‘dacoity’--disturbed the less accessible regions for several years,
Burma was now in British hands. What was to be done with it? Lord
Randolph Churchill was for annexation simple and direct. The Council of
the Governor-General disapproved of this course, which they feared would
excite the hostility of China. Many important authorities preferred the
establishment of a native prince under British advice. Lord Salisbury
thought the great cost of British administration would overweight the
new territory. In the end, however, the Secretary of State for India
prevailed. The Chinese Government was reassured by the abandonment of
Lord Randolph Churchill’s projected mission to establish commercial
relations between India and Thibet, to which they had been persuaded to
give a rather reluctant consent. They were soothed and even gratified
by the establishment of a Llama in Burma--‘a spiritual king sending
decennial presents,’ as Lord Salisbury with relish describes him,
‘though,’ he adds, ‘the Chinese Empire is no more Buddhist than
Chartist.’ The annexation was resolved. Lord Randolph arranged that the
proclamation should be made on January 1, 1886, as ‘a New Year’s present
to the Queen.’ On the last day in December he was staying with
FitzGibbon for his Christmas party; and as the clock struck midnight he
lifted his glass and announced, with due solemnity, ‘Howth annexes Burma
to the British Empire.’ The next morning the Viceregal proclamation was
published. It is one of the shortest documents of the kind on historical
record:--
_By command of the Queen-Empress, it is hereby notified that the
territories formerly governed by King Theebaw will no longer be
under his rule, but have become part of Her Majesty’s dominions,
and will during Her Majesty’s pleasure be administered by such
officers as the Viceroy and Governor-General of India may from time
to time appoint._
APPENDICES
I
_THREE ELECTION ADDRESSES_
1874.
_To the Electors of Woodstock._
I gladly avail myself of the opportunity afforded me by the retirement
of your late member, Mr. Barnett, to offer myself as your representative
in the coming Parliament.
The politics I profess are strictly in accordance with those of the
great leaders of the Conservative party which the Borough of Woodstock
has now so long supported.
Many questions of great political importance which formerly divided the
Conservative from the Liberal party have passed for the present out of
the field of conflict; their settlement, whether for good or evil, being
now stamped on the face of our Statute Book. The essential features of
the Constitution of this country continue, however, to defy the attacks
of extreme Reformers. All legislation should, in my opinion, be based
strictly on the outlines of these features, which are capable of being
developed and expanded in accordance with the demands of a progressive
age.
Any measures that would ameliorate the condition of the working classes
would ensure my best and most earnest assistance. My desire would be to
place at their disposal, if it were possible, the common necessaries and
comforts of life free from the prohibitory impost of taxation.
Some reforms of the systems of rating and local taxation are much
required. This subject, however, I hold to be one which should be dealt
with largely in one comprehensive measure, and not piecemeal or by
small instalments after the manner of recent futile attempts.
Legislation tending to the severance of the Established Church from the
State would be vigorously opposed by me. On the other hand, measures
which would increase the great sphere of usefulness of the Church of
England and render her more and more the Church of the nation, I would
as vigorously support.
With regard to Foreign Policy, it is impossible to blind oneself to the
fact that the position of England among foreign nations has deteriorated
in the hands of the recent Liberal Administration. While deprecating
unnecessary interference in Continental affairs, I am of opinion that in
cases where the honour of our country is implicated, the security of the
nation can only be attained by a bold and uncompromising policy. To that
end I should oppose any large reduction of our naval and military
establishments. An economical policy might, however, be consistently
pursued, and the efficiency of our forces by land and sea completely
secured, without the enormous charges now laid upon the country.
The Colonial Empire of Great Britain, offering as it does a field of
development for the talent, energy and labour of the sons of our
overburdened island, will continually demand the attention of the
Legislature. I would support all efforts which would tend to facilitate
the means of emigration, and would at the same time strengthen and
consolidate the ties which unite the Colonies with the mother country.
With regard to education, both in this country and in Ireland, I am of
opinion that the existing means are capable of a large and liberal
development, and that while the rights of conscience should be most
sacredly respected, religious teaching should not wholly be forgotten.
The Education Act of 1871 has, on the whole, successfully settled the
question and opened the doors of knowledge to all our countrymen without
regard to sect. I agree with the spirit of that Act, but any alterations
that may be needful to ensure its more perfect working will always
receive my best consideration.
The principles of true Conservatism I hold to be those of gradual,
unceasing progress, adhering strictly to the lines of a well-founded
Constitution and avoiding all violent and unnecessary changes. It is in
these principles, in which I firmly believe myself, that I aspire in
hopeful confidence to become the Representative of the Electors of the
Borough of Woodstock.
Should I be so fortunate as to be successful in gaining your confidence,
I can safely promise that the interests of the Borough will not suffer
from any neglect at my hands, and the wishes and views of every
individual member of the constituency, of whatever political party, will
always receive my best and most earnest attention.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Yours very faithfully,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
Woodstock, January 26, 1874.
1880.
_To the Electors of Woodstock._
Parliament is about to be dissolved, and I venture again to solicit a
renewal of your confidence, which for six years I have enjoyed.
When in 1874 you did me the honour to return me as your representative
to the House of Commons, I pledged myself to give a general support to
the policy and the principles of the Conservative party.
And now that I again offer myself as a candidate for the Borough I
confidently appeal to you on the same grounds, renewing my former
pledges.
The attention of the Parliament which is about to expire has been
chiefly occupied by momentous questions of Foreign Policy involving
almost the existence of the Empire.
Her Majesty’s Government have had to contend not only against the
dangerous ambition of a great Foreign Power but also against a
determined and powerfully-led Opposition at home.
By repeated and unusually large majorities the policy which the
Government pursued has been sanctioned by Parliament. A few weeks will
surely demonstrate that it has been approved by the country.
In giving a consistent support to that policy I am convinced that I have
been carrying out the wishes of a vast majority of this constituency,
and I believe that the safety of this Empire can only be secured by a
firm adherence on the part of the country to the course pursued by the
present advisers of the Crown.
To their credit it may be stated that they have hitherto achieved the
great result of ‘peace with honour’ without having added perceptibly to
the burdens imposed upon the people by taxation.
My opinions on domestic matters have been more than once stated to you
during the six years which have elapsed since my election in 1874. The
Conservative party have been instrumental in placing on the Statute Book
many comprehensive and useful measures. I would instance the Act to
Consolidate and Amend the Law relating to Friendly Societies; the
Artisans’ and Labourers’ Dwellings Act; the Act Consolidating and
Extending the various Laws relating to the Sanitary Condition of the
People; the Act for Modifying and Improving according to Modern
Experience the Regulations affecting the Discipline and Control of our
Army; and other Statutes which I need not now particularise.
Her Majesty’s Government have now in hand carefully considered measures
for the consolidation of the Criminal Code, and for the improvement of
the Law of Bankruptcy; also three most important measures relating to
the settlement of landed estates, enlarging the powers of life owners
and reducing the cost of land transfer, to which, as you may imagine
from my remarks to you in the autumn, I shall be prepared, if you return
me as your Member, to give a most cordial support.
The present condition of Ireland must be a cause of uneasiness to every
thoughtful person and will no doubt occupy the anxious consideration of
the new Parliament.
The party led by Mr. Parnell, which has for its object the
disintegration of the United Kingdom, must, in my opinion, be resisted
at all costs.
At the same time, I do not see how the internal peace of Ireland can be
permanently secured without a judicious reconsideration of the laws
affecting the tenure of land; and should measures with that object be
introduced by her Majesty’s Government, I shall be inclined to give them
an unprejudiced support.
It must not be forgotten that the successful and wise solution of the
difficulties surrounding the question of Irish education effected by
ministers and the Conservative party will greatly contribute to the
rapid progress of a future prosperity of the sister Island.
I am in favour of the present system of County Government by Quarter
Sessions, but I think that the hands of the magistrates might be
strengthened by the addition of elected representatives of the
ratepayers.
The contribution from the Imperial revenue to the expenses of Local
Government, which was the work of the Conservative party, has no doubt
proved a boon to the agricultural community. I should be glad to see
this principle further carried out by throwing a portion of the cost of
maintenance of highways upon the moneys annually voted by Parliament.
To secure the freedom and to encourage the enterprise of the tenant
farmer, it would be expedient to abolish the Law of Distress in its
present form.
It appears to me that all matters dealt with by that law should be a
subject of agreement between landlord and tenant.
I shall heartily co-operate with any party which brings forward
carefully considered measures for the amelioration of the condition of
the agricultural labourer, and I think it would be well if powers were
given to municipalities and local bodies for the purchase of land to be
let in allotments and for the improvement of the dwellings of this
valuable class of men.
Trusting that the principles above enunciated will commend themselves to
your consideration and will secure your approval,
I have the honour to remain,
Very faithfully yours,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
Woodstock, March 9, 1880.
1885.
_To the Electors of Birmingham._
The time is near when you will be called upon to express your judgment
on the past and your desires for the future. Two schools of political
thought strive against each other to win your confidence. The one,
composed of those who, having had under their complete control the
Government of the Empire from May 1880 until June 1885, are unable to
justify their claims upon you by any record of foreign or colonial or
home achievement, but, contenting themselves with incomplete and
misleading extenuation of acknowledged failure, seek to attract you by a
renewal of promises, and even bribes, which bitter experience has shown
they have neither the capacity nor the strength to fulfil. The other,
whose views I share, and whose policy I will endeavour soon, as best I
may, personally to uphold among you, appeals to the electoral body in
Great Britain and Ireland to confirm the adverse judgment pronounced on
June 9, against Mr. Gladstone’s Administration by the Parliament which
in a few weeks will be dissolved. That judgment, striking and
wide-reaching as it was in its immediate results, was literally wrung
from a House of Commons the majority of which would have been only too
glad to have continued their support of Mr. Gladstone had it not been
for the irresistible influence of popular discontent, excited by various
causes--Irish troubles, Colonial losses, Indian dangers, costly wars,
fruitless sacrifices of many heroes, financial excesses, Parliamentary
impotence, imperilled industries, commercial and agricultural depression
growing greater and more alarming year by year. All this was expressed
by the action of the House of Commons on June 9. Mr. Gladstone’s
Government, the author of these many and long-continued disasters, fell;
that Government in 1880 so popular, so powerful, with such immeasurable
opportunities for promoting the peace, progress and prosperity of the
people, fell, and not a voice was raised, either in Parliament or the
country, of sympathy for the vanquished or of mourning over their fall.
Mr. Bright will request of you to contribute to restore to power that
most unlucky Administration. To this end will be directed all the powers
of his unrivalled oratory, his simple but forcible invective, his
personal position and experience. But very little of patriotism, very
little of self-interest, very little of recollection, reflection and
calculation will compel you to remain outside the influence of that
persuasive voice. The British Empire is great and powerful from the
character of its people, the extent of its dominions and the varied
nature of its resources. More than all other Western nations, we can
afford to indulge ourselves in experiment and, indeed, caprice, as
regards our system of Government or the direction of our Home and
Imperial policy. But there are limits even to the strength of the
British Empire, and a repetition of the policy of the last five years
will, without doubt, transgress those limits. Yet such will be the
inevitable consequence of a restoration to office of the Liberal party,
as that party is at present constituted. The old divisions, the
irreconcilable differences, personal and political, which all the
ascendency of Mr. Gladstone was unable to compose, much less conceal,
while he was Prime Minister, which were the chief cause of the failure
of his Administration, are now blazing forth most fiercely, and Mr.
Gladstone, with all honesty, warns you that his controlling hand will be
stretched forth only for a little time. To this party, which even
hatred of the Tories cannot decently unite, which comes before you with
such a past, you will be asked to commit for another six years perchance
the destinies of the Empire. You cannot yield to this appeal.
The policy of the Tory party is before you:--To regain the friendship of
the European Powers which prejudice, presumption and poltroonery had all
but forfeited; and to use that friendship so as to maintain effectually
the united European action by which alone the peace and the liberties of
the peoples of the Continent and of these islands can be secured and
developed; to evolve from the region of sentiment such forces as may
enable the mother country to tighten the bonds of union between herself
and our colonies and to rear on a practical and permanent basis, for
defensive and commercial purposes, that Imperial federation of the
subjects of the Queen which many wise and far-seeing minds regard as
essential to the perpetuation of our power; to conciliate by equal laws
and by just and firm administration our Irish brethren, now much
irritated and estranged, so that the Union which Nature, as well as
policy, has effected may for all time endure; to place, by material
provisions and constructions, the security of our Indian dependency
beyond the influence of panic, alarm or even anxiety, and
simultaneously, by careful Parliamentary inquiry, to ascertain how we
may most safely and most speedily bring to the strengthening of our
Government all that is high and good of the traditions, the intellects
and the aspirations of the native races; to give to our rural and
agricultural population that machinery of self-government which has been
of advantage to our great towns; to strive, as far as the laws of
political economy may permit, to multiply the number of freeholders and
occupiers; to utilise the powers of the House of Commons, in recent
years almost forgotten, so as either to effect financial retrenchment
and departmental reform, or else to make sure that the present
expenditure of the people’s money is justifiable and thrifty; to
develop still further the efficiency of Parliament by alterations in its
methods of transacting business and in its hours of labour; to restore
public confidence; to revive commercial enterprise by a patient
continuance of good and prudent administration; in a word, to govern the
British Empire by the light of common sense. That is the policy of the
Tory party.
Measures are now recommended to you by our opponents which the Tory
party will not only not attempt to carry out, but which I hope and
believe they will always resolutely oppose. They are the dismemberment
of the Empire, under the guise of National Councils, the abolition of
the House of Lords, the disestablishment of the Church and the
appropriation of its endowments to the support of irreligious education,
the compulsory acquisition by local bodies of landed estates for the
purposes of arbitrary division, the wholesale plunder of all who have
acquired properties, great or small, by thrift or by inheritance, under
the names of ‘ransom’ and of ‘graduated taxation.’ These and other
similar projects, if they are decided by the nation to be wise and
prudent, I freely admit must be confided to the hands of Mr. Chamberlain
and his friends. I will have none of them, for I know that they mean
political chaos and social ruin.
Such, gentlemen, are to my mind the circumstances of the time, as far as
they can be conveniently and concisely summarised in an election
address. No one can be more convinced than I am that I should be guilty
of intolerable presumption if I based my candidature for the Central
Division of Birmingham on any other ground than the truth of the
political principles I have endeavoured in this document to set forth;
moreover, I am profoundly aware that from many causes, some of them
physical, I have feebly and inadequately served in the House of Commons.
My opponent has the immense advantage of long-established possession,
amounting in the minds of some almost to prescriptive right; he is
further supported by a highly (perhaps too highly) finished political
organisation. But the experience of the past and the essential truth of
the principles which I will endeavour to sustain may, in all
probability, outweigh these considerable forces. The people, in the
widest acceptance of the expression, are now, for the first time in the
history of England, called upon to decide and define their future. If
they are guided by reflection and by knowledge they cannot err. But if,
unmindful of the last five years, they recur, like the constituencies in
1880, for government and for policy to those who have so misled them and
betrayed them, I, in common with the party with which for twelve years I
have acted, will patiently accept their judgment; but history will mourn
and will wonder long at the blindness and the folly, ay, even the
insanity, of a people who, called to the more free and perfect enjoyment
of their ancient liberties, deliberately and in spite of warnings writ
large and full, flung away a priceless heritage, and consigned to the
grave of the past a great and glorious Empire.
I am your obedient servant,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
India Office, St. James’s Park:
October 10.
II
_FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO THE NATIONAL UNION OF
CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATIONS_
1884.
_The Marquess of Salisbury to Lord Randolph Churchill._
_Private._
Hatfield: April 1, 1884.
My Lord,--I had the honour of receiving a letter from you, dated
the 19th ult., in which, on behalf of the Organisation Committee of
the National Union, you requested that Sir Stafford Northcote and
myself would give our early consideration to a report and other
documents which you enclosed.
We had already expressed our disapproval of the report; therefore,
in the absence of any explanation, we could not have entered
further upon the consideration of it. We had the advantage,
however, of a conference with yourself and Mr. Gorst, in which some
passages of the report, which seemed to us objectionable, were
explained. It was made clear to us that there was no intention on
the part of the Council of the National Union either to trench on
the province of the Central Committee or to take any course upon
political questions that would not be acceptable to the leaders of
the party. The ‘large and general principles of party policy’
reserved for the determination of the Council by the fourth
recommendation of the report were explained to refer exclusively to
questions affecting the organisation of the affiliated
Associations.
It was very satisfactory to us to find from your language that the
Council were at one with us in the conviction that harmonious
co-operation between them and the Central Committee was of great
importance to the interests of the party, and that the matters
which have hitherto been disposed of by the leaders and Whips of
the party must remain as heretofore in their hands, including the
expenditure of the funds standing in the name of the Central
Committee.
It was thought desirable that, in place of further discussing the
report, Sir Stafford Northcote and I should indicate with more
precision the objects to which the efforts of the Council may with
the greatest advantage be directed. It appears to us that these
objects may be defined to be the same as those for which the
Associations themselves are working. The chief object for which the
Associations exist is to keep alive and extend Conservative
convictions, and so to increase the number of Conservative voters.
This is done by acting on opinion through various channels, by the
establishment of clubs, by holding meetings, by securing the
assistance of speakers and lecturers and by the circulation of
printed matter in defence of Conservative opinions, by collecting
the facts required for the use of Conservative speakers and
writers, and by the invigoration of the local press.
In all these efforts it is the function of the Council of the
National Union to aid, stimulate and guide the Associations it
represents.
Much valuable work may also be done through the Associations, by
watching the registration and, at election time, by providing
volunteer canvassers and volunteer conveyance. But in respect to
these matters it is desirable that the National Union should act
only in concert with the Central Committee, because there are in
many constituencies other bodies of Conservatives who do not belong
to the Associations, but whose co-operation must be secured.
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. I have the honour to be
Your obedient servant,
SALISBURY.
_Lord Randolph Churchill to the Marquess of Salisbury._
The National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations,
St. Stephen’s Chambers, Westminster S.W.: April 3, 1884.
My Lord,--I have laid your letter of the 1st inst., in which you
indicate your reconsidered views and those of Sir Stafford
Northcote concerning the position and functions of the National
Union of Conservative Associations, before the Organisation
Committee. It is quite clear to us that in the letters we have from
time to time addressed to you and in the conversations which we
have had the honour of holding with you on this subject, we have
hopelessly failed to convey to your mind anything like an
appreciation either of the significance of the movement which the
National Union commenced at Birmingham in October last or of the
unfortunate effect which a neglect or a repression of that movement
by the leaders of the party would have upon the Conservative cause.
The resolution of the Conference at Birmingham in October--a
Conference attended by upwards of 450 delegates from all parts of
the country--directed the Council of the National Union to take
steps to secure for that body its legitimate share in the
management of the party organisation. This was an expression of
dissatisfaction with the condition of the organisation of the
party and of a determination on the part of the National Union that
it should no longer continue to be a sham, useless and hardly even
an ornamental portion of that organisation.
The resolution signified that the old methods of party
organisation--namely, the control of Parliamentary elections by the
Leader, the Whip, the paid agent, drawing their resources from
secret funds--which were suitable to the manipulation of the 10_l._
householder were utterly obsolete and would not secure the
confidence of the masses of the people who were enfranchised by Mr.
Disraeli’s Reform Bill, and that the time had arrived when the
centre of organising energy should be an elected, representative
and responsible body. The delegates at the Conference were
evidently of opinion that if the principles of the Conservative
party were to obtain popular support, the organisation of the party
would have to become an imitation, thoroughly real and _bonâ fide_
in its nature, of that popular form of representative organisation
which had contributed so greatly to the triumph of the Liberal
party in 1880 and which was best known to the public by the name of
the Birmingham Caucus. The Caucus may be perhaps a name of evil
sound and omen in the ears of the aristocratic or privileged
classes, but it is undeniably the only form of political
organisation which can collect, guide and control for common
objects large masses of electors; and there is nothing in this
particular form of political combination which is in the least
repugnant to the working classes in this country. The newly-elected
Council of the National Union proceeded to communicate these views
to your Lordship and Sir Stafford Northcote, and invited the
assistance of your experience and authority to enable them to
satisfy the direction which had been imposed upon them by the
delegates.
It appeared at first from a letter which we had the honour of
receiving from you on February 29 that your Lordship and Sir
Stafford Northcote entered fully and sympathetically into the
wishes of the Council, in which letter it was distinctly stated
that it was the duty of the Council--
1. To superintend and stimulate the exertions of the local
Associations.
2. To furnish them with advice and in some measure with funds.
3. To provide lecturers on political topics for public meetings.
4. To aid them in the improvement and development of the local
press.
5. To help them in perfecting the machinery for registration and
volunteer agency at election time.
6. To press upon the local Associations the paramount duty of a
timely selection of candidates for the House of Commons.
Nothing could have been clearer, more definite or satisfactory than
this scheme of labour; and accompanied as it was by observations of
a flattering character concerning the constitution of the National
Union, the Council was greatly gratified and encouraged by its
reception.
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, and
proceeded to adopt a report presented to them by us, in which
practical effect was given to the advice with which the Council
have been favoured, and they were under the impression that they
would be placed in a position to carry out their labours
successfully by being furnished with pecuniary resources from the
considerable funds which your Lordship and Sir Stafford Northcote
collect and administer to the general purposes of the party.
The Council have been rudely undeceived. The day after the adoption
of the report, before even I had had time to communicate that
report officially to your Lordship, I received a letter from Mr.
Bartley, the paid Agent of the leaders, written under their
direction, containing a formal notice to the National Union to
quit the premises occupied by them in conjunction with the other
organising officials, accompanied by a statement that the leaders
declined for the future all and any responsibility for the
proceedings of the National Union.
Further, in your letter of the 1st instant you express your
disapproval of the action of the Council, and decline to consider
the report, on the ground that the contemplated action of the
Council will trench upon the functions of an amorphous and unknown
body, styled the Central Committee, in whose hands all matters
hitherto disposed of by the leaders and Whips of the party must
remain, including the expenditure of the party funds.
In the same letter you state that you will indicate with more
precision the objects at which the Council of the National Union
should aim, the result being that the precise language of your
former letter of February 29 is totally abandoned, and refuge taken
in vague, foggy and utterly intangible suggestions.
Finally, in order that the Council of the National Union may 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, you demand that the Whips of the
party--meaning, we suppose, Lord Skelmersdale, Lord Hawarden and
Lord Hopetoun in the Lords, Mr. Rowland Winn and Mr. Thornhill in
the Commons--should sit _ex officio_ on the Council, with a right
of being present at the meetings of all Committees.
With respect to the last demand we think it right to state, for the
information of your Lordship, that under the rules and constitution
of the National Union the Council have no power whatever to comply
with this injunction. The Council are elected at the Annual
Conference and have no power to add to their number. All that they
can do is that, in the event of a vacancy occurring among the
members, they have power by co-optation to fill up the vacancy.
I will admit that in conversation with your Lordship and Sir
Stafford Northcote, with a view to establishing a satisfactory
connection between the Council and the leaders of the party without
sacrificing the independence of the former, I unofficially
suggested an arrangement--subsequently approved by this
Committee--under which Mr. R. N. Fowler, one of the Treasurers of
the National Union, might have been willing to resign that post,
and Mr. Winn might have been elected by the Council to fill it--an
arrangement widely different from the extravagant and despotic
demand laid down in your letter of the 1st instant.
You further inform us that in the event of the Council--a body
representing as it does 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 the view of
its functions laid down in your letter of April 1, it may be
graciously permitted to remain the humble inmate of the premises
which it at present occupies.
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 officers and clerks; and that
they continue to prosecute with vigour and independence the task
which they have commenced--namely, the _bonâ 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.
I have the honour to be
Yours obediently,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
_Draft of Lord Randolph Churchill’s letter resigning his
candidature for Birmingham._
Dear Mr. Satchell Hopkins,--You will not be surprised, after what
passed yesterday at the Council of the National Union, to receive a
communication from me with reference to the electoral contest which
the Conservative party in Birmingham intend to wage at the General
Election, and to the part in that contest which I have been invited
to take. It will be within your recollection that in last November,
when you first inquired of me whether I would be willing to have my
name submitted to the Conservative party in Birmingham as one of
the candidates for the Parliamentary representation of the town, I
hesitated greatly before complying with your very flattering
request. My hesitation was not due to any great fear of defeat, but
rather to doubts which I entertained as to whether the political
principles, both as regards foreign and domestic affairs, which I
held to and which I should advocate as candidate for Birmingham,
were in any degree coincident with the political principles of the
present leaders of the Tory party or would be adopted by them if
they came into power. You are also aware that shortly before I went
to Birmingham at Easter for the purpose of addressing public
meetings at the Town Hall I again expressed to you those doubts,
which had been rather confirmed than dissipated by various
circumstances which had marked the interval between April and
November last. It is within your knowledge that the Council of the
National Union has been since its election by the Conference of
Associations at Birmingham in October 1883 engaged in a struggle
to acquire for itself a large share in and control over the
organisation of the Tory party throughout the country, to become
the principal centre and source of organising energy, and to
transform itself from a thoroughly sham and artificial into an
active and powerful body. The Council in undertaking this effort
was acting in obedience to the positive direction of the delegates
at the Conference. The principles of political organisation which
animate the Council are the encouragement, extension and formation
of popular Associations combining all classes and electing a
representative and responsible executive in electoral districts for
the carrying-on of all business relating to Parliamentary
elections. This is the form of political organisation which has
been widely and successfully adopted by the Liberal party, which is
the only form of political combination suitable to the present vast
electorate but which as far as the Conservative party is concerned
is solely confined to some of the most populous constituencies of
Great Britain. I would also add that this is the only form of
organisation which can bring the Parliamentary action of the
Conservative party into harmony and sympathy with the masses of the
people in the country who are inclined to support the principles of
that party. A popular organisation and a popular policy follow
naturally the one upon the other, and without the former you will
not have the latter. The efforts of the Council from the outset met
with the strongest opposition from those who have great influence
with the leaders of the party, who at present control such
organisation as exists, and dispense in irresponsible secrecy the
considerable funds subscribed for party purpose.
To thwart the efforts of the Council every pretext of delay was
seized upon, promises and menaces being freely resorted to. The
Council, however, succeeded in procuring from the leaders a
document recognising largely the legitimacy of their demands and
conceding much of that which they claimed; but so soon as they
embodied its substance in a report for the purpose of immediate
action, an attempt was first made to prohibit this step, and when
the Council had the independence to persist, the National Union
received a prompt notice to quit the premises it had so long shared
with the agents of the party leaders. Thereupon the Council were
careful not to communicate this hostile measure to the Associations
in the country, ever hoping that a conciliatory spirit might yet
avert a public rupture. Unfortunately no corresponding spirit
restrained those who had been opposed to the Council. Independents
in the Conservative party could not be brooked for a moment, and a
circular was hurriedly issued from the Central office to every
Association and agent in the country intimating that the National
Union was an outcast, and that a small Committee nominated by the
leaders themselves, in whose appointment the Associations had no
voice, would conduct all the functions for the discharge of which
the National Union was originally constituted. Notwithstanding the
issue of this document, which threw local bodies and local leaders
into the greatest confusion and embarrassment, the Council of the
National Union continued their efforts to bring about an
arrangement which, while preserving their independence and
usefulness, would enable them to act harmoniously with all
authorities in and sections of the party.
These efforts proved unavailing, and on the 2nd instant the
majority of the Council was induced under great pressure to recede
from the line of action which it had for six months adopted, and a
Committee was appointed to supersede the Chairman and the Executive
Committee.
The advocates of popular control on the Council were suppressed,
the inchoate work of invoking energy and co-operation among the
Associations was abruptly stopped, and the Council has been in
effect reduced to the position of dependence and unreality from
which the delegates at the Birmingham Conference had directed it to
emancipate itself.
Such is the summary of the abortive effort of the National Union to
infuse a popular element into the organisation and policy of the
Tory party. The jealous guardians of aristocratic privilege have
proved for the time too powerful for those who would base the
strength of the Tory party upon the genuine and spontaneous
attachment of the masses of our people. The interests of the many
are still to be sacrificed to the love of power and interested
ambition of a favoured few.
These things being so, I have arrived at the irresistible
conclusion that it would be impossible for me, consistently even
with the lowest standard of political honesty, to solicit the
suffrages of the citizens of Birmingham in support of the obsolete
policy still adhered to by the Tory party; basing my solicitations
upon those principles of government, whether domestic or foreign,
which I endeavoured to set forth in your Town Hall at Eastertide;
knowing, as I know now, beyond all doubt of contradiction, that
notwithstanding the immense changes effected by the Reform Bill of
1867, and about to be effected by the Reform Bill of 1884, those
principles are inexpressibly repugnant to the authorities of the
party and would never be carried into effect by the Tory party
under their guidance.
The malignant influences which for four years have had complete
possession of the Tory party and hopelessly muddled the conduct of
the Opposition, rendering us an object of derision even beyond the
limits of these Islands, ought not in my opinion to be permitted to
overshadow the destinies of the British people.
Caring less than nothing for results personal to myself, and using
what lights I possess, what knowledge and experience I have
acquired for the purpose of laying the whole truth on political
matters before the public on the eve of a great national decision,
I have, after much reflection and perhaps unduly prolonged
self-restraint, indited to you this communication. You and your
friends will surely perceive that, hampered and shackled by the
animosity of those whose support is essential, and which I had a
right to anticipate, it would be out of the question for me with
any hopes of honourable success to realise the aspirations of the
Conservatives of Birmingham.
I remain
Yours faithfully,
RANDOLPH S. CHURCHILL.
_Sir Henry Wolff to Mr. Harold Gorst._
28 Cadogan Place, S.W.: Jan. 5, 1903.
My dear Harold Gorst,--Only on Saturday I saw the recent number of
the _Nineteenth Century_, in which was published your third article
on the so-called ‘Fourth Party.’
It contains two passages which I should like to see corrected.
On page 138 you write: ‘Lord Randolph Churchill, on his own
initiative and without consulting his colleagues, made terms for
himself with Lord Salisbury.’
This statement does not accord with my recollections.
After the Sheffield conference on July 23, 1884, it appeared to me
and to some other friends of Lord Randolph Churchill, that the
election of a majority of his supporters on the council of the
National Union placed him in a position so strong as to enable him
without any misconstruction or sacrifice of dignity to negotiate
with Lord Salisbury for more harmonious action. Your father was out
of town, and there was no time to lose, as the election of a
chairman of the Union was impending. I was therefore authorised to
inquire whether Lord Salisbury would be willing to discuss certain
points with Lord Randolph Churchill. The same day they met, and an
agreement was come to on the following terms:--
(1) Lord Randolph Churchill and his friends were to act in harmony
with Lord Salisbury, and were to be treated with full confidence by
him and the ruling members of the Conservative party.
(2) Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was to be elected chairman of the
National Union.
(3) The Primrose League was to be officially recognised by the
leaders of the party and by the Council of the Union.
(4) In order to celebrate this concordat--as you have put it--Lord
Salisbury was to give a dinner to the Council.
The conditions were carried out within a few days. Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach was elected chairman and the Primrose League
recognised, by resolution, at the first meeting.
As above mentioned, your father was at the time absent, but until
now I had always understood that he concurred in the course taken.
I had attributed his absence from the dinner to some other cause,
and I the more believed in his approval of the reconciliation from
the support given the next year, after conference, both by himself
and Lord Randolph Churchill, to a motion made by me in the House of
Commons to adjourn the third reading of the new Reform Bill during
the interregnum between the resignation of Mr. Gladstone and the
accession of Lord Salisbury. This motion is, I think, referred to
by Sir Herbert Maxwell in his ‘Life of Mr. W. H. Smith.’
I had regretted in later years to perceive that there was some
tension between your father and Lord Randolph Churchill; but,
through ignorance, I had imputed it to disagreements on the
formation of Lord Salisbury’s second Administration in 1886, when I
was absent from England.
The second passage which, to my mind, requires explanation occurs
on page 140. It runs thus:--
‘But no member of the Fourth Party, except himself (Lord R. C.),
was admitted to the Cabinet. Mr. Balfour, though made President of
the Local Government Board, was excluded from the latter
distinction.’
I have always understood that at the time Lord Randolph Churchill
not only advised, but urged the admission of Mr. Balfour to the
Cabinet; and that this advice was not followed on account of Lord
Salisbury’s reluctance to give to a near kinsman an advancement to
which others might think they had greater claim.
Yours very truly,
H. DRUMMOND WOLFF.
III
REFORM BILL, 1884
_Lord Randolph Churchill to H. H. Wainwright, Esq., M.P._
2 Connaught Place, W.: June 9, 1884.
My dear Mr. Wainwright,--You tell me in your letter of the 30th ult.
that you find some difficulty in understanding my recent action in the
House of Commons with respect to the Reform Bill.
The position of the Conservative party on the question of Parliamentary
Reform ever since 1887 has been very ill-defined. The action taken at
that time by Mr. Disraeli and his colleagues made it impossible for the
Conservative party at any future date to oppose on principle large
extensions of the franchise. That this result was clearly perceived by
the authors of the Reform Bill of 1867 is proved by the fact that in no
single speech of Mr. Disraeli or of Sir Stafford Northcote on the
question of Parliamentary Reform can any trace be found of opposition to
assimilation of county and borough suffrage on principle. The old Tory
attitude of 1832 has been for ever abandoned. I think, if you refer to
Mr. Disraeli’s address to the Buckinghamshire electors in 1874, you will
find a passage clearly intimating that he himself was prepared, if
necessary, to supplement his work of 1867 by doing what Mr. Gladstone is
at present engaged on. If these facts had any meaning at all they meant
this--that extension of the franchise was no longer a monopoly of the
Liberal party, and was not attended by any danger to the Constitution.
Lancashire, which is usually in the van of the Conservative party in
Great Britain, was quick to detect the change. When I went to Oldham
and to Manchester in the autumn and winter of 1881 for the purpose of
addressing public meetings I was particularly enjoined by the leading
gentlemen in those places not to say a word against the assimilation of
the county and borough franchise. During the sessions of 1880-81,
1881-82, 1882-83, the question of Parliamentary Reform was permitted to
remain in a dormant state, and the position of both parties with regard
to it was to no inconsiderable extent forgotten.
Suddenly in the autumn of 1883 it was rumoured that Parliament would be
called upon to deal with the question; the recess oratory of Ministers
and their followers confirmed the intelligence; the Conservative leaders
were singularly reticent of their opinions, and I found myself (then, as
now, a mere member of the rank and file of the party) obliged to go at
length into this question of Reform before an Edinburgh audience without
having at my command any certain indication as to the course which the
Conservative party would pursue. As the representative of a small
agricultural borough which any new Reform Bill must extinguish I could
not be expected to look upon the measure with any very longing eye;
further, in accordance with the maxim that it was the duty of the
Opposition to oppose, I considered that it would be right and reasonable
for Conservatives to resist the proposed Reform Bill on the ground of
(1) the inopportuneness of the moment chosen and the far more urgent
character of other questions; (2) the obvious risk of any large addition
to the Irish electorate; (3) the transparent design of the Government to
divert public attention from foreign affairs; (4) the absence of any
indication, on the part of the unenfranchised masses, of any great
desire for the voting privilege. On those grounds at Edinburgh I spoke
against Reform; but I perceived that my views, though listened to with
kindness and courtesy, were not highly acceptable to the intelligent
audience of Scotch artisans which I was addressing, and moreover the
disagreement with those views which was expressed from the platform by
Mr. Balfour, M.P., and Lord Elcho, M.P., voiced unmistakenly the
prevalent opinion of the meeting.
In the ensuing period, before the opening of Parliament, I ascertained
by communications with members of the party at the Carlton that no
unanimity of feeling on the subject of Parliamentary Reform existed;
that many borough members, and particularly Lancashire members, were
positively in favour of the change; and that direct opposition on
principle was only to be expected from a highly influential but
numerically small circle of members representing county and borough
constituencies exclusively of a rural character.
Under these circumstances, after Parliament had met, and after the
Opposition had failed to overthrow the Government on the Egyptian
policy, and the Reform Bill had been introduced, I proposed on the
second reading of the Bill to move the previous question--a form of
opposition which appeared to combine most of the objections which I had
stated at Edinburgh, while not committing anyone who might support it to
resistance to Reform on principle. Sir Stafford Northcote requested me
not to persevere with this motion, which had precedence over the
amendment of Lord John Manners, and it was accordingly removed from the
paper. Now Lord John Manners’ motion, if it meant anything at all (and
on this I am not prepared positively to decide), meant that the
Conservative party was prepared to deal with extension of the franchise,
provided that the measure was accompanied by provisions for the
redistribution of seats. Yet even this modified form of resistance did
not secure the support of the entire Conservative party, and was
defeated by the overwhelming majority of 130. Finally, on the motion to
go into Committee, Mr. Chaplin’s proposal to exclude Ireland from the
Bill met with so little favour from the leaders of our party that he
wisely declined to press it to a division.
These things being so, I am sanguine that all impartial persons will
agree that a frank and open departure from the position of strong
resistance to Reform which I had taken up in December was not only
pardonable but incumbent upon any practical politician. Had that
position been the position of the Conservative party generally, I would
certainly have adhered to it at any sacrifice; but, far from that, it
was not even the position of any considerable section of the party, who
as a body recurred to the policy of Mr. Disraeli. Moreover, since
December I had by the favour of the Conservatives in Birmingham become a
candidate for the Parliamentary representation of that immense
constituency, and undoubtedly in Birmingham there existed no serious
differences between Liberals and Conservatives as to the propriety of
the assimilation of the county and borough franchise. Having thus been
guided to the conclusion that Reform was inevitable, and that equality
of political rights between England and Ireland was to govern the
Conservatives as well as the Liberals, I did not conceal my change of
mind from the House of Commons or the public. It appeared to me to be as
reasonable and intelligible a change of mind as it could be possible for
any M.P. to undergo; brought about not by one short debate, as has been
most erroneously asserted, but by a careful study of a continued
succession of circumstances extending over a period of four months. I am
sure that it is well for our public life that a change of opinion on any
great question, should it take place, should be frankly and fearlessly
avowed; and I believe that violent censure of such a change, if
generally adopted, would tend to produce hypocrisy and political
dishonesty: and possessed by that idea I do not now hesitate to remark
that if the Government were to give a definite guarantee to Parliament
that their Reform legislation should not be operative until the
redistribution of seats has been provided for, by the announcement that
Parliament will be called together in the autumn to complete the scheme,
and by the insertion of a proper date in the present Bill before which
no election shall take place under it, then I see no strong or
overwhelming reason why the labours of the present session should be
rendered abortive by the rejection of the Bill for the representation of
the people.
IV
_LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL’S LETTERS FROM INDIA_
_To his Wife._
S.S. _Rohilla_: December 13, 1884.
We had a very enjoyable day yesterday at Malta; the steamer dropped
anchor at 9.30, and greatly to my surprise the Governor, Sir
Lintorn Simmons, whom I did not know, sent his barge and an
aide-de-camp to fetch me off and take me to the Palace. I had a
long interview with the Governor, who was most polite and
agreeable. He was very gloomy about Wolseley’s expedition and
generally about the Army, Navy, fortifications, &c.; and as he is
considered one of our greatest authorities, I suppose he is right
as to the unsatisfactory condition of everything. But they want
such a lot of money!
He showed me all over the Palace, which would have delighted you;
it is one of the finest buildings I ever saw. His sitting-room used
to be the Grand Master’s bedroom, and the whole place is in much
the same condition as it was 300 years ago. The tapestries exceed
in beauty any I ever saw. After we had seen the great church, a
magnificent edifice, Lord John Hay gave us his barge to go round
the dockyard, which fortunately happened to be full of ships. We
went over the _Dreadnought_ and _Inflexible_, and on the latter
enjoyed the pleasure of moving the turrets and 80-ton guns with
just the same ease as one winds up one’s watch--the whole thing
very wonderful, very complicated and perfectly unintelligible, and
all the more interesting on that account.
At 1.30 luncheon with the Governor; large party; Admiral Tryon and
Lord Elphinstone, going out to Australia, Lord John Hay and
others. We returned on board in the Governor’s barge in great
state, the object of admiration and envy of the other passengers.
At five o’clock the ship started again for Port Said, where we hope
to arrive Tuesday night. The weather keeps very fine. To-day
(Sunday) muster of the crew at 10.30: 120 Lascars, Negroes, Turks,
heretics and infidels; curious objects. After that, church in the
saloon, the chief merit of which was its brevity. The ubiquitous
parson, of course, presided, and gave us a silly address on the
dislike the clergy felt for the laity and _vice versâ_, and several
silly reasons for same. I thought if the clergy are like him the
whole thing was very easily accounted for, but have not yet
communicated to him this suggestion.
They are talking of getting up some theatricals and concerts; I
hope they won’t. The two junior officers on board are very cheery
fellows, and give smoking concerts in their cabin, which is about 6
ft. square, and which seats comfortably about a dozen persons,
smoking, drinking whiskey-and-water and singing choruses. I have
twice attended these concerts, which are of a very cheerful
character; and so wonderful is the sea air that though the
concert-room atmosphere might be cut with a knife and the whiskey
is copiously supplied, one feels rather the better than the worse
for it the next morning.
I saw the _Morning Post_ of the 4th at Malta with Borthwick’s
valedictory article; the article is so very friendly that I fear
people will think I wrote it myself.
December 18.
Here we are in the Canal, which is very much what I expected; a
dirty ditch with nothing remarkable except the multitudes of
flamingoes, pelicans, and wild fowl in the lakes we passed. It is a
great nuisance having to change ships. I have got so accustomed to
the _Rohilla_, and the captain is such a good fellow that I am
quite sorry to leave him. I doubt if the _Nizam_ will be as
pleasant.
S.S. _Nizam_: December 22.
Yesterday we had adventures. At 10.30 the machinery broke down;
something had got into the cylinder. At first they thought it would
only be an affair of half an hour, but in the end we did not start
again until seven in the evening. In the meantime we had church on
deck, the captain doing clergyman; and after that there was great
excitement over some sharks which were swimming about the ship. In
the clear water we could see them beautifully, each attended by a
shoal of pilot fish, a most beautiful creature about the size of a
10-lb. salmon and streaked with the brightest blue. The sailors
fixed a piece of pork on a hook at the end of a chain, and
instantly hooked one. Such a business to get him on board!--and he
flapped about finely, making us all beat a hasty retreat, in which
two or three unfortunate people were knocked down and trampled on.
Then we caught another, and after that a very large one, which
turned out to be 7 ft. 6 in. long and weighed 210 lbs. This one had
three live sharks inside, which we cut out and handed round. The
vitality of these brutes is extraordinary. After their tails had
been cut off and their insides taken out they kept flapping and
struggling, and the heart of one placed on a bit of wood kept
beating for hours.
In the meantime the _Rohilla_, which left Suez after us, came in
sight and, seeing something was wrong, bore down. Captain Barrett
and his chief engineer came on board, and there was much joy at
meeting again, and drinks were partaken of. As they found we could
go on again in a short time they departed and steamed away, and
were soon out of sight; and then we felt gloomy, as it was quite
uncertain whether the machinery would not collapse again, and if it
did we should have no _Rohilla_ to pick us up, and might be days in
the Red Sea. But while we were at dinner another ship appeared, and
this turned out to be the _Rohilla_, which felt nervous about us
and had come back. Much relief was experienced at this amiability
and soon after, after much struggling, our machinery was in motion;
but this delay will make us get to Aden in the dark, which is most
tiresome.
Government House, Bombay: January 1, 1885.
We got here Tuesday morning early, after a very pleasant voyage
across the Indian Ocean. I found the Governor’s carriage waiting at
the dock, and we came up here. Sir James Ferguson is most kind and
pleasant and so are all the Staff. I have not done any sight-seeing
yet, except going into Bombay and walking about the streets and
looking at the people, an endless source of interest. It would be
quite useless my endeavouring to describe to you my impression of
this town. The complete novelty and originality of everything is
remarkable, and one is never tired of staring and wondering. I
cannot tell you how much I am enjoying myself or how much I wish
you were with me. The Bombay Club asked me to a dinner but I
declined, as there would have been speeches and more or less of a
political demonstration against the Ripon party, which would never
have done. I did not come out to India to pursue politics or to
make speeches.
January 9.
We have been going about a great deal, seeing various things and
people. Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, a great Parsee, took us to see
the Towers of Silence, where they place all the dead Parsee bodies
to be eaten by vultures. I was asked to write my opinion of their
process in their books, and composed a highly qualified and
ambiguous impression which would have done credit to Gladstone.
Last night we dined at the Byculla Club with several gentlemen,
when an American lady gave us some very dull recitations from
Tennyson; we were all much bored. I had a long interview with eight
of the leading native politicians on Wednesday morning on Indian
politics, in which they set forth with great ability their various
grievances. We leave to-night for Indore, and after that go to
Jaipur, Agra, Delhi and Lucknow, which last place we hope to reach
about the 21st. From there I go to spend a week or ten days with
Colonel Murray in the district which he administrates, somewhere
on the borders of Nepaul. We shall be in camp, and moving about
every day, and I shall be able to see something of the details of
Indian administration and also lots of sport; but of this last I
shall be a spectator rather than an actor. You have no idea how
extraordinarily polite people are out here, and what trouble they
take to amuse me.
The Residency, Indore: January 14.
We were met at the junction for Indore by Captain F., of Holkar’s
service, who informed us that Holkar was away from his capital and
was ill, but would come to a station near and meet us; and
presently there we found him, drawn up with all his Court. We had
an interview of about half an hour, while the other unfortunate
passengers were kept waiting. He was most gracious and very
intelligent, and when we left he embraced me. At Indore we found
his son, also drawn up, and more _pow-wow_. In the evening
fireworks, Hindoo drama, Nautch, conjurers, &c. All very Hindoo and
delightful the first time one sees it, but I can quite imagine that
after a time it would pall. In the morning Holkar sent us out
cheetah-hunting for black buck; however, the cheetah was sulky and
would not run well, so did not catch one. We then took our rifles,
and I shot three and Thomas two.
The Residency, Lucknow: January 24, 1885.
Poor Fred Burnaby’s death[45] is a great blow to me, and it was so
sad getting his letter enclosed in yours this morning. I wrote to
him as I passed through Egypt; I wonder if he got my letter. I
shall miss him greatly. I see Airlie has been wounded, but am
delighted not to find the names of any more of our friends in the
list of casualties. I have had a most exasperating letter from
Wolff, saying that he has a great deal to tell me, but that it is
so important he cannot write it for fear the letter should be
lost. Did you ever know such tiresomeness?
I have no intention to hasten my return in order to increase the
embarrassments of the Government. I am starting off to-night for
Colonel Murray’s camp.
In camp Dudna: February 1.
Here we are in camp in the middle of an immense Government forest
at the foot of the Himalayas. We have been leading a very enjoyable
life since we left Lucknow and Colonel Murray. Out all day
careering round on elephants after game, sleeping in tents at
night, always at a different place, always hungry for breakfast,
very hungry for dinner--two sensations to me which have the
attraction of novelty. The whole thing is a charming change after
racketing about in railways from town to town. We have not seen
much game, I must admit, as it is far too early in the year and, no
grass being burnt and much water being about, the wild animals are
very widely scattered, and shots are few and far between; though
yesterday we hunted one leopard which ultimately escaped after
being much fired at and, I think, grievously wounded. I shot a very
nice swamp deer and Thomas a nilghai or blue bull. We also shot
pea-fowl, bustards and partridges, and every variety of bird. We
have fifteen elephants, and these creatures are an unfailing source
of interest and amusement. I think an elephant is the best mode of
conveyance I know. He cannot come to grief; he never tumbles down
nor runs away (at least, not on the march); nothing stops him; and
when you get accustomed to his paces he is not tiring. You would
not believe what steep places they get up and down or what thick,
almost impenetrable jungle they go through. If a tree is in the
way, and not too large a one, they pull it down; if a branch hangs
too low for the howdah to go under, they break it off. They are
certainly most wonderful animals, and life in many parts of India
would be impossible without them. The scenery all round here is
lovely--very wild, and with splendid woodland effects. We have
spent more days in camp here than we meant, which has altered our
plans a little, but I like so much seeing the country and the
people.
What explosions these are in London! I think it very amiable of the
dynamite people to blow up the House of Commons when we are all
away; they might have chosen a more inconvenient moment.
_To his Mother._
Government House, Calcutta: February 8.
I have had the great good fortune to kill a tiger. It was our last
day, and the party proposed to shoot ducks and snipe; but for that
I did not much care and suggested that I and a Mr. Hersey (an
English gentleman who is living in the district) should go into the
forest on the chance of seeing deer and perhaps getting a
sambur-stag, while the others went to shoot ducks. This was agreed
to, and the others bet fifty rupees they would have the heaviest
bag. Well, Hersey and I, each on an elephant and accompanied only
by two other elephants, were beating an open space in the forest
when I came upon the recently killed carcase of a hog, half
devoured. Hersey, when he saw it, declared it was quite fresh, and
that the tiger must be close by. You may imagine the excitement. We
beat on through the place and then came through it again, for it
was very thick high grass. All of a sudden out bundled this huge
creature, right under the nose of Hersey’s elephant, and made off
across some ground which was slightly open. Hersey fired, and
missed. I fired, and hit him just above the tail. (A very good
shot, for he only showed me his stern, and he was at least forty
yards off.) Hersey then fired his second barrel, and broke his
shoulder, which brought him up (literally with a round turn). He
took refuge in a patch of grass about fifty yards from us, where we
could just see bits of him. Heavens, how he growled and what a rage
he was in! He would have charged us but that he was disabled by
Hersey’s last shot. We remained still, and gave him four or five
more shots, which, on subsequent examination, we found all told;
and then, after about five minutes’ more awful growling, he
expired. Great joy to all. The good luck of getting him was unheard
of at this time of year; the odds were a hundred to one against
such a thing. He was a magnificent specimen, nine feet seven inches
in length, and a splendid skin--which will, I think, look very well
in Grosvenor Square. This is certainly the acme of sport. I never
shall forget the impression produced by this huge brute breaking
cover; or, indeed, the mingled joy and consternation of the other
party when they saw him--for they had to pay up fifty rupees. They
had got a black buck and a blue bull, and thought they had
certainly won.
Tigers in the Zoo give one very little idea of what the wild animal
is like.
Government House, Calcutta: February 10.
I hope to leave Bombay March 20th and return viâ Marseilles, in
which case I should be back in London about the 11th or 12th April.
I do not think I shall be able to stop in Paris, as I guess the
House of Commons will be just reassembling after Easter, and it
would be a good moment to drop in upon that body. It is extremely
pleasant here. The Dufferins are very kind and easy-going; the
Staff, too, are amiable; and Bill Beresford does everything he can
for one. Yesterday the Government telegraphed to Dufferin to
despatch a brigade of Indian troops and thirty miles of railway
plant to Suakim. Great preparations at once made; late at night
comes an order from London countermanding the whole thing.
Dufferin, diplomatist that he is, could not conceal his disgust at
this vacillation when they handed him the telegram on our return
from dinner. I telegraphed to Borthwick, and I hope I put the fat
in the fire.
Rewah: February 17.
I got a telegram from Wolff yesterday, through Pender, saying that
affairs were pressing and a crisis impending, and inquiring when I
was coming back. _Mais je connais mon Wolff_; he has crisis on the
brain and, in any case, no political contingency will hasten my
return by an hour. I expect the Government will try and get put out
and the Tories will try to come in; I wish them joy of it.
On Sunday morning General Roberts turned up, and we had a jolly
day; lots of talk. The General is all I had imagined him to be. He
is very keen on taking me up the frontier to Peshawar and Quetta.
It would be most pleasant if it could come off, and one would learn
a great deal about that most mysterious problem, ‘the dangers of
the Russian advance’; but there is no chance of it.
Benares: February 24.
This place is the most distinctly Hindoo city I have yet seen; old
and curious in every part. We are leaving for one of the
Maharajah’s palaces, or villa rather. We are extremely _bien logés
et nourris_, with a retinue of servants and carriages at all times
ready. There is an old Rajah, Siva Prasad, an interesting and
experienced old man who acts as guide; he speaks English perfectly,
though at the top of his voice, and indulges in endless
dissertations on Indian politics. Yesterday morning we started off
to see the Maharajah’s royal palace of Ramnugger. Very great
reception; all the retainers, elephants, horses, &c., together with
army--the latter about 100 strong--drawn up in a long avenue from
the gates to the door. The army gave a royal salute, and the band
played ‘God save the Queen,’ which I had to receive with gravity
and dignity; rather difficult! The Maharajah’s grandson, a boy of
ten, met us at the door, and his son, a man of thirty, half-way up
the staircase; such are the gradations of Oriental etiquette. The
Maharajah was not there, as he is old and infirm, and was keeping
himself for the evening. Then Nautch girls and mummers, which, so
early in the morning, were out of place; and so on.
Later we took a boat, came down the Ganges, and saw all the Benares
people bathing--thousands. As you know, this is part of their
religion. The water is very dirty, but they lap up quantities of
it, as it is very ‘holy’; also there were to be seen the burning
Ghats, where all the dead are cremated. There were five bodies
burning, each on its own little pile of faggots; but the whole
sight was most curious and I am going again this morning to have
another look. Benares is a very prosperous city, as all the rich
people from all parts of India come here to spend the end of their
days. Any Hindoo who dies at Benares, and whose ashes are thrown
into the Ganges, goes right bang up to heaven without stopping, no
matter how great a rascal he may have been. I think the G.O.M.
ought to come here; it is his best chance.
In the evening the Maharajah gave a party to all the native
notabilities of the city; great attendance of Baboos. Many of them
speak English, and some appear to be very clever men, but I have
had so much _pow-wow_ that I did not talk to them much. I
discovered a great scandal here the evening of my arrival. I found
the magistrate and police were impressing Bheesties, or
water-carriers, for service in the Soudan; great consternation in
the profession, and all the Bheesties were hiding and were being
actively hunted up by the police. I investigated the matter,
questioned the head of the police, and went and saw three of the
victims for the Mahdi. The poor creatures fell at my feet in the
dust, screaming not to go. I was very angry, and telegraphed it to
Sir Alfred Lyall, the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West
Provinces, and an inquiry is being made which will, I hope, save
these unfortunate persons from a service to them terrible. This
little incident of our rule goes far to explain why we make no
progress in popularity among the people.
Jaipur: March 3, 1884-5.
We only remained at Delhi two days, as the hotel was piggy, and we
moved to the Club at Agra, which is very comfortable, with
excellent food and wine. This also gave us the opportunity of
seeing the ‘Taj’ by moonlight, which we were not able to do last
time, and which is an unequalled sight. Also we went to dine at the
house of a native judge--a very interesting and clever man; we met
a most curious collection of native notabilities. The natives are
much pleased when one goes to their houses, for the officials out
here hold themselves much too high and never seek any intercourse
with the natives out of official lines; they are very foolish.
We go on to-night to Baroda, where the Guicowar is organising a
tiger hunt. I almost think I am getting a little tired of
travelling, and shall be glad to find myself on board ship.
LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL
VOL II.
[Illustration: _Lord Randolph Churchill,
1886._]
LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL
BY
WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL, M.P.
AUTHOR OF
‘THE STORY OF THE MALAKAND FIELD FORCE, 1897’
‘THE RIVER WAR,’ ‘LONDON TO LADYSMITH VIA PRETORIA,’ ETC.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. II
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1906
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1906,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published January, 1906.
Norwood Press
J.S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
CONTENTS
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME