PRIME MINISTER THE FOURTH TIME
When Parliament met in 1887 Mr. Gladstone entered upon "a course of
extraordinary physical and intellectual efforts, with voice and pen, in
Parliament and on the platform, on behalf of the cause, defeated but not
abandoned, of self-government for Ireland." The Tory administration
passed a Crimes Prevention Bill for Ireland of great severity. Irish
members of Parliament were thrown into prison, but the Act failed of its
object--the suppression of the Land League.
In December, 1887, Mr. Gladstone visited Italy and made Naples his
headquarters. He was received with joy for the service he had rendered
to the Italian people. The University of Bologna, in celebrating the
eighth century of its existence, conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Arts.
In 1888 the House of Commons appointed a Commission to try the "Times"
charges against Mr. Parnell. The charges were found to be false.
Mr. Gladstone visited Birmingham in November, 1888. After paying a
glowing tribute to John Bright, and expressing an earnest desire for his
recovery to health, he condemned the Coercion Act. Mr. Gladstone
received many handsome presents from the workingmen, and Mrs. Gladstone
received from the ladies a medallion cameo portrait of her husband. A
great demonstration was made at Bingley Hall, in which were gathered
over 20,000 persons.
A number of Liberals, who had deserted Mr. Gladstone, returned upon the
promise of certain imperial guarantees which were granted, among them
Sir George Trevelyan. Mr. Chamberlain, who had asked for these
safeguards, did not accept them.
July 25, 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone celebrated their "Golden Wedding."
Among the many to offer congratulations were the Queen by telegram, and
the Prince of Wales by letter. A pleasant surprise met them at home. A
portrait of Mr. Gladstone, by Sir John Millais, was found hanging in the
breakfast-room, "A gift from English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish Women."
In 1890 trouble came to the Liberal party through the scandal connecting
the names of Mr. Parnell and Mrs. O'Shea. Mr. Gladstone announced that
the Irish party must choose between himself and Mr. Parnell. In
November, 1890, Mr. Parnell was deposed from the chairmanship of the
United Irish National Party. This led to a division. Mr. Justin McCarthy
was elected leader by the Anti-Parnellites, and the Parnellites
selected Mr. John Redmond.
Parliament would soon terminate by limitation, so Mr. Gladstone devoted
himself to preparing the people for the coming general election.
Besides, in February, 1891, he made an address, at the opening of St.
Martin's Free Public Library, and in March to the boys at Eton College
on Homeric Studies. June 28, 1892, Parliament came to an end. Mr.
Gladstone's journey to Edinburgh, in July, was all along the route "a
triumphal progress." He was re-elected. The question of the day was Home
Rule, and wherever the people had the opportunity of declaring
themselves, they pronounced condemnation upon the policy of Lord
Salisbury's administration, and in favor of Home Rule for Ireland.
The new Parliament met, and, August 12, 1892, a motion was made of "No
Confidence" in the Salisbury government. The division was the largest
ever taken in the House of Commons, the vote being 350 for the motion
and 310 against it--a majority of 40 for Mr. Gladstone. The scene in
the House which attended the overthrow of the Salisbury government was
less dramatic than that which accompanied the defeat of the Gladstone
ministry in 1885, but it was full of exciting episodes. The House was
packed to the doors. The excitement was intense, and the confusion
great. When the figures were announced, another wild scene of disorder
prevailed and there was prolonged cheering. "Ten minutes later the great
forum was empty and the excited assembly had found its way to the quiet
outside under the stars."
Monday, August 15, 1892, Mr. Gladstone repaired to Osborne on the Royal
Yacht, and became for the fourth time Prime Minister. Since 1868 he had
been the undisputed leader of his party. His main supporters in all his
reform measures were the Nonconformists, whose claim for "the absolute
religious equality of all denominations before the law of the land,"
must, in time, it was thought, bring about the disestablishment of the
Episcopal Church.
In September, 1892, Mr. Gladstone went to Sir E. Watkin's _Chalet_ on
Mount Snowdon, Wales, where he made his Boulder Stone speech. To
commemorate his visit a slab of gray Aberdeen granite was "let into the
actual brown rock," on which is the following inscription in Welsh and
in English: "September 13, 1892. Upon this rock the Right Honorable
W.E. Gladstone, M.P., when Prime Minister for the fourth time, and
eighty-three years old, addressed the people of Eryi upon justice to
Wales. The multitude sang Cymric hymns and 'The Land of My Fathers.'"
December 29, 1892, Mr. Gladstone celebrated his eighty-third birthday.
Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone were at Biarritz. Congratulatory telegrams and
messages were received in great numbers, besides many handsome presents.
The event was celebrated all over England. The Midlothian Liberals sent
congratulations upon the return of the Liberal Party to power under his
leadership, and the completion of his sixty years' service in the House.
Resolutions were passed deploring the wickedness of the dynamite outrage
at Dublin, December 24, and yet avowing the justice of granting to
Ireland the right to manage her own affairs.
January 31, 1893, Parliament was opened. In the House of Commons there
was a brilliant gathering, and nearly all the members were present, many
of them standing. Just before noon the Hon. Arthur Wellesley Peel,
Speaker, took his seat, and Archdeacon Farrar, Chaplain, offered prayer.
When Mr. Gladstone entered from behind the Speaker's chair, every
Liberal and Irish Nationalist stood up and greeted him with prolonged
and enthusiastic cheers; and when he took the oath as Prime Minister,
he received another ovation. The members were then summoned to the House
of Lords to hear the Queen's speech, which was read by the Lord High
Chancellor, Baron Herschall. The Prince of Wales and his son, the Duke
of York, occupied seats on the "cross bench."
February 13, the excitement in and about the Parliament Houses was as
great as that which prevailed two weeks before. Enthusiastic crowds
greeted Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone. When the doors of the House of Commons
were opened, there was a "disorderly rush" of the members into the House
to obtain seats, "the members shouting and struggling, several being
thrown to the floor in the excitement." Peers, Commons, and visitors
filled the floor and galleries. The Prince of Wales and other members of
the royal family were present. When Mr. Gladstone arose he was greeted
with applause. He reminded the House that for seven years the voices
which used to plead the cause of Irish government in Irish affairs had
been mute within the walls of the House. He then asked permission to
introduce a "Bill to Amend the Provision for the Government of Ireland,"
which was the title of the Home Rule Bill. Mr. Balfour led the
opposition to the bill. Mr. Chamberlain declared that the bill would not
accomplish its purpose, whereupon Mr. Justin McCarthy, for the
anti-Parnellities, replied that the Irish would accept it as a message
of everlasting peace, and Mr. John Redmond, for the Parnellites,
answered that if disturbances followed in Ireland it would be due to the
Conservatives.
The Ulster Unionists opposed the bill. The Scotch-Irish Protestants of
the north of Ireland declared that they preferred to stand where they
did in 1690, when they defeated James II and his Catholic followers, in
the battle of the Boyne, and fought for William of Orange for the
English throne and liberty and Protestantism. Their opposition to Home
Rule for Ireland grew out of their hostility to Roman Catholicism and
the fear of its supremacy.
After six months of earnest debate in the House of Commons, the Home
Rule Bill for Ireland was passed, with slight amendments, September 1,
1893, by a vote of 301 to 267, a majority of thirty-four, The struggle
was perhaps the most heated in the history of Parliament.
The bill was sent to the House of Lords, where it was defeated,
midnight, September 8, by the surprising majority of 419 to 41, after
only one week's discussion. Members that never attended were drummed up
to vote against the bill. The usual working force of the House of Lords
is from thirty to forty members. The vote was the largest ever taken in
the Lords.
At once the cry, "Down with, the House of Lords!" was heard. The
National Liberal Federation issued a circular, in which were the words:
"The question of mending or ending the House of Lords ... displaces for
awhile all other subjects of reform." Mr. Gladstone was probably aware
of the contents of this manifesto before it was issued, and the
sentiments were in accord with those uttered by him two years before at
New Castle.
September 27th, Mr. Gladstone addressed his constituents at Edinburgh.
He was received with an outburst of enthusiasm. He said that the
People's Chamber had passed the bill. If the nation was determined it
would not be baffled by the Peers. If the Commons should go before the
country, then the Lords should go too, and if defeated, should do what
the Commons would do--clear out.
The Queen wanted Mr. Gladstone to appeal to the country, and there was
an opinion among some that Mr. Gladstone would be defeated at the polls
upon the question; but the Premier intimated to the Queen his intention
not to appeal, and announced the readiness of the Cabinet to be
dismissed by the Queen. However, the Queen would hardly expose the
throne to the danger threatening the Peers.
December 29, 1893, Mr. Gladstone attained the eighty-fourth year of his
age. When he entered the House of Commons that day his political
associates of the Liberal party all rose anta greeted him with cheers.
When the applause had subsided, the Conservatives raised their hats and
their leader, Mr. Balfour, rose and tendered his congratulations. Mr.
Gladstone was much pleased with the demonstrations of his friends, as
well as with the graceful compliments of his political opponents.
Besides about two hundred congratulatory messages, letters and telegrams
were received, those from Queen Victoria, and the Prince and Princess of
Wales, being among the first.
July 6, 1893, Prince George of Wales, Duke of York, and Princess Mary of
Teck were married. The Prince was by inheritance heir, after the Prince
of Wales, to the throne of England. Mr. Gladstone attended the wedding,
arrayed in the blue and gold uniform of a brother of the Trinity House,
with naval epaulettes, and was conducted to the royal pew reserved
for him.
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Among the great measures proposed at this time by Mr. Gladstone were the
Employers' Liability, and the Parish Councils Bills. The latter was as
evolutionary and as revolutionary as the Home Rule Bill. Its object was
to take the control of 10,000 rural English parishes out of the hands of
the squire and the parson and put it into the hands of the people. With
its amendments regarding woman suffrage, to which Mr. Gladstone was
opposed, it gave to every man and woman in England one vote--and only
one--in local affairs. February 21, 1894, when Mr. Gladstone had
returned from Biarritz, where he had gone for his health, there was
again a notable assemblage in the House of Commons to hear him speak. It
was expected that he would make a bitter attack upon the House of Lords,
which had attempted to defeat both these bills by amendments. But he
calmly spoke of the lamentable divergence between the two branches of
the legislature upon the Employers' Liability Bill, and asked that the
amendment be rejected, which was done by a majority of 225 to 6. The
bill was therefore withdrawn, and the responsibility of its defeat
thrown upon the Lords. The House also rejected all the important
amendments of the Parish Councils Bill, but concurred in the unimportant
changes made by the Lords. It was sent back then to the lords, and
finally passed by them. But Mr. Gladstone greatly disappointed many of
his political friends by his mild manner of dealing with the House of
Lords. The extreme Radicals were angered and condemned severely the
Premier for what they called his "backing down" and his "feeble speech."
Rumors in reference to Mr. Gladstone's resignation, which had been
started by the _Pall Mall Gazette_, while he was yet at Biarritz, were
now renewed. February 28, 1894, Mr. Gladstone informed the Queen of his
contemplated retirement, giving as reasons his failing eyesight,
deafness and age. March 1st, he made an important speech in the House of
Commons. He displayed so much vigor and earnestness in his speech that
it was thought that he had given up the idea of retiring. But this was
his last speech as Premier. March 2d, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone were
summoned to Windsor, where they dined with the Queen, and remained over
night. Saturday, March 3, 1894, Mr. Gladstone tendered his resignation
as Premier to the Queen, who accepted it with many expressions of favor
and regret, and offered him again a peerage, which was declined. On the
way to Windsor and return to London, Mr. Gladstone was greeted by a
large and enthusiastic crowd. Hundreds of letters and telegrams
expressing regret, because of his retirement, were received by the
ex-Premier, On Sunday he attended church as usual and was looking well,
Mr. Balfour in the Commons, and Lord Salisbury in the Lords, vied with
Mr. Gladstone's political friends in speaking his praise, and referring
in the highest terms to his character and labors. The press in all parts
of the world spoke in glowing terms of his natural endowments, great
attainments, invaluable services, pure character and wonderfully
vigorous old age. It was quite evident that Mr. Gladstone's retirement
was not enforced by mental or physical infirmities, or by his unfitness
for the leadership of the House and the Premiership, but that as a wise
precaution, and upon the solicitation of his family, he had laid down
his power while he was yet able to wield it with astonishing vigor. Thus
closed the fourth administration of this remarkable man, the greatest
English statesman of his time. In all history there is no parallel case,
and no official record such as his.
Lord Rosebery was appointed Premier in the place of Mr. Gladstone, and
Sir William V. Harcourt became the leader of the Liberal party in the
House of Commons. Mr. Gladstone wrote congratulating Lord Rosebery, and
promised to aid him whenever his assistance was required. In assuming
office Lord Rosebery eulogized Mr. Gladstone, and announced that there
would be no change in the policy of reform of the Liberal party under
the new administration, and declared for Home Rule for Ireland, the
disestablishment of the church in Wales and Scotland, and the reform of
the House of Lords.
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