THE PARTY MACHINE
‘There is rarely any rising, but by a commixture of good and evil
arts.’--BACON.
In the spring of 1883 Lord Randolph Churchill had invited Lord Salisbury
to come forward and head the Tory Democratic movement. In the autumn he
determined to persevere alone. The enterprise which he had matured
during his retirement at Blenheim was perhaps the most daring on which
he ever embarked. It has been stated that he cherished no smaller design
than the ‘wholesale capture of the Conservative party organisation.’ How
far in his secret heart he was determined to go cannot be known; but it
is certain that he now set to work deliberately upon a twofold
plan--first, to obtain the control of the National Union of Conservative
Associations; and secondly to secure for that body substantial authority
and financial independence.
Nothing but Lord Randolph Churchill’s undisputed predominance in debate
and his unequalled popularity in the country could have sustained him
against the forces which he had determined to engage. From one motive
or another, from conscientious and perfectly intelligible distrust, from
vulgar jealousy, from respect for discipline and authority, from a dull
resentment at the disturbance he created, nearly all the most
influential Conservatives in the House of Commons and the Carlton Club
were leagued against him. Lord Salisbury was hostile to him. Sir
Stafford Northcote had good reason to be so. All the old men who had sat
in the late Cabinet, were alarmed; all the new men who hoped to sit in
the next, were envious of his surprising rise to power. Scarcely a name
can be mentioned of those who had held office in the past or were to
hold it in the future, which was not at this time arrayed against him.
And with all of them he was now to come into violent collision.
With the beginnings of this intricate conflict around the party
machinery the Fourth Party entered upon its final phase. It had grown
out of a House of Commons comradeship amid the Bradlaugh debates. It had
soon become the centre and soul of opposition to Mr. Gladstone’s
Government. It had next been drawn into a vehement effort to displace
Sir Stafford Northcote from his primacy in Conservative councils and
instal Lord Salisbury in his stead. In all this Mr. Balfour may be said
to have worked with the Fourth Party more or less formally and to have
sympathised generally and even cordially with their aims. But in the
process of fighting several unexpected things had happened. A new
political situation was created; new forces had been awakened; a new
leader was at hand.
Mr. Gorst and Sir Henry Wolff declared themselves ready to follow Lord
Randolph Churchill further. Mr. Balfour immediately diverged. Although
during the fight for the party machine he continued nominally to act
with the Fourth Party and remained on friendly terms with its members,
he now began to oppose Lord Randolph Churchill. He spoke against him in
the House of Commons. He canvassed against him in the National Union
Council. It has been suggested[17] that Mr. Balfour’s course at this
time was open to the reproach of disingenuousness. Certainly Lord
Randolph Churchill’s correspondence lends no support to such a charge.
He liked Mr. Balfour as a companion. He did not consider him formidable
as an opponent. He was delighted to bear the evils of his antagonism for
the pleasure of his society. Moreover, he saw quite clearly that Mr.
Balfour’s main political sympathy was inseparably attached to Lord
Salisbury. To come into conflict with Lord Salisbury was to come into
conflict with Mr. Balfour. The difference was natural, inevitable, and
legitimate; and no doubt, while it lasted, Lord Randolph was careful to
confine his conversation with his friend only to those subjects upon
which they were still able to cooperate.
After the electoral disaster of 1880 a meeting had been held at
Bridgewater House, under the auspices of Lord Beaconsfield, to examine
the causes of defeat. A committee, formed chiefly of members of the
Carlton Club, had been appointed to consider various methods of
reforming, popularising, and improving the party organisation. This
committee was never dissolved. It continued to exist, and under the
title of the ‘Central Committee’ assumed the direction and management of
all party affairs and controlled the large funds subscribed for party
purposes. The National Union of Conservative Associations, upon the
other hand, was a body formed on a basis of popular representation. Its
branches had spread all over the country and its membership included
many of the more active local leaders of the Conservative party in the
great towns. It was, however, deprived of all share in party government
by the Central Committee and jealously excluded from possessing any
financial independence. Mr. Gorst was already its Vice-President and had
long exercised an influence sustained by an unrivalled knowledge of
party machinery. Sir Henry Wolff was one of its original members. But
Lord Randolph Churchill’s election by co-optation to a seat upon that
body in 1882 had led to an unprecedented division of opinion. His
personal antagonists had banded themselves together and attacked him
upon various ingenious pretexts. One gentleman undertook to prove from
elaborately prepared and complicated statistics that the member for
Woodstock was a Fenian. Another endeavoured to convince the Council
that he was a devoted slave of Mr. Chamberlain--apparently on the
curious ground that he had voted against a plan for making a Channel
Tunnel. When the Council had divided, the numbers for and against him
were exactly equal. The duty of giving a casting-vote fell upon the
Chairman. Although consistently hostile to Tory Democracy in all its
forms and representatives, Lord Percy refused to use his vote to exclude
a distinguished opponent and Lord Randolph Churchill had thus been
elected.
The three faithful members of the Fourth Party were thus brought
together. They were not alone or unsupported. The discussions of a year
had disclosed unmistakable discontent on the part of a powerful section
of the National Union. Many active local politicians--men claiming to
speak upon the Council in the name of some of the greatest cities in
England--were profoundly dissatisfied both with the conduct of the
Opposition and the organisation of the party. They resented their utter
lack of influence over either. Themselves above, or at least outside,
the jealousies and cabals of the House of Commons, they regarded the
free-lances below the gangway as the best fighting men in the
Conservative ranks and they looked with enthusiasm to Lord Randolph
Churchill as the one man who could revive the failing fortunes of their
party and beard the majestic authority of the Prime Minister. It was by
the unwavering support of a majority of these gentlemen that Lord
Randolph’s power upon the Council was maintained through the struggles
that followed.
‘The National Union,’ writes Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, ‘was galvanised
into life by a desire very prevalent in the party outside the House of
Commons--or, at least, in the democratic part of it--to support the more
active policy in Opposition of which Lord Randolph was the type, and by
the personal differences which were necessarily connected with that
subject.’
During the year 1883 Lord Randolph’s position on the Council had been
one of influence but not of power. The selection of Birmingham as the
scene of the Conference of 1883 was a circumstance especially favourable
to him. He resolved to seize the opportunity. ‘I have seen Gorst,’ he
wrote (September 28, 1883) to Sir Henry Wolff, ‘and arranged with him
that at the meeting of the delegates at Birmingham I am to declare war
against the Central Committee and advocate the placing of all power and
finance in the hands of the Council of the National Union. This will be
a bold step--the Austerlitz of the Fourth Party; but I fancy I may be
able to put my views in a manner which will carry the delegates.’
These anticipations were fully sustained at the Conference on October 2.
Lord Randolph laid his case before the delegates with the utmost
candour. He reminded them of the differences his former election to the
Council had occasioned. He wished them quite clearly to understand what
his course would be if he were elected again. He denounced the Central
Committee, which he justly declared had arrogated to itself powers, it
was never intended to possess and was incompetent to exercise. He
described the National Union as kept by this committee ‘in a state of
tutelage, if not of slavery,’ and its delegates as ‘solemnly invited
year by year to elect a Council which does not advise and an Executive
which does not administer.’
‘I wish,’ he said, ‘to see the control and guidance of the organisation
of the Tory party transferred from a self-elected body to an annually
elected body. I wish to see the management of the financial resources of
our party transferred from an irresponsible body to a responsible body.
I say that this so-called Central Committee is an irresponsible and
self-elected body and that the Council of the National Union is a
responsible and an annually elected body, and I wish the control of the
party organisation to be in the hands of the National Union and taken
out of the hands of the Central Committee. There is no instance in
history of power, placed in the hands of a self-constituted and
irresponsible body, being used otherwise than unwisely at first and
corruptly at last.... I hold it is of the last importance that all
finance should be collected and administered by your Council. The
corrupt practices at the last General Election on our own side, when the
organisation was directed by a secret and irresponsible Committee, were
so grave and flagrant that our party in Parliament were absolutely
prevented from exposing the graver and more flagrant corrupt practices
of the Liberal party.... I should like all the finances of the Tory
party to be open for inspection for anyone who may wish to look at them,
be he friend or foe. Where you allow secret expenditure you will
certainly have corrupt expenditure; and where you have corrupt
expenditure you will have vitiated elections, disfranchised boroughs,
party disgrace, and public scandal....
‘There is another point. The great bulk of the Tory party throughout the
country is composed of artisans and labouring classes. They are directly
represented here to-day; they are always directly represented on your
Council; no party management can be effective and healthy unless the
great labouring classes are directly represented on the Executive of the
party. I hope before long to see Tory working men in Parliament....
[Sidenote: 1883 ÆT. 34]
‘Now some of our friends in the party have a lesson to learn which they
do not seem disposed to learn. The Conservative party will never
exercise power until it has gained the confidence of the working
classes; and the working classes are quite determined to govern
themselves, and will not be either driven or hoodwinked by any class or
class interests. Our interests are perfectly safe if we trust them
fully, frankly, and freely; but if we oppose them and endeavour to drive
them and hoodwink them, our interests, our Constitution, and all we love
and revere will go down. If you want to gain the confidence of the
working classes, let them have a share and a large share--a real share
and not a sham share--in your party Councils and in your party
government....
‘I would bespeak your earnest consideration of this grave question of
party organisation. Whatever your judgment may be, I shall humbly
acquiesce in it. If you are satisfied with the present arrangements, if
you think the National Union possesses the power to which it has a
right, if you think that things are going well with us and that the
future is sure and promising--well then, so do I. But if, on the other
hand, you are of opinion, after careful consideration of events since
1880, that we have not yet learnt enough from the experience of the past
to avoid disaster in time to come; if you think that we have not yet set
our house in order, that we are not as well prepared for battle as we
ought to be; if you are dissatisfied and distrustful of our present
arrangements and anxious about the prospects of our party; if you are
ready to consider and carry out needful and timely reforms--well then,
so am I.’
‘We had a real triumph,’ wrote Mr. Gorst to Sir Henry Wolff (October 3),
‘at Birmingham yesterday in carrying without division a resolution
directing a new Council to take steps to secure for the National Union
“its legitimate influence in the party organisation.” They got ----, ----,
and ---- and a whole bevy of Goats to attend; but Randolph, who was
received by the delegates with a regular ovation, made a capital speech
attacking the Central Committee and carried all before him. The
election, however, went off badly. Clarke, Chaplin, Claud Hamilton, and
a lot of other hostile men got elected and it will require the greatest
care and skill in the selection and election of the twelve co-optated
members to secure us the necessary working majority.’
Lord Randolph’s own account was laconic:--
_Lord Randolph Churchill to Sir Henry Wolff._
October 3, 1883.
Dear Wolff,--The proceedings yesterday were interesting and, on the
whole, satisfactory, but I could not give you an account of them in
a letter--it would be far too long. I shall be in town on Saturday,
when you must dine with me. Tell Gorst I expect him too, and you
will hear all about the infant Caucus. The Goats yesterday had got
wind of our proceedings and came down in great numbers. Ashmead
Bartlett also went dead against us and ‘entravéd’ our schemes to
some extent. I made my remarks, which appeared to me not to
displease the Assembly, though they must have been poison to the
Goats. R----, who was present at the beginning, sniffing a row,
prudently recollected he had an engagement and withdrew.
Yours faithfully,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
The consequences of the unsatisfactory election were evident in the
protracted and evenly-balanced conflict which broke out at once upon the
new Council. The twelve co-optated members seem to have been upon the
whole favourable to Lord Randolph. Some of them were men of such
influence in the large towns that the Orthodox Conservatives did not
care to oppose them. No doubt much forethought had also been exercised
in their selection. At any rate, from that moment Tory Democracy
secured a small but solid majority upon the Council.
The first meeting was upon December 7. Lord Randolph moved for an
Organisation Committee to consider the best means of carrying into
effect the rider passed at the annual conference. A Committee was
accordingly appointed. It consisted principally of Lord Randolph
Churchill’s friends. Its first act was to exclude the honorary
secretaries of the Council from its deliberations and to elect Lord
Randolph its Chairman. It next resolved unanimously to seek an interview
with Lord Salisbury, and the Chairman was instructed to write to him
with that purpose.
Nothing could exceed the politeness with which the correspondence
opened. Lord Randolph Churchill recounted the events of the Birmingham
conference and the formation of the new Organising Committee, and he
requested on their behalf the honour of an interview with the leader of
the party. Lord Salisbury replied that it would give him great pleasure
to confer with members of the National Union upon any subject which, in
their judgment, was of importance to party interests. Some delay was
caused through the Christmas holiday; but the meeting took place early
in January and was friendly in its character.
[Sidenote: 1884 ÆT. 35]
When, however, the Council of the National Union met on February 1, Lord
Percy complained that Lord Randolph Churchill should have been elected
to the Chair of the Organisation Committee, as it had always been the
custom for the Chairman of the Council to preside at all Committees at
which he was present. Mr. Chaplin then moved that Lord Percy be
requested to resume his position as Chairman of the Organisation
Committee. Other motions of a similar character were made. All were
rejected by the Council after close divisions, and Lord Percy thereupon
resigned the chairmanship. Although Lord Randolph Churchill subsequently
himself proposed and carried a unanimous vote of confidence in him, he
declined to withdraw his resignation. Lord Randolph Churchill and Mr.
Chaplin were then respectively proposed for the vacant office, and Lord
Randolph was elected by seventeen votes to fifteen. But Lord Salisbury,
ignoring this decision, continued to communicate with the Council
through Lord Percy, and the majority was greatly offended thereby.
On February 29 Lord Salisbury, as he had promised, wrote a formal letter
to the Organisation Committee setting forth the views of the party
leaders upon the powers and duties of the Council of the National
Union:--
_Lord Salisbury to Lord Randolph Churchill._
20, Arlington Street: February 29, 1884.
My Lord,--I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of the 17th.
The pressure of public business must be my apology for not having
sent you an earlier reply.
Sir Stafford Northcote and I have carefully considered the matters
which you mentioned at the small meeting which took place here in
January. Our task has been rendered more difficult by the
circumstance that no proposals were put forward on the part of the
National Union. Their communication was confined to the
representation that, possessing an efficient organisation, and
consisting, as it undoubtedly does, of highly competent men, the
Council had not the opportunity of concurring largely enough in the
practical organisation of the party.
It appears to us that that organisation is, and must remain, in all
its essential features local. But there is still much work which a
central body like the Council of the National Union can perform
with great advantage to the party. It is the representative of many
Associations on whom, in their respective constituencies, the work
of the party greatly depends. It can superintend and stimulate
their exertions; furnish them with advice, and in some measure with
funds; provide them with lecturers; aid them in the improvement and
development of the local press; and help them in perfecting the
machinery by which the registration is conducted and the
arrangements for providing volunteer agency at election times. It
will have special opportunity of pressing upon the local
Associations which it represents the paramount duty of selecting,
in time, the candidates who are to come forward at the dissolution.
The field of work seems to us large--as large as the nature of the
case permits--and ample enough to give scope for such co-operation
as the able men who constitute the Council of the National Union
may be in a position to offer. But if, on consideration, the
Council should desire to submit to us any proposal with respect to
the above matters or to other subjects, it will, of course, receive
our attentive consideration.
Believe me
Yours very truly,
SALISBURY.
The arrival of this letter was hailed by Lord Randolph and his friends
with delight, and with elaborate gravity they made haste to accept it
as a ‘charter’ establishing for ever the rights and position of the
National Union. It might seem at first sight that Lord Salisbury’s
utterances were sufficiently vague and guarded; but this was not the
view of the Organisation Committee and they forthwith proceeded to draw
up a report, in which, it must be confessed, the assigned duties of the
National Union seemed to be of a very responsible and definite
character. The next step was, of course, to ask for funds to carry out
such important work, and the report proceeded to indicate the sources to
which the Organisation Committee would look:--
The Council will, no doubt, perceive that for the proper discharge
of these duties now imposed upon them by the leaders of the party
the provision of considerable funds becomes a matter of first-class
necessity. Your Committee have reason to believe that there exists
at the present moment a large fund, collected for the general
purposes of the Conservative party, and collected principally owing
to the exertions of the Marquess of Abergavenny, from which the
Council has from time to time received irregular and uncertain
contributions, more or less of an eleemosynary character. Your
Committee would strongly recommend to the Council that this
arrangement, which in view of the new duties now devolving upon the
Council must be considered as of a most unsatisfactory nature,
should be modified, and that your Committee should be authorised by
the Council to claim from the aforesaid fund a certain definite
allocation, which shall be set apart absolutely for the uses of the
National Union, and shall, in some measure, enable them to commence
the effective discharge of their labours. In view, however, of the
large field of work marked out by Lord Salisbury’s letter, your
Committee are of opinion that whatever funds they may be able to
obtain from the aforesaid source should be supplemented by a
vigorous and earnest appeal to the Conservative party generally
throughout the country for donations and annual subscriptions.
Lastly, the Committee drew up a number of practical suggestions--some of
which were subsequently followed, with excellent results--for the
purpose of carrying out ‘Lord Salisbury’s scheme.’
Full information of the framing of this report and of its character was
conveyed to Lord Salisbury through a channel which could not then be
traced and he was much taken aback at the construction which had been
put upon his letter. He therefore wrote immediately to Lord Randolph
Churchill.
_Private and Confidential._
March 6, 1884.
My dear Lord Randolph,--I have been told on good authority that you
had inferred, as the result of our recent communications, that in
our contemplation the National Union was in some manner to take the
place of the Central Committee and to do the work which the latter
exclusively does now.
As my letter does not mention the Central Committee, this
misapprehension (if, indeed, it has arisen) must be due to
something that passed in our conversation at the Carlton on Sunday.
I should blame myself severely if I had misled you as to our views
on this point. The Central Committee are appointed by us and
represent us: and we could not in any degree separate our position
from theirs.
I hope, however, that there is no chance of the paths of the
Central Committee and the National Union crossing: for there is
plenty of good work for both to do.
I am sure you will forgive my giving you the trouble of reading
this letter--which only issues from my desire that we should all
work together in good understanding.
Believe me
Yours very truly,
SALISBURY.
‘With reference to the hope,’ replied Lord Randolph Churchill, ‘which
you express, that “there is no chance of the paths of the Central
Committee and the National Union crossing,” I fear it may be
disappointed. In a struggle between a popular body and a close
corporation, the latter, I am happy to say, in these days goes to the
wall; for the popular body have this great advantage--that, having
nothing to conceal, they can, at any moment they think proper, appeal
fully (and in some measure recklessly) to a favourable and sympathising
public, and I am of opinion that in such a course as this the National
Union will find that I may be of some little assistance to them.’
The report, together with the ‘Charter’ letter, was presented to the
Council at their meeting on the 7th, and their consideration was
adjourned till the 14th. At this adjourned meeting Lord Percy read a
letter which he had received from Lord Salisbury strongly disapproving
of the report and deprecating its adoption. He thereupon moved its
rejection. The Council divided, and Lord Percy’s motion was negatived by
19 votes to 14. The report was then adopted by 19 votes to 7.
The consequences of this decision were surprising. On March 18 Lord
Randolph Churchill received a letter from Mr. Bartley, the principal
agent at the Conservative Central Office, informing him that Lord
Salisbury and Sir Stafford Northcote thought it desirable that the
Central Committee and the National Union should work with separate
establishments, and requesting the National Union to take the necessary
steps for removing their belongings.
It is very easy to see what a great tactical mistake Lord Salisbury and
his friends committed by authorising such a letter to be written. The
premises in question were not the property of Lord Salisbury and Sir
Stafford Northcote and they had no legal power to eject the National
Union. The National Union had since 1872 contributed from their own
funds 175_l._ annually towards the rent and the office expenses.
Moreover--and all this was carefully and forcefully put before the
Organisation Committee by its Chairman--Lord Salisbury had directed such
a letter to be written without waiting for any official information as
to what the action which was complained of really was, and without
communicating, except informally through Lord Percy, with the Council.
The members of the Council therefore, many of whom were able men of
local influence and importance, felt themselves affronted by
discourteous usage. The opinion was expressed that when the leaders of
the party had communications to make to the National Union, those
communications should be made through their Chairman; and the ‘notice to
quit,’ as it was called, was regarded as a cause of deep and undeserved
offence.
Lord Randolph Churchill was careful, however, not to make too much at
the moment of this substantial advantage; and he persuaded the Committee
to modify the report in several important particulars, so as to remove
what were believed to be Lord Salisbury’s objections. The revised draft
was then, after several parleyings, forwarded to the party leaders, and
on April 1 Lord Salisbury replied in a letter[18] which strictly limited
the functions of the National Union and provided for its complete
control by the Central Committee:--
To ensure complete unity of action, we think it desirable that the
Whips of the party should sit, _ex officio_, on the Council, and
should have a right to be present at the meetings of all
Committees. Such an arrangement would be a security against any
unintentional divergencies of policy, and would lend weight to the
proceedings of the Union. Business relating to candidates should
remain entirely with the Central Committee. On the assumption,
which we are entitled now to make, that the action of the two
bodies will be harmonious, a separation of establishments will not
be necessary--unless business should largely increase. There is
some advantage, undoubtedly, in their working under a common roof,
for it is difficult to distinguish between their functions so
accurately, but that the need of mutual assistance and
communication will constantly be felt.
On the receipt of this letter Lord Randolph Churchill resolved to
abandon all pretence at further friendly negotiation. He summoned
immediately a special meeting of the Organisation Committee, on which,
as has been noticed, his personal influence predominated. Only three
members besides himself--namely Colonel Burnaby, Mr. Cotter and Mr.
Gorst--were able to attend; but these nevertheless took the
responsibility of sending to the leaders of the party what was, as will
presently appear, little less than a declaration of open war.
All these proceedings came before the Council of the National Union at
their meeting on April 4. Lord Randolph Churchill, as Chairman, read Mr.
Bartley’s ‘notice to quit’ letter of March 17, which, he stated, was the
result of an ‘unauthorised, unofficial, and inaccurate communication’ on
the part of some member of the Council to the leaders of the party of
what had taken place at the last meeting. But although the letter was a
great obstacle to amicable intercourse, he had endeavoured to negotiate
with the leaders, and had had many conferences with persons of
influence, such as Lord Abergavenny and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach; and,
finally, Mr. Gorst and he himself had had the honour of an interview
with Lord Salisbury on March 21. The results of the interview had been
very satisfactory, and it was understood that the leaders would
communicate thereafter with the Council; but in spite of repeated
requests, and even visits, no reply of any sort had been received. The
Organisation Committee had therefore drawn up their report, making such
alterations in it as they believed might make it acceptable. On the day
following the circulation of this report to the Council the Chairman had
received the letter from Lord Salisbury of April 1, to which the
Organisation Committee had sent a reply.[19]
This reply, after recalling the proceedings at Birmingham and the
unsatisfactory features in the Conservative organisation--‘the control
of Parliamentary elections by the leader, the Whip, and the paid agent
drawing their resources from secret funds’--suitable perhaps ‘to the
manipulation of the 10_l._ householder,’ but utterly obsolete in the
face of an extended franchise--described the gratification and
encouragement with which the Council of the National Union had learned
that Lord Salisbury was willing to entrust them with large and important
duties. The Council, however, committed the serious error of ‘imagining
that your Lordship and Sir Stafford Northcote were in earnest in wishing
them to become a real source of usefulness to the party.’ They had been
‘rudely undeceived.’ The day after the adoption of their report they had
been ordered to quit the premises they occupied. Their report had been
disapproved on the ground that their activities would trench upon the
functions ‘of an amorphous and unknown body styled the Central
Committee.’ The precise language of Lord Salisbury’s ‘Charter’ letter
had been completely abandoned and refuge had been taken ‘in vague,
foggy, and utterly intangible suggestions.’ In order that the Council of
the National Union might be ‘completely and for ever reduced to its
ancient condition of dependence upon and servility to certain
irresponsible persons who find favour in your eyes,’ it was demanded
that the Whips of the party should sit _ex officio_ on the Council, with
a right of being present at all committees. Finally, in the event of the
Council--representing upwards of 500 affiliated Conservative
Associations and composed of men eminent in position and political
experience, enjoying the confidence of the party in populous localities
and sacrificing continually much time, convenience and money to the work
of the National Union--acquiescing in such a view of its functions, it
might be graciously permitted to remain the humble inmate of the
premises which it occupied.
We shall lay your letter and copy of this reply before the Council
at its meeting to-morrow and shall move the Council that they
adhere substantially to the report already adopted, in obedience to
the direction of the Conference at Birmingham; that they take steps
to provide themselves with their own offices and clerks; and that
they continue to prosecute with vigour and independence the task
which they have commenced--namely, the _bona-fide_ popular
organisation of the Conservative party.
It may be that the powerful and secret influences which have
hitherto been unsuccessfully at work on the Council, with the
knowledge and consent of your Lordship and Sir Stafford Northcote,
may at last be effectual in reducing the National Union to its
former make-believe and impotent condition; in that case we shall
know what steps to take to clear ourselves of all responsibility
for the failure of an attempt to avert the misfortunes and reverses
which will, we are certain, under the present effete system of
wire-pulling and secret organisation, overtake and attend the
Conservative party at a General Election.
Lord Randolph finished reading the letter, and after moving the
appointment of an Executive Committee to carry out the recommendations
of the report, sat down abruptly. He was immediately asked to state the
names of those who had authorised the sending of such a letter, and the
fact that they were only four in number was received with murmurs of
astonishment. Lord Percy and Mr. Chaplin declined to serve upon the
Executive Committee until the letter was withdrawn, and Lord Claud
Hamilton moved at once the following amendment: ‘That this Council
regrets the disrespectful and improper tone of the letter of the
Organisation Committee of the 3rd inst. to the Marquess of Salisbury,
and declines to accept any responsibility for the same.’ This was
seconded by Mr. Stuart-Wortley, M.P., and supported by Mr. Chaplin and
others in an acrimonious debate. The issue appeared doubtful, but Lord
Randolph Churchill waved aside all suggestions of postponement and
insisted upon an immediate decision. So great was his influence that the
amendment was rejected by 19 to 13, and the original resolution
(appointing an Executive Committee) was carried by 18 to 14. The Council
then adjourned till May 2.
The month which followed was a month of intrigue and counter-intrigue.
The majority which Lord Randolph commanded upon the Council, was small.
He had been elected Chairman by a majority of two. The report of the
Organisation Committee had escaped destructive amendment by five votes.
The vote of censure on the Chairman had been rejected by no more than
six and the Executive Committee appointed by no more than four. If two
or three, or even one man, could be detached, the movement might be
crushed and its leader overthrown; and to this end every effort of power
and authority, by appeals, by local pressure, by threats and promises,
was employed. Against this Lord Randolph could set nothing but his
personal influence on the Council and his popularity in the country. It
was evident, moreover, that a great trial of strength between the two
sections of the Conservative party was impending, and moderate men had
to choose once and for all on which side they would be found. It is, to
say the least of it, remarkable that the majority on the Council
remained till the end of April solid and unwavering.
In the face of this attitude Lord Salisbury and his associates prepared
for compromise, and the leaders of Tory Democracy, who knew well how
slender were their resources, showed every disposition to meet them.
Lord Randolph Churchill declared that he would agree to anything ‘which
offered an honourable _modus vivendi_ to the National Union consistent
with the resolution of the Birmingham Conference.’ Lord Salisbury
appeared willing to concede a large part of what was demanded, including
a grant of 3,000_l._ a year to the National Union funds. This compromise
was to have been formally agreed to at the meeting of the Central
Committee on April 29, but at the last minute an unexpected event
occurred.
Mr. Maclean, the Member for Oldham, had hitherto been one of Lord
Randolph’s consistent supporters on the Council, but his private object
had been[20] to overthrow the dual control of Lord Salisbury and Sir
Stafford Northcote, rather than to place the organisation of the party
upon a democratic basis. If he had to choose, as he conceived himself
compelled to choose, between Lord Salisbury and Lord Randolph Churchill,
his intention was to support the former. He was a man of independent
views, who was not likely to be influenced against his decision by
either faction, and his intervention at this stage was for that reason
all the more effective. He, knowing nothing of the impending compromise,
now placed upon the agenda paper of the Council the following motion:--
‘That, having regard to the paramount importance of complete harmony and
united action between the Central Committee of the Conservative party
and the Council of the National Union, a Committee of the Council be now
appointed to confer with the Central Committee for the purpose of
securing these objects.’ On learning this Lord Salisbury at once broke
off all negotiations, pending the result of the motion. Mr. Edward
Stanhope was put in communication with Mr. Maclean and nothing was
neglected to induce him to persist.
The Council met again on May 2. Lord Randolph informed Mr. Maclean
privately that he would regard his motion, if carried, as a vote of
want of confidence in the Chairman. But Maclean was not to be dissuaded,
and upon a division--several of Lord Randolph’s friends being
absent--his motion prevailed by seventeen votes to thirteen. Lord
Randolph Churchill thereupon immediately resigned the chairmanship of
the Council. He determined to withdraw entirely from active politics,
and it was said that he would seek rest and amusement abroad. He even
prepared a letter to Mr. Satchell Hopkins explaining at length his
reasons for abandoning his candidature at Birmingham.[21]
Awful joy was manifested at the Tory headquarters upon the sudden and
complete suppression of the mutiny. At the Carlton and in the Lobby the
‘old gang’ were full of nervous self-congratulation. They had borne with
him long enough. They had always warned him what the end would be. Now
it had fallen out as they had always foreseen. Was it not sad to see a
young man--of undoubted talent--destroy what might have been a
meritorious career? &c., &c. The _Standard_ chanted a solemn pæan of
triumph. The victorious section upon the Council made haste to publish
glowing accounts of their action, and incidentally communicated to the
press the full terms of the ‘irritating letter’ which had been sent to
Lord Salisbury on April 3, and which was, of course, a strictly
confidential document. Sir Stafford Northcote said in his haste that
Lord Randolph was ‘a bonnet for the Liberal party.’ This mood lasted for
a little while. Then came a chilling reaction.
The news of Lord Randolph Churchill’s resignation became generally known
on May 4, and it was received through all Conservative circles--except
the highest--with something very like consternation. The publication of
his letter to Lord Salisbury made a great sensation, not at all to his
disadvantage. Telegrams, letters, resolutions, deputations poured in
upon him in a stream. Within forty-eight hours a formidable movement in
his favour had begun. The _Times_ supported him in a powerful article
(May 8). ‘The main question at issue between him and the official
leaders of the Opposition is whether the internal organisation of the
party should be for the future established on a popular and
representative or on a secret and irresponsible basis.’ It declared that
the quarrel, until it was repaired, left the country without an
alternative Government. It urged Lord Salisbury not to delay in making
friendly overtures. He had ‘before this effected a not less difficult
reconciliation.’ If he delayed, it was quite possible that he might find
himself ‘in the position not so much of dictating terms of
reconciliation as of accepting them.’ Many other important Conservative
newspapers took a similar view. In the Tory clubs of the large towns it
was freely said that the one man who really knew how to fight Mr.
Gladstone, had been tripped up by the jealous intrigues of an effete,
incompetent clique of aristocrats. A loud outcry was raised against ‘the
back-parlour’ management of a great party.
A more remarkable and effective demonstration followed. On May 8, the
respective Chairmen of the Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Sheffield,
Hull, Edinburgh, and Bristol Conservative Associations, representing
300,000 electors, met together in London under the presidency of Mr. A.
B. Forwood. They invited Lord Randolph Churchill to confer with them,
and having heard his views drew up a memorandum to the Council of the
National Union, of which the principal recommendation was that he should
be ‘earnestly requested to withdraw his resignation.’ They added,
moreover, that the National Union was not as representative of the
feeling in the country as it ought to be and urged that immediate steps
should be taken to broaden the basis of its organisation. They addressed
themselves also to Lord Salisbury both by letter and deputation.
Among the many tokens of public goodwill of which Lord Randolph was at
this time the object, there was one which seemed peculiarly welcome. It
was a deputation of undergraduates from the Cambridge University
Carlton, who travelled to London for the purpose of offering what
encouragement lay in their power. A year later, when as a Minister of
the Crown Lord Randolph was able to accept the invitation of this club
to a House dinner, he alluded to the incident in terms which cast an
intimate light upon his feelings at this tempestuous moment:--
‘There was a time last year when it happened to me to be engaged in
something partaking of the nature of a struggle with men of great
position, great responsibility, and great experience, as to the form
which modern Conservative political organisation ought to take. That
difference of opinion at one time became very sharp, and I did not know
what the result of it might be; and I was getting extremely anxious,
more for the sake of the Conservative party than for my own sake. One
evening I came home from the House of Commons very anxious and rather
discouraged, because at the House of Commons, among people whom I ought
to look upon as my political friends, I had met nothing but gloomy
looks; and I felt very much inclined to retire from the game, thinking I
was doing more harm than good, and rather--to use a slang
expression--disposed to cut the whole concern. However, when I arrived
at my house I found there waiting for me a deputation from the
University Carlton. Three gentlemen--three, I will venture to say, of
the most accomplished and able envoys ever sent out on any mission--were
waiting for me; and the only error which they committed was that,
instead of going into my house and waiting for me there, with whatever
accommodation that dwelling might afford, they waited for me in the
street, and had been waiting for me some time. I do not think you can
imagine the effect that expression of sympathy and that cordial
invitation had upon me at the time. Before I received it I felt that I
was very young, very inexperienced, and very much alone, and I did not
know to what extent any portion or fraction of public opinion might be
with me. But the expression of opinion from your club filled me with
hopes that, after all, I was not going so very far wrong--that I might
still persevere a little longer. I did persevere; everything came all
right, everything settled down, both to the harmony and, I think, to the
advantage of the Tory party. That was, to my mind, and must always be,
as far as I am concerned, a most interesting and memorable incident. It
was an encouragement from youth to youth.’
This temper among the rank and file was not lost upon the leaders of the
party. The olive branch was held out publicly, though patronisingly, by
Mr. Stanhope at a Finsbury meeting as early as May 7. Lord Salisbury
replied with grave courtesy to the representations of the provincial
Chairmen. All sorts of busybodies ran to and fro like shuttles weaving
up a peace. On the 9th a party meeting was called at the Carlton Club to
plan the contemplated second vote of censure on Egyptian policy. Upwards
of 170 members of Parliament attended. To the astonishment of many, who
thought he had been drummed out of the Conservative ranks, Lord Randolph
strolled in unconcernedly, was warmly welcomed by the leaders, and,
rising immediately after Sir Stafford Northcote, expressed his entire
approval of the terms of the vote of censure and of the general
arrangement of the debate. The meeting was loud in its satisfaction at
these signs of concord. The negotiations with the Central Committee were
resumed, almost at the point where they had been broken off. When the
Council of the National Union met again on the 16th, it was evident that
the tide of opinion flowed strongly in Lord Randolph’s favour. Upon the
motion of Lord Holmesdale he was unanimously re-elected Chairman. He
thus returned stronger than ever, neither disarmed nor placated, and the
movement which he had launched was driven steadily and relentlessly
forward.