly proved fatal to the new Government, the House of Commons^i-e'tumed to the consideration of those resolutions upon which India Bill m 3 was to be bused They provided that the government of India should be transferred from the Company to the Crown A Sep retail of State for India was to be appo'inted, wh was'to be s-" sisted by a counc 1 of fifteen. These advisers who were to I old office during good behavior, were to be nominated by different powers Of the number, eight were to held their app'^intm nt ft-om the Crown, while the remainder were to be no'^inatTd by the board of directors the first time; afterward by the councn Itself. The various civil offices, the appointments [o whi h had been under the direct control of the directors, were to be filled m future in accordance with the results of certain examinations which were to be competitive. This is the beginning of tZt Civil Service Reform which has since been so largely adopted in England and which has excited so much controversy 711;" ica. It had been advocated as early us 1827 hJ II vation upon English customs had been^to^tly reL's :d -te GoT ernment was quite willing to try an experiment in Inda hoT ever, which thev worn Ar.uh*M ^Ko-if W n •• • , ' The chief advocate of the s.-rtem, at the time of /hioh w write' was no less a political economist than John Stuart J ill. ' 176 Progressing Towards Liberalism. I This plan of govornment for India was earnestly opposed by- Mr. Gladstone, who enunciated principles in connection with the management of Indian affairs by the English Parliament which ho, long afterward, was brought to admit ought to bo applied to the case of another country. The interests of the people of In- dia had hitherto been protected by the Court of Directors ; but by the provisions of this bill they were left at the mercy of the ignorance, or error, or indiscretion of the people and Parlia- ment of England. There was no limitation to the power of the Executive through the treasury and army of India, by which wars might be commenced without the knowlege or consont of Parliament, and an accumulation of debt would be cast upon India. This bill was finally withdrawn by Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. Glad- stone endeavored to prevent further ill-considered legislation up- on this important subject by a resolution which he introduced June 7th. This resolution afRrmiiiiuu!.t, upon a liberal basis, and there had thus far been no sensible collision of interests. If the union did not take place, the Principalities 12 178 Progressing Towards Liberalism. would be a constant source of anxiety to Europe; nor could it have the slightest injurious effect upon the Ottoman Empire, which had never possessed the sovereignty of the Principalities. Ho said that it would have been far better to have said nothing about the union, than to hold out the hope of it, and then re- verse the policy. The speech concluded with these words : " I must really say that if it wore our desire to embroil the East, to sow the seeds and create the elements of permanent dif- ficulty and disunion, to aggravate every danger which threatens Turkey, and to prepare willing auxiliaries for Eussia in her pro- jects southwards, wo could not attain those objects by any means better than that of abandoning our pledges and promises, and giving" in to the Austrian policy." This speech, which was made in support of a motion to pres- ent an address to the Queen upon the subject, was answered by Mr. Disraeli, who said that he could not conceive a step which would be more embarrassing to the Government than che adop- tion of Mr. Gladstone's motion. Upon a division, the Government" obtained a majority of nearly two hundred votes. Many circumstances combined to make the financial outlook depressing, a^^d Mr. Disi'aoli's supporters looked forward to his budget with not a little anxiety and trepida^Jon. But when the statement was made, it obtained favor with the country general- ly ; and what contributed largely to its success in the House, Mr. Gladstone's speech on the subject was verj'- friendly to the schemes which were there proposed. The next series of duties in which we find Mr. Gladstone en- gaged differ bo widely from the Parliamentary routine which has been described in the present chapter, that its consideration muy well be postponed to the next division of this biography. CHAPTER VII. THE PALMERSTON MINISTRY. Lord Macaulay— Eminent Men in Pari iamont -The Ionian Inlands-Agitation in Greece -Parliamentary Itefomi- Foreign Kelatious of England — Mr JJriglit'H Keuirn to I'arliarnent-A Man Ahead of His Time-Controversy Over the Reform 15ill-Mr. (Jladstone's Speech on the Pending (^nestion^ Defeat of the Ministry- Appeal to the Cimtry-Palmerst-n in Otli.e- Fear of Invasion by France -Tax on Paper-Proceedings in the House of Lords- l..berai8 and Tories-Lord Knssell Withdraws His Keform Bill— Cr)88 Purposes in Parliament— Kivalry Among Opp)sing Factions. $'HE Ministry which camo into powt • at tho beginning of tho year 1858, was, fro n a literary point of view, a rc- ^ n^arknblo one j and one which woiiJd bo almost if not quite impossible in America, whore tho necessity of achieving name and place by his own exertions renders it less likely that a man can succeed in many di- rections, Tho Earl of Derby may becom^ omin- ont in literature and poli- tics with less exertion than is required for an Abraham Lincoln to gain admittance to the bar; it is for this reason that we find so many English statesmen and so few Americans excelling in other things than state- craft. It is true that all schokrly British states- men do not reach the em- Lord Macaulay. inence in letters of Macaulay, who died u . mt the penod wo have now reached in this his.ory. But, on the other hand. Ma- 179 180 The Palmerston Minis ry. cnulay, who figures ivith somo prominonco in ilio carl}' stages of tliis narrativo, in order to become great as an historian and ch- sayiat, was obiigod to rotiro almost entirely from the strife for political honors. At the head of tho Government at this date was that brilliant, impulsive speak .r, whoso words wore sometimes fiery eloquence, and sometimes grandiloquent nonsense; who was often carried away by tho jjassions which, subdued, ho might have useu a.i ef- ficient weapons against tho evils of tho cause which had aroused them; wlioso blunders often lost 'no victories which his head- long daring had almost won, so that Disraeli, his brilliant sub- ordinate had already clnistcned him "Tho Er.port of Debate," after the fiery Stuart; ho was long eminent as a statesman, first as Lord Rlanley, afterward becoming Earl of Derby, but had not at this time become known as a translator of tho Iliad, which will more surely perpetuate his name and fame than any repu- tation which ho over acquired witliin tho walls of Parliament. That chief subordinate, and tho leader of tho House of Com- ' mons, was better known and more highly esteemed as a rovclist than when he first entered Parliament; his reputation as a wri- ter, indeed, grew with his rank as a statesman, and tho novels which had been looked upon as tho mere ebullitions of an ec- centricity which ho himself mistook for genius, were now rank- ed as tho productions of a new school of fiction. The Right Honorable Benjamin Disraeli, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of tho House of Commons, was quite a different person- age from that loud-locking youth whose first speech had so en- tertained the Commons. Asulo from Lord John Manners, who was in control of the Woods and ;' .r. sla, and Lord Stanley, who became, on tho death of his fathi r, t'.e ^llecnth ''a;! of Derby, and attained some cmincnco m luo arena of pr.Itics, there is but one other name in tho list that is familiar to cur cars ; and b«. is less known to us in tho world of politics than in the world of letters. Edward Lytton-Bulwer, born tho same year as Disraeli, and consequent- ly bowecn fn .c and five years older than Gladstone, had enter- ed Parlia nent when barely twenty-one. It would have been long before he achieved eminence as an orator, for the few speeches which he m'ado in tho course of his parliamentary ca- reer were rather thoughtful and earnest, evincing a it.rgo and liberal view of national interests, than brilliant and "taking." The Palmenton Ministry. 181 Ho bogan lifo as nn cxtromo ndvocato of Eoform moasurijs j and ho wae scarcely thirty whon ho publishod ono of tho most pow- erful political pamphlets of tho century j a form of support which vaa so gnilcful to Lord Melbourne that tho author was at once offered a seat in the Cabinet. This, however, ho de- clined; but accepted tho baronetcy which iu 1838 was conferred for that and similar services to tho party then in j)()wer. Ouc- coeding in 1844 to tho estates of his mother's family, ho assumed hor name in connection with that of his father, and became Sir Edward Bulwer-I ytio \ About tho time that Gladstone finally left the Conservative yu.-ty (if tbut expression can bo iisod as in- dicating any definite period;, Hulwer-Lytton took tho opposite step, and left tho Liberals fur tho Conservatives. lie had not boon in tho Derby administrali«n as it was originally formed ; but vhen Lord Ellonborough , csigned tho control of Indian nffairs, Lord Stanley, who had been Colonial Socreta.y, was transferred to this position, and the brilliant novelist appointed to tho place thus v..jated. Perhaps it was natural that when tho necessity arose for sending a special envoy to Greece, u man like Bulwer-Lytton should think of a representative who had ulreadj distinguished Mmsclf in literature by his studies of Homer; and tho Premier who was afterward to bo known as tho translator of tho Iliad world bo likely to see a fitness in tho selection. The comments upon this appointment were not alto- gether favorable "A writer of novels is leaucr of the House of Commons," said tho scandalized politicians who did not pro- tend to scholarship ; "and ho has another writer of novels at his side as Colonial Secretary; worse than that, ho is actually a playwright; and betwcon them t'ley can think of nothing bet- ter than to send out a man to the Ionian Islands to listen to tho tirades of Greek demagogues simply because ho happens to bo fond of reading Ilomer." This readci- of the blind old bard was Jlr. Gladstone, who had already become well J nown as a scholar in this special depart- ment ; wo have not iiithcrto traced hie literarj' course, reserving that for another timo, wien our pages shall be free from the rush and W'.irl of political action. Tho Ionian Is'.ards had been erected in tho year 1800 into the Ecpublic of the Sever United Islands ; in iSlo, they were placed under the Protectorate of Great Britain; a few years later had come the assertion of the independence of Groece, finally ac- 182 The Pafincrston Mirustry. knowledged by the Powers, and forced upon Turkey. For many years after tlie achievement of this condition, the louians had looked longingly upon the country to whi^h they naturally be- longed by race, tradition and geographical position ; but they had no cause for formal complaint, and were not strong enough to assert themselves by force. They could only await the action of England. That the sympathy of England was on the side of popular liberty was well understood and needed no formal pr^of A weak power, Lord John Monno's, or ci feeble people struggling to be free, tan always depend upon the active suj)port of the masses of the j)eoplc everywhere. For years the lonians had been dissatisfied and earnestly strivir';; to better their condition. The popular constitution which had been given them about ten years before this time did not do away with this desire to be united to Greece; it only enabled the people to express their wish in a manner which would command more attention in England, because it was intensely resj^ectable ; the protest of a Iog!?latnre is or may be worth listening to, v.'hile the wish of the people expressed by themselves directly, is not The Palmerston Ministry. 183 to bo regarded, lest it lead to revolution. And now press, leg- islature and peop-le had but one vJce, and with that were cry- ing out for freedom. Were they not free? asked the British Govornmont. They had a constitution which guaranteed their rights, as the English had iheirsj they had their Legislative Assembly of forty mem- bers, and a Senate of a round half dozen. What if they wore presided over by an English Lord High Commissioner? His position was but an emblem of the watchful care which England kept over them. But the unreasonable Greeks were not satis- fied. All this was very true : they had a constitution and a rep- resentative government, and the English authorities had made excellent roads, improved the harbors, established regular com- munication by steamships with the rest of the world— far great- er conveniences than KingOtho's subjects had; but still these unreasonable Greeks did not think themselves free so Ion"- as this Lord High Commissioner was also Commander-in-Chief of a considerable body of British troops garrisoned among them. And though they had a representative assembly, the Lord High Commissioner aforesaid had a very ugly trick of dissolving it whenever it declined to legislate as he wished it to do. Taking it all in all, they did not quite believe the Englishmen who said that the Ionian Islands *»njoyed the blessings of liberty. The more loudly an Ionian politician exclaimed against this order of things, the more pleasing he was to the people; and the more the people clamored for freedom, the angrier grew the English public at such iiigratitude. Theio were but few men in public life in England wl>o were not thoroughly disgusted with the unreasonable Greeks; and this feeling was shared by som-o eminent Frenchmen; notably by M. Edmond About, whoso description of the oxuellent roads in these islands 's so earnest that we may almost imagine that he wrote with tears in his eyes. Others there were, of broader sympathies, who saw how far the Greeks were right; and of this number were the Colonial Secretary and his newly chosen envoy. Although Mr. Gladstone was simply dispatched upon a com- mission of inquiry, his appointment for that purpose was hailed by the Greeks as clear evidence that tho English Government intended to abandon its Protectorate over the Islands, Tho En- glish Government had no such intention; at least, it was not def- initely understood what would he best; but just at this time two 184 The Palmerston Ministry. dispatches were publishod by tho iVeu's which ht to have been kej)!, ijrivato until acted upon, but which some enterprising re- porter ha'1 got hold of. They were written by tho Lord High Commissioner, and recommended that all the islands except Corfu should bo abandoned to their own wili. This excepted island was to bo retained as a military post. A dispatch written by tho Colonial Secretary about tho same time seemed to point tho same way, and Mr. Gladstone was received with all tho effu- siveness of welcome of which the people of a Southern race caji show themselves possessed. He at once set to work to as- certain how fur the clamor for separation from England and an- nexation to Greece was the voice of the people, and how far it was simply the loud-mouthed vociferations of blatant dema- gogues. Ho seems to have been speedily convinced that this popular movement was one worthy the respect of all liberty-lov- ing men. After a number of weeks spent in the Islands, tho matter was formally presented to tbo Ionian Parliament, in the. form of a proposal to annex their republic to the kingdom of Greece. This obtained thi assent of tho representatives, and a petition to that eff'ect was presented to Mr. Gladstone. In in- forming the English sovereign of the result of his mission, he stated that "tho single and UT;animous will of the Ionian people has been and is for their union with the kingdom of Greece." This short dispatch tells the whole story of his embassy and tho accomplishment of the task set him, A couple of weeks after- ward, ho left for England ; his official connection with the Ionian "slands was at an end. Not so tho influence which he had over their fortunes. The hopes which had been rais(3d bj' his appointment were not to be readily dampened by his return ; the Greeks continued to agi- tato more strenuously than ever, and ti.ey were listened to with more respect at the Colonial Office and in Parliament^ sinco so eminent an Englishman had become impressed with tho justice of their claims. It vas some years before tho final result of this mission was achieved ; but when tho Ionian Islands at last became a part of the kingdom of Greece, it was in no small measure duo to tho influence which Mr. Gladstone's opinion had upon tho councils of his country. Mr. Gladstone returned to England in February, 1859. The Derby Ministry had been in offiro scarcely a year. It was al- ready beginning to show signs of weakness, of that inevitable The l^almerston Ministry. ^ 155 loss of power which sooner or later comes to every Cxovern- There were two important questions before the public mind ut this juncture: Parliamentary Reform and the state of the foreign relations of England. The measure which had excited such en- mitynuhe early thirties had become an insufficient measure for Mr. Speaker. exl'ZT^V'''T"" '' ^he people's rights; and a further sUu'ho r.. "^' ''"' ^""^'^ demanded. Unable to s uigglc against !,o unmistakable expression of the popular will but this had rather excited than allayed the popular feeling. ' 186 The Palmerston Ministry. 1 Iw! i It was hardly a time at which to bring up such a measure ; for all Europe was trembling at the innovations which were be- ing introduced, and a country like England would seem to have desired rather a continuance of the old state of things at this period of revolution. Under the ausiJces of Cavour, who ha( spent some time in England, and was a warm admirer of the En- glish system of Government, the petty state of which he was a subject had been modeled after the great empire, and Sardinia had, in consequence, attained a rank as a constitutional mon- archy for which she would otherwise have striven in vain. This country had first been heard of in European politics, as a state which was at all worthy of consideration, during the Crimean War, whei. it became the ally of England and Franco. Savoy had grown into Sardinia, Sardinia was soon to grow into Italy. It is not probable that the Premier had any decided wish for Parliamentary Eeform. Ho had thrown himself, heart and soul, into the work when the subject was first brought to the serious attention of Parliament; but that had been nearly thirty years before this time, and age was beginning to cool the ardor of his nature. The chief advocate of a further extension of the suf- fri had been Lord John Eussell, who had brought forward such a I 11 in 1852, and supported it with all his powers only to have it luil. Disraeli was now eager for Reform, because ho saw clear- ly enough that it was the only means by which the Conserva- tives could hope to retain power; the instant the Government should venture to oppose or disregard the popular wish, that in- stant their divided opponents would unite, and the union would be fatal to the fot.5 cf Reform. But chief among those who advocated the passage of such a measure was that stuidy Quaker whose earnestness in the cause of the people has gi-own stronger and stronger as the years have gone by. John Bright had been out of Parliament for several years, on account of ill health, when in 1857 he was returned for Birmingham. In the first period of his parliamontary life, he had been one of the most ardent supporters of the Fj-ee Trade system ; and ho -^ perhaps the most widely known advocate of it ; certainly tin, re was no one else who permitted himself to be so completely absorbed by this measure. He was one of the delegates sout bv the Society of Friends In the Cr.jvr "t the be- ginning of the Crimean War, to intercede for peace. This had been his last public act in this first period. His return to Parlia- The Palmerston Ministry. 157 ment was signalized by his opposition to the Conspiracy Bill which was the cause of Lord Palmerston's going out of office,' ho now threw himself with all his strength into this effort to se- cure a more universal suffrage, and never relaxed his endeavors until the attainment of that object, nearly twenty years after Lord Derby went out of office. il^nTtTT!; ^"^ ^'"^^'' ^'^' '"'""'^ ^'^^'^^ "ke a resurrec tion, so fully had people been convinced that he would be heard no more. It was small wonder, then, that his audiences should bo large and enthusiastic. His efforts were not wholly successful- though the popular outcry was loud, it was not universal : try- ing to arouse a Eeform spirit in the North, Bright himself said, was like flogging a dead horse." The upper and middle class- es cared very little about the quostion, for their rights had been assured by the measure of 1832; it was mainly tho laboring classes who were now dissatisfied ; and many of the Conserva tives were inclmed to treat the demand as the mere outcry of proxessional agitators. Bright himself was generally regarded by parliamentarians as only an eloquent and respectable dema- gogue; and most of the Conservatives, and some of tho Whiffs were inclined to look upon him as scarcely worthy of being ta- ken into account. Perhaps the Conservative who had the hiirh- est opinion of him was no other than Mr. Disraeli, who saw that the Manchester orator must be taken into account as a genuine political power. ^ Mr. Bright was persuaded to formulate a bill, expressing his Ideas on this momentous question of public policy ; but as Sight have been expected, his views were not those of the Ministry His enemies said it was such a measure as Jack Cade might have' proposed, had that ancient agitator ever got so far as the subject of Parliamentary Eeform; he had so few friends, as far as this bill was concerned, that it did not make much matcor what they said. Certainly the bill had but few supporters, though it was so near yl.Ke that which the party adopted later that we can only rate Bright as far ahead of his time. Disraeli who saw that he could not resist the tendency in that direction, had been studying the question of Eeform, and was ready with a bill at the beginning of the session of .859. It was tr.„i.in,!a.i^ a v.onsei-vuLivo measure, since it left things very near- ly as .t found them. The great need of the time was a law which would not only increase the number of voters, but would extend V - 188 The Palmerston Ministry. tho franchise to classes which were as yet without representation) but Disraeli's i)!iin did not aim at this. It was said by one of the opposite party that it looked like a bill framed to increase tho Conservative majority; and that was doubtless its intention. Tho chief change which was made was the extension of tho fran- chise to pf rsons who had property in the funds, bank stock, or stock in the East India Company, also to those who had a cer- tain amount of money in savings-banks or received a pension from the Government, aid to certain professional classes which had not hitherto been permitted a "^'ote. " The working-classes cried out for the franchise, and Mr. Disraeli proposed to answer tho cry by giving tho vote to graduates of universities, medical practitioners and schoolmasters," Tho bill passed the first reading by a party vote, procured by the unflagging efforts of the Whigs. But the bill was not a fav- orite with tho Conservative party itself. Tho Home Secretary urged that no member of tho Ministry would support such a biJl, were it brought forviird by Lord John Russell or Lord Palmer- ston ; and ho urged this in a letter in which he conveyed his res- ignation to the Premier. Mr. Henley, the President of the Board of Trade, followed tho example of Mr. Walpole. When the bill which had thus won the contempt of its proposer's party friends came up for a second reading, it met -with hard treatment at the hands of his foes. Lord John Eussell moved an amend- ment to the effect that the proposed readjustment of tho county franchise was unsatisfactory to the House, and that any bill which attempted to deal with this question ought to include a plan for tho greater extension rf the suffrage in cities and bor- roughs. Tho experienced statesman sup])orted this amendment with an able speech, expressing in touching language his long- continued clTorts for Parliamentary Eeform; and the debate bo- came animated. Mr. Bright and his immediate adherents of course opposed tho measure of tho Ministry, as it was very far from their ideas of what such a bill should be. More moderate Liberals thought it could be so modified in Committee as to meet tho requirements of the time. Mr. Gladstone, who, in the division which followed, voted against tho amendment, found it necessary to explain his course in a somewhat lengthy speech, an abstiact of which will state tho objections to this bill, and also the diflSculties ensuing from its rejection, more clearly than is otherwise possible. V - The Palmerston Ministry. 189 As there was no controversy traceable to differences between political parties, but a remarkable unanimity on all sides with -egard to the necessity for Ecform, ho regretted that the House was now in debate which would estrange those whose united ef- forts were necessery to a satisfactory settlement. Ho objected to the form of the resolution, and only the weakness of the Gov- ernment could induco him to vote for it. Like all others of the time, he saw grave evils arising from a chanf^-e at this jancturo; and tho Liberals especially had cause to fear such a change, for they would bo called to power, and that would only emphasize the divisions in that party. Mr. Gladstone was now identified with the Liberals, tho name Peel te having gone almost com- pletely out of use. Ho next proceeded to sketch the history of Ecform as his own recollection afforded him tho materials : "In 1851 my noble friend [Lord J. Russell], then the First Minister of the Crown, approached tho question of Ecform, and commenced with a pro'niso of what was to bo done twelve months afterward. In 1852 he brought in a bill, and it disap- peared, together with the Ministry. In 1853 we had the Ministry of Lord Aberdeen, which commenced with a promise of Ecform in twelve months' time. Well, 1854 arrived; with it arrived the bill, but with it also arri'f ed tho war, and in the war was a rea- son, and I believe a good reason, for abandoning the bill. Then came the Government of my n^ble friend tho member for Tiver- ton [Palmerston] which was not less unfortunate in tho circum- stances which prevented tho redemption of those pledges which had been given to tho people from the mouth uf tho Sovereign on the throne. In 1855 my noble friend escaped all responsibil- ity for a Ecform Bill on account of the war; in 1856 ho escaped all responsibility for Ecform on account of the peace ; in 1857 he escaped that inconvenient responsibility by the dissolution of Parliament; and in 1858 he escaped again by the dissolution of his Government." Frequently interrupted by the cheers and laughter of tho House while thus summing up tho history of Ecform during the past seven or eight years, the speaker proceeded to point the moral of this "ower true tale." Tho people had come to think that the House was only too willing to oppose this question; and this had made it hazardous to oppose the bill. Ho did not advocate the passage of the bill, however, as it stood, but urged strongly the reduction of the qualification, and declared that the small 190 The Palmerston Ministry. boroughs decerved more consideration. They were the nursery gronnd of men who were destined to lead the House and be an ornament to their country, he said ; and he maintained that the extension and durability of English liberty vero to be attributed, under Providence, to distinguished statesmen introduced into the House at an early age. Upon al) these grounds he urged the House to go into committee, thus to discuss the bill more freely, and to make such alterations as might be necessary. It should be remembered that the rules of the House of Com- mons preclude any member from speaking twice on the same subject ; but if the House go into committee, the Speaker leaving the chair, this restriction is removed and a freer discussion thereby made possible. The division was taken shortly after the conclusion of Mr. Gladstone's speech. Though the House of Commons consisted of six hundred and fifty-eight members, it is ri-re that over five hundred take part in a division ; :and the House frequently ad- journs for lack of the necessary quorum of forty. On thisocea- pioiJ, however, there were present the almost unprecedented num- ber of six hundred and twenty-one members; and by this pro- portion of the House was the momentous question decided. The division was taken, and showed that the Opposition had a majority of thirty-nine. This was a surprise to the members of the Government, and indeed to the Liberals ; for the whole ques- tion was so open, and party lines so confused, ♦hat the wisest old politician in the House could hardly have foretold the result with certainty. Lord Derby decided to appeal to the country; a stop which occasioned much inconvenience, said John Bright, but was con- stitutional and perhaps necessary. Parliament was prorogued April 19th, and dissolved the next day. Writs were now is- sued for a new election, returnable at once j and the new Parlia- ment met May 31st. In this assembly, Mr. Gladstoiie again sat for the University of Oxford. The Government was in a con- siderablo minority in the new House, and the eifects of thisstato of afi'airs were felt at once. A week had been spent in swearing' in new members, so that it was not until the 7th of June that Her Majesty opened Parliament in person, it having boen opened by commission upon first assembling,. The first business was the preparation of an address to the Queen ; the regular routine at the beginning of the session ; and to thip, address, as moved in The Pabnerston Ministry, jgj the House of Comraons, the Marquis of Hartington offerod an amendment. This was equivalent to proposing a vote of want of confidence, and the result was eagerly looked for. The debate lasted three nights, and ter:..inatod with a division which showed a majority of nineteen against the Minictry. Having been twice defeased in the House, there was no option but for them to re- sign; and resign thoy did. Lord Palmersion. The Liberal party, to whom the power had thus fallen, was divided against itself; Lord John Russell headed one portion while Lord Palmerston was the chief of the other. A coolness had existed between these two for some time, though it was said that at the date of Lord Derby's resignation they had been re- conciled, and V ould act together. But it was at least doubtful ow long Eusscll would endure Falraersion as his chief, and more than doubtful whether Palmerston would consent to act under Kussell. In this dilemma, the Queen sent for Lord Grai^ville, 192 The Palmerston Ministry. who ,vns the confessed loader of the Liberal Party in the House ol Lords ; and gave him her command to form a Ministry. Contrary to precedent, a portion of the interview in which this arrangement was made was published in the Times; and it is from this article that we learn the reasons for this choice, as well as the Queen'« fear of offending either of these eminent states- men by nominating tho other to the highest honor in her gift. Ihopubi.eutionof this account was regarded ly some of the 8tr,oter politicians of the old school as the sign of a general breaking up of all the boundaries of decency and respect for royalty ; but was easily and naturally explained by Lord Gran- ville who had obtained permission to state to his politicalfriends what hud occurred, and tho interview had thus indirectly cot around to the newspaper. But the Queen did not understand her ex-ministers as well as she thought. For some reason, which is not clearly explained. Lord Jol;n Russell declined to servo under Lord Granville but professed his readiness to accept office in a Palmerston Govern- ment. Under such circumstances, Lord Granville bavin., con- fessed that he would not form a Cabinet, the post was offered to Lord Palmerston. Three of the important offices in this Ministry were filled by the same men who had occupied those posts in tho first Palmer- ston administration ; of these, we are most interested in the per- formance of the duties of the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Mr. Gladstone was again called upon to perform. Regard- ing this appointment, Molesworth, whoso "History of En^rland from the Year 1830," John Bright commends as - honestly writ- ten, uses the following language : "Anothergentleman whoso accession to the Ministry gave it great streugth and stability, and whose presence in it was per- haps necessary to its existence, certainly to its permanence, was Mr. Gladstone. He had to face a strong contest for his seat for the University of Oxford ; but his friends succeeded, though not without difficulty, in obtaining his re-election, notwithstanding the opposition of many members of the university who had for''- merly given him their support, but who were becoming intoler- ant of the more and more pronounced liberality of his views and whoso anger and suspicions were further roused by his ac- ceptance of office in the Palmerston administration." i- Ithough Mr. Gladstone had at such length explained that his i'sS- ■'■.■TWr^m'^i '■'£;♦ y 'v,iHwK;:-»'-'9«^ The Palmerston Ministry. 193 voto for Mr. Disraeli's Eoform Bill was merely given because ho feared the results of a change of Government, and was not an indorsement either oi the mea.suro itself, or of the general course of the Ministry which had framed it, his opjjonent in this elec- tion was not slow to accuse him of tergiversation in accepting ofBce immediately in the Ministry formed by Lord Derby's op- ponent and successor. This charge was best answered by a plain unvarnished statement of the facts in the case, and quotations from Mr. Gladstone's speech on that occasion ; and seems to liave been lightly thought of by the electors; for the vote of 859 for Lord Chandos against 1050 for Mr. Gladstone is not a large one, when we consider how deeply Mr. Ghidstone's lihoralistic ten- dencies had offended many of the electors long \^h,\'q he signal- ized those tendencies by his course on tin present occiision. The Palmerston Ministry had been formed early in Juiing, I behove, jute-this last an article comparatively new in n rr.l "?"r " T'^^'.^ ^ ^''^' ^"^ -^-^ -^ -t-st ^f't s tho firf ; ; 5 <^-tricts-from the 1st of June, 1861. That ::l/: VTf!!"^. ^"^'"^^^-"* -^^ -^-^ ^--o enters. Her ^ . Ki ,a ,, ,„^„^.^^^,.^^ ^^ postponed to tho Istof October th!t th f '' '" P'"^"^^^ '"^ '^'' knowledge of the committee' that this postponement is stipulated under a pledge given by th^ Richard Cobden. 196 The Palmerston Ministry. \i Govommont of Franco to the classes who there, as hore, have supposed thomsclves to 1 o interested in the maintenance of pro- hibition. On tljo 1st of October, then, in the year 1861, Franco engages to reduce the duties and take away the prohibitions on all articles of British production mentioned in a certain list, in such a manner that no duty upon any ono of these articles shall exceed thirty per cent, ad valorem. I do not speak of articl'-^ of food, which do not materially enter into tho treaty; but the list to which I refer, sir, includes all tho staples of British manufacture, whether of yarns, flax, hemp, hair, wool, silk, or cotton; all manufactures of skins, leather, bark, wood ; iron and all other metals ; glass, stoneware, earthenware, or porcelain. I will not go through tho whole list; it is indeed needless, for I am not aware of any great or material article that is om'tted. Franco also engages to commute those ad valorem duties into rated duties by a separate convention, to bo framed for tho purpose of giving effect to tho terras which I have 'described. But if there should bo a disagreement as to tho terms on which they should be rated by tlio convention, then tho maximum chargeable on every class at thirty per cent, ad valorem will be levied at tho proper period, not in tho form of a rated duty, but upon tho value; and the value will bo determined by the process now in use in the English cus- toms. "I come next, sir, to the English covenants. England engages, with a limited power of exception, which wo propose to exercise only with regard to two or three articles, to abolish immediate- ly and totally all duties upon all manufactured goods. There will be a sweep, summary, entire and absolute, of what are known as manufactured goods from tho face of the British tariff. Further, England engages to reduce the duty on brandy from 15s the gallon to tho level of tho colonial duty ; namely, 8.s2(Z tho gal- lon. She engages to reduce immediatelj'- the duty on foreign wine. In the treaty it is of course French wine which is speci- fied ; but it was perfectly understood between France and our- selves, that wo proceed with regard to tho commodities of all countries alike. England engages, ther to reduce tho duty on wine from a rate nearly reaching 5s lOd per gallon, to 3s per gal- lon. She engages, beside a present reduction, further to reduce that duty from the 1st of April, 1861, to a scale which has refer- ence to the strength of the wine measured by the quantity of spirit it contains," The Palmerston Ministry. 197 The provisions of the treaty would of course cause a reduction in the revenue ; but this was considerably less, Mr. Gladstone calculated, than the relief which the measure would give. The deficit thus occasioned would be made up, he argi .d, by the fall- ing in of long annuities ; and the measure which was designed to be a permanent benefit would thus bo attended by not even a temporary inconvenience. But the house was by no means ready to assent to this plan. Not only did the Conservatives oppose it, as might have been ex- pected, but some of the Liberals wore equally bitter in their de- nunciations of such a compromise measure. It was a curious fea- ture of the debate, that some of the most eminent Free Traders in the House, including Gladstone, Bright and Cobden, were ac- cused of renouncing their principles in favor of a measure of Protection; and by urging the conclusion of a treaty which could only be carried out on the other side by the will of the Emperor, opposed to the sentiments of his people, they were ob- liged to defend themselves from a charge of rejecting the prin- ciples of representative government. Such a charge, applied to Gladstone, is only less ridiculous than a similar one having Bright for its object. The Government did not attempt to deny that this was a com- promise measure ; but it was the best that could be done ; and as such it was presented to the House. When the budj^ot had been fully presented, the Opposition armed itself for the fight. The battle was opened by a shot from Mr. Disraeli, who offered an amendment affirming that the House was not ready to go into committee upon the Customs act until it should have considered and assented to the provisions of the treaty. The right honor- orablo gentleman attacked the treaty, attacked the Government attacked Mr, Cobden, with all the warmth which was character- istic of his SjOeeches on such occasions. Ho cited the example of Pitt in 1786; and doubtless considered his shot atelling one. But it had missed its mark ; and the return fire was one which rat- tled long about his ears and those of his confederates. Of the speech in which Mr. Gladstone answered this attack of the ex-chancellor, a contemporary newspaper said : <' The Chan- cellor of the Exchequer has won his Magenta gallantly, and with extraordinary d.amngo to the oncmy. The bnttle has boon ro- new3d, and is raging while we write, but the Opposition army is dispirited and charges lan^ruidl^, and all soom^ teiiding towftr4 198 The Palmevston Ministry. a ministerial Solferino. Mr. Gladstone distinguished himself in the first engagement by a feat of arms of the most brilliant char- acter, and none of his own Homeric heroes could have more ter- ribly poured in thunder on the foe. Dropping martial meta- phor, it may be said that the best debater in the House of Com- mons delivered, in answer to Mr. Disraeli — no unworthy antag- onist — a speech in which tiie lucidity of the argument was worthy of the powerful declamation of the orator. From the outset he Hon. John BrigkL showed his masterly grasp of the subject and an ability quite as conspicuous as if he had made this one question the great study of his life. With perfect ease and self-possession he rose to the occa- sion, pointed out clearly the salient features of Parliamentai}" action, and indicated the far reaching effects of the principles under consideration. He showed his familiarity witii minute details, gaining at once the attentive ear of his auditors. In all these respects he showed his mental superiority. "When Mr. Glad- stone addresses hSnself in his best manner to his work, as he di4 TAe Palmerston Ministry. 199 upon the occasion in question, the House of Commons is justly proud of its illustrious mcrabor. Sometimes, like Burke, " Ho goes on refining, And thinks of convincing, while they think of dining," (or rather of dividing, for ho seldom throws himseit away upon the Impransi); but there was no such waste of thought upon this occasion, when he closed with his adversary like a man who meant mischief— and ho did it. Mr. Disraeli knows best wheth- er it was wise to got his forces so exceedingly well beaten at the beginning of the financial campaign j but that is his affair and Prince Rupert's." The House divided upon the amendment which was thus ably argued against, and the Government found itself in a majority of sixty-three. An amendment to the budget brought forward by a minor member of the Opposition was less fortunate than Mr. Disraeli's had proved, for this condemnation of the propo- sition to re- impose tho income tax, though only for a brief per- iod, was defeated by more than one hundred. There was a'other important feature of the .udgot; tho pro- posed abolition of the tax on paper. When we consider the dif- ficulties with which newspapers, those principal consumers of pa- per, have had to contend, we should be astonished, not at the faults that they show, but that they exist. It is true that the great newspaper is a power in the community, no less in conser- vative England than in the United States, which sometimes ap- pears to be as fond of novelties as ever were the Athenians j but the English newspapers of the beginning of this century pro- ceeded upon a mistaken course; they encouraged tho tax which tended to raise the price of their publications, in the belief that their profits would bo diminished if they lost the practical mo- nopoly ; the ostensible reason for their opposition being that cheap journalism would necessarily be nasty. Originally im- posed with the idea of checking tho establishment of seditious newspapers, tho duty in 1836 was a penny upon each copy. Add- ed to this, there waa a sixpence tax on each advertisement; bo- sides this thero was a considerable tax upon tho white paper, represented by a duty imposed for the benefit of the manufac- turer. Tho tax on advertisements was abolished; in 1855 the penny duty upon each copy was no longer exacted ; it remained for Mr. Gladstone to take the final step in promoting the inter- ests of the million readers, by recommending the abolition of I i 1 f 1 200 The Palmerston Ministry, this p/otoctivo duty. Of course there was opposition from the nuinufacturcrs nrul their representatives in Parliament ; for the British Parliament differs from the American Congress in this, that most of the great interests of the country have their ac- knowledged represen tatives. There are others, as there must bo in every representative assembly, who care but little about such things, but are ready enough to vote for a certain measure to oblige a friciul. There was a good deal of rallying up of such men to sustain the cause of the paper-making and journal-selling monopoly. The result was that although the propositions of the Government .vero finally carried, they were carried by con- stantly decreasing majorities. In place of votes which ran a hundred or so ahead of the numbers on the opposite side, as the other portions of the same plan had received, the resolutions to abolish the excise on paper were won, on the second reading, by fifty-three ; on the third, by only nine. The bill which had met with this obstinate resistance in the Commons was not more fortunate in the Lords. It was fought with persistent argument; Lord Lyndhurst, who had been per- haps the most powerful supporter of tne Conservative party in his day, a. id the most able and distinguished member of the Peel 3Iiristry of 1834, as well as of the later Cabinets formed by Con- servative Premiers, was especially vigorous in his opposition to it. All the force of that brilliant and powerful oratory which hud secured his advancement a half-century before, was employ- ed by the old man, now nearly eighty-nine years old, to defeat this ])lan which was so distasteful to the hereditary legislators. While the question was still being debated in the House of Lords, where Lord Montcaglo had given notice of a hostile mo- tion, and Lord Derby had announced his intention of supporting it, although ho admitted that he thought, if the income could stand it, the tax ought to bo abolished, the members of the House of Commons were protesting indignantly against this usurpation of their privileges. Like our own House of Representatives, the Commons alone can originate bills relating to revenue; and this effort of the Lords to prevent the abolition of a tax against which the Commons had decided, was looked upon as equivalent to imposing a nevr tax. Perhaps the Lords would not have ven- tured upon this course, had the majorities in the House of Commons been greater; ccrcainly they only hold what power they have on condition of never using it, and their attitude of indepondencv The Palmerston Ministry. 201 i upon this occasion -was looked upon us subversive of all ropres- ontativo government. Public meetings were held, to protest against their usurpation of power, which Mr. Gladstone de- nounced as a " gigantic innovation." At these meetings, John Bright and his immediate adherents were of course the leading spirits, but there were others who did not always act with thom, Lo7'd Lynuhurst. who were now only too willing io bo at choir side. It was said •t the time that the Chancellor of the Exchequer showed himself the worst Eadical of thom all; quite " out-IIcrodod Herod" in his assertions of the rights of the people. The Lords kept on in the course which they had marked out for themsevcs, quite regardless of the popular agitation. The debate finally ended; not without some strange and apparently :-j| il ! t t ' Sil M ^J 202 The Palmcrston Ministry. irroconcilablo assertions from Lord Derby, the acknowledged head of the Conservative party; ho would support the abolition oi the tax, if ho thought that the revenue could stand it, ho said again ; forgetting that the recognized authority, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was in possession of data which others could not readily obtain, and who was besides his official advan- tages gifted as few financiers have been, had announced it as his deliberate opinion that the revenue could stand it; ho further acknowledged, to a deputation which waited upon him, com- posed of nijiny cminnt men who represented literature and jour- nalism, that the House of Lords had no right to modify a tux in the slightest degree. This last acknowledgment, however, was not to bo obtained from Lyndhurst, who had been Lord Chan- cellor during three administrations, and the clearness of whose judgments bad never been excelled ; the " old man eloquent" continued to maintain the privileges of that order to which his legal acumen had caused his admission. Others there were of less note to speak on the same side ; and wo do not hear of any strong speech in support of the Govern- ment in the Upper House. This branch of the national legisla- ture is always largely Conservative, if anything like its full strength be brought ^ut; and upon this division there were no fewer than two hundred and ninety-seven votes cast, or more than three-fourths of the whole number of peers, including those who, not being of age, were not entitled to a voice in the pro- ceedings. Of these votes, one hundred and ninety-three were against the Government, which was thus left in a minority of eighty-nine in the Upper House. The story goes, that Lord Palmcrston was asked what he in- tended to do about it; with the almost American habit of joking which characterized so many of his utterances, he replied : " 1 mean to tell them that it was a very good joke for once, but they must not give it to us again." Whether the Premier actually gave this reply or not, is a question which is not answered by any competent authority ; but it was quite in his line to have spoken so to any one who made such an inquiry; and this very policy was the one which ho actually pursued. Immediately upon the reassembling of Parliament, after the recess, Lord Palmcrston brought forward a scries of resolutions affirming Hint the Com- mons alone possessed the power of re-imposing taxes, and say- ing, in effect, that the Lords had better not try it again. The Palmerston Ministry. 203 Mr. Gladstone had done it all, said the Conservatives, who wore not far wrong. The whole question is of little importance at this da3% save as it bears directly upon our subject ; the Lords had had their lesson, and neither in the next session, when the same measure was again proposed, nor since that time, under similar circumstances, have they ventured to resist the abolition of a tax which the House of Conmons has decided shall be im- posed no longer. The main interest is that attaching to Mr. Gladstone in this question ; not as showing what eminence he had attained, or what influence ho possessed, for that is a thing which the veriest tyro in English history can tell us, but as evidencing the progress which ho had made in liberalism of opinion and feeling. Ho had even outrun some of his later Whig colleagues. The position which ho took in this controversy was entirely dif- fcient from that assumed by Lord Palmerston. Ho condemned without reserve or mitigation the conduct of the Lords, and the grounds on which he based this decision made it allthe'more welcome to the Eadicals. Ho did not indeed support the course of extreme self-assertion which some Eadical members recom- mended to the House of Commons; but he made it clear that he disclaimed such measures only because he lelt that the House of Lords would soon come to its senses again, and would refrain from similar acts of unconstitutional interference in the future. Hitherto he had been Liberal in feeling and opinion, but this was hardly patent to himself, so gradually had the change been wrought, and so faint were the lines between the moderate Lib- erals and the moderate Conservatives ; much less was it apparent toothers. The first decisive intimation of the course which he was henceforward to tread was his declaration that the constitution- al privileges of the representative assembly were not safe in the hands of the Conservative Opposition. Mr. Gladstone was dis- tinctly regarded during that debate as the advocate of a policy far more energetic than that supported by Lord Palmerston. The promoters of the meetings which had been held to protest against the interference of the Lords found full warrant for the course they had taken in Mr. Glaustone's arguments. Lord Palmerston, on the other hand, certainly suffered somewhat in the eyes of these stern and uncompromi.*- g upholders of the risrhta of the Commons. It was urged that he who was ready enough to sanction Eadical movement)? on the continent was far less tolerant of them at home. But whatever the reasons upon 204 The Palmerston Minist if. E :|| I which the two men based their disapproval, theirs, added to that which was heard on every side, was quite sufficient to frighten the Lords, who did not try their little joke again, even when the same measure was again sent up by the Commons. There rcjiiains one other important measure introduced dur- ing the session of 1860, to be noted in this connection. The Derby Ministry had gone out of office because of their failure to carry u Reform Bill. Lord John Eussell, whose efforts in this direction had been made the subject of Mr. Gladstone's kindly ridicule in the previous session, was naturally the one most inter- ested in the measure, and he was the Minister to whom the work was intrusted. The bill wasbrought in March 1st, and read for the second time on the 19th of the same month. The debate lasted, at intervals, until the 11th of June. A measure which thus hangs on cannot be said to be a popular one with the House ; nor was this. The bill as it was proposed was rather more offensive to the conservative Liberals than to' the Tories themselves; and of this division of the party in power the Premier was the head. Lord John Eussell was the chief of the more popular section, and his Eeform Bill, which was a moderate and simple scheme enough, was called The People's Bill. Palmerston was all but openly opposed to this darling measure of his colleague, how- ever J and although ho was usually a regular attendant upon the sessions of the House, he managed to bo absent at nearly all the sessions that the measure came up for discussion; when ho did chance to be present, ho preserved a silence, which on the part of the Prime Minister when a Government bill was being dis- cussed, was extremely significant. The bill proposed that the county franchise should be lowered to ten pounds, the borough to six; and made a considerable change in the apportionment of members; it also provided that where a constituency returned three members, the electors should vote for but two, thus giving a rcpresentntive to tho minority. This was in strict accordance with the ideas of the Manchester school, and partly because it was so pleasing to Messrs. Bright, Cobden, et ah, the more Conservative members of the Cabinet found it extremely distasteful. Had tho Premier spoken once in its favor, it would probably have been carried ; but tho Consor- vati"es had an cnsy task before them. The Opposition dared not oppose the measure openly: Disraeli saw that clearly ; ho might have occasion to intx'oduce a Eeform Bill some day himself • and 1 i] The Palmer ston Ministry. 206 tbough ho did not shrink from inconsistency, and had frequently disavowed principles of which ho hud formerly been the ardent Mr. Gladstone as Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh. supporter, there was no use of providing his enemies with argu- ments against him. He contented himself with a quiet, languid stylo of speech, which seemed to say, "You may think that this is 206 The Palmerston Ministry. a Eoform Bill, but you just ought to sco what I could do, if I had tho opportunity and was so inclined." Tho bill needed norosis- tanco from its enemies; tho passivity of its friends was quite enough to kill it. There wore not wanting those who saw what the Premier's si- lence meant, and endeavored to reason with him. "Why should you oppose this measure?" asked a friend of him; " Tlio representatives who would be sent to a informed Par- liament would be men of tho same character und ...unding with those who sit in tho present Parliament." " Yes," ho answered, grimly, <' I suppose they would ; but they would play to tho galleries instead of tho boxes." Mr. Gladstone was a warm supporter of tho bill, und spoke in vindication of the conduct and consistency of tho introducer. He ridiculed the fears of those who thought that tho proposed fran- chise would deteriorate tho constituencies of the country; and urged that the new electors W(Suld bo fully as intelligent and capable of judging men und measures, as many who already held it. Tho apprehensions that tho six pound electors would becomo s > numerous as to swamp the representation of property und station in tho House were utterly unfounded and delusive. The bill was rend a second time withouta division, but finding k impossible to carry it through, Lord John Russel! withdrew it; preferring delay to defeat. As we began this chap' or with an account of a mission on which Mr. Gladstone was dispatched because he was a profound Greek scholar, wo close with tho mention of an honor which was shown him because of tho same eminence in learning. April 16th 1860, ho was installed as Lord Rector of the University of Edin- burgh, having previously to the installation received the def-oe of LL.D. " In an address, the great value of which was its practical view of the work performed by tho universities, and the responsibil- ities of those who were students there, Mr. Gladstone told the assembled students how broad was the field of knowledge which they were to till; and how broad the field of time over which tho human mind has sowed and reaped its harvest. and CHAPTER VIII. EMANCIPATION FROM TORYISM. Wet Weather and Poor Harvests-Dull Session in Parliament-Post Office Sat ings lianka -Garibaldi ana His Red Shirt— Mr. Gladstone Defends the Liberator of Italy— Improvement in the Nation's Finances— Prc^t of the Opiwsition- Bitter Attack on Gladstone— Repeal of the Paper Duty— The Ionian Islands again— English Opinion and the American Civil War- Reduction of the Income Tax— Surplus in the Revenues for 18G4— The Working Classes— Osborne's Amusing Speech— The (Question of Church and State— Mr. Gladstone Declares Himself Unranzzle<'.. 'O talk about tho weather of the present day is bad enough; but what shall wo say when the records of nearly thirty years ago are brought forward to explain tho course of politics '{ Yet so it must bo now ; for the weather in tho summer of 1860 was tho means of vindicating tho wisdom of those statesmen Avho had so persistently maintained tho doctrine of Free Trade. During the months of June, July and August, there was a provalenceof severe, cold, heavy rains, violent "Mes, and destructive floods j and the long continuance of this . or- able weather gave rise to tho fear that there would be a.. ..iitire failuio of the crops. Toward the end of August, indeed, there was somo slight amelioration; so that the crop was really bet- ter than was anticipated, though it was by no means up to the avr '-age. Tho removal of the restrictions which had so long im- peded the free intercha'ige of commodities with other countries now acted in a most salutary manner, when tho enlarged neces- sities of the country had driven her to the resources of a foreign supply. Under tho operation of protective laws, the country would have suffered most severely but the working-classes es- pecially, now realized tho beneficial effects of Free Trade; and tiiose statesmen who had advocated it so strongly became cor- respondi-^gly popular. Tho sp ech from the Throne .at the beginning of tho session of 1861 was a disappointment to many of the supporters of the Government, as well as to some actually in the Cabinet. Thero 207 208 JUmannpntlon from Toryism. was no mention of iho groat qnostion of Parliamentary Reform ; th'. only jH'oJiiiso of legislation which was hold out had roforonoe to some of those law-reforms which hr.d already boon under the consideration of Parliament. An umendmont oxpressive of the dissatisfaction that was felt at this notable omission was at once brought forward, but was opposed by Mr. Disraeli, who had no notion of the Liberals achieving distinction by their advocacy of Reform ; and by Lord John Russell, who eontnndod that it would bo better to take no action at all until such changes as would work definite improvement in tho existing system could be made. Though this view of the matter was strenuously oppos- ed by Mr. Bright, who spoko strongly in regard to the inconsisten- cy of Lord Russell in now manifesting such lukowarmnoss to- ward a measure which ho had formerly supported with such ar- dent enthusiasm. But tho Ministry was divided in itself upca this very question ; in tho previous session, the l^ill had been lost because of the Premier's open hostility; the majority of tho members of tho House of Commons wore beyond a doubt anx- ious to get rid of tho whole question ; and the amendment call- ing for a consideration of Reform was vetoed by a majority of eighty-three. ^ne Palmorston Government then, had replaced the Derby Government because the Reform Bill which tho latter had pro- posed was not sufficiently comprehensive to meet the demands of the people ; and the Ministry which had come into power "ri- der such circumstances had now coolly set aside the whole thing, as something which it was not expedient to consider nt all. Pal- merston's colleagues must of course share the blamo which attach- ed to such conduct by continuing to hold office under a Minister who had boon capable of such gross inconsistency. Tho debates of this session were characterized by unusual tamoness and dullness. In tho House of Lords, the Ec.rl of Derby strongly condemned tho policy of tho Government re- garding Franco and Italy ; a policy which he described as plac- ing upon the shoulders of the people " an amount of taxation absolutely unprecedented in time of peace, and only made more intolerable by the financial freaks of the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer." To this attack we ^avo the most eloquent of all ans- •^yerg — that which tho subsequent prosperity, brought about by those very financial freaks, gives for Mr. Gladstone. Perhaps the most important measure which was this session ISmancipation from Toryism. 20D brought forward by this high officer of the rovonuo wr% that which established th;3 Post, Office having Banks. This is uio sec- ond notable reform, esprciully affecting the nn('dle and low-r classes, which was the result of Gladstone's labors; the reader will recall the provisions of that bill which, while ho was Presi- dent of the Board of Trade during Sir Eobert Peel's administra- tion, established Iho Parliamentary Tr.-in on the Kailwuys of Great Britain, .ho ostablishmont of tl-o Post Office Savings Bank,' has undoubtedly been of incstim bio benefit to many classes of the British community. Following the course of the session, we find Mr. Gladstone •aking part in the discussion on the vexed subject of Church Rates. After an eloquent speech, ho concluded by suggesting that an arrangement might bo made by which the power of a majority of a parish to accept or reject Church Eates as a right, should be agreed to, at the same time allowing r. parish tc lax itself by the will of the majority. This proposit'on was assailed by Mr. Bright, as leaving the question exactly where it was al- ready, that whero you could not get Church Pates you were to let them alone. The bill to abolish Chuich Rates was carried by a small majority, which included Lord Palmerston and Loru John Russell, with other members of the Government; but Mr. Gladstone voted against the measure. If the questions which related to internal affairs were few and of but slight consequence, when viewed from this distance of time and space, those which had to do with foreign affairs were neither few nor unimportant. Italy was convulsed with that struggle which finally resulted in her independence and union; the United States were just beginning that war which was to rage for four years, with an incalculable expenditure of blood and treasure. Austria was defending her Italian possessions and allies ; France was drawn into the struggle, as an ally of Victor Emmanuel; the utmost efforts would be necessary to prevent England's being compelled to take part, either with Italy or Austria, with the United States or the Confederate States. Victor Emmanuel comes to our minds with the prestige of suc- cess for lin added jewel to his crown; and dazzled by that, and by the knowledge that his sovereignty of a united Italy has un- doubtedly worked much good to its people, we can hardly inder- stand how the King of Naples could find friends und defenders in liberty-loving England. Ferdinand II., who was responsible s*^ 1 m Queen I'^iciona at the Op,-iiiii(j of Padiament in 18G1. 210 T7i^.^ -* ^i^"4 -sr ■MMOb AiiiilMesBg TWM«M i tu >iaiMM«MMiea«iato^^ Mmaticipati > from Toryism, 211 for those abuses which Mr. Gladstone had been the main instru- ment in correcting by his fearless exposure of the condition of the J^eapol.tan prisons, had now been dead for nearly two years and hi8 son, Francis II., reigned in his stead. The new king was a not unworthy son of such a father, but his power had been first curtailed, then forever nullified, by the acts of Garibaldi. Ihe hero of Italy had more than twenty-five years before this time been condemned to death for participating in a futile revolutionary outbreak at Genoa; his life since the failure of that effort had been devoted to the cause of freedom. Pursued by the Austrians, his wif. had d;ed in his arms, exhausted by the dangers and terrible exertions of their flight. An exile from his country, he had made himself famous as the liberator of others When he returned to Italy, it was as the acknowledged repre- sentative of the people's desire for freedom and union. Success had followed him; and his army had grown steadily. In Sep- tember, 1860, he entered Naples; not at the head of his troops as a conqueror, but with one or two friends; that it might be seen how his coming was awaited by the people. At last the message was flashed along the wires, at the close of that last bat- tle which Garibaldi fought as commander ia this struggle— "Complete victory along the whole line." Victor Emmanuel crossed the Papal frontier and resumed command of the army • Garibaldi relinquished into the hands of the constitutional sover- eign, whose authority he had agreed to recognize, in place of that of a republic, the absolute sway which he had acquired over the ISTeapolitan provinces. Such was the state of affairs at the beginning of the year 1861 when the question was brought up for discussion in the British Parliament. At that time, as we have already said, there were some supporters in England of Ferdinand II., and Victor Em- manuel was strongly condemned by many for the recognition of Garibaldi, for supporti ig him and approving the invasion of iNapIes. Ihe conservative element was startled at the idea of a sailor's son presuming to interfere in the government of king- doms and the questions of dynasties and thrones, which belon^e"!! properly to high-born statesman ; and was scarcely loss shocked at the Idea of a scion of royalty accepting the assistance of such a man. Mr. Eoebuck predicted that if Garibaldi f^iiom^^i.^ tr. a^ in Venctia what he had already done in Kapler and Sicily, tie would bo hanged within a week. ' "■ ST,' < & mimm '.'■f-f. v. V .X-; !l 212 Emancipation from Toryism. A motion for goi»ng into Committee of Supply having been made in the Houso of Commons, Mr. Pope Honnossy rose to call attention to the "active interference of the Secretary of State in promoting Picdmonteso policy," and condemned that policy as causing the increase of the national burdens in Piedmont, the decline of its trade and commerce, the waste of the population in predator}' war, and the consequent decay of agriculture. This mo- tion gave rise to the most exciting debate of the session. It was warmly supported by Sir George Bowyer, who, in addition to the contrast between Piedmont and the Pa- pal States, which had been boldly drawn by Mr. Hennessy, urged that the English sup- port of Napoleon III. was paralyzing all other European allies. The policy of the present Grovernment, he said, had destroy- ed that prestige of honor and justice which used to attend the British flag, since it encouraged none but the revolutionary Garibaldi. party in Europe, who were the unprincipled tools of the unbounded ambition of the French Emperor. The second night of the debate, Mr. Gladstone rose to speak on the other side. There were other speeches, of course, in the defense of the liberator of Italy, and of England's recognition of his services to the race ; but his is, as usual, reckoned the most eloquent, the most crushing expose of the errors which his op- ponents were supporting. Had the debate been confined to criticisms of the King of Sardinia, he said, or if it concerned only the policy pursued by the English Foreign Minister, he would have remained silent. 1 i I Emancipation from Toryism. 213 confident of the wide-spread approval which that policy com- manded. He believed it to bo stamped with approval through- out the great body of the people of England, from the greatest to the least. But the speakers upon the motion had called upon the House to lament the foreign policy of the Government, which they alleged was founded upon injustice, and said that the cause which the Ministry favored in Italy was the pcrsscoution of righteous governments. The revolution in Naples was called a wicked conspiracy, carried on by an unprincipled king and a cunning minister; and the people of Naples had been said to bo governed by benignant laws, wisely administered, and were de- voted to their king. Mr. Gladstone, in reply tc this characteriza- tion, sketched the history of Naples from the accession of Fer- dinand II. ; and the story was an unanswerable argument against the house which had been so lately dethroned. Francis had been lauded for the courage Avhich he had displayed at Gaeta. To this Gladstone replied: "It is all very well to claim considera- tion for him on account of his courage; but I confess I feci much more admiration for the courage of the honorable Member for Dun- dalk and the honorable member for King's County (Bowyer and Hennessy); for I think I would rather live in a stout and well- built casemate, listening to the whizzing of bullets and the burst- ing of shells, than come before a free assembly to vindicate—" Mr. Gladstone was here interrupted by the tumultuous cheering, and was for some time unable to proceed. When the confusion had subsided, he continued : "—than to vindicate such a cause as that which those honorable gentlemen have espoused." With merciless exactitude he went on piling up accusations against Francis, and substantiating each by indisputable proofs. Nor was Naples the only state on which he turned the brilliant light of his eloquence. The Eomagna, Ferugia, Modena, all fell under the lash; and the Italians were exonerated from the charge of rebellion by a recital of the policy which had been pursued by Austria. Ho closed with a felicitous reference to the manner in which the revolution had been accomplished, and the lasting blessing which the consolidation of Italy, and her restoration to national life, would be to Europe at largo as well as to herself. So eloquent wore the supporters of the Government, and so popular was the cause of Garibaldi and Victor Emnumuel, that the debate terminated withotit a division. The subject again came up for discussion during the latter part of tho session, when ■mi II 214 Emancipation from Toryism. Mr. Gladstone took occasion to deny the charge of promoting revolutionary movements in Italy, which had been brought against the Ministry; and adduced facts and circumstances in justification of his previous attack upon the Duke of Modena, by which he showed how criminal justice was administered in that duchy. The budget of the year was presented to the House on the fifteenth of April. The House was densely crowded when Mr. Gladstone rose, immediately upon the opening of the d .ly pcssion. He briefly sketched the previous year's budget ana its provisions, and the financial history of the year. It had been signalized by the commercial treaty with France, by the re- moval of great national burdens, by the abolition of the last pro- tective duty from the system; it had been a year of the largest expenditure that had occurred in the time of peace, v/hilo it was characterized by an unparallelled severity of the seasons. The apparent deficiency was £2,559,000; but certain deductions re- duced this to an actual deficiency of £221,000. We need not here recount the various taxes which were held, by their reduction or abolition, to have brought about this deficit; we may barely say that Mr. Gladstone, in contrasting the revenue of this year with that of 1853, when there had been another such change in the sources from which the income of the state was derived, while he did not attempt to deny that the revenue was not so elastic in the latter case as in the earlier, contended that this was due in some part to the vast increase in the expenditure, which was full twenty millions sterling greater than it had been seven years before. Mr. Gladstone next proceeded to show that the legislation of the past year, especially that relating to the treaty with France, had not been without a salutary effect; for though times were hard," and many of the people without employment, that was owing to the unexampled harvest. He commended the efforts which the French Ministry had made to fulfill their part of the treaty, and again adverted to the service which Mr. Cobden had performed in negotiating it. The estimated revenue for the ensuing year was so considera- bly in excess of the estimated expenditure that the Chancellor of the Exuhcqucr stated ihtit it wns proposed to remit the ad- ditional penny of the Income Tax which had been imposed the year before. "Under the magic wand of the great financial en- 215 216 Emancipation from Toryism, Of this speech, a writer of the time said : "Amoj g those who ought to be judges there is an almost unanimous opinion that, take it for all in all, this was the very best speech Mr. Gladstone ever made. As wo now know, he was conscious that ho had a pleasant surprise in store for those hearers who had come to lis- ten to a woeful palinode, and there was a lurking sense of tri- umph over his avowed opponents, and still more over his skin- deep friends, which gave a lightness and buoyancy to his de- meanor which of course spread to his audience. It even gave a racincss to his occasional flights of humor. His quotations were happy and neatly introduced, and that in Latin was loudly cheered by the gentlemen below the gangway, probably because, they not understanding it, it had a great effect upon them. But the chief merit of the speech, in reference to its object, was the remarkable dexterity with which it appealed to the tastes, feel- ings, and opinions of the House. At one sentence, delivered with his face half turned to the benches behind, Mr. Bright would break out into an involuntary cheer, at once both natural and hearty j while the very next moment the orator would lean, with a fascinating smile on his countenance, over the table to the gentlemen opposite, and minister to their weaknesses or preju- dices with equal power and success. ***** In every possible respect it was a masterpiece of oratory j and as it in the result actually led to something tangible — that is to say, to a surplus and a reduction of taxation — it was in every sense tri- umphant." But this triumphant eloquence was not received by the House without a protest from the Opposition. Although the budget was generally regarded in a very favorable light, Mr. Bentinck, Mr. Baring, Lord Eobcrt Montagu, Sir Stafford Northcote, and cr.jcrs on the Conservative benches, warmly opposed it. Ben- tinck and Montagu, indeed, undertook several times during the session the task of demolishing the Chancellor of the Ex- chequei'. It would appear that they did not succeed. Mr. Gladstone defended his scheme in detail against these at- tacks, and demanded that a division should take the place of long debates J but the opposition to the budget did not assume that definite form. The Governnienl had determined to present the budget as a whole to the House; not, as was usual, in the form of separate propositions, which might be separately discussed, and meet with Emancipation from Toryism. 217 different fates in case of divisions. This was bitterly opposed by the Conservatives, who know that their only chance lay with some of the less popular features, not with the measure as a whole. The Opposition charged that this was done with the in- tent of compelling the Lords to assent to the abolition of the paper duty; and at the second reading, May 13th, the whole bat- tle was fought over again. Sir James Graham was the most powerful defender of the Government in the early part of this section of the debate. His speech was followed by what was perhaps the most violent personal attack which, up to that time, had ever been mado upon Mr. Gladstone; the speaker was Lord Robert Cecil (afterward Marquis of Salisbury). The budget was a personal one, he said; they had no guarantee for it but the promises of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and experience had taught them that he was not a financier who was always to be relied upon. At this stage of his speech, he was interrupted by loud cries of "Oh! Oh!", and it was some time before he could ugain make himself heard. He had already described the policy of the Government as worthy only of a country attorney; but now he thought that he had done injustice to the attorneys! Again interrupted by the cries of his colleagues, he went on, when order had been restored, to characterize the co irse which the Ministry had pursued as one distinguished by all the in- genuity of legal chicane— a dodge. Americanized finance was to be a consequence of Americanized institutions; with much more to the same effect. Mr. Gladstone made no answer to this at the time; nor, in- deed, did he ever make any direct and extended reply to this bitter personal attack. Speaking on tho same subject a few days later, he referred to the fact that perscnnl matters hud been intro- duced in the course of the debate, which ho thought it best to pass by without comment; but legitimate cri vast amount of distress which could not be relieved. But the burden had been borne manfully, and so Mr. Gladstone knew, when he said: "Towards that Lancashire, to which up to this time every Englishman has referred, if not with pride, j'et Avith satisfaction and thankfrlness, as among the most remarkable, or perhaps the most remarkable of all the symbols that could bo presented cf the power, the progress, and the prosperity of England — towards thit Lancashire we f?el now more warmly and more thankfully than ever in regard to every moral aspect of its condition. The lesson which within tho past twelve months havo been con- Emancipation from Toryism, 2^8 Voyed, if in ono aspect tho/ huve been painful and even bitter, yet in other aspects, and those too, which mere intimately and permanently relate to the condition and prospects of the coun- try, have been lessons such as I will venture to say none of us could have hoped to learn. For however sanguine may have been the anticipations entertained as to the enduriii^%w^-^^fi^^^m^w^'^ Emancipation from Toryism. 231 time naively observes. Certainly, Mr. Gladstone's advanced Lib< ralism was extremely distasteful to the Tories of Oxford, whom he was supposed to represent. In anticipation of his de- feat there, which was not considered improbable even by his friends, arrangements were made for bringing him forward for South Lancashire at. once. It is a somewhat singular phase of the question, that his Liberal friends were as desirous that he should bo defeated at Oxford as the most vehement Tory could be. ^ Finding that the seat was in danger, when the polling had con- tinued for four of the five days, the chairman of the committee which had Mr. Gladstone's interests in charge issued a circular to the electors who were still unpledged, pressing upon them the duty of recording their votes for the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. " The Committee do not scruple to advocate his cause on grounds above the common level of politics," said this docu- ment. '' They claim for him the gratitude due to one whoso pub- lie life has for eighteen years reflected a lustre upon the Univer- sity herself. They confidently invite you to consider whether his pure and exalted character, his splendid abilities, and his eminent services to Church and State, do not constitute the highest of all qualifications for an academical seat, and entitle him to be judged by his constituents as ho will assuredly be judged by posterity." Among the voters who endorsed this document by their action, taken before or after its appearance, were some of the men whose names are most splendid in the roll of modern scholars. Keble and Pusey, Alford and Stanley, Wil- bcrforce and Farrar, Pnlgrave and Freeman, Max Muller, Lnd a host of others whom we have not space to record, upheld the scholarly financier as their choice. It was not academic Oxford which defeated him— for defeated he was— but the vast body of outsiders who had votes. The Thunderer launched its stately sentences against the in- stitution of learning which had thus rejected as its represent- ative a man of Mr. Gladstone's distinction as a scholar; and added to its fulminations against Oxford the assurance that "henceforth Mr. Gladstone will belong to the country, but no longer to the University. Those Oxford influences and tradi- tions which have so long colored his views, and so greatly in- terfered with hia bett.fir inrlo-mont mr"* "■"o/^nolK, !«„- ■'»--i- u-!-" upon him." To the words of the Times the crisper sentences of the Dally News, the chief Liberal organ, were a fitting echo: --gg|gg||||||||g|||g|g|g||||j|^^^^^ 232 Emancipation from Toryism. "The late Sir Robert Peel was but the chief of a party, until admonished by one ostracism, he linully became emancipated by another. It is thus that men rise from ojjposition to greater etibrt, and the instances are not few in which by facing public Cathedral of St. Paul — London. scorn they have risen to a hiprher piano, and have rendered their names illustrious — nam'^s that might have been almost buried in oblivion but for the ostracism they were compelled to suffer. Not every one is able to learn wisdom from past experi- ences. Then, as now, the statesman who was destined to give up to mankind what was never meant for the barren service of a Emancipation from Toryism, 233 party, could say to those honest bigots who thus rejected him: "I biinish you; Thoro is a world elsewhere." As soon as it became evident that he would be defeated at Ox- ford, Mr. Gladstone hastened down to Lancashire, and lost no time in presenting himself as a candidate for the southern di- vision of that county, where three Conservatives and two Lib- erals were already in nomination for the three seats. It was on Tuesday, the day of the groat Manchester weekly market, that he arrived there, and the exchange of the city was crowded, as usual, by the merchants and manufacturers, not only of Man- chester, but of all the populous district surrounding the cotton metropolis of Britain. About three o'clock it was announced that Mr. Gladstone was in Mancliostcr ; that ho had come for- ward as a candidate for the representation of the southern di- vision of the county; and that ho was about to deliver an ad- dress to the electors in the great room of Free Trade Hall. In a few moments that immense room was packed by an eager au- dience, the enthusiasm of which was raised to the highest pitch. In that silvery voice which was not the least charm of his oratory, the famous statesman began his speech, asking these ""stitu- ents, for the first time, for their suffrages. They heard o..^ sentence; it was enough to make their self-restraint no longer endurable. "At last, my friends, I am come among you ; and I am come — to use an expression which has become very famous, and is not likely to be forgotten — I am come among j-ou unmuzzled." The shout that arose as soon as these words were uttered was the expression of the Liberal triumph in the acquisition of such a leader from the enemy. From that time, the last tie was sev- ered that had bound the great statesman to the party of his early youth; from that time ho was only to grow into wider and deeper sympathy with the people of England, with the cause of human liberty. No longer trammeled by the thought of what was due to his constituents, when he would have spoken freely on the great questions which were awaiting solution, he was now rep- resenting men whose ideas, like his own, were in fuller accord- ance with the progressive spirit of the age. ^m&M nx m CHAPTER IX. REPRESENTESra SOUTH LANCASHIRE. ,* Love for the University — Address to the Electors of Liverpool — Popularity in the Lare:e Towns Death of Lord Palmerston — Grave Concern Over the Irish Troubles— Old Question of Church Rates— Criticism of the Reform Bill — "Cave of AduUam" — Extension of the Franchise — Gladstone's Victory— Speeches in Scotland — Ministry Formed by Earl Derby — A New Reform Rill — Raising Income for the Government — Public Comment on Mr. Gladstone— Scotch and Irish Affairs — The Irish Church — Majority for the Liberals — Various Bills in the Commons. E. GLADSTONE could hardly be said to have been elect ted by an overwhelming majority; for he was third or T the list of the six candidates for the three seats. Bui the majority of the votes cast were for Conservatives; for his new colleagues both belonged to that party, and the fourth on the list was also a supporter of the Opposition. This renders his election the more remarkable tribute to the man, independent of parties. That emancipation from the thraldom of the University's de- mands was not an unmixed joy to Mr. Gladstone, however it may have been welcomed by his friends. In that very speech, ihe first sentence of which had been so enthusiastically cheered, he said : "I have loved the University with a deep and passionate love, and as long as I breathe, that attachment will continue; if my aifection is of the smallest advantage to that great, that ancient, that noble institution, that advantage, such as it is — and it is most insignificant — Oxford will possess as long as I live, lint don't mistake the issue which has been raised. The University has at length, after eighteen years of self-denial, been drawn by what I might, perhaps, call an overweening exercise of power, into the vortex of mere politics. Well, you will readily under- stand why, as long as I had a hope that the zeal and kindness of my friends might keep me in my place, it was impossible for me to abandon them. Could they have returned me by amajority of 334 Representing South Lancashire. 280 one. painful as it is to a man of my time of life, and feeling the weight of public cares, to bo incessantly struggling for his seat, nothing could have induced me to quit that University to which I had so long ago devoted my best care and attachment. But by no act of mine, I am free to come among you. And having been thus set free, I need hardly tell you that it is with joy, with thankfulness and enthusiasm, that I now, at this eleventh hour, a candidate without an address, make my appeal to the heart and the mind of South Lancashire, and ask you to pro- nounce upon that appeal. As I have said, I am aware of no cause for the votes which have given a majority against me in the University of Oxford, except the fact that the strongest con- viction that the human mind can receive, that an overpowering sense of the public interests, that the practical teachings of ex- perience, to which from my youth Oxford herself taught me to lay open my mind, all these had shown mo the folly, and I will say, the madness of refusing to join in the generous sympathies of my countrymen, by adopting what I may call an obstructfve policy." In an address to the electors of Liverpool, he felicitously re- ferred to the peculiar features of the two constituencies. " We see represented in that ancient institution— represented more nobly, perhaps, and more conspicuously than in any other place, at any rate with more remarkable concentration— the most prominent features which relate to the past of England. I come into South Lancashire, and I find around mo an assemblage of different phenomena. I find development of industry ; I find growth of enterprise ; I find progress of social philanthropy; I find prevalence of toleration; and I find an ardent desire for free- dom * * * * I have honestly, I have earnestly, although I may have feebly, striven to unite in my insignificant person that which is represented by Oxford and that which is represented by Lancashire. My desire is that they should know and love one another. If I have clung to the representation of the Univer- sity with desperate fondness, it is because I would not desert that post in which I seem to have been placed. I have not aban- doned it. I have been dismissed from it, not by academical, but by political agencies. I don't complain of those political influ- ences by whi-h I have been displaced. The free constitutional spirit of the country requires that the voice of the majority should prevail. I hope tKat the voice of the majority will pre- i i ■'i! : ! 236 Bepresenting South Lancashire. vail in South Lancashire. I do not for a moment complain tl 't it should have prevailed in Oxford. But, gentlemen, I comr row to ask you a question, waother, because I have been dcclav 'dun- fit longer to servo the University on account of my politici'". po- sition, there is anything in tluvt position, tl>,-re Is anything ii what I have said and done, ill tlio ard-jnns office which T hold, which is to unfit mo for the rcprescntiition of my native co^'nt '"' Mr. Gladstone's strength, as shown by this election, lay in the large towns rather than in the country boroughs; for in Liverpool, Manchestei', and all the other towns in this portion of the county, his name stood at the head of the poll. Wo snail look to see him, then roj. resenting the sentiments of the Liber- als of the cities, rather than the more modified sentiments which are usual in the English country districts, which are Ir vge- ly Conservative. But although the han-^s of the Ministry wore strengthened by considerable Liberal giuns in this general election, contrary to the expectations of both parties, it had met with a severe loss in the death of one of its ablest supporters. This was Richard Cobden, who had been named " The Apostle of Free trade." Ho was not a member of the Cabinet, for he had declined the ap- pointment which Palmcrston had offered him, on account of his opposition to the Premier's ideas i.gurding the foreign policy to be pursued; but his closest political ally, Mr. Milner Gibson, had accepted the post which Cobden declined, and it was under- stood that th's was nearly equivalent to his taking office himself. He died early in April, 1865. While his loss was severely felt by the Liberals, it was still more a blow to that little band of Eadi- cals of whom he was really tho ffM-^most member, though the polished sauvity of his manner, contrasiod with the abrupt force of Bright, gave most persons the impression that he was rather more conservative than his great comrade. To the sturdy Quaker personally it was a severe blow ; and his tribute to his friend, spoken too soon after that friend's death to be esteemed a formal memorial address, is one of the most pathetic of its 'J kind: " After a close friendship of many years, I never knew how much I lov^ed him till I lost him." And the strong, firm-set man sat down and wept, regardless of the gaze of his colleagues. The death of Cobden had occm- during the session of 1865. Before Parliament was again called together, there was anoth- er vacancy in the ranks of the Liberal party— the man who wr.s Bepresenting South Lancashire. 287 nominally utits head, by reason of I. le position which ho had held. Lord Piilrnerston was nearly oigjity-onc, but although he had oc- casionally been kept from the House by attacks of tho gout, he was far more regular in his attendance thco than many a young- er man. While Premier, ho underwent an amount of work which at his age seemed phenomenal ; and all Iho strength and spright- liness of his character were maintained to tho last. Ho died af- ter an illness of six days, in tho latter part of October. There wa«' but C'lo man whom publi: opinion named as him to whom tho vacant post of right belonged. Earl Russell tho former op- ponent, the recent associate, of ♦he Head Premier, was appointed by tho Queen the First Min Lor of the Crown. His age, his great services, his high reputation, his honorable character, made his claims generally admitted. Five years before, tho Prime Min- ister would have been the leauor of the House of Commons ; but the courtesy title had given place to one borne by right, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer succeeded to tho first rank in tho lower branch of tho national councils. It may here bo no'ed, in explanation of tho apparent anomaly of Palmorston's being in the House of Commons, that ho was an Irish Poor, and as such not entitled to a seat in tho House of Lords unless elected to it by tho whole body of Irish Peers. Tho death of Lord Pulmerston removed all doubt as to what the Ministry would do upon the subjectof Eeform. But before en- tering upon this much vexed question, it will perhaps bo ^cst to consider briefly some other subjects which c.^iio before Parlia- ment this session. Having thus cleared the stage, the progress of iliat great political drama can be watched without interrup- tion. The budget was introduced May 3rJ, during a suspension of the hostilities then raging in regard to the GovernmeivL'a Reform Bill. There was a surplus of sufficient magnitude to warrant certain reductions of duties. The duty on timber was to be abol- ished, as well as that on pepper; and tho duty on wino in bottles and that on wino in wood Avero to be equalized. Certain changes were recommended la the duties on locomotion j but in recom- mending these changes the right honorable gentleman took care not to add to the burdens of the middle and lower classes. The tea duties were to be renewed, and the Income Tax was to be4J. in the pound. The National Debt had been reduced from £18,- 000,000 in 1858 to £8,267,000, and the time for further reduction 238 Bepresentiag South Lancashire. '. i I is was most favorable. T^heso provisions met with little opposition. A proposition to convert a portion of the National Debt into terminable annuities was made thn subject of a separate bill, which d-d not pass beyond the second reading, owing to the chang'js which took place during Ihe session. Mr. Gladstone had visited Glasgow in the autumn of 1865, a.ad had been, with due formalities, presented with the freedom of the city He had then spoken most feelingly of the loss which the country had recently sustained in the death of a statesman like Palmerston. He was now called upon, by the duties of hisposition as Leader of the House, for an official utterance. The subject was an address to the Queen, praying her to order the erection of a monument to the late Premier in Westminster Abbey. His eu- logy was a masterly analysis of the character of his late chief. He was followed by Ilr. Disraeli, who added another tribute to the memory of the popular Minister. The Irish troubles which had recently arisen, or rather gix)wn from their normal condition, demand some share of attention. Thosjwho had emigrated to America in consequence of the iara- iP-^ of 1846-7, and some who had been banished on account of the part which they had taken in the insurrection of the followingyear, had not been without warm affection for the country which they had thus been compelled to leave. The result had been an organiza- tion which originated in the United States-but which was by no means confined to that country-designed to establish u rep.ib- 1=-^ in Ireland. The cessation of the Civil War had given the Fenirns a considerable accession of dangerous assistants by re- leasing from their sworn duty to the United States or the Con- federate States a number of disciplined veterans, whose experience enabled th m to t.uin others for military service. In addition to this certain plans had been formed for seducing the Irish soldiers in the British army from their allegiance. At first the movement had seemed to be wildly impracticable; the end at which they were aiming seemed as little possible as the origin which they claimed, from some forgotten national militia, of Ireland, four hundred years before Christ. But the British Government soon found that the visionary character of its claims and its hope? was not all there was of it. Fenianism was a real danger men- acin- British rule :n Ireland ; the greater, perhaps, because the priests, whose counsels had generally ^een for moderation and patience, were carefully excluded from the control of thu Bepresentiny South Lancashire. 239 organization und from knowledge of its movements. The Gov- ernment was driven to propose a bill for .-ispending the Habeas rr\f'^i'' ^^""^ '''""^'^- ^^''' ^^^^^"^« "^^^ violently oppos- ed by Mr. Bright, who seems to have seen something of the wrong which the Fenians were striving to - ido. He called up- on the '' two great and trusted leaders," Gladstone and Disraeli to throw aside ali animosity for the time, and unite in some measure which would bring peace to Ireland. The cause of the discontentshouldbef und, and a remedy applied; therewassome way to make Ireland loyal, and it was the duty of the Imperial Parliament to find that way. So spoke this champion of the peo- ple more than twenty years ago ; fighting in hale of a wron^ not his own. ° It was the duty of the Leader of the House to defend this Government measure against the voices which condemned if and he was not without power in doing so, Howevor much we may admire the attitude of Bright, who would thus have yield- ed the rights that were demanded, or at least a portion of them we must recognize the wisdom of Gladstone in his arguments against this course. The Irish members had acquiesced in this bill, and they were the legal representatives of the Irish people Much of Mr. Bright's speech, he said, was open to question, and was ill-timod ; it was the duty of the House to strengthen the handsof theExecutivo in the preservation of law and order Mr Gladstone in later years showed that he was not so blindly prej- udiced in this course as the Fenians would have had us believe • when the Iruh people demanded their rights in moderation and self-control, he urged that these rights be granted; but it will be remembered that that demand had not then been made by the voice of their representatives in Parliament. '' The mills of the gods grind slowly;" and the Fenians were premature in the tur- bulent violence of their eftbrts. Ireland will some day be free as her sons, from Emmet to Parnell, have wished to see her- the day will sometime dawn when every nation upon earth shall have the American ideal of - a govern Tient of the people, for the peo- ple, and by the people." The Government carried out other vigorous measures for the suppression of the conspiracy, such as the suspension of the newspaper which was the chief organ, the arrest of suspected persons, theorder of additional troops to Ireland; soon leaving only those embers which tinaliy kindled the fires of ParnollJsm /^ 240 Representing South Znncashirc, The old question of Church Rates camo up again this session, id Mr. Gladstone pressed a measure providing for the abolition Earl Russell. of compulsory Church Rates; but the question was left in the same doubtful position which it had so long occupied. The war between Austria and Prussia brought about a warm mf:'~^,--^~ ^l!^.» Representing South Lancashire. 241 discussion on continental affairs, in which Mr. Gladstone warned the Foreign Secretary that the cause of Italy was dear to the people of England, who would not readily forgive a policy which attacked hor unity and independence. It may here be re- marked that Ve "a was added to Italy by the treaty which closed this war, a few months after Mr. Gladstone's speech on the subject; and with the exception of the States of the Church, which came under his dominion in 1870, the kingdom of Victor Emmanuel was the same as that over which Humbert has sway. Tlu. decks thus cleared for action, we come to the disenssion of the all-important measure of Parlianr ontary Eeform. When it was known that Earl Enssell had succeeded Viscount Pal. merston as the head of the Government, it was confidently an- ticipated that there would bo a sweeping change ui the mode of representation; that the franchise would be considerably ex- tended, in accordance with the veteran reformer's ideas as ex- pressed in that bill which his late chief had literally "damned with faint pniiso," The measure vas introduced by the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer on the 12th of March, and me^ with much opposition; not from the Conservatives only, from whom of course it was to be expected, but from many Liberals as well. It has been remaiked by the careful historian whom we have quoted several times before this, that it was scarcely politic, if the Min- istry had looked only to its "wn stability, to introduce, at the beginning of the first session of a new Parliament, a measure which would have the effect of renewing the risks and expense of a general election. If Earl Eussell and Mr. Gladstone had been content to wait anotlicr session or two before introducing the Eeform Bill they would have addressed themselves to mem- bers whose recollectioi. of the election was less vivid, whose pui'ses would have in sor ..j degree at least hnve recovered from the enormous drair .•. h'ch Englirh election expenses entail ; and the reception of r j oill would most probably have been more fortunate. But Lord Eussell b".d long been an enthusiast upon this suV jec! He hod mado his first motion in favor of Parliamentary Eeform dur'ng the year of Queen Victoria's birth; he had been one of the fou) members of the Government to whom Earl Grej'- intrusted the task of framing the first Eeform Bill, which passed in 1831 ; and ho hnd proposed that famous measure to the House of Commons. He was then verging close upon forty; more than l6 242 Itepresenting South Lancashire. thirty years later, his ancient ardor had not diminished; and he had a worthy second in Mr. Gladstone. " Too fond of the right to pursue the expedient," they considered thems(.lves pledged to the people; and they redeemed that pledge at the earliest pos- sible opportunity. The House was crowded in every part as it had been when Lord John arose to introduce the first measure of the kind. In a speech of two hours Mr. Gladstone explained the provisions of the bill. It did not deal with the question of redistribution of seats, but simply with the extension of the Franchise; nor did Mr. Gladstone promise that the important omission should be dealt with during the next session. The bill, though a good and honest measure, was evidently a compromise; for that scheme which Lord John Eussell had introduced, and which Mr. Glad- stone had so warmly supported in 1860 had advocated the re- duction of the franchise in the towns to £6, and in the counties to £10; and the figures in this bill stood at £7 and £14 re- spectively. As we have said, the bill met with uncompromising opposition from a considerable portion of the Liberal party. Of this sec- tion, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman were the recognized leaders. Mi'. Bright, who was of course n, warm supporter of the measure, spoke in defense of it with all that keenness which so often makes his speeches unanswerable. The malcontent Whigs were the victims of his sarcasm, which was dealt out with no sparing hand : " The right honorable gentleman [Mr. Horsman] is the first of the new party who has expressed his great grief, who has retired into what may be called his political "Cave of Adullam," and he has called about him every one ihat was in distress and every one that was discontented. The right honorable gentleman has been long anxious to Torm a party in this House. There is scarcely any one on this side of the House who is able to address the House with effect, or to take much part in our debates, whom he has not tried to bring over to his party or cabal; and at last the right honorable gentleman has succeeded in hooking the right honorable gentleman the Member for Calne [Mr. Lowe]. I know there was an opinion expressed many years ago by a member of the Treasury Bench and of the Cabinet, that two men would make a party. When a party is formed of two men so amiable, so discreet, as the two right honorable gentlemen, we Representing South Lancashire. 243 may hope to see, for ^.he first time in Parliament, a party per- fectly harmonious, and distinguished by mutual and unbroken trust. But there is one difficulty which it is impohsiblo to re- move. This party of two reminds me of the Scotch terrier, which was so covered with hair that you could not tell which was the head and which was the tail of it." But Mr. Bright's contempt for the weakness of this party of . two was premature. Since the days when David retired into the Cave of Adullam, and there gathered to him every one that was in distress, or in debt, or discontented, there have always been found fol- lowers for such com- plainers against the ex- isting state of things. There were many Adul- lamites, as the Palmer- stonians, or anti-Ecform Whigs, began to be call- ed ; and the party was not without its influence. The speeches which were delivered against the bill by the members of this new party were of such a nature that the Conservative party Jii- Hofu Edward Horaman. took fresh courage. Had the Liberals remained united, there would have been little chance for the Opposition, so con- siderable was the majority which had been returned for the Government in the general election. The Conservative lead- ers summoned a meeting of their supporters for the purpose of considering the m..nncr in which they should deal with the min- isterial proposal. Lord Derby was absent on account of illness, so that Mr. Disraeli was the foremost figure. He delivered ar, address which aroused the enthusiasm of his auditors, and it was resolved that the bill should be strenuously opposed. Their hopes were no longer confined to mere de}ay, or some slight con- cessions which might be wrung from the Government; nothing ' : 244 Bepresenting South Lancashire. loss than a total rout of the ministerial forces --1^ satisfy them; and the alliance of the Adullamites would enable them to achieve this victory. It caused no small dismay in the Eeform camp when it was k^ own that Earl Grosvenor, the eldest son of the Marquis of Westminster, had gone over to the enemy; for they had confi- dently reckoned upon his continued support. Upon the second reading of the bill, however, he proposed a resolution affiiming that the House did not think it expedient to discuss any bUl for the reduction of the franchise until the whole plan of the Gov- ernment should have been laid before it. As Mr. Gladstone had already stated that the Government would not attempt anything that session beyond the extension of the franchise, this was regarded as a vote of no confiden o and coming as the proposition did from one who had so lately been an alty upon whom they could always depend, the effect was peculiarly discouraging to the friends of Reform. This opposition was natural on the part of the representatives of small boroughs, who were anxious that their constituents should not be immediately disfranchised ; there are few men capable of the serio-comic self-sacrifice of that Member for Lud- gershall who was his own constituency, ^s we have mentioned in L chronicles of the days of Earl Grey's Reform BilL Oh there were ^.^*> Representing South Lancashire. 249 magnitudo of tho obstacles which ho has to surmount. Ho was leader of a party that had all along dreaded and opposed any ex- tension of tho suffrage, being regarded with jealousy and suspi- cion by many whose support was necessary to tho success of his scheme. Opposed by a considerable majority, which, although divided, might unite at any time; supported by a party that fol- lowed him with undisguised repugnance, and which, to borrow his own phrase, required to be educated up to the point of accept- ing such a measure as ho would bo obliged, by the pressure from without, to propose; and hampered by tho declarations which ho himself had made regarding the numerous Reform Bills which his opponents had brought forward at different times — he yet rose to the difficulty of his task with consummate ability. There were two plans possible: one a mild and conservative measure, the other a bolder or ^. It was tho latter which was finally brought before the House. In less than a week after Parliament assembled, tho Leader of the House explained the provisions of the proposcdbill. He gave notice later that the bill would bo introduced March 18th. Mr. Gladstone spoke in answer to this notice, expressing a hope that when tho Reform measure appeared, i^ would bo simple and straightforward J not having a double &e.; of provisions, one of which seemed to give, while the other eally took away liberty. If the plan promised to effect good in a simple, straightforward, intelligible and constitutional mannc it would bo received on his side of tho House in no grudging s- it, with no recollection of the past, and no revival of mutual suspicions and complaints. It would have been well if tho Government could have embraced these generous overtures; but there was a considerable section of the Conservative party who wanted no Reform at all, and Mr. Disraeli was obliged to satisfy them as wel' as those who were clamoring loudly for the changes. Three of the Ministers had resigned because they could not give their assent to tho bill approved by the majority of their colleagues. Instead of drawing a five, six, or seven pound limit, to cut off those from the franchise whose extreme poverty would rondci them more susceptible to bribes, the Government boldly adopted household suffrage with the simple qualification of the payment of rates. Mr. Disraeli calculated that this would en- franchise 237,000 additional voters, and that of the whole num- ber of thoRo who would have a voice in tho election of the IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) #, // *A 4^0 V C^x ^^ '--tv^. o A^ MP- A 1.0 I.I 1.25 If 1^ 6' ||M 1.8 U IIIIII.6 ^. V]

c^m # /i '^^ vV w F • Photographic Sdences CorpcTation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14^80 (716) 8724502 <5r. is 9 250 Representing South Lancashire. House of Commons, one-half would belong to the middle class and one-fourth each to the higher and lower classes. Such was: his much talked of " balance of power." But the bill did not give a vote to those householders whose rates were paid by their landlords ; so that although the bill was on its face extremely generous, it was not really as much so as that which Mr. Glad- stone had introduced. A novel feature of the bill, and one which was by no means approved of, was that provision which gave a man two votes if he paid the requisite amount of assessed taxes or income tax, and was also a rate-paying householder. This was strongly as- sailed by speakers on both sides of the House, among the most emphatic of whom was Mr. Gladstone. A meeting of one hun- dred and forty members of the Liberal party was held at Mr. Gladstone's residence early in April, to arrange what course of action should be taken in opposing this bill. Some difference of opinion was expressed as to what should bo done, but it was finally understood that Mr. Coleridge was to introduce a resolu- tion aflSrming that the committee should have power to alter the rating and make other changes. On that very evening a meet- ing of some forty or fifty members was held in the tea-room of the House of Commons, who agreed that they would unite to limit the instructions to be proposed by Mr. Coleridge. They then appointed a deputation to convey to Mr. Gladstone the feel- ing of the meeting, and to assure him that the members compos- ing this meeting would continue to give him a loyal support in committee. M-. Gladstoro, finding that by the defection of so many of his adherents he was almost certain to incur a defeat, yielded to their demands, and the resolution was altered accord- ingly. The House went into committee, Mr. Disraeli having ac- cepted the altered resolution. Mr. Gladstone gave notice of sev- eral important amendments, which Mr. Disraeli stigmatized as merely the resolutions which had been abandoned by the tea- room party, cast into another form; and he announced that if they were insisted upon, the Government would not proceed with the bill. As most of the tea-room party held together, the Government triumphed by a majority of twenty-one in the di- vision on the first of Mr. Gladstone's resolutions, After this, he could not hope to carry any of the others, and they were with- drawn. Nor was this all; he determined to withdraw from the leadership of the Liberal Party He announced his intention, Mepresenting South Lancashire. 251 Jtnd explained the reasons for it, in a letter to one of the vnem- bers for the City, who had asked him if he intended to persevere n moving the amendments of which he had given notice In taici ff";f • ^'^'^^^"^ ^^^^-'^ ^^P^'^^-^ his'intention of not taking further steps to combat the action of the Government- hough he promised to follow any one who would undertake the leadership in this matter. His action was sincerely regretted by those who still support- ed him though they saw that he was justified in the course which he had taken. Mr. Bright took the opportunity which a great Reform demonstration at Birmingham aflForded, to denounce the action of those Liberals who had thus dpserted their leader at sucu a critical time. Eulogizing Mr. Gladstoneas having brought to the consideration of this question of Reform more earnest- ness, conviction, and zeal than any statesman since the measure of Earl Grey had excited all England, he asked : - Who is there in the House of Commons that equals him in knowledge of all political questions? Who equals him in earnestness? Who equals him in eloquence? Who equals him in courage and fidelity to his convictions ? If these gentlemen who sav they will not fol- low him have any one who is equal, let them show him. If thev can point out any statesman who can add dignity and grandeur to the stature of Mr. Gladstone, let them produce him It is a deplorable thing that last year a small section of forty men or thereabouts, of professing Liberals, destroyed the honest and ac ceptable (I speak of the people) bill of the late Government, and with It destroyed also the Government which proposed it. About an equal number have this year to a great extent destroyed the power of tne Opposition, and may assist an anti-Reforming Gov- ernment to pass a very bad measure on the greatest question of our time. ***** What can be done in parliamentary parties If every man is to pursue his own little game ? A costermonger and donkey would take a week to travel from here to London • and yet, by running athwart the London and Northwestern line' they might bring to total destruction a great express train • and so very small men, who during their whole political lives 'have not advanced the question of Reform by one hair's breadth or one moment of time, can in a critical hour like this throw them- selves athwart the objects of a great party, and perhaps mar a great measure that sought to affect the interests of the country 'beneficially for all time." 252 Represent imj South Lancashire. The plain truth and justice of Mr. Bright's speech carried with his censures weight that made them to be folt by men, who, pro- fessing to desire a real extension of the franchise, were yet adopting a course which was nullifying that object, and were placing at the disposal of the minority a power which ought to be exercised by the majority. The bill made no provisions for granting the franchise to lodg- ers, but this was conceded as time went on. Other modifications were made both in the franchise and in the re-distribution of seats; and the Government announced that from this position they would not recede further. Various amendments were pro- posed, but the House was only too anxious to have the question settled, and these were rejected, though by very small majorities. Some other concessions were wrung from the Ministry, notwith- standing Mr. Disraeli's positive statement; so that one of those ministers who had resigned office because he could not support this bill, observed that it seemed there was nothing with less vi- tality than a vital point, nothing so insecure as the securities which the bill offered, and nothing so elastic as the conscience of a Cabinet Minister. Certainly he had cause for these biting re- monstrances, for the Conservative Ministry had so modified this measure that it was one which might have been introduced by Mr. Bright himself, and far surpassed the expectations even of the Reform League. The later clauses of the bill were hurried along, for it was the latter part of July; amendments were negatived after very slight consideration; and the bill at last came up for the third reading. The caustic severity of the language which was used in de- scribing Mr. Disraeli's course in this matter has scarcely been equalled in Parliament. It recalled to the minds of the elder members his own attack upon Sir Robert Peel. Mr. Disraeli, however, was not without weapons to repel such an attack; and answered by reviewing the action of the Palmerston Govern- ment, which had come into existence because the Derby Cabinet could not or would not grant Reform, and shirked the responsi- bility for which they Lad been appointed. The bill was read a third time, a single dissenting voice being heard when the Speak- er put the question; and when the motion was made, "that the bill do pass," the announcement of the vote was received with more than usually tumultuous cheering. Representing South Lancashire. 258 The Eeform Bill passed the House of Lords in August, and be- came law shortly afterward. Mr. Disraeli gave not a little of- fence to his adherents by the language which he shortly after- ward used in epeaking of it. *' I had to prepare the mind of the country," he said, at a Conservative banquet in Edinburgh, "and to educate— if it be not arrogant to use such a phrase— to educate our party." There was much comment upon the expression, and the newspapers continued to quote it for a long time. The author of this much amended Eeform Bill was shortly to be called to occupy a higher position than Lis talents had yet won for him. The Earl of Derby had been in ill-health for a long time, frequently being unable to attend the sessions of the House of Lords; at other times he forced himself to be pres- ent when he was manifestly unfitted for the exertion. He re- tired in February, 1868, and Mr. Disraeli became Prime Minister. Of this elevation, the newspapers had much to sayj and what they said was not always exactly. .;omplimontary to tYn brilliant novelist-politician. While not as violently worded as some of the attacks which the press of this country sometimes makes up- on high officials, from the President down— for they would not be guilty of formal disrespect to thetheFirstMinisterof the Crown —there was yet a mingling of unanswerable raillery and sar- casm. Perhaps an extract from the Pall Mall Gazette will be the best example : " One of the most grievous and constant puzzles of King David was the prosperity of the wicked and scornful ; and the same tremendous moral enigma has come down to our own days. In this respect the earth is in its older times what it was in its youth. Even so recently as last week the riddle presented itself once more in its most impressive shape. Like the Psalmist, the Liberal loader may v/ell protest that, 'verily, he has cleansed his heart in vain and washed his hands in innocency; all day long he has been plagued by' Whig Lords, 'and chastened every morning by' Radical manufacturers; as blamelessly as any cur- ate he has written about Ecce Homo, and ho has never made a speech, even in the smallest country town, without calling out with David, 'How foolish am I, and how ignorant!' For all this, what does he see? The scorner who shot out the lip and shook the head at hira across the table of the House of Cc m- mons last session, has now more than heart could wish ; his eyes speaking in an Oriental manner, stand out with fatness, he speak- 254 Representing South Lancashire. eth loftily, and prido compasseth him about as with a chain. * * * * That the writer of frivolous stories about Vivian Grey and Coningsby should grasp the sceptre before the writer of beauti- ful and serious things about Ecce Homo— the man who is epigram- matic, flashy, arrogant, before the man who never perpetrated an epigram in his life, is always fervid, and would as soon dia as admit that he had a shade more brain than his footman— the ;, Eadical corrupted into a Tory, before the Tory purified and ele- vated into a Eadical— is not this enough to make an honest man rend his mantle, and shave his head, and sit down among the ashes inconsolable? Let us play the too underrated part of Bildad the Shuhite for a space, while our chiefs have thus unwelcome leis- ure to scrape themselves with potsherds, and to meditate upon the evil ways of the world." Beneath the scoffing and pretended condolence of this para- graph, there is no small vein of truth. The characters of the two men are not inaptly drawn ; for although it is a palpable exag- geration to say that Mr. Gladstone would ''as soon die as admit that he had any more brains than his footman," ho is not keenly self-appreciative; and the quality thus lacking in his mental composition was possessed in double share by the most eminent of his rivals. Parliament had been summoned in November, 1867, to consid- er the Abyssinian War. This was uruiertai»-■ ure which has long since bccomelaw; but his conclusion is perti- nent to the present, and will be so until Ireland is free • If we are prudent men, I hope wo shall endeavor as far asin uslies to make some provision for a contingent, a dinbtf I and probably a dangerous future. If we bo chivalro'us m n 't^st we hall endeavor to wipe away those stains which the dviuTd world for ages has seen, or seemed to see, on the shield of Eng laud ,n her treatment of Ireland. If wo be compassionate m™ ■If 258 Representifuj South Lancashire. |i I hope that wo shall now, onco for nil, listen to tho tulo of woo which comes from hor, and tlio roality of which, if not its jiis- tico, is testified to by tho continuous emigration of hor pooploj that wo shall endeavor to ' Razo out tho writton trouolos from her bruin, Pluck from lior memory tho rooted Borrow.' But, above all, if wo bo Just men, wo Bhall go forward in tho namo of truth and right, bearingtliis in mind ; tiiatwhoji tho ca8o is proved, and tho hour is come, justico delayed is justice denied." This eloquent appeal carried consternation into tho camj) of tho enemy. Mr. Disraeli bewailed his own misfortune in being confronted with this ancient problem at tho very outset of his career as Premierj tho same state of atfairs had existed whilo the Pt'Jmorston and Russell Governments were in ])ower, to both of which Mr. Gladstone bad belonged, and no attempt had been made to deal with it. lie strongly objected to tho de- struction of tho Irish Church, being personally in lavorof eccles- iastical endowments. At Mr. Gladstone's request Mr. Maguire withdrew his motion. But tho spectre had been raised, and could not bo laid. The Irish Cliurch question had moved forward an enormous stride when Mr. Gladstone had made that ap])eal, and it was impossible to go back, or even to stand still. Tho country speedily took up tho cry of disestablishment, and it became the ono aim of the Liberal party of tho time. Mr. Gladstone himself did notrecede from tho advanced position which ho had taken, but laid upon the table of tho House of Commons a series of resolutions, which he intended to move in committee of tho whole, affirming that it was necessary that the Estjiblished Church of Ireland should cease to exist as an establishment, due regard being had to all personal rights and individual interests; and that an ad- dress should be presented to Her Majesty, praying that her inter- erest in tho temporalities, dignities, and benefices in Ireland bo placed at the disposal of Parliament. To these resolutions Lord Stanley, a few days later, gave notice of an amendment to the effect that the whole subject might well bo left to tho considera- tion of a new Parliament. March 30th, Mr. Gladstone delivered his famous speech in con- nection with these resolutions. Having given assurance that his measure did not contemplate the violation of any vested right or interest, but would endeavor to work this great reform without Kepresentituj Simth hoirashire. 25d injiiMtico to any ono, ho procoodo.l briefly to .•tu.ftpitt.luto hjspor- Honul history in oonnrction with tho Huhjcntt. Wo no.-.i ncarcoly remind tho render what changes his opinions hud undergone: those who are so interested in tho subjeet as to desire u detailed account, may bo referred to the pages of Hanhard, or tho pub- lished speeches of the groat Liberal, or to that resume of hisown which we have before had occasion to quote, "A Chapter of Auto- biograj)liy." The speaker showed the futility of the attempt to Protestant- ize Irehmd by the maintenance of tho Establishment: though the census of 18«)1 showed a small proportionate increase, the rate was so small that it would take 1500 or 2000 years to of- foct tho conversion of tho entire people. lie recognized that many felt that it was an unhallowed act to disestablish a Church and while he fully understood the feeling, hothoughtitan error,' which it was lus duty to overcome and repress. Throughout the whole speech there ran a tone of deepest sympathy with those earnest thinkers who looked upon this measure as almost, if not quite, an act of sacrilege; a sympathy tho more profound be- cause tho speaker had himself passed through that sta-^o of thinking; he had held tho faiUi which they now held ; but hav- ing grown out of it, ho called to them to rise to tho level which ho had reached. That jounu,] which had called him a Tory ele- vated and purified intoaKadical, might well now have styled him a Churchman purified and elevated into a Christian. Lord Stanley justified his amendment upon tho ground that Mr. Gladstone's resolutions merely affirmed tho necessity for ac- tion, without spocifying what should bo done. Lord Cranborne, on the other hand, condemned tho amendment as ambiguous; it left all to the future policy of tho Government, which he would as soon undertake to predict as to tell the House which way the weather-cock would point to-morrow. This fling at tho Premier's inconsistency was followed by a thoroughly Conservative speech by Mr. Gathorne Hardy, who it will bo remembered was that successor of Mr. Gladstone as tho representative of Oxford who was not regarded as dangerous on account of any phenom- enal ability. Mr. Bright, of course, justified disestablishment, on the ground that the Irish Church had been, both as apolitical institution and a missionary church, a most deplorable failure. The Conservative party had resist^^d Tree Trade, Heform and other measures, and this was not more serious than they had been. 'Ill IP tSaiM M u I m 260 27ie First Gladair.ne Afinistry, Mr. Lowe spoke forcibly in fy.vor of (lisestabllslunent, arguing that the Irish Church was founded upon au Injustice, on the dom- inant right of the few over the many ; as a missionary work, it was a miserable faiiure; and, like Mr. Bright ht sliowed how disproportionate to tl^c eH(»rt in tiiis direction had been the resulJ, a fact that musL be universally conceded. Hon. Gathorne Hardy. To all these Mr. Disraeli answered in a speech which even for him was of an unusually personal character. Lord Salisbury, he said, wa*' a man of great talent, and had vigor in his language. As soon as the noble lord heard the amendment, he concluded that the Government was about to betray its trust. Mr. Lowe suiFered more severely at his hands. There was nothing that he liked, and almost everything that he hated. Mr. Disraeli then stated, with that coolness which distinguished him upon such ./". " Representing South Lancashire. 261 occasions, that ho had never attacked any ov^ in his life. He wan intorruptetl by loud erios, in which the name ot Pool wus'plain- ly heard ; and tliese became so numerous that he adroitly added Iho proviso, " unless I was first attacked." But even thisprudent audition did not hush the cries. H.- talked of having fathomed a conspiracy between Kitunlisin and Popery to overthrow the throne ; and declared that as long o«, by the favor of the Queen, he stood there, ho would oppose this nefarious effort of Mr! Gladstone and his friends. Mr. Gladstone retorted that there were some parts of Hie Prime Minister's speech the relevancy of which he cov'u not discern ; while others were duo to a heated imagination. For himself, he did not wish to deny that ho advocated the disestab- lishment of tlio Irish Church ; and he demanded that . .s Par- liament should at least prepare the way for that necessary meas- ure. The debate had lasted four nights before divisions were taken. In the two which were taken at the close of the discussion, the Government was defoated by majorities of fifty-six and sixty. The Liberals had not dared to hope for such a decisive major- ity. The party was now united as it had not been for & long time, and the popular feeling \va? largely with them in this ques- tion. But the Conservatives were not willing to allow that they were wholly beaten, especially in the opinion of the people. If a Liberal meeting wero held, a Conservative followed. Various means, not always fair ones, were resorted to, to prove the Op- position in the wrong. Serious charges wore circulated against the leader of the Liberal party. When he was at Eome, he had made arrangements wilh the Pope, being a CathoUc at heart, to destroy the Established Church of Ireland ; ho had publicly con- demned the support of the clergy in tho three kingdoms out of public or Church funds ; ho had, when at Balmoral, refused to at- tend the Queen to church ; he had received the thanks of the Pope for his course with regard to the Irish Church; and he was a member of a High-Church Eitualistic congregation. " These statements, one and all," wroto Mr. Gladstone, when they were brought to his knowledge, "are untrue iu letter and in spirit, from beginning to end." Mr. Gladstone's resolutions were stigmatized as unconstitution- al by Lord Derby, who spoke in the House of Lords while t..e measures were yet ©ending in the Commons. "When the debate 262 Representing South Lancashire. was summed up, on tho night when the fJrst resolution was car- ried, Mr. Gladstone repelled this charge, and d3clared that he would not take the word of command from tho House of Lords. Urging the resolution as a part of a policy which would add to the glory and strength of the Empire, he gave pkce to his rival, who merely reiterated his objections to disestablishment. The division followed the speeches of the two leaders, and the Op- position found that they had a majority of sixty-five. The decreac^e of the Government's strength was unmistakable, and Mr. Disraeli waited upon the Queen. Tho proper constitu- tional course, ho told her, was to dissolve Parliament and appeal to the country, though at the same time he offered the resigna- nation of the Ministry; but 'f the House would co-operate with the Government, he thought it would be better to delay dissolu- tion until the Autumn. But this was by no means what the Liberals wanted and had worked for. Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe protest- ed against this failure to dissolve at once under such circum- stancos as unconstitutional ; but the Premier had laid his plans cunningly. To dissolve at once was to appeal to the existing constituencies J there must be an appeal very shortly to the con- stituencies established by the Eeform Bill of the previous year, so that the new Parliament would sit for only a single very short session. Under such circumstances, the desired delay was grant- ed ; and the Ministers having agreed to confine themselves to such business as was absolutely necessary, the Opposition yield- ed the point. The remaining resolutions which Mr. Gladstone had intro- troduced were put and carried without serious opposition. The Ministers negatived them as a matter of course, as they were but corollaries of the first ; but there was no division. Then arose such a scene as the House of Commons has seldom beheld. A Scotch member, a Liberal, elated with the victory which had al- reaciy been gained^ and thinking that matters might as well be pushed to the utmost, moved the abolition of the Maynooth grant and the regiur: domim (separate annual grants of public money by the Government to the Catholics and Presbyterian clergy in Ireland). This was more than Mr. Gladstone and his immediate adherents had bargained for, and the Liberals were at once re-dividcd among thomseives. Tlse Ministers walked out of the House, leaving the Opposition to fight out Bepresentiny South Lancashire. 268 their civil war in their own way. The uproar was at its height. Bellowing, screeching, cheering, yelling, echoed and re-echoed in that hall which should have been the scene of dignified delib- eration. Everywhere there was extravagant gesticulation from members who had the floor, and members who wanted it In the midst of the confusion the Pi-ime Minister returned. His ex- pectations had been realized, he said, and the ^ ..tlemen on the opposite side of the House were now quarreling over their booty. But this sarcasm did not shame them j it only added to the disordorj and in the midst of the confusion the Scotch mem- ber's rider to Mr. Gladstone's resolution was adopted. The Scotch Eeforni Bill necessitatf^d some further changes in that measure which applied to the souchern kingdom ; but these were passed without much opposition. There were some minor measures passed, and some of considerable importance to the country, such as the authorization of the puichaso of the vari- ous telegraph lines; but none that are of interest in connection with our subject. Mr. Gladstone was too closely identified with that great measure which he finally passed, to speak at length on other topics. His Suspenso. Bill, which was preliminary to one abolishing the Establishment inlrelii d, was at lust introduced and passed the House by a majority of fifty-four ; but it was defeated in the House of Lords, where the Conservative element so far outnum- bers the Liberal. If there were exciting times in the House of Commons, the memborc were not froe from cares connected with their seats when they had left St. Stephen's. Parliament was prorogued the last day of July, with a view to its dissolution +he middle of November. The candidates at once proceeded to make their canvass. The election speeches of Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone, while nominally addressed to their special constituents, were of course meant as general expositions c^ the policy of their re- spective parties. As such, wc need not qucte them, as they dealt mainly with that great question which had defeated the Ministry One sentence of a speech which Mr. Gladstone de- livered at St. Helen's is so apt a description of the Irish Church that we give it, alone: "You must not take away its abuses, be- cause, if you take them away, there will bo nothing left." It was well knoM^n that the Conservatives would spare no «f- 264 Bepresenting South Lancashire, fort to defeat Mr. Gladstone in Southwest Lancashire. Though the weather was bitterly cold when the nominations took place, the space around the hustings was crowded. The Conservatives had displayed their wit upon numerous placards, which were en- joyed by Mr. Gladstone as well as by his enemies. "Bright's Disease and Lowe Fcvor," "Time-table to Greenwich," and similar happy hits were to be seen. During Mr. Gladstone's speech of forty minutes, he was regaled with a choral perform- ance of the national anthem. Notwithstanding this, he proceed- ed, with much eloquence, to state the Liberal policy. While there was a great preponderance of feeling in favor of Mr. Gladstone at the hustings, the polls told a different story, and the foremost Liberal would have been left without a seat in Parliament, had not the Liberals of Greenwich, fearful of such a contingc , placed him in nomination and elected him by a triumphant majority. Other notable members of the party who were defeated at this el,ection were the Marquis of Ilartington and Mr. John Stuart Mill. But in spite of these notable single defeats, the Liberals had carried the day. More than half a million voters of the three kingdoms were the majority for the Opposition. Since 1832 no such party majority had been known. Under such circumstances, Mr. Disraeli did not think it nec- essary to wait until Parliament should assemble ; but at once tendered his resignation, and those of his colleagues, to the Queen. There was no question as to w^o was to be his successor; for although Earl Russell was still a noi inactive member of the House of Lords, ho had practicull}^ renounced the leadership of tho party. After him there was but one, the man who had been the most illustrious of his colleagues, who had occupied the most responsible post in t' Administration which had resigned to make way for Derby and Disraeli. For him the Queen sent • and William Ewart Gladstone now reached that highest emin- ence attainable by a British subject— that of First Minister of the Crown, or, as more familiarly designated, Prime Minister of Great Britain. CHAPTER X. THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. Prime Minister of England-DibeHtablishmeut of the Irish Church-Disraeli's Sarcasm— Eloquent Defense by John E.ight— Opposition Among the Peers— Irish Land System— Bill for the Kelief of Ireland-System of Education - English Tourists Seized by Greek Brigands— War Between France and Pru.ssia— Russia's Control of the Black Sea-Marriage of the Princess Louise Army Regulation Bill— Tory Abuse of Mr. Gladstone- Ballot Bill— Proposal to Admit Women to the Franchise- Much Opposi- tion to the Government- Able Speeches by tlie Premier. R. GLADSTONE was fifty -nine years old the sumo month that ho became Prime Minister of England for ihe first time. There were scarcely any evidences of ad- vancing years to bo seen in his face and he had all the fire of youth in hlG voice and manner. Ho was at the head of a power- ful party, which had come into ofiice with a strength that had not been equalled for nearly forty years. His Government was a strong one; what might he not hope to accomplish ? When it was known that the Librrals were in the majority, no one had the least doubt but that Mr. Gladstone would be Prime Minister ; and it was equally certain that certain men would be included in his Cabinet. But there was considerable surprise ex- cited by one appointment which he made. This was the nomin- ation of John Bright to bo President of the Board of Trade. It was thought that Mr. Bright would not consent to be hampered in the expression of his individual opinions, as a Cabinet Minis- ter must be when ho is not in full accord with his colleagues; Lord Palmerston had humorously complained, some years be- fore this time, that a Prime Minister was no longer able to do just as he liked ; men with consciences, ideas, abilities of tl ir own, were in office, and w.uld not consent to be the mere clerks of their chief. It was indeed with soFno reluctance that Mr. Bright accepted this post, and he was careful to cxj)]ain to his constitu- ents that they must Tiot think he had changed his opinions, if the measures of th" ilinistry were sometimes opposed to his 206 I Win. E. Gladstone at Age of Fifty-nine. 266 The First Gladstone Ministry. 267 known ideas, unless ho himselfshouldannouncesuch modification to them. It had been originally planned to make him Secretary for India, but the possibility of circumstances arising in which he would be obliged to direct military operations made it desirable to place him in some office where ho would not be called upon to do that which was in direct antagonism with his opinions as a member of the Society of Friends. If the Government was a strong ono, it had need of all its strength. The task before it was an exceedingly difficult one J and although the policy of the party had been approved by such a vast majority of the people, there were not wanting those who regarded the disestablishment of the Irish church as an act of sacrilege, and did not hesitate to sa^ so. At public meetings it was characterized as a wicked, ungodly and abominable measure, framed in a spirit of inveterate hostility to the Church, a great national sin, a dreadful thing, a perilous weakening of the foun- dations of property, which the Queen must, at all hazards, inter- fere to prevent, as she had better jeopardize her crown than de- stroy the Church. These were expressions used by bishops and other clergymen and by noblemen, who were presumably civil-spoken. The laity of lower rank, as was to be expected, were even more unmeas- ured in their denunciations. The statements of the Liberal press and the Liberal speakers were lies ; the members of the Govern- ment were traitors, robbers, political brigands ; if there were any form of abuse that was not used, it was because it was unknown to these zealous defenders of the Establishment. Mr. Gladstone, of course, paid not the slightest attention to these outcries of the defeated party. He gave notice that he should bring in his bill on the 1st of March. His speech occupied three hours in the delivery, but even Mr. Disraeli, who seems to have been in an unusually complimentary mood, admitted that there was not one sentence that the subject and the argument could have spared. The bill was a simple one, and seems to have been a justly framed measure. The Irish Church was to cease to exist as a State Establishment, and was to become a free Episcopal Church. The bishops would of course lose their seats in the House of Lords. A governing body, elected from the eloi^y and laity, would be recognized by the Government; the union between the English and Irish Churches was to b© dissolved, and the Irish 268 The First Gladstone Ministry. Ecclesiastical Courts were to be abolished. Then there were provisions for the disposal of the revenue in such a way as to prevent any injustice being done to those who had claims upon the Establishment. There would be a considerable surplus after all claims were satisfied, and it was proposed to use this toallev- uite unavoidable suffering in Ireland. There was some discussion with regard to this, as it was thought to be somewhat indefinite j Mr. Gladstone spoke of making provision for the blind, the deaf and dumb, for reformatories, schools for the training of nurses and the support of county infirn.aries. Of this disposition of the funds Mr. Bright was the ardent champion. Along with the Establishment, the Maynooth grant and the regium donum came to an end. We have in a previous chapter spoken of the former; the latter was a royal allowance for the maintenance of Presbyterian ministe/s in Ireland. It had begun under the Stuart., and been abolished under the same iHouse • but was restored by William III., who had reason to be grateful to Irish Presbyterians. Both were small things, but their abolition established the equality of religious denominations in Ireland. The bill was of course resisted, but it was not such a resistance as IS opposed when the Opposition has any hope of succeed- ing. Mr. Disraeli spoke, but his speech was characterized as " flimsiness relieved by spangles— the definition of a columbine's skirt." "He began in the philosophical vein," said the Times which had given this definition; ''and while we acknowledge that Mr. Disraeli's fun is exquisite, his philosophy is detestable '" He had no faith in the possibility of success, it was evident to his hearers J the speech was a perfunctory one, a mero matter of form ; and contrasted badly, sparkling and bewildering in its conceits and illustrations as it was, with that in which the Prime Minister had introduced the measure, which was said at the time to be " a Parliamentary achievement unequalled even by him- self." But if Mr. Disraeli took little interest in the contest in which he had only to expect defeat, it was not so with some of his adher- ents. Mr. Gathorne Hardy, in particular, who is said to have been so constituted that he could see but one side of a question at a time, saw what was most decidedly the Conservative side of this one, and did not hesitate to say so, in a speech so filled with the conviotion that this was an act of spoliati-.n and sacri- lege that it was almost up to the level of eloquence. 269 2TO The First Gladstone Ministry. Mr. Bright was one of the most eloquent defenders of the measure. Ho spoke in reply to Mr. Disraeli's speeeli. Alvud- ing to the statement that the Establishment was a protect- or of the freedom of religion and toleration, which had been advanced by the ex-Premier, bo said that Mr. Disraeli "seem- ed to read a different history from everyone else, or else he made his own, and, like Voltaire, made it better without facts than with them." He closed what was justly called a magnificent oration, with a noble and dignified appeal, which, coming from any other lips, would have seemed daring, but which from him exercised a powerful and impressive effect upon the House. Mr. Lowe, who had come out of theCaveof Adullam long ago, and was now Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an Utack up- on Mr. Disraeli, and proved to his own satisfaction, if not to that of the Conservative chief, that the Irish Church had neglected all its opportunities of conciliating the people. Mr. Gladstone reviewed ithe course of the debate. Mr. Hardy, he said, had, by his accusations of the Irish people, shown that he dare do what Burke would not attempt—-' draw an indict- ment against a whole people." But .ven in this picture of the Irish people, which was little, if any, short of libellous, there were evils displayed for which Mr. Hardy had no remedy. He then went on to consider the charge that this bill would necessi- tate a change in the Coronation Oath, and showed the ground- lessness of that argument. One after another, the pleas which had been advanced for the maintenance of a Church in which the people had no part, save to be taxed for its support, were taken up and pulled to pieces. Mr. Gladstone showed that these arguments were like Mr. Disraeli's speech in one respect only- there was flimsiness without the spangles. The division was then taken. There was intense excitement throughout the House, though the Government was secure in a majority suflSoient to carry the measure through. But the whips had been hard at work, and it was not known how this might be diminished. There were actually present in the House six hun- dred and twenty-two members, a number which has seldom been exceeded, or even equalled. Much to the surprise of both sides, the majority was nearly double those of the previous year upon the same qr- tion ; and the progress of public opinion was -.iear- The furthei progress of the bill was slow, but sure. It was The First Gladstone Ministry. 271 three months before the final reading came on, and it was at last adopted by the Commons. The ordeal of the House of Lords yet remained ; and for some time its fate was doubtful. Some of the debates in the House of Lords are said to have been more in- teresting than those in the Commons. The hereditary legislators dared not set themselves directly against a clear expression of public opinion, but, mindful of the condition on which they are said to hold their power, contented themselves with discussing amendments. There was at one time a rumor that the Poerswould reject orgreatly delay the bill, and Mr. Bright wrote an angry let- ter on the subject, addressed to a Birmingham meeting, in which he said that if the Lords persisted in throwing themselves athwart the national cou'rse they might meet with accidents not pleasant for them to thi k of. The Peers were many of them shocked and scandalized that a Cabinet Minister should give such plain and forcible expression to his opinions, and it was made the subject of some sharp discussion among them as well as in the Com- mons. But the very publicity and unexpectedness of the menace gave it a force which made it irresistible. If Cab- inet Ministers had been in the habit of expressing themselves ■30 openly when they held such opinions, there would have been nothing thought of it; but even Pal merston, when he de- clared that the Lords should not be allowed to resist the will of the people, as expressed by the vote of the Commons, had put it into the form of a jest. Mr. Bright, however, had a peculiar priv- ilege in England ; he could say just what he meant. Perhaps this unusual permission was accorded him because it was well under- stood that he would do as he pleased anyhow. But the attacks which had been made upon the bill and its au- thor outside, were renewed in the House of Lords. The Earl of Winchelsea compared Mr. Gladstone to Jack Cade, and after hinting at the coming of an Oliver Cromwell, declared that he would go to the block before he would surrender. Lord Grey said that the Lords were humiliated and degraded. The passage of the Act for the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, introduced and carried within a space of five months has been called the most remarkable legislative achievement of modern times. It vas carried mainly by the resolute will and unflinching energy of the man with whom it had originated, and who had become Prime Minister because of it. But the thing could not end here. One reform is never ac- The Election Campaign— Mr. Gladstone in the Assembly Hall at Edinburgh. 272 The First Gladstone Ministry. 273 complishod without making another more necessary. There is no possibility of strict conservatism in politics; there must he progress, or there is retrogression. Having settled the question of the Irish Church, the Gladstone Government found itself face to face with t»^ Irish Land Problem. It had ried the one; but oven the prestige of that victory would not avail the.n if they failed to do anything with the other. There had been some who said that the State Church was merely a sentimental r,rievancej lut as an eminent Irish writer of the present day observes, if the land system were a grievance at all, it must be acknowledged that it was a terribly practical one. The Irish Land System is one which has seldom been under- stood, simply because a bare and simple statement of the facts seems incredible. The upholders of it have instanced landlords who were all that could bo wished, just as the upholders of ■slavery in our own country brought forward hundreds of cases in which the slaves were better off before than after emancipa- tion; It would of course be impossible to find any state of affairs however crying the evil, where there were not good men whoso conduct ameliorated the evil as fur as their influence extended- and there have been Irish landlords who have had consideration for their tenants, just as there were humane slaveholders. But a system which put such power 'nto the hands of any body of men, some of whom were certain to misuse it, was at best a faulty one. The Irish tenant held his land at the will of his landlord. If he cultivated the land so as to raise a greater crop than it had before produced, he showed that it was of more value than the owner had supposed it was, and his rent was raised. If he put any improvements upon the place, he added to its value and his rent was raised. If the little farm seemed a desirable'holding to any one else, and an offer were made to the landlord or agent in accordance with this opinion, the unfortunate tenant had reason to congratulate himself that his rent was simply raised, and that he and his family were not turned adrift to shift for themselves. The demand was so great that men would offer any price for land— a price which they must have known they could not get out of it. True, there was but a slip-shod system of farming in vogue among them, but what more could be expected? There was literally no room for improvement, until a better law should widen the limits of their exertions. i8 274 The First Gladstone Ministry. II It was not 8o in all parts of Ireland. Thcro was on3 province in which the stronger law of custom had ovorcon>e che weaker written rule. The principle of "tenant-right" prevail in Ulster — tenant-right, which Lord Palmcrston, with more wit than hu- manity or justice, had defined as " landlord-wrong." A man was oUowed to remain in possession us long as ha paid hi? rontj ho was entitled, on giving up his holding, to compensation for un- exhausted improvements ; and ho was at liberty to sell what may be called the good-will of his farm for what it would bring in the market. Wherever this tenant-right principle prevailed, there was industry and prosperity ; where it was unknown, there were idleness and poverty, with discontent and crime as their natural consequences. Hu i'T far the fact that this right had been asserted in Ulster and not in the other provinces was due to the character of the people, and how far the maintenance of it was duo to the diiferent estimation in whi'ih the inhabit;-.its of the North and of the South were held in England, is o question which each must de- termine for himself. It is difficult '•'» state one's opinion exactly without either unjustly accusing the English people of a re- ligious intolerance, which made an^- act of oppression seem justi- fiable, or, on the other hand, exonerating them from a charge which is not in all respects undeserved. Such was the state of aflPairs when, on the 15th of February, 1870, Mr. Gladstone introduced his Irish Land BUI into the House of Commons. It was thought inefficient and unsatis- factory by some of the Irish members, and was for that reason opposed by them. The mosL that it did was to establish as the law for the whole island what custom had already made law in Ulster. Landlords, under certain conditions, we allowed to contract for themselves out of the provisions of tho bill ; and hence it arose that these opposing members a]ip''ared to be justified in their course by the fact that eventually there were more evictions, immediately after the passage of tho bill, than there had been before. If the bill were regarded as a half-measure by the ^rish, it was not so esteemed by the landlords, who declared It to be revolu- tionary. It put an end to the landlord's absolute power, and recognized that the Government could interfere with the right of the land-owner, to limit it for the good of the community, just as it can interfere for the same purpose with the rights of others. The First Gladstone Ministry, 275 The bill was not put forward by the Government as a i^orfoct measure. The}' had worked hard at it, Mr. Gladstone told the House, and it was the best that they could do; but thoy invited, in perfect good faith, the co-operation of all parties and all mem- bers in its improvement. Thoy desired that the moaaure should bo a great boon to Ireland, and put an end to the grievances and sufferings which her people had so long endured. They had not knowingly proceeded in any spirit of partisanship; and as thoy had aftorded the occupier improved security of tenure, so they afforded the landlord a better security for his rent and for the better cultivation of his land. With regard to the Irish laborer, the only thing which thoy could hope to do for him— and it was a great thing—was to increase the demand for his labor; this wouM bo done by stimulatiug the agr-oultural interests of the country; a course which, by making more demand for labor, would raise the price o" it. The landlord might suffer some at first; but he would not ultimately be the loser. Ho believed that there was a store of uudevelopod wealth in the Irish soil which cou!d only be developed by che joint action of landlord and tenant. He hoped that this bill would be accepted by both classes, because it was just. He said that the Govcnment hoped by this measure to effect a great change in Ire!i»nd, but to effect it by gentle means. Every line had been carefully studied, so that it should import as little as possible of violent shock or al- teration into the existent condition of things ; it was desired that the operation of the bill should be like that cf nature, when she restores upon a desolated land what has been laid waste by the hand of man. This they know could not be done in a day. The evils had grown up through a long period of time, and could not be suddenly corrected ".ithout injuring many innocent persons. That the bill might pass, it was necessary to view it, not as the triumph of one class over another, or of party over party, but as a common work of common lore and good-will to the common good of the common country. The only enduring ties by which Ireland might be united to England and Scotland were freewill and free affection. The Opposition of course spoke against it with more or less effect— generally less. Sir Eoundell Palmer, while he described the bill as large and important, called it a bumiliaiing neces- sity ; ^xr. ri.srnen sasd fhat " a more complicated, a more clum- sy, or more heterogeneous measure was never yet brought before The Fird (Uudstone Ministry. the attention of Parliament." The sehomo of course included some means of enforcing the changes which were made, and Mr. Disraeli described at length, and with some effect upon the risi- bilities of the Hous^, the difficulties which would beset the courts thus established. v Sir Roundell Palmer {afterward Lord Selborne). In closing the debate, Mr. Gladstone had few arguments to re- ply to; the speeches of his opponents had been mainly invec- tive. One portion of this speech well deserves place in our re- cord, as an expression of the Government's duly: " It is our desire to be just, but to be just we must be just to all. The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the oppression of n minority is only hy one degree lens detestable and odious. The face of Justice is like that of the god Janus. It The First Glailstone Ministry. 211 is like the face of those lions, the work of Landseer, which keep watch and ward around the record of our country's greatness. She presents the tranquil and majestic countenance towards every point of the compass and every quarter of the globe. That rare, that noble, that imperial virtue has this above all other qualities, that she is no respecter of persons, and she will not take advantage of an unfavorable moment to oppress the wealthy for the sake of flattering the poor, any more than she will con- descend to oppress the poor for the sake of pampering the luxur- ies of the rich." The Opposition had not intended to divide, but a division was forced upon them, with an extraordinary result. Mr. Disraeli and many of his influential supporters went into the lobby with Mr. Gladstone, so that the whole number of votes for the Gov- ernment the first reading was four hundred and forty-two. The teller o.i the other side had an unusually easy time of it, for he h;ui but eleven men to reckon over. When the bill went into committee, there was more serious op- position. There were no fewer than three hundred amendments moved ; one of which, proposed by Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Gladstone declared was an effort to overthrow one of the cardinal principles of the bill. Upon a division on this question the Government had a majority of seventy-six. The further discussions in the House of Commons, prolonged as they were, did not aifeci the fortunes of the bill, which went up to the Lords at the end of May. It passed the Upper House without important alt-^ration, and received the royal as- sent on the 1st of August. Mr. Gladstoiio had said some t'me before this that the Irish Upas-tree had three Brandies— the Established Church, the Land System, ar.d the System of Education ; and that he meant to hew them al. down if he could. The figure met with not a little ridicule at the time it was used, but it expressed a resolute purpose, which was now two-thirds accomplished. Perhaps, in view of the principle before enunciated, that one reform is' al- ways followed by another, it would bo nearer the truth to say that his purpose was almost accomplished; for certainly the dis- establishment of the Irish Church, and the change which had boon effected in the tenure of land, had gone a long way toward preparing men's minds for the fall of the third branch of that deadly tree. 278 The First Gladstone Ministri The second important measure which had passed the House during this session related to elementary ediuation in England and Wales, which was in a very unsatisfactory condition. The Government bill which was introduced by Mr. Forster, was based upon the principle of direct compulsory attendance. The Government and the Opposition agreed so cordially about this measure that the ire of some of the Liberals was aroused, and the Ministry were charged with having thrown the Non-confor- mists overboard, in order to secure the support of the Conserva- tives. The Premier had led one section of the Liberal party through the Valley of Humiliation, complained Mr. Miall, speak- ing on behalf of the Non-conformists, and they would not again be betrayed by him. " Once bit, twice shy," he concluded, " and we can't stand this sort of thing much longer." This speech stung the Premier to an unusually sharp retort. If they thought it better to withdraw for the sake of the cause which they had at heart, let them withdraw from the support of the Government. The Government did not want their support any longer than it was consistent with their own sense of duty and right. But when the Government thought that Mr. Miall and his companions had the interests of the communities which they represented too mach at heurt, to the detriment of the gen- eral interests, the Ministry which was willing to co-operate with them for the common good of all, could no longer aid them; they must then recollect that they were the Government of the Queen, and propose to themseVes no meaner nor narrower object than the welfare of the Empire at large. The measure eventually passed both houses, and became law, in spite of the protests of Messrs. Miall & Co. A profound sensation was created in England by an outrage which was perpetrated in Greece during the spring of this year. A party of English tourist" W".s seized by Greek brigands, and held for an enormous ransom .u money coupled with a demand for certain immunities. An effort to rescue them resulted in the murder of the prisoners. The matter being formally brought to the attention of Parliament, the Government interfered with such effect as to secure the execution of muny brigands, and al- most complete extirpation of the band immediately implicated. It was thought at the time that this would lead to a complete in- vestigation o-f the condition of Greece, but the stirring events elsewhere during the latter portion of the year caused it to bo The First Gladstone Ilinistry, 279 came law. iorgotten by all except those families to whom it was a matter of sad interest, and who were obliged to content themselves with many sincere expressions of public sympathy, _ During the latter days of the session of 1870, there arose the dispute concerning ihe succession to the Spanish crovrn which ended in the Franco Prussian War. Isabella II. had abdicated Emperor Napoleon III. in favor of her eldest son, Alphonso, Prince of the Asturias; who was for some time a resident of England and a student at Wool- wich ; his nominal accession not bringing the cares of state witli it for some years afterward. But the Powers wore speedily busying iliemselves to find a successor to Isabella, whose forceii abdication was due to circumstances which naturally drove the whole family from Spain, for the time at least. Prince Leopold 280 Th^ Pint Gladstone Ministry. m sfan^nl'^'fllr? ^"^ "^'"''^ated. but the candidacy of a Prus Emperor persisted i„ making ,,1ema„d„ which the SVprl, sia was unable to ffrant IVannlpr^n ttt . ^ -rrus- disgrace which had a^t^nhp.! ? . T' '™^'*'°S under the and hadresultd in^t^h^^^^^^^^ r"' ""T '^''''''''' of Maximilian, FmnpZ. K u J . deposition and execution of the Mexican warlike hulr .t !?,« f ^jie English seem to have been in a waniKe Jiumor at this time, and determined to fight some onp if did not much matter who it mitrht bp- hnf f 7 f^^om, it the oMs..^^t T-:cz 1 tarr„7 S" 281 282 The First Gladstone Ministry. prisoners. The Fenians had actually oflFended against the laws, not only of the British Empire, but against those broader prin- ciples which are at the bottom of every legal system. They were in actual and open rebellion against constituted authority. As long, therefore, as that authority could uphold its jlf, just so long their rebellion was not revolution ; and they rauGi be punished as traitors. Whatever be our personal feelings with regard to the efforts which have been made, from time to time, for the libera- tion of Ireland, we must acknowledge that any government must punish rebels against its authority or consent to forego its right to govern. But with a generosity to the fallen, and with a wise recollection that persecution only strengthens a cause, Mr. Glad- stone declined to prosecute the prisoners who were accused of treason. They would be releab^d on condition of their not re- maining in the United Kingdom, or returning to it. This course, he said in his letter to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, he believed was <* perfectly compatible with the paramount interests of rub- lie safety, and, being so, wiU tend to strengthen the cause of peace and loyalty in Ireland." During the recess, the Government had to deal with the vexed question of Eussia's control of the Black Sea. The Czar had de- clined to recognize its neutrality any longer, and it was necessary for the Powers to take some action for the protection of Turkey and their own interests. A conference was held in London to discuss the question; and the assembled diplomats wisely con- cluded that as the Euxine was only a Enssian lake anyhow, do what they would, tho Powers might as well let that member of their body huve control of it. There were certain concessions demanded for the Porte, and these, being chiefly matters of form, were granted ; the Porte was permitted to open the Dar- denelles and the Bosphorus for the passage of vessels of war of friendly and allied powers, in case it should be necessary for the maintenance of the treaty which closed the Crimean Warj but the power of Eussia was too great to be easily limited. At the opening of the session of 1871, Mr. Disraeli severely criticised the foreign policy of the Government. The naval force particularly was the subject of his amusing sarcasm; and he en- tertained the House with an account of the "attenuated arma- ment" which made impossible au armed neutrality. Mr. Glad- stone retorted that what he now called an attenuated armament he had characterized as a bloated armament ten years before ; The First Gladstone Ministry. 283 and showed conclusively that England was not to blame for not having secured the strict neutrality of the Black Sea, since all the Powers besides were opposed to the continuance of a state of affairs whichallthestatesmen of theday, including Lord Clarendon and Lord Palmerston, had believed would be only temporary. The foreign policy continued to be the subject of discussion for some time, though the Leader of the Opposition would not bring the thing to a head by moving an amendment to the Ad- dress, or by any course which would cause a division to betaken. Mr. Herbert, however, soon brought forward a motion affirming that the House thought it the duty of the Government to inter- fere, together with other neutral Powers, to secure terms of peace as favorable as possible for the vanquished in the war which had cost Napoleon IIL his throne. Mr. Gladstone answer- ed that the attitude of the Government had not been one of self- ish isolation, as the speaker had stigmatized it ; that concerted ac- tion with Kussia was impossible ; that an extorted peace was what England had to fear; that the greater the magnanimity shown by the victor, the better it would be for all the neutral Powers, as well as for Germany herself; that neither of the belligerents desired the intervention of others; that England had no cause to be discontented with the position which she occupied in Eu- rope, but that the action of neutrals, to be effective, must be con- certed. Mr. Herbert finally expressed himself satisfied with the position of England, as stated by Mr. Gladstone, and withdrew his motion. The marriage of the Princess Louise occurred in March of this year, and Parliament was of course asked to make some provision for her. The proposed grant aroused the opposition of some members, who aflirmcd that they represented the inter- ets and sentiments ot a considerable number of the people. The position of the ministry was warmly supported by its head, who defended the moderate nature of the grant asked for, and showed with what economy the royal expenditure was managed. He also dwelt upon the value of a stable dynasty, and the un- wisdom of making calculations of a minute nature upon such oc- casions. "Whether the opposing members were converted to this view of tha mmsiinn ot* fiimnl''' oVv°"r'+"'' ■^'^ .o-u- -. - • came to a vote, does not appear ; but when the resolution for the marriage portion came to be reported, there was but one dissent- ing voice in a House of three hundred and fifty-one members. statue of Mr. Gladstone in St. George's Hall, Liverpool. 9fi± 284 The First Gladstone Ministry. 285 ^ Tho condition of affairs in Ireland again commanded the atten- tion of the Government. Tho special difficulty at this time was the spread of an agrarian conspiracy in Westmeath and the ad- joining counties. A motion was made for a .ommittce to inquire into the existing state of affairs there, Lord Ilartington, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland, admitting that it was with feel- ings of painful dismay that ho did so. The lawless condition of things in that particular section, however, was no criterion of the general condition of the country. Crime had subsided, and the constabulary reports evidenced a marked improvement. In West- meath, and the adjoining parts of Mcath and King's County, how- ever, tho state of things had become intolerable, and the appoint- ment of a committee was desired by the Government, so that when further powers were asked for, it would be certain that such ad- ditional authority was necessary for the maintenance of the peace. The policy of the Government was bitterly condemned by Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Hardy, who seems to have been at this time tho right-hand man of tho Tory leader. Tho Chief of tho Opposition said that Mr. Gladstone was regarded by his i.arty as having possession of tho philosopher's stone, so far as Irish ^ affairs were concerned ; that he had como into power with an im- mense majority, for the express purpose of securing the tran- quility and content of Jiat country; that neither time, labor nor devotion had been begrudged him ; that under his influence' and at his instance, Parliament had legalized confiscation, conse- crated sacrilege, and co..aonod high treason j destroyed church- es, shaken property to its foundations, and emptied jails; and now ho Dould not govern Ireland, without coming to Parliament for a committee. After all his heroic exploits, and at tho head of his great majority, ho was making Government ridiculous. Mr. Hardy's denunciations were hardly less unmeasured. Mur- der was stalking abroad, he said; the Government was becoming contemptible; with much more to tho same effect. Mr. Glad- stone, who has always appeared to be as nearly insensible to per- sonal attacks as it is possible for a man to be, and to content him- self with defending tho policy a-'-ocated by him, replied to these intemperate speeches with his accustomed coolness. Mr Hardy's heated language was rebuked; but that was the duty of the Head of the Government which had been so insulfngly characterized; and he announced that the Government could not, consistently with its sense of duty, withdraw the motion ^ 286 The First Gladstone Ministry. for a committeo. Mr. Disraeli's expressions seem to us sevoro • but Mr. Gludstono was happy to learn that tl.o right honorablJ gentleman had got down to expressions so moderate and judicial •as " legalized confiscation and consecrated sacrilege," after the language which ho had used in opposing the disestablishment of the Irish Church. Mr. Disraeli had admitted that in 18o2 he had not adopted the means which he believed most suitable for the •. protection of life and proj)crty in the three counties of Ireland because the Government was weak. Mr. Gladstone made most oifectivo use of this admission; and concluded by .raying that the Government, acting upon its immediate elementary obligations, to secure personal peace and freedom in the transactions of life' felt assured of the endorsement of the House. ' In a humorous speech by a member of the Opposition, the Cabinet was doscWbed as consisting chiefly of " Whig Marion- ettes;" the same speaker alluded to the changes which had been made in that organization as similar to a shuffling which left them in tho same positions ns at first. Over the door was plainly written tho legend, «' No Irish need apply." The Solicitor-Gen- eral replied to these strictures in a speech which was an argu- ment ad hominem; saying that if tho last speaker were given an ui'Hc^ he would speedily become a supporter of the Government • and that his boast that he was a member for an Irish constituen- cy, and his self-gratulations on that honor, would last till the next general election. This rejoinder seems to have silenced the Opposition, whoso chief strength lay in personal attacks; and tho committee was appointed. After events fully justified the course of the Government in this respect. An Army Regulation Bill was introduced by Mr. Cardwell, the Minister for AYar. This was the topic which excited the most in- terest of the session. His scheme for tho reconstruction of the army included several changes of importance. Tho various branches of the service, regular troops, militia, volunteers, and reserve, were to be combined und'^r one system of discipline. But the point which excited tho most opposition was the pro- vision that tho purchase systc.-i siiould be abolished. This was a great abuse, which, like other abuses, had grown up so gradual- ly that it has come to bo looked upon by many as a necessary con- dition of the existence of tho army. An officer bought his first commission, he bought his promotions, step by step. Mr. Card- woU's bill proposed to do away with this, and substitute pro- The First Gladstone Ministry. 287 motion by merit nnd soniorify. ('ommissionB wore looked upon as vested interests, us jjorsonul property, for the holders of them had bought thoni, and expected to sell them on promotion or re- tirement. The abolition of the purchase systom had boon advocated by generations of roformo -s, but withoutsuccess. Because tho army, when tiiis was tho rule, contrived to get along and do its duty in some sort of fashion, there wore not wanting inose who stoutly maintained that it was necessary ; that if it wore abolished, the army would waste away, and the military glory of Britain be forever at an end. For many years past there had boon a motion for its abolition made an- nually by Sir DoLacy Evans; but his unweari- ed persistence came to be tho laughing stock of many. Mr. Trcvolyan had supported it, and Lord Stanley, whose cool good sense saw the advantages of tho reform, hjid boon its friend. But there were none of these who had both tl.o will and tho power to press tho sub- ject upon Parliament in sucli a way that there was no getting rid of it. Mr. Gladstone, on his accession to power, had resolved to in- clude it in tho list of reforms to bo attempted by his Govern- ment. Of course it was bitterly opposed. It was essentially a Liberal measure, in the sense that tho Liberal party is the repre- sentative of tho people as opposed to the aristocracy, of which the Conservative or Tory party is the natural exponent. As such the reform was acrimoniously opposed by the Conservatives, who were convinced that the aristocratic system was the only one under which tho English army could prosper; that promotion by merit was too French or too American, or at any rate too un-En- glish. They therefore proposed all manner of amendments, and offered all kinds of obstructions. The same arg-arncnts were re- peated again and again, almost in the same words. Bes; ^x a the Rt. Hon. Edwc , Cardwell, 288 The First Ghuhtone Ministry. ! \ other ohjoctionnblo fcivtures, it was fur from being jin economical measure, as the Government would bo obliged to expend a largo sum of money to rc-purehase commissions lield ui the time that tho system shouhi bo abolished. The Liberal Gove/nmont had frequently been censured by the Opposition for its pinchingpar- simony, but here ; s an instance of unnecessary extravaganco; and tho Consorvnl'ro orators m.ide vho most of it. Meanwhile, tho ses.sion was wearing along; iT the matter were not speedily settled, it would Ho overuntil tho next session, when it would have to be tnlcon up again wi-th all tho disadvantr^o which at- taches to a bill abandoned in ono session and brought up again by the same ^Finistry in the next. The Governinont accordingly resolved to abandon the greater part of its complicated scheme for tho reorganization, of the army. Tho part of tho bill which was nearest the heart of tiie l^reniior, was that which related to the purchase system ; and this was almost all that was retained. Sh( vn of its fair proportions it passed the second reading, though not by a very large majority. Meanwhile tlie Lords had been looking on with ahirin. If this reform were demanded by tho Commons, they could not long resist it j but something must be done to express ti.eir sense of tho national danger. Tho bill iiad not yet come before them for action U, is true ; but for that they could not wait. At a sort of caucus of Conservative Peers, it was rr solved that tho Government should be asked for further infornrition before tho Lords considered the bill. It was worded cunningly; they did not object to the bill; inion that if the ballot were established, he did not see why the frai^- chise could not be extended to women. The First Gladstone Ministry. 203 Ipn^I'.f '^K^^', '''"'' Non-conformist who had tl .catened to was Vt HK ^7 ^r''^' \"^ ^^' ^"^ ^^^" ^"^^ ^y ^'' h«-^ that ho was at hberty to do so, brought forward a bill for the disestab- hshmont of the Church of England. This was opposed by both Disraeli and Gladstone. The former announced his belief that Mr. Edtuard MiuU. the great majority, both in the House and in the country we-e in favor of the Church ; and he opposed the motion more for the sake of the State than of the Church. The Premier said that the Government was emj.huticaily opposed to the motion, and showed clearly the distinction botwo.n the Irish Church, which had been a foreign church, enirvaftod bv conqueror^ upon the people, avd the English 'Church, which was essentially a nation- al institution, and had grown up with the nation. Space does 294 The First Gladstone Ministry. not permit us to quote his eloquent words defending the Church from this assailant; he claimed it was the mere effort of a dis- contented sect to do away with what was firmly established n the hearts of the people. , There had been considerable trouble with the United States, which at one time appeared to be growing beyond the bounds of peace. Tht tJnitcd States Government had always resented the part which England took in the War between the States, claiming that neutrality was not preserved. We have already spoken of ihe manner in which the Alabama was built and sent out to sea, notwithstanding the protests of the United States representative. The British Government was held to be re- sponsible for depredations which it had not tried to prevent. There were other subjects of dispute which had arisen, and each tended to make the others harder to settle peaceably. The threatened rupture was averted by a treaty concluded at Washing- ton in May of this year, by which it was agreed to referthe dispu- ted claims to two boards of arbitration, established by the treaty. The Government was fated to sustain some severe defeats on several different questions. One of these was on the match tax. The abolition of purchase in the army made the estimated ex- penditure much larger than it had been in time of peace, and it was proposed in the budget of this year to meet the additional expense by means o2 a tax upon matches. There was a general outcry against this impost, which threatened, indeed, the whole trade. Mr. Lowe, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer, finally found himself compelled to abandon this scheme, and to substi- tute an increase in the income tax for it. Several bills on finan- cial subjects were abandoned by the Government when their failure became apparent. A motion which proposed to secure the uninclosed portions of Epping Forest as an open space for the enjoyment of the people of the metropolis, was opposed by the Government, Mr. Glad- stone stating that the Government had secured one thousand acres of the inclosure as a pleasure ground for the public; but the motion was carried by a considerable majority. The loss of the Captain and the Magoiva caused the Admiralty to be gravely censured, but the conduct of the Board was elab- orately defended. This was the last action of interest on the part of the Government or the Opposition, and the session came to an end early in August. The First Gladstone Ministry. 296 During the recess, Mr, Gladstone was again called upon to disavow membership of the Church of Eome. While he was for a longtime, perhaps, the most popular of all Englishmen, he was well hated by a small portion of his countrymen, who nev- er lost an opportunity of villifying him. The reader will find an instance of one of these haters by reading Jenkin's work on the subject of the great statesman's life; if that r .thor's state- ments and sentiments are not hero quoted, it is because they have not the value which criticisms uttered at the time of any particular action must have, and do not seem to be in other re- spects worthy of the space which they would require. The question as to whether he was a member of the Catholic Church was put to him in a letter by Mr. Whalley, on behalf of his constituents of Peterborough. Mr. Gladstone, in reply, pointed out the insult which was contained in this question) since it presupposed that he had systematically concealed his re- ligion, professing to belong to another church. He concluded • " If I have said this much upon the present subject, it has been out of personal respect to you. For I am entirely convinced that while the question you have put to me is in truth an insult- ing one, you have put it only from having failed to notice its true character, since I have observed during my experience of many years that, even when you undertake the most startling duties, you perform them in the gentlest and most considerate manner." The last sentence irresistibly recalls one of Dis-ael's happiest epigrammatic speeches or letters. The member for Pe- terborough was generally and severely condemned for permit- ting himself to be made the mouthpiece of such an uncalled for inquisition into Mr. Gladstone's religious opinions. A speech of Mr. Gladstone's made during this'recess has a peculiar interest, in connection with the attitude which he after- wards took upon a similar question ; and his course upon this subject shows that capacity for growth which is manifested by few statesmen, unless they be of the highest rank. In receiving the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen, he alluded to the cry of the Irish for Home Eule. He said that he did not quite know what was meant by Home Rule ; but he was glad to know em- phatically that it did not mean a dismemberment of the Em- pire ; and he hoped that all who beard him felt the same, and intended that the United Kingdom should remain united. The Irish people were more or less liable to become from time to Ill 29C The First Gladstone Ministry. time the victims of this or that political delusion j but there was nothing that Ireland had asked which this Parliament had re- fused. There were no inequalities between England and Ire- land, he maintained, except such as wore in favor of the latter. But if the doctrines of Home Eule were to be admitted with re- spect to Ireland, ho did not see why they should not bo admit- ted with respect to Scotland and Wales, the latter especially as the people generally spoke the national tongue. Ireland might be conciliated, but Parliament had a higher duty to bo perform- ed than was included in conciliation ; it had to do its duty, and if this were done, and it set itself right with tho national con- science, with the opinion of tho world, and with the principles of justice, its position would bo invulnerable, whether Ireland were conciliated or not. To this speech even tho most inveter- ate Home Euler can give assent, affirming that when this is done Ireland will bo satisfied j that the opinion of tho world, and the principles of justice require all that Ireland demands; and that if the national conscience fell short, so much the worse for tho regulators of it. Mr. Gladstone defended the course of the Government in sev- eral other speeches during tho recess; but the very fact that it required defense was in itself significant. The popularity of the J'inistry was declining; many of the soberer Whigs were alarm- ed at tho reforms which had been carried through. Tho more conservative members of tho party were out of breath with the rapidity with which they had been hurried along from the abo- lition of one abuse to another; and they had begun to think that the Premier was a dangerously brilliant statesman. It was this feeling which induced a considerable number of his own constituents of Greenwich to draw up a petition requesting him to resign his seat for that borough. A meeting was called at the Lecture Hall in support of this requisition ; but the Liberals re- pudiated all connection with tho movement, and after a scene of considerable violence, the tables were turned upon the dis- satisfied Whigs, and a vote of confidence was passed, which was received with a volley of cheers for the distinguished representa- tive. Perhaps the reason of this decrease in popularity was due to tho elements of which the Cabinev; was c 'mposed. Mr. Lowe a.jQ Mr. Ayrton particularly, were hard to deal with ; for al- though they wore both men of unquestioned ability, they were Tke First Gladstone Ministry. 297 not skillfulin reading the popular pulse. However able were the measures which they advocated, they were almost sure to be such as could not by any possibility be carried. To make him responsible for the actions of such subordinates was to im- pose upon the First Minister of the Crown a burden such as no man could bear for many months. During October of this year Mr. Gladstone made his famous speech on Blackheath, to an audience of some twenty thousand persons. This address, which was in the main a review of the history of the last Parliamentary session, occupied two hours in its delivery. Mr. Gladstone was introduced to the vast assem- bly by Mr. Aigerstein, but such was the confusion that not one word of the introduction could be heard ten feet away. There was loud cheering when Mr. Gladstone stood forth; but in the intervals there was heard a steady, persistent hissing. As he seemed about to speak, an intense silence fell upon the vast crowd J but the first word that he uttered was a signal for a fear- ful din. From all around the skirts of the crowd arose some- thing between a groan and a howl; while, as if to drown this, the Liberals present again began to cheer. Still in the intervals between the cheering was card the hissing. At last there came to them something of a sense of shame, at not allowing this man to be heard in his own defense. While the battle had raged so fiercely between the two conflicting sounds, Mr. Gladstone had stood looking straight at the excited crowd — calm, resolute, patient. Perhaps it was this bearing which gained him a hearing at last. At any rate the confusion sabsided, and after that he may be said to have had it all his own way. Of course, there were instances when he was interrupted by their cries, but they wore comparatively few. When at length the speech was over, and the question was put, it being substantially whether Mr. Gladstone had cleared away from the minds of his constit- uents the fog of prejudice and ill-feeling that unquestionably encircled him and his Ministry, the afiirmativo reply was given in bursts of tumultuous cheering, as earnest as ever greeted and satisfied any political leader. lie had thrown himself upon the sympathies of the great mass of the people, and their verdict had not disappointed him. This unpopularity of the Ministry did not mean that they had deserved the censure of the people. The Liberal Government had come into existence because the people demanded that cer- Mr. Gladstone Beading the Lessons at Hawarden Church. 298 The First Gladstone Ministry. 299 tain abuses should bo reformed, and the Conservatives were unwilling to carry through the measures which would accom- plish this. The Liberals had made the reforms which were demanded; but they w^.o now as far ahead of public opinion as the Conservatives had bjen behind it. ]So' was this all; many changes necessarily weaken every Governnent; for there arc none so nr: -^ssary to the groat body of the people but what they V • distasteful to individuals, and will be opposed by them. The Gladstone Ministry had offended many; some by this re- form, some by that; their day was beginning to draw to a close; high noon was long past. 1—19 CHAPTER XI. THE FIRST GLADSTONE MINISTRY. (Cux-nxvED.) Dangerous ll!;,c, „f iiie PI , ,,, UM>,.„e, W,„.„ J "r ° " "»-Tr™bte „„ ,|,e Liquor Q„e„i„n_ Again ■n.roduL-™" ;Ltu:nH";r f .T''"'<'«-B.Ho. Bill .Mini,,rv-Di,,r,,c.|i'.M'S ° , ■^'«"-,'™l'»"«« Cl,„nge. in ,l,e 01».ta„„e™L r; r™ r^^^^^ "f '? "■7l'iP-E".lowed School. - paring for N.„ C,l" !« A • ''T'"''"': "' ">» Lil^ral Parly-P,^- , i-jj-p l-efc,»la(ion-Active interest in Public AHiiir, ^ P^urrr'th?, "rr T'"' " Thanksgiving Service i„ S,. T from tint :^ ; • '?'°, "r""-^ "" ""^ I"'--- "f ^Valos whatdtw VLTub,"' at.'''",'""- r '■'''' ■•°^-"' P-'o^'-"- -"'"• 'lament, for .a. „,c and " r '^b " "'"' "■''"'"''•''"fe- "f Par- nosp oially r„p„,„,. state Jan at thi tile tI.A ."T ""' Gladstone?, m^ty mIVZ^TJT ^'^ "'■'!"— "t of a "spiteful problem^ ,„,«;,r? '?" """"*"!, it was Gove'ntnenrtho nlir™ T dT : :"t''™;; th" '° """' °" "'" mediate .esnlt. The great qnes itn 'o CanToT "" ment, even ,vith the cordial Lolp of il., ,„ JV ot™ '"" iosineere friends, .anage .0 ree^eive the' "t:"' „:';rth:r r^ul^ 300 The First Gladstone Ministry. 801 f Question— -Ballot Bill 1 — Justice to nges in tlie bers of I'ar- ;d Schools - Party— Pre- ice in St. of Wales ir xtened 3SS n'onie- s of Par- " tho heir liero was it alvvaya that po- inatural- cumstan- ussplen- ' predict of 1872, f^ which nent of I, it was t on the nof im- xovcrn- ies and 3umula- iOO ted dislikes of so many different sections, and yot survive tho session ?" At tlio very beginning of the session, tho struggle began. In his speech upon tho Address to tho Throne, Mr. Disraeli re- marked upon tho frequent expositions of the Government's pol- icy which had been made during tho recess. *< Wo really have had no time to forgot anything," ho complained; "HorMaj'^ /a Ministers may have been said during tho last six lonths to have lived in a blazo of apology." He again brought up iho question of tho Admiralty's responsibility for the loss of two vessels; ho found fault with tho Treaty of Washington . rnd demanded to bo in- formed if tho Americans agreed to the iiiterpretatlon which the English Government had putupon it; ho referred sarcastically to tho third branch of tho Upas Tree of T^'oland ; and condemned tho Government for preferring the Ballot Act to the Mines Regv- latio.i Act and important sanitary legislation. Mr. Gladstone's answer was of course a justification of the Government. Tho concessions that had been made by England in tho treaty of Washington were justifiable, and tho Americans had by their silence accepted tho interpretation which the En- glish Government put upon cena'n clauses, which allowed room for difference of opinion. The 'reaty was not ambiguous in any of its parts ; and there was a friendly feeling between the two countries. The Leader of tho Opposition was assured that ho was mistaken in rv,gard to his assnwiption about Irish education, which would be taken up by Parliament at the earliest possible moment; and ho was assured likewise that the Government would fiiinish every assistance in the investigation of the charges agains+ +he Admiralty. Two appointments made under the authority of Mr. Gladstone gave rise to much debate, and finally showed how great was the loss of strength which tho Government had suffered since com- ing into power. It was desired to place Sir Robert Collier, the Attorney General, on the bonca of a new Court of Appeal, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. But for this position none were eligible except those who had been judge of one of the ordinary courts. To qualify him in this particular, ho was appointed to a Puisne Judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas. There was no question as to his real fitness fur the position; it was admitted that ho had helped the Government out of a diffi- culty by taking an appointment which several judges had de- 302 2! The First Gladstone Ministry. ch- i, and which had not quite such a position as that which the traditions of his office entitled him to expect. But it seemed to many as if it were something of a trick, this fct which passed h.m through one court in order to give him a technical qualifica- tion for another. The Premier was accused of casuistry, of Jesu- itism ; and the whispers that he was at heart a Catholic were re- newed at this evidence of his following in the footsteps of the famous order. So strong was the feeling that a vote of censure was moved in both Houces; the Lords rejected it by eighty-nine to eighty-seven, which was doing fairly well for the Conserva- tive Chamber J but when it came before the House of Commons upon a similar proposition, the Government's majority was found to have dwindled to twenty-seven. Another appointment was of a somewhat similar character. A clergyman was to be appointed to a living which must be filled by a member of the Convocation of Oxford; the Eev.W. W.Har- vey, a graduate of Cambridge, was made a member of thisbody by the University of Oxford, and was then presented to the Rec- tory of Ewelme. As in the former case, there was no question of fitness; the technical quaLacation had been provided, in or- der that a man possessing all other qu fications might' be ap- pointed ; but Mr. Gladstone was critici d as severely as if ho had given the places to men for whom he had provided the only qualifications they possessed. The Government had got i .to trouble on the liquor question. The United Kingdom Alliance for the suppression of the Liquor Traffic was represented in Parliament by Sir Wilfred Lawson who advocated the doctrine of Prohibition in spoeches which never failed to amuse and finally interest his listeners. At the instance of the Alliance, an effort was made to regulate the trade in liquors ; but the measure which was proposed by the Govern- ment pleased neither side; the Prohibitionists looked disdain- fully upon it as a half-measure, and the liquor-dealers of all classes saw in it only n renewal of that hostility to them and their trade which Mr. Gladstone had already shown, when he advocated that innovation upon the traditional ways of England by which light wines were allowed to be sold by grocers and pastry-cooks. There was a war of repartee, in which Mr. Gladstone was not the vanquished, when Mr. Ayrton's bill for the Regulation of Parks came before the House. Mr. Hardy stigmatized the Gov- The First Gladstone Ministry. 303 yrnment's eiforts to throw the responsibility of certain by-laws for the parks upon Parliament as a cowardly proceeding; whereupon Mr. Gladstone rebuked him for bringing an acrid and venomous spirit into the debate, and said that it was the late Government whose bungling and feeble conduct had led to the present diffi- culties. This brought Mr. Disraeli to his feet, who accused Mr. Gladstone of sitting sullen and silent when the question was before discussed, and only expressing himself to the crowd which gathered about his residence. Mr. Gladstone retorted with a quotation from that speech of Sheri- dan's in which the brilliant wit accuses his opponent oi drawing upon his memory for his jokes and his imagi- nation for his facts ; and ad- vised Mr. Disraeli, before he accuse* I others of forget- ting the course they had formerly pursued, to prac- tice what he preached, and oe sure that his accusations were well founded. The shot told homo, and the cheers and laughter of the House were renewed when Mr. Gladstone told Col. Gil- pin, a member of the Op- position who had renewed the attack, that he did no*, think the i.nagination which j)revailed on the front bench had extended so far back as the third and had infected that row of mcnnbers. The session of 1 i i -is 307 308 The First Gladstone Ministry. was not justly liable for claims for indirect damages, but was to pay for direct injuries inflicted by the Alabama, the Florida and the Shenandoah. The sum total awarded to the United States was a little more than one-third of the original claim. I The session of 1872 was not a barren one, as far as the enact- ment of laws relating to domestic affjvirs was concerned. JSTot only the Ballot Act, but various others, relating to the regula- lation of mines, the adulteration of food, the public health, and licensing, owed their final enactment to this session. Fifteen years after the date of which we are writing, one of the great London dailies styled the Irish Question " the Old Man of the Sea of Parliament." The comparison is no inapt one, and is unfortunately likely to be applicable for a long time to come. The Gladstone Ministry had made two great attempts to settle it, but there was a third task to be undertaken before Ihey should have accomplished all that had been promised in their original programme. Feb. 13th, the Government introduced the bill which it was hoped would hew down the third branch of the Upas Tree. It dealt altogether v.ith the state of education in Ireland. In his speech introducing the bill, Mr. Gladstone showed that so far from the Queen's Colleges which had been established, being the means of increasing educational facilities, they seemed rather to have alienated the Irish still further; for the number of collegi- ate students in 1872 was actually less than it hud been in 1832. The Eoman Catholic population of Ireland contributed but one- eighth of the whole number of students, and of these not more than one-half would in England be ranked as university stud- ents. The bill provided for the abolition of all religious tests; for the incorporation of Dublin University and the union of the Queen's Colleges with it; for the maintenance of all the chairs usual in such institutions of learning which were not incompati- ble with perfect religious equality for the students; this latter exception excluding, as was. specially stated, chairs in theology, moral philosophy, and modern history. The Government hoped that this bill would conciliate the Catholics by the concessions which were made to them, and the English Liberals would be pleased with its moderation. But as is usually the case when the attempt is made to please two parties of opposite opinions by one and the same measure, each one saw what the other was in- tended to see ; the Catholic Bishops denounced the measure, and The First Gladstone Ministry. 309 while they did not decline what it offered, let it be known that they wanted much more; the Catholic members, who had been expected to be its warmest supporters, were its bitterest oppos- ers ; and the Liberals objected strongly to the proposed omissions from the curriculum. At the request of Mr. Disraeli, the second reading of this bill was postponed until the beginning of March ; as the opposition desired time to consider so important and complicated a meas- ure. It was then demanded that the Government should specify the members of the governing body which the bill proposed for the university ; but this was, as Mr. Gladstone pointed out, im- possible; as the positions could not be offered until the bill had made some progress in committee, nor until there was some pros- pect that there would be positions to accept. The opposition to the bill was remarkable both for the variety of the arguments and the diversity of the parties represented by those who spoke against it. The debate ended with speeches by Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone. The ex-Premier's oration was a brilliant one, though not always relevant to the subject; it called forth vehe- ment cheering from the members on the Opposition benches. Be- fore this had fairly subsided, Mr. Gladstone arose to reply. His powerful speech was a summing up of the arguments pro and con, and a strengthening of those for the bill, with an appeal to the House for the justice which was demanded. In his eyes, it was all that was necessary to satisfy Ireland ; all that justice demand- ed for her; and so tiie conclusion of his speech assured them : " To mete out justice to Ireland, according to the best view that with human infirmity wo could form, has been the work, I will almost say the sacred work of this Parliament. Having put our hand to the plow, let us not turn back. Let not what we think the fault or pervei'seness of those whom we are attempting to assist have the slightest effect m turning us even by a hair's breadth from the path on which we have entered. As we nave begun, so let us persevere even until the end, and with firm and resolute hand let us efface from the law and practice of this country the last — for I believe it is the last — of the religious and social grievances of Ireland." All the eloquence of this speech, however, was not sufficient to convinco those who were opposed to it; and the division showed that the Government was in a minority of three. Up- on this defeat they bad not counted, as the bill had at first met 310 The First Gladstone Ministry. with a favorable reception ; even Mr. Horsman, who had vio- lently opposed it on tlie second reading, had in a letter to Mr. Lowe, written immediately after the first presentation of the bill, spoken of it in the most favorable terms ; the letter was read to the House during the debate, but seems to have pro- duced no effect upon the Opposition, Questioned some years af- terward regarding this measure, Mr. Gladstone said that consid- ering the extremely favorable reception with which the bill had met at the outset, he was most emphatically astonished at its ultimate fate. Although the majority of the Opposition had been so small, the importance of the measure which the Government liad wish- ed to carry was such that Mr. Gladstone determined to resign; and he did so at once. But then arose a peculiar difficulty. Dis- raeli was his only possible successor ; but it would have been im- possible for him to form a Government, with the majority of the House of Commons opposed to him, as it undoubtedly was ; a few days later, therefore, Mr. Gladstone announced that he and his colleagues had consented to resume the positions which they had felt obliged to resign. Mr. Disri^eli's refusal to accept office had been unconditional, and Mr. Gladstone contended that his action was contrary to precedent and parliamentary usage. Mr. Disraeli replied that a considerable part of the majority against the Government in the late contest consisted of Liberals, with whom he had no bond of union whatever. A Government could not well dissolve without entering upon its duties, and there was at present nothing to dissolve upon ; such a course required some definite policy, to be submitted to the electors for their decision. Mr. Gladstone, he said, had resigned upon very inadequate grounds; ana his return to office was the best possible solution of the difficulty. Ho had had some experience of the difficulty of carrying on a Government in the face of a majority opposed to it, and was not anxious to try it again. Mr. Fawcett, who had strenuously opposed the Irish Uni- versity Bill, brought forward a measure relating to the same sub- ject, during this session ; the changes made were such that it be- came simply an abolition of religious tests before it was carried. There were several bills relating to financial measures, which were carried by the Government. Mr. Miall pressed the Bill for the Disestablishment of the English Church, which was opposed by Mr. Gladstone in the strongest speech made during the de- The First Gladstone Ministry. 811 bate; and a proposal to permit laymen and Dissenters to deliver sermons in the churches was also negatived. Shortly after the close of the session, there were some impor- tant changes in the Ministry. Mr. Lowe having resigned the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone undertook the double duties of that office and of those of the First Lord of the Treasury. Throe otfc er members of less note, Lord Kipon, M.-. Childers, and Mr. Baxter, retired ; and Mr. Bright re-entered it as Chancellor ot the Duchy of Lancaster. The Government grew more and more unpopular as time went on. Its reforms had been too sweeping and sudden j they had frightened the people, whom the Conservatives easily convinced that everything was in danger from this mania for change j the by-elections which had taken place were all considerable Con- servative victories j not only was the Bible in danger from the course which the Liberal Government had taken with regard to the Irish Catholics, but the changes which had been made in the license law threatened Beer. Says one of Mr. Gladstone's most reliable and minute biographers: "The joint flag of 'Beer and Bible' having been hoisted the cry against the Ministry became irresistible " Mr Gladstone recognized that it would not be long after the meeting of the new session before he would be compelled to re- sign , be foresaw the difficulties into which the Opposition, thus transferred to the Treasury Benches, would be thrown ; and he knew that evil to the country would result from a weak Govern- ment In these circumstances, he determined to appeal to the country , that> if his course were approved, he might have the strength necessary to carry out his measures ; if it were disap- pioved, there would be fewer obstacles in the path of his succes- ors. He probably had little hope of the result when, on the 23rd of January, he issued a manifesto to the electors of Greenwich, announcing that the existing Parliament would be dissolved without defay, and writs immediately issued for a general elec- tion This document, which was an unusually long one, is fairly entitled, from its political and historical importance, to rank as a state paper. Reviewing the history of that Parliament, he retraced the steps by which the Cabinet had proceeded, from _-, „-,..K«i,v,;«n. rwr»nMl«irifv in the nresent state of unDODularitv ; and admitting that the state of affairs had not improved dur- ing the recess, asked that the people should show that they i The First Gladstone Ministry. 313 s :§ ft; were with tho Government which had wrought such important reforms. Ho reviewed tho policy which had been pursued in financial matters, and promised a reduction of taxation for the future. Eeferring to the charge which the Conserwtives had not hesitated to make, that the Liberal party had endangered the in- stitutions and worried all the intei'csts of tho country, he denied its truth, and claimed that if any were offended, it was because the Grovernment had honestly tried to do -11 that was in its power to promote tho highest interests of the nation. lie chal- lenged a comparison between the years of Liberal and the years of Tory rule, with their results. The newspapers of the day, of course, accorded a reception to this address which varied with the standpoint generally taken. On the one hand, the News said that it was a policy which would revive the enthusiasm of the Liberal party, and greatly benefit the country; on the other hand, the Standard declared that the policy followed must bo described as one of surprise and in- trigue. Mr. Disraeli lost no time in issuing a manifesto to his con- stituents, as a reply to this address of Mr. Grladstone's. It was brusque, in some parts at least ; and its flippanyy contrasted as strangely as usual with the dignity and gravity of Mr. Glad- stone's style. Parliament was dissolved the 26th of January, and the new House was summoned to meet March 6th. Thus there was but a little over a month for the electioneering campaign, and it be- gan in good earnest. It was the first general election at which the voting was by ballot, and it passed off with orderliness and peace. The result showed considerable gains for the Conserva- tives, that party having a majority of forty-six votes in a full house. There were many interests arrayed against the Ministry which had instituted so many reforms; and there were some whose support was given to the Conservatives in the hope that there would be legislation for their benefit as soon' as a Tory Ministry took charge of affairs. As soon as the national verdict was known, Mr. Gladstone placed his resignation in the hands of the Queen. Ho had in- curred the displeasure of the people of whom he had been the virtual ruler ; but, as it was said at the time that he went out of oflice, *'a great many people entercain towards Mr. Gladstone's Government the same sort of sentiment as that which worthy 314 The First Gladstone Afinistry. Mrs. Bertram, in Scott's romance, felt for the energetic revenue officer who would persist in doing his duty, instead of following the example of his predecessor, who sang his aong, and took his drink, and drew his salary without troubling any one." Such being the otfense which had been committed, it seems more honorable to have oflfended than it would have been to have pleased. ^ttv/t r\ a There were some political wiseacres who said that if Mr.triaa- stone had not dissolved, but had brought forward a budget an- nouncing the repeal of the income tax, a measure which he had announced as one which would be supported by his Government if the country endorsed its policy, he would have regained the support of the Liberal party in toto. But this was not done ; he had dissolved; his rival had come into office, and was, for the first time, at the head of a Ministry which was endorsed by a majority of the House. Nor was the election all ; there were not wanting former professed friends of Mr. Gladstone who jeer- ed at his fall from power. Shortly before the House met for active business, Mr. Glad- stone addressed a circular to the Liberal members of Parliament, reiterating the intention which he had expressed conditionally before the election, to retire from the leadership of the Liberal party. The condition had been fulfilled, in the failure to secure an endorsement of his policy; and he wrote to Lord Granville who had long been the leading Liberal Peer, a more explicit statement of his reasons for so doing. From this letter we learn little however, beyond the bare fact that he considered his age to entitle him to some rest; and he alleged "various personal reasons" for not engaging himself as closely with ParliameLtary matters as he had done- The new Ministerialists indulged in a little pleasantry con- cerning an Opposition without a leader, and the party which had so lately divided its support found how necessary Mr. Glad- stone was to its success. But the opposing parties did not measure swords at once. For a while there was quite a Utopian state of things in Parliament; true, an over-zealous Tory did propose a vote of censure upon the late Ministry for dissolving, but Mr. Disraeli promptly silenced him, making Mr. Gladstone s annihilation of his arguments quite un::;eco33ary. Tho new -...an- cellor of the Exchequer, Sir Statford Northcote, confessed that the calculations of the late Prime Minister -ere quite correct, The First Gladstone Ministry. 81b and there wi\8 a surplus, as stated, in the revenue. The Govern- irient made no pretensions to any original policy, but followed tha- which their yredecessors had intended to pursue ; and every- thing was lovely. Suf !i a state of affairs could not last very long, however, and the introduction of several important religious measur<58 speed- ily aroused the sleeping lion of contention. The first cf these concerned itself with the Church Patronage of Scotland ; this had been a subject of agitation for the last three hundred yeors, or ever since the regent Murray set aside the authority and the religion of his royal sister. The General Assembly had passed various resolutions expressing their dissatisfaction with the ex- isting state of affairs, but nothing definite had been brought for- ward by any Government until this time. The present bill, a short but comprehensive one, was supported by some influential Liberal Peers, being introduced in that House ; but was op- posed by the Liberal members of the Lower Chamber. The chief feature of the debate was a vigorous speech by Mr. Gladstone, who had not appeared in the House for some timj, and whose rising was therefore greeted with unusual warmth by his adher- ents. While the motive of tae bill was laudable, he considered its details as extremely objectionable, and as such opposed them with all the force of his eloquence. The statoment, " I am not an idolater of Establishments," called forth ironical cheers " ' ^ the Treasury Benches, which were speedily drowned in ger .d applnuse from his own friends. The opposition was frui. howeve., "or the second reading was carried by a considerable majority. A bill for the Regulation of Public Worship was introduced ia- to the House of Loi.'h ;by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and upon this, when it came down to the Commons, Mr. Gladstone made another important speech. " He fairly electrified the as- sembly," said a contemporary newspaper. It opposed the bill on the ground that it was an undue interference with freedom j and claimed that perfect uniformity of ritual was impossible. His speech was described by Sir William Harcourt who replied to it, as a powerful plea for universal Non-conformity, or optional con- formity; and the resolutions which he proposed as a substitute f-„+i. - uMi \A ««i^ «/^;»i+ o<-.f.rirHinof to M' . Disraeli's .^nder- Standing of them, to the abolition of that religious settlement which had prevailed in England for more than two centuries. 1—20 316 The First Glad/stone Ministry. The Governm-^nt, by these declaraiious and others of the same nature, clearly adopted the bill, and it soon became evident that Mr. Cxladstono s resolutions Were distasteful to many of \ is own supporters, lie withdrew his resolutions when it became ap- parent that the greater part of the House was in favor of the bill; and the measure eventually became law, though it has never accomplished the object for which it was intended The Endowed Schools Act Amendment Bill was looked upon by the Liberals as a step backward, and opposed accordingly Ihat party, when in power, had given into national control the schools which had formerly been under sectarian government- and this was a reversal of that policy, in effect. It was moved by Mr. Forster that the bill ghould be rejected, and the motion was strongly supported by Mr. Gladstone, The ex-Premier pointed out that this was a reversal of the policy of the last Parliament and was unwise a^ well as unusual. The Liberal party, ho said' during the last forty or fifty years, had taken the initiative of policy in almost every instance, and had been followed by the Conservatives, acting in prudence and honesty. It was the first instance, he claimed, of any direct attempt bein- madobyr.Min- istry at retrogression. The only similar case which he could find in history dated back to the reign of William IIL, and the act then passed was now proposed for repeal. Although the Govern- ment had a considerable majority upon the second reading and also upon the motion to go into committee, they found that it would bo so hotly contested in committee that they judged it best to make some important modifications; and it in its mutil- ated state finally passed and received the royal ass.nit. Mr. Gladstone's retirement from the leadership of the Liber- al party had been a igned a possible limit in his letter to Lord Granville J that limit was reached Jan. 1st, 1875, but the same cir- cumscances still existed, and he definitely withdrew from poiiti- cal life, so far as anything more than o-jcasional presence in the House of Commons was concerned. His withdrawal brought con sternation to his political friends, who had been willin- to -mi- duro his absence for a time, if they might look forward S) iiis re- turn ; but his resolution was unalterable. Words of praise were showered upon him by all alike; and it was feared that he had finally left the strife of party. It was of course necessary to elect a new leader There were two men vrhoso names first occurred to the observer of the field The First (iladstimc Ministry, t) 1 ' —Mr. Bright and Mr. Low«. Mr. Briirht, it was well known, would not accept thovnoimt post, for tlio .sjuno rouson tiiat \w had hesitated about accepting' office ; as for Mr. Lowe, ho was a man of undoubted ability— but— then the speaker would .shako his head significantly, and the listener would knowexaetly what was meant regarding that erratic g- .ins, and agree with him. The list was thus reduced to Mr. Forster, Sir W. Ilarcoiirt, Mr. Gosciien, and the Marquis of Ilartington. The first three 'w( re subsequently withdrawn, and Lord Uartington unanimously olectcu to the vacant place. T'le choice was not a*^ unwise one ; for although the now lead- er was indolent and la, ' m..ny of the brilliant (]ualities of his predecessor, ho defeate. Jie i)rophecie- f those who had i)re- dicted his failure; ai:d ju-Ufied verv largely the eulogy which Mr. Bright had pronounced upon him at the time of his election. Mr. Gladstone did not often appear in the Jloiisf> during the session of 1875. IFis first important speech was upon Mr. Os- borne Morgan's Burials Bill, which proposed that the friends of the deceased should have the privilege of deciding upon the ser- vice to bo used in a parish graveyard. It seems to bo something similar to that which Mr. Gladstone ..ad before advocate.!. JTe spoke in favor of this, as did Mr. Bright, but it was li.ially nega- tived by a majorifj of fourt(>en. The budget intr.xluced by Sir Stafford Northcote was the sub- ject of another speech. Mr. (Jla for the next thirty years, and that suc- ceeding Chancellors of the Exchequer would do the reverse of what Sir S. Northcote had done. The plafi was, howovor, adopt- ed. There were other speeches made during tho session, but not many; and they were upon topicsof ittlcor no j)ermanent intor- crt. During tho autumn, Mr. Gladstone met the Ilawarden ten- iintry, and made the most pleasing speech of the yur. The reason for his continued silence was found afterward" to be tho preparation '^f controversial works, which forever settled tlio question of hi.s secret membership of tho Catholic Church, and whi;.h we shall consider in a later chapter. •V- 1 CHAPTER XII. GLADSTONE IN OPPOSITION. Q Eastern Question — Turkey Does Nothing but Promise — Suicide of the Turkish Sii.Han — Oriental Races — Explanations by Disraeli — Raised to the Peerage Bulgarian Honors — Lord Salisbury in the East — Earl of Shaftesbury — Duke of Argyle — Lord George Hamilton — Gladstone's Pamphlet on the Turkish Question — Action in Parliament on the Turkish Situation — Pro- tracted Debate — Vote of Credit — "Peace with Honor" — Sir Stafford Northcote — Gladstone Arraigns tiie Government — Triumphal March Through Scotland — " Grand Old Man " — Great Ovations Everywhere. 'LTHOUGH Mr. Gladstone had thus formally retired from the leadership of the Liberal party, he was not destined to remain in retirement for a long period. Perhaps it would have been impossible for a man constituted as he was, and accustomed for many j^ears to take a prominent part in direct- in J the affairs of the nation, to content himself with merely liter- ary activity; certainly the events of the years immediately suc- ceeding his effort to demote himself to purely intellectual pursuits were stirring enough to arouse him from the repose which he had promised himself. When the Crimean war closed, Lord Aberdeen had said that the treaty might possibly remain intact for five and twenty years j ho was laughed at as a pessimist, but the event proved that ho was rather optimistic than otherwise. Before the quar- ter century had elapsed, the Eastern Question was once more the problem of the hour. The fact that many of the provinces of Turkey were inhabited by alien races wag bound to lead to foreign interference on the behalf of such peoples. Such interference was rendered more frequent because of the difference in religion, which was often made the excuse when there was no real need of outside assis- tance. The Danubian Principalities had been under the protec- torate of the Czar, but this state of affairs was never recognized at Constantinople, and the Treaty of Paris had restored them to Turkey. Their subjection was only nominal, however, for when bis he Turkish he Peerage aftesbury — hlet on the aticn — Pro- lir Stafford hal March ywhere. ired from destined erhaps it ) was, and in direct- I'ely liter- ately suc- 1 pursuits chhe had said that i twenty it pi'oved tho quar- more the inhabited on the [•ed more vas often ido assis- e protec- jcognized 1 them to for when 818 I In Opposition. 819 Moldavia and "Wallachia united themselves under one govern- ment, and expelled their ruler, tho Porto could only look help- lessly on. Encouraged by this success, and probably by the fact that the Cretan rebellion had not been a complete failure, tho Servians demanded that the Turkish garrisons should bo re- moved from their midst, and the Turks complied. Eussia had declared that she was no longer bound by the Treaty of Paris, and this gave fresh courage to the provinces which were always ready to revolt when occasion offered. But although the Turks hard withdrawn the garrisons when required to do so, they had not relaxed the oppression which was practiced in other ways. It has frequently been remarked that there is in Turkish rule no medium between neglect and tyranny; and that the portions of the Empire where tyranny might be excusable, as being the only means of maintaining public order, are the very portions where the hand of P^iaority is never felt. Tho strength which should be used, under a just government, in repressing crime and disor- der, is exercised in the oppression of those quiet and law abid- ing provinces which should be protected from others. It must be admitted, however, that the Christian provinces were not at this time, and had not been for many years, orderly and law-abiding; they had suffered so much from the tyranny of their Mahometan masters that they were always in a ferment of revolt. Early in July, 1875, the news reached England that the op- pression had at last become unbearable, and that tho Herzegov- ina was in open rebellion. It became quite clear at once that a new chapter of the old troubles was beginning. The Turkish statesmen insisted that the rebels were receiving outside assis- tance, and called upon England to interfere. England was the enemy of Russia, and as such was regarded as the friend of the Porto. Austria was one of the offenders against whom complaint was made. Servia and Montenegro were requested to stop send- ing supplies of arms and men to the insurgent^;. But none of tho Governments thus appealed to seem to have done anything. Lord Derby, tho Foreign Secretary, pursued a decidedly feeble course. Ho knew that tho oppression of tlie Turkish Christians would bo unpopuhu', but, on the other hand, the repression of tho Turkish cruelties would bo pleasing to Russia, who always desired to SCO tho Ottoman humbled ; and anything vvhich pleased Russia was sure to displease tho English people. Undei 3uch circumstances, ho decided to act with the Porte; and urged 820 In 0}i vosiiion the Government at Constantinople to put down the insurrection as quickly as possible, and not allow it to swell to the magnitude of a matter for European intervention. This offended, not only popular feeing, but the popular conscience; and somewhat in- terfered with the popularity of tho Disraeli Government. But the recommendation to the Porte was more than he could obey. It was impossible to put down tho insurrection, wl ich continued to spread. Finally, on the last day but one of the year 1875, Count Andrassy, the Austrian Minister, in conjunction with the representatives of Germany ,and Eussia, addressed a note to the Porte. This Note from the three great Empires de- clared that the promises of reform made by Turkey had been broken, and that some combined action of the Powers of Europe was nee essary to insure their fulfiilment. If this were not done they declared, the governments of Servia and Montenegro, would be compelled by the enthusiasm of those peoples to sup- port the revolutionary cause in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and this would mean a general outbreak. This Note was communi- cated to the Powers which had signed the Treaty of Paris; France and It'^Iy at once signified their concurrence ; England alone hesitated. It was not until Lord Derby received a request from the Turkish Government that he would join in it, that he complied. It seems at first strange that such a request should come from the Porte ; the reason for it is scarcely honorable to England, for she was regarded as a secret friend by Turkey. Lord Derby joined in the Andrassy Note, and it was sent to the Porte. Tho Turks listened gravely to the complaints and de- mands, and promised all sorts of good behavior for the future. The Powers had evidently gained their point at once. But Turkey did nothing but promise. Not one of the griev- ances was redressed, and it soon became apparent that she did not intend to take any steps to meet the demands. The Berlin Mem- orandum was accordingly drawn up by the three Imperial Min- isters, pointing out the increasing danger of disturbance, and tho necessity for carrying irto ett'ect i\t once the objects of the An- drassy Note. It was proposed that hostilites should bo susper /• ed for two months between the Porte and the insurgents, while a peace was being negotiated ; and that tho consuls and other rep- resentatives of the powers should watch over tho proposed re- forms. Tho Memorandum significantly intimated that if the desired objects were not attained during the period of two ~-^ J-'»sJ In Opposition. d2i months, the Powers would have to see what should be done. This threat meant tliat the matter must be settled as the Note and Memorandum had intimated ; for Turkey could not think of resisting the arms of united Europe. Unfortunately, the English Government did not see its way clear to join in this Memorandum. The general impression was, that Eussia had been stirring up the discontent which had cul- minated in these difficulties, that the Christian Powers might be compelled to interfere in Turkish matters, to the manifest disad- vantage of the Porte. Lord Derby himself was of the opinion that a secret agreement had existed among the empires since 1873, and ho feared that England would be drawn into a danger- ous complication. His refusal made concert among the Powers impossible for the time, and the Memorandum was never pre- sented. Then every one in Europe and America knew that war was certain in the East. This refusal of the English Govern- ment seems to have given fresh courage to the Turks, who had been pretty well frightened by the magnitu le of the storm which had threatened them a little while before. There was an out- break of Mussulman fanaticism at Salonica, and the French and German consuls were murdered. There was a revolution in Con- stantinople itself, and Abdul Aziz was dethroned to make way for a sultan capable of carrying on a war with an empty treas- ury. This rara avis, it was thought, they had found in his nephew, whom the Softas made Murad V.; but three months af- ter this remarkable discovery was made, they had proved to their own satisfaction that they were mistaken ; and Murad siepjied down and out to make room for his brother Hamid. Nobody expressed any special regret when Abdul Aziz open- ed the arteries of his arm, and bled to death in his palace; but thei'e were circumstances more terrible than these changes, which were soon to alarm and horrify all Europe. An insurrection broke out in Bulgaria, and the Turkish Government sent large numbers of Bashi-Bazouks and other irregular troops to crush it. The insurrection was duly crushed, but the Bashi-Bazouks did not cease their horrible work. Eopression turned to massa- cre, and rumors began to reach Constantinopleof hideous whole- sale unprovoked murders in the northern province. Tho cor- respondent of the London Daily News heard them, and resolved to investigate them ; ho did so, and found that tho reports were but too well founded in fact. In a few days afterward accounts 21 822 In Opposition, were published in England of what has ever since been known as the Bulgarian Atrocities. Thousands of innocent men, women and children had been slaughtered; at least sixty villages had been destroyed, after the extermination of their inhabitants j for- ty girls were shut up in a straw loft and burned alive ; the mosi unnamable outrages were committed ; and a district once the most fertile in the Ottoman Empire had been ruined. While the English public was reading these tales of horror, and shuddering at the tortures to which the prisoners had been subjected before death came to relieve them, the Prime Minister was taking things very coolly. He made it very evident that he did not know much about the Turkish provinces of the time, nor about Turkish affairs in general; he had not considered the charges worth investigating ; but assuming that such atrocious crimes were greatly exaggerated in the telling, endeavored to set the matter before the House of Commons in the light in which he saw it. The newspaper correspondent had been in search of sensations ; of course ho had not mado the picture any the less dark ; rumor has a thousand tongues ; juul there must be much allowance made for "coffee-house babble." The Bashi- Bazouks, ho informed his hearers, were the r>jgular occupants ot Bulgaria, being a Circassian race who had settled there long ago, with the concurrence of all Europe. As for the torture, Orient al races "generally terminated their connection with culprits in a moi'e exjieditious manner.'* Mr. Disraeli's debonair treatment of the question did not sat- isfy the House. The Bashi-Bazouks were not the gentle, harm- less creatures that he had represented tliem to be ; tliey believed that the statements in the Kews were entitled to more creditthaii he was willing to give them ; and they grew more and more in- dignant that the Prime Minister of England should speak thus lightly of the outrages committed by Mahometan soldiery. That the newspaper statements were not exaggerated, was shown by the report of Mr. Barinsjr, who was sent out to investi- gate the matter ; he reported that so far from the only deaths be- ing those which took place in battle, between armed insurgents and the soldiers, he had himself seen whole masses of the bodies of woman and children piled together. In places whero no bodies of combatants were to be seen. iSo fewer than twelve thousand persons had been killed in the single di i ^t of Phillppopolis. This report from a man who was generally supposed to be ir) In Op2JOsUion. 823 sympathy with Turkey upon tho question as a whole, was indis- putable; and tho Turkish Government showed that they had no intention of disowning thf^so n' oeities by their action, soon af- terward, in rewarding tho chief perpetrators by now honors con- ferred upon them, presumably for the part borne in these mur- ders. What followed in England ? The Premier became only too anx- ious to explain away his words. There had been no levity, he assured his listeners, in tho expression which he hdd used when he spoke of tho improbability of Turks torturing their prison- ers ; he had not denied the existence of the Bulgarian atrocities, but having no oiiicial information that they had taken place, was bound not express his intentions regarding them. The public excitement was at white heat; the words of Mr. Disraeli were regarded simply as another instance of his inconsistency ; they were swept impatiently aside, while the people looked about them for a leader. N^ot the man who had scoffed at the story of outrage ; not any of the Government which had half condoned the offenses oT the Turks; not Mr. Bright, whoso health was too uncertain to allow him to take tho part which his down- right antagonism to what he believed wrong would have led him; not the n(w leader of the Liberal party, who was some- what slow ; but a man whose eloquence could inflame the cold- est; a man whoso principles were unquestioned ; a man whose standing was such that lis slightest word must command atten- tion ; a man skilled in dealing with others — such was the leader that was sought for what Bright characterized as " an upris- ing of the English people." Was there such a man ? And would he lead them when he was found? Such were the questions which were earnestly asked. The former was perhaps easily an- swered, as men turned their eyes to one who was but seldom heard now-a-days ; tho latter was fully answered when William Ewurt Gladstone, casting aside polemics and criticism, forgetful alike of the Bard of Greece and the Popo of Eome, emerged from his semi-retiremeut and took up the gauntlet which Dis- raeli had allowed to drop from his over-careless hand. He had now nearly approached the limit of three score and ten ; at six- ty-seven wo scarcely expect much ardor from the advocate of any cause; but ho flung himself into the contest with all the keen and impassioned energy of a youth. "Ho made speeches in the House of Commons and out of it ; he attended monster 324 In Opposition. '-\ Benjamin D-itti'atll, tlarl vj Jieucoriitfiekl. meetings in doors and out of dnors ; lie published p{UTi))iilets; h(> wrote letters ; lie brouglit forward motions in Parliament; lie In OppoaiUon. WIU AowonnvoA tlio (!ritn(^s of Tiirki^y jiiid llio |t<»li, (hjcliirioi; thut Stirvin could not loiigor ondiiro tho oi)])rcssions of Tiirkoy ; uiid his ]):'ovinco was, liko its noif^hbors, in ojxu; revolt. Wo iiood not follow tho wholo courso o.f cvi-nls in tho l*];ist ; woni'o intorostod only in what was dono in Knglainl. T ■vo woi-o frctnuMit do- hates in Parliament upon tho suhject, ana Mr. Gladstone, who had so rarely boon present at tho daily sessionH, now Bpoko al- most every ni/^ht upon some t(>i)ic oonncelcd with tho outrages and tho course whi(;h the (Jov(M-Mm('iit ])iifsiiiMl. It was in vain that Mr. Disraeli explaincil tliat the Hi'itish (Jovernment liad /'c- fiised to join in tho Berlin Memorandum, hecauso that represented a policy of aggression, with which England would have nothing to do ; that tho British fleet liad boon sent to Besika Bay, not for tho ])rotection of tho Turkish Em])ire, Init to maintain tho rights of tho British ; it was in vain that Ijord Dcuhy defined the (!(Mirso of tho Government as one of s^riet n(Mitrality, and approver! by tho other Powei-s. Tho ])ooplo had made up their mind, and their decision was not favorable to tho stand which tho (loverninent had taken. August 11th, li^in, Mr. Disraeli made his last reply to Mr. Gladstone and his adiiei-eiits in the House of (!ommotis. It was upon this suhject ; ho afllrmed that tho Turks Wiiie not the es- peeial proteges of Kngland, and that sho was not responsible for what bad occurred in Turkey ; ho announced that tho solo duty of tho Government, according lo his understanding of tho case, was to maintain tho Kmpiro of England, and that they would never agree to any step which bazardcd tho existence of tho l']m- piro. After this speech, Mr. Disraeli left the House, neveragain to address it from tho Ministerial or ()p])osilion benches; for tho next morning's ])apers contained wiiat Ikk' hithei'io been a well-kept secret: The Prime Minister had been ci'eatcMl Earl of Bcaconsfield. Perhaps it will not be out of place to tui-ri aside at Ibis mo- ment to note what was the nature of this i-eward, and for whatit was bestowed. Mr. Disraeli had long been a faithful servant of the Crown J iio had served it with the best of what was no mean ability; upon entering on tho discharge of tho duties of the First Lord of iho Treasury at tho beginning of the present session of Parlia- 326 In Opposition. mcnt, ho had dotormined upon tiio aggrandizement of the Crown by every legitimate moans j there was to bo another Eiizabclli- un period, tho I'ooplo were told; and every one waited with confident f xiMport was sb.nwn to he futile and Duerile. But, he told them, if all these dark pages in English history gould be conqenti'atQd into a single spot, that spot would not b© I I In Oj)j)OsitioH. 329 ,3 worthy to apponr "pon *ho p. ^ro» which should horoaftcr toll of tlio infutnous j»"c i!^nMiin';'8 of tho Turl'.s in JJiilguria. llo iidvo- cjitod, not the >b()lit;;>ij of tho Turkish Ern[)iro, but tho limita- lion of its pow r in luch manner that it could not again practice thoso diro rofinri m • of cruelty. This could only bo Hono by tho combined action of all tho Power? ; though there wore two whoso rospon?'>i i'\s were greater than any other's ; these two were England and Jtussia. lie d"d not claim that Ilussia was ex- empt from ambition ; but sho had within her tho pulse of human- ity, and it was this pulse which ho now believed was throbbing almost ungovernably in tho minds of her people. Tho power of liussia \^^on land was irresistible; that of jiMgland by sea was at Ic! st as great J lie closed with tho signiUcant question, wh'C'h tho Foreign Secreta y essayed to answe/ not long afterward : " I ask 3''ou, what would be tho condition of tho Turkish arm- ies if the British admiral now in Besika Bay wore to inform tho rfovornmcnt that, from tliat hour, until atonement had boon made — until punishment had descended, until justice had been vindi- cated — not a man, not a ship, not a boat should crf)ss tho waters of tho Bosphorus, or tho cloudy Euxine, or tho bright vEgean, to carry aid to tho Turkish troops?" This address created too much enthusiasm among tho people to be loft unanswered ; and tho Premier himself undei-took tho task. Speaking at Aylesbury, ho admitted that the JMinisterial policy was unpopular, but strongly condemned those "designing politicians who take advantage of sublime sentiments, and apply them for tho furtherance of their own sinister ends," This lan- guage was of course quoted with approval among tho ultra-Con- servatives ; but it was warmly denounced as extraordinary tri- fling, by those who were less bitter in their persoi'al dislike of tho great Liberal and his followers. Lord Derby directed tho British embassador at Constantinople to lay Mr. Baring's report upon the Bulgai-ian atrocities before tho Ottoman Government, and tc demand that tho offenders should bo punished. This was said at tho time to bo an answer to that question which Mr. Gladstone propounded to his listen- ers on Blackheath, and which wo have quoted above; and it would have been, had tho demand been enforced. But that was tho last of it ; the British Government never pressed tho Porte for a definite answor, and tho Government which had rewarded Ach- niet Agha, the Turkish general in Bulgaria, with Ihe Order of 330 In Opposition. tho McfJJidie, was not likely to givo such satisfaction until -. om- pcU'd to do ro. Turkey finally agreed to an armistice cf eight weeks, and tho Czar who had brought tho pressure to bear which resulted in this, pledged his sacred word of honor to tho En- glish ambassador that ho had no intention o. occupying Constan- tinople ; and that if necessity compelled iiimto occupy a portion of Bulgaria, it would only be provisionally, and until tho safety and peace of tho Ciiristian population were secured. A week after this. Lord Beaconsfield delivered a warlike speech at the Ministerial banquet at Guildhall ; whereupon the Czar declared tha if Turkey did not acccdo to his demands, Eussia would be prepared to act independently. Lord Salisbury, who had been accredited as che English rep- resentative at the Conference of Constantinople, arrived in that city Dec. 5th. Three days later, there was a great meeting at St. James' Hall for tho purpose of discussing the Easterii Ques- tion. The Duke of Westminster was tho Chairman, and the meeting was addressed by men eminent in politics, letters, science, religion and tho army. At a second meeting, the even- ing of tho same day, Lord Shaftesbury, tlie well-known and now lamented statesp an and philanthropist, presided, and the address- es were at least as interesting as in tho afternoon. Mr. Gladstone spoke at this time, in company with Mr. Fawcett, Canon Liddon, Mr. E. A. Freeman, and others of similiar standing. Mr. Free- man urged that the right must be maintained atall costs, even of the interests of England ; Mr. Fawcett, referring to tho injunc- tion, "forgive and forget," insisted that there was one man whose acts ought never to bo forgiven by Englishmen, and that man was tho Prime Minister of England. After such speeches as ihcbu, Mr. Gladstone arose, to clinch their denunciations with his own. As at Blackheath, he was receivovi with deafening cheers. Repudiating tho accusation that these meetings were neld for tho purpose of embarrassing tho Government, he charged Lord Beaconsfield with pursuing a policy which he knew was in direct antagonism to the sentiment of the country ; it was not until the Aylesbury speech that Lord Beaconsfield had given any evidence that he thought England had duties toward tiie Christian population of Turkey. This acknowledgment was one which tho Opposition '^ ad tried in' vain to draw from the Ministry during tho last session j the first declaration of this knowledge was made by Sir Staflford iVorthcote, who had re- In Opposition. 331 marked, daring a speech somewhere in the North, " Of course wo are all aware of our duties to the Christian population of Turkey." Mr. Gladstone said that he was glad they were aware of it, but the recognition of that obligation was not to be found Lord Shaftesbury. in the proceedings of Parliament or the official correspondence lor the past year. Expressing a hope that Lord Salisbury's instructions were not in accordance with Lord Boaconsficld's recent speech at Guild- hall, which had so directly influenced the Czar, he trusted that tlie English representative would be permitted to give scope 332 In Opposition. to bis own generous in;itincts, and that the Plenipotentiaries in general would insist upon the future independence of the provin- ces, or at least upon such a form of government as would insure them freedom from oppression. _ While the meetings at St. James' Hall were not without their effect, their influence would have been even deeper and wider if it had not been for the fact that the Conference at Constan- tinople was sitting, and was expected to accomplish all that could be hoped. These hopes were, however, doomed to be dis- appointed ; for the Confuience found its demands rejected by the Turkish Government. These demands had finally been reduced to two : that the Powers should nominate an International Com- mission, without executive powers ; and that the Sultan should appoint governors-general, holding their office for the terni of five years, the appointments to be subject to the approval of the guaranteeing Governments. But the " Unspeakable Turk, as Mr. Gladstone was fond of apostrophizing the brutal Ma- hometans, found these propositions ''contrary to their. integrity, independence and dignity," and would have none of them. The responsibility of this situation of affairs, Mr. Gladstone did not hesitate to declare, belonged to the Government. He and hi-* friends had been told to mind their own business. To this exceedingly impolite injunction, the statesman replied that the Eastern Question was their own business. The plea was urged that the Treaty of 1856 had been broken. To this he made answer that Turkey had trampled all treaties under foot. If the treaties were in force, they were as binding upon Turkey as upon England ; but when one disregarded them the othe was not bound to observe them. Whei. Parliament opened, in February, the war wnich had been laginr in meetings and other public gatherings broke out afresh in the two Houses. In reply to the Duke of Argyll, who had urged the necessity for decisive action upon iho Govern- ment the Premier said that any interference at the present would tend to make the condition of the Turkish Christians worse than it was at this time. Mr. Gladstone, in the House of Commons, enlarged upon the contradictory statements of recent negotiations. Foreign Office documents, the Queen's speech, and the orations of the Ministers. Mr. Hardy replied for the Gov- crnment, and p.aid that the time had not yet come for England to cut this Gordian knot with the sword. In Opposition. 833 aries in Mr. Chaplin complained that Mr. Gladstone and other Liber- als had endeavored to regulate the sentiment of the country by the publication of pamphlets upon the subject, and by the deliv- ery of numerous speeches, and by the so-culled National Con- ference at St. James'. There was one of two things which >. Gladstone must do— he must either make good or withdraw nis assertions; the-e was was no other course which was open to a man of honor. The last expression was ruled out by the Speak- er as unparliamentary, and it was accordingly withdrawn. Mr. Chaplin then went on to say that he regret- ted most sincerely Mr. Gladstone's course du- ring the recess ; he had done so much to impair the respect and esteem which were felt for him by all members of the House and to shake to its foundations the reputation of a man whom all England had long boon accustomed to regard as one of the greatest of her sons. He moved the adjourn- ment of the debate. Mr. Gladstone's re- ply io thi attack was ' •' . , Duke of Argyll. an impromptu one, which fully sustained his reputation as one of the ablest dobaters who over t . ■ : ^- the House of Commons. In seconding the mo- tion for an adj<; .rnment, ho said that he was surprised to h, - cused, for the first time in a public career extendlig over near- ly hf^.''' a cntury, of an unwillingness to meet his opponents in fairf '..u Why had not the honorcble gentleman attended tl..jnd against the charf^o that ho had advocated a different policy at tho close of the Crim- ean war from that which ho upheld now, he was obliged to de- fend himself in Parliament as well as out of it. But tho mis- chief was more easily done than undone. He was represented as demanding tho instant expulsion of every Turk— man, wo- 336 In Opposition. 337 man and child — from Europe; if this were done, the Russians would at once occupy Constantinople, and the power of Russia be indefinitely increased. Lord Bcaconsfield, on the other hand, was opposed to any extension of the Czar's dominions, and took f^reat care to keep this continually before the minds of the people. There were many sneers, too, from the Government and its supporters, about sentimentality introduced in questions of statesmanship. Thus it came to pass that Lord Bcaconsfield was looked u})on as the champion of England, and the enemy of licr enemy ; while his great rival was openly accused of being the friend and instrument of Russia, by thousands of English- men -who honestly believed what they said. So, by degrees, the great masses of the people began to look with different eyes upon the war, and to think that the interests of the country were perhaps safe in Beaconsfield's hands after all. But Mr. Gladstone was not left without suuporturs of his cause. There were still many who thought as ho did. A close observer has said that men who prided themselves upon being practical politicians upheld the course of the Government, main- taining that Turkey must bo held as a barrier against Russia at all hazards J while men who held that sound politics cannot ex- ist without sound morals, protested with the Liberal chief against England making herself responsible for the crimes of Turkey. The one cried out for the interests of morality, the other for the interests of England; and exclaimed against the ambition of Russia or the atrocities of Turkey, as the case might be. A Protocol was signed at the English Foreign Office on the last day of March, 1877, stating that the Powers intended to watch carefully over the Christian provinces of Turkey, and if their condition should not be improved, in accordance with the demands which had already been made, in such a way as to pre- vent the return of the complications which periodically disturb- ed the peace of the East, such a state of aff'airs would be con- sidered incompatible with the interests of Europe in general, and the Powers in particular. The Turkish Government pro- tested against the humiliating situation in which it was placed by the Protocol, and Russia accordingly declared war April 24th. A week later, England, France, and Italy issued proclam- ations of strict neutral itj*. On the 7th of May, Mr. Gladstone gave notice of certain reso- lutions which he intended to move, and which on the face of 22 ^ ii m In Opposition. them were extremely hostile to the foreign policy of the Gov- ernment. Many members of the Libenil party declined to sup- port them, on the ground that they pledged England to co-op- erate with EusSia's policy of force; and Mr. Gladstone ultim- ately amended them so that they did little more than affirm that Turkej'^ had forfeited all claim to moral or material support from the British Crown. In the speech which introduced these altered resolutions to the House, Mr. Gladstone called attention to the vast numbers of meetings which were being held for the discussion of tne subject; and assorted that in nineteen eases out of twenty, the general scope of the resolutions passed at these meetings had been co-extensive with, not the mild and moderate declarations which he now offered to the consideration of the House, but the more incisive statements which he liad first proposed. His speech was a noble effort; fixing the responsibility for the atrocities upon the shoulders of the Turkish Government, ho declared that the remonstrances of England had no efi'ect, because tne Porte knew that they began and ended in mere words. Hetaughtthem what right the Christians of Turkey had to look to Christian Europe for protection against their Mussulman masters ; he told of the time when England was the hope of f eedom, when the- eyes of the oppressed were always turned to her, as the home of so much privilege and so much happiness; and pleaded that this should still be the light in which she was regarded. He told of the hci'oism of the Montenegrins and the Bulgarians; and what a great and noble prize was the privilege of removing their load of woo and shame. The debate lasted for five nights, and some of the most elo- quent speakers in the House, if not all of them, were heard up- on the subject. Some of the Liberals spoke in support of the Government, whose policy was defined, now that the war had actually begun, as one of strict neutrality; among these was Mr. Roebuck, who, however, paid high tribute to Mr. Gladstone as " a man whom the country has believed to be one of its greatest and most deserving and patriotic Ministers at one time or an- other; a man endowed with great ability, with vast power, with a winning manner, and whose influence in this House has been almost illimitable." It is well said by one of Mr. Gladstone's bioerrapbars that it was the high moral courage and loftiness of purpose which had been so conspicuously displayed in iiis atti- In Opposition. 839 tudo npon that Eastern Qnestion, which had given him this " al- most illimitable" influence. Lord Hartington, who had opposed the resolutions in their original shape, was now one of their most determined support- ers. Mr. Gladstone, in closing the debate, pointed out the dif- ferent courses which the Government had seemed to pursue at different times. Ho did not believe that the time when united Europe could make an authoritative demand had gone by; that demand should bo made at once; coercion did not moan war. If Kussia failed in the work which she had undertaken, he pointed out, the condition of the Christian Provinces would be infinitely worse than it had over been before ; if she succeeded, as she de- served, to do in such a cause, the performance of such a work would secure for her undying fame ; v/hen that day came, he con- cluded — " When that work shall be accomplished, though it would not be in the way and by the means I would have chosen, as an Eng- lishman I shall hide my head, but as a man I shall rejoice. Nev- ertheless, to my latest day I shall exclaim : Would God that in this crisis the voice of the nation had been suft'ered to prevail; would God that in this great, this holy deed, England hi*d not been refused her share !" But the eloquence was in vain; the re-action against the so- called sentimentalism had strengthened the hands of the Govern- ment; and the first resolution was defeated by a majority of one hundred and thirty-one. Mr. Gladstone addressed a large meeting at Birmingham, be- fore the close of the session, upon the topic of the hour; and up- on his return from a visit fo Ireland in the autumn he again spoke at various points. While the country, as represented by the House of Commons, seemed to bo content with a policy of strict neutrality and watchfulness, the people themselves seem never to have tired of hearing the great advocate of the rights of the Turkish Christians. In November of this year Mr. Gladstone was again elected Lord Eector of the University of Edinburgh, Lord Beaconsfield retiring. His opponent was Sir Stafford Northcote, the Chancel- lor of the Exchequer ; but the member of the Government re- ceived only a little more thr.n one-third the whole number of votes polled. We need not follow the fortures of the Eussians and the Turks t 340 In Opposition. upon the field of battle, or tell of the fall of Kars and Plevna, or the capture of Schipka Pass. It in enough here to record that on the 23rd of January, 1878. the Turkish Plenipotentiaries at Adrianople received orders from the Porte to accept the bases of peace as submitted to them by the Grand Duke Nicholas. jjj^j^ /Wl ^6*.>^//^'^-^ % J t uU Vv^ tJXA. u^A^t-vCZA Td Iv. tuyt K luX. ^ u/LU- VrrTCf t^ fuJ^A^ ^ ^ru.*>s^ ^■y •/^A/^fr-Ki-t**-^ y^ LicM^ tAA. ^U^^^^'^^M "^ ^^ ^A^ 'UtA' ^La^^ 'St Cv*%yh •*#»-« %fT^ 'Ol/i^ "Tlf^ ik<*'^Jv*^ Aa y- f/n^i^f ^t^t^Ju.*^ /U^fC P^ U^i%^'/A fii t^tfU^ C/L*/UL>t.^ ft ■e^ ^M }^ ^U^ -« ^,U^ 1^^..^^ Ovu. A^>Jif- A. Li4^ iry- /^ /Uu^-f^ ^ 332«, Fac-Simite of Mr. Gladstone's Letter to Lord BeacoTu^field. A week after this, Mr. Gladstone addressed a meeting which was held at Oxford, by a number of the umler-graduates, to cele- brate the formation of a Liberal Palmerston Club. He said that for the past eighteen months he had been styled an agitator ; the accusation was well founded; during that period he had been an M'A^wmm In Opposition. 841 agitator. He had never once lost sight of his purpose, which was to counterwork what ho believed to bo tiio policy of Lord Beaconsfield. The vote of credit for which the Government had asked he condemned as the most indefensible proposition which iiad been in his time submitted to Parliament. Lord Beaconsfield attacked Mr. Gladstonefor the personalities which he had used in his various speeches upon the subject. Mr. Gladstone courteously requested that reference to those person- alities should be furnished him; the Premier declined to search over the speeches of the past two and one-half years, and admit- ted that certain expressions which he had accused his opponent of using were not to be found in the Oxford speech or elsewhere. This was the only reparation which Mr. Gladstone could obtain from the brilliant but erratic Minister of the Crown. In the House debate upon the vote of credit, Mr. Gladston' alluded to the vileness of the motives which had been con- stantly imputed to him, while he had not impugned the motives of an;/ one. He was willing, however, to let bygones be by- gones ; and with this amicable declaration proceeded to give his reasons for opposing the vote proposed. It would not strengthen the bands of the Government; it was unconstitutional, because its necessity had not been clearly shown; it would be destructive of the peaceful character of the Conference which was about to meet, thus to usher it in with the news that the war establish- mont of England, which was now upon an equality with that of other Powers, should be thus increased upon the eve of its meet- The Government would have the support of the Opposition, he said, if certain points were in^^isted upon at the Conference. A cession of Eoumanian territoiy, which would interfere with the .Voedom of the mouth of the Danube, must be resisted ; the claims of the subject races to a fair and just government must be supported; though he saw no reason why Bulgaria, having re- lied upon the efforts of others for her liberty, should not pay a tribute. He suggested that the Government should postpone the proposed vote for a time, and renew it if it became necessary; and closed by saying that an address should be presented to the Queen by both Houses, expressing their readiness to support the Government in bringing about a permanent peace. The vote of credit was ultimately carried by a very large ma- iority, the Marquis of Hartington and several other ■^rorainent IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARG£T (MT-3) m V // k /j^\ C «'' Q- f^r /^ /i/.. Mv A 10 I.I '■'■IIIIM IIM I ^ ir S 1^ 112.0 12.2 1.25 1.4 1.8 1.6 V] ^ om, '/ m Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ ^q\' ^9) V ch the Ministry had marked out, would, if pursu- sued to us egitimate end, make the English Parliament what Napoleon III. had made the French Parliament-a merely lorm- al assembly which was really powerless to resist his will It wonld have been the part of wisdom if Beaconsfield had dissolved immediately after his return from Berlin. A dissolu- tion was confidently expected by all, but their expectations were d.sappointed. He was urged by some of his advisers not to put the country to the expense of a general election at that time, as the drain caused by bad trade had been so heavy as to make this course un.dvisable. It wo.ld have given him an ir- rosistib.e majority had he appealed to the country in the first flush of his immense popularity; but ho failed to do so. From UK.tt,,ne, his star having reached its zenith, began to decline. Iheie were many circumstances which combined to destroy the prestige which the Ministry had acquired; some of these would have operated equally against any Government which mi-^ht nave been in existence at that time; but by far the greater namber of reasons for the final fall of the Conservatives was due to their own actions. The secret engagements which the Plenipotentaries had en- red into with both Eussia and Turkey becLe known, and did much to rob Beaconsficld of all the honor which he had gained by his pare n the treaty, ai,. perhaps more. When all was known people saw that this professed enemy of Eussiu had ce- ded to her all that she demanded; that of those provisions of the treaty of 1856 which had been distasteful to heVno on remained in force Nor was this all. To counterbalLnce the concessions which had thus been made to Russia, England had jeed to guarantee to Turkey all her Asiatic poss;ssiot against all invasion, on condition that Turkey handed over CypL to th':; the r" '^ \^'r ^' "'"^- ^'^"« '' -- made manife and that '^ Peace with Honor" had been secured b/agreeinT: beforehand to give the enemy what was demanded. ^ ^ ^ Iherewere other circumstances besides this, which was not wholly sufficient to hav3 accomplished such 1 result. There was great depression of trade throughout the country; the (government was not of course responsible for this in the first place; but their policy, which had consisted so largely of a se- ries of surprises, had tended to unsettle affairs and mak^ hard In Opposition. 347 times still harder through the uncertainty of the future. They had not satisfied the country party, to which the Conservatives are always so largely indebted ; the malt tax remained a griev- ance, in spite of the strictures upon the course pursued by the Gladstone Government; and thoy had bogun to clash with the Homo Eulo party, which was then beginning a new life. The former loader of this organization, Mr. Butt, had long been fail- ing in health, and of late months his place had been supplied by a young man who was destined to become far more prominent than Mr. Butt— the most remarkable politician, says McCarthy, who had arisen on the field of Irish politics since the day when John Mitchell was conveyed away from Dublin to Bermuda, This was Charles Stewart Parnell, whose obstructive policy was, during this administration, highly successful. The Government was blamed for allowing the course of legislation to be thus imped- ed; but good-natured men of respectable ability and no great force of character, like the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were hnable to oomo off victor in a contest where such tactics wore employed. A new chapter of the Irish Question would begin be- fore the Eastern difficulty was fairly settled ; and those who dis- liked the prospect blamed the Government that it should be so. In addition to all this, there was an evident disagreement among the members of the Cabinet as to the general tendency of the policy of the Ministry. In his speeches in the House of Lords, the Premier always endeavored to magnify his office and to glorify the ambitious imperial policy which he had adopted. When such a speech was made, Sir Stafford Norlhcote and Mr. Cross would follow it up with explanations in the House of Com- mons of all the questionable points and reduced to the must practicable limits the objects of the ruling foreign policy. Mr. Gladstone having announced his intention of retiring from the representation of Greenwich at the next general elec- tion, paid a farewell visit to his constituency Nov. SOth. In a speech delivered before a meeting of the Liberal Association, ho urged upon them the necessity for united action ; the votes which the Liberal party had given to its opponent at the last election were tw aty-six in number; and the Government had at times been carried on for years \/ith a majority no greater. At a subsequent meeting, an address was pres(!nted, expressing the regret of his constituents that he should have thought it neces- sary to retire from the representation of this borough. 348 In Opposition. Tho position of tho Govornmcnt with regard to Russia was a subject upon wliich ho dwelt with special emphasis in his reply to this ati.lross, showing that wiiilo tho Oppocition had been charged with undue leanings to that Power, the Ministry had been the real friend of her ambition , lince it was the British Govern- ment wbioh nad been concerned in the conclusion of that treaty Sir Staford Northcote [nftenuard Earl of Iddesleigh). which had given her all that she had lost in 1856. Passing from this topic to the subject of the Afghan War, which was then just begun, he blamed the Government severely for its injustice to an inferior Power, on which il had forced a war. This war was another thing which contributed to make the Ministry less popular. The Ameer had declined to receive Euro- pean Residents at his capital ; Russia, in violation of the treaty by In Opposition. 349 which she had covenanted to exercise no influence in Afghanis- tan, sent a Mission thither, which, when the English Govern- ment remonstrated, she declared was no more than a Mission of courtesy. The Government " sang small to Russia," us Mr. Gladstone expressed it, but dispiitched troops to Afghanistan, to force the Ameer to receive an Eni^iish Resident. The war had been begun upon the responsibilily of the Ministry j Parliament would shortly bo called upon to divide the responsibility with them J and to the people, who would soon have to indorse or re- pudiate the policy of the Government, ho called for a rebuke of this great injustice. His closing words are significant, not only in connection with this long-past war, but considered as a com- mentary upon all governmeiital action : " It is written in the eternal laws of the universe of God that sin shall be followed by suffering. An unjust war is a tremend- ous sin. The question which you have to consider is whether this war is just or unjust. So far as I am able to collect the evi- dence, it is unjust. It fills me with the greatest alarm lest it should bo proved to be grossly and totally unjust. If so, we should come under the stroke of the everlasting law that suffer- ing shall follow sin ; and the day will arrive, come it soon or come it late, when the people of England will discover that national injustice is the surest road to national downfall." There was a short session of Parliament held in December, during which there was a long debate upon this war. Mr. Glad- stone's speech was a powerful arraignment of the Government for the blunders and the negligence which, joined to its insane desire for the extension of its imperial policy, had led to this war. The vote of censure was, however, defeated ; though it is not improb- able that many voted for the Government who w^ere really op- posed to this war, but would not lend their voice to call for the downfall of Disraeli. A question which engaged the attention of the House of Com- mons early in the session of 1879 was the claims of Greece, which had been provided for by a Protocol of the Berlin Con- gress; but which the English Government had taken no steps toward recognizing. Mr. Gladstone supported the resolution which called for an inquiry into the state of the case, and urged the redemption of the pledges which had been given by England. The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied that the matter was one which engaged the serious attention of the Government, and 350 In Opposition. n'j 10. he hoped thai his assurance of that fact would be sufficient ibr the House. It was sufficient, and the question was allowed to rest upon the promise of the Government; a promise, which, we need hardly say, there was never any attempt made to fulfill. There was a debate of some importance upon the use which the Beacon:sfiold Ministry had made of the Prerogative j and a motion was introduced by Mr. Dillwyn, affirming that it was necessary to look more strictly into the mode and limits of its action, in order to correct the growing extension and abuse of it by the Ministry, who had used the supposed personal interposi- tion of the Sovereign to forward their policy. Mr. Gladstone said that this abuse of the Prerogative had been sanctioned in every case by a large majority, and that censure ought to be di- rected against the whole number of members who composed that majority. After a debate upon the Zulu war, which is of little interest now, wo find what is the first instance of serious conflict be- tween Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell. Tiie Speaker had order- ed notes of the proceedings and debates of the House to be tak- en for his own private use. The Home Eulers interpreted this as aimed especially against their small but active party ; and Mr. Parnoll brought forward a resolution that this was contrary to precedent, a broach of the privileges of Parl'ament, and a dan- ger to the liberty and independence of debate. Mr. Gladstone was among the first to speak upon the subject, after the resolu- tion had been proposed. It was the first instance which he had witnessed of a House impugning the motives of its Speaker. lie demanded that the motion should be subjected to a direct nega- tive ; this was done, and a majority of two hundred and sixty- eight, in a House but half full, demonstrated that the Home Rulers could not depend on any one but the immediate members of their own party in such a question. The Liberals, led by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Hartington, made a gallant effort to abolish corporal punishment in the army; but the Government, so rapidly losing prestige outside, was still strong in the House ; and they were not successful. Nor was the financial policy such as the great financier could approve. The course of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in submitting two budgets a year, was subversive of the principle that the Government should bo immediately dependent upon Parliament for a ratification of its plans in this respect. Mr. In Opposition. 861 Gladstone's donunciationa of the Government have Ijeen called unmeasured and unwarruntjiblo; but surely he whoso own ox- cellence in this dopurtment of the Administration has never been questioned was entitled to judge of the success which others had attained, and the measure of praise or censure which justly be- longed to them. He had done the work well ; the present Gov- ernment was not content until it had reversed every point of his domestic policy. The future pointed out which was the wiser course. John Sfunrt Mill. Ii would seem, indeed, that the Conservative party has never possessed the wisdom of the Liberals, in dealing witf« questions which affect the domestic policy of the Government. The Tories have never led in such matters, but have been content to follow, at long distances in some cases, in the footsteps of their rivals on the path of i form. Part of this disposition is doubtless duo to the composition of the party, which includes many timid and fearful souls. Some there are, as Mr. Gladstone once pointed out in speaking of S'w Eobert Peel and other leaders, who have been as far advanced as the Libera! leaders themselves ; but there is I 352 /; Opposition, 863 much meaning in John Stuart Mill's dictum regarding this party. He had been accused of saying that they were all stupid. " 1 did not say that all Conservatives were stupid," he replied, with elaborate euro; *' what I did say was that all stupid people are Consorvativoa." The House of Commons was becoming demoralized. What would have boon tho case if Mr. Disraeli hud retained the leader- ship, it is impossible to say j but Sir Stallord Northcote generally tried to bo strong where he ought to have been yielding, and was frequently compelled to be yielding where he ought to have boon utrong. A scheme for university education in Ireland was brought in by the Government, which was really a mutilation of Mr. Gladstone's rejected measure. It was carried through both Houses vory quickly, and ■''-e Ministers flattered themselves that they had secured tho attachment of tho Irish witliout alienating their Conservative suppo'ers in Great Britain. But tho Irish were n(>t conciliated by a iaw which did net concede nearly enough of their dom?. i' ■; ; and many of the Non-conformists were oflFendod oven by this moderate measure. Tho Liberals loudly demanded dissolution Tho Parliament would expire by limitation the next year, and many of the Op- position, among whom Mr. Gladstone was the most prominent, urged that tho Parliament ought not to run to its full length. But the Government would not listen to this argument; indeed, the persistency with which they shut their ears to it caused the frequent remark that they wore afraid to meet the people at the polls. This once said, it was eagerly caught up by the Liberals, who insisted vehemently thai all they wished was an appeal to the people. Perhaps in their hearts thoy wore not at all certain of the effect of such an appeal j but thoy kept up a bold front and persistently demanded dissolution. Tho more the challenge was repeated, the more tho Government held back. Tho result of several byo-elections during the autumn of 1879 and the suc- ceeding winter revived the spirits of the Conserv.-itives, which hs>,d begun to droop under tho persistent boasts of the rival par- ty ; ar"* of course had the opposite effect upon the Liberals. It mattered little that in the most notable of these Conservative victories tho question had been ono of en luther JxziX of par- ties, and that the personal popularity of the su:3essful candidate was such that defeat would have been most improbable; the ef- fect upon the parties was the same 23 i m w m I 1 ' 1 li 1 ■ 1 i 354 In Opposition. 355 Becoming the candidate for Midlothian, in the latter part of the year 1879 Mr. Gladstone visited Scotland and poured out the floods of his eloquence in vigorous attacks on the Govern- ment and its policy. His progress through "the land o' cakes" was a continued ovation from all classes. Beceptions, proces- sions, illuminations, followed one after the other, while the "Grand Old Man" delivered his most telling and sledge-hammer- like blows upon his opponents. Scotland has generally been loyal to her eminent son, and it seemed as if the enthusiasm of the people knew no bounds. Eeturned to the House by his \k\mi\ triumphant majority, Par- liament met in Fobrujiry, and there was no promise of a dis- solution before the expiration of the legal term. It was to be a fair working session, the Government declared. Suddenly, to the surprise of all, it was announced that they had accepted Mr. Gladstone'^ challenge; they would dissolve at the Easter recess. The dissolution accordingly took place March 24th, 1880, and writs were at once issued for a new election. For a graphic de- scription of the result, the reader is advised to turn back to the page where Mr. Disraeli's words are quoted as the most eloquent account of the rout of the Opposition in Lord Derby's time. Put "Ministerial" in place of "Opposition," and the change makes it entirely applicable. With all the buoyancy of youth, Mr. Gladstone immediately returned to Scotland, and the scenes of his just previous visit and election were gone through with again, with, if possible, more enthusiasm than before. Speech followed speech, and po- litical excitement raged in all its intensity. Of the result here and over the whole kingdom, there is no need to speak. Local influence and opposition in every shape were doomed to igno- minious failure. Young Lord Eosebery, standing by his side on the balcony of the Eosebery mansion at Edinburgh on the even- ing of April 5th, declared to the delighted populace heaving and cheering below, that "it was a great night for Midlothian, for Scotland, for Great Britain, and for the world," whilst a wag in the crowd capped the climax by adding, "and a bad night for Dizzy." For the very first day of the election demonstrated that the Conservatives would be defeated. The certainty was made more apparent as time went on ; defeat became disaster; disaster be- came utter rout. The Liberals came back to power with a ma- 356 In Opposition. jority of u hundred and twenty— unparalleled in the history of the party. There had been one man who had brought this about, by a persistence under defeat which had scarcely been rivalled by Bcaconsfield himself. When others would have sat still, folding: their hands when they saw that failure was inevitable at the Mr. Gladstone Speaking at Lurd Ruxebenjs Huuse after the Election. time, ho had labored. " Tic had draij^.ujcd his party after him into many a daiit^er. Ho had compelled thorn more than once to fight where many of them would fain have held back, and whore none of them saw any chance of victory. Now, at last, the battle had boon given into his hands, and it was a matter of necessity that the triumph should bring back to power the man whof,"! energy and oloqucucc bad inspired the struggle," To him In Opposition. 357 all cyos in Britain were turned as the next Prime Minister. But the Queen, whose shining domestic virtues arc not incom- patible with an overweening appreciation of her own dignity, Chance/for Norfhcote Announcinrj the Dissolution of Parliament. could not forgive the overthrow of the Minister who had done so much to magnify the respect paid her. To Beaconsficld she owed, not only the empty title of ''Empress of India," but a more real extension of the power of the Crov;n, since his Gov- 358 In Opposition. eminent had so frequently invoked the royal Prerogative. To the man who had opposed su^h measures, and successfally, she was not willing to accord the reward which the popular voice would have given him. The Liberals must certainly have the direction of affairs; but Mr. Gladstone should not be at the head of the now Ministry. The post was offered to Lord Hartington, , the chosen leader of the party and the chief figure in the Oppo- sition—whenever Mr. Gladstone was absent. But the noble Mar- quis declined the offer of the post, and assured Her Majesty that there was only one Liberal Premier possible. The Queen was obdurate, and persisted. Lord Granville, the leading Liberal in the House of Lords, was sent for; he attended Her Majesty, but declined, like his Commoner associate, to receive the command to form a Ministry; there was but one man, he assured the Queen, who could fill that position. The ease was a hopeless one. The Liberal party was indeed united in this hour of tri- umph. The Queen sent for Mr. Gladstone at last, and command- ed him to form a Cabinet. There was no hesitation this time. CHAPTER XIII. THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. Great Liberal Majority-Importance of the Irish Question-Mr. Bradlaugh in Parlmment-Lord Kandolph Churchill-Great Expectations from the Gladstone Ministry- Treaty of Berlin Concerning Montenegro-Claims ot Greece-Trying to .Adjust Domestic Taxes-Game Laws-Post-office Department-Illness of Mr. Gladstone-Irish Land Law not Satisfactory -Peace Preservation Act-Irish Evictions-Home Rulers-Land League -Long Debate-Coercion B'^.s-Eloquent Speech of John Bright-Mem- orable Scene m the House of Commons-Ludicrous Incidents-Mr Par- nell and Irish Legislation-Final Passage of the Irish Bill. ^^HE Immense majority which had swept Mr. Gladstone into {^ power did not remove the first difficulty which presented ^ itself after his appointment as First Minister of the Crown. If he had had about six Cabinets to form, it might have been all very well; but having only one, there was con- siderable difficulty in deciding upon the rival claims of the many men who were thought to be entitled to positions in it. Of course Lord Hartingtoi, who had been the leader of the Lib- eral party under peculiarly trying circumstances, being con- stantly overshadowed by Mr. Gladstone himself, who could not keep away from the House of Commons or political life in gen- eral, must be included in it; equally certain was it that Lord Granville must bo offered a post of importance. Mr. Bright was likewise necessary; and, much to the dismay of the Whigs, the Eadicals demanded recognition. Eadicalism was indeed what had helped to swell the Liberal majority more than any other element except the party itself; Radicalism was too formidable an ally to be offended ; it would be better to let the Whigs growl. Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke were the most promin- ent men of this party, and they agreed that each would heartily support the other. The former was accordingly made Presi- dent of the Board of Trade, and the latter, for whom no seat in the Cabinet eouid be found, was made Under-Secretary for For- eign Affairs. Lord Granville being Foreign Secretary, Lord Hartington, 359 ,1 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 361 sSecrotary for India, and Mr. Bright, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, there was but one more office of importance to the after history of the Ministry. This was filled by Mr. Forster as Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant. The Irish Question was indeed one of importance. It was the prime cause of the late unexpected dissolution; and Lord Bea- consfield had characterized the Home Rule movement as "scarce- ly less disastrous than pestilence and famine." Perhaps support of that movement waa the legitimate outgrowth of that anti- imperialism which had brought the Liberals back to power; it became later the cause ^f division in the party which material- ly increased the strength of a Conservative Government, and de- layed still longer the justice for which Ireland had been crying out so long. The Irish vote, while it was not large enough in many constituencies to send a representative to Parliament, was yet often the casting vote between Liberals and Conservatives. In the election of 1880 their voice was wholly for the Liberals; not because they were Liberals, but because they were not To- ries, "Anything to beat Bcaconsfield," was the motto under which they i-a!lied ; if we may be permitted so to parody a cam- paign battle-cry of American politics. The places in the Cabinet having all been filled, there were some men omitted who must be placated ; and to these a title wasoffered. Among them, Mr. Lowe was the chief. Mr. Lowowas not reliable as a supporter of his chief; he was too incapable of sacrificing his own opinion or abandoning his own ideas ever to become a successful assistant to any minister; Mr. Gladstone had tried to get on with him, but was well assured by that ex- perience that it would be much easier to get on without him. Mr. Lowo accordingly disappeared from the House of Com- mons as Lord Sherbrooke took his seat in the House of Lords. But the bitter, brilliant speaker, a man of splendid gifts and wide and original ideas, as well as profoundly cultured, seemed to find the atmosphere of the Upper House anything but stimu- latin--^. He sank into a state which was almost apathy, as com- pared with the finriness of Mr. Lowe, and he seldom addressed the Peers upon the subjects of debate. Among the most remarkable circumstances attending this change of Ministry, was the conversion of Lord Derby. This nobleman had, as wo have already seen, held no mean post in the late Conservative Cabinet, wnich he had resigned when he saw •t \ 362 The Second Gladstone Ministry. that the coui-ho which the Foreign Minister was expected to par- sue was one which he could not follow. He was openly compared to Titus Oates by a political ally and a near relative; but Lord Salisbury, in so resenting his change of political opinions, was apparently oblivious of the fact that his chief had begun life as a Radical of the most pronounced type. At any rate, the Earl of Derby now ranked himself as a Liberal Peer. There had been other changes than this. Mr. Bright, who had been regarded as a Eadical of the Eadicals, when he first came in- Lo7'd Granville. to political prominence, had paled into compai'ative conservatism beside the new apostles of that school, of whom Mr. Chamber- lain was the accepted representative. Sir Charles Dilke, who had openly announced himself as a Ecpublican, and been stern- ly rebuked therefor by Mr. Gladstone, had now softened his be- lief so far as to accept a post in Mr. Gladstone's Ministry. Lord Sclborne's political views, on the other hand, had been modified as gradually as Mr. Gladstone's own ; and even at this date, he did not admit that he was altogether a Liberal, but The Second Gladstone Ministry. 363 styled himself a Liberal-Conservative. As Sir Eound 11 Palmer, ho had opposed the action of the Ministry in the disestablish- Members of a New Parliament Signing the Roll. ment of the Irish Church ; but he had proved himself a sound lawyer and an honorable politician ; so that his appointment as Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the G-reat Seal was felt to be a real recognition of desert. 364 The Second Gladstone Ministry/. Great interest was awakened during this session concerning the admission of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh to the House of Commons. He vfzs born near London in 1833, of very poor parents, and early gave promise of a remarkable career. Having become an atheist, and being widely known as a writer and speaker upon atheistical subjects, his next achievement was to obtain an election tv. \irlia- ment. On the 3d of May he presented himself at the table of the House of Commons, and said that he wished to be allowed to make affirmation, instead of taking the oath in the usual manner. His reason was well known to be his aversion to acknowledging the supremacy of the Christian religion, or, indeed, any religion at all, as he must do in taking an oath. The Speaker declined to take the responsibility of a decision, and left the matter to the judgment of the House. It was proposed to appoint a select committee to decide the question, and the motion was approved by the Opposition as well as by the Government. The Government, however, aroused the indignation of the House ay proposing the names of several members who had recently taken oflSce, and were therefore not in the strictest sense members of the House, since they were obliged to go before their constituents again. The ministry was accused of weakness in its desire to hurry matters, and the accusation was perhaps not undeserved. After a sharp debate, however, the Government carried its point, and the com- mittee was nominated. Mr. Bradlaugh had claimed the right to make an affirmation under the Parliamentary Oaths Act; but the committee decided, by the casting vote of the chairman, that Mr. Bradlaugh did not belong to the privileged classes of Moravians and Quakers, who Vi'ere the persons for whose benefit this act had been passed. This was an unexpected difficulty for the Government, which had fully expected the decision to be favorable to Mr. Bradlaugh. The Opposition flattered itself that it had got rid of Mr. Bradlaugh, but now arose a new difficulty. Mr. Bradlau'^h presented himself at the table of the House of Commons again and announced that he was readv to take the oath. A new committee was appointed, and this authority decided that Mr. B-radlaugh ought not to be permitted to take the oath, though it might be wise to let him affirm. Mr. Labouchce, his colleague ning the ommoiis. iiid early 1 atheist, tbeistieal ^ ^irlia- le of the to make er. His ging the on at all, sion, and jposed to e motion ernment. le House tly taken rs of the its again. '• matters, r a sharp the com- firraation decided, did not :ers, who it, which "adlaugh. 'adlaugh, 1 hiniself iced that lided that 1, though colleague 365 866 The Second Oladstone Ministry. In the representation of Nortlmmpton, otfereil n it-solution declaring his rigiit to make aiHrniation. This resolution war- nuppor<«Hl by the Prime Minister; but thia measure, the first trial of strengtn between the Ministry and the Opposition, if a question which involved no part of the Government's policy could be so coiled res< ilted in a defeat to the Cabinet's cause. Tl'e resolution was lost by a vote of two hundred and seventy-five to two hundred and thirty. But Mr. Bradlaugh was not willing to accept defeat. On the following day he presented himself at the table to be sworn. The Spea'cer gravely informed him of the resolution of the House, and reeaker appealed to the House, and Mr. Bradlaugh was arrested in due form. He was not kept under restraint for a long time, h(>wever, but was released in the course of the week. Immediately upon his release, the Government introduced a resolution to the effect that any one claiming the privilege of making an affirmaaon should be allowed to do so, at his own risk of the statutory penalties provided in case of any one not duly qualified to sit and vote, attempting to do so. This resolution was carried, and under it Mr. Bradlaugh was finally rd lowed to take his seat. An action was immediately brought against him, however, to recover he£.vy penalties for having sat ana voted without having previously taken the oath. As the penalty for each vote so cast was £500, the sum claimed rapidly grew to tremendous proportions. The Bradlaugh episode was a windfall to the Conservatives, dis- heartened as they had been by the severe losses in the late election. They saw that the immense Liberal majority was not a sure support of the Government ; that the party was not really as united as the leader would have had it. It was an unexpected source of strength ; if not of absolute ■nowfsr in debate it was yet a powerful with which to annoy tlie JMinistry. The Second Gkuhtone Ministry. J67 There waa yet another effect of *ie Bradlaugh controverHv. Ont of it arose the Fourth Party, as .. was called, derisively at first. In the House of Commons th.re was the sou of a great Tory duke, to whom uohody had ever paid much attention. He had boeu listened to, of couise, but simply beoau3e he was the son of the Lffi'd Randolph Churchill. Duke of Marlborough ; not for any interest which he had been able to excite by his speeches. This was a golden oppovtrnity, and 'le seized upon it. He was the bitter opponent of the atheistic claimant of a seat, -"..id of the Government which suppofteP ^anA nr.oafmn Tbo TriaVi mpmhprfl vvprp hiirdlv surprised then, when at the opening of the session of 1881, the Queen's speech declared that the multiplication of agrarian crimes. Tlie Second Gladstone Ministry. 377 and the insecurity of life and property in Ireland demanded coer- cive measures. On the otlier iiaud it wa.< admitted that the con- dition of Ireland called for an extension of the Land Act of 1870. MoLuay, January 24th, Mr. Forster introduced his first coer- cion measure. Liberals and Conservatives alike loolc^d at his statistics of outrages perpetrated in Ireland with horror, until Mr. Labouchere showed that in most cases one outrage was made to stand for several, by multiplying ''t by the number of men con- cerned with it. This somewhat weakened the force of the argu- ment based on the statistics, but Mr. x^'orster did not look upon it in that light. The bill gave the Lord Lieutenant the power of arresting any one who was suspected of treasonable practices, and tho commission of crimes of intimidation, or incitement thereto. It was an ex-post facto law, as it did not limit the arrest to those who had offended after the passage of the Mil. On the day after the introduction of this bill, Mr. Gladstone moved to declare urgency for the coercion bills, and thus give them precedence over all other business. Then ensued a series of sittings without precedent in the history of Parliament. The first sitting of the House at which this was the business of the hour wa& prolonged, not only all night, but until two o'clock the next afternoon. The debate was resumed on Thursday, with a speech from Mr. Bright. The Radical of the old school had long been regarded as a friend to Home Rule, and it had been confi- dently asserted that the silence which he had hitherto preserved upon this all-absorbing topic was due to his disapproval of the course which his colleagues were pursuing. But if this opinion really obtained, it was most effectually dissipated by this speech. The Land League had oeen compared to the anti-Corn Law League, and the impression that Mr. Bright was a devoted friend of the Irish was perhaps due in no small degree to this compari- son. But now he angrily denied the parallel, and with more than his usual vehemence literally flung himself upon the Irish party. The Irish national press was exasperated to find Mr. Bright thus decisively arrayed upon the side of their enemies ; he was the last link thac had bound the extreme Irish party to tae vjovernnient ; and now that had been snapped. But Mr. Bright's speech, eloquent as it was in its fierce denun- 378 The Second Gladstone Ministry. ciatious of the Land Leaguers, was completely overshadowed by one from Mr. Gladstone the next day, upoi« the same subject. His speech was a justification of coercion in the disorganized con- dition of Ireland, and a bitter denunciation of many of the si)eechea which had been made by Mr. Parnell and Mr. Biggar. The fierce- ness of his attack had had no precedent since the time when he had defended the mona-chy against the republicanism of Sir Charles Dilke. " Passion is the spell which most sursly uulocks Mr. Gladstone's ski)l as an orator of attack. The fury of his indignation swept over the House and stirred it to its depths, arousing tumultuous enthusiasm in the majority of his hearers, and angry protest from the minority he was assailing. The pale, unmoved face of Mr. Parnell occasionally showed tiirough the storm as he rose to cor- rect the Prime Minister in his quotations from his speeches, and was howled and shouted, if not into silence, at least into being inaudible." Such is the description of an eye-witness, who was certainly not unfavorable to Parnell. But the House was not to be swept along on this tide of fiery eloquence. There were breakers ahead, in the obstruction policy of the Irish members ; the members of the Gov- ernment sat in their places; some doggedly defiant of these efforts, some appearing to be extremely depressed because the measure was not carried through with a rush. Entirely different was the atti- tude of the Opposition during this prolonged sitting ; what was death to the frogs in the fable was fun for the boys ; and the members of that party whose Irish policy had been so severely condemned by the party in pov/er, and who were promised that they should see how speedily the Irish difficulties would be settled by the Liberals, enjoyed themselves immensely during this exciting debate. Finally the Speaker proceeded to put the main question. An Irish member rose ; the Speaker refused to hear him. Then there arose a cry which had not been heard in the House of Commons since 1 642, when Charles I. suddenly appeared in its sacred pre- cincts and demanded that the members whom he accused of hi~b treason should be delivered up to him. " Privilege, Privilege !" shouted the whole Irish party, leaping to their feet as one man. wm TAc >SIeconi Gladstone Ministry. 379 Then, bowing to the Chair, they marched out of the House in the same unbroken phalanx. ""■hus ended a 8cen'3 without parallel in Parliamentary histor/. The long sitting was the first actual triumph of obstruction, which had often delayed business, but which had never before revolu- tionized parliamentary law and precedent. The occasion was full of weird interest, and was chiefly remarkable for the daring audacity of the pj'incipal actors in it. Again and again did the Irish patriots move that the House adjourn, that progress be reported, that the Speaker leave the chair, and a variety of similar motions. Again and again did the sonorous voice of Mr. Biggar break the stillness of the air with his peculiarly pronounced " Misthur Spake, 3ui-r-r." Under cover of motions to adjourn, the whole question was re-opened, until, on tHe morn- ing of the second day, it was discovered that one of the solid gang hud not addressed himself to the bill itselfl Up rose this zealous patriot, and when it was found he insisted on reading the measure, clause by clause, a groan escaped from a score of li)>s. When the lights were put out at daybreak on Tuesday, the ap- pearance of the House was miserable. The uaual sweeping and cleaning had been impossible, and the floor was strewn with rubbish of all kinds, torn newspapers, and even pieces of orange peel abounding in every direction. Then the Liberals commenced going home to sleep in sections, and every few hours a score or two members would appear clothed and in their right minds, to replace an equal number of dirty and sleepy legislators, who in turn went home to recuperate. For the nonce all party feeling was forgotten, and the Opposi- tion loyally supported the Government in its attempt to silence Irish protests and Irish demands for justice. Sir Staflbrd North- cot'^ personally appealed to Mr. Gladstone to go home and sleep, pledging himself to remain in his absence and " keep a Hor.se." Of ludicrous incidents there were several. It is " strictly out of order " for members or strangers to bring ref'^3shments on to the floor of the House. This rule did not hurt the English and Scotch members, who could easily ""et awav to eat • but it was not so with the Irish, who ate sandwiches and drank out of flasks to their heart's c>-ntent. Among the lunch eaters was an Irish obstruc- :80 'Uie Second Oladdonf Ministry, tionist whose reputation as a drinker of whiskey exceeded his elo- ([uence. Mr. Wharton called the Speaker's attention to the fact that tliis gentleman was eating and drinking, whereupon the wine- bibber proceeded to sta'id up and empty his flask in face of the Speaker's studied rebuke. The bill was immediately brought in, and the first reading car- ried. The House adjourned till noon of the same day, this single .sitting having lasted about forty-one hours, and being the longest then on record. The Irish members thought better of it when the time came for re-assembling, and were promptly on hand to criti- cise the action of the Speaker in thus bringing tho debate to a close upon his own motion. The Speaker ruled that it was not a question of privilege ; whereupon an Irish member moved the adjournment of the House, and the debate on that question was kept up until nearly six o'clock, when, Upon division, it was found that but forty-four members out of more than three hundred were in favor of it. As it was six o'clock by the time that the result of the division v/as announced, and the day was Wednesday, the House was obliged, by its own rules, to adjourn. The Irish were resisting with all their might. They could only hope to weary out the Govern mer*, and thus obtain some conces- sions. If the ministry would not pass a law for the relief of Ire- land, they should not pass one for her oppression. So they rea- soned ; and the members who sat on the right hand of the Speaker were doubtful as to the result, until their chief found a way out of the difficulty. The obstruction policy of the very small Irish party must be the excuse for the revival of rules which had been allowed to sink into oblivion. The Irish had brought th j cry of •* Privi- lege" from the echoing chambers of the past and they were silenced with thunders from the same stormy reg >n. When question time came on Thursday, Mr. i*:;rnell suddenly asked if it were true that Mr. Davitt had been arrested. The Hoi^e Secretary answered that he had; whereupon the wildest Peering ensued ; when the noise subsided, Sir William Harcourt went on to state that the Irish Secretary and he, after due consulta- tion with their colleagues and the legal advisprs of the Govern- ment, had decided that Mr. Davitt had violated the conditions of 7^ Second Gladstone Ministry, 381 his ticket-of-leave. Mr. Parnell triodraw. He began to speak, but there was such confusion that nothing could be distinguished ; finally, the Sergeant-at-Arms approached him, accompanied by several attendants, and Mr. Dillon left the Iiouse. After the excitement had somewhat lessened, Mr. Gladstone made another effort to go on with his s )eech, but v^as interrupted by several Irish members, chief among whom was INIr. Parnell, who moved that Mr. Gladstone be no longer heard. The Speaker declined to recognize the member for Cork; thp member from Corkdeclin 1 in effect to recognize the Speaker, since he refused to sit down. This was the very oflFense for which Mr. Dillon had just been expelled, and a similar fate awaited Mr. Parnell. Thirty- ^li-ec members had voted against the expulsion of Mr. Dillon ; there were but seven in the minority when Mr. Gladstone proposed 382 The Second Gladstone Ministry. a similar course with regard to Mr. Parnell. The Irish members remained in tiieir seats, refusing to vote when the division was called for. It was not without reason that they complained of the treatment v/hich they had received. This was indeed an antiquated mode of procedure, to demand that a Speaker be no longer heard ; but Mr. Parnell would hardly have made use of it had not the Prime Minister himself done so in the first place. It was simply a turn- ing of his own weapon against him, though the majority decided that the Premier might use arms which were not permitted to others. Mr. Gladstone, who was literally speaking under difficulties, was again interrupted by an Irish member, Mr. Finigan, and there was a repetition of the little comedy which had been twice before per- formed before the House. There were twenty-eight members of the Irish party remaining, and the Speaker having called the attention of the House to their refusal to vote, named them one after another. Mr. Gladstone moved their expulsion in a body ; it was carried with but six dissenting voices. Then ensued a scene which was ludicrous in its monotonv. Each member as he was named, rose and made a speech protesting against the action of the Government, and declining to obey the order to leave unless compelled to do so; the sergeant at aims would solemnly approach him witii his attendants at his heels; touch him on the shoulder witnout saying a word. In most cases the memb(T obeyed this mute summons; but in some cases they refused to do so until a sufficient number of attendants had been brought to show that resistance was absolutely hopeless. Mr. Gladstone again rose and tried to go on with his motion, but it v/as not to be as yet. Some of the Irish party who had not been in the House while this was taking place now returned, and tried the same tactics. It was necessary to suspend six of these before he was at last permitted tc proceed. Steps were at once taken to amend the rules of the House in such manner that the obstruction policy could not be used to such an advantage. A fall upon the ice having confined Mr. Gladstone to his house for a few days, the final passage of the bill took place in his absence. February 27th, Lord Hartington moved that the sh members iivisiou was le treatment ted mode of d ; but Mr. the Prime iply a turn- rity decided ermitted to iculties, was d there was before per- nembers of called the 1 them one in a body ; onv. Each ing against lie order to i-ms would ;els ; touch t cases the hey refused en brought lis motion, ho had not urned, and X of these House in led to such Gladstone took place id that the Inquiring Concerning Mr. Olaislcme's Tnjuriut. 383 384 The Second Gladstone Minidry. debate on the bill, which was at that time in committee, and about to be reported, should end at seven the next day. Any amend- ments which were unreported upon at that time were to be denied consideration. This motion, which did not admit of being dis- cussed, ;vas carried, and the Speaker promptly cut the debate shor*^ at the hour named. The Coercion Bill was carried with but thirty- six negatives in the Commons, and passing rapidly through all its stages in the House of Lords, became a law March 2d. The long premised Land Bill was introduced April 7th. It was supposed to be based upon the reports of two Commissions which had been nppointed, one by the late and one by the existing Gov- ernment, for the purpose of investigating the land question in Ire- land. The number of reports presented by these two Commissions seems to have been limited only by the number of gentlemen who had been appointed to investigate the subject ; but with one excep- tion they agreed th?.t there ought to be a court which should decide between \? .dlord and tenant when they differed with regard to rent. Fair rent. Fixity of Tenure, and Free Sale— the three F's, as they were called— were the main objects of the Bill ; and the vexed question of peasant proprietary was not omitted. It was a moderate measure ; and if it should prove practicable, the Gov- ernment hoped that the condition cf the Irish would be greatly ameliorated by its action. It was bitterly opjiosed by the Conservatives, who characterized it as communistic, revolutionary, socialistic, and by any other epitliets that appeared sufficiently condemnatory. The Irish mem- bers, perhaps, were astonished at the introduction of such a measure by the Government ; but although it was more than they had hoped for, it was less than they wished. They set themselves to work to widen its scoi)e, and in this they were fairly successful. It was nut finally presented to the House until tho end of July, when it passed the third reading. The Bill was tiien sent up to the Lords If the Irish members had done their best to obstruct tlic Coercion Bill, the Lords were equally imreasonable with regard to the Land Bill. It was amended so that it was hardly recognizable, and the Peers, flat- tering themselves that they had done great things, passed it in its altered form, and it went again to the Commons. The Second Gladstone Ministry. 885 The Commons declined to accept the changes, and sent it back to the Lords. The Lords made new amendments, p.ud sent it down to the Commons again. The ministry made some minor conces- sions, but declined once more to accept those sweeping changes on which the Peers had insisted. At last the Lords, afisr all their bluster, yielded some points, and the Land Bill of 1881 became law. In the meantime Mr. Bradlaugh's seat had been formally de- clared vacant, and a writ for a new election issued. He was iigain elected, and the old trouble began afresh. The Government held to the opinion that the House could not interfere when a duly elected member presented himself to take the oath, as Mr. Brad- laugh now did ; and the Opposition having carried a resolution affirming that Mr. Bradlaugh should not be permitted to repeat the oath, which he regarded as a mere, meaningless, empty cere- mony, Mr. Gladstone informed them, in answer to their inquiries, that it was their business to carry out that resolution, against which he had voted. The government promised to deal with the question in the usual way, and the Parliamentary Oaths Bill was brought in ; but it was finally decided that it would be impossible to proceed with it, and the matter was allowed to lie over until the next session. The disturbance excited by Mr. Bradlaugh's persistency in urging his claims to a seat therefore continued until nearly the time for pro- rogation. Cobden, speaking to a friend of Disraeli and his brilliant career, had asked, '* How will it be with him when all .< retrospect?" That solemn question, like an echo of the archangel's blast, now was brought to the minds of men. On the 19th of April, 1881, all became restrospect with the great Tory statesman. The long, long rivalry was ended, and Mr. Gladstone was left without a peer in the ranks of living Englishmen. After the passage of a number of measures of special im- portance only in a local or temporary sense, the stormy session came to a close. Up to its end the Government had not shown any special animosity to the Irish members, and seemed disposed to treat the Land Leaguers in general with more lenity than ever. This was evidenced by the release of Father Sheehy, who had been imprisoned as an agitator. But the advocates of T ish freedom 25 386 The Second Gladstone Ministry. from British rule contirued their self-appcinted task, and the patience of the Ministry was finally worn out. Mr. Gladstone spoke at Leeds on the 7th of October, in reply to an address from the Mayor and Town Council. His speech touched upon the all- absorbing Irish Question; and as he warmed to the work, he spoke of Mr. Parnell in such terms that he was accused of a bitter, personal attack. The extreme views of the Parnellites were com- pared unfavorabl} with those of the men of the 1848 school, and even with those of the moderate men of to-day, like Mr. Dillon. Mr. Parnell promptly replied to these strictures, and Mr. Dillon refused to accept Mr. Gladstone's compliment. One speech fol- lowed another from the lips of the incensed Irishmen, and the Government finally issued warrants for the arrest of the prominent Land Leaguers. This was announced by the Prime Minister in a most dramati- callv effective manner. In the midst of an address to a crowded assembly at Guildhall, he made an eloquent plea for the preserva- tion of law and order. Suddenly he produced a telegram, an- nouncing that the Land League leaders had been arrested and conveyed to jail. The effect was marvellous. Friends and foes strove to outdo each other in their wild applause. CHAPTER XIV. i_. THE SECOND GLADSTONE MINISTRY. (Continued.) Mr. Bradliuigh Once More— Home Rule— The Lords and the Land Act— Amend- ment of the Rules— Arreai-8 Bill— Concessions to the Irish— Phcenix Park Murders — Crimes Bill — Obstruction — Friends Failing— The Egyptian Question— Bombardment of Alexandria — Autumn Session — Forster's At- tack on Gladstone— The Reply— Explosives Bill— And Still, Mr. Brad- laugh— Minor Le^'islation— The Soudan DitBculties— Irrepressible Mr. Bradlaugh — The P^gyptian Trouble Continues— The Afghan Boundary- Failure of the Soudan War — The Budget— A Sleepy Time— Waking Up — A Remarkable Speech — A Great Surprise — Fall of the Ministry. p^ARLIAMENT opened February 7, 1882. The chief ♦^^opic of discussion, always excepting the omnipresent Irish Ques- tion, was the amendment of the rules. This had been in- trusted to a committee the year before, and was expected to come up before the House very early in the session. The subject was of special interest, because, upon the passage of a rule which would render obstruction more difficult, the Irish Question could be more speedily discussed, if not more easily settled ; and the reforms in this direction had gone just far enough to make the oppressed more eagerly desirous of aid. But the first question which came before the House was the Bradlaugh difficulty. Mr. Bradlaugh had been excluded from the House the year before by a sessional order, which, of course, re- mained in force only until the prorogation. On the demand of his rights, Mr. Gladstone expressed the opinion that the courts of law were the only authority competent to deal with the question ; but the matter was otherwise decided by the House of Commons, and Ml-. Bradhii crh was once more directed to withdraw. Mr. Labou- chere having moved for a new writ for Northampton, the motion was negatived by a large majority. Thereupon Mr. Rr.n.dl.ojig],^ ,^.f^yarj(.|ng fj.f)|^ ^iie seat which he liad been occupying, and which was not in the technical limits of the House, drew a New Testament from his coat-pocket and gravely 387 388 The Second Gladstone Ministry. proceeded to swear himself in as a Member of Parliament. This done, 'le produced a paper stating that he had duly taken the oath, signed it and laid it upon the table. The House was literally struck dumb by this performance, and only began to recover itself as Mr. Bradlaugh concluded the extraordinary ceremony. Then there was " confusion worse confounded." Lord Randolph Churchill led the argument, and when that has been said the aggressive nature of it may be inferred. But the law-offi(!ers of the Crown could not decide that Mr. Bradlaugh had really violated any statute, and Mr. Gladstone succeeded in postponing the con- sideration of the question until the next day. The wrangle thus delayed ended in the expulsion of Mr. Brad- laugh, the issuing of a new writ, and the re-election of Mr. Brad- laugh. This had come to be quite the recognized order of things ; but there was a slight change in what followed. Mr. Labouchere having proposed that Mr. Bradlaugh should be heard in his own behalf^ instead of addressing the Commons from below the bar, as usual, that gentleman boldly advanced to the sacred precincts of the House itself, and, taking a seat below the gangway, proceeded to argue the point with the Speaker as a member of the House of Commons. He was expelled by a vote of 297 to 80 ; a new y.Tit was immediately granted, and Mr. Bradlaugh was again re-elected. A resolution of Sir Stafford Northcote, carried by a majority of fifteen, affirmed the sessional resolution, and forbade him to take the oath. The strife extended to the House of Lords, where there was a bill brought in to exclude all atheists from Parliament, suc- ceeded, when it was lost, by an Affirmation Bill, which shared the same fate. The Government arrived at an understanding with Mr. Bradlaugh, by which he was to be permitted to occupy a seat on one of the benches, on condition that he did not join in the debates, and did nothing to disturb the House. The Irish Question had been broached during the debate upon the Address, but had not been discussed in any other form. But this debate is not without interest, since it disproves the assertions which have sometimes been made, that the alliance of Mr. Glad- stone with Mr. Parnell v/as merely a device to reg.ain power by tlie aid of the Irish vote. If, in the height of his career as Prime Minister for the second time, he began to advocate Home Rule, it iiisiiaift .■»,., '-'tv 390 The Second Gladstone Ilinistry. is clear that it could not have been a sudden change, made for any sinister motive. It was quite characteristic of the man, whose whole political life was signalized by gradual growth from extreme Toryism to extreme Liberal views. Had it been poasible for Gladstone to have lived ten years longer, in the full possession of his mental and physical powers, it is not improbable that he would have come to uphold those very principles which he had so severely condemned wiien answering Sir Charles Dilke's speech on Republicanism. The change would have been no greater than others which took place in his life. Mr. P. J. Smyiii had moved an amendment supporting a restora- tion of the Irish Parliament, but this had been lost after he oifered to withdraw it. Mr. Gladstone had spoken upon the subject, and, in a later stage of the controversy, he was called to account for this speech. The Irish members themselves demanded the explanation, some passages seeming to indicate that he was not averse to Home Rule. Mr. Gladstone replied that he had always considered that a demand for the local government of Irelanc' was not too dangerous to be considered, as it was rated by the Conservatives ; but up to this time no case, which combined a jiroper formulation of the Iri.sh claims with a due regard for the supremacy of the British Crown, had ever been submitted to the Government. Such cautious admissions meant that the time would come when Gladstone would advocate Home Rule. The utterances Woit ,.ot so interpreted at the time, for the party most interested scarcely dared to trust such hopes, and the Irish Question was considered of less importance for the present until the working of the new Land Act should be tried, than it had been the previous session. But to give the new Land Act a fair trial was just what the Tories did not intend to do. It was agitated anew in the quarter whence trouble was least expected — the House of Lords. Many of the peers regretted bitterly that the Land Act had been forced upon them, and they embraced the first opportunity to protest. The Miniftry was now embarrassed by the Bradlaugh difficulty. Their action was unpopular with the great majority of people, who looked upon atheistical tendencies with horror. The landlord party in the House of Lords attacked Mr. Glad- r/ig Second Gladstone Ministry. 391 stone fiercely because of his utterances upon Home Rule, and dwelt with malicious emphasis upon a pamph'et which had recently been reprinted by its author, who had been appointed Secretary to the Irish Land Commission. This pamphlet defended peasant pro- prietorship, and spoke of the " cause for which Parnell and Dillon and Davitt had labored and snf jred." Although the writer re- signed his office as soon as the pamphlet became the subject of unfavorable comment, this did not serve to excuse the Government. A motion for a select committee to inquire into the workings of the Land Act was made and carried by a majority of more than forty of the Lords, and in spite of the attitude of the Commons, the com- mittee was appointed. It must have delighted the soul of Sir Charles Dilkeand his co- republicans when the vote concerning Prince Leopold's allowance, in view of his approaching marriage, was announced ; f^^ the pro- position to increase it from £10,000 to £25,000 was carried against the largest minority that ever opposed a grant to a royal prince. It was the general opinion among Englishmen that Protection had been dead and buried long ago, but during this session there was an effort made to revive it, under the name of fair trade. The motion for a committee, in the interests of fair trade, to consider the operations of foreign tariffs upon British commerce, was nega- tived by a vote of 140 to 89. All this time Mr. Parnell was in prison. It is true that at some time during the month of April he was released on parole, to attend the funeral of a relative, but he was not free to occupy his seat in Parliament. He occupied his time in drafting a bill to meet the diflSculty of the arrears of rent, which weighed down the tenant farmers. This Irish Arrears Bill was kindly received by Mr. Gladstone, as an evidence that the Irish members would do their best to make the Land Law of 1881 effective. But this attitude of the head of the Government was not a little puzzling to observers. Would the Ministry accept a measure proposed by a man whom they had imprisoned for his course in this very matter? The thing was so glaringly inconsistent that it was speedily rumored that the Irinh ■nolicy would immediatelv be ."ihanfed. The prisoners had been privately offered their liberty if they would leave the country, if for ever so short a time; they might 392 The Second Gladstovi. Minhtry. only cross the Channe; and return at once ; but to this they wouUl not agree; they had been imprisoned unjustly, as they consids'-ed, and they would make no compromise to secure their release. Mr. Gladstone's significant words to which we have before alluded seem to have been prorapied by a kindly feeling for Ir-- land; he was already progressing toward his later attitude. And here we may add a word regarding this change in opinion. The subject of Irish affairs is one on wiii(!h the densest ignorance pre- vails in England, cr di '■ prevail until the time of which we write. Mr. Gladstone was no exception to the rule ; he has told us himself that he did not undeistand the case until the beginning of his second administration, when he set to work to study it more thoroughly than ever before. He had been devoting himself mainly to this subject, and the more he studied it, the more he was convinced that Ireland was the victim of tyranny. Finally, on M^y Ist, Lord Salisbury addressed a string of ques- tions to Lo: d Granville, who was the head of the Government in the House of Lords. In answer to these, Lord Granville announced that Earl Cowper had resigned the Lord-Lieutenancy of J land some weeks ago, but had left it with the Premier to say when it should take effect ; that it had been accepted, and Lord Spencer appointed in his stead. The Government had decided to release the three imprisoned members, and would introduce legislation on the arrears question and the Bright clauses of the Land Act. An Irishman might say that everything was rose-colored in the Emerald Isle; it was indeed true that the Irish Question was nearer its solution than it had been for many a day. The Govorn- ment was favorably disposed, or at least Mr. Gladstone was, and his strong will controlled his subordinates. But from this cltar sky fell a thunderbolt. The announcements thus made, and similar ones in the Hou.^e of Commons at the same time, were the most important, as indicath\ff a change of ministerial policy, that had been made since Sir Robert Peel informed the House that he had abandoned the principle of Protection ; and they produced a corresponding effect. Of course there was but one line of action for Mr, Forster to follow, his Irish policy had been severely condemned by the colleagues who had thu^ decided to pursue exactly the opposite course, and he resigned. ft-**-.".,,* -*.»'»■<•■««. .• ; s . ' ,■!,* ■ ,-" •• ■■! V- ■■^•■'"t'B*^ r/ic Second Gladstone Ministry, 393 This was highly satisfactoiy to tlie Irish members, one of whom had said that under the new Government Ireland had suffered from three things— famine, the House of Lords, and Mr. Forster ; the speaker and his hearers inclining to the opinion that the last was the worst infliction. Earl Spencer. But everything was not lovely as yet. The Opposition de- manded to be informed if the withdrawal of the famous No-rent manifesto \. 3 a condition of the release of the Irish members. Mr. Gladstone replied that information tendered the Government had justified and mainly prompted their action in releasing the prisoners, and that this was one of the subjects upon which that information had touched. Thereupon Mr. Dillon demanded to know if his •^ *■ fcj iT"* > * « jiS* ^ I r»Ti».\r» -s^jM - SB.'" - **t* • ■'ill-- .^ • ' * )«>; 394 TAg Second G/fulslone Ministry. name had been used in connection with the manifesto. Mr. Glad- stone replied in the negative. Similar questions were asked by Messrs. O'Kelly and Sexton, all three disclaiming such use of their names, if it had been made ; but Mr. Gladstone answered as before. Pressed for a definite reply, he said that the information had been voluntarily given by members of the House, viiose duty it was to make explanations when they were present, but he declined to answer further questions <)n the subject for the present. This was followed by a speech from Mr. Forster, who desired to explain the reasons for his resignation; and who, in doing this, managed to attack the whole policy of the Government. ^. was a man who made carelessness an art ; even the arrangement oi his hair, which had the appearance of never having been combed, was always so exactly the same that it, studied effect became evident. His speech on this occasion had the appearance or candor and rug- ged honesty; but like the disorder of his dress, it was carefully prepared for the occasion. In answering this speech, Mr. Gladstone assumed a more defiant attitude than on the occasion when he was questioned about the mr ^iifesto. After the usual compliments upon a late member of the Government, he regretted that Mr. Forster shou' have allowed hin^self to charge the Government with giving the q'^estion of the rules precedence over all others, regardless of the condition of Irish affairs. As far as the release of Mr. Darnell and his associates was concerned, the Government was fully responsible for it as for their arrest. There had been no concessions made, because there had been none required. Mr. Parnell and his friends had not been required to make any statement that their views had changed. The promised arrears bill had nothing to do with their release, for when it was promised the Ministry had not come into possession of the information which prompted their action in this matter. Possessed of this informa- tion, it was not possible for Ministers of the Crown to behave as if it had never reached them, and continue the raembpr? in their con- finement. This speech was the prelud<^ to a snirlted debate, in the course of which the Government was bitterly attacked by the Conservatives, and defended by Lord Hartington and Sir William Harcourt, since ■41 The Second Gladstone Ministry. 395 the rules would not permit Mr. Gladstone to speak again on the same subject. Three days later, the Euglish public— indeed, the reading public of the world — was horrified by an occurrence in Dublin which was speedily told by the wires. The place which Mr. x .rster vacated had been filled by the appointment of Lord Frederick Cavendish, a younger sou of the Luke of Devi^nshire, and a brother of the xfiarquis of Hartington. The new Secretary arrived in Dublin, Saturday, May 6th, and to k r>art in the procession which attendecl the entry of Lord Spencer, i lie ceremony over, he took an outside car to drive to his new official residence. As he drove through Phoenix Park, he overt'^ok Mr. Burke, a Castle official of long standing; and alighted to walk with him. Some bicyclists met the two within a few yards of the monument ; going around the monument, these mei-. met an outside car with four men in it driving rapidly a'viy. During the bri^f interval. Lord Spencer and some of his /riends, looking out from the win- dows of the vice-regal mansion into the moonlighted park, had seen some sort of a scuffie going on in the road, but thought it was only rough horse-play; but it had been the struggle -otween Cavendish and Burke and their murderers. Tht assassins had made their escape before any susi)icions were aroused; it seemed that the earth had opened and swallowed them up. The news created the most profound sensation everywhere. Some of the more violent Tories shook their heads and bade their lis- teners see what came of a promised abolition of coercion ; but in general there was no wild ''nwl for revenge upon the Irish people. The Irish parliamentary leaders held a hurried consultation, and most emphatically and publicly condemned the deed of the un- known assassins ; solemnly declaring that until the murderers were brought to justice, a stain would rest upon the good name of the Irish people. Public meetings were held at various points in Ire- land, and responsibility for the murder, or sympathy with the mur- derers, solemnly disclaimed. Up to the date of this murder, it had seemed that Ireland was at last to be ;^overned in acoordanne with Uio ideas of her reoresenta- tives; but the dreadful crime had made that, for the present at least, an impossibility. The very day after the murder took place. 396 The Second Gladstone Ministry. there was a hurried Cabinet meeting, at which it was resolved to abandon the rules for the present, and bring forward bills for amending and extending the Land and Coercion Acts of the pre- vious session. It was perhaps unfortunate for Ireland at this time tliat Sir Charles Dilke and Mr. Chamberlain would not accept the Secretaryship without a seat in tlie Cabinet, and this the Govern- ment would not consent to; so that Mr. George Otto Tre- I velyan was up})ointed to the I position. 3 We may here note that there I were several other changes in the Ministry at this time; but the more imj)ortant ones came later on, when Mr. Gladstone resigned the Chancellorship of the Exchequer to Mr. Chil- ders, Hartington and Ivimbcr- ley assumed other duties than those for which they had been originally appointed. Lord Derby became Colonial Secre- S tary, and Mr. Bright resigned the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Mr, Herbert Gladstone had been appointed to a subordinate post in the summer of the advanced to a vacancy in the Hon. Herbert Gladstone. previous year, and was now Treasury. He had been for some years rather a pt'oniinent figure in parliament, though so woefidly overshadowed by the greatness of his name. The funeral of Lord Frederick Cavendish took place May lltli, and on the evening of that day the new Crimes Bill was introduced into the House of Commons. This was a meu.-)''ire with which Mr. Gladstone does not seem to have been in full accord ; it was one instance in which his dominant will had to give way. It had fre- quently been remarked that he was the one prominent figure in the The Second Gladstone Ministry. 397 Ministry; it was he who replied to all questions, on all subjects whatever; the spociril Minister contenting himself with the briefest of answers; but Sir William llarcourt had threatened to resign if the Government would not support his bill ; and Mr, Gladstone did not feel his support so certain that he could afford to dispense with so great an ally in debate. ' The Whigs were almost mutinous; they had never thoroughly trusted the " Grand Old Man," thinking him, as did the Tories of Oxford, too brilliant to be entirely safe ; and the progressiveness of his policy alarmed them ; they were not his only foes concealed under the guise of friends ; for although Mr. Forster had not gone so far as to take a seat on the Opposition benches he was ail but an avowed enemy to the Government. The Crimes Bill was, to say the least, alarming to the Irish members. Its first provision was for ihe abolition of trial by jury in certain cases, when it was supposed that jurors would be pre- vented from returning a condemnatory verdict by intimidation. This v/as not in itself specially objectionable, for the necessity of it was recognized ; but what was strenuously opposed was the inclu- sion of treason and treason-felony in the list of crimes to be so tried. The danger of such a provision to the Irish members themselves will be readily seen, and the Bill was bitterly opposed. While the new Bill was still pending, the question of the Kil- mainham Treaty, as the agreement by which Mr. Parnell and his colleagues had been released from jail was called, was again brought before the House, After what an Irishman would call " A very pretty quarrel, barring no heads were broken," Mr. Balfour attacked the Government for making a compromise with Mr. Par- noil, Mr, Gladstone angrily replied that there was no truth in the assertion wlii(!h Mr. Balfour had made about the part of the Gov- ernm^jni. The Kilmainliam business was not settled by this debate, but kept cropping up throughout the remainder of the ses- sion ; though the interest was lessened by the condition of the main Irish Question. The Irish members obstructed the passage of the Crimes Bill by everv means in their power; but so cunningly was their work done that there was no excuse for an " urgency motion," or for other strong measures. The obstruction came to a head on the last % ■^^S^^^BffiL.^- ^^^mimr^^i 398 The Second Gladstone Ministry. night of June. Early in the afternoon rumors of an all-night sit- ting began to circulate in the lobbies, and the prediction did not lack fulfillment. It was nine o'clock in the morning when Mr. Playfair rose to warn the Plouse that legislation had been system- atically obstructed, and that he should have to indicate the members who were engaged in it. At this warning, those members who had been in other parts of the building came hurrying to the legislative chamber, and there was a good audience when, in accordance with his threat, Mr. Playfair rose to indicate the obstructionists. Fifteen members were found in the list ; but Mr. Childers, whose duty it was, in the absence of Mr. Glad- stone, to move their suspen- sion, inserted another; and the motion was carried by a vote of a hundred and twenty- six to twei'ty-scven. The remaining Irish members, nothing daunted by the fate of their colleagues, carried on the debate with as much vigor as ever, until the sus- pension of nine more of them rendered it possible to rush the bill through. After a Hon. Arthur Balfour. Continuous sitting of twenty- three hours, the comnuttee of the whole was enabled to report pro- gress, and the bill was passed as far as the thirtieth clause. Mr. Gladstone moved Miat the business of the House was urgent on the following Tuesday (July 4th) ; but the haste with which the bill was pushed was not altogether favorable to the Government, for the Irish members who had not been suspended refused to take any further part in the proceedings, and their withdrawal from the House caused the defeat of the Government on one of the amend- ments ; since the Whigs were opposed to any amendment whieli lessened the stringency, and their defection made the Government l^ili^liiPiiii The Second Gladstone Ministry . 399 dependent upon the Third Party. There were many prophecies of a change which was supposed to be imminent — either a resignation or an appeal to the country ; but Mr. Gladstone explained that the state of Ireland was such that he would not withdraw the bill, nor would he resign. The bill was finally passed on the 9th, and went up to the Lords. Tiiey accorded it a much more gracious reception than they gave to the Arrears Bill, a measure which they sent back to the Commons with several amendments which rendered it practically valueless. It was a direct challenge to the Premier, who very coolly picked up the glove thus arrogantly flung down. He would compromise with the Peers ; certainly, but the compromise which he was \»illing to make consisted in the acceptance of an amendment which did not mean anything, and the rejection of those which did. Lord Salis- bury wanted to fight it out, but Mr. Gladstone had the House of Commons at his back, and the House of Lords was by no means ready to follow Lord Salisbury into the battle ; so the Peers yielded, and passed the Arrears Bill. The debate on the Crimes Bill and the difficulty with the Arrears Bill had been such that it was confidently expected that the Government must fall. We have alluded to the stand which the Whigs had taken of late, and have seen that no help was to be ex- pected from those Home Rulers who ordinarily sat on the Liberal side. Mr. Forster was no mean adversary, and many of the Min- istry were bitterly angry with Mr. Gladstone for his dominating control of the Government. Mr. Bright was almost the only man of prominence who clung to the Premier with all of his old admira- tion, which amounted almost to adoration ; and the middle of July saw him leave the Ministry. His resignation was forced upon him by the action of the Government with regard to Kgypt, it being well known that he could not be a member of any Ministry which was a party to war. It is time that we should give some attention to this contest in which England was now involved. The financial condition of Egypt was such that the Khedive had requested the intervention of tiie Powers, and a Ministry has been formed with an Englishman and a Freiufhman in it; the latter being appointed solely to satisfy France tnat England was not seeking any undue advantage. But 400 The Second Gladstone Ministry. there was a National Party in Egypt which resented these appoint- ments very much, and finally succeeded in making its power felt. The Khedive found that he had exchanged masters ; for Arabi Bey was the real ruler. During the first months of 1882 there was indeed a calm, but it was the calm which precedes the storm. The English Government regarded Arabi as simply an adventurer, who was not worth any attention. France and England were both agreed, however, that they would have a hand in the g vernment of Egypt, and Egypt could not defy both. But a change of Ministry in France caused that country to change her policy, and the Egyptian Nationalists saw that this was their opportunity. In April, 1882, a plot was discovered, so said Arabi's oflScer8,to assassinate that high dignitary. The accused were tried in secret and found guilty of a plot to overthrow both Tewfik and Arabi, and restore Ismail Pasha ; but the Khedive refused to sign the decrees of the court. It was hinted that this refusal would cause the massacre of foreigners in Egypt, and the English and French Governments at once ordered their ironclads to Alexandria, the order coupled with a demand that Arabi Pasha, as he was now titled, should be compelled to leave the country, along with his imme