The Gathering of Clouds
Throughout June and the first week of July the affairs of the
Ministry went on successfully, in spite of the social sins of the
Duke and the occasional despair of the Duchess. There had been many
politicians who had thought, or had, at any rate, predicted, that
the Coalition Ministry would not live a month. There had been
men, such as Lord Fawn on one side and Mr. Boffin on the other,
who had found themselves stranded disagreeably,--with no certain
position,--unwilling to sit immediately behind a Treasury bench from
which they were excluded, and too shy to place themselves immediately
opposite. Seats beneath the gangway were, of course, open to such of
them as were members of the Lower House, and those seats had to be
used; but they were not accustomed to sit beneath the gangway. These
gentlemen had expected that the seeds of weakness, of which they had
perceived the scattering, would grow at once into an enormous crop of
blunders, difficulties, and complications; but, for a while, the
Ministry were saved from these dangers either by the energy of the
Prime Minister, or the popularity of his wife, or perhaps by the
sagacity of the elder Duke;--so that there grew up an idea that the
Coalition was really the proper thing. In one respect it certainly
was successful. The Home Rulers, or Irish party generally, were left
without an inch of standing ground. Their support was not needed, and
therefore they were not courted. For the moment there was not even
a necessity to pretend that Home Rule was anything but an absurdity
from beginning to end;--so much so that one or two leading Home
Rulers, men who had taken up the cause not only that they might
become Members of Parliament, but with some further ideas of
speech-making and popularity, declared that the Coalition had been
formed merely with a view of putting down Ireland. This capability of
dispensing with a generally untractable element of support was felt
to be a great comfort. Then, too, there was a set in the House,--at
the moment not a very numerous set,--who had been troublesome friends
to the old Liberal party, and which the Coalition was able, if not to
ignore, at any rate to disregard. These were the staunch economists,
and argumentative philosophical Radicals,--men of standing and
repute, who are always in doubtful times individually flattered by
Ministers, who have great privileges accorded to them of speaking and
dividing, and who are not unfrequently even thanked for their rods by
the very owners of the backs which bear the scourges. These men could
not be quite set aside by the Coalition as were the Home Rulers. It
was not even yet, perhaps, wise to count them out, or to leave them
to talk to benches absolutely empty;--but the tone of flattery with
which they had been addressed became gradually less warm; and when
the scourges were wielded, ministerial backs took themselves out of
the way. There grew up unconsciously a feeling of security against
attack which was distasteful to these gentlemen, and was in
itself perhaps a little dangerous. Gentlemen bound to support the
Government, when they perceived that there was comparatively but
little to do, and that that little might be easily done, became
careless, and, perhaps, a little contemptuous. So that the great
popular orator, Mr. Turnbull, found himself compelled to rise in his
seat, and ask whether the noble Duke at the head of the Government
thought himself strong enough to rule without attention to
Parliamentary details. The question was asked with an air of
inexorable severity, and was intended to have deep signification. Mr.
Turnbull had disliked the Coalition from the beginning; but then Mr.
Turnbull always disliked everything. He had so accustomed himself to
wield the constitutional cat-of-nine-tails, that heaven will hardly
be happy to him unless he be allowed to flog the cherubim. Though the
party with which he was presumed to act had generally been in power
since he had been in the House, he had never allowed himself to agree
with a Minister on any point. And as he had never been satisfied
with a Liberal Government, it was not probable that he should endure
a Coalition in silence. At the end of a rather lengthy speech, he
repeated his question, and then sat down, taking his place with all
that constitutional indignation which becomes the parliamentary
flagellator of the day. The little jokes with which Sir Orlando
answered him were very well in their way. Mr. Turnbull did not care
much whether he were answered or not. Perhaps the jauntiness of Sir
Orlando, which implied that the Coalition was too strong to regard
attack, somewhat irritated outsiders. But there certainly grew up
from that moment a feeling among such men as Erle and Rattler that
care was necessary, that the House, taken as a whole, was not in a
condition to be manipulated with easy freedom, and that Sir Orlando
must be made to understand that he was not strong enough to depend
upon jauntiness. The jaunty statesman must be very sure of his
personal following. There was a general opinion that Sir Orlando had
not brought the Coalition well out of the first real attack which had
been made upon it.
"Well, Phineas; how do you like the Phoenix?" Phineas Finn had
flown back to London at the instigation probably of Mr. Rattler, and
was now standing at the window of Brooks's club with Barrington Erle.
It was near nine one Thursday evening, and they were both about to
return to the House.
"I don't like the Castle, if you mean that."
"Tyrone isn't troublesome, surely?" The Marquis of Tyrone was the
Lord Lieutenant of the day, and had in his time been a very strong
Conservative.
"He finds me troublesome, I fear."
"I don't wonder at that, Phineas."
"How should it be otherwise? What can he and I have in sympathy with
one another? He has been brought up with all an Orangeman's hatred
for a Papist. Now that he is in high office, he can abandon the
display of the feeling,--perhaps the feeling itself as regards the
country at large. He knows that it doesn't become a Lord Lieutenant
to be Orange. But how can he put himself into a boat with me?"
"All that kind of thing vanishes when a man is in office."
"Yes, as a rule; because men go together into office with the same
general predilections. Is it too hot to walk down?"
"I'll walk a little way,--till you make me hot by arguing."
"I haven't an argument left in me," said Phineas. "Of course
everything over there seems easy enough now,--so easy that Lord
Tyrone evidently imagines that the good times are coming back in
which governors may govern and not be governed."
"You are pretty quiet in Ireland now, I suppose;--no martial law,
suspension of the habeas corpus, or anything of that kind, just at
present?"
"No; thank goodness!" said Phineas.
"I'm not quite sure whether a general suspension of the habeas corpus
would not upon the whole be the most comfortable state of things for
Irishmen themselves. But whether good or bad, you've nothing of that
kind of thing now. You've no great measure that you wish to pass?"
"But they've a great measure that they wish to pass."
"They know better than that. They don't want to kill their golden
goose."
"The people, who are infinitely ignorant of all political work,
do want it. There are counties in which, if you were to poll the
people, Home Rule would carry nearly every voter,--except the members
themselves."
"You wouldn't give it them?"
"Certainly not;--any more than I would allow a son to ruin himself
because he asked me. But I would endeavour to teach them that they
can get nothing by Home Rule,--that their taxes would be heavier,
their property less secure, their lives less safe, their general
position more debased, and their chances of national success more
remote than ever."
"You can never teach them, except by the slow lesson of habit. The
Heptarchy didn't mould itself into a nation in a day."
"Men were governed then, and could be and were moulded. I feel sure
that even in Ireland there is a stratum of men, above the working
peasants, who would understand, and make those below them understand,
the position of the country, if they could only be got to give up
fighting about religion. Even now Home Rule is regarded by the
multitude as a weapon to be used against Protestantism on behalf of
the Pope."
"I suppose the Pope is the great sinner?"
"They got over the Pope in France,--even in early days, before
religion had become a farce in the country. They have done so in
Italy."
"Yes;--they've got over the Pope in Italy, certainly."
"And yet," said Phineas, "the bulk of the people are staunch
Catholics. Of course the same attempt to maintain a temporal
influence, with the hope of recovering temporal power, is made in
other countries. But while we see the attempt failing elsewhere,--so
that we know that the power of the Church is going to the wall,--yet
in Ireland it is infinitely stronger now than it was fifty, or even
twenty years ago."
"Because we have been removing restraints on Papal aggression, while
other nations have been imposing restraints. There are those at
Rome who believe all England to be Romish at heart, because here in
England a Roman Catholic can say what he will, and print what he
will."
"And yet," said Phineas, "all England does not return one Catholic to
the House, while we have Jews in plenty. You have a Jew among your
English judges, but at present not a single Roman Catholic. What do
you suppose are the comparative numbers of the population here in
England?"
"And you are going to cure all this;--while Tyrone thinks it ought to
be left as it is? I rather agree with Tyrone."
"No," said Phineas, wearily; "I doubt whether I shall ever cure
anything, or even make any real attempt. My patriotism just goes far
enough to make me unhappy, and Lord Tyrone thinks that while Dublin
ladies dance at the Castle, and the list of agrarian murders is kept
low, the country is admirably managed. I don't quite agree with
him;--that's all."
Then there arose a legal difficulty, which caused much trouble to the
Coalition Ministry. There fell vacant a certain seat on the bench of
judges,--a seat of considerable dignity and importance, but not quite
of the highest rank. Sir Gregory Grogram, who was a rich, energetic
man, determined to have a peerage, and convinced that, should
the Coalition fall to pieces, the Liberal element would be in
the ascendant,--so that the woolsack would then be opened to
him,--declined to occupy the place. Sir Timothy Beeswax, the
Solicitor-General, saw that it was exactly suited for him, and had no
hesitation in expressing his opinion to that effect. But the place
was not given to Sir Timothy. It was explained to Sir Timothy that
the old rule,--or rather custom,--of offering certain high positions
to the law officers of the Crown had been abrogated. Some Prime
Minister, or, more probably, some collection of Cabinet Ministers,
had asserted the custom to be a bad one,--and, as far as right went,
Sir Timothy was declared not to have a leg to stand upon. He was
informed that his services in the House were too valuable to be so
lost. Some people said that his temper was against him. Others were
of opinion that he had risen from the ranks too quickly, and that
Lord Ramsden, who had come from the same party, thought that Sir
Timothy had not yet won his spurs. The Solicitor-General resigned
in a huff, and then withdrew his resignation. Sir Gregory thought
the withdrawal should not be accepted, having found Sir Timothy to
be an unsympathetic colleague. Our Duke consulted the old Duke,
among whose theories of official life forbearance to all colleagues
and subordinates was conspicuous. The withdrawal was, therefore,
allowed,--but the Coalition could not after that be said to be strong
in regard to its Law Officers.
But the first concerted attack against the Ministry was made in
reference to the budget. Mr. Monk, who had consented to undertake the
duties of Chancellor of the Exchequer under the urgent entreaties
of the two dukes, was of course late with his budget. It was April
before the Coalition had been formed. The budget when produced had
been very popular. Budgets, like babies, are always little loves
when first born. But as their infancy passes away, they also become
subject to many stripes. The details are less pleasing than was the
whole in the hands of the nurse. There was a certain "interest,"
very influential both by general wealth and by the presence of many
members in the House, which thought that Mr. Monk had disregarded its
just claims. Mr. Monk had refused to relieve the Brewers from their
licences. Now the Brewers had for some years been agitating about
their licences,--and it is acknowledged in politics that any measure
is to be carried, or to be left out in the cold uncarried and
neglected, according to the number of deputations which may be got to
press a Minister on the subject. Now the Brewers had had deputation
after deputation to many Chancellors of the Exchequer; and these
deputations had been most respectable,--we may almost say imperative.
It was quite usual for a deputation to have four or five County
members among its body, all Brewers; and the average wealth of a
deputation of Brewers would buy up half London. All the Brewers in
the House had been among the supporters of the Coalition, the number
of Liberal and Conservative Brewers having been about equal. But
now there was a fear that the "interest" might put itself into
opposition. Mr. Monk had been firm. More than one of the Ministry had
wished to yield;--but he had discussed the matter with his Chief, and
they were both very firm. The Duke had never doubted. Mr. Monk had
never doubted. From day to day certain organs of the Press expressed
an opinion, gradually increasing in strength, that however strong
might be the Coalition as a body, it was weak as to finance. This was
hard, because not very many years ago the Duke himself had been known
as a particularly strong Minister of Finance. An amendment was moved
in Committee as to the Brewers' Licences, and there was almost a
general opinion that the Coalition would be broken up. Mr. Monk would
certainly not remain in office if the Brewers were to be relieved
from their licences.
Then it was that Phineas Finn was recalled from Ireland in red-hot
haste. The measure was debated for a couple of nights, and Mr. Monk
carried his point. The Brewers' Licences were allowed to remain, as
one great gentleman from Burton declared, a "disgrace to the fiscal
sagacity of the country." The Coalition was so far victorious;--but
there arose a general feeling that its strength had been impaired.