EARLY PARLIAMENTARY EXPERIENCES
It is customary for the sons of gentlemen who graduate at Cambridge and
Oxford to spend some time in travel on the continent upon the completion
of their university studies. The custom was observed in Mr. Gladstone's
early days even more than at the present. In accordance then with the
prevailing usage he went abroad after graduating at Oxford. In the
spring of 1832 he started on his travels and spent nearly the whole of
the next six months in Italy, "learning the language, studying the art,
and revelling in the natural beauties of that glorious land." In the
following September, however, he was suddenly recalled to England to
enter upon his first Parliamentary campaign.
At Oxford Toryism prevailed, and was of the old-fashioned type, far
removed from the utilitarian conservatism of the present day. Charles I
was a saint and a martyr, the claims of rank and birth were admitted
with a childlike simplicity, the high functions of government were the
birthright of the few, and the people had nothing to do with the laws,
except to obey them. Mr. Gladstone was a Tory. The political views he
held upon leaving Oxford had much to do with his recall from abroad and
his running for a seat in the House of Commons. Of these opinions held
by him then, and afterwards repudiated, he, in a speech delivered at the
opening of the Palmerston Club, Oxford, in December, 1878, says: "I
trace in the education of Oxford of my own time one great defect.
Perhaps it was my own fault; but I must admit that I did not learn, when
at Oxford, that which I have learned since, viz., to set a due value on
the imperishable and inestimable principles of human liberty. The temper
which, I think, too much prevailed in academic circles, was that liberty
was regarded with jealousy and fear, which could not be wholly dispensed
with, but which was continually to be watched for fear of excess.... I
think that the principle of the Conservative party is jealousy of
liberty and of the people, only qualified by fear; but I think the
policy of the Liberal party is trust in the people, only qualified by
prudence. I can only assure you, gentlemen, that now I am in front of
extended popular privileges. I have no fear of those enlargements of the
Constitution that seem to be approaching. On the contrary, I hail them
with desire. I am not in the least degree conscious that I have less
reverence for antiquity, for the beautiful, and good, and glorious
charges that 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 learnt to set the true value upon human liberty, and in whatever I
have changed, there, and there only, has been the explanation of
the change."
It was Mr. Gladstone's Tory principles that led to an invitation from
the Duke of Newcastle, whose son, the Earl of Lincoln, afterwards a
member of Lord Aberdeen's Cabinet during the Crimean War, had been his
schoolmate at Eton and Oxford, and his intimate friend; to return to
England and to contest the representation of Newark in Parliament. In
accordance with this summons he hurried home.
Let us review the national situation. It was a time of general alarm and
uncertainty, from political unrest, commercial stagnation, and
devastating pestilence. "The terrors of the time begat a hundred forms
of strange fanaticism; and among men who were not fanatics there was a
deep and wide conviction that national judgments were overtaking
national sins, and that the only hope of safety for England lay in a
return to that practical recognition of religion in the political sphere
at the proudest moments of English history. 'The beginning and the end
of what is the matter with us in these days,' wrote Carlyle, 'is that we
have forgotten God.'"
England was in a condition of great political excitement and expectancy.
One of the greatest battles in Parliamentary history had just been
fought and won by the people. The Reform Bill, which admitted large
classes, hitherto unrepresented, to the right of citizenship, had
passed, after a long struggle, during which law and order were defied
and riots prevailed in various parts of the kingdom.
The King clearly perceiving that the wish of the people could no longer
be disregarded with safety, and heedless of the advice of the
aristocracy, gave his assent to the measure. This bill, which became a
law June 7, 1832, "transformed the whole of the Electoral arrangements
of the United Kingdom." It was demanded that the King be present in the
House of Lords to witness the ceremony of the subjugation of his crown
and peers, as it was deemed, but the King, feeling he had yielded enough
to the popular will, refused. Walpole, in his history, writes: "King and
Queen sat sullenly apart in their palace. Peer and country gentleman
moodily awaited the ruin of their country and the destruction of their
property. Fanaticism still raved at the wickedness of a people; the
people, clamoring for work, still succumbed before the mysterious
disease which was continually claiming more and more victims. But the
nation cared not for the sullenness of the Court, the forebodings of the
landed classes, the ravings of the pulpit, or even the mysterious
operations of a new plague. The deep gloom that had overshadowed the
land had been relieved by one single ray. The victory had been won. The
bill had become law."
The first reformed House of Commons, after the passage of the terrible
Reform Bill, met and was looked upon by some of the friends of Reform
with fond hopes and expectations, and by others, the Tories, with fear
and apprehension. The poor looked upon the Reform Bill as a measure for
their redemption, and the landed proprietors regarded it as the first
sign of departed national greatness. Both classes were disappointed. It
neither revived business nor despoiled owners. The result was a surprise
to politicians of both parties. The Reformers did not, as was
anticipated, carry their extreme measures, and the Tories did not
realize the great losses they expected. While the Ministry preserved its
power and even obtained some victories in England and Scotland, it
sustained serious defeats in Ireland. In England many earnest and
popular friends of Reform were defeated in the election, and some
counties, among them Bristol, Stamford, Hertford, Norwich and Newark,
were pronounced against the Ministry.
The Duke of Newcastle, who was one of the chief potentates of the high
Tory party, and had lost his control of Newark in 1831, by the election
of a Radical, was determined to regain it. He regarded it as his right
to be represented in the House of Commons, or that Newark should elect
whom he nominated. And he had propounded the memorable political maxim,
"Have I not a right to do what I like with my own?" The Duke wanted a
capable candidate to help him regain his ascendency. His son, Lord
Lincoln, here came to his aid. He had heard the remarkable speech of his
friend, Mr. Gladstone, in the Oxford Union, against the Reform Bill, and
had written home regarding him, that "a man had uprisen in Israel." At
his suggestion the Duke invited the young graduate of Oxford to run as
the Tory candidate for a seat in Parliament from Newark. The wisdom of
this selection for the accomplishment of the purpose in view, was fully
demonstrated.
[Illustration: The Lobby of the House of Commons]
His personal appearance at this time may be thus described: He was
somewhat robust. His youthful face bore none of those deep furrows which
have rendered his countenance so remarkable in maturer years. But there
was the same broad intellectual forehead, the massive nose, the same
anxious eyes and the earnest enthusiasm of later years. His look was
bright and thoughtful and his bearing attractive. He was handsome and
possessed a most intelligent and expressive countenance. Says his
biographer, Mr. Russell: "William Ewart Gladstone was now twenty-two
years old, with a physical constitution of unequalled vigor, the
prospect of ample fortune, great and varied knowledge, and a natural
tendency to political theorization, and an inexhaustible copiousness and
readiness of speech. In person he was striking and attractive, with
strongly marked features, a pale complexion, abundance of dark hair and
eyes of piercing lustre. People who judged only by his external aspect
considered that he was delicate."
Young Gladstone found two opponents contesting with him to represent
Newark in Parliament, W.F. Handley and Sergeant Wilde, afterwards Lord
Chancellor Truro. The latter was an advanced Liberal and had
unsuccessfully contested the borough in 1829 and 1830, and had in
consideration of his defeat received from his sympathetic friends a
piece of plate inscribed: "By his ardent friends, the Blue electors of
the borough, who by their exertions and sufferings in the cause of
independence, largely conduced to awaken the attention of the nation to
the necessity of Reform in Parliament. Upon this humble token of respect
(contributed in the hour of defeat) the Blue electors of Newark inscribe
their sense of the splendid ability, unwearied perseverance, and
disinterested public spirit displayed by Sergeant Wilde in maintaining
the two contests of 1829 and 1830, in order to emancipate the borough
from political thraldoms, and restore to its inhabitants the free
exercise of their long-lost rights." But Sergeant Wilde was more
successful the following year, 1831, when the "Reform fever" was at its
height, and defeated the Duke of Newcastle's nominee and became member
of the House of Commons for the borough. These facts made the coming
election, which followed the passage of the Reform Bill, of unusual
interest, to those concerned, and the struggle would be of a close and
determined character.
Mr. Gladstone entered upon the contest with his experienced, able and
popular antagonist, with much against him, for he was young, unknown and
untried; but his youth and personal appearance and manly bearing were in
his favor, and these, with his eloquence and ready wit, gained for him
many friends. His speeches demonstrated that he lacked neither
arguments, nor words wherewith to clothe them. He needed, however, to
call into requisition all his abilities, for Sergeant Wilde was a
powerful antagonist, and had no thought of being displaced by his
youthful opponent, "a political stripling," as he called him, without a
desperate struggle. But Mr. Gladstone had behind him the ducal influence
and the support of the Red Club, so he entered upon the contest with
energy and enthusiasm.
The young Tory's first election address was delivered upon this
occasion. It was dated October 9th, 1832, was all such an address should
be, and was addressed, "To the worthy and independent electors of the
borough of Newark." It began by saying that he was bound in his opinions
by no man and no party, but that he deprecated the growing unreasonable
and indiscriminating desire for change then so common, but confessed
that labor has a right to "receive adequate remuneration." On the
question of human slavery, then greatly agitated, he remarked, "We are
agreed that both the physical and the moral bondage of the slave are to
be abolished. The question is as to the _order_, and the order only; now
Scripture attacks the moral evil _before_ the corporal one, the corporal
one _through_ the moral one, and I am content with the order which
Scripture has established." He saw insurmountable obstacles against
immediate emancipation, one of which was that the negro would exchange
the evil now affecting him for greater ones--for a relapse into deeper
debasement, if not for bloodshed and internal war.
He therefore advocated a system of Christian education, to make the
negro slaves fit for emancipation and to prepare them for freedom, Then,
he argued, without bloodshed and the violation of property rights, and
with unimpaired benefit to the negro, the desirable end might be reached
in the utter extinction of slavery.
Of this appropriate address, so important in the light of coming events,
we quote two paragraphs in full. In speaking of existing evils and the
remedies for them, he observed: "For the mitigation of these evils, we
must, I think, look not only to particular measures, but to the
restoration of sounder general principles. I mean especially that
principle on which alone the incorporation of Religion with the State in
our Constitution can be defended; that the duties of governors are
strictly and peculiarly religious; and that legislatures, like
individuals, are bound to carry throughout their acts the spirit of the
high truths they have acknowledged. Principles are now arrayed against
our institutions; and not by truckling nor by temporizing--not by
oppression nor corruption--but by principles they must be met.
"And now, gentlemen, as regards the enthusiasm with which you have
rallied round your ancient flag, and welcomed the humble representative
of those principles whose emblem it is, I trust that neither the lapse
of time nor the seductions of prosperity can ever efface it from my
memory. To my opponents, my acknowledgments are due for the good humor
and kindness with which they have received me; and while I would thank
my friends for their jealous and unwearied exertions in my favor, I
briefly but emphatically assure them, that if promises be an adequate
foundation of confidence, or experience a reasonable ground of
calculation, our victory _is sure_"
The new candidate for Parliamentary honors was "heckled," as it is
called, at the hustings, or was interrupted continually while speaking,
and questioned by his opponents as to the circumstances of his
candidature, his father's connection with slavery, and his own views of
capital punishment. From his first appearance in Newark, Mr. Gladstone
had been subjected to these examinations and he stood the ordeal well
and answered prudently. An instance of this is given. A Radical elector,
Mr. Gillson, asked the young Tory candidate if he was the Duke of
Newcastle's nominee, and was met by Mr. Gladstone demanding the
questioner's definition of the term "nominee." Mr. Gillson replied that
he meant a person sent by the Duke of Newcastle to be pushed down the
throats of the voters whether they would or not. But Mr. Gladstone was
equal to the occasion, and said according to that definition he was not
the nominee of the Duke, but came to Newark by the invitation of the Red
Club, than whom none were more respectable and intelligent.
This same Red Club was Conservative, and promised to Mr. Gladstone, the
thorough Conservative candidate, 650 votes, the whole number within its
ranks. He also received the promise of 240 votes of other electors. This
was known before the election, so that the result was confidently
predicted. On the 11th of December, 1832, the "nomination" was held and
the polling or election was held on the two following days, and Mr.
Gladstone was chosen by a considerable majority, the votes being,
Gladstone, 882; Handley, 793; Wilde, 719. Sergeant Wilde was defeated.
During the public discussions before the election Mr. Gladstone was
placed at a great disadvantage. There were three candidates to be heard
from and his speech was to be the last in order. Sergeant Wilde made a
very lengthy speech, which exhausted the patience of his hearers, who
had already stood for nearly seven hours, and showed disinclination to
listen to another three hours' address, which, from Mr. Gladstone's
talents, they were far from thinking impossible. The Sergeant was
condemned for occupying the attention of the electors for such an
inordinate length of time, but this did not prevent a scene of
outrageous noise and uproar when the Tory candidate rose to speak. The
important topic was slavery, but Mr. Gladstone had not proceeded far
when the hooting and hissing drowned his voice so that he found it
impossible to proceed. When a show of hands was demanded it was declared
in favor of Mr. Handley and Sergeant Wilde, but when the election came,
it was Mr. Gladstone who triumphed, as has been seen, and who was sent
to Parliament as the member from Newark.
In speaking of the manner in which the Parliamentary elections are
conducted, an English writer says: "Since 1832, few of those scenes of
violence, and even of bloodshed, which formerly distinguished
Parliamentary elections in many English boroughs, have been witnessed.
Some of these lawless outbreaks were doubtless due to the unpopularity
of the candidates forced upon the electors; but even in the largest
towns--where territorial influence had little sway--riots occurred upon
which we look back with doubtful amazement. Men holding strong political
views have ceased to enforce those views by the aid of brickbats and
other dangerous missiles. Yet at the beginning of the present century
such arguments were very popular. And to the violence which prevailed
was added the most unblushing bribery. Several boroughs, long notorious
for extensive bribery, have since been disfranchised. The practice,
however, extended to most towns in the kingdom, though it was not always
carried on in the same open manner. By a long established custom, a
voter at Hull received a donation of two guineas, or four for a
plumper. In Liverpool men were openly paid for their votes; and Lord
Cochrane stated in the House of Commons that, after his return for
Honiton, he sent the town-crier round the borough to tell the voters to
go to the chief banker for £10 10s. each. The great enlargement of the
constituencies, secured by the Reform Bill of 1832, did much to put an
end to this disgraceful condition of things; but to a wider political
enlightenment also, some portion of the credit for such a result must be
attributed."
What the friends and foes of the new Tory member for Newark thought of
his successful canvass and election, it is interesting to learn. When
Mr. Gladstone entered upon the contest the question was frequently put,
"Who is Mr. Gladstone?" And it was answered, "He is the son of the
friend of Mr. Canning, the great Liverpool merchant. He is, we
understand, not more than four or five and twenty, but he has won golden
opinions from all sorts of people, and promises to be an ornament to the
House of Commons." And a few days after his election he addressed a
meeting of the Constitutional Club, at Nottingham, when a Conservative
journal made the first prophecy as to his future great political fame,
saying: "He will one day be classed amongst the most able statesmen in
the British Senate." The impression his successful contest made upon the
late friends of his school-days may be learned from the following: A
short time before the election Arthur Hallam, writing of his friend,
"the old _W.E.G._," says: "I shall be very glad if he gets in.... We
want such a man as that. In some things he is likely to be obstinate and
prejudiced; but he has a fine fund of high, chivalrous Tory sentiment,
and a tongue, moreover, to let it loose with." And after the election he
exclaims: "And Gladstone has turned out the Sergeant!... What a triumph
for him. He has made his reputation by it; all that remains is to keep
up to it."
That one of Mr. Gladstone's Liberal opponents was impressed by his
talent and character is shown by the following lines of "descriptive
prophecy, perhaps more remarkable for good feeling than for
good poetry:"
"Yet on one form, whose ear can ne'er refuse
The Muses' tribute, for he lov'd the Muse,
(And when the soul the gen'rous virtues raise,
A friendly Whig may chant a Tory's praise,)
Full many a fond expectant eye is bent
Where Newark's towers are mirror'd in the Trent.
Perchance ere long to shine in senates first,
If manhood echo what his youth rehears'd,
Soon Gladstone's brows will bloom with greener bays
Than twine the chaplet of the minstrel's lays;
Nor heed, while poring o'er each graver line,
The far, faint music of a flute like mine.
His was no head contentedly which press'd
The downy pillow in obedient rest,
Where lazy pilots, with their canvas furl'd,
Let up the Gades of their mental world;
His was no tongue which meanly stoop'd to wear
The guise of virtue, while his heart was bare;
But all he thought through ev'ry action ran;
God's noblest work--I've known one honest man."
Mr. Gladstone spoke at Newark in company with his friend, the Earl of
Lincoln, shortly after his election, when another favorable testimony
was given, and his address spoken of as "a manly, eloquent speech,
replete with sound constitutional sentiments, high moral feeling, and
ability of the most distinguished order."
In commenting upon the result of the election a representative of the
press of Newark wrote: "We have been told there was no reaction against
the Ministry, no reaction in favor of Conservative principles. The
delusion has now vanished, and made room for sober reason and
reflection. The shadow satisfies no longer, and the return of Mr.
Gladstone, to the discomfiture of the learned Sergeant and his friends,
has restored the town of Newark to the high rank which it formerly held
in the estimation of the friends of order and good government. We
venture to predict that the losing candidate in this contest has
suffered so severely that he will never show his face in Newark on a
similar occasion."
But Mr. Gladstone had made bitter political enemies already, who were
not at all reconciled to his election, nor pleased with him. That they
were not at all slow to express unbecomingly their bitterness against
him, because of their unexpected defeat, the following shows from the
_Reflector_: "Mr. Gladstone is the son of Gladstone of Liverpool, a
person who (we are speaking of the father) had amassed a large fortune
by West India dealings. In other words, a great part of his gold has
sprung from the blood of black slaves. Respecting the youth himself--a
person fresh from college, and whose mind is as much like a sheet of
white foolscap as possible--he was utterly unknown. He came recommended
by no claim in the world _except the will of the Duke_. The Duke nodded
unto Newark, and Newark sent back the man, or rather the boy of his
choice. What! Is this to be, now that the Reform Bill has done its work?
Are sixteen hundred men still to bow down to a wooden-headed lord, as
the people of Egypt used to do to their beasts, to their reptiles, and
their ropes of onions? There must be something wrong--something
imperfect. What is it? What is wanting? Why, the Ballot! If there be a
doubt of this (and we believe there is a doubt even amongst intelligent
men) the tale of Newark must set the question at rest. Sergeant Wilde
was met on his entry into the town by almost the whole population. He
was greeted everywhere, cheered everywhere. He was received with delight
by his friends and with good and earnest wishes for his success by his
nominal foes. The voters for Gladstone went up to that candidate's booth
(the slave-driver, as they called him) with Wilde's colors. People who
had before voted for Wilde, on being asked to give their suffrage said,
'We cannot, we dare not. We have lost half our business, and shall lose
the rest if we go against the Duke. We would do anything in our power
for Sergeant Wilde and for the cause, but we cannot starve!' Now what
say ye, our merry men, touching the Ballot?"
However Mr. Gladstone had won as we have seen the golden opinions of
many, and the dreams of his more youthful days were realized when he was
sent to represent the people in the House of Commons.
On the 29th of January, 1833, the first Reformed Parliament met, and
William E. Gladstone, as the member from Newark, took his seat for the
first time in "an assembly which he was destined to adorn, delight and
astonish for more than half a century, and over which for a great
portion of that period, he was to wield an unequalled and a paramount
authority." There were more than three hundred new members in the House
of Commons. Lord Althorp led the Whigs, who were largely in the majority
and the Tories constituted a compact minority under the skillful
leadership of Sir Robert Peel, while the Irish members who were hostile
to the ministry followed O'Connell. On the 5th of February the king
attended and delivered the speech from the throne in person. This
Parliamentary session was destined to become one of the most memorable
in history for the importance of the subjects discussed and disposed of,
among them the social condition of Ireland, the position of the Irish
church, the discontent and misery of the poor in England, and slavery in
the British colonies; and for the fact that it was the first Parliament
in which William E. Gladstone sat and took part.
There was no reference made to the subject of slavery in the speech from
the throne, but the ministry resolved to consider it. Mr. Stanley, the
Colonial Secretary, afterwards fourteenth Earl of Derby and Prime
Minister, brought forth, May 14th, 1833, a series of resolutions in
favor of the extinction of slavery in the British colonies. "All
children of slaves, born after the passage of the Act, and all children
of six years old and under, were declared free. But the rest of the
slaves were to serve a sort of apprenticeship--three-fourths of their
time was for a certain number of years to remain at the disposal of the
masters; the other fourth was their own, to be paid for at a fixed rate
of wages." The planters were to be duly compensated out of the national
treasury.
It was during the discussion of these resolutions that Mr. Gladstone
made his maiden speech in Parliament. It was made in answer to what
seemed a personal challenge by Lord Howick, Ex-Under Secretary for the
colonies, who, opposing gradual emancipation, referred to an estate in
Demerara, owned by Mr. Gladstone's father, for the purpose of showing
that great destruction of life had taken place in the West Indies owing
to the manner in which the slaves were worked. In reply to this Mr.
Gladstone said that he would meet some of Lord Howick's statements with
denials and others with explanations. He admitted that he had a
pecuniary interest in it as a question of justice, of humanity, and of
religion. The real cause of the decrease, he said, was owing, not to the
increased cultivation of sugar, but to the very large proportion of
Africans upon the estate. When it came into his father's possession it
was so weak, owing to the large number of negroes upon it, that he was
obliged to add two hundred more people to the gang. It was well known
that negroes were imported into Demarara and Trinidad up to a later
period than into any of the colonies; and he should at a proper time, be
able to prove that the decrease on his father's plantation, Vreeden
Hoop, was among the old Africans, and that there was an increase going
on in the Creole population, which would be a sufficient answer to the
charges preferred. The quantity of sugar produced was small compared to
that produced on other estates. The cultivation of cotton in Demarara
had been abandoned, and that of coffee much diminished, and the people
engaged in these sources of production had been employed in the
cultivation of sugar. Besides in Demarara the labor of the same number
of negroes, distributed over the year, would produce in that colony a
certain quantity of sugar with less injury to the people, than negroes
could produce in other colonies, working only at the stated periods
of crops.
He was ready to concede that the cultivation was of a more injurious
character than others; and he would ask, Were there not certain
employments in other countries more destructive of life than others? He
would only instance those of painting and working in lead mines, both of
which were well known to have that tendency. The noble lord attempted to
impugn the character of the gentleman acting as manager of his father's
estates; and in making the selection he had surely been most
unfortunate; for there was not a person in the colony more remarkable
for humanity and the kind treatment of his slaves than Mr. Maclean. Mr.
Gladstone, in concluding this able defense of his father, said, that he
held in his hand two letters from Mr. Maclean, in which he spoke in the
kindest terms of the negroes under his charge; described their state of
happiness, content and healthiness--their good conduct and the
infrequency of severe punishment--and recommended certain additional
comforts, which he said the slaves well deserved.
On the 3d of June, on the resumption of the debate on the abolition of
slavery, Mr. Gladstone again addressed the House. He now entered more
fully into the charges which Lord Howick had brought against the
management of his father's estates in Demarara, and showed their
groundlessness. When he had discussed the existing aspect of slavery in
Trinidad, Jamaica and other places, he proceeded to deal with the
general question. He confessed with shame and pain that cases of wanton
cruelty had occurred in the colonies, but added that they would always
exist, particularly under the system of slavery; and this was
unquestionably a substantial reason why the British Legislature and
public should set themselves in good earnest to provide for its
extinction; but he maintained that these instances of cruelty could
easily be explained by the West Indians, who represented them as rare
and isolated cases, and who maintained that the ordinary relation of
master and slave was one of kindliness and not of hostility. He
deprecated cruelty, and he deprecated slavery, both of which were
abhorrent to the nature of Englishmen; but, conceding these things, he
asked, "Were not Englishmen to retain a right to their own honestly and
legally-acquired property?" But the cruelty did not exist, and he saw no
reason for the attack which had recently been made upon the West India
interest. He hoped the House would make a point to adopt the principle
of compensation, and to stimulate the slave to genuine and spontaneous
industry. If this were not done, and moral instruction were not imparted
to the slaves, liberty would prove a curse instead of a blessing to
them. Touching upon the property question, and the proposed plans for
emancipation, Mr. Gladstone said that the House might consume its time
and exert its wisdom in devising these plans, but without the
concurrence of the Colonial Legislatures success would be hopeless. He
thought there was excessive wickedness in any violent interference under
the present circumstances. They were still in the midst of unconcluded
inquiries, and to pursue the measure then under discussion, at that
moment, was to commit an act of great and unnecessary hostility toward
the island of Jamaica. "It was the duty of the House to place as broad a
distinction as possible between the idle and the industrious slaves, and
nothing could be too strong to secure the freedom of the latter; but,
with respect to the idle slaves, no period of emancipation could hasten
their improvement. If the labors of the House should be conducted to a
satisfactory issue, it would redound to the honor of the nation, and to
the reputation of his Majesty's Ministers, whilst it would be delightful
to the West India planters themselves--for they must feel that to hold
in bondage their fellow-men must always involve the greatest
responsibility. But let not any man think of carrying this measure by
force. England rested her power not upon physical force, but upon her
principles, her intellect and virtue; and if this great measure were not
placed on a fair basis, or were conducted by violence, he should lament
it, as a signal for the ruin of the Colonies and the downfall of the
Empire." The attitude of Mr. Gladstone, as borne out by the tenor of his
speech, was not one of hostility to emancipation, though he was
undoubtedly unfavorable to an immediate and indiscriminate
enfranchisement. He demanded, moreover, that the interests of the
planters should be duly regarded.
The result of the consideration of these resolutions in the House of
Commons was that human slavery in the British Colonies was abolished,
and the sum of twenty million pounds, or one hundred million dollars was
voted to compensate the slave-owners for their losses. Thus was the
work begun by Wilberforce finally crowned with success.
It is an interesting question how Mr. Gladstone's first efforts in
Parliament were received. Among his friends his speech was anticipated
with lively interest. That morning he was riding in Hyde Park, on his
gray Arabian mare, "his hat, narrow-brimmed, high up on the centre of
his head, sustained by a crop of thick curly hair." He was pointed out
to Lord Charles Russell by a passer-by who said, "That is Gladstone. He
is to make his maiden speech to-night. It will be worth hearing."
From the first he appears to have favorably impressed the members of the
House. Modest in demeanor, earnest in manner, and fluent in speech, he
at once commanded the respect and attention of his fellow-members.
And here is a later testimony as to the early impression made upon his
colleagues and contemporaries, when he was twenty-nine years of age,
erroneously stated as thirty-five: "Mr. Gladstone, the member for
Newark, is one of the most rising young men on the Tory side of the
House. His party expect great things from him; and certainly, when it is
remembered that his age is only thirty-five, the success of the
Parliamentary efforts he has already made justifies their expectations.
He is well informed on most of the subjects which usually occupy the
attention of the Legislature; and he is happy in turning his
information to good account. He is ready on all occasions, which he
deems fitting ones, with a speech in favor of the policy advocated by
the party with whom he acts. His extempore resources are ample. Few men
in the House can improvise better. It does not appear to cost him an
effort to speak.... He is a man of very considerable talent, but has
nothing approaching to genius. His abilities are much more the result of
an excellent education and of mature study than of any prodigality of
nature in the distribution of her mental gifts. _I have no idea that he
will ever acquire the reputation of a great statesman. His views are not
sufficiently profound or enlarged for that; his celebrity in the House
of Commons will chiefly depend on his readiness and dexterity as a
debater, in conjunction with the excellence of his elocution, and the
gracefulness of his manner when speaking_.... His style is polished, but
has no appearance of the effect of previous preparation. He displays
considerable acuteness in replying to an opponent; he is quick in his
perception of anything vulnerable in the speech to which he replies, and
happy in laying the weak point bare to the gaze of the House. He now and
then indulges in sarcasm, which is, in most cases, very felicitous. He
is plausible even when most in error. When it suits himself or his party
he can apply himself with the strictest closeness to the real point at
issue; when to evade the point is deemed most politic, no man can wander
from it more widely."
How far these estimates were true we leave to the reader to determine,
after the perusal of his life, and in the light of subsequent events.
Mr. Gladstone, after his maiden speech, took an active part in the
business of the House during the remainder of the session of 1833. He
spoke upon the question of bribery and corruption at Liverpool, and July
8th made an elaborate speech on the Irish Church Temporalities Bill. The
condition of Ireland was then, as now, one of the most urgent questions
confronting the Ministry. Macaulay "solemnly declared that he would
rather live in the midst of many civil wars that he had read of than in
some parts of Ireland at this moment." Sydney Smith humorously described
"those Irish Protestants whose shutters are bullet-proof; whose
dinner-table is regularly spread out with knife, fork, and cocked
pistol; salt-cellar and powder-flask; who sleep in sheet-iron nightcaps;
who have fought so often and so nobly before their scullery-door, and
defended the parlor passage as bravely as Leonidas defended the pass of
Thermopylae." Crime was rife and to remedy the serious state of affairs
a stringent Coercion Bill was introduced by the government. Mr.
Gladstone voted silently for the bill which became a law.
The other bill introduced was that upon the Irish Church, and proposed
the reduction of the number of Protestant Episcopal Bishops in Ireland
and the curtailment of the income of the Church. This bill Mr. Gladstone
opposed in a speech, and he voted against it, but it was passed.
It was in the following session that Mr. Hume introduced his
"'Universities Admission Bill,' designed to enable Nonconformists of all
kinds to enter the universities, by removing the necessity of
subscribing to the thirty-nine articles at matriculation." In the debate
that followed Mr. Gladstone soon gave evidence that he knew more about
the subject than did the author of the bill. In speaking against the
bill, he said in part, "The whole system of the university and of its
colleges, both in study and in discipline, aimed at the formation of a
moral character, and that aim could not be attained if every student
were at liberty to exclude himself from the religious training of the
place." And in reply to a remark made by Lord Palmerston in reference to
the students going "from wine to prayers, and from prayers to wine," Mr.
Gladstone replied, he did not believe that in their most convivial
moments they were unfit to enter the house of prayer. This bill was
also passed.
It might have been expected that Mr. Gladstone's active participation in
the debates in the House of Commons, and the practical ability and
debating power he manifested would not escape the attention of the
leaders of his party. But the recognition of his merit came sooner than
could have been expected. It became evident, towards the close of 1834
that the downfall of the Liberal Ministry was near at hand. Lord
Althorp, who had kept the Liberals together, was transferred to the
House of Lords, and the growing unpopularity of the Whigs did the rest.
The Ministry under Lord Melbourne was dismissed by the king, and a new
Cabinet formed by Sir Robert Peel. The new Premier offered Mr. Gladstone
the office of Junior Lord of the Treasury, which was accepted.
Truly has an eminent writer said: "When a Prime Minister in
difficulties, looking about for men to fill the minor offices of his
administration, sees among his supporters a clever and comely young man,
eloquent in speech, ready in debate, with a safe seat, an ample fortune,
a high reputation at the university, and a father who wields political
influence in an important constituency, he sees a Junior Lord of the
Treasury made ready to his hand."
Appealing to his constituents at Newark, who, two years before, had sent
him to Parliament, he was re-elected. Mr. Handley having retired,
Sergeant Wilde was elected with Mr. Gladstone without opposition. Mr.
Gladstone was "chaired," or drawn by horses through the town, seated on
a chair, after the election, and then addressed the assembled people to
the number of 6,000, his speech being received with "deafening cheers."
Shortly after Parliament assembled, Mr. Gladstone was promoted to the
office of Under-Secretary for the Colonies. His official chief was Lord
Aberdeen, afterwards Prime Minister; and thus began a relation which was
destined to greatly affect the destinies of both statesmen.
Mr. Gladstone gave ample proof in his new office of his great abilities
and untiring energies.
In March he presented to the House his first bill, which was for the
better regulation of the transportation of passengers in merchant
vessels to the continent and to the Islands of North America. This bill,
which contained many humane provisions, was very favorably received. The
new Parliament, which met February 10, 1835, contained a considerable
Liberal majority. The old House of Commons had been destroyed by fire
during the recess, and the new Commons reassembled in the chamber which
had been the House of Lords, and for the first time there was a gallery
for reporters in the House.
"A standing order still existed, which forbade the publication of the
debates, but the reporters' gallery was a formal and visible recognition
of the people's right to know what their representatives were doing in
their name." However, the new Ministry was but short-lived, for Sir
Robert Peel resigned April 8th, and Mr. Gladstone retired with
his chief.
Mr. Gladstone spent the days of his retirement from ministerial office
partly in study, and partly in recreation. Being free to follow the bent
of his own inclinations, he ordered his life according to his own
ideals. He lived in chambers at the Albany, pursued the same steady
course of work, proper recreation and systematic devotion, which he had
marked out at Oxford. He freely went into society, dined out frequently,
and took part in musical parties, much to the edification of his friends
who were charmed with the beauty and cultivation of his rich baritone.
His friend Monckton Milnes had established himself in London and
collected around him a society of young men, interested in politics and
religion, and whom he entertained Sunday evenings. But this arrangement
"unfortunately," as Mr. Milnes said, excluded from these gatherings the
more serious members, such as Acland and Gladstone. Mr. Milnes expressed
his opinion of such self-exclusion in these words: "I really think when
people keep Friday as a fast, they might make a feast of Sunday." But
Mr. Gladstone evidently was not of this opinion, and remained away from
these Lord's Day parties. However at other times he met his friends, and
received them at his own rooms in the Albany, and on one memorable
occasion entertained Wordsworth at breakfast and a few admirers of this
distinguished guest.
Mr. Gladstone's relaxations were occasional, and the most of his time
was devoted to his Parliamentary duties and study. His constant
companions were Homer and Dante, and he at this time, it is recorded,
read the whole of St. Augustine, in twenty-two octavo volumes. He was a
constant attendant upon public worship at St. James', Piccadilly, and
Margaret Chapel, and a careful critic of sermons. At the same time he
diligently applied himself to the work of a private member of the House
of Commons, working on committees and taking constant part in debate.
In 1836 the question of slavery again came up before Parliament. This
time the question was as to the working of the system of negro
apprenticeship, which had taken the place of slavery. It was asserted
that the system was only slavery under another name. He warmly and ably
defended again the West Indian planters. He pleaded that many of the
planters were humane men, and defended also the honor of his relatives
connected with the traffic so much denounced, when it was assailed. He
contended that while the evils of the system had been exaggerated, all
mention of its advantages had been carefully withheld. The condition of
the negroes was improving. He deprecated the attempt made to renew and
perpetuate the system of agitation at the expense of candor and truth.
He also at this time spoke on support of authority and order in the
government of Canada, and on Church Rates, dwelling upon the necessity
of national religion to the security of a state. Mr. Gladstone was not
only a Tory but a High Churchman.
King William IV died June 20, 1837, and was succeeded by Queen Victoria.
A general election ensued. The Parliament, which had been prorogued by
the young queen in person, was dissolved on the 17th of July. Mr.
Gladstone, without his consent, was nominated to represent Manchester in
the House, but was re-elected for Newark without opposition. He then
turned his steps towards Scotland, "to see what grouse he could persuade
into his bag." The new Parliament met October 20th, but no business of
importance came before it until after the Christmas holidays.
In 1838 a bill was presented in both Houses of Parliament for the
immediate abolition of negro apprenticeship. Many harrowing details of
the cruelties practiced were cited. Mr. Gladstone returned to the
championship of the planters with increased power and success. His long,
eloquent and powerful speech of March 30th, although on the unpopular
side of the question, is regarded as having so greatly enhanced his
reputation as to bring him to the front rank among Parliamentary
debaters. Having impassionately defended the planters from the
exaggerated charges made against them, he further said: "You consumed
forty-five millions of pounds of cotton in 1837 which proceeded from
free labor; and, proceeding from slave labor, three hundred and eighteen
millions of pounds! And this, while the vast regions of India afford the
means of obtaining at a cheaper rate, and by a slight original outlay,
to facilitate transport, all that you can require. If, Sir, the
complaints against the general body of the West Indians had been
substantiated, I should have deemed it an unworthy artifice to attempt
diverting the attention of the House from the question immediately at
issue, by merely proving that delinquencies existed in other quarters;
but feeling as I do that those charges have been overthrown in debate, I
think myself entitled and bound to show how capricious are the honorable
gentlemen in the distribution of their sympathies among those different
objects which call for their application."
Mr. Gladstone, "having turned the tables upon his opponents," concluded
by demanding justice, and the motion before the House was rejected.
About one month later Rev. Samuel Wilberforce, afterwards Bishop of
Oxford, and of Winchester, wrote to Mr. Gladstone: "It would be an
affectation in you, which you are above, not to know that few young men
have the weight you have in the House of Commons, and are gaining
rapidly throughout the country. Now I do not wish to urge you to
consider this as a talent for the use of which you must render an
account, for so I know you do esteem it, but what I want to urge upon
you is that you should calmly look far before you; see the degree of
weight and influence to which you may fairly, if God spares your life
and powers, look forward in future years, and thus act _now_ with a view
to _then_. There is no height to which you may not fairly rise in this
country. If it pleases God to spare us violent convulsions and the loss
of our liberties, you may at a future day wield the whole government of
this land; and if this should be so, of what extreme moment will your
_past steps_ then be to the real usefulness of your high station....
Almost all our public men act from the merest expediency.... I would
have you view yourself as one who may become the head of all the better
feelings of this country, the maintainer of its Church and of its
liberties, and who must now be fitting himself for this high
vocation.... I think my father's life so beautifully shows that a deep
and increasing personal religion must be the root of that firm and
unwearied consistency in right, which I have ventured thus to press
upon you."
Mr. Gladstone began his Parliamentary life as a Tory. Later he developed
into a Liberal, a Radical, and yet there is not one who conscientiously
doubts his utter honesty. His life has been that of his
century--progressive, liberal, humanitarian in its trend.
[Illustration: Grattan]