diff options
138 files changed, 17 insertions, 39438 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5790ca --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #63444 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63444) diff --git a/old/63444-0.txt b/old/63444-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bbf465a..0000000 --- a/old/63444-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,20225 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. -4 of 4, by Robert Wilson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. 4 of 4 - -Author: Robert Wilson - -Release Date: October 12, 2020 [EBook #63444] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - [Illustration: THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES AND THEIR FAMILY. - - (_From a Photograph by Messrs. Russell & Sons, London._)] - - - - - THE - - LIFE AND TIMES - - OF - - QUEEN VICTORIA. - - BY - - ROBERT WILSON. - - Illustrated. - - VOL. IV. - - [Illustration] - - CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED: - _LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE_. - - [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. PAGE - -Effect of Prussian Victories on English Opinion--Sudden Changes of -Popular Impulse--Demand for Army Reform--Opposition to the Princess -Louise’s Dowry--Opening of Parliament--The Army Bill--Abolition of -Purchase--Opposition of the Tory Party--Mr. Disraeli Throws Over his -Followers--Obstructing the Purchase Bill--Mr. Cardwell’s -Threat--Obstruction in the House of Lords--A Bold Use of the Queen’s -Prerogative--The Wrath of the Peers--They Pass a Vote of Censure on the -Government--The Ballot Bill--The Peers Reject the Ballot Bill--The -University Tests Bill--The Trades Union Bill--Its Defects--The Case of -Purchon _v._ Hartley--The Licensing Bill and its Effect on -Parties--Local Government Reform--Mr. Lowe’s Disastrous Budget--The -Match Tax--_Ex luce lucellum_--Withdrawal of the Budget--The Washington -Treaty and the Queen--Lord Granville’s Feeble Foreign Policy--His -Failure to Mediate between France and Germany--Bismarck’s Contemptuous -Treatment of English Despatches--_Væ Victis!_--The German Terms of -Peace--Asking too Much and Taking too Little--Mr. Gladstone’s -Embarrassments--Decaying Popularity of the Government--The Collier -Affair--Effect of the Commune on English Opinion--Court Life in -1871--Marriage of the Princess Louise--The Queen Opens the Albert -Hall--The Queen at St. Thomas’s Hospital--Prince Arthur’s Income--Public -Protests and Irritating Discussions--The Queen’s Illness--Sudden Illness -of the Prince of Wales--Growing Anxiety of the People--Alarming -Prospects of a Regency--Between Life and Death--Panic in the Money -Market--Hopeful Bulletins--Convalescence of the Prince--Public Sympathy -with the Queen--Her Majesty’s Letter to the People 385 - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE “ALABAMA” CLAIMS. - -Thanksgiving Day--The Procession--Behaviour of the Crowd--Scene in St. -Paul’s--Decorations and Illuminations--Letter from Her Majesty--Attack -on the Queen--John Brown--The Queen’s Speech--The _Alabama_ Claims--The -“Consequential Damages”--Living in a Blaze of Apology--Story of the -“Indirect Claims”--The Arbitrators’ Award--Sir Alexander Cockburn’s -Judgment--Passing of the Ballot Act--The Scottish Education Act--The -Licensing Bill--Public Health Bill--Coal Mines Regulation Bill--The Army -Bill--Admiralty Reforms--Ministerial Defeat on Local Taxation--Starting -of the Home Government Association in Dublin--Assassination of Lord -Mayo--Stanley’s Discovery of Livingstone--Dr. Livingstone’s Interview -with the Queen--Her Majesty’s Gift to Mr. Stanley--Death of Dr. Norman -Macleod--The Japanese Embassy--The Burmese Mission--Her Majesty at -Holyrood Palace--Death of Her Half-Sister 414 - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -GOVERNMENT UNDER DIFFICULTIES. - -A Lull Before the Storm--Dissent in the Dumps--Disastrous -Bye-Elections--The Queen’s Speech--The Irish University Bill--Defeat of -the Government--Resignation of the Ministry--Mr. Disraeli’s Failure to -Form a Cabinet--The Queen and the Crisis--Lord Derby as a Possible -Premier--Mr. Gladstone Returns to Office--Power Passes to the House of -Lords--Grave Administration Scandals--The Zanzibar Mail -Contract--Misappropriation of the Post Office Savings Banks’ -Balances--Mr. Gladstone Reconstructs his Ministry--The Financial -Achievements of his Administration--The Queen and the Prince of -Wales--Debts of the Heir Apparent--The Queen’s Scheme for Meeting the -Prince’s Expenditure on her Behalf--The Queen and Foreign -Decorations--Death of Napoleon III.--The Queen at the East End--The -Blue-Coat Boys at Buckingham Palace--The Coming of the Shah--Astounding -Rumours of his Progress through Europe--The Queen’s Reception of the -Persian Monarch--How the Shah was Entertained--His Departure from -England--Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh--Public Entry of the Duchess -into London 431 - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE CONSERVATIVE REACTION. - -Questions of the Recess--The Dissenters and the Education Act--Mr. -Forster’s Compromise--The Nonconformist Revolt--Mr. Bright Essays -Conciliation--Sudden Popularity of Mr. Lowe--His “Anti-puritanic -Nature”--Mr. Chamberlain and the Dissidence of Dissent--Decline of the -Liberal Party--Signs of Bye-elections--A Colonial Scandal--The Canadian -Pacific Railway--Jobbing the Contract--Action of the Dominion -Parliament--Expulsion of the Macdonald Ministry--The Ashanti War--How it -Originated--A Short Campaign--The British in Coomassie--Treaty with King -Koffee--The Opposition and the War--Skilful Tactics--Discontent among -the Radical Ranks--Illness of Mr. Gladstone--A Sick-bed -Resolution--Appeal to the Country--Mr. Gladstone’s Address--Mr. -Disraeli’s Manifesto--Liberal Defeat--Incidents of the -Election--“Villadom” to the Front--Mr. Gladstone’s Resignation--Mr. -Disraeli’s Working Majority--The Conservative Cabinet--The Surplus of -£6,000,000--What will Sir Stafford do with it?--Dissensions among the -Liberal Chiefs--Mr. Gladstone and the Leadership--The Queen’s -Speech--Mr. Disraeli and the Fallen Minister--The Dangers of Hustings -Oratory--Mr. Ward Hunt’s “Paper Fleet”--The Last of the Historic -Surpluses--How Sir S. Northcote Disposed of it--The Hour but not the -Man--Mr. Cross’s Licensing Bill--The Public Worship Regulation Bill--A -Curiously Composed Opposition--Mr. Disraeli on Lord Salisbury--The -Scottish Patronage Bill--Academic Debates on Home Rule--The Endowed -Schools Bill--Mr. Stansfeld’s Rating Bill--Bill for Consolidating the -Factory Acts--End of the Session--The Successes and Failures of the -Ministry--Prince Bismarck’s Contest with the Roman Catholic -Church--Arrest of Count Harry Arnim--Mr. Disraeli’s -Apology to Prince Bismarck--Mr. Gladstone’s Desultory -Leadership--“Vaticanism”--Deterioration in Society--An Unopposed -Royal Grant--Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to -Birmingham--Withdrawal of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court--A Dispute -over Precedence--Visit of the Czar to England--Review of the Ashanti War -Soldiers and Sailors--The Queen on Cruelty to Animals--Sir Theodore -Martin’s Biography of the Prince Consort--The Queen tells the Story of -its Authorship 457 - - -CHAPTER XX. - -EMPRESS OF INDIA. - -Mr. Disraeli recognises Intellect--Lord Hartington Liberal Leader--The -Queen’s Speech--Lord Hartington’s “Grotesque Reminiscences”--Mr. Cross’s -Labour Bills--The Artisans’ Dwellings Act--Mr. Plimsoll and the -“Ship-knackers”--Lord Hartington’s First “Hit”--The Plimsoll -Agitation--Surrender of the Cabinet--“Strangers” in the House--The -Budget--Rise of Mr. Biggar--First Appearance of Mr. Parnell--The -Fugitive Slave Circular--The Sinking of the Yacht _Mistletoe_--The Loss -of the _Vanguard_--Purchase of the Suez Canal Shares--The Prince of -Wales’s Visit to India--Resignation of Lord Northbrook--Appointment of -Lord Lytton as Viceroy of India--Outbreak of the Eastern Question--The -Andrassy Note--The Berlin Memorandum--Murder of French and German -Consuls at Salonica--Lord Derby Rejects the Berlin Memorandum--Servia -Declares War on Turkey--The Bulgarian Revolt Quenched in Blood--The -Sultan Dethroned--Opening of Parliament--“Sea-sick of the Silver -Streak”--Debates on the Eastern Question--Development of Obstruction by -Mr. Biggar and Mr. Parnell--The Royal Titles Bill--Lord Shaftesbury and -the Queen--The Queen at Whitechapel--A Doleful Budget--Mr. Disraeli -becomes Earl of Beaconsfield--The Prince Consort’s Memorial at -Edinburgh--Mr. Gladstone and the Eastern Question--The Servian War--The -Constantinople Conference--The Tories Manufacture Failure for Lord -Salisbury--Death of Lady Augusta Stanley--Proclamation of the Queen as -Empress at Delhi 482 - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE REIGN OF JINGOISM. - -Opening of Parliament--Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership--The Prisons -Bill--Mr. Parnell’s Policy of Scientific Obstruction--The South Africa -Confederation Bill--Mr. Parnell’s Bout with Sir Stafford Northcote--A -Twenty-six Hours’ Sitting--The Budget--The Russo-Turkish -Question--Prince Albert’s Eastern Policy--Opinion at Court--The -Sentiments of Society--The Feeling of the British People--Outbreak of -War--Collapse of Turkey--The Jingoes--The Third Volume of the “Life of -the Prince Consort”--The “Greatest War Song on Record”--The Queen’s -Visit to Hughenden--Early Meeting of Parliament--Mr. Layard’s Alarmist -Telegrams--The Fleet Ordered to Constantinople--Resignation of Lord -Carnarvon--The Russian Terms of Peace--Violence of the War Party--The -Debate on the War Vote--The Treaty of San Stefano--Resignation of Lord -Derby--Calling Out the Reserves--Lord Salisbury’s Circular--The Indian -Troops Summoned to Malta--The Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement--Lord -Salisbury’s Denials--The Berlin Congress--The _Globe_ Disclosures--The -Anglo-Turkish Convention--Occupation of Cyprus--“Peace with Honour”--The -Irish Intermediate Education Bill--Consolidation of the Factory -Acts--The Monarch and the Multitude--Outbreak of the Third Afghan -War--The “Scientific Frontier”--Naval Review at Spithead--Death of the -Ex-King of Hanover--Death of the Princess Alice 513 - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -PEACE WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE. - -Ominous Bye-Elections--The Spangles of Imperialism--Disturbed state of -Eastern Europe--Origin of the Quarrel with the Zulus--Cetewayo’s Feud -with the Boers--A “Prancing Pro-Consul”--Sir Bartle Frere’s Ultimatum to -the Zulu King--War Declared--The Crime and its Retribution--The Disaster -of Isandhlwana--The Defence of Rorke’s Drift--Demands for the Recall of -Sir Bartle Frere--Censured but not Dismissed--Sir Garnet Wolseley -Supersedes Sir Bartle Frere in Natal--The Victory of Ulundi--Capture of -Cetewayo--End of the War--The Invasion of Afghanistan--Death of Shere -Ali--Yakoob Khan Proclaimed Ameer--The Treaty of Gundamuk--The -“Scientific Frontier”--The Army Discipline Bill--Mr. Parnell attacks the -“Cat”--Mr. Chamberlain Plays to the Gallery--Surrender of the -Government--Lord Hartington’s Motion against Flogging--The Irish -University Bill--An Unpopular Budget--The Murder of Cavagnari and -Massacre of his Suite--The Army of Vengeance--The Recapture of -Cabul--The Settlement of Zululand--Death of Prince Louis Napoleon--The -Court-Martial on Lieutenant Carey--Its Judgment Quashed--Marriage of the -Duke of Connaught--The Queen at Baveno 562 - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -FALL OF LORD BEACONSFIELD. - -General Gloom--Fall of the Tay Bridge--Liberal Onslaught on the -Government--The Mussulman Schoolmaster and the Anglican Missionary--The -Queen’s Speech--The Irish Relief Bill--A Dying Parliament--Mr. Cross’s -Water Bill--“Coming in on Beer and Going out on Water”--Sir Stafford -Northcote’s Budget--Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto--The General -Election--Defeat of the Tories--Incidents of the Struggle--Mr. Gladstone -Prime Minister--The Fourth Party--Mr. Bradlaugh and the Oath--Mr. -Gladstone and the Emperor of Austria--The Naval Demonstration--Grave -Error in the Indian Budget--Affairs in Afghanistan--Disaster at -Maiwand--Roberts’s March--The New Ameer--Revolt of the Boers--The -Ministerial Programme--The Burials Bill--The Hares and Rabbits Bill--The -Employers’ Liability Bill--Supplementary Budget--The Compensation for -Disturbance Bill--Boycotting--Trial of Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon--The -Queen’s Visit to Germany--The Queen Presents the Albert Medal to George -Oatley of the Coastguard--Reviews at Windsor--The Queen’s Speech to the -Ensigns--The Battle of the Standards--Royalty and Riflemen--Outrages in -Ireland--“Endymion”--Death of George Eliot 581 - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -COERCION. - -Lord Beaconsfield Attacks the Government--The Irish Crisis--The Coercion -Bills--An All-night Sitting--The Arrest of Mr. Davitt--The Revolt of the -Irish Members--The Speaker’s _Coup d’État_--Urgency--New Rules of -Procedure--The Speaker’s _Clôture_--End of the Struggle against -Coercion--Mr. Dillon’s Irish Campaign--Mr. Forster’s First Batch of -“Suspects”--The Peers Censure the Ministry--Mr. Gladstone’s “Retort -Courteous”--Abolition of the “Cat”--The Budget--Paying off the National -Debt--The Irish Land Bill--The Three “F’s”--Resignation of the Duke of -Argyll--The Strategic Blunder of the Tories--The Fallacy of Dual -Ownership--Conflict between the Lords and Commons--Surrender of the -Peers--Passing the Land Bill--Revolt of the Transvaal--The -Rout of Majuba Hill--Death of Sir George Colley--The Boers -Triumphant--Concession of Autonomy to the Boers--Lord Beaconsfield’s -Death--His Career and Character--A “Walking Funeral” at Hughenden--The -Queen and Lord Beaconsfield’s Tomb--A Sorrowing Nation--Assassination of -the Czar--The Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh--Character of the Czar -Emancipator--Precautions for the Safety of the Queen--Visit of the King -and Queen of Sweden to Windsor--Prince Leopold becomes Duke of -Albany--Deaths of Dean Stanley and Mr. Carlyle--Review of Scottish -Volunteers--Assassination of President Garfield--The Royal Family--The -Highlands--Holiday Pastimes--The Parnellites and the Irish Land -Act--Arrest of Mr. Parnell--No-Rent Manifesto 610 - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -ENGLAND IN EGYPT. - -The Duke of Albany’s Marriage Announced--Mr. Bradlaugh Again--Procedure -Reform--The Closure at Last--The Peers Co-operate with the -Parnellites--Their Attacks on the Land Act--Mr. Forster’s Policy of -“Thorough”--A Nation under Arrest--Increase in Outrages--Sir J. D. Hay -and Mr. W. H. Smith bid for the Parnellite Vote--A Political Dutch -Auction--The Radicals Outbid the Tories--Release of Mr. Parnell and the -Suspects--The Kilmainham Treaty--Victory of Mr. Chamberlain--Resignation -of Mr. Forster and Lord Cowper--The Tragedy in the Phœnix Park--Ireland -Under Lord Spencer--Firm and Resolute Government--Coercion Revived--The -Arrears Bill--The Budget--England in Egypt--How Ismail Pasha “Kissed the -Carpet”--Spoiling the Egyptians--Mr. Goschen’s Scheme for Collecting the -Debt--The Dual Control--The Ascendency of France--“Egypt for the -Egyptians”--The Rule of Arabi--Riots in Alexandria--The Egyptian -War--Murder of Professor Palmer--British Occupation of Egypt--The -Queen’s Monument to Lord Beaconsfield--Attempt to Assassinate Her -Majesty--The Queen’s Visit to Mentone--Marriage of the Duke of -Albany 630 - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE INVINCIBLES. - -The Married Women’s Property Act--The Opening of Parliament--Changes in -the Cabinet--Arrest of Suspects in Dublin--Invincibles on their -Trial--Evidence of the Informer Carey--Carey’s Fate--The Forster-Parnell -Incident--National Gift to Mr. Parnell--The Affirmation Bill--The -Bankruptcy and other Bills--Mr. Childers’ Budget--The Corrupt Practices -Bill--The “Farmers’ Friends”--Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership--The -Bright Celebration--Dynamite Outrages in London--The Explosives Act--M. -de Lesseps and Mr. Gladstone--Blunders in South Africa--The Ilbert -Bill--The Attack on Lady Florence Dixie’s House--Death of John -Brown--His Career and Character--The Queen and the Consumption of -Lamb--A Dull Holiday at Balmoral--Capsizing of the _Daphne_--Prince -Albert Victor made K.G.--France and Madagascar--Arrest of Rev. Mr. -Shaw--Settlement of the Dispute--Progress of the National League--Orange -and Green Rivalry--The Leeds Conference--“Franchise First”--Lord -Salisbury and the Housing of the Poor--Mr. Besant and East -London--“Slumming”--Hicks Pasha’s Disastrous Expedition in the -Soudan--Mr. Gladstone on Jam 652 - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -GENERAL GORDON’S MISSION. - -Success of the Mahdi--Difficult Position of the Ministers--Their -Egyptian Policy--General Gordon sent out to the Soudan--Baker Pasha’s -Forces Defeated--Sir S. Northcote’s Vote of Censure--The Errors on Both -Sides--Why not a Protectorate?--Gordon in Khartoum--Zebehr, “King of the -Slave-traders”--Attacks on Gordon--Osman Digna Twice Defeated--Treason -in Khartoum--Gordon’s Vain Appeals--Financial Position of -Egypt--Abortive Conference of the Powers--Vote of Credit--The New -Speaker--Mr. Bradlaugh _Redivivus_--Mr. Childers’ Budget--The Coinage -Bill--The Reform Bill--Household Franchise for the Counties--Carried in -the Commons--Thrown Out in the Lords--Agitation in the Country--The -Autumn Session--“No Surrender”--Compromise--The Franchise Bill -Passed--The Nile Expedition--Murder of Colonel Stewart and Mr. Frank -Power--Lord Northbrook’s Mission--Ismail Pasha’s Claims--The “Scramble -for Africa”--Coolness with Germany--The Angra Pequena -Dispute--Bismarck’s Irritation--Queensland and New Guinea--Death of Lord -Hertford--The Queen’s New Book--Death of the Duke of Albany--Character -and Career of the Prince--The Claremont Estate--The Queen at -Darmstadt--Marriage of the Princess Victoria of Hesse--A Gloomy -Season--The Health Exhibition--The Queen and the Parliamentary -Deadlock--The Abyssinian Envoys at Osborne--Prince George of Wales made -K.G.--The Court at Balmoral--Mr. Gladstone’s Visit to the Queen 671 - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE NEW DEPARTURE. - -An _Annus Mirabilis_--Breaking up of the Old Parties--The -Tory-Parnellite Alliance--Mr. Chamberlain’s Socialism--The Doctrine of -“Ransom”--Effect of the Reform Bill and Seats Bill--Enthroning the -“Sovereign People”--Three Reform Struggles: 1832, 1867, 1885--“One Man -One Vote”--Another Vote of Censure--A Barren Victory--Retreat from the -Soudan--The Dispute with Russia--Komaroff at Penjdeh--The Vote of -Credit--On the Verge of War--Mr. Gladstone’s Compromise with -Russia--Threatened Renewal of the Crimes Act--The Tory Intrigue with the -Parnellites--The Tory Chiefs Decide to Oppose Coercion--Wrangling in the -Cabinet--Mr. Childers’ Budget--A Yawning Deficit--Increasing the Spirit -Duties--Readjusting the Succession Duties--Combined Attack by Tories and -Parnellites on the Budget--Defeat of the Government and Fall of Mr. -Gladstone’s Ministry--The Scene in the Commons--The Tories in -Power--Lord Salisbury’s Government--Places for the Fourth Party--Mr. -Parnell Demands his Price--Abandoning Lord Spencer--Re-opening the -Question of the Maamtrasna Murders--Concessions to the Parnellites--The -New Budget--Sir H. D. Wolff sent to Cairo--The Criminal Law Amendment -Act--Court Life in 1885--Affairs at Home and Abroad--The Fall of -Khartoum--Death of General Gordon--Marriage of the Princess -Beatrice--The Battenbergs 697 - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE BATTLE OF THE UNION. - -Mr. Chamberlain’s Doctrine of “Ransom”--The Midlothian Programme--Lord -Randolph Churchill’s Appeal to the Whigs--Bidding for the Parnellite -Vote--Resignation of Lord Carnarvon--The General Election--“Three Acres -and a Cow”--Defeat of Lord Salisbury--The Liberal Cabinet--Mr. -Gladstone’s Home Rule Scheme--Ulster Threatens Civil War--Secession of -the Liberal “Unionists”--Defeat of Mr. Gladstone--Lord Salisbury again -in Office--Mr. Parnell’s Relief Bill Rejected--The “Plan of -Campaign”--Resignation of Lord Randolph Churchill--Mr. Goschen becomes -Chancellor of the Exchequer--Riots in the West End of London--The Indian -and Colonial Exhibition--The Imperial Institute--The Queen’s Visit to -Liverpool--The Holloway College for Women--A Busy Season for her -Majesty--The International Exhibition at Edinburgh--The Prince and -Princess Komatsu of Japan 724 - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE JUBILEE. - -The Fiftieth Year of the Queen’s Reign--Mr. W. H. Smith Leader of the -Commons--Sudden Death of Lord Iddesleigh--Opening of Parliament--The -Queen’s Speech--The Debate on the Address--New Rules for -Procedure--Closure Proposed by the Tories--Irish Landlords and -Evictions--“Pressure Within the Law”--Prosecution of Mr. Dillon--The -Round Table Conference--“Parnellism and Crime”--Resignation of Sir M. -Hicks-Beach--Appointment of Mr. Balfour--The Coercion Bill--Resolute -Government for Twenty Years--Scenes in the House--Irish Land Bill--The -Bankruptcy Clauses--The National League Proclaimed--The Allotments -Act--The Margarine Act--Hamburg Spirit--Mr. Goschen’s Budget--The -Jubilee in India--The Modes of Celebration in England--Congratulatory -Addresses--The Queen’s Visit to Birmingham--The Laureate’s Jubilee -Ode--The Queen at Cannes and Aix--Her Visit to the Grande -Chartreuse--Colonial Addresses--Opening of the People’s Palace--Jubilee -Day--The Scene in the Streets--Preceding Jubilees--The Royal -Procession--The German Crown Prince--The Decorations and the -Onlookers--The Spectacle in Westminster Abbey--The Procession--The -Ceremony--The Illuminations--Royal Banquet in Buckingham Palace--The -Shower of Honours--Jubilee Observances in the British Empire and the -United States--The Children’s Celebration in Hyde Park--The Queen’s -Garden Party--Her Majesty’s Letter to her People--The Imperial -Institute--The Victorian Age 733 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE -The Prince and Princess of Wales and their Family _Frontispiece._ - -Osborne, from the Solent 385 - -The Princess Louise (_From a Photograph by -Elliott and Fry_) 388 - -The Marquis of Lorne (_From a Photograph by -Elliott and Fry_) 389 - -Inverary Castle (_From a Photograph by G. W. -Wilson and Co._) 393 - -Mr. W. E. Forster (_From a Photograph by Russell -and Sons_) 396 - -Balmoral Castle, from the North-west (_From a -Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen_) 400 - -After Sedan: Discussing the Capitulation (_From -the Picture by Georg Bleibtreu_) 401 - -Metz 405 - -Marriage of the Princess Louise _To face_ 408 - -Opening of the Royal Albert Hall 409 - -The Prince of Wales’s Illness: Crowd at the -Mansion House Reading the Bulletins 412 - -Thanksgiving Day: the Procession at Ludgate -Hill (_From the Picture by N. Chevalier_) 413 - -Thanksgiving Day: St. Paul’s Illuminated 416 - -The Thanksgiving Service in St. Paul’s Cathedral 417 - -Geneva 421 - -Dr. Norman Macleod (_From a Photograph by -Elliott and Fry_) 425 - -The Queen receiving the Burmese Embassy 428 - -Queen’s College, Cork (_From a Photograph by -W. Lawrence, Dublin_) 432 - -Professor Fawcett (_From a Photograph by the -London Stereoscopic Company_) 433 - -Queen’s College, Galway 436 - -Views in Windsor: Old Market Street, and the -Town Hall, from High Street 440 - -Sandringham House 441 - -The Queen’s Visit to Victoria Park 445 - -Blue-coat Boys at Buckingham Palace 448 - -The Shah of Persia Presenting his Suite to the -Queen at Windsor _To face_ 449 - -The Duke of Edinburgh 452 - -The Duchess of Edinburgh (_From a Photograph -by W. and D. Downey_) 453 - -Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh (_From the -Picture by N. Chevalier_) 456 - -Coomassie 460 - -King Koffee’s Palace, Coomassie 461 - -Lord Salisbury (_From a Photograph by Bassano, -Old Bond Street, W._) 465 - -Review in Windsor Great Park of the Troops from -the Ashanti War: the March Past before the -Queen 469 - -The Bishop of Peterborough (Dr. Magee) addressing -the House of Lords 473 - -Alexander II., Czar of Russia 477 - -The Albert Memorial Chapel, Windsor (_From a -Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._) 480 - -Mr. Plimsoll Addressing the House of Commons 484 - -The Marquis of Hartington (_From a Photograph -by Russell and Sons_) 485 - -Abergeldie Castle (_From a Photograph by G. W. -Wilson and Co._) 488 - -View on the Suez Canal 492 - -Count Ferdinand De Lesseps 493 - -The Mosque at San Sophia, Constantinople 496 - -Heralds at the Mansion House, Proclaiming the -Queen as “Empress of India” 497 - -The Queen Visiting the Wards of the London -Hospital 500 - -The Albert Memorial, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh 501 - -Holyrood Palace, from the South-east 504 - -Sir James Falshaw (_From a Photograph by -J. Moffat, Edinburgh_) 505 - -Lord Beaconsfield at the Banquet in the Guildhall 508 - -General View of Constantinople 509 - -Trooping the Colours in St. James’s Park on the -Queen’s Birthday _To face_ 513 - -Lord Cairns (_From a Photograph by Russell and -Sons_) 513 - -Horseshoe Cloisters, Windsor Castle 517 - -Lord Derby (_From a Photograph by Elliott and -Fry_) 521 - -The Tower of Galata, Constantinople 525 - -Russian Wounded Leaving Plevna 528 - -Hughenden Manor (_From a Photograph by Taunt -and Co._) 529 - -The Queen’s Visit to Hughenden: at High Wycombe -Railway Station 533 - -Prince Gortschakoff 537 - -Russo-Turkish War: Map showing Position of -Russian and Turkish Lines outside of Constantinople, -and of the British Fleet 540 - -The Marina, Larnaca, Cyprus 544 - -Salonica 545 - -Prince Bismarck (_From the Photograph by -Loescher and Petsch, Berlin_) 548 - -Shere Ali, Ameer of Cabul 553 - -The Queen Reviewing the Fleet at Spithead 557 - -The Albert Memorial, Kensington 561 - -Isandhlwana: the Dash with the Colours 565 - -Baveno, on Lago Maggiore 568 - -The Villa Clara, Baveno 569 - -The Duchess of Connaught 572 - -The Duke of Connaught 573 - -Marriage of the Duke of Connaught (_From the -Picture by S. P. Hall_) 576 - -Queen Victoria (1887) _To face_ 577 - -The Mausoleum, Frogmore 577 - -Osborne House, from the Gardens (_From a Photograph -by J. Valentine and Sons_) 581 - -The First Tay Bridge, from the South 584 - -Windsor Castle: a Peep from the Dean’s Garden 585 - -After the Midlothian Victory: Mr. Gladstone Addressing -the Crowd from the Balcony of Lord -Rosebery’s House, George Street, Edinburgh -(_From the Picture in “The Graphic”_) 589 - -Mr. Chamberlain (_From a Photograph by Russell -and Sons_) 593 - -Old Palace of the Prince of Montenegro, Cettigne 597 - -Windsor Castle: Queen Elizabeth’s Library, from -the Quadrangle 600 - -The Queen Presenting the Albert Medal to George -Oatley, of the Coastguard 604 - -Review in Windsor Park: Charge of the 5th and -7th Dragoon Guards 605 - -Ballater 609 - -Mr. Parnell (_From a Photograph by William -Lawrence, Dublin_) 613 - -Grafton Street, Dublin 616 - -Lord Beaconsfield’s Last Appearance in the Peers’ -Gallery of the House of Commons (_From a -Drawing by Harry Furniss_) 617 - -Lord Beaconsfield’s House, 19, Curzon Street, Mayfair 621 - -The Prince of Wales in his Robes as a Bencher of -the Middle Temple (_From a Photograph by -W. and D. Downey_) 624 - -The Princess of Wales (_From a Photograph by -W. and D. Downey_) 625 - -The Royal Family in the Highlands: Tug of War--Balmoral -_v._ Abergeldie 629 - -Lord Frederick Cavendish (_From a Photograph -by the London Stereoscopic Company_) 633 - -The Karmous Suburb, Alexandria, and Pompey’s -Pillar 637 - -Ahmed Arabi Pasha (_From the Portrait by -Frederick Villiers in A. M. Broadley’s “How -we Defended Arabi and his Friends”_) 640 - -Lord Wolseley (_From a Photograph by Fradelle -and Young_) 641 - -The Duchess of Albany 644 - -The Duke of Albany 645 - -Marriage of the Duke of Albany _To face_ 648 - -Mentone (_From a Photograph by Frith and Co., -Reigate_) 649 - -Lambeth Palace 652 - -Charles Darwin (_From a Photograph by Elliott -and Fry_) 653 - -The Round Tower, Windsor Castle 657 - -The Royal Albert Hall, Kensington 661 - -John Brown (_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson -and Co., Aberdeen_) 665 - -The Parish Church, Crathie 669 - -Braemar Castle 669 - -General Gordon (_From a Photograph by Adams -and Scanlan, Southampton_) 673 - -Khartoum 677 - -Sir Stafford Northcote, afterwards Lord Iddesleigh -(_From a Photograph by Barraud, Oxford -Street_) 680 - -The Citadel, Cairo 681 - -Balmoral Castle, from Craig Nordie (_From a -Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._) 685 - -Funeral of the Duke of Albany: the Procession -Entering Windsor Castle 688 - -View in Claremont Park 689 - -The Linn of Dee (_From a Photograph by G. W. -Wilson and Co._) 693 - -The Queen Receiving the Abyssinian Envoys at -Osborne 696 - -Prince Henry of Battenberg (_From a Photograph -by Theodor Prümm, Berlin_) 700 - -Princess Beatrice (_From a Photograph by Hughes -and Mullins, Ryde_) 701 - -The Queen in her State Robes _To face_ 705 - -Mr. Gladstone (_From a Photograph by Elliott -and Fry_) 705 - -Drawing-Room in Buckingham Palace 709 - -Map of the War in the Soudan 716 - -Marriage of the Princess Beatrice 721 - -Opening of Parliament in 1886: the Royal Procession -in Westminster Palace on the way to -the House of Peers 725 - -Lord Tennyson (_From a Photograph by H. H. H. -Cameron, Mortimer Street, W._) 729 - -Opening of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition: -The Queen’s Tour 733 - -The Queen’s Visit to Edinburgh (1886): Her -Majesty Leaving Holyrood Palace 737 - -The Crown Prince, afterwards the Emperor -Frederick III. of Germany (_From a Photograph -by Reichard and Lindner, Berlin_) 745 - -The Crown Princess, afterwards the Empress -Victoria of Germany (_From a Photograph by -Reichard and Lindner, Berlin_) 745 - -The Jubilee Garden Party at Buckingham Palace: -The Royal Tent 749 - - - - -[Illustration: OSBORNE, FROM THE SOLENT.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. - - Effect of Prussian Victories on English Opinion--Sudden Changes - of Popular Impulse--Demand for Army Reform--Opposition to - the Princess Louise’s Dowry--Opening of Parliament--The Army - Bill--Abolition of Purchase--Opposition of the Tory Party--Mr. - Disraeli Throws Over his Followers--Obstructing the Purchase - Bill--Mr. Cardwell’s Threat--Obstruction in the House of Lords--A - Bold Use of the Queen’s Prerogative--The Wrath of the Peers--They - Pass a Vote of Censure on the Government--The Ballot Bill--The - Peers Reject the Ballot Bill--The University Tests Bill--The Trades - Union Bill--Its Defects--The Case of Purchon v. Hartley--The - Licensing Bill and its Effect on Parties--Local Government - Reform--Mr. Lowe’s Disastrous Budget--The Match Tax--_Ex luce - lucellum_--Withdrawal of the Budget--The Washington Treaty and - the Queen--Lord Granville’s Feeble Foreign Policy--His Failure - to Mediate Between France and Germany--Bismarck’s Contemptuous - Treatment of English Despatches--_Væ Victis!_--The German Terms - of Peace--Asking too Much and Taking too Little--Mr. Gladstone’s - Embarrassments--Decaying Popularity of the Government--The Collier - Affair--Effect of the Commune on English Opinion--Court Life - in 1871--Marriage of the Princess Louise--The Queen Opens the - Albert Hall--The Queen at St. Thomas’s Hospital--Prince Arthur’s - Income--Public Protests and Irritating Discussions--The Queen’s - Illness--Sudden Illness of the Prince of Wales--Growing Anxiety - of the People--Alarming Prospects of a Regency--Between Life and - Death--Panic in the Money Market--Hopeful Bulletins--Convalescence - of the Prince--Public Sympathy with the Queen--Her Majesty’s Letter - to the People. - - -The closing weeks of 1870 and the early days of 1871 were full of -anxiety to the Queen. Despite its services to the country, the Cabinet -was obviously losing ground. The Franco-Prussian War had brought about -a great change in the minds of the people as to the kind of work they -wanted their Government to do, and it was certain that Mr. Gladstone -and his colleagues did not respond quickly to the new impulse which the -fall of Imperialism in France, and the rise of the new German Empire -had given to public opinion in England. When the Cabinet took office, -retrenchment and reform at home, and isolation abroad, were objects -which the nation desired the Government to pursue. The victories of -Prussia certainly strengthened the hands of the Ministry in carrying -out their education policy. But in every other department of public -life the people began to expect from the Cabinet what the Cabinet -was not, by its temperament, likely to give. Ministers, in their -handling of the Army and Navy, for example, made economy the leading -idea of their policy. The country, on the other hand, alarmed at the -collapse of France, put efficiency before economy. Non-intervention in -Foreign Affairs, which was the policy of the Ministry, and which had -been the policy of the Tory Opposition, was discredited when Russia -repudiated the Black Sea Clauses of the Treaty of Paris, and when it -was discovered that somehow Lord Granville’s management of Foreign -Affairs had left England with enemies, and not with allies, in the -councils of the world. Forgetful of the stormy sea of foreign troubles -through which Palmerston was perpetually steering the labouring vessel -of State, the nation began to long for a Minister who could make -England play a great part in the drama of Continental politics. Lord -Granville’s “surrender” in the Black Sea Conference was admittedly -dignified and adroit, but it did not on that account satisfy the -country. Why had he not pressed for an equivalent right on the part -of England and the Powers to pass the Dardanelles? That would, at all -events, have made the Black Sea an European instead of a Russian lake, -or rather a lake whose waters Russia shared with a weak and decaying -Power like Turkey. Why did he not recast the Foreign Policy of England, -and proceed to check Russia diplomatically by strengthening Austria -in the Danube? If the irritation of the United States was paralysing -England in Europe, why was no decided action taken to bring about an -equitable settlement of the _Alabama_ Claims? Why was the recognition -of the new French Republic delayed, when it was known that even Von -Bismarck deigned to treat with it for peace, and when its recognition -would raise up for England a friendly feeling in France? All these and -other questions were asked by men who were not partisans, and who were, -on the whole, well disposed to Mr. Gladstone’s administration. - -The only reform movement, indeed, that excited any popular enthusiasm -at the beginning of 1871, was that which Mr. Trevelyan had started -after he resigned his Civil Lordship of the Admiralty, because Mr. -Forster’s Education Bill increased the grant to denominational schools. -It was significant, too, that this movement was one for making the -army more efficient by abolishing the system that permitted officers -to buy their commissions and their promotion. It had been said that -nothing could be done to render the army formidable, so long as the -Commander-in-Chief was its absolute ruler. The result was that the Duke -of Cambridge was made subordinate to the Secretary of State. Next it -was said that nothing could be done to improve the army so long as it -was pawned to its officers, who had acquired by purchase something like -a vested right in maintaining the existing military system. Abolition -of Purchase, therefore, in 1871, seemed to be the only point of contact -between the nation and the Cabinet, who were supposed to favour Mr. -Trevelyan’s agitation. The demand for increasing the army, when -sanctioned by a Parliamentary vote, Mr. Cardwell evaded. When merely -sanctioned by public opinion he either ignored it, or, as in the case -of issuing breech-loading rifles to the Volunteers, yielded to it after -resisting it for about eight months. The changes in the Cabinet due to -Mr. Bright’s resignation further lessened confidence in the Government. -Mr. Chichester Fortescue, in spite of his half-hearted Fenian amnesty, -was on the whole a popular and active Irish Secretary. He, however, was -appointed to succeed Mr. Bright at the Board of Trade, where he had -to guide a department charged with interests of which he was utterly -ignorant. Lord Hartington, on the other hand, whose transference to -the War Office would have been gratifying to the country, was sent -to the Irish Office, to the consternation of those Liberals who had -been dissatisfied with the reactionary tone of his speeches on Irish -affairs. The general desire for new War and Foreign Ministers was -ignored.[1] - -But perhaps the most extraordinary change in public sentiment in 1871 -was that which marked public opinion in relation to the marriage of the -Princess Louise. When it was announced, popular feeling was clearly in -favour of the alliance. But towards the end of January, 1871, there was -hardly a large borough in England, the member for which on addressing -his constituents, was not asked menacingly if he meant to vote for a -national dowry to the Princess. Too often, when the member said he -intended to give such a vote, he was hissed by the meeting. Mr. Forster -escaped a hostile demonstration by humorously parrying the question. -He said he could not consent to fine the Princess for marrying a -Scotsman. At Halifax Mr. Stansfeld was seriously embarrassed by the -question. At Chelsea both members nearly forfeited the usual vote of -confidence passed in them by their constituents. Mr. White at Brighton -had to promise to vote against the dowry; at Birmingham Messrs. Dixon -and Muntz could hardly get a hearing from their constituents when they -defended it. The annoyance which the Queen suffered when she saw her -daughter’s name rudely handled at angry mass - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS LOUISE. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -meetings was unspeakable. This unexpected ebullition of public feeling -was due to a belief among the electors that when Royalty formed -matrimonial alliances with subjects it ought to accept the rule which -prevails among persons of private station, and frankly recognise that -it is the duty of the husband to support the wife. To demand a dowry -of £40,000 and an income of £6,000 a year for the Princess Louise, -it was argued, was preposterous. The lady, it was said, could not -possibly need it, seeing that she was to marry a nobleman who was -able to maintain his wife, and who, had he not married a princess, -would have been expected to maintain her in the comfort befitting his -inherited rank and social position. But common sense soon reasserted -its sway over the nation. It was then speedily admitted that a great -country lowered its dignity when it chaffered with the Sovereign over -allowances which were necessary to sustain a becoming stateliness of -life in the Royal Family.[2] - -[Illustration: THE MARQUIS OF LORNE. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -In the course of the discussions that were carried on as to the dowry -of the Princess Louise many ill-natured allusions had been made to the -Queen’s life of seclusion, and it had been broadly hinted that she -was neglecting her public duties. It was unfortunate that steps were -not taken by some person in authority to refute this calumny, for, if -her Majesty shunned the nervous excitement of public ceremonials, it -was for the purpose of husbanding her strength for the transaction of -official business. Still, the people were kept in ignorance of that -fact, and the result was that when the Queen proceeded in person to -open Parliament on the 9th of February, 1871, she was for the first -time in her life rather coldly received on the route from the Palace -to Westminster. The Speech from the Throne dealt chiefly with Foreign -Affairs, and it represented fairly the national feeling in favour of -a policy of neutrality, tempered, however, with a strong desire to -preserve the existence of France as “a principal and indispensable -member of the great Commonwealth of Europe.” Two points in it were -recognised as being in a special sense the expression of the Queen’s -own views. These were (1), the cordial congratulation of Germany -on having attained a position of “solidity and independence,” and -(2), the carefully-guarded suggestion that Germany should be content -with the cession of a mountain barrier beyond the Rhine on her new -frontier, and not endanger the permanence of the peace, which must -soon come by pressing for the cession of French fortresses, which, in -German hands, must be a standing menace to France. Perhaps the most -popular paragraph in the Speech was the one which indicated that the -Governments of England and the United States, after much futile and -bitter controversy, were at last agreed that the _Alabama_ dispute -should be settled by friendly arbitration before a mixed Commission. -The instinct of the masses taught them that the “latent war,” as Mr. -Hamilton Fish called it, between the two kindred peoples, explained -why England had suddenly lost her influence in the councils of Europe. -By its reference to Home Affairs, the Royal Speech, for the time, -strengthened the popularity of the Ministry. It promised a Ballot Bill, -a Bill for abolishing University Tests, for readjusting Local Taxation, -for restricting the grants of Licences to Publicans, for reorganising -Scottish Education, and for reforming the Army. When the Debate on -the Address was taken, the House of Commons was obviously in a state -of high nervous tension. It was half angry with Mr. Gladstone because -he had not pursued a more spirited Foreign Policy, and because, by -submitting to the abolition of the Black Sea Clauses of the Treaty of -Paris, and assuming an isolated attitude towards France and Germany, -he had made England the mere spectator of great events, the course of -which she yearned to influence, if not to control. On the other hand, -the House showed plainly that it was thankful that the country had been -kept out of the embarrassments and entanglements of war. Indeed it was -clear that, if Mr. Gladstone had pursued a more spirited policy at the -risk of enforcing it by arms, he would have been hurled from power by -the votes of the very men who now sneered at his policy because it was -spiritless. - -Mr. Disraeli’s tone was less patriotic than usual. He was careful to -say nothing that would commit him and his party to any other policy -than that of neutrality; but he was equally careful to encourage a -belief that this policy had been adopted, not from prudence, but from -cowardice. To use one of his own phrases, he “threatened Russia with a -clouded cane;” though, as he knew well, the Black Sea dispute had by -that time ended. He endangered the prospects of peaceful arbitration -on the _Alabama_ Claims, by his bitter allusions to the United States. -He poured ridicule on the military feebleness of the country at a -crisis when a patriotic statesman would have naturally preferred -to remain silent on such a theme. But the effect of his attack was -somewhat diminished by his attempt to show that military impotence was -naturally associated with Liberal Governments. Everybody knew that all -governments, Liberal or Tory, were equally responsible for the bad -state of the army, and that they had all equally resisted the popular -demand for reform, till it grew so loud that Mr. Cardwell was forced to -yield to it. - -The great measure of the Session was of course the Army Bill, which -was introduced by Mr. Cardwell, on the 16th of February. It abolished -the system by which rich men obtained by purchase commissions and -promotion in the army, and provided £8,000,000 to buy all commissions, -as they fell in, at their regulation and over-regulation value.[3] In -future, commissions were to be awarded either to those who won them -by open competition, or who had served as subalterns in the Militia, -or to deserving non-commissioned officers. Mr. Cardwell also proposed -to deprive Lords-Lieutenant of Counties of the power of granting -commissions in the militia. He laid down the lines of a great scheme -of army reorganisation which bound the auxiliary forces closer to the -regular army, gave the country 300,000 trained men, divided locally -into nine _corps d’armée_, for home defence, kept in hand a force -of 100,000 men always available for service abroad, and raised the -strength of the artillery from 180 to 336 guns. This, however, he did -at the cost of £15,000,000 a year--a somewhat extravagant sum, seeing -that 170,000 of the army of defence consisted of unpaid volunteers. -The debate that followed was a rambling one. The Tory Party defended -the Purchase system because good officers had come to the front by -its means. Even a Radical like Mr. Charles Buxton was not ashamed to -argue that promotion by selection on account of fitness, would sour -the officers who were passed over with discontent. Lord Elcho, though -he made a “palpable hit” in detecting the inadequacy of Mr. Cardwell’s -scheme of National Defence, sedulously avoided justifying the sale of -commissions in the army. He based his objection to the abolition of -Purchase on the ground that it would involve “the most wicked, the most -wanton, the most uncalled for waste of the public money.” Here we have -depicted a vivid contrast between the House of Commons of the Second, -and the House of the Third Reform Bill. In these latter days Lord -Wemyss--who in 1871 was Lord Elcho--would hardly venture to obstruct -any measure of reform because there was tacked on to it a scheme for -compensating “vested interests” too generously. The Representatives -of the People would now meet such an objection by simply cutting down -the compensation. And Mr. Cardwell had an excellent opportunity for -doing this ready to his hands. The money paid for commissions was -far above the regulation price, and yet it was a statutory offence -punishable by two years’ imprisonment to pay over-regulation prices. -In fact, Parliament may be said to have betrayed the country in -this transaction. Not only had it connived at the offence of paying -over-regulation money, but it made its connivance a pretext for -compensating the offenders for the loss of advantages they had gained -by breaking the law. - -Only two arguments worthy of the least attention were brought forward -by the Opposition. The first was that abolition of Purchase would -weaken the regimental system. For it was contended that promotion -by selection for officers above the rank of captain--which was the -substitute proposed for promotion by Purchase--involving, as it did, -transfers from one regiment to another, must destroy the regimental -home-life.[4] The second was, that it would tend to create a -professional military caste, who might, as Mr. Bernal Osborne argued, -prove dangerous to the liberties of the people. It was, however, felt -that it was absurd to sacrifice the efficiency of the Army to its -regimental home life, and that one of the strongest objections to -the Purchase system was that it rendered the Army amateurish rather -than professional. But in the long controversy that raged through -the Session no argument told more effectively than Mr. Trevelyan’s -citation of Havelock’s bitter complaint that “he was sick for years -in waiting for promotion, that three sots and two fools had purchased -over him, and that if he had not had a family to support he would not -have served another hour.” Mr. Cardwell, too, left nothing to be said -when he told the House of Commons that Army reformers were paralysed -by Purchase. Every proposal for change was met by the argument that -it affected the position of officers who had paid for that position. -In fact, the British Army was literally held in pawn by its officers, -and the nation had virtually no control over it whilst it was in that -ignominious position. The debate, which seemed interminable, ended in -an anti-climax that astonished the Tory Opposition. Mr. Disraeli threw -over the advocates of Purchase, evidently dreading an appeal to the -country, which might have resulted in a refusal to compensate officers -for the over-regulation prices they had paid for their commissions -in defiance of the statute. The Army Regulation Bill thus passed the -Second Reading without a division. In Committee the Opposition resorted -to obstructive tactics, and attempted to talk out the Bill by moving -a series of dilatory and frivolous amendments. The clique of “the -Colonels,” as they were called, in fact anticipated the Parnellites of -a later date in inventing and developing - -[Illustration: INVERARY CASTLE. - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._)] - -this form of factious and illegitimate opposition. Mr. Cardwell -so far succumbed that after weary weeks of strife he withdrew his -reorganisation scheme, merely insisting on the Purchase clauses, -and on the transference of control over the auxiliary forces from -Lords-Lieutenant of Counties to the Queen. But the Opposition still -threatened to obstruct the Bill, and it was not till Mr. Cardwell -warned them that he could stop the payment of over-regulation money -for commissions by enforcing the law, that the measure was allowed to -pass. In the House of Lords the Bill was again obstructed, in spite -of Lord Northbrook’s able argument that until Purchase was abolished -the Government could not develop their scheme of Army reorganisation, -which was to introduce into England the Prussian system without -compulsory service. The Tory Peers did not actually venture to vote in -favour of Purchase. But they passed a resolution declining to accept -the responsibility of assenting to its abolition without further -information. Mr. Gladstone met them with a bold stroke. By statute -it was enacted that only such terms of Purchase could exist as her -Majesty chose to permit by Royal Warrant. The Queen therefore, acting -on Mr. Gladstone’s advice, cancelled her warrant permitting Purchase, -and thus the opposition of the Peers was crushed by what Mr. Disraeli -indignantly termed “the high-handed though not illegal” exercise of -the Royal Prerogative.[5] The rage of the Tory Peers knew no bounds. -And yet what could Mr. Gladstone have done? The Ministry might have -resigned, but in that case the Tory Party, as mere advocates of -Purchase, could not have commanded a majority of the House of Commons. -New Peers might have been created, but to this obsolete and perilous -method of coercing the Lords the Queen had a natural and justifiable -antipathy. Parliament might have been dissolved, but then the appeal -to the country would probably have raised the question whether it was -desirable to continue the existence of an unreformed House of Lords -side by side with a reformed House of Commons.[6] The only other course -was to bow to the decision of the Peers, admitting that they must be -permitted to quash a reform, which was passionately desired by the -nation, and that they must be allowed to coerce the House of Commons, -as in the days when they nominated a majority of its members. To have -adopted either of these courses would have been fatal to the authority, -perhaps even to the existence, of the Upper House. Thus the excuse -of the Royal Prerogative, which removed the subject of contention -between the two Houses, was really the means of saving the Lords from a -disastrous conflict with the People. The Peers, however, carried a vote -of censure on the Government, who ignored it, and then their Lordships -passed the Army Regulation Bill without any alteration, nay even -without dividing against the clauses transferring the patronage of the -Militia from Lords-Lieutenant of Counties to the Crown. - -The Session of 1871 was also made memorable by the struggle over -the Ballot Bill, in the course of which nearly all the devices of -factious obstruction were exhausted. The Ballot had become since 1832 -the shibboleth of Radicalism.[7] Resistance to it had been accepted -as the first duty of a Conservative. The arguments for the Ballot -were (1), that by allowing men to vote in secret they were free from -intimidation, and (2), that when votes were given in secret men were -not likely to buy them, for they had no longer any means of knowing -whether value was ever given for their money. On the other hand, the -Tories argued (1), that to vote in secret was cowardly and unmanly; -(2), that it was unconstitutional; and (3), that it weakened the sense -of responsibility in the voter who had no longer the pressure of public -opinion on him.[8] But though these arguments were elaborated at -enormous length, they were felt by the average elector to be wiredrawn -and academic. To him the practical object of any system of election -was to get the voter to give effect to his own real opinion, and not -the opinion of somebody else, in choosing a member. There could be -nothing constitutional, or moral, or distinctively “English,” in a -man who desired to be represented by A voting for B, either because -his landlord or his employer or some of his neighbours intimidated or -bribed him into doing so. Nor could his sense of duty be strengthened -under a system which enabled him to cast the responsibility for a false -vote on those who had coerced or bribed him into giving it. No doubt -the prospect of getting rid of violent scenes and of the demonstrations -of turbulent mobs round the polling-booths where men voted in public, -induced many independent politicians, who were not insensible to the -weight of some of the Conservative arguments, to accept the Ballot. -Strictly speaking, when the question was lifted out of the mire of -mere party controversy it came to this--whether Englishmen, in giving -their votes, preferred the protection of secrecy, to the protection -of a strong law punishing those who attempted to interfere with their -independence. To set the law in motion against a rich man in England -is a costly, and sometimes a dangerous, process. Hence the majority of -Englishmen preferred the protection of secrecy. - -Mr. Forster’s Ballot Bill was introduced on the 28th of February, -and when the Second Reading had been passed after three nights’ dull -debate in June, the Conservatives attempted to talk it out by reviving, -on various frivolous pretexts, a discussion on the principle of the -Bill in Committee.[9] After these tactics had been exhausted, the -Opposition endeavoured to smother the Bill with dilatory amendments. -The supporters of the Government, on the other hand, attempted to -defeat the factious obstruction of their opponents by remaining silent -during the debates. The obstructive party, after a long and tedious -fight, were beaten, and the Bill passed through Committee, but shorn -of the clauses which cast election expenses on the rates, and made -all election expenses not included in the public returns, corrupt -expenses.[10] When the Bill reached the House of Lords, the real -motive which dictated the apparently futile and stupid obstruction -of the Conservative Opposition in the House of Commons, was quickly -revealed. The Lords rejected the Bill on the 18th of August, not merely -because they disliked and dreaded it, but because it had come to them -too late for proper consideration.[11] - -[Illustration: MR. W. E. FORSTER. - -(_From a Photograph by Russell and Sons._)] - -Ministers were more successful with some other measures. In spite of -much Conservative opposition they passed a Bill abolishing religious -tests in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and throwing open -all academic distinctions and privileges except Divinity Degrees and -Clerical Fellowships to students of all creeds and faiths. Mr. Bruce -passed a Trades Union Bill, which gave all registered Unions the legal -_status_ and legal protection of ordinary corporations.[12] The vague -language of the old Act touching intimidation was swept away, and -only such forms of coercion as were not only in themselves obviously -brutal, but could also be clearly defined, were made punishable. A -decision of the law courts, however, deprived the Unions of many of the -benefits they had expected to gain under the Act.[13] Mr. Bruce’s Bill, -regulating the licensing of public-houses, another large measure, was -abandoned, but not till it had converted all the Radical and Liberal -publicans and their _clientèle_ into stern and uncompromising Tories. -Mr. Goschen’s scheme for reforming Local Government and Taxation was -far-reaching and comprehensive, but it alarmed the landlords, for it -divided rates between owners and occupiers, and levied rates on game -rents.[14] - -But by far the most damaging failure of the Session was Mr. Lowe’s -Budget. It was known that the large outlay on the Army, due to the -abolition of Purchase and other causes, would leave a deficit of -about £2,000,000 to be met by Mr. Lowe in the coming year’s accounts. -How was he going to meet it? An elastic revenue and rigid economy in -expenditure had left Mr. Lowe with a surplus of £396,681. But he had -on the next year’s account an estimated deficit of £2,713,000,[15] -which he proposed to meet by a tax on matches--“not on matrimonial -engagements,” as he remarked,--by a readjustment of the Probate and -Succession Duties, and by an increase of about one penny farthing in -the £ of income-tax.[16] The Radicals attacked the Budget furiously, -and Mr. Disraeli formed with them what Mr. Gladstone termed an -“unprincipled coalition.” But the Tories and the Radicals objected -to the Budget on entirely different grounds. Mr. White, member for -Brighton, quoting Mr. Bright’s declaration that a Government which -could not rule the country with £70,000,000 of revenue did not deserve -public confidence, complained of the increase in the Army Estimates, -and warned the House that if such enormous sums were spent on the -protection of property, the people would elect a Parliament pledged -to tax property to pay them. Mr. Disraeli, correctly gauging popular -feeling, objected to the match tax, the proposal of which enraged the -poor match-makers of the East End of London. He gave just expression -to the feeling not only of his own Party, but of almost all the rich -men on the Liberal benches, when he denounced any increase in the -Succession Duties. The Government only escaped defeat by hinting -that they would abandon the Match Tax. After some fencing, the whole -Budget was reconstructed, the Succession Duties being also given up, -and the additional supplies needed by the Government being met by a -twopenny income-tax.[17] There could be no better illustration of the -strength and weakness of the Gladstone Government than this Budget. -Theoretically and logically, it was quite defensible. Purchase in the -Army had existed for the convenience and advantage of the wealthy -classes. It was, therefore, fair to increase the Succession Duties -in order to pay the expense of abolishing it. The Match Tax again -satisfied the ideal of public financiers, who all yearned for the -discovery of an impost that should fall on an article which, though -used by the masses, was yet not food, or one of those “luxuries” like -tea, which can with difficulty be distinguished from necessaries. -Moreover, as Professor Stanley Jevons proved, the Match Tax would have -laid even on the very poor less than one-third of the burden which had -been imposed by the shilling duty on corn, that Mr. Lowe had repealed -in 1869.[18] Unfortunately, however, Mr. Lowe, in preparing his Budget, -ignored the prejudices and foibles of the people. He imagined that if -he could defend his proposals logically, they would be accepted with -gratitude and unanimity. - -In Foreign Affairs, the Government did not improve their position in -1871, and yet they achieved one success, for which they failed to -obtain sufficient credit. In May, the Queen was gratified to learn that -a basis for settling the outstanding dispute between the United States -and Great Britain had been at last discovered. It had been her firm -conviction that this quarrel had caused England to lose her traditional -influence over the affairs of Europe. The first essential step towards -regaining that influence, in her opinion, was taken when it was agreed -to submit to a Joint Commission of eminent Englishmen and Americans -in Washington the points at issue between the two nations.[19] The -American Commissioners, when they met their English colleagues, -refused to consider claims for damages due to the Fenian raids in -Canada. Not ignoring the Confederate raids from Canada on Vermont, -the English Commissioners, on their side, did not press this point. -With great courage and frankness, the British Government, through -their Commissioners, expressed their sincere regret that Confederate -cruisers had escaped from British ports to prey on American commerce. -But they did not admit that they were to blame for such an untoward -occurrence, nor did they offer what Mr. Sumner had demanded, any -apology for recognising the Southern States as belligerents. American -claims against England, and English claims against America, “growing -out of” the Civil War, it was agreed should be alike referred to a -Commission of Arbitration,[20] and the English Commissioners admitting -that some just rule for determining international liability in such -cases should be laid down, accepted the principle that neutrals are to -be held responsible for negligence in allowing warships to be equipped -or built in their ports for use against a belligerent. The English -Commissioners next agreed to let this principle be applied to the -_Alabama_ Claims, and though they were blamed for allowing these claims -to be determined by an _ex post facto_ rule, it was difficult for them -to adopt any other course. The rule was one that was essential to the -protection of British commerce from American privateers in the event of -England being engaged in any Continental war. To adopt it as just and -right for claims that might accrue in the future, rendered it hardly -possible to reject it as unjust and wrong for outstanding claims that -had accrued in the past. As to the Fishery dispute, citizens of the -United States, it was agreed, were to have for ten years the right to -fish on the Canadian coast, and Canadians were to have a similar right -of fishing on the coasts of the United States down to the 39th parallel -of latitude. As the British Commissioners insisted that the balance of -advantage was here conceded to the United States, and that it therefore -ought to be paid for by them, that point was by mutual agreement -referred to another Commission for adjustment. The chronic controversy -as to the San Juan boundary was to be referred to the Emperor of -Germany. These arrangements as embodied in the Washington Treaty were -subjected to some carping criticism in England. Lord Russell moved, -in the House of Lords, that the Queen should be asked to refuse to -ratify the instrument, and Lord Salisbury taunted the Government with -sacrificing the position of England as a neutral power. But the tone of -the debate showed that in their hearts the Conservatives and the old -Whigs were thankful that the country had been so honourably extricated -from an embarrassing diplomatic conflict, and their attack on the -Treaty was like that made by Mr. Sumner and General Butler on the other -side of the Atlantic, merely a Party sortie.[21] In a few weeks it was -universally admitted that the object which the Government had in view -had been attained. As if by magic, the feeling of the United States -towards England changed from one of menacing exasperation, to one of -growing sympathy and friendliness. For the first time in the course of -eighty years the average American stump orator found he could not evoke -a round of applause, by hotly-spiced denunciations of England and -Englishmen. - -[Illustration: BALMORAL CASTLE, FROM THE NORTH-WEST. - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen._)] - -But, speaking generally, the Foreign Policy of the Government -discredited it. In the struggle between France and Germany the Cabinet -preserved a cold - -[Illustration: - -General Faure. General Wimpffen. Von Moltke. Von Bismarck. - -AFTER SEDAN: DISCUSSING THE CAPITULATION (_From the Picture by Georg -Bleibtreu._)] - -neutrality, at a time when popular feeling would have supported it -in protesting against the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to the -conquering power. For this attitude, however, Lord Granville had a -plausible excuse. Though the nation was sulky because an effective -protest had not been made, it would not have tolerated any policy that -might have led the country into war. Moreover, the Army had yet to be -reorganised, and till that was done the voice of England was naturally -of little account in the affairs of Europe. At the same time the meek -and spiritless expression which Ministers habitually gave to their -neutrality, irritated a proud and sensitive democracy who were every -day taunted by Tory orators and writers with permitting themselves to -be governed by a cowardly Cabinet. It seems just to say, even when -one makes every allowance for the difficulties of their position, -that in their handling of the diplomacy of the Franco-German War, Mr. -Gladstone and Lord Granville missed a great opportunity. After the -collapse of France at Sedan had been followed by that long series of -German victories which ended in the capitulation of Paris, and the -Armistice Convention between M. Jules Favre and Count von Bismarck -(28th January, 1871), Englishmen were all agreed on one point. To -cede Alsace and Lorraine to Germany was, in their opinion, to create -a French Poland, or Venetia on the Rhine, whose chronic discontent -must permanently imperil the peace of the world. But when the English -Government in February attempted to dissuade Germany from exacting -terms that inevitably rendered revenge the first duty of every French -patriot, England found herself isolated. None of the Powers were -prepared to join her in reviewing the conditions of peace which Germany -might impose, and the German Chancellor never even deigned to answer -the English remonstrance. England, in fact, had moved in the matter too -late. - -As far back as the 17th of October, 1870, Sir Andrew Buchanan told -Lord Granville that the Czar, in his private letters to King William -of Prussia, had expressed a hope that no French territory would be -annexed. On the 4th of November the Italian Minister informed Lord -Granville that whilst Italy admitted that French fortresses must -be surrendered to the Germans, yet she held that there should be -no cession of territory. Sir A. Paget, writing from Florence, also -conveyed to Lord Granville about the same time the views of Signor -Visconti to the effect that “the Italian Government had several times -expressed the opinion that a peace in which Germany would seek her -guarantees by the dismantling of fortresses, &c., would afford better -securities for its duration than one which would be likely to create -a new question of nationalities.” Here there was a basis for a joint -representation on the part of the European Powers--for Austria all -through had only been held back through fear of Russia--both to France -and Germany. France might have been warned that, in spite of M. Jules -Favre’s formula,[22] she, as the defeated aggressor, had no right to -object to her menacing strongholds being razed. Germany might have -been reminded that, in the interests not of France but of Europe, it -was her duty as a great and civilising Power not to demand a cession -of territory, the recovery of which must be to France an object of -ceaseless striving. - -The Queen would gladly have used her personal influence with the German -Emperor in urging on the Court of Berlin the policy and justice of -this representation. Lord Granville’s subordinates had assured him -that France, despite M. Favre’s heroics, would agree to anything if -spared the surrender of territory. It is now known that even Bismarck -himself was not desirous of the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine -against the will of their inhabitants.[23] The German generals had, -however, claimed what they deemed a safe, military frontier, and though -Von Bismarck induced them not to insist on the cession of Belfort, he -could not repel their demand for Alsace, a third part of Lorraine, and -Metz and Strasburg. The German Crown Prince was, moreover, understood -to be opposed to any irritating and unnecessary annexation. Hence all -the chances were in favour of success, if Lord Granville, acting with -Russia and Italy, had approached Germany with a cordial and courteous -appeal, to reject the advice of her military party, and moderate their -demands in the interests of Europe.[24] But the golden opportunity of -strengthening Von Bismarck’s hands was lost. Lord Granville not only -refused to abandon his attitude of rigid neutrality, but he couched -his policy in phrases so ostentatiously deferential to Germany, that -they almost justified the half-contemptuous replies which Von Bismarck -at this time sent to all despatches from the English Foreign Office, -which he did not entirely ignore. In February, 1871, when Lord -Granville at last plucked up heart to remonstrate with Germany, her -victorious armies had made sacrifices that rendered his tardy protests -impertinent. Italy and Russia had sense enough to recognise this -fact. They therefore refused to join England when Lord Granville sent -his remonstrance to Von Bismarck, who tossed it into his diplomatic -waste-paper basket.[25] - -It may be readily conceived, then, that, despite its public services, -its invincible majority, and the failure of the Tory leaders to put -before the country any policy of their own, signs of decay were already -visible in the Government. Mr. Bruce had converted every publican into -an enemy. The Dissenters had vowed vengeance against the Ministry, -because Mr. Forster had increased the grant to denominational schools. -The officers of the Army and the upper and upper-middle classes of -society had resolved to punish Mr. Gladstone because he had allowed -Mr. Cardwell to abolish Purchase. A few Radicals and many Whigs were -also alarmed, because it had been abolished by Royal Prerogative, -the use of which to coerce the Peers was resented by the aristocracy -as an insult. The abolition of Purchase was to have been followed -by an effective reorganisation of the Army. Hence the nation was -profoundly disappointed to find the question of Army organisation -made light of by Ministers during the recess. Mr. Cardwell’s project -for autumn manœuvres on a large scale on the Berkshire Downs had to -be abandoned, because his Control Department could not feed or supply -his troops. When he substituted for this scheme a sham campaign in the -neighbourhood of Aldershot, the Transport Service was found to be so -bad that the Artillery had to be drawn upon to supply it with horses, -carts, and drivers. The disaster to the _Agincourt_ and the wreck of -the _Megæra_, also gave colour to slanders against the Government which -had issued from the Admiralty from the day that Mr. Childers began to -reform its wasteful administration, and Mr. Goschen had continued his -work.[26] - -The Duke of Somerset, after the failure of the Berkshire campaign, had -scoffed at the Government because they gave the nation “armies that -could not march and ships that could not swim,” and the epigram was -soon everywhere repeated. Mr. Gladstone’s appointment of Sir Robert -Collier, the Attorney-General, to a seat on the Judicial Committee of -the Privy Council was denounced far and wide as a job perpetrated by a -tricky evasion of the law.[27] The Prime Minister’s management of the -House of Commons had also cost him many friends. As Mr. Disraeli once -said, it was like that of a - -[Illustration: METZ.] - -schoolmaster who was a little too fond of exhibiting the rod. Mr. -Ayrton and Mr. Lowe during the Session even enhanced their reputation -for irritating those who transacted business with them. But at every -turn Mr. Gladstone was embarrassed by his Parliamentary majority. It -had been elected to carry reforms which most of them individually -dreaded. Their desire was therefore to discover, not pretexts for -pushing the Ministry onward, but excuses which they could plausibly -justify to their constituents for holding Ministers back. As for the -working classes, they had imagined when Mr. Gladstone came to office -“something would be done for them.” But nothing except the Trades Union -Bill had been conceded to their demands, and even that measure was -defaced by irritating provisions, inserted to please their masters. -Mr. Disraeli’s strategy in these circumstances was artful, if not -altogether admirable. He gently fomented every rising discontent. -Without committing his Party to redress the wrongs of the discontented, -he left on the country the impression that under his administration -there would be less social friction than then existed, whilst there -could not be much less social reform. - -Other circumstances tended to strengthen Conservative feeling in -England. Just as the triumph of democracy in the United States at -the end of the Civil War gave a great impetus to English Liberalism, -so did the march of events in France after the conclusion of peace -produce a reaction in England against democracy. The French elections -resulted in the return of the Assembly which met at Bordeaux on the -12th of February. Its majority consisted of Legitimists and Orleanists, -and, since the Convocation of the Estates General in 1789, no French -Parliament had ever met which contained so many men of high rank and -good estate. It had no special mandate, but it very sensibly took in -hand the task of making peace with Germany, and, having superseded -the Government of National Defence, it elected M. Thiers as Chief of -the Executive. He formed a Ministry which represented the best men of -all parties. The new Government were confronted at the outset with an -unexpected difficulty. The National Guard of Paris had been allowed -to retain their arms, and they not only broke into revolt, but seized -the capital and established in Paris the revolutionary Government of -the Commune, General Cluseret, a revolutionary “soldier of fortune,” -being appointed Minister of War. The idea of the revolt seems to have -been to convert the ten great cities of France into autonomous States -in federal alliance with the rest of the country, and the insurgents -began by giving Paris a separate Government, Executive, Army, and -Legislature. The Red Republicans imagined that by this device they -could emancipate the artisans from the control of the peasants, -who, under universal suffrage, were masters of France. The Commune -was founded by honest fanatics, but it let loose the suppressed -blackguardism of Paris, and before it was stamped out by the Army and -the Government of Versailles, terrible atrocities not unworthy of the -worst days of the “Terror” had been committed by the rabble whom it had -armed, and was powerless to restrain. In England the excesses of the -Commune were pointed to by Conservative writers and speakers as an apt -illustration of the natural and logical tendencies of Radicalism. - -The Queen’s domestic life during 1871 was not much disturbed by the -petty demonstrations of Republican feeling which were in vogue at the -beginning of the year. They did not influence either the Ministry or -Parliament; and when, on the 13th of February, Mr. Gladstone proposed -the vote for the Princess Louise’s dowry in the House of Commons, -only three Members voted against it.[28] Mr. Disraeli, though he -supported the proposal, gently tickled the sympathies of its opponents -by suggesting that the system of voting Royal grants should be -changed. His idea was to maintain the Crown by an estate of its own, -ample enough to cover all its personal and family expenses, and that -Parliament should not be called on to grant money to the Queen save for -expenditure on public pageantry. - -When it was announced that the Queen had fixed the 21st of March for -the Princess Louise’s marriage, the High Church Party were indignant -that the ceremony was to be performed in Lent. They argued that when -Royalty set an example contrary to the teachings of the Church, -the influence of the clergy was weakened over, what the _Guardian_ -newspaper called, “the large area of society which lies between -the inner circle of the devout and the multitude of the unattached -outside the consecrated ground.” No heed, however, was paid to these -remonstrances, and the Royal wedding, when it took place at Windsor, -completely diverted popular attention from the Communist Reign of -Terror in Paris. The enthusiasm of the capital, it is true, was rather -qualified. The West End tradesmen were sulky because of the withdrawal -of the Queen from the gaieties of the London season; and the populace -was annoyed because the marriage did not take place in Westminster -Abbey or St. Paul’s. But the provinces were unusually lavish in their -demonstrations of sympathy with the Sovereign, and with the wedded -pair who had broken down the barrier of caste which had been so long -maintained between the Royal Family and the nation.[29] - -The town of Windsor was _en fête_ for the occasion, the people crowding -the Castle Green, and the Eton boys occupying the Castle Hill. The -police and soldiery kept a passage open for the guests who came from -London by special train, and who were conveyed in Royal carriages -to St. George’s Chapel amid general cheering and joyous ringing of -bells. The Ministers of State, Foreign Princes and Ambassadors, and -other prominent persons, were gay in rich and glittering uniforms. Of -the bridal party, the first to arrive was the Duke of Argyll, with -his family. He wore the dress of a Highland chieftain, with philabeg, -sporran, claymore, and jewelled dirk. A plaid of Campbell tartan was -thrown across his shoulders, over which was also hung the Order of -the Thistle. He was accompanied by the Duchess of Argyll, who shone -in silver and white satin. The Lord Chancellor, in wig and gown, and -Lord Halifax, in Ministerial uniform of blue and gold, walked up the -central aisle and took their seats, along with members of the Cabinet -and the Privy Council, in the stalls to the left of the altar. Then -came the Princess Christian, in pink satin, trimmed with white lace, -and some Indian potentates, radiant in auriferous scarlet. Lord Lorne, -the bridegroom, next entered, arrayed in the uniform of the Argyllshire -Regiment of Volunteer Artillery, of which he was Colonel, looking -pale and nervous. He was supported by his groomsmen, Lord Percy and -Lord Ronald Leveson-Gower. The Princess Beatrice arrived evidently in -high spirits, and wearing a pink satin dress, her sunny hair flowing -freely down her back. The Princess of Wales, who received an almost -affectionate greeting, was the last of the Royal party to come. All the -members of the Royal Family were then present, with the exception of -Prince Alfred. As the procession advanced up the nave, the bride was -supported on the right by the Queen, and on the left by the Prince of -Wales and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Princess, in her dress -of white satin and veil of Honiton lace, was voted one of the most -charming brides on whom the sun had shone. Eight bridesmaids followed, -all daughters of dukes and earls, clad in white satin, decorated with -red camellias. The Queen appeared in black satin, relieved by the -broad blue ribbon of the Garter, and by a fall of white lace, which -nearly reached to the ground. The service was read by the Bishop of -London, the Queen giving away her daughter.[30] After the ceremony, the -Queen took the bride in her arms, and kissed her heartily, while the -Marquis of Lorne knelt and kissed the Queen’s hand. The Royal wedding -breakfast was served in the magnificent oak-room of Windsor Castle, -the company including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Arthur, -the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince and Princess Teck, the -Duke of Saxe-Coburg, Prince and Princess Christian. Another breakfast -for the general company was served in the Waterloo Gallery. When the -newly-married pair left the Castle for Claremont, it was noticed that -the bride wore a charming travelling costume of Campbell tartan. As -they departed, their numerous relatives showered over them a quantity -of white satin slippers, and, following an ancient Highland usage, a -new broom was also thrown after them as they got into the carriage. The -Oriental custom of flinging rice after a wedded couple, introduced into -England by the family of Musurus Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador, had not -then become the _mode_ in the highest circles of Society.[31] - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS LOUISE. (_See p. 408._) - -(_After the Picture by Sydney P. Hall._)] - -[Illustration: OPENING OF THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.] - -On the 29th of March, in the presence of a brilliant and fashionable -crowd of upwards of 10,000 persons, the Queen opened the Royal Albert -Hall at Kensington. The Members of the Provisional Committee met the -Prince of Wales, their President, and, on the arrival of the Queen at -half-past twelve o’clock, the Heir Apparent read the address to her -Majesty, which could hardly be heard, because a provoking echo mimicked -the tones of his voice whilst he described the completion of the Hall. -The Queen having handed to the Prince a written answer, said, “I wish -to express my great admiration of this beautiful Hall, and my earnest -wishes for its complete success.” After a prayer from the Bishop of -London, the Prince exclaimed, “The Queen declares this Hall to be now -opened!” an announcement which was followed by a burst of cheering, the -National Anthem, and the discharge of the Park guns. Then a concert was -given, which included the performance of a cantata written expressly -for the occasion by Sir Michael Costa. - -On the 21st of June the Queen again appeared in London to open the new -buildings of St. Thomas’s Hospital on the Albert Embankment, and her -neatly-worded reply to the address which was presented to her on that -occasion attracted considerable attention, because it was rumoured that -it had been carefully written out by herself. It ran as follows:-- - - “I thank you for your loyal Address. I congratulate you on the - completion of a work of so much importance to the suffering poor of - the Metropolis. The necessity for abandoning the ancient site of - your Hospital has been wisely turned to account by the erection of - more spacious and commodious buildings in this central situation, - and I rejoice that a position of appropriate beauty and dignity - has been found for them on the noble roadway which now follows the - course of this part of the Thames, of which they will henceforth - be among the most conspicuous ornaments. It gives me pleasure to - recognise in the plan of your buildings, so carefully adapted - to check the growth of disease, ample and satisfactory evidence - of your resolution to take advantage of the best suggestions of - Science for the alleviation of suffering, and the complete and - speedy cure of the sick and disabled. These great purposes are not - least effectually promoted by an adequate supply of careful and - well-trained nurses, and I do not forget that in this respect your - Hospital is especially fortunate through the connection with it of - the staff trained under the direction of the lady whose name will - always remain associated with the care of the wounded and the sick. - I thank you for the kind expressions you have used in regard to the - marriage of my dear daughter.” - -Early in summer it was bruited about that an application would be made -to the House of Commons for a settlement on Prince Arthur. At first -it was whispered that he was to be created Duke of Ulster, and that -he was to live in Ireland, an eccentric tribute to the loyalty of the -Orangemen, who when the Irish Church was disestablished threatened -to “kick the Queen’s Crown into the Boyne.” The idea, however, was -abandoned, and the agitation against the Princess Louise’s dowry now -broke out anew, especially in Birmingham, in the form of a protest -against the usual portion being voted to the Prince on the attainment -of his majority. But Mr. Gladstone was not to be intimidated by the -Republicans. On the 27th of July he brought down to the House of -Commons a Royal Message requesting the customary allowance for a Prince -of the Blood to be voted.[32] A few days afterwards the Royal Message -was debated, Mr. Peter Taylor moving the rejection of the resolution -voting £15,000 a year to the Prince, and Mr. Dixon moving its reduction -from £15,000 to £10,000. Eleven members voted for Mr. Taylor, and Mr. -Dixon found fifty-one supporters. The grant was easily carried, Mr. -Gladstone basing his case on the implied contract made by Parliament to -support the Royal Family when the Crown Lands were taken over by the -State, and Mr. Disraeli arguing that the English workmen could easily -afford to pay for their Monarchy because they were the richest class -in the world. But Mr. Gladstone seemed a little nervous when Mr. Dixon -indicated that he was forced to demand a reduction of the vote by his -constituents, among whom Republicanism, he said, was spreading, because -they considered it cheap. The Prime Minister accordingly took occasion -to hint that it might be well to establish an arrangement which -would render similar applications to Parliament unnecessary, and Mr. -Disraeli, not to be outdone, made his bid for popularity by suggesting -that the Crown should be allowed to charge Crown Lands for the Queen’s -children, just as English nobles charged their estates with portions -for their younger sons. Perhaps some of the acerbity of the Radical or -Republican members was due to the meddlesomeness of the Home Secretary, -Mr. Bruce, who prohibited a public meeting in Trafalgar Square which -was fixed for the same evening on which the Royal Message was debated, -in order to protest against the grant.[33] The Prince took the title of -Duke of Connaught, and settled down to follow a useful career in the -Army. - -In September the country was greatly grieved to learn that the Queen -had fallen seriously ill. Those who had been reproaching her for -retiring from active life now began to suspect what was the truth, -namely, that the Queen’s labours were not materially lessened by her -withdrawal from the exciting functions of each London season. Her -illness took the form of a sore throat, accompanied by glandular -swellings under the arm, and the sympathetic sentiment of London was -expressed by the _Times_, which mournfully regretted that the Sovereign -had ever been pressed to overwork herself. - -Gradually the prostration which this illness had caused passed away; -but, unhappily, no sooner had her own health ceased to give the Queen -cause for anxiety, than that of her eldest son broke down. Nothing -could exceed the alarm of the country when it was announced on the -20th of November that the Heir to the Throne was smitten at Sandringham -with typhoid fever--the very malady which had cut off his father in -his prime. The disease, it was said, had probably been contracted -when the Prince was visiting Lord Londesborough at Scarborough, and -it was a significant coincidence, not only that Lord Chesterfield, -who was staying there at the same time, had been attacked by and had -quickly succumbed to the fever, but that six other guests of Lord -Londesborough’s had complained of being unwell. On the other hand, -it was pointed out that a groom at Sandringham, who had not quitted -the place, was smitten at the same time as the Prince, and that it -was therefore to bad sanitation at Sandringham that the mishap must -be traced. Day by day the nation read the reassuring bulletins with -growing anxiety, - -[Illustration: THE PRINCE OF WALES’S ILLNESS: CROWD AT THE MANSION -HOUSE READING THE BULLETINS.] - -relieved only by the knowledge, not only that the Queen herself -had taken her place at the sufferer’s sick bed, and that the ever -self-sacrificing Princess Louis of Hesse--a nurse of high technical -skill--had installed herself in charge of the sick room. The Princess -of Wales was herself suffering, doubtless from the same poison which -had attacked her husband. Day by day the bulletins were eagerly -scanned, not only in the newspapers, but by excited crowds at public -places like the Mansion House and Marlborough House, where they were -exhibited. After twenty-five days of suffering the Prince, who had -shown signs of recovery, had a relapse, and then the worst was feared. -The Prince it was thought must die, and the shock of the bereavement -might be fatal to the Queen, whose health was already sadly impaired. -Englishmen remembered for the first time that only two precarious -lives--one of which was flickering between life and death--stood -between the country and a Regency. But what might a Regency portend? It -had been fatal to the Monarchy in France; within the memory of living -men it had nearly proved fatal to the Monarchy in England. When it -was announced on the 9th of December that all the members of the Royal -Family had suddenly been summoned to Sandringham, securities in the -Money Market, with the exception of Consols, fell from one to - -[Illustration: THANKSGIVING DAY: THE PROCESSION AT LUDGATE HILL. (_From -the Picture by N. Chevalier._)] - -two per cent. Twice the physicians warned the Queen that the end was -at hand, but at last, on the 14th of December--strangely enough the -tenth anniversary of his father’s death--the Prince made a rally, and -the bulletins again became more hopeful. Prayers had been offered -up for his recovery in every church in the empire, and even the -Republican societies had sent addresses of sympathy to the Sovereign. -The heart of the people had gone forth to her and to the Princess of -Wales in sincere and unrestrained sympathy, and as the year closed -an official announcement was made which dispelled the gloom that had -settled on all classes. It stated that, though Sir James Paget had -not left Sandringham, the Prince was then (29th December) progressing -favourably. This was followed by a letter from the Queen to the Home -Secretary, in which she said:--“The Queen is very anxious to express -her deep sense of the touching sympathy of the whole nation on the -occasion of the alarming illness of her dear son the Prince of Wales. -The universal feeling shown by her people during these painful, -terrible days, and the sympathy evinced by them with herself and her -beloved daughter the Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy -at the improvement in the Prince of Wales’s state, have made a deep -and lasting impression on her heart which can never be effaced. It -was, indeed, nothing new to her, for the Queen had met with the same -sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness removed from -her side the mainstay of her life--the best, wisest, and kindest of -husbands. The Queen wishes to express at the same time, on the part of -the Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude, for she -has been as deeply touched as the Queen by the great and universal -manifestation of loyalty and sympathy. The Queen cannot conclude -without expressing her hope that her faithful subjects will continue -their prayers to God for the complete recovery of her dear son to -health and strength.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE “ALABAMA” CLAIMS. - - Thanksgiving Day--The Procession--Behaviour of the Crowd--Scene - in St. Paul’s--Decorations and Illuminations--Letter from Her - Majesty--Attack on the Queen--John Brown--The Queen’s Speech--The - _Alabama_ Claims--The “Consequential Damages”--Living in a Blaze - of Apology--Story of the “Indirect Claims”--The Arbitrators’ - Award--Sir Alexander Cockburn’s Judgment--Passing of the Ballot - Act--The Scottish Education Act--The Licensing Bill--Public Health - Bill--Coal Mines Regulation Bill--The Army Bill--Admiralty - Reforms--Ministerial Defeat on Local Taxation--Starting of the - Home Government Association in Dublin--Assassination of Lord - Mayo--Stanley’s Discovery of Livingstone--Dr. Livingstone’s - Interview with the Queen--Her Majesty’s Gift to Mr. Stanley--Death - of Dr. Norman Macleod--The Japanese Embassy--The Burmese - Mission--Her Majesty at Holyrood Palace--Death of Her Half-Sister. - - -During the first weeks of 1872 the convalescence of the Heir Apparent -seemed to obscure all other topics of political interest. The -anti-monarchical agitation, which Sir Charles Dilke had fomented, not -only by his votes in Parliament, but by his speeches in the country, -suddenly subsided, showing that the sentiment of affectionate regard -which had linked the Crown and the nation together in the past, was not -to be destroyed by political factions who were trading on the temporary -and local estrangement of the Queen from her subjects in the capital. -Faction, indeed, was for the time silenced throughout the land, and the -Queen soon saw that it was the universal desire of the nation that the -recovery of the Prince, which had saved the country from much anxiety -as to its future under a Regency, should be celebrated by a solemn -public function. It was therefore announced in the middle of January -that the Queen would proceed in State to St. Paul’s Cathedral on as -early a day as could be fixed after the 20th of February, to return -thanks for the recovery of her son. Ultimately Tuesday, the 27th of -February, was fixed for the ceremony. - -The day was clear and bright, though cold, and a wintry sun shone on -the splendid pageant, for which elaborate preparations had been made -many days before. The demand for tickets to view the spectacle was -unprecedented. Carriages were hired at fabulous prices, and writing on -the morning of the ceremony to his daughter-in-law, Lord Shaftesbury -tells her that when he had ordered a brougham on the previous day at -his job-master’s he was told “that every vehicle had been pre-engaged -for weeks. Thoroughfares like St. James’s Street were impassable, -because for two days before the event they were blocked by crowds who -had come to see the preparations.”[34] In fact, as Bishop Wilberforce -says in a passage in his Diary, London was “quite wild on Thanksgiving -Day.”[35] By general desire the day was celebrated as a national -holiday. As for the crowds in the streets along the line of _route_, -they were said to number from a million to a million and a quarter of -spectators, and the decorations far surpassed any similar display ever -seen in London. The procession started from Buckingham Palace at five -minutes past twelve o’clock, led by the carriages of the Speaker, the -Lord Chancellor, and the Duke of Cambridge, and was composed of nine -royal carriages, in the last of which the Queen was seen accompanied -by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Her Majesty seemed to be in good -health, and she looked supremely happy. The Prince was pale and rather -haggard, but his bright and happy nature shone through a countenance -radiant with gratitude, and he kept bowing all along the way to the -multitudes who cheered him. The hearty reciprocal feeling between the -Queen, the Prince, and the populace, which the shouts of such a vast -crowd expressed, rendered the scene a magnificent demonstration of -national loyalty to a popular Sovereign. At Temple Bar the Queen was -met by the Lord Mayor and municipal dignitaries of the City of London, -arrayed in their robes, and mounted on white horses. Having alighted, -the Lord Mayor delivered to and received back from the Queen the City -sword, according to the usual custom. But, contrary to precedent and to -general expectation, the gates of Temple Bar were not closed against -the Queen, so that it was unnecessary to present her with the - -[Illustration: THANKSGIVING DAY: ST. PAUL’S ILLUMINATED.] - -keys. The Lord Mayor and his colleagues having re-mounted their -steeds, preceded the Royal procession to St. Paul’s. Precisely at one -o’clock the Queen entered the Cathedral through the pavilion erected -upon the steps. Its approach was covered with crimson cloth, and it was -ornamented with the royal arms and with the escutcheon of the Prince of -Wales. On it there was the inscription “I was glad when they said unto -me, We will go into the house of the Lord.” Within the Cathedral the -scene was imposing and impressive, for all that was exalted in station, -high in official position, or eminent by reason of genius, talent, and -public services was represented in the congregation of 13,000 persons. -Representatives of the Court, the Princes of India, the Colonies, the -Houses of Parliament, the Episcopate, the Judges, the Lords-Lieutenant, -and the municipal authorities of the provincial towns, were especially -prominent. The Queen was received at the Cathedral by the Bishop of - -[Illustration: THE THANKSGIVING SERVICE IN ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL.] - -London and the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s, and by the officers of -her household, who were already waiting for her. With the Prince of -Wales on her right hand and the Princess of Wales on her left, the -Queen, leaning on the Prince’s arm, walked up the nave in a procession -which was marshalled by the Lancaster and Somerset Heralds. The special -service began at one o’clock with the _Te Deum_, which was arranged by -Mr. Goss for the occasion, and sung by a choir of two hundred and fifty -voices. The voice of the Archbishop of Canterbury was inaudible, but -the choral part of the ritual was listened to reverently. The words -of special thanksgiving were:--“O Father of Mercies and God of all -Comfort, we thank Thee that Thou hast heard the prayers of this nation -in the day of our trial. We praise and magnify Thy glorious name for -that Thou hast raised Thy servant, Albert Edward Prince of Wales, from -the bed of sickness. Thou castest down and Thou liftest up, and health -and strength are Thy gifts; we pray Thee to perfect the recovery of Thy -servant, and to crown him day by day with more abundant blessings, both -for body and soul, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Here there -was a long pause, during which the dead silence of that vast hushed -congregation was described by those present as being almost painful to -the ear. Archbishop Tait having pronounced the benediction delivered -a sermon which was striking for its brevity and its simple unadorned -eloquence. He took for his text the words “Every one members one of -another,” and illustrated in a few apt sentences the Divine origin of -family life and of the State and of the Church, which, he said, was but -the family and the State in relation to God. The illness of the Prince -had given a fresh meaning to this conception. Hence “such a day,” -observed the Archbishop in his concluding sentence, “makes us feel -truly that we are all members one of another.” The religious ceremony -ended at two o’clock, and the Royal procession returned to Buckingham -Palace amid thunders of artillery from the guns of the Tower and the -Park. - -With one exception the decorations were successful. That -exception--which was noted as curious at the time by the Queen--was -at Ludgate Circus, where the triumphal arch, which ought to have been -one of the grandest in the metropolis was, by reason of backward -preparation, almost a failure. It was not till the procession was -nearly within sight that the scaffoldings were taken down, and the -scene of confusion as the distracted workmen removed the poles, -delighted the mob amazingly.[36] Unfortunately in the hurry, so much -damage was done to the gorgeous gold mouldings of the arch, that it -presented the appearance of an ancient but freshly gilded ruin. As for -the illuminations at night, they were not general--probably because -many people did not regard a religious thanksgiving day as a fit -occasion for illuminating. The centres of attraction were the dome and -west front of St. Paul’s, the dome being picked out by a treble row -of coloured ship’s lanterns. The cathedral itself stood out in lurid -splendour when transient shafts of lime-light, and the fitful glow -of the red light on the gilded ball fell on the building. Two days -after the ceremony the following letter was published in the _London -Gazette_:-- - - -“Buckingham Palace, February 29, 1872. - -“The Queen is anxious, as on a previous occasion, to express publicly -her _own_ personal _very deep_ sense of the reception she and her dear -children met with on Tuesday, February 27th, from millions of her -subjects, on her way to and from St. Paul’s. - -“Words are too weak for the Queen to say how very deeply touched -and gratified she has been by the immense enthusiasm and affection -exhibited towards her dear son and herself, from the highest down to -the lowest, on the long progress through the Capital, and she would -earnestly wish to convey her warmest and most heartfelt thanks to the -whole nation for this great demonstration of loyalty. - -“The Queen, as well as her son and her dear daughter-in-law, felt that -the whole nation joined with them in thanking God for sparing the -beloved Prince of Wales’s life. - -“The remembrance of this day and of the remarkable order maintained -throughout, will for ever be affectionately remembered by the Queen and -her family.” - -On the very day on which this letter was dated a strange attack was -made on the Queen. When she returned from her afternoon drive in the -Park, she passed along by Buckingham Palace wall, and drove to the gate -at which she usually alighted. The carriage had hardly halted when a -lad rushed to its left side, and bending forward presented a pistol -at the Queen, while he flourished a petition in his hand. He then -rushed round the carriage and threw himself into a similar attitude -on the other side. The Queen remained calm and unmoved, and the boy’s -pistol was taken from him, when it was discovered that it was unloaded. -The petition was a poor scrawl, demanding the release of the Fenian -prisoners, and the lad gave the name of Arthur O’Connor, and stated his -age to be seventeen.[37] - -When Parliament assembled in 1872 Mr. Gladstone found himself -confronted by an Opposition which had been rendered almost insolently -aggressive by their triumphs at the bye-elections. He found himself -supported by a majority, each section of which had its special -grievance against him. And if he looked beyond Parliament for support -he might have seen that a subtle popular suspicion was growing up round -his name which was fast neutralising the magic of his personality. -It was said, alike by friends and foes, that an overweening love for -personal power, and a passion for exercising personal authority over -others, had become the guiding motives of his life, and the inspiring -ideas of his policy. Had this been true, it is hardly likely that the -Prime Minister would have identified himself with legislation which -had set the vested interests, and the fanatical sectaries up in arms -against him. But the important point was that, whether true or false, -the calumny was believed, and the Queen, like many other careful -observers, saw the Ministry growing weaker and weaker every day, whilst -Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues were themselves under the delusion -that every day increased their popularity. And yet, as if to justify -the maxim that in politics it is the unexpected that happens, the year -was not fruitful in crises or in sensational scenes. Mr. Disraeli -held his followers in check, and the Session was a business-like one, -which, when it ended, left the Government stronger than could have been -anticipated. - -The Parliamentary year was opened on the 6th of February, the Queen’s -Speech being read by Commission. It promised a Ballot Bill, and Bills -for organising Education in Scotland, for regulating Mines, and for -improving the Licensing System. The passage in the Speech to which, -however, all eyes turned was the one dealing with the _Alabama_ Claims. -On this subject the country had suddenly become profoundly agitated, -and from an observation in Bishop Wilberforce’s Diary we gather that -the Queen, shared the popular feeling of the hour.[38] After the nation -had congratulated itself on discovering a diplomatic solution of its -difficulties with the American Republic, it was amazed to find that the -Americans were endeavouring to seize by chicane what they had failed -to gain by diplomacy. When they forwarded the case which they meant -to submit to Arbitration, it was discovered that they had included in -it not only a claim for the actual damage done to American commerce -by the Confederate cruisers, but also the claims for the indirect or -“consequential damages” which Mr. Sumner had put forward, and which -the British Commissioners understood were abandoned. The sum asked -under this head would have covered half the cost of the whole Civil -War. It was therefore the clear opinion of the Queen that England could -not consent to go into Arbitration till this preposterous demand was -withdrawn. Lord Granville, on the other hand, though he inclined to -this opinion, was slow to reply to a demand which he was in honour -bound to promptly repel. He was chiefly concerned about saving the -Washington Treaty, and he therefore sent to the American Government a -mild letter requesting the withdrawal of the “indirect claims” in terms -so deferentially conciliatory, that had he been dealing with a less -pacific Power his despatch would probably have been answered with the -cynical - -[Illustration: GENEVA.] - -_brusquerie_ that marked Von Bismarck’s dealings with him. But the -country was not as meek as the Minister. There was an outburst of -popular anger against the Americans for the “sharp practice” which -sullied their statement of claim, and Mr. Gladstone soon saw that to -go into Arbitration before the demand for “consequential damages” was -withdrawn would lead to his expulsion from office. His declarations in -Parliament on the subject thenceforth showed that he meant to repudiate -the American interpretation of the Treaty under which the “indirect -claims” had been dragged into the American case, and he spoke with the -high spirit of a statesman rejecting a humiliating demand for tribute -greater than conquest itself could extort. The Opposition in both -Houses, on the whole, gave the Government generous support in this -emergency, though Mr. Disraeli--referring to the torrent of Ministerial -oratory which had deluged the recess--could not refrain in his comment -on the Queen’s Speech from deriding the Cabinet for having lately lived -“in a blaze of apology.” - -The story of the controversy on the “indirect claims” may here be told. -The United States, in extremely conciliatory despatches, insisted on -including these claims in their case. They argued that it was for the -arbitrators at Geneva to say whether they were or were not admissible -under the Treaty. They rested their contention on an ambiguous phrase -which Lord Ripon and Sir Stafford Northcote had unfortunately permitted -to pass unconnected into the Treaty. The first Article of that -instrument described its object to be that of removing and adjusting -“all complaints and claims,” &c., “_growing out_ of acts committed by -the said vessels, and _generically known as the ‘Alabama’ Claims_.” -This certainly gave the Americans a plausible excuse for demanding -“consequential” as well as direct damages. On the other side, the -English Government argued that all the concessions made by the British -Commissioners at Washington were made on the understanding that the -“indirect claims” were not included in the Treaty; that in all their -correspondence with the Washington Department of State no claims save -direct claims were ever “generically” known as the _Alabama Claims_; -and, lastly, that their interpretation was publicly expressed and well -known to the United States Government, people, and Minister at the -Court of St. James’s, and was never objected to by either of them. It -would, however, have been easy to put the point beyond dispute when -the Treaty was drawn up by specifically barring all indirect claims. -When Lord Ripon and Sir Stafford. Northcote failed to do that they were -guilty of negligence which, if brought home to the diplomatists of -either Russia or Germany, would have procured for them, not rewards and -honours, but punishment and degradation. Fortunately the dispute ended -happily. Lord Granville for once acted with the firmness becoming the -representative of a great nation. When the arbitrators met at Geneva, -the representatives of England persistently refused to take part in the -proceedings till the “indirect claims” were withdrawn. The arbitrators -then adroitly extricated the agents of the Washington Government from -a false position. They met and declared that, without reference to -the scope of the Treaty or to the merits of the dispute as to its -interpretation, which England refused to discuss before them, they -were agreed that “indirect claims” could never, on general principles -of international law, be a tenable ground for an award of damages in -international disputes. - -The Americans then withdrew the obnoxious part of their “case,” and -the arbitrators awarded to the United States £3,229,000 damages -against England for the depredations committed by three out of the ten -Confederate cruisers which, it was alleged, the British Government had -negligently permitted to escape from British ports. The American claim -for naval expenses incurred in chasing these cruisers was, however, -rejected, because the arbitrators held that it could not be practically -distinguished from the general cost of the war. The Lord Chief Justice -of England--one of the members of the Tribunal--concurred in the -judgment as regards the _Alabama_. He differed from all his colleagues -in regard to the _Florida_, and he and the Brazilian arbitrator -differed from the majority as to the case of the _Shenandoah_.[39] The -failure of the English Government to seize the _Florida_ and _Alabama_, -when they put into British ports after they had made their escape, was -evidently the fact which bore most strongly against England in the -opinion of the Geneva Tribunal. The American claims for damages in -respect of the _Georgia_, _Chickamauga_, _Nashville_, _Retribution_, -_Sumter_, and _Tallahassee_, were rejected. On the whole, public -opinion on both sides of the Atlantic, though not quite satisfied with -the verdict, allowed that there had been a fair fight and a fair trial. -Lord Chief Justice Cockburn’s dissenting judgment, however, expressed -the feeling of the English people, which was this. “Let us admit,” they -said, “the _ex post facto_ rule making neutrals liable for damages -if they do not exercise ‘due diligence’--the ‘dueness of diligence’ -to be always proportionate to the mischief the vessels might do--in -preventing the escape of cruisers, and in re-capturing them when they -get the chance. English officials were, however, not aware that, when -these cruisers escaped and when on re-entering British ports they were -not detained, international law demanded from them more ‘dueness’ of -diligence than they had exercised or been taught to exercise. Hence it -surely was wrong to give damages for their unconscious negligence, just -as if their negligence had been conscious.” This argument, indeed, Sir -Alexander Cockburn pressed to the point of cutting down to zero the -claim for damages in respect of the _Shenandoah_ and _Florida_. - -One of the most important Government measures of the year was the -Ballot Act. But the opposition to it was marked by no novelty of -argument, and it need only be said about it here that it was passed, -the Lords not venturing to reject it a second time.[40] The Scottish -Education Bill, which also passed, established a School Board system -of public instruction all over Scotland far in advance of that -which England had been able to obtain. A Licensing Bill of a mildly -regulative character was carried, the publicans grudgingly accepting it -as a compromise, while the Temperance Party attacked it as miserably -ineffective.[41] Mr. Stansfeld’s Public Health Bill, defining the -authority which must in future be responsible for local sanitation, and -embodying the principle that rates should be divided between the State -and the locality was so adroitly managed by Mr. Stansfeld, that at last -Mr. Disraeli supported the Government in carrying it. Another useful -measure regulating the working of Coal Mines was carried in spite -of many protests against interfering with private contracts between -masters and servants, and many attempts on the part of the vested -interests who were supported by the bulk of the Tory Party, to render -the Bill inoperative. Among other things it prohibited the employment -of women underground, and it made mine-owners responsible for the -results of preventible mining accidents. - -Mr. Cardwell’s Army Bill was received with unlocked for favour. It -attempted to adapt the territorial system of Prussia to the exigencies -of military service in England. The nine existing military divisions -were subdivided into sixty-six military districts. In each of these -a small army or brigade was formed, consisting of two battalions of -Regulars, to which were linked the local Militia and Volunteers. One -of the regular battalions was to be told off for foreign service, and -its “waste” supplied by drafts from the territorial _depôt_. The main -objection to the scheme urged by Conservative officers was that it -destroyed the family life of the old regiments--that it even destroyed -their identity by substituting local titles for the numbers which their -prowess in war had in many cases made historic. According to this -scheme the country would have an Army of 446,000 men, of whom 146,000 -were available for service abroad. The evidence given before the -Commission which reported on the wreck of the _Megæra_, concentrated -attention on Admiralty Reform. On the whole, the country gave Mr. -Childers credit for having brought order into that chaotic department. -Before he came to power the various branches of the Admiralty had -little or no connection with each other, and when a blunder was made -by conflicting authority or contradictory orders, nobody could be -made responsible. Mr. Childers set responsible officers at the head -of each department, and made excellent arrangements for their mutual -co-operation. But the weak point of his scheme was that he as First -Lord was the real _nexus_ which bound the whole organisation together. -The system accordingly broke down when his health gave way, for Mr. -Lushington, who was in a sense the Grand Vizier of the First Lord, -was a civilian comparatively new to the department, and unable to act -as an efficient substitute for Mr. Childers.[42] Mr. Goschen met the -difficulty, not by appointing a naval expert as his second in command, -but by casting responsibility for all orders on three officials--a -Naval Secretary who was to be responsible for orders concerning the -_personnel_, a Controller who was to be responsible for those relating -to the _matériel_, and a Permanent Secretary who was to be responsible -for those affecting finance and civil business. To secure unity of work -the Board of Admiralty was to meet daily for consultation, and in the -First Lord’s absence the supreme authority was to pass to the First -Naval Lord of the Admiralty. - -[Illustration: DR. NORMAN MACLEOD. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -In spite of a serious defeat on Sir Massey Lopes’ motion on the -question of Local Taxation,[43] a narrow escape from defeat on -the Collier scandal, and a clever mocking attack by Mr. Disraeli -at Manchester in the spring on their sensational policy and their -ambiguous utterances on the proposals of their extreme supporters, -the Ministers were stronger in Parliament when the Session ended -than when it began. Mr. Lowe’s Budget further helped the credit of -the Government, for such was the elasticity of the revenue that -it foreshadowed a surplus of £3,000,000, and enabled him to remit -the twopenny Income Tax which he had imposed in 1871.[44] Ireland, -however, was as usual a source of anxiety to the Cabinet. The Tories -and Orangemen, indignant at the Disestablishment of the Church, had -coalesced with the more moderate Repealers, and set on foot the Home -Government Association,[45] from which the Home Rule Party under the -leadership of Mr. Isaac Butt sprang. Whenever the Ballot Act was -passed, Home Rule candidates began to carry the Irish bye-elections -against the Ministerialists--in fact, it was apparent to shrewd -observers that the destruction of the Liberal Party in Ireland was -now only a matter of time. Earl Russell was probably of this opinion -when, in August, he startled the town by publishing a letter in the -_Times_ virtually conceding the principle of Home Rule in order to -lighten the burden of Imperial legislation with which Parliament was -overweighted.[46] - -As for the Opposition, their councils were divided. Lord Salisbury -was averse from promising any programme. Mr. Disraeli seemed afraid -to suggest one that went beyond sanitary reform. Yet the Tories had -completely broken the absolute power of Mr. Gladstone in the country, -and were still, as the Municipal Elections in November showed, a -growing party. The causes which contributed to a reaction in their -favour in 1871 were still at work. Mr. Gladstone’s opposition to Sir -Massey Lopes’ motion on rating, and the sudden appearance of Trades -Unionism among the agricultural labourers gave Conservatism hosts of -fresh recruits, for the squires and the farmers naturally rallied to -the Party whose leaders stood forth as champions of the threatened -interests. - -The attempt of O’Connor on the Queen’s life was not the only crime of -the kind that darkened the year. On the 8th of February Lord Mayo, -the Viceroy of India, was stabbed to death by a Mahommedan convict at -Port Blair, the port of the penal settlement on the Andaman Islands, -to which Lord Mayo was paying a visit of inspection. The assassin was -a sullen, brooding fanatic who had been transported for killing a -relative with whom he had a “blood feud.” The Queen was as much shocked -as the country by the event, for by this time it was universally -recognised that Lord Mayo was one of the most competent Viceroys who -had ever ruled India. His intuitive insight into difficulties, his -shrewd perception of character, his frank resoluteness of action, -his clearness and decision of purpose, and his dignified and stately -bearing rendered Lord Mayo an ideal viceroy. His great work consisted -in cementing an alliance with the Afghan Ameer, in imposing an -income-tax to rehabilitate the finances of India, and suppressing a -rebellious movement among the Wahabee fanatics. - -Early in May telegrams were received in London announcing that Dr. -Livingstone, the African explorer, as to whose safety much anxiety had -been felt, had been discovered by Mr. Stanley, a special correspondent -on the staff of the _New York Herald_, who had been despatched by -Mr. J. Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of that journal, to look for -the missing traveller. The Queen received these tidings with the -deepest gratification, not unmingled with regret that the honour of -the discovery should pass to an American expedition. Her interest -in Livingstone, and in his last efforts to discover the sources of -the Nile, was well known--indeed, when in England the explorer had a -private interview with her Majesty, of which an account is given in Mr. -Blaikie’s “Personal Life of Dr. Livingstone.” “She [the Queen] sent -for Livingstone,” writes Mr. Blaikie, “who attended her Majesty at the -Palace without ceremony, in his black coat and blue trousers and his -cap surrounded with a stripe of gold lace. This was his usual attire, -and the cap had now become the appropriate distinction of one of her -Majesty’s Consuls--an official position to which the traveller attaches -great importance as giving him consequence in the eyes of natives and -authority over the members of the expedition. The Queen conversed -with him affably for half-an-hour on the subject of his travels. Dr. -Livingstone told her Majesty that he would now be able to say to the -natives that he had seen his chief, his not having done so before -having been a constant subject of surprise to the children of the -African wilderness. He mentioned to her Majesty also that the people -were in the habit of inquiring whether his chief were wealthy, and when -he answered them that she was very wealthy they would ask how many cows -she had got, a question at which the Queen laughed very heartily.” Mr. -Stanley had found Livingstone at Ujiji near Lake Tanganyika, and on -his way back to Zanzibar he met the English Expedition, which had been -despatched by the Royal Geographical Society, carrying succour to the -explorer. As Livingstone’s orders were to refuse this tardy aid, the -chiefs of the British Expedition had to return. Some people were at -first sceptical as to the story told by Mr. Stanley, but doubts were -set at rest on the 27th of August, when Lord Granville sent to Mr. -Stanley a gold snuff-box set with diamonds as a gift from the Queen. -Accompanying the present was the following letter:-- - - “I have great satisfaction in conveying to you, by command of - the Queen, her Majesty’s high appreciation of the prudence and - zeal which you have displayed in opening a communication with Dr. - Livingstone, and relieving her Majesty from the anxiety which, in - common with her subjects, she had felt in regard to the fate of - that distinguished traveller. The Queen desires me to express her - thanks for the service you have thus rendered, together with her - Majesty’s congratulations on your having so successfully carried - out the mission which you so fearlessly undertook. Her Majesty - also desires me to request your acceptance of the memorial which - accompanies this letter.” - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN RECEIVING THE BURMESE EMBASSY.] - -In June the Queen had to mourn the loss of a highly trusted old family -friend, Dr. Norman Macleod of Glasgow. He had been long ailing, and -when at Balmoral, in May, the Queen at her last interview with him was -so struck with his physical weakness that she insisted on his being -seated whilst he was in her presence. Macleod’s influence as a courtier -was built up partly on his ability as an eloquent pulpit orator, and -his tact as a kindly, genial, shrewd, tolerant man of the world. He had -genuine goodness of heart, and he had not only the supple diplomatic -skill of the Celt, but the Celt’s inborn and honest love and reverence -for rank and dignities. It was quite a mistake to suppose that his -“flunkeyism” made him a _persona grata_ at Court. On the contrary, -he was in the unique position of being a Royal Chaplain on whom the -Queen could not confer any favour or dignity. She could not give him a -richer living in the Church than the one he had obtained without her -patronage, and as a Presbyterian clergyman he could never be suspected -of intriguing for hierarchical rank when he approached the Sovereign. -His disinterestedness, too, was well known, for it was to Macleod’s -credit that during his long connection with the Court, though he was -frequently entrusted with missions concerning matters of delicate -family business, he never even asked for a favour either for himself or -any of his relatives. When the vague rumour of his death reached the -Queen she addressed the following letter to Dr. Macleod’s brother:-- - -“BALMORAL, _June 17, 1872_. - -“The Queen hardly knows how to begin a letter to Mr. Donald Macleod, -so deep and strong are her feelings on this most sad and most painful -occasion, for words are all too weak to say what she feels, and what -all must feel who ever knew his beloved, excellent, and highly-gifted -brother, Dr. Norman Macleod. - -“First of all to his family--his venerable, loved, and honoured mother, -his wife and large family of children--the loss of the good man is -irreparable and overwhelming! But it is an irreparable public loss, and -the Queen feels this deeply. To herself, personally, the loss of dear -Dr. Macleod is a very great one; he was so kind, and on all occasions -showed her such warm sympathy, and in the early days of her great -sorrow gave the Queen so much comfort whenever she saw him, that she -always looked forward eagerly to those occasions when she saw him here; -and she cannot realise the idea that in this world she is never to see -his kind face and listen to those admirable discourses which did every -one good, and to his charming conversation again. - -“The Queen is gratified that she was able to see him this last time, -and to have had some lengthened conversation with him, when he dwelt -much on that future world to which he now belongs. He was sadly -depressed and suffering, but still so near a termination of his career -of intense usefulness and loving-kindness never struck her or any of us -as likely, and the Queen was terribly shocked on learning the sad news. -All her children, present and absent, deeply mourn his loss. The Queen -would be very grateful for all the details which Mr. D. Macleod can -give her of the last moments and illness of her dear friend. - -“Pray say everything kind and sympathising to their venerable mother, -to Mrs. N. Macleod and all the family, and she asks him to accept -himself of her true heartfelt sympathy.” - -The letter--one of the most remarkable ever written by a sovereign -to and of a subject--is worth quoting, not only on account of its -biographical interest, but as a model of sincerity, tenderness, and -good taste exhibited in an order of composition usually disfigured by -artificiality both of sentiment and style. - -The lions of the London season of 1872 were two foreign embassies--one -from Japan and one from Burma. The Japanese were Envoys from a great -Asiatic monarch, and were nobles of the first rank specially chosen to -represent their Sovereign. Their refined manner, shrewd observations, -quick intelligence, and mastery over the English tongue, rendered them -general favourites. The so-called “Ambassadors” from Burma came to -England on a different footing, and some authorities on Eastern affairs -complained that they received an amount of attention and hospitality -far beyond their deserts or their importance. It was said that they -were officials chosen because of their low rank for the purpose of -publicly slighting England; that they were sent to this country in -order to establish a precedent for ignoring the Indian Viceroy, and -enabling the King of Burma to treat with the Queen of England as a -Peer. The Indian Viceroys had certainly been averse from permitting -the Burmese Court to form direct diplomatic relations with European -Courts; but in the East, Missions of Compliment are sometimes sent from -Sovereigns to each other, and such Missions do not necessarily engage -in diplomatic business. In this case the Burmese King Mindohn, by far -the ablest ruler of the Alompra dynasty, had accepted the arrangement -by which the diplomatic relations of Burma and the British Empire were -carried on through an agent of the Indian Viceroy at Mandalay.[47] -Indeed, one of the chief diplomatic difficulties between the two -Governments--the great “Shoe Question,” as it was called--was not one -capable of direct discussion between the Courts of St. James’s and -Mandalay.[48] As to the rank of the Burmese Envoy, misconceptions on -that point arose because Englishmen failed to understand that in Burma -there was no such thing as hereditary rank outside the royal family -of Alompra, the hunter king. Rank was conferred solely by official -position, and the head of the Burmese Mission was a high official of -the first grade, who was really President of the _Hloht_ or Council -of State. Under King Theebaw, who succeeded Mindohn, he became better -known as the Kin-Woon Mingyee, and represented the party of peace and -order at Mandalay with great ability and honesty of purpose. The Queen -was rather better informed as to the antecedents of these distinguished -visitors, and accordingly on Friday, the 21st of June, she received -them at Windsor Castle. They brought with them many costly presents to -her Majesty, of which an exceptionally magnificent bracelet, made of -seven pounds of solid gold, was much talked about at the time. They -also delivered a letter from the King, which began, “From His Great, -Glorious, and Most Excellent Majesty, King of the Rising Sun, who -reigns over Burma, to Her Most Glorious and Excellent Majesty Victoria, -Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.” After her Majesty had received the -presents, and made her acknowledgments through Major MacMahon, late -Political Agent at Mandalay, the Embassy withdrew, and returned to -London. - -On the 1st of July the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, -Princess Louise, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Leopold visited the -National Memorial erected in Hyde Park to the memory of the late Prince -Consort. This was a strictly private visit, the monument being at the -time incomplete. - -Between the 15th and 20th of August the Queen broke her journey to -Balmoral, and resided at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, for a few days. -Though her visit was private, she was so gratified with the reception -she everywhere received that she caused Viscount Halifax to address the -following letter to the Lord Provost of Edinburgh:-- - - “DEAR LORD PROVOST,--It is not the practice unless the Queen - has visited any city or town in a public manner, to address any - official communication to the chief magistrate or authority of - the place. I am commanded, however, by her Majesty to convey - to you in a less formal manner the expression of her Majesty’s - gratification at the manner in which she was received by the people - of Edinburgh in whatever part of this city and neighbourhood her - Majesty appeared. Her Majesty has felt this the more because, as - her Majesty’s visit was so strictly private, it was so evidently - the expression of their national feeling of loyalty. Her Majesty - was also very much pleased with the striking effect produced by - lighting up the park and the old chapel.” - -The death of the amiable and accomplished Princess Feodore of -Hohenlohe-Langenburg on the 23rd of September plunged the Queen into -deep despondency. The Princess was half-sister to her Majesty, and -the tie that bound them together through life had been close and -affectionate. “All sympathise with you,” wrote the Princess Louis to -the Queen when she heard of her mother’s bereavement, “and feel what a -loss to you darling aunt must be, how great the gap in your life, how -painful the absence of that sympathy and love which united her life and -yours so closely.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -GOVERNMENT UNDER DIFFICULTIES. - - A Lull Before the Storm--Dissent in the Dumps--Disastrous - Bye-Elections--The Queen’s Speech--The Irish University - Bill--Defeat of the Government--Resignation of the Ministry--Mr. - Disraeli’s Failure to Form a Cabinet--The Queen and the - Crisis--Lord Derby as a Possible Premier--Mr. Gladstone Returns to - Office--Power Passes to the House of Lords--Grave Administration - Scandals--The Zanzibar Mail Contract--Misappropriation of the Post - Office Savings Banks’ Balances--Mr. Gladstone Reconstructs his - Ministry--The Financial Achievements of his Administration--The - Queen and the Prince of Wales--Debts of the Heir Apparent--The - Queen’s Scheme for Meeting the Prince’s Expenditure on her - Behalf--The Queen and Foreign Decorations--Death of Napoleon - III.--The Queen at the East End--The Blue-Coat Boys at Buckingham - Palace--The Coming of the Shah--Astounding Rumours of his Progress - through Europe--The Queen’s Reception of the Persian Monarch--How - the Shah was Entertained--His Departure from England--Marriage of - the Duke of Edinburgh--Public Entry of the Duchess into London. - - -When the Session of 1873 opened, it is a curious fact that in London -the universal complaint was that politics had become depressingly dull. -But the lull really presaged a storm, in which the Government was -wrecked. It was known that Mr. Gladstone intended to make the question -of Irish University education the chief business of the Session, and -it was admitted that next to this question the one of most consequence -to the Government was that which was raised by the Dissenters, who -demanded the extension of School Boards, and the establishment of -compulsory education all over England, together with the repeal of the -25th clause of Mr. Forster’s Education Act. The bye-elections, which -had been disastrous to the Ministry, showed that the Dissenters were in -revolt, and that they “sulked in their tents,” instead of supporting -Ministerial candidates. The Irish University Bill could not possibly -be carried without Nonconformist support, and that could obviously not -be hoped for if anything like “concurrent endowment” for the Roman -Catholics defaced it. On the other hand, if the revenues of Trinity -College were shared with Catholic scholars, Liberals like Mr. Fawcett -and Mr. Vernon Harcourt would support Mr. Disraeli in opposing the -measure. The Cabinet resolved to neutralise the expected secession of -the small Fawcett-Harcourt group, by rendering their Bill acceptable -to their powerful Nonconformist contingent, and Liberal tacticians -were full of joyful anticipations when it leaked out that this plan -was contemplated. As will be seen, one important contingency was never -taken into consideration--the possible desertion of Mr. Gladstone’s -Roman Catholic followers; and yet it was their desertion which wrecked -the Bill and destroyed the Government. - -[Illustration: QUEEN’S COLLEGE, CORK. - -(_From a Photograph by W. Lawrence, Dublin._)] - -The Queen’s speech was read to Parliament by Commission on the 6th of -February, and it promised an Irish Education Bill, a Judicature Bill, -a Land Transfer Bill, an Education Amendment Act, a Local Taxation -Bill, and a Railway Regulation Bill. In the debate on the Address the -Opposition leaders dwelt mainly on foreign questions, pressing the -Government to say whether they were prepared to recommend the rules -under which the _Alabama_ case had been decided to the European -Powers; and if so, whether they would recommend them as interpreted -by the legal advisers of the Crown, or as interpreted by the majority -of the arbitrators. Mr. Gladstone first said that the rules had been -recommended for adoption by the Powers, but without any special -construction being put on them. Then he had to correct himself before -the debate closed, by explaining that he had made a mistake, for the -rules had not yet been brought under the notice of Foreign Governments. -This confession naturally forced the public to conclude that the Tories -could not be far wrong when they declared that foreign affairs were -neglected because Lord Granville was indolent and Mr. Gladstone neither -knew nor cared anything about them. - -[Illustration: PROFESSOR FAWCETT. - -(_From a Photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company._)] - -On the 13th of February Mr. Gladstone introduced the Irish University -Education Bill. It affiliated several other educational institutions -besides Trinity College to the University of Dublin. Two of the Queen’s -Colleges, established by Sir Robert Peel, were to be associated -with the University, and the Queen’s University itself was to be -abolished. Queen’s College at Galway was to be suppressed, because -it had failed to attract students to its classrooms. The so-called -Catholic University and several other Roman Catholic seminaries were -also, in the same manner, to be attached to the Dublin University. -The new University was to have an income of £50,000 a year, a fourth -of which was taken from Trinity College, a fourth from the endowment -for Queen’s University, three-eighths from the Irish Church surplus, -whilst fees, it was expected, would make up the balance. It was -to have professors for teaching in Dublin all academical subjects -excepting history and mental philosophy, which were tabooed as too -controversial for Ireland. Bursaries, Scholarships, and Fellowships -were liberally endowed. Tests were to be abolished, the Theological -Faculty of Trinity College was to be transferred--with an endowment--to -the Disestablished Church, and the prohibited subjects, History and -Philosophy, were not to be compulsory in examinations for degrees. -The constituency of the University was to consist of all graduates of -the affiliated colleges. The governing council of twenty-five was to -be nominated in the Bill, after which, vacancies were to be filled -up alternately by co-optation and Crown nomination. After ten years, -however, equal numbers of the council were to be chosen, by the Crown, -by co-optation, by the professors, and by the graduates. The Bill, -according to the Bishop of Peterborough--by far the ablest Protestant -ecclesiastic Ireland has produced in the Victorian period--“was as -good as could be under the circumstances,” and “ought to have pleased -all parties.”[49] Unfortunately it pleased nobody, and its weak point -was obvious. It attempted to provide for separate denominational -education in the affiliated colleges, and for mixed secular education -in Trinity College and the University of Dublin, to which they were -affiliated--the one system being as incompatible with the other as -an acid with an alkali. As Mr. Gathorne-Hardy said, the exclusion of -History and Philosophy rendered the new University a monster _cui -lumen ademptum_. The proposal to make the Irish Viceroy its Chancellor -recalled, he declared, the lines of Milton, - - “Its shape, - If shape it can be called, which shape had none - Distinguishable in feature, joint, or limb--” - -all the more that - - “What seemed its head, - The likeness of a kingly crown had on.” - -At first the Bill was very well received, and there was a general -disposition to admit that, in view of the limiting conditions of the -problem, it was impossible to find a solution less offensive to the -Protestants, and more generous to the Catholics of Ireland. But in a -few days it became apparent that the measure was doomed. Ministers -had been led to believe by their colleague, Mr. Monsell, who was -the spokesman of the Catholic clergy, that the compromise would be -accepted by them. But the Catholic Bishops met in secret, and decided -to oppose the Bill.[50] As the Catholics opposed it for giving them -too little, the Protestants opposed it because it gave the Catholics -too much. The apostles of culture opposed it because it cut History -and Philosophy out of the University curriculum, and in doing so they -furnished all discontented Liberals with a good non-political excuse -for voting against the Government. The Bill was defeated on the 12th of -March by a vote of 287 to 284, the votes of 36 Catholic Members and 9 -Liberals[51] having turned the scale. To the very last moment the issue -was uncertain, because it was known that if Mr. Gladstone had offered -to abandon the teaching clauses of the Bill, he would have won over a -sufficient number of Catholic votes to carry it.[52] - -Mr. Gladstone’s defeat was followed by the resignation of his Ministry, -and the crisis was a most embarrassing one for the Queen. Mr. Disraeli, -when sent for by the Sovereign, attempted to form a Cabinet, but -did not succeed, mainly because Mr. Gathorne-Hardy objected to the -party holding office on sufferance. When Mr. Disraeli reported his -failure to the Queen, she again consulted Mr. Gladstone, who, however, -suggested that some other Conservative leader--obviously hinting at -Lord Derby--might succeed where Mr. Disraeli had failed. But Lord Derby -was at Nice when the crisis became acute; and though the Tory Party -felt that he was in a special sense their natural leader at such a -juncture,[53] they knew that it was decidedly inconvenient for the -Prime Minister to be a member of the Upper House, and that he would -refuse to enter into anything like rivalry with Mr. Disraeli. Yet a -restful Ministry, competent in administration, under a cool-headed, -sensible Conservative aristocrat, was what the majority of the people, -alarmed by harassed “vested interests,” desired at the time. Be that -as it may, Mr. Disraeli, when appealed to a second time by the Queen, -refused to assist her out of the difficulty, and Mr. Gladstone was -again summoned to the rescue. He returned to power with his Cabinet -unchanged and disavowed any intention to dissolve Parliament. Mr. -Disraeli’s refusal to take office had given the Queen infinite anxiety, -and his defence of his conduct was lame and halting. He was, he said, -in a minority; he had not a policy, and could not get one ready till -he had been for some time in office, so that he might see what was to -be done. He did not desire to experience the humiliation of governing -the country under a _régime_ of hostile resolutions. The Queen and -the country were alike conscious of the flimsiness of these excuses. -Mr. Disraeli never met the question--which, to the Queen, seemed -unanswerable--Why did he paralyse the existing Administration, if he -was not prepared to put another in its place? - -[Illustration: QUEEN’S COLLEGE, GALWAY.] - -Mr. Disraeli in refusing to govern England himself whilst he prevented -Mr. Gladstone from governing it, was pursuing a policy which was as -unconstitutional as it was unpatriotic. When he said he could not take -office because he must dissolve in May in any case, and that he could -not dissolve because he had not a policy to go to the country with, and -when he explained that till he had time to study the archives of the -Foreign Office he could not tell what ought to be done with questions -such as the Russian advance on Khiva, and the Three Rules of the -Washington Treaty, men smiled cynically. They asked each other if Lord -Palmerston in 1869 was afraid to take the place of the Tory Government -because he wanted time to form an opinion on Lord Malmesbury’s policy -towards the Italian war of Liberation. Yet Mr. Disraeli gave a truthful -account of his motives. He had no policy. Hence when he dissolved -Parliament, as he was bound to do after winding up the business of -the Session, he must have gone to the country on a purely personal -issue between himself and Mr. Gladstone. Doubtless at a time when the -nation was getting wearied of restless statesmen, a contest of the sort -would have been disastrous to Mr. Gladstone, but not when raised by -Mr. Disraeli, who was notoriously even flightier than his antagonist. -To have won a General Election on such an issue the Tories must have -fought under Lord Derby’s banner. Mr. Disraeli, however, had no -intention of giving way to Lord Derby, and his followers did not dare -to put him aside, more especially as he had in view a clever scheme of -strategy. His idea was to force Mr. Gladstone to dissolve on a positive -programme, and then to defeat him by a running fire of destructive -criticism. These tactics might bring the Tories back to office under -his own leadership, absolutely uncommitted to any definite policy -whatever. - -When Mr. Gladstone resumed office it was soon seen that he had not -only wrecked his party, but compromised the _prestige_ of the House of -Commons. His was admittedly a weakened and discredited Ministry. It had -been one of Mr. Disraeli’s favourite theories that whenever a feeble -Ministry attempted to govern England, power passed from Parliament -to the Crown. At one time, no doubt, the theory seemed plausible -enough, but the Session of 1873 completely upset it. No sooner had -Mr. Gladstone returned to office than power passed from the Crown and -the House of Commons to the House of Lords. The will of the Peers was -supreme over all. They said or did what they pleased, and quashed Bill -after Bill without the least regard to the sentiments of the Queen, -the desire of the Commons, or the interests of the country. The Peers -rejected the Bill improving Church organisation contemptuously, though -it had passed the Commons without a division. By asserting obsolete -privileges of appellate jurisdiction over Scotland and Ireland, they -disfigured the Judicature Bill, which consolidated the law courts and -constituted a high court of appeal. They destroyed Mr. Stansfeld’s -useful Rating Bill almost without debate. They opened a way for the -reintroduction of purchase in the army, rejected the Landlord and -Tenant Bill without even seeing it, and quashed a Bill, promoted by Mr. -Vernon Harcourt and supported by the Government, to protect working men -against being imprisoned under the law of conspiracy for non-statutable -offences committed in the course of a strike. And the curious thing was -that from the day Mr. Gladstone returned to office to lead a moribund -Ministry and a disorganised House of Commons, the people submitted -without a murmur to the resolute and decisive despotism of the Peers. -Thus it came to pass that when the Session ended the Ministry seemed -to have sunk into a dismal swamp of humiliation--a humiliation which -was intensified by administrative scandals and internal feuds. It was -shown that Mr. Lowe, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, prepared plans of -his own for public works, without consulting the Public Works Office. -Mr. Ayrton, as head of that Department, in his place in the House of -Commons, repudiated all responsibility for the votes of money for his -department which were altered without his knowledge and consent by -Mr. Lowe. There was a painful “scene” in the House of Commons at the -end of July when these disclosures were made, and when Mr. Ward Hunt -formally asked the Government if its Chancellor of the Exchequer and -Chief Commissioner of Works were on speaking terms. Mr. Baxter created -another scandal by suddenly resigning office as Financial Secretary -to the Treasury, because Mr. Lowe had ignored him in the matter of -the Zanzibar mail contract. Mr. Lowe was proved to have given the -contract for carrying letters from the Cape to Zanzibar to the Union -Steam Company for £26,000, whereas the British India Steam Company -had offered to do the work for £16,000. Mr. Lowe declared he had -never heard of the offer; yet Lord Kimberley, the Secretary for the -Colonies, knew of it, and the tender was transmitted by the Indian -Postmaster-General to Mr. Monsell, the British Postmaster-General, who -passed it on to the Treasury. At the Treasury Mr. Lowe concealed the -papers relating to the contract from Mr. Baxter, avowedly because he -was known to be hostile to it. A Committee of the House investigated -the scandal, and disallowed the contract. This affair was also -accompanied by the final revelation of the truth as to what was known -as the telegraph scandal. - -In spring the working classes were profoundly disturbed by a rumour -that the Government had seized the Savings Banks balances, and were -building great extensions of telegraph lines with the money without -consulting Parliament on the subject. The foundation for the story -was a discovery made by the Auditor-General of Public Accounts. He -reported that the Telegraph Department of the Post Office had for some -time evaded the control of the House of Commons over its expenditure. -Instead of submitting to the House estimates for proposed works, -and asking for a vote on account, Mr. Scudamore, the Chief of the -Department, a brilliant but too zealous official, took whatever money -he wanted from the Post Office receipts, and spent it as he pleased -on works of extension and improvement. He submitted no estimates -in detail, but always asked the House of Commons for a sum for new -works, which enabled him to replace the Post Office receipts which he -had used. A large portion of the money thus spent was taken from the -Savings Banks balances which everybody understood were always paid in -for safety to the Commissioners of National Debt, who invested them -in Consols. Though no money was missing, it shook public confidence -in the Government to find its administrative power so feeble that it -could not prevent its own servants from tampering with the Savings -Banks Deposits, and further investigation aggravated the scandal. It -was shown that Lord Hartington when Postmaster-General had, like Mr. -Monsell, allowed Mr. Scudamore to manage the Telegraph Department -without any supervision, and that the Treasury had so far condoned -this gross and culpable negligence that when it did business with -Mr. Scudamore it communicated with him directly, and not through -either Lord Hartington or Mr. Monsell, who had meekly submitted to be -treated as official “dummies.” It was shown that the Treasury knew of -Mr. Scudamore’s irregularities in 1871, and condoned them; that in -1872 it knew of them again, and acted so feebly that even Mr. Lowe -admitted he regretted his lack of firmness. It was utterly impossible -to defend the conduct of Mr. Lowe, Lord Hartington, Mr. Monsell, and -the Chief Commissioner of National Debt, for countenancing these -grave irregularities, and the scandal was simply disastrous to the -administrative _prestige_ of the Ministry. - -The Queen was alarmed at the dismal prospect of ruling England by means -of a Cabinet so hopelessly discredited, and Mr. Gladstone was equally -conscious of the gravity of the situation. Whenever Parliament was -prorogued he tried to parry attacks on the administrative incapacity of -his Cabinet by reconstructing it. To the great relief of the Queen, he -himself took the Chancellorship of the Exchequer into his own hands, -so that the public might have a guarantee that the era of chaos at -the Treasury was closed.[54] Mr. Bruce was elevated to the Peerage as -Lord Aberdare, and became President of the Council, Lord Ripon having -retired for private reasons. Mr. Childers (also for private reasons) -vacated the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Mr. Bright -took his place and re-entered the Cabinet. Mr. Lowe was removed to the -Home Office, and ere the year closed Mr. Adam became Chief Commissioner -of Works, Mr. Ayrton taking the office of Judge-Advocate-General. Mr. -Monsell also retired from the Postmaster-Generalship, and was succeeded -by Dr. Lyon Playfair. The death of Sir William Bovill, Chief Justice -of the Common Pleas, in November, elevated Sir J. D. Coleridge to the -Bench. Mr. Henry James accordingly became Attorney-General, and, to -the amazement of the Bar, he was succeeded as Solicitor-General by Mr. -Vernon Harcourt, whose attacks on the Ministry had thus met with their -reward. - -Mr. Gladstone’s hope was to reinvigorate the Government with a little -new blood, and rehabilitate it by means of his influence and reputation -as a financial administrator and Mr. Bright’s personal popularity among -the Nonconformists. Yet the financial work of the Government alone, -when administrative - -[Illustration: VIEWS IN WINDSOR: OLD MARKET STREET, AND THE TOWN HALL, -FROM HIGH STREET.] - -blunders were detached from it, and relegated to their true place in -political perspective, ought to have won for them the gratitude of the -nation. Mr. Vernon Harcourt, who perpetually harassed the Ministry -because of its growing expenditure--like many financial critics -with an imperfect knowledge of book-keeping--failed to see that the -apparent growth was not real because much of it was a mere matter of -accounting.[55] - -[Illustration: SANDRINGHAM HOUSE.] - -During their five years of power the Government had remitted £9,000,000 -of taxation. They had reduced a chaotic Naval Administration to -something resembling order, and not far removed from efficiency; and -yet at the Admiralty there had been a saving of £1,500,000 on the -Estimates of their predecessors. They had taken the Army out of pawn -to its officers by abolishing Purchase, and had laid the basis for a -compact military organisation; yet they had saved £2,300,000 a year at -the War Office. The Army and Navy, though by no means efficient, were -much more efficient than they had been when Mr. Gladstone’s Ministry -came to power; and yet they were costing the country £4,000,000 -less a year.[56] In spite of the great increase in Civil Service -expenditure--much of which, like the Education Vote, being morally -rather than financially reproductive, showed no “results” in figures -on the credit side of the public ledger--there had been since 1857 -a decrease in the drain on the taxes of about £1,500,000.[57] Mr. -Lowe’s last Budget in 1873 did not discredit the Ministry. In spite -of his reductions of taxation in the previous year, he had obtained -£2,000,000 more than his estimated income. For the coming year (1873-4) -he estimated a surplus of £4,746,000; but he could promise no great -remission of taxation, for he had to pay the damages (£3,000,000) which -had been awarded at Geneva to the United States Government. Still, he -halved the sugar duties and took another penny off the Income Tax. -With all his faults, he was accordingly entitled to claim credit -for reducing the Income Tax to the lowest point it had ever touched -(threepence in the £) since it had been imposed by Peel in 1842. -And yet Mr. Lowe could not, even with such a Budget, refrain from -expressing his thankfulness in an acrid gibe against the populace. -Referring to the marvellous increase in the receipts from Customs and -Excise, he said he had been able to produce a good Budget because the -nation had drunk itself out of debt. - -Apart from the political strife and Ministerial embarrassments which -so severely taxed the nerves of the Queen, life at Court was not very -eventful. Indeed, it centred chiefly round the Prince and Princess -of Wales, who were discharging vicariously and with great popular -acceptance most of the social duties of the Crown. This fact was -recognised by the Queen herself in a curious indirect kind of way. -The Prince of Wales, though very far from being a spendthrift, has -never shrunk from incurring expenditure which, in his judgment, was -necessary to maintain the dignity and _prestige_ of the Crown in a -manner worthy of the great nation whose Sovereignty is his heritage. -But he has always refrained from appealing to Parliament for subsidies -and subventions, either for himself or his family, other than those -to which he is equitably and legally entitled by his official -position in the State. This was all the more creditable to him, for -two reasons. He was surrounded by companions, some of whom did not -scruple to take advantage of his generosity. A considerable section -of the public during the controversy that raged over the Princess -Louise’s dowry had expressed a strong opinion in favour of limiting -future Royal grants to an additional allowance to the Heir Apparent, -for the purpose of meeting the unanticipated expenditure which he had -incurred by taking the Queen’s place as the head of English Society. -Sandringham, moreover, had not turned out a remunerative property, and -the Prince was therefore under strong temptations to give a favouring -ear to unwise counsels on this delicate subject. These, however, he -put aside with manly common sense, and his affairs were arranged on -a business-like basis, which would have met with the approval of his -father, who was always of opinion that matters of the sort were best -managed inside the family circle. The only public indication that was -given of arrangements which must necessarily be spoken of with great -reserve was afforded by Mr. Gladstone when, on the 21st of July, he -introduced a Bill enabling the Queen to bequeath real property to the -Prince of Wales, so that he could alienate it at will. The obvious -advantage of such a measure was that it imparted a fresh elasticity to -the financial resources of the Heir Apparent. For he had discovered -a fact hitherto unrevealed in the history of his dynasty in England, -namely, that though the Sovereign could bequeath to the Heir Apparent -alienable personality, such as hard cash, land or real property -so bequeathed, became, when vested in his person on ascending the -Throne, the property of the State, and therefore inalienable. In fact, -supposing the Queen had left Balmoral, an estate which she and her -husband bought out of their private purse, to her eldest son, then, -though it had been her own private property, it must become public -property whenever the Prince of Wales became King. The state of the -law on the subject was inequitable and inconvenient. For if the Queen -wished to aid her eldest son in meeting expenses which he was every day -incurring on her behalf, she had either to sell her private estates, -endeared to her by a thousand tender family associations, or appeal -to Parliament for a grant, a course which was as objectionable to her -as to the Prince. On the other hand, if these private estates, when -inherited by the Prince at her death, could be treated as private -property, the Heir Apparent could easily obtain any additional -subsidies he might need, by mortgaging his expectations. And yet the -generous intentions of the Queen, and the honest purposes of the Prince -which formed the motives for the Bill, were snappishly and churlishly -misrepresented by several Radicals, and by at least one aristocratic -Whig. Mr. George Anderson opposed the Bill because Sovereigns kept -their wills secret. Sir Charles Dilke objected to it because he said it -allowed the indefinite accumulation of private property in the hands -of the Sovereign. His argument, in fact, came to this, that profligacy -in the Monarch should be encouraged by the posthumous confiscation -of his private estates. As for Mr. Bouverie, he asked what business -the Sovereign had to possess large private means? The Bill, however, -passed, and an incident which at one time threatened to be unpleasant -for the Queen and her children was discreetly closed. - -In March, the Queen’s refusal to permit the persons who represented -England at the French Exhibition of 1867 to accept decorations, was -made the subject of debate by Lord Houghton in the House of Lords. Her -Majesty’s prejudice against introducing Foreign Orders and titles into -England had often given offence to naturalised stockjobbers and pushing -_parvenus_. She never even took kindly to the use of the title of -“Baron” by the Rothschilds, though she tolerated it for reasons of an -entirely exceptional nature. But if the Orders were admitted the titles -must soon follow, and society might be inundated some day with Russian -“Counts,” who, as the French say, had “a career behind them,” or with -Austrian “Barons,” who had bought their honours out of the profits of -financial gambling. The English Court, for this reason, has such strong -opinions on the point that even English nobles, inheriting foreign -titles, conceal them so successfully that few people ever suspect that -the Duke of Wellington is a Portuguese prince, the head of the House -of Hamilton a French duke, or Lord Denbigh a Prince of an uncrowned -branch of the Imperial House of Hapsburg. It need not be said that Lord -Houghton’s complaints were generally admitted to be frivolous, and that -the Queen’s feeling that she must be the sole fountain of honour in -England, was shared by the nation. If the services which an individual -has rendered abroad have benefited England or mankind, or if it is -possible to form a correct estimate of their value in England, the -Queen held she must either reward them herself, or retain the right to -permit the individual to receive a foreign decoration for them. There -never has been any practical difficulty in dealing with such cases, -and no self-respecting person has ever felt aggrieved because he was -debarred from accepting Foreign Orders.[58] - -On the 4th of January the Queen was grieved to hear of the death of -the ex-Emperor of the French, at Chislehurst. Her tender sympathy -was freely bestowed on the ex-Empress, who was prostrated by her -misfortunes and her sorrow. Five years before, the death of this -strange man, whose Imperial life seemed ever shadowed by the great -crime of the _coup d’état_, would have convulsed Europe. Now the world -seemed quite indifferent to it, and when politicians spoke of it, all -they said was that by disorganising the Imperialist party in France, -it lessened the labours of M. Thiers in founding the Third Republic. -The English people, whom Napoleon III. had kept in feverish dread for -two decades, and whose support and friendship he had rewarded with -the perfidy of the Benedetti Treaty, did not pretend to mourn over -his grave. They spoke of his character, which was a moral paradox, -and his career, which was a political crime, without prejudice or -ill-feeling. But as they thought of the horrors of the Crimean War, -the wasted millions which Palmerston spent in fortifying the South -Coast, and the final act of treachery which the German Government had -revealed in July, 1870, there were some who considered that the Queen -might have been less demonstrative in her manifestations of sorrow. -But Her Majesty has never been free from the defects of her qualities. -Quick to resent betrayal, her anger passes away as swiftly, when the -betrayer broken by an avenging Destiny, and prostrate amid the wreck -of his fortunes and his reputation, appeals to her sympathies. When -Louis Philippe stood before her as a hunted fugitive, the Queen forgot -the Spanish marriages. When Charles Louis Bonaparte fled for refuge to -Chislehurst, she was too generous to remember his scheme for stealing -Belgium. - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO VICTORIA PARK.] - -When spring came round, “the great joyless city,” as Mr. Walter Besant -calls the East End of London, was gladdened by the Queen, for on the -2nd of April her Majesty went there to visit Victoria Park. She was -accompanied by the Princess Beatrice, and drove from Buckingham Palace -to the park in an open carriage. Her route was along Pall Mall, Regent -Street, Portland Place, Marylebone Road, and Euston Road to King’s -Cross, up Pentonville Hill to the “Angel” at Islington, beyond which -point along Upper Street, Essex Road, Ball’s Pond Road, through Dalston -and Hackney, surging crowds of people lined both sides of the entire -way. Streamers of gaudy bunting floated overhead from house to house -across Islington Green. The Dalston and Hackney stations of the North -London Railway, the Town Hall, and shops of Hackney were conspicuously -decorated, and it was noticed that the Queen went among the poor of -the East End without any military escort, a feat that few European -Sovereigns would have dared to emulate. At the Town Hall she halted -and received a bouquet, while the people sang the National Anthem. -At the temporary entrance to Victoria Park a triple arch, of triumph -had been erected, deep enough to resemble a long _marquee_ in three -compartments, open at both ends. It was handsomely fitted up in scarlet -and gold, and here was stationed a guard of honour of the Fusiliers, -while an escort of Life Guards was in waiting to conduct her Majesty -round the park. Even the slums in this dismal quarter exhibited meagre -decorations, eloquent alike of loyalty and indigence. A poor shoemaker, -having nothing better to show, hung out his leather apron, on which the -Queen saw with a thrill of interest that he had chalked up in flaming -red letters, “Welcome as flowers in May. The Queen, God bless her.” The -enthusiasm of the populace on this occasion was due to a curious idea -that prevailed all over the East End. This visit, they said, was no -ordinary one, because the Queen had come of her own free will to see -the East End--a very different thing from the East End going westwards -to see her. Hence a hurricane of cheers greeted the Queen wherever she -went, and was more gladsome to her ears than the ornate language of the -loyal addresses which she received. Her Majesty returned by Cambridge -Heath Road, and when she came to Shoreditch the way was rendered almost -impassable by an eager crowd. From Bishopsgate Street to the Bank she -was hailed with passionate loyalty, which seemed to lose all restraint -when on passing the Mansion House she rose in her carriage and -smilingly bowed to the Lord Mayor, who stood in his State robes under -the portico and saluted her. She then drove along the Embankment to -the Palace, having charmed the sadder quarters of London with a visit -which the people took to mean that they were not forgotten or ignored -by their Queen. - -On the 3rd of April, at three o’clock in the afternoon, the Duke of -Cambridge, as President of Christ’s Hospital--the famous Blue-coat -School--visited the Queen at Buckingham Palace to present the boys -of the Mathematical School, who had come to exhibit their drawings -and charts to her Majesty. A number of gentlemen connected with -the Hospital had the honour of being presented by the Duke to the -Queen when she entered the Drawing-room. Her Majesty then inspected, -apparently with great interest, the maps and charts which were held -before her by each boy separately. - -The foreign curiosity of the London season in 1873 was the Shah of -Persia. Soon after the Queen’s visit to the East End ceased to be -discussed, the coming of the Shah was the favourite topic of talk. At -the end of April his departure from Teheran amidst the blessings of -an overawed crowd of 80,000 subjects was chronicled. On the 12th of -May he was heard of, painfully navigating the waters of the Caspian -in a Russian steamer, and wonderful tales of his progress were told. -He had three wives, and nobody knew how many other ladies in his -train holding brevet-matrimonial rank. Was he going to bring them to -England? If so, could more than one of them be received, and in that -case how were the rest to be disposed of? A cloud of despondency began -to settle over the subordinates in the Lord Chamberlain’s department. -Would it be possible, it was asked, to persuade the Queen to invite -each of the Shah’s wives separately--one to Buckingham Palace, one to -Windsor, and one to Osborne? Later on it was reported that not only -was the Shah bringing his harem, but his Cabinet Ministers also. Was -his visit likely to be free from danger? Might not people begin to -cherish strange fancies, if the Shah thus gave them ocular proof that -an ancient country could get on wonderfully well without a sovereign -and without a government? Gradually astounding rumours of his wealth -were sent round. He had brought only half a million sterling for -pocket-money, because there had just been a famine in Persia; still -the sum would meet the modest wants of his exalted position. Indeed, -through a telegraphic blunder, the sum was first stated as £5,000,000. -He was said to be covered with jewels and precious stones, and he wore -a dagger which blazed with diamonds, so that one could only view it -comfortably through ground glass. In June the officials of the Court -were relieved from a supreme anxiety. Ere he got half-way over Europe -the Shah had sent his harem back to Persia. As he approached England he -was described as looking terribly bored, and his black velvet doublet, -covered with diamonds, and ornamented with emerald epaulettes, was said -by one irreverent journalist to give him the appearance of “a dark -shrub under the early morning dew.” To the good English people he was -a mighty Asiatic potentate, representing an ancient dynasty, and the -popular cry was that he must be impressed with the power of England. -Had they understood that his great grandfather was a petty chief, who -at a time of revolution established a dynasty, and promptly began, -with the aid of his relatives, to ruin Persia, and that their visitor -himself ruled over a country with the population of Ireland and twice -the area of Germany, they might have made themselves less ridiculous. -Mr. Gladstone was even pestered on the subject, and had to turn the -matter off with a smiling suggestion that it would be well to let the -Shah fix his own programme, and not put him in chains when he landed -on our shores. But in Court circles it was whispered with dread that -it might be well to fetter the bedizened barbarian, for he had odd -notions of etiquette, and had even rudely poked the august arm of the -German Empress, when he wanted to call her attention at the theatre to -something on the stage. On the 18th of June, however, the long-expected -guest landed at Dover from Ostend. The cannon of the Channel fleet -thundered forth a salute, and the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur -welcomed him as he stepped - -[Illustration: BLUE-COAT BOYS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.] - -[Illustration: THE SHAH OF PERSIA PRESENTING HIS SUITE TO THE QUEEN AT -WINDSOR.] - -on the pier. His Majesty arrived at Charing Cross in the evening, -and London forthwith went mad about him. It talked and thought about -nothing else, much to the disgust of the Tory wirepullers, who saw with -sorrow the scandal of the Zanzibar mail contract absolutely wasted -on a frivolous metropolis. It may be recorded that when he appeared -the Shah disappointed sightseers, who were looking out for the black -velvet tunic powdered with diamonds, and ornamented with epaulettes of -emeralds. His Majesty, in fact, was clad in a blue military frock-coat, -faced with rows of brilliants and large rubies; his belt and the -scabbard of his scimitar were likewise bright with jewels, and so was -his cap. - -The _suite_ of apartments placed at the disposal of his Imperial -Majesty in Buckingham Palace had been put in direct telegraphic -communication with Teheran, and though it was expected he would be -impressed by being able to talk to anybody in his capital without -leaving his room, the arrangement seemed rather to bore him than -otherwise. An infinite variety of entertainments was prepared for him, -and the programme he had to work through seemed too extensive for human -endurance during the last ten days of his visit. On the 20th of June -the Queen, who was at Balmoral when he arrived, came to Windsor to -receive the Persian monarch in State. - -The preparations for the Shah’s public welcome were worthy of the -Royal borough. As the train steamed into Windsor Station, the Princes -and others in waiting to receive him welcomed him as he stepped out, -arrayed in a State uniform flashing with gems. The Mayor and Recorder -then read an Address, to which the Shah briefly replied, both the -Address and reply being translated by Sir Henry Rawlinson. Accompanied -by Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold he was driven to the Castle, where -the Queen received him. The reception was held in the White Drawing -Room, and the Shah conferred upon the Queen the Persian Order, and also -the new Order which he had then, with a gallantry hardly to be expected -of an Asiatic, just instituted for ladies. Luncheon was served in the -Oak Room, after which the Queen accompanied her guest to the foot of -the staircase on his leaving the Castle. - -In the evening a splendid entertainment was given to his Majesty by the -Lord Mayor at Guildhall, to which 3,000 persons were invited. At this -banquet the Shah was placed on a daïs with the Princess of Wales, the -Lord Mayor on his left hand, and the Czarevna, wife of the Czarewitch, -on his right. The Shah wore a blue uniform with a belt of diamonds, -and the ribbon and Star of the Garter, which had been conferred on him -at Windsor in the afternoon. The scene at the ball which followed was -unusually brilliant and picturesque. When the Shah had taken his seat -the first quadrille was formed. He did not dance, but when the company -had gone through four dances he joined the supper-party. About midnight -his Majesty and the Royal Family left the scene. This magnificent -entertainment was the first of many. The Shah was hurried in rapid -succession to a Review of Artillery at Woolwich, and another of the -Fleet at Spithead, to a State performance at the Italian Opera, to -the International Exhibition, to a concert in the Royal Albert Hall, -and to a Review in Windsor Park of 8,000 troops. At this Review what -impressed him most were the batteries of Light Artillery, the physique -and drill of the Highlanders, and the brilliant skirmishing of the -Rifles. When the spectacle was over he presented his scimitar to the -Duke of Cambridge. An odd sight was witnessed when the Shah visited -the West India Dock and Greenwich on the 25th of June. He went in an -open carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Tower Wharf, and embarked -amidst a salvo of artillery. The river was filled with an extraordinary -collection of ships, barges, boats, and vessels of every description. -Crowds, cheering and shouting like crazy beings, swarmed on decks, -rigging, wharves, roadways, and even on the roofs and crane stages of -the warehouses. A striking effect was produced during this trip by the -floating steam fire-engines of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, which, -closely lashed together, all at once saluted the Shah as he passed, by -casting up many perpendicular jets of water to a great height in the -air. On the evening of this day, by command of the Queen, a State ball -was given at Buckingham Palace, at which the Persian Sovereign and -the British Princes and Princesses were present. After a short visit -to Liverpool, the Shah left England on the 5th of July, no abatement -having taken place in the entertainments in his honour up to the last. - -The Shah’s departure from London, and his embarkation for Cherbourg on -board the French Government yacht _Rapide_, was the final act of these -remarkable proceedings. He was accompanied to the Victoria Station by -the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Arthur, the Duke of -Cambridge, and Prince Christian, all in full uniform. The Shah having -been made a Knight of the Garter during his visit to England, her -Majesty presented him with the badge and collar set in diamonds. He in -turn gave his photograph set in diamonds to the Queen and the Prince -of Wales. To Earl Granville he offered his jewelled portrait, but that -wily diplomatist, knowing what was meant, demurely said he could only -accept the portrait if the precious stones were removed from it. London -never had such a lion before or since, and the fuss made over him led -many to imagine that his visit was of high political importance. It -was certainly odd that the heir to the Russian throne, who must have -been satiated with the Shah’s society in St. Petersburg, persisted in -being seen everywhere in his train in London. Perhaps at his interview -with Lord Granville he had asked for some promise of protection against -Russian encroachment, and as it was impossible for Russia to conquer -the Tekke Turcomans unless she could draw her supplies from the Golden -Province of Khorassan, such a promise, if given and kept, would have -effectually barred the march of the Cossack towards Herat. If these -matters were talked of, events subsequently showed that no such -promises had been made, and that Lord Granville, like his predecessors, -firmly adhered to the fatal policy initiated by England in order to -buy the aid of the Czar against Napoleon I.--the policy of abandoning -Persia to Russian “influence.” - -It was semi-officially announced in the middle of July that the Duke -of Edinburgh had been betrothed (11th July) to the Grand Duchess Marie -Alexandrovna, the only daughter of the Czar of Russia. The affair had -been the subject of some difficult and delicate negotiations, not so -much because there was some difference of religion between the bride -and bridegroom, but because, being an only daughter, the parents -of the Grand Duchess felt that parting with her would be a bitter -heart-wrench. She was devoted to her father, as he was to her, and it -was said that if he had given his crown to the English Prince he could -not have testified more strongly his esteem for him than he had done -by bestowing on him his daughter’s hand. “I hear,” writes the Princess -Louis of Hesse from Seeheim (9th July), to the Queen, “Affie [the -Duke of Edinburgh] comes on Thursday night. Poor Marie is very happy, -and so quiet.... How I feel for the parents, this only daughter (a -character of _Hingebung_ [perfect devotion] to those she loves)--the -last child entirely at home, as the parents are so much away that the -two youngest, on account of their studies, no longer travel about.”[59] - -This alliance was unusually interesting, for the Duke of Edinburgh -was practically within the Royal succession.[60] Nothing but an Act -of Parliament barring him from the succession, such as men talked of -passing against the hated Duke of Cumberland, who conspired with the -loyal Orangemen of Ulster to oust the Queen from the throne, could -prevent the Duke from succeeding to the Crown if the Prince of Wales -and his children did not survive the Queen. There was a very general -feeling that this marriage was worthy of the country. Apart from her -great wealth, the only daughter of the Czar of All the Russias appeared -to the average British elector to be a much more fitting mate for a -Prince who stood very near the English throne, than an impecunious -young lady from a minor Teutonic “dukery”--if we may venture to borrow -a term which Lord Beaconsfield made classical. Thoughtful observers of -public life were grateful to the Queen for establishing a precedent -which enlarged the area of matrimonial selection for English Princes. -Since the reign of George II. this had been so closely limited to -Germany, that the Royal Family of England from generation to generation -had been purely and exclusively German. There was, therefore, no -popular outcry against a Parliamentary settlement for the Duke of -Edinburgh. Mr. Gladstone, on the 29th - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.] - -of July, carried a resolution in the House of Commons, giving the Duke -of Edinburgh an annuity of £25,000 a year, and securing to the Grand -Duchess Marie £6,000 a year of jointure in the event of her becoming -a widow. The Minister was not met with any formidable opposition. -When Mr. Holt and Mr. Newdegate began to attack the Grand Duchess’s -religion, the House instantly flew into a passion and hooted them -into silence. When the resolution was debated two days afterwards, -Mr. Taylor, who objected to the vote on the ground that the bride was -one of the richest heiresses in Europe, was literally effaced by Mr. -Gladstone. Amid deafening cheers from all parts of the House, he asked -Mr. Taylor if he dared to stand up before his own constituents and beg -the Russian Czar to accept a poor English Prince for a son-in-law on -the plea that his daughter had a large fortune? The grant was carried -by a vote of 170 to 20. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH. - -(_From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey._)] - -The marriage itself was solemnised on the 23rd of January, 1874, at -the Czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in accordance with the -Greek and the Anglican rite. All that wealth and absolute power could -do to invest the ceremony with Imperial pomp and splendour was done. -Among those invited were members of the Holy Synod, and of the High -Clergy of Russia; the members of the Council of the Empire, Senators, -Ambassadors, and other members of the Corps Diplomatique, with the -ladies of their families, general officers, officers of the Guard, of -the Army and Navy. The great Russian ladies wore the national costume, -while the nobles and gentlemen were in full uniform. The Queen of -England was represented by Viscount Sydney and Lady Augusta Stanley. -On their arrival at the church the Duke and Grand Duchess took their -places in front of the altar, where were standing the Metropolitan -of St. Petersburg and the chief priests, attired in magnificent -vestments. The Czar and Czarina were on the right of the altar, the -Prince of Wales and the Russian Grand Dukes standing opposite. The most -interesting portions of the ceremony were the handing of the rings to -the bride and bridegroom, the crowning of the Royal couple, and the -procession of the newly wedded pair, with the Metropolitan and clergy, -Prince Arthur, and the Grand Dukes round the analogion or lectern, the -bride and bridegroom carrying lighted candles in their left hands. On -the conclusion of this part of the ceremony, the bride and bridegroom -proceeded to the Salle d’Alexandre, where the Anglican ceremony was -performed by Dean Stanley, the bride being given away by the Emperor, -while Prince Arthur officiated as his brother’s groomsman. The Duke of -Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie used prayer books which had been -sent to them by the Queen, and the Grand Duchess carried a bouquet of -myrtle from the bush at Osborne, which had been so often laid under -tribute for the marriages of the Queen’s children. The wedding-day was -celebrated in the principal towns of Great Britain with much popular -rejoicing. - -The Queen deeply regretted her inability to be present at a ceremony -so interesting to her, and, in some respects, momentous for her House. -Nor was she the only member of the Royal circle who entertained the -same feeling. Her daughter, the Princess Louis of Hesse, writing to her -from Darmstadt on the 23rd of January, 1874, says, “On our dear Affie’s -[Prince Alfred’s] birthday, a few tender words. It must seem so strange -to you not to be near him. My thoughts are constantly with them all, -and we have only the _Times_ account, for no one writes here. They are -all too busy, and, of course, all news comes to you. What has Augusta -[Lady Augusta Stanley] written, and Vicky and Bertie? Any extracts or -other newspaper accounts but what we see would be most welcome.... God -bless and protect them, and may all turn out well.” Artless passages -like these are worth quoting, if for no better reason than this, -that they illustrate the strength of the sentiment of domesticity -which has not only bound the Royal children to the Queen, but to each -other, all through life. Even after the Queen had complied with her -daughter’s request, and sent her some letters about the ceremony, the -Princess recurs to the same theme, saying, “Dear Marie [the Duchess of -Edinburgh] seems to make the same impression on _all_. How glad I am -she is so quite what I thought and hoped. Such a wife must make Affie -happy, and do him good, and be a great pleasure to yourself, which I -always liked to think.” And again, a few days later, she writes to the -Queen as follows:--“I have a little time before breakfast to thank you -so much for the enclosures, also the Dean’s [Stanley’s] letter through -Beatrice. We are most grateful for being allowed to hear these most -interesting reports. It brings everything so much nearer. How pleasant -it is to receive only satisfactory reports.”[61] - -The Grand Duchess, when she came to her new home, brought her own -weather with her. She was introduced by the Queen to London and the -Londoners on the 12th of March, in the midst of a bleak and blinding -snowstorm. That dense crowds of people should line the street, and -stand for hours in the half-frozen slush, for an opportunity of bidding -the Grand Duchess welcome to her new home, afforded an impressive -testimony to the deep-seated loyalty of the capital. The Queen, the -Grand Duchess, the Duke of Edinburgh, and other members of the Royal -Family, left Windsor Castle at 11 o’clock in closed carriages for -the railway station, under a brilliant escort of Scots Greys. The -Royal train steamed to Paddington terminus, which was all ablaze -with Russian and English colours. The people thronged the windows, -balconies, the house-tops, and the pavements, and each side of the -roadway, all along from Paddington to Buckingham Palace, and the -Queen and the Royal couple showed their appreciation of the splendid -reception which was given to them by braving the snowstorm in an open -landau. The Queen, who was dressed in half-mourning, smilingly bowed -in acknowledgment of the hearty cheering, and the Grand Duchess, who -sat by her side, attired in a purple velvet mantle edged with fur, a -pale blue silk dress and white bonnet, was evidently surprised at the -warm greeting she received. The route was lined by the military and -police. The streets were full of loyal but bedraggled decorations, -and grimly festive with limp flags and illegible mottoes. Nothing -could be more gracious than the smiling demeanour of the Queen and -her new daughter-in-law, and nothing more pitiable than the obvious -discomfort of the poor ladies-in-waiting, who sat palpably shivering -in their carriages. At night the chief thoroughfares were brilliantly -illuminated. “I hope,” writes the Princess Louis of Hesse to the -Queen, “you were not the worse for all your exertions.... Such a -warm reception must have touched Marie, and shown how the English -cling to their Sovereign and her House.” Yet, after the first flush -of excitement had passed away, the Russian Princess began to suffer -from the common complaint of all Northern women--_nostalgia_, or -home-sickness. “Marie must feel it very deeply,” writes the Princess -Louis to the Queen (7th April), “for to leave so delicate and loving a -mother must seem almost wrong. How strange this side of human nature -always seems--leaving all you love most, know best, owe all debts of -gratitude to, for the comparatively unknown! The lot of parents is -indeed hard, and of such self-sacrifice.” This incident seems to have -led to a curious correspondence between the Queen and her daughter, in -which her Majesty apparently gave her some solemn warnings about the -evil done by parents who bring up their daughters for the sole purpose -of marrying them. “This,” observes the Princess Louis in her reply to -her - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH. - -(_From the Picture by N. Chevalier._)] - -mother, “is said to be a too prominent feature in the modern English -education of the higher classes.... I want to bring up the girls -without _seeking_ this as the sole object for the future--to feel that -they can fill up their lives so well otherwise.... A marriage for the -sake of marriage is surely the greatest mistake a woman can make.... -I know what an absorbing feeling that of devotion to one’s parent is. -When I was at home it filled my whole soul. It does still in a great -degree, and _heimweh_ [home-sickness] does not cease after so long an -absence.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE CONSERVATIVE REACTION. - - Questions of the Recess--The Dissenters and the Education Act--Mr. - Forster’s Compromise--The Nonconformist Revolt--Mr. Bright Essays - Conciliation--Sudden Popularity of Mr. Lowe--His “Anti-puritanic - Nature”--Mr. Chamberlain and the Dissidence of Dissent--Decline of - the Liberal Party--Signs of Bye-elections--A Colonial Scandal--The - Canadian Pacific Railway--Jobbing the Contract--Action of the - Dominion Parliament--Expulsion of the Macdonald Ministry--The - Ashanti War--How it Originated--A Short Campaign--The British - in Coomassie--Treaty with King Koffee--The Opposition and the - War--Skilful Tactics--Discontent among the Radical Ranks--Illness - of Mr. Gladstone--A Sick-bed Resolution--Appeal to the Country--Mr. - Gladstone’s Address--Mr. Disraeli’s Manifesto--Liberal - Defeat--Incidents of the Election--“Villadom” to the Front--Mr. - Gladstone’s Resignation--Mr. Disraeli’s Working Majority--The - Conservative Cabinet--The Surplus of £6,000,000--What will Sir - Stafford do with it?--Dissensions among the Liberal Chiefs--Mr. - Gladstone and the Leadership--The Queen’s Speech--Mr. Disraeli and - the Fallen Minister--The Dangers of Hustings Oratory--Mr. Ward - Hunt’s “Paper Fleet”--The Last of the Historic Surpluses--How - Sir S. Northcote Disposed of it--The Hour but not the Man--Mr. - Cross’s Licensing Bill--The Public Worship Regulation Bill--A - Curiously Composed Opposition--Mr. Disraeli on Lord Salisbury--The - Scottish Patronage Bill--Academic Debates on Home Rule--The - Endowed Schools Bill--Mr. Stansfeld’s Rating Bill--Bill for - Consolidating the Factory Acts--End of the Session--The Successes - and Failures of the Ministry--Prince Bismarck’s Contest with - the Roman Catholic Church--Arrest of Count Harry Arnim--Mr. - Disraeli’s Apology to Prince Bismarck--Mr. Gladstone’s Desultory - Leadership--“Vaticanism”--Deterioration in Society--An Unopposed - Royal Grant--Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to - Birmingham--Withdrawal of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court--A - Dispute over Precedence--Visit of the Czar to England--Review of - the Ashanti War Soldiers and Sailors--The Queen on Cruelty to - Animals--Sir Theodore Martin’s Biography of the Prince Consort--The - Queen tells the Story of its Authorship. - - -Two questions disturbed the recess of 1873-74--would Mr. Gladstone -attempt to conciliate the Dissenters, and would Mr. Bright, at their -bidding, denounce the Education Act which had been recently passed by a -Government of which he was a leading and authoritative member? - -The great grievance of the Dissenters was, that the 25th Clause of the -Education Act sanctioned the payment of denominational school-fees for -pauper children out of the school-rate. The Dissenters argued that -it was as wicked to make them pay rates for Anglican teaching in a -school, as it was to make them pay tithes for it in a church. Their -opposition was mainly led and organised by Mr. Chamberlain and the -Birmingham Secularists, who had so effectually made war on the Liberal -Party at bye-elections, that even Mr. Forster deemed it prudent to -conciliate them early in 1873. He offered them a compromise in his -Education Amendment Act, which passed before Parliament rose. This -Act repealed the 25th Clause, which ordered the payment out of the -school rate of fees for pauper children in denominational schools. -Instead of that it compelled Boards of Guardians to pay the fees to -the indigent parent, leaving it to him to select a school for his -child. He might choose a denominational school if he preferred it, -only it must be an efficient school under Government inspection. This -compromise had, however, been rejected by Mr. Chamberlain, who also -complained bitterly that Mr. Forster refused to make the formation of -School Boards compulsory in every parish. Nor was the bitterness of the -Nonconformists assuaged by an indiscreet speech which Mr. Gladstone -had made during the recess at Hawarden, in which he advised the people -of that parish to be content with their Church Schools, and not to -elect a School Board. The attempts which were made to explain away this -speech were not successful, and so when Mr. Bright came before his -constituents at Birmingham, he found the Dissenters in open revolt. He -therefore deemed it prudent to condemn the Education Act, and oppose -Mr. Forster’s Education policy. As he had joined a Cabinet in which -Mr. Forster held high rank, Mr. Bright’s utterances on the subject did -the Government more harm than good. The Dissenters put no faith in -them, because, they said, amidst all the Ministerial changes that had -occurred, Mr. Forster was still at the Education Office. Independent -supporters of the Ministry were, on the other hand, surprised to -find a statesman of Mr. Bright’s reputation condemning on high moral -principles an Act which he had himself helped to pass only a year -before. Mr. Bright’s unfortunate position was further aggravated by the -defence which was put forward on his behalf. It was contended that he -had no responsibility for Mr. Forster’s Education Act. All he had seen -was the draft of the Bill, and of that he had, as a Cabinet Minister, -formed a favourable impression. But his illness had withdrawn him from -active work, and when the measure was passing through the House of -Commons evil changes, it was argued, were made in it, and for these -Mr. Bright could not be blamed. Unfortunately it was written in the -inexorable chronicles of _Hansard_ that the only changes made in the -Bill were all in favour of the Dissenters. Mr. Bright was accordingly -too clearly responsible for the original measure, which was infinitely -more odious to the Nonconformists than the one that was finally passed, -and which he now disowned and denounced on account of its injustice. - -Curiously enough, it was Mr. Lowe who was most successful in winning -popularity for the Ministry during the recess. The police found in him -a zealous defender. The working-classes heard with pleased surprise a -rumour to the effect that he had drafted a Bill conceding the demand -of Trade Unionists for a reform of the Labour Laws. His manner of -receiving deputations had suddenly become bland and suave. When, for -example, the representatives of the Licensed Victuallers went to -complain to him of the Licensing Laws, he was so sympathetic that the -leader of the deputation sent a graphic account of the interview to the -Press. He explained how he and his colleagues had waited on the new -Home Secretary in fear and trembling, but how delighted they were to -find that “the great scholar and debater cheered the meeting with many -sunny glimpses of his own Anti-puritanic nature.” - -Still, in spite of Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe, the Liberal cause was -waning among the electors. Every day Mr. Chamberlain was driving deeper -and deeper into the heart of the Liberal Party the wedge of Dissenting -dissension, that ultimately split its electoral organisation in twain. -On the whole, the bye-elections favoured the Conservatives. But Mr. -Henry James, the new Attorney-General, carried Taunton, and Captain -Hayter, owing to an imprudent letter which Mr. Disraeli wrote in -support of the Tory candidate, was successful at Bath.[62] - -A Colonial scandal and a Colonial war also attracted much attention -during the recess, and though the scandal did not affect the Ministry, -the war somewhat chilled the sympathies of many of their strongest -supporters. - -The story of the scandal was as follows:--The Canadian Government -had decided to construct a Pacific Railway that would bridge the -wildernesses by which Nature had separated those Provinces, which -were united by the British North American Act. The project was deemed -so hopeless as a commercial undertaking that the money to carry it -on could not be raised. But during the negotiations which ended in -the Treaty of Washington, Canada, at the instance of the British -Commissioners, made certain concessions, in return for which the -British Government undertook to guarantee a loan for the construction -of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The money was then raised without -delay, and Sir Hugh Allen, the richest capitalist in Canada, formed a -syndicate, who applied for and obtained the contract for constructing -the railway from the Government of Sir John Macdonald, which then held -office in the Dominion. It was soon alleged that Sir John Macdonald -and his colleagues in the Canadian Cabinet had been bribed to “job” -away the contract into Sir Hugh Allen’s hands. The Canadian House of -Commons believed in the charge, insisted on an investigation, and -appointed a Committee of Inquiry. Vigorous efforts were made to hush -up the scandal, and by means of the veto of the Crown the Committee -was paralysed. An Act authorising it to examine witnesses on oath was -passed by the Dominion Parliament, but was vetoed by the Crown on -technical grounds. The Members of the Opposition, however, defeated -this attempt to stifle effective inquiry, by refusing to serve on -what they declared would be a sham tribunal, and public opinion was -so incensed that the Government were compelled to appoint to the -vacant seats in the Committee persons of high judicial position. When -under examination by the Commissioners Sir Hugh Allen admitted that -he paid Sir John Macdonald £36,000 in order to secure the election of -candidates pledged to support his Ministry in the Canadian Parliament. -Sir John Macdonald and his colleagues admitted that they received this -money, and that they had used it to carry seats in the Province of -Ontario for their faction. After the money was paid the contract was -given to Sir Hugh Allen. But in this transaction Sir John Macdonald -denied that there was any taint of bribery. Like his celebrated -countryman, Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, he said, “Dinna ca’t breebery. -It ’s juist geenerosity on the ae haun’, an’ grawtitude on the ither.” -In Canada and England a different view was taken of the matter. The -Macdonald Ministry was driven from office amidst public execration, and -even Lord Dufferin the Governor-General, and the Colonial Office did -not escape censure, when it became clear that they were at least privy -to the matter. - -[Illustration: COOMASSIE.] - -The Colonial war broke out on the West Coast of Africa. In -consideration of being permitted to annex as much of Sumatra as they -could subdue, the Dutch had handed over to England their possessions on -the West Coast of - -[Illustration: KING KOFFEE’S PALACE, COOMASSIE.] - -Africa. The English Government soon became involved in a dispute with -the King of the Ashantis over a subvention which the Dutch had always -paid him. The Ashantis attacked the English settlements near Elmina, -but were beaten off by a small party of English troops. When the -cool season came it was decided to send Sir Garnet Wolseley with an -expedition strong enough to march to Coomassie, the Ashanti capital, -and, if need be, lay the country waste. Sir Garnet arrived before his -troops, and engaged with success in several unimportant skirmishes. The -main army left England in December, and on the 5th of February, 1874, -it entered Coomassie in triumph. The place was so unhealthy that it had -to be evacuated almost immediately. But ere the troops left a Treaty -was signed by which King Koffee renounced his claim to sovereignty -over the tribes who had been transferred from the Dutch to the British -Protectorate. The management of the expedition was not perfect. But -it at all events showed that the administrative departments of the -Army had improved somewhat since the Crimean War, and that whilst -the English private soldier had lost none of his superb fighting -qualities, he was now led by officers possessed of a considerable -degree of professional skill. And yet the Ashanti War failed to arrest -the decay of public confidence in the Government. With masterly tact -the Tory leaders put forward Lord Derby to deprecate wasteful military -enterprises and extensions of territory in pestilential climes, whilst -Sir Stafford Northcote attacked the Ministry fiercely in September -for engaging in such a war without consulting the House of Commons. -The effect of this criticism was soon manifest. The sympathies of -a large section of the Radicals and of the entire Peace Party were -alienated from the Ministry, who now found the arguments they had -used to embarrass Mr. Disraeli during the Abyssinian War, turned -against themselves. Mr. Bright, in joining a Cabinet which waged -a costly war on some wretched African savages without the consent -of Parliament, sacrificed the last remnant of authority which his -inconsistent attitude to the Education Act had left him. Nor did he -regain this authority by writing a letter early in January, in which -he expressed an opinion that all difficulties with Ashanti might be -settled by arbitration. As the country was actually at war with -King Koffee, Mr. Bright’s suggestion was taken to mean that England -should, by an act of surrender, pave the way for arbitration between -herself and the Ashantis. This could not possibly be the opinion of the -Government which was vigorously prosecuting the war, and it was clear -that on this subject, as on the Education question, there was chaos -in the Cabinet. In these circumstances the question came to be would -Ministers dissolve, or would they meet Parliament and attempt to regain -popularity through the work of a reconstructed Cabinet, whose latest -and most influential recruit never spoke in public without showing -that, when he did not abandon his principles, he was at variance with -his colleagues? Various rumours were current as to a conflict of -opinion on the subject between Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues and the -Queen. Ultimately it was decided that there should be no dissolution -before spring. - -Worn with anxiety, irritated by the failure of his plans for recovering -popularity through a reconstruction of his Cabinet, sick in body and -mind, the Prime Minister in January fell seriously ill. A fortnight -before the opening of the Session he paralysed his Party with amazement -by deciding to dissolve Parliament. Seldom has so momentous a decision -been arrived at in circumstances so strange and so peculiar. Writing -to Lord Salisbury on the 26th of January, 1874, Mr. Hayward says: -“Alderson (whom I saw yesterday) thought it unlikely that you would be -brought back earlier than you intended by the Dissolution, which has -come on every one by surprise. The thought first struck Gladstone as he -lay rolled up in blankets to perspire away his cold, was mentioned as -a thought to daughter and private secretary, then rapidly ripened into -a resolution and submitted to the Cabinet. The secret was wonderfully -well kept by everybody. The Liberals are delighted, and the Disraelites -puzzled and amazed.”[63] - -Parliament was dissolved on the 20th of January, and it was reckoned -that the new House of Commons would be elected by St. Valentine’s -Day. Mr. Gladstone’s Address to the electors of Greenwich set forth -at great length the reasons for his sudden appeal to the country. But -Mr. Forster gave the best and briefest explanation, when he told his -constituents at Bradford that the Dissolution was due to the petty -defeats and humiliations which the Government had suffered since -Mr. Disraeli’s refusal to relieve them of the cares of office, and -to a desire that the electors should decide whether Mr. Disraeli or -Mr. Gladstone should have the spending of the enormous surplus of -£6,000,000 at the disposal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. -Gladstone in his declarations of policy referred to the Ashanti War as -a warning against “equivocal and entangling engagements.” He complained -that the House of Commons was overburdened with work, and, with an eye -to the Irish vote, he approved of delegating some of its business to -“local and subordinate authorities” under the “unquestioned control” -of Parliament. He held out no hopes of effecting any great changes in -the Education Act, but he promised a measure of University Reform, -supported the extension of Household Franchise to the Counties, and -pledged himself to abolish the Income Tax. His meagre references to -Foreign Affairs seemed to show that Mr. Bright had forced the Cabinet -to accept the unpopular policy of selfish and self-contained isolation, -which virtually ignored the higher international duties of England as -one of the brotherhood of European nations. - -Mr. Disraeli’s manifesto was not at first sight captivating. Instead -of attacking Mr. Gladstone’s proposal to abolish the Income Tax as -an attempt to secure a Party majority by taking a _plébiscite_ on a -Budget which had not yet come before Parliament, Mr. Disraeli fell in -gladly with the idea. The abolition of the Income Tax was apparently -to him what emigration was to Mr. Micawber when he had it suggested -to him for the first time--the dream of his youth, the ambition of -his manhood, and the solace of his declining years. The Tory chief -also over-elaborated his complaints that Mr. Gladstone had imperilled -freedom of navigation in the Straits of Malacca by recognising the -right of the Dutch to conquer the Acheenese if they could. Nor was -he apparently successful in attacking the Government for entering on -the Ashanti War without waiting to ask Parliament for leave to repel -Ashanti assaults on our forts. But when he demanded “more energy” in -Foreign Affairs than Mr. Gladstone had exhibited, and when he said -that measures could be devised to improve the condition of the people -without incessant “harassing legislation,” he cut the Government to the -quick. - -The elections ended in a signal disaster to the Liberal Party. Nobody -was ready for the fray. Everybody was irritated at being taken -unawares. The influences and the “interests” that had caused the decay -of Mr. Gladstone’s Administration have been already described. It will -be enough to say here that they smote it with defeat at the polls. -The attempt to neutralise these influences by promising to spend the -surplus in abolishing the Income Tax and readjusting local taxation -completely failed. The working classes were not eager to take off a tax -which they did not pay. The majority of the Income Tax payers argued -that Mr. Disraeli’s manifesto showed that he was prepared to give -them whatever relief was possible. Independent electors felt that it -was desirable to censure a project which might establish a precedent -for including the Budget in an electoral manifesto,[64] and throwing -the financial system of the country into the crucible of a General -Election.[65] The City of London decisively abandoned Liberalism. The -counties were swept by Tory candidates. The working classes refused to -support candidates of their own order, save in Stafford and Morpeth, -where the miners returned Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Burt to Parliament. Men -of high capacity, unless their names were known to newspaper readers, -were ruthlessly rejected. The electors preferred either candidates -of loudly-advertised eminence, rich local magnates, or young men of -family--especially if they had titles. Only two tenant-farmers were -chosen--Mr. Clare Read, a moderate Conservative, and Mr. McCombie, a -moderate Liberal. The “professors” and academic politicians went down -helplessly in the _mêlée_--even Mr. Fawcett failing to hold his seat -at Brighton, though shortly after Parliament met he was returned by -Hackney, where a vacancy accidentally occurred. The Home counties, -where “villadom”--to use Lord Rosebery’s term--reigns supreme, went -over to Conservatism, and the success of the Tories in the largest -cities was amazing. The middling-sized towns, and, generally speaking, -the electors north of the Humber, were pretty faithful to Liberalism. -But in Ireland the Liberal Party almost ceased to exist--the Irish -electors preferring to return either Home Rulers or Tories. Roughly -speaking, Mr. Disraeli could count on a steady working majority of -fifty, even reckoning the Irish Home Rulers as Liberals. - -[Illustration: LORD SALISBURY. - -(_From a Photograph by Bassano, Old Bond Street, W._)] - -Mr. Gladstone tendered his resignation at once when the results of -the Elections were known, and Mr. Disraeli on being sent for formed -a Cabinet, in which the offices were distributed as follows:--First -Lord of the Treasury, Mr. Disraeli; Lord Chancellor, Lord Cairns; -Lord President of the Council, Duke of Richmond; Lord Privy Seal, -Lord Malmesbury; Foreign Secretary, Lord Derby; Secretary for India, -Lord Salisbury; Colonial Secretary, Lord Carnarvon; Home Secretary, -Mr. R. A. Cross; War Secretary, Mr. Gathorne-Hardy; First Lord of the -Admiralty, Mr. Ward Hunt; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford -Northcote; Postmaster-General, Lord John Manners. The minor offices -were distributed either among administrators and men of business, or -young men of high birth and promising abilities, who were thus put in -training for the duties of leadership in the future.[66] - -Ministers and ex-Ministers soon had their troubles thick upon them. The -“interests” were impatient for satisfaction, and there was an ugly rush -after the surplus. Deputations of Income Tax repealers, Local Taxation -Leaguers, clergymen demanding subsidies to Consular chaplains, brewers -demanding the repeal of their licence, Malt Tax repealers, Sugar Duty -repealers, clerical supporters of voluntary schools, who, according -to Lord Sandon, virtually asked for the suspension of payment by -results, waited on Sir Stafford Northcote to claim their share of Mr. -Gladstone’s surplus. Other Ministers, too, were pestered by the various -“interests” who had worked for the Tory Party at the General Election -on the understanding that Mr. Gladstone’s “harassing” legislation would -be undone if Mr. Disraeli came back to power. The new Government were -sufficiently courageous to resist this pressure. Indeed, they were -generous enough to retract much of the hostile criticism which in the -heat of electioneering contests had been hurled against Mr. Gladstone’s -Administration. The Liberal Party, on the other hand, was not only -shattered, but practically leaderless. Its chiefs, it was said, were -fighting among themselves. Stories flew about to the effect that Mr. -Lowe declared he would never again follow Mr. Gladstone, that Sir -William Harcourt was convinced he must lead the Party himself if it was -to be saved from extinction, and that Sir Henry James vowed that he -would never permit Mr. Gladstone to sit as his colleague in any future -Liberal Cabinet. Naturally Mr. Gladstone retired from the duties of -leadership, but pressure was put upon him to resume them. He consented, -but only on the understanding that his service was to be temporary, -and that he should not be expected to be in regular attendance in the -House of Commons. His advanced age, his broken health, and his need -of rest, were the reasons which he gave publicly for his action. His -real motive, however, he confided to Mr. Hayward, who, in a letter to -Lady Emily Peel (27th of February, 1874), says, “I had a long talk with -Gladstone yesterday. He thinks the Party in too heterogeneous a state -for regular leadership, that it must be let alone to shake itself into -consistency. He will attend till Easter, and then quit the field for -a time. He does not talk of permanent abdication.”[67] Mr. Gladstone, -it would seem, at this time considered his functions as a leader ended -after he had shattered his Party. Not till it had been reorganised by -somebody else, or had reorganised itself, did he apparently deem it -worthy of his guidance. - -On the 19th of March the Queen’s Speech was read to both Houses of -Parliament. It referred joyfully to the termination of the war with -the Ashantis, the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, but mournfully -to the famine which was then devastating Bengal. It promised a Land -Transfer Bill, the extension of the Judicature Act fusing law and -equity to Ireland and Scotland, a Bill to remedy the grievances of -the publicans, a Bill dealing with Friendly Societies, and a Royal -Commission on the Labour Laws.[68] In the debate on the Address several -Peers took occasion to make sport of the great Minister who had fallen -from power. But the Commons were spared this exhibition of political -vulgarity, mainly because Mr. Disraeli snubbed most mercilessly the -first of his followers who attempted to indulge in it. - -When Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, who moved the Address, taunted Mr. -Gladstone with his defeat, Mr. Disraeli assured the House that Sir -William had, contrary to custom, spoken without consulting him as to -what he should say--in fact, without consulting anybody. As for the -silence of the Liberal Members on the results of the Dissolution, “I -admire,” said Mr. Disraeli, “their taste and feeling. If I had been a -follower of a Parliamentary chief as eminent as the Right Honourable -gentleman, even if I thought he had erred, I should have been disposed -rather to exhibit sympathy than to offer criticism; I should remember -the great victories he had fought and won. I should remember his -illustrious career; its continuous success and splendour; not its -accidental or even disastrous mistakes.” Mr. Gladstone’s frank and -candid statement was a model of dignified simplicity well worthy of -Mr. Disraeli’s chivalrous admiration. The defeated Minister simply -said that his policy of fiscal reorganisation in his judgment could -not be carried save by a Government possessing the full confidence -of the country. The bye-elections--notably the Liberal defeat at -Stroud--during the recess rendered it doubtful if his Administration -possessed this confidence. His appeal to the country confirmed that -doubt. Nay, the verdict of the electors so emphatically declared their -desire to entrust power to the Tory Party, that he felt it his duty to -make way for Mr. Disraeli and his colleagues as soon as possible, and -to afford them every reasonable facility for giving effect to the will -of the people.[69] These chivalrous courtesies foretold a dull Session. -Nor did the statements of Ministers seem promising to the “young -bloods” of the Tory Party, who held it as an axiom that they were -badly led if their leaders did not show them plenty of “sport.” What -did Lord Derby mean, for example, by telling the House of Lords that -Lord Granville had left the Foreign Affairs of the country in the most -satisfactory condition? Had they not all assured their constituents -that he had brought England to such a depth of degradation that there -were now none so poor as do her reverence? What did Mr. Disraeli mean -in moving the Vote of Thanks to the Ashanti troops by praising Mr. -Cardwell for the preparations he made for bringing the war to a speedy -and victorious conclusion? Had they not all declared on the hustings -that the conduct of the war was a model of mismanagement? Moreover, was -it necessary for Lord Salisbury to exhaust the vocabulary of eulogy on -Lord Northbrook for his energy in dealing with the Indian Famine? and -was Mr. Hardy true to his followers and supporters when, on moving the -Army Estimates (30th March), he contradicted every one of the charges -that had been made against Mr. Cardwell, who had been accused of -stopping Volunteering, exhausting stores, wrecking fortifications, and -failing to arm the troops?[70] One passing gleam of hope shot across -the horizon when Mr. Ward Hunt in his speech on the Naval Estimates -stood by the wild and whirling rhetoric of Opposition criticism. He -declared that the Fleet was inefficient, and warned the House he might -need a Supplementary Estimate. Whilst he, at least, remained at the -Admiralty he would not tolerate a “fleet on paper” or “dummy ships.” -But alas! even Mr. Ward Hunt’s alarmist statement vanished in a peal -of laughter when it was discovered that all he asked for to convert -his “paper fleet” into a real one was £100,000! Cynical critics soon -reassured a scared populace. The best proof that the Services had not -been starved or rendered inefficient by Mr. Gladstone’s Administration -was afforded by Sir Stafford Northcote, who made no secret of his -intention to distribute the surplus of £6,000,000 which every one -regarded with hungry eyes. - -The eventful day for the division of the spoil came on the 16th of - -[Illustration: REVIEW IN WINDSOR GREAT PARK OF THE TROOPS FROM THE -ASHANTI WAR: THE MARCH PAST BEFORE THE QUEEN.] - -April, when Sir Stafford Northcote made his statement. In spite of Mr. -Lowe’s remission of taxes, his payment of the _Alabama_ Claims, his -disbursement of £800,000 on the Ashanti War, the year 1873-74 ended -with a surplus in hand of £1,000,000. On the basis of existing taxation -Sir Stafford Northcote for the coming year estimated his revenue at -£77,995,000, to which he added £500,000 from interest on Government -advances for agricultural improvements heretofore added to Exchequer -balances and never reckoned in the revenue. His expenditure was taken -at £72,503,000, so that he had the magnificent surplus of £6,000,000 -to play with. Never did a Finance Minister use a great opportunity -more tamely. With such a sum at his disposal he might have re-cast the -fiscal system of England and won a reputation rivalling that of Peel. -But Northcote had not the heart to climb ambition’s ladder. He pleaded -lack of time as an excuse for attempting no great stroke of financial -policy, and he frittered away his six millions as follows:--He gave -£240,000 in aid of the support of pauper lunatics; £600,000 in aid -of the Police rate; £170,000 in increased local rates on Government -property, and this sum of £1,010,000 was to be raised in succeeding -years by further payments for pauper lunatics to £1,250,000 as an -Imperial subvention to local taxation.[71] He devoted £2,000,000 to -the remission of the Sugar Duties; he took a penny off the Income Tax, -which absorbed £1,540,000, and he remitted the House Duties, which -cost him £480,000. The half-million of interest on loans which he had -included in revenue Sir Stafford Northcote used to create terminable -annuities, which would in eleven years extinguish £7,000,000 of -National Debt. The fault of the Budget was that nothing historic was -done with a surplus such as rarely occurs in the history of a nation. -Even if Sir Stafford Northcote felt unequal to the task of re-casting -the whole financial system, and giving relief to the poorer taxpayers, -he could easily have earned for his Government the enduring gratitude -of the nation. He might, for example, have created terminable annuities -to pay off twenty or thirty millions of National Debt before 1890. - -Mr. Cross’s Licensing Bill was introduced early in May, when the -publicans, who had worked hard to put the Government in power, expected -Mr. Austin Bruce’s restrictions on the hours of opening public-houses -to be swept away. Mr. Cross, however, found that the magistrates and -police, and more respectable inhabitants of every town and parish, -were of opinion that these restrictions had done good. He was, -therefore, forced to disappoint his clients. He left the Sunday hours -untouched. On week-days he fixed the hours for closing at half-past -twelve in London, half-past eleven in populous places, and eleven in -rural districts.[72] He cancelled the permission given by Mr. Bruce -to fifty-four houses to remain open till one in the morning, in order -to provide refreshments for playgoers and theatrical people. Inasmuch -as the Government were at the mercy of the publican vote in a great -many constituencies, the Bill was most creditable to Mr. Cross. It -was, in truth, a Bill not in extension but in further restriction -of the hours of opening, and in passing it he risked giving offence -to Ministerialists who had won their seats under a pledge that the -existing restrictions would be relaxed.[73] - -Quite unexpectedly the Ministry plunged into the stormy sea of -ecclesiastical legislation, and as was hinted at broadly, not without -encouragement from the Queen. This much might also have been inferred -from two facts. The churchmen who had most strongly influenced the -Court in matters of ecclesiastical government were Dr. Tait, the -Archbishop of Canterbury, and Dr. Norman Macleod, Minister of the -Barony Parish in Glasgow. The Bill dealing with the English Church -represented the ideas of Tait. That dealing with the Kirk of Scotland -embodied the policy of Macleod. Indeed, pressure of an unusual -character must have been applied to the Prime Minister to support the -former measure, which he knew only too well must provoke dissensions in -his Cabinet. It was on the 20th of April that Dr. Tait introduced the -Public Worship Regulation Bill in the House of Lords, and the best and -briefest description of it was that which was subsequently given by Mr. -Disraeli, who said, in one of the debates in the House of Commons, that -it was a Bill “to put down Ritualism.” At first Ministers did not give -it warm support, in fact, Lord Salisbury opposed it vigorously. After -it had passed through the House of Lords the fiction that it was a -private Member’s Bill was still kept up, the Second Reading being moved -in the House of Commons by Mr. Russell Gurney. Mr. Hall, the new Tory -member for Oxford, moved an amendment to Mr. Gurney’s motion, and Mr. -Gladstone opposed the measure as an attack on congregational liberties, -which had been consecrated by usage. The three great divisions of the -Established Church, the Evangelical, Broad, and High Church Parties, -had each been allowed a large scope of liberty. Why single out the last -for an invidious assault? Mr. Gladstone, however, did not deny that -some Ritualistic practices were offensive, and he moved six resolutions -which would sufficiently protect congregations from priestly -extravagances, and yet leave the clergy ample freedom in ordering their -church service. These resolutions disintegrated both parties in the -State. Sir William Harcourt led a Liberal revolt against Mr. Gladstone. -The Secretary for War (Mr. Gathorne-Hardy) replied hotly to Sir William -Harcourt’s ultra-Erastian harangue. Mr. Disraeli here cast in his lot -with the supporters of the Bill; which, despite the opposition of Mr. -Hardy, Sir Stafford Northcote, and Lord John Manners, accordingly -became in a few days a Cabinet measure. In the House of Lords matters -grew still more serious. When the House of Commons sent the Bill back -to the Peers, one of Mr. Gladstone’s defeated amendments was speedily -inserted in it, and Lord Salisbury “utterly repudiated the bugbear of a -majority in the House of Commons.” A few days afterwards Mr. Disraeli -replied with caustic humour to the taunts of Lord Salisbury, whom he -ridiculed as “a great master,” so he called him, “of gibes, and flouts, -and sneers.” Still, the Commons accepted the Lords’ Amendments, which -were for the most part in favour of individual freedom, and so the -Bill passed. But Mr. Disraeli paid a great price for his complaisance -to the Court and its confidential ecclesiastical adviser. The High -Church Party, who had ever marched in the van of his supporters, -became disaffected, and in every future electoral contest those of -them who did not fall sulking to the rear went over to the enemy. Mr. -Disraeli’s tactical blunder in identifying his Cabinet with the Public -Worship Regulation Bill of 1874 was notoriously one of the causes of -the collapse of the Tory Party in the General Election of 1880. His -other adventure into the perilous region of ecclesiastical legislation -was not so disastrous to his Party as to the institution it was his -desire to protect and strengthen. In 1869 Dr. Macleod had headed a -deputation which waited on Mr. Gladstone, asking him to abolish lay -Patronage in the Scottish State Church. Mr. Gladstone asked if Macleod -and his colleagues had considered what view was likely to be taken of -the proposal by the other Presbyterian churches of Scotland, “regard -being had to their origin.” This phrase struck the deputation dumb. -It was as if Mr. Gladstone had asked whether they thought it right -that the clergy of the Free Church, who sacrificed their endowments in -1843 because the Party whom the deputation represented successfully -prevented the abolition of lay Patronage, should be ignored now, when -this very Party proposed that the price they agreed to pay for the -enjoyment of their benefices should no longer be exacted. The project, -according to Dr. Macleod, excited no great enthusiasm in Scotland,[74] -but the Courts of the Scottish Established Church supported it -strongly. In 1874 Mr. Disraeli, yielding to pressure, which it was -admittedly difficult to resist, permitted Lord Advocate Gordon to -introduce his Scottish Patronage Bill. It abolished the rights of -lay patrons, and vested presentations to livings in the hands of the -congregations of the Established Church of Scotland. When the patron -was a private individual he was compensated, but when the patronage to -a benefice was held by - -[Illustration: THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH (DR. MAGEE) ADDRESSING THE -HOUSE OF LORDS.] - -a Corporation it was confiscated without compensation. The idea of -the Government was that Presbyterians outside the Established Church -were deterred from joining it by the existence of lay Patronage. When -this was abolished it was supposed that they would immediately go over -to the State Church, whose services they could command gratuitously, -and leave their own pastors, whose stipends they had to pay out of -their own pockets, to starve. Mr. Disraeli did not understand that -lay Patronage, by bringing the Church courts and civil courts into -collision, was merely the occasion and not the cause of the Disruption, -and that what separated the Free Churchmen from the State Church was -a difference of opinion on the relative position of Church and State, -as wide as that which separated Dr. Pusey from an Erastian like Sir -William Harcourt. But the Patronage Bill was passed in spite of Mr. -Gladstone’s opposition, though, like the Public Worship Regulation -Bill, it failed in its object. The congregations of the non-established -Presbyterian churches refused to justify Mr. Disraeli’s cynical -estimate of their character, and therefore did not desert their -pastors. The powerful Free Kirk of Scotland, representing the principle -that the Church should be established and endowed but left free from -State control, had been debarred from joining in the Disestablishment -movement. It now, however, cast in its lot with those Presbyterian -dissenters who clamoured for Disestablishment in Scotland, which -thus for the first time came within the range of practical politics. -Perhaps, if Mr. Disraeli had insisted on the rights of patrons being -transferred to all parishioners his policy might have been more -successful. But by transferring these rights to the congregations -in actual attendance at established churches, he gave the Free -Churchmen a pretext for arguing that he had sectarianised the national -ecclesiastical endowments, and that, therefore, the State Church -could no longer be defended on principle. These endowments were not -sectarianised, but secularised, when controlled by private patrons and -civil courts, for patron and judge could alike be regarded in theory -as legal trustees for the nation. They were bad trustees according to -the Free Churchmen, but then they represented the nation officially, -and did not, like their successors, the congregations of the parish -churches, constitute a sect. - -Academic debates on Parliamentary Reform and Home Rule varied the -monotony of ecclesiastical controversy which Ministers seemed to -take a morbid delight in stirring up. Their next achievement in this -direction led to a defeat. Lord Sandon unexpectedly introduced in -July an Endowed Schools Bill, which virtually undid the work of -1869. It restored the ascendency of the Church of England in Grammar -Schools, and substituted the authority of the Charity Commissioners -for that of the Endowed Schools Commission. The Bill would probably -have done much to conciliate the clergy who had been offended by the -Public Worship Regulation Act, but, on the other hand, it closed the -ranks of the Opposition, and recalled the Dissenters to the Liberal -colours. The result was that, after fierce controversy in both Houses, -Mr. Disraeli professed himself satisfied with the appointment of the -Charity Commission to superintend the working of Mr. Forster’s Act, -and postponed the contentious clauses till the following year. They -were never heard of again. Mr. Stansfeld’s Rating Bill, which the Lords -had rejected in the previous Session, was adopted by the Ministry and -passed. Mr. Mundella’s Bill for consolidating the Factory Acts, which -had been shelved in 1873, was adopted by Mr. Cross and carried. - -The popular verdict on the Ministry, when the Session closed on the -8th of August, was, that as administrators they had done nothing -brilliant, and as legislators they were timidly reactionary, when -they did not adopt the ideas and measures of their predecessors. The -Premier, perhaps, suffered most in reputation. It was impossible to -admire the strategy that brought into prominence Church questions -which divided his Cabinet, and were uninteresting to the populace, or -which, like the Endowed Schools Bill, when they were of great popular -interest, were dealt with in an offensively reactionary spirit. On the -other hand, the success with which the famine in Bengal and Behar was -arrested, and indeed the whole tone of the administration at the India -Office, greatly increased Lord Salisbury’s _prestige_. Lord Carnarvon’s -management of the Colonies was sympathetic and popular. Foreign affairs -had been conducted by Lord Derby with admirable prudence. This was -aptly illustrated by his skill in avoiding entangling engagements -committing England to approve of changes in international law which -would have greatly extended the powers of invading armies in an enemy’s -country. These changes were proposed at a Conference at Brussels, which -had been promoted by Russia and Germany ostensibly to mitigate the -evils of modern warfare. - -Only one cloud shadowed the Foreign policy of the Cabinet during this -uneventful year. The contest between Prince Bismarck and the Roman -Catholic Church was raging in Germany, and the personal rivalry of the -German Chancellor and Count Harry Arnim--who had been German Ambassador -at Paris--had ended in the arrest of the latter on the charge of -embezzling State documents. This arrest had been effected after Count -Harry Arnim’s house had been ransacked by the police, and the Continent -rang with the scandal. Mr. Disraeli, at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, on -the 9th of November, congratulated the country on the Conservatism of -the British working classes, who, he said, enjoyed so many liberties -that they were naturally loyal to the institutions under which their -freedom was safeguarded. “They are not,” said he, “afraid of political -arrests or domiciliary visits.” The Queen was somewhat pained at an -utterance which the German Government regarded as an impertinent -interference with its domestic affairs, but a few days afterwards the -wrath of Prince Bismarck was appeased by an official explanation in the -Times to the effect that Mr. Disraeli had not meant to refer to the -affairs of Germany, or to the arbitrary conduct of the Berlin police. -In this unfortunate speech Mr. Disraeli, however, struck a popular -note when he referred to the extension of the Empire by the annexation -of the Fiji islands, in terms that foreshadowed a policy of Colonial -expansion. - -As for the Opposition, it remained in a state of disorganisation, under -Mr. Gladstone’s desultory leadership. Its prospects were not improved -by his publication of two pamphlets, in which he attacked what he -called “Vaticanism,” and attempted to prove that good Catholics, who -were mostly Liberals, must be incapable of reasoning, if they were not -traitors. That was the sum and substance of his amazing tirades against -the extravagant pretensions of the Papacy under Pius IX. - -During the year the Queen seldom appeared in public, which was, -perhaps, one reason why a marked deterioration in the moral tone -of society was discernible. A curious languor crept over the upper -classes. They were consumed with a quenchless thirst for amusement, -and the genius who could have invented a new pleasure would have had -the world at his feet. Frivolity seemed to prey like a cancer on the -vitality of the nation. When the Prince of Wales gave a State Fancy -Ball in July, the _Times_ actually devoted three columns of space -to an elaborate description of the dresses. Sport became a serious -business to all classes of society, and even grave and earnest men -of affairs like Mr. Gladstone wasted their lives in the laborious -idleness of ecclesiastical controversies. The more vigorous youth of -the aristocracy now began to make their “grand tour,” not as did their -ancestors to study foreign affairs and institutions, but merely to -kill big game. Fashionable life became so costly that rents had to be -exacted with unusual rigour, and the strikes among the agricultural -labourers that mitigated the advantages of a good harvest, were -accordingly spoken of in West End drawing-rooms as if they had revived -the horrors of the _Jacquerie_. Though prices had begun to fall, the -mercantile classes vied with the aristocracy in the ostentatious -extravagance of their personal expenditure, and in the City the old -and substantial Princes of Commerce were pushed aside by gamblers who -termed themselves “financial agents,” and who had suddenly grown -rich by “placing” Foreign Loans and floating fabulously successful -Joint-Stock Companies. The pace of life was too rapid even for the -Prince of Wales, whose financial embarrassments during a dull autumn -formed the subject of some discussion. It was publicly stated that he -had incurred liabilities to the extent of £600,000, and that the Queen, -disgusted with Mr. Gladstone’s refusal to apply to Parliament for -money to discharge them, had paid them herself. From what has already -been said on this delicate subject it is hardly necessary to point -out here that this statement was not quite accurate. It was true that -the debts of the Heir Apparent amounted to one-third of his income, -but it was equally true that on the 1st of October his Controller’s -audit showed that he had a balance to his credit sufficient to meet -them. At the same time there could be no doubt that the Prince’s -expenditure far exceeded his resources, for sums varying from £10,000 -to £20,000, taken from the great fund accumulated for him by the -Prince Consort’s thrifty administration of the revenues of the Duchy of -Cornwall, were sacrificed every year to prevent his debts from becoming -unmanageable.[75] - -His brothers were more fortunately situated. Prince Arthur, who had -been created, in May, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of -Sussex,[76] was able to devote himself quietly to his military studies, -and lead a life of dignified simplicity. “Many thanks,” writes the -Princess Louis of Hesse to the Queen (May 4th, 1874), “for your last -dear letter, written on dear Arthur’s birthday, of which, though late, -I wrote you joy. Such a good, steady, excellent boy as he is! What a -comfort it must be to you never to have had any cause of uneasiness or -annoyance in his conduct! He is so much respected, which for one so -young is doubly praiseworthy. From St. Petersburg, as from Vienna, we -heard the same account of the steady line he - -[Illustration: ALEXANDER II., CZAR OF RUSSIA.] - -holds to, in spite of all chaffing, &c., from others, which shows -character.”[77] Prince Leopold was equally fortunate; indeed, his -delicate health would of itself have compelled him to shun the -exhausting gaieties of London seasons, when Society was worn out with -_ennui_ every year ere the rosebuds burst into bloom. When Parliament -voted him an income of £15,000 a year, Mr. Disraeli described Prince -Leopold as an invalid student of “no common order,” and to the Queen -it was an increasing source of delight to watch in her youngest son -the growth of the same pensive nature, the same studious habits, and -the same refined and cultured tastes which, in the Prince Consort, -Mr. Disraeli averred somewhat effusively, “gave a new impulse to our -civilisation.” - -With the exception of the grant to the Duke of Edinburgh on his -marriage, this was the only Royal grant voted by Parliament which -was not made a matter of controversy. But it must be noted that in -1874 the spirit of Republicanism in the country was almost dead. -Mr. Chamberlain, by his writings and speeches, made an ineffectual -effort to keep it alive, but even he had to bow his austere knee to -the popular idols of the time, who were undoubtedly the Prince and -Princess of Wales. As if to throw out a jaunty challenge to the enemies -of the Monarchy, the Prince and Princess paid a visit to Birmingham -in November, where it was the duty of Mr. Chamberlain as Mayor to -receive them, and where they met with a welcome from the populace, the -significance of which he was quick to recognise. Mr. Chamberlain, who -had not been expected to make pleasant speeches to his guests, behaved -to them with the tact of an astute if not an accomplished courtier. -His undisguised appreciation of the Prince’s visit to his mansion, -and of the Princess’s delight in his conservatories, famed for their -priceless exotics, recalled the devotion of the Lady Margaret Bellenden -in “Old Mortality,” when Charles II. accepted the hospitalities of her -castle. - -One marked feature of the London season in 1874 was the sudden -withdrawal of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court ceremonials. An -attempt was made to account for this by explaining that as her Royal -and Imperial Highness was expecting to become a mother she deemed her -retirement from Society necessary.[78] According to statements current -at the time, however, her absence was due not exactly to a dispute, -but to a difficulty about her precedence, which must have considerably -embarrassed the Queen. As the daughter of a powerful Emperor, the -Duchess of Edinburgh not unnaturally thought that she had a right to -take precedence of the Princess of Wales, who was but the daughter -of a petty king. An Imperial Highness should, in her opinion, take -precedence of a Royal Highness. On the other hand, it was intolerable -to the English people that even by implication should the inferiority -of the English Monarchy to that of any Imperial House in Europe be -recognised--in fact, the kings of England had never admitted that any -of the Continental Emperors had a title to precedence over them. The -country, therefore, heard with interest a report that the Russian Czar -was about to come to England, not merely to visit his daughter, but -if possible to settle with the Queen the question of precedence that -had disturbed her family. Her Majesty was understood to be willing -to assent to any arrangement which did not confer on the wife of her -second son, the right to take precedence over the wife of the Heir -Apparent, and so matters stood when the Czar arrived at Dover on the -13th of May. He was received with the utmost cordiality by the Queen -in person at Windsor. The first effect of his visit was to replace -the Duchess of Edinburgh in the _Court Circular_ among the ladies of -the Royal Family next to the Princess of Wales, and to cause her to -be described as “Her Royal _and Imperial Highness_ the Duchess of -Edinburgh (Grand Duchess of Russia).”[79] The Czar was well received by -the people, among whom he was popular as the Liberator of the Serfs, -and after a dreary week of sightseeing and State banquets, he left -England on the 22nd of May. - -On the 30th of March the Queen proceeded to Windsor Great Park to -review the troops who had been engaged in the Ashanti War. The force, -2,000 in number, went through their evolutions in gallant style, and -her Majesty with her own hands awarded the Victoria Cross to Lord -Gifford for personal bravery in the campaign. On the 13th of April the -Queen also inspected the sailors and marines of the Royal Navy who had -fought in the Ashanti War. The review took place at Gosport, and many -of the officers were, by the Queen’s desire, personally presented to -her. - -The controversy then raging over Vivisection seemed to have interested -her Majesty greatly, for at the Jubilee meeting of the Society for the -Prevention of Cruelty to Animals there was read a letter written by Sir -Thomas Biddulph by the Queen’s instructions, which ran as follows:-- - - “MY DEAR LORD,--The Queen has commanded me to address you, as - President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, - on the occasion of the assembly in this country of the foreign - delegates connected with your association and of the Jubilee of - the Society, to request you to give expression publicly to her - Majesty’s warm interest in the success of the efforts which are - being made at home and abroad for the purpose of diminishing the - cruelties practised on dumb animals. The Queen hears and reads - with horror of the sufferings which the brute creation often - undergo from the thoughtlessness of the ignorant, and she fears - also sometimes from experiments in the pursuit of science. For - the removal of the former the Queen trusts much to the progress - of education, and in regard to the pursuit of science, she hopes - that the entire advantage of those anæsthetic discoveries, from - which man has derived so much benefit himself in the alleviation of - suffering, may be fully extended to the lower animals. Her Majesty - rejoices that the Society awakens the interest of the young by the - presentation of prizes for essays connected with the subject, and - hears with gratification that her son and daughter-in-law have - shown their interest by distributing the prizes. Her Majesty begs - to announce a donation of £100 to the funds of the Society.” - -On the 23rd of November her Majesty was present, with the Empress of -Russia, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and other members of the -Royal Family, at the christening of the infant son of the Duke and -Duchess of Edinburgh--Prince Alfred of Edinburgh; and on the 3rd of -December she received a deputation from France to present her with an -Address of thanks for services rendered by Englishmen to the sick and -wounded in the war of 1870-71. The Address was contained in four large -volumes, which were placed on a table for the purpose of being shown -to her Majesty. M. d’Agiout and Comte Serrurier explained the nature -of their contents. Having accepted the volumes, the Queen said to the -deputation in French, “I accept with pleasure the volumes which you -have presented, and which will be carefully preserved by me as records -of the interesting historical events which they commemorate. They are -beautiful as works of art, but their chief value in my eyes is that -they form a permanent memorial of the gratitude of the French people -for services freely and spontaneously rendered to them by Englishmen -acting under a simple impulse of humanity. Your recognition of those -services cannot fail to be appreciated by my subjects, and it will -increase the friendly and cordial feeling which I am happy to believe -exists between the two nations.” The volumes were placed in the British -Museum. - -[Illustration: THE ALBERT MEMORIAL CHAPEL, WINDSOR. - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._)] - -On the 3rd of December her Majesty at Windsor personally presented -several seamen and marines with the medals which they had won for -conspicuous gallantry in the Ashanti War. A few days after this -ceremony the attention of the country was absorbed in the first volume -of the biography of the Prince Consort, which had been compiled with -sedulous care, delicate tact, and refined feeling by Mr. (afterwards -Sir) Theodore Martin. The verdict of the public was one of immediate -and unreserved approval. They were delighted with Mr. Martin’s -idyllic picture of Prince Albert’s domestic life, and of the tender -companionship in which he and the Queen lived lovingly together. -Glimpses, too, of the Queen’s own strength of character and of her -shrewd judgment in politics, such as, for example, her letters and -memoranda on the affair of the Spanish marriages, and her keenly-etched -portrait of the Czar Nicholas after his visit in 1844, suggested very -plainly that the Sovereign was not exactly a cipher in the State. If in -some of its lines Mr. Martin’s portrait recalled memories of William -III., it reminded the people that, like William III., the Prince, -though unable from his intellectual detachment to inspire the people -with love, won their confidence and respect through his unpretending, -but unswerving fidelity to the interests of his adopted country. But -the frankness and absence of reserve with which the book was written -displeased a few of the Queen’s foreign relatives; indeed, this feature -of the biography had been commented on by some who thought it was -derogatory to the dignity of the Royal Caste. The Princess Louis of -Hesse, if she did not share this opinion, felt it her duty to convey it -to the Queen. In a letter to her mother at the beginning of 1875, the -Princess says, “It is touching and fine in you to allow the world to -have so much insight into your private life, and allow others to have -what has been only _your_ property, and _our_ inheritance.... For the -frivolous higher classes how valuable this book will be if read with -real attention, as a record of a life spent in the highest aims, with -the noblest conception of duty as a leading star.” To this letter the -Queen replied from Osborne, 12th of January, 1875:--“If,” she wrote, -“you will reflect a few minutes, you will see how I owed it to beloved -papa to let his noble character be known and understood, as it now is, -and that to wait longer when those who knew him best--his own wife, and -a few (very few there are) remaining friends--were all gone, or too -old and too far removed from that time, to be able to present a really -true picture of his most ideal and remarkable character, would have -been really wrong. He must be known for his own sake, for the good of -England and of his family, and of the world at large. Countless people -write to say what good it does and will do. And it is already thirteen -years since he left us! Then you must also remember that endless false -and untrue things have been said about us, public and private, and that -in these days people will write and will know; therefore the only way -to counteract this is to let the real full truth be known, and as much -be told as can be told with prudence and discretion, and then no harm, -but good, will be done. Nothing will help me more than that my people -should know what I have lost!... The ‘Early Years’ volume was begun -for private circulation only, and then General Grey and many of papa’s -friends and advisers begged me to have it published. This was done. -The work was most popular, and greatly liked. General Grey could not -go on with it, and asked me to ask Sir A. Helps to continue it; and he -said that he could not, but recommended Mr. Theodore Martin as one of -the most eminent writers of the day, and hoped I could prevail on him -to undertake this great national work. I did succeed, and he has taken -seven years to prepare the whole, supplied by me with every letter and -extract; and a deal of time it took, but I felt it would be a national -sacred work.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -EMPRESS OF INDIA. - - Mr. Disraeli recognises Intellect--Lord Hartington Liberal - Leader--The Queen’s Speech--Lord Hartington’s “Grotesque - Reminiscences”--Mr. Cross’s Labour Bills--The Artisans’ - Dwellings Act--Mr. Plimsoll and the “Ship-knackers”--Lord - Hartington’s First “Hit”--The Plimsoll Agitation--Surrender of - the Cabinet--“Strangers” in the House--The Budget--Rise of Mr. - Biggar--First Appearance of Mr. Parnell--The Fugitive Slave - Circular--The Sinking of the Yacht _Mistletoe_--The Loss of the - _Vanguard_--Purchase of the Suez Canal Shares--The Prince of - Wales’s Visit to India--Resignation of Lord Northbrook--Appointment - of Lord Lytton as Viceroy of India--Outbreak of the Eastern - Question--The Andrassy Note--The Berlin Memorandum--Murder of - French and German Consuls at Salonica--Lord Derby Rejects the - Berlin Memorandum--Servia Declares War on Turkey--The Bulgarian - Revolt Quenched in Blood--The Sultan Dethroned--Opening of - Parliament--“Sea-sick of the Silver Streak”--Debates on the - Eastern Question--Development of Obstruction by Mr. Biggar and Mr. - Parnell--The Royal Titles Bill--Lord Shaftesbury and the Queen--The - Queen at Whitechapel--A Doleful Budget--Mr. Disraeli becomes Earl - of Beaconsfield--The Prince Consort’s Memorial at Edinburgh--Mr. - Gladstone and the Eastern Question--The Servian War--The - Constantinople Conference--The Tories Manufacture Failure for Lord - Salisbury--Death of Lady Augusta Stanley--Proclamation of the Queen - as Empress at Delhi. - - -The year 1875 opened less gloomily for the Ministry than for the -Opposition. Mr. Disraeli had sanctioned the despatch of a Polar -Expedition, and in a curious letter, since published by Mr. Froude, he -had tendered Mr. Carlyle the Grand Cross of the Bath on the ground that -“a Government should recognise Intellect.”[80] He had also offered Mr. -Tennyson--“if not a great poet, a real one,” to use his own phrase--a -baronetcy. Both offers had been refused, but the scientific and -literary classes--potent agencies for influencing public opinion--sang -loud the praises of a Ministry that was so obviously in sympathy with -them. As for the Opposition, Mr. Gladstone’s definite refusal to lead -them any longer, compelled them to elect a successor, whereupon an -infinite amount of dissension, heartburning, and jealousy was stirred -up in their ranks. Mr. Goschen, Sir William Harcourt, and Mr. W. E. -Forster were the candidates who had most partisans, and the last was -undoubtedly the one on whom the public choice would have fallen, if -the public had been permitted to arbitrate between the rivals. The -Nonconformists, however, had not yet forgiven Mr. Forster, and Mr. -Bright put him out of the field by using his powerful influence in -favour of Lord Hartington, who was finally selected. According to one -of the ablest of Liberal political critics, Lord Hartington “succeeded -in making the whole party content, if not enthusiastic, with their -choice.”[81] Lord Hartington had, in the course of the Session, -virtually nothing to do, and, like the Peers in Mr. Gilbert’s opera, -he “did it very well.” The Queen’s Speech outlined a temperately -progressive policy, and when the Opposition leader taunted Ministers -with failing to carry out the scheme of reaction to which they stood -pledged on the hustings and in the Conservative Press, Mr. Disraeli, -with demure gaiety, protested against his “grotesque reminiscences.” -Lord Hartington, he complained, sought out “the most violent speeches -made by the most uninfluential persons in the most obscure places, -and the most absurd articles appearing in the dullest and most -uninfluential newspapers,” and took these as the opinions of “the great -Conservative Party.”[82] The opinions of the Conservative Ministry, he -added, were now expressed from the front Ministerial Bench, and for -these alone did he hold himself responsible. - -Mr. Cross was the popular Minister of the Session. His Artisans’ -Dwellings Bill embodied a resolution which Mr. U. Kay-Shuttleworth and -Sir Sidney Waterlow had induced Mr. Gladstone’s Government to accept, -and though in practice it proved disastrous to local ratepayers, it was -taken as a kindly recognition of claims which Liberal Cabinets had too -often ignored.[83] Mr. Cross was much more successful with his Labour -Bills, drafts of which, it was said, had been prepared by Mr. Lowe. The -Home Secretary had framed his Bills to conciliate Tory members who had -eloquently denounced Trades Unions during the General Election. But -in Committee he accepted amendments which removed from the law every -trace of the evil spirit that punished breach of contract by a workman, -not as a civil offence, but as a crime. Though he fought hard against -the repeal of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, he finally surrendered -to Mr. Lowe, and not only accepted his definition of “molestation” or -“picketing,” but further agreed to his proposal to make that offence -punishable when committed by anybody--be he master or servant. The -growth of a Conservative spirit among the Trades Unions dates from the -passing of Mr. Cross’s Employers and Workmen Bill, and his Conspiracy -Bill. Mr. Gathorne-Hardy’s Regimental Exchanges Bill was a reactionary -concession to “the Colonels,” for it gave rich officers facilities for -bribing poor ones to relieve them from arduous foreign service. Lord -Cairns, however, did much more harm to the Government by withdrawing -his Judicature Bill under the menaces of a secret Junta of Peers, -headed by the Duke of Buccleuch, who had resolved to restore to the -House of Lords its Appellate Jurisdiction. Whilst independent Peers -protested against this course as a slight to the Upper House, the -country considered that it indicated a deplorable want of courage. For -when Lord Cairns’ new Bill, postponing till the 1st of November, 1886, -the provisions of Lord Selborne’s Act (1873),[84] and establishing -an Intermediate Court of Appeal as a kind of judicial makeshift, -came before the House of Commons, Sir John Holker, with indiscreet -frankness, explained why the Government had dropped their own measure. -The Peers, he said, meant to retain their jurisdiction in spite of the -House of Commons, and it was, therefore, futile to resist them. This -admission that the Cabinet, which ought to be responsible only to the -Queen and to Parliament, was really controlled by a small caucus of -Peers, whose very names were kept secret, was one which Government -could now-a-days survive. The Bill, however, passed before the Session -closed. - -[Illustration: MR. PLIMSOLL ADDRESSING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.] - -Ministers also lost much of their popularity through Mr. Disraeli’s -tenderness towards owners of unseaworthy ships. Mr. Plimsoll had stirred - -[Illustration: THE MARQUIS OF HARTINGTON. - -(_From a Photograph by Russell and Sons._)] - -up public opinion against the “ship-knackers,” as he called them, who, -having over-insured vessels that were rotten, sent them away to founder -at sea with their crews, and then put the insurance money in their -pockets. The Board of Trade had rather frowned on his efforts to get -it to detain unseaworthy ships for survey, but in deference to popular -pressure the Government had promised to bring in a Merchant Shipping -Bill to check the evil which Mr. Plimsoll had discovered and denounced. -The Bill was read a second time in the Commons without opposition, -and it was one in which the Queen was said to be as much interested -as Mr. Plimsoll himself. But Mr. Disraeli had brought forward a -measure permitting farmers to receive compensation for unexhausted -improvements, and enabling landlords to deny them this compensation -by contracting themselves out of the Bill. He had contrived to get -Government business into confusion by trying to push on Ministerial -measures abreast instead of in single file, and in a fatal moment -he shelved the Merchant Shipping Bill, in order to make way for the -perfectly worthless Agricultural Holdings Bill. He announced the fact -on the 22nd of July, when Mr. Goschen entered a mild protest. - -Mr. Plimsoll, however, rose quivering with rage and passion, and -moved the adjournment of the House. He not only protested against the -Government postponing a Bill that interfered with “the unhallowed -gains” of the “shipknackers,” but said that some of them sat in the -House, and mentioned by name one of “the villains” he was determined -to “unmask.” In vain the Speaker called him to order. Louder and -louder grew the turmoil, and in the midst of it Mr. Disraeli grew -visibly pale when Mr. Plimsoll rushed up the floor of the House with -his clenched fist extended in front of him. However, he did not strike -the Premier or Sir Charles Adderley--who was officially in charge of -the Bill--as had been dreaded. He merely stood on one leg, placed a -written protest on the table, and then, having shaken his fist in the -Speaker’s face, marched out of the Chamber amidst a scene of terrible -disorder. Mr. Disraeli lost his temper and, with it, touch of the -House for a moment. In angry accents he moved that Mr. Plimsoll be -reprimanded there and then, whereupon the Speaker interfered, and -said that before a motion of that sort could be put Mr. Plimsoll, -who was now standing below the bar, must be heard in his place. Mr. -Plimsoll, however, preferred immediate withdrawal, and the House was -on the eve of entering into conflict with a defiant Member, supported -by an irresistible force of democratic passion in the country, a -conflict from which it must have emerged with impaired authority, -when suddenly Lord Hartington came to the rescue. His frigid accents, -in strong contrast with Mr. Disraeli’s tremulous tones of wrath, -immediately cooled the temper of the House. Mr. Plimsoll was, said -Lord Hartington, merely suffering from “overstrain acting on a very -sensitive temperament, and before taking any strong measures against -a man so universally respected, it would be more consonant with the -dignity of the House to give him reasonable time to put himself right.” -Mr. Disraeli instantly saw that Lord Hartington’s phlegmatic sense -had suggested the course that would extricate him from the dangerous -position into which he was leading the House, and he consented to -adjourn the matter for a week. Mr. Plimsoll made an honourable apology -to the Speaker, and the matter ended happily, but the incident, to the -gratification of the country, revealed in Lord Hartington a capacity -for cool and adroit leadership, the existence of which had hitherto -been unsuspected. The day after the scene in the House of Commons a -storm of agitation broke over the country on behalf of Mr. Plimsoll. -From every constituency remonstrances couched in terms of strong -indignation poured in upon the House of Commons. Tory Members warned -the Whips that they did not dare to run athwart the wave of passion -that swept over the land. The Cabinet accordingly held a meeting in a -panic, and resolved to bring in a temporary Bill empowering the Board -of Trade to detain rotten ships and to prohibit grain cargoes from -being carried in bulk. The measure was passed, even the Peers shrinking -from the responsibility of rejecting it. - -Another blunder damaged Mr. Disraeli’s leadership. In April Mr. Charles -Lewis moved that the printer of the _Times_ be summoned to the Bar -and dealt with for printing a letter reflecting on a Member of the -House of Commons, in a report of evidence given before the Foreign -Loans Committee. It was an attempt to carry out the old Standing -Order, which made it an offence for newspapers to report Parliamentary -proceedings. Mr. Disraeli first spoke against the motion, and then -voted for it. It was carried. But next day he moved that the Order be -discharged, and when Mr. Sullivan asked him if he intended to put the -relations of the Press and Parliament on a less anomalous footing, he -answered “No.” Thereupon Mr. Sullivan warned him he would insist on -carrying out the ridiculous old Standing Order, and clearing the House -of reporters every night till Mr. Disraeli yielded. Lord Hartington -induced Mr. Sullivan to refrain, but Mr. Biggar next stepped in, and -with elfish humour, one night when the Prince of Wales was listening -to a debate, rose and said he “espied strangers in the House,” which -was duly cleared of every one--including the Prince--save Members. The -two leaders then carried a motion suspending the ridiculous Order for -that evening. Mr. Disraeli, however, still refused to alter the rule or -accept a proposal from Lord Hartington for altering it. Mr. Sullivan -accordingly retorted by again “espying strangers,” clearing the -House, and compelling the Government to adjourn an important debate. -Mr. Disraeli now saw he had no choice but to surrender. He therefore -carried a new Standing Order, enabling the Speaker to exclude strangers -when he saw fit, but submitting the attempt of a private Member to -clear the House, to the check of an immediate and undebateable vote. - -Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget was ominous of hard times coming. -Prices were beginning to fall, and unsound Foreign Loans, in which -rich people had invested, were beginning to collapse. Sir Stafford -Northcote, therefore, though he received half a million more revenue -than he expected, wisely made no sanguine estimate for the ensuing -year. His anticipated expenditure he put at £75,268,000, an increase of -£939,000, and his revenue at £75,685,000, showing a probable surplus -of £417,000, which was ultimately converted by supplementary estimates -into an estimated deficit of £300,000--a bad contrast to the miraculous -surplus of £6,000,000, which in the previous year he inherited from Mr. -Gladstone. There was no special feature in the Budget, save the scheme -fixing the charge for the paying up the interest and the principal -of the National Debt in future at £28,000,000 a year, and making it -obligatory to meet this sum before any surplus could be declared. It -was, in fact, a plan for establishing a rigid Sinking Fund to discharge -the National Debt, and though it was popular at the time, it failed, as -all such plans fail, because whenever a difficulty arises Ministers of -Finance always confiscate a Sinking Fund in preference to imposing new -taxes. - -[Illustration: ABERGELDIE CASTLE. - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._)] - -Ireland, represented by the new National Party, under Mr. Butt, -gained little during 1875, but she gained something. Under a Liberal -Government half the Home Rule Party could have been bribed by places -into silence. But an ostentatiously hostile Tory Ministry could -not offer them places, and yet they had to be quieted somehow, for -the Irish people had by this time lost faith in their insincere -Parliamentary action. Fenian agents were telling the Irish peasantry -that they could expect no concessions unless they extorted them by -revolution. The Government, accordingly, relaxed the existing Coercion -Acts, and the debate on one of these--the Westmeath Act--was, on -the 22nd of April, 1875, rendered historic by the intervention of -Mr. Biggar, who talked against time for five hours, by the simple -device of reading long extracts from Blue Books.[85] Shortly after -this feat, Mr. Charles Stewart Parnell, a young Wicklow squire, who -had been educated at Cambridge, and was notable for his shyness, his -aristocratic reserve, and his faltering and confused speech, took -his seat as Member for Meath, in succession to John Martin, who had -died. Nothing was known of him save that he had the reputation of -being a Protestant landlord who was on good terms with his tenants, -that from his mother--a daughter of the celebrated Commodore Stewart -of the United States Navy--he had inherited Republican ideas, that he -was a lover of field sports, and that he was a cadet of the family of -which his great-grandfather, Sir John Parnell, Chancellor of the Irish -Exchequer in 1782, was a distinguished member, and the head of which -was the present Lord Congleton. That his beautiful estate of Avondale -was heavily mortgaged was _not_ regarded as noteworthy. Mr. Joseph -Gillies Biggar, whose quaint b_ourgeois_ humour had already made him, -if not the favourite, at least one of the privileged “diversions” -of the House, and who was destined to be Mr. Parnell’s coadjutor -in organising the largest and most powerful Irish National Party of -the Victorian period, was a prosperous provision-dealer, of Scottish -extraction, trading in Belfast. His experience of affairs had been -gained as Chairman of the local Water Board. - -Parliament was prorogued peacefully on the 13th of August, and, on the -whole, Ministers emerged from the Session with credit. Mr. Disraeli’s -bright wit, his cheerful temper, and his airy jocularity in meeting -serious attacks, recalled pleasant memories of Lord Palmerston, and -tempted the House to forget his occasional blunders as its Leader. The -Recess, however, brought serious peril to his Cabinet--peril which, -however, it had done little to deserve. In the middle of September -it was discovered that the Foreign Office had induced the Admiralty -to issue a Fugitive Slave Circular to naval officers. They were told -they must not receive fugitive slaves in territorial waters unless -their lives were in danger. If the fugitive slave came on board a -British ship in territorial waters, he was not to remain if it were -proved he were a slave. If received on the high seas, he must be -surrendered when the ship came within the territorial waters of the -country from which he had escaped. The Circular, in fact, defined the -legal obligations under which British ships of war must logically lie -if they chose to enter the territorial waters of slave States, with -which England was not at war. It was a Circular embodying regulations -on which every Liberal Minister had habitually acted, but the Liberal -Party immediately proceeded to make political capital out of it. An -agitation as fierce as that which was caused by the abandonment of the -Merchant Shipping Bill sprang up, and Lord Derby, at whose instance -the Admiralty issued the Circular, was accused of attempting to commit -England to a furtive partnership with slave-owners. The most that -could be said in fairness against the document was that it was so -badly drafted as to imply that the deck of a Queen’s ship was subject -to foreign jurisdiction. Moreover, the order to surrender a fugitive -slave who had taken refuge on a Queen’s ship on the high seas, was so -completely indefensible that Lord Derby himself struck it out of the -second edition of his Circular. He might as well have ordered a British -Consul in Rio to arrest and surrender a Brazilian slave who, having -gained freedom by escaping to English soil, had afterwards returned -to that port. Till Parliament met in 1876, the country rang with the -inflated protests of Liberal partisans against the amended Circular, -which was published after the original one had been suspended in -October, and cancelled in November. - -But the issue and publication of the Slave Circular was not the only -blunder at the Admiralty that rendered the Government unpopular during -the Recess. They were guilty of one which gave the Queen the utmost -annoyance. When she was crossing the Solent from Osborne to Gosport -on the 18th of August her yacht ran down another yacht called the -_Mistletoe_. The owner (Mr. Heywood) and his sisters-in-law, Miss -Annie Peel and Miss Eleanor Peel, were on board, and, though the -last-named was rescued, Miss Annie Peel and the sailing-master were -drowned. The Queen happened to be on deck, and her emotion during the -scene was painful to witness. The Prince of Leiningen, as commander -of the Royal yacht, was blamed by the people for the catastrophe, -and unfortunately the Admiralty not only refused to try him by -court-martial, but, after a secret inquiry, condemned the navigating -officer. This roused public wrath, and it was ungenerously alleged -that the Queen had forced a servile Minister to protect her nephew -from just punishment. The fact is, as a subsequent case showed, the -Admiralty merely followed the stereotyped rule, which, in those days, -was to punish subordinate officers for the blunders of their superiors. -It used to be asked, What was a navigating officer on board a Queen’s -ship for, unless to take his captain’s punishment? Unfortunately for -the Prince of Leiningen, there was a tribunal from which he could not -escape--the coroner’s inquest on the bodies of those for whose death -he was morally responsible. The evidence given before the coroner -still further exasperated the ill-feeling which had been roused. -Yachtsmen--proverbially a loyal body of men--were irritated at the -tone of a letter addressed to the president of the Cowes Yacht Club -(the Marquis of Exeter), in which General Ponsonby expressed the -Queen’s wish that in future members of the Club would not approach too -closely to the Royal yacht when the Queen was on board. The insinuation -contained in this document and assumption that no blame rested on the -officers of the _Alberta_, provoked yachtsmen in every club in Great -Britain to retort that, in their painful experience, the Queen’s yachts -were navigated in the Solent with a disregard of the “rules of the -road” which rendered them a constituted nuisance. - -In this particular instance the Royal yacht had been driven at the -rate of seventeen miles an hour, and the Prince of Leiningen and -his subordinates had paid no attention to the Board of Trade rule -which makes it the duty of a steamer to get well out of the way of -a sailing-vessel. The quartermasters of the yacht, too, gave their -evidence in a manner which not only cast suspicion on their testimony, -but suggested that they stood in terror of their officers. A letter -which the Queen wrote to her nephew expressing her satisfaction -with their conduct, was moreover taken to be an attempt to unduly -influence the Coroner’s Court. The first jury did not agree on a -verdict, and the outcry about the Queen’s letter was so loud that -the case had to be tried again. The Queen had for a moment forgotten -that the vast influence which she had acquired during her reign -rendered it imperative for her to be silent on all matters of -controversy--especially if they were under judicial investigation. -She forgot that the mere expression of her individual opinion gave -an advantage to one side in a dispute, the extent of which she -herself had clearly never dreamt of--an advantage so great, that it -bore unfairly against the side that had not got it. The second jury, -however, brought in a verdict of “Accidental Death,” and condemned the -officers of the Royal yacht (1), for steaming at too high a speed, -and (2), for keeping a bad look-out. The verdict was quite illogical. -If the look-out on the _Alberta_ was bad and her speed too high, and -if, as was proved, her officer had violated the rule of the road, the -verdict ought to have been one of Manslaughter. But no further steps -were taken to do justice. Mr. Anderson brought the case before the -House of Commons, and though he was defeated in his effort to make the -Government move in the affair, he created a great stir in the country, -by declaring that public funds had been used as hush-money to prevent -further inquiry.[86] So far as the verdict of the jury went, demanding -that the Royal yachts should steam at less speed in the Solent, it was -absurd. State business often forces the Queen and her messengers and -Ministers to travel fast. What the jury should have recommended was a -new rule of the road, to the effect that everything must make way on -the water for a yacht flying the Sovereign’s personal flag. - -The other blunder of the Admiralty arose out of an inquiry into the -loss of two ironclads off the Wicklow coast. On the night of the 1st -of September the _Iron Duke_ rammed and sank the _Vanguard_. There was -a fog at the time, and the captain of the _Vanguard_ left the deck at -the moment of greatest peril, and was stupid enough to reduce speed -for no discernible reason without warning the _Iron Duke_, which was -coming behind him. The captain of the _Iron Duke_ was stupid enough to -increase her speed in the fog, and she was not only badly steered, but -her fog-signal was not blown. Had they been employed in the merchant -service these two officers would have been subjected to the severest -punishment. As it was, the captain of the _Vanguard_ was dismissed -the service. The captain of the _Iron Duke_, who had been condemned -by the court-martial for ramming the _Vanguard_, was acquitted, on a -review of his sentence by the Admiralty. The Admiralty then, by way -of compensation, cashiered his subordinate, Lieutenant Evans, without -a trial, and without giving him leave to make a defence. As for the -Admiral, who, from lack of skill or from negligence permitted the ships -of his squadron to sail close to each other in a fog, he was freed from -blame. - -Fortunately for Mr. Disraeli, an opportunity for a great stroke of -policy occurred, which diverted public attention from these blunders, -and re-established the waning popularity of his Ministry. On the -26th of November it was announced that the Government had bought for -£4,000,000 the Khedive’s shares in the Suez Canal, and what a French -writer described as “a conquest by mortgage” was hailed by the English -people, with a shout of gratification. The impecunious ruler of Egypt -had been literally hawking - -[Illustration: VIEW ON THE SUEZ CANAL.] - -his Canal shares among the Powers. It was possible that at any moment -Germany or France might buy them up, and then impede the passage of -English troops to India. Not a day was to be lost, and Mr. Disraeli, -therefore, on his own responsibility, and without consulting his -Cabinet, purchased the Shares. There was joy in the City over this -operation. The bankruptcy of Turkey, declared at the end of October, -had converted Turkish Bonds into waste paper, and it was some -compensation to speculators that Mr. Disraeli’s purchase of the Canal -Shares sent up the price of Egyptian Stock by leaps and bounds. Lord -Hartington, it is true, in a speech at Sheffield (15th of December), -querulously carped at the transaction. But as his contention was that -England was in a better position to secure the neutrality of the Canal -without than with a solid proprietary interest in it, nobody paid the -least attention to his unpatriotic cavillings. They merely convinced -the country that, despite Mr. Disraeli’s bungling Parliamentary -leadership, his inaccuracy of statement, his loose hold of principle, -and the administrative blunders of his subordinates, he was the only -living statesman of first rank, in whose hands the higher interests of -the Empire were safe. - -[Illustration: COUNT FERDINAND DE LESSEPS.] - -It was announced in March that the Prince of Wales was to visit India -in November, with Sir Bartle Frere as his guide. In July it was decided -that his tour should be a State Progress, the expenses of which should -be paid for out of the revenues of England and India. The marine escort -was to be provided by the Admiralty at a cost of £52,000; the Indian -Treasury was to contribute £30,000; and when Mr. Disraeli asked the -House of Commons for £52,000, Lord Hartington had no complaint to make -except that he thought the vote ought to be larger. Messrs. Macdonald -and Burt, when they objected that the working-classes would not approve -of the grant, were literally “howled down” by the House. Yet all Mr. -Burt said was that as he himself lived on a salary derived from his -constituents, he could not decently vote away their money to pay the -cost of what they believed was a tour of pleasure for a rich Prince. -His argument was fair enough from his point of view. It was faulty -because he failed to see that a vote for a State pageant which meant -to individualise the Monarchy to the Indian mind, was not a grant to -the Prince as a private individual. Mr. Bright’s support of the grant, -which was voted, was useful to the Government. But as his argument -was that the visit of the Prince might be serviceable in checking the -harsh and cruel treatment to which the natives of India are subjected -by their English rulers, it was condemned as unjust to the devoted -servants of the Queen, who wear out their lives in honourable exile, -maintaining peace in an Empire that, without them, would be converted -into a pandemonium of slaughter. - -The opening days of 1876 were marked by the announcement of Lord -Northbrook’s resignation as Viceroy of India. The Indian Viceroy had -for some time thwarted the policy of the Secretary of State, and the -final rupture was made when they differed in opinion as to the kind of -Envoy the Government should have at Cabul. It was a quaint controversy. -Lord Salisbury said the face of the British Envoy should be white. Lord -Northbrook contended that it should be black, whereupon Lord Salisbury -wrote Lord Northbrook a despatch, couched in terms that left him no -alternative save resignation. According to Lord Salisbury, unless a -white Envoy kept watch over the Ameer, Shere Ali, our information from -Cabul would be defective. According to Lord Northbrook, if we sent an -European Envoy to Cabul, he would be promptly assassinated, in which -case we should get no information at all, and India would be dragged -into a ruinous war of vengeance. Lord Northbrook had nothing on his -side but facts. No Afghan Ameer had ever been able to guarantee a -Christian Envoy at Cabul against assassination. When Lord Salisbury -did send an European Envoy to Cabul he was not only murdered, but, -pending his inevitable murder, the only information worth having that -came from Cabul, came from native sources. It was, moreover, a slight -on the Indian Government to say that they had not been able to train a -Mahommedan official of rank up to the duties of effective diplomatic -espionage at Cabul. However, the dispute ended in Lord Northbrook -coming back to England, and in Lord Lytton going out to India as -his successor. There was no doubt a time when the appointment of a -diplomatist who was a Peer and a passionate poet, to the Viceregal -Throne might have been useful. Unhappily, in 1876, a different type of -ruler was needed in India. The war cloud in Eastern Europe was about -to break, and it was well known that in any diplomatic contest between -Russia and England, it would be the aim of Russia to weaken England -by making trouble for her on her Indian frontier. For the stress of -the times, a man like Lord Mayo was necessary, and Lord Lytton was -everything that Lord Mayo was not. - -All through 1875 there had been in Bosnia and Herzegovina disturbances -precisely similar to those in the Principalities which preceded the -Crimean War. After Lord Derby had been appealed to by Musurus Pasha, -the Turkish Ambassador in London, he suggested to Count Andrassy that -Austria should prevent her subjects on her frontier from supporting the -insurgents in the mutinous Turkish provinces, and a similar suggestion -was made to the Servian Government. His advice to the Turks was to -stamp out rebellion as quickly as possible, so as to prevent it from -spreading and provoking European intervention. The Porte, instead of -acting on this advice, desired that the Consuls of the Great Powers -should mediate between the Sultan and the rebels, and Lord Derby, -instead of adhering to his original counsels, weakly fell in with -this proposal, and consented, though with great hesitancy, to let the -British Consul join the delegation. The rebels were delighted with the -proposals of the Consuls for their better government, but refused -to lay down their arms unless the Powers guaranteed that the Turks -would carry them out. The Consuls were pleased that the demands of the -insurgents were moderate and reasonable, but could give no guarantees -for the good faith of Turkey. As they were returning from their mission -fighting began again. - -From their public utterances during the recess of 1875 it was inferred -that while Lord Derby was averse from further intervention on the -part of England in the business, because in the East, he said, “we -want nothing, and fear nothing,” Mr. Disraeli was of opinion that -England had great interests in Eastern Europe, which the Government, -he said at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, “are resolved to guard and -maintain.” There are no novelties in English politics. The situation -was the same as that which led to the Crimean War, and it also had to -be dealt with by a Cabinet which, like Lord Aberdeen’s, was divided -into interventionists and non-interventionists. But an acute observer -might have detected what Mr. Disraeli failed to see, that English -opinion had changed since 1853. In 1853 the electors were in favour -of intervention, whereas, since the defeat of Palmerston by the Court -and Mr. Cobden in 1864, they had always been against it. As the -insurrection spread, the Porte promised reforms. Three Powers--Austria, -Germany and Russia, afterwards joined by France and Italy--sent a Note -to Turkey known as “the Andrassy Note” (30th of December, 1875), -condemning the misgovernment of the insurgent provinces, bewailing the -broken promises of the Porte, and demanding certain reforms in Bosnia -and Herzegovina to prevent a general rising. Lord Derby, after about -a month’s hesitation, instructed the British Ambassador to give the -Note a general support. Turkey accepted most of its proposals, and -issued another _Iradé_ to carry them out. The _Iradé_ was never made -operative, and though Lord Derby was not offended by the contumacy of -Turkey, the other Powers resented it. Count Schouvaloff persuaded him -to permit Lord Odo Russell to meet the representatives of the five -Powers at Berlin in May to consider the situation. At this meeting the -Berlin Memorandum was produced and agreed to by the Continental Powers. - -[Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF SAN SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE.] - -It assumed, that as the Porte had promised to carry out the reforms -in the Andrassy Note, the Powers had now the right to force it to -keep its pledges. It formulated the guarantees which Europe asked for -in order to give effect to the Andrassy Note, and threatened Turkey -with “more effective measures” of coercion if she failed to give them -within two months after an armistice between her and her rebellious -provinces had been concluded. The reason why the Note was minatory lay -on the surface. The Consuls of France and Germany had been murdered -by the Turks at Salonica, and before any redress could be obtained -Prince Bismarck had to send the Porte an ultimatum that meant war. Lord -Derby declined to assent to the Memorandum, on the ground that England -had not been consulted in the preparing of it, and did not believe -that it would do any good if presented. The Foreign Ministers of the -Powers in vain implored him to reconsider his decision, and then the -Memorandum was tossed into the waste-paper basket of diplomacy. Turkey, -seeing that Lord Derby had broken up the European Concert at Berlin, -behaved exactly as she did when Clarendon broke up the same instrument -of coercion at Vienna. Her contumacy was intensified, and what was -still more serious, her European vassals, seeing that diplomacy had -failed to rescue them from misrule, took up arms. Within a month after -the diplomatic triumph of England, the Turks found it had secured to -them the following advantages:--(1), The Continental Powers withdrew -from the field, and adopted an attitude of vigilant inactivity. (2), -Servia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey. (3), The soil of Bulgaria -was soaked with the blood of her Christian population, whose revolt -had been quelled by massacres and ghastly atrocities, that rendered -expulsion from Europe the manifest destiny of the Ottoman race. (4), -The Sultan Abdul Aziz was dethroned by a mob of fanatical Moslems, and -his European Empire lay wrecked in anarchy. It had been made a matter -of complaint that the Foreign Policy of England in 1853 was slow in -producing any effect. When we consider what happened in the month that -followed the failure of the Berlin Memorandum, and the collapse of the -European Concert, that complaint cannot be justly advanced against Mr. -Disraeli’s Foreign Policy in 1876. - -[Illustration: HERALDS AT THE MANSION HOUSE, PROCLAIMING THE QUEEN AS -“EMPRESS OF INDIA.”] - -Parliament was opened on the 8th of February by the Queen in person, -with great pomp and ceremony; and the Royal Speech promised several -useful measures dealing with the Court of Appeal, Merchant Shipping, -and Prisons. But the one that excited most public interest was the Bill -to confer on the Sovereign a new title derived from India, in gracious -acknowledgment of the enthusiastic reception given to the Prince of -Wales by the natives of that Empire. As for the Slave Circular, the -questions raised by it were to be referred to a Royal Commission. -The Foreign Policy of the Government was expressed by Mr. Disraeli, -in terms that appealed sympathetically to national feeling. It was -based on the idea that England was responsible for the good use of her -influence in the councils of Europe, and it united the Tory Party, and -caused the country to condone all Ministerial blunders. The debate -on the Eastern Question showed that Mr. Gladstone and other eminent -Liberals approved of Lord Derby’s adherence to the Andrassy Note. But -it clearly indicated that the Opposition would attack the Government -if it adopted the old Crimean policy of supporting Turkey whenever -she rejected the demands of Europe. The purchase of the Suez Canal -Shares provoked more controversy. It turned out that they had been -mortgaged by the Khedive, and could not yield dividends for nineteen -years, a fact unknown to Mr. Disraeli when he bought them. Sir Stafford -Northcote, therefore, proposed to borrow £4,000,000, and exact from -the Khedive 5 per cent. a year on that sum to cover the loss of the -mortgaged dividends. Mr. Gladstone attacked the financial details of -the transaction,[87] and though his criticism was logical it failed -to influence the country. Had the purchase of the Shares been solely -a commercial speculation, the unbusiness-like manner in which it had -been effected would have been of some importance. But it was also a -stroke of high policy, and it appealed to the imperial instincts of the -nation which, as Mr. Disraeli said, was getting “sea-sick of the silver -streak.”[88] Most of Mr. Gladstone’s prophecies have been falsified -by events. Oddly enough the only valid objections to the purchase of -the Canal Shares were not pressed by him. They were (1), That a Canal -which could be easily blocked and wrecked by an enemy’s ship, was not a -safe route to India; and (2), That the fault of Mr. Disraeli’s policy -was in his failure to carry it out to its logical conclusion--the -establishment of a British Protectorate over Egypt, which would -have rendered the final fate of Turkey, a matter of indifference to -Englishmen. Parliament ratified the policy of the Government with -enthusiasm. The appointment of the Royal Commission to examine all the -difficulties raised by the Slave Circular saved Ministers from defeat -at the end of the Debate on the issue of that stupid State Paper. The -Government was also fortunate in its domestic legislation. The Merchant -Shipping Bill, when it passed, was found to be a compromise which -remedied most of the wrongs for which Mr. Plimsoll sought redress. Lord -Sandon’s Education Act was a concession to the advocates of compulsory -education, for it prohibited the employment of children under ten, and -it prohibited the employment of children between ten and fourteen, who -had not attended school 250 times a year and passed an examination -in the Fourth Standard. In fact, the Bill legalised, not direct, but -indirect compulsion. Bills restricting the practice of vivisection, -and restoring to the House of Lords its Appellate Jurisdiction, but -adding to it Judges of Appeal, who would be Peers during their tenure -of office, and who, with the ex-Chancellor, would discharge the -judicial functions of the Upper House, were also passed. For the meagre -achievements of the Session three reasons may be given: (1), Much time -was lost over the Education Act, because not only was it necessary for -the Opposition to tone down its reactionary clauses, but concessions -to the opponents of School Boards were suddenly sprung upon the House -by Lord Sandon, which had to be fiercely resisted. (2), The policy of -obstruction which had been adopted with so much success to delay Mr. -Forster’s Ballot Bill in 1883, was now developed in an ingenious manner -by Messrs. Biggar and Parnell. They “blocked” Bills indiscriminately, -so as to bring them under the rule which forbade opposed measures to -be taken after half-past twelve at night. They moved adjournments in -various forms at half-past twelve, on the ground that the hour was too -far advanced for discussion. They were always on the watch to “count -out” the House, and they never missed a chance of “talking out” a -Bill,[89] quite regardless of its merits. Mr. Parnell and Mr. Biggar -thus taught themselves to be formidable debaters at the expense of the -House, for, as Mr. Parnell once told a friend, the best way to learn -the rules of Parliament is to break them.[90] (3), A great deal of -time was also wasted in discussing the Royal Titles Bill, to which the -Liberals offered an amount of opposition out of all proportion to the -significance of the measure. - -The Royal Titles Bill was introduced by the Prime Minister on the 7th -of February. He had some idea that it would be an offence against the -prerogative if he stated what the new title was to be, but it was -said that the Queen, ever since the Duchess of Edinburgh had claimed -precedence over her sisters-in-law, on the ground that hers was an -Imperial, whilst theirs was a Royal title, desired to be styled Empress -of India. On the other hand, most people objected to change the Queen’s -designation. Why, it was asked, should the successor of Egbert wish to -be a modern Empress? To insert India in the existing form of the Royal -title would adequately meet any - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN VISITING THE WARDS OF THE LONDON HOSPITAL.] - -real necessity for change. The Imperial title was also surrounded -with evil associations, and it suggested that Imperialism or personal -Government, tempered by casual appeals for support to the democracy -or the Army over the head of Parliament, was the end aimed at by the -Ministerial policy. Mr. Disraeli’s haughty refusal to communicate the -new title to the House of Commons was met by a motion that no progress -be made with the Bill till the title was revealed. The Prime Minister -accordingly yielded the point, and promised to give the necessary -explanations before the Bill was read a second time. The debate on the -Second Reading showed clearly that the House of Commons was hostile to -the Bill; but as the Government gave a pledge that the title should be -used in India only, the Second Reading was carried. This pledge was -soon broken, for the Proclamation was made, not that the new title -should be used in India, but that it might be used - -[Illustration: THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, CHARLOTTE SQUARE, EDINBURGH.] - -everywhere save in the United Kingdom. The Peers were as reluctant as -the Commons to sanction the adoption of any exotic titles by the Crown, -and the Court did not scruple to bring personal pressure to bear on -them for the purpose of overcoming their threatened opposition. Lord -Shaftesbury was summoned to Windsor in early spring, and as it was -twenty years since he had been the Queen’s guest, he says in his Diary -that he assumed his invitation was brought about by the controversy -then raging over the Royal Titles Bill. “I dread it [the visit],” he -writes in his Diary, on the 12th of March, “the cold, the evening -dress, the solitude, for I am old, and dislike being far away from -assistance should I be ill at night.... She [the Queen] sent for me -in 1848 to consult me on a very important matter. Can it be so now?” -The next entry showed his foreboding to be correct. He says, on the -14th of March, “Returned from Windsor. I am sure it was so, though not -distinctly avowed. Her Majesty personally said nothing.” But though -she did not discuss the views he expressed to her, a Lord-in-Waiting -formally requested him to communicate them to Mr. Disraeli. Mr. -Disraeli paid no heed to them, and Lord Shaftesbury accordingly moved -(3rd of April), in the House of Lords, an Address to the Queen praying -her not to take the title of Empress. He pointed out that in time -it would lose its present impression of feminine softness, and be -transformed into “Emperor,” whereupon “it must have an air military, -despotic, offensive, and intolerable.” To scoff as Mr. Disraeli had -done at the popular dislike to the Imperial title as a mere “sentiment” -was a mistake. “Loyalty itself,” observed Lord Shaftesbury, “was a -sentiment, and the same sentiment that attached the people to the word -Queen, averted them from that of ‘Empress.’” In the division, though -the Government obtained 137 votes in favour of what the _Saturday -Review_ called a “vulgar and impolitic innovation,” eight Dukes and -a large body of habitual courtiers voted with Lord Shaftesbury in -the minority of 91.[91] The dismal predictions of the opponents of -the measure have not been verified--possibly because their protests -convinced the Court that any ostentatious display of modern Imperialism -by an ancient Constitutional Monarchy would lead to a recrudescence of -the Republic agitation. Fortunately the heated debates on the Titles -Bill did not affect the personal popularity of the Sovereign. In the -midst of the controversy the Queen visited Whitechapel on the 6th -of March, to open a new wing of the London Hospital, which had been -built by the munificence of the Grocers’ Company. Her Majesty was -enthusiastically received, the only complaint being that she drove too -fast along the route where the populace swarmed in their thousands to -gaze on her. The visit was taken to be an intimation that the Crown was -not a mere toy of the aristocratic quarters of the capital, and that -when the Queen emerged from her seclusion it was not solely for the -purpose of benefiting the West End shopkeepers. “The bees welcome their -Queen,” was one of the mottoes displayed on the route. “I was sick and -ye visited me,” was another, and both inscriptions reflected the kindly -feeling with which her Majesty was greeted by industrial London. In -the Hospital many interesting incidents were recorded, one of the most -touching being that of a little girl who was suffering from a severe -burn, and who had said she was sure she would get better if she “could -only see the Queen.” When this was communicated to her Majesty, she -smiled, went straightway to the child’s cot, where she kissed her, and -soothed her with many tender words of comfort. - -Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget was a doleful statement of increased -expenditure, and diminished income from a revenue that had ceased to be -elastic. He estimated a deficit for the coming year of £774,000, and -so he increased the income-tax to 5d. in the £, and added 4d. on the -pound to the duty on tobacco. The latter tax was a mistake. It did not -raise the price of tobacco to the poor, but it caused the manufacturers -to adulterate their tobacco with water so as to add to its weight. The -Session ended on the 15th of August, and next day the world heard with -great surprise that Mr. Disraeli had become Earl of Beaconsfield, and -to use his own jocose expression, that, “abandoning the style of Don -Juan for that of Paradise Lost,” he would in future lead the House of -Lords. Sir Stafford Northcote was left to represent him in the House of -Commons. - -On the 17th of August the Queen unveiled the Scottish National -Memorial of Prince Albert, which had been erected in Charlotte Square, -Edinburgh. The monument consisted of a colossal equestrian statue of -the Prince Consort, and the four panels of the pedestal contained -bas-reliefs illustrating notable events in his Royal Highness’s career. -At each of the four corners of the platform on which the pedestal -stands were groups of statuary, symbolical of the respect paid to -Prince Albert’s memory by all classes of the community: one group -typifying Labour, another Science and Art, a third the Army and Navy, -and the fourth the Nobility. The equestrian figure and the panels -were the work of the veteran Scottish sculptor, Mr. John Steell, who -designed and superintended the construction of the memorial. The -subordinate groups were executed by Mr. D. W. Stevenson, Mr. Clark -Stanton, Mr. Brodie, and Mr. George McCallum, a young artist of high -promise, who died before his group was completed. The ceremony of -unveiling was unusually interesting. A gaily-decorated pavilion had -been raised for the occasion. The Queen was accompanied by Prince -Leopold, the Princess Beatrice, and the Duke of Connaught. Under -the command of the Duke of Buccleuch, the Royal Company of Archers -formed the bodyguard. The Duke of Roxburghe, Lord Rosebery, Sir W. -Gibson-Craig, the Earl of Selkirk, the Earl of Lauderdale, Lord -Provost Falshaw, and the Town Council, were among the distinguished -persons present. After the statue had, at her Majesty’s command, been -uncovered, she walked round it and expressed her entire satisfaction -with the memorial. To signalise her appreciation of what had been -done, and to manifest her desire to honour her “faithful city,” Mr. -Falshaw was created a baronet, and a knighthood was conferred on Mr. -John Steell, and on Mr. Herbert Oakeley, Professor of Music in the -University. - -During the Recess, the country could think of nothing save the Eastern -Question. Mr. Gladstone’s taste - - “For writing pamphlets and for roasting Popes” - -was bent in a new direction, and he threw himself with all his might -into the controversy that ended in turning English public opinion -irrevocably against Turkey. Throughout the Session Mr. Gladstone and -Lord Hartington had, with commendable patriotism, abstained from -putting questions to Ministers with reference to their Eastern policy. -Parliament and the country were, therefore, in the dark as to what was -going on. But towards the end of - -[Illustration: HOLYROOD PALACE, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.] - -June disquieting rumours flew about to the effect that there had been -a revolution in Bulgaria, and that the Turks had suppressed it by -massacres of the most revolting barbarity. The Government met these -tales with jaunty persiflage. On the 10th of July Mr. Forster put a -question on the subject, which Mr. Disraeli answered by saying that he -considered the reports exaggerated, nor did he think that torture had -been resorted to by “an Oriental people who, I believe, seldom resort -to torture, but generally terminate their connection with culprits in -a more expeditious manner.”[92] This ill-timed jest was hailed with a -great guffaw of laughter from the Ministerial Benches. It destroyed Mr. -Disraeli’s authority in the country when the awful truth was revealed, -not by the diplomatic agents of England, who strove hard to conceal -it, but by two American gentlemen, Mr. J. A. Macgahan, a distinguished -journalist, and Mr. Eugene Schuyler, the United States Consul-General -in Turkey. They went to Philippopolis on the 25th of July, and Mr. -Macgahan’s description of what he saw in the country, which had been -ravaged by the Turks, when published in the _Daily News_, sent a thrill -of horror through the - -[Illustration: SIR JAMES FALSHAW. - -(_From a Photograph by J. Moffat, Edinburgh._)] - -civilised world. The partisans of Turkey were enraged beyond -self-control, and vowed that the worst of all outrages that had been -committed was that which was perpetrated by the publication of Mr. -Macgahan’s report on the brutalities of the Turkish soldiery. The -wild work of the Sepoys at Cawnpore was indeed merciful and humane -compared with what had been done by the Turks at Batak. Indiscriminate -butchery could alone be laid to the charge of the Indian mutineers. -But in Bulgaria, before the Turk murdered his victims, he inflicted on -them fiendish tortures and bestial outrages. The Province was one vast -desolation covered with blackened ruins, devastated fields, putrefying -corpses, and bleached skeletons. Neither age nor sex had been spared. -The land would have been as silent as a desert, save for the wailing -of the scattered remnant of the Christian population who had eluded -the vengeance of their oppressors. As for the Porte--whose promises -of reform in Bulgaria were cheerily cited by Mr. Disraeli to cast -doubt on the descriptions of these atrocities--it gave but one sign -of action. It promoted Achmed Aga, the barbarian who was responsible -for all this wickedness, to be Governor of the Province which he had -laid waste.”[93] The effect of these revelations on public opinion was -heightened by Mr. Gladstone’s pamphlet, entitled “Bulgarian Horrors,” -and by his speech at Blackheath on the 9th of September, wherein he -convicted the Government of apologising for Turkish barbarities, when -it could no longer venture to deny their existence. He laid down the -lines of the new Eastern policy which England must support. The Turkish -officials must be expelled from Bulgaria “bag and baggage,” and the -European Provinces of Turkey granted such powers of self-government -under the suzerainty of the Sultan, as would protect them from being -seized by Austria and Russia on the one hand and devastated by Asiatic -savages on the other. Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Derby, in -subsequent speeches, seemed to adopt the principle of Mr. Gladstone’s -policy. They admitted that it was the duty of England to join the -civilised Powers in preventing Turkey from opening again the floodgates -of lust, rapine, and murder in Bulgaria, and the English people for the -first time understood how, with the cries of their tortured neighbours -ringing in their ears, the Servians and Montenegrins had flown to arms. - -Some Conservative writers and speakers still tried to persuade the -world that the Russian Government had bribed the Turkish Pashas -to commit and the Bulgarians to submit to outrages, in order to -discredit Ottoman rule in Europe. But their efforts were futile, and -the word went forth from all sides that never again would England -draw her sword, as in 1854, to save Turkey from the consequences of -her incurable barbarism. Strange to say, Lord Beaconsfield failed -to gauge the strength of this feeling. On the 20th of September, in -his speech at Aylesford, he neither adopted nor rejected the policy -suggested by Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Derby, but he spoke in a -querulous tone of the popular meetings which were being held all over -England expressing sympathy with Bulgaria and urging the Government -to shield her from the cruelty of her oppressors. The agitation, -he said, was “impolitic, and founded on erroneous data.” Those who -got up these meetings, he declared, were guilty of outrages on “the -principle of patriotism, worse than any of those Bulgarian atrocities -of which we have heard so much.” His negative policy which destroyed -the Berlin Memorandum without putting any counter proposals in its -place, would, he contended, have had a happy issue in negotiations. -These, however, were upset by the unexpected Servian declaration of -war against Turkey, which was prompted by “the Secret Societies.” Yet -England had signed the Andrassy Note, which warned Turkey that this -unexpected war would be waged against her by Servia, unless she granted -the reforms demanded in the Note. When Turkey, instead of granting -these reforms, massacred the population that craved for them, it was -absurd to suppose that “the Secret Societies of Europe,” rather than -the popular sympathies of the Christian Slavs, forced the Servian -Government into war. That the speech fell flat was seen by the polling -at the Buckinghamshire Election next day, when in Lord Beaconsfield’s -own county Mr. Freemantle only saved the seat from the attack of Mr. -Rupert Carrington, the Liberal candidate, by the small majority of -186. There were now two voices in the Cabinet; for on the day after -Lord Beaconsfield’s speech was made and was taken by Turkey to mean -that she had the English Cabinet on her side, Lord Derby ordered Sir -H. Elliot to go to the Sultan, and not only denounce the outrages in -Bulgaria, but, in the name of the Queen, who was profoundly shocked -by them, demand that the officials who perpetrated them be adequately -punished. It is hardly necessary to say that the Sultan, imagining that -the Prime Minister was all-powerful, paid no heed to remonstrances from -the Foreign Secretary. On the 25th of September, the day after the war -with Servia began, Sir H. Elliot pressed the Porte to make peace on -terms which Lord Derby suggested, and which were most creditable to his -diplomatic sagacity. Lord Derby’s proposals, if carried out, would have -saved Turkey from the supreme disaster which was awaiting her, for they -provided that the Porte should effectively guarantee administrative -reforms in her Christian Provinces, while Servia and Montenegro should -lay down their arms and return to the _status quo ante bellum_. The -Porte would only accept an armistice which would have been unfair -to Servia and Montenegro, and Servia would not accept a settlement -which did not provide for the withdrawal of the barbarous soldiers of -Turkey from Bulgaria. Whilst negotiations were pending, the Turks, -on the 29th of October, beat down the Servian defence at Alexinatz, -whereupon, to the mortification of England, the Czar effected in an -instant that which Lord Derby, after many weary weeks of negotiation, -had failed to accomplish. Ignatieff was instructed to tell the Porte -that if it did not accept an armistice of six weeks within forty-eight -hours, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Russia would cease. -When the same threat had been delivered by the British Ambassador, -the Turks ignored it; in fact, they were impudent enough to meet it -with a counter-proposal so absurd, that the Italian Minister said they -were obviously playing with England. Although strengthened by a great -victory, they did not, however, dare to treat the representative of -the Czar as if he were the representative of the Queen. They accepted -his ultimatum without demur or delay, and thus owing to the feebleness -of English diplomacy, Russia emerged with the honours of the game -in which, up to the last moment, Lord Derby held the winning cards. -This was, however, a minor matter. Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Derby -had now given Russia not only a plausible pretext for taking the lead -in dealing with the Eastern Question, but also an opportunity for -intimating to the world that, in circumstances which extorted the -sanction of the Continental Powers, she had the right, in case of a -deadlock, to deal with it single-handed. In other words, the English -Government, by allowing the Porte to trifle with it during September, -1876, flung away at one cast the only practical results won by the -Crimean War. - -[Illustration: LORD BEACONSFIELD AT THE BANQUET IN THE GUILDHALL.] - -The Czar now proposed that a coercive naval demonstration by the Powers -should be made in the Bosphorus, but Lord Derby rejected the idea. -After some weeks he suggested that a Conference of the Powers should be -held to - -[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF CONSTANTINOPLE.] - -consider the situation on the basis of his own excellent proposals for -peace, which have been already described. The Conference was assented -to, and Lord Derby to some extent retrieved the position he lost on the -morrow of Alexinatz. The Czar had also given the English Government -the fullest assurances that he had no design on Constantinople, and -in proof of his sincerity he had withdrawn a suggestion he had thrown -out for the temporary occupation of Bosnia and Bulgaria by Austrian -and Russian troops, and frankly accepted the English proposals for -a settlement. It has been seen that during the negotiations which -led up to the Crimean War, whenever the question was on the point of -being settled somebody always interfered in England and in France to -break the accord of the Powers. On this occasion history repeated -itself. On the 9th of November Lord Beaconsfield delivered a speech -at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, which suppressed all information as to -the conciliatory mood of the Czar, and not only terrified Englishmen -into a belief that Russia was scheming to seize Bulgaria, but that -England was determined to oppose her by arms. The Czar, on the other -hand, in an address to the Notables of Moscow, said that he was “firmly -resolved to act independently if necessary” to obtain justice for -the Christian subjects of Turkey.[94] At Constantinople there was -joy among the Pashas, for they argued that after Lord Beaconsfield’s -Guildhall speech they might regard the verdict of the Conference with -indifference. The Czar, on his side, by way of emphasising his Moscow -speech, mobilised six _corps d’armée_,[95] and Sir Stafford Northcote -and Mr. Cross, in order to minimise the effect of Lord Beaconsfield’s -threats, delivered addresses showing that they thought Turkey must be -coerced if she trifled with Europe.[96] Lord Salisbury visited the -European capitals on his way to the Conference at Constantinople, at -which he was to represent England, and at each one he was informed -that he must expect no aid in supporting Turkey. An appeal was made -by the _Times_ to Prince Bismarck to check Russia--but in vain. When -Lord Salisbury had an interview with Prince Bismarck he found he -was virtually a diplomatic ally of Russia. In fact, ere he reached -Constantinople, Lord Salisbury found that Lord Beaconsfield’s policy -of applying the obsolete ideas of the Whigs of 1854 to solve the -Eastern Question in 1876, had isolated England. In the preliminary -Conference, from which the Turks were excluded, Mr. Gladstone’s plan of -giving administrative autonomy to the European Provinces of Turkey was -adopted, Lord Salisbury supporting it with great ability and skill.[97] -He even consented to allow 6,000 troops from some minor State--Belgium -was suggested--to support the International Commission for reorganising -the Government of an autonomous Bulgaria. This scheme was to have been -adopted by the Porte at a Plenary Conference. Relying on the support of -Lord Beaconsfield, and misled by the denunciations of Lord Salisbury -which appeared in the Ministerial Press--then busy manufacturing -failure for the English representatives at the Conference--the Porte -met the demands of the Powers for reform, by proclaiming a grotesque -Parliamentary Constitution for the Ottoman Empire. But it obstinately -refused to grant the reforms demanded by the Conference, which -accordingly broke up on the 20th of January, 1877. The Ambassadors -of the Powers were then recalled from Constantinople. On the 8th of -December (1876) a National Conference, under the presidency of the -Duke of Westminster, and representing not only the heads of the Whig -nobility, but most of the leaders of literature, science, and art, -the High Church clergy, the Nonconformists, and politicians of every -shade of Liberal opinion, met in St. James’s Hall to condemn Lord -Beaconsfield’s policy, and protest against England giving armed aid to -Turkey. - -Early in 1876 the death of Lady Augusta Stanley, wife of the Dean of -Westminster, removed one of the Queen’s most trusted friends. She had -been for many years in personal attendance on her Majesty, and her -services were so valuable that for many years her marriage with Dean -Stanley had been postponed simply because the Royal Family could not -spare her from their domestic circle. This gentle lady, throughout -her life of unobtrusive usefulness at the Deanery of Westminster, -served as one of the connecting-links between the upper, the middle, -and the lower classes. She was as well known and as well loved in -the dismal “slums” of London as in the radiant circle of the Court, -and her death somewhat dimmed the brightness of the London season -of 1876. It was a feverish, ill-conditioned season, agitated by -financial scandals, by the pressure of hard times, by the failure -of trade due to the uncertainty of the political situation, and by -fierce and factious controversies as to the relative merits of Turks -and Eastern Christians. To be in the mode one had to affect a strong -admiration, not only for the ethics of the Koran, but for those of the -Bashi-Bazouk, and a compassionate regret that Christianity had failed -to elevate the European subjects of the Sultan, to the plane of Asiatic -civilisation. The china mania, or craze for collecting old pottery, -represented the fashionable movement in Art. Rinking, or skating on -roller-skates in very mixed assemblies,[98] was the favourite form of -physical recreation, and persons of quality kept their intellects alive -by holding the spelling competitions known as “Spelling Bees.” Besides -the “hard times” due to the collapse of investments, the Colorado -beetle and the tropical heat of summer were added to the torments -of the time; and the publication of the Domesday Book, showing that -710 individuals owned more than one-fourth of the soil of England -and Wales, still further aggravated the uneasiness of a territorial -aristocracy, whose margin of income for expenditure on luxuries was -daily diminishing. The year closed with the sudden return of the Polar -Expedition under Sir George Nares. Its record of achievement was most -meagre, and its retreat after enduring only one winter in the ice was -felt to be discreditable to the manhood of the British Navy. It was, -however, discovered that the disaster was due to a terrible outbreak -of scurvy in the crews of the Arctic ships, which was traced to their -neglect to use lime-juice. The reputation of the explorers for pluck -and endurance was thus redeemed at the expense of their intelligence. - -The daily papers were filled with glowing accounts of the proclamation -of the Queen as Empress of India (Kaiser-i-Hind) at Delhi, in the -presence of the Viceroy and the great feudatories of the Empire on -the 1st of January, 1877. The ceremony was accompanied by salvoes -of artillery. A banner and a medal were given to the Princes to -commemorate the event, and five of the most powerful magnates, Holkar, -Scindiah, the Maharajah of Cashmere, the Maharajah of Travancore, and -the Maharanee of Oodeypore, were granted rank, typified by salutes of -twenty-one guns, equivalent to that of the Nizam. But as the viceregal -salute was raised to thirty-one guns, Holkar and Scindiah, whose claim -was to hold higher status than the Viceroy in their own dominions, -and equal rank with him elsewhere, went away discontented. The scenic -display was a little tawdry and theatrical, and grizzled Anglo-Indians, -who had been accustomed to see austere statesmen or stern soldiers on -the viceregal throne, were perplexed to find the Empress represented by -a Viceroy who appeared to enjoy keenly the Orientalism of the function, -and saw no absurdity in representing the majesty of Empire from the -back of an elephant, which had been painted white for the occasion. -Yet the ceremony was not without a deep meaning. It represented the -final triumph of the new system which was introduced into India by -Canning, the system by which, instead of ruling India by a paternal -bureaucracy, whose aim was to sweep away all magnates who stood between -it and the people, the hereditary rights of the native Princes were -recognised, and they themselves admitted as corner-stones in the -fabric of Empire of which the Kaiser-i-Hind was now proclaimed the -apex and crown. It was, therefore, not without significance that the -only class unrepresented at the Coronation was the Indian people. Yet -one occasionally heard of the Indian people. A quarter of a million of -them had been drowned by a cyclone in Bengal when the debates on the -Imperial title were going on in London. Eight millions of them were in -the agonies of famine in Central India when that title was proclaimed -at Delhi. - -[Illustration: TROOPING THE COLOURS IN ST. JAMES’S PARK ON THE QUEEN’S -BIRTHDAY.] - -[Illustration: LORD CAIRNS. - -(_From a Photograph by Russell and Sons._)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE REIGN OF JINGOISM. - - Opening of Parliament--Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership--The - Prisons Bill--Mr. Parnell’s Policy of Scientific Obstruction--The - South Africa Confederation Bill--Mr. Parnell’s Bout with Sir - Stafford Northcote--A Twenty-six Hours’ Sitting--The Budget--The - Russo-Turkish Question--Prince Albert’s Eastern Policy--Opinion - at Court--The Sentiments of Society--The Feeling of the British - People--Outbreak of War--Collapse of Turkey--The Jingoes--The Third - Volume of the “Life of the Prince Consort”--The “Greatest War - Song on Record”--The Queen’s Visit to Hughenden--Early Meeting of - Parliament--Mr. Layard’s Alarmist Telegrams--The Fleet Ordered to - Constantinople--Resignation of Lord Carnarvon--The Russian Terms of - Peace--Violence of the War Party--The Debate on the War Vote--The - Treaty of San Stefano--Resignation of Lord Derby--Calling Out the - Reserves--Lord Salisbury’s Circular--The Indian Troops Summoned - to Malta--The Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement--Lord Salisbury’s - Denials--The Berlin Congress--The _Globe_ Disclosures--The - Anglo-Turkish Convention--Occupation of Cyprus--“Peace with - Honour”--The Irish Intermediate Education Bill--Consolidation - of the Factory Acts--The Monarch and the Multitude--Outbreak of - the Third Afghan War--The “Scientific Frontier”--Naval Review at - Spithead--Death of the Ex-King of Hanover--Death of the Princess - Alice. - - -The “green Yule,” which bodes ill-luck, ushered in the year 1877. The -attitude of the Ministry to the Eastern Question was still one of -indecision; but there was joy in City circles when, on the 11th of -January, it was announced that Lord Derby had recalled the British -Fleet from Besika Bay. This was a warning to the Sultan that England -had no sympathy with the contumacy of the Porte, which still refused to -concede the guarantees for reform in its European provinces that the -Conference insisted on. - -On the 8th of February the Queen opened Parliament in person, and -was well received in the crowded streets, but Mr. Gladstone, Lord -Beaconsfield, and the Chinese Ambassador and his suite were for the -time the real heroes of the mob. The scene in the House of Lords -was one of exceptional brilliancy, and after the Speech, was read -by Lord Cairns, the Queen, descending the steps of the Throne, left -the Chamber, the ceremony, so far as her Majesty was concerned, not -occupying more than fifteen minutes. It need not be said that in both -Houses the debates on the Address centred round the Eastern Question. -The Conference had been a failure, and the Government were seriously -embarrassed. Logically, Ministers, as men of spirit, were bound to -make the demands of the Conference effective, for was it not their own -device for settling the Eastern Question, and were not its demands -their demands? That was the view which Lord Hartington vindicated in a -speech of great power and cogency. - -On the other hand, it was clear that the Cabinet had no fixed aim -when it organised the Conference--that if it ever contemplated the -contingency of failure, which its supporters by their fierce attacks -on Lord Salisbury had virtually manufactured, it had hoped to tide -over the difficulty by letting matters drift. Lord Derby had begun by -assuming that it was not the right or duty of England to insist on -Turkey conceding reforms to Bulgaria. The autumnal agitation about -the atrocities induced him to change front, and to admit that it -was alike the duty and right of England, as one of the Powers whose -support maintained the Turkish Empire, to demand that its European -Provinces should not be submerged in barbarism. He had organised the -Powers in support of this demand, and now, when the Turks refused to -yield to it, he reverted to his original theory that England had no -more right to interfere with Turkey, than with Austria or France. What -made matters worse for the Cabinet was the prevailing belief that, -though they sent Lord Salisbury to Constantinople to insist on reforms, -their agents privily assured Midhat Pasha, then Grand Vizier, that -no harm would come if Turkey upset the Conference. The State Papers -furnish no confirmation of this belief. Indeed, they show that Lord -Derby told Lord Salisbury to warn the Turks that though England would -take no part in coercive measures against them, the Porte “is to be -made to understand that it can expect no assistance from England in -the case of war.”[99] The Turks, however, had a fixed conviction that -England would help them in a war with Russia. Nothing but a strong -statement from Lord Beaconsfield would have eradicated this belief, -and all that the English Government can be blamed for is, that Lord -Beaconsfield failed or refused to make this statement. According to -Prince Bismarck, no statesman who aspires to influence abroad will -permit his Government to be associated with a failure in diplomacy. Yet -not only had Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Derby permitted their project -of the Conference to be laughed to pieces by the Turks, but all they -had to say to Parliament was that they were sorry that Turkey had -misunderstood her own interests. They were quite contented to accept -the defeat of their scheme meekly. Their position appears rather abject -to those who look at it critically, and yet no other was practically -open to them. Only a small faction, led by Lord Hartington and Mr. -Gladstone, were for coercing Turkey. A still smaller faction of idle -loungers, whose favourite phrase was that “Piccadilly wanted a little -wholesome blood-letting,” were for joining Turkey in a war against -the Slav States headed by Russia. The people were divided between -their spasmodic fear of Russia and their equally spasmodic loathing -for the Turks, and Radical Russophobes, like Mr. Joseph Cowen, were -just as loud in demanding non-intervention as Radical Russophiles -like Mr. Bright. Thus the policy of the Government--that of demanding -concessions from Turkey from a love of Humanity, and tamely submitting -to a contemptuous refusal, from fear of Russia, fairly well reflected -the mind of the English democracy. - -Sir Stafford Northcote’s leadership of the House of Commons was not -promising. He tolerated the obstruction of a small group of members, -who caused the Bill which closed public-houses in Ireland on Sundays -to be abandoned, after Ministers stood pledged to its principle, and -all parties in the House were willing to pass it. He permitted his -more devoted followers to oppose a Resolution moved by Mr. Clare -Read--who had left the Government because he considered that they -neglected agricultural interests--in favour of County Government -Reform. But at the last moment he put forward Mr. Sclater-Booth -to accept the Resolution in a speech which was evidently meant as -a conclusive argument against it. Mr. Cross’s Prisons Bills, too, -spread disaffection among the squirearchy. These measures reduced the -management of gaols in the three kingdoms to something like uniformity. -But they made the prisons national and not local institutions, -centralised their administration in the hands of the Imperial -Government, deposed the local justices from their position of control -over them, and charged their cost to the Consolidated Fund. - -The debates in Parliament were rendered memorable by the appearance of -a cool and adroit gladiator on the Irish benches, whose business-like -methods of attacking the Prisons Bill in Committee extorted admiration -from all old Parliamentary hands. This was Mr. Charles Stewart Parnell. -It was known to be his intention to obstruct the Prisons Bill, in -defiance of the wishes of Mr. Butt, the leader of the Irish Party. But -it was assumed that a combination of the two great English Parties -would easily crush opposition of the frivolous and factious order -with which Mr. Beresford Hope and a section of the Tories had met Mr. -Forster’s Ballot Bill.[100] But Mr. Parnell had evidently foreseen this -contingency, and he met it by inventing a higher and more scientific -type of obstruction than Mr. Hope had been capable of devising. His -obstruction paralysed the two front benches, because he took care that -it was not frivolous. He had evidently spent many nights and days -in the minute dissection of the Bill, and he had manifestly toiled -without stint in reading up the whole question of Prison discipline. -It was not till he had made himself master of the entire subject that -he intervened in the Debates, and then the House, to its amazement, -found that the Home Secretary himself, when pitted against this bland -young Irish squire with his soft voice, his lugubrious intonation, his -funereal manner, and dull, prosaic Gradgrind-like form of speech, was -but a poor amateur wriggling in the firm grip of a pitiless expert. To -the dismay of the three leaders of the House--Sir Stafford Northcote, -Lord Hartington, and Mr. Butt--there was no easy means of getting rid -of Mr. Parnell, simply because his amendments--and their name was -legion--were not vamped up. Nay, with Machiavelian ingenuity he had -draughted them so skilfully that most of them appealed strongly to -the sympathies of other sections of the House than those connected -with Ireland. Indeed, but for the persistency with which Mr. Parnell -and one or two of his friends “bored” the House with the sufferings -of certain Fenian prisoners under discipline, one would have thought -that his treatment of the Bill was simply that of an English country -gentleman, who had made himself an authority on the question, and had -a genuine desire to eliminate from it stupid provisions which had -been palmed off on a credulous Home Secretary. Nor was it in mastery -of detail and skill of draughtsmanship alone that Mr. Parnell showed -himself formidable. His ingenuity in inventing amendments drawn on -lines that appealed to English popular feeling was inexhaustible. If -at one moment the Home Secretary found himself contending with Mr. -Parnell in the guise of a healthy-minded Tory squire, who was a hater -of centralisation and a champion of the rights of visiting justices, -at another he found himself battling with a philanthropist in whom -the spirit of Howard lived again. Few who witnessed the long duel -between Mr. Cross and Mr. Parnell will ever forget the pitiful and -perturbed embarrassment of the Home Secretary when he found himself at -every turn so maliciously cornered by his enemy, that he must either -surrender, offend the prejudices of the rural magistracy, who hated the -Bill, or raise up hosts of enemies in Exeter Hall and other centres -of philanthropic activity, where any proposal to humanise Prison -Discipline was hailed with delight. And when the duel was over it was -impossible to deny that whatever might be Mr. Parnell’s motive, he had -by his opposition extorted from Mr. Cross a series of concessions, -which not only improved the Bill, but converted it from a bad one into -a good one. - -One more point remains to be noted. Mr. Parnell’s party practically -consisted of one--namely, Mr. Joseph Gillies Biggar. If it was Mr. -Parnell’s desire “to scorn delights and live laborious days” in -reforming the administration of English prisons, it was the firm and -austere resolve of Mr. Biggar that this great work should be done with -a solemnity of deliberation - -[Illustration: HORSESHOE CLOISTERS, WINDSOR CASTLE.] - -worthy of such an august Assembly as the House of Commons. The business -in hand was too serious to be transacted without a quorum--so Mr. -Biggar invariably tried to “count” out the House. Public affairs ought -not to be transacted at an hour when, to use his favourite phrase, -“no decent person would be out of _their beds_,” so Mr. Biggar would -insist on adjourning the House or the Committee about one o’clock in -the morning.[101] And Mr. Biggar played his part in the serio-comedy -with so much elfish delight and quaint, grotesque humour, that if the -House now and then roared with rage at him, it still oftener roared -with laughter. Those who saw deeper than the surface saw that something -more serious than a comedy was being produced by these new performers -from Ireland. They saw sprouting the germ of that extraordinary -policy of Parliamentary pressure by which the new school of Irish -Nationalists sought to gain their end--the policy that offered the -Imperial Government the choice of one of two alternatives--concession -of autonomy in Ireland, or the sacrifice of the ancient liberties and -privileges of Parliament. - -Still Englishmen were loth to believe that an issue so grave would be -forced upon them. Indeed, the Conservative Party regarded obstruction, -so far as it had gone, with merely a Platonic hatred. It had been used -only to check legislation, and Conservative interests were not hurt by -keeping things as they were. Then it was also said that the success of -Mr. Parnell was due to the feebleness of Mr. Cross, who, however, was -in a position to smile at such innuendoes. Whether he had been strong -or weak, Mr. Cross had, at all events, got his Prisons Bill passed in -a form that brought him great credit in the country. However, in the -lobbies of the House of Commons and in the political clubs the general -opinion was, that there was no need for Conservatives to be alarmed -so long as Mr. Parnell merely delayed legislative changes. He would -not venture to obstruct administrative work, and he must assuredly -succumb if he challenged a vigorous and resolute Minister like Mr. -Gathorne-Hardy. Mr. Parnell accordingly put up Mr. O’Connor Power to -block Mr. Hardy’s Army Estimates on the 2nd of July. Mr. Power waited -till the Army Reserve Vote came on, and then he met it with a motion to -report progress, first, because money ought not to be voted away after -midnight, and secondly because Ireland, not being allowed to raise -a Volunteer Force, ought not to pay taxes to support the Volunteer -Forces of England and Scotland. Would Mr. Hardy explain why Ireland -should not have Volunteers? Mr. Hardy seemed speechless with wrath at -the audacity of the attack, and met the question with contemptuous -silence. The interest of the House was now roused. It would be seen -whether the strong Minister of the Government, would be more successful -than Mr. Cross in coping with obstruction. Of course the motion was -defeated--but eight members, including Mr. Whalley, voted for it. Mr. -Parnell, it was then seen, had a small party at his back, nay, he -had lieutenants at his call ready to serve. Mr. O’Donnell next moved -that the Chairman of Committee leave the chair, and defiantly warned -Mr. Hardy that, till he did answer Mr. Power’s question, no Supply -would be voted. Mr. Hardy still refused, and then the struggle went on -merrily, dilatory motions being moved one after the other, till at last -the Government gave up the fight, and allowed the House to be counted -out at a quarter past seven in the morning.[102] Mr. Cross was the -only Conservative member who did not appear crestfallen next day. His -“feeble” method of dealing had, at all events, borne fruit. He had got -work, and good work, done. Mr. Hardy’s vigour had simply demonstrated -to the world that six Irish members could keep the House of Commons -sitting till seven o’clock in the morning, and keep it sitting for -nothing. Sir Stafford Northcote accordingly carried the feeling of -the House with him when, at next meeting, he threatened to move that -the rules of Procedure be reconsidered. But on going into the matter -he found that this would take time. The rules were dear to Members -opposed to reform, because they were so contrived as to give the utmost -facilities for impeding legislative change. Hence, he intimated, on the -5th of July, that he would deal with the difficulty after the Recess. -Mr. Parnell’s retort was to obstruct business at that sitting till -about three in the morning. He and his friends not only opposed the -clause in the Irish Judicature Bill fixing the salaries of the Irish -Judges,[103] but they affected to have suddenly taken an absorbing -interest in the Solicitors Examination Bill which had come down from -the House of Lords. On the 23rd of July Sir Stafford Northcote, still -shrinking from altering the rules of the House, tried to meet the case -by moving that the Government should confiscate for their business the -nights allotted to private members. This enabled the Parnellite Party -to again obstruct business, as champions of Parliamentary privileges. - -By this time the House of Commons was working itself up into a fit of -burning indignation. The anger of the Conservatives indeed knew no -bounds, for they saw that they must either submit to Mr. Parnell, or -surrender privileges of obstruction which they had themselves found -useful in defeating measures of reform in bygone days. Mr. Parnell’s -Party sat maliciously cool and annoyingly calm through all the turmoil; -indeed, Mr. Parnell seemed bent on provoking the Tories opposite him, -by assuming towards them a demeanour of supercilious aristocratic -superiority that cut them at every moment like a whip. His manner of -disdainful mastery indicated that he must have some dire instrument -of torture in reserve for them. And so he had. He and his friends had -picked up a Bill which nobody dreamt of seriously attacking, because -it was purely an administrative measure proposed by the Colonial -Office. It gave the Colonies and the two Dutch Republics in South -Africa the means of forming a Confederation if they chose to do so. -It was perfectly harmless and permissive, but it was unfortunately -complex and loaded with detail. Mr. Parnell and his band had devoted -their unremitting energies to mastering, not only this Bill, but -every imaginable point in South African policy. Hence, when it came -before the House, they suddenly appeared in the character of South -African “experts,” who knew infinitely more about the subject than the -unfortunate Minister in charge of the measure. The Government had also -annexed the Transvaal Republic under the erroneous impression that the -Boers desired annexation, and Lord Grey had frankly admitted in the -House of Lords that South Africa was not ripe for Confederation. A few -Radical doctrinaires, led by Mr. Courtney, alarmed at the annexation of -the Transvaal, also disliked the Bill. In fact, an ideal opportunity -for practising obstructive tactics had been presented to Mr. Parnell -by the Government, and he took advantage of it ruthlessly. He and his -Party opposed the South Africa Bill line by line, nay, almost word -by word,[104] contemptuously asking Ministers to explain why they -persisted in giving to Colonies that did not want it, the autonomy -for which Ireland sued in vain. What, however, chiefly embarrassed -the Ministry was the factiousness of several powerful Radicals, -like Mr. Chamberlain, Professor Fawcett, and Mr. Rylands, who, not -content with expressing dissent in the constitutional manner on the -Second Reading, voted with Mr. Parnell in obstructing the formal -proposal to go into Committee on the Bill.[105] It would have been -comparatively easy to rouse an overwhelming force of public opinion -against Mr. Parnell at this juncture, had not Messrs. Chamberlain, -Rylands, Courtney, and Fawcett thrown over his opposition the ægis -of their personal authority. Their unexpected alliance emboldened -Mr. Parnell, who accordingly blocked the Bill in Committee to such -an extent, that Sir Stafford Northcote, on the 25th of July, moved -that the Irish leader be suspended for two days because he had said -he had “satisfaction in preventing and thwarting the intentions of -the Government in respect of the Bill.” In the wrangle that followed, -Mr. Parnell’s cool, supercilious manner rendered the House almost -ungovernable, until several Members recalled it to reason. It was -seen that the words expressed no more in themselves than a legitimate -act of critical opposition. Mr. Whitbread moved that the debate on -the motion to suspend Mr. Parnell be adjourned for twenty-four hours. -Mr. Hardy accepted the proposal, whereupon Mr. Parnell with frigid -imperturbability rose and resumed his speech at the very sentence in -delivering which Sir Stafford Northcote had interrupted him exactly two -hours before. During that sitting, from noon till a quarter to six in -the evening, only two clauses were passed. But one point was gained. -Mr. Parnell had inflicted on Sir Stafford Northcote a personal defeat -so detrimental to his authority as leader of the House, that he was at -last compelled to consent to a modification of the rules of procedure. - -On the 27th of July he moved two Resolutions, one prohibiting a Member -from moving dilatory motions of adjournments more than once on the same -night, and another enabling the Chair to put without debate a motion -silencing a Member for the rest of the debate who had been “named” as -defying the authority of the Speaker or Chairman of Committees. As -for Sir Stafford Northcote’s motion to suspend Mr. Parnell, that was -dropped at Lord Hartington’s suggestion. After apologetic explanations -were given by Lord Beaconsfield and Sir Stafford Northcote to the -Members of the Tory Party at a private meeting at the Foreign Office, -these resolutions were carried. Independent critics predicted that -they would be futile; that, indeed, no remedy short of the Continental -_clôture_, which the Conservatives dreaded much more than Mr. Parnell, -could be effective. - -[Illustration: LORD DERBY. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -Mr. Parnell proceeded without delay to give a practical illustration of -the defects of the new rules. He played his game more warily, but more -persistently than ever, and every day the House of Commons found itself -an object of contempt to the nation, because it could not vindicate -its authority against one man. At last, on the 31st of July, Sir -Stafford Northcote in despair resolved to resort to physical methods. -He arranged with Lord Hartington to force the South Africa Bill through -Committee, by getting the House to sit on without a break till the -Parnellites were worn out from sheer bodily exhaustion. Relays of -Members were brought up to keep the House in Session, and Mr. Parnell -and his friends were allowed to talk themselves out. For twenty-six -consecutive hours the struggle went on with the seven Irish Members, -who, ere it was half through, lost their Radical ally, Mr. Courtney, -who flounced out of the House muttering his disgust at the hideous -scene of anarchy. At two o’clock in the afternoon of the following day, -Sir Stafford Northcote threatened “further proceedings,” and then, and -not till then, did the Irish forlorn hope give way. Mr. O’Donnell, -whose voice was now scarcely audible, said that this menace[106] -changed the situation, and the Bill was forthwith passed through -Committee. The Government triumphed, but at a terrible cost. They had -to drop all their best Bills, because Mr. Parnell kept them using up -the time at their disposal in passing a measure which was of little -interest to Englishmen, and which ultimately proved, not only useless, -but mischievous. The Session was therefore barren of legislative -fruit. Even the Budget failed to excite debate, for, as Sir Stafford -Northcote said, it was “a ready-made” one, and changed nothing.[107] -No old taxes were remitted, and no new ones imposed. Sir Stafford -Northcote perhaps underrated the depression in trade, which was even -then obviously growing. He hardly appreciated the rapidity with which -the working classes were exhausting their savings at a time when wages -were more likely to fall than rise. But otherwise his statement was -unobjectionable. - -Foreign Policy was, however, the mainstay of the Ministry, and it is -curious to note how completely the anti-Turkish agitation, which Mr. -Gladstone had fomented with passionate zeal, forced the Cabinet to -change their attitude to the Eastern Question. In 1876 the Ministerial -doctrine was that England had no more to do with a quarrel between -the Sultan and his subjects than between the Austrian Emperor and his -people--the Ministerial theory, in fact, was, that if England was bound -to protect anybody, it was the Sultan, and not his subjects. In 1877 -Ministers acknowledged that, as England had been mainly responsible -for keeping the Turk in Europe, she was in honour bound to protect his -Christian subjects from the torture which his Pashas inflicted on them. -There was also a change in regard to another point. In 1876 Ministers -were all for maintaining the “integrity and independence” of Turkey. -The Atrocities agitation, however, forced Lord Derby to make demands on -Turkey, and to assent to demands being made on her, which ignored her -visionary integrity and her mythical independence. It was said at the -time that the Court, having strongly supported the pro-Turkish policy -of 1876, was disappointed at the change of front in 1877. It is quite -certain that these views were not shared by the Duke and Duchess of -Edinburgh and their _entourage_. A passage in one of the letters of -the Princess Alice to the Queen makes that point tolerably clear.[108] -But as to the other question the evidence is faulty. The policy of the -Prince Consort, which was always supposed to dominate the ideas of -the Court, was certainly not pro-Turkish. In his celebrated Memorandum -to Lord Aberdeen’s Cabinet in 1853 he laid down two principles: It was -the duty and interest of England to prevent Russia from imposing in -an underhand way a Protectorate on the European provinces of Turkey -“incompatible with their own independence.” It was also the duty and -interest of England to prevent Turkey from using English diplomacy -so as to enable the Pashas to impose “a more oppressive rule of two -millions of fanatic Mussulmans over twelve millions of Christians.” -England might go to war to prevent Bulgaria from falling into the -hands of Russia, but not for the mere maintenance of the integrity -and independence of Turkey. Nay, the Prince considered that such a -war ought to lead, in the peace which must be its object, “to the -obtaining of arrangements more consonant with the well-understood -interests of Europe, of Christianity, liberty, and civilisation, than -the re-imposition of the ignorant barbarian and despotic yoke of the -Mussulman over the most fertile and favoured portion of Europe.”[109] -Lord Aberdeen, Lord Clarendon, Sir James Graham, and Mr. Gladstone -accepted this view of English policy. On the other hand, Lord -Palmerston repudiated it. He contended that it was the duty of England -to maintain the integrity of Turkey at all hazards; that the Prince -Consort’s policy pointed to the ultimate expulsion of the Ottomans from -Europe; and that any reconstruction of Turkey such as that which the -Prince foreshadowed simply meant “its subjection to Russia, direct or -indirect, immediate or for a time delayed.” - -But Lord Beaconsfield’s policy was simply a reproduction of Lord -Palmerston’s, hence it might be inferred that if the Prince Consort’s -ideas still prevailed at Court, his policy in 1876 could not have -had Royal sanction. On the other hand, there is no proof that Prince -Albert’s ideas on the subject--which in the main were those of the -great bulk of the English people--were still held as authoritative -at Court. In a curious letter, the significance of which is obvious -in its relation to the Queen’s personal opinions, written by the -Princess Alice to her mother (25th July, 1878) there occurs, after an -outburst against the advance of the Russians on Bulgaria, the following -passage: “What do the friends of the ‘Atrocity Meetings’ say now? How -difficult it has been made for the Government through them, and how -blind they have been! All this must be a constant worry and anxiety -for you.”[110] As the Princess’s letters, where they touch on English -public affairs, invariably reflect the opinions of the Queen, and as -it cannot be imagined that in a matter of bitter political controversy -she would venture to obtrude on the Queen so contemptuous a view of the -“Atrocity Meetings” and of the conduct of the Opposition, had it not -been in sympathy with the Queen’s own feelings, we may safely draw -one conclusion. Despite the conjectures which have been ingeniously -based on the Prince Consort’s Memorandum of 1853, the policy of the -Court was identified with that of the Cabinet all through 1876, and -if it was changed in 1877, it was changed in deference to the popular -hostility to Turkey, which Mr. Gladstone had aroused. Among those -persons, however, who were closest in contact with the Court, and who -usually reflected Royal ideas most correctly, there was no change -of opinion. Mr. Hayward’s correspondence teems with references to -the fierce hatred with which Mr. Gladstone and the Opposition were -denounced by “the upper ten thousand;”[111] in fact, Society vilipended -Mr. Gladstone with the same obloquy that it had bestowed on him for his -pamphlet denouncing the Neapolitan atrocities. But Mr. Hayward is at -pains to state that, “all that the Government have been doing in the -right direction is owing to the flame kindled by him [Mr. Gladstone]”; -and the Hayward Correspondence proves that at the different embassies -the diplomatists were at one on three points (1), the insulation of -England; (2), the necessity of protecting the Bulgarians effectually -from Turkish oppression; (3), the necessity of refusing Russia any -cession of Turkish territory in Europe; a condition which, says Mr. -Hayward in his account of a celebrated diplomatic dinner-party at the -Austrian Embassy, Russia accepted.[112] - -Events justified the accuracy of Mr. Hayward’s information, for it was -the fatal error of Lord Beaconsfield’s policy that it assumed there was -no genuine accord among the Powers, and that they were neither able nor -willing to prevent Russia from seizing Turkish territory in Europe. -Indeed, Mr. Hayward seems to have been the only observer of public -affairs who clearly understood why they were drifting in the direction -indicated by the table-talk of the embassies. In a letter to Lady -Waldegrave (7th October, 1876) he says, “the power of public opinion -is a remarkable feature of the Eastern Question. Russia is so strongly -impelled by it that the Government would be endangered by holding back. -Austria is impelled by the Magyar to oppose the construction of any new -Slav State. The Porte is afraid of exasperating its Mahometan subjects -by what might be deemed unworthy concessions. The English Government -is completely controlled by public opinion.” And again in a letter to -Mr. Gladstone he says, “One of the strongest features of the situation -is, that the popular voice or national will is bettering or impelling -diplomacy and statesmanship in Russia, Austria, England, and Turkey, and - -[Illustration: THE TOWER OF GALATA, CONSTANTINOPLE.] - -fortunately so as concerns England. Whatever England is doing in -the right direction is owing to the popular impulse for which you -are mainly responsible, and which will redound to your lasting -honour.”[113] At the same time, there was a point at which Mr. -Gladstone and the nation parted company. He thought that if England -admitted that she ought to see that the Bulgarians were protected from -oppression, she ought to force Turkey to give effectual guarantees -for their protection. If she did not, Russia would step in as their -champion, and establish a claim to exclusive influence over European -Turkey, which it was not politic to give her even a pretext for -exercising. The great majority of Englishmen, however, held (1), that -it was not their business to waste their taxes in winning freedom for -the Bulgarians; (2), that they sufficiently discharged their duty -to them when they paralysed Turkey by withdrawing British support -from her; and (3), that the futile results of the Crimean War proved -that Austria and Germany, from their geographical position, were the -only Powers who could be safely trusted to effectively check Russian -aggression in Eastern Europe. The masses, as distinguished from the -aristocratic and academic classes, here proved themselves wiser than -their leaders, on whom they forced a policy of non-intervention, which -practically meant benevolent neutrality to the oppressed provinces of -Turkey. The manner in which the Treaty of San Stefano was transformed -into the Treaty of Berlin, every concession extorted from Russia being -obviously exacted in Austro-German interests, more than justified the -somewhat cynical anticipations of the British people. - -It is not necessary to describe at length the steps which led up to -the outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey on the 23rd of April, -1877. In vain did Lord Derby implore Turkey to grant of her own free -will the concessions she had refused to the abortive Conference. Russia -stood grimly on the frontier, with her hand on her sword-hilt, asking -Europe how long she was to wait ere she unsheathed her weapon. In -March a Protocol was signed by the Powers pressing Turkey to yield. -To this Russia appended a declaration that she would disarm if Turkey -accepted the advice of the Powers, and also sent an ambassador to St. -Petersburg to arrange for mutual disarmament. But otherwise Russia -clearly indicated her intention to use force. Lord Derby accepted, as -did the other Powers, this declaration, only he added, on behalf of -England, a reservation that she would consider the instrument null and -void if it did not lead to disarmament. The Turks rejected the appeal -of the Protocol. Prince Bismarck rejected a personal appeal which the -Queen made to him to hold back Russia; and so war was declared. To the -last the Turks expected that England would take their side, and they -had been confirmed in their attitude of contumacy by the appointment -of Mr. Layard, a notorious supporter of Turkey, to the British Embassy -at Constantinople on the day on which the Protocol was signed. If it -was the object of Lord Beaconsfield to prevent the outbreak of war -and to save the Ottoman Empire in Europe from ruin, his policy must -be described as an utter failure. And it failed for obvious reasons. -Lord Beaconsfield and the British diplomatic agents in Turkey talked -and wrote in terms which persuaded the Turks that, if they resisted -the demands of Europe, England would defend them, as in 1853-4. On the -contrary, if Lord Beaconsfield desired the Foreign Policy of England -to succeed, and to save Turkey from being crushed by Russia, he should -have taken steps to convince her that, even if he had the will, he had -not the power to do battle for her. - -Others besides the Turks shared the opinion that Lord Beaconsfield -meant to drag England into a new Crimean War. On the 5th of May Mr. -Carlyle stated in the _Times_, “not on hearsay, but on accurate -knowledge,”[114] that Lord Beaconsfield was contemplating a feat “that -will force, not Russia only, but all Europe to declare war against -us.”[115] The idea of the Government was to occupy Gallipoli to -protect British interests. This would have forced Russia to declare -war against England, and then English public opinion would, of course, -have supported Lord Beaconsfield in fighting on the side of Turkey. But -Mr. Carlyle’s sudden revelation of the scheme roused public opinion in -favour of non-intervention, and Mr. Gladstone “took occasion by the -hand” to inflame the populace against Lord Beaconsfield’s supposed -designs. Stormy meetings were held all over England during the first -week of May, and then Ministers seemed to have changed their offensive -tone towards Russia. On the 6th of May Lord Derby buoyed out for Russia -the torpedoes called “British interests” which lay in her way. He laid -down in a polite despatch the precise conditions under which England -would remain neutral, conditions so plainly reasonable that Prince -Gortschakoff accepted them with the utmost frankness. Meanwhile Mr. -Gladstone was seriously misled by the public indignation which had -been roused against a conspiracy to fight for Turkey under the pretext -of protecting British interests. He imagined it would enable him to -carry out his own project of coercing Turkey in company with Russia. He -therefore submitted to the House of Commons six Resolutions, which were -discussed early in May. Of these, however, he was forced to withdraw -two, because a powerful section of the Liberal party considered that -they bound England to joint action with Russia. Thus Mr. Gladstone’s -formidable array of Resolutions dwindled down to the simple and -harmless proposition that the Turk was a bad man, who did not deserve -English sympathy or support. The House, however, by a majority of 131, -carried a colourless amendment declining to embarrass the Government -by any formal vote, and leaving “the determination of policy entirely -in their hands.” The debate on the Resolutions was one of those high -and sustained triumphs of Parliamentary eloquence which at great crises -display the British House of Commons at its best. It may be said to -have exhausted the controversy on the Eastern Question. Mr. Gladstone’s -speech (which would of itself have rendered the debate historical) -admittedly soared as high as the loftiest flights of Chatham and of -Burke. - -There is no need to narrate the events of the war, how Osman Pasha, -from behind his earthworks at Plevna, blocked the Russian advance, and -Mukhtar held the Russians at bay in Asia Minor. As the star of fortune -shed its beams on either side, public opinion in England grew feverish -and excited, the Tories all the while clamouring for intervention on -behalf of Turkey. Some of them, indeed, seemed to hold that it was -the duty of England to head a new Crusade on behalf of Islam against -Christianity. But the public utterances of Ministers indicated their -determination to remain neutral, and Lord Derby did his best to -convince Musurus Pasha that Turkey was abandoned to her fate. - -[Illustration: RUSSIAN WOUNDED LEAVING PLEVNA.] - -Though the fact was not known at the time, a perfectly frank and -friendly understanding existed between the English and Russian -Governments; in fact, Russia had informed England, through her -ambassador, what terms of peace she would offer to Turkey, if Turkey -were to yield before Russian troops were compelled to cross the -Balkans. This information was given so that Lord Derby might have an -opportunity of modifying these terms if necessary for the protection of -British interests, prior to their presentation to the Porte, and Lord -Derby thought them so reasonable that he made more than one fruitless -effort to get Mr. Layard to press them on Turkey. Unfortunately the -diplomacy of 1877 was kept a profound secret, and as the people -were not aware of the good understanding between the Governments of -Russia and England, a fierce and exasperating controversy between the -Russophiles and the Russophobes raged through the land. On the 14th -and 15th of October the Turkish defence in Asia Minor collapsed. On -the 11th of December the fall of Plevna was announced, and when it was -intimated that Parliament was to meet on the 13th of January, 1878, -the country was panic-stricken. Nobody knew that Lord Derby and Count -Schouvaloff had practically agreed about the terms of peace that were -to be imposed on Turkey, and that Lord Derby had repeatedly warned the -Turks to expect no help from England. Everybody, in fact, inferred, -from the tone of the Ministerial press and of the speeches of Lord -Beaconsfield, Mr. Hardy, and Lord John Manners, that a scheme of -intervention was “in the air,” and that the early meeting of Parliament -implied a demand for supplies to carry on a war with Russia. The -Money Market rocked and swayed with excitement, and securities fell -with amazing rapidity.[116] Throughout England meetings were held by -business people protesting against any divergence from a policy of -neutrality. At night bands of young men, representing the War Party, -marched about London, the only English city which favoured war, singing -the chorus of a song then becoming popular in the music-halls, and -which began-- - - “We don’t want to fight, - But by Jingo if we do, - We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, - And we’ve got the money too.” - -[Illustration: HUGHENDEN MANOR. (_From a Photograph by Taunt and Co._)] - -A new political term crept into use, namely, “Jingoism,”[117] or the -cult of the war-god Jingo, whose worshippers, however, were bellicose -rather than warlike, for they always prefaced their hymnal invocations -by the assurance that they did “_not_ want to fight.” The Ministry, -too, was divided--Lord Beaconsfield, Lord John Manners, and Mr. Hardy -leading the “Jingo” faction, whilst Lord Derby, Lord Carnarvon, and -Mr. Cross represented the Peace Party. This split in the Cabinet was -deplored at the time, and yet it was of enormous advantage to England. -It prevented her from being dragged into the war. It is true that it -buoyed up the expectant Turks with false hopes of aid from England, -and thus tempted them to reject the easy terms of peace which Russia -would have accepted after the fall of Plevna.[118] But the wrecking of -Turkey was not in 1877 a matter that deeply moved the British taxpayer, -unless he held Turkish Bonds, and if Lord Beaconsfield, Mr. Hardy, -Lord John Manners, and their group, by their bellicose attitude, lured -the Ottoman race to disaster, it was for the Turkish or War Party, and -not for the nation, to call these Ministers to account.[119] As for -the policy of neutrality which the English people literally forced on -Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Gladstone, it was justified in the second -week of December, by a statement which Count Andrassy made to the -Austro-Hungarian Delegations on the 8th and 9th of that month. He -frankly said that Austrian sympathies were with the Christian subjects -of the Sultan, and that he “would not dare to stand up for the _status -quo_” in Turkey. - -It needed little insight to discern that when Austria--a Power that -could have hurled 150,000 men on the flank of Russia--declared herself -against Turkey, and the _status quo_, it meant that Russia had bought -her alliance by consenting to an Austrian occupation of Bosnia and -Herzegovina. In such a crisis the true policy of a high-spirited -English statesman was to have safeguarded British interests in the -Ottoman Empire by “temporarily” occupying Egypt, as Austria was to -“temporarily” occupy Bosnia. Lord Beaconsfield, however, adopted -the surest means for paralysing his arm for such a bold stroke. -He summoned Parliament to meet three weeks earlier than usual, and -permitted his supporters to divert the attention of the country from -Egypt--obviously endangered by the impending fall of Turkey--to -wild schemes for occupying Gallipoli, sending a fleet to defend -Constantinople, and an army to obstruct the advance of Russia in Asia -Minor. As any one of these projects meant war with Russia, popular -excitement soon grew intense. - -In this crisis it was to be expected that the policy of the Court would -be the subject of criticism, even though it were based on conjecture. -The pro-Turkish party were artful and adroit in their insinuations that -the Queen was on their side; though it is doubtful if the country would -have paid heed to them but for a curious coincidence. The third volume -of the “Life of the Prince Consort” was published at this juncture, -and it was assumed by both the partisans of Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. -Gladstone that Sir Theodore Martin had issued it by the Queen’s desire -in the form of a violent pamphlet against Russia. Perhaps it might -have been more discreet to have suppressed some passages, in which the -Prince, carried away by the excitement of the Crimean struggle, had -naturally taken a less sober and far-seeing view of European diplomacy -and English duty than he formulated in his famous Memorandum of 1853. -On the other hand, there is no reason to suppose that when the work was -compiled Sir Theodore Martin, or rather the Queen, who selected the -documents for publication, could have anticipated that the London Press -and the Pall Mall clubs would be agitated by a frenzied controversy -as to whether the Cossack was a more moral man than the Bashi-Bazouk, -or Lord Beaconsfield a greater traitor than Mr. Gladstone. Nor can it -be said that a just view of the Prince Consort’s opinions would have -been obtained if his letter to Stockmar, penned in April, 1854, and his -Memorandum to the Cabinet of the 3rd of May, 1855, had been withheld. -The former expressed the Prince’s regret that the English public -were too excited to permit the Government to stand by, and, having -let Turkey dash herself to pieces against Russia, step in and take -guarantees against Russia using her victory to the prejudice of Europe. -Public opinion in 1854, the Prince regretfully admitted, recognised no -way of taking these guarantees but one--that of supporting Turkey at -the outset, so that the influence thus gained might be used to persuade -the Porte to behave decently. As for the Memorandum of May, 1855, -written during the negotiations at Vienna, it merely put on record -his strong feeling against giving Russia an excuse for enforcing, -single-handed, demands which Europe might make on Turkey. It is simply -amazing that by these documents the Russophobes pretended to prove that -the Queen was on the side of Turkey, and the Russophiles that she was -for attempting to raise another Crimean War. The natural inferences -from the documents read in connection with the Memorandum of 1853, were -(1), that as English public opinion had now changed so as to tolerate -the policy of expectancy, for which Prince Albert hinted his personal -preference, he would, if alive, have supported the “sordid” national -policy of neutrality, and that, too, all the more readily that Austria -and Germany were better able to curb Russia in 1877 than in 1854; (2), -that he would have either accepted the Berlin Memorandum, or have -taken steps to give executive effect to the demands formulated by the -Conference of Constantinople. - -But another circumstance gave colour to the floating gossip as to -the Queen’s pro-Turkish sympathies.[120] She resolved to confer on -Lord Beaconsfield a distinction she had bestowed only on three of her -Premiers--Melbourne, Peel, and Aberdeen--that of paying him a visit -at his country seat. It was on the 15th of December that the Queen -arrived at High Wycombe, which she found lavishly decorated with -evergreens, flowers, and flags. At one part of her route there was -built a triumphal arch of chairs (representing the staple manufacture -of the town), in which she displayed a special interest. Accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice, her Majesty was received at High Wycombe -railway-station by Lord Beaconsfield and the Local Authorities, who -presented her with a loyal address. The Mayor’s daughter then presented -bouquets to their illustrious visitors, after which the Royal party -drove, amidst the cheers of the townspeople, to Hughenden Manor. Her -Majesty had luncheon there with the Prime Minister, and spent about two -hours in his house. She and the Princess planted trees in the grounds -in memory of their visit. - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO HUGHENDEN: AT HIGH WYCOMBE RAILWAY -STATION.] - -If political significance could be attributed to the visit, it must -have had some relation to the most recent action of the Government. -That had, however, consisted in sending a despatch to Russia (13th of -December) expressing a hope that, if the Russians crossed the Balkans, -they would not occupy Constantinople or menace the Dardanelles.[121] -To this Gortschakoff’s answer was a repetition of the pledge given -in July, that British interests would be respected, and that -Constantinople should only be occupied if the obstinacy of the Turks -forced that step on Russia as a military necessity.[122] That the Queen -should approve of such a despatch as that which Lord Derby sent two -days before she visited Hughenden, and of its frank warning that the -occupation of Constantinople would leave England free to take active -steps for protecting British interests, was only natural. Yet it was -out of this visit that there grew up a great fabric of foolish gossip, -the purport of which was that the Sovereign was goading the Cabinet -into war with Russia! The Ministerial Press made matters worse by -pretending that Prince Gortschakoff’s reply to the despatch of the 13th -of December was insulting to England. But on the 2nd of January, 1878, -Lord Carnarvon, addressing a South African deputation, took occasion -to contradict these assertions. The fall of Plevna, he said, had not -materially affected the policy of the Cabinet, which was still one of -neutrality, and there had been nothing in the Russian communications -with the Ministry of an insulting or discourteous character. The war -scare now subsided as if by magic, and Funds rose a quarter per cent. -But the Ministerial newspapers heaped obloquy on Lord Carnarvon, -declaring that he merely spoke for himself; and at a Cabinet Meeting -on the 3rd of January there was quite a “scene” between him and Lord -Beaconsfield. The Prime Minister condemned the speech of his colleague, -who, however, put on a bold front, and read a Memorandum before the -Cabinet vindicating his position, and re-affirming everything that -he had said. Lord Beaconsfield merely asked him for a copy of this -document, and no Minister then or at any subsequent period hinted -at a private or public disavowal of Lord Carnarvon’s statement. A -very conciliatory answer was sent on the 12th of January to Prince -Gortschakoff. It did not even suggest that the temporary military -occupation of Constantinople would endanger British interests, but it -asked Russia not to touch Gallipoli. On the 15th of January Prince -Gortschakoff answered that Russia would not occupy Gallipoli unless -Turkish troops were massed there; but he said that a British occupation -of the Peninsula would be regarded by Russia as a breach of neutrality. -On the 17th of January Parliament met, and, to its surprise, found -itself greeted with a Royal Speech couched in the most dove-like terms -of peace. The War Party were abashed. Even Lord Beaconsfield spoke not -of daggers, though he hinted vaguely at the chances of using them. -There was also a clause in the Queen’s Speech which, after admitting -that none of the conditions of British neutrality had been violated, -alluded darkly to the possibility of something occurring which might -render “measures of precaution” necessary. Lord Salisbury, however, -went out of his way to state that the Czar, so far from having -aggressive designs, had shown himself anxious to defer to the wishes of -Europe, and was possessed with “an almost tormenting desire for peace,” -so that Members went about asking each other--Why had Parliament been -summoned so soon, to the great disturbance of business and the alarm of -the nation, merely to be told that everything was going on smoothly? -The fact is, that it had been Lord Beaconsfield’s original intention to -send the Fleet to the Dardanelles. - -On the 12th of January, 1878, this proposal was discussed in the -Cabinet, and it would have been necessary to follow up the step by -asking the House of Commons for a war vote. At a meeting on the 14th, -from which Lord Derby was absent, the proposal was adopted. On the -15th Lord Carnarvon sent in his resignation, but Mr. Montagu Corry -came to him with a message from Lord Beaconsfield to say that certain -telegrams had arrived which had caused the order to the Fleet to be -cancelled. These telegrams must obviously have been from Lord Augustus -Loftus, conveying Prince Gortschakoff’s pledge that Gallipoli would -not be touched, and his warning that Russia would regard the British -occupation of it as a breach of neutrality. On the 16th Lord Carnarvon -was at the Cabinet meeting, but his resignation was not returned to -him till the 18th, when Lord Beaconsfield assured him that there was -no longer any difference between them. Lord Beaconsfield, indeed, -went further in his soothing assurances to the House of Lords on the -17th. Though he had Lord Carnarvon’s resignation at that moment in -his pocket, he said “there is not the slightest evidence that there -has _ever_ been any difference between my opinions and those of my -colleagues.”[123] As for the rumours of dissensions in the Cabinet, -Lord Salisbury scornfully averred that they were only the inventions of -“our old friends the newspapers.” - -To understand the events that followed, and which again threw the -country into a panic, two facts must be kept in view. First, the -resolution to send the Fleet to the Dardanelles had been taken on -the 14th of January, after the receipt of a telegram from Mr. Layard -warning the Government that the Russians were moving on Gallipoli. -This false statement had been neutralised by Lord Augustus Loftus, -who sent on the 15th the telegram conveying Gortschakoff’s renewed -pledges to respect British interests, in time to enable Lord -Beaconsfield to cancel the orders to the Fleet. But the second point -is, that the public and Parliament were kept in complete ignorance -of Gortschakoff’s fresh pledges not to approach Gallipoli, and not -to occupy Constantinople. If the one pledge was to be trusted, so -was the other, and the withdrawal of the orders to the Fleet proved -that the Government thought that the one pledge was valid. Yet Lord -Beaconsfield’s friends strove without ceasing to impress the public -with the false notion that Russia meant to seize Constantinople. On -the 17th Mr. Layard sent another alarmist telegram. The Russians, -he said, were marching on Adrianople. They were next to occupy -Constantinople, and the Sultan was making ready to fly to Broussa. On -the 22nd a deputation of the Tory War Party, representing seventy-five -malcontents in the House of Commons, urged a policy of intervention -on Sir Stafford Northcote. On the 23rd the Cabinet resolved to send -immediate orders to Admiral Hornby to take the Fleet to Constantinople. -Lord Derby and Lord Carnarvon thereupon resigned. The order to the -Fleet was countermanded, and Hornby was instructed to anchor in Besika -Bay, whereupon Lord Derby returned to the Cabinet, but without Lord -Carnarvon. Lord Derby afterwards admitted that neither he nor his -colleagues had altered their opinions about the propriety of sending -the order to the Fleet, so that the Ministry and its Foreign Secretary -were now avowedly at variance as to a vital point of principle in -Foreign policy. If the Cabinet was trustworthy Lord Derby should not -have left it. If it was not trustworthy he was right to leave it, -but wrong to go back. As for Lord Beaconsfield, that he should have -permitted Lord Derby to return in such circumstances was, it need -hardly be said, discreditable to him as a man of honour. On January -24th Sir Stafford Northcote gave notice that on the 28th he would move -“a supplementary estimate for the military and naval services,” and the -Ministerial press immediately circulated the most startling accounts -of the oppressive conditions which Russia sought to impose on Turkey, -then negotiating for an armistice. The Liberal press, on the other -hand, accused Sir Stafford Northcote of breaking his promise, passed on -the opening day of the Session, that he would not ask for a Vote till -he knew what the Russian terms of peace were, and saw that they plainly -put British interests in peril. - -As for the public, it had not the faintest idea that Ministers had -received assurances from Prince Gortschakoff which they had dealt with -as satisfactory. The official excuse for the War Vote now was that -Russia, by delaying to communicate the terms of peace which were the -basis of the armistice, rendered precautionary measures necessary. On -the 25th, Count Schouvaloff communicated these terms to the Foreign -Office, and they were found to be simply those which Russia had, with -unusual frankness, forewarned England and the Powers at various stages -of the war, she would exact from Turkey. On the evening of the 25th, -Lord Beaconsfield alluded to these terms as a possible basis for an -armistice. He must have regarded them as eminently moderate, for he -said that they had induced him to cancel the order to the Fleet to -proceed to Constantinople.[124] But the Ministry still persisted in -going on with the War Vote, and on the 28th of January Sir Stafford -Northcote denounced the terms of peace, in language which would have -induced Turkey to reject them had Russia not astutely kept them secret -till Turkey had accepted them. On the same day Lord Carnarvon, in the -House of Lords, explained his reasons for quitting the Cabinet.[125] - -[Illustration: PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFF.] - -The feeling in the House of Commons was now running high against the -Ministry, whose dissensions could no longer be concealed. But the War -Party organised with some difficulty a strong agitation in London in -their favour, and the streets and public-houses soon rang again with -the hymnal invocation to the war-god Jingo. His worshippers attacked -and broke up meetings called to protest against the War Vote, and they -themselves held meetings in Sheffield, in Trafalgar Square, and in -Exeter Hall (6th February). Still these demonstrations were empty of -real meaning, and the Opposition would not have been intimidated by -them but for a curious circumstance. - -On the 7th of February the debate on the War Vote was still dragging -on, and every night the case of the Cabinet seemed to grow feebler -and feebler. The accommodating Mr. Layard, however, once more came -to their rescue. He began again to pour in his stereotyped telegrams -that the Russians, in spite of the armistice, were still marching on -Constantinople. Finally his despatches formed the basis for a rumour -that was circulated at Countess Münster’s ball, on the 6th of January, -that the Russians had actually occupied Constantinople. Next day the -panic-stricken City was literally occupied by raging “Jingoes,” and but -for the police Mr. Gladstone’s house would have been sacked. Every man -who did not bow to the war-god was a traitor and a Russian spy, and -the violence of the War Party ultimately frightened the wits out of -the Opposition. When the House of Commons met, Sir Stafford Northcote, -in reply to Lord Hartington, read Mr. Layard’s alarming telegrams, and -then the Liberal leaders ran from their guns in a panic. Mr. Forster -made haste to withdraw his Resolution against the War Vote. Nobody -would listen to Mr. Bright, who shrewdly suggested that Mr. Layard -was again misleading the Government; and the Liberal Party, deserted -by its leaders, sat in abject dismay, cowering beneath the triumphant -cheering of their opponents. But in a moment the whole scene changed, -as if by the touch of a magician. While Mr. Bright was casting doubt on -Mr. Layard’s telegrams, a note was passed on to Sir Stafford Northcote, -after reading which he grew visibly agitated. He handed it to his -colleagues, and when Mr. Bright sat down, Sir Stafford Northcote rose -and, with a shame-faced visage, said he had something of importance to -communicate. Both sides strained every ear to learn what fresh act of -Russian perfidy had been discovered; but the reaction was indescribable -when he read out an official denial from Prince Gortschakoff of Mr. -Layard’s sensational despatches. “The order,” said Gortschakoff, “has -been given to stop hostilities along the whole line in Europe and in -Asia. There is not a word of truth in the rumours which have reached -you.” Peals of derisive laughter greeted this anti-climax, only it was -difficult to know whether the Opposition and Ministers were laughing at -themselves, or at each other. - -The end of the affair was that Mr. Forster could not muster up enough -courage to press his Resolution, and when a division came he and Lord -Hartington and about a hundred bewildered Liberals walked out of the -House. Hence the Vote was carried into Committee by a majority of 295 -to 199. The country did not conceal its contempt for Mr. Forster’s -manœuvre. Men of sense agreed that there was only one ground on which -such a Vote could be fairly opposed. It was that till Ministers -stated definitely, whether their policy was to be that of Lord Derby -or Lord Beaconsfield, tempered at intervals by a telegraphic romance -from the British Embassy at Constantinople, not a farthing should -be granted to them. No such statement of policy was made, and the -withdrawal of the Liberals from their position served to convince -impartial observers that their opposition had been factious from the -beginning.[126] After this unexpected victory the “Jingoes” pressed the -Government to follow it up. To please them the Fleet was ordered to -Constantinople, but to soothe Lord Derby he was permitted to explain -that it went there merely to protect British residents who were -alarmed by the prevailing anarchy. The Turks, enraged at what they -deemed their betrayal by Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Layard, churlishly -refused to grant a firman opening the Straits to the Fleet. Prince -Gortschakoff said, that as the protection of Europeans from anarchy -was a duty which Russia and England ought to undertake in common for -the sake of Humanity, Russia would now, as a matter of course, occupy -the fortified lines that covered Constantinople, and, if need be, -the city itself. It was a pretty “situation” in the high comedy of -diplomacy, in which Lord Beaconsfield was, for the moment, outwitted -and outmanœuvred. He lowered the point of his foil with good temper and -good grace, but when he effected a compromise with Gortschakoff there -was wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Temple of “Jingo.” And yet -Lord Beaconsfield may be forgiven much, on account of the dexterity -with which he extricated the country from a position which rendered war -with Russia, and the immediate expulsion of the last remnant of the -Ottoman race to Asia, a dead certainty. He, or Lord Derby in his name, -promised Gortschakoff not to occupy Gallipoli nor the lines of Bulair, -if Russia would promise not to land troops on the European shore of -the Dardanelles. This compromise was accepted by Russia, with the -additional proviso that neither Power was free to occupy the Asiatic -side of the Straits. - -After the Government obtained the Vote of Six Millions, they began -to spend the money as quickly as possible in the arsenals, for the -strangest part of their policy was, that their Army and Navy Estimates -were essentially peace estimates. Meantime, everybody was speculating -as to what terms of peace were being forced on Turkey, and the War -Party were busy spreading abroad the most alarming rumours about the -exactions of Russia. The veil of secrecy in which the negotiations -were wrapped excited the suspicion of the people, who, it must be -remembered, were kept in ignorance of the fact that the Russian -Government had frankly told Lord Derby the conditions on which they -would make peace. There was thus a distinct oscillation of public -feeling towards the “Jingoes.” The Treaty of Peace was signed at San -Stefano on the 3rd of March. Nineteen days afterwards the full text -of this Treaty, by which, as Prince Bismarck told General Grant, -“Ignatieff had swallowed more than Russia could digest,” was printed in -the English newspapers. At first, the War Party collapsed. It was clear -that the Russians had not touched British interests, and that to offer -to fight on behalf of Turkey after she was annihilated as a fighting -Power, and had signed a Treaty of Peace, was a palpable absurdity. Some -other basis for a policy had thus to be discovered, and it was soon -found. The ghastly phantom of “the public law of Europe” was conjured -up from the Crimean Museum of diplomatic antiquities. It was said that -England was bound to defend that law against the Treaty of San Stefano -which had violated it, by upsetting the Treaty of Paris as modified in -1871 by the Powers. Austria also took a line that again inspired the -War Party with false hopes. The Treaty of San Stefano had not arranged -for an Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a counterpoise -to a Bulgaria under Russian influence. Austria therefore began to arm. -At the instance of Germany, however, she invited all the Powers to meet -in Congress and endeavour to harmonise the Treaty of San Stefano with -the general interests of Europe. As Lord Derby was blamed, somewhat -unjustly, for the failure of the project of a Congress, it may be well -to state precisely his attitude to it. Unfortunately for himself he -deemed it desirable to conceal his real objection to the scheme, which -was this: he held that more harm than good results from a discussion -among rival Powers on their competing interests in any Congress, unless -they shall have arrived beforehand at a complete agreement as to the -concessions which they will give and take. - -[Illustration: RUSSO-TURKISH WAR: MAP SHOWING POSITION OF RUSSIAN AND -TURKISH LINES OUTSIDE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, AND OF THE BRITISH FLEET.] - -Lord Derby’s idea evidently was to delay the Congress till the Powers -were so far agreed that their meeting would be virtually one to -register foregone conclusions. Lord Beaconsfield and the War Party, -on the other hand, knew that their only hope lay in preventing the -Congress from meeting. Up to a certain point Lord Derby and Lord -Beaconsfield could, therefore, hold common ground. But as Lord Derby’s -policy of obstructive procrastination destroyed the popularity of the -project before it had brought about such an agreement among the Powers -as would render the Congress innocuous, even in his eyes, it was easy -for Lord Beaconsfield to take some warlike step that would get rid -of Lord Derby and the Congress also. Hence throughout the period of -diplomatic conflict that followed we find Lord Derby allowed to object -to the Congress, first because Greece was not to be represented, and -lastly because the Russians did not distinctly promise to submit the -whole Treaty of San Stefano to it. The dispute finally centred round -this last point. Out of England nobody at the time could understand -Lord Derby’s objection. He seemed, from beginning to end, either to -be quibbling about words and phrases, or trying to force Russia to -enter the Congress with less liberty of action and on a lower status -of dignity and independence than the other Powers. Before England -accepted the Congress he wrote to Sir Henry Elliot, saying that she -would not enter it unless he distinctly understood that “every article -in the Treaty between Russia and Turkey will be placed before the -Congress, _not necessarily for acceptance_, but in order that it may -be ascertained what articles require acceptance or concurrence by -the several Powers, and what do not.” Russia had already admitted -that at the Congress each of the Powers “would have full liberty of -appreciation and action” as regards the Treaty of San Stefano, and on -the 9th of April Prince Gortschakoff’s Circular Note further stated -that “in claiming the same right for Russia we can only reiterate the -same declaration.” Lord Beaconsfield, on the 8th of April, complained, -in the House of Lords, that the phrase “liberty of appreciation and -action” was involved in classical ambiguity. “Delphi herself,” said -he, with a provoking sneer at the Russian Chancellor, “could hardly -have been more perplexing and august.” Yet, on the 27th of March, -Count Schouvaloff wrote to Lord Derby as follows: “The liberty of -appreciation and action which Russia thinks it right to reserve to -herself at the Congress the Imperial Cabinet defines in the following -manner. It leaves to the other Powers the liberty of raising such -questions at the Congress as they may think it fit to discuss, and -reserves to itself the liberty of accepting or not accepting the -discussion of those questions.”[127] Russia had communicated the Treaty -in its entirety to all the Powers. She had expressly and explicitly -informed Austria, who had summoned the Congress, that she admitted -the competence of that body to overhaul every clause of the Treaty in -European interests--a fact of which Lord Derby was well aware. Austria -and the Continental Powers were satisfied that Russia had sufficiently -recognised the competence of the Congress. England alone denied this, -and pressed for a declaration which would have technically left -all the Powers except Russia free not only to decide what affected -their individual interests, but free to decide what affected those of -Russia also. Lord Derby’s demand seemed as if meant to put the Russian -Government, behind which stood a great and irritable army, flushed with -victory, in the position of a criminal at the bar of Europe, and to -force from her an admission that on certain vital points she pledged -herself to bow to the decision of the Congress, though no other Power -was to be put under a similar obligation.[128] Whilst this pedantic -controversy was going on the “Jingoes” beat the war-drum with so much -sound and fury that Lord Beaconsfield was misled into the idea that -they were strong outside London. On the 26th of March the Cabinet -accordingly resolved to call out the Reserves, to summon a contingent -of native troops from India, to seize Cyprus, and land an army at a -port in Syria. Lord Derby was not much alarmed about the order to call -out the Reserves, but to seize one portion of the Turkish Empire, and -land an army on another, without a declaration of war, was to his -mind an act of piracy. Moreover, it would have instantly led to the -catastrophe which he had made every sacrifice to avoid--the Russian -occupation of Constantinople. - -At this crisis Lord Derby saved his country from the direst calamity--a -war between England and Russia, in which victory could bring no other -gain to England than the privilege of restoring the liberated Turkish -provinces to barbarism, and in which, since India had been put down by -Lord Beaconsfield as one of the stakes in his game, defeat would have -meant the loss of her Asiatic and Colonial Empire. Lord Derby resigned, -and the panic caused by his withdrawal from the Cabinet compelled -Lord Beaconsfield to abandon the filibustering expedition to Cyprus -and Syria, and confine himself to those steps which did not make war -inevitable. Russia, who was strengthening her own forces, could not -object to England calling out her Reserves. As for the summons to the -Indian troops, it would have been harmless, but for a circumstance -not known at the time. It gave Prince Gortschakoff an opportunity -for carrying out a diabolically malignant scheme of vengeance. He -considered himself free to ignore the arrangement by which Russia -was bound not to interfere in the “neutral zone” between her Asiatic -Empire and the Indian frontier. Russian troops were accordingly ordered -to move towards the Oxus for the invasion of India. Russian agents -hastened in advance to the frontier to brew trouble for England in -Afghanistan. Nay, so swift and secret were these counter-strokes, that -even after the dispute between Russia and England in Europe had been -settled, Russia was unable to undo the mischief she had wrought in -Asia. England was dragged into the costly agony of another Afghan War, -and it may therefore be said that the luxury of bringing the native -troops to Europe in 1878 not only permanently disorganised the finances -of India, but cost the country hecatombs of lives and £20,000,000 of -money in 1879-80. Though the step was at first popular, the nation in -time began to appreciate the grave political and fiscal objections -which could be urged unanswerably against the employment of Indian -troops out of Asia, or out of that portion of Eastern Africa which is -practically Asiatic. - -But when Lord Derby resigned it was not known that Indian troops were -to be brought to Cyprus and landed in Syria, and the Ministerial -explanations were so couched as to make it appear that he left the -Government merely because the Reserves were called out. His real -reasons could not be given at the moment, and he had to submit to a -tirade of abuse from Tory speakers and writers unparalleled in its -ferocity. Even his personal character was attacked by abominable -slanders. Violence and virulence are the outward and visible signs -of decaying power in a political Party. These evil qualities had, -however, never been displayed to a greater extent by the Tories since -the wars of the Protectionists and the Peelites in 1852, when a band -of the former one day after dinner at the Carlton Club explored the -drawing-room in order to “fling Mr. Gladstone out of the window.”[129] -Yet it is curious to observe that Lord Beaconsfield and his followers -were forced by events to adopt the policy and even the method of their -slandered colleague. They floundered deeper and deeper every day into a -quagmire of difficulties, till they actually made a secret arrangement -with Russia as to the points in the Treaty of San Stefano, about which, -however much they might wage a sham fight in the coming Congress, -neither Power would go to war. - -In fact it is now evident that of the statesmen who figured in the -controversy at this crisis, Lord Derby is the one who emerges from -it with least damage to his reputation. Alike in his strength and -weakness, in his resolute determination to spend neither British blood -nor British treasure for the sake of Turkey, and in his lack of red-hot -enthusiasm for the cause of Slavic - -[Illustration: THE MARINA, LARNACA, CYPRUS.] - -nationality, Lord Derby’s diplomacy was the diplomacy of the British -people in their saner moments, when they were not under the spell of -passion or partisanship. His blunders--the rejection of the Berlin -Memorandum and the refusal to give an executive character to the -decisions of the Constantinople Conference--had at all events wrought -no evil to England or the world, unless it were an evil to hasten -the destruction of Ottoman tyranny in Europe, and the deliverance -of Bulgaria from barbarism.[130] As for his successes, they are -now obvious. His shrewd appreciation of British interests, and his -firmness, candour, courtesy, and lucidity in defining them at the -outset of the struggle between the belligerents, made it easy for -Russia to avoid a collision with England. That he fell short of his -opportunity in neglecting to establish British influence in Egypt was a -mistake excusable in a minister whose leader, like a character in one -of his own novels, “had but one idea in Foreign - -[Illustration: SALONICA.] - -Policy, and that was wrong”--the “maintenance of the integrity of the -Ottoman Empire.” But the net result of Lord Derby’s administration -was that he kept the country out of war, and out of enfeebling -and disreputable alliances. He thrust a peace policy on bellicose -colleagues. Even when they broke from his control he still forced them -back to the paths of peace by inflicting on them the penalty of his -resignation. In quitting them he left them as his legacy the secret of -going into the Congress, and bringing back from it “Peace with Honour.” - -Mr. Gladstone, in a famous speech at Oxford, said, on the 30th -of January, that he had devoted his life, during the past year, -to counteract the Machiavelian designs of Lord Beaconsfield. Mr. -Gladstone, however, never appeared to less advantage than when he -made that statement. It was not Lord Beaconsfield but Lord Derby who -was the master-mind of the Cabinet during 1877-78, and who moulded -its diplomacy and controlled its action in Foreign Affairs. That Mr. -Gladstone strengthened Lord Derby’s hands by rendering a war for the -sake of Turkey unpopular is true; but that he weakened them by seeming -to advocate a military alliance with Holy Russia for a crusade against -Islam, is true also. - -Lord Derby’s successor was Lord Salisbury. His first act was to -issue a Circular to the Powers, which was a furious and unrestrained -condemnation of every line of the Treaty of San Stefano. If it were to -be taken seriously it meant the condemnation even of the proposals of -the Constantinople Conference, to which he was himself a party. Prince -Gortschakoff, however, did not take it seriously. He replied to it with -polite irony in his Circular of the 9th of April, pointing out that the -difficulty Lord Salisbury put him in was that he confined himself to -saying what England did _not_ want. The situation, however, could not -be understood by the Powers till Lord Salisbury stated plainly what -she did want. The only logical answer which Lord Salisbury in terms of -his Circular could give was, “The restoration of the _status quo_ in -Turkey.” Hence it is needless to say that he did not find it convenient -to issue a direct reply to Prince Gortschakoff’s cynical despatch. - -The Resolution calling out the Reserves was carried in the House of -Commons by 319 against 64, the Liberal leaders, with the exception of -Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright, refusing to take part in the division. -That fewer than half the House supported the Government was bitterly -bewailed by the War Party, but was taken by the country as a good omen -of peace. So was the proposal to adjourn Parliament for a holiday of -three weeks at Easter, though, when the order summoning the Indian -troops to Malta was issued immediately after the adjournment, war -alarms again vexed the nation. Peace meetings were once more held, and -the provinces grew so restive that in the end of April Mr. Hardy and -Mr. Cross, speaking at Bradford and Preston, tried to soothe public -opinion by the most pacific assurances. When Parliament met after the -Recess the Government were taken to task because, in sending for the -Indian troops, they seemed to be endeavouring to nullify Parliamentary -control over the Army. Though the Opposition were beaten in the -division in the House of Commons, independent Conservatives did not -conceal the suspicions and the dislike with which they regarded a -proceeding which appeared more in harmony with the policy of Rome in -her decay, than of the British Empire in the full vigour of virility. -Though the War Party were more noisy than ever in London, there grew -up a strong feeling towards the end of May that the Congress would -meet after all, and that the risk of war was over. Intimidated by -the Peace demonstrations, the feeble vote of support on the motion -for calling out the Reserves, and the suspicions with which many -Conservatives viewed the employment of Asiatic troops to fight the -battles of England in Europe, the Government adopted Lord Derby’s plan, -and entered into a secret agreement with Russia as to what was to be -conceded in Congress. After that agreement it mattered little on what -terms the two Powers met. The compromise between Lord Salisbury and -Count Schouvaloff pushed back the Bulgaria of the San Stefano Treaty -from the Ægean Sea to the limit fixed by the Constantinople Conference, -cutting it off from all possible contact with England, an arrangement -not altogether disadvantageous to Russia. It divided Bulgaria into two -provinces--one to be free, but tributary to Turkey, and the other to -have an autonomous government, under a Christian Pasha, appointed by -the Porte with the sanction of the Powers. This weakened Bulgaria so as -to give Russia a dominant influence in both provinces, which was not -shaken till 1885, when their aspirations for union were realised by a -Revolution, which it was Lord Salisbury’s fate to sanction, perhaps, -indeed, in some measure to encourage. Greek populations were excluded -from the new Bulgarias, greatly to the satisfaction of Mr. Gladstone -and Lord Derby. Bayazid was restored to Turkey, but Batoum and Kars -were to be taken by Russia, who thus had the Asiatic frontier of Turkey -at her mercy. Russia was to take Bessarabia, and Turkey to cede Kolour -to Persia--obviously to earn Persian gratitude for Russia. Subject to -this compromise Lord Beaconsfield agreed not to make a _casus belli_ of -any Article in the Treaty of San Stefano, each one of which had been so -fiercely condemned by Lord Salisbury’s Circular of the 1st of April. - -The intention of the Government was to keep the Salisbury-Schouvaloff -compromise secret. The people were to be left to imagine that Ministers -had won a diplomatic victory by forcing Russia into the Congress -fettered, whilst England entered it free. All the points agreed on -privately were to be fought over publicly by the representatives of -England in the Congress as if no such agreement were in existence, -and Englishmen were to be deluded into the idea that their diplomatic -agents had, by superhuman efforts at Berlin, not by private -huckstering in London, obtained enormous concessions from Russia. -But when the _Globe_ newspaper astonished the world by divulging -the secret agreement, the people--more especially the enthusiastic -Tories--refused to be - -[Illustration: PRINCE BISMARCK. - -(_From the Photograph by Loescher and Petsch, Berlin._)] - -deluded. What, they asked, had Ministers made such a fuss about? Why -had they passed war votes, brought Indian troops to Malta at the risk -of violating the Constitution, and kept Europe in a fever of unrest, -if they were prepared to accept a compromise with Russia, so fatal to -the Turk as this? In fact, public opinion was so much excited that -Lord Salisbury, on the 3rd of June, had the courage to deny that the -secret compromise published by the _Globe_ on the 31st of May was -“authentic.” Ministerial organs, also tried to convince the world that -it was a forgery which had been treacherously uttered from the Russian. -Embassy.[131] For a time this denial lulled all popular suspicions. By -way of enforcing it Sir Stafford Northcote, when pressed, on the 6th of -June, as to what policy Ministers would pursue in Congress, referred -the House of Commons to the drastic Circular of the 1st of April, which -tore every Article in the Treaty of San Stefano to pieces. As a matter -of fact that Circular became a bit of waste-paper when Lord Salisbury -signed his secret agreement with Russia, the existence of which the -Government were now denying. - -Three days after this compromise was arrived at, Germany, on the -3rd of June, issued invitations to the Powers to meet in Congress -at Berlin on the 14th.[132] Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury -then proceeded to represent England at the conclave in the Radziwill -Palace. Few will forget the almost breathless excitement with which -the people of England watched what they believed would be a terrible -diplomatic duel for the honour of their Queen and country between -Lord Beaconsfield and Prince Gortschakoff, for all this time the -country had accepted as true Lord Salisbury’s denial of his secret -compact with Count Schouvaloff.[133] But the tension of public feeling -suddenly relaxed in the reaction of a ludicrous anti-climax. On the -day after the Congress met (14th June) the _Globe_ published the full -text of the Secret Agreement. In vain did Sir Stafford Northcote and -the Duke of Richmond repeat Lord Salisbury’s equivocal denials of -its authenticity. Lord Grey indignantly condemned the Government for -their misleading disclaimers. Lord Houghton, a Liberal supporter of -Lord Beaconsfield’s foreign policy, said “the effect of the document -on the whole of Europe had been portentous,” and had lowered the -dignity of the Government.[134] The theory of the Ministerial Press, -that the document came from the Russian Embassy was refuted in a few -days by the Ministry. They raised criminal proceedings against Mr. -Charles Marvin, a writer in the Foreign Office, for surreptitiously -copying the paper and sending it to the _Globe_.[135] The prevarication -of Ministers and the revelations attendant on the disclosure of the -Secret Agreement shocked the confidence of the nation in the Cabinet. -Lord Salisbury and his colleagues earned for themselves at this time -an evil reputation for mendacity, which did much to bring about the -defeat of Lord Beaconsfield’s Administration at the General Election -of 1880. And yet it was difficult for them to be quite candid with -Parliament in the circumstances. On the day after they had signed the -Secret Agreement with Russia (which, it must be kept in view, bound -her to encroach no further on Turkey in Asia) they began to negotiate -a Convention with the Porte by which England promised to defend the -Asiatic frontier of Turkey, on condition that the Sultan would reform -the Government of Asia Minor, and permit the British Government to hold -Cyprus as long as Russia kept Kars. It would have been inconvenient -to divulge this scheme before Congress had decided the fate of -Bulgaria. Hence Lord Salisbury was really within the mark in saying -that the Secret Agreement with Russia did not “wholly” represent -the Government policy. On the 8th of July it was announced that the -Anglo-Turkish Convention had been signed on the 4th of June--most -reluctantly, as it seemed, by Turkey. Her hesitancy, indeed, was not -overcome till Lord Salisbury in the Congress abandoned, and Lord -Beaconsfield actively opposed, the cause of the Greeks, whom they had -buoyed up with delusive hopes. In an instant the scandal of the Secret -Agreement was forgotten. The wildest tales of the wealth that was to -be exploited in Cyprus flew from mouth to mouth. Englishmen saw with -prophetic eye, “in a fine frenzy rolling,” Asia Minor “opened up,” -under a British Protectorate, by the British prospector and pioneer. -Indeed, it was not till the 9th of November, when the nauseous wines -of Cyprus (of which such glowing accounts had been published) were -served at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, that the truth dawned on the -City. Then it was recognised that the country had been deceived as -to the teeming riches of its new possessions and positions in the -East. Cool-headed men did not, however, at the outset conceal their -opinion that the privilege of occupying Cyprus and of defending the -Asiatic frontier of Turkey was a poor substitute for the occupation -of Egypt as a means of restoring British influence in the East and -safeguarding British communications with India. Mr. Gladstone and Lord -Hartington both denounced the Anglo-Turkish Convention, as an “insane -covenant,” and the Opposition attacked it savagely in Parliament, but -without success. Independent Members attributed less importance to the -arrangement than Mr. Gladstone. They argued that, as the introduction -of reforms into Asia Minor was the condition precedent of defending the -frontier by arms, the Treaty, so far as England was concerned, would -remain a dead-letter. Great commercial interests, if created in Asia -Minor by English adventurers, might doubtless need defence. But, on -the other hand, it was impossible to create those interests so long as -Asia Minor was desolated by misgovernment, which the Sultan had not the -power, even if he had the will, to reform. Lord Beaconsfield and Lord -Salisbury returned to London on the 15th of July, bringing with them, -as they said, “Peace with Honour.” Applauding crowds welcomed them with -passionate enthusiasm. The Tories were delighted with the Anglo-Turkish -Convention, for as yet the gilt had not been rubbed off their Cyprian -toy. The Liberals, though indignant at the betrayal of Greece, were -pleased that Lord Beaconsfield had come out of the Congress without -involving England in war. They could say very little against a Treaty -the net result of which was to free eleven millions of Christian -Slavs from the direct rule of the Sultan, to render even divided -Bulgaria practically autonomous, and to create Servia and Roumania -into independent Kingdoms. On the 18th of July Lord Beaconsfield -gave the House of Lords an apologetic explanation of the Treaty of -Berlin, which was only the Treaty of San Stefano modified by the -Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement, and by the concession to Austria of -the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. The debate raised no point -of interest, save Lord Derby’s disclosure of the Ministerial decision -in May, to send a naval Expedition to Syria, a project which was -abandoned when he quitted the Cabinet. Lord Salisbury created a scene -by comparing Lord Derby’s revelations to those of Titus Oates, and he -gave them a flat denial. But Lord Derby had spoken from a Memorandum -which he had made of the decision to which he referred at the time it -was arrived at. As Lord Salisbury’s reputation for veracity had been -sadly shaken by his statements about his Secret Agreement with Russia, -the country paid little heed to his disclaimers, and Lord Derby’s -version of the facts has ever since been taken as correct. - -Triumphant majorities endorsed the policy which had been adopted -in the Congress, and at the end of the year Ministers went about -predicting for the country halcyon days of peace. Domestic affairs gave -them little trouble. Irish obstruction was bought off by the Irish -Intermediate Education Bill, which appropriated £1,000,000 to encourage -secondary schools in Ireland, by prizes, exhibitions, and capitation -grants. An attempt was made to pass a Bill, which, under the pretext -of excluding diseased cattle from English ports, might have been so -applied as to shut out foreign competition in the cattle trade. But -when it was discovered that the effect of the measure would be to raise -meat to eighteen-pence and two shillings a pound, the Tory borough -members threatened to revolt, and after a long and obstructive struggle -in Committee concessions were extorted from the Government which -satisfied the Opposition. The Government and the Opposition agreed to -pass a Bill consolidating forty-five Factory and Workshop Acts--a most -useful measure which removed many legal ambiguities. But no other Bills -of importance were carried, and no debates of much consequence raised, -save on foreign questions. - -The Budget was introduced on the 4th of April. But for the money spent -under the Vote of Credit, Sir Stafford Northcote would have had a -balance in hand of £859,000. As it was he had a deficit on the accounts -of 1877-78 of £2,640,000. Supposing that no change either in taxation -or ordinary expenditure occurred in the coming year, he admitted -that he would also have a deficit in the accounts of the coming year -of £1,559,000. But besides this, Sir Stafford Northcote contended -that he must make provision for an “extraordinary expenditure” of -£1,000,000, or perhaps £1,500,000, in addition to what appeared in -the regular estimates for the Army and Navy for 1878-79. The ordinary -income and expenditure he estimated at £79,640,000, but his attempt -to introduce the vicious system of bankrupt or half-bankrupt States, -whose Governments confuse their accounts by mixing up ordinary and -extraordinary expenditure could not conceal one fact. Adding his -extraordinary expenditure to his past and estimated deficits, the -existing taxation of the country would fail to meet the expenditure of -1878-79 by at least £5,300,000. Hence it was necessary to impose new -taxes. Sir Stafford Northcote therefore added 2d. to the income-tax, -and 4d. per pound to the duty on tobacco, but even then he estimated a -deficit of about £1,500,000, which he added to the floating debt. - -Parliament was prorogued on the 16th of August, and, amidst optimist -anticipations of peace, an end was put to a Session in which the House -of Commons, for the first time in the century, had permitted itself -to be treated by the Ministry like a Bonapartist _Corps Législatif_. -When it adjourned many people wondered why it had been summoned. -In the stirring crises of the year the Government had on every -momentous occasion carried out their policy without consulting it. The -legislative work that it was allowed to do might have been deferred for -another year without serious inconvenience. It had been converted into -a court of registration for the decisions of a Minister who treated it -as an ornamental appendage to a new system in which the Monarch and the -Multitude, under his guidance, were the only real governing forces. -Ministers, however, when they went down to their constituents in the -autumn, and told them to hope for peace, plenty, and - -[Illustration: SHERE ALI, AMEER OF CABUL.] - -reduced taxation, did not apparently know that a cunning trap had been -set for them by Russia. Before Parliament rose there were rumours -afloat that the policy of the Indian Government was becoming restless -and disquieting. Lord Lytton had put the vernacular Press under a -harsh censorship. The native Princes were threatened, or they expected -to be threatened, with a demand for the reduction of their armies. A -frontier policy of perilous adventure was mooted, greatly to the alarm -of experienced Indian officials like Lord Lawrence. - -It has been already stated that Lord Salisbury, when Secretary of -State for India, had a scheme in view for covering Afghanistan with -European residents, and that Lord Northbrook resigned office rather -than further it. In 1878 Lord Lytton found an opportunity made for -him by Russia for developing this scheme, and he hastened to seize -it. He had already estranged Shere Ali, the Afghan Ameer, by his -menaces, and this prince was perhaps not indisposed to intrigue with -a rival Power. When Lord Beaconsfield brought the Indian troops to -Malta, Russia not only made secret preparations for the invasion of -India, but sent a Mission to Cabul for the purpose of securing the -co-operation of the Afghans. It does not appear that Shere Ali entered -into any bargain with the Russian Envoys, whom he sent away as soon -as he could, because whilst they were in Cabul he seems to have been -very nervous about their safety. But the Indian Government, hearing of -what was going on, demanded that they too should send an Embassy to -Cabul, urging that the reception of the Russian Mission showed that -Shere Ali’s apprehensions as to the safety of Europeans in his capital -were groundless. A Mahometan official of rank, the Nawab Gholeim Hasan -Khan, was entrusted with the task of conveying the demand to Shere -Ali, and he did his work honestly, and with great tact and skill. The -Nawab, on the 30th of August, left Peshawur, where the British Envoy, -Sir Neville Chamberlain, and his escort of a thousand troops were -waiting for the Ameer’s reply. The Nawab apparently did not see Shere -Ali till the 12th of September, who told him that he did not like the -idea of the Mission being forced on him. The advice of the Nawab, who -appears in these transactions as the only diplomatist who correctly -appreciated the situation, was to delay the Mission, “otherwise some -harm will come.” By “some harm” Gholeim Hasan Khan meant an Afghan war, -at all times a dire calamity for India, whether it ended in victory -or defeat. The Nawab, as the result of further negotiations, reported -that Shere Ali was willing to send for the British Mission, and clear -up any misunderstanding that might have arisen about his reception -of the Russian Envoys, if the Indian Government would give him time. -The Russians had come to Cabul uninvited, and they had all been sent -away, save some who were ill, and who were to be sent back whenever -they recovered. As the Nawab sensibly said, Shere Ali did not want -his people to suspect that the British Mission was thrust on him. “If -Mission,” said the Nawab, “will await Ameer’s permission, everything -will be arranged, God willing, in the best manner, and no room will -be left for complaint in future.”[136] But during September all these -details--afterwards revealed in the Blue-books--were concealed from -the British people. The Indian Government primed the correspondents -of the Press with mendacious accounts of Shere Ali’s insulting -refusal to receive a British Envoy, whereas he had not only invited a -Russian Mission to Cabul in violation of his pledges to us, but was -loading them with attentions, whilst Sir Neville Chamberlain was kept -ignominiously waiting his pleasure at Peshawur. British _prestige_, -it was said, rendered it necessary to coerce the Ameer, and so Sir -Neville Chamberlain was ordered to enter Afghan territory without the -Ameer’s permission, with a force “too large,” as Lord Carnarvon said, -“for a mission, and too small for an army.” When the advance guard of -the Mission came to the fort of Ali Musjid the Commandant stopped -it. At the time the country was told in the inspired telegrams in the -newspapers that the Commandant, Faiz Muhammed Khan, was violent and -insulting, and threatened to shoot Major Cavagnari. When the Blue-book -appeared with Major Cavagnari’s account of the affair it showed that -the Khan behaved with the greatest courtesy, and though he said he -must, in obedience to orders, oppose the advance of the Mission, he had -actually prevented his troops from firing on Cavagnari and his men. -What need to expand the story? The Mission returned. A pretext for a -quarrel with Shere Ali, which Lord Salisbury had instructed Lord Lytton -to find, was at last discovered. War was declared on Afghanistan, and -Parliament was summoned on the 5th of December to hear the news. - -Of course Parliament was called into consultation too late. The Viceroy -of India had deliberately put himself into a position to invite and -receive a blow in the face from a semi-barbarous Asiatic prince. The -Government were therefore compelled either to recall Lord Lytton, and -treat the whole affair as a blunder, or avenge the rebuff which he had -received by war. They chose the latter alternative, and the hearts -of Liberal wirepullers were lifted up, because manifestly even Lord -Beaconsfield’s Administration could not survive such an escapade as -a third Afghan war. The debates on the policy of the Government were -dismal reading for those who knew what Afghan campaigns meant. The -Government shrank from resting their case on the transactions which -caused the war. It could not be concealed that on the 19th of August -Lord Salisbury asked Russia to withdraw her mission from Cabul, and -that on the 18th of September he received a scoffing reply informing -him that the Mission was only a temporary one of courtesy. As Sir -Charles Dilke put it, Lord Salisbury was naturally dissatisfied with -this reply, but being “afraid to hit Russia, yet determined to hit -somebody,” he “hit Shere Ali.” Ministers, however, took up a broader -ground of defence. They said that the Russian advances in Asia rendered -it necessary for England to secure the independence of Afghanistan. All -Indian statesmen were agreed that this could be done by guaranteeing -his throne to Shere Ali, he on his side giving the Indian Government -control over his policy. Shere Ali had been always willing to accept -the guarantee and the pledge to defend him against foreign and domestic -foes. But he would never consent to pay for it by putting his country -under a diplomatic or military protectorate. On no consideration would -he permit European agents to be stationed at Cabul, though he had no -objection to receive Mussulman agents, and neither Lord Mayo nor Lord -Northbrook thought it wise to press him on the point. They confined -themselves to a promise of aid, reserving to themselves the right of -determining when they should give it. Shere Ali was not satisfied -with this arrangement, but he had to make the best of it. In 1875 -Lord Salisbury urged Lord Northbrook to find some pretext for forcing -European residents on the Ameer. Lord Northbrook refused and resigned. -Lord Lytton took his place. Lord Lytton roused Shere Ali’s suspicions -at the outset by occupying Quetta. At a conference at Peshawur in 1876, -between Sir Lewis Pelly and Shere Ali’s representative, Mir Akbor, -menaces were exchanged for persuasion, and even the conditional promise -of support given by Lord Mayo and Lord Northbrook to Shere Ali was -withdrawn. This aggravated Shere Ali’s suspicions, and it was while -he was in this frame of mind that Lord Lytton attempted to force a -British Mission upon him. The theory of the Government was that as -diplomacy had failed to make the Ameer accept our protectorate, resort -must be had to coercion. This had led to war, it was true. But war -must end in victory, and victory in the occupation of the southern -part of Afghanistan, which, as Lord Beaconsfield said, would give -India a “scientific frontier.” The objection to his idea was that to -push our outposts farther north was to put ourselves at a disadvantage -in defending India. Not only would the occupation of Afghanistan be -ruinously costly, but it would lengthen and attenuate the line of our -communications with our base--a line, moreover, which would run through -the lands of wild and fanatical hill-tribes. The debates in both Houses -perhaps served to render the war unpopular. But it had begun, and it -was absurd to refuse supplies to carry it on, because such a refusal -merely exposed British troops to disaster in the field. However, it was -notorious that in the majorities who supported the Government were many -who, like Lord Derby, felt forced to support in action a policy which -in opinion they disapproved. - -During the Session of 1878 only one matter personally affecting the -interests of the Queen came up for discussion. On the 25th she sent -to both Houses a Message announcing the approaching marriage of the -Duke of Connaught with the Princess Louise, third daughter of Prince -Frederick Charles of Prussia, the celebrated cavalry leader, popularly -known as “The Red Prince.” He was a man of large private fortune, and -his daughter was described by Lord Beaconsfield as “distinguished -for her intelligence and accomplishments, and her winning simplicity -of thought and manner.” As for the Duke of Connaught, Lord Napier of -Magdala bore testimony to his efficiency as a soldier. In the House of -Commons an addition of £10,000 a year was voted to the Duke’s income, -thus raising it to £25,000, of which £6,000 a year was to be settled on -his wife in the event of her surviving him. The vote was passed without -a division, the only protest made coming from Sir Charles Dilke, who -asserted that no good precedent could be cited for such a provision for -a Prince, when it was not manifestly a provision for succession to the -Crown. - -The only great public function of the year in which the Queen took part - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN REVIEWING THE FLEET AT SPITHEAD.] - -was the Review of the Fleet at Spithead on the 13th of August. The -spectacle was marred by the storm of wind and rain, which too often -spoils naval reviews, but it was one which had a special interest. It -was designed to show the country what kind of naval defence could be -organised on short notice, amidst rumours of war, when the Channel -Fleet was absent in foreign waters. It represented a naval force which, -but for its ordnance which was utterly obsolete and inefficient, would -have been equal in strength to the navy of any of the Continental -Powers, and the Queen saw for the first time the manœuvring of two -malevolent-looking little torpedo boats, which astonished her by -dashing about in all directions at the rate of twenty-one knots an -hour. At noon the ships were dressed. At half-past three the Royal -Yacht with the Queen on deck passed down the lines. Salutes were fired, -and yards manned, and her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince and -Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice, and the Lords of the Admiralty, -was enthusiastically cheered. When the Queen’s vessel emerged from the -lines it was followed by a gay flotilla of yachts. Those that were -sailing craft luffed their wind and, headed by Mr. Brassey’s _Sunbeam_, -went round by starboard, the steamers going round by port, and with -the Royal Yacht in the centre the brilliant pleasure fleet came back -with the Squadron. All evolutions were countermanded on account of the -weather, but at night the Fleet was illuminated. - -At Paris, on the 12th of June, there died George V., ex-King of -Hanover, Duke of Cumberland, grandson of George III. of England and -first cousin of the Queen. Court mourning was ordered for him, though -it was not very generally displayed. The old jealousy with which the -people regarded English Princes, who had interests separate from -England, accounted for their indifference to his death. Nor was there -any strong family sentiment at Court to counteract this feeling. On the -contrary, the sentiment of the Queen’s family was as anti-Hanoverian -as that of the nation. She had not forgiven the treasonable intrigues -which his father, her uncle, King Ernest Augustus of Hanover--the -most universally hated of all the sons of George III.--carried on -with the Orange Tories to set up Salic law in England, and usurp her -throne. She had unpleasant memories of his arrogance in persistently -conferring the Guelphic Order on Englishmen, not only without asking -her permission, but in defiance of her prohibition, as if in suggestive -assertion of an unsurrendered hereditary right of English sovereignty. -More recently the Queen had been still further offended by the -pretensions of his son, her cousin George V., to sanction or veto -the marriages of English princes and princesses, as male head of the -House of Brunswick-Sonneberg. His attempt to treat the marriage of the -Duchess of Teck (the Princess Mary of Cambridge) as a mere morganatic -connection, and his refusal to let the Duke of Teck sit beside the -Duchess at dinner, had also strained the relations between the Queen -and her cousin. Still, in 1866, she had, in response to his appeal, -used her influence on his behalf with the German Emperor. She had even -pressed Lord Derby and Lord Stanley to save Hanover from Prussian -annexation, and though they refused, she had induced them to mediate on -his behalf in order to secure for him a comfortable personal position -as a dethroned monarch. His misfortunes roused her sympathies, and -when he died, so far as the Queen was concerned, all feuds with the -Hanoverian branch of the Royal Family were buried in his grave. - -But the end of the year brought a more bitter sorrow to the Queen than -the death of George V. The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, -died in extremely touching circumstances. She had spent the summer -months with her children at Eastbourne, where she had endeared herself -to the people by her sweetness of disposition, and by the personal -interest she manifested in the poor of the town. She was usually to -be seen visiting the cottages of the sick in the fishing quarter. -She had taken a keen interest in studying the management of certain -charitable institutions, evidently with a view to making use of her -knowledge when she returned to Darmstadt, and a charming visit to -Osborne completed a holiday that was for her full of happiness. Her -life was uneventful at Darmstadt till the 8th of November, when her -daughter, the Princess Victoria, was smitten with diphtheria. The -Grand Duchess was herself a skilled and scientifically-trained nurse, -and she tended her child personally. She was the first to detect the -appearance of the diphtheritic membrane in the little Princess’s -throat, and she promptly attacked it with inhalations of chlorate of -potash. In spite of careful isolation, the whole family, including the -Grand Duke, with the exception of the Princess Elizabeth, caught the -disease, and it need hardly be said that the strength of the Grand -Duchess soon began to give way under the strain of mental anxiety and -bodily fatigue. The Princess May died, but on the 25th of November -the Grand Duke recovered. On the 7th of December the Grand Duchess -went to the railway station to see the Duchess of Edinburgh, and next -day she too was prostrate with diphtheria. Lord Beaconsfield, in his -speech of condolence in the House of Lords on the 16th of December, -described her, with ornate rhetoric, as receiving “the kiss of death” -from one of her children, and he recommended the tragic incident as -fit to be commemorated by the painter, the sculptor, or the artist in -gems. There was no foundation for this histrionic flight. Nobody knew -how the Princess caught the contagion, but her biographer states “it -is supposed that she must have taken the infection when one day, in -her grief and despair, she had laid her head on her sick husband’s -pillow.”[137] Her sufferings were severe and protracted, and on the -13th of December it was seen that she must die. Still she lingered -on. In the afternoon she welcomed her husband with great joy. She saw -her lady-in-waiting, and even read two letters, the last one being -from the Queen, her mother. Then she fell asleep and never woke again. -At half-past eight on the morning of the 14th, the anniversary of -her father’s death, she passed away, quietly murmuring to herself -these words: “From Friday to Saturday, four weeks--May--dear papa!” -All through her life she had worshipped her father’s memory with -passionate devotion, and in death his name was the last on her lips. - -The grief of the Queen was only equalled by that of the Prince of -Wales, who seems to have regarded the Grand Duchess as his favourite -sister. As for the English people, they mourned for her with -simple-minded sincerity. The character of the Princess Alice--so full -of sense and enterprise, and high-spirited self-helpfulness--had been -to them peculiarly attractive. She had won their gratitude by her -devotion to her mother in the first hours of her widowhood, and to -the Heir Apparent, when in 1871 his life hung in the balance. That -her daily existence was clouded with sordid cares due to straitened -means was not known to her countrymen till after her death. But they -were well aware that much domestic sorrow had entered into her life. -Her efforts to raise the condition of her sex in Germany procured for -her many enemies in a country where it is deemed desirable to reduce -the house-mothers to the position of upper servants in their families, -who, however, do their work without claiming wages. Sticklers for -Court etiquette were shocked by the unconventional activity manifested -by the Princess in furthering the organisation of charitable and -educational movements. Even the poor in most instances viewed her -visits to their homes--visits which she ultimately found prudent to -make _incognito_--with suspicious hostility. She had the character in -fact of being bent on revolutionising the domestic and social life -of Darmstadt by English ideas. She loved learning, and delighted in -the society of men of letters and artists, who were always her most -favoured guests. Hence it was bruited about that she was an infidel, -and a foe to religion. Undoubtedly at one time, when she cultivated -close relations with Friedrich Strauss, under whom she studied the -works of Voltaire, her theological views ceased to be orthodox. But -her musings on the mystery of life, the problem of duty, the conflict -between Will and Law in the world, reveal a profoundly reverent and -eagerly upstriving spirit, ever struggling towards the light. Some day -the story of the spiritual conflict that went on in the still depths -of this pure and gentle soul may be told. Here it is enough to say -that personal influences played a great part in bringing it to a happy -issue. Some time after her philosophical conclusions had crumbled away -like dust, one of her most intimate relatives writes, “She told me -herself, in the most simple and touching manner, how this change had -come about. I could not listen to her story without tears. The Princess -told me she owed it all to her child’s death, and to the influence of -a Scotch gentleman, a friend of the Grand Duke’s and Grand Duchess’s,” -who was residing with his family at Darmstadt.[138] “I owe all - -[Illustration: THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, KENSINGTON.] - -to this kind friend,” she said, “who exercised such a beneficial -influence on my religious views; yet people say so much that is cruel -and unjust of him, and of my acquaintance with him.”[139] In Germany, -her biographer[140] admits “her life and work were not easy,” and she -had not the intrepid intellect, the ardent temperament, the caustic wit -and the soaring ambition, which enabled her sister, the Crown Princess, -to conquer for herself a position of dominant influence in the midst -of an unsympathetic Court, and an antipathetic Society. Perhaps this -explains why through life she had every year been drawn more closely to -the land of her birth, where her worth was more justly appreciated than -in the land of her exile. “How deep was her feeling in this respect,” -writes the Princess Christian in her touching preface to her sister’s -memoirs, “was testified by a request which she made to her husband, in -anticipation of her death, that an English flag might be laid on her -coffin; accompanying the wish with a modest expression of a hope that -no one in the land of her adoption would take umbrage at her desire to -be borne to her rest with the old English colours above her.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -PEACE WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE. - - Ominous Bye-Elections--The Spangles of Imperialism--Disturbed state - of Eastern Europe--Origin of the Quarrel with the Zulus--Cetewayo’s - Feud with the Boers--A “Prancing Pro-Consul”--Sir Bartle Frere’s - Ultimatum to the Zulu King--War Declared--The Crime and its - Retribution--The Disaster of Isandhlwana--The Defence of Rorke’s - Drift--Demands for the Recall of Sir Bartle Frere--Censured but - not Dismissed--Sir Garnet Wolseley Supersedes Sir Bartle Frere - in Natal--The Victory of Ulundi--Capture of Cetewayo--End of the - War--The Invasion of Afghanistan--Death of Shere Ali--Yakoob - Khan Proclaimed Ameer--The Treaty of Gundamuk--The “Scientific - Frontier”--The Army Discipline Bill--Mr. Parnell attacks the - “Cat”--Mr. Chamberlain Plays to the Gallery--Surrender of the - Government--Lord Hartington’s Motion against Flogging--The Irish - University Bill--An Unpopular Budget--The Murder of Cavagnari - and Massacre of his Suite--The Army of Vengeance--The Re-capture - of Cabul--The Settlement of Zululand--Death of Prince Louis - Napoleon--The Court-Martial on Lieutenant Carey--Its Judgment - Quashed--Marriage of the Duke of Connaught--The Queen at Baveno. - - -From the bye-elections it was clear, when the New Year (1879) opened, -that the _prestige_ of the Ministry was waning. The spangled robe -and gaudy diadem of Asiatic Imperialism began to sit uneasily on -Constitutional England. The Treaty of Berlin had not brought Englishmen -much “honour.” But it had not even brought Europe “peace.” Austria -had to make good her hold of Bosnia and Herzegovina by war. Albania -was in the hands of a rebel League that executed “Jetdart justice” -on Turkish Pashas of the highest rank. Bulgaria and Thrace were only -saved from anarchy by the Russian army of occupation. Eastern Roumelia -was the scene of daily conflicts between the Turkish troops, and the -people of Greece were clamorous to know when Turkey would respond to -the invitation of the Conference, and rectify the Hellenic frontier. -The discovery that Cyprus was a poor pestilential island, infinitely -less valuable than most of the Ionian group, which Englishmen had -given to Greece as a gift, was a profound disappointment to popular -hopes, and led to an undue and exaggerated depreciation of its value -as a place of arms. The Anglo-Turkish Convention was already seen to -be a farce. The Sultan, after the resources of diplomatic menace had -been well-nigh exhausted, conceded to the agents of England in Asia -Minor a few illusory rights of surveillance. But he set on foot no -reforms, and he made it plain that he would resist to the death any -attempt to “open up” his Asiatic provinces under a British Protectorate -to the enterprise of the British projector and pioneer. The Afghan -War was unpopular, and though victory did not prove, as was feared, -inconstant to our arms, the people seemed convinced, from the history -of the first and second Afghan Wars, that a triumph would be almost -as disastrous in its cost to India as a defeat. It was impossible -now to conceal the fact that when the Indian troops were brought to -Malta, the country was placed in a position of far greater peril than -had been imagined. While Ministers were wasting their energies in -protecting more or less imaginary interests in Eastern Europe, they -were apparently quite ignorant that their policy had exposed the vital -interests of the Empire to attack in Asia. Nay, it was seen that their -policy of irritating and menacing the Afghan Ameer, and of terrifying -the Native Princes with enforced disarmament, had rendered it easy for -Russia, without doing more than giving our enemies and discontented -feudatories merely some unofficial support, to shake the fabric of -Indian Empire to its very centre. To put the Imperial Crown of India -down among the stakes in Lord Beaconsfield’s game with Russia in Europe -was magnificent. But men of sense and prudence now began to suspect -that it was not good business or good diplomacy. Never was England less -restful or less easy in mind. Abroad Lord Beaconsfield, as was said, -had created a situation which was neither peace with its security, nor -war with its happy chances. At home the classes were groaning over -the collapse of their most remunerative investments, and the masses -writhing under a fall of wages, which, in many trades, amounted to -fifty per cent. To complete the popular feeling of depression, it was -plain that the Government were fast drifting into another Kaffir War. -On the 3rd of February, 1879, in fact, it was officially announced that -hostilities with the Zulus had begun. - -There is no difficulty in understanding the causes of the Zulu War. The -Zulu king (Cetewayo) had ever been a staunch ally of England. But he -had a blood-feud with the Boers of the Transvaal, and he claimed part -of their territory as having been originally stolen by them from his -race. When England in an evil moment annexed the Transvaal, she found -that she took over with it the quarrel of the Boers with the Zulus. -Cetewayo pressed his claims all the more confidently that a friendly -Power now held the land which had been taken from him. In every colony -there is a clique of land-speculators, who also, as a rule, form the -War Party, and, by a singular coincidence, net most of the profits -that are to be derived from a colonial war waged at the expense of the -British taxpayer. This Party in Natal ridiculed the notion of giving -Cetewayo his land. They also stirred up a war panic, vowing that the -Zulus were only waiting for a favourable opportunity to pounce upon -Natal and exterminate the Europeans. Sir Bartle Frere--“a prancing -pro-consul,” as Sir William Harcourt called him--was High Commissioner -at the Cape, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces there was Lord -Chelmsford. A more ominous combination could hardly be imagined. Sir -Bartle Frere even in India had been a hot annexationist. He had the -restless brain to devise schemes of conquest, whilst his military -colleague had neither the brain nor nerve to carry them out. The -Blue-books indicate that Sir Bartle Frere had been preparing beforehand -a grand project of conquest in South Africa.[141] Unfortunately, Sir -M. Hicks-Beach was not sharp enough to detect and blight this scheme -in the bud, and it is doubtful if he even suspected its existence till -he was galvanised into vigilance by the startling ultimatum which Sir -Bartle Frere suddenly sent to the Zulu king. The award of the British -Boundary Commissioners on the dispute between the Zulus and the Boers -had been in favour of the Zulus. It was given in June, 1878. Yet it -had been kept back by Sir Bartle Frere, apparently to stimulate the War -Party among the Zulus with the provocation of delay. Then when it was -communicated to King Cetewayo, there was tacked on to it an irrelevant -and menacing demand that King Cetewayo should immediately disband his -whole army. “To make the case our own,” wrote Lord Blachford, one -of the highest living authorities on Colonial Policy, “it is as if -the Emperor of Germany, in concluding with us a Treaty of Commerce, -suddenly annexed a notice that he would make war on us in six weeks -unless before the expiration of that time we burnt our Navy.”[142] -And the ultimatum was not only a crime, but a hideous blunder. To -annihilate instead of utilising the Zulu power was to relieve the Boers -of the Transvaal from the pressure on their flank that alone prevented -them from throwing off the British yoke. But it was of no use to argue -the case on the grounds of justice or common sense. “The men who had -been in the country”--who always come forward to defend every act of -folly that is about to be perpetrated in a distant colony--dinned their -defence of Sir Bartle Frere into the ears of Englishmen, who were at -last half persuaded that it must be the duty of England to exterminate -the Zulus, when a satrap like Sir Bartle Frere was eager to annihilate -them in the interests of Christianity. Moreover, as in the case of the -Afghan War, the people were kept in utter ignorance of the arrogant -ultimatum by which Frere had gone out of his way to fix a quarrel on -King Cetewayo. - -But if the crime was rank, the retribution by which it was avenged was -swift and stern. Chelmsford’s advance guard crossed the Tugela on the -12th of January. A petty success was recorded at Ekowe on the 7th, -and then on the 22nd of January the English column at Isandhlwana was -smitten as with the sword of Gideon. Our troops were beaten not only in -the actual conflict, but they were out-manœuvred and out-generalled. -The barbarians under Cetewayo had fought like lions, and they had -inflicted on a British army a defeat so disgraceful that the history -of half a century supplies no parallel to it. Frere, like a reckless -gambler, had staked everything on this cast of the die. Neither he -nor Chelmsford had made provision for a disaster, and the result was -that the rout of Isandhlwana left the whole colony of Natal, even -then discounting the spoils of victory, open to invasion. Nothing, in -fact, stood between the Europeans in Natal and extermination, save the -little post of Rorke’s Drift. There Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard, -with a handful of men, stemmed the tide of invasion, and redeemed the -honour of England which had been smirched by the political incapacity -of Frere, and the military failure of Chelmsford. In vain did the Queen -and the Duke of - -[Illustration: ISANDHLWANA: THE DASH WITH THE COLOURS.] - -Cambridge send sympathetic messages to the seat of war. It was -reinforcements that were needed, if the English in South-East Africa -were not to be driven into the sea. Parliament, when it met on the 8th -of February, was as wrathful as the country. The Government had let -Sir Bartle Frere drag the country into a war, which in a few days the -disaster of Isandhlwana showed they were incompetent to conduct with -credit to the Empire. If Ministers were not able to emerge, without -ignominy, from a conflict with the Zulu king, what must have happened -had they been allowed to challenge the Czar of Muscovy to mortal -combat? Criticism was felt to be futile, in view of the pressing need -to retrieve the disgrace of a defeat, none the less ignominious that -the Government and their agents had courted it. But a stern demand was -heard on all sides for the recall of Frere and Chelmsford, a demand -which, like a vote of censure that was proposed in the House of Lords -by Lord Lansdowne on the 25th, and in the Commons by Sir Charles Dilke -on the 11th of March, Ministers evaded by administering a strong -rebuke to the High Commissioner. As a man of spirit, Frere would have -naturally resigned after this rebuke. But he held on to his place, and -this was so discreditable, that to account for his conduct a strange -theory was mooted. It was said that private letters were sent to -him by high personages, some of them connected with the Government, -assuring him that the censure of the Secretary of State was not meant -to be taken as real, but had been penned merely to save Ministers from -a Parliamentary defeat.[143] Sir M. Hicks-Beach’s despatch with the -censure ended with these words: “But I have no desire to withdraw the -confidence hitherto reposed in you.” Such was the feeble manner in -which the Government dealt with a satrap who had virtually usurped the -prerogative of the Sovereign to declare war. Soon after the Ministry -had warded off the vote of censure in Parliament, the country was -again agitated by tidings of further reverses in Zululand, and it was -not till the 21st of April that the Government could announce that -Pearson’s column, which had been locked up at Ekowe since the outbreak -of the war, had been able to save itself by retreat. The indignation of -the country grew apace, and at last it was found necessary to allay it -by superseding Sir Bartle Frere’s authority in Natal and the Transvaal. -Sir Garnet Wolseley was accordingly sent to take supreme command at the -scene of action. Ere he could arrive Chelmsford, stimulated into action -by Colonel Evelyn Wood, had however taken a decisive step. He gave the -Zulus battle at Ulundi on the 3rd of July, and won a victory which put -an end to the war. Cetewayo was taken prisoner on the 28th of August, -and, despite the efforts made by Sir Garnet Wolseley and others to set -up another Government for the one which had been destroyed, Zululand -lapsed into the confusion and anarchy in which it has since remained. - -The Afghan War had been more skilfully managed. The British invaders -overcame all resistance, and when Parliament assembled General Stewart -was in possession of Candahar, and Shere Ali had fled from Cabul. Soon -afterwards he died, and his heir, Yakoob, came with his submission to -the British camp at Gundamuk. There, on the 25th of May, he signed -a Treaty which bound the Indian Government to give him a subsidy of -£60,000 a year and defend him against his enemies, in return for which -he ceded the “scientific frontier,” and agreed to manage his foreign -policy in accordance with the advice of a British Resident who was to -be received in Cabul. This gleam of success neutralised the effect -of the reverses in South Africa, and both Houses voted their thanks -to the Indian Viceroy and to the Generals who had carried out the -expedition. The Government had no difficulty in persuading Parliament -to sanction a loan of £2,000,000 without interest to India, to enable -her to pay the expenses of the campaign. In fact, when the Session -closed Ministers were jubilant at having upset the predictions of the -experienced Anglo-Indians, who had declared that it was impossible to -keep a British Resident at Cabul. They assured the nation not only that -the British Resident was there, but that the Cabulees were delighted to -receive him. - -The severe winter of 1879 aggravated the distress which had settled -like a blight on the labouring and trading classes, and the existence -of which Ministers attempted to ignore. They were, indeed, so -ill-advised as to propose a grant of money for the relief of the Turks, -who were enduring great sufferings in the Rhodope district. But -some of the Tory borough Members threatened to rebel if this project -were persisted in, and it was withdrawn. The programme of domestic -legislation was long and ambitious, and Ministers very properly began -the Session by an attempt to guard against obstruction. They carried -a rule which prevented any amendment from being made to the motion -that the Speaker of the House of Commons leave the Chair on going into -Committee of Supply on Monday nights. This enabled a Minister who -came to explain his Estimates to do so at once, because it prevented -private Members from interposing, between him and the Committee, with -long and irrelevant debates on real and imaginary grievances. The -chief measure of the Session was a Bill to consolidate the Mutiny Act -and the Articles of War--a measure which still further extended the -Parliamentary control of the Army by incorporating these Articles into -an Act of Parliament. It was read a second time on the 7th of April; -but when it went into Committee it attracted the attention of Mr. -Parnell and his followers. - -Mr. Parnell now appeared in the character of a British patriot and -philanthropist who took an absorbing interest in perfecting the -discipline of the Army and in ameliorating the condition of the -private soldier. As in - -[Illustration: BAVENO, ON LAGO MAGGIORE.] - -the case of the Prisons Bill, he had mastered every detail of the -subject, only he had become a much more formidable personage than -he had been in 1877. He had deposed Mr. Butt from the leadership of -the Irish party, and, for all practical purposes, he had taken his -place.[144] He had shown Ireland that he had been able to procure for -her, by one short year’s obstruction in 1877, not only the endowment -of her secondary education, but even the release of several Fenian -convicts in 1878--a year, said the _Times_, marked by the cessation -of obstruction, and the good relations which obtained between the -Government and the Home Rulers. In March he had discussed the Army -Estimates with an ability and knowledge which even the Minister for War -recognised; and when the Army Discipline Bill was sent before the House -in Committee Mr. Parnell was conspicuous for his cleverness in exposing -its anomalies, its obsolete applications of the principles of martial -law, and its prevailing bias in favour of the officers and against the -rank-and-file. When the 44th clause was reached, Mr. Parnell and his -friends made a stand against the continuance of flogging in the Army, -and at this stage Liberals vied with Ministerialists in denouncing -their obstructive tactics. But Mr. Parnell persisted. He had foreseen -that he was raising a popular cry. A General Election was at hand, and -he knew that the moment it was discovered that he had touched the heart -of the constituencies, it would be a question with the Liberals and -Conservatives who were then storming at him as to who should be the -first to fall into line with him. Mr. Parnell’s cynical prevision was -justified by events. - -[Illustration: THE VILLA CLARA, BAVENO.] - -Both parties, to do them justice, held out manfully night after night -against the pressure of this appeal to the sordid side of their -political character. But the longer the game of obstruction on the -flogging question was played, the stronger grew the feeling among the -populace against flogging, and night after night Mr. Parnell was at his -post with cold malice giving an additional turn to the electoral screw. -The first to succumb to the torture was Mr. Chamberlain, and something -like a faded smile flitted across Mr. Parnell’s stony visage when -that successful and practical politician scurried into his camp. Mr. -Chamberlain’s unexpected speech against flogging fell like a bombshell -in the House of Commons, where it was understood that Englishmen of -all parties had entered into an honourable understanding to meet Mr. -Parnell’s obstructive policy with a firm and united resistance. It was -a speech which, as Sir Robert Peel very justly said, “entirely upset -the calculations of the Government,”[145] a fact which was forgotten -or concealed by those critics of Lord Beaconsfield’s Administration -who afterwards vilipended them for their weak and vacillating attitude -to this question. No sooner had Mr. Chamberlain deserted to the Irish -ranks than he found himself the object of unsparing obloquy which -Liberals and Conservatives impartially bestowed on him. Of course other -Radicals, if they desired to save their seats in a General Election, -were forced to follow him, and as soon as Mr. Parnell found that he had -lured nearly the whole Radical party into his net, he and the Irish -Members suddenly vanished from the scene as leaders in the struggle. -They were never absent from their posts, and they never failed to -support the cause they had espoused by their votes. But they thrust -the work of obstruction and of speaking on the Liberal and Radical -Members who had tardily become their allies. The advantage they gained -was soon apparent. Mr. Chamberlain speedily lost his temper, and not -only publicly quarrelled with Lord Hartington, but one evening he -even insulted him amidst furious cries of protest from the Liberal -benches, by describing him as “the _late_ Leader of the Liberal -Party.”[146] Nothing could be more complete than the disintegration -of the Liberal Party which Mr. Chamberlain thus produced, unless it -were the perplexity of the Ministry. The Tories did not dare to stand -by the lash as a British institution unless they got what they had -been promised--the loyal support of the Opposition. Yet under Mr. -Chamberlain’s obstructive agitation, and under popular pressure from -the constituencies, it was clear that the Opposition was going over -piecemeal to the opponents of flogging. What wonder, then, that Colonel -Stanley, the Minister of War, temporised, when Mr. Chamberlain extorted -from him a damaging schedule, giving a list of the offences for which a -soldier could be flogged? - -Debates instinct with a strange kind of fierce frivolity raged as to -the sort of “cat” that should be used in flogging a soldier. Infinite -time was wasted in discussing whether the word “lashes” should be used -instead of “stripes” in the Act, Mr. Chamberlain being beaten in his -effort to get the word “stripes” inserted. Endless discussions arose -as to the maximum number of lashes that should be sanctioned. When -there was any sign of hesitancy Irish obstructionists were always ready -to join in the fray, and not only screw Mr. Chamberlain up to the -“sticking point,” but ironically suggest that Liberal and Conservative -leaders would alike find it profitable to go to the country in the -coming election, with a “new cat and an old Constitution,” as a taking -“cry.” Colonel Stanley at last gave way, and offered to reduce the -_maximum_ number of lashes from fifty to twenty-five, whereupon Mr. -Chamberlain showed that he was as dangerous to run away from as Mr. -Parnell. Indeed, all through these debates Mr. Chamberlain fought -the battle of obstruction with an amount of courage and fertility of -resource that placed him in the front rank of Parliamentary gladiators. -Friends and foes alike admitted that but for his asperity of temper he -might have disputed the palm of success even with Mr. Parnell himself. -The fight was virtually won when Colonel Stanley proposed to reduce the -number of lashes from fifty to twenty-five. Even Lord Hartington then -made haste to go over to Mr. Chamberlain whilst it was yet time, just -as Mr. Chamberlain had made haste to desert to Mr. Parnell. - -On the 17th of July Lord Hartington accordingly proposed that corporal -punishment should be abolished for all military offences. Though on -a division he was beaten by a majority of 106, it was felt that the -“cat-o’-nine-tails” was doomed whenever a Liberal Government came into -power. It was foreseen that at the next election many Conservative -Members would be driven from their seats, because they had been -forced to vote in the majority, and the Ministerialists denounced -Lord Hartington’s surrender to Mr. Parnell and Mr. Chamberlain with -exceeding bitterness. As Lord Salisbury said in addressing a Tory -meeting in the City of London, Lord Hartington was like the Sultan, -because, though he had a group of political Bashi-Bazouks in his party, -whom he could not control, and whose conduct he politely deprecated, -yet his motion showed he would not hesitate to profit by their -misdeeds, when the conflict of parties was fought out at the polls. -As it was, the Government were only able to obtain their majority by -agreeing to restrict corporal punishment to those offences which were -then punishable by death. - -The only other Bill of importance passed during the Session was one -dealing with Irish University education. It abolished the Queen’s -University, and substituted for it the Royal University of Ireland, -an examining body like the University of London, empowered to grant -degrees, except in Theology, to all qualified students who might -present themselves. - -The Budget, as might be expected, was by no means a popular one. Since -1878 extraordinary expenditure, incurred on account of an adventurous -Foreign Policy, had simply been treated as a deferred liability. On the -3rd of April Sir Stafford Northcote, in explaining his Budget, admitted -that the revenue, which he had estimated at £83,230,000, had fallen -short of that sum by £110,000. As for his expenditure, it had exceeded -his estimate by £4,388,000. He had therefore no money in hand with -which to meet the deferred liabilities of 1878-79; in fact, he was face -to face with a fresh deficit. Comparing his actual revenue with his -actual expenditure, the deficit was seen to amount to £2,291,000. The -position, then, was this. In 1878 he had paid off £2,750,000 by bills, -which he thought he would have been able to meet in 1879. Now he found -he could not meet them. These he reserved - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT.] - -for another year, adding to them a fresh set of bills for the new -deficit, which transferred to the future a lump sum of debt equal to -£5,350,000. Leaving this item out of account, and ignoring the cost -of the South African War, he estimated the expenditure of 1879-80 at -£81,153,000. The revenue, he hoped, would amount to £83,000,000, so -that the estimated surplus he expected would suffice to cover the cost -of the operations in Zululand. It was a dismal statement, at best. -But ere the Session ended it was discovered that the real position -of affairs was even worse than Sir Stafford Northcote had admitted. -In August he had to inform the House that the Zulu War was costing -the country £500,000 a month, and that he must get a Vote of Credit -of £3,000,000. This, with an addition of £64,000 to the ordinary -Estimates, raised the original estimate of expenditure to £84,217,000. -Thus the estimated surplus of £1,847,000 vanished, and in its place -there stood a deficit of £1,217,000 for 1879-80, which might probably -be increased. The plan of evading the payment of debt, so as to render -a costly policy palatable to the electors, was thus a failure. The -longer the payment of the debt was deferred the more it grew, and -it was clear that the finances of the country were drifting into -inextricable confusion. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.] - -Parliament was prorogued on the 15th of August, and it had hardly risen -when the predicted calamity in Afghanistan arrived. As experienced -Anglo-Indians had anticipated, Sir Louis Cavagnari, the British Envoy -at Cabul, was murdered, and his suite massacred (3rd September), by -the fanatical soldiers of the Ameer. During the short period of his -residence, Cavagnari had justified the arguments of those who averred -that a European Envoy would never be able to furnish his Government -with any valuable information from Cabul. The only intelligence worth -having that was received by the Indian Government came from native -sources, and it had consisted of warnings that Cavagnari’s life was in -grave peril.[147] It was necessary to order an Army of Vengeance to -enter Afghanistan, and this was done. But, in England, the verdict of -public opinion was that Lord Beaconsfield’s Afghan policy had proved an -irredeemable failure. It was no longer possible to dream of avoiding -the costly and harassing annexation of Afghanistan, by extending over -it a veiled British Protectorate, to be administered by a British Envoy -at Cabul as Political Resident. There was no alternative but a military -occupation, which meant that England must be ready to hold down by -the sword a country as large as France, as impracticable for military -movements as Switzerland, and inhabited by wild fanatical tribes as -fierce, lawless, and savage as the hordes of Ghengis Khan.[148] The -Army of Vengeance under Sir Frederick Roberts, after much toil and many -struggles, fought its way through the Shutargardan Pass, and captured -Cabul on the 12th of October. The Ameer, Yakoob Khan, was forced to -abdicate, and he was deported to Peshawur, and in the meantime Roberts -governed the country by sword and halter. The hillmen attacked his -communications. The attitude of the Cabulees was, from the first, -threatening, though General Roberts disregarded the warnings of the -Persian newswriters, who told him that Afghanistan was going to rise -about his ears. On the 14th of December the insurrection broke out in -Cabul, and Roberts had to leave the city and fight his way round to the -cantonments at Sherpore, where his supplies were stored, and where he -took refuge, and was soon besieged. In fact, in the middle of December -the public learnt with extreme anxiety that every British post in -Afghanistan was surrounded by swarms of fierce insurgents, and that a -rescuing army must be organised at Peshawur without delay. Cabul itself -was in the hands of Mahomed Jan, the victorious Afghan leader. Bitterly -did Englishmen recall Lord Beaconsfield’s speech a month before at -the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, in which he assured his audience that the -operations in Afghanistan “had been conducted with signal success,” -that the North-West frontier of India had been strengthened and -secured, and that British supremacy had been asserted in Central Asia. -Fortunately, ere the year closed, General Gough, who had advanced from -Gundamuk, was able to join hands with Roberts, who again made himself -master of Cabul. - -In South Africa affairs began to assume a more hopeful aspect towards -the end of the year. After the victory of Ulundi the Zulu chiefs one -after another submitted to the British Government. Cetewayo--who, as -we have seen, had been captured on the 28th of August--was sent as a -State prisoner to Cape Town, and Sir Garnet Wolseley made peace with -the Zulu chiefs and people.[149] The Kaffir chief, Secocoeni, who had -defied the Government before the Zulu War broke out, was attacked and -subdued. He had been secretly aided by the Boers, who had warned Sir -Bartle Frere that they did not accept the annexation of the Transvaal. -At Pretoria Sir Garnet Wolseley, however, told the Boer leaders that -the annexation which they were resisting was irreversible, and the -Boers for a time confined themselves to obstructing the judicial and -fiscal administration of the British Government. - -The Zulu War was marked by one incident that powerfully influenced -the destiny of Europe: it cost the heir of the Bonapartes his life. -The young Prince Louis Napoleon--or the “Prince Imperial,” as the -Bonapartists insisted on calling him--had resolved to serve with -the British Army in Zululand. His object was to acquire a military -reputation that might be useful to him as a Pretender. A proud and -self-respecting Government, however hard pressed, cannot accept the -services of a foreign mercenary, however high his rank might be. But, -in deference to Courtly influences, the Prince was permitted to proceed -to the seat of war in an ambiguous position. He held no commission, -but he was treated like a junior officer of the General Staff, and the -Duke of Cambridge requested Lord Chelmsford to let the Prince see as -much of the war as he could. Lord Chelmsford issued instructions to -the military authorities, which made the Prince a burden--perhaps, in -some degree, a nuisance--to them. When he joined Lord Chelmsford Prince -Louis seems to have been attached to the Quartermaster-General’s -Department. But he was not to be allowed to go out of the camp without -Lord Chelmsford’s permission, and even then he was to be guarded by -an escort under an officer of experience. On the 1st of June Colonel -Harrison allowed the Prince to make a reconnaissance for the purpose of -choosing the site of a camp, but without obtaining Lord Chelmsford’s -sanction. The Prince’s party was to consist of six troopers and six -Basutos, and though no officer was sent to accompany him, Lieutenant -Carey, an accomplished and intelligent soldier, happened, by an -accident, to join the band. Carey had been employed to survey and map -out some of the adjoining ground, and he asked leave to go with the -Prince to clear up a doubtful topographical point on which he and Lord -Chelmsford differed in opinion. Carey merely went for his private -convenience. He was not told to look after the Prince; in fact, he was -told that, if he went, he was not to interfere with him, because his -Imperial Highness, eager to re-gild the tarnished Eagles of his House, -desired to have all the credit of conducting the - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT. - -(_From the Picture by S. P. Hall._)] - -[Illustration: QUEEN VICTORIA (1887). - -(_From a Photograph by Lafayette, Dublin._)] - -[Illustration: THE MAUSOLEUM, FROGMORE.] - -Expedition. The Prince was in command of the party,[150] and in a fit -of boyish impatience, and in defiance of Carey’s advice, ordered it to -march without waiting for the six Basutos, who were late of putting -in an appearance. He led his little troop on for some distance, and -then, without taking the most ordinary precautions against surprise, he -halted--again against Carey’s counsel--for a rest in a deserted kraal -surrounded by a field of - -tall Indian corn. This was a fatal blunder, for the cover of the -cornfield rendered the place eminently convenient for the concealment -of an ambuscade. Here the Prince waited an hour, whilst the Zulus -surrounded him. Then he gave his men the order to move. The Zulus -sprang from their hiding-places and fired on the little band, whose -startled horses were difficult to mount. It was impossible to see what -was going on in the cornfield, and it was not till the troopers had -retreated for some distance that Lieutenant Carey and his comrades -discovered that the Prince was missing. To have made a stand in the -cornfield would have been to court instant death. It appeared that the -Prince had been unable to mount his horse, which was frightened and -restive, and that the Zulus overtook him and stabbed him with their -assegais. Thanks to Carey’s knowledge of the ground, the rest of the -party, with the exception of two troopers, were saved, and Carey was -able to give Colonel Wood’s force the valuable intelligence that the -enemy, contrary to the general belief, were infesting the country in -front. - -The indignation of the French Bonapartists at the death of the Prince -Imperial was without limit. The ex-Empress, who had encouraged her son -to go to South Africa, was prostrated with sorrow and remorse. Even the -tender sympathy of the Queen could not console her for the loss of one -whose life was necessary for her ambition, and whose death shattered -the last hopes of Imperialism in France. It was thought desirable -that somebody should be sacrificed to appease the ex-Empress, and -Lieutenant Carey was accordingly tried by Court-martial and promptly -condemned for “misbehaviour in front of the enemy” while in command -of a reconnoitring party. There were only two reasons for attacking -Carey. He was the officer of lowest rank who had any connection with -the Prince’s ill-fated reconnaissance, and he had absolutely nothing -whatever to do with the command of that expedition, or with the -Prince’s mismanagement of it. In fact, all that Carey could be blamed -for was for saving, by his superior knowledge of the ground, four of -the six troopers whom the Prince had led into a fatal ambuscade. It -need hardly be said that, on review, the finding of the Court-martial -was set aside by the Duke of Cambridge, and Lieutenant Carey restored -to his rank. The Duke laid all the blame on Colonel Harrison, who, -however, was not tried by Court-martial. But he also complained that -Carey made a mistake in imagining that the Prince was in command of the -party, a mistake which was not only natural but inevitable, and which -was shared by all his comrades. The melancholy and stubborn imprudence -of the Prince obviously led the expedition to disaster. The Duke of -Cambridge argued that Colonel Harrison should have warned the Prince -to be guided by Carey. Having blamed Harrison for not giving Carey -sufficiently definite instructions as to the command of the expedition, -he made Carey responsible for the defects in Harrison’s instructions. -Carey, according to the Duke, should have provided that military skill -which the Prince lacked. The truth was that Carey was warned not to -meddle with the Prince, who from first to last took command, and who, -when advice was tendered to him, rejected it in a manner that did not -encourage a spirited and self-respecting officer to press it on him. - -The family life of the Court in 1879 was brightened by a Royal -wedding. On the 13th of March the marriage of the Duke of Connaught -with the Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia was celebrated with -some display. The ceremony took place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. -At noon the four processions--those of the Queen, the Princess of -Wales, the bride and the bridegroom--quitted the quadrangle. The -Queen drove in her own carriage, drawn by four ponies, the remainder -of the Royal Family occupying the gilded State coaches, driven by -the Royal coachmen in their liveries of scarlet and gold. The display -of decorations and uniforms and costumes among the august guests -was seen to be very brilliant as the Royal party took their places -round the Communion rails, where were assembled the Archbishop of -Canterbury, the Bishops of London, Winchester, Worcester, and the Dean -of Windsor. As Mendelssohn’s march from _Athalie_ resounded through -the sacred building the Queen was observed to take her place, dressed -in a complete Court dress of black satin, with a white veil and a -flashing coronet of diamonds. The Princess Beatrice had discarded Court -mourning, and appeared in a turquoise blue costume with a velvet train -to match. The bridegroom, wearing the uniform of the Rifle Brigade, was -supported by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. The bride -was accompanied by her father, Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, -better known as the “Red Prince,” and the German Crown Prince, who -wore the uniform of the 2nd or Queen’s Cuirassiers. The German Crown -Princess and the King of the Belgians were also present. The Red Prince -gave his daughter away. At the close of the ceremony the Queen and -Royal Family returned to the Palace amidst a salute of twenty-one guns. - -On March the 25th the Queen and Princess Beatrice, attended by General -Sir H. F. Ponsonby, Lady Churchill, Sir W. Jenner, and Captain Edwards, -left Windsor Castle for the North of Italy. The Royal departure took -place in very wintry weather, snow and sleet falling heavily. In spite -of this the railway platform was crowded by visitors, who offered many -loyal salutations as the train steamed out of the station at 9.40 a.m. -Portsmouth was reached at noon, and the Royal party embarked on board -the _Victoria and Albert_, the yacht sailing at once for Cherbourg, -which was reached early in the evening. The Queen slept on board, and -left for Paris. When she arrived in Paris she found that though crowds -had collected at the station, no one was admitted to the platform -except the British Ambassador, Lord Lyons. The Queen, who was dressed -in deep mourning, though almost invisible to the people as she drove -to the English Embassy, was, nevertheless, greeted with cheers and -waving of hats all along the way. On the 27th her Majesty left Paris -for Arona. Prior to starting, she was much affected by the receipt of -a message announcing the death of her grandson, Prince Waldemar of -Prussia. She, however, went through the appointed tasks of the day -with her customary self-possession, and received President Grévy and -M. Waddington, both visits being brief and formal. The Duc de Nemours -also paid her a friendly visit, accompanied by Prince and Princess -Czartolyski. On the 28th the Queen, preserving the strictest incognito, -arrived at Modane, and after a short interval continued the journey to -Turin and Baveno on Lake Maggiore, which was her final destination. On -reaching the Italian frontier the Queen received a despatch from the -King and Queen of Italy welcoming her Majesty upon Italian soil. The -Queen sent a reply immediately, expressing her thanks in cordial terms. -On March 31st Prince Amadeus, brother of the King of Italy, arrived at -Baveno and had an audience of the Queen. During her stay in Italy her -Majesty assumed the title of the Countess of Balmoral, and occupied -the Villa Clara, which was placed at her disposal by M. Henfrey, the -owner. At first the weather was bad, but in spite of that the Queen -made many excursions to places of interest, and as her incognito was -respected, her holiday was not burdened with the wearisome formalities -of Court etiquette. Alike in France and Italy she was received with -hearty good wishes by the people. Garibaldi and the Pope vied with -King Humbert in welcoming her with congratulatory messages. On the -17th of April King Humbert and Queen Margherita and the members of -their household left Rome for Monza, and on the 18th proceeded to the -railway station to meet the train which was to bring the Queen and her -suite from Baveno. Punctually at the time arranged the Queen arrived, -and, on alighting from her carriage, warmly greeted the King and Queen -of Italy. The party then drove to the Royal Castle, where lunch was -served, after which the Queen returned to Baveno, which she left on -the 23rd of April, arriving in Paris next day. Her return was clouded, -as her setting out had been, by the shadow of death. On her arrival -at Turin she received the painful intelligence of the death at Genoa -of the Duke of Roxburghe, the husband of one of her valued friends. -She left Paris on Friday, the 25th, and before her departure she gave -away memorial tokens to several of the members of the Embassy. She -arrived at Windsor on the 27th, where the German Empress came to spend -some days with her in May. During this visit both Royal ladies became -great-grandmothers, for the Queen’s first great-grandchild was born -on the 12th of May. This was the first-born daughter of the Princess -Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, the eldest daughter of the German Crown -Prince and Princess. - -[Illustration: OSBORNE HOUSE, FROM THE GARDENS. - -(_From a Photograph by J. Valentine and Sons._)] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -FALL OF LORD BEACONSFIELD. - - General Gloom--Fall of the Tay Bridge--Liberal Onslaught on - the Government--The Mussulman Schoolmaster and the Anglican - Missionary--The Queen’s Speech--The Irish Relief Bill--A Dying - Parliament--Mr. Cross’s Water Bill--“Coming in on Beer and Going - out on Water”--Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget--Lord Beaconsfield’s - Manifesto--The General Election--Defeat of the Tories--Incidents - of the Struggle--Mr. Gladstone Prime Minister--The Fourth - Party--Mr. Bradlaugh and the Oath--Mr. Gladstone and the Emperor - of Austria--The Naval Demonstration--Grave Error in the Indian - Budget--Affairs in Afghanistan--Disaster at Maiwand--Roberts’s - March--The New Ameer--Revolt of the Boers--The Ministerial - Programme--The Burials Bill--The Hares and Rabbits Bill--The - Employers’ Liability Bill--Supplementary Budget--The Compensation - for Disturbance Bill--Boycotting--Trial of Mr. Parnell and Mr. - Dillon--The Queen’s Visit to Germany--The Queen Presents the Albert - Medal to George Oatley of the Coastguard--Reviews at Windsor--The - Queen’s Speech to the Ensigns--The Battle of the Standards--Royalty - and Riflemen--Outrages in Ireland--“Endymion”--Death of George - Eliot. - - -If 1880 opened cheerfully, it was solely because men felt a sense of -relief at getting rid of what they called “the bad old year.” It had -begun with bitter frosts, varied by black fogs. Its spring was a -prolonged winter. Cold gloom marked its dog-days. There was no summer -worth recording, and as for autumn, October and November saw the -crops rotting in the fields. Farmers and squires, like Sheridan, were -striving “to live on their debts.” Two great bank failures--that of the -City of Glasgow Bank and that of the West of England Bank--had shaken -the fabric of credit and reduced thousands of the well-to-do middle -class to penury, while trade seemed going from bad to worse. Even -science and invention appeared to be in a conspiracy to ruin people, -for Edison’s contrivance of the electric lamp frightened investors in -gas shares into a panic, which seriously depreciated the value of their -property. Disasters in war, which are courteously called blunders, were -followed by catastrophes by flood and field, which it is customary to -call accidents. The ghastly tale of misfortunes was completed by the -frightful hurricane that swept over the country on the last Sunday of -the old year. At half-past seven of the evening of that day a furious -gust swept down the Firth of Tay and cut a section out of the great -railway bridge that spanned the estuary. A train crossing at the moment -was blown, with the wreckage of the bridge and its precious freight -of human life, into the surly waters of the Firth.[151] Very promptly -did the Queen instruct Sir Henry Ponsonby to telegraph from Osborne a -sympathetic message from her to the relatives of the dead.[152] Her -Majesty had herself crossed the bridge on her way to Balmoral, and the -shock of the disaster struck her to the heart. - -It was when the people were moodily pondering over the evil fate -of England under the Government that was to have given it rest and -prosperity, that Lord Beaconsfield’s opponents became unusually -active. Mr. Gladstone reprinted his speech on Finance which he had -delivered in Edinburgh in November (1879), and reminded the electors -how Lord Beaconsfield, after promising to repeal the Income Tax in -1874, had raised it; how in bad times he had increased expenditure, -whereas in good times the Liberals had reduced it; how he had imposed -£6,000,000 more taxes than he remitted, whereas the Liberals remitted -£12,500,000 more than they imposed; how he had transformed a surplus -into a deficit, and kept on rolling up debt, instead of paying off -the nation’s liabilities as they were incurred. There was a stroke of -high art in publishing this sombre speech when the New Year opened. -Sir Stafford Northcote had, at Leeds, essayed a mild and apologetic -reply to it. Mr. Gladstone thus considered it necessary, when men were -beginning to suspect that they were ruled by a Government of bad luck, -to answer Sir Stafford in an appendix to the November speech, which -tended to deepen the prevailing depression of spirits. Sir William -Harcourt, in his New Year orations at Oxford, on the other hand, dealt -with the Government from a comic point of view. He touched with caustic -wit on their incongruities and inconsistencies, and by contrasting -their swelling words with their small deeds, their affluence of promise -with their poverty of performance, contrived to create an impression -that Ministers were making the country the laughing-stock of the world. -When Mr. Gladstone showed that the nation was being ruined, Sir William -Harcourt immediately followed up by declaring, in speeches which -everybody read, because they were amusing and personal, that it was -being ruined by a group of mountebanks. To him succeeded Mr. Bright, -who, at a Liberal banquet at Birmingham (20th of January), elaborately -explained how that which had happened was only what might have been -looked for. He exhibited, from the treasure-house of his memory, an -interminable series of examples to illustrate one simple thesis. It was -that the history of England had ever been a tragic conflict between the -Spirits of Good and Evil--the Tory Party representing the Spirit of -Evil. His political Manichæism would not have influenced the country if -it had not been downhearted. Inasmuch as it manifestly affected public -opinion, it ought to have warned Lord Beaconsfield that the people -were out of humour with him. The Tories, however, had eyes and ears -for nothing, save Sir William Harcourt’s jokes and gibes, and flouts -and sneers. These were not highly refined or polished, but they were -just what was wanted to make the average voter laugh at Imperialism. -The Imperialists being sensitive, not to say short-tempered persons, -instead of pleading their own case rationally before the country, -spent their force in vituperative attacks on Sir William Harcourt. It -was also the misfortune of Lord Beaconsfield, that at this juncture -he became nervous over the growing hostility of the clergy of all -denominations to his foreign policy, the tone of which they deemed -anti-Christian. - -A desperate effort which was made to counteract this impression, -displayed Sir Henry Layard at Constantinople--an Envoy who was supposed -to be more Turkish than the Turks--figuring as a champion of the Cross -against the Crescent. People, in fact, were startled at the beginning -of the year to learn that the Government had suspended diplomatic -relations with Turkey, because the Turkish authorities had threatened -to execute a Mussulman schoolmaster for helping an Anglican missionary -to translate the Bible.[153] Sir Henry Layard had been unmoved by the -massacre and judicial murder of thousands of Christian subjects of the -Sultan in Epirus, Macedonia, and Armenia, in defiance of Treaty law. -It was, therefore, amazing that he should have suddenly burst into a -convulsion of diplomatic wrath because a Turkish Court - -[Illustration: THE FIRST TAY BRIDGE, FROM THE SOUTH.] - -passed on a Turkish Mussulman the sentence appointed by the law of his -race and creed for an act which, when done by him, was legally a crime. -Still, from the point of view of the practical statesman on the eve -of a General Election, the step taken by Sir Henry Layard would not -have been open to criticism merely because of its inconsistency and -injustice. The fatal objection to it was that, whilst it failed to -conciliate the religious world, it made the Government seem ineffably -ridiculous to the electors. The foreign policy that was to give England -ascendency in the councils of Europe, had reduced her to such a poor -pass that, at Constantinople, Sir Henry Layard had to threaten war ere -the Porte would even listen to his appeal for clemency to the obscurest -of offenders against the letter of a harsh and obsolete law. Nor was -the situation improved as the quarrel developed. The Turks resolutely -refused even to deliver up Dr. Köller’s MSS., which they hardly had any -right to keep, and it was not till the German Ambassador interfered -on behalf of the English missionary that they were restored. When Sir -Henry Layard pressed for the dismissal of Hafiz Pasha, he was foiled -by the Sultan averring that he, and not the Minister, had ordered the -arrest of Ahmed Tewfik. After Lord Beaconsfield’s Guildhall eulogies on -the Sultan, Ministers were seriously embarrassed by this new turn in -the affair. Ultimately the intervention of Germany and Austria induced -the Sultan, who listened to the menaces of the British Government -with imperturbable serenity, to offer concessions. He still refused -Sir Henry Layard’s demand for the annulment of the sentence of death -on Ahmed Tewfik. But he offered to commute it by exiling Ahmed to a -remote Turkish island with a Christian population. He also ordered -Hafiz Pasha, the Minister of Police, to apologise.[154] The commutation -of Ahmed’s sentence meant that, though England had saved him from the -gallows, “Kismet” had destined him for a premature grave. The apology -from Hafiz was immediately converted into a further insult to the -British Government, for, as soon as it had been delivered, the Sultan -decorated him with the Grand Cordon of the Medjidie. Nor was this act -quite atoned for by the issue of an Imperial edict forbidding the -Mohammedan Press to laugh at the British Ambassador. It was, therefore, -easy to predict that the Queen’s Speech would be demure, if not -actually meek in tone, when it touched on Foreign Affairs. - -[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE: A PEEP FROM THE DEAN’S GARDEN.] - -Parliament was opened on the 5th of February, and her Majesty’s Speech -was read by the Lord Chancellor. Events, according to the Royal -Message, still tended to safeguard the peace of Europe on the basis -of the Berlin Treaty, and the Sultan had signed a Convention for the -suppression of the Slave Trade. The abdication of the Ameer rendered -it impossible to recall the army of occupation. But the Government, in -their dealings with Afghanistan, merely desired to strengthen their -Indian frontier and preserve the independence of that State. The -success of Sir Garnet Wolseley’s policy in South Africa was touched -on. It was stated that the Irish authorities had been instructed to -make special provisions for coping with distress in Ireland, which -would necessitate an Indemnity Bill; and a Criminal Code Bill, a -Bankruptcy Bill, a Lunacy Bill, and a Conveyancing Bill were promised. -Mr. Cross had, at the end of the previous Session, also promised a -Bill to transfer the Metropolitan Water Companies to the ratepayers -of London. The debates on the Address were uninteresting. The Tories -tried to discredit their opponents by proving that in election contests -they angled for the Irish vote by promising to support an inquiry -into the demand for Home Rule. The Liberals retorted by proving that -though Lord Beaconsfield was ever ready to pass sentence of political -excommunication on Home Rulers, he was equally ready to confer honours -on Home Rulers,[155] that the Home Rule movement was started by -Tories, and that it was a rich Tory who found the money for the Fenian -candidature of O’Donovan Rossa in Tipperary. - -The Irish Relief Bill was introduced on the 7th, and read a second time -on the 23rd of February. It granted loans to the amount of £1,092,985 -without interest for two years and a half, but bearing 1 per cent. -interest after that time, to landlords and sanitary authorities for -works of improvement; it also permitted the Baronial Sessions to -start such works, and relaxed the law of out-door relief. Most of the -Irish members complained that as a measure of relief, the Bill was -inadequate. Some, like Mr. Synan, objected to the loans being taken -from the Irish Church surplus. Others wished Boards of Guardians to -be able to give out-door relief in money, and to take up loans for -improvements. The Bill was passed on the 15th of March, and Major Nolan -also passed a Seed Bill which enabled poor farmers to get seeds on -loan. It is now clear that the Government had no true conception of the -state of Ireland. They had been satisfied with the jaunty assurances of -the Chief Secretary, Mr. Lowther, in the previous year, that there was -no exceptional agrarian distress in that country. Yet, as a matter of -fact, a famine was imminent, and at the beginning of 1880 the Duchess -of Marlborough, wife of the Lord-Lieutenant, and Mr. E. Dwyer Gray, -Lord Mayor of Dublin, were compelled to start Relief Funds to avert -that dreadful calamity. - -Even with this evidence before them, the Tory Ministry in 1880 fell -into a blunder worthy of the Whigs in 1847-9. They adopted the fatal -Whig principle, that the best way to relieve the Irish peasant’s -distress was to vote the relief money to be doled out in wages by -his landlord, who, by rack-renting and evictions had aggravated that -distress, and who, though in most cases an absentee, was yet for -some inexplicable reason supposed to be the best almoner the State -could find in Ireland.[156] That this mistake was made can only be -accounted for by the fact that Lord Beaconsfield’s advanced age, and -his absorption in Foreign Affairs, rendered it possible for his less -competent colleagues to control his policy.[157] - -However, all Englishmen were predisposed to believe that Mr. -Gladstone’s Land Act of 1870 had averted famine for ever from Ireland. -They did not know that it had broken down because it made no provision -against rack-renting, and, therefore, no real provision against unjust -eviction. It permitted eviction in cases where a tenant was unable -to pay rent; so that, in order to evict, a landlord had merely to -put up his rent to the point at which the tenant could not pay it, -the tenant’s claim for improvements on eviction being in such a case -usually swallowed up in long out-standing arrears. It was quite obvious -to those who looked beneath the surface that the coming question was -the agrarian difficulty in Ireland. And yet the Ministry treated it -as a matter of trivial importance, a blunder which, however, was also -committed by the majority of Liberals, who were convinced that Mr. -Gladstone’s Land Act had brought content to Ireland. - -Still, the Session was quiet and business-like, and the Liberal leaders -were studiously polite to Ministers. They helped to pass a Standing -Order checking obstruction, hinting that it was not strong enough. By -these tactics they artfully neutralised the insinuation that they were -fishing for the Home Rule vote.[158] But it was clear that Parliament -was moribund and quite “gravelled for lack of matter.” It could not -legally survive another year; in fact, since the sixteenth century -only four Parliaments had existed as long. Naturally public opinion -was pressing for a dissolution, and it merely remained for Ministers -to select the “psychological moment” which was most advantageous -to themselves for going to the country. Lord Beaconsfield suddenly -resolved in spring not to exhaust his mandate, and on the 8th of -March Sir Stafford Northcote intimated that the Budget would be -brought in before Easter, and that, after taking formal and necessary -business, Parliament would be dissolved. Lord Beaconsfield was guided -to this step by three considerations. He thought that the glamour of -his Asiatic Imperialism still blinded the eyes of the nation to the -disasters in Afghanistan and South Africa. He imagined that, because -the returns from three bye-elections were favourable to the Tory -Party, public opinion was still with him.[159] He trusted that Mr. -Cross’s Water Bill would consolidate the popularity of the Ministry, -not only in the Capital, but among municipal reformers all over -the country. This last forecast was most untoward. When Mr. Cross -produced his Water Bill on the 2nd of March, the _Standard_, which -was the organ of the Ministry in the Press, suddenly deserted its -Party and its leaders, and assailed Mr. Cross’s scheme with astounding -ferocity.[160] The opposition of the _Standard_ at the critical moment -not only depressed the spirits of the Tories, but also forced the hand -of the “independent” newspapers, who had up till now supported Lord -Beaconsfield loyally. They could not be more royalist than the King, so -they, too, poured forth their invective on Mr. Cross’s Bill. The effect -of this sudden attack of the whole metropolitan Press was to paralyse a -vast body of metropolitan opinion that up till then had run in favour -of the Ministry. “It came into power on beer,” said a malicious Liberal -one afternoon in the Tea-room of the House of Commons, “and it will -float out on water.” A more cautious statesman would have postponed -dissolution till a happier moment; but Lord Beaconsfield persisted -in appealing to the people, and the Government passed an Electoral -Bill repealing the law which prohibited candidates from paying for -the carriage of voters to the poll. It was obvious that in the coming -struggle the Tories were at least resolved to give the rich men on both -sides all the advantages of their opulence. - -When the Budget was produced Sir Stafford Northcote had a sad tale to -tell. His revenue for the past year, instead of yielding £83,055,000, -only yielded £80,860,000, showing a deficit of £2,195,000, to which had -to be added - -[Illustration: AFTER THE MIDLOTHIAN VICTORY: MR. GLADSTONE ADDRESSING -THE CROWD FROM THE BALCONY OF LORD ROSEBERY’S HOUSE, GEORGE STREET, -EDINBURGH. (_From the Picture in “The Graphic.”_)] - -supplementary estimates for South Africa, bringing it up to £3,340,000. -For the coming year, however, he estimated, supposing there were no -changes of taxation, a revenue of £81,560,000, and an expenditure of -£81,486,472. But it was no longer possible to postpone payment of past -deficits. These had accumulated to a sum of £8,000,000. He proposed to -pay this off by creating £6,000,000 of annuities terminable in five -years, and meeting the yearly charge for them by adding £800,000 a -year to the service of the National Debt. As this would relieve the -Government from its existing payments for interest on Exchequer Bonds, -the fresh revenue needed to meet the payments for the new annuities -in reality came to £589,000, and not £800,000. As to the remaining -£2,000,000 of deficits, Sir Stafford Northcote seemed to trust to -luck for their payment. The additional revenue he proposed to get by -a revision of the Probate Duty. As he increased the Succession Duty -on personal property, and left that on land untouched, the Budget was -extremely unpopular with the landless class. But even his scheme as it -stood, with its £6,000,000 added for five years to the National Debt, -and its £2,000,000 of postponed deficits, involved the sacrifice of his -Sinking Fund for paying off the debt. Virtually the Government told the -electors that they had brought Britain to such a pass, that she had to -abandon for five years her scheme for paying off her National Debt, in -order to clear off £6,000,000 of their deficits. - -On the 24th of March Parliament was dissolved, and the new writs were -made returnable on the 29th of April. Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto, -however, had been issued in the shape of a letter to the Duke of -Marlborough, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, on the 8th of March. In this -letter he called on the people to support the Ministry in order to give -England an ascendency in the councils of Europe, and check the Home -Rule movement in Ireland, which was “scarcely less disastrous than -pestilence or famine.” This movement had been patronised, he declared, -by the Liberal Party, whose “policy of decomposition” was meant to -destroy the Imperial character of the realm. On the other side, the -leaders traversed all Lord Beaconsfield’s insinuations. They scoffed -at his Foreign Policy, asserted that it was pretentious, futile, -and costly; they denounced his restless turbulence and his bankrupt -finance, and, though they declared against Home Rule, they promised -to give Ireland equal laws and equal rights with England. When the -struggle began it was predicted in London that Lord Beaconsfield’s -majority would be so vastly increased that the Liberals would be -ostracised from power for a generation. As the contest proceeded it was -noticed that at Liberal meetings no man could mention Mr. Gladstone’s -name without being stopped by prolonged outbursts of cheering. That -had happened in 1868, and it was a bad omen, whereupon it was said -that the Tories would come back with only a slight reduction in their -majority. Finally it was admitted, when the first day’s returns came -in, that Lord Beaconsfield’s majority had vanished, and that he himself -had fallen from power. The incidents of the struggle were curious. -Mr. Gladstone’s campaign in the North was a marvellous achievement, -and the sustained passion and energy of his attack on the policy of -the Government, alike in principle and detail, seemed to paralyse -the Tory leaders. Lord Hartington’s political duel with Mr. Cross in -Lancashire completed the wreck of that Minister’s reputation, already -damaged by his abortive Water Bill. Lord Derby’s letter to Lord Sefton -(12th March) intimating his inability to support the Ministry and -his adhesion to the Liberal Party, was a cruel blow, struck at the -Tory Party in their most formidable stronghold. Sir William Harcourt -and Mr. Lowe vied with each other in rendering Ministers ridiculous. -Mr. Bright roused the conscience of the nation against their warlike -policy. Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke stirred the latent -socialistic sympathies of the masses. As for the Irish vote, it was -cast solidly against the Tories, in order to avenge the passage -describing Home Rule in Lord Beaconsfield’s letter. Looking back on -this historic election, it is amazing to find how few Ministerial -speeches of importance were made. Lulled into a false sense of security -by the support of the London Press and the gossip of Pall Mall clubs, -Ministers seem to have permitted their opponents to talk them down. -As for the result, why dwell on it? The first day’s Borough elections -destroyed Lord Beaconsfield’s majority. The Counties deserted him in -the most unaccountable manner. In Scotland the Tory Party was almost -obliterated.[161] In Ireland two-thirds of the Members elected were -Home Rulers. The net result was, that when the Election was over, there -were returned 351 Liberals, 237 Tories, and 65 Home Rulers. The verdict -of the country, therefore, was this: the electors were more afraid -of Lord Beaconsfield’s Foreign Policy than of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish -Nationalist sympathies. The sweeping reforms which he was pledged to -demand and support by his Midlothian speeches did not displease the -country so much as Lord Beaconsfield’s manifest reluctance to pledge -himself to a strong programme of domestic legislation. - -While the elections were taking place the Queen was abroad. -Little dreaming that the verdict of the people would destroy Lord -Beaconsfield’s Ministry, she had arranged to visit Hesse-Darmstadt to -be present at the confirmation of the daughters of the late Princess -Alice, and after that ceremony to spend a brief holiday at Baden. Her -Majesty returned to England on the 17th of April, and on the 28th of -April Ministers resigned office. Lord Beaconsfield was not present on -the occasion. He had bade farewell to the Queen on the previous day. -After the results of the Election were known strenuous efforts were -made to prevent Mr. Gladstone from becoming Prime Minister. The general -opinion, however, was that, as Lord Beaconsfield’s fall from power was -due mainly to Mr. Gladstone’s energetic and persistent criticism of -his policy, Mr. Gladstone ought to take the responsibility of forming -a Government. His own views on the subject can be gleaned from two -letters which he wrote to Mr. Hayward. In one he seems to resent the -idea of taking any office lower than that of the Premiership, supposing -he took office at all.[162] In another he tries to explain away a -statement he was alleged to have made to a reporter of the _Gaulois_, -who asked him in November, 1879, if he would resume office, and to whom -he replied, “No; I am now out of the question.” He (the reporter), says -Mr. Gladstone, “rejoined, ‘_Mais vos compatriotes vont vous forcer_.’ -I said, ‘_C’est à eux à déterminer, mais je n’en vois aucun signe!_’ -I meant by these words to get out of this branch of the discussion as -easily as I could. My duty is clear: it is to hold fast by Granville -and Hartington, and try to promote the union and efficiency of the -Party led by them.”[163] - -In the ordinary course it was the duty of the Queen to send first for -the actual Leader of the Opposition, who was Lord Granville. On the -contrary, the first Liberal statesman summoned to Windsor was Lord -Hartington, who, when he arrived there on the 22nd of April, it was -remarked, declined the use of one of the Royal carriages, and strolled -in a leisurely manner to the Castle. He informed her Majesty that -a Liberal Ministry which was not headed by Mr. Gladstone could not -command the confidence of the country. Next day the Queen sent for Lord -Granville, who went to Windsor, accompanied by Lord Hartington. His -advice was to entrust Mr. Gladstone with the formation of a Cabinet. -They returned to London, and, after an interview with them, Mr. -Gladstone proceeded to Windsor and received the Queen’s commission to -organise a Government. Whenever Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister the -Whigs (who had secretly done their utmost as a Party to prevent his -return to office) swarmed round him like a cloud of locusts. The Whigs -and moderate Liberals were, as of old, to have all the comfortable -places. - -As for the Radicals, they would, it was suggested, be amply repaid for -their services by a few of the minor offices under the Government, by -including Mr. Bright and Mr. Forster in the Cabinet, and by offering -a seat to Mr. Stansfeld, whose health prevented him from accepting -it. That, however, was not the view of the Radicals. North of the -Humber they constituted the bulk of the Liberal Party. Their system -of representative Party organisation, invented in Birmingham and -popularised by Mr. Chamberlain, had enabled them to consolidate the -opposition to the Tories, to prevent double candidatures, and to win -seats that, under a looser form of discipline, it would have been -hopeless to contest. If Mr. Gladstone was the Napoleon, - -[Illustration: MR. CHAMBERLAIN. - -(_From a Photograph by Russell and Sons._)] - -Mr. Chamberlain was the Carnot of the campaign. The cry went forth -that some uncompromising Radical must have a seat in the Cabinet, and -Mr. Chamberlain was suggested as the fittest person to select. But -what had Mr. Chamberlain done? His speeches--hard, brilliant, and -clever--were permeated with “socialism.” Good Tory matrons were said to -frighten their unruly babes with the whisper of his name. In Parliament -he had chiefly distinguished himself by his obstructive tactics and -his revolt against Lord Hartington’s leadership. He was even a more -persistent opponent of the Monarchy than Sir Charles Dilke, who had -abandoned the advocacy of Republicanism for the critical study of -Foreign Affairs. Mr. Gladstone’s chief objection to Mr. Chamberlain -was that he had no official training. Lord Hartington (who knew, to -his cost, that his obstructive opposition in the House of Commons -could be most embarrassing), on the other hand, was in favour of -including Mr. Chamberlain in the Cabinet. So was Lord Granville, who -probably thought that there was no surer way of muzzling a dangerous -Republican than that of making him a Cabinet Minister. Still, the -Whig antagonism to Mr. Chamberlain was too strong to be ignored, and -a compromise was arrived at when office was offered to Sir Charles -Dilke. He, however, refused to take any place unless one advanced -Radical, at least, was included in the Cabinet, and he said that Mr. -Chamberlain should be chosen. After much intriguing Mr. Gladstone -yielded, and Mr. Chamberlain became President of the Board of Trade. -At the end of April the Cabinet was complete. Mr. Gladstone combined -the two offices of Premier and Chancellor of the Exchequer; Lord -Selborne was Lord Chancellor; Lord Granville, Foreign Secretary; Sir -William Harcourt, Home Secretary; Lord Hartington, Indian Secretary; -Mr. Childers, War Secretary; Lord Northbrook, First Lord of the -Admiralty; Lord Kimberley, Colonial Secretary; Mr. Bright, Chancellor -of the Duchy of Lancaster; Mr. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland; -the Duke of Argyll, Lord Privy Seal; Mr. Dodson, President of the -Local Government Board; Lord Spencer, Lord President of the Council. -Outside the Cabinet, Mr. Fawcett became Postmaster-General; Sir Charles -Dilke, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs (the office which he -specially desired, and for which he was specially qualified); Sir Henry -James, Attorney-General; Sir Farrer Herschel, Solicitor-General; Mr. -Mundella, Vice-President of the Council; Mr. Adam (the famous Whip), -First Commissioner of Works; and Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, Secretary to the -Admiralty. Mr. Lowe was sent to the Upper House with a Peerage as Lord -Sherbrooke. Mr. Goschen (whose opposition to any extension of Household -Franchise to the counties rendered him impossible as a Cabinet -Minister) was sent as a Special Ambassador to Constantinople. Sir H. -A. Layard was not recalled, but he was granted an indefinite leave of -absence. Lord Lytton having resigned the Indian Viceroyalty, Lord Ripon -was appointed in his place. - -No sooner had Parliament met, on the 29th of April, than it was -apparent that one gentleman had read aright the lesson to be derived -from Mr. Chamberlain’s successful career. To prove that one’s capacity -for obstruction was not inferior to that of Mr. Parnell, to reform on -a popular basis the organisation of one’s Party, and to flout openly -on fitting occasions the authority of one’s leader, these, argued Lord -Randolph Churchill, are the keys that unlock the doors of the Cabinet. -He, together with Sir H. D. Wolff, Mr. A. J. Balfour, and Mr. Gorst, -organised a small band of Tory obstructionists called the Fourth Party, -who hoped, by their unscrupulous tactics in embarrassing Mr. Gladstone, -that their gibes at Sir Stafford Northcote’s prudent leadership would -be forgiven. Their first opportunity for wasting the time of the -House arrived when Mr. Bradlaugh, the Member for Northampton, came -forward to be sworn on the 3rd of May. Mr. Bradlaugh was notoriously -an Atheist, and he claimed to make an affirmation. At first the Fourth -Party did not move in the matter, but the Speaker doubted if he could -affirm, and a Select Committee appointed to consider the question, -reported that he could not. Lord Frederick Cavendish had, in nominating -the Committee, included several members who being Ministers would have -to stand for re-election, and Sir Drummond Wolff and his friends raised -an acrimonious debate by objecting to the names of gentlemen who were -not technically members of the House being appointed to the Committee. -On the 21st of May Mr. Bradlaugh came forward and claimed to take the -oath. This the Fourth Party opposed as revolting to their consciences, -for had not Mr. Bradlaugh publicly declared that as he was an Atheist -the religious sanction in the oath was to him meaningless? There was no -precedent for refusing to swear a member. The law seemed to be that it -was his duty to his constituents to get himself sworn. But the point -was referred to another Committee, and they reported that Mr. Bradlaugh -could not be sworn. The absurdity of this proceeding is easily -illustrated. In the Parliament of 1886, Mr. Bradlaugh was allowed to -take the oath without a word of protest from the conscience-seared -pietists of the Fourth Party. But by that time most of them had become -Ministers, and were not anxious to encourage the obstruction of public -business. On the 21st of June Mr. Labouchere, the senior member for -Northampton, moved that Mr. Bradlaugh be allowed to affirm. The motion -was rejected on the 22nd of June by a vote of 275 to 230, and when Mr. -Bradlaugh, after speaking in his defence, refused to leave the bar, Sir -Stafford Northcote carried a motion that he be imprisoned in the Clock -Tower. This step made the House the laughing-stock of the nation, and -the Tories promptly released Mr. Bradlaugh from his luxurious retreat. -On the 1st of July Mr. Gladstone moved and carried a resolution -allowing Mr. Bradlaugh to affirm at his own risk, and subject to -any penalties he might incur by doing so, if it were found by the -Courts that he had broken the law. Three points had been gained. Lord -Randolph Churchill and his friends had forced Sir Stafford Northcote -to follow their lead. They had blocked Government business. They had, -to some extent, disseminated an impression abroad that the Cabinet was -a champion of Atheism--and no doubt there were many good people who -looked with suspicion on Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright for endeavouring -to prevent Northampton from being disfranchised by a combination of -faction and bigotry in the House of Commons. - -During the interval between the appointment of the Ministry and the -reading of the Queen’s Speech, a last attempt was made by the foreign -allies of Lord Beaconsfield--and not without some success--to damage -the new Government. One of the strange incidents of the Election had -been the appearance every morning in the London papers of extracts -from the Continental Press urging the English people to vote for Lord -Beaconsfield’s supporters. Lord Beaconsfield, as the candidate of the -foreigner, was pressed on the constituencies with abject servility by -Tory speakers, who, if they had reflected for a moment, must have seen -that they were deeply offending the insular instincts and prejudices -of Englishmen. But the zenith of imprudence was attained when one -morning a semi-official telegram purporting to emanate from the -British Embassy at Vienna, appeared in a Ministerial organ informing -Englishmen that it was the august desire of the Emperor of Austria that -Mr. Gladstone should be defeated in Midlothian. No Englishman will -tolerate, even from a foreign Emperor, any interference between him and -his constituents during a contested election. Mr. Gladstone accordingly -treated the Emperor of Austria as if he had been an interloper from the -Carlton Club, who had come down to Midlothian to give extraneous aid -to Lord Dalkeith, the Conservative candidate. He snubbed the successor -of the Cæsars mercilessly, and greatly to the delight of the British -Democracy. This called forth a denial from Sir Henry Elliot that the -Emperor of Austria had ever used the words attributed to him, though -Sir Henry did not explain how the correspondent of the _Standard_ had -come to publish them. Mr. Gladstone retorted that the interest of -Austria in preventing his election lay in his known determination to -upset her plans for absorbing the heritage of the rising nationalities -in Turkey. Austria had always shown herself to be an incompetent -tyrant in dealing with subject races, and his warning to the Austrian -intriguers, who hoped, if Lord Beaconsfield were returned to power, to -make a dash for Salonica, was “Hands Off.” When Mr. Gladstone became -Premier this speech was brought up for dissection. Would his Ministry -quarrel with Austria? Would Count Karolyi ask for his papers? Then -two long telegrams from Vienna were published in the Times, of date -28th of April and 6th of May, semi-officially denying that Austria was -conspiring to make a dash for Salonica. Her sole desire now was to -stand by the Treaty of Berlin. Count Karolyi had some interviews with -Lord Granville on the subject, and in return for assurances of Austrian -loyalty and goodwill, he pressed for some expression of opinion from -Mr. Gladstone that would allay irritation in Vienna. Mr. Hayward -seems to have been asked to use his influence over Mr. Gladstone -to get him to make this explanation. Mr. Gladstone accordingly, in -a letter to Count Karolyi (4th of May), declared that since he had -become a Minister he had resolved not to defend by argument polemical -language which he had used in a position of “greater freedom and less -responsibility.” He wished Austria well. He had threatened to thwart -her policy solely because the evidence at his command indicated that -she was hostile to the freedom of the rising nationalities of Turkey. -But he accepted the assurances of Count Karolyi that Austria had no -designs against that freedom, and added, “Had I been in possession -of such an assurance as I have now been able to receive, I never -would have uttered any one of the words which your Excellency justly -describes as of a painful and wounding character.” The moment this -letter was published, the Austrian organs in England, indeed, every -Tory speaker and writer, made political capital out of it. The Premier -was held up to odium for having humiliated England by an apology -which was, undoubtedly, somewhat too exuberant. The people would have -been better pleased if Mr. Gladstone had replied that an explanation -should have been sought when it was possible for him to give it as -the candidate for Midlothian. To ask for it now was to assume that a -foreign potentate had a right to expect the Prime Minister of England -to apologise for what he might choose to say, as a private person, -fighting a contested election. - -[Illustration: OLD PALACE OF THE PRINCE OF MONTENEGRO, CETTIGNE.] - -Difficulties of a more serious character soon gathered round the -Ministry. The Turks refused to make those concessions of territory -to Montenegro and Greece which had been recommended by the Treaty of -Berlin. Lord Granville succeeded in uniting the European Powers in a -vain attempt to induce Turkey to fulfil her obligations. The Porte was -warned that, unless Dulcigno was given up to Montenegro by a certain -date, the Powers would resort to coercion. When that date arrived -the European Fleets assembled at Ragusa, under the command of Sir -Beauchamp Seymour, to make a naval demonstration against Turkey, but, -as the captains of the ships were prohibited from firing a shot, the -naval demonstration amused rather than alarmed the Porte. At this point -Mr. Gladstone hit on a happy expedient for bringing the Sultan to -reason. He threatened to send a British fleet to Smyrna, and, though -France refused to join in the scheme, Russia and Italy were willing to -act with England. The mere threat was sufficient. The customs dues of -the port of Smyrna supplied the only ready money on which the Sultan -could depend for the payment of his household expenses. Mr. Gladstone’s -intention plainly was to intercept or impound these moneys till Turkey -fulfilled her obligations; and the Sultan, alarmed at the prospect, -instructed Dervish Pasha to hand over Dulcigno to the Montenegrins. The -Greeks were less fortunate. Finding that they could get no concessions -from Turkey by diplomacy, they threatened war. But, under pressure from -the European Powers, they were held down, and the diplomatists again -undertook to reconsider their claims. - -In India Lord Lytton resigned. One of his last acts was to deliver -a contemptuous speech refuting Mr. Gladstone’s suggestion that the -finances of that Dependency were in a state of confusion. To the very -last Lord Lytton endeavoured to persuade the English people that -the Afghan War had cost only six millions of money, and his Finance -Minister (Sir John Strachey) produced a most comforting “Prosperity -Budget.” It had, however, one defect. As Lord Hartington discovered -when he went to the India Office, a trifling sum of £9,000,000 sterling -had been dropped out of the expenditure side of the Afghan War -accounts; in other words, a mistake which would have been called by a -very ugly name indeed had it been made in the office of a bank or of a -railway company, had been made at the expense of the British taxpayer -by the Indian Government. While Lord Lytton was assuring England that -the war was costing £200,000 a month, it was costing £500,000. Nay, -for two years he had been paying away this excess of expenditure over -estimates without knowing it, or getting from the Treasury a monthly -statement of the money spent on the war! But the position of affairs in -Afghanistan was rapidly becoming unendurable. England held Cabul as the -Emperor Augustus held Rome--like a man who had a wolf by the ear. Lord -Lytton recognised Shere Ali Khan as independent Wali of Candahar, and -the ex-Ameer Yakoob was a prisoner in India. But Abdurrahman Khan (a -grandson of Dost Mahommed, and an exile in Russia) was a pretender for -the throne; and so was the warlike Ayoob Khan, a son of the ex-Ameer, -Shere Ali. Ayoob was, moreover, marching from Herat against the British -at Candahar with a force of fierce irregular troops. - -When Mr. Gladstone’s Government took office they began by trying to -discover a Prince who could take Afghanistan off their hands, and for -that purpose they tried to treat with Abdurrahman Khan. Unfortunately, -Candahar was not only held by a weak force under General Primrose, but -it had been decided by the Indian authorities to still further weaken -it by sending General Burrows with a moiety of its garrison--some 2,000 -men--to meet Ayoob Khan, and co-operate with the troops of the Wali of -Candahar in checking the advance of the Heratees. The troops of the -Wali, however, deserted to Ayoob Khan, and on the 27th of July Burrows -and his small force were overwhelmed by the Heratees at Maiwand. The -line of their retreat was covered with the bodies of those who perished -by the way, and comparatively few survivors arrived to tell the tale -of their terrible disaster. Of course Candahar was now at the mercy of -Ayoob Khan, and it was known that the fall of that stronghold would -shake the foundations of the British Empire in India. At this critical -moment Sir Frederick Roberts saved the situation. He set forth from -Cabul with a picked force of 10,000 men, and by a marvellous series -of forced marches he arrived in time to defeat Ayoob Khan and rescue -Candahar. Ere this crowning victory was won, it had been settled that -Abdurrahman was to be the new Ameer of Afghanistan, and as the year -closed the British Army of occupation had quitted Sherpore on its -homeward march to India. - -The mischievous policy of annexation which had been pursued in South -Africa was now bearing fruit. When the Transvaal Republic was annexed -Englishmen were told that the Boers desired annexation. As a matter -of fact, the Boers never meant to submit to the loss of their -independence. When the Boers in the Transvaal asked for the restoration -of their rights, they were told by Sir Bartle Frere that England would -never concede their claims; though, as a matter of fact, no sane -Englishman had ever dreamt of holding the Transvaal Republic by an -army of occupation against the will of its people. The effect of these -misrepresentations was somewhat neutralised by Boer deputations who -visited England, by Radicals like Mr. Courtney, and Home Rulers like -Mr. Parnell and Mr. F. H. O’Donnell, who warned Englishmen that the -Boers were discontented, and that they would rise in insurrection. Mr. -Gladstone, too, in his election speeches kept alive Boer aspirations -for independence, by condemning their enforced subjection to a British -Colonial bureaucracy. The Boers ultimately rebelled, the occasion of -the revolt being the refusal of a citizen at Pretoria to pay an illegal -claim made on him by the Treasury. On the 13th of December, 1880, at -Heidelberg, they proclaimed a Republic under the Triumvirate of Kruger, -Joubert, and Pretorius. A collision between the insurgents and British -troops under Colonel Anstruther occurred at Bronkhorst Spruit, which -ended in the defeat of the latter; and as the year closed, General Sir -George Pomeroy Colley was making a futile effort to quell the rising -and reconquer the Transvaal. - -The Ministerial programme of domestic legislation was popular, but it - -[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE: QUEEN ELIZABETH’S LIBRARY, FROM THE -QUADRANGLE.] - -took a long time to carry it out. At the end of July business was -seriously in arrear, and yet Ministers said that they were determined -to push on all their Bills. Towards the end of August no great progress -had been made, and the proposal of a Session which might be prolonged -into October was seriously discussed. The obstructive strategy devised -by Mr. Parnell in Lord Beaconsfield’s Parliament was now developed with -great success by the little band of Tories called the Fourth Party, -under the leadership of Lord Randolph Churchill. Their method differed -from Mr. Parnell’s in one point. He obstructed great measures in mass, -so to speak. The Fourth Party organised persistent and systematic -obstruction in detail, that is to say, they wasted small scraps of time -all through a sitting at odd moments, the cumulative effect of which -was most serious. Nor did they on this account refrain from obstruction -on the system practised by Mr. Parnell when occasion served, only -they carried it on without raising the clamant scandals that spring -from prolonged and melodramatic sittings. At the end of August their -efforts provoked Lord Hartington into revealing the fact that in the -course of the Session Mr. Gorst had made 105 speeches and asked 18 -questions, that Lord Randolph Churchill had made 74 speeches and asked -21 questions, that Sir H. Drummond Wolff had made 68 speeches and asked -34 questions, while three Irish Members had delivered 160 speeches -and asked 30 questions. In fact, six Members (Lord Randolph Churchill, -Mr. Gorst, Sir H. D. Wolff, Mr. Biggar, Mr. O’Connor, and Mr. Finigan) -had delivered during the Session 407 speeches. Still, the Government -persevered and, after Lord Hartington’s exposure of the tactics of -the Opposition, business progressed more rapidly. A Burials Bill, -allowing Dissenting ministers to hold services in parish churchyards -at the burial of their dead, was passed. Sir William Harcourt passed -a Bill giving farmers an inalienable right to kill hares and rabbits. -Mr. Dodson’s Employers’ Liability Bill was fiercely obstructed, but -it passed and gave great satisfaction to the working classes. It made -employers responsible for accidents to their work-people where the -accident was traceable to the conduct of the master’s representative, -or any workman or person who might reasonably be supposed to be his -representative. In the House of Lords, it is true, Lord Beaconsfield -succeeded in limiting the operation of the Bill to two years, but this -period was extended to seven years by the Commons. The Supplementary -Estimates had devoured the small surplus which Sir Stafford Northcote’s -Budget showed in March. Hence on the 10th of June Mr. Gladstone -brought in a Supplementary Budget, in which he abolished the Malt Tax, -substituting for it a Beer Duty, reduced the duties on light foreign -wines, increased and readjusted the licence duties on the sale of -spirits, and added a penny to the Income Tax. The general result was -that a final surplus of £381,000 could be shown on the year’s accounts. - -Nothing could be more embarrassing than the condition of Ireland -when Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister. The Home Rulers returned -sixty-eight members to the House of Commons, and, though a few of -them were lukewarm Nationalists, they had organised themselves into -a separate Party, under the leadership of Mr. Parnell. He plainly -indicated that they would make use of the feuds between the Opposition -and the Government to further their own cause. Mr. Gladstone and -Mr. Forster first of all decided to rule Ireland without coercive -legislation. But during the debates on the Address to the Crown it -was made manifest that they had no clear idea of the extent to which -agrarian distress prevailed in Ireland; that they ignored the alarming -increase of harsh evictions, which were certain to excite the peasantry -to savage deeds of retaliation; that they failed to understand how -famine had been averted solely by the charitable funds raised during -the previous year; and that they accordingly did not mean to reopen -the Land Question. The Irish Party, therefore, at the outset ranged -themselves with the Opposition, and even sat beside the Tories below -the gangway on the left side of the Speaker’s chair. They began -operations by bringing in a Bill to suspend evictions for non-payment -of rent, which the Government opposed. But the case presented by the -Irish Members seemed too serious to be put aside. - -It was at last admitted that there was a crisis in Ireland to be dealt -with, and Mr. Forster therefore introduced a short Bill, which so far -amended the Act of 1870 as to make disturbance for non-payment of rent, -where the tenant was too poor to pay, a case for compensation. The -Bill passed through the House of Commons after violent recriminatory -debates, in the course of which Mr. Gladstone declared that in -the distressed districts eviction was “very near to a sentence of -death.”[164] The measure was promptly rejected by the House of Lords. -Ministers acquiesced in this rebuff, and from that moment they lost -their hold over rural Ireland. They had publicly declared that 15,000 -persons were to be evicted that year, in circumstances which rendered -eviction tantamount to a sentence of death. They had publicly admitted -that it was wicked to extort rack rents from these persons by threats -of eviction, and that, unless they were protected from the rapacity -of their landlords, the peace of Ireland would be imperilled. And -then they permitted the Peers to reject the protective Bill, which -Mr. Forster had pressed forward as necessary for the preservation of -tranquillity! Either the Government was wrong in introducing the Bill, -or it was wrong to remain responsible for the peace of Ireland after -the Bill had been rejected. All that Mr. Forster did in this crisis -was to promise a new Land Bill next year, and appoint a Commission -to inquire into Irish distress. Rural Ireland had by this time been -completely organised into a Land League by Mr. Michael Davitt, and this -Land League was really a gigantic trades-union, to promote a strike -against rack rents. Incidentally, its organisation was also used to -further the Home Rule cause. The leaders of the League advised the -people to resist eviction, and Mr. John Dillon used words to which -Sir W. Barttelot called attention in the House of Commons on the -17th of August, that seemed to advise a general strike against rent. -Acrimonious debates followed day after day, in the course of which -the hostility between the Parnellites and the Ministry deepened with -every turn. Mr. Parnell’s cynical argument that as Ministers could -not, because of a Parliamentary defeat, carry the Disturbance Bill, -which they admitted was essential for the good government of Ireland, -they ought, as men of honour, to free Ireland from the mischievous -interference of the Imperial Parliament, seemed to cut Mr. Forster to -the quick. At last, in Committee of Supply on the 26th of August, -it was clear that an organised attempt to coerce the Government by -obstruction was to be made. On the motion for going into Supply, Lord -Randolph Churchill raised an irrelevant and discursive debate on the -Irish policy of the Government, which had already been under bitter -discussion for the best part of a fortnight. This set the Parnellites -and the Ministerialists by the ears, and consumed a great part of the -sitting. Then, when the vote for the Irish Police was moved, Lord -Randolph Churchill and the Fourth Party vanished into the background, -and left the work of obstruction to the Parnellites, who kept it up -till one o’clock in the afternoon of the following day (Friday, the -27th of August). The debate was at this stage adjourned till next -Monday, when, after further discussion, the vote was carried. During -these exciting and troublous scenes Mr. Gladstone was absent from the -House of Commons. He had fallen ill on the 4th of July, and had gone -for a cruise in one of Sir Donald Currie’s steamers, the _Grantully -Castle_, to recover his health. During his absence his duties were -taken up by Lord Hartington, who led the House till Mr. Gladstone was -able to reappear on the 3rd of September. On the 6th of September -Parliament was prorogued. But during the recess the condition of -Ireland grew worse and worse. The landlords, dreading the forthcoming -Land Bill, pressed on evictions. The Land League urged the people to -refuse to pay rack rents, and the League had by this time become so -powerful, that it could enforce its decrees almost as surely as if it -had been the regular Government of the country. Its favourite weapon -of coercion was to pronounce against bailiff or landlord, land agent -or “land grabber”--_i.e._, a man who offered to take a farm from which -the tenant had been unjustly evicted--sentence of social ostracism. -The victim of this sentence was not assaulted or outraged, but he -was treated as if he were a leper by his neighbours, and the system -came to be known as “boycotting.”[165] Boycotting was indignantly -assailed in England, and yet it was in itself a mark of progress. Just -as slavery in primitive warfare was an improvement on cannibalism as -a means of disposing of prisoners, so boycotting, carefully carried -out within the law, was an improvement on assassination as a means of -agrarian coercion. But the demand for retaliatory measures against the -Parnellites was loud and strong among the upper and middle classes. -Mr. Forster at last yielded to it, and it was in vain that Mr. Bright -protested in one of his speeches that “force was no remedy.” Outrages -increased in Ireland. The ladies of the Tory aristocracy, and some of -the great Whig families, made arrangements for devoting their _salons_ -during the coming Session, to a social campaign against Mr. Chamberlain -and the Radical section of the Cabinet. On the 2nd of November, 1880, -the Irish Attorney-General filed an indictment of nineteen counts, -against Mr. Parnell, Mr. Dillon, and various leaders of the Land -League, for conspiring to incite tenants not to pay rent or take farms -from which the occupiers had been evicted, but the trial, after lasting -for twenty days, broke down, because the jury could not agree on a -verdict. Ere the year ended it was known that the Cabinet, though it -had nearly been broken up by the decision, had at last consented to let -Mr. Forster bring in a strong Coercion Bill next Session. - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN PRESENTING THE ALBERT MEDAL TO GEORGE OATLEY, -OF THE COASTGUARD.] - -The year was not an eventful one in the family life of the Court. -Before Parliament was dissolved the Queen arranged to visit her -relatives in Germany. The time had come when her granddaughters, the -Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth of Hesse, were to be confirmed, and -she desired to be present at the ceremony. Her Majesty and the Princess -Beatrice (travelling as the Countess of Balmoral and the Countess -Beatrice of Balmoral), attended by Sir H. F. Ponsonby, Viscount -Bridport, and Lady Churchill, left Windsor Castle on the 25th of March, -and embarked at one o’clock on the royal yacht _Victoria and Albert_. -It was intended that the Queen should proceed to Darmstadt to visit the -Grand Duke of Hesse and the tomb of Princess Alice. There the Queen -would be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales. On the 25th the -Queen and her suite landed at five o’clock at Cherbourg, and entered -their special train. The public were excluded from the stations on - -[Illustration: REVIEW IN WINDSOR PARK: CHARGE OF THE 5TH AND 7TH -DRAGOON GUARDS.] - -the route, and every effort was made to respect the Queen’s incognito. -The Royal party arrived at Baden-Baden at half-past three in the -afternoon of the 27th, and the Queen drove immediately to the Villa -Hohenlohe, which was to be her residence during her stay. As for her -suite, they were lodged at the Hotel Europe. On the 30th her Majesty, -the Princess Beatrice, and suite, left Baden-Baden by special train for -Darmstadt, where they were received by the Grand Duke and the elder -Princesses of Hesse. A carriage drawn by four horses was in waiting -to convey the Royal party to the Castle, where the Queen occupied the -Assembly Chamber, whilst apartments were allotted to the Princess -Beatrice in the Clock Tower. The Prince and Princess of Wales, who had -left Marlborough House three days before, arrived at Darmstadt on the -29th. On the 31st the Queen and Princess Beatrice, accompanied by the -Grand Duke of Hesse, proceeded at half-past four to the mausoleum on -the Rosenhöhe, where Princess Alice was buried. On the morning of the -same day the Queen, with the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Princess -Beatrice, the German Crown Prince, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, -and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden, attended the confirmation of -the Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth, daughters of the Grand Duke of -Hesse. The Queen and Princess Beatrice then returned to Baden on the -1st of April. On April the 16th, on her return from Baden, her Majesty -arrived at Laeken, and was received at the railway station by the -King and Queen of the Belgians and Mr. Lumley, the British Minister. -After visiting the park and grounds of the Palace, and partaking of -luncheon, the Queen left for Flushing. On April the 17th her Majesty -and suite left Flushing for Queenborough, _en route_ for Windsor, where -she arrived in safety, to find the station thronged with residents, -who had gathered to welcome her on her return, while crowds of kindly -spectators lined the way to the Castle. She returned just as the -electoral crisis was over, to find the Ministry she had thought so -stable overthrown, and public opinion not only clamouring for the -dismissal of Lord Beaconsfield from office, but for the return of Mr. -Gladstone to power. On the 27th of April she gave Lord Beaconsfield his -farewell audience, and for the next fortnight was deeply absorbed in -transacting the business incidental to the formation of a new Ministry -amidst distracting intrigues which were not altogether friendly to the -new Ministers. - -On the 20th of May the Queen and the Princess Beatrice left Windsor for -Balmoral, and the Prince and Princess of Wales discharged her Majesty’s -social duties during her absence. On her way to her Highland home the -Queen took part in a ceremony of which she was, in fact, the promoter. -During a terrific storm on the 16th of February, a Swedish ship had -been thrown on the rocks near Peterhead. The Coastguard succeeded -in flinging a rocket over the wreck, but the crew were apparently -unable to understand the working of the apparatus. And so, in all -human probability, the vessel would have been lost with all souls -but for the bravery of George Oatley, one of the Coastguard. Oatley, -disregarding every appeal to the contrary, resolved to swim out to the -distressed ship. After a fierce conflict with the angry waves he gained -the vessel, fixed the rocket appliance, saw the crew safely conveyed -ashore, and was himself the last to take his place in the cradle. The -Duke of Edinburgh having recommended him for the Albert Medal of the -First Class, her Majesty presented it in person on the 22nd of May. -The interesting ceremony took place at Ferry Hill Junction, where -a platform had been erected for the occasion along the side of the -line. The Queen and Princess Beatrice were greeted with the heartiest -cheers as they left the saloon. Captain Best, R.N., Commander of the -coastguard division to which the hero of the day belonged, having -introduced him to her Majesty, the Queen attached the medal to Oatley’s -breast, and expressed the pleasure it afforded her to decorate him for -his gallant conduct. She then resumed her seat in the train, and her -journey was continued. The Court returned to Windsor on the 23rd of -June. - -On the 13th of July a General Order was issued by the Duke of -Cambridge, by command of the Queen, conveying her congratulations to -the Volunteers on the completion of the twenty-first year of their -existence, and expressing her regret that she was unable to hold a -review of the citizen soldiers in Windsor Great Park. On the afternoon -of the following day her Majesty reviewed 11,000 regular troops in -Windsor Great Park. This was a brilliant affair, the 5th and 7th -Dragoon Guards winding up the display with a most dashing charge. On -the 19th of July the Queen and the Princess Beatrice left Windsor and -took up their quarters at Osborne where, on the 28th, her Majesty -received a party of eight officers and men of the 24th Regiment, who -brought with them the colours of that corps, which had been rescued -from the hands of the Zulus by two ensigns at the cost of their lives. -Her Majesty inspected the colours, and spoke with brief and simple -eloquence of the bravery and loyalty of the regiment, touching with -manifest emotion on the death of the ensigns who had sacrificed their -lives for their standards. Curiously enough, Indian telegrams published -about this time in the newspapers showed that at the battle of Maiwand -the majority of the officers of the 66th Regiment were killed in the -vain attempt to defend their colours; in fact, the regiment lost 400 -out of its strength of 500 in this action. The attention of military -men was thus drawn to the practice of carrying colours into action, -and it was argued that it was one more honoured in the breach than the -observance. History hardly records a case where a regiment has been -rallied on its colours. On the other hand, a hundred fights besides -Isandhlwana and Maiwand testify that many valuable lives have been lost -in defending them. Nor are colours necessary as incentives to bravery, -for the Rifle regiments (whose record is one of unsullied glory) never -carried any colours, though they fought fully as well as the regiments -that encumbered themselves with flaunting banners.[166] On the 21st -of August the Queen crossed over to Portsmouth, and inspected the 1st -battalion of the Rifle Brigade previous to its departure for India. The -regiments were not drawn up in line in spick and span order, but were -visited by her Majesty as they sat at mess in undress uniform on board -the troopship, and, as she made a minute inspection of their quarters, -the novelty of the scene apparently interested and amused her very -much. The exceptional honour thus conferred on the Riflemen was due to -the close connection of the corps with the Royal Family.[167] - -On the 26th of August the Court went to Balmoral, from whence, just -before Parliament was prorogued, she addressed to the Ministry a strong -Memorandum drawing attention to the frequency with which railway -accidents were occurring, and urging that steps should be taken to -provide travellers with better security for safety. In October she held -many anxious consultations with Lord Granville and Lord Hartington -on the state of Ireland, where the increase in outrages, such as the -savage murders of Mr. Boyd and Lord Mountmorres[168] gave her great -pain. The result was that Lord Hartington, when he arrived in London -from Balmoral on the 11th of October, was immediately visited by Mr. -Gladstone and Lord Granville, and in political circles it was soon -rumoured that the Irish Government was about to prosecute the leaders -of the Irish Land League. On the 10th of October the Queen and Princess -Beatrice went to spend a few days amidst the snowdrifts of the Glassalt -Sheil. The Court returned to Windsor on the 17th of December, to find -the world--for a time at least--talking of something else besides Irish -outrages. - -Lord Beaconsfield had just published his last brilliant and audacious -political novel, “Endymion,” in what one of its characters describes as -“the Corinthian style, in which the Mænad of Mr. Burke was habited in -the last mode of Almack’s.” The town was in raptures over a burlesque -of Society, which blended together into amusing personalities such -opposite characters as Cardinal Wiseman and Cardinal Manning; Lord -Palmerston and Sidney Herbert; Poole the tailor, and Hudson the -railway king; which made Prince Bismarck tilt with Napoleon III. at -the Eglinton Tournament; which idealised the author as Endymion, Lady -Beaconsfield as Imogen, and Napoleon III. as Prince Florestan; which -travestied Lady Palmerston as Zenobia, caricatured Thackeray cleverly -but spitefully as Mr. St. Barbe, and George Smythe cleverly but not -spitefully as Waldershare. - -[Illustration: BALLATER.] - -The year closed with a more serious event in the world of literature, -the death (on the 22nd of December) of George Eliot, whose novels were -ever a perennial source of pure enjoyment to the Queen. George Eliot -was, at her death, the first of living novelists, and the womanhood of -England in the Victorian period produced no genius that in culture, -strength, tenderness, spiritual insight, and humour, could be compared -with hers. The sombre fatalism of the Greek tragedians overshadows her -“Mill on the Floss.” The humour of Shakespeare ripples through the -taproom scenes in “Silas Marner.” In “Romola,” were it not overweighted -with psychological analysis, she would have defeated Scott in the -glowing field of historical romance, and did defeat the author of -“Esmond” in an arena in which he was supposed to be peerless among -his contemporaries. In “Adam Bede,” which has probably been read more -widely than any other story of our time by the English-speaking race, -she revealed all the grace, sweetness, delicacy of feeling, nobility -of intellect, and purity of heart, that formed her fascinating and -sympathetic personality. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -COERCION. - - Lord Beaconsfield Attacks the Government--The Irish Crisis--The - Coercion Bills--An All-night Sitting--The Arrest of Mr. - Davitt--The Revolt of the Irish Members--The Speaker’s _Coup - d’État_--Urgency--New Rules of Procedure--The Speaker’s - _Clôture_--End of the Struggle against Coercion--Mr. Dillon’s - Irish Campaign--Mr. Forster’s First Batch of “Suspects”--The - Peers Censure the Ministry--Mr. Gladstone’s “Retort - Courteous”--Abolition of the “Cat”--The Budget--Paying off the - National Debt--The Irish Land Bill--The Three “F’s”--Resignation - of the Duke of Argyll--The Strategic Blunder of the Tories--The - Fallacy of Dual Ownership--Conflict between the Lords and - Commons--Surrender of the Peers--Passing the Land Bill--Revolt - of the Transvaal--The Rout of Majuba Hill--Death of Sir George - Colley--The Boers Triumphant--Concession of Autonomy to the - Boers--Lord Beaconsfield’s Death--His Career and Character--A - “Walking Funeral” at Hughenden--The Queen and Lord Beaconsfield’s - Tomb--A Sorrowing Nation--Assassination of the Czar--The - Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh--Character of the Czar - Emancipator--Precautions for the Safety of the Queen--Visit of - the King and Queen of Sweden to Windsor--Prince Leopold becomes - Duke of Albany--Deaths of Dean Stanley and Mr. Carlyle--Review of - Scottish Volunteers--Assassination of President Garfield--The Royal - Family--The Highlands--Holiday Pastimes--The Parnellites and the - Irish Land Act--Arrest of Mr. Parnell--No-Rent Manifesto. - - -The year 1881 confronted the Government with four difficulties. The -Irish Question was growing more serious every day. With a heavy heart -England not only saw herself committed to a war of reconquest in -the Transvaal, but heard her most sanguine Imperialists admitting -that Sir Bartle Frere’s scheme for a South African Confederation had -utterly broken down. The Parliament of the Cape Colony would not even -seriously discuss it, and Sir Bartle Frere had been recalled at the -end of 1880. Victory had crowned British arms in Afghanistan, but Lord -Beaconsfield’s policy of holding Candahar, and controlling the rest -of the country by British Residents, was obviously impossible. Lord -Lytton, who now called it an “experiment,” admitted that the murder of -Cavagnari had proved it to be a failure. The claims of Greece to an -increase of territory and a better frontier, had been admitted to be -just by the Powers, but Turkey still refused to accept any compromise -which Europe suggested, and Greece pressed her demands with growing -impatience. The nation was therefore relieved to find that Parliament -was to meet earlier than usual, and when it assembled on the 6th of -January it was soon seen that the Session would be a stormy one. Among -the upper and upper middle classes the Government was denounced with a -bitterness that had no parallel, for permitting Ireland to fall into -“anarchy” under the dominion of the Land League. - -In the debate on the Address in the House of Lords, Lord Beaconsfield, -appealing to the prevailing sentiment of disappointment, sought to -show that all these difficulties were due to Mr. Gladstone’s sudden -reversal of the Conservative policy when he came into office. The -speech was pitched in a strange, shrewish note of anger, and it failed -to produce much effect. Men could not forget that only a few months -before Lord Beaconsfield had taunted the Ministry with meekly and -slavishly carrying out his policy. It was not easy to forget that -Lord Beaconsfield had abandoned the Coercion Act and allowed the Land -League to fix its grip on Ireland, that the troubles in Afghanistan -were entirely due to his desire to govern that country without being -at the expense of occupying it, that the alternative policy adopted -by him after the murder of Cavagnari--that of detaching Candahar and -putting it under a Wali, who was to be friendly and independent--ended -in the fall of the Wali and the desertion of his troops to the enemy -which produced the disaster of Maiwand. As for South Africa, even the -_Times_, which had supported Lord Beaconsfield’s policy in that region, -now wrote, “what a miserable business our whole connection with the -annexation of the Transvaal has been from first to last. The original -annexation of the country was a mistake, and it has been the parent -of all the rest.” Knowing that Englishmen would never sanction a war -for the conquest of a free European people who objected to come under -British rule, Lord Beaconsfield’s agents supplied Parliament with no -information on the subject, save that which indicated that the Boers -would welcome absorption in the British Empire as the surest means of -deliverance from native difficulties. The Greek difficulty obviously -was an evil inheritance from the Treaty of Berlin by which Lord -Beaconsfield conferred on England “Peace with Honour.” - -But the domestic crisis in Ireland was far too serious to permit men to -indulge in party recriminations, and Lord Beaconsfield showed his sense -in urging his followers not to do anything to weaken the Government. -Unfortunately, neither he nor Sir Stafford Northcote had much control -over the aggressive Tories who were led by the Fourth Party, and the -Fourth Party, when the Session opened, cemented more strongly than -ever their alliance with the Parnellites for purposes of obstructive -opposition. The Tory Party were ably led on two distinct lines of -attack. One wing did what it could to goad the Ministry into scourging -Ireland with coercive legislation. Another wing gave the Irish members -all the help it dared give them publicly in obstructing the domestic -legislation, and embarrassing the Foreign Policy of the Ministry. -Coercion Bills were announced on the first day of the Session, and -the consequence was that it was not till after eleven days’ wearisome -wrangling that the debate on the Address ended on the 20th of January. -On the 24th, Mr. Forster introduced his Protection of Persons and -Property (Ireland) Bill, giving the Lord-Lieutenant power to arrest by -warrant persons _suspected_ of treasonable intentions, intimidation, -and incitement to violate the laws. If he had this power, said Mr. -Forster, he could put under lock and key the “village ruffians” and -outrage-mongers who attacked people that were obnoxious to the Land -League, and then Ireland would be at peace. - -The violence with which the Irish Members obstructed this Bill provoked -Mr. Bright to attack them in a speech on the 27th of January, which -rendered him and them enemies for life. Mr. Gladstone followed in the -same vein, and on Monday, the 31st of January, a scene that became -historic was enacted. The debate was prolonged all day and all night, -and on through the dull, grey hours of the morning of the 1st of -February, and still on all night without ceasing, till the enraged -and exhausted House found itself at nine in the morning of the 2nd -of February still in session and with no prospect of release. Then -the Speaker interfered, saying that it was clear to him the Bill had -been wilfully obstructed for forty-one hours. In order to vindicate -the honour of the House, whose rules seemed powerless to meet the -difficulty, he declared his determination to put the main question -without further debate. This was done amidst loud shouts of “Privilege” -from the Irish Members, who left the House in a body, and the motion -for leave to bring in the Bill, a motion rarely obstructed by any -debate, was carried by a vote of 164 to 19. For the first time in -the history of Parliament, a debate had been closed by the personal -authority of the Speaker. - -Mr. Gladstone having announced that the Second Reading of the Bill -would be taken that day at noon, the Irish Members returned to the -charge. They attempted to challenge the action of the Speaker, and -moved the adjournment of the House; but in spite of the support which -they received from Lord Randolph Churchill, they were beaten on a -division, though they succeeded in wasting the whole of the sitting. -Next day (Thursday, the 3rd of February) the Irish Members began the -attack by asking if it were true that Mr. Davitt had been arrested. -“Yes, sir,” was the answer of Sir William Harcourt. Then, when Mr. -Gladstone rose to move the adoption of the new Rule of Procedure, -Mr. Dillon rose to a point of order. The Speaker requested him to be -seated, but he refused. He was then “named” for wilfully disregarding -the authority of the Chair, and, in conformity with the Standing Order, -Mr. Gladstone immediately moved his suspension for the rest of the -sitting. The motion was carried by a vote of 395 to 33, and, as Mr. -Dillon declined to withdraw, he was removed by the Serjeant-at-Arms. -After a futile attempt on the part of Mr. Sullivan to dispute the -legality of the Speaker’s action, Mr. Gladstone again rose, whereupon -The O’Donoghue moved the adjournment of the House. The Speaker ruled -that Mr. Gladstone should proceed. Mr. Parnell now moved that Mr. -Gladstone be not - -[Illustration: MR. PARNELL. - -(_From a Photograph by William Lawrence, Dublin._)] - -heard.[169] The Speaker “named” Mr. Parnell, who was then suspended -and removed like Mr. Dillon. Mr. Finigan next repeated Mr. Parnell’s -offence, and was removed in the same manner. On this occasion -twenty-eight Irish Members were reported as refusing to leave their -seats when the Speaker ordered the House to be cleared for a division. -The Speaker “named” them all, and though Mr. Balfour and Mr. Gorst, on -behalf of the Fourth Party, feelingly remonstrated against the vote for -their suspension _en bloc_ being put, the Speaker ruled that this was -a question not of order but convenience, and the vote was carried by -410 to 4. Then the Speaker ordered them one by one to be removed. Five -others, who were not included, procured their expulsion, and, after a -struggle of three hours and a half, “the Speaker’s _coup d’état_,” as -the Nationalists called it, ended.[170] - -Mr. Gladstone now, pale and worn out with the excitement, delivered -his speech in support of the new Rules of Procedure. Sir Stafford -Northcote showed that he still shared the hostility of the Tory Party -to any scheme for effectively crushing obstruction; but the conduct of -the Irish Members had so incensed the House, that he had to limit his -opposition to an amendment which but slightly weakened the force of -Mr. Gladstone’s proposal. The Rule finally adopted declared that, when -a Minister moved, after notice, that the state of public business was -urgent, the Speaker was to put the question without debate. If this -motion were carried by a majority of not less than three to one in a -House of 300 Members, then the powers of the House for the regulation -of its business should be transferred to the Speaker, who could enforce -such rules as he pleased for its management, till the state of public -business should be declared by him to be no longer urgent. A motion -could be made by a Member to terminate urgency, but it must be put -without debate. On the 9th of February the Speaker laid before the -House the new Rules which he had drawn up for the state of urgency -in which public business was now declared to be. They adopted the -principle of the _Clôture_, which Sir Stafford Northcote deprecated and -the Fourth Party abhorred, and gave the Speaker power, when supported -by a three-fourths’ majority, to close a debate by putting the question -without further discussion. No debate on a motion to go into Committee, -or on postponing the preamble of a Bill under urgency, was to be -allowed. Opportunities for moving adjournments were curtailed, and the -Speaker was to have power to order a Member to stop talking when he -became guilty of “irrelevance or tedious repetition.” In Committee the -_Clôture_ was not to be applied, but no Members (except those in charge -of Bills or those who had moved amendments) were to be allowed to speak -more than once to the same question. - -Even under urgency the debate on the Coercion Bill in Committee -went on slowly, and at one time (owing to Lord Randolph Churchill, -who supported the Bill “with reluctance and distrust,” and Sir John -Holker, who contended that “liberty was more precious than coercion,” -displaying much sympathy with the opponents of the measure) it was -feared that Ministers would lose the support of a large section of the -Opposition. This fear was baseless, but the debate went on till the -21st of February, when the Speaker, on a motion summarily moved by Lord -Hartington, suddenly terminated it under the new Rules. All amendments -not disposed of after seven o’clock on the 22nd were put and divided -on without debate. The measure received the Queen’s assent on the 2nd -of March. A Bill giving the Irish police power to search houses for -arms was introduced by Sir William Harcourt on the 1st of March, read -a third time on the 4th, and passed by the House of Lords on the 18th -of March. The struggle against coercion thus lasted nine weeks, and -the violence with which the Irish Party conducted it is defended by -Mr. T. P. O’Connor on the grounds that it consolidated the Nationalist -Party, and that the scenes in the House so roused the temper of the -Irish people that the Peers were afraid to reject the Land Bill of -1881, as they did the Compensation for Disturbance Bill of 1880.[171] -On the other hand, they permanently alienated from the Irish Party the -sympathies of a large class of moderate Liberals in England, who were -anxious to legislate for Ireland in a sympathetic spirit. - -After the Coercion Bill had passed, Mr. Dillon carried on a passionate -agitation against the Government in Ireland, and Mr. Forster retaliated -by imprisoning him and several other Land Leaguers as “suspects” -in May. Mr. Finigan was sent down to Coventry, where an election -was taking place, to canvass the constituency on behalf of the Tory -candidate, Mr. Eaton, a tangible expression of gratitude for the -occasional sympathy that had been extended to the Parnellites by Lord -Randolph Churchill, and some other Conservatives during the Coercion -debates. There was a lull in the storm, however, during which the Peers -censured the Government for refusing to occupy Candahar. A vote of the -House of Commons on the 25th of March reversed this censure, for the -House rejected by 336 to 216 a motion of Mr. Stanhope’s, blaming the -Government for withdrawing from Candahar “at the present time.” When -the Tories refused to commit themselves to the proposition that it was -the duty of the Government to hold Candahar permanently, and merely -demanded its occupation “at the present time,” their attack assumed -the complexion of a party demonstration. If England were to leave -Candahar at all the sooner she left it the better, for the longer her -troops stayed the more difficult it would be to establish the native -government of Abdurrahman in the Province. The Army Discipline Bill, -abolishing flogging, passed through the House of Commons without much -opposition from the Tories, and was read a third time by the House of -Lords on the 7th of April. The Budget was introduced by Mr. Gladstone -on the 4th of April, and on an estimated expenditure of £84,705,000, -and an estimated revenue of £85,900,000, he showed a probable surplus -of £1,195,000. This was reduced by £100,000, consumed in paying off -a loan for building barracks. Mr. Gladstone, therefore, reduced the -Income Tax to 5d. in the pound, and converted the deficit thereby -incurred of £275,000, into a surplus of £295,000, by levying an uniform -surtax of 4d. a gallon on foreign spirits, in accordance with the test -of standard strength applied to wines, and by minor changes in the -Probate, Legacy, and Succession Duties. The most important part of his -statement was that, during the past year, the National Debt had been -reduced by £7,000,000. He also foreshadowed a great scheme for the -extinction of £60,000,000 of debt, by the conversion of one-third of -the short annuities terminating in 1885 into long annuities terminating -in 1906. As this would make Consols scarce, it would put up their -price, and enable him or his successor, in the course of ten years, to -reduce the interest on the National Debt. - -[Illustration: GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN.] - -The long-expected Irish Land Bill was introduced by Mr. Gladstone on -the 7th of April. It gave tenants the right to go before a Land Court -and have “fair rents” fixed for fifteen years, a fair rent being one -that would let the tenant live and thrive. During these fifteen years -eviction, save for non-payment of rent, was to be impossible. If a -tenant wished to sell his tenant-right or goodwill, the landlord had -the pre-emptive right of buying at the price fixed by the Court. The -Court was to have power to advance to tenants desirous of buying their -farms three-fourths of the purchase-money, or even the whole if need -be, and these advances were repayable on easy terms. Advances could -also be made to promote emigration. The Bill was well received on the -whole by the country, but the landed gentry denounced it as an act -of socialism and confiscation, and the Duke of Argyll resigned his -office. On the 24th of April long and stormy debates on the Second -Reading began, and it was not till the end of July that the Bill was -sent up to the House of Lords. The Tory Party made a mistake in basing -their opposition to the measure on the ground that it was socialistic, -confiscatory, and - -[Illustration: LORD BEACONSFIELD’S LAST APPEARANCE IN THE PEERS’ -GALLERY OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. - -(_From a Drawing by Harry Furniss._)] - -contrary to the laws of political economy. The principle of arranging -the business relations of landlord and tenant in Ireland by Act of -Parliament having been accepted by the country, the only practical -method of attacking the Bill was to have shown that it would not -arrange them to the mutual satisfaction of the parties interested. -The theory of the measure was, that every Irish farm is owned by two -persons--by the farmer, who owns the improvements he has made on the -soil, by the landlord who owns everything else. The Bill gave the -tenant additional means for protecting his share of the land from -being devoured by the landlord. Did it do this effectively, and if -effectively, in such a manner as to work no injustice to the landlord? -From the Tory point of view, it would have been easy to argue that no -system of dual ownership, which forces persons with hostile interests -into partnership in husbandry, can work smoothly. If prices rise the -landlord’s fixed rent will not rise with them. If prices fall the -tenant will refuse to pay the fixed rent, because it is no longer fair; -and then the old weary path of agrarian warfare has again to be trod. -A great scheme for establishing peasant proprietorship all over Ireland -with the help of the State might have saved the Irish landlords at this -juncture. But the Tories were led not by a Stein, but a Cecil, and the -golden opportunity was lost. From the Irish point of view, the Bill -bristled with weak points. It did nothing for leaseholders. It left -tenants loaded with arrears, and therefore still exposed to eviction. -Although Mr. Healy inserted a clause prohibiting the Courts from taking -a tenant’s improvements into the valuation on which a fair rent was -fixed, the Judges, by a decision in the case of Adams v. Dunseath, -virtually nullified the clause. - -It was not till the 29th of July that Mr. Gladstone carried the Third -Reading of the Bill after a desperate struggle. The House of Lords -mutilated it, so that it became worse than useless, and then there -came a deep cry of indignation from the country. Mr. Gladstone sent -the Bill back practically unaltered, and as the tempest of anger in -the country rose the Peers surrendered and let the measure pass. The -Ministry, however, had to drop all their other Bills, except those -abolishing flogging in the Army and Navy. The only private Members who -carried Bills of public interest were Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Roberts. -Mr. Hutchinson’s Bill protected newspaper reports of lawful meetings -from prosecution for libel, and made it necessary to obtain the -Attorney-General’s sanction before criminal proceedings for libel could -be asked for. Mr. Roberts passed the Act closing public-houses during -Sundays in Wales. - -Mr. Bradlaugh’s case, however, again vexed the angry sea of political -strife at intervals during the Session. The law courts ruled that he -could not legally make an affirmation, and so Mr. Bradlaugh resigned -his seat, and again got elected for Northampton. This time he presented -himself on the 26th of April to be sworn as a new Member. Sir Stafford -Northcote objected, and though no precedent exists for preventing a -new Member from being sworn, the Speaker referred the matter to the -House, which decided against Mr. Bradlaugh. Thereupon ensued a shocking -scene, and Mr. Bradlaugh had to be removed by force. Nothing strikes -the reader now as more absurd than the protestations of the Tories, -that to concede this claim was to sanction sacrilege. The course they -objected to was precisely the one which Mr. Bradlaugh adopted when -they were in office in 1886, and which they and the Speaker found it -expedient to permit. A Bill was now brought in to allow all Members to -affirm who could not conscientiously take the oath. This was opposed -and so successfully obstructed that it had to be dropped. After that -Mr. Bradlaugh, on the 3rd of August, cheered by an immense crowd of -sympathisers, attempted to enter the House in defiance of an order -which Sir Stafford Northcote had carried excluding him from its -precincts. There were some of his Radical sympathisers--Mr. Fawcett was -among the number--who did not quite approve of this proceeding. At all -events Mr. Bradlaugh gained nothing by it, for he was flung into Palace -Yard by the police hatless, dishevelled, and with his coat torn in the -fray. - -The recall of Sir Bartle Frere did not settle the South African -difficulty. Sir G. P. Colley, in trying to avenge the defeat of -Bronkhurst Spruit, was early in the year beaten by the Boers at -Laing’s Nek and Ingogo. On the 26th of February, reinforced by Sir -Evelyn Wood, he let the Boers out-manœuvre him, and spring upon the -oddly variegated and composite force with which he had rashly occupied -Majuba Hill. Though the enemy’s troops only consisted of raw levies of -irregular sharpshooters, they soon dispersed the British host. It was -a shameful rout, in which a kind fate doomed the luckless Colley to -death. The unfortunate thing was that this fray should have happened -at all. Negotiations were actually going on between the British and -the Boers for a peaceful settlement.[172] Were they to be broken -off? After admitting by opening up these negotiations, that the war -was unjust, was a great and powerful Empire to go on with it for the -sake of _prestige_? And was it, after all, British prowess that would -be vindicated by victory? Was it not rather the fame of Sir George -Pomeroy Colley that had alone been sullied? In other words, was England -justified in slaughtering a few hundred Boer farmers, because Sir -George Colley had let them beat his heroic but mismanaged troops in -battle? It is impossible to say how the nation answered these difficult -questions. But Mr. Gladstone’s reply was an emphatic “No,” although -he had unfortunately declared, immediately after coming into office, -that he would not grant the demands of the Boers, till they laid down -their arms. The end of it was, that the Boers were allowed to set up an -autonomous Republic under a British Protectorate, British interference -being limited to controlling their foreign policy. It is curious to -observe that this was the only act ever done by Mr. Gladstone which the -European and American Press, with cordial unanimity, declared enhanced -the _prestige_ of England, as a State so confident of its giant’s -strength, that it deemed it ignoble to use it like a giant. - -In the spring the shadow of mourning fell over the nation. On the -morning of the 19th of April Lord Beaconsfield, who had been ailing -for some days, passed away peacefully to his last rest. Mr. Gladstone -at once telegraphed to his relatives offering a public funeral in -Westminster Abbey, but the executors were compelled to decline the -honour. Lord Beaconsfield’s will directed that he should be buried -beside his wife, and there were also legal obstacles that even the -Queen’s personal wishes could not overcome.[173] His life, to use a -favourite phrase of his own, was “really a romance,” and his career -a long and brilliant adventure. His strength lay in his freedom from -prejudices, in his intellectual detachment from English insularity, in -his consummate knowledge of the foibles of the lower middle class whom -he enfranchised. He achieved success by skilfully avoiding the mistake -of Peel, who led his Party without educating it. Lord Beaconsfield -did both. His fame as a writer of sparkling political burlesques, his -command of invective, his wit, and his audacity won for him the ear -of a Senate which loves men who can amuse it. The defection of the -Peelites left the Tory Party, in 1846, intellectually poverty-stricken, -and though a proud aristocracy long refused to recognise their most -brilliant swordsman as their leader, they had to accept him at last. - -At this period of his career the chief obstacle in Mr. Disraeli’s -path was believed to be the hostility of the Queen, who, however, -nobly atoned for it by subsequently loading him with favours. With -the exception, perhaps, of Lord Aberdeen, no Minister of the present -generation has been more sincerely beloved as a friend by his Sovereign -than Lord Beaconsfield. He had the subtle tact and the delicate -refinement of a woman, with the stubborn courage and iron will of a -man. As for his policy and his principles, the time has not yet come to -judge them fairly. He was no more to blame for bringing his generous -democratic impulses to the service of the Tory Party than the eldest -son of a Whig Peer is to blame for limping after the Radicals on the -crutch of Conservative instincts. In the one case it is the tyranny -of chance and opportunity, in the other the accident of birth, that -determines the choice. All through life Mr. Disraeli had to fight -his battle from false positions, and this gave his efforts an air of -gladiatorial insincerity. Not till 1874, when he came to power with -a large majority, was he entirely a free agent; and then it was seen -that, though comparatively indifferent to questions of administration -and questions involving the mere forms of Government, he took an eager -and practical interest in social reform. For nearly two years he was -at the zenith of his power. The House of Commons he managed with -bright urbanity, easy grace, conciliatory dexterity, and a light but -firm touch which had never been seen before. Suddenly and without the -least warning his spell seemed broken. His fine tact disappeared; his -touch grew hard and was felt to be a little irresolute; faint traces -of irritability ruffled the clear surface of his serene intelligence; -and in a sudden emergency he seemed to grow maladroit. The change first -became obvious when he attempted to deal with Mr. Plimsoll’s case -in 1875, and, as it grew, his personal ascendency over the House of -Commons slowly decayed. He seemed to live more and more in dreams, and -to grow less and less sensitive to the pulse of popular opinion. It was -in this mood that he fell into the two disastrous blunders of his life. - -[Illustration: LORD BEACONSFIELD’S HOUSE, 19, CURZON STREET, MAYFAIR.] - -He tried to solve the Eastern Question by applying to it the obsolete -ideas of Palmerston. When this mistake led him from one embarrassment -to another, he tried to retrieve the situation by applying his own -ideas to it. Unfortunately, when he went to find them he looked, not -into the depths of his own clear intelligence, but into a romance -written by one whom he had known in his youth, and who was styled -“D’Israeli the Younger.” “Yes,” he said to a friend who put the -question to him in those days, “I sometimes do read ‘Tancred’ now--_for -instruction_.” Because the stolid English people grew sick of vainly -trying to shape their destinies according to the Tancredian scheme of -the universe, Lord Beaconsfield fell from power at the moment when he -was most fully persuaded that monarch and multitude were alike under -the spell of his picturesque personality. Had he been ten years younger -when he obtained the majority of 1874, the crash of 1880 would probably -have been averted. There is a strange pathos in the close of this -dazzling career. According to Sir Stafford Northcote, the last words -he was understood to utter were these: “Is there any _bad_ news in the -_Gazette_?”[174] - -On the 26th of April a spectacle, at once affecting and beautiful, took -place in the church at Hughenden, where Lord Beaconsfield’s funeral -was solemnised. His body had been transferred from London to High -Wycombe, and thence conveyed to Hughenden Manor, without the slightest -pomp or display of any kind. He, on whose accents the world was wont -to hang breathlessly at supreme moments in its fate, received what -is known in Bucks as “a walking funeral.” Nothing was to be seen of -the ghastly mummery of undertakers. Only one feature in the simple -obsequies gave any hint as to the place which the deceased had filled -in the State. Before the bier walked his faithful servant, carrying -on a cushion of crimson velvet an Earl’s coronet and the insignia of -the Order of the Garter. Thus was he laid, as he wished, beside his -wife. Notwithstanding his desire for privacy, nothing could prevent -vast numbers of persons of wholly unofficial position, and in many -cases indifferent to political partisanship, from attending to pay the -illustrious dead the last homage of affection and respect. Uninvited -guests in serried masses swarmed around the churchyard, and lined -the road to Hughenden Manor. Royalty was present in the persons of -the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught, and Prince Leopold, the -last-named representing the Queen.[175] Behind the Princes came the -Ambassadors and representatives of foreign Powers, the friends of the -deceased nobleman who were his colleagues in the Governments of 1868 -and 1874, and the general body of invited friends. Among these Lord -Beaconsfield left not a dry eye behind him. Not since the death of Fox -had any Statesman been so affectionately mourned by the people to whom -he had consecrated the powers of his brilliant genius.[176] - -On the 30th of April the Queen and Princess Beatrice visited Lord -Beaconsfield’s tomb, every precaution having been observed to prevent -the fact of the Royal movements from becoming known in the district. -At four o’clock Lord Rowton and Sir Philip Rose, with the Vicar of -Hughenden, completed the arrangements for her Majesty’s reception. At -half-past four her outriders passed through the lodge gate of Hughenden -Manor, being followed rapidly by her carriage, which proceeded to the -wicket gate, and stopped immediately at the entrance to the churchyard. -Here the Queen and Princess Beatrice were received by Lord Rowton, -with whom they walked to the south porch of the church. Her Majesty -proceeded to the tomb, and, with tearful eyes, placed a votive wreath -and cross of white camellias and other flowers beside the other -offerings, which completely covered the lid of the coffin. She then -drove through the grounds to the Manor House, and partook of tea in -the saloon; after which she inspected the late Earl’s study and other -apartments, and left Hughenden for Windsor. - -Although diplomatic controversies had created much ill-feeling between -the Governments of England and Russia, the Queen and the Czar had ever -maintained the friendliest personal relations. It was, therefore, with -the deepest pain that her Majesty was informed, on the 14th of March, -of the assassination of Alexander II. The Czar was returning from a -military review near St. Petersburg on Sunday, the 13th of March, -when a bomb was thrown, which exploded behind the Imperial carriage, -killing several soldiers. The Czar jumped out of the carriage to see -to the poor men who were hurt, and it was to this kindly act that he -owed his death. Another bomb was flung at his feet, which exploded and -mangled his body in the most cruel manner. The Queen did what she could -to console the Duchess of Edinburgh, who was prostrated with grief by -her father’s death. The Court was ordered to go into mourning for a -month. Both Houses of Parliament addressed messages of condolence to -her Majesty and the Duchess of Edinburgh. The nation, with hardly a -dissentient voice, echoed the sentiments of their representatives, and -the Press was filled with generous tributes of admiration and respect -for the Czar Emancipator. It was now recognised that Alexander II. -would live in history as one of the most enlightened and humane of -European Sovereigns. The great act of his life, the liberation of the -Serfs, had converted them into communal peasant proprietors, and put -them in a more secure position than any other peasantry in Europe. -His devotion to the highest interests of Russia knew no limits, and -no European Sovereign has, in our time, excelled him in the skill -and wisdom with which he guided and moderated the aspirations of his -excitable subjects. It was notorious that he was forced into the -Turkish War by a current of popular feeling he could not withstand. On -the other hand, when engaged in the war he quitted himself like a man. -Tales of his well-known kindness of heart and sympathy for suffering -spread from the camps and hospitals through Russia, and invested him in -the eyes of the Slav race with the mystic halo of a Divine Figure. His -firmness and - -[Illustration: THE PRINCE OF WALES IN HIS ROBES AS A BENCHER OF THE -MIDDLE TEMPLE. - -(_From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey._)] - -obstinacy in pressing on the war crushed the despondent party, who -would have ended it at any price after the first disaster at Plevna. -When his policy of forcing the Balkan passes triumphed, the same -firmness and obstinacy enabled him to curb those who, flushed with -success, would have abused their victory. It was by his orders that -deference was paid to German and Austrian opinions in the settlement -of peace. It was his moderation and loyal desire to live at peace with -Britain that enabled Count Schouvaloff to build for Lord Salisbury the -golden bridge of retreat which he crossed when he signed the Secret -Agreement, that was afterwards expanded into the Treaty of Berlin. -No foreign despot ever succeeded to the same extent in winning the -personal respect of the most thoughtful portion of the British people. -The assassination of the Czar called attention to the extraordinary -destructive - -[Illustration: THE PRINCESS OF WALES. - -(_From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey._)] - -forces which modern science had placed in the hands of the political -assassin. That the event produced a profound and prostrating effect -on the nerves of the Court was soon seen. The Queen left Windsor for -Osborne on the 6th of April, and the public were somewhat alarmed to -find that for the first time in her career precautions were taken to -protect her life, as if she were a despot travelling amidst a people -who thirsted for her blood. The Royal train was not only as usual -preceded by a pilot engine, but orders had been given to station -patrols of platelayers, each within sight of the other, along the -whole line. Every watchman was provided with flags and fog signals, so -that on the least suspicion the train could be stopped. The time of -the Queen’s departure had been announced for Tuesday. It was at the -last moment altered to Wednesday. When she arrived at Portsmouth, the -_Alberta_, in which it was supposed she was to embark, was discarded -for the _Enchantress_, which was suddenly ordered up; and from these -and other circumstances it was inferred that the Queen was afraid she -might be made the victim of a dark plot like that to which the Czar had -succumbed. Fenianism, indeed, was beginning to raise its head again in -Ireland under the stimulating application of repressive measures. Soon -afterwards attempts which were made to blow up the Mansion House and -the Liverpool Town Hall indicated that there was some justification for -the Queen’s alarm. - -Court life was not so dull during 1881 as it had been in previous -years. The Queen was ever flitting to and fro between Windsor and -Osborne, and almost every month during the season she held a Drawing -Room in Buckingham Palace. State Concerts were not infrequent, and -on the 17th of May the King and Queen of Sweden visited Windsor, and -the King was invested with the Order of the Garter. On the 20th the -Queen left Windsor and proceeded to Balmoral; and on the 24th it was -announced that she had determined to revive the ancient Scottish title -of Duke of Albany and confer it on Prince Leopold. It was a title of -evil omen. The fate of the first prince who bore it supplies a dark -and tragic episode to Scott’s “Fair Maid of Perth.” The second Duke -of Albany died on the castle hill of Stirling. When conferred on the -second son of James II. of Scotland it soon became extinct. Darnley -wore it before he was married to Mary Stuart. The second son of James -VI. and the second son of Charles I. bore it. Charles Edward Stuart was -long known as Count of Albany. It was conferred on Prince Frederick, -the second son of George II. Prince Leopold had, by his thoughtful and -sagacious speeches in public, attracted to himself much admiration, -and his feeble health and devotion to his mother had made him the -object of kindly popular sympathy. The announcement of his elevation -was therefore hailed with some expression of regret that he should -be doomed to wear a title that had invariably brought ill-luck or -misfortune to those on whom it was conferred. - -On the 22nd of June the Queen returned to Windsor, where she was -visited by the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and their family -in July. A brilliant Review of 50,000 Volunteers was held before her -on the 9th of July in Windsor Great Park. On the 18th her Majesty lost -one of the most cherished friends of her family, the amiable Dean -Stanley, who died somewhat suddenly of erysipelas. Dean Stanley, it -has been well said, was the impersonation of the “sweetness and light” -which the disciples of Mr. Matthew Arnold strive to impart to modern -culture. His biography of the great Dr. Arnold has an assured place -among the classical works of the Victorian age. His influence on the -Anglican Church was that of a leader at once conciliatory and tolerant, -and singularly susceptible to popular impulses and aspirations. His -relations to the Royal Family were always close and intimate, and, -as the husband of Lady Augusta Bruce, the Queen’s faithful personal -friend and attendant for many years, his career was watched with great -interest and sympathy by her Majesty. Churchmen and dissenters of all -shades attended his funeral in Westminster Abbey, where he was buried -in Henry VII.’s Chapel under a mountain of floral wreaths, one of the -most superb being sent by the Queen. It was through Dean Stanley that -the Queen made the personal acquaintance of Mr. Carlyle, who had died -earlier in the year (the 5th of February), but without leaving behind -him the sweet and sunny memories that cluster round Stanley’s name. - -On the 24th of August the Queen arrived at Edinburgh, and took up her -quarters at Holyrood Palace. In the afternoon she visited the Royal -Infirmary, and on the following day she reviewed 40,000 Scottish -Volunteers (who had come from the remotest parts of the country) in -the great natural amphitheatre of the Queen’s Park. The spectacle was -marred by the torrents of rain that fell all day, and the troops had to -march past the saluting-point in a sea of slush and mud which reached -nearly to their knees. The fine appearance and discipline of the men, -the patience and hardihood with which they carried out their programme -through all the miseries of the day, deeply touched the Queen. In -spite of entreaties to the contrary, she persisted in sharing these -discomforts with them, holding the review in an open carriage, in which -she remained seated under a deluge of rain till the last regiment had -defiled before her. From Edinburgh the Court proceeded to Balmoral. -There the Queen received the melancholy news of the death of Mr. James -A. Garfield, President of the United States, who had been shot by an -assassin named Guiteau on the 2nd of July at the railway station at -Washington. The wound was a mortal one, and, after lingering for many -weeks in great pain, the President died on the 19th of September. The -Queen sent a touching letter of sympathy to Mrs. Garfield, and ordered -the Court to go into mourning, as if Mr. Garfield had been a member -of the Royal caste. In this she had the concurrence of the people, -who were profoundly moved by his tragic fate. His career, beginning -in a log-hut in the backwoods of Ohio, and ending in the White House -at Washington, was one of heroic achievement and independence, -illustrating, in its various phases of vicissitude, the best qualities -of Anglo-Saxon manhood. - -At Balmoral the Royal holiday was marked by the appearance of the Queen -at some of the local sports. The Prince and Princess of Wales were at -Abergeldie, and the retainers of the two families were frequently in -the habit of playing cricket matches with each other. One of these -took place at Abergeldie in September, when the Queen and her family -and a brilliant suite attended and witnessed the play, her Majesty -taking a keen interest in the varying fortunes of the day, and eagerly -stimulating her own people to strive for victory. After the cricket -match there were “tugs of war.” In this struggle the Abergeldie team, -who had lost the cricket match, retrieved their defeat by conquering -the Queen’s retainers. On the 23rd of November the Court returned to -Windsor, and soon afterwards it was announced that the Duke of Albany -was to be married to the Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont. On the -16th of December her Majesty left Windsor for Osborne. - -The political movements of the Recess had been followed with growing -anxiety by the Queen. Bye-elections and municipal elections seemed -to show, not only that the hold of the Government on the country was -becoming feebler, but that a working alliance between the Tories and -the Irish Party had been formed. Mr. Parnell’s followers had been -divided in opinion as to how they should treat the Land Act, some -declaring that they should impede its working, others urging that every -advantage should be taken of it. Mr. Parnell, after some hesitancy, -united his Party on the policy of “testing” the Act. The Land League -was directed to push into the Land Courts a series of “test cases,” -that is to say, of cases where average rents were levied, so that a -clear idea might be gained of the practical working of the Act. At -the same time, the Irish people were led to believe that, unless the -Act reduced the rent of Ireland from £17,000,000 to £3,000,000, that -is to say, unless it reduced rent to “prairie value,” it would not do -justice. The tenantry were warned by the Land League not to go into -Court, but to stand aside till the decisions on the test cases were -given. When Mr. Gladstone visited Leeds in the first week of October, -he fiercely attacked Mr. Parnell for interfering between the tenants -and the Law Courts. Mr. Parnell retorted in an acrid and contemptuous -speech at Wexford on the 9th of October. On the 13th of October Mr. -Parnell was arrested in Dublin as a “suspect” under the Coercion Act, -and all his more prominent followers were in quick succession lodged -in Kilmainham Jail. Mr. Healy was in England, and Mr. Biggar and Mr. -Arthur O’Connor escaped the vigilance of the police and joined him. -This _coup d’état_ was somewhat theatrically contrived. It was so timed -that Mr. Gladstone was able to announce it at a municipal banquet at -the Guildhall, where he declared that the enemy had fallen, amidst -rapturous shouts of applause. The Land Leaguers retaliated by issuing -a manifesto to the Irish people to pay no rent whilst their leaders -were in prison--a false step, for, in view of the opposition of the -clergy, a strike against rent was not feasible. The Land League was -then suppressed by Mr. Forster as an unlawful association, and agrarian -outrages began to increase every day. According to the Nationalists, -this was the natural and necessary result of locking up popular -leaders, who could alone restrain the people. Mr. Forster, however, -regarded the growth of the outrages as an act of vengeance on the part -of the League, whose leaders secretly encouraged them. In Ulster, -however, the Land Act worked well, and rents were reduced from 20 to 30 -per cent. all round. Every week fresh drafts of “suspects” were lodged -in jail, and as the year closed it became evident that Ireland was fast -falling under the terrorism of the old secret societies. - -[Illustration: THE ROYAL FAMILY IN THE HIGHLANDS: TUG OF WAR--BALMORAL -v. ABERGELDIE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -ENGLAND IN EGYPT. - - The Duke of Albany’s Marriage Announced--Mr. Bradlaugh - Again--Procedure Reform--The Closure at Last--The Peers Co-operate - with the Parnellites--Their Attacks on the Land Act--Mr. - Forster’s Policy of “Thorough”--A Nation under Arrest--Increase - in Outrages--Sir J. D. Hay and Mr. W. H. Smith bid for the - Parnellite Vote--A Political Dutch Auction--The Radicals Outbid - the Tories--Release of Mr. Parnell and the Suspects--The - Kilmainham Treaty--Victory of Mr. Chamberlain--Resignation of Mr. - Forster and Lord Cowper--The Tragedy in the Phœnix Park--Ireland - Under Lord Spencer--Firm and Resolute Government--Coercion - Revived--The Arrears Bill--The Budget--England in Egypt--How - Ismail Pasha “Kissed the Carpet”--Spoiling the Egyptians--Mr. - Goschen’s Scheme for Collecting the Debt--The Dual Control--The - Ascendency of France--“Egypt for the Egyptians”--The Rule of - Arabi--Riots in Alexandria--The Egyptian War--Murder of Professor - Palmer--British Occupation of Egypt--The Queen’s Monument to Lord - Beaconsfield--Attempt to Assassinate Her Majesty--The Queen’s Visit - to Mentone--Marriage of the Duke of Albany. - - -The Parliament of 1882 was opened on the 7th of February, and -the Queen’s Speech announced the approaching marriage of the -Duke of Albany. Foreign affairs were hopefully touched on. Local -self-government, London municipal reform, bankruptcy reform, corrupt -practices at elections, the conservancy of rivers, and the codification -of the Criminal Law, were the subjects of promised legislation. Very -early in the Session Mr. Bradlaugh renewed his attempt to take the -Parliamentary Oath, but was again excluded from the precincts of the -House by a resolution moved by Sir Stafford Northcote. On the 21st of -February the House refused to issue a new writ for Northampton, and Mr. -Bradlaugh, after the division, proceeded to swear himself in at the -Clerk’s table. Sir Stafford Northcote accordingly moved and carried a -resolution expelling him from the House. This caused a fresh election -to be held at Northampton, the result of which was that Mr. Bradlaugh -was again returned by a triumphant majority. On the 6th of March Sir -Stafford Northcote proposed a resolution excluding Mr. Bradlaugh from -the precincts of the House, and then, sated with its saturnalia of -intolerance, the Opposition permitted Ministers to get on with the most -pressing question of the hour--the reform of Procedure. The proposals -of the Government were, in the main, identical with those which the -Speaker had designed to defeat obstruction in the previous Session; -but they were to be of permanent application, and not dependent on -the carrying of a vote of urgency. It was provided that a debate -might be closed, on the Speaker’s initiation, by a bare majority, -only there must, in that case, be at least two hundred Members voting -in favour of closure if as many as forty members opposed it; but if -fewer than forty opposed, at least one hundred would be required -to carry it. Non-contentious business relating to Law and Commerce -might be delegated to two Grand Committees. The Tories objected to -closure by a bare majority, and they fortunately found a Liberal--Mr. -Marriott, Q.C.--to move an amendment to this part of Mr. Gladstone’s -plan, and the debate began on the 20th of February. In the meantime -the Irish Home Rulers, who had not scrupled to impede the working -of the Land Act, found unexpected allies in the Conservative Peers. -They attacked the Act as a failure, and carried a motion appointing -a hostile Committee to inquire into its working. It has always been -the practice of the Peers, when they dared not cut down the plant of -Reform, to insist on pulling it up to see if its roots were growing, -and in this case their strategy was ingeniously adapted to suit the -policy of obstruction in the Commons. It was necessary to neutralise -the hostile vote of the Peers by a Resolution in the Commons condemning -the proposed inquiry as mischievous; and, though this was carried, it -gave the Tory and Parnellite opponents of the Government an excellent -chance of wasting time by re-opening and discussing the whole Irish -Land Question. The Procedure debates were thus suspended for about a -month, Mr. Marriott’s amendment being rejected on the 30th of March. -Negotiations for a compromise between Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. -Gladstone were interrupted by a catastrophe which revolutionised the -Irish policy of the Government, namely, the murder of Lord Frederick -Cavendish and Mr. Thomas Burke in the Phœnix Park, Dublin. - -During the first two months of the Session the Irish Party vied -with the Conservatives in assailing the Land Act. Radicals began to -murmur against the development of Mr. Forster’s coercive policy, -every incident and detail of which was subjected by the Irish Members -to bitter criticism and violent denunciation. In the meantime, Mr. -Forster’s scheme for pacifying Ireland was not prospering, and it -was seen that he had made a fatal mistake when he pledged himself to -suppress agitation, if he were only empowered to arrest the leading -agitators. From the day they were imprisoned, Ireland drifted towards -anarchy and terrorism. Then the experiment was tried of arresting, not -only the leaders, but their lieutenants. Finally Mr. Forster crowded -the prisons with the rank and file of the Home Rule host. Men began -to wonder whether the gaol accommodation of Ireland was adequate for -Mr. Forster’s policy. But the more people he put in prison the worse -the country grew, the more did evictions increase, and the less rent -was paid. A bid for the Irish vote was now made by the Tories. They -put up Sir John Hay to move that the detention of the “suspects” was -“repugnant to the spirit of the Constitution.” Through Mr. W. H. Smith, -in one of the debates on the Land Act, they offered the Nationalists -a scheme for buying out the landlords at the expense of the State, -and establishing peasant proprietorship in Ireland, such as had -been advocated by Mr. Davitt and Mr. Parnell. It was clear that the -Tory-Parnellite alliance was becoming a formidable combination, and -the Radicals urged the Government to make terms with the Nationalist -Party whilst there was yet time. But Mr. Gladstone hesitated, and -then the Radicals moved without him. An intrigue, instigated by Mr. -Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke, was set on foot to get Mr. Forster -removed from his place as Irish Secretary. Through Captain O’Shea as -an intermediary, Mr. Parnell was approached. He had certainly seen -with alarm the increase in evictions, and knew that if the struggle -were prolonged the financial resources of the Leaguers must fail them. -He was, therefore, disposed to come to terms. Letters were exchanged, -in one of which Mr. Parnell said that a promise to deal with the -question of arrears would do much to bring peace to Ireland, for the -Nationalists would then be able to exert themselves, with some hope -of success, in stopping outrages. But the Land Act would have to be -extended to leaseholders, and the Purchase Clauses enlarged. If this -programme were carried out, wrote Mr. Parnell on the 28th of August -to Captain O’Shea, it “would enable us to co-operate cordially for -the future with the Liberal Party in forwarding Liberal principles; -and I believe that the Government at the end of the Session would, -from the state of the country, feel themselves thoroughly justified in -dispensing with future coercive measures.” This letter was shown to -Mr. Forster, and it seems that the Cabinet was also put in possession -of Mr. Parnell’s views. Mr. Forster was not of opinion that they -justified his release. Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke thought -that they displayed a reasonable spirit which would justify a new -departure of conciliation in Irish policy. Mr. Parnell, Mr. Dillon, -Mr. Davitt, and the other suspects were therefore released, and Lord -Cowper, the Irish Viceroy, and Mr. Forster resigned office. Mr. -Forster was of opinion that Mr. Parnell should have been compelled -to promise publicly not to resist the law, or failing that, that a -stronger Coercion Act should have been passed before he was set at -liberty. Lord Spencer was appointed to succeed Lord Cowper, and Lord -Frederick Cavendish succeeded Mr. Forster as Chief Secretary. On -the 6th of May, within forty-eight hours of their appointment, Lord -Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, the Under-secretary for Ireland, -were butchered by a band of assassins in broad daylight in the Phœnix -Park, Dublin. Mr. Forster, in fact, had allowed a secret society of -assassins, calling themselves “Invincibles,” to organise itself at his -own doors, whilst he was scouring the country far and wide to arrest -and imprison the patriotic but respectable _bourgeoisie_ of Ireland as -suspects. In his speech condemning the release of the suspects, whilst -he maintained that Ireland was not yet quiet, he had declared that the -country was quieter than it had been, that the Land League was crushed, -and boycotting checked! He had never suspected that the place of the -Land League had been taken by a secret society of desperadoes called -the “Invincibles” and that assassination was to be substituted for -boycotting. His administration had been indeed singularly ineffective. -With power in his hands, as absolute as that of a Russian Minister of -Police, he seems never to have suspected the existence of the band of -murderers who had organised themselves in Dublin, and who had dogged -his own steps in sight of the detectives who watched over him day after -day seeking for a chance of slaying him. This tragic event upset the -scheme for “a new departure,” which Mr. Chamberlain had induced the -Government to essay. Though Englishmen behaved with great calmness and -self-restraint after the first shock of horror which the Phœnix Park -murders sent through the nation had passed away, they were resolved to -offer no more concessions to Ireland till the Government took fresh -powers for enforcing law and suppressing outrages. Mr. Gladstone -interpreted the national will accurately when he determined not to -withdraw the conciliatory portion of his Irish programme. But he recast -his plans, and gave his coercive precedence over his remedial measures. - -[Illustration: LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH. - -(_From a Photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company._)] - -The Irish Party were probably sincere in regretting and in condemning -the murders. The _prestige_ of their Parliamentary policy was -sullied when it ended in a new Coercion Bill for Ireland, and in the -demonstration of their impotence to control the forces which they -pretended to have in hand. The Tories and Ministerialists were alike -discredited by the untoward mishap. The alliance between the Tory Party -and the Home Rulers had influenced every Parliamentary bye-election -and every division in the House of Commons. The motion of Sir John Hay -condemning the imprisonment of the “suspects” and the offer of Mr. -W. H. Smith’s scheme for expropriating the landlords were palpable -bids for the Parnellite vote. By releasing the “suspects,” promising -to deal with the question of arrears, and to take the Land Purchase -Question in hand, the Ministry outbade their rivals. But the Opposition -and the Cabinet were alike guilty of intriguing and negotiating with -men whom in people they pretended to denounce as irreconcilable -enemies of the Empire; and the end of it all was the tragedy in the -Phœnix Park! That affair had only a coincidental relation to the -antecedent Party intrigues; but the people saw connection where there -was only coincidence. Hence Englishmen for a time lost faith in their -public men. They felt towards them as their forefathers did towards -Charles I. when the Glamorgan Treaty was revealed, and towards Lord -Melbourne and Lord John Russell when the “Lichfield House” compact -between O’Connell and the Whigs was unmasked. For a time this feeling -cowed partisans below the gangway on both sides who had been mainly -responsible for the negotiations and intrigues with the Home Rulers. -The Government tried to atone for its misfortune by continuing Lord -Spencer as Irish Viceroy and appointing Mr. George Otto Trevelyan as -Irish Secretary, Lord Spencer to be entirely responsible for Irish -policy in the Cabinet. This was the best possible selection that could -be made. Lord Spencer represented the type of Englishman who, from -his courage, common sense, love of justice, business-like habits, -administrative skill, and disinterested patriotism, was most likely to -establish an enduring and endurable system in Ireland, if that were -to be done by firm and resolute government tempered by strong popular -sympathies. Mr. Trevelyan was patient, industrious, and courteous as -an administrator, and his success as a man of letters rendered him in -some degree a _persona grata_ to the Irish Party, most of whose leaders -were writers for the Press. The new Coercion Bill was introduced on -the 11th of May, and read a second time on the 19th. It suspended -trial by jury in certain cases and in proclaimed districts; gave the -police fresh powers of arrest and search, and revived the Alien Act; -it defined as punishable offences intimidation, incitement to crime, -and participation in secret conspiracies and illegal assemblies; it -rendered newspapers liable to suppression for inciting to violence, -widened the summary jurisdiction of stipendiary magistrates, and levied -fines of compensation on districts stained with murderous outrages. It -was at once seen that the chief merit of the Bill lay in the fact that -it frankly attacked and punished criminals, thereby reversing, and by -implication condemning, the feeble and futile policy of Mr. Forster, -who attacked and imprisoned at will persons who were merely suspected -of crime or of inciting to crime. Great doubts were expressed as to -the utility of the Press clauses, Englishmen who are not political -partisans being at all times sceptical as to the good that is done -by suppressing newspapers and bottling up all their evil teaching in -private manifestoes for secret circulation in disaffected districts. -Some Radicals also thought the powers of arrest after nightfall given -to the police were rather vague, and suggested too painfully a revival -of Mr. Forster’s fatal principle of coercion on suspicion. But, on the -whole, the Bill was well received by the best men of both parties, the -responsible Tory leaders giving the Government much loyal support, -though some of their followers carped at the measure.[177] The Bill was -obstructed in the usual manner by the Irish Members, who had but few -Radical allies. On the 16th of June only seven clauses out of thirty -had gone through Committee. On the 29th it was clear a crisis had come, -and on the 30th there was a disorderly all-night sitting, which ended -in the suspension of sixteen Irish Members. Later in the day nine -others were suspended, and, after sitting for twenty-eight hours, the -Bill passed through Committee. Urgency was voted for its next stages, -and the Bill read a third time on the 7th of July. The Lords passed it -promptly, and it became law on the 12th of July. - -Along with the Coercion Bill the promised Arrears Bill was introduced, -and read a second time before Whitsuntide. It applied to holdings under -£30 of rental, and empowered the Land Courts to pay half the arrears -of poor tenants out of the Irish Church Surplus--but no payment was -to exceed a year’s rent, and all past arrears were to be cancelled. -After prolonged opposition from the Conservatives and from the House -of Lords, the measure was passed on the 10th of August. These Bills -exhausted the legislative energies of the Government; indeed, Mr. -Fawcett’s Bill establishing a Parcel Post, and Mr. Chamberlain’s -Bill enabling corporations to adopt Electric Lighting by obtaining -provisional orders from the Board of Trade, were the only measures -that had not to be abandoned. The Budget estimated expenditure at -£84,630,000 and revenue at £84,935,000, a reduction of between £900,000 -and £800,000 respectively on the preceding year’s disbursements and -receipts. The surplus was small. The revenue was stagnant, and there -was no scope for fiscal changes. A Vote of Credit for the Egyptian -Expedition had to be provided, which caused Mr. Gladstone to raise the -Income Tax to 6¾d. in the pound. - -The Egyptian difficulty, in fact, during this Session, became acute. -It was seized by the Fourth Party as a peg on which to hang an endless -series of questions to the Government, of an embarrassing character. -From questioning, Lord Randolph Churchill proceeded to wage an -irregular guerilla warfare, most harassing to Ministers engaged in -delicate diplomatic negotiations on which depended the issues of peace -and war. In this unusual course he and his friends were supported by -Mr. Chaplin and Lord Percy, and aided by many fiery assaults made -by Lord Salisbury. Sir Stafford Northcote and the majority of the -ex-Ministers in the House of Commons disapproved, at first, of tactics -which seemed to them an unprecedented violation of the decencies of -English party warfare. But Sir Stafford’s reserve and prudence, though -appreciated by the country, were so distasteful to his followers that -ere the Session ended he found he had to submit to be their instrument -in using the foreign complications of the nation for the interests -of faction. Had he refused, the combatant section of his followers -would have rebelled against his authority. It was part of the irony -of the situation that the Egyptian difficulty was one of the evil -legacies which the Foreign Policy of the Tory Party in 1879-1880 -left the country to deal with. In fact, the Egyptian crisis of 1882 -was the logical consequence of the system of Dual Control with which -Lord Salisbury had afflicted Egypt when he went into partnership with -France in managing the finances of that country for the benefit of its -usurious foreign creditors. It was in 1866 that Ismail Pasha took the -first step that gradually led to his downfall. To use his own phrase, -he “kissed the carpet” at Constantinople--in other words, bribed the -Porte to grant him the title of Khedive and confirm the succession of -the Pashalik in his family. Again and again did he “kiss the carpet,” -till in 1872 he was practically an independent Sovereign wielding -absolute personal power over Egypt--the suzerainty of Turkey being -marked only by the annual tribute, the Imperial cypher on the coinage, -the weekly prayer for the Sultan in the Mosque, and the preservation of -the _jus legationis_. In 1875 he abolished the Consular Courts before -which suits between Egyptians and foreigners were tried, substituting -for them the Mixed Tribunals on which representative judges of the -Great Powers sat. At this period the crop of financial wild oats which -Ismail Pasha had sown had ripened. He had spent money lavishly not only -on the Suez Canal, but on every conceivable scheme that wily European -speculators could persuade him was an improvement. He had borrowed -this money on the principles that regulate the financial transactions -of a rich young spendthrift and a usurer of the lowest class. In 1864 -he borrowed £5,700,000. In the succeeding years loans for £3,000,000, -£1,200,000, and £2,000,000 were added. In 1873 there was another -loan for £32,000,000--which, according to Mr. Cave, swallowed up -every resource of Egypt.[178] The Khedive’s private loans came to -£11,000,000, and the floating debt to £26,000,000 in 1876. How these -last loans were to be met, seeing that the 1873 loan swallowed up all -the resources of the country, was a perplexing point. The usurers would -lend the Khedive no more money, and in 1875 England helped him to meet -the interest on existing loans by giving him £4,000,000 for the Suez -Canal Shares. - -[Illustration: THE KARMOUS SUBURB, ALEXANDRIA, AND POMPEY’S PILLAR.] - -Something might have been done for Egypt, even at this time, if England -had occupied the country; but Mr. Disraeli lost the golden opportunity, -which did not return till France and Russia were in a position to offer -an effective resistance which could not be bought off. The Khedive -appealed for money to England, and Mr. Disraeli sent Mr. Cave to report -upon his affairs. Mr. Cave said in effect that it was impossible to -help the Khedive with money unless Englishmen were prepared to lose -it. That report, however, did not touch the position of those who held -with Mr. Edward Dicey that if England could establish a Protectorate in -Egypt, and administer her affairs like an Indian Native State, it would -be quite possible to extricate her from her financial difficulties -without inflicting injustice on her creditors. In the meantime, the -foreign bondholders sued the Khedive in his own Mixed Tribunals. They -got judgment against him, but were unable to execute it. In May, 1876, -his Highness met this judgment by a decree of repudiation, whereupon -Germany indignantly protested, and France and England followed suit on -behalf of the bondholders of their respective nationalities. It was -here that Lord Salisbury first left the traditional lines of sound -Foreign Policy. He interfered in Egypt, not on the ground that national -interests had to be safeguarded, but--like Lord Palmerston in the case -of Greece--to protect the interests of a few speculative individuals -who had a bad debt to collect from Ismail Pasha. British national -interests in Egypt, when really imperilled, can only be protected -effectively in one way--by the occupation of the country, or its -administration under a British Protectorate. They cannot be protected -by entering into an ambiguous partnership for regulating the Khedive’s -finances with Powers whose interests in Egypt are not national, but are -represented by those of their subjects who have lent Egypt money on bad -security. The Imperial interests of England demand that the government -of Egypt shall be good and effective all round, so that the highway to -India shall be through an orderly and contented people. The interests -of the other Powers demand that the government of Egypt, whether good -or bad, must be such as will enable her to give the Shylocks, whom they -represent, their pound of flesh. It was for the interest of England to -aim at a Protectorate, just as it was for the interests of the other -Powers to aim merely at obtaining financial control over Egypt; and the -fatal blunder which Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury made was in -identifying England, not with British, but with foreign interests in -Egypt. The French and English bondholders could not agree on the steps -which should be taken to extort their money from the overtaxed Egyptian -peasantry; and Mr. Goschen and M. Joubert were sent out to devise a -scheme for consolidating the Egyptian debt in the common interests of -all bondholders. By estimating the annual average revenue which could -be extracted from the wretched fellaheen at £12,000,000 instead of -£8,000,000, which would have been high enough, the Goschen-Joubert -scheme showed in 1876 that the Khedive could pay, as interest and -sinking fund, seven per cent. interest on a consolidated debt of -£100,000,000. Ismail agreed to pay this at first, but soon resisted, -on the ground that the estimate of revenue was erroneous. The French -Government then determined to appoint a Commission to investigate the -resources of Egypt, which England was induced to join. This Commission -reported that as the Khedive had appropriated to himself one-fifth of -the land of Egypt,[179] the first thing he should do was to hand a -million acres of it over to the creditors of the State. - -The Khedive now formed a Ministry under Nubar Pasha, in which Mr. -Rivers Wilson, the English Commissioner, was given the Ministry of -Finance. The French Government displayed so much jealousy of this -step, that Lord Salisbury, yielding to their demands, permitted the -Khedive to appoint M. de Blignières as Mr. Wilson’s colleague. This -was the beginning of the Dual Control of Egypt by two Governments -with opposite interests, from which all subsequent mischief arose. -The Khedive soon dismissed Nubar’s Ministry, and then France and -England, on the threat of Germany to interfere, arranged with the -Sultan to depose Ismail Pasha. He was succeeded by his son Tewfik, in -whose Ministry the care of finance was entrusted to M. de Blignières -and Mr. Baring, who was afterwards succeeded by Mr. Colvin. The effect -of the Dual Control was very simple. It increased the bureaucracy -but diminished its efficiency, for wherever an English official was -appointed M. de Blignières insisted on planting a French colleague by -his side to watch and hamper him. A similar vigilance was exhibited -by the English Controller. But above the Dual Ministry of Finance -there was established the International Commission of the Public -Debt, representing England, France, Italy, Austria, and Germany. This -Commission watched over the administration of the Dual Ministry of -Finance. It was entitled, if it could agree on a course of action, to -demand from the Ministry of Finance more efficient management, and -of course it distributed the sum handed over by that Ministry for -payment of the public creditors. The French and English Ministers or -Controllers of Finance were not removable save by consent of their -Governments. They had the right to seats in the Ministerial Council, -and to advise on all measures of general importance. As nothing can -be done in Egypt without money, nothing could be done without them. At -first, Major Baring was the most active of the controllers. But he was -removed, and Mr. Colvin, who took his place, played a subordinate part -to M. de Blignières, who had more experience and force of character. -Virtually De Blignières governed the country. History does not record -the occasion on which England as a Great Power occupied a position more -ignominious than the one she now held in. Egypt, where her influence -had been paramount till Lord Salisbury consented to share it with -France. The government of the Dual Control was conducted on simple -principles. Egypt was managed not for the Egyptians, but for the -bondholders. Everything and everybody were sacrificed for the Budget, -and the Budget was constructed primarily with a view to securing the -Debt and the payment of the European officials, who swarmed over the -land like locusts. At the time when Cyprus was occupied it must now be -stated that Lord Salisbury conciliated France, ever - -[Illustration: AHMED ARABI PASHA. - -(_From the Portrait by Frederick Villiers in A. M. Broadley’s “How we -Defended Arabi and his Friends.”_)] - -jealous of her Syrian interests, by supporting an extension of her -influence in Tunis. Tunis, however, in 1881 had, in spite of protests -from England and Italy, become simply a French dependency, and the -growing power of Blignières at Cairo forced acute observers to say of -Egypt-- - - “Mutato nomine, de te - Fabula narratur.” - -The natives now grew restless under the Dual Control, and this -restlessness ended in a military revolt, headed by Colonel Arabi Bey, -whose watchword was - -[Illustration: LORD WOLSELEY. - -(_From a Photograph by Fradelle and Young._)] - -“Egypt for the Egyptians.” This rising the Khedive pacified by -dismissing the Ministry of Riaz Pasha, who was succeeded by Cherif -Pasha. But though Cherif reigned Arabi ruled, and it soon became -evident that the partners in the Dual Control could not agree on the -course that should be adopted towards him. The Egyptian Assembly of -Notables, on the 18th of January, 1882, asserted their right to -control the Budget. The French and English Controllers disputed this -right, and then a new Ministry was formed, of which Mahmoud Samy was -the nominal, but Arabi Bey, now Minister of War, the real head. M. -Gambetta, who had vainly endeavoured to induce England to join France -in coercing Arabi and the national party, fell from power; M. de -Freycinet succeeded him, and his policy was one of non-intervention. -The Chamber of Notables refused to withdraw from their position. M. -de Blignières, finding he could get no support from M. de Freycinet, -resigned, and thus ended Lord Salisbury’s experiment of the Dual -Control. Arabi was loaded with decorations. The rank and title of Pasha -were given him, and he was virtually Dictator of the country, with -no policy save that of “Egypt for the Egyptians.” Alarmed by menaced -massacres of foreigners, France and England now sent their fleets to -Alexandria. The English and French Consuls, in a Joint Note to the -Khedive, advised the expulsion of Arabi, who had been intriguing with -the Bedouins. Arabi resigned, but no new Ministry could be formed, and -the army threatened to repudiate any authority save that of the Sultan, -who sent Dervish Pasha to quiet the country. On the 11th of June there -was a riot in Alexandria; the British Consul was injured, and many -French and English subjects were slain. This was the signal for a -stampede of the terrified foreign population of Alexandria, where the -Khedive held his Court, and of Cairo. A Cabinet, patronised by Germany -and Austria, under Ragheb Pasha, was formed; but Arabi was again -Minister of War. In July Arabi ostentatiously strengthened the forts of -Alexandria, but on the 10th Sir Beauchamp Seymour warned him that if -the forts were not surrendered for disarmament, they would be bombarded -by the British fleet. The French Government refused to join in this -coercive measure, and sent their ships to Port Said. On the 11th the -fortifications were shattered by the British cannonade; but as the town -was not occupied, it was seized by a fanatical mob, who wrought havoc -in it for two days. A force was then tardily landed by Admiral Seymour, -who restored order, and brought back the Khedive from Ramleh, where he -had fled, to Ras-el-tin. Arabi and the Egyptian army had taken up an -entrenched position at Tel-el-Kebir, but were still professedly acting -in the Khedive’s name. An English military expedition, under Sir Garnet -Wolseley, was sent to disperse them, and secure the protection of the -Canal. - -A diplomatic mission under Professor Palmer of Cambridge, an -accomplished Oriental scholar, who had acquired a great personal -influence over the tribes of the Sinai, was sent to detach the Bedouins -from Arabi, and engage them to assist in defending the Canal. The -other members of the mission were Lieutenant Charrington, R.N., and -Captain Gill, R.E., officers with a record of distinguished service -which fitted them for their hazardous employment. They had no military -escort, because the presence of one would have rendered their mission -hopeless. A reconnaissance conducted with great skill by Professor -Palmer, who travelled from Joppa through the Sinai desert disguised as -a Syrian Mahometan of rank, had given every promise of success. But -the members of the expedition were led by a treacherous guide into an -ambuscade soon after starting from the Wells of Moses, and murdered -and robbed by a band of brigands[180] (10th of August). But despite -this melancholy occurrence the safety of the Canal was secured. By a -movement conducted in swift secrecy Sir Garnet Wolseley sailed with his -force from Alexandria to Ismailia on the 19th of August, his plan being -to advance on Cairo by the Freshwater Canal. On the 28th Arabi, after -a repulse at Kassassin, retired to his entrenchments at Tel-el-Kebir, -which were carried by the British, on the 13th of September, after a -long march by night over the desert sands. General Drury Lowe and a -small force of cavalry pushed on to Cairo, which surrendered to them at -the first summons, Arabi Pasha and Toulba Pasha, his lieutenant, giving -themselves up as prisoners. The Khedive was reinstated in Cairo by the -British troops, who were paraded before him on the 30th of September. - -By a unique stroke of fortune, Mr. Gladstone’s Government had thus -been enabled to secure for England the position of ascendency in Egypt -which had been sacrificed by the Dual Control. France and the other -Powers, having cast on England the burden of supporting the Khedive’s -authority, had to accept a _fait accompli_, and submit to see a -British army of occupation of 10,000 men quartered in Egypt. But the -occupation was emphatically declared by Mr. Gladstone to be temporary, -and he pledged England to terminate it whenever the Khedive could -maintain himself without foreign aid. The war cost England £4,600,000, -and it did much to restore for the time the waning popularity of the -Ministry. Rewards and decorations were showered upon the victors. -Peerages were bestowed on Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour and Sir Garnet -Wolseley. As for Egypt, her Government was really under the control -of the British Consul-General. England forbade the restoration of the -Dual Control, and set limits to the organisation of the native Army. -The native Police was put under the command of Baker Pasha, and the -English Government rescued Arabi and the leaders of the insurgents from -the native court-martial, which would have doomed them to death. When -tried, they pleaded guilty to a charge of treason, and were exiled to -Ceylon. - -On the 27th of February a monument, which the Queen had commissioned -Mr. Belt to prepare for the perpetuation of the memory of Lord -Beaconsfield, was erected in Hughenden Church. It was a touching -record of rare friendship between Sovereign and subject. The centre of -the memorial is occupied by a profile portrait carved in low relief. -Beneath, is a tablet bearing the following dedication penned by the -Queen herself:-- - - To - the dear and honoured Memory - of - BENJAMIN, EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, - This memorial is placed by - his grateful and affectionate - Sovereign and Friend, - VICTORIA R.I. -“Kings love him that speaketh right.”--Proverbs xvi. 13. - - February 27, 1882. - -[Illustration: THE DUCHESS OF ALBANY.] - -The year was marked by an attempt to assassinate the Queen, which -created much public alarm. On the 2nd of March her Majesty was driving -from Windsor Station to the Castle, when a poorly-dressed man shot at -her carriage with a revolver. Before he could fire again a bystander -struck down his arm and he was arrested. He was a grocer’s assistant -from Portsmouth, named Roderick Maclean; his excuse was that he was -starving, and he probably desired to draw attention to his case. He -was tried next month at Reading Assizes, where it was shown that he -had been under treatment as a lunatic for two years in an asylum in -Weston-super-Mare, but had been dismissed cured. He was acquitted on -the ground of insanity, and ordered to be placed in custody during her -Majesty’s pleasure. The sympathy which was expressed by all classes -with the Queen, when tidings of the outrage were published, was -universal. On the night of Maclean’s arrest the National Anthem was -sung in all the theatres, and from every quarter messages came pouring -in congratulating her Majesty on her escape. These demonstrations -caused her to address a touching letter of heartfelt thanks to the -nation. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF ALBANY.] - -Another outrage on the Queen has to be set down in the record of 1882. -On the 26th of May a young telegraph clerk, named Albert Young, was -tried before Mr. Justice Lopes, and found guilty of threatening to -murder the Queen and Prince Leopold. He sent a letter, purporting to -come from an Irish Roman Catholic priest and fifty of his parishioners -who had been evicted by their landlords, warning the Queen of her -peril, and saying that if paid £40 a head these men would all emigrate. -The money was to be sent to “A. Y.,” at the “M., S., & L.” Office, -Doncaster. Young was sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude. - -On the 14th of March her Majesty left Windsor for Portsmouth, -accompanied by the Princess Beatrice. From thence she sailed to -Cherbourg, and proceeded to Mentone, where she arrived on the 17th. -The Chalêt des Rosiers, where the Queen lived, was a newly-built -villa, standing on a small artificial plateau, fifty yards from the -railway, and a hundred from the shore, about half-a-mile from the -old town, and three-quarters of a mile from the ravine and bridge of -St. Louis which divide Italy from France. Precipices, rugged steeps, -abysmal ravines, and rocky beds of old torrents rise from behind the -villa in wild confusion. Five miles away, mountains whose bases are -traversed by terraces covered with orange groves, soar grandly into -the sky. Her Majesty was soon joined by Prince Leopold, the King and -Queen of Saxony, and Lord Lyons, and she made daily excursions in the -neighbourhood. On the 21st of March there was a great _fête_, with -splendid illuminations held in her honour, and she witnessed the scene -from the balcony of her villa. Before leaving, on the 14th of April, -the Queen thanked the authorities and the residents for contributing -so cordially to the pleasure of her visit. As a memento of it, she -presented the chief of the municipal band, who had composed a cantata -in her honour, with a diamond breast-pin. - -The marriage of the Duke of Albany was now approaching, and it was -with deep regret that the Queen found it necessary to leave him at -Mentone, as he had not recovered from the effects of an accident he had -met with. The grant of £25,000 a year for his Royal Highness had been -moved by Mr. Gladstone in the House of Commons on the 23rd of March, -and carried by a vote of 387 to 42. Mr. Labouchere, however, opposed -the vote, because he said the savings from the Civil List ought to be -returned to the State by the Queen before any Royal grants were voted -by Parliament. Mr. Broadhurst also thought that £25,000[181] a year was -too much to vote for such a purpose in a country where the majority -lived on weekly wages. Mr. Storey opposed voting public money save -for public services, and described the House of Commons as “a large -syndicate interested in expenditure.” But there was no new point raised -in the debate, save Mr. Labouchere’s argument, based on the fact that -George III., who had £1,000,000 a year of Civil List, maintained his -own children. Mr. Gladstone, of course, challenged the precedent, by -pointing out that Parliament had not entered into an implied contract -with George III. to provide for his children. But for the first time -he admitted that savings were hoarded up out of the Civil List. Only, -he said, they were not large enough to provide for the maintenance -of the Queen’s children, and he assured the House that after he had -come to know the amount of them, his conclusion was that they were not -more than were called for by the contingencies which might occur in -such a family. As has been stated before, the Royal savings represent -an insurance fund against family emergencies, which it would not be -agreeable for the Queen to ask Parliament to meet for her. - -On the 27th of April the marriage of the Duke of Albany with the -Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont was solemnised in St. George’s -Chapel, Windsor, with a sustained pomp and splendour rarely seen even -in Royal pageants. Most extensive and elaborate arrangements had been -made for the reception and processions of the Royal and illustrious -guests, the Queen, the bridegroom, and the bride. On the morning of -the 27th the earliest aspect of animation was lent to the peaceful -tranquillity of the chapel by the arrival of a strong detachment -of the Yeomen of the Guard, arrayed in their quaint Tudor costume, -consisting of plaited ruff, low-crowned black velvet hat encircled -by red and white roses, scarlet doublet embroidered with the Royal -cognisance and initials in gold, purple sleeves, bullion quarterings, -ruddy hose, and rosetted shoes. The Yeomen of the Guard were ranged -at intervals throughout the length of the nave, and were speedily -joined by a contingent of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, -resplendent in scarlet uniforms profusely laced with gold. After the -opening of the doors the edifice soon filled with ladies of rank, -nobles, statesmen, warriors, and diplomatists. The day was recognised -by the decorated as “a collar day”--_i.e._, the Knights did not wear -the robes of their Order, but only the ribbons of the Garter, the Bath, -the Thistle, and St. Patrick, with the collars and badges of gold. -Constellations of stars, crosses, and ribbons marked the uniforms of -the English generals, foreign ambassadors, and Ministers present in the -choir, and flashed light on the grey and timeworn walls associated with -the memories of Anne Boleyn, Catherine of Arragon, and Jane Seymour. -At noon the drapery veiling the door was thrown aside, and the first -procession--that of the Queen’s family and their Royal guests from -the Continent--entered. After this glittering group had passed into -the choir, the Queen’s procession appeared at the west door, when -the brilliant array in the nave stood up, and the organ burst into -the strains of Handel’s _Occasional Overture_. Her Majesty, who was -in excellent health and spirits, bowed her acknowledgments to the -salutations of the assembled guests. She was clad in widow’s sables -with long gauze streamers, and wore the broad riband of the Garter -and a magnificent parure of diamonds. The Koh-i-noor sparkled on her -bosom, while her head-dress was surmounted with a glittering tiara -girt by a small crown Imperial in brilliants. On entering the choir the -Queen was conducted to her seat close to the south of the altar. The -bridegroom’s procession next made its appearance. The Duke of Albany -wore the scarlet and gold uniform of a colonel of Infantry. The Prince -walked with some slight difficulty with the assistance of a stick. -The bridegroom was supported by the Prince of Wales in the uniform of -a Field Marshal, and by his brother-in-law, the Grand Duke of Hesse, -also clad in scarlet. Last came the procession of the bride, heralded -by the sound of cheering outside and the blare of trumpets. She was -supported by her father, the Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and by her -brother-in-law, the King of the Netherlands, her train being borne by -eight unmarried daughters of dukes, marquises, and earls, decked in -white drapery trimmed with flowers. The celebration of the marriage -ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by an -array of Church dignitaries ranged behind the altar rails. The service -was brief, with no enlarged choral accompaniments, but the spectacle -was unusually impressive. There was not a vacant spot in the chapel; -it was gorgeous with diverse colours and flashing with jewels and with -the insignia of many grand Orders of chivalry. The scene, too, was at -intervals suddenly wrapped in gloom and as suddenly bathed in light -as the fitful sunshine streamed through the painted windows. As the -ceremony was being completed a cloud must have passed from the sun, -for its beams darted through the stained windows, and revealed the -bride and bridegroom in a tinted halo of radiance. After the ceremony -the Queen affectionately embraced her son and daughter-in-law, whose -united processions were formed and left the chapel whilst Mendelssohn’s -_Wedding March_ pealed forth from the organ and the cannon thundered in -the Long Walk. Her Majesty interchanged salutations with her relatives, -after which her own procession departed, and the regal pageant was -suddenly dissolved. After the signing of the register, which took place -in the Green drawing-room, the bride and bridegroom were conducted to -the State drawing-room, where the Royal guests had assembled, and where -the usual congratulations were exchanged. In the evening a grand State -banquet was given in St. George’s Hall, at which the health of the -bride and bridegroom and other toasts were honoured, Mr. John Brown, -her Majesty’s Scottish gillie, standing behind the Queen and giving, as -her toastmaster, the toast of the newly-wedded pair. Immediately after -the toast of the Queen--the last of the list--had been honoured, two -of the Royal pipers entered and marched twice round the tables playing -Scottish airs, to the astonishment of some of the guests, who had never -heard such music before. Then the Queen rose and left the hall, and the -other guests quitted the scene. The Duke and Duchess of Albany drove -from the Castle, amidst a shower of slippers and rice, to Claremont. - -Unusual interest was taken in this wedding, partly on account of the -splendour of the ceremony, and partly because it was understood that -the Duke of Albany had won a bride admirably suited to be the companion -of his refined and studious life. As he seemed destined to form a link -between the Court and Culture, so it was hoped that the Duchess might -become - -[Illustration: THE MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF ALBANY. - -(_From the Picture by Sir J. D. Linton, P.R.I., by Permission of the -Glasgow Art Union._)] - -the social head of a growing school ambitious of showing the world -that the lives of women of rank, need not necessarily be absorbed by -frivolity and philanthropy. - -After the marriage of Prince Leopold the Queen visited the East End -to open Epping Forest, which had been saved from further enclosure by -the efforts of the Corporation of London. On the 4th of December her -Majesty also visited in State the Royal Courts of Justice. - -[Illustration: MENTONE. - -(_From a Photograph by Frith and Co., Reigate._)] - -The death-roll of the year was a heavy one. On the 19th of April -the death of Charles Darwin robbed not only England but Europe of -a singularly original, painstaking, and conscientious scientific -investigator. No man of his stamp has so profoundly affected the -thought of the Victorian age or surveyed so wide a field of nature, in -such a fair, patient, and humble spirit. His keenness of observation -was only equalled by his wonderful fertility of resource. The caution -with which he felt his way to just inductions, the unerring instinct -with which his eye detected, amidst the maze of bewildering phenomena, -the true path that led him to the secrets he sought to discover, -and the masculine sagacity with which he reconciled, under broad -generalisations, facts seemingly irreconcilable, confer immortality -on the great work of his life. That work was his demonstration of the -extraordinary effect produced on every living thing by the pressure -of the conditions under which it lives--conditions which help or -hinder its existence or its reproduction. The organisms which are -so formed that they most easily meet the strain of these conditions -survive, and their offspring bend to the same destiny. In other words, -those organisms that inherit peculiarities of form and structure -and stamina that best fit them to survive in the struggle for life, -live. Those that do not inherit these advantages die. Such was the -Darwinian hypothesis of Evolution, or the doctrine of Survival of the -Fittest, and it gave to Science an impetus not less revolutionary and -far-reaching than that which it received from the Baconian system. - -A trusted and valued friend and servant of the Queen passed away on -the 3rd of December, when Dr. Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury, died -after a long and painful illness. Though he was not a man of brilliant -parts, or commanding intellect, he was the only Primate who, since -the House of Brunswick ruled England, had left a distinct mark on the -Anglican Church. He was in truth the only Primate, since the days of -Tillotson, who had a definite policy, and a will strong enough to carry -it out. Tait’s policy was to make the Church of England popular with -the governing class of his day--that is to say, with the intelligent -and respectable _bourgeoisie_. So long as they supported the Church it -could, in his opinion, defy disestablishment; and it is but fair to -say that he secured for it their support. He never alarmed the average -Englishman by intellectuality, or irritated the middle classes by any -obtrusive display of culture. He was careful not to offend them by -indecorous versatility. They were never frightened by flashing wit, or -bewildered by scholastic sophistry. He was faithful and zealous in the -discharge of his pastoral duties, generous and tolerant to opponents, -eager for what he called “comprehension,” slow in the pursuit of -heresy. In every relation of life he was the incarnation of common -sense and propriety. The Queen placed such unbounded confidence in his -judgment that it was generally supposed Dr. Tait virtually nominated -his successor. At all events, it was well known that Dr. Benson, Bishop -of Truro, who succeeded to the Primacy, was the candidate specially -favoured by the Sovereign, and that he was, of all the younger -prelates, the one whom Dr. Tait most desired to see reigning in his -stead. - -The death of Garibaldi on June 2, and of M. Gambetta on December -31, profoundly moved the English people. Garibaldi’s life of heroic -adventure, unselfish patriotism, and disinterested devotion to the -cause of liberty, had endeared him to the masses. M. Gambetta’s amazing -energy in endeavouring to lift France out of the mire of defeat in 1870 -had won for him the admiration of the world. His tempestuous eloquence -gave him an almost magical power over the French democracy, a power -which he wielded for no sordid personal aims. If latterly his policy -seemed to revive the restless aggressive spirit of his countrymen, -it was admitted that he sought nothing save the glory of France. And -yet for Europe it may be conceded that the death of Gambetta was not -a mishap. Had he lived it would have been hard to have avoided a -collision between France and England in Egypt. He encouraged those who, -in Paris and St. Petersburg, had for many years been intriguing for -a Russo-French alliance against Germany.[182] His death and that of -Garibaldi were followed by Signor Mancini’s disclosure to the Italian -Senate, of the adhesion of Italy to the Austro-German Alliance, and the -formation of the Triple League of Peace.[183] - -[Illustration: LAMBETH PALACE.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE INVINCIBLES. - - The Married Women’s Property Act--The Opening of - Parliament--Changes in the Cabinet--Arrest of Suspects in - Dublin--Invincibles on their Trial--Evidence of the Informer - Carey--Carey’s Fate--The Forster-Parnell Incident--National Gift - to Mr. Parnell--The Affirmation Bill--The Bankruptcy and other - Bills--Mr. Childers’ Budget--The Corrupt Practices Bill--The - “Farmers’ Friends”--Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership--The Bright - Celebration--Dynamite Outrages in London--The Explosives Act--M. - de Lesseps and Mr. Gladstone--Blunders in South Africa--The Ilbert - Bill--The Attack on Lady Florence Dixie’s House--Death of John - Brown--His Career and Character--The Queen and the Consumption of - Lamb--A Dull Holiday at Balmoral--Capsizing of the _Daphne_--Prince - Albert Victor made K.G.--France and Madagascar--Arrest of Rev. - Mr. Shaw--Settlement of the Dispute--Progress of the National - League--Orange and Green Rivalry--The Leeds Conference--“Franchise - First”--Lord Salisbury and the Housing of the Poor--Mr. Besant and - East London--“Slumming”--Hicks Pasha’s Disastrous Expedition in the - Soudan--Mr. Gladstone on Jam. - - -An unnoticed Act of Parliament came into force on New Year’s Day, 1883, -which marked the progress of what may be termed the social revolution -in England. This was the Married Women’s Property Act, which had been -passed with very little debate in the previous Session. If it be true -that the position which women hold in a State is an unerring test of -its standard of civilisation, the reign of the Queen will be notable in -history, as one in which the social progress of England has been most -rapid. In England, said J. S. Mill, Woman has not been the favourite -of the law, but its favourite victim. During the last quarter of a -century, however, this reproach has been wiped - -[Illustration: CHARLES DARWIN. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -away. Year by year new avenues of employment have been opened up -to women. One of the first acts of Mr. Fawcett when he became -Postmaster-General was to admit them to the service of the State. -Parliament, under the wise guidance of Mr. Forster, decided to give -them a fair share of the public endowments set aside for secondary -education. They were afterwards admitted to the benefits of University -education; one of the learned professions--that of medicine--was thrown -open to them; and political enfranchisement is even within their -reach. But in 1883 the law for the first time recognised the fact -that married women could hold property, and abandoned the barbaric -doctrine that for women matrimony implied confiscation. The Married -Women’s Property Act, which was passed by Mr. Osborne Morgan, did for -the women of the people by law, what was done for women of the upper -classes by marriage settlements. It gave a married woman an absolute -right to her earnings, so that her husband could no longer seize them -under his _jus mariti_. It gave her, in the absence of settlements, an -indefeasible right to any property she might have before or that might -come to her after marriage, so that she could use it as she pleased -without her husband’s interference. It made her contract as regards her -own estate, as binding as if she were a man, quite irrespective of her -husband’s consent. On the other hand, it of course released the husband -from liability for all his wife’s debts, unless she contracted them as -his agent. That such an Act should have been passed by a Parliament -in which women were not represented, and in which, till recently, -arguments in favour of the emancipation of women from a state of -tutelage were disposed of by coarse jokes, speaks well for the chivalry -and high sense of justice that characterise British manhood.[184] - -The autumn Session of Parliament (which opened on the 24th of October, -1882) had been spent in a struggle over the new Procedure Rules, the -Ministry endeavouring to persuade the House of Commons to adopt the -principle of Closure, which the Conservatives opposed with all their -strength. In this struggle the Ministry won. They carried their Rules -for checking obstruction, and so when Parliament met, on the 15th -of February, 1883, it was expected that the Session would be a busy -one. The composition of the Cabinet had been considerably changed -during the previous year. Mr. Bright and Mr. Forster had left it, Mr. -Bright’s secession being due to his disapproval of the bombardment of -Alexandria; Lord Derby had now become Secretary to the Colonies; Lord -Kimberley had gone to the India Office; Lord Hartington was Secretary -for War; Mr. Childers, Chancellor of the Exchequer; and Mr. Dodson, -Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Sir Charles Dilke entered the -Cabinet as President of the Local Government Board. As Under Secretary -for Foreign Affairs he was succeeded by Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice, a -painstaking but unsteady Whig. The din of the extra-Parliamentary -strife of the recess was stilled, and the House of Commons, like the -country, was in a mood to welcome Liberal measures carried out in a -conservative spirit. Among those announced in the Queen’s Speech were -Bills for codifying the criminal law, for establishing a Court of -Criminal Appeal, for amending the Bankruptcy, Patent, and Ballot Acts, -for reforming Local Government, and for improving the government of -London. - -It was inevitable that Ireland should form the most prominent topic in -the Debate on the Address, because the country had scarcely recovered -from the tale of horror which had been unfolded by those who were -tracking the murderers of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke to -their lairs. On the 13th of January seventeen men were arrested in -Dublin, and on the 20th they were, with three others, charged with -conspiring to murder Government officials. For the most part they were -artisans of the inferior order, but one, James Carey, was a builder -and contractor, and a member of the Dublin Town Council. Under the -pressure of examination two of these men, Farrell and Kavanagh, turned -informers. Carey, finding that other members of the gang were going to -save their necks, offered to betray the conspiracy of which he had been -the guiding organiser. From his evidence, it appeared that after Mr. -Forster had put all the popular leaders of the Irish people in gaol, -a band of desperadoes, called “the Invincibles,” was formed for the -purpose of “making history,” by “removing obnoxious Irish officials.” -Though an attempt was made to show that the “Invincibles” were agents -of the Land League, the only evidence in favour of this supposition -rested on a statement which Carey admitted he had made. Two emissaries -from America furnished the “Invincibles” with their funds, and Carey -said that he thought they “perhaps” got the money from the Land League. -He also said that the knives used for the Phœnix Park murders were -delivered in Ireland by a woman, whom he took to be Mrs. Frank Byrne, -wife of a Land League official. When, however, he was confronted with -Mrs. Byrne he could not identify her. It is only just to add that the -diary of Mullett, one of the accused, was full of expressions of -scorn for the constitutional Home Rule agitators. We may therefore -safely infer that after Mr. Forster had suppressed the Land League -and put its chiefs in prison, what happened in Ireland is what has -happened in every country. For open agitation were substituted secret -societies, and midnight assassins took the place of constitutional -leaders. The conspirators appear to have long dogged Mr. Forster’s -steps, but failed to get a chance of killing him. They had no desire -to attack Lord Frederick Cavendish; indeed, till he was pointed out to -them, they did not know him by sight. He perished on the 6th of May -because he defended his companion, Mr. Burke, who had been marked for -“removal.” Carey was the man who had given the signal for the advance -of the murderers, and he was also base enough afterwards, at a meeting -of the Home Manufacturers’ Association, to propose that a vote of -condolence should be sent to Lady Frederick Cavendish. The end of it -all was that five of the conspirators, Brady, Curley, Fagan, Caffrey, -and Kelly, were hanged. Delaney, Fitzharris, and Mullett were sent -to penal servitude for life, and the others to penal servitude for -various terms. True bills were found against three individuals, Walsh, -Sheridan, and Tynan, the last said to be the envoy who supplied the -“Invincibles” with money, and who was only known to Carey as “Number -One.” Carey was shot dead at the Cape of Good Hope by a man called -O’Donnell, when on his way to a refuge in a British Colony, an offence -for which O’Donnell was tried at the Old Bailey and hanged. - -It was whilst the country was thrilled by Carey’s revelations that -Mr. Gorst raised the Irish Question in an amendment to the Address, -urging that no more concessions be made by the Government to Irish -agitation. The House resounded with attacks on Mr. Parnell, who was -reminded that Sheridan, against whom a true bill of murder had been -found as the result of Carey’s evidence, was the same individual, whose -aid in suppressing outrages he had promised to the Government. Mr. -Parnell was accordingly charged with conniving at murder, the loudest -of his accusers being Mr. Forster, who raked up the old story of the -Kilmainham Treaty, when he delivered his indictment of Mr. Parnell -on the 22nd of February. Mr. Parnell did not reply till next day. -Then he contemptuously told the House that he could hold no commerce -with Mr. Forster, whom he considered as an informer in relation to -the secrets of his late colleagues, nay, as an informer who had not -even the pretext of Carey, “namely, the miserable one of saving his -own life.” The _hauteur_ and bitterness of the speech, despite its -closely-knit argument, disproving the allegation that the Home Rule -leaders were consciously associated with the “Invincibles,” or could -be held responsible for what was going on in Ireland after Mr. Forster -had locked them up, greatly inflamed public opinion. Mr. Parnell stood -charged with being the head of a constitutional agitation, some of the -agents of which were now shown to be chiefs of secret societies of -assassins. Without assuming that he had anything to do with the hidden -lives or proceedings of these men, the public condemned Mr. Parnell -because he did not, at a moment when their deeds had horrified the -country, denounce their wickedness. In Ireland, however, his conduct -excited the warmest admiration. Mr. Forster’s taunts he had met with -supercilious disdain, and he had told Parliament that he did not care -to justify himself to any one but the Irish people, who did not require -him to prove that he was not an accomplice of Carey’s. A movement -to present Mr. Parnell with a national testimonial was accordingly -started, and the subscriptions to it ultimately reached £40,000. Mr. -Forster’s attack on Mr. Parnell, at a moment when the House was excited -by Carey’s evidence, may have been ungenerous. But it is to it that Mr. - -[Illustration: THE ROUND TOWER, WINDSOR CASTLE.] - -Parnell owes the release of his family estate from the encumbrances -that he inherited. Parliament soon grew sick of the Irish Question in -1883. - -Mr. Bradlaugh, however, furnished the House of Commons once more with a -personal diversion. Lord Hartington’s pledge that the Attorney-General -would bring in an Affirmation Bill was followed by an undertaking from -Mr. Bradlaugh, that he would not press his claim to be sworn till the -fate of this measure had been determined. Though the arguments for and -against such a project had already been thrashed out, it was debated -for a fortnight, the Tories straining every effort to waste time over -its discussion. Finally it was defeated by a vote of 292 to 289; and -when Mr. Bradlaugh wrote to the Speaker claiming his right to take the -oath, Sir Stafford Northcote carried a resolution prohibiting him from -doing so. On the 9th of July, in reply to Mr. Bradlaugh’s threat to -treat this decision as invalid, Sir Stafford revived the resolution -excluding him from the precincts of the House. Mr. Bradlaugh then -brought an action against the Serjeant-at-Arms for enforcing this -order, which the Attorney-General was instructed to defend. - -The only real progress made by the Government with business before -Easter was with the Bankruptcy Bill, the main object of which was -to provide for an independent examination into all circumstances of -insolvency, to be conducted by officials of the Board of Trade. It -was read a second time and referred to the Grand Committee on Trade, -who sent it back to the House of Commons on the 25th of June. The -House of Lords passed it without cavil, and Mr. Chamberlain, who had -charge of the measure, was congratulated on the ability and tact which -he had displayed in conducting it. The Patents Bill, which reduced -inventors’ fees, had the same happy history as the Bankruptcy Bill, -in whose wake it followed. The Law Bills of the Ministry were less -fortunate. The Bill establishing a Court of Appeal in criminal cases -was fiercely opposed by the Tories, under the leadership of Sir Richard -Cross, Sir Hardinge Giffard, and Mr. Gibson. It was before the Grand -Committee on Law from the 2nd of April till the 26th of June, when it -was reported to the House and dropped by the Government. The Criminal -Code Bill was read a second time on the 12th of April, in spite of -the hostility of the Irish Party, who resisted one of the provisions -enabling magistrates to examine suspected persons. In the Standing -Committee, however, the Bill was so pertinaciously obstructed by Lord -Randolph Churchill, Mr. Gorst, and Sir H. D. Wolff, that Sir Henry -James abandoned it in despair. When Sir Henry James mentioned this fact -in the House of Commons on the 21st of June, Sir H. D. Wolff asked Mr. -Gladstone derisively “whether, having regard to the signal success of -the principle of delegation and devolution,” he intended to refer any -other Bills to Grand Committees. This question was accentuated by loud -outbursts of mocking laughter from Lord Randolph Churchill, which, Mr. -Gladstone declared, rendered it impossible for him even to hear the -terms of the interpellation. - -The Budget was introduced on the 5th of April by Mr. Childers, who -stated that his estimated revenue and expenditure for the coming year -would be £88,480,000 and £85,789,000. This showed a comfortable surplus -which he exhausted by taking 1½d. off the Income Tax, by making -provisions to meet an expected loss on the introduction of sixpenny -telegrams, by reductions on railway passenger duty, and by slight -changes in the gun licence and in tax-collection. He also carried, in -spite of strenuous opposition, a Bill to reduce the National Debt. -By this Bill Mr. Childers created £40,000,000 of Chancery Stock into -terminable annuities for twenty years, to follow those expiring in -1885. Then he created £30,000,000 of Savings Bank Stock into shorter -annuities. As each fell in, it was to be followed by a longer one, so -as to absorb the margin between the actual interest on the Debt and -the sum set aside for its permanent service, thus hypothecating the -taxes of the future. Mr. Childers promised, by his system, to wipe out -£172,000,000 of debt in twenty years. - -The Corrupt Practices Bill was read a second time on the 4th of June, -and it not only restricted expenditure on elections, but inflicted -stringent penalties for bribery and intimidation in every form, making -candidates responsible for the acts of their agents, prohibiting -the use of public-houses as committee-rooms, and the payment of -conveyances to bring voters to the poll. The Tories, the Parnellites, -and one or two Radicals like Mr. Peter Rylands, fought hard to relax -the stringency of the measure. It was obstructed in Committee, but -ultimately passed both Houses with no important alterations. The -Agricultural Holdings Bill was also strongly opposed. It gave tenants -a right to compensation for improvements, which was to be inalienable -by contract. The most important amendment, which was moved and carried -by Mr. A. J. Balfour, limiting compensation to the actual outlay, -represented the spirit in which the Opposition sought to destroy the -utility of the Bill. As Mr. Clare Sewell Read (one of the Conservatives -who represented the agricultural interests) observed, this amendment -enabled the landlord to say to the tenant, “Heads I win; tails you -lose. If your improvement succeeds, I get the profit out of it, and -you only the outlay; if it does not succeed, you get the loss.” The -amendment was struck out on Report, and, though the House of Lords -tried to mutilate the Bill, their worst amendments were rejected by the -Commons, and the measure passed. The controversy in the House of Lords -was remarkable for Lord Salisbury’s failure to hold his Party at the -end firm to the policy of resistance. A useful Bill prohibiting payment -of wages in public-houses was also passed. Nor was Ireland neglected. -The Tramways Act enabled Irish Local Authorities to construct, with -the support of Government guarantees, tramways and light railways, and -the Government further assented to provisions to promote by State aid -a scheme for transferring labourers from “congested” to thinly-peopled -districts. In August a Bill was passed setting apart a portion of the -Irish Church surplus to promote the building of fishing harbours. A -useful Irish Registration Bill was rejected by the Peers, but Mr. T. P. -O’Connor contrived to pass a Bill enabling Rural Sanitary Authorities -to borrow money from the Government for the construction of labourers’ -cottages. It cannot, however, be said that the Irish Members were -grateful for these measures. They still pursued their favourite policy -of exasperation, and their alliance with the Tories led to a more -systematic and daring use of obstruction than had ever been seen in the -House of Commons. At first Sir Stafford Northcote seemed unwilling to -countenance obstructive tactics; but Lord Randolph Churchill’s bitter -attacks on his leadership in the _Times_ (April 2), and the impatience -of the Tory Party, forced the hesitating hand of their leader in the -Commons. The evil assumed such serious dimensions that Mr. Bright -denounced at Birmingham, in terms of indignant eloquence,[185] “the -men who now afflict the House, and who from night to night insult -the majesty of the British people.” Thus it came to pass, as the -_Times_ said in its review of the Session, that “the main part of the -legislation of the year, with the exception of one or two Bills, was -huddled together, and hustled through in both Houses during the month -of August, amidst an ever-dwindling attendance of Members.” There was -only one Bill which was not obstructed--the Explosives Act; in fact, -it was passed in a panic. The events that led to its production were -somewhat startling. On the night of the 15th of March an attempt was -made to blow up the Local Government Board Offices in Whitehall by -dynamite, and about the same time a similar outrage was perpetrated on -the offices of the _Times_ in Printing House Square. Guards of soldiers -and police were immediately posted at all places likely to be attacked, -and the connection of these crimes with the seizures of dynamite which -were from time to time made by the police in provincial towns, and the -arrest of eight conspirators engaged in the “dynamite war” at Liverpool -in March, could scarcely be doubted. On the 9th of April Sir William -Harcourt’s Explosives Act was therefore carried through both Houses -after an unavailing protest from Lord Salisbury, who complained that -the Peers were taken by surprise.[186] After the Bill had become law -packages of dynamite were seized at Leicester and Cupar-Fife; four men -were condemned at Liverpool as dynamitards; several arrests were made -at Glasgow; and on the 30th of October there were two explosions in the -tunnel of the Metropolitan Railway--between Westminster and Charing -Cross, and between Praed Street and Edgware Road. - -[Illustration: THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, KENSINGTON.] - -Egypt furnished the Opposition with many opportunities for embarrassing -the Ministry. Lord Hartington had seriously damaged the _prestige_ of -the Government by his pusillanimous declaration at the opening of the -Session that the English troops would be recalled from Egypt in six -months. Though Mr. Gladstone, on his return from Cannes, was compelled -to throw his colleague over and explain that this statement was purely -conjectural, the distrust which Lord Hartington had inspired could not -be completely eradicated. A more serious difficulty, however, arose -out of the exorbitant tolls which the Suez Canal Company levied on the -shipping trade. Yielding to the pressure of shipping and commercial -interests, Mr. Gladstone sanctioned an agreement by which M. de Lesseps -was to provide additional accommodation by digging a second canal. He -was also to reduce the tolls gradually, and admit a few Englishmen -to his Board of Management. In return the British Government were -to procure him the concession of the land for the second canal, and -enable him to raise a loan of £8,000,000 at 3¼ per cent. A storm of -opposition was raised to this project, on the ground that it recognised -M. de Lesseps’s monopoly to the canalisation of the Isthmus of Suez. -The agreement, which was announced on the 28th of April, was abandoned -on the 23rd of July. - -In South Africa the policy of the Government was attacked during -the Session on the ground that it connived at the oppression of the -native chiefs by the Boers, who were not carrying out the Transvaal -Convention. The restoration and overthrow of Cetewayo also provoked -criticism, but the verdict of the country was that the debates all -ended in demonstrating one point, which was this: the existing -tangle of affairs in South Africa was entirely due to the policy of -the late Government, and the existing Government had not been able -to discover any way of satisfactorily neutralising the blunders of -their predecessors. But no question arising in British dependencies -created so much strife as the Indian Criminal Procedure Amendment -Bill, popularly called the Ilbert Bill. Lord Lytton had laid down -a rule whereby every year one-sixth of the vacancies in the Indian -Civil Service must be filled up by natives. As they advanced in the -Magistracy and became eligible for service as District Magistrates and -Sessions Judges, a difficulty arose. Either they must, like European -officials of the same grades, be allowed to try Europeans as well as -native offenders against the Criminal Law, or they must be virtually -wasted. Moreover, an offensive slight must be put on the Indian -servants of the Empress, by prohibiting them from exercising all the -functions pertaining to their grade and rank. In Presidency towns no -difficulty arose. There native magistrates of this grade were allowed -to have jurisdiction over Europeans, the theory being that they -acted under the moral censorship of a European press. But in country -districts it was alleged that they could not be trusted. In fact, -European magistrates must, according to the opponents of the Bill, be -found for every district in which even a handful of Europeans were -living. Yet, as Lord Lytton had diminished the number of Europeans in -the Service and put natives in their places, a serious administrative -difficulty might be created if the native judges were not entrusted -with the duties of the Europeans whom they had displaced. An explosion -of race-hatred was the result of the Ilbert Bill, and the same class -of Anglo-Indians who denounced “Clemency” Canning during the “White -Terror” of 1857, now denounced Lord Ripon in the same violent language. -They even attempted to induce the Volunteers to resign, and Sir Donald -Stewart, the Commander-in-Chief, who, like Sir Frederick Roberts, -supported the measure, condemned the “wicked and criminal attempts” -which the opponents of the Bill had made to stir up animosity against -the Government in the Army. Ultimately a compromise was arrived at, by -which a European when tried before a native judge could claim a jury, -of which not less than one-half must consist of Europeans or Americans. -Curiously enough, at the time this controversy was being developed -into a fierce antagonism of races in India, tidings came to England to -the effect that a tribe in Orissa had begun to worship the Queen as a -goddess.[187] When the natives on the frontier elevated General John -Nicholson to the dignity of a god, the stout soldier used to order his -worshippers to be flogged for their idolatry. Whether any official -steps were taken to discourage a cult that might have rendered the -Queen-Empress ridiculous, was never known. The sect who took her for -their deity seems to have vanished from Indian history. - -The Queen played but a slight part in public life in the early part of -1883. Whilst at Osborne in January she awarded the Albert Medal to the -survivors of the gallant exploring party who distinguished themselves -by saving life at the Baddesley Colliery Explosion in May, 1882, and -she sent to the Mayor of Bradford an expression of sympathy with the -sufferers from the fall of a great chimney stack in that town at the -end of the year--a disaster involving the sacrifice of fifty-three -lives. On the 14th of February her Majesty held a Council at Windsor, -and revised the Royal Speech for the opening of the Session. On the -19th of February she attended the funeral of Pay-Sergeant Mayo, of -the Coldstream Guards, at Windsor, who had died suddenly whilst on -duty at the Castle, and on the same day, owing to the Prince of Wales -holding the opening levee of the season on her behalf, her Majesty -was able to be present as one of the sponsors at the baptism of the -infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught at Windsor. On the -6th and 13th of March, however, her Majesty held Drawing Rooms at -Buckingham Palace. On the 17th of March Lady Florence Dixie alleged -that a murderous attack had been made on her in the shrubbery of her -house at Windsor, by two men disguised as women. As her ladyship had -been writing a good deal on the Irish Question, and as the town was -in a panic over the dynamite war waged by the Fenians against public -buildings, it was suggested that this outrage might have been planned -by one of the Irish Secret Societies. Investigation, however, indicated -that Lady Florence must have been labouring under a mistake, and the -incident would have passed out of sight but for its effect on the -Queen’s peace of mind. Lady Florence Dixie’s story had alarmed the -Queen, showing her, as it did, that there was peril almost at the doors -of Windsor Castle. Her Majesty sent Lord Methuen, Lady Ely, and Sir -Henry Ponsonby with messages of sympathy to Lady Florence Dixie, and -finally the Queen’s personal attendant, Mr. John Brown, was despatched -to examine the ground and report on the circumstances of the outrage. -He caught a chill in the shrubbery of Lady Florence Dixie’s villa, -and when he returned to Windsor Castle complained of being ill. He -died of erysipelas on the 27th of March, the day after the daughter of -the Duke and Duchess of Albany was christened. Brown was the son of a -tenant of Colonel Farquharson’s and began life as gillie to the Prince -Consort. For nineteen years he was the personal attendant of the Queen, -and no servant was ever so completely trusted by a royal master or -mistress. “John Brown,” writes the Queen in a note to her “Leaves from -the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands,” “in 1858 became my regular -attendant out of doors everywhere in the Highlands. He commenced -as gillie in 1859, and was selected by Albert and me to go with my -carriage. In 1857 he entered our service permanently, and began in that -year leading my pony, and advanced step by step by his good conduct and -intelligence. His attentive care and faithfulness cannot be exceeded, -and the state of my health, which of late years has been sorely tried -and weakened, renders such qualifications most valuable, and, indeed, -most needful upon all occasions. He has since most deservedly been -promoted to be an upper servant and my permanent personal attendant -(December, 1865). He has all the independence and elevated feelings -peculiar to the Highland race, and is singularly straightforward, -simple-minded, kind-hearted, and disinterested, always ready to oblige, -and of a discretion rarely to be met with.” By all accounts Brown -seems to have been an honest brusque sort of man, whose fidelity to -his master and mistress won their entire confidence. Extraordinary -stories were told in Society of his influence over the Queen, and of -the almost despotic authority which he wielded over the Royal Family. -Even the highest officers of the Royal Household had to speak him -fairly, otherwise trouble came to them. He attended the Queen in all -her walks and drives, and had the privilege of speaking to her with the -rough candour in which he habitually indulged, on any subject he chose -to talk about. He had often been engaged in services of a delicate -nature for the Royal Family, and it was said that nothing could be said -or done, no matter how secretly, at or about the Court, without his -immediately knowing of it. Löhlein, the Prince Consort’s old valet, was -the only person in the Household whom Brown never dared to meddle with. -Through the _Court Circular_ the Queen bewailed the “grievous shock” -she felt at the “irreparable loss” of “an honest, faithful, and devoted -follower, a trustworthy, discreet, and straightforward man,” whose -fidelity “had secured for himself the real friendship of the Queen.” -This grief was not only natural but eminently creditable to her. -Brown had for years been the guardian of her life, and in the case of -Connor’s attack he had defended her with the grim courage of his race. -But for him her Majesty could not have enjoyed that freedom of movement -out of doors which had been of - -[Illustration: JOHN BROWN. - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen._)] - -vital consequence to her health and strength. Old servants, when -possessed of Brown’s sterling qualities of manhood, in process of time -gradually pass into the category of old friends. Their lives become -intertwined in many ways with the life of the family to which they are -attached. Their death leaves behind it in the hearts of their masters -and mistresses the sting of a personal bereavement. This was, in a -special sense, the case with the Queen, whose fate it has been to see -the circle of old familiar faces round her contracting every year. Her -expressions of sorrow over Brown’s grave, though they provoked rude -criticism, merely gave expression to a sentiment of melancholy which -was the natural outgrowth of her life of “lonely splendour.”[188] - -From the 18th of April to the 8th of May the Court was at Osborne, -and the state of the Queen’s health was such as to cause her medical -advisers some concern. The dynamite scare, a slight accident that had -happened to her through slipping on the stairs at Windsor Castle, the -deaths of her friend Mrs. Stonor[189] and her attendant, Brown--all -contributed to produce an attack of nervous debility that could only be -remedied by repose. - -In the third week of April the Queen created quite a panic among the -sheep farmers and the fashionable purveyors of the large towns. She had -read many gloomy articles in the papers, lamenting the decrease in the -number of English sheep. Instead of anticipating, by a few days, the -appearance of Easter lamb at the Royal table, as did Napoleon I. on one -occasion, her Majesty notified that no lamb would be consumed in her -Household. The effect of the notice was magical. The price of lamb went -down in a few hours to 4d. a pound, and farmers, who had at enormous -expense bred and fed large stocks of lamb for the Easter market, saw -bankruptcy staring them in the face. The economic fallacy was obvious. -The Queen forgot that the slaughter of lambs which were bred for the -butcher, and which but for the Easter market would not be bred at all, -was not the cause of the scarcity of sheep. In a few weeks the notice -was withdrawn. - -Though the Queen was still unable to walk, yet on the 8th of May she -was so much benefited by her holiday at Osborne, that she was able, -under the care of the Princess Beatrice, to return to Windsor. On the -26th of May, though still in feeble health, she went to Balmoral. -Extraordinary precautions were taken to prevent the time-table of the -Royal train on this occasion from being published, and her Majesty -sent orders from Windsor that spectators must be excluded from the -stations at which she stopped. Railway directors were not even allowed -to be present when her Majesty arrived at Ferryhill station, Aberdeen, -from whence she drove to Balmoral by the road on the south side of the -Dee--a road she had never taken before. Life at Balmoral was gloomy, -for all the old festivities had been stopped, and everybody was in deep -mourning for John Brown. The Queen hardly ever left her own grounds, -and the Court gladly returned to Windsor on the 23rd of June. On the -3rd of July a shocking accident occurred near Glasgow, which deeply -impressed the mind of the Queen. As a new steamer, the _Daphne_, was -being launched from Messrs. Stephen’s Yard she heeled over and sank. -A hundred and fifty lives were lost, and the Queen not only sent a -message of sympathy to the survivors, but a subscription of £200 to a -fund raised for their relief. The Court removed to Osborne on the 24th -of July, where a few days later the Queen received M. Waddington, the -new French Ambassador. On the 24th of August her Majesty left Osborne -for Balmoral, which she reached on the following day. She conferred the -Order of the Garter on her grandson, Prince Albert Victor of Wales, -on the 4th of September. It was thought strange that this distinction -should be granted to the Prince whilst he was still a minor: George -IV., for example, was not admitted to the Order till long after he -had come of age. What was stranger still was that the investiture -should have been a private function, conducted in the drawing-room -at Balmoral, and not a public ceremonial in St. George’s Chapel. The -exceptional character of the distinction was a proof of the high favour -in which her Majesty held her grandson. Excursions to Braemar, Glassalt -Shiel, Glen Cluny, and the neighbourhood were made during September. -The Duke and Duchess of Connaught visited her Majesty in October on -the eve of their departure for India, and the ex-Empress Eugénie, who -was at Abergeldie, came to her almost every day, and long excursions -in the bleak scenery of the Aberdeenshire mountains were organised for -the Royal party. It was not till the 21st of November that the Court -came back to Windsor--the same day on which the Duke and Duchess of -Connaught landed at Bombay. After her return the Queen seems to have -been engrossed with business to an unusual extent--much of it relating -to troublesome private matters, and it was stated that her Majesty and -Sir Henry Ponsonby during the first week had to work together for five -and six hours at a stretch, ere they could overtake their task. Every -day, however, the Queen drove in the Park, and every evening she gave -a dinner-party, to which not more than fifteen guests were invited. -On the 12th of December her Majesty received the Siamese Envoys, and -it was intimated that she intended to raise the poet Laureate to the -Peerage. On the 18th of December the Court removed to Osborne, where -Christmas-tide was spent. - -Politically and socially the Recess of 1883 was full of interest. Just -as Parliament was prorogued Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville brought -an irritating controversy with France to a close. In the spring, -Admiral Pierre had been sent with a squadron to enforce French claims -of sovereignty over a portion of the north-west of Madagascar. In the -course of operations at Tamatave the Admiral had behaved rudely to -the British Consul. He had insulted the commander of H.M.S. _Dryad_, -and he had illegally arrested and imprisoned Mr. Shaw, an English -missionary. Mr. Gladstone had alluded gravely, but in terms of studied -moderation and courtesy, to these events in the House of Commons. The -Opposition, however, harried him with attacks; and all over the land -Conservative writers and speakers denounced the Government for its -cowardly subservience to France. The only effect which these indiscreet -criticisms could have was obviously to convince France that she ran -no risk in refusing reparation to the Englishmen whom her agents had -injured. Fortunately the Government of the French Republic had a keen -sense of justice. It did not misunderstand the firm but temperate tone -of the English Foreign Office; and the French Government accordingly -offered an apology and compensation to Mr. Shaw. It turned out that -Admiral Pierre, who died in France soon after his recall, had been -suffering from an exhausting disease at the time he had offended -Captain Johnstone of the _Dryad_. There was no disposition on either -side, therefore, to exaggerate the personal aspect of the question, and -the dispute ended in a manner highly creditable to the diplomacy of -both nations. - -In Ireland the National League, which had been founded in 1882 as a -continuation of the old Land League, was extending its organisation. -Mr. Healy’s electoral victory in Monaghan suggested that an attack -should be made on the last stronghold of the Unionist Party in Ireland. -League meetings were therefore held in Ulster; but the Orangemen, -terrified by this invasion of Home Rulers into their loyal territory, -attempted to repel it by force. They organised rival meetings, and -planned armed attacks on the Leaguers. Occasionally Mr. Trevelyan -had to suppress the demonstrations of both “Orange” and “Green” by -proclamation. In England the Recess was one of stormy political -agitation. The Liberal Party felt that it was necessary to submit some -measure to Parliament in 1884, on which, if need be, they might risk -an appeal to the constituencies. Hence, at Leeds, their provincial -leaders and delegates resolved to press a measure of Parliamentary -Reform on the country. A small minority, who urged that the reform of -the Municipality of London and of County and Local Government should -have the first place, were overruled by those who raised the famous -cry of “Franchise first.” The Tory leaders, when they spoke on the -subject, merely suggested that the problem of Parliamentary Reform -was encumbered with difficulties. For some time the Liberal leaders -rarely spoke save to contradict each other either as to the order of -legislation in the coming Session, or as to whether, if Household -Suffrage were extended to the counties, the Redistribution of Seats -would be dealt with by a separate Bill. During the Recess, Sir Stafford -Northcote roused the Conservatism of North Wales and Ulster. Lord -Salisbury attempted to thrill his party with terror by an article in -the _Quarterly Review_, bewailing the “disintegration” of English -society under Mr. Gladstone’s malefic influence; and in another -periodical--the _National Review_--he appealed strongly for popular -support by a strong semi-Socialistic paper advocating the better -housing of the poor. In fact, the end of 1883 and the beginning of -1884 will be long remembered for an outbreak of _dilletante_ Socialism -among the upper classes. The powerful pen of a gifted novelist had -revealed, as by flashes of lightning, the unexplored regions of the -East End of London. In fact, Mr. Walter Besant’s vivid pictures of -its dull grey life of toil, varied only by hunger, and ending only in -death, had seared the conscience, if they had not touched the heart, -of a brilliant society of pleasure. Beneath the bright wit and mocking -humour of the satirist, - -[Illustration: - -THE PARISH CHURCH, CRATHIE. BRAEMAR CASTLE. -] - -there glowed the fire and fervour of the prophet; and when a voice -which, like Mr. Besant’s, had the ear of a hundred millions of -English-speaking people, preached in the most fascinating of parables -the doctrine that Wealth owes, and ever will owe, an undischarged duty -to Poverty--a mighty impetus was given to the cause of social reform. -Hands swift to do good were stretched forth from the West End to the -East End, and a movement destined to realise, in the Jubilee Year -of the Victorian era, some of Mr. Besant’s ideals in “All Sorts and -Conditions of Men,” was now initiated. Unfortunately it was vulgarised -by much imposture at the outset. The pace of three London seasons had -been unusually rapid, and Society at this juncture had exhausted its -resources of amusement and its capacities for pleasure. The town was -fuller than usual, for Cabinet Councils had been unwontedly early; -and the great families who flock to London when they get the first -hint that the autumnal period of political intrigue has set in, had -abandoned their country houses sooner in the year than was customary. -The theatres were unattractive. The Fisheries Exhibition had closed; -and the world of fashion was hungry for some fresh object of interest. -Like Matthew Arnold’s patrician, though Society made its feast and -crowned its brows with roses in the winter of 1883-4, it was still left -lamenting that - - “No easier and no quicker passed - The impracticable hours.” - -The movement in philanthropy which Mr. Besant’s writings originated, -and which Lord Salisbury’s essay on the Housing of the Poor stamped -with the imprimatur of British respectability, was just what was -needed to supply a stimulus to which the blunted nerves of the idlest -pleasure-seeker would respond. In the days of Lord Tom Noddy and Sir -Carnaby Jenks persons of quality in similar circumstances would have -gone to see a man hanged. Some years later, as M. Henri Taine notes, -they would have applied for an escort of police and inspected the -thieves’ kitchens and other hideous lairs of crime. Now, under escorts -of enchanted philanthropists, lay and clerical, male and female, -curious parties were organised in the West End to visit the slums, just -as they were arranged to visit the opera. These amateur explorers were, -indeed, dubbed “slummers” by cynical writers in the Press; and the verb -to “slum” almost made good its footing in the English vocabulary. Few -of these strange visitors remained behind in the East End to help in -the work of charity whose objects excited their morbid curiosity. It -was also an untoward coincidence that of these few some of the most -fussy and bustling subsequently figured conspicuously in the Divorce -Court. - -It had been the intention of the Government to reduce the number of -the troops in Egypt, and some hint of this had been given by Mr. -Gladstone at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in the Guildhall. But before -the plan could be carried out a catastrophe happened in Egypt which -interfered with it. It had always been the ambition of the Khedivial -family to extend their dominion to the Equator. They had drained Egypt -of men and money to conquer that vast and difficult region known as -the Soudan, and under the pretext of suppressing the slave trade, they -had endeavoured to sanctify their policy of costly conquest. When, -however, disturbances broke out in Lower Egypt, the wild tribes of -the Soudan, ever ready to revolt against the Egyptians or “Turks,” -whom they regarded as brutal extortioners, joined the standards of a -pretended prophet, called the Mahdi, and Colonel Hicks, a retired -Indian officer, was sent with an Egyptian army to suppress the rising. -The British Government sanctioned, but gave no aid to the expedition. -By their foolish policy they made themselves morally responsible for -its fate without taking steps to make its success a certainty. In -November Hicks Pasha and his army were cut to pieces at El Obeid, and -Egyptian authority in the Soudan was represented by a few beleaguered -garrisons at such places as Khartoum, Suakim, and Sinkat. The British -Government dissuaded Tewfik Pasha from trying to re-conquer the Soudan, -but advised him merely to relieve the garrisons and hold the Red Sea -coast and the Nile Valley as far as Wady Halfa. By thus blocking the -only outlets for its produce the insurrection in the province might -be strangled. Here the Ministry delivered themselves into the hands -of their enemies. If they tried to re-conquer the Soudan the Tories -could denounce a blood-guilty policy that wasted the substance of -Egypt to gratify Khedivial ambition. If they induced Tewfik Pasha to -let the Soudan alone, they could be denounced for abandoning one of -the conquests of civilisation to barbarism and the slave trade. But in -the first weeks of 1884 there was a lull in political agitation, which -was only partially broken by Mr. Gladstone’s address to his tenants -at the Hawarden Rent Dinner on the 9th of January. It was in this -speech that he advised farmers groaning under prolonged agricultural -distress, aggravated by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, to seek -consolation in pensive reflection on the Hares and Rabbits Act, and in -an energetic application of their industry to the production of jam. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -GENERAL GORDON’S MISSION. - - Success of the Mahdi--Difficult Position of the Ministers--Their - Egyptian Policy--General Gordon sent out to the Soudan--Baker - Pasha’s Forces Defeated--Sir S. Northcote’s Vote of Censure--The - Errors on Both Sides--Why not a Protectorate?--Gordon in - Khartoum--Zebehr, “King of the Slave-traders”--Attacks on - Gordon--Osman Digna Twice Defeated--Treason in Khartoum--Gordon’s - Vain Appeals--Financial Position of Egypt--Abortive Conference - of the Powers--Vote of Credit--The New Speaker--Mr. Bradlaugh - _Redivivus_--Mr. Childers’ Budget--The Coinage Bill--The Reform - Bill--Household Franchise for the Counties--Carried in the - Commons--Thrown Out in the Lords--Agitation in the Country--The - Autumn Session--“No Surrender”--Compromise--The Franchise Bill - Passed--The Nile Expedition--Murder of Colonel Stewart and Mr. - Frank Power--Lord Northbrook’s Mission--Ismail Pasha’s Claims--The - “Scramble for Africa”--Coolness with Germany--The Angra Pequena - Dispute--Bismarck’s Irritation--Queensland and New Guinea--Death - of Lord Hertford--The Queen’s New Book--Death of the Duke of - Albany--Character and Career of the Prince--The Claremont - Estate--The Queen at Darmstadt--Marriage of the Princess Victoria - of Hesse--A Gloomy Season--The Health Exhibition--The Queen and the - Parliamentary Deadlock--The Abyssinian Envoys at Osborne--Prince - George of Wales made K.G.--The Court at Balmoral--Mr. Gladstone’s - Visit to the Queen. - - -Parliament met on the 5th of February, 1884. The Queen’s Speech -admitted that the unexpected success of the Mahdi in the Soudan had -delayed the evacuation of Cairo and the reduction of the British army -of occupation. It also referred to the steps that had been taken to -relieve Khartoum by the despatch of General Gordon--accompanied by -Colonel Stewart--to that doomed city. An imposing programme of domestic -legislation was put forward. There was to be a Reform Bill, a Bill to -improve the government of London, and legislation was promised dealing -with shipping, railways, the government of Scotland, education, Sunday -Closing in Ireland, and intermediate education in Wales. The Egyptian -Policy of the Government was naturally taken as the point for attack by -the Opposition in the House of Lords and in the House of Commons. The -position of England in Egypt was now so peculiar and embarrassing that -any policy open to the Government was open to objection. So far as the -interests of the English and Egyptian people were concerned, the best -thing that could have been done for them would have been to render the -frontier at Wady Halfa impregnable, to forbid any further interference -with the Soudan, and to leave the Egyptian garrisons and colonies there -to make the best terms they could with the Mahdi. This would not have -been a noble or heroic, but it would have been a sensible course, and -it would have prevented the perfectly useless expenditure of precious -blood and treasure. On the other hand, only a Minister unselfish enough -to brave the obloquy which would be cast on him by his rivals for -adopting a sordid policy in the interests of his country, could venture -on such a policy. It would have been possible to a Bismarck, who can -boast that he will never break the bones of a Pomeranian grenadier for -the sake of the Eastern Question. It was not possible to Mr. Gladstone, -some of whose colleagues were already in a bellicose mood. Assuredly, -too, it would in 1884 have been unpopular with the electors. In foreign -complications, involving the issues of peace or war, their - - “Affections are - A sick man’s appetite, who desires most that - Which would increase his evil.” - -Ministers therefore chose the course which, on the whole, divided the -country least. They decided to cut the connection between Egypt and -the Soudan, but at the same time to arrange for the safe return of the -Egyptian garrisons and colonists to Lower Egypt. They selected General -Gordon--better known as “Chinese” Gordon--who, as Gordon Pasha, had -been Viceroy of the Soudan, to make the best arrangements he could for -the future of the country, and bring back the garrisons and colonists -in safety. Gordon’s great name and unbounded popularity caused this -plan to be hailed with unalloyed delight by the people. He arrived at -Cairo on the 23rd of January, and was permitted to receive from the -Khedive a firman appointing him Governor-General of the Soudan, and -vesting him, as the Khedive’s Viceroy, with absolute power. Gordon thus -held two commissions--one from the English Government as the Agent of -the Foreign Office, another from the Khedive as Viceroy of the Soudan. -He crossed the desert without an escort, and was making his way to -Khartoum when Parliament met. It was a dramatic coincidence that when -the debate on Egypt was going on, news of a serious disaster from the -Soudan came to hand. Baker Pasha had advanced from Trinkitat on the -4th of February, and near Tokar his force was attacked by the Mahdi’s -followers and driven back to Suakim. By an accident the discussion -collapsed without any Ministerial reply being given to the Tory attack. -Then Sir Stafford Northcote, on the 7th of February, moved his vote - -[Illustration: GENERAL GORDON. - -(_From a Photograph by Adams and Scanlan, Southampton._)] - -of censure, on the ground that the disasters in the Soudan were due to -“the vacillating and inconsistent policy” pursued by the Government. -Possibly the disaster of the division in the Commons when this motion -was rejected may have in turn been traceable to the “vacillating and -inconsistent” tactics of the Opposition. They toiled with wearisome -iteration to prove that England, having incurred responsibility for -the government of Egypt after Tel-el-Kebir, was responsible for the -massacre of Hicks Pasha and his army. So she was; but instead of -drawing the logical inference from the facts, namely, that the English -authorities in Egypt were to blame for not vetoing Hicks’s expedition, -Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Salisbury blamed the English Government -for not helping him with “advice,” and for not forcing the Khedive -to make his army strong enough for its task. Here it became manifest -to the House of Commons that the Opposition had only got up a sham -faction fight. For when Sir Stafford Northcote hotly repudiated the -notion that he would have sent a British army to reinforce Hicks or -avenge his death, he gave up his whole case. It was then seen that the -alternative policy of the Opposition was to have goaded the Egyptian -Government to a war of re-conquest in the Soudan, and in the event of -failure to leave it in the lurch. Alike in the Commons and in the Lords -the responsible leaders of the Opposition admitted that Mr. Gladstone -was right in advising Egypt to abandon the Soudan, and in refusing to -send British troops there to conduct the evacuation. What they argued -was that he was wrong in not telling the Khedive’s Cabinet how to -get out of the Soudan, though he would in that event, according to -them, have been quite right to refuse the Khedive aid, if, in acting -on Mr. Gladstone’s suggestions, his Highness met with disaster in -the rebellious province. It was a sad surprise to Lord Salisbury to -find his censure carried in the Upper House only by a vote of 181 to -81--for the majority did not represent half of a Chamber two-thirds of -which were his followers. It was, however, no surprise to Sir Stafford -Northcote to find his motion rejected in the House of Commons, though -he had the advantage of the Irish vote. As for the country, its verdict -was that there was no difference between the two parties except on one -point. The Tories would have pestered the Khedive with instructions, -but would have repudiated responsibility for them if when acted on they -had ended in failure. The Government had, through fear of incurring -this responsibility, left the Khedive too much to his own devices, and -when these brought trouble they found they could not get rid of all -responsibility for it. - -What ought to have been said was what neither Lord Salisbury nor Sir -Stafford Northcote dared say. It was that England, after Tel-el-Kebir, -should have boldly proclaimed a Protectorate over Egypt, the moral -authority of which would have sufficed to hold her fretful and mutinous -provinces in awe, till steps for their reconstruction could be -taken.[190] Failure seemingly rendered the Opposition reckless. Even -the heroic and high-hearted envoy of the Government at Khartoum did -not escape the shafts of their malice. He had proclaimed the Mahdi as -Sultan of Kordofan in order to induce him to negotiate for the peaceful -withdrawal of the garrisons. He had burned in public the archives of -the Egyptian Government, in which the arrears of taxes were recorded, -as a pledge that the oppressed people of Khartoum should be no longer -the prey of corrupt extortioners. He had set free the prisoners who -were unjustly pining in the gaols. He had proclaimed that the right of -property in domestic slaves would be recognised--thereby neutralising -the intrigues of the Mahdists, who were persuading the wavering people -that if they remained true to Egypt, the Government would rob them of -their household servants. Finding it impossible to discover a less -objectionable native chief fit to undertake the task of keeping order -at Khartoum, Gordon recommended for that purpose his old enemy, Zebehr -Pasha, once known as “King of the Slave-Traders.” - -The Tories now attacked Gordon and his policy with much bitterness. -They jeered at him as a madman. They denounced him for sanctioning -slavery--he who had given the best days of his life to the suppression -of the trade. They tried to rouse public opinion against the Government -for tolerating his proceedings. In fact, no effort was wanting to -embarrass him and the Ministry in solving the difficult problem of -extricating the military and civil population of Khartoum from their -dangerous position. The factiousness of the Opposition had one bad -result. It frightened the Government into refusing their sanction -to Gordon’s proposal for handing over Khartoum to Zebehr Pasha. For -at this time the Tories delighted to describe Zebehr as the kind of -monster of savagery, with whom a statesman of Mr. Gladstone’s character -naturally sought a close alliance. - -When the tidings of General Baker’s defeat at Teb were followed by news -of the massacre of the garrison of Sinkat, Ministers, in obedience to -public opinion, decided to abandon their policy of inaction in the -Soudan. On the 10th of February, Admiral Hewett took supreme command -at Suakim. On the 18th a small British force under General Graham -landed at that place. By this time Tokar had fallen, but Graham, -advancing from Trinkitat, fought and beat the Arabs under Osman Digna -at El Teb. Osman retired to Tamanieb, and was attacked there by Graham -on the 13th of March. At first the British force wavered and broke -under the impetuous shock of the Arab charge, but in the end the -Arabs were defeated, and Osman Digna’s camp was destroyed. Gordon had -made an unsuccessful sortie from Khartoum on the 16th of March, and -he had found not only his army but the civil population of the city -honeycombed with treason. In vain he implored the Government to send -two squadrons of cavalry to Berber to aid the escape of two thousand -fugitives whom he proposed to send down the Nile. The Government, on -the contrary, recalled General Graham and his troops from Suakim, -thereby leading the Arabs to believe that Gordon was abandoned by his -countrymen. His negotiations with the Mahdi proved to be a failure. -In May his protests against the desertion of Khartoum were published -in official form, and the Opposition then gave expression to popular -opinion when they moved, though they did not carry, another vote of -censure on the Ministry. The defence of the Government was that Gordon -was in no danger, and that when he was, Ministers would quickly send -him aid. The financial position of Egypt was now so bad that Mr. -Gladstone resolved to ease the pressure of her debt at the expense -of the bondholders. For this purpose it was necessary to summon a -Conference of the Powers. France opposed the English project, and the -diplomatic negotiations between England and France were seriously -embarrassed by incessant interpellations from the Opposition in -Parliament, and by their abortive votes of censure. In spite of these -difficulties, however, Ministers were able, on the 23rd of June, -to announce that they had come to an arrangement with France. She -formally abandoned the Dual Control, which had really been destroyed -by the Khedive’s decree in 1882, and bound herself not to send troops -to Egypt unless on the invitation of England. England, on the other -hand, agreed to evacuate Egypt on the 1st of January, 1888, unless -the Powers considered that order could not be kept after the British -troops were recalled. The question of the debt was virtually left to -the Conference, but it was agreed that after the 1st of January, 1888, -Egypt was to be neutralised and the Suez Canal put under international -management. Even these arrangements were, however, to depend on the -decisions of the Conference, which, Mr. Gladstone said, would in turn -need Parliamentary sanction before they could be considered binding -on the British Government. The Conference broke up owing to the -impossibility of reconciling English and French interests, and Mr. -Gladstone on the 2nd of August told the House of Commons that England -had regained entire freedom of action. With this freedom the Government -acquired fresh energy. They sent Lord Northbrook to Egypt to report -upon its condition, and obtained from Parliament a Vote of Credit of -£300,000 with which to send succour to Gordon if he required it. At -this time, though Khartoum was isolated and surrounded by the Mahdi’s -troops, Lord Hartington refused to admit that Egypt was in danger from -an Arab invasion, or to give any definite promise to send Gordon aid. - -The Egyptian Question sadly exhausted the energies of the House of -Commons. Mr. Arthur Peel had been chosen as Speaker on the 26th of -February, in succession to Sir Henry Brand, who was elevated to the -Peerage as Viscount Hampden. Sir Stafford Northcote again succeeded in -preventing Mr. Bradlaugh from taking his seat, and when Mr. Bradlaugh -resigned it, and was again re-elected for Northampton, the resolution -excluding him from the House was once more revived on the 21st of -February. - -The Budget was not presented till the last week of April, and Mr. -Childers - -[Illustration: KHARTOUM.] - -then confessed that for the coming year he could not expect a surplus -of more than £260,000,[191] which admitted only of a small reduction -in the Carriage Duties. The unexpected costliness of the Parcel -Post caused Mr. Childers to abandon in the meantime the scheme for -introducing sixpenny telegrams; but he made proposals for the reduction -of the National Debt and the withdrawal of light gold coin from -circulation, that led to some controversy. Mr. Childers’ method of -dealing with the Debt was to give holders of Three per Cent. Stock the -option of taking Two and Three-quarters per Cent. or Two and a Half -per Cent. Stock at the rate of £102 and £108 respectively for every -£100 of Stock so exchanged. Mr. Childers argued that he would thus -reduce the annual burden of the charge for the Debt (after providing -for a Sinking Fund to cover the nominal increase in the capital cf -the converted Stock) by £1,310,000. His Coinage Bill was lost because -the Tories roused popular prejudice against it. Mr. Childers proposed -to demonetise the half-sovereign by putting in it a certain amount -of alloy and giving it a mere token-value. The charge that he was -“debasing the currency” wrecked his project. A Bill strengthening -the hands of the Privy Council in excluding diseased cattle was -passed. But the great measure of the Session was the Reform Bill, -which was introduced on the 28th of February. By it Mr. Gladstone -extended household franchise to the counties, and a vigorous effort -was made to compel him to introduce along with the Franchise Bill, -a Bill for the Redistribution of Seats. The Second Reading of the -Reform Bill was carried on the 7th of April, a majority of 340 to 210 -having rejected the hostile amendment of the Conservatives, which -was moved by Lord John Manners. The Tories then made many futile -efforts to coerce Mr. Gladstone into disclosing his Redistribution -Scheme, which he had, however, sketched in outline in his speech -introducing the Franchise Bill. Ultimately the Third Reading was -carried on the 26th of June--_nemine contradicente_. The Bill was -read a first time in the House of Lords on the 27th of June, where -Lord Cairns and the Tory Peers opposed it by an amendment, in which -they refused to assent to any extension of the Franchise, without any -provision for a redistribution of seats. The country began to murmur -against this attitude of the Tory Peers, many of whom even deprecated -the policy of supporting Lord Cairns’s amendment. It was, however, -carried by a majority of 205 against 146. After that the Peers, by -way of conciliating public opinion, agreed, on the motion of Lord -Dunraven, to assent “to the principles of representation in the Bill.” -Ministers immediately announced that they would take steps to prorogue -Parliament in order to hold an autumn Session for the reintroduction -of the Measure. This involved the sacrifice of all their projects -of legislation, including Sir William Harcourt’s Bill for reforming -the Government of London, Mr. Chamberlain’s Merchant Shipping Bill -(prohibiting shipowners from making a profit out of the wreck of -over-insured ships), the Railway Regulation Bill (which prevented -railway companies from burdening traders and farmers with extortionate -transport rates), the Scottish Universities Bill, the Welsh Education -Bill, the Police Superannuation Bill, the Medical Acts Amendment Bill, -the Corrupt Practices at Municipal Elections Bill, the Law of Evidence -Amendment Bill, the Irish Sunday Closing Bill, and the Irish Land -Purchase Bill. These, as well as many useful measures, perished in the -legislative holocaust of the 10th of July, which the opposition of the -Peers had brought about. - -The Recess was spent in violent agitation. Party leaders on both sides -strove to rouse public opinion against or on behalf of the action of -the House of Lords. The country, on the whole, seemed day by day to -gravitate towards the Liberals, and the general opinion soon came to -be that the time had come for settling the question of Parliamentary -Reform, and that, the Peers having accepted the principle of Mr. -Gladstone’s Bill, a compromise as to details ought to be effected. The -monster procession which passed through London on the 21st of July, -together with Mr. Gladstone’s political campaign in Midlothian, did -much to strengthen the hands of the Reformers. As might be expected, -the Radicals took advantage of the occasion to direct a fierce and -violent attack against the House of Lords as an institution. When the -Session opened on the 23rd of October party spirit ran high, and both -sides took “No Surrender!” as their watchword. Lord Randolph Churchill -attempted to fix on Mr. Chamberlain a charge of inciting a Radical mob -to break up a great Conservative demonstration which had been held -in Aston Park, Birmingham, on the 13th of October. Mr. Chamberlain -proved his innocence by quoting affidavits made by certain men, who -swore that “Tory roughs” had provoked the riot. The genuineness of -those affidavits was questioned, but to no purpose. When, however, -they were made the basis of legal proceedings, it was noted as a -curious coincidence that, with one exception, all the witnesses who -had supplied Mr. Chamberlain with his exculpating affidavits, somehow -vanished from the scene. The Franchise Bill was rapidly passed through -the House of Commons, and the enormous majority of 140 in favour -of the Second Reading brought the Tory Peers to a more reasonable -state of mind. Moderate Conservatives began to build a golden bridge -of retreat for their lordships. Nor was the task hard. It was soon -discovered, as the result of private communications, that there was -now no substantial difference of opinion between Conservatives like -Sir Richard Cross and Liberals like Mr. Gladstone on the general -principles of Redistribution. Nobody, in fact, had the courage to -defend the continued enfranchisement of petty boroughs while large -towns were not represented in Parliament save by the county vote. It -was finally arranged by plenipotentiaries representing both parties -that Mr. Gladstone’s draft Redistribution Bill should be submitted -confidentially to Sir Stafford Northcote and his friends--that they -should suggest, and in turn submit to Mr. Gladstone their amendments -to it--that when both Parties agreed, Mr. Gladstone should receive -from the Tories “an adequate assurance” that they meant to carry the -Franchise Bill through the House of Lords, that upon the strength -of this assurance Mr. Gladstone should introduce the Redistribution -Bill in the House of Commons, and carry it to a Second Reading while -the Peers were passing the Third Reading of the Franchise Bill. The -whole understanding rested simply on an exchange of “words of honour” -between the leaders on both sides, and it was loyally adhered to. Lord -Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Hartington, -and Sir Charles Dilke, met and settled all serious disputes over the -question of redistribution, and the Bill was introduced on the 1st of -December. On the 4th of the month the measure was read a second time, -the House of Lords having passed the Franchise Bill. On the 6th of -December Parliament adjourned till the 19th of February, 1885, when the -Redistribution Bill was to be finally dealt with in Committee, _de die -in diem_. - -The autumn Session did not close till the Government obtained a vote of -credit of £1,000,000 for military operations in Egypt. The decision to -send an expedition to Khartoum by way of the Nile was arrived at with -manifest reluctance by the Ministry, and of all the courses open to -them, including those which had been suggested by Gordon and rejected -by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville, it was the most objectionable and -hazardous.[192] Lord - -[Illustration: SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE (AFTERWARDS LORD IDDESLEIGH). - -(_From a Photograph by Barraud, Oxford Street._)] - -Wolseley arrived at Cairo early in September, and the Mudir of Dongola -not only held back the Mahdi, but furnished a base of operations to -the English force. Down to the end of 1884 Lord Wolseley contrived to -shroud his proceedings in a veil of mystery. Beyond the facts that he -had railway transport to Sarras, that after that point, the expedition -and its transport were conveyed up the falling river in whaleboats -guided by Canadian boatmen,[193] that Lord Wolseley’s sanguine -anticipation of a rapid advance had been falsified, that dangers and -difficulties, which he ought to have foreseen, had been encountered, -that it had been necessary to stimulate the - -[Illustration: THE CITADEL, CAIRO.] - -energies of the Army by offering a money reward to the first detachment -which reached Debbeh, and that by the first week of January, 1885, -Lord Wolseley would have about 7,000 men at Ambukol, of whom, perhaps, -2,000 might be ready to dash across the desert to Shendy, from whence -the decisive blow at the Mahdi must be struck--beyond these facts -and conjectures nothing was known. Dim rumours of Gordon’s futile -sorties, of his feeling of disgust at being abandoned, and tidings -that could not be doubted of the wreck of the steamer in which he had -sent his gallant lieutenant, Colonel Stewart, and the British Consul -at Khartoum, Mr. Frank Power, down to Berber, filled the minds of the -people with the deepest anxiety. Gordon had sent Stewart to Berber with -instructions to appeal to private munificence in the United States and -British Colonies for funds with which to organise the relief expedition -which he had ceased to beg from England. Stewart and his companions -were murdered by natives after their steamer was wrecked. Hence the -journals and diaries which Stewart carried were conveyed to the Mahdi, -who, finding from them that Gordon was in dire straits, pressed the -siege with redoubled energy. - -After the failure of the Conference to adjust the financial -difficulties of Egypt, England “regained her freedom of action.” -Lord Northbrook, as we have seen, was sent to Cairo to report on the -situation, which in reality was a very simple one. Egypt could not -pay the annual interest on her debt, and the Foreign Powers would -not, in the interests of the bondholders, submit to have it reduced -unless better security were given for the principal. The only course -open, therefore, was either repudiation, or the acknowledgment of -British responsibility for the financial administration of Egypt, -which would have enabled Mr. Gladstone to have cut down, not only the -bondholders’ interest, but also the taxes extorted from the Egyptian -people. Lord Northbrook’s appointment was caustically criticised by -the Tory Opposition, who connected his family name of Baring with a -mission undertaken in financial interests. His mission thus did much to -destroy the confidence of the populace in the Government, and when he -returned, his recommendations, so far as they could be discussed, still -further discredited Mr. Gladstone’s Government. For Lord Northbrook had -discovered a third course open to him in Egypt. It was to leave the -interest of Shylock untouched, but to meet the deficit in the Egyptian -Budget, caused by the payment of Shylock’s bond, by transferring from -Egypt to England the burden of supporting the Army of Occupation.[194] -As for the existing emergency, Lord Northbrook suggested temporary -repudiation, and his suggestion was adopted. The Law of Liquidation -was suspended, and the creditors of Egypt were asked to be satisfied -with less than their due, till matters could be set right. The -Queen’s Government early in December attempted to meet the financial -difficulty, by proposing to advance a 3½ per cent. loan to Egypt -on the security of the Domain lands,[195] or personal estate of the -Khedive. The Powers did not receive this proposal cordially. Necessity, -which knows no law, having compelled the Egyptian Government, with the -sanction of England, to suspend for the moment the Sinking Fund of the -Unified Debt, a distinct violation of the Liquidation Law, the Debt -Commission prosecuted the Egyptian Government before the International -Tribunals. They of course gave judgment in favour of the Commission. -Germany and Russia at this juncture insisted on their representatives -sharing all the rights and powers of the Debt Commission, indeed, -Germany, irritated by the Foreign and Colonial policy of England, -showed signs of supporting certain inconvenient claims to the Domain -lands which the ex-Khedive, Ismail Pasha, put forward.[196] - -The coolness between Germany and England which marked the last half -of 1884 arose out of what was at the time termed the “scramble for -Africa.” The regions opened up by Mr. H. M. Stanley on the Congo had -been practically occupied by an International Association, the head -of which was the King of the Belgians. In fact, General Gordon was -under an engagement to take up the government of this vast tract of -land when he went to Khartoum. England, however, in order to exclude -dangerous rivals, recognised the obsolete claims of Portugal to hold -the outlet of the Congo; but, as Portuguese officials were alleged -by commercial men to be obstructive and corrupt, this policy was not -very popular. Germany, indeed, united the Powers in quashing it, and -finally it was agreed that an International Conference should meet at -Berlin to determine the conditions under which the outlet of the Congo -should be controlled. But at this point Germany was sorely irritated -by the provokingly vacillating policy of Lord Derby. There was a strip -of territory, extending from Cape Colony to the Portuguese frontier on -the Congo, in which a Bremen firm had established a trading settlement -at Angra Pequena. They applied to Prince Bismarck for protection. -He, in turn, asked Lord Granville if England claimed any sovereignty -over this region (in which there was only a small British settlement -at Walwich Bay), and whether the British Government could give the -German traders the protection which they sought. Lord Kimberley, in -his despatch to Sir Hercules Robinson of the 30th of December, had -warned him that the Government refused to extend British jurisdiction -north of the Orange River. But Lord Granville now told Prince Bismarck -that, though English sovereignty had only been proclaimed formally -at certain points along this coast, any encroachment on it by a -foreign Power would be regarded by England as an encroachment on its -rights. Again (31st of December, 1884) Prince Bismarck repeated his -question--Did England propose to give the German traders protection, -and, if so, what means had she at her disposal for that purpose? This -despatch was referred to Lord Derby. He left it unanswered for six -months, whereupon Prince Bismarck, stung by the affront, answered -it in his own way by annexing Angra Pequena to Germany. Englishmen -were indignant; but what was there to be said? The British Government -refused at first to recognise the annexation. Then they said they -would recognise it if Germany would pledge herself not to establish -a penal colony on the coast, a demand which Prince Bismarck bluntly -refused. Finally, when Lord Derby induced the Cape Colony to retaliate -by annexing the coast round Angra Pequena between the Orange River and -the Portuguese frontier, Prince Bismarck declined to recognise such an -act of annexation. After this event Germany, concealing her designs, -despatched an expedition to seize the Cameroons, over which the British -Government, in response to the desire of the native chiefs, had already -decided to extend a British Protectorate. Disputed land-claims, which -German subjects in Fiji preferred in 1874, were also revived. In 1874 -England had refused even to investigate them. Now, however, Lord -Granville agreed to submit them to a mixed Commission. The British -Government surrendered to Germany on these questions, by a curious -coincidence, at the very time they issued their invitations to the -London Conference on Egypt, in which they were expecting the support -of Germany for their Egyptian policy.[197] As a matter of fact, this -support was not obtained. In the Conference Count Münster, on behalf -of Germany, stood neutral between France and England, who were unable -to reconcile their interests. But he persisted in thrusting before the -meeting the question of the imperfect administration of quarantine in -Egypt by English officials, and on the 5th of August Lord Granville -abruptly dissolved the Conference, because this matter was beyond the -scope of its discussion. Nor was Prince Bismarck wrathful against -England merely because he imagined that Lord Derby had some deep design -of thwarting the sudden desire of Germany for colonial expansion. - -In a moment of weakness, and when the laurels of victory had not -quite faded from the brows of the heroes of Tel-el-Kebir, the British -Government had applied to Prince Bismarck for hints and suggestions as -to what they should do in Egypt. According to Lord Granville, Prince -Bismarck’s advice was “Take it.”[198] According to Prince Bismarck, -whilst he assured Lord Ampthill that Germany would not oppose the -British annexation of - -[Illustration: BALMORAL CASTLE, FROM CRAIG NORDIE.] - -(_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co._) - -Egypt, his advice was that England should “establish a certain security -of position in this connecting link between her European and Asiatic -possessions” by administering Egypt as a leaseholder from the Sultan. -In this way England, he thought, would attain her purpose, and yet -escape a conflict with existing treaties, and “avoid putting France and -other Powers out of temper.”[199] His counsel was not followed, which -was the first affront. The feeble course actually adopted--that of -attempting to govern Egypt by advice--had ended in a financial crisis -that alarmed all the German bondholders, and they in turn put pressure -on Prince Bismarck, that still further increased his irritation against -England. Hence, when towards the end of 1884 he meditated a stroke of -Colonial policy at the Antipodes, he showed little respect for British -susceptibilities. In this new departure he was materially assisted by -the incredible folly of Lord Derby. At the end of 1883 the Government -of Queensland had sent a police magistrate to annex New Guinea, or -rather that portion of it not claimed by the Dutch. It had already -been annexed by wandering British navigators, but rumours of foreign -designs on the island had quickened the apprehensions and action of -the Australians. Lord Derby repudiated this act of annexation. As Lord -Derby had been sedulous in warning the Colonists that in war they must -defend themselves, it was not easy to understand why he objected to -their occupying a territory which, if held by a foreign enemy, would -give him a good base of operations against Australia. Ultimately, he -nerved himself to the hazard of annexing the southern portion of New -Guinea, east of the Dutch possessions, provided the Australian Colonies -would enter into a federal engagement to bear part of the expense of -holding and governing the country. Lord Derby had not, however, taken -care in proclaiming in October, 1884, his intention of annexation to -warn foreign Powers off other portions of the island and adjacent -archipelago. He virtually invited rival Governments to slip in and -seize what he had left untouched. The end of the year, therefore, saw -the German flag flying over the unoccupied portion of New Guinea, and -the archipelago of New Ireland and New Britain, and all Australia was -in an uproar. These events stirred the sluggish heart of Lord Derby. -He promptly forestalled a project of German annexation in South Africa -by hoisting the British flag at Saint Lucia Bay and over the region -between Cape Colony and Natal, known as Pondoland. - -On the 25th of January the Marquis of Hertford, one of the ornaments -of the Queen’s Court in her happier days, passed away from the scene. -Lord Hertford had distinguished himself as an ideal Lord Chamberlain -from 1874 to 1879, and he had won the confidence of her Majesty whilst -serving as Equerry to the Prince Consort. This, he used to say, was -the most interesting part of his career, and among his friends he -occasionally told many curious stories, brightly illustrative of -Court life in the Victorian period. He had a profound and warm regard -for the Prince Consort, who talked more freely to him than to most -men, chiefly, he said, because he knew his Equerry kept no diary. -Lord Hertford’s stories all tended to throw light on the singularly -unselfish nature of his Royal master. One of them, for example, was to -the effect that when the Queen and the Prince were crossing the Solent, -Lord Hertford, on appearing on deck, found the Prince pacing about -and enjoying the fresh breeze, whereas the Queen had been compelled -to retire to her cabin. He said to the Prince he was surprised to -find him on deck in such a breeze, as he had always heard that his -Royal Highness was a bad sailor. The Prince replied, “I know people -say that about me, and imagine that the Queen never suffers from -sea-sickness. It is better it should be so. The English laugh so much -at sea-sickness, that I prefer the laugh should be against me rather -than against the Queen.” - -In the second week in February the Queen published a continuation -of her “Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands,” the -dedication of which was in these words:--“To my loyal Highlanders, and -especially to the memory of my devoted personal attendant and faithful -friend, John Brown, these records of my widowed life in Scotland are -gratefully dedicated.”[200] In this volume she displayed much of the -latent Jacobitism which one is apt to develop in the atmosphere of -the northern mountains, and again and again, when she records her -visits to the scenes, rich in the storied memories of “the ’15 and the -’45,” she expresses her feeling of pride and gratitude that she has -inherited, not only the throne of the Stuarts, but the fervent loyalty -that bound so many gallant hearts to the cause of “bonnie Prince -Charlie.” Her reminiscences are somewhat tinged with melancholy, but -the great and motherly loving-heartedness of the book is its chief -charm, and secured for it an amazing popularity. It was said that the -circulating libraries ordered copies by the ton, and the Press teemed -with favourable reviews, in which her Majesty took great interest. As -usual, however, she only read those that were marked for her perusal by -her ladies. The cover was designed by the Princess Beatrice, and was in -every way tasteful and artistic. But the portraits which embellished -the work were badly reproduced. That of Brown, however, it may be -noted, was an exception, for he was “flattered” by the artist out of -all recognition. - -The year 1884 was one that brought much sorrow to the Royal Family. -During the months of January and February, whilst the Court was at -Osborne, though her Majesty’s health had visibly improved, yet she -was still suffering from the effects of her accident, and was quite -unable to remain long in a standing position. On the 19th of February -the Court removed to Windsor, and it was rumoured that the Queen would -spend Easter in Germany. She was, in truth, desirous of being present -at the marriage of her granddaughter, the Princess Victoria of Hesse, -to Prince Louis of Battenberg. On the 26th of March she received -Lieutenant W. Lloyd, R.H.A., at Windsor, when he presented to her -one of the Mahdi’s flags which had been taken at Tokar, and just as -preparations for the German tour were being made, the Royal Household -was plunged into grief by sudden tidings of the death of the Duke of -Albany, on the 28th of March. He had been living at Cannes for a few -weeks. He had taken part with great glee in the festivities of the -gayest season that had ever been witnessed in Nice. He returned to -Cannes on the 27th, and it seems he had, in mounting the stairs of the -Naval Club in the afternoon, fallen and hurt his right knee. He was -attended to by Dr. Royle, and, though he went to bed, conversed quite -gaily with those round him. At half-past two on the morning of the 28th -Dr. Royle was roused by the sound of his stertorous breathing, and, on -going to his bedside, found him dying in a fit. The news of his death -reached Windsor at noon, and Sir H. Ponsonby broke it gently to the -Queen, who was at first so prostrated with grief that her condition -alarmed her attendants. As soon as she rallied her Majesty sent the -Princess Beatrice to Claremont House to - -[Illustration: FUNERAL OF THE DUKE OF ALBANY: THE PROCESSION ENTERING -WINDSOR CASTLE.] - -comfort the Duchess of Albany, then in a delicate state of health. In -the afternoon the ex-Empress Eugénie, clad in the deepest mourning, -visited the Queen, and stayed till about seven in the evening. She -informed those to whom she spoke when she left that her Majesty had -apparently obtained some relief by giving expression to her anguish -in the sympathetic presence of a friend who had herself suffered many -sorrowful bereavements. To none did the sad news convey so severe a -shock as to the Prince of Wales. The telegram was handed to him whilst -he was chatting with some friends in Lord Sefton’s box on the Grand -Stand at the Aintree Race-course, and at first the Prince seemed -dazed with the message. He was only able to mutter to Lord Sefton -in broken accents, “Albany is dead.” Having retired to his private -room to compose his nerves, he drove off immediately to Croxteth. The -rumour of the Duke’s death flew round the race-course, but at first -was disbelieved. Then the sports were stopped, and the stampede of the -pleasure-seekers to Liverpool, where it was hoped that the news would -be contradicted, will long be remembered. In London the event was -the theme of sympathetic discussion in every train and omnibus and -tramcar in the afternoon, as men were returning home from business. The -workmen’s clubs at night adjourned their political debates as a mark -of sympathy for the Queen. On the following day her Majesty and the -Princess Beatrice visited the Duchess of Albany, and the meeting was -most touching and mournful. All the details of the funeral arrangements -were superintended by the Queen, but the body of the Prince was brought -back to England under the personal direction and care of the Prince of -Wales, and buried on the 5th of April with solemn pomp in St. George’s -Chapel, Windsor. Six of the pall-bearers--Lord Castlereagh, Lord -Brook, Lord Harris, Mr. Sidney Herbert, Mr. Walter Campbell, and Mr. -Mills--were undergraduates with the dead Prince at Christ Church. - -[Illustration: VIEW IN CLAREMONT PARK.] - -The Duke of Albany once said, “I do not understand why people should -always be so kind to me.” The reason was not far to seek. He was a -young man with an interesting and amiable personality. He had a pensive -turn that recalled his father, but with a dash of gaiety of heart which -rendered him more acceptable to society than the Prince Consort ever -managed to become. His long life of suffering and pain secured for -him the sympathies of the people. Despite his ill-health he was even -in childhood a bright and promising boy. Professor Tyndall has spoken -highly of his capacity at this period, and Dean Stanley, one of his -early mentors, so deeply influenced him that at one time the Prince -indicated a desire to take Orders in the Anglican Church. At Oxford he -was prohibited by the physicians from reading for honours, and after he -became a member of the House of Lords, the Queen, noticing his eager -interest in politics, had some trouble in dissuading him from plunging -into the debates, as a free lance who loved to “drink delight of battle -with his peers.” - -When he was thwarted in this design, the Prince suggested that his -services might be utilised in another direction. At the time Lord -Normanby resigned the Governorship of Victoria Prince Leopold applied -to Mr. Gladstone for the post, and the Tory newspapers and orators -of the period heaped the most extravagant abuse on Mr. Gladstone for -refusing the offer. Mr. Gladstone was even challenged in the House -of Commons on the subject, but his lips being sealed by the Queen, -he was unable to defend himself, or do more than make an evasive and -ambiguous statement. The truth, however, was that Mr. Gladstone did -not refuse the Prince’s offer. He referred it to Mr. Murray Smith, -Agent-General for Victoria in London, with a request for his opinion. -Mr. Smith replied that the appointment would give great satisfaction -in Australia, but when the matter was laid before the Queen she -peremptorily vetoed the project, assigning as a reason her fear that -the Prince’s ill-health unfitted him for the duties of the position to -which he aspired. Obvious reasons of State have, however, always made -the Sovereigns of the Hanoverian dynasty reluctant to permit Princes -of the Blood-Royal to serve as satraps in distant colonies where -aspirations to independence are not always dormant. - -Prince Leopold was a pleasing and polished orator, and being the only -member of his family who spoke the English tongue without any trace -of a German accent, his platform performances were always successful. -His addresses reflected the thoughtful, cultivated mind of a young man -who had lived much in the companionship of books, and who had read -discursively without studying deeply. He was never commonplace, and -his merely formal utterances were usually marked by a distinction of -style, that well became a princely scholar. In the singularly beautiful -preface which the Princess Christian wrote for the “Biographical Sketch -and Letters” of her sister, the Grand Duchess of Hesse (Princess -Alice), she says that as the Duke of Albany was the last to see her -gifted sister in life, so he was the first of the Queen’s children -“to follow her into the silent land.” It is a curious fact that, as -with her, the shadow of early death seems to have cast itself in the -form of presentiment over his young life. Mr. Frederick Myers, in -his eulogistic reminiscences of the Duke of Albany, alludes to this -circumstance in the following passage:--“The last time I saw him [the -Duke of Albany] to speak to,” writes a friend from Cannes, March 30th, -“being two days before he died, he _would_ talk to me about death, -and said he would like a military funeral, and, in fact, I had great -difficulty in getting him off this melancholy subject. Finally, I -asked, ‘Why, sir, do you talk in this morose manner?’ As he was about -to answer he was called away, and said, ‘I’ll tell you later.’ I never -saw him to speak to again, but he finished his answer to another lady, -and said, ‘For two nights now the Princess Alice has appeared to me in -my dreams, and says she is quite happy, and that she wants me to come -and join her. That’s what makes me so thoughtful.’”[201] - -The death of the Duke of Albany hushed the gaiety of a highly -promising season, and West End tradesmen were full of lamentation when -it was rumoured that the Court would shroud itself in gloom during the -whole summer, though the official period of Court mourning was to end -in May. But it was not alone in London that the Prince was mourned. -His neighbours at Esher, rich and poor alike, felt his loss severely. -They all spoke well of him and of his young wife, and recalled pleasant -memories of his kindliness--how he joined the local chess club, sang -at local concerts, and interested himself in the Duchess’s schemes for -boarding out pauper children. After the death of the Duke the Queen -announced her intention of maintaining Claremont as a residence for -the widowed Duchess, a generous act, because Prince Leopold used to -say that even with £20,000 a year to live on, Claremont kept him a -poor man. But for the £20,000 which the Queen spent on the property -during 1883 and 1884, this residence would in truth have seriously -embarrassed him.[202] As a matter of fact, the favourite dwelling of -the Duke of Albany was not Claremont but Boyton Manor, near Warminster -in Wiltshire, of which place he was tenant when he died, and in the -neighbourhood of which his memory is still lovingly cherished.[203] - -Soon after the funeral of the Duke of Albany the Queen was recommended -by Sir William Jenner to go to Germany, and she thus resolved to visit -her son-in-law and grandchildren at Darmstadt, where the marriage of -the Princess Victoria of Hesse with Prince Louis of Battenberg was to -be celebrated at the end of the month (April). Sir William believed -that the change of scene and surroundings would do the Queen more -good than a mournful sojourn at Osborne, where everything must recall -reminiscences of her dead son. Her Majesty accordingly left Windsor -on the 15th of April for Port Victoria, whence she embarked on the -_Osborne_ and arrived at Flushing next morning. Therefrom she went -by rail to Darmstadt, arriving early on the morning of the 17th. The -voyage was unpleasant, and the weather between the Nore and the Scheldt -so heavy that the Queen had to remain in her cabin during the greater -part of her journey. Only the Grand Duke of Hesse and his daughters -were on the platform to meet her Majesty, who had desired her reception -to be as private as possible. Ere she left England she forwarded to the -newspapers through the Home Secretary a letter expressing her gratitude -to the people for their loving sympathy with her and the Duchess of -Albany in their bereavement. - -On the 30th of April the marriage of the Queen’s granddaughter, the -Princess Victoria of Hesse, with Prince Louis of Battenberg, was -solemnised in the small whitewashed Puritanical-looking chapel at -Darmstadt, which was thronged with a brilliant crowd of specially -invited guests, among whom the Queen, in her sombre mourning, was -one of the most striking figures. With the Queen there were present, -besides the family of the bride and bridegroom, the young Princess of -Wales. The German Crown Prince led in the Princess of Wales, and the -German Crown Princess was escorted by her brother, the Prince of Wales; -Prince William of Prussia led in the Princess Beatrice, and the dark, -Jewish-looking Prince of Bulgaria (brother of the bridegroom) escorted -with obsequious gallantry the Princess Victoria of Prussia. The -ceremony was short, simple, and touching; but the sermon on the duties -of marriage which the Court preacher delivered was long and prosy. The -Queen, after the ceremony was over, retired to the Palace, and did not -attend the wedding banquet in the Schloss. The weather, which had been -cold and bleak when the Queen arrived, suddenly became fine and mild, -and she was, therefore, able to amuse herself in the public gardens. -She had gone to Darmstadt rather reluctantly, but was now glad that -she had taken Sir William Jenner’s advice. By her own wish she was -lodged in the Neue Schloss, which she had built, at a cost of nearly -£25,000, as a palace for the Princess Alice and her husband, and in -the beautiful grounds of this place she drove about every morning in -a pony-carriage with the Princess Beatrice. She took long drives every -afternoon, and visited Auerbach (the chief country seat of the Grand -Duke) and his shooting-lodge at Kranichstein. The ex-Empress Eugénie -had offered to lend Arenenberg (a charming villa near Constance) to the -Queen, but she did not desire to extend her tour beyond Darmstadt, and -so the offer was not accepted. Accompanied by the Princess Beatrice, -the Grand Duke, and the Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, her Majesty -returned to Windsor on the 7th of May. - -[Illustration: THE LINN OF DEE. (_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and -Co._)] - -London was still dull and gloomy. Court mourning and the absence of -the Prince of Wales (who was visiting his sister in Berlin) made -the season of 1884 melancholy. On the 10th of May the Queen, the -Grand Duke of Hesse, and the Princess Elizabeth paid a visit of -condolence to the Duchess of Albany at Claremont, and on the 22nd -her Majesty left Windsor for Balmoral. That she was much improved in -health was evident, because not only were the public admitted to the -railway-station at Perth, and Ferryhill, Aberdeen, but at the former -she was able to walk from her carriage to the reception-room with a -firm step and without assistance. It was a lovely warm day when her -Majesty and suite drove along the north side of the Dee from Ballater -to Balmoral. The sixty-fifth anniversary of her Majesty’s birthday was -observed in London officially on the 24th of May, but Ministerial State -dinners were not given owing to the Royal Family being in mourning. -The anniversary was not to be kept at Balmoral, but at last the Queen -directed that her servants, with those from Abergeldie and Birkhall, -should dine in the Ball Room of the Castle, under the presidency of her -Commissioner, Dr. Profeit. In the morning Mr. Boehm’s life-size statue -of John Brown arrived, and it was placed on a pedestal in the grounds -of Balmoral at a spot about two hundred yards north-west of the Castle, -the site being selected by the Queen. The great sculptor superintended -the ceremony of unveiling his work. On the 15th of June the Queen -attended Crathie Church, for the first time since October, 1882, -greatly to the relief of her God-fearing neighbours, who had begun to -entertain a shocking suspicion that she had given up attendance at -“public worship.” On the 25th the Court returned to Windsor, after a -delightful holiday spent in the brightest and sunniest of weather. -Every afternoon the Queen had been able to drive about Deeside, and -she had even visited, though she had not stayed at, her cottage at -the Glassalt Shiel. Though the return of the Prince of Wales to town -from Wiesbaden early in June had given a fillip to a chilling season, -Society was dull in the summer of 1884. Lord Sydney and Lord Kenmare -had gently suggested to the Queen that her refusal to permit Drawing -Rooms and State Concerts to be held was causing much disappointment -at the West End, but without avail. Her Majesty, however, showed much -tenacity in forbidding these functions, the proposal of which by the -great officers of the Household she deemed disrespectful to the memory -of her dead son. Nor was she conciliated by being reminded that during -the season of 1861, after the death of the Duchess of Kent, she had -held Drawing Rooms herself, whereas now she had the Princess of Wales -ready to relieve her of the burden of attending them. Londoners, -however, had their compensations. They discovered, in the gay and -glittering gardens of the Health Exhibition at South Kensington, with -their English and German bands and their brilliant combinations of -Chinese lanterns and electric lamps, a delightful _al fresco_ lounge. -Here in the summer evenings the pursuit of pleasure was combined with -a chastened homage to the cause of scientific enlightenment and social -improvement. This was one of a series of specialised exhibitions, the -organisation of which had been the work of the Prince of Wales, who -also earned the gratitude of the town at this time by persuading the -Queen to let him hold two Levees on her behalf. On the 20th of July -the Queen and Princess Beatrice were at Claremont, where the Duchess -of Albany gave birth to a son; after which her Majesty proceeded to -Osborne on the 30th of the month, where she was visited by the German -Crown Prince and Princess. An interesting event in the life of the -Court in the season of 1884 was the reception given by the venerable -Duchess of Cambridge at St. James’s Palace on the 25th of July to -celebrate the completion of her eighty-seventh year. The season of 1884 -virtually ended with the Garden Party which the Prince of Wales gave -at Marlborough House on the same day. It ended, as it began, gloomily, -and the social chroniclers lamented the poorness of the entertainments, -the badness of the dinners, the mournfulness of the balls. They only -brightened up when they recorded, with a transient gleam of joy, -that, though all the “great houses” attended by Royalty had been -closed, three had opened their doors since Easter, namely, Devonshire -House, where Lord Hartington entertained guests twice; Norfolk House, -where Lord and Lady Edmond Talbot gave a ball that was endurable; and -Stafford House, where, at a small party in the middle of July, the -Prince and Princess of Wales made their first appearance in Society -since their mourning. - -During August the Queen was much troubled as to the issue of the -political crisis arising out of the Reform Bill debates, and the -threatened conflict between the democracy and the House of Lords. She -earnestly deprecated an attack on the Peers during the Recess, and Mr. -Gladstone and his colleagues paid due deference to her opinions. She -sent twice for Lord Rowton--better known, when Mr. Disraeli’s private -secretary, as Mr. Montagu Corry--whom she regarded as the inheritor -of Lord Beaconsfield’s ideas, to consult him on the situation. She -made it clear to him that she was unwilling to use her Prerogative for -the purpose of creating new Peers to force the Reform Bill through -the Upper House. From this it was inferred that if the House of Lords -resisted to the bitter end, the Queen would prefer to coerce them -by a dissolution rather than by Prerogative. Lord Wolseley and Lord -Northbrook were also summoned about this time to consult with her -on the prospects of a campaign in Egypt. These anxious conferences -were held after she had received the Abyssinian Envoys on the 20th -of August. They had come to England bearing copies of a Treaty which -had been concluded at Adowah with King John of Abyssinia. They were -received by the Queen at Osborne, and at their audience they presented -her Majesty with letters from King John and with various gifts, among -which were a young elephant and a large monkey. Ere the Court left -Osborne the Queen surprised the country by announcing her decision to -confer the Order of the Garter on Prince George of Wales, for there -was no precedent for giving the Garter to a junior member of the Royal -Family in his minority. When the Queen came to the Throne there were -only four Royal Knights of this Order, and pedants of heraldry now -complained that there were twenty-eight, and that the Royal Knights -outnumbered the ordinary ones. - -On the 1st of September the Court proceeded to Balmoral, the Queen -being accompanied by the Crown Princess and Princess Beatrice. The -arrival of the Court at Balmoral, and the visit of Mr. Gladstone to -Invercauld, had filled Braemar to overflowing. On the 18th of September -the Queen held a Council at - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN RECEIVING THE ABYSSINIAN ENVOYS AT OSBORNE.] - -Balmoral, at which Mr. Gladstone, Lord Fife, and Sir H. Ponsonby -were present, Mr. Gladstone afterwards dining with her Majesty. Lord -Ripon having resigned office as Viceroy of India, his successor, -Lord Dufferin, visited the Queen at Balmoral in October. One by one -the Royal guests fled southwards, and finally the Queen and Princess -Beatrice left the Highlands for Windsor on the 20th of November--her -Majesty’s return being hastened by grave political anxieties caused -by the threatened collision between the two Houses of Parliament. Mr. -Gladstone had at Balmoral so earnestly deprecated the obstinacy of -the Peers, and so clearly pointed out to the Queen the difficulty of -avoiding this collision whilst they persisted in their anti-Reform -policy, that her Majesty subsequently used all her influence to bring -about a compromise. It was with a view to renew her efforts in this -direction that she returned to Windsor at the time when Lord Granville -was offering to submit a draft Redistribution Bill for friendly but -private inspection by the Tory leaders, provided the Peers would -give a pledge to pass the Franchise Bill during the autumn Session. -The appearance of Mrs. Gladstone’s name among the list of those who -were at Lady Salisbury’s reception in Arlington Street on the 19th of -November, was taken as an auspicious omen, and as indicating that the -Conservative chiefs had not been insensible to the advice which the -Queen had given to the Duke of Richmond in the Highlands. The supreme -difficulty of bringing about the Reform compromise lay in breaking -down the resistance of Lord Salisbury and the Tory Peers, who were -resolved to force a dissolution on the basis of the old franchise. This -resistance gradually weakened after Mr. Gladstone’s visit to Balmoral. -That it finally disappeared was mainly due to the firm but gentle -pressure which the Queen put on the Duke of Richmond in order to induce -him and his colleagues to accept a compromise. The actual details of -the Treaty between Mr. Gladstone and the Peers were settled in London. -But the preliminaries of Peace were really negotiated by the Queen and -the Duke of Richmond in Aberdeenshire, after the memorable “gathering -of the clans” at Braemar in the autumn of 1884. After the return of the -Court from Scotland many guests were received at Windsor, among whom -Lord Sydney--who audits her Majesty’s private accounts, and, since the -death of the Prince Consort, has been her confidential adviser--was -one of the most favoured. On the 17th of December the Court removed to -Osborne. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE NEW DEPARTURE. - - An _Annus Mirabilis_--Breaking up of the Old Parties--The - Tory-Parnellite Alliance--Mr. Chamberlain’s Socialism--The - Doctrine of “Ransom”--Effect of the Reform Bill and Seats - Bill--Enthroning the “Sovereign People”--Three Reform Struggles: - 1832, 1867, 1885--“One Man One Vote”--Another Vote of Censure--A - Barren Victory--Retreat from the Soudan--The Dispute with - Russia--Komaroff at Penjdeh--The Vote of Credit--On the Verge of - War--Mr. Gladstone’s Compromise with Russia--Threatened Renewal - of the Crimes Act--The Tory Intrigue with the Parnellites--The - Tory Chiefs Decide to Oppose Coercion--Wrangling in the - Cabinet--Mr. Childers’ Budget--A Yawning Deficit--Increasing - the Spirit Duties--Readjusting the Succession Duties--Combined - Attack by Tories and Parnellites on the Budget--Defeat of the - Government and Fall of Mr. Gladstone’s Ministry--The Scene in the - Commons--The Tories in Power--Lord Salisbury’s Government--Places - for the Fourth Party--Mr. Parnell Demands his Price--Abandoning - Lord Spencer--Re-opening the Question of the Maamtrasna - Murders--Concessions to the Parnellites--The New Budget--Sir H. D. - Wolff sent to Cairo--The Criminal Law Amendment Act--Court Life in - 1885--Affairs at Home and Abroad--The Fall of Khartoum--Death of - General Gordon--Beginning of the Burmese Question--Rebellion in - Canada--Marriage of the Princess Beatrice--The Battenbergs. - - -After the compromise had been arranged between the rival political -leaders on the Franchise Bill and the Bill for the Redistribution -of Seats, it has been said that Parliament adjourned to the 19th of -February, 1885--an _annus mirabilis_ in the Queen’s reign. It witnessed -the final settlement of the Reform Question which the Whigs left -unsettled in 1832. It witnessed the amazing development of the Home -Rule movement in Ireland under two influences. The first was extended -Franchise. The second was the alliance between the Parnellites and -the Tory Party, which had grown out of the intrigues of Lord Randolph -Churchill, Sir H. Drummond Wolff, and Mr. Rowland Winn, the Tory whip, -with Mr. Justin McCarthy, and other Irish Nationalist leaders. Every -day brought forth a new outward and visible sign of this alliance, and -in Ireland, when it was bruited about that the Tories were ready not -only to attack and overthrow Lord Spencer, who was still upholding -English authority at Dublin Castle almost in the same sense that -General Gordon was upholding it at Khartoum, the result was inevitable. -The large class of Irishmen who from motives of self-interest, business -connection, or personal feeling were willing to stand by the English -Government in Dublin so long as they felt sure that England would -stand by them, began to waver in their allegiance. Like the same sort -of people in the Soudan, and even in Khartoum when they saw Gordon -abandoned by those who were supposed to be truest to him, they began to -make terms with their Mahdi. If the Tories were buying the Parnellite -vote to-day, the Liberals would soon be found bidding higher for it -to-morrow, and Irishmen, whose interests and timidity alone served -to keep them loyal to Dublin Castle so long as they felt absolutely -certain of the support of both political parties in England, began in -1885 to stream over to Mr. Parnell’s camp. The stream was obviously -swollen when a coalition of the Parnellites and Tories expelled Mr. -Gladstone’s Government from office, and when it was known that the -Parnellite vote had been obtained on the faith of a promise from the -Tory leaders that they would not only abandon the Crimes Act if they -came into office, but join Mr. Parnell in opposing Mr. Gladstone’s -Government if it sought to renew it. The year also witnessed the end -of the Egyptian tragedy, the conquest of Burmah, the semi-Socialistic -propaganda of Mr. Chamberlain, the General Election which made Mr. -Parnell master of Ireland, and shattered the English Party system that -had been built up after 1846, and the rumoured adoption of Home Rule as -a part of Mr. Gladstone’s programme. - -During the first weeks of 1885--the winter recess, as it might be -called--Mr. Chamberlain spread terror through the land by making a -strong Socialistic appeal to the new Electors. He was evidently bent -on breaking up the old Liberal Party--perhaps he saw his way to the -formation of a new democratic faction into which many of the “Tory -democracy,” created by Lord Randolph Churchill, might drift. Signs were -not wanting that a coalition between these successful politicians was -in certain circumstances quite a possible contingency. In the meantime, -Mr. Chamberlain and his followers preached what he called the “doctrine -of ransom.” This meant that when a man became rich he was to purchase -the privilege of keeping his wealth by paying taxes now borne by the -poor, and if need be by providing new taxes in order to give the poor -a larger share of the comforts and enjoyments of life than fell to -their lot. Mr. Chamberlain in fact offered to “ransom” the thrifty -classes from confiscation provided they taxed themselves to give the -poor free libraries, pleasure-gardens, education, improved dwellings -at “fair rents,” allotments of land, and work and employment in time -of distress. It was part of his scheme to abolish indirect taxation. -His lieutenant, Mr. Jesse Collings, formulated the portion of it which -dealt with the land by popularising the idea that it was the duty of -the ratepayers to set up agricultural labourers in the business of -farming with “three acres and a cow” to start with. Government, in -fact, was, according to Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Collings, to act as a -kind of glorified Cooperative Store, or “Universal Provider” for the -proletariat. - -When the House of Commons met on the 19th of February there was a -general desire to make rapid progress with the Reform Bills. Efforts -to secure the representation of minorities, to oppose an increase in -the members of the House, to cut down the representation of Ireland, -to disfranchise the Universities, were resisted, and the alliance of -the two Front Benches crushed all opposition. One member only was -successful in carrying an amendment. This was Mr. Raikes, who had been -Chairman of Committees in Lord Beaconsfield’s Government, and who now -succeeded in reducing the perpetual penalties inflicted on voters in -corrupt boroughs. On the 11th of May the Seats Bill was read a third -time, and when it went to the House of Lords it was speedily passed. -The Tories, who objected to the compromise, found spokesmen in Mr. -James Lowther, Mr. Chaplin, and Mr. Raikes. The opposition of the -last-named was the most active, but it merely resulted in effecting a -few changes in the nomenclature of the Bill, and in what the _Times_ -termed “his more than paternal solicitude for the leisurely progress of -the measure.” - -No measure of reform proposed in the Queen’s reign by a responsible -politician was ever designed to produce such a mighty change in the -British Constitution as the Reform Bill of 1885. Lord Grey and Lord -John Russell, by their Bill in 1832, added not quite half a million -voters to the Electorate of the United Kingdom. The Reform Bill of -1867 increased the Electorate from 1,136,000 to 2,448,000. In 1885 it -had grown to be 3,000,000, and to this number Mr. Gladstone’s Bill -added 2,000,000 new voters.[204] The Seats Bill, which distributed -the 5,000,000 electors into electoral groups, was a much more complex -measure. The chief difficulties were two in number. First, there was -that of determining the standard by which the claim of a borough to -separate representation could be conceded; secondly, there was the -difficulty of discovering how votes should be cast in towns possessing -more than one member. Here curious contrasts can be drawn between the -old order and the new. - -[Illustration: PRINCE HENRY OF BATTENBERG. - -(_From a Photograph by Theodor Prümm, Berlin._)] - -Redistribution of seats in 1832 meant the transfer of a vast body of -power from the aristocracy to the middle-class, and the liberation of -the Commons from the despotism of the Peers, who ruled it through the -nominees who represented their pocket boroughs. Little wonder that the -sweeping disfranchisement of these constituencies brought the country -to the verge of revolution. In 1867 it was not the aristocracy but the -middle-class which dreaded the kind of disfranchisement that proceeds -from destroying the separate representation or reducing the redundant -representation of a constituency. Hence, though the contest in 1867 was -warm, it was not fierce. But in 1885, on the other hand, no popular -excitement could be raised over the question of Redistribution, and -the nation grew sick of the controversy as to whether a Seats Bill -should be taken before, with, or after a Franchise Bill. And yet the -redistribution of power proposed - -[Illustration: PRINCESS BEATRICE. - -(_From a Photograph by Hughes and Mullins, Ryde._)] - -by Mr. Gladstone’s Bill in 1885, and which sprang from the compromise -with the Opposition in December, 1884, effected changes vaster by far -than those that shook Society to its foundation in 1832. In 1832, -what nearly came to civil war was waged over 143 seats, liberated by -disfranchisement for redistribution.[205] In 1885 Mr. Gladstone had -178 seats representing 26·5 per cent. of the representation of the -country to redistribute. Of this number more than half--about 96--were -given to the counties, whose Electorate had been enormously increased -by the absorption of small boroughs, as well as by the extension of -household franchise, whereas in 1832, the counties only pulled 56 of -the liberated seats out of the scramble. Of the boroughs which Mr. -Gladstone disfranchised, 20 had their representation cut down to one -member in 1832, and two, Kendal and Whitby--which Lord John Russell -created as new boroughs--lost their separate representation in 1885. -The great merit of the Bill was that, as far as possible, it created -single-member constituencies on the basis of population, which was as -close an approach to equal electoral districts as Mr. Gladstone could -make. Large towns, instead of being treated as single electoral units -with cumulative voting, were cut up into single-member constituencies -as nearly as possible equal in point of population. The Bills for -Scotland and Ireland were drawn on the same lines, but adapted to local -circumstances. - -Up to Whitsuntide Government business was sadly in arrears--foreign -questions diverting attention from domestic legislation. The fall of -Khartoum, the retreat of Lord Wolseley’s advance column in the Soudan, -the defeats and disasters of the campaign, the deaths of Generals -Gordon, Stewart, and Earle, together with wild rumours of an Arab -invasion of Egypt, excited Parliament to a state of high tension. The -Government called out the Reserves, announced that they would crush -the Mahdi, and ordered the war against Osman Digna to be renewed. -The Opposition in the last week of February brought forward a vote -of censure on the Ministerial policy in Egypt, calling on Ministers -to recognise British responsibility for Egypt and those parts of the -Soudan which were necessary for the security of Egypt. Mr. Gladstone -evaded any positive declaration of policy, and the Liberal party -spoke with two voices, some being for complete withdrawal from Egypt, -others being in favour of administering its affairs in the name of the -Khedive, but none being bold enough to advocate any permanent course of -action. The Ministry were saved from defeat by 302 votes to 288, and -this narrow majority was a warning of their coming doom. - -A dispute then arose as to the plan adopted for rescuing Egypt from -a financial crisis. This plan was embodied in a convention with the -Powers and assented to by the Porte, by which a loan of £9,000,000 -under International guarantee was advanced to Egypt to save her from -bankruptcy, in consideration of which the Powers agreed to suspend the -Law of Liquidation and cut down the interest on all Egyptian securities -by 5 per cent. That on the Suez Bonds payable to the English Government -was, however, reduced by 10 per cent. The arrangement was to last for -two years, and if Egypt was still bankrupt in 1887, then her affairs -would be subject to an International inquiry. No care had been taken -to prevent the International guarantee of the loan carrying with it -the right of International intervention in Egypt, though Ministers -repudiated the suggestion that it did. The Convention was, however, -approved by the House of Commons by a vote of 294 to 246. Soon after -this the diplomatic hostility of France, Russia, and Germany, caused -Mr. Gladstone’s Government suddenly to limit their responsibilities in -Egypt. Operations in the Red Sea were countermanded, the Suakim-Berber -railway was stopped, and it was decided to abandon Dongola and fix the -Egyptian frontier at Wady-Halfa. Mr. Gladstone, or rather Lord Derby -and Lord Granville, had produced the diplomatic isolation of England -at a most inconvenient moment, when a dispute with Russia over the -Afghan boundary reached a critical stage. The negotiations for settling -the boundary had been delayed because the Russian Commissioners under -various pretexts avoided meeting Sir Peter Lumsden, the British -Commissioner, on the frontier. Meanwhile Russian troops were stealthily -advancing and taking possession of the debateable land. English -protests against these tactics ended in an announcement from Mr. -Gladstone, on the 13th of March, that it had been agreed by Russia that -no further advances should be made on either side--the Russians having -then occupied Zulficar and Pul-i-Khisti, and entrenched themselves -near Penjdeh. Early in April it seemed that the Russian General -(Komaroff) on the Kushk, in defiance of the agreement, took Penjdeh. -This was resented by Mr. Gladstone as an “unprovoked aggression” on -the Ameer, and a violation of a binding pledge to the English Foreign -Office. The Government, therefore, called out the Reserves, and asked -and received a Vote of Credit for £11,000,000 sterling (27th of April), -to enable them to defend the interests and honour of the country -against Muscovite perfidy.[206] Mr. Gladstone’s passionate outburst of -patriotism, in which he declared that till the aggression at Penjdeh -were atoned for he could not “close the book and say we will not look -into it any more,” silenced criticism. He was fortunate enough also to -carry a large vote of credit for the Egyptian account through the House -on the tide of excitement he had raised in asking for the vote against -Russia. But his hot fit was soon succeeded by a cool one. He agreed to -“close the book” in terms of a compromise by which Russia was permitted -to hold all that she had furtively seized, pending a delimitation to -be effected in London,[207] the understanding being, however, that -Russia would surrender Zulficar to the Ameer. As to Komaroff’s attack -on Penjdeh, Russia agreed to submit to the arbitration of the King of -Denmark the question whether it constituted a breach of the agreement -announced by Mr. Gladstone on the 13th of March, but the inquiry was to -be conducted so as “not to place gallant officers on their trial.” The -only gratifying incidents in this painful transaction were the generous -offers of armed support that were made to England by her autonomous -colonies, and by the princes and peoples of India. - -It was admitted by Mr. Gladstone that only non-contentious legislation -could be taken during the Session. Still, he made one exception. He -announced that he intended to renew certain “valuable and equitable -provisions of the Irish Crimes Act.” This decision arrived at, after -much discussion in the Cabinet, hurried the Ministry to their fate. -The Parnellites privately obtained assurances from some of their -influential Tory allies that if the Irish votes were so cast as to -destroy Mr. Gladstone’s Government, the Tory Government that came after -it would allow the Crimes Act to lapse, and would abandon Coercion. The -Tory leaders, according to Lord Randolph Churchill, met and resolved -to oppose any proposal to renew the Crimes Act or continue coercive -legislation for Ireland.[208] But it was desirable for them to avoid -the too open manifestation of their alliance with the Parnellites on -a question of supporting the Government in upholding law and order -in Ireland. Now that the Coalition was ready to strike, a side issue -had to be discovered on which united action might be taken without -scandal. This was furnished by Mr. Childers. It happened that, after -Whitsuntide, the Cabinet was wrangling over something else besides -Coercion--namely, the Budget--and the financial situation was not, it -must be confessed, a pleasant one. A violent popular agitation in the -autumn against the Admiralty, had produced a panic about the weakness -of the Navy.[209] Lord Northbrook had then promised to make important -additions to the Navy. Some steps were also to be taken to protect -British coaling stations abroad--and all this helped to increase the -Estimates. The Vote of Credit of £11,000,000 aggravated Mr. Childers’ -difficulties. He had, in short, to face a deficit of a million in -his accounts for 1884-85, and, with a falling revenue, an expenditure -in the coming year of £100,000,000! The country remembering Mr. -Gladstone’s furious denunciations of Lord Beaconsfield’s administration -for running up public expenditure to £81,000,000 in 1879-80, was -profoundly chagrined to find that under an economic Liberal Government, -expenditure had been run up in 1885 to £100,000,000. The discussions in -the Cabinet as to how the money should be raised ended in the adoption -of the principle that Labour as well as Property must share the -burden. Mr. Childers, therefore, raised the Income Tax to 8d. in the -£, equalised the death duties on land and personal property, putting a -special tax on Corporations instead of succession duty, and imposed a -stamp duty on moveable securities. These changes, he explained in his -Budget speech (April 30th), would - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN IN HER STATE ROBES (1887). - -(_From the Photograph by Walery, Regent Street._)] - -[Illustration: MR. GLADSTONE. - -(_From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry._)] - -bring him in £6,000,000 of fresh revenue. By adding two shillings a -gallon to the duty on spirits, and a shilling a barrel to the duty -on beer, he expected to obtain £1,650,000. But this still left him -with a deficit of £15,000,000 to meet. He took £4,600,000 from the -Sinking Fund to meet it--leaving a balance of £3,000,000 to be paid -out of the annual revenue. The landed gentry attacked the Budget -because it levelled up the succession duties on land till they were -equal to those on personal property. The liquor trade attacked the -changes in the duties on spirits and beer--so that an excellent -opportunity had arisen for the Tory-Parnellite coalition to deal a -fatal blow at the Government on another issue than that of continuing -Coercion. Mr. Childers finding that only £9,000,000 of the Vote of -Credit (£11,000,000) would be needed, offered to halve the increase -on the spirit duty, and limit the increased beer duty to a year--but -without avail. Sir M. Hicks-Beach moved an amendment which united all -the forces of the Opposition and the Parnellites, and defeated the -Ministry on the 8th of June, by a vote of 264 to 252. Lord Randolph -Churchill’s[210] speech at Bow on the 3rd of June, was taken as a good -guarantee that the Irish Party need not fear a Coercion Bill from the -Tories if they got into office. “But,” writes Mr. T. P. O’Connor, “even -with so strong an assumption the cautious and realistic leader of the -Irish Party was not satisfied; and the Irish Members did not go into -the Lobby to vote against a Liberal Ministry about to propose coercion -until there was an assurance, definite, distinct, unmistakable, that -there would be no coercion from their successors.” The scene when -the numbers were announced will never be forgotten by those who were -present. When it was known that the Government was defeated, the -pent-up excitement of the House found vent in a terrific uproar. “Lord -Randolph Churchill,” writes Mr. Lucy, “leapt on to the bench, and, -waving his hat madly above his head, uproariously cheered. Mr. Healy -followed his example, and presently all the Irish members, and nearly -all the Conservatives below the gangway, were standing on the benches -waving hats and pocket-handkerchiefs and raising a deafening cheer. -This was renewed when the figures were read out by Mr. Winn, and again -when they were proclaimed from the Chair. From the Irish camp rose -cries of ‘Buckshot! Buckshot!’ and ‘Coercion!’ These had no relevancy -to the Budget Scheme; but they showed that the Irish members had not -forgotten Mr. Forster, and that this was their hour of victory rather -than the triumph of the Tories. Lord Randolph Churchill threatened -to go mad with joy. He wrung the hand of the impassive Rowland Winn, -who regarded him with a kindly curious smile, as if he were some wild -animal. Mr. Gladstone had resumed his letter,[211] and went on calmly -writing whilst the clerk at the table proceeded to run through the -Orders of the Day as if nothing particular had happened. But the House -was in no mood for business. Cries for the adjournment filled the -House, and Mr. Gladstone, still holding his letter in one hand and the -pen in the other, moved the adjournment, and the crowd surged through -the doorway, the Conservatives still tumultuously cheering.”[212] - -On the following day (9th of June) Mr. Gladstone told the House that -the defeat of the previous evening had caused the Cabinet to submit “a -dutiful communication” to the Queen, then at Balmoral, but as an answer -to it must take some time to reach London, he moved an adjournment -till Friday (12th of June). Strangely enough, the resignation of the -Ministry was unattended by any popular excitement. It was perfectly -well known that the new Cabinet would be merely a stopgap Government, -powerless to do anything except wind up the business of Parliament -before the General Election. On the 12th of June the House was in -quite a cheerful humour when it met to hear from Mr. Gladstone that -the Queen had accepted the resignation of his Cabinet. It was curious -that even this last act of his Ministerial life in the Parliament of -1880-85 was not free from blunder. “Her Majesty’s gracious reply,” said -Mr. Gladstone, “was made upon the 11th accepting the resignation of -_Lord Salisbury_” a slip of the tongue which the Premier had to correct -amidst shouts of laughter. At first the Queen was unwilling to accept -the resignation of the Government. She could not admit that Ministers -were free to throw the State into confusion because of a defeat on -an Amendment to a Budget. In fact, it is not quite Constitutional to -coerce the free judgment of the Commons on the financial proposals -of Government by threatening Ministerial resignation if these are -not slavishly accepted in detail. Such a practice virtually ties the -hands of the House of Commons as guardians of the public purse. The -Queen, therefore, sought a personal interview with Mr. Gladstone, to -hear his full justification for the course he had adopted, but on his -instructing Lord Hartington to proceed to Balmoral, her Majesty’s -request was withdrawn. It now became apparent to her that the crisis -was too serious to be dealt with from Balmoral. In the last weeks -of the Session Parliamentary time was so valuable that it could not -prudently be wasted over a stagnant interregnum protracted by the -journeyings to and fro of Royal couriers between Aberdeenshire and -London. It was accordingly announced that the Queen would return -to Windsor at once--following the course she adopted in 1866, when -confronted with a similar inconvenience. Her Majesty arrived at -Windsor on the 17th of June, when Lord Salisbury had an interview -with her. On the following day he and Mr. Gladstone both waited on -the Sovereign--Mr. Gladstone delivering up the seals of office. There -was, however, a difficulty to be overcome in the transfer of power -which had been created by a tactical blunder of Lord Salisbury’s. -He had told the Queen that if he took office he must exact from Mr. -Gladstone a pledge that the Opposition would not embarrass her new -Ministry by attacks, but loyally co-operate with it in the conduct of -its business. Mr. Gladstone refused to waive his right of criticism, -and he pointed out that he could not, even if he tried, arbitrarily -dispose of the will of his supporters. All he could promise was that -he would endeavour to give the new Cabinet “fair play,” and deal with -it on its merits. But Lord Salisbury was not at first satisfied with -this arrangement, and the country was soon startled by hearing that he -had revived the crisis, and that even at the eleventh hour he would -withdraw his consent to serve as Premier. The Queen here intervened and -persuaded him to abandon his pragmatic objections to Mr. Gladstone’s -assurances.[213] - -The Ministry was formed after some fierce struggles in the Tory -Party. Lord Randolph Churchill and his group not only insisted on -having high offices, but they demanded the expulsion of Sir Stafford -Northcote from the leadership of the House of Commons. Sir M. -Hicks-Beach deserted his old chief, and not only went over to his -enemies, but even offered himself as a candidate for his vacant post. -The result was that Lord Salisbury became Premier and Secretary for -Foreign Affairs, Sir Stafford Northcote became Earl of Iddesleigh, -and was appointed First Lord of the Treasury. Sir Hardinge Giffard -was made Lord Chancellor; Lord Cranbrook, President of the Council; -Lord Harrowby, Lord Privy Seal; Sir Richard Cross, Home Secretary; -the Duke of Richmond, President of the Board of Trade; Colonel -Stanley, Colonial Secretary; Lord Randolph Churchill, Secretary of -State for India; Mr. W. H. Smith, Secretary of State for War; Sir -M. Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House -of Commons; Lord Carnarvon, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Lord John -Manners, Postmaster-General; Lord George Hamilton, First Lord of the -Admiralty; Mr. E. Stanhope, Vice-President of the Council of Education; -Mr. A. J. Balfour, President of the Local Government Board; Sir W. -Hart Dyke, Chief Secretary for Ireland; Mr. Ashmead Bartlett, a Civil -Lord of the Admiralty; Mr. Webster and Mr. J. E. Gorst, Attorney-and -Solicitor-General. Sir H. D. Wolff was sent on a special mission for -no very well-defined purpose to Egypt, so that every member of the -Fourth Party, who had organised the obstructive alliance between the -Parnellites and the Tories, was handsomely rewarded with remunerative -places. Sir H. D. Wolff’s appointment was severely criticised at the -time, partly because of his intimate connection with the Anglo-Egyptian -Bank. The only other striking incident in the crisis was that Mr. -Gladstone was offered an earldom by the Queen--an honour which, -however, he declined.[214] - -[Illustration: DRAWING-ROOM IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE.] - -Very soon after Ministers took office Mr. Parnell exacted his price, -and they had to pay it. The Crimes Act was abandoned. It was announced -that the Irish Labourers’ Act would be pressed on. Lord Ashbourne[215] -promised to bring in a Land Purchase Bill. The Maamtrasna murders, -and the cases of those condemned on account of them, were to be -reconsidered--a somewhat momentous decision, for Lord Spencer’s -refusal to revise the sentence in these cases had been upheld by both -Parties as a crucial point in the policy of maintaining law and order -in Ireland. When the Government threw over Lord Spencer, and not only -refused to defend him from Mr. Parnell’s attacks, but through Lord -Randolph Churchill disparaged his resolute Irish policy, it was clear -that great Party changes were impending. Obviously no English Minister -could again feel confident in governing Ireland with a firm and -dauntless hand, after the Tories had flung Lord Spencer to the lions -of Nationalism. Supported by Mr. Parnell and his followers, Ministers -had no difficulty in hurrying through Supply. The Budget was revised -in terms of the decision of the 9th of June, and Lord George Hamilton -discovered a gross blunder in the accounts at the Admiralty, where Lord -Northbrook had spent £900,000--part of the Vote of Credit--in excess of -his estimates without having the faintest suspicion that he was doing -anything of the sort.[216] Lord Ashbourne’s Land Bill stipulated that -when all the money was advanced by the State to the purchasing tenants, -one-fifth of it should be retained by the Land Commission till the -instalments were repaid. The Scottish Sanitary Bill passed. So did a -Bill brought in by Lord Salisbury to embody the non-contentious points -of the recommendations of the Commission on Housing the Poor. A Bill -was also passed to relieve electors from disqualification on the ground -that they had obtained Poor Law medical relief, and the Session closed -with the demoralisation of parties on the 14th of August. - -No event in 1885 gave the Queen more concern than the failure of Lord -Wolseley’s attempt to relieve Khartoum. The story of General Gordon’s -mission to the Soudan has already been partially told. It was on the -18th of January, 1884, that he was instructed by the Cabinet to proceed -to Khartoum to extricate the beleaguered garrisons. He writes, “It -cannot be said I was ordered to go. The subject was too complex for -any order. It was, ‘Will you go and try?’ and my answer was ‘Only too -delighted.’”[217] The truth is that Gordon doubted whether 20,000 -Egyptian troops and colonists could be got out of the Soudan by a -process of pacific evacuation. Still, if any one might achieve the -feat he could, and to please the Government, he consented to “go and -try.” His and their idea was that by restoring the old native families -to power he might buy a safe-conduct for the garrisons. On the 8th of -February, when he arrived at Abu Hamed, he found that the country was -less disorganised than he had supposed it to be when discussing its -prospects with Cabinet Ministers in London. Therefore he suggested that -a light suzerainty should be exercised over the Soudan, for a time -at least, by the Khedive’s officers. This conviction grew stronger -when he reached Berber. He then said that his mission could not be -carried out with credit to England unless some form of government less -heterogeneous than that of the native chiefs were established, in place -of the Egyptian administration which he was sent to withdraw. Hence, -he suggested that Zebehr Pasha should be appointed Ruler of the Soudan -under certain conditions, and he chose Zebehr because he was not such -an atrocious slave-trader as the Mahdi; because he might be more easily -curbed, and because his high descent from the Abbasides enabled him -to exercise real authority over the Soudanese. Sir Evelyn Baring and -Nubar Pasha agreed with Gordon. So did Lord Wolseley. Mr. Gladstone and -Lord Kimberley too, though they had no love for Zebehr, thought that -Gordon’s opinion ought to be deferred to, but Lord Hartington only gave -them a feeble, half-hearted support, and Lord Granville’s opposition to -Gordon’s policy carried the Cabinet against Mr. Gladstone. Hence Zebehr -was not sent. Zebehr naturally took this decision of the Cabinet as -an insult, and forthwith, opened up a treasonable correspondence with -the Mahdi, the discovery of which led to his arrest and deportation to -Gibraltar on the 14th of March, 1885. - -After the refusal to send Zebehr to the Soudan, the Government seem -to have treated Gordon as if they desired to provoke him to take the -bit in his mouth, and in a fit of indignation leave Khartoum without -definite orders. Had he done so Ministers could have successfully -argued that having deserted his post without authority, they were -no longer responsible for him. This game was keenly played between -Gordon at Khartoum and Mr. Gladstone’s Cabinet in London, aided by the -Egyptian Government and its English advisers, Egerton and Baring, at -Cairo. But every point in it was won by Gordon, who in March warned -Egerton and Baring that they must decide quickly, for the sands were -running fast in the hour-glass. He also put in their hands a plan for -getting the Government out of the difficulty without sending a relief -expedition. He had not at that time so far committed the people at -Khartoum against the Mahdi that it would be dangerous to leave them -to make terms with the False Prophet. He had to prevent his armed -steamers from falling into the Mahdi’s hands, and Khartoum from being -utilised as a base of operations against Lower Egypt. He therefore told -the Government that if they held Berber, and accepted his proposal as -to Zebehr, it was worth while to keep him (Gordon) at Khartoum. But -if not, then he warned his masters that it was useless to hold on to -Khartoum, for, he wrote, “it is impossible for me to help the other -garrisons, and I shall only be sacrificing the whole of the troops and -_employés_ here. In the latter case your order to me had better be -to evacuate Khartoum.” On receipt of that order he proposed to send -his intrepid lieutenant, Colonel Stewart, and the fugitives who wished -to return to Egypt, down the Nile to Berber. He himself, and as many -of his black troops as would go with him, were then to take the armed -steamers, and the munitions of war from the arsenal of Khartoum, and -make their escape southwards up the White Nile. He guaranteed, in that -event, to hold the Bahr Gazelle country and Equatorial regions against -the slave-traders, and pin the Mahdi in Khartoum by organising a negro -State in his rear, which, like the Congo Free State, he suggested might -be put under Belgian protection. But he warned the Government that if -this plan were to be attempted he must get the order to quit Khartoum -at once, for in a few days the way of retreat to Berber would be -closed. The order never came. In fact, the only order he got from his -superiors at this time, was to hold on to Khartoum till further notice. -Had the instructions which he asked for been sent, there would have -been no Nile Expedition with its many disasters, including the fall of -Khartoum, and the massacre of its inhabitants.[218] - -The tardy resolution to send a Relief Expedition to Khartoum has -already been alluded to. On the 16th of December, 1884, Lord Wolseley -joined the camp which had been pitched at Korti by Brigadier-General -Sir Herbert Stewart, and received intelligence from Gordon, informing -him that four steamers with their guns were waiting for the expedition -at Metamneh, and that Khartoum could hold out with ease for forty -days after the date of the letter (November 4th). It was not till the -30th of December that Stewart was able to dash into the desert with -the Camel Corps to seize the wells of Gakdul. On the 31st a message -from Gordon, dated the 29th of October, arrived, showing that Khartoum -still held out, but that he was in dire straits, and, on the 1st of -January, 1885, the first boats with the Black Watch reached Korti. On -the 3rd General Earle left to join his force which was proceeding up -the river to Berber. On the 5th the Naval Brigade arrived, and Sir -Herbert Stewart returned from Gakdul. On the 8th he began his march -across the Bayuda Desert with a motley force of 120 officers and 1,900 -men. The Mahdi, on hearing of the occupation of Gakdul on the 2nd of -January, resolved to crush Stewart’s force at the end of its Desert -march, and Lord Wolseley’s eccentric tactics gave him thirteen clear -days in which to concentrate his forces at Abu Klea, where he barred -the way to Metamneh.[219] It was not till the 16th of January that -Stewart got touch of the enemy at Abu Klea. During the night our men -were harassed by the Arab sharp-shooters, and next day Stewart was -artfully drawn into a difficult position, and forced to march out in -square formation and give his antagonist battle. When our skirmishers -were within 200 yards of the enemy’s flags, the square was halted to -let its rear close up. Then, to the amazement of everybody, the Arabs -sprang forth from the ravine where they had been hiding, as Roderick -Dhu’s warriors rose from the heather. Stewart’s skirmishers ran back in -hot haste. The Arabs charged furiously, and, when slightly checked at a -distance of about 80 yards, they suddenly swept round to the right and -broke the rear face and angle of the British square. For a moment there -was dreadful confusion, and had the camels not checked the Arab onset -Stewart’s force would have been annihilated, like the army of Hicks -Pasha at El Obeid. However, the enemy were beaten back with great loss -of life, and the day was saved. It was in this affray that Colonel Fred -Burnaby lost his life. The square was broken first, because the Gardner -gun at the corner jammed, and was useless after the tenth round; -secondly, because General Stewart foolishly trusted cavalry men and -seamen to hold the exposed angles;[220] thirdly, because the cartridges -of some of the rifles jammed, and shook the soldier’s confidence in his -weapon. - -Stewart’s losses, especially in camels, were so heavy that his first -idea was to halt at Abu Klea for reinforcements. But he decided to push -on, even at the risk of leaving his wounded behind him. The wells of -Abu Klea were occupied, and it was then ascertained that the 10,000 -Arabs who had been defeated, were but the advanced guard of a great -army near Metamneh. Papers were discovered, among which was a letter -from the Emir of Berber to the Mahdi, showing that Stewart’s occupation -of Gakdul had caused the concentration of the Arabs in force at Abu -Klea. The expedition was thus at the outset marred by a fatal blunder -in generalship. If Stewart had gone straight across the Bayuda Desert, -without wasting time at Gakdul, he would have had no enemy barring his -path to Metamneh. By letting the Mahdi’s troops concentrate at Abu -Klea, he met with the check that delayed his progress till it was too -late to save Khartoum.[221] - -On the 18th of January Stewart made a forced night march towards the -Nile, which he hoped to strike three miles above Metamneh. His column -got into terrible disorder in the dark, for men and cattle were utterly -exhausted from hunger and want of sleep. At 7 a.m. it came within -sight of Metamneh--men and horses and camels being scarcely able to -walk. It was resolved to rest for breakfast before attacking the town, -but the Arabs closed round Stewart’s zareba, and poured in a dropping -fire, which did serious execution. At 10.15 a.m. Stewart himself was -shot, and the command was assumed by Sir Charles Wilson, Chief of the -Intelligence Department, who happened to be the senior colonel on the -field. Sir Charles Wilson, though an officer in the Royal Engineers, -was really a scholar and diplomatist who had spent most of his life -in civil employment. Still, he did not shrink from the task which -an unforeseen accident imposed on him. He undertook the strategic -direction of the column, but prudently handed over the tactical control -to Colonel Boscawen of the Guards. Having fortified the zareba, Wilson -quickly formed his main body into a square, and determined to make -a dash for the Nile. Had he not ventured on this perilous step, the -whole column must have perished from thirst. Every inch of the way had -to be contested, but happily Wilson’s frigid temperament seemed to -have in some degree communicated itself to his men. Hence, the same -troops who at Abu Klea under Stewart’s showy but exciting leadership -got out of hand and fired wildly, were soon calm and steady, and held -in complete check by their officers. They had not proceeded far when -swarms of Arabs, as at Abu Klea, charged down upon the square from a -ridge at a place known as Abu Kru. At first Wilson’s troops began to -fire at random as at Abu Klea, and no shot told. Then he ordered the -bugles to sound “Cease firing,” and the officers coolly kept the men -at rest for five minutes, which steadied their nerves. By this time -the enemy had come within 300 yards of the square, from which volley -after volley was now suddenly poured forth, and with such deliberation -that the Arab spearmen turned and fled, not one of them getting within -fifty yards of Wilson’s position. This is the only instance where -British troops in the Soudan won a complete victory without being -themselves touched by sword or spear. The square now hastened on to -the river, and camped for the night. Next day (20th) they carried -water to their wounded comrades in the zareba. They then conveyed them -down to the camp by the Nile,[222] where they found some of Gordon’s -steamers waiting for them. Wilson’s force was now in a sorry plight, -and before he took command discontent was smouldering in its ranks. It -had been kept toiling and fighting for four days with little food and -less sleep. It had lost in killed and wounded one-tenth of its number. -And now with its General disabled, it found itself encumbered by a -heavy train of wounded, without means of communication with its base, -menaced by a formidable fortress, and assured that two great armies -were closing on it from Berber and Khartoum. Little wonder that the -soldiers murmured sulkily that they had been led into a trap. Wilson’s -orders were, that on arriving at the river he must proceed to Khartoum -with a small detachment, the mere exhibition of whose red coats Lord -Wolseley imagined would cause the Mahdi to raise the siege. But Wilson -was not to let his men even sleep in Khartoum, and he was only to -stay there long enough to confer with Gordon! In plain English, Lord -Wolseley ordered him to march twenty or thirty men into Khartoum and -come away again, after telling Gordon, who was every day awaiting his -doom, that he must expect no effective succour till far on in March. -Wilson, however, resolved, like a loyal commander, not to desert his -comrades until he had seen them safely entrenched--and till he had, by -reconnoitring, allayed their dread of an attack from Berber. The Naval -Brigade was so disabled that he was forced to use Gordon’s crews for -the steamers, and, in obedience to Gordon’s instructions, he had to -weed out of these crews all untrustworthy Egyptians. He had also to -reconnoitre the fortress of Metamneh. - -This work kept Wilson busy till the 24th of January, when he proceeded -up the Nile, arriving on the 28th of January within a mile and a half -of Khartoum. He found that the city had fallen on the 26th, when the -Buri gate had been opened by treachery to the Mahdi’s troops, who -had rushed in and made the streets of the doomed town run red with -blood. Gordon it seems was killed, on refusing to surrender, by a -small party of Baggarahs, who met him coming out of his palace. While -reconnoitring Khartoum, Wilson’s two steamers were so hotly engaged -with the enemy’s batteries that he was forced to turn back.[223] On the -return voyage he adroitly foiled the plans of some of his followers who -attempted to betray him to the Mahdi, but unfortunately his steamers -were wrecked, it is supposed, by the treachery of his pilots. He -was, however, rescued by Lord Charles Beresford in one of the armed -vessels from Gubat, to which Wilson brought back his party without loss -of life.[224] Wilson found his force in safety, but sadly depressed -because they had heard nothing from headquarters. He immediately -proceeded thither in terms of his instructions, to report the fall of -Khartoum to Lord Wolseley, and urge him to relieve Gubat without delay. - -[Illustration: MAP OF THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN.] - -Little need be said of the fall of Khartoum--the crowning disaster -of the campaign. Gordon’s Journals show how, alone and unaided, in -defending the city, during a siege that lasted 319 days, he kept at bay -the swarming hordes of the Mahdi. The romantic record of his life amply -illustrates his higher qualities--the chivalry and loyalty; the sweet, -gentle manners, the kindliness of heart, the stainless honour, the -infinite self-abnegation, the patient endurance, the stubborn valour, -the natural and acquired military skill that made him - - “A soldier fit to stand by Cæsar - And give direction.” - -His Khartoum “Journals” show more than that. They prove that from first -to last through the long series of transactions that led up to the fall -of the city, Gordon was the only man who kept his head cool, who acted -from firm set purpose, who was not afraid to look on the facts with -naked eyes, whose inexhaustible ingenuity in dealing practically with -every fresh difficulty as it arose never failed him or his masters, -and whose shrewd and sagacious prevision was never once ignored, save -at the cost of cruel suffering to those who refused his guidance.[225] -Valour and virtue such as his can indeed “outbuild the Pyramids.” Of -the millions of English men and English women, who mourned over the -heroic defender of Khartoum, none grieved more bitterly for his loss -than the Queen. To his sister she wrote as follows:-- - - -“Osborne, 17th February, 1885. - -“DEAR MISS GORDON,--_How_ shall I write to you, or how shall I attempt -to express _what I feel_! To _think_ of your dear, noble, heroic -Brother, who served his country and his Queen so truly, so heroically, -with a self-sacrifice so edifying to the world, not having been -rescued. That the promises of support were not fulfilled--which I so -frequently and constantly pressed on those who asked him to go--is to -me _grief inexpressible_!--indeed, it has made me ill! My heart bleeds -for you, his Sister, who have gone through so many anxieties on his -account, and who loved the dear Brother as he deserved to be. You are -all so good and trustful, and have such strong faith, that you will be -sustained even now, when real absolute evidence of your dear Brother’s -death does not exist--but I fear there cannot be much doubt of it. -Some day I hope to see you again to tell you all I cannot express. My -daughter Beatrice, who has felt quite as I do, wishes me to express her -deepest sympathy with you. I hear so many expressions of sorrow and -sympathy from _abroad_; from my eldest daughter, the Crown Princess, -and from my Cousin, the King of the Belgians, the very warmest. Would -you express to your other Sisters and your elder Brother my true -sympathy, and what I do so keenly feel--the _stain_ left upon England -for your dear Brother’s cruel, though heroic, fate!--Ever, dear Miss -Gordon, yours sincerely and sympathisingly, - -“V.R.I.”[226] - - -After Gordon’s death public interest in the “sad Soudan” slowly faded. -The River Column under General Earle’s skilful guidance had won a -brilliant little victory at Kirbekan, where, however, its gallant -leader lost his life. He was succeeded by General Brackenbury, who -ascended the river steadily to Abu Hamed. Suddenly, however, Lord -Wolseley ordered both columns to retreat on Korti, and hold Dongola -till his autumn campaign of vengeance against the Mahdi could be -undertaken. Meanwhile, General Graham, with 9,000 men, and an Indian -and Australian Contingent,[227] was to drive back Osman Digna at -Suakin, and lay a railway from that port to Berber. Graham defeated -the Arabs in several engagements, though in one of them the skill with -which the Arabs surprised a zareba almost reproduced the disaster of -Isandhlwana. But the dispute with Russia afforded a plausible excuse -for freeing England from the incubus of the Soudan, and in April Lord -Wolseley evacuated Dongola and fell back on the line of Wady Halfa. -The Suakin railway was abandoned, and when Lord Salisbury’s Government -took office they, too, adhered to the policy of evacuation. The Mahdi -died. Osman Digna became entangled in hostilities with the Abyssinian -Ras Alula, who attempted to raise the siege of Kassala, and for a time -it seemed as if all fears of disturbances on the Egyptian frontier were -dispelled. Towards the end of the year, however, the Arabs attacked an -advanced post beyond Assouan, where they were skilfully repulsed by -General Stephenson at the battle of Kosheh. - -Turning to the social events of 1885, the most remarkable was the -sudden announcement on New Year’s Day of the betrothal of the -Princess Beatrice to Prince Henry of Battenberg, the younger brother -of Prince Louis, the husband of the Princess’s niece--Victoria of -Hesse. For fourteen years the Princess Beatrice had been the close -companion of the Queen, and their lives had in time become so closely -intertwined that a separation could hardly be contemplated by either -with equanimity. It was therefore quite natural that Prince Henry of -Battenberg, whose fortune was hardly adequate to the maintenance of a -separate establishment, should permit intimation to be made that he was -to live with the Princess in attendance on the Queen. The announcement -of the marriage was as surprising to the Royal Family as it was to the -people. In the country the old prejudice against the marriage of a -Princess who claimed a dowry from the State, with a person outside the -Royal caste speedily manifested itself. Indeed, the feeling against -the arrangement was even stronger than that which prevailed when the -Princess Louise married the Marquis of Lorne. After all, the latter was -the son of a great noble on whose birth no stain of ambiguity rested. -Prince Henry of Battenberg, on the other hand, was the offspring of -a “morganatic” marriage between Prince Alexander of Hesse and the -Countess Hauke, the granddaughter of a Polish Jew, who had entered the -service of the Hessian Court in a very subordinate capacity. It was -difficult to get the populace to understand that a morganatic marriage -was in a certain sense a legal union--not void, though possibly under -pressure of State exigencies voidable by the Royal husband--that in -fact there was nothing disreputable in such an alliance, save in the -sense in which it is considered a social offence for a great noble -to marry his mother’s scullery-maid. The hostility of the German -Crown Princess and the Court of Berlin to the connection did much to -create an erroneous impression in England as to the status of Prince -Henry. The Prince’s lack of fortune did not redeem his lack of social -position--and it was most unfortunate that his nearest connection with -Royalty was through his cousin the Grand Duke of Hesse. For the divorce -suit raised by the Grand Duke against the Countess de Kalomine, a lady -whom he had “morganatically” married in secret on the very night when -his daughter, the Princess Victoria, was wedded to Prince Louis of -Battenberg, had rendered his family extremely unpopular in England. - -That some friction had been created in the Royal Family by the -unexpected introduction of Prince Henry to its circle was soon made -manifest. When Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the Heir-Presumptive -to the Throne, came of age on the 8th of January, neither the Queen, -nor the Princess Beatrice, nor Prince Henry of Battenberg--then -at Osborne--graced with their presence the joyous celebrations at -Sandringham, which were attended by all the other members of the Royal -Family. It was also remarked that Prince Henry left England without -receiving the congratulations of the Prince of Wales on his betrothal. -At a Privy Council, which the Queen held at Osborne on the 26th of -January, her Majesty’s formal consent to her daughter’s marriage was -given. - -Preparations had been made early in March for the Queen’s Easter visit -to Darmstadt, but owing to the death of Princess Charles of Hesse, -mother of the Grand Duke, her Majesty’s arrangements were altered, -and it was decided that she should visit Aix-les-Bains first and take -Darmstadt on the return journey. Her Majesty left Windsor on the last -day of March for the Villa Mottet, a charming residence in the grounds -of the Hôtel de l’Europe, Aix-les-Bains, while the Prince and Princess -of Wales spent their Easter in paying a State visit to Ireland. The -Queen’s holiday was sadly broken by the diplomatic controversy with -Russia as to the Afghan frontier. Piles of despatch-boxes were given -to her when she started, and as many as fifty telegraphic messages -a day in cipher were sent to her and answered. Before proceeding -to Darmstadt, her Majesty, who had been using her influence with -the German Court in order to induce Russia to accept an honourable -compromise, offered to return to Windsor if Ministers desired her -presence. Mr. Gladstone was not of opinion that this sacrifice was -necessary, and on the 23rd of April she accordingly proceeded to -Darmstadt, where she again occupied the new Palace on the Platz which -had been built for the Princess Alice. At this time her Majesty was -much grieved at the reckless and bellicose tone of London Society. -She was so anxious to counteract it that the Prince of Wales, knowing -her feeling on the subject, was supposed to have dropped some hints -at Marlborough House which suddenly imparted quite a pacific tone to -the fire-eaters of Piccadilly. Couriers passed so frequently between -the Queen and the German Emperor, who with the Crown Prince gave her -Majesty much sympathetic aid and counsel throughout the crisis, that -the German Press were alarmed lest the Emperor was about to intervene -as a mediator between Russia and England. A war between the two nations -would have been extremely inconvenient to the Royal Family--in fact, -it had been arranged in anticipation of such a calamity that the Duke -and Duchess of Edinburgh must break up their establishment in England, -and retire to Coburg. Another circumstance forced a pacific policy on -the Court. The Duke of Edinburgh had not concealed from the Sovereign -the fact that the Fleet was effective solely on paper. Indeed, had -Admiral Hoskins, who was ordered to hold himself in readiness to -proceed with his squadron to the Baltic, attempted to carry out his -instructions, he would have found himself paralysed, simply because he -had neither efficient guns nor transport. On the 2nd of May the Queen, -returned to Windsor, where she held an anxious consultation with Lord -Granville next day. On the 12th of May her Majesty held a Drawing Room -at Buckingham Palace, but as on previous occasions, she stayed only -a short time, leaving the Princess of Wales as usual to complete the -function. - -On the 14th of May, Mr. Gladstone carried a resolution in the House -of Commons that an annuity of £6,000 a year should be granted to the -Princess Beatrice on her marriage; and, by way of conciliating the -House, promised that in the next Parliament a Committee would be -appointed to consider the plan on which what he called “secondary -provisions” for the younger members of the Royal Family, should be -made.[228] The proposed annuity was opposed on the old ground that the -Queen was rich enough to support her own family, and Mr. Labouchere -argued that as she never had a right to the hereditary revenues of the -Crown, the plea that she had given up her income for a Civil List was -invalid. But it is certain that in the Royal Speech, at the opening -of Parliament in 1837 the Queen said, “I place unreservedly at your -disposal those hereditary revenues which were transferred to the public -by my immediate predecessor,” and in the Address the Queen was then not -only thanked for her generosity, but promised an adequate Civil List in -return. It was also forgotten that at least four impecunious princely -families--those of the Duke of Albany, Prince Louis, Prince Henry of -Battenberg, and Prince Christian--must be a charge on the private -income of the Queen.[229] - -On the 22nd of May the Court went to Balmoral. The Russian dispute was -now compromised, so that the Queen was able to thoroughly enjoy her -Highland visit. She spent much of her time in the cottages and homes -of the peasantry, to whom she was unusually lavish this year with -gifts commemorating her birthday. When she arrived she found that the -celebrated cradle and rope bridge over the Dee at Abergeldie--which -most of the Royal personages in Europe had used at different times--was -removed, and replaced by a substantial footbridge which had been -put up at her expense. But the fall of Mr. Gladstone’s Government -shortened the Queen’s sojourn in Scotland, and she had to return to -Windsor on the 17th of June. Complaints were made that she was absent -in Aberdeenshire when the Ministerial crisis occurred. But the crisis -was unexpected, and since the Prince Consort’s death the Queen has -always preferred Balmoral to Windsor during Ascot Race week. The death -of Prince Frederick Charles (the “Red Prince”) of Prussia, at the -comparatively early age of fifty-seven, deprived Germany of one of her -ablest military tacticians, and sent the English Court into mourning. -He was the father of the Duchess of Connaught, to whom he bequeathed a -large part of his vast wealth. By a strange blunder which gave infinite -annoyance to the Queen, not only did the Prince of Wales appear at -Ascot after the event, but her Majesty’s order that Court mourning -should begin on the 16th was not officially proclaimed till the 18th. -The Royal procession at Ascot on the afternoon of the “Red Prince’s” -death, caused much irritation at the Court of Berlin. - -[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS BEATRICE.] - -On the 9th the Court removed to Osborne--the Queen being desirous of -personally supervising the arrangements for the Princess Beatrice’s -marriage, which was to take place in Whippingham Parish Church. As -there was no precedent for a Royal marriage in a country parish church, -Sir Henry Ponsonby and the Court officials had considerable trouble -in ordering the ceremony. They were further perplexed by the various -instructions which day after day came from the Queen and the Princess. -On the 23rd of July the marriage was solemnised by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, the Bishop of Winchester, the Dean of Windsor, and Canon -Prothero, Vicar of Whippingham. The ceremony was one of demi-state -only; and, although the wedding procession was very pretty, especially -when seen in the golden light of a July day, it was not brilliant. -The nieces of the Princess Beatrice were her bridesmaids, and most of -her near relations were present. The family of Hesse-Darmstadt was -well represented; and, with the exception of Mr. Gladstone, most of -the leading personages in English Society were present. Yet somehow -the ceremony seemed to lack the courtly importance and dignity of -other Royal marriages, and the absence of the German Crown Prince -and Princess, who were not even represented by any of their family, -was only too noticeable. The German Emperor, who had been deeply -incensed by the de Kalomine scandal, had not yet been persuaded to -look kindly on the Court of Darmstadt; but the German Empress, on the -other hand, testified her interest in the bride by sending Princess -Beatrice a Dresden china clock and bracket as a wedding gift. After the -marriage the Queen conferred the Order of the Garter on Prince Henry -of Battenberg--adding one more to the already crowded companionship -of Royal Knights. This distinction had never before been given to a -foreign personage not a monarch _de facto_, or born in the Royal caste, -and there can be no doubt that the other Royal Knights of the family -would have considered the Order of the Bath a more suitable distinction -for Prince Henry.[230] It was also intimated in the _Gazette_ (July -24th, 1885) that Prince Henry would forthwith assume the title of Royal -Highness--a rank, however, which could not be conceded to him outside -of English territory.[231] - -It is remarkable that no family objections were raised to the -recognition of Lady Augusta Lennox, who had long been married to Prince -Edward of Saxe-Weimar, as the Princess Edward. Till 1885 she had only -been received in Court as the Countess Dornburg, a title which had been -“created” for her on her marriage, in spite of her high social position -as daughter of the Duke of Richmond, to satisfy the exigencies of -German etiquette. - -After the close of the Parliamentary Session, the Court went from -Osborne to Balmoral (August 25th), where the Princess Beatrice and -her husband received a warm Highland reception. Life at Balmoral -was somewhat dull, but in her walks and drives the Queen was now -accompanied by Prince Henry of Battenberg as well as the Princess -Beatrice. When not in attendance on the Queen, the Prince occasionally -found amusement in deerstalking in the Balloch Pine and Abergeldie -grounds. Her Majesty remained at Balmoral till the 18th of November, -when she returned to Windsor to hold a Council, at which she sanctioned -the dissolution of Parliament. On the 9th of December, accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg, the Queen -presented medals for service in the Soudan to a number of Guardsmen at -Windsor. On the 18th of December she left Windsor for Osborne. It was -now plainly intimated to her Majesty that the royal rank and precedence -conferred on Prince Henry of Battenberg would not be recognised at -Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg, the Courts at which capitals -insisted on treating the marriage of the Princess Beatrice as a purely -“morganatic” one. The difficulties which arose out of this incident -were further aggravated when the Queen permitted the Count and Countess -Gleichen to assume the rank and title of Prince and Princess Victor of -Hohenlohe-Langenberg.[232] - -In the spring of 1885 a rebellion of French half-breeds in the Canadian -North-West, led by Riel, one of the pardoned insurgents who had been -engaged in the Red River rising, was suppressed with great skill and -ability by the Canadian Militia, under General Sir Frederick Middleton. -Riel was tried and hanged for treason. - -The misrule of Theebaw, the half-crazy King of Burmah, together -with his intrigues with the French--then busy with the conquest of -Tonquin--led to disputes between the Indian and Burmese Governments. -The result was a war which ended in the deposition of King Theebaw and -the annexation of Upper Burmah to the Indian Empire. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -THE BATTLE OF THE UNION. - - Mr. Chamberlain’s Doctrine of “Ransom”--The Midlothian - Programme--Lord Randolph Churchill’s Appeal to the Whigs--Bidding - for the Parnellite Vote--Resignation of Lord Carnarvon--The General - Election--“Three Acres and a Cow”--Defeat of Lord Salisbury--The - Liberal Cabinet--Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule Scheme--Ulster threatens - Civil War--Secession of the Liberal “Unionists”--Defeat of Mr. - Gladstone--Lord Salisbury again in Office--Mr. Parnell’s Relief - Bill Rejected--The “Plan of Campaign”--Resignation of Lord Randolph - Churchill--Mr. Goschen becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer--Riots - in the West End of London--The Indian and Colonial Exhibition--The - Imperial Institute--The Queen’s Visit to Liverpool--The Holloway - College for Women--A Busy Season for her Majesty--The International - Exhibition at Edinburgh--The Prince and Princess Komatsu of Japan. - - -The closing months of 1885 were devoted to preparations for the -General Election. Mr. Chamberlain’s speeches developed his doctrine -of “ransom” with a vigour of language and directness of purpose that -terrified the Whigs. At Bradford he demanded Disestablishment, and thus -concentrated the malice of the Church on the whole Liberal Party. Mr. -Gladstone issued a moderate manifesto to his constituents, known as -the “Midlothian Programme,” in which he attempted to neutralise Mr. -Chamberlain’s “unauthorised programme.” The reform of Parliamentary -procedure, and Local Government, the reform of the Registration -Laws, and of land transfer were the famous “four points” on which he -dwelt. As for Mr. Chamberlain’s suggestions for disestablishment, for -education, graduated Income Tax, and the abolition of the House of -Lords, he put them aside, refusing to peer “into the dim and distant -courses of the future.” The Tory leaders professed themselves equally -willing to reform Procedure, the Land Laws, and Local Government, -and attacked the Whigs for their alliance with the Birmingham School -of Radicals. Lord Randolph Churchill, in fact, appealed to the Whigs -to coalesce with the Tories in resisting what Lord Hartington called -“measures of a Socialistic tendency.” Both parties in the State made -high bids for the Irish Vote. Mr. Chamberlain offered to Mr. Parnell -a scheme of Home Rule, under which Ireland would be governed by Four -Provincial Parliaments--in fact, he furbished up an old idea which the -venerable Earl Russell had shed from his mind when it was in the last -stage of decay. The Tories, through Lord Carnarvon, offered Mr. Parnell -some form of Home Rule under which Ireland was to have a Legislature -of her own with the right to levy Protective Duties on imported -goods.[233] Though Lord - -[Illustration: OPENING OF PARLIAMENT IN 1880: THE ROYAL PROCESSION IN -WESTMINSTER PALACE ON THE WAY, TO THE HOUSE OF PEERS.] - -Salisbury’s Newport address was ambiguous in its references to Home -Rule, it rather gave colour to the prevalent belief that if the Tories -could win a majority by the Irish vote, they would hold power by giving -Ireland Home Rule. At the same time, it is but right to say that Lord -Salisbury and his colleagues never appear to have committed the Cabinet -to Lord Carnarvon’s bargain with Mr. Parnell. Indeed, they even seem -to have told Lord Carnarvon that, personally, they disapproved of his -Irish policy. They, however, still retained his services as a Cabinet -Minister, though Lord Salisbury had discovered that he was a Home Ruler. - -Mr. Parnell issued a manifesto fiercely attacking the Liberal Party, -and ordering all Irishmen to give their votes to the Government. The -Liberals, on the other hand, appealed to the people for such a majority -as would enable Mr. Gladstone to defy Mr. Parnell. The elections began -on the 24th of November. They showed that in the boroughs the Liberal -Party was shattered, though it had, through Mr. Chamberlain’s doctrine -of ransom, won in the counties all along the line.[234] The new House -of Commons it was found would contain 333 Liberals, 251 Tories, and 86 -Parnellites, not one Liberal having been returned by Ireland. In the -circumstances it was hopeless for the Ministry to attempt a settlement -of the Irish Question on Lord Carnarvon’s lines.[235] They had, even -with the Irish vote, only a majority of four. But then, if they dared -to make concessions to Mr. Parnell, this majority of four would -inevitably be converted, by the secession of the Ulster Tories, into a -minority of eight. The Liberal Leaders, on the other hand, were in an -equally difficult predicament. They, too, could not hope to govern the -country save by the Irish vote. It was quite possible, moreover, for -the Government, by conceding Home Rule, to detach from the Liberals a -sufficient number of Radicals to more than counterbalance the Ulster -secession. In these circumstances Mr. Gladstone towards the end of the -year let it be known indirectly that he was in favour of giving Ireland -Home Rule. - -Ere Parliament opened on the 12th of January, 1886, the resignation of -Lord Carnarvon indicated that Ministers had dissolved the connection -between the Tory Party and the Parnellites. The House of Commons -elected Mr. Peel as its Speaker, and when Mr. Bradlaugh appeared he -took the Oath in the ordinary manner. The Queen’s Speech was read on -the 21st of January by her Majesty in person, but its references to -Ireland were vague, though they foreshadowed the introduction of a -Coercion Bill. In the preliminary skirmishes Mr. Gladstone threw out -overtures to the Irish Party which Mr. Parnell and Mr. Sexton hailed -with effusive delight. The Government, on the other hand, announced -the introduction of a Coercion Bill, which would also suppress the -National League. The Liberals and Parnellites now promptly united to -support an Amendment moved by Mr. Jesse Collings, which censured the -Ministry for refusing to bring in a Labourers’ Allotments Bill, and -the Coalition defeated the Government by a vote of 329 to 258. The -opposition of Lord Hartington and Mr. Goschen to the Amendment showed -that the Whigs at least were afraid of Mr. Gladstone’s return to -office, after his vague and ambiguous promises of concessions to the -Home Rulers. Lord Salisbury resigned, and when Mr. Gladstone formed -his Ministry it was seen that many of his old colleagues, such as Lord -Hartington, Mr. Goschen, Mr. Forster, Lord Selborne, Lord Northbrook, -the Duke of Argyll, Lord Cowper, and Sir Henry James, had refused to -join him. The appointment of Lord Aberdeen as Irish Viceroy was not -very significant. But that Mr. John Morley, the most pronounced of -all the English advocates of Home Rule, should have been appointed as -Chief Secretary for Ireland meant much. Lord Rosebery was made Foreign -Secretary, and Mr. Campbell-Bannerman Secretary at War. Both were known -to be Home Rulers. Lord Spencer, disgusted at his betrayal by the Tory -Party, had also become a convert to Home Rule principles, and was -appointed President of the Council. Oddly enough Mr. Chamberlain and -Mr. Trevelyan, who were both pledged against Home Rule, had joined the -Ministry. But they had been induced to do so on the assurance that, in -the meantime, the policy of the Cabinet would be merely to examine and -inquire into the Home Rule question. - -During the spring nothing was done in the matter. The House of Commons -refused to press Ministers upon their Irish policy, evidently deeming -it reasonable that Mr. Gladstone should have time to work it out. Lord -Hartington and the Whigs, however, adopted an attitude of independence -which showed that Mr. Gladstone had failed to heal the divisions in the -Liberal Party. Hence, when it was announced that Mr. Chamberlain and -Mr. Trevelyan, on being informed of Mr. Gladstone’s proposals for the -reform of the Irish Government, had resigned office, it was evident -that the fate of the Ministry was sealed. - -On the 8th of April Mr. Gladstone expounded the scheme, which set up in -Ireland an Executive Government, responsible to an Irish Legislature, -capable of dealing with all matters save the Crown, the Army and Navy, -Foreign and Colonial Policy, Trade, Navigation, Currency, Imperial -taxation, and the endowment of churches. The Lord-Lieutenant, on -the advice of his Ministers, was to have a power of veto. The Irish -Legislative Body was to consist of two Orders, voting apart, the first -to comprise representative peers and members elected under a £25 -property qualification, and the second members chosen by household -suffrage. In the event of collision between the two Orders, the measure -in dispute was to be held in suspense for three years, or until a -dissolution. The Irish contribution to the Imperial Revenue was fixed -at £3,242,000. On the 13th of April Mr. Gladstone introduced a Land -Bill as a complementary measure to his Home Rule Bill. He proposed -to give every Irish landlord the option of selling his land to an -authority appointed by the Irish Government, who would sell it to -the tenants, the purchase-money being advanced through the Imperial -Exchequer by an issue of Consols. These advances the tenant was to -repay in instalments spread over forty-nine years, and twenty years’ -purchase was taken as the basis of the price. The amount to be advanced -at first under the Bill was to be £50,000,000, but in the original -draft it was nearly £300,000,000. The repayments were to be secured on -the Irish Revenue, and paid to a British Receiver-General in Ireland. -The opponents of the whole scheme contended that it gave no effective -guarantee for Imperial unity, that it put the loyal minority entirely -in the power of the disloyal majority in Ireland, that it multiplied -the risks of collision between Ireland and the Imperial Government, -that, in point of fact, it was virtually a Bill to repeal the Union. -Mr. Gladstone’s chief argument in favour of the scheme was that the -English democracy could no longer be trusted to hold Ireland down by -repressive legislation, and that Home Rule was the only alternative to -Coercion. Moreover, as Coercion bred Irish disloyalty, it weakened the -Imperial power of England in the world. Though the Orangemen of Ulster -plainly declared that they would plunge into civil war rather than -submit to a Home Rule Government in Ireland, Mr. Parnell accepted the -Bill in principle as an adequate concession of the Nationalist claims. - -The weak points in the scheme were soon detected. One of these was -the exclusion of the Irish Members from the House of Commons--the -only proposal of Mr. Gladstone’s which had been hailed with applause -from both sides of the House when he expounded his Bill. The absence -of the Irish Members from the House of Commons was taken as a visible -sign, not only that the Parliamentary Union between Ireland and the -United Kingdom was dissolved, but that the control and authority of -the Imperial Parliament over Ireland was impaired. The Purchase scheme -alarmed the taxpayers, who objected to pledge the credit of England in -order to buy the Irish landlords out of Ireland. It is now known that, -if Mr. Gladstone had made concessions by promising to reconsider the -question of retaining the Irish Members at Westminster, and to remodel -the Bill accordingly, the Second Reading would have been carried. A -meeting of Liberals was indeed held at the Foreign Office to hear what -concessions Mr. Gladstone would make. Subsequently, in explaining his -speech at this meeting to the House of Commons, his phraseology seemed -to the wavering Liberals so illusory that they refused to support -him. Lord Hartington and Mr. Chamberlain accordingly organised their -followers (about fifty in number) into a separate Parliamentary party, -describing themselves as Liberal Unionists, and at their first meeting -a letter was read from Mr. Bright casting in his lot with theirs. They -bound themselves to vote against the Second Reading of Mr. Gladstone’s -Bills. - -[Illustration: LORD TENNYSON. - -(_From a Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron, Mortimer Street, W._)] - -On the 7th of June the Home Rule Bill was rejected by a majority of -341 against 311. Mr. Gladstone obtained from the Queen permission -to dissolve Parliament and appeal to the country. The Ministerial -candidates, at the General Election which followed, relied mainly upon -the contention that Home Rule was the only alternative to Coercion, and -the Tories and Liberal Unionists, on the other hand, pledged themselves -to govern Ireland without Coercion, and still retain the Parliamentary -Union unbroken. The Liberal Unionists and the Tories formed an alliance -for electoral purposes similar to that which Lord Malmesbury, in 1857, -had vainly attempted to cement between the Peelites and the Derbyites. -The Irish vote failed to balance the votes of the Liberal Unionists, -and when the new House of Commons was elected it was found to consist -of 316 Tories, 76 Liberal Unionists, 192 Liberal Home Rulers, and -86 Parnellites. Mr. Gladstone resigned, and Lord Salisbury formed a -Ministry, having unsuccessfully endeavoured to persuade Lord Hartington -and the Liberal Unionist leaders to join a Coalition Cabinet. The -services rendered by Lord Randolph Churchill in rousing the fanaticism -of Ulster were rewarded with the Chancellorship of the Exchequer and -the leadership of the House of Commons. Lord Iddesleigh became Foreign -Secretary; Mr. Matthews, Q.C., who had carried one of the seats in -Birmingham, became Home Secretary; Sir M. Hicks-Beach was deposed -from the leadership of the Commons, and relegated to his old post of -Chief Secretary for Ireland. As soon as Lord Salisbury assumed office -he found that a fresh agrarian crisis was menacing Ireland. The Irish -farmers were demanding a revision even of the fixed judicial rents -in terms of the recent fall in prices. There seemed no end to the -difficulty, and, in a pessimist mood, Lord Salisbury, at the opening of -the Session, declared that he was now in favour of getting rid of the -dual-ownership of land in Ireland. In fact, he accepted the principle -of a great Land-Purchase scheme, but he also broached the theory that, -if judicial rents were cut down, the State should recoup the landlords -for their losses. - -After the debates on the Address were over Mr. Parnell brought in a -Relief Bill, allowing tenants who deposited half their rent in Court -to claim from the Court a revision of their rents. The Bill was -rejected by the combined vote of the Tories and Liberal Unionists. -Mr. Dillon now advised the Irish tenants to refuse to pay more rent -than they could afford. His suggestion was that they should combine on -each estate, offer the landlord a fair rent, and if this was refused, -deposit it in the hands of trustees, and use it to resist eviction. -This was known as “The Plan of Campaign” against rack-renters, and it -was widely adopted all over Ireland. Sir M. Hicks-Beach and Sir Redvers -Buller, who had been sent to organise the police in Kerry, apparently -discovered that there was much truth in Mr. Parnell’s contention, -that the fall in prices had made judicial rents impossible. The Irish -Government, at all events, now put pressure on rack-renting landlords, -in order to prevent them from demanding full rents and from evicting -if they were not paid. But Ministers declined to legislate for Ireland -till the following Session, though they appointed Commissions to amass -materials for legislation. Parliament was prorogued on the 25th of -September. - -During the autumn the schism between the Liberal Unionists and the -Liberals widened. At Leeds the Liberals pledged themselves anew to -adhere to Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule policy. On the 7th of December Lord -Hartington’s followers held a Conference in London, at which further -arrangements were made for completing their organisation as a distinct -Party pledged to maintain the Union. As the year closed various rumours -of dissensions in the Cabinet were promulgated. There had been a good -deal of agitation against the wasteful extravagance and inefficiency of -the spending departments of the State, and Lord Randolph Churchill was -called on by public opinion to redeem the pledges in favour of economy -which he gave at Blackpool on the 24th of January, 1884. In attempting -to do this he found himself thwarted by his colleagues, and, to the -astonishment of his Party, he resigned office. He was succeeded by Mr. -Goschen, who entered the Cabinet, with Lord Hartington’s sanction, as -a Liberal Unionist, thereby illustrating afresh the closeness of the -coalition between the Dissentient Liberals and the Tories. - -During the year there was some agitation raised as to the sad condition -of the unemployed in London. The Tories had taken advantage of this to -revive the Protectionist Movement under pretence of advocating Fair -Trade at meetings held in Trafalgar Square. On the 8th of February, -however, the Socialists followed suit, and organised a demonstration -in favour of their panacea for poverty. The police arrangements were -somewhat defective. A crowd of roughs and thieves who hovered round the -fringe of the mob evaded the constabulary, rushed along Pall Mall and -Piccadilly smashing the windows of the clubs and sacking the principal -jewellers’ shops. The agitation proceeded, and a counter demonstration -to the Lord Mayor’s Show on the 9th of November was even planned. It -was, however, prohibited by the police. - -As the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee was now within measurable -distance, already there were great manifestations of popular feeling in -favour of Imperial Unity. In this year the Imperial Federation League -was founded for the purpose of drawing closer the bonds between the -Colonies and the Mother Country. The Indian and Colonial Exhibition at -South Kensington was organised by the Prince of Wales on a scale of -sumptuous splendour which attracted visitors to London from all parts -of the globe. It was opened with great pomp and ceremony by the Queen -in person on the 4th of May, in the presence of the more prominent -members of the Royal Family, the great dignitaries in Church and State, -and the representatives of India and the Colonies. This amazing display -of the vast resources of the Empire soon degenerated into an evening -lounge. But it brought together a vast number of able men from every -quarter of the world interested in the problem of Imperial Federation, -and the Prince of Wales dexterously seized the opportunity thus -created for him to establish a centre and rallying-point for British -Imperialism. He started the movement that ended in the foundation of -the Imperial Institute. The Queen visited the Exhibition several times, -paying special attention to the Indian Court, and conversing graciously -with the Indian workmen. - -On the 11th of May her Majesty visited Liverpool to open the -International Exhibition in that city. On the 13th she visited the -Seamen’s Orphanage, and afterwards sailed down the Mersey, contrasting -the scene with that on which she gazed when, in 1851, she made a -similar excursion with the Prince Consort. Then the Queen was the -guest of Lord Sefton; on this occasion she was the guest of the city -of Liverpool, the Municipality having fitted up Newsham House for her -accommodation. On the 15th she returned to Windsor, the effect of her -visit having been to vastly increase her popularity in the North of -England. On the 26th of May the Court proceeded to Balmoral. During -the absence of the Court in Scotland the Prince and Princess of Wales -stimulated the gaiety of the London Season. It was remarkable for the -prevalence of Sunday re-unions, the patronage of which by the Heir -Apparent soon made them fashionable even among serious Church-going -people. On the 30th of June the Queen opened the Royal Holloway College -for Women at Egham, an institution for the higher education of women -founded by the vendor of the famous ointment and pills. As women had -been among the chief buyers both of the ointment and the pills, there -was a touch of irony in Mr. Holloway’s bequest that recalled the legacy -left by Swift to found a madhouse for the use of the Irish people. -On the 2nd of July her Majesty reviewed 10,000 troops at Aldershot, -and on the 5th entertained a large number of the Indian and Colonial -visitors at Windsor. She attended the brilliant garden-party given by -the Prince and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House on the 10th; and -on the 20th, accompanied by the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of -Battenberg, left Windsor for Osborne, where she was soon absorbed in -the business attendant on a change of Ministry. On the 17th of August -her Majesty left Osborne for Edinburgh, where, on the 18th, she visited -the International Exhibition. On the 20th the Queen went to Balmoral, -where she remained till the 4th of November. On the 5th she visited the -Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch at Dalkeith Palace, and inspected the -Hospital for Incurables at Edinburgh, returning to Windsor on the 6th. -On the 22nd her Majesty received at Windsor, with much ceremony, their -Imperial Highnesses the Prince and Princess Komatsu of Japan, and on -the 29th the Court removed to Osborne. - -[Illustration: OPENING OF THE INDIAN AND COLONIAL EXHIBITION: THE -QUEEN’S TOUR.] - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE JUBILEE. - - The Fiftieth Year of the Queen’s Reign--Mr. W. H. Smith Leader - of the Commons--Sudden Death of Lord Iddesleigh--Opening of - Parliament--The Queen’s Speech--The Debate on the Address--New - Rules for Procedure--Closure Proposed by the Tories--Irish - Landlords and Evictions--“Pressure Within the Law”--Prosecution - of Mr. Dillon--The Round Table Conference--“Parnellism and - Crime”--Resignation of Sir M. Hicks-Beach--Appointment of Mr. - Balfour--The Coercion Bill--Resolute Government for Twenty - Years--Scenes in the House--Irish Land Bill--The Bankruptcy - Clauses--The National League Proclaimed--The Allotments Act--The - Margarine Act--Hamburg Spirit--Mr. Goschen’s Budget--The Jubilee - in India--The Modes of Celebration in England--Congratulatory - Addresses--The Queen’s Visit to Birmingham--The Laureate’s - Jubilee Ode--The Queen at Cannes and Aix--Her Visit to the - Grande Chartreuse--Colonial Addresses--Opening of the People’s - Palace--Jubilee Day--The Scene in the Streets--Preceding - Jubilees--The Royal Procession--The German Crown Prince--The - Decorations and the Onlookers--The Spectacle in Westminster - Abbey--The Procession--The Ceremony--The Illuminations--Royal - Banquet in Buckingham Palace--The Shower of Honours--Jubilee - Observances in the British Empire and the United States--The - Children’s Celebration in Hyde Park--The Queen’s Garden Party--Her - Majesty’s Letter to her People--The Imperial Institute--The - Victorian Age. - - -It was on the 20th of June, 1886, that the Queen entered on the -fiftieth year of her reign. But her Majesty naturally refused to assume -that she would live to the end of it, and she accordingly determined -that the actual celebration of her Jubilee should be put off till the -20th of June, 1887. Thus it came to pass that 1887 will be known as -the Jubilee Year of the Victorian period. It was a year that opened -badly for the Government. The sudden resignation of Lord Randolph -Churchill at the close of 1886 rendered a reconstruction of the Cabinet -necessary. Efforts were made in vain to induce some of the Whig Peers -to join the Ministry, but, as we have seen, at last Mr. Goschen was -persuaded to accept the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer. The -leadership of the Commons was given to Mr. W. H. Smith, who was made -First Lord of the Treasury; whilst Lord Salisbury, who held that -office, assumed the Secretaryship of State for Foreign Affairs. This -involved the enforced retirement of Lord Iddesleigh in somewhat painful -circumstances, which were further heightened by his sudden death from -heart-disease on the 13th of January. The discreditable intrigue, which -began by deposing him from the Leadership of the House of Commons, -thus ended tragically. Some of the leaders of the Liberal and Liberal -Unionist Parties were also endeavouring to discover some means of -reconciling these now hostile factions. Parliament was opened on the -27th of January, and the Speech from the Throne plainly foreshadowed -the introduction of a Coercion Bill for Ireland. It hinted at a Land -Bill as a possible measure; indeed, had it not done so the alliance -between the Government and the Liberal Unionists would have been -weakened. Other measures promised were Bills for reforming local -government in England, Scotland, and, “should circumstances render it -possible,” in Ireland, for cheapening private Bill legislation, and -land transfer. An Allotments Bill, a Tithe Bill, a Railway Rates and -Merchandise Marks Bill, were also in the programme, which was large and -varied. But the debate on the Address showed that no opposed Bills were -likely to pass unless the House of Commons reformed its procedure, and -to this task the Tory Party had most grudgingly to apply itself. Six -sittings were spent on the Address as a general subject of discussion. -After that amendments relating to the evacuation of Egypt and the Irish -policy announced in the Queen’s Speech were debated. Three Scottish -amendments were next brought forward, so that when, at the sixteenth -sitting of the House, Mr. Dillon began to denounce jury-packing in -Dublin, the Speaker ruled him out of order. A motion for an adjournment -was defeated, and a motion to consider the condition of unemployed -labourers in England was declared by the Speaker to have been -sufficiently discussed after two speeches were delivered. The Closure, -so dreaded by the Tories in former Parliaments, was then applied by -Mr. Smith, a vote taken, and the Address disposed of on the 17th of -February. - -The Government lost no time in preparing to meet the obstruction with -which their Coercion Bill was already threatened. They circulated -their new rules for debates, and on the 21st of February Mr. W. H. -Smith moved the adoption of the Closure, vesting the initiative in -applying it not in the Speaker, which was the old rule, but in a bare -majority of the House, provided always that at least 200 Members voted -for it. The Liberal Leaders supported the proposal on principle, but -complained that the new rule was still too weak, and that it ought to -be applied unconditionally. Their view was confirmed in the following -year, when Mr. W. H. Smith was forced to reduce the necessary quorum -of 200 to 100. Meanwhile events had been moving apace in Ireland. The -Chief Secretary, Sir M. Hicks-Beach, finding that the landlords were -cruelly straining their rights against the poorer tenantry, urged them -to be merciful for the sake of peace. He put upon them what he called -“pressure within the law,” which practically meant that he hinted to -them that he would refuse them the aid of the police in enforcing -warrants of the Courts. In other words, he seemed to be exercising -the “dispensing power” of the Executive, little more than a year -after Mr. Morley had been forced to apologise for even suggesting -its exercise. In Ireland evictions were resisted by force, and lurid -pictures of the state of the country were drawn by the supporters of -the Government. The prosecution of Mr. Dillon and other Irish leaders -for a conspiracy to defeat the law, because they advocated the Plan -of Campaign, broke down through the disagreement of a Dublin jury. -The negotiations between the Liberal Unionists and Liberals at the -“Round Table Conference” were said to be producing happy results, and -it was soon noised abroad that the Government not only hesitated to -demand a Coercion Bill, but that Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was ruling the -Irish with a hand so light that they were lapsing into lawlessness. -The _Times_ published a series of articles designed to prove that Mr. -Parnell and the Irish Home Rule Members were secretly in league with -the Party of Assassination. Mutterings of mutiny were heard from the -Irish Tories, and at this crisis Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, against whom -these complaints were directed, suddenly resigned. This step, however, -had been rendered necessary in consequence of his failing eyesight -rather than from considerations of a political character. To his post -Lord Salisbury appointed his nephew, Mr. Arthur James Balfour, pledged -to carry out an unflinching policy of Coercion. Sir George Trevelyan, -one of the secessionists from the Liberal Party, about this time showed -by his public utterances that he had now returned to Mr. Gladstone’s -party. - -On the 23rd of March Mr. Smith moved that the Crimes Bill have -precedence over all other orders--and then the battle began. It was not -till the 28th that Mr. Balfour was able to move for leave to introduce -the measure, in a speech which seemed to show either that his case was -exceptionally weak, or that he had not been able to master it.[236] -The Bill gave magistrates power to inquire into crimes where no person -was charged. It gave two resident magistrates summary jurisdiction and -power to inflict imprisonment up to six months in cases of criminal -conspiracy, boycotting, rioting, assaults on the police, and in cases -of inciting to these offences. It gave the Lord-Lieutenant power to -“proclaim” certain associations as dangerous, and to subject to the -penal clauses of the Bill any one who after that took part in them. The -Bill was to be a permanent measure, and not like former Coercion Bills, -merely passed for a fixed period of time. Violent scenes occurred -during the debates which led up to the Second Reading of the measure on -the 28th of April, and the House was in an irritable mood because it -had been forced to sacrifice most of its Easter holiday. In spite of -the frequent use of the Closure, the first clause, which was scarcely -a contentious one, was not carried in Committee till the 17th of May. -When the fourth clause was reached, on the 10th of June, Mr. W. H. -Smith moved a resolution that if the Bill were not reported at 10 p.m. -on the 17th, the remaining clauses should be put to the vote without -debate. When that hour struck Sir Charles Russell was speaking on the -sixth clause. The Chairman stopped the debate, and put the question, -the Irish Members leaving the House in a body. After the division the -Liberal Members also left, and the rest of the Bill passed without -any more opposition. It was read a third time on the 8th of July, and -having been adopted by the Peers, it received the Queen’s assent on the -19th of July. The determination of the Government to carry the Coercion -Bill was natural. It had been admitted by all clear thinkers that, -unless Home Rule were granted to Ireland, she could only be governed -under Coercion. Moreover, the introduction of the Bill before the -Liberal Unionists and Liberals had been reconciled, forced the former -to vote for Coercion, which rendered the gulf between them and the old -Liberal Party practically impassable. But ere the Liberal Unionists -thus burned their boats, they had induced the Ministry to bring in a -conciliatory Irish Land Bill in the House of Lords. The Peers sent -it down to the Commons on the 4th of July, when the Second Reading -was moved on the 12th. The Bill adopted Mr. Parnell’s proposal of the -previous year, to admit leaseholders to the benefit of the Land Act of -1881; it gave notice of eviction the same effect as the actual service -of an ejectment writ, and gave the Courts power to stay execution, and -arrange for payment of rent on easy terms when the tenants were in -distress. But when insolvent, it provided for them relief from rent and -all other debts by a process of bankruptcy, allowing them, however, -to retain their farms. Mr. Campbell-Bannerman attacked the bankruptcy -clauses, and demanded a revision of all Irish rents in terms of the -fall in prices. To a general revision of rents the Government would on -no account assent. But the revolt of one of the Liberal Unionists, Mr. -T. W. Russell, compelled them to reconsider the bankruptcy clauses. -The Tories argued that it was unjust to ask the landlord to accept a -composition for rent from the farmer, when the tradesmen to whom he -owed money were not expected to abate their claims. Mr. Parnell and Mr. -T. W. Russell contended that no analogy could be drawn between rent -and trade debts. The latter had never been disputed by the debtor. The -former had been disputed. The tenant who owed money to his grocer or -seed-merchant never denied that he had got value for it. But he did -deny that he had got value for the money his landlord claimed as rent, -and he was able to prove this in court when the rent was cut down. To -insist, as did Mr. Chamberlain, on relief from just and unjust claims -being given with equal ease under a process of gentle bankruptcy, at -which the State was asked to connive, was to make an attack on property -and on credit from which even the leaders of the Paris Commune might -have shrunk. It was tantamount to asserting that whenever a man was -able to show that one creditor had overcharged him 30 per cent. he was -entitled to refuse payment of his just debts to all creditors who had -not overcharged him, unless they too took 30 per cent. off their bills. -When this was made clear not even Mr. Chamberlain’s advocacy sufficed -to save the bankruptcy clauses, which were accordingly dropped. But by -way of conciliating the landlords the Government insisted on applying -the vicious principle to arrears of rent. No relief from unjust arrears -was to be given unless they were to be dealt with in bankruptcy -alongside just and undisputed trade debts. The result was that when -the Bill passed it had a fatal defect in it. It prohibited landlords -from evicting for unjust rents, but by this clause it left them free -to evict for the arrears which had accumulated under rents which the -Courts decided to be unjust. On the 19th of August the Lord-Lieutenant -of Ireland “proclaimed” the National League as a dangerous association, -thereby enabling Mr. A. J. Balfour to suppress any branch of it he -thought fit under the Crimes Act. - -[Illustration: THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO EDINBURGH (1886): HER MAJESTY -LEAVING HOLYROOD PALACE.] - -The Government were now compelled to abandon the bulk of their -legislative programme. They, therefore, made no attempt to proceed -with any measures unless they were so democratic that the Liberals -could not with decency oppose them. Hence they passed a Coal Mines -Regulation Bill, an Allotments Bill--disfigured, however, by the -obstacles in procedure which it put in the way of labourers who -applied for allotments--and a Bill to prevent substitutes for butter -known as “Margarine,” from being sold as butter. The success of this -measure led to a demand for a similar Bill to prevent publicans from -selling poisonous Hamburg spirit as “Fine Old” Cognac, or Scotch or -Irish whisky. Baron de Worms, as representative of the Board of Trade, -however, though eager to prohibit shopkeepers from selling a wholesome -animal fat as butter, was shy of prohibiting the publicans--whose votes -were of some value to the Tory Party--from selling poisonous Hamburg -alcohol as old brandy. Mr. Goschen’s Budget was introduced on the -21st of April. He described it himself as a “humdrum” Budget--though -as a matter of fact, as Lord Randolph Churchill said, if _he_ had -proposed it the country would have denounced it as a scheme full of -financial depravity. The Estimates had been taken to show a revenue of -£89,689,000, and an expenditure of £89,610,000. The actual receipts, -however, for the past year had been £90,772,000, and the actual -expenditure £88,738,000. In spite of supplementary estimates, amounting -to £1,129,000, there was a surplus on the year’s accounts of £776,000. -Mr. Goschen’s general statement showed that not only were the taxes -yielding less than they ever did, but that, though the rich and the -poor had suffered much from commercial and agricultural depression, -the profits of the middleman had not been reduced. For the coming year -he took the revenue to amount, on the existing lines of taxation, to -£91,155,000, and the expenditure he set down at £90,180,000, leaving a -surplus of £975,000. To this he added £100,000 by increasing the duty -on the transfer of Debenture Stocks, and by minor changes in the Stamp -Duty. He then added to it a further sum of £1,704,000, by reducing -the charges for the public debt. His surplus was thus inflated to -£2,779,000, of which he spent £600,000 in reducing the Tobacco Duty, -£1,560,000 in taking a penny off the Income Tax, £280,000 in relieving -Local Taxation, £50,000 in aid of Arterial Drainage in Ireland, -leaving him a probable surplus of £289,000. To manufacture a surplus -by the simple process of ceasing to pay off debt, would certainly not -have secured for any other Chancellor of the Exchequer, except Mr. -Goschen, the reputation of a financial puritan. Mr. Gladstone and -Lord Randolph Churchill demonstrated by unanswerable arguments the -unwholesomeness of the financial policy which reduced the payments for -the National Debt by cutting down the Income Tax instead of by cutting -down departmental expenditure. But Mr. Goschen’s Budget gave everybody -a little relief all round, and was accepted quite irrespective of -the unsound principles on which it was based. It was, in fact, the -first illustration afforded by a Household Suffrage Parliament of the -deteriorating influence of democracy on the financial policy of the -nation. Parliament was prorogued on the 16th of September. - -But public interest in politics faded as the Session grew old. Indeed, -from the beginning of the year, the attention of the country was more -and more concentrated on the movements of the Queen. It was known that -she had nerved herself to emerge from her seclusion, and, in some -degree, discard the mourning weeds she had worn so long. The first -note of the Jubilee was struck in India, where the great Imperial -festival was celebrated on the 16th of February. In presidency towns, -inland cities, the capitals of Protected States--even in Mandalay, -the capital of the newly-conquered State of Upper Burmah, natives and -Europeans vied with each other in acclaiming the event. Announcements -of clemency, banquets, plays, the distribution of honours, reviews, -illuminations, were not the only methods adopted for celebrating -the Jubilee. At Gwalior all arrears of land-tax--amounting to -£1,000,000--were remitted. Libraries, colleges, schools, waterworks, -hospitals, and dispensaries were opened in honour of the Empress. - - “These are Imperial works and worthy thee,” - -might well be the comment of the chronicler on such celebrations. -All over England preparations were now being made for the great -anniversary. In every town meetings were held to decide as to the mode -of its observance, and it was curious to notice that everywhere the -people desired to localise their rejoicings. Public parks, libraries, -town-halls, museums, hospitals--in a word, the foundation of works and -institutions of public usefulness in each locality was universally -regarded as the best means of honouring the occasion. There was -only one Jubilee institution of national grandeur that won public -favour--the Imperial Institute. It was originated, as has been noted, -by the Prince of Wales, and it was to his energy and skill in appealing -for public support that the enormous funds needed for its endowment -were now collected. In March the congratulatory addresses began to -come in--the Convocation of Canterbury, whose deputation headed by -the Primate was received by the Queen at Windsor on the 8th of March, -leading the way. - -On the 23rd of March Birmingham, in spite of the boisterous weather, -was _en fête_ to receive her Majesty who arrived to open the new Law -Courts in that town, and few who were present will ever forget the -mighty shout of enthusiasm that rose up from the swarming throng, when -the Queen’s procession turned into New Street. Never was Royalty more -loyally received than in the Radical capital of the Midlands. The -Democratic demonstration at Birmingham gave point to the passage in the -Laureate’s Jubilee Ode, in which he wrote:-- - - “Are there thunders moaning in the distance? - Are there spectres moving in the darkness? - Trust the Lord of Light to guide her people, - Till the thunders pass, the spectres vanish, - And the Light is victor, and the darkness - Dawns into the Jubilee of the Ages.” - -On the 29th of March her Majesty, accompanied by the Princess Beatrice -and Prince Henry of Battenberg, left Windsor for Portsmouth, where -they embarked in the Royal yacht for Cannes. On the 5th the Royal -party went to Aix-les-Bains, where the Queen occupied her old rooms -at the Villa Mottet. Aix was wonderfully free from visitors, and she, -therefore, enjoyed almost complete privacy during her stay. By the -special sanction of the Pope her Majesty, on the 23rd of April, was -allowed to visit the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse, within whose -precincts no woman’s foot is permitted to tread. She returned to -Windsor on the 29th of April. On the 4th of May she received at the -Castle the representatives of the Colonial Governments, who presented -her with addresses congratulating her on having witnessed during her -reign her Colonial subjects increase from fewer than 2,000,000 to -upwards of 9,000,000 souls, her Indian subjects from 96,000,000 to -254,000,000, and her subjects in minor dependencies from 2,000,000 to -7,000,000. On the 9th her Majesty held a court at Buckingham Palace, -at which the Maharajah and Maharanee of Kutch Behar and the Maharajah -Sir Pertab Sing were presented to her. On the 10th she held a Drawing -Room, and afterwards visited a private performance of the feats of -the American cowboys, and Indians, and prairie-hunters at the “Wild -West Show” at Earl’s Court. On the 14th she opened the People’s Palace -at Whitechapel, an institution which had grown out of a suggestion -in Mr. Walter Besant’s romance of “All Sorts and Conditions of Men.” -The route of procession from Paddington was seven miles long, and it -was thronged with people, who gave the Queen as warm a welcome as she -had received in Birmingham. On her return her Majesty visited the -Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. This was a remarkable event, for her -Majesty had not entered the Municipal Palace since she had visited it -with her mother two years before her accession. Her Majesty partook of -tea and strawberries with her Civic hosts, with whom she spent fully -half-an-hour, charming the company with her affability. On the 20th the -Court removed to Balmoral, where the Queen found her mountain retreat -covered with snow. On the 17th of June the Court returned to Windsor, -and on the 18th her Majesty received at the Castle the Maharajah Holkar -of Indore, and several Indian princes and deputations from Native -States. - -The Jubilee itself was celebrated on the 21st of June. The chief -streets of London were given over to carpenters and upholsterers, -gasmen, and floral decorators, who transformed them beyond all -possibility of recognition. On the night of the 20th the town was -swarming with people, who had come out in the hope of seeing some of -the illuminations tried. As the day dawned crowds began to stream -into the metropolis, and in the forenoon every face wore a festal -aspect. Fabulous prices had been paid for seats along the line of -procession, and those who had secured places were in possession of them -early in the morning. Everybody was in good humour, and the police -were exceptionally amiable. At the point of departure--Buckingham -Palace--there were no decorations, but the presence of the Guards -and of the seamen of the Fleet, who were on duty within the gates, -gave animation to the scene. As eleven o’clock--the hour of -starting--approached, a strange silence seemed to fall over the noisy, -gossiping crowd, as if men and women felt awed and touched at the sight -of their aged Sovereign proceeding in State from her Palace to the -old Abbey to thank God for permitting her to see the fiftieth year of -her reign. Only thrice in the history of England had a Jubilee been -celebrated, and in none of these cases was there, as now, ground for -unalloyed joy. But for the founding of our Parliamentary System, none -would care to recall the distracted reign of Henry III. That of Edward -III., glorious as it was at its beginning, was clouded with disaster -at its end. That of George III. cost the dynasty, not a Crown, but a -continent. On the Jubilee Day of Queen Victoria there was, however, -no room for any feeling save that of gratitude and pride that, under -her gentle sway, the English people had gained and not lost dominion -upon earth. It was not till the head of the procession moved along, -and the Royal carriages came in sight, that the pent-up feeling of -the dense masses of spectators found utterance in volley after volley -of cheers. The Queen’s face was tremulous with emotion, and yet there -was triumph as well as grateful courtesy in her bearing as she bowed -her acknowledgments to her subjects. Beside her were the Princess of -Wales and the German Crown Princess, the latter beaming with happiness -and delight to find that her countrymen still held her dear. The loyal -tumult all along the line literally drowned the blare of bands and -trumpets. - -The first part of the procession consisted of carriages in which were -seated the sumptuously apparelled Indian Princes, in robes of cloth of -gold, and with turbans blazing with diamonds and precious gems, who -had come from the far East to celebrate the Jubilee of their Empress. -Following them came carriages with the Duchess of Teck, the Persian -and Siamese guests of the Queen, the Queen of Hawaii, the Kings of -Saxony, Belgium, and Greece, and the Austrian Crown Prince. Life Guards -followed, and behind them came two mounted lacqueys of the Court. -To them succeeded escorts of Hussars and Life Guards, followed by -outriders in scarlet. In the first part of the procession were eleven -carriages. Of these, five conveyed the Ladies-in-Waiting and the Great -Officers of the Household. The sixth conveyed the Princess Victoria -of Sleswig-Holstein, Princess Margaret of Prussia, and Prince Alfred -of Edinburgh. In the seventh were seated the Princesses Victoria and -Sophie of Prussia, Princess Louis of Battenberg, and Princess Irene -of Hesse. The eighth conveyed the Princesses Maud, Victoria, and -Louise of Wales. In the ninth were the Duchess of Connaught and the -Duchess of Albany. In the tenth were the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess -Beatrice, Princess Louise, and Princess Christian. Between the eleventh -carriage and the Queen’s rode the brilliant procession of Princes, -whose appearance all along the route gave the signal for an outbreak -of cheering. In the first rank rode the Queen’s grandsons--Prince -Albert Victor and Prince William of Prussia being among the most -conspicuous. Following them came the Queen’s sons-in-law, the German -Crown Prince, Prince Christian, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and Prince -Henry of Battenberg. The Marquis of Lorne had started with the -procession, but his horse took fright and threw him, about 300 yards -from the Palace, whereupon he returned on foot, and, borrowing a -charger from an Artillery officer, rode by himself to the Abbey by -Birdcage Walk. Of this group, the central figure was that of the German -Crown Prince, whose white uniform and plumed silver helmet attracted -general admiration. Covered with medals and decorations, most of which -he had won by his prowess in battle, he sat his charger as proudly as a -mediæval knight, in whom the spirit of old-world German chivalry lived -again. His fair, frank face became radiant with delight, when he found -that peal after peal of applause greeted him whenever he appeared. -Partly owing to his picturesque figure, partly to his manly and heroic -character, and partly, no doubt, to honest sympathy with his sufferings -under the disease that had suddenly smitten him in the very prime of -life, the German Crown Prince received an ovation more effusive even -than that bestowed on the ever-popular Prince of Wales, and almost -equal to that which greeted the Queen herself. After her sons-in-law -came her sons, the Duke of Connaught, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke -of Edinburgh. They, too, were hailed with cheering that was prolonged, -and that deepened in volume till her Majesty’s carriage passed. A -gorgeous cavalcade of Indians brought the splendid procession to a -close. Along the route, from the Palace up Constitution Hill, round -Hyde Park Corner, on through Piccadilly, down Waterloo Place, past -Trafalgar Square, along Whitehall to Westminster Abbey, every house -was glowing with many-tinted draperies, with bunting, and with floral -decorations, and every balcony and window were crowded with bright and -happy faces framed in festoons of roses and laurel. - -The scene in the Abbey was impressive. Municipal dignitaries, -representatives of the Universities, civic functionaries of the higher -order, representatives of the Church and the Law, Lords-Lieutenant -and their deputies, High Sheriffs, Officers of the Auxiliary Forces, -Diplomatists, Ministers of State in Windsor uniforms, Officers of -the Household, Foreign Princes and Potentates, and their suites--in -fact every invited guest privileged to wear robe or uniform, -contributed to the mass of varied colour that, after a time, almost -tired the eye. Among the earliest arrivals were the Princess Feodore -of Saxe-Meiningen, the Prince Albert, and the Princess Louise of -Sleswig-Holstein, the Princess Alice of Hesse, the Princesses Mary, -Victoria, and Alexandra of Edinburgh, the Princess Frederica, Baroness -Pawel von Rammingen, Baron Pawel von Rammingen, Prince and Princess -Edward of Saxe-Weimar, the Prince and Princess of Leiningen, Prince -and Princess Victor of Hohenlohe, with the Countesses Feodora and -Victoria Gleichen, and Count Edward Gleichen. Then entered the swarthy -Chiefs and Princes of India, among whom the stately and resplendent -Holkar was very prominent. The Queen of Hawaii followed, and after -her came the Princess Victoria of Teck, and the Princes Adolphus, -Francis, and Alexander of Teck, Prince Frederick of Anhalt, Prince -Ernest of Saxe-Meiningen, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, the Prince -of Hohenlohe-Langenberg, Prince Ludwig of Baden, Prince Philip of -Saxe-Coburg, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the Hereditary Grand Duke -of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, G.C.B., Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, the Duke -of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, the Infante Don Antonio of Spain, the Infanta -Donna Eulalia of Spain, the Duc d’Aosta, the Crown Prince of Sweden, -the Crown Prince and Princess of Portugal, the Austrian Crown Prince, -the Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the King of Saxony, -the King and Queen of the Belgians, Prince George of Greece, the Crown -Prince of Greece, the King of Greece, and the King of Denmark. - -Half-an-hour after the appointed time the silver trumpets announced the -coming of the Queen’s procession, headed by the six minor and the six -residentiary canons of Westminster, the Bishop of London, Archbishop -of York, the Dean of Westminster,[237] the Primate, all attired -in sumptuous canonicals. They were followed by heralds and other -functionaries, who were followed by the members of the Royal procession -walking in ranks of three, in the inverse order of precedence always -enforced at Royal ceremonials. These were-- - - The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. - - Prince Henry of Prussia. - - The Grand Duke Serge of Russia. - - Prince Henry of Battenberg. - - Prince Christian of Sleswig-Holstein. - - The Duke of Connaught. - - - Prince Christian Victor of Sleswig-Holstein. - - Prince George of Wales. - - Prince Albert Victor of Wales. - - The German Crown Prince. - - The Prince of Wales. - - - Prince Louis of Battenberg. - - The Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse. - - Prince William of Prussia. - - The Marquis of Lorne. - - The Grand Duke of Hesse. - - The Duke of Edinburgh. - - -The Queen, clad in black, but with a bonnet of white Spanish lace -glittering with diamonds, and wearing the Orders of the Garter and -Star of India, entered, escorted by the Lord Chamberlain, as the -organ pealed forth the strains of the march from Handel’s “Occasional -Oratorio.” The solemnity of the spectacle, and the reflection that the -Queen-Empress is about to give thanks to God for the crowning triumph -of her life, surrounded by the ashes of her predecessors, repress -all manifestations of feeling. Reverently does her Majesty take her -place on the Royal daïs, and, when the Princes and Princesses in her -train arrange themselves, the picture is one of imposing magnificence. -Surrounding this shining group of Princes a vast throng, representing -the genius, the rank, the wealth, and the chivalry of Britain, filled -every nook of the sacred fane in which the Queen celebrated her -golden wedding with her people. Towering high above all his peers the -Imperial form of the German Crown Prince, clad in the white uniform -of the Cuirassiers, stood forth as the most majestic figure in that -magnificent pageant. - -[Illustration: THE CROWN PRINCE, AFTERWARDS THE EMPEROR FREDERICK III., -OF GERMANY. - -(_From a Photograph by Reichard and Lindner, Berlin._)] - -The Thanksgiving Service was brief and simple. The Primate and the Dean -of Westminster officiated, and the music was largely selected from the -compositions of the Prince Consort. Prayers and responses invoking a -blessing on the Queen were intoned. The Prince Consort’s _Te Deum_ -was given. Three special prayers were offered up by the Archbishop of -Canterbury, - -[Illustration: THE CROWN PRINCESS, AFTERWARDS THE EMPRESS VICTORIA, OF -GERMANY. - -(_From a Photograph by Reichard and Lindner, Berlin._)] - -after which the people’s prayer--_Exaudiat te Dominus_--was intoned. -The lesson (1 Pet. ii. 6-18) was next read by the Dean, and Dr. -Bridge’s Jubilee anthem, “Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted -in thee to set thee on the throne to be king for the Lord thy God,” a -piece in which the theme of the National Anthem is suggested, was sung. -Two simple prayers were then offered up, and the ceremony, impressive -from the grandeur of the surroundings, and yet thrilling and pathetic -by reason of its devotional earnestness and simplicity, ended with -the Benediction. Here the Queen, who was several times overcome with -emotion, is seen by the spectators to make a movement as if she would -rise from her seat on the sacred Coronation Stone of Scone and kneel -on the _prie-dieu_ in front of her. But she cannot reach so far, and -she sinks back into her place, veiling her bowed face with her hands. -She then glances round, and her eyes fill with tears when they rest on -her sons and her daughters, and her sons-in-law and their children. -The pent-up feeling of that dazzling group of Princes and Princesses -can no longer be restrained, and the solemn pageant of State suddenly -assumes the aspect of a family festival. The Prince of Wales bends -forward and kisses the Queen’s hand, but her Majesty raises his face -and salutes him affectionately on the cheek. The German Crown Prince -pays his homage with chivalrous grace and stately courtesy, and the -Grand Duke of Hesse follows him. But the emotion of the moment is -too strong for Court ceremonial. The Queen with an impulsive gesture -discards the Lord Chamberlain’s etiquette, and embraces the Princes and -Princesses of her house with honest and unreserved motherly affection. -Then she turns to the German Crown Prince with a loving smile, and as -he comes forward she kisses him warmly on the cheek. The Grand Duke of -Hesse is also saluted, and her Majesty, making a profound bow to her -Foreign guests, which they return, quits the scene as the “March of the -Priests” in _Athalie_ peals forth from the organ. The procession was -now formed again, and as the Sovereign returned to Buckingham Palace, -it was noticed that the reception which was given to her was even more -enthusiastic than that which greeted her on her way to the Abbey. It -is, perhaps, only once in a generation that it falls to the lot of a -monarch to be hailed in the streets of her capital with such passionate -demonstrations of loyalty, and the Queen seemed to be filled with the -emotion of the hour. - -The rest of the day was kept as a public holiday by the people, and -when the shades of night fell on the metropolis its streets were -ablaze with light. The art of the illuminator was indeed exhausted in -providing novel and varied designs, and gas jets and electric lamps, -arranged so as to display every conceivable device expressive of -loyalty, turned night into day. Nor were gas and electricity the only -agents employed to give splendour to the festivity of the evening. -In many places festoons of Chinese lanterns shed their soft and -mellow radiance over a scene not unworthy of fairyland. The Queen, -who had borne the fatigue and excitement of the Thanksgiving pageant -wonderfully well, rested a little while after her return to Buckingham -Palace, and there, as a special compliment to the “Senior Service,” -she came out and held a review of the 500 seamen of the Fleet who had -formed her guard of honour at the Palace doors. In the evening she gave -a grand banquet, at which sixty-four royal personages were present. - -All over England and in the North of Ireland the Jubilee was also -celebrated as enthusiastically as in London. The illumination of the -city of Edinburgh was said to be even more effective as a brilliant -spectacle than that presented by the metropolis. It was only in Cork -and Dublin that riotous demonstrations of disloyalty took place. Eight -peerages, thirteen baronetcies, and thirty-three knighthoods were -conferred in honour of the event. A Royal amnesty to deserters from the -army was also proclaimed. In the Colonies the day was celebrated even -more joyously than in England. In foreign lands the British residents -also held Jubilee festivals. But in the United States the citizens -of the Republic freely joined the British residents, honouring the -occasion as if it were one of as much interest to them as to their kith -and kin in the old home of their race. The most glowing of all the -Jubilee orations was in fact spoken by Mr. Hewitt, Mayor of New York, -at the grand Thanksgiving Festival in the Opera House of that city, -in the course of which he elicited the passionate enthusiasm of his -countrymen by recalling the events of the Civil War. “In the hour of -our trial,” he exclaimed, “when the flag under whose broad folds I was -born was trailing in the dust, it was my fortune to journey to another -land on matters of great moment. There I learnt--and I know whereof I -speak--that we owed to the Queen of England the non-intervention policy -which characterised the Great Powers of the world during our struggle -for life and death. I had no purpose to open my lips here, but when you -call on me for a testimony to her who was our friend, as she is your -Queen, my lips ought to be palsied if I were such a coward as not to -give it.” A speech so simple and unexpected, received as it was by a -spontaneous outburst of enthusiasm from the American citizens in the -audience, it need hardly be said produced a profound sensation. - -But of all the Jubilee celebrations perhaps the most charming and novel -was one which was held in Hyde Park. A few weeks before Jubilee Day it -occurred to a kindly and generous gentleman, Mr. Edward Lawson, well -known in society as the editor of the _Daily Telegraph_, that there -was a fatal omission in the Jubilee programme. Elaborate arrangements -had been made to interest all classes in the festival save one--the -school-children of London--the boys and girls who must form the men and -women of the next generation. Mr. Lawson contended that this defect -should be remedied, and the whole town was immediately taken with his -idea. Everybody wondered that nobody had put forward the suggestion -before, and Mr. Lawson soon found himself honorary treasurer of the -Children’s Jubilee Fund, to which he himself was one of the most -prominent subscribers. Foolish efforts were made to check the movement, -and people were warned that it was impossible to entertain 30,000 -children in Hyde Park, as Mr. Lawson proposed, without accidents to -life and limb. It was, however, in vain that he was denounced as the -organiser of a juvenile Juggernaut. The fund was raised with ease, and -Mr. Lawson, by skilful organisation, not only got 27,000 children into -Hyde Park from all parts of London on the 22nd of June, but sent them -back unhurt and happy to their homes. Great ladies of fashion helped -him to carry out his arrangements. The little ones were entertained -with the sports and shows dear to boys and girls of their age, and -the Queen not only came out and greeted them in person, but she was -received with a delight that touched her profoundly. The Princes and -Princesses and many of the foreign visitors also witnessed this strange -but interesting incident in the Jubilee celebrations.[238] - -On the 24th of June, an evening party was given at Buckingham Palace, -which was attended by nearly all the members of the Queen’s family, by -the foreign sovereigns and Princes then in London, and by a gay throng -of distinguished persons. On the 25th of June, a singularly beautiful -and touching letter, evidently straight from the Queen’s own pen, to -the Home Secretary, thanking the nation for their display of loyalty -and love, appeared in the _London Gazette_. In this communication it -almost seems as if the Queen laid her heart open to the people with a -frank and simple confidence rare in the relations that subsist between -sovereigns and their subjects. On the 27th her Majesty received at -Windsor Castle congratulatory deputations from municipalities, friendly -societies, professional associations, and public bodies, representing -almost every phase of English life, and thought, and enterprise. Her -Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on the following Wednesday was a -brilliant reunion at which were present several thousands of guests. -On the 2nd of July the Queen from Buckingham Palace reviewed 28,000 -Metropolitan Volunteers, and military men were amazed at the skill -with which the troops were handled by their officers in the narrow -and confined space. It was, however, unfortunate that at this review -a slight was cast on the Royal Navy. As is natural in a seafaring -nation, the naval forces of the Crown always take precedence of the -land forces. Hence, the phrase “Senior Service” used to distinguish the -Navy from the Army. But at this review the claim of the Royal Naval -Volunteers for precedence over the grotesque and motley body known -as the Honourable Artillery Company of London, a force which belongs -neither to the Army, the Militia, nor the Volunteers, and which has -been permitted even to repudiate the authority of the War Office, was -disallowed. - -On the 4th of July the crowning event of the Jubilee Festival occurred. -On that day the Queen laid the foundation stone of the Imperial -Institute in the Albert Hall. Noting the growing Imperialism which the -Jubilee evoked, the Prince of Wales determined to fix it by embodying -it in some permanent institution. In spite of distracted counsels, -inter-Colonial jealousy, and much anti-monarchical opposition, the -necessary funds for the purpose were raised, but it was universally -admitted that had not the Prince toiled without ceasing the scheme must -have collapsed. The Institute was and is meant to stand as an outward -and visible sign of the essential unity of the British - -[Illustration: THE JUBILEE GARDEN PARTY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE: THE ROYAL -TENT.] - -Empire. It was to be a rallying-point for all Colonial movements, a -centre of instruction for those who desire information as to Colonial -trade and Colonial resources. In a word, what the Queen “inaugurated” -on the 4th of July, at Kensington, as the culminating function of her -Jubilee, was a vast and ubiquitous Intelligence Department for her -far-stretching dominions. The decoration of the building in which -the ceremony took place was chiefly floral, and, indeed, the scene -suggested sylvan freshness and beauty. Eleven thousand people were -seated in the chief pavilion. - -When the Queen entered, preceded by the officers of her household and -escorted by her family, she took her seat on the draped daïs, and found -herself again surrounded by a majestic throng of Kings and Princes. The -Prince of Wales read aloud to her Majesty the Address of the organising -Committee of the Institute, describing its aims and its prospects. -The ode, written for the occasion by Mr. Lewis Morris,[239] and set -to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, was performed by the Albert Hall -Choral Society, aided by a full orchestra. After it was finished, the -Queen, assisted by the Prince of Wales and the architect, Mr. Colcutt, -laid the first solid block of the building--a piece of granite three -tons in weight. Prayers, read by the Primate, followed, after which -the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851 presented an Address, -congratulating the Queen on the celebration of her Jubilee. Her Majesty -then, leaning on the arm of the Prince of Wales, left the hall, while -the band struck up “Rule Britannia.” The ceremonial differed from that -which took place in the Abbey in one respect. The Thanksgiving Service -threw the minds of Sovereign and subject back on the past, with all -its trials and all its triumphs. But the function in the Royal Albert -Hall invited speculation as to the future, and as to the part which the -Monarchy must inevitably play in the evolution of the English-speaking -race, and the development of their spreading dominion over strange -lands and under strange stars. The Institute typified the inheritance -of Empire which Englishmen had won during the reign by their toil and -their enterprise. As Mr. Morris sang, - - “To-day we would make free - The millions of their glorious heritage. - Here, Labour crowds in hopeless misery; - There, is unbounded work and ready wage. - The salt breeze calling, stirs our Northern blood, - Lead we the toilers to their certain goal; - Guide we their feet to where - Is spread, for those who dare, - A happier Britain ’neath an ampler air. - - * * * * * - - First Lady of our British Race, - ’Tis well that with thy peaceful Jubilee - This glorious dream begins to be.” - -With this great function of State the record of the Queen’s career -through half a century, and of the public affairs which her life -influenced and which influenced it, may close for the present. A -retrospective glance over that record suggests curious reflections. - -Only seventeen years elapsed between the death of George III. and -the accession of the Queen to the sovereignty of a people who had -let a virgin continent slip from their grasp, and who were not only -exhausted by wars, but whose wars had also exhausted the nations that -trafficked with them. England had then but one hope of recovery. It -was to bind the forces of Nature to the tarrying chariot-wheels of her -Industry. To this end she bent the energies of her highest intellect -and genius. For this reason, perhaps, the Victorian period, in which -the Queen, stands out as the central figure, represents the triumph of -the applied Sciences, rather than the apotheosis of the Arts and the -Humanities. “The true founders of modern England,” says Mr. Spencer -Walpole, “are its inventors and engineers.”[240] The mighty power which -the British Empire now represents has therefore been built up under the -Queen’s sceptre, not on the red fields of war, but in the laboratory, -the workshop, and the mine. Three facts alone will serve to give the -distinctive character of the Victorian age. When the Queen was crowned -railway travelling was almost unknown; steam navigation had hardly -emerged from the region of experiment; the telegraph was but a toy of -the physicists. As we reflect on what the railway, the steamship, and -the telegraph have done for England, we can measure the extent and -discern the nature of the peaceful revolution in affairs over which -the Queen has presided. The national resolve arrived at after the -death of George IV. to recover the power and wealth which seemed to -have vanished during the last years of his reign, and to recover it by -gaining fresh dominion over the forces of Nature, naturally shaped the -whole course of public policy. If England was to be resuscitated in the -laboratory, the workshop, and the mine, the Sciences, rather than the -Arts and Humanities, must be fostered. Capital must be set free. The -dignity of Labour must be recognised. Commerce must be unshackled, and -perfect freedom, combined with unbroken order, established in the land. -The swift decay of privilege that marks the course of political reform -during the last half century, the spread of popular education, the -wide distribution of political power, the wise revision of the penal -laws, the humane legislation designed to better and brighten the lot of -Toil, the subjection of authority to opinion, the subjugation of Art to -Industry, the absorption of literature by the Press, are but natural -results of a struggle on the part of a masculine race to build up its -power on the achievements of the inventor, the experimentalist, and the -pioneer. - -Nor can the harvest of its toil be deemed altogether unsatisfactory. -The poor we have still with us, but their condition has been vastly -improved since the reign of William IV. Save in one respect, that of -house rent in large towns, the necessaries of life have been cheapened, -while the purchasing capacity of the people has been increased. As for -the upper and middle classes, their wealth in comparison with their -numbers has been multiplied twofold since the Queen ascended the throne. - -So far as the public life of the Queen has affected her House, these -pages prove that it has done so in one way. At her Accession the Crown -had almost entirely lost its authority as a governing order in the -State. At her Jubilee the Crown held a position of authority higher -than any to which it has attained since the time of William of Orange. -According to Mr. Gladstone, the success of the Queen’s dynastic policy -has been due to her determination to acquire influence rather than -power for the Monarchy. _Imperium facile iis artibus retinetur, quibus -initio partum est._ But if the Roman historian be right in holding -that power can be most surely kept by the means whereby it has been -acquired, he who runs may read the lesson of the Queen’s life. Its -record, showing how her influence has been won, must also show those -who will some day take her place, how alone it can be retained and -strengthened. - - - - -INDEX. - - -Abdul Aziz, Sultan of Turkey, Visit of, to England, II. 293; - received at Windsor Castle, _ib._; - entertainments in his honour, 294; - made Knight of the Garter, _ib._ - -Aberdeen, Lord (Fourth Earl), appointed Foreign Secretary, I. 97; - his ready confidence in foreign powers, 199; - his opinion of Free Trade, 208, 209; - his adroit diplomacy with the United States, 231; - the high esteem in which he was held by the Queen, 238; - his attack on the foreign policy of the Russell Government, 394; - his wish to drive Palmerston from office, 395; - appointed Premier, 518; - his sympathy with Russia, 546; - three mistakes on the part of his Cabinet, 551; - his desire for peace before the Crimean War, 555; - confidence of the Queen in his policy, 563; - speech on the Prince Consort’s position, 576; - accusations against his Russian policy, 600, 617, 638; - letter from the Queen regarding his Russian policy, 601; - Prince Albert’s opinion of his war policy, 620; - defeat of his Ministry, 627; - his efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631; - his death, II. 72; - his character, _ib._ - -Aberdeen, Lord (Seventh Earl), appointed Viceroy of Ireland, II. 727 - -Aberdeen, inauguration of a statue to the Prince Consort by - the Queen, II. 182; - statue of the Queen unveiled by the Prince of Wales, 266; - opening of water-works by the Queen, 267 - -Abergeldie, The bridge over the Dee at, II. 720 - -Abu Hamed, Gordon at, II. 711; - the River Column at, 717 - -Abu Klea, Battle of, II. 713 - -Abu Kru, Battle of, II. 714 - -Abyssinia, the English expedition against King Theodore, II. 300, 312; - envoys to the Queen, II. 695; - the Treaty of Adowah, _ib._ - -“Acres and a Cow, Three,” II. 726 - -Act, Bank Charter, its favourable effect, I. 182 - -Act, Corporation, Repeal of the, I. 23 - -Act, Test, The repeal of the, I. 23 - -Acts, Criminal Law Consolidation, The, I. 28 - -Adam, The Right Hon. W. P., appointed First Commissioner of Works, II. 594 - -Adelaide, Queen, her ball to the Princess Victoria, I. 14 - -Aden, its occupation by the British, I. 52; - the appearance of the town, _ib._ - -Admiralty, The construction of ironclad ships for - the British navy proposed by, II. 126; - reduction of its expenditure, 441; - issue of the Fugitive Slave Circular, 489; - violent popular agitation against, 704; - errors in the accounts of, 710 - -Adowah, Treaty of, II. 695 - -Adullamites, The, II. 256 - -Affirmation Bill brought in by the Attorney-General, II. 658; - efforts of the Tories to prevent it from coming into force, _ib._; - defeated by a majority of three, _ib._ - -Afghanistan, war declared by England on Shere Ali, II. 555; - Lord Lytton’s disagreement with Shere Ali, 556; - success of the British invasion, 567; - the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari, 573; - unpopularity of Lord Lytton’s policy, 574; - capture of Cabul by General Roberts, _ib._; - the affairs of the country in 1880, 598; - Mr. Gladstone’s policy, 599; - defeat of General Burrows, _ib._; - splendid generalship of Sir Frederick Roberts, _ib._; - rescue of Candahar, _ib._; - Lord Beaconsfield’s policy impossible, 610; - dispute in Parliament as to the occupation of Candahar, 615; - controversy between England and Russia about the frontier of, 719 - -Africa, South, outbreak of the Caffre War, I. 254; - attack on the policy of the English Government in, II. 662; - contention between Liberals and Conservatives regarding, _ib._ - -Agricultural Holdings Bill, the strong opposition to, II. 659; - its terms, _ib._; - Mr. A. J. Balfour’s amendment, _ib._; - Mr. Clare Sewell Read’s remark on, _ib._; - Mr. Balfour’s amendment struck out on the Report, _ib._; - attempt of the House of Lords to mutilate the Bill, _ib._; - the amendments of the House of Lords rejected by the Commons, _ib._; - the measure passed, _ib._; - Lord Salisbury’s failure to hold his party firm - to the policy of resistance, _ib._ - -Aix-les-Bains, The Queen’s visit to, II. 719, 740 - -Akbar Khan, Treachery of, I. 118; - defeated, 121 - -_Alabama_ Claims, The, II. 342; - settled by arbitration, 390; - discussion on the matter in the House of Commons, 421; - the story of the controversy, 422; - the award of the arbitrators, _ib._; - Lord Chief Justice Cockburn’s opinion, 423 - -Albany, Duke of, the title conferred on Prince Leopold, II. 626; - a title of evil omen, _ib._; - _see_ also Leopold, Prince - -Albert, Prince, his birth and parentage, I. 60; - his admirable disposition, _ib._; - his visit to England, _ib._; - his studies at Bonn, 61; - his suit accepted by the Queen, 62; - letters patent regarding his precedence, 66; - rumours as to his religious views, _ib._; - letter to the Queen in regard to his Protestantism, _ib._; - his arrival in England, 68; - his enthusiastic reception, _ib._; - his marriage, _ib._; - his trying position, 71; - his desire to abolish duelling, 72; - collision with Court functionaries, _ib._; - his reforms in household economy, 74; - domestic life, 75; - appointed Regent, 83; - his study of English law, _ib._; - a letter to his father, 91; - a royal tour, 94; - Lord Melbourne’s opinion of him, 103; - a remark of the Queen on his kindness, _ib._; - his generous reception of Sir Robert Peel, _ib._; - appointed Chairman of a Royal Commission on the Fine Arts, 104, 105; - his accurate knowledge of English, 105; - his first public speech, _ib._; - lays the foundation stone of the London Association, _ib._; - present at a ball in Buckingham Palace, 107; - visit to Scotland, 126; - his interest in English politics, 127; - the proposal to appoint him Commander-in-Chief, 128; - his irreproachable life, _ib._; - his opinion of Sir Robert Peel, 140; - acting as representative of the Queen, 141; - his interest in Fine Art, 142; - receives the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford, 146; - visits Birmingham, 147; - distinction in the hunting-field, _ib._; - his interest in agriculture, 148; - the model works in Windsor Park, _ib._; - death of his father, 158; - visit to Germany, 159; - title of Consort proposed, 185; - visit to the Continent, 194; - attacked by Lord George Bentinck in the Corn Law debate, 226; - proposed assessment of Flemish Farm, 260; - visits the Isle of Wight, 261; - opens the Albert Dock at Liverpool, 262; - nominated Chancellor of Cambridge University, 307; - agrees to take office as Chancellor of Cambridge, 310; - his arguments for an Anglo-German alliance, 322; - appointed President of the society for the improvement - of the working classes, 358; - impressive speech to the working classes, 359, 360; - his revised course of studies carried at Cambridge, 369; - speech to the Royal Dublin Society, 409; - his idea of the International Exhibition, 417; - speech on the International Exhibition, 450; - attacked by the press, 454; - his energy at the International Exhibition, 480; - anxieties in regard to the Exhibition, 520; - accusations against him as sympathising with Russia, 617; - visit to France, 621; - his plan for an Army Reserve at Malta, 623; - his opinion of Austrian policy, _ib._; - efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631; - speech on the Russian War, 639; - present at a Council of War at Windsor, 651; - attacked by the _Times_ for military jobbery, 667; - his scheme for a new military organisation, 694; - opens the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, 739; - receives the title of Prince Consort by letters patent, 743; - his advice to the King of Prussia regarding German unity, II. 90; - his last illness, 92-96; - the widespread grief of the British people at his death, 98; - his character, 104-107; - his funeral, 107-110; - the interment at Frogmore, 146; - his memorandum regarding Turkey, 531 - -Albert Hall, Royal, laying the foundation stone of, II. 291; - opened by the Queen, 409 - -Albert Memorial, Scottish National, at Edinburgh, - unveiled by the Queen, II. 503 - -Albert Victor, Prince of Wales, receives the Order of the Garter, II. 667; - the investiture a private function, _ib._; - a proof of the high favour in which he was held by the Queen, _ib._; - coming of age of, 719 - -Alberto Azzo, his union with the House of Guelph, I. 4 - -Aldershot, Visit of the Queen to, II. 265 - -Alexander II. of Russia declared Emperor, I. 633; - his death, II. 623; - his humane character, _ib._; - the liberation of the serfs accomplished by him, _ib._; - his devotion to the highest interests of Russia, _ib._; - his judicious management of the war with Turkey, 623-4 - -Alexandra, Princess of Denmark, her entry into London, II. 152; - her marriage to the Prince of Wales, 158 - -Alexandria, English and French fleets despatched to, II. 642; - riot in the city, _ib._; - the British Consul injured, _ib._; - French and English subjects slain, _ib._; - a stampede of the foreign population, _ib._; - Arabi Pasha strengthens the fortifications, _ib._; - the forts bombarded by the British fleet, _ib._; - the city seized by a fanatical mob, _ib._ - -Alfred, Prince, his birth, I. 167; - his sponsors at christening, 171; - his successful preparation for the navy, II. 23; - his visit to Cape Town, 69; - attempted assassination by O’Farrel, 316; - his betrothal to the Duchess Marie of Russia, 451; - his marriage, 453 - -Alice, Princess, Marriage of, to Prince Louis of Hesse, II. 141-2; - her sedulous consolation to her mother, 143; - recipient of the Queen’s confidences, 228; - her death, 509; - the esteem in which she was held by the English people, 560; - her life in Germany, 561 - -Alliance, The new Holy, between Austria, Russia, and Prussia, II. 59 - -Allotments Bill passed, II. 738 - -Alma, The battle of the, I. 607 - -Alula Ras, leader of the Abyssinians, II. 718 - -America, the discovery of gold in California, I. 535 - -Amos, Mr., appointed the Queen’s tutor in Constitutional Government, I. 14 - -Angra Pequena annexed by Germany, II. 684 - -Arabi Pasha, the disagreement between the - partners in the Dual Control as to - the course that should be adopted towards him, II. 641; - he becomes the real Minister of War, _ib._; - loaded with decorations, 642; - the rank and title of Pasha conferred upon him, _ib._; - virtually Dictator of Egypt, _ib._; - his policy of “Egypt for the Egyptians,” _ib._; - French and English consuls advise his expulsion, _ib._; - he resigns, _ib._; - a second time Minister of War, _ib._; - ostentatiously strengthens the forts of Alexandria, _ib._; - takes up a position at Tel-el-Kebir after the - bombardment of the Alexandrian forts, _ib._; - English expedition sent against him, _ib._; - defeated by General Wolseley at Kassassin, _ib._; - the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, _ib._; - to the British troops at Cairo, _ib._; - saved from capital punishment by the English Government, _ib._; - exiled to Ceylon, _ib._ - -Argyle, Duke of, appointed Lord Privy Seal, I. 519; - his success at the India Office, II. 343; - appointed Lord Privy Seal, 594; - resignation on Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 616 - -Ascot Race Week, The Queen and, II. 721 - -Ashanti, Outbreak of war in, II. 461; - capture of Coomassie by Sir Garnet Wolseley, _ib._ - -Ashbourne’s, Lord, Land Bill, II. 710 - -Ashley, Lord, _see_ Shaftesbury - -Ashley, Mr. Evelyn, his Life of Lord Palmerston, I. 395 - -Auckland, Lord, his negotiations with Dost Mahomed in Afghanistan, I. 112; - his unfortunate policy, _ib._; - declares war against Dost Mahomed, 114; - created an Earl, _ib._; - reversal of his policy in Afghanistan, 122 - -Australia, discussion in Parliament, as to its - legislative constitution, I. 439; - the discovery of gold, 496; - the rush to the gold-fields, 535; - effect of the gold discovery on the colony, 538; - results of the gold discovery in England, _ib._; - excitement on account of German annexation of New Guinea, II. 686 - -Australian Contingent, The, in the Soudan campaign, II. 717 - -Austria, Absorption by, of the Republic of Cracow, I. 259; - triumph over Italy, 422; - overthrow of Hungarian independence, 423; - General Haynau’s unpopularity in England, 457; - Lord Palmerston’s note on the Haynau incident, 457; - policy during the dispute between Russia and Turkey, 551, 553, 582, 623; - signature of the Protocol, 584; - makes terms with Prussia, 585; - treaty with Turkey, 586; - refuses to join with England against Russia, 639; - concessions made to Lord Cowley regarding Italy, II. 34; - declaration of war against Sardinia, 35; - defeated in the Italian War, 38; - proposal by the Emperor regarding Venetia, 56; - difficulties with Hungary, 79; - the war with Prussia, 280; - expelled from German unity, 281; - policy during the Russo-Turkish War, 530; - rumour as to its opposition to Mr. Gladstone, 596; - Mr. Gladstone’s reply to Austrian criticism, _ib._; - political capital made out of Mr. Gladstone’s - explanatory letter to Count Karolyi, 597 - - -B. - -Baden, the institution of a Free Press, of - a National Guard, and of Trial by Jury, I. 346 - -Baillie, Mr., his motion regarding Ceylon and Guiana, I. 382 - -Baines, Mr., his proposal regarding the vote for the boroughs, II. 214 - -Baker Pasha put in command of the Egyptian native police, II. 643; - defeated by the Mahdi at Tokar, 672 - -Balaclava, The Battle of, I. 611-613; - Campbell’s “thin red line,” 612; - charge of the Heavy Brigade, 613; - charge of the Light Brigade, 614 - -Balfour, Mr. A. J., one of the founders of the Fourth Party, II. 594; - his obstructionist tactics, 601; - becomes President of the Local Government Board, 708; - appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, 735; - his Coercion Bill and its chief provisions, 735-6 - -Ballot Bill, Discussion in Parliament as to the conditions of the, II. 395; - passing of the Ballot Act, 423 - -Balmoral described by the Queen, I. 366; - visited by the Queen, 412, 458, 459, 487, - 622, 660, 696; II. 293, 431, 606, 627, 666, 667; - Greville’s description of the Queen’s life at, 415 - -Balmoral, Countess of, the Queen’s assumed - title during her visit to Italy, II. 580 - -Bank Charter Act, its favourable effect, I. 182 - -Bankruptcy Bill, The, carried in Parliament, II. 86; - real progress made with it, 658; - its main object to provide for an independent - examination into all circumstances of insolvency by officials of the Board - of Trade, _ib._; - read a second time, _ib._; - referred to the Grand Committee on Trade, _ib._; - passed by the House of Lords without cavil, _ib._; - Mr. Chamberlain’s ability and tact in conducting it, _ib._ - -Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736 - -Bannerman, Mr. Campbell-, attacks the Bankruptcy - Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736 - -Baring, Mr., his budget, I. 90; - proposed alterations on the Sugar Duties, _ib._ - -Battenberg, Prince Henry of, II. 718; - made Knight of the Garter, 722; - assumes title of His Royal Highness, _ib._; - question of the legality of this assumption, ib. - -Bavuda Desert, The march across the, II. 713 - -Beaconsfield, Lord, _see_ Disraeli, Mr. - -Beales, Mr., his leadership of the Reform League, II. 270 - -Bean, his attempt on the Queen’s life, I. 110 - -Beatrice, Princess, Betrothal of, II. 718; - unpopularity of her marriage, _ib._; - annuity to her on her marriage, 720; - marriage of, 722; - welcome in the Highlands after her marriage, 723 - -Beer Duty instituted by Mr. Gladstone, II. 601 - -Belfast visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 410 - -Belgium, proposed visit of the Queen, I. 126 - -Belt, Mr., sculptor of the Queen’s monument to - Lord Beaconsfield in Hughenden Church, II. 643 - -Beniowski, Major, his leadership of the Chartist rising in Wales, I. 329 - -Benson, Dr., Archbishop of Canterbury, nominate - d by Archbishop Tait as his successor, II. 650 - -Bentham, Jeremy, his exposure of the needless - severity of the Criminal Code, I. 27 - -Bentinck, Lord George, attacks Prince Albert - in a speech during a debate about the Corn Laws, I. 226; - his contention against Free Trade, 275; - his Bill for railways in Ireland, 278; - imprudent speech on the European Powers, 301; - his championship of the West - Indies planters, 350; - his death, 371; - his character, _ib._ - -Beresford, Lord Charles, rescues Sir Charles Wilson, II. 716 - -Berlin, the rising against the Government, I. 346 - -Besant, Mr. Walter, his revelations of East London life, II. 668; - impetus to social reform by his novels, _ib._; - his ideal in “All Sorts and Conditions of Men,” _ib._; - the effect of his writings on London society, _ib._; - practically the originator of the People’s Palace in East London, 740 - -Bessborough, Lord, his support of Wellington on Free Trade, I. 227; - appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 245; - his death, 292 - -Beyrout bombarded by the European allies, I. 86 - -Biggar, Mr., his co-operation with Mr. Parnell, II. 488; - development of the policy of obstruction, 499 - -Bill, Education, introduced in the House of Commons, II. 355, 360; - its terms, 360; - criticism by Mr. Mill and Mr. Fawcett, 361; - passed by both Houses, 362; - adverse criticism by the Dissenters, 457; - Mr. Forster’s compromise to the Dissenters, 458 - -Birch, Mr., appointed tutor to the of Wales, I. 403 - -Birmingham, The Queen’s visit to, in 1858, II. 20; - Her Majesty opens Aston Hall and Park, _ib._; - the Queen opens the Law Courts in, 739; - enthusiasm of her reception, _ib._ - -Bismarck, Herr Von, his policy towards Russia, I. 554; - his mission to the German States, II. 495; - his view regarding the German conditions at - the close of the Franco-German War, 403 - -Blignières, M. de, resigns his position on the Dual Control, II. 642 - -Bonaparte, Charles Louis, _see_ Napoleon III. - -Boniface, Duke of Tuscany, a supposed ancestor of the Queen, I. 4 - -Borneo, The work of Sir James Brooke in, I. 187, 188; - its defiance of English authority, 254; - proclamation of Sir J. Cochrane to the natives, _ib._ - -Boscawen, Col., in tactical command of Sir Herbert - Stewart’s column in the Nile Expedition, II. 714 - -Boycotting, origin of the term, II. 603 - -Brackenbury, General, in command of the River Column, II. 717 - -Bradlaugh, Mr., his first attempt to take an - affirmation on entering Parliament, II. 595; - opposition of the Fourth Party, _ib._; - Mr. Labouchere’s motion in his favour, _ib._; - imprisoned in the Clock Tower, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone’s motion to allow him to affirm at his own risk, _ib._; - his re-election for Northampton, 618; - Tory opposition to his taking the seat, _ib._; - attempt to force his way into the House of Commons, _ib._: - renewed attempt to take the oath, 630; - his second return for Northampton, _ib._; - excluded from the precincts of the House of Parliament, _ib._; - his promise not to press his claim to be sworn - till the Affirmation Bill had been determined, 658; - writes to the Speaker claiming his right to take the oath, _ib._; - Sir Stafford Northcote’s resolution preventing him from taking the oath, _ib._; - his threat to treat the resolution as invalid, _ib._; - Sir S. Northcote’s resolution excluding him from - the precincts of the House of Parliament, _ib._; - his action against the Sergeant-at-Arms, _ib._; - again prevented from taking his seat, 676; - excluded from the House of Commons, _ib._; - takes the oath, 726 - -Brand, Sir Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons, - elevated to the peerage, II. 676 - -Bright, Mr., his work with Cobden as leader of - the Anti-Corn Law Movement, I. 88; - his championship of Free Trade, 201; - his powerful eloquence, 202; - his view of the Education Vote, 283; - his opposition to Shaftesbury’s “Ten Hours Bill,” 286; - his opinions on the Irish Question, 378; - his teaching regarding the colonies, 380; - his ineffectual efforts to preserve peace before the Crimean War, 578; - speech against the Russian War, 590; - his attacks on the propertied classes, II. 31; - his view regarding the _Trent_ dispute, 122; - speech at Birmingham on the Irish Question, 302; - speech in the House of Commons on the Irish Question, 334; - his administration at the Board of Trade, 342; - resignation of office at the Board of Trade, 387; - appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 439; - his opposition to Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, 458; - his proposal regarding the Ashanti War, 462; - his speech against the Beaconsfield Government, 583; - speech on the Irish Question, 603; - his withdrawal from the Cabinet because of the bombardment - of the forts at Alexandria, 654; - his denunciation of the Obstructionists, 660; - joins the Liberal Unionists, 729 - -Broadfoot, Lieut., Murder of, at Cabul, I. 117 - -Broadhurst, Mr., opposes the vote to Prince Leopold on his marriage, II. 646 - -Brooke, Sir James, his services in Borneo, I. 187, 188; - his conduct impugned by Cobden, _ib._ - -Brougham, Lord, his speeches on the revolt in Canada, I. 34; - his quarrel with the Whig leaders, 47; - his remarks on Roman Catholicism and the English Crown, 66; - remark on the Irish famine, 278; - his opposition to the “Ten Hours Bill,” 287; - his attack on the Rebellion Losses Bill, 383; - failure of his attack on Lord Palmerston, 396 - -Bruce, Mr. Austin (afterwards Lord Aberdare), the - Habitual Criminals Act, II. 339 - -Buccleuch, the Duke of, the Queen’s Visit to, II. 732 - -Buckingham, Duke of, appointed President of the Council, II. 257 - -Buckingham Palace, great ball in 1842, I. 107 - -Budget Defeat, the Queen’s constitutional point about - a ministerial resignation on a, II. 707 - -Bulgarian Atrocities, The, II. 506-511 - -Buller, Charles, his co-operation with Lord Durham in - preparing a system of self-government for Canada, I. 35; - his distinction between colonisation and emigration, 283; - his condemnation of England’s colonial policy, 386 - -Bunsen, Baroness, description of the meeting of Parliament in 1842, I. 107; - account of a royal party at Buckingham Palace, 304; - description of the Prince Consort’s installation as Chancellor of Cambridge - University, 311 - -Buol, Count, his suggestion at the Second Vienna Conference, I. 634 - -Burgoyne, Sir J., his opinion regarding the storming of Sebastopol, I. 609 - -Burmah, outbreak of war, I. 503; - blockade of Rangoon by the British, 504; - an embassy to the Queen, II. 429; - the conquest by Great Britain, 698 - -Burmah, Upper, annexed to the Indian Empire, II. 723 - -Burnaby, Colonel Fred, killed in the battle of Abu Klea, II. 713 - -Burnes, Sir Alexander, his mission to Cabul, I. 112; - the garbling of his , _ib._; - appointed assistant secretary to Shah Soojah, 113; - massacred at Cabul, 117 - -Butt, Mr. Isaac, his leadership of the Home Rule Party, II. 426 - - -C. - -Cabul, insurrection of the Afghans, I. 117; - entered by the British, 121; - Sir Frederick Roberts master of, II. 574 - -Caffre War, Outbreak of the, I. 254 - -Cairns, Lord, appointed Lord Chancellor, II. 304; - his resignation of the leadership of the Tory party, 358; - Lord Chancellor under Disraeli, 465; - his Judicature Bill, 484; - his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill of 1884, 677 - -Cairo, stampede of the foreign population after the riot at Alexandria, II. 642; - capture of the city by General Drury Lowe, 643; - surrender of Arabi Pasha, _ib._; - the Khedive reinstated, _ib._ - -Cambridge, the Prince Consort’s installation as Chancellor of the University, I. 310-314; - its many pleasant associations with the Queen’s married life, 314; - Prince Albert’s revised course of studies, 369 - -Cambridge, Duke of, conveys the Queen’s congratulations to the volunteers on - the coming of age of the force, II. 607 - -Campbell, Sir Colin, his plans at Sebastopol, I. 609; - his consummate skill at Balaclava, 611; - the confidence in his leadership, 671; - his lack of “interest,” 674; - his return to England and proposed resignation, 675; - an interview with the Queen, _ib._; - his work in India, 735; - the relief of Lucknow, 737; - defeat of the rebels at Cawnpore, _ib._; - the final capture of Lucknow, II. 2; - his regulations regarding the control of the Indian army, 26 - -Campbell, Sir John, his opinion in regard to Chartism, I. 58 - -Campbell, Lord, appointed Chancellor of the Duchy, I. 245; - a letter in regard to the Russell Ministry, 246; - an account of a Cabinet meeting, 277; - a visit to Windsor, 290; - a letter regarding an interview with the Queen, 291; - an amusing account of a banquet, _ib._; - an account of a royal party at Buckingham Palace, 306; - the Crown Security Bill, 355; - his speech on the position of the Prince Consort, 576; - his opinion on Baron Parke’s life-peerage, 682; - the passing of the Divorce Bill, 713 - -Campbell-Bannerman, Mr., attacks the Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736 - -Canada, its early discontents, I. 31; - resolutions in Parliament regarding reform, 32; - the serious condition of the Lower Provinces, _ib._; - sympathisers in the United States, _ib._; - seizure of Navy Island, _ib._; - jealousy between the Upper and Lower Provinces, 34; - suppression of the revolt, _ib._; - the Ashburton Treaty, 168; - opposition to Free Trade, _ib._; - evil effects of Peel’s policy, 251; - riot in Montreal, 382; - the Rebellion Losses Bill, 383; - cordial welcome to the Prince of Wales, II. 67; - feeling of uneasiness in England in case of war between Canada and the United - States, 234; - scandal regarding the Canadian Pacific Railway, 459; - rebellion of half-breeds in the North-West of, 723; - the rising put down by Sir F. Middleton, _ib._ - -Cannes, the Duke of Albany dies at, II. 687; - the Queen’s visit to, 740 - -Canning, Lord, Viceroy of India, I. 724; - his vigorous policy during the Mutiny, 734; - Tory hostility to his policy, II. 7; - his recall petitioned for, 17; - supported by the Queen, _ib._; - censured by Lord Ellenborough, _ib._; - Lord Ellenborough resigns, 18 - -Canton, capture by the British, II. 4 - -Cardigan, Lord, and the charge of the Light Brigade, I. 614 - -Cardwell, Mr., his economic reforms in the army, II. 340; - his inefficiency as head of the War Department, 363; - his Army Bill 391; - the favourable reception of his Army Bill, 424 - -Carey, Lieutenant, tried by court-martial regarding the death of the Prince Imperial, II. 578; - restored to his rank by the Duke of Cambridge, _ib._ - -Carlyle, Mr., his attacks on the governing classes of England, I. 358; - his interview with the Queen, II. 346 - -Carnarvon, Lord, Secretary for the Colonies, II. 257; - resignation of office, 275; - Secretary for the Colonies under Mr. Disraeli, 465; - his second resignation, 535; - his scheme of Home Rule, 724; - resigns the Viceroyalty of Ireland, 726 - -Cathcart, Lord, his speech to the Canadian Parliament, I. 250; - the amendment to his speech, _ib._ - -Cavagnari, Sir Louis, Murder of, at Cabul, II. 573 - -Cavour, Count, his visit to England, I. 664; - his threats to Napoleon III., II. 34; - his protest against the conquest of the Sicilies, I. 54; - his death, 79 - -Cawnpore, the massacre of English residents by Nana Sahib, II. 731 - -Cetewayo, King of the Zulus, ally of England. II. 563; - fights at Isandhiwana, 564 - -Ceylon, Lord Torrington’s fiscal mistakes, I. 382 - -Chamberlain, Mr., his adverse criticism of Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, II. 458; - his reception as Mayor of Birmingham of the Prince and Princess of Wales, 478; - his opposition to the continuance of flogging in the army, 569; - his skill as a debater, 571; - his supposed Socialism, 593; - his distinction in Parliament, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone’s objection to his securing a place in the Cabinet, 594; - Whig antagonism to his Cabinet rank, _ib._; - President of the Board of Trade, _ib._; - social campaign against him and the Radical section of the Cabinet, 603; - his Bill enabling Corporations to adopt electric lighting, 635; - introduces a Merchant Shipping Bill, 678; - Lord Randolph Churchill’s accusation against him in regard to the Aston riots, _ib._; - his Socialistic appeals to the electors, 698; - possible -coalition with Lord R. Churchill, _ib._; - the “doctrine of ransom,” _ib._; - abolition of taxation part of his scheme, _ib._; - his “ransom” doctrine and its effect on the country, 724; - his “unauthorised programme,” _ib._; - his scheme of Home Rule, _ib._; - his withdrawal from Mr. Gladstone’s Cabinet, 727; - joins the Liberal Unionists, 729 - -Chambers, Messrs., their petition against the Paper Duty, I. 391 - -Charles of Hesse, Death of the Princess, II. 719 - -Charles of Prussia, Prince, Death of, (the “Red Prince”), II. 721 - -Charrington, Lieutenant, his mission with Professor Palmer to detach the Bedouins - from the side of Arabi Pasha, II. 642; - murdered at the Wells of Moses, _ib._ - -Chartists, their hatred of the Queen, I. 38; - their demands, 48; - declaration of the “People’s Charter,” 49; - their meetings proclaimed, 50; - petition to the Government, 58; - riot at Birmingham, _ib._; - the vigour of the movement, _ib._; - their turbulent Socialism, 59; - alarm of the Government, _ib._; - disturbances in 1842, 126; - demonstration on Kennington Common, 327, 331; - a secret society, 328; - in league with foreign revolutionists, 329; - sympathy from the Tories, _ib._; - their political organisation, 330; - the two divisions, _ib._; - their first check, _ib._; - peaceful nature of the movement, 334; - reconstruction of the party by Mr. Ernest Jones, 335; - seizure of conspirators at Bloomsbury, 338; - collapse of the organisation, _ib._; - effect of the rising on Parliament, 354 - -Chartreuse, the Queen visits the Grande, II. 740 - -Chelmsford, Lord, Lord Chancellor, II. 257 - -Childers, Mr., his economic reforms in the navy, II. 340; - his vigorous policy at the Admiralty, 365, 424; - War Secretary, 594; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 654; - his Budget for 1883, 659; - reduces the Income Tax, _ib._; - introduces a Bill to reduce the National Debt, _ib._; - his Budget for 1884, 677; - rejection of his 1885 Budget, 706 - -Children’s celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in Hyde Park, II. 747 - -China, war with England, I. 52; - the opium trade, _ib._; - the peace of Nankin, _ib._; - the treaty in regard to commerce, 53; - disturbances at Canton, 254; - completion of a treaty with England, _ib._; - outbreak of war with England, 705; - hostilities with England, II. 47 - -Chobham, Experimental military camp at, I. 567 - -Christian, Mr. Edward, his view in regard to the constitution of the Cabinet - Council, I. 26 - -Churchill, Lord Randolph, his foundation of the Fourth Party, II. 594; - his obstructionist tactics, 600; - attack on the Government in regard to the Egyptian Question, 636; - co-operation with the Parnellites, 706; - becomes Secretary of State for India, 708; - is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, 730; - resigns the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, 731 - -Circular, The, in regard to Fugitive Slaves, II. 489 - -Clanricarde, Marquis of, his Land Bill for Ireland, II. 286 - -Clarendon, Lord, a remark on Lord John Russell, I. 239; - his satisfaction with the Queen’s visit to Ireland, 410, 411; - Chancellor of the Queen’s University of Ireland, 415; - his impartial administration in Ireland, 443; - his policy during the Russo-Turkish War difficulty, 578; - his impetuous despatch of the ultimatum to Russia, 582; - his statement regarding the war between England and Russia, 591; - remarks on the Queen and Prince Albert, II. 5, 6; - the Queen’s confidence in his advice, 44; - appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 245; - his death, 366 - -Closure, The, proposed by the Tories, II. 734 - -Coal Mines Regulation Bill, The, passed, II. 738 - -Cobden, Mr., his birth and early career, I. 87; - his work in the repeal of the Corn Laws, _ib._; - co-operation with Mr. Bright in the Anti-Corn Law Movement, 88; - enters Parliament, 98; - attack on Sir Robert Peel, 137; - his aims, 207; - receives a testimonial from Free Traders, 241; - rejection of his first scheme for international arbitration, 391; - his resolutions in favour of a general reduction of expenditure, 446; - his motion for general disarmament among European powers, 475; - his ineffectual efforts to preserve peace during the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 578; - challenges the whole policy of the Government in the Russo-Turkish Question, 587, 591; - his motion against the war with China, 706; - his Commercial Treaty, II. 48; - attack on Palmerston’s foreign policy, 207; - his death, 235; - the leading ideas of the Manchester School, _ib._ - -Cochrane, Mr., his proposal regarding the Income Tax, I. 327 - -Cockburn, Sir Alexander, his eloquent speech on the foreign policy of the Russell - Government, I. 435 - -Codrington, General, his inefficiency at Sebastopol, I. 671 - -Coercion for Ireland, Mr. Balfour’s permanent, II. 736 - -Colley, Sir George Pomeroy, Death of, II. 619 - -Collings, Mr. Jesse, defeats the Tory Government in 1886 on the question of allotments - for labourers, II. 727 - -Colonisation, attention given to the question, I. 130; - a preliminary expedition to New Zealand, _ib._ - -Connaught, Duke of, his marriage to the Princess Louise of Prussia, II. 578 - -Conolly, Captain Arthur, his mission to Persia, I. 123; - his death, 124 - -Constantine, the Grand Duke, his visit to England, I. 742 - -Constantinople, English protection of, II. 533 - -Conyngham, Marquis of, one of the messengers to the Queen announcing the death - of King William IV., I. 1 - -Cooper, Thomas, his advocacy of Chartist principles, I. 58 - -Corn Laws, the association for their repeal, I. 87; - Cobden’s advocacy of repeal, _ib._; - the Anti-Corn Law League, 88; - systematic spread of opinion against them, _ib._; - Lord John Russell’s motion, 90, 91; - reference in the Queen’s Speech, 95; - bitter debate in Parliament, 223 - -Corporation Act, The repeal of the, I. 23 - -Corrupt Practices Bill read a second time, II. 658; - its stringent penalties, _ib._; - opposed by Tories, Radicals, and Parnellites, _ib._; - passed by both Houses, _ib._ - -Corry, Mr., First Lord of the Admiralty, II. 275 - -Corry, Mr. Montagu, _see_ Rowton, Lord - -Cottenham, Lord Chancellor, administers the oath to the Queen, I. 19 - -Cotton, Sir Willoughby, in command in Afghanistan, I. 116 - -Cotton famine in Lancashire, The, I. 123 - -Cowan, Lord Mayor, the Queen’s visit at his inauguration, I. 31 - -Cowell, Lieutenant, tutor to Prince Alfred, I. 692 - -Cowper, Lord, Irish Viceroy, II. 632 - -Cranworth, Lord, Lord Chancellor, I. 519; - his bill for altering the punishment of transportation, 535 - -Crawford, Mr. Sharman, his motion in regard to Ireland, I. 354 - -Crimean War, the, Origin of, I. 540; - the declaration of war by England, 583; - review of the fleet at Spithead, 584; - Mr. Cobden’s advocacy of peace, 587; - the attitude of Prussia, 593; - Mr. Gladstone’s War Budget, 597; - operations in the Black Sea, 603; - the battle of the Alma, 607; - blunders of the Allies, 609; - the battle of Balaclava, 611; - the charge of the “Six Hundred,” 614; - the battle of Inkermann, 615; - the Austrian proposals, 623; - the Vienna Conference, 634; - death of Lord Raglan, 641; - the Queen decorates returned soldiers, 647; - the assault on the Redan, 671; - fall of Sebastopol, 673; - peace declared, 683 - -Crimes Act abandoned in 1885 by the Tory party, II. 710 - -Criminal Appeal, Court of, Bill for establishing, opposed by the Tories, II. 658; - Bill before the Grand Committee on Law, _ib._; - the Bill dropped by the Government, _ib._ - -Criminal Code Bill read a second time, II. 658 ; - opposition of the Irish Party, _ib._; - obstructed by Lord Randolph Churchill and the Fourth Party, _ib._; - abandoned by Sir Henry James, _ib._; - Sir Henry Drummond-Wolff’s question regarding, _ib._ - -Criminal Law Consolidation Acts, The, I. 28 - -_Critic, British_, its articles on the Tractarian Movement, I. 99 - -Croker, Mr. J. W., his attack on the Anti-Corn Law League, I. 211; - his opposition to the Russian War, 618 - -Cross, Mr. R. A. (afterwards Viscount Cross), Home Secretary, II. 465; - his Licensing Bill, 470; - his Artisans’ Dwellings Bill, 483; - passes the Prisons Bill, 518; - his opposition to the Bill establishing a Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases, 658 - -Crown Prince of Germany, _see_ Frederick, Crown Prince - -Cumberland, Duke of, the Orange plot for his accession to the throne, I. 37; - popular rejoicing at his departure from England, 38 - -Cupar-Fife, Seizure of packages of dynamite at, II. 661 - -Cyprus annexed by the British, I. 550 - - -D. - -Dalhousie, Lord, denied a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244; - the annexation of Burmah, 506; - his viceregal government in India, 720, 722; - his system of education unpopular, 723 - -Dalkeith Palace, Visit of the Queen to, II. 732 - -Darmstadt, The Queen at (1885), II. 719 - -Darwin, Mr. Charles, his death, II. 649; - his skill as a scientific investigator, _ib._; - his profound influence on the thought of the Victorian Age, _ib._; - the great work of his life, _ib._; - the impetus to science from his doctrine of Evolution, 650 - -Davis, Thomas Osborne, his connection with the Young Ireland Party, I. 339; - editor of the _Nation_ newspaper, _ib._; - his attack on English ideas, 340 - -Davitt, Michael, the organisation of the Land League, I. 602; - his arrest, 612 - -Davy, Sir Humphry, his discoveries in photography, I. 177 - -Delhi, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730; - recaptured by the British, 734 - -Demerara, discontent in, 1849, I. 382 - -Denison, Mr., elected Speaker of the House of Commons, II. 254 - -Denman, Lord, his opinion on the Hampden ecclesiastical case, I. 300 - -Denmark, the dispute in regard to the Duchies of Sleswig-Holstein, II. 79; - war with Germany, 187 - -Dickens, Mr. Charles, his death, II. 379; - his mission as a novelist, _ib._; - his qualities as a writer, _ib._; - the Queen’s admiration of his genius, 381; - invited to Buckingham Palace, 382; - refuses a baronetcy, 383 - -Derby, Lord (fourteenth Earl), his formation of a Protectionist Ministry, I. 499; - excellent practical work of his Government, 503; - resignation of office, 518; - attack on the Palmerston Government, 681; - support of Lord Canning’s policy in India, II. 7; - asked to form a Cabinet, _ib._; - resignation of his Government, 36; - letter on the Italian Question, 46; - his Cabinet, 257; - resigns the Premiership, 303; - his death, 350; - his character, 351 - -Derby, Lord (fifteenth Earl), the Fugitive Slave Circular, II. 489; - proposals to Turkey in regard to Bulgaria, 507; - negotiations regarding Turkey, 508; - his policy during the Russo-Turkish War, 529, 530; - his objection to a Congress on the Turkish Question, 540; - his resignation, 542; - his commendable attitude during the Russo-Turkish crisis, 543; - Secretary to the Colonies, 654; - his vacillating policy regarding British territory in Africa, 683; - his mistaken policy in regard to Queensland and New Guinea, 685; - takes possession of territory at Saint Lucia Bay and Pondoland, 686 - -Dicey, Mr. Edward, urges the policy of establishing a British Protectorate in - Egypt, II. 638, 674 - -Digna, Osman, defeated by General Graham, II. 718; - in conflict with the Abyssinians, _ib._ - -Dilke, Sir Charles, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, II. 594; - President of the Local Government Board, 655 - -Dillon, Mr., his passionate appeals against English government in Ireland, II. 615; - proposes the “Plan of Campaign,” 730; - abortive prosecution of, 735 - -Disraeli, Mr., his birth and parentage, I. 50; - his novels, _ib._; - his dislike of the Whigs, _ib._; - member for Maidstone, 51; - his personal appearance, _ib._; - his maiden speech, _ib._; - his attack on O’Connell, _ib._; - the nature of his Conservatism, _ib._; - the beginning of his influence, 190; - the pungency of his style, 191; - his opposition to Sir Robert Peel, _ib._; - the “Young England” Party, _ib._; - his speech against Peel on the Corn Laws, 223; - leadership of the Protectionists, 375; - the debate on the state of the nation, 399; - his amendment to the Queen’s Speech in 1850, 424; - his proposal to revise the Poor Law, _ib._; - his advocacy of Imperial Federation for Australia, 439; - his tactics in regard to the motion on salaries, 445; - his motion for the relief of agricultural depression, 465; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 499; - complaints against his leadership in the House of Commons, 500; - his Budget speech in 1852, 502; - his political tactics, 516; - his fatal Budget, _ib._; - his leadership of the Tories at the Crimean crisis, 635, 679, 680; - his attacks on Lord Palmerston’s Italian policy, 696; - coalition with Mr. Gladstone, 700; - attack on the foreign policy of the Government, _ib._; - his support of Lord Canning’s policy in India, II. 7; - his India Bill, 17; - his Reform Bill, 32; - support of Lord Palmerston’s Ministry, 75, 82; - his view in regard to the American Civil War, 119; - attack on Mr. Gladstone’s Budget of 1860, 125; - attack on Palmerston’s diplomacy with Denmark, 204; - moves a vote of censure on Palmerston’s policy with Denmark, 206; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 257; - speech on Reform, 271; - his proposals in regard to Reform, 274; - “educating his party,” 278; - his Budget for 1867, 283; - Premier, 303; - a faulty electoral address, 314; - resigns office, 315; - his speech on the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, 331; - his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s motion on the Irish Church, 332, 334-5; - his criticism of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 357; - his opposition to Army Purchase, 392; - his effective opposition to Mr. Gladstone, 426; - his attacks on the Gladstone Government, 463; - his majority in 1874, 465; - First Lord of the Treasury, 465; - his chivalrous attitude towards Mr. Gladstone, 467; - disaffection of the High Church party, 472; - the Scottish Church Patronage Bill, 472; - decline of his reputation, 474; - the annexation of the Fiji Islands, 475; - the Merchant Shipping Bill, 485-7; - purchase of the Suez Canal shares, 492; - the Royal Titles Bill, 499; - created Earl of Beaconsfield, 503; - speech on the Bulgarian atrocities, 506; - national protest against Turkish policy, 511, 523, 526; - his dexterity in dealing with the Turkish Question, 539; - his final agreement with Russia in regard to Turkey, 547; - at the Berlin Congress, 549; - the Anglo-Turkish Convention, 550; - the Indian scientific frontier, 556; - his belief in Asiatic Imperialism, 587; - deserted by the _Standard_, 588; - his Manifesto to the country, 590; - his fall from power, _ib._; - his novel of “Endymion,” 608; - his abandonment of the Coercion Act in Ireland, 611; - the failure of his policy in Afghanistan, _ib._; - his error in annexing the Transvaal, _ib._; - his death, 619; - his brilliant career, 620; - the secret of his success, _ib._; - sincerely esteemed by the Queen, _ib._; - his democratic impulses, _ib._; - his skilful management of the House of Commons, _ib._; - his declining years, _ib._; - his mistaken policy on the Eastern Question, 621; - his last words, 622; - his funeral, _ib._; - affectionately mourned by the people, _ib._; - visit of the Queen to his tomb, _ib._; - her Majesty’s monument to his memory in Hughenden Church, 643 - -Dixie, Lady Florence, the alleged attack on, II. 663; - alarm to the Queen by the story of the attack, _ib._; - John Brown reports on the case to her Majesty, 664 - -Dodson, Mr., President of the Local Government Board, II. 594; - his Employers’ Liability Bill, 601 - -Dongola, Evacuation of, by Lord Wolseley, II. 718 - -Dost Mahomed, his territory, I. 112; - his anxiety for an English alliance, _ib._; - virtual declaration of war against him by the British, 114; - his flight from Cabul, _ib._; - again in arms, 115; - defeat of a British force, _ib._; - surrender to the British Government, _ib._; - set at liberty, 122 - -Drummond, Mr., his proposal for the reduction of taxation, I. 446 - -Dublin, visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 407; - second visit of the Queen, 571; - riotous proceedings in connection with the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee, 746 - -Dufferin, Lord, appointed Viceroy of India, II. 696 - -Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, his connection with the “Young Ireland” Party, I. 339; - his statement of his aims, 340; - his arrest, 342; - brought to trial, 343 - -Dunraven, Lord, his conciliatory motion on Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill, II. 677 - -Durham, Lord, his Liberal policy in Canada, I. 34; - his resignation of the Governorship of Canada, _ib._; - recalled in disgrace by the Government, 35; - his system of self-government for Canada, _ib._; - success of his policy, _ib._; - his death, _ib._ - -Duty, Paper, Mr. Milner Gibson’s motion for repeal of, I. 503; - rejection of his motion, _ib._ - - -E. - -Earle, General, Death of, II. 717 - -East India Company, occupation of Aden by its troops, I. 52; - its opposition to Napier’s command in India, 402; - annexation of the Punjaub, _ib._ - -Ecclesiastical Titles Bill introduced by Lord John Russell, I. 464; - Mr. Cobden’s remarks on, 465; - opposition of the Peelites to its terms, 466; - the second attempt to introduce it, 470 - -Edinburgh visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 458, 487; - review of the volunteers by the Queen, II. 66; - third visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, 91; - the unveiling of the Scottish National Albert Memorial, 503; - visited by the Queen, 627; - review of the volunteers by the Queen, _ib._; - her Majesty opens the International Exhibition in 1886, 732 - -Edinburgh, Duke of, _see_ Alfred, Prince - -Edison, Mr., the effect of his discovery of the electric light on gas investors, II. 582 - -Education hardly existing in its popular sense at the Queen’s accession, I. 3; - Lord John Russell’s scheme for national education, 270; - vote on the subject in the House of Commons, 282, 283; - Mr. Lowe’s revised Code, II. 120; - Bill introduced in the House of Commons, 355, 360; - its terms, 360; - criticism of the Bill by Mr. Mill and Mr. Fawcett, 361; - the Bill passed by both Houses, 362; - adverse criticism of the Bill by the Dissenters, 457; - Mr. Forster’s compromise to the Dissenters in regard to the Bill, 458 - -Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Princess, II. 723 - -Egypt, vote of credit in Parliament for expedition, II. 635; - the sources of the Egyptian difficulty, 636; - Ismail Pasha’s policy, _ib._; - the national borrowed money, _ib._; - purchase of the Suez Canal shares by England, _ib._; - Mr. Cave’s report on the Khedive’s money difficulties, 638; - Mr. Edward Dicey’s view of a Protectorate, _ib._; - Lord Salisbury’s error in policy, _ib._; - the Goschen-Joubert scheme for consolidating the Egyptian debt, _ib._; - commission by France and England to investigate the resources of the country, _ib._; - Nubar Pasha’s Ministry, 639; - beginning of the Dual Control, _ib._; - arrangement by the Powers to depose Ismail, _ib._; - Tewfik appointed Khedive, _ib._; - inefficiency of the Dual Control, _ib._; - ignominious position of England, _ib._; - the supremacy of the bondholders, _ib._; - restlessness of the natives under the Dual Control, 640; - revolt of Arabi Bey, _ib._; - disagreement between the partners in the Dual Control as to the treatment of Arabi Pasha, 641; - determination of the Assembly of Notables to assert their right to control - the Budget, _ib._; - the right of the Assembly disputed by the French and English controllers, _ib._; - the Chamber of Notables refuses to withdraw from its position, _ib._; - M. de Blignières resigns his post on the Dual Control, 642; - Arabi made Dictator of the country, _ib._; - “Egypt for the Egyptians,” _ib._; - French and English fleets despatched to Alexandria, _ib._; - French and English consuls advise the expulsion of Arabi, _ib._; - a riot in Alexandria, _ib._; - stampede of the foreign population of Alexandria and of Cairo, _ib._; - formation of a Cabinet patronised by Germany and Austria, _ib._; - safety of the Suez Canal assured, 643; - the battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, _ib._; - the Khedive -reinstated in Cairo, _ib._; - occupied by a British army, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone declares the occupation of the country temporary, _ib._; - the cost of the war to England, _ib._; - really under the control of the British Consul-General, _ib._; - England forbids the restoration of the Dual Control, _ib._; - Arabi and the insurgent leaders saved from capital punishment by the English - Government, acting on the instigation of Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, _ib._; - used as a subject for embarrassing the Ministry, 661; - Lord Hartington’s declaration about the recall of the British troops, _ib._; - difficulty arising from the exorbitant tolls levied on ships by the Suez Canal - Company, 662; - Mr. Gladstone’s agreement with M. de Lesseps, _ib._; - intention of the English Government to withdraw the troops, 670; - the attempt to conquer the Soudan, _ib._; - the appearance of the Mahdi, _ib._; - the expedition under Colonel Hicks, _ib._; - Hicks defeated at El Obeid, _ib._; - the Egyptian garrisons in the Soudan, _ib._; - the advice of the British Government in regard to the Soudan, 671; - the delay in the evacuation of Cairo, _ib._; - steps taken to relieve General Gordon, _ib._; - attack by the Conservatives on Mr. Gladstone’s policy, _ib._; - the embarrassing position of England in regard to, 672; - the best policy for England, _ib._; - the decision of the British Government, _ib._; - General Gordon’s mission, _ib._; - his arrival at Cairo, _ib._; - General Gordon appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, _ib._; - Baker Pasha’s death at Tokar, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone admitted to be right in advising the abandonment of the Soudan, 674; - how the situation had been affected by the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, _ib._; - Gordon’s preliminary policy during his mission, 675; - the massacre of the garrison at Sinkat, _ib._; - the battle of El Teb, _ib._; - the battle of Tamanieb, _ib._; - General Graham recalled from Suakim, _ib._; - failure of Gordon’s negotiations with the Mahdi, 676; - the bad financial position of the country, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone’s policy to relieve the debt, _ib._; - the Conference in regard to the country, _ib._; - Lord Northbrook’s mission, _ib._; - England’s freedom of action, _ib._; - vote for military operations by the English Government, _ib._; - the actual difficulties of the country, 682; - Lord Northbrook’s recommendations in regard to the debt, _ib._; - financial proposal of the British Government, _ib._; - prosecution of the Egyptian Government by the Debt Commission, _ib._; - Prince Bismarck’s advice to England regarding, 684; - Mr. Gladstone’s policy, 702; - the plan adopted for rescuing the country from a financial crisis, _ib._; - the diplomatic hostility of France, Russia, and Germany to England’s policy, 703; - the frontier fixed at Wady Halfa, _ib._ - -Election, General, on the Home Rule Scheme of Mr. Gladstone, II. 729 - -Electric Telegraph, its progress at the date of the Queen’s accession, I. 3 - -Elgin, Lord, his policy in Canada, I. 382; - his admirable behaviour during the Canadian crisis in 1849, 383, 384; - his successful diplomacy with Japan, II. 2 - -Eliot, George, her death, II. 609; - the character of her novels, _ib._; - her works especially enjoyed by the Queen, _ib._; - the popularity of “Adam Bede,” 610 - -Ellenborough, Lord, his secret despatch to Lord Canning, II. 18; - resigns office, _ib._ - -Elliot, Captain, his arrest by the Chinese Government, I. 52 - -El Obeid, Hicks Pasha and his army annihilated at, II. 670 - -Elphinstone, General, in command in Afghanistan, I. 116 - -El Teb, Defeat of Osman Digna at, II. 675 - -“Endymion,” Mr. Disraeli’s novel of, II. 608 - -England, development of the country since 1837, I. 3; - discontent among the masses, 48, 49; - the state of the country in 1839, 57; - disturbances in 1842, 126; - foreign policy during the difficulties between Russia and Turkey, 550-563; - the war against Russia, 583; - signature of the Protocol, 584; - a day of Fast, 599; - signature of the treaty with Russia, 683; - dispute with the United States, 688; - withdrawal of the legation from Italy, 698; - murmurings against taxation, 699; - war with Persia, 703, 704; - war with China, 705; - difficulties with Egypt, 660; - coolness with Germany, 683; - the rivalry with Germany regarding territory on the Congo, _ib._; - surrender to Germany on questions of colonial policy, 684; - unable to reconcile her interests with those of France, _ib._; - Prince Bismarck’s opposition, _ib._; - Bismarck’s advice regarding Egypt, _ib._; - annexation of territory at Saint Lucia Bay and at Pondoland, 686; - the Reserves called out, 702; - the difficulty of holding Egypt, _ib._; - offers of support from her colonies and from the peoples of India at the Russian - difficulty, 703; - controversy with Russia about the frontier of Afghanistan, 719 - -Este Guelphs, the name of the Royal Family of Great Britain, I. 5 - -Exchange, New Coal, founded by the Prince Consort, I. 418 - -Exhibition, International Industries, Prince Albert’s interest in, I. 449; - banquet of Commissioners at the Mansion House, 450; - attack by the Press on the Commissioners, 454; - completion of the building, 462; - energetic care of Prince Albert, 480, - adverse criticism of the scheme, _ib._; - opened by the Queen, 452; - ball at the Guildhall, 486; - opening of the Exhibition of 1862, II. 135 - -Explosives Act, the one Bill not obstructed in the session of 1883, 660; - the events that led to its production, _ib._; - the attempt to blow up the Local Board Government Offices, _ib._; - outrage in the Times office, _ib._; - the measure brought in by Sir W. Harcourt, _ib._ - - -F. - -Fair Trade Meetings, The, in Trafalgar Square, II. 731 - -Falkland, Lord, his Governorship of Nova Scotia, I. 251 - -Faraday, Mr., his researches in electricity, I. 270, 271; - his paper “On New Magnetic Actions,” 271 - -Farr, Dr., his investigation of the English Poor Law system, I. 362, 363 - -Fawcett, Mr., Postmaster-General, II. 594; - his Bill establishing a Parcels Post, 635; - his admission of women to the Post Office service, 653 - -Fenian Society, The, originated, II. 246; - its first name, _ib._; - its founder in Ireland, _ib._; - established in the United States, _ib._; - the funeral of McManus, _ib._ - -Ferdinand I., his rule in Austria, I. 343; - flight from Vienna, 345 - -Fielden, Mr. John, his “Ten Hours Bill,” I. 287 - -Finches, the, Earls of Nottingham, Mansion of, on the site of Kensington Palace, I. 8 - -Fitzmaurice, Lord Edmond, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, II. 655 - -Fitzwilliam, Earl, incident in the Queen’s early life at his residence, I. 12 - -Forster, Mr. W. E., his scheme of national education, I. 270; - his Endowed Schools Bill, 339; - introduces his Education Bill, 359; - his Ballot Bill, 395; - his compromise to the Dissenters on the Education Bill, 458; - his hesitancy regarding the War Vote, 538; - Chief Secretary for Ireland, 594; - his policy in Ireland, 601; - his Bill amending the Irish Act of 1870, 602; - his Coercion Bill, 604; - his Protection of Persons and Property Bill, 611; - violent opposition from Irish Members, _ib._; - his Protection Bill, 612; - his suppression of the Land League, 628; - opposition from Radicals and Conservatives to his coercive policy, 631; - failure of his Irish policy, _ib._; - his ineffective administration in Ireland, 632; - influences Parliament to give women a fair share - of the public endowments for secondary education, 653; - his withdrawal from the Cabinet, 654; - his charges against Mr. Parnell, 656 - -Fortescue, Mr. Chichester (afterwards Lord Carlingford), Secretary for Ireland, II. 245; - support of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 358; - appointed to the Board of Trade, 387 - -Fourth Party, The, founded, II. 594; - its members, _ib._; - the reward of its efforts, 708 - -Fox, Mr. W. J., lecture against Corn Laws, I. 89 - -France, difficulties with England, I. 166; - dispute with England in regard to Otaheite, 167; - a letter from the Queen, 167; - visit of Louis Philippe to England, 172; - continued unfriendliness with England, 254; - protest of the English Government against the proposed Franco-Spanish marriage - alliance, 258; - bad fruits of the dispute with England, 302; - diplomatic quarrel with England, 428; - the Second Empire, 523; - dispute with Turkey as to Roman Catholics in Jerusalem, 542; - a treaty with Turkey, 543; - zeal of the war party against Russia, 581; - declaration of war against Russia, 583; - occupation of Gallipoli by French troops, _ib._; - signature of the Protocol, 584; - unpopularity of the war with Russia, 640; - collapse of the alliance with England, 675; - difficulties with Germany, II. 51; - angry feeling against England, 52; - an agreement with Italy, 218; - dispute with Prussia regarding Luxembourg, 282; - organisation of the military system, 344; - outbreak of the war with Prussia, 366; - nominal cause of the quarrel, 367; - proclamation of war against Prussia, 368; - Napoleon’s secret treaty regarding Belgium, 369; - battle of Worth, 370; - battle of Gravelotte, _ib._; - capture of Sedan, _ib._; - surrender of the French Emperor, _ib._; - proclamation of a Republic, 371; - cession of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, _ib._; - unconditional surrender of the French army at Metz, _ib._; - the campaign under Gambetta’s leadership, 372; - M. Thiers appointed President, 406; - the Commission by France and England to investigate the resources of Egypt, 638; - the Dual Control in Egypt, 639; - breaks up the Dual Control, 642; - her fleet withdraws during the bombardment of Alexandria by the British, _ib._; - controversy with England, 667; - insolent behaviour of Admiral Pierre at Tamatave, _ib._; - effect of the criticism of a factious Opposition, _ib._; - the honourable reparation to the British Government, 668; - opposition to English diplomacy in Egypt, 676; - an arrangement with England in regard to Egypt, _ib._; - formally abandons the Dual Control, _ib._ - -Franchise Bill passed through the House of Commons, 679; - the loyal understanding between Liberals and Conservatives on this matter, _ib._; - passed by the House of Lords, _ib._ - -“Franchise First,” the cry of a section of the Liberal Party in 1883, 668 - -Francis, John, attempt on the Queen’s life, I. 110 - -Fraudulent Trusts Bill passed in Parliament, I. 715 - -Frederick, Crown Prince, afterwards the Emperor Frederick III., - of Germany, his betrothal to the Princess Victoria, I. 662; - his marriage, 740, 750-752; - his splendid appearance in the Jubilee procession, II. 742 - -Frederick the Wise, his relationship to the Queen, I. 5; - his Protestantism, _ib._; - his kindness to Luther, _ib._ - -Free Trade, concessions by the Melbourne Ministry, I. 94; - its rejection by Sir Robert Peel, 98; - its advances since 1841, 201; - bazaar in Covent Garden, 202; - effect of the potato disease on Ireland, _ib._; - enthusiasm of the nation in its favour, 216; - Sir Robert Peel declares himself in its favour, 238; - its operation in Ireland, 273, 274; - disastrous effect in Ireland, 275; - development of Mr. Cobden’s plan, 387; - the strong feeling in its favour, 506 - -Frere, Sir Bartle, accompanies the Prince of Wales in his tour through India, II. 493; - his project of conquest in South Africa, 563 - -Freycinet, M. de, his policy of non-intervention in regard to Arabi Pasha, 641 - -Frost, John, his armed attack on the magistrates of Newport, I. 59; - his transportation, _ib._ - -Fugitive Slave Circular, The, II. 489 - - -G. - -Gakdul, Occupation of, II. 713 - -Gambetta, his vigorous administration of the French Republic, II. 372; - his vain attempts to induce England to join France in coercing Arabi Pasha - and the Egyptian National Party, 641; - his death, 650; - endeared to the masses by his patriotism and unselfish devotion, _ib._ - -Gardner, Mr. R., his sketch of industrial England, I. 282 - -Garfield, President, his assassination, II. 627; - the Queen’s letter of sympathy to Mrs. Garfield, _ib._; - his heroic career, _ib._ - -Garibaldi, his conquest of the Sicilies, II. 54, 55; - refuses a reward for his services, 56; - his second campaign of liberation, 128; - ovations in London, 194; - his departure from England, 198; - his death, 650 - -General Election on the Home Rule scheme of Mr. Gladstone, II. 729 - -George III., his determination to have an actual voice in the appointment of - his Ministers, I. 26 - -George V., ex-King of Hanover, Death of, II. 558 - -Germany, the movement in favour of national unity, I. 343; - the Emperor Frederick’s aim, 346; - opposition of the Powers to its proposed unity, 422; - dispute with Denmark as to Sleswig-Holstein, 457; - her astute conduct at the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 582; - Bismarck’s work for the unity of the empire, II. 129; - the popular movement in favour of unity, 279; - an agreement between Russia and Italy, _ib._; - rapid progress of its consolidation, 281; - the Congress at Berlin, 549; - irritated by the foreign and colonial policy of England, 683; - the cause of the coolness with England, _ib._; - International Conference at Berlin to determine about the control of the Congo, _ib._; - appeal of the settlement at Angra Pequena for protection, _ib._; - annexation of Angra Pequena, 684; - expedition to seize the Cameroons, _ib._; - alarm of Egyptian bondholders in, 685; - occupation of part of New Guinea, 686 - -Germany, Crown Prince of (afterwards Emperor Frederick III.), _see_ Frederick - Crown Prince - -Gibraltar, Deportation of Zebehr Pasha to, II. 711 - -Gibson, Mr., his opposition to the Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases Bill, II. 658 - -Giffard, Sir Hardinge, his opposition to the Bill establishing a Court of Appeal - in Criminal Cases, II. 658 - -Gill, Captain, R.E., his mission with Professor Palmer to detach the Bedouins - from the side of Arabi Pasha, II. 642; - murdered at the Wells of Moses, _ib._ - -Gladstone, Mr., member for Newark, I. 50; - his office under Sir Robert Peel, _ib._; - his early Conservatism, _ib._; - resigns on the Maynooth Grant, 183; - Secretary for the Colonies under Peel, 211; - his support of the scheme of Home Rule for the Colonies, 386; - support of Mr. Disraeli on the Poor Law, 425; - his proposal regarding the Australian colonies, 440; - letters on the State prosecutions of the Neapolitan Government, 475; - speech on Mr. Disraeli’s Budget, 518; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 519; - his first Budget, 531; - his Budget for 1854, 596-598; - resigns office, 630; - his finance policy during the Crimean War, 643; - coalition with Mr. Disraeli, 700; - proposed reduction of the Income Tax, _ib._; - attack on the Budget, 702; - his opposition to Disraeli’s Reform Bill, II. 32; - his anti-Austrian policy, 43; - explanation of the Commercial Treaty with France, 48; - remarks on the Fortification Scheme, 63; - repeal of the Paper Duty, 82; - attack on the Budget of 1862, 123; - his Budget for 1863, 171; - his mastery of finance, 212; - his Budget for 1864, _ib._; - his proposal to extend the franchise to the working classes, 215; - his Budget for 1865, 236; - leader of the House of Commons, 245; - the Russell-Gladstone Reform Bill, 255, 256; - his Budget for 1866, 259; - speech on the Irish Church Question, 286; - resolutions in favour of the disendowment of the Irish Church, 307; - Premier, 315; - his motion to disendow the Irish Church, 330; - his Land Bill for Ireland, 357; - effective opposition from the Tories, 426; - his Irish University Bill, 432; - defeat of his Ministry, 435; - return to power, 436; - the elections of 1874, 463; - resignation of office, 465; - withdrawal from the leadership of the Liberal Party, 467; - his pamphlets on “Vaticanism,” 475; - his agitation against Turkey, 503, 506; - speech on the Turkish Question, 527; - his Edinburgh speech on finance, 582; - favourable opinion in England in regard to his Irish Land Act, 587; - his great popularity in 1880, 590; - his successful campaign in Scotland and the North of England, 591; - efforts to prevent him from becoming Prime Minister, 592; - entrusted with the power to form a Cabinet, _ib._; - Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, 594; - his Budget for 1881, 615; - his Irish Land Bill, 616; - success of his government in Egypt after the fall of the Dual Control, 643; - declares the occupation of Egypt to be temporary, _ib._; - his agreement with M. de Lesseps in regard to the Suez Canal, 662; - brings the controversy with France to a close, 668; - an address to the tenants at Hawarden, 671; - recommends the production of jam as an industry, _ib._; - his abandonment of the Soudan admitted to be right by the Opposition, 674; - the adverse view of his Soudan policy, _ib._; - his Reform Bill of 1884, 677; - his campaign in Midlothian, 678; - introduces the Franchise Bill, 679; - the difficulties connected with the Reform Bill, 696; - the great changes to be effected by his Reform Bill, 702; - the Seats Bill, 699-702; - his patriotic speech against Russia, 703; - his compromise with Russia, _ib._; - renews certain provisions of the Irish Crimes Act, 704; - increase of expenditure under his Government, _ib._; - defeated on an amendment of Sir M. Hicks-Beach, 706; - resignation of (1885), 707; - offered an earldom, 708; - the Midlothian Programme, 724; - his Cabinet of 1886, 727; - loses the support of the Whigs, _ib._; - his Home Rule scheme, 727-8; - his Land Purchase (Ireland) Bill, 728; - the objections which were taken to his Home Rule proposals, _ib._; - his Home Rule Bill rejected, 729; - he appeals to the country on the subject, _ib._ - -Glasgow visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 411; - arrest of dynamitards, 661; - the sinking of the _Daphne_, 666; - the Queen’s sympathy and subscription to the survivors of the _Daphne_ disaster, _ib._ - -Gleichen, Count, II. 723 - -Goodwin, General, capture of Martaban, I. 505; - capture of Rangoon, _ib._ - -Gordon, General, steps taken to relieve him in Khartoum, II. 671; - his mission to the Soudan, 672; - his arrival at Cairo, _ib._; - appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, _ib._; - his double commission, _ib._; - part of his policy adversely criticised by the Conservatives, 675; - denounced for sanctioning slavery, _ib._; - the factiousness of the Opposition, _ib._; - a sortie from Khartoum, _ib._; - surrounded by treason, _ib._; - entreats the Government to send help, _ib._; - failure of his negotiations with the Mahdi, 676; - publication of his protests against the desertion of Khartoum, _ib._; - instructed to go to the Soudan, 711; - recommends the appointment of Zebehr Pasha as ruler of the Soudan, _ib._; - at Khartoum, _ib._; - his advice as to the evacuation of the town, 712; - his plan for withdrawing the troops and the _employés_, _ib._; - how he would have checked the Mahdi, _ib._; - his position at Khartoum growing very critical, _ib._; - death of, 715; - his defence of Khartoum, 716; - character of, 717 - -Gordon, Lord Advocate, his Scottish Church Patronage Bill, II. 472 - -Gordon, Miss, the Queen’s letter to, II. 717 - -Gorham, Rev. W., his case in the lay courts, I. 447 - -Gorst, Mr., one of the Fourth Party, II. 594; - his obstructionist tactics, 601 - -Gortschakoff, Prince, his reply to Lord Salisbury’s Circular Letter, II. 546; - at the Berlin Congress, 549; - death of, 651 - -Goschen, Mr., becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer, II. 731; - his Budget of 1887, 738 - -Gough, Lord, the disaster at Chillianwalla, I. 399; - movement for his recall, 400 - -Gough, Sir Hugh, his victory at Gwalior, I. 150; - his campaign against the Sikhs, 234; - the battle of Sobraon, 235 - -Goulburn, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer, I. 97; - threatened assassination, 138; - the Irish Coercion Bill, 230 - -Graham, General, his army at Suakim, II. 675; - defeats Osman Digna at El Teb, _ib._; - the battle of Tamanieb, _ib._; - at Suakim, 717 - -Graham, Sir James, Home Secretary, I. 97; - his views in regard to the Factories Act, 140; - masterly speech on the Navigation Laws, 374; - his reduction of the Admiralty expenditure, 390; - refuses to join the Russell Cabinet, 478; - his resolution on Free Trade, 515; - First Lord of the Admiralty, 519; - resigns office, 630 - -Grants, Royal, Committee to “inquire into and consider,” promised, II. 720; - the promise repudiated by the Tory Party, _ib._ - -Granville, Lord, President of the Council, I. 519; - his unpopular colonial policy, 342, 366; - Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 366; - his advice regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592; - Foreign Secretary, 594; - his efforts to get Turkey to fulfil her obligations, 598 - -Gravelotte, Battle of, II. 370 - -Gray, Mr. E. Dwyer, starts a relief fund for distress in Ireland, II. 586 - -Greece, the case of Mr. Finlay, I. 426; - Italian intrigues in regard to the throne, II. 128; - overthrow of King Otho, _ib._; - cession of the Ionian Islands by England to Greece, _ib._; - Turkey’s failure to fulfil her obligations, 598; - the justice of her claims admitted by the Powers, 610 - -Greville, Mr., description of the Queen’s coronation, I. 44; - the Queen’s affairs in 1847, 291; - political matters in 1849, 395; - the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 415; - Kossuth’s visit to England, 490 - -Grey, General, his death, II. 378; - his serious loss to the Queen as private secretary, 379; - his proposed Life of the Prince Consort, 481 - -Grey, Lord, his opposition to Lord John Russell, I. 206; - continued differences with Lord John Russell, 244; - enters the Whig Cabinet, _ib._; - Secretary for the Colonies, 386; - his proposal to make the Cape of Good Hope a convict settlement, 402; - his protest against the Russian War, 590 - -Grey, Sir George, Home Secretary, I. 245; - suggestion regarding the Established Church in Ireland, 354; - the Crown Government Security Bill, 355; - his proposal on the Irish Question, 375; - Secretary for the Colonies, 626 - -Gubat, The British camp at, II. 715 - -Guelph, Este, the name of the Royal Family of Great Britain, I. 5 - -Guelph, House of, Representatives of the, in the eleventh century, I. 4 - -Guizot, M., mission to London regarding Egypt, I. 86; - his diplomacy in regard to the proposed marriage alliance between France and - Spain, 255; - injury to his prestige, 256; - his pretext for the Franco-Spanish alliance, 257; - his friendship with Metternich, 302 - - -H. - -Habeas Corpus Act, suspension during the Irish crisis, I. 342; - proposed suspension in Ireland in 1848, 353 - -Halifax, Lord, Chancellor of the Exchequer, I. 245; - his defects as a politician, 288, 289; - his financial statement for 1847, 290 - -Hamburg spirit, The sale of, II. 738 - -Hampden, Dr., his election to the See of Hereford, I. 299; - his supposed heterodoxy, _ib._; - confirmation of his appointment by the Queen, 300 - -Harcourt, Sir William Vernon, Solicitor-General, II. 439; - his sarcastic assaults on the Tory Government, 583; - Home Secretary, 594; - his Hares and Rabbits Bill, 601; - his Bill for reforming the government of London, 678 - -Hardinge, Lord, his plan for a new army organisation, 694; - his death, 695 - -Hardy, Mr. Gathorne (afterwards Lord Cranbrook), President of the Poor Law Board, I. 257; - Home Secretary, 304; - War Secretary, 465; - his Regimental Exchanges Bill, 483 - -Harrison, Colonel, blamed in connection with the death of the Prince Imperial, II. 578 - -Hartington, Marquis of, Secretary for Ireland, II. 387; - leader of the Liberal Party, 482; - his motion on the Army Discipline Bill, 571; - his advice regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592; - in favour of Mr. Chamberlain receiving a place in the Cabinet, 594; - Secretary for India, _ib._; - his exposure of the tactics of the obstructionists, 601; - his leadership of the Liberal Party, 603; - Secretary for War, 654; - his pledge that the Attorney-General would bring in an Affirmation Bill, 658; - damages the prestige of the Government by his declaration about the withdrawal - of the British troops from Egypt, _ib._; - his mistake as to Gordon’s position in Egypt, 676; - becomes leader of the Liberal Unionists, 729 - -Havelock, Sir Henry, his relief of Lucknow, II. 735 - -Hayward, Mr. Abraham, his account of English policy towards Turkey, II. 524; - letters from Mr. Gladstone regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592 - -Health Exhibition at South Kensington, The, II. 694 - -Helena, Princess, her birth, I. 262; - her marriage to Prince Christian, II. 262 - -Hennessey, Mr. Pope, his wish to revive Nationalist ideas in Ireland, II. 239 - -Henry of Battenberg, Prince, II. 718; - made Knight of the Garter, 722; - assumes the designation of “His Royal Highness,” _ib._; - question of the legality of the assumption of the title, _ib._ - -Herat attacked by the Persians, I. 113; - defended by Eldred Pottinger, _ib._ - -Herbert, Mr. Sidney, refuses a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244; - his view of the Income Tax, 471; - War Secretary, 519; - resigns office, 630 - -Herries, Mr., his attack on the Russell Cabinet and on the Cobdenites, I. 390; - his proposal for a fixed duty on corn, 391; - President of the Board of Control, 499 - -Herschel, Sir Farrer (afterwards Lord Herschel), Solicitor-General, II. 594 - -Hertford, Marquis of, his death, II. 686; - an ideal Lord Chamberlain, _ib._; - his interesting stories regarding Court life, _ib._; - an incident in the life of Prince Albert, _ib._ - -Hesse, Grand Duke of, his morganatic marriage with the Countess de Kalomine, II. 719 - -Hesse, Princess Charles of, Death of, II. 719 - -Hewett, Admiral, his command at Suakim, II. 675 - -Hewitt, Mr., Mayor of New York, striking speech on the Queen’s Jubilee, II. 747 - -Hicks-Beach, Sir M., defeats Mr. Gladstone’s Government, II. 706; - is appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, 730; - resigns office, 735 - -Hicks Pasha and his army defeated at El Obeid, II. 670 - -Hill, Rowland, his parentage, 78; - Secretary to the South Australian Commission, _ib._; - his pamphlet on the Postal System, _ib._; - his plan for a Penny Postage, _ib._; - opposed by Lord Lichfield and by the Rev. Sydney Smith, 79; - supported by Mr. Warburton and Mr. Wallace in the House of Commons, _ib._; - Act of Parliament passed in favour of his plan, 80 - -Hohenlohe, Prince, account of vagabondage in Germany, I. 346 - -Hohenlohe-Langenberg, Prince Victor, II. 723 - -Holkar, Maharajah, at Windsor, II. 740 - -Holloway College for Women opened, II. 732 - -Holyoake, Mr. G. J., first employs the name of “Jingoes,” II. 530 - -Home Rule, its rise in Ireland, II. 426; - Mr. Parnell’s leadership, _ib._; - Mr. Parnell and other Irish members suspended, _ib._; - the struggle regarding Coercion, 614; - Mr. Parnell and the Land Act, 628; - Mr. Parnell and others imprisoned, _ib._; - Mr. Forster and Mr. Parnell, 632; - Mr. Parnell charged with conniving at murder, 656; - Mr. Forster’s attack on the agitators, _ib._; - warm admiration of Mr. Parnell in Ireland, _ib._; - Mr. Chamberlain’s scheme of, 724; - Earl Russell’s, _ib._; - Lord Carnarvon’s, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone’s, 727-8; - Mr. Gladstone’s Bill defeated, 728 - -Hong-Kong ceded to England, I. 53 - -Hook, Dean, his pamphlet on national education, I. 270 - -Horsman, Mr., his motion on the proposed reduction of official salaries, I. 446 - -Houghton, Lord, his motion in regard to “Essays and Reviews,” II. 215 - -Howick, Lord, his motion in regard to depression in manufacturing industry, I. 137 - -Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, messenger to the Queen announcing the death - of King William IV., I. 1 - -Hudson, Mr. George, his leadership in railway enterprise, I. 201; - his supposed advice regarding railways in Ireland, 278; - the railway craze in England, 279 - -Humboldt, Baron von, his unfavourable opinion of Prince Albert, I. 197 - -Hume, Mr. Joseph, his discovery of an Orange plot, I. 37; - the proposed provision for Prince Albert, 67; - his attack on the Portuguese policy of the Russell Government, 302; - the Parliamentary Reform Association, 338; - attack on the Russell Government Budget, 352; - his proposal for the extension of the franchise, 356, 426, 502; - his support of the Manchester School, 356; - demands the doing away with the Excise, 390; - his motion for Parliamentary Reform, 391; - his effort to limit the period of the Income Tax, 471 - -Hungary, its independence recognised, II. 282 - -Hunt, Leigh, verses to the Queen, I. 132 - -Huskisson, Mr., M.P., accidentally killed at the opening of the Liverpool Railway, I. 47 - -Hutchinson, Mr., his Bill for protecting newspaper reports of lawful meetings, II. 618 - -Hutt, Mr., his proposal to withdraw British war-ships from suppressing the West - African slave trade, I. 438 - -Hyde Park, the riot in 1867, II. 270; - Children’s celebration in, of the Queen’s Jubilee, 747 - - -I. - -Iddesleigh, Lord, _see_ Northcote, Sir Stafford - -Ilbert Bill, the great strife over its terms, II. 662; - an explosion of race-hatred regarding it in India, _ib._ - -Imperial Federation League founded, II. 731 - -Imperial Institute, The, originated, II. 739; - laying the foundation stone of, 748 - -Income Tax, The, imposed by Sir Robert Peel, I. 133; - popular demonstration against its increase, 327; - Lord John Russell’s proposal, 351; - its continuance by Sir Charles Wood, 471; - proposed extension by Mr. Disraeli, 517; - Mr. Gladstone’s arrangement, 531; - Mr. Gladstone’s experiments, 598, 700; II. 237, 463, 601 - -Indemnity, Bill of, Application to Parliament for, II. 2 - -India, the Sikh outbreak, I. 399; - the India Government Bill, 530; - introduction of the India Bill by Sir Charles Wood, 533; - proposed change in the management of the country’s affairs, 534; - revolt of the Bengal army, 719; - probable cause of the great Mutiny, 720; - the misgovernment of Oudh, 721-723; - the difficulty as to the position of the royal family of Delhi, 724; - dissatisfaction of the Sepoys with English rule, 725; - popular beliefs regarding the downfall of British power, 727; - Mutiny of the Sepoys, 728; - suppression of the Mutiny, II. 2-4; - failure of Lord Derby’s policy, 15; - Disraeli’s India Bill, 18; - cordial reception of Disraeli’s Bill in India, 25; - a Proclamation by the Queen, _ib._; - the Queen’s new regulations regarding the Indian army, 26; - the Order of the Star of India, 40, 91; - the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill, 662; - Lord Lytton’s rule as to the vacancies in the India Civil Service, _ib._; - an explosion of race-hatred, _ib._; - Jubilee celebrations in, 739 - -Indian and Colonial Exhibition opened, II. 731 - -Indian contingent, The, in the Soudan campaign, II. 717 - -Indies, West, distress in 1848, I. 350; - Lord John Russell’s policy, 351 - -Inkermann, The battle of, I. 615 - -“Invincibles,” The, II. 632 - -Ionian Islands, Cession of, to Greece, II. 128 - -Ireland, O’Connell’s agitation, 151-158; - meetings at Tara and Clontarf, 155; - O’Connell’s trial, 156; - beneficial measures passed, 158; - the potato disease, 202; - opening of Irish ports to foreign importation, 203; - Dublin memorialising the Queen, 216; - defeat of Peel’s Ministry on the Irish Question, 228; - prolongation of the Arms Act, 248; - the Great Famine, 272; - failure of industries, 273; - one safeguard in the English markets, 274; - fall of prices, _ib._; - decrease of small holdings, _ib._; - Free Trade a disaster, 275; - terrible state of the country, _ib._; - gravity of the distress under-estimated by the Government, _ib._; - Lord John Russell’s plans, 278; - Lord George Bentinck’s scheme for railways, 279; - the terrors of emigration, 285; - outrages and commercial panic, 295; - Coercion Bill, 297; - revolting crimes, _ib._; - hostility of the priesthood to the Government, 298; - the Queen’s Colleges denounced by the Sacred Congregation, _ib._; - the nature of the “Young Ireland” movement, 339; - the leaders of the “Young Ireland” Party, _ib._; - first collision of the national party with the authorities, 342; - truculent attitude of the “Young Ireland” leaders, _ib._; - distrust of the peasantry, _ib._; - effects of the revolution, 343; - increased distress, 370, 372; - Parliamentary Bill against seditious clubs, 353; - the Encumbered Estates Act, 354; - the Crown Security Bill, 355; - proposed grant from the Imperial Exchequer, 375; - pitiful condition of the country, _ib._; - pressure of the Poor Law on the Irish gentry, 378; - signs of improved feeling towards the English Government, 406; - visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, 406, 407; - loyal manifestations by the people, 407-410; - good results of the royal visit, 410; - opening of the Queen’s Colleges, 414; - the Irish Franchise Bill, 442; - the Queen’s policy, 443; - a time of tranquillity, 498; - second visit of the Queen, 571; - Exhibition of Irish Industries, _ib._; - outbreak of the Fenian Conspiracy in 1865, II. 245; - the rise of the Phœnix Society, 246; - the Revolutionary Brotherhood in America, _ib._; - the _Irish People_ established, _ib._; - arrest of the Fenian leaders, 247; - the Fenian organisation in New York, _ib._; - suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, 259; - Lord Naas’s Land Bill, 286; - the Church Question, _ib._; - the spread of Fenianism, 287; - Irish riot at Manchester, _ib._; - attack on Clerkenwell Prison, 288; - the Church Question in the House of Commons, 307-311, 327; - Mr. Gladstone’s motion upon the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, 330-338; - O’Donovan Rossa returned to Parliament, 353; - disaffection of the Orangemen, _ib._; - a Land Bill introduced in the House of Commons, 355; - rise of the Home Rule Party, 426; - Mr. Gladstone’s University Bill, 432-435; - the elections of 1874, 464; - relaxation of Coercion Acts, 488; - the Intermediate Education Bill, 554; - abolition of the Queen’s University and substitution of the Royal University, 571; - second reading of the Irish Relief Bill, 586; - Major Nolan’s Seeds Bill, 586; - solid vote against the Tories in 1880, 591; - Mr. Forster Chief Secretary, 594; - its embarrassing condition in 1880, 601; - the Home Rule Party, _ib._; - Mr. Parnell’s leadership and Mr. Gladstone’s policy, _ib._; - Mr. Forster’s Bill amending the Act of 1870, 602; - rejection of Mr. Forster’s Bill by the House of Lords, _ib._; - organisation of the Land League, _ib._; - increase of evictions, 603; - influence of the Land League, _ib._; - the system of boycotting, _ib._; - increase of outrages, _ib._; - the Queen’s anxieties regarding the state of the country, 608; - condemnation of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish policy in Parliament, 610; - Lord Beaconsfield’s speech against Mr. Gladstone’s policy, _ib._; - a serious crisis, 611; - Mr. Forster’s Protection of Persons and Property Bill, 612; - Mr. Parnell and other Irish Members suspended, _ib._; - the struggle in Parliament regarding Coercion, 614; - Mr. Dillon’s passionate agitation against the Gladstone Government in Ireland, 615; - Mr. Gladstone’s Land Bill, 616; - new rise of Fenianism, 626; - Mr. Parnell’s policy in regard to the Land Act, 628; - Mr. Parnell and others imprisoned in Kilmainham, _ib._; - a “No Rent” Manifesto by the Land Leaguers, _ib._; - suppression of the Land League, _ib._; - success of the Land Act in Ulster, _ib._; - the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, 631; - Radical and Conservative opposition to Mr. Forster’s coercive policy, _ib._; - failure of Mr. Forster’s policy, _ib._; - Tory bid for the Irish Vote, _ib._; - Tory scheme for buying out the Irish landlords, _ib._; - intrigue to remove Mr. Forster from the post of Chief Secretary, _ib._; - release of Mr. Parnell and other leaders, 632; - Mr. Forster’s view of Mr. Parnell’s proposal, _ib._; - the Society of “Invincibles,” _ib._; - Mr. Forster’s ineffective administration, _ib._; - a new Coercion Bill, 633; - the terms of the new Coercion Bill, 634; - the Arrears Bill introduced, _ib._; - the prominent topic in the debate on the address of 1883, 655; - arrest of the “Invincibles,” _ib._; - Carey betrays the “Invincible” conspiracy, _ib._; - the object of the “Invincibles,” _ib._; - the removal of obnoxious Irish officials, _ib._; - funds received from America, _ib._; - Mrs. Frank Byrne alleged by Carey to have been the bearer - of the murderers’ knives from America, _ib._; - open agitation substituted by secret societies, _ib._; - failure of the conspirators to waylay Mr. Forster, _ib._; - the cause of the attack on Lord Frederick Cavendish, _ib._; - the baseness of Carey, 656; - five of the “Invincibles” hanged, _ib._; - the death of Carey, _ib._; - Mr. Gorst’s amendment that no more concessions be made by the Government to - the agitators, _ib._; - attacks on Mr. Parnell, _ib._; - Mr. Parnell charged with conniving at murder, _ib._; - Mr. Forster’s attack on the agitators, _ib._; - warm admiration of Mr. Parnell’s conduct in, _ib._; - the national testimonial to him, _ib._; - the Prince and Princess of Wales’s visit to, 719; - the Land Purchase Bill of Mr. Gladstone, 728. - _See_ also Dillon, Mr.; Home Rule; Parnell, Mr. - -Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood of America, The, II. 246 - -Isandhlwana, The disaster at, II. 564 - -Ismail Pasha, visit to England, II. 347 - -Italy, the revolution of 1848, I. 347; - flight of the Pope, _ib._; - success of Mazzini, 422; - misgovernment in 1856, 698; - convention with France, II. 218; - Florence made the capital, _ib._; - annexation of Rome, 376; - opposed to the cession of French territory to Germany, 402; - adhesion to the Austro-German alliance, 651; - the Triple League of Peace, _ib._ - - -J. - -Jamaica, complications with England, I. 54; - the imprudence of Lord Sligo, _ib._; - plan to suspend its constitution for five years, _ib._; - virtual defeat of the Ministry’s proposal, _ib._; - the second Bill in regard to, 56; - the negro insurrection in 1865, II. 247; - extenuating report by the Commissioners, 259 - -James, Sir Henry, Attorney-General II. 594 - -Japan, treaty with England, II. 4; - an embassy to the Queen, 429 - -Jellalabad, Defence of, by Sir Robert Sale, I. 121; - relieved by the British, _ib._ - -Jephson, Mr., a letter on the state of Ireland, I. 274 - -Jews, The Bill for removing disability of, for municipal offices, I. 183; - their disability to enter Parliament removed, II. 18 - -Jingoes, The, so named by Mr. Holyoake, II. 530; - their war song, II. 529 - -Jingoism, a new political term, II. 530 - -John, King, of Abyssinia, sends envoys to the Queen, II. 695 - -Jubilee, the Queen’s, The year of the, II. 733; - the Jubilee Ode, 739; - the celebrations of, in India, _ib._; - in Mandalay, _ib._; - preparations for it in Britain, _ib._; - Colonial addresses of felicitation presented at Windsor, 740; - the Indian princes at Windsor, _ib._; - the street decorations in London on Jubilee Day, _ib._; - the royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, 741; - the procession of princes, 742; - the scene in Westminster Abbey, _ib._; - the guests in the Abbey, 742-3; - the processions in the Abbey, 743; - the Thanksgiving Service, 744; - the scene in the Abbey after the ceremony, 745-6; - the illuminations in London, 746; - the celebrations in England and the North of Ireland, in Edinburgh, Dublin, and Cork, _ib._; - the honours bestowed on the occasion, _ib._; - observances in the Colonies and New York, 747; - the children’s celebration in Hyde Park, _ib._; - the royal banquet in Buckingham Palace, 748; - the Queen’s letter to her people, _ib._; - her Majesty’s garden-party, _ib._; - review of metropolitan volunteers, _ib._ - -Jubilees, The previous, of English history, II. 741 - - -K. - -Kalomine divorce suit, The, II. 719 - -Kars, The heroic defence of, by General Williams, I. 673 - -Kassala, siege of, II. 718 - -Kassassin, The battle of, II. 643 - -Keane, Sir John, in command in Afghanistan, I. 114; - created a Baron, _ib._; - return to England, 116 - -Kelso visited by the Queen, II. 295 - -Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall founded by the Queen, II. 291 - -Kensington Palace, scene of the Queen’s infancy, I. 9; - its early history, _ib._; - its brilliant Court in the eighteenth century, 10; - the sovereigns who died in it, _ib._; - its disfavour with George III., _ib._; - its furniture, _ib._ - -Kent, Duchess of, the addresses of condolence from Parliament at her husband’s death, I. 8; - her care for the education of the Princess Victoria, 10; - additional grant to her income, 13; - her stay in the Isle of Wight, 15; - her reply to the Vice-Chancellor’s speech at Oxford, _ib._; - her income fixed at £30,000, 28; - her position to the Queen, 30; - her death, II. 80 - -Kent, Duke of, his marriage, I. 4; - his support of popular Government, 6; - his personal appearance, _ib._; - his character, _ib._; - his strictness as a disciplinarian, _ib._; - the liberality of his political views, _ib._; - his residence abroad, _ib._; - his return to England, 7; - his reconciliation with the Prince-Regent, _ib._; - his residence at Claremont, _ib._; - at Sidmouth, _ib._; - his illness and death, _ib._ - -Kertch, The Allied expedition against, I. 640; - evacuated by the Russians, _ib._ - -Khartoum, steps taken for General Gordon’s relief, II. 671; - Gordon protests against being deserted, 676; - isolated and surrounded by the Mahdi’s troops, _ib._; - the British Nile expedition to, 679; - siege of, closely pressed, 712; - fall of, 715; - Sir Charles Wilson arrives at, _ib._; - defence of, by General Gordon, 716 - -Kilmainham Treaty, The, II. 632 - -Kimberley, Lord, Secretary for India, II. 654; - his despatch to Sir Hercules Robinson regarding British jurisdiction in South - Africa, 683 - -King, Mr. Locke, his proposal to equalise the town and county franchise, I. 465; - rejection of his motion, 502; - second attempt to procure the extension of the franchise, II. 214 - -Kinglake, Mr., his account of the preparations for the Russian War, I. 604, 606 - -Kirbekan, The battle of, II. 717 - -Komatsu, Prince and Princess, of Japan, Visit of, to the Queen, II. 732 - -Korniloff, his bravery at Sebastopol, I. 610 - -Korti, The British camp at, II. 712; - the Black Watch at, _ib._ - -Kosheh, Battle of, II. 718 - -Kossuth, Louis, his address to the Emperor Ferdinand of Austria, I. 344; - his flight to Turkey, 423; - his arrival in England, 479 - -Kutch Behar, The Maharajah and Maharanee of, at Windsor, II. 740 - - -L. - -Labouchere, Mr., Chief Secretary for Ireland, I. 245. - -Labouchere, Mr. Henry, opposes the grant to Prince Leopold, 646; - opposes the annuity to Princess Beatrice, 720 - -Lancashire, the sufferings during the Cotton Famine, II. 146; - revival of the cotton trade, 183; - expenditure during the Cotton Famine, 185 - -Land Bill (Ireland) of 1887, II. 736; - the Bankruptcy Clauses of, _ib._ - -Lansdowne, Lord, Lord Privy Seal, I. 245 - -Lawrence, John (afterwards Lord Lawrence), his prompt action at the Indian Mutiny, I. 732; - his policy with the Sikhs, 734 - -Lawson’s, Mr. Edward, proposal of the children’s celebration of the Jubilee, II. 747 - -Layard, Mr. (afterwards Sir A. H.), his hostility to Russia, I. 590; - his dispute with Turkey regarding the seizure of an English missionary’s Mussulman - assistant, II. 583; - granted an indefinite leave of absence, 594 - -Leeds, the Liberal leaders press a measure of Parliamentary reform on the country, II. 668; - Liberal Conference at, adopts Mr. Gladstone’s principle of Home Rule, II. 730 - -Leicester, Seizure of packages of dynamite at, II. 661 - -Lennox, Lady Augusta, II. 723 - -Leopold, King of Belgium, his marriage to the Princess Charlotte, I. 6; - his high character and abilities, _ib._; - his election as King of the Belgians, 14; - the Queen’s confidence in his advice, _ib._; - visit to England, 46; - his desire for the Queen’s marriage to Prince Albert, 60; - a letter from the Queen, 103, 106; - second visit to England, 262; - his death, II. 251; - his character, _ib._ - -Leopold, Prince, a serious illness, II. 316; - popular admiration of his character, 626; - his marriage, 628; - a threat to murder him, 645; - accident at Mentone, 646; - granted £25,000 a year on his marriage, _ib._; - married to the Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont, 647; - the imposing ceremony at his marriage, _ib._; - his death, 687; - his funeral, 689; - his amiable personality, _ib._; - Prof. Tyndall’s high estimate of his ability, 690; - his eager interest in politics, _ib._; - his wish to become Governor of Victoria, _ib._; - the Queen’s opposition to his becoming Governor of Victoria, _ib._; - his gifts as an orator, _ib._; - his presentiment of early death, _ib._; - his loss felt by rich and poor, 691; - his favourite residence, _ib._ - -Lewis, Sir George Cornewall, a letter on Disraeli’s Budget, 519; - remarks regarding the political situation in 1854, 576; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 630; - his first Budget, 644; - remarks on the collapse of the French alliance, 676, 678; - his Budget for 1856, 690; - his Budget for 1857, 701; - his death, II. 171; - the Queen’s estimate of his character, 172 - -Liberal Unionist Party formed, II. 729 - -Lincoln, Abraham, elected President of the United States, II. 114; - his proclamation regarding the abolition of slavery, 134 - -Lincoln, Lord, refuses a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244; - his address to the Queen on colonisation, 283; - address to the Crown on the Colonial Question, 387 - -Liston, Mr., and the use of ether as an anæsthetic, I. 271 - -Liverpool, visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 487; - condemnation of dynamitards at, 661; - visit of the Queen to the International Exhibition at, in 1886, 732 - -Livingstone, Dr., found by Stanley, II. 427; - the Queen’s interest in the explorer, _ib._ - -Lloyd, Bishop, his influence on the Tractarians, I. 98 - -Lloyd, Lieut. W., presents one of the Mahdi’s flags to her Majesty, II. 687 - -London, a Chartist meeting on Kennington Common, I. 327; - Chartist meetings at Clerkenwell and Stepney Greens, 336; - the riots in 1855, 644; - Bill to improve the government of, II. 671; - riots in the West End of, 731 - -London, Bishop of, the Ecclesiastical Appeal Bill, I. 446 - -Lonsdale, Earl of, Lord Privy Seal, I. 499 - -Lorne, Marquis of, the Queen consents to his marriage with the Princess Louise, II. 378; - appearance at the ceremony, 407; - accident to, in the royal procession on Jubilee Day, 742 - -Louis Philippe, his visit to England, I. 172; - his cordial reception by the people, _ib._; - honours from the Queen, _ib._ - -Louise, Princess, her marriage, II. 407-8 - -Lowe, Mr. Robert, his Revised Education Code, II. 120; - attacked by Lord R. Cecil in regard to reports of inspectors of schools, 218; - his demand for national unsectarian education, 302; - his first Budget, 338; - his second Budget, 363; - opens the Civil Service to competition, _ib._; - his Budget for 1871, 397; - the scandal in regard to the Zanzibar mail contract, 438; - Home Secretary, 439; - his popularity in 1874, 458; - created Lord Sherbrooke, 594 - -Lucan, Lord, and the Charge of the Light Brigade, I. 614 - -Lucknow, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730; - relief by Havelock, 735; - second relief, 737 - -Lyell, Sir Charles, account of a visit to Balmoral, I. 367 - -Lyndhurst, Lord, Lord High Chancellor, I. 97; - Bill for the removal of the Jews’ disabilities, 183; - his violent speeches against Russia, 600, 602; - attack on Prussia and Austria, 634; - his defects as a debater on foreign, affairs, _ib._ - -Lytton, Lord, Viceroy of India, II. 494; - his warlike policy in Afghanistan, 555; - dispute with Shere Ali, 556; - resigns office, 594; - contemptuous speech against Mr. Gladstone, 598; - his “Prosperity Budget,” _ib._; - his rule on the vacancies in the India Civil Service, 662 - - -M. - -Maamtrasna murders to be re-considered, II. 710 - -Macaulay, Lord, his sarcasm on the Maynooth affair, I. 183; - his account of Lord John Russell’s failure to form a Cabinet, 206; - appointed Postmaster-General, 245; - his opposition to the Education Vote, 283; - elected M.P. for Edinburgh, 586 - -Macdonald, Mr., his administration of supplies in the Crimea, I. 624 - -Maclean, Roderick, his supposed attempt to assassinate the Queen, II. 644 - -Macleod, Dr. Norman, his ministrations to the Queen at Balmoral, II. 139, 230; - account of the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 296; - his death, 428; - his character, _ib._; - letter from the Queen on his death, 429 - -Macmahon, Marshal, surrounded at Sedan by the German army, II. 370 - -Macnaghten, Sir William, appointed Secretary to Shah Soojah, I. 114; - created a baronet for his services in Afghanistan, _ib._; - appointed Governor of Bengal, 116 - -Madagascar, re-action against England, I. 190 - -Magee, Dr., speech on the Irish Church Question, II. 334 - -Mahdi, the, How General Gordon would have checked, II. 712; - death of, 718 - -Mahmoud Samy, nominal Minister of War in Egypt, II. 641 - -Maidstone, Mr. Disraeli member for, I. 51 - -Maiwand, The battle of, II. 599 - -Majuba Hill, Battle of, II. 619 - -Malakoff, Capture of the, by the French, I. 671 - -Malmesbury, Earl of, Foreign Secretary, I. 499; - account of the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 522; - remarks on the understanding between the Earl of Aberdeen and the Czar, 546 - -Malt Tax, Proposed repeal of the, II. 236; - Mr. Gladstone declines to reduce it, 237; - abolished by Mr. Gladstone, 601 - -Manchester, opening of the Art-Treasures Exhibition by Prince Albert, I. 739; - popularity of the Art-Treasures Exhibition, 746; - visit of the Queen, _ib._ - -Manchester School, The, its attack on Sir James Brooke in regard to Borneo, I. 474 - -Mancini, Signor, his disclosure to the Italian Senate of the adhesion of Italy - to the Austro-German alliance, II. 651 - -Mandalay, Jubilee celebrations in, II. 739 - -Manners, Lord John, President of the Board of Works, II. 257; - Postmaster-General, 465; - his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill of 1884, II. 677 - -Margarine Bill, The, passed, II. 738 - -Marlborough, Duchess of, starts a relief fund to avert distress in Ireland, II. 586 - -Marlborough, Duke of, Colonial Secretary, II. 275; - Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto to (1880), 90 - -Married Women’s Property Act comes into force, II. 652; - the benefit conferred by the Act, 654 - -Marriott, Mr., his amendment to Mr. Goschen’s Closure scheme, II. 630; - rejection of his Closure amendment, _ib._; - counsel for Ismail Pasha in his claims to the Domain lands, 683 - -Martaban, Capture of by General Goodwin, I. 505 - -Martin, Sir Theodore, his Life of the Prince Consort, I. 238, 448, 545; II. 75, 480, 481; - his Life of Lord Lyndhurst, I. 239, 242 - -Match Tax, Proposed levy of, by Mr. Lowe, II. 397 - -Matthews, Mr. Henry, is appointed Home Secretary, II. 730 - -Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, created Emperor of Mexico, I. 743; - his death, _ib._ - -Maynooth, the Parliamentary grant, I. 183; - Lord Macaulay’s criticism of the affair, _ib._ - -Mayo, Lord, his government of India, II. 343; - his death, 427; - success of his Afghan policy, _ib._ - -Mazzini, Joseph, his petition in regard to the detention of his letters in England, I. 164 - -Medical Acts Amendment Bill, II. 678 - -Meerut, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730 - -Melbourne, Lord, his character, I. 23, 95, 370; - his moderate principles, 23; - his appointment to the Premiership, _ib._; - his instruction of the Queen in the theory and working of the British Constitution, _ib._; - the probable ill effects of his teaching, 24; - the personal regard of the Queen, 28; - his view of the revolt in Canada, 34; - Lord Durham’s suggestions carried out in regard to Canada, 35; - popular distrust of his authority, 36; - virtual defeat of his Ministry, 54; - a second Jamaica Bill, 56; - the Penny Postage Act, 80; - Act regarding chimney-sweeps, _ib._; - growing unpopularity of his Ministry, 89; - prognostications of his fall, 91; - defeat of his Ministry, _ib._; - a statement regarding Protection, 94; - resignation of office, 95; - his last years, 96; - his death, _ib._; - his position in English history, 97; - his opinion of Prince Albert, 103; - the Queen’s regret at his death, 370 - -Menschikoff, Prince, his mission to Constantinople, I. 550; - his proposed Note of Agreement with Turkey, _ib._; - his position at the Alma, 607; - his generalship, _ib._; - his blunders at the Alma, 608, 609; - his tactics at Balaclava, 611; - his blunders at Inkermann, 615 - -Metamneh, Gordon’s steamers at, II. 712 - -Metternich, Prince, remark on the Franco-Spanish marriage alliance, I. 258; - his influence over Frederick I. of Austria, 343; - his resignation, 344 - -Metz, Surrender of the French army in, II. 371 - -Mexico, English policy in regard to, I. 127; - the French Emperor’s plan for a monarchy, 127, 163; - the Emperor Maximilian crowned, 218; - the Emperor Maximilian shot by order of the Mexican Republic, 283 - -Middleton, Sir Frederick, puts down the rebellion of half-breeds - in the North-West of Canada, II. 723 - -Midlothian Programme (1885), The, II. 724 - -Mill, Mr. John Stuart, elected M.P. for Westminster, II. 243; - speech on the National Debt, 258; - rejected by Westminster, 315; - his Bill for supplying smoking carriages to railway trains, _ib._; - his opposition to Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, 360; - remark on the position of women in England, 652 - -Milner, Mr. Gibson, representative of the Free Trade Party, I. 244 - -Mitchell, John, his violent teaching in the “Young Ireland” Party, I. 342; - editor of _United Ireland_, _ib._; - arrested and condemned to transportation, _ib._ - -Molesworth, Sir William, his opposition to the Education Vote, I. 283; - his proposal that the Colonies should be made autonomous, 474; - Chief Commissioner of Works, 519 - -Montpensier, Duc de, his marriage to the Spanish Infanta, I. 255 - -Morgan, Mr. Osborne, passes the Married Women’s Property Act, II. 653 - -Morley, Mr. John, his Life of Cobden, I. 216, 223; - is appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, II. 727 - -Morris, Mr. Lewis, Jubilee Ode by, II. 750 - -Morse, Professor, his discoveries in electricity, I. 175 - -Muncaster, Lord, presents the Duke of Wellington’s banner - to King William IV. on the anniversary of Waterloo, I. 3 - -Mundella, Mr., his Bill for consolidating the Factory Acts, II. 474; - Vice-President of the Council, 594 - -Mutiny, Indian, _see_ India - - -N. - -Naas, Lord, Secretary for Ireland, II. 257; - his Land Bill for Ireland, 286 - _See_ also Mayo, Lord - -Napier, Sir Charles, in command of the Baltic fleet against Russia, I. 583; - his blockade of the Gulf of Finland, 584; - his success against Russia in the last expedition, 602, 603 - -Napier, Sir Charles James, his defeat of the insurgents at Hyderabad, I. 150 - -Napoleon I., Removal of the body of, from St. Helena to Paris, I. 86 - -Napoleon III. elected President of the French Republic, I. 421; - his restoration of the Empire, 491; - his struggle with Parliament, 491, 492; - the vote in his favour, 494; - his installation as Emperor, 523; - the Czar’s slight, 526; - his marriage, 528; - visit to the Queen, 648-654; - invested with the Order of the Garter, 651; - private visit to the Queen, 717, 718; - his death, II. 444 - -Napoleon, Prince Louis, his murder by the Zulus, II. 575; - indignation among the French Bonapartists at his death, 578 - -National League (Ireland), The, proclaimed, II. 737 - -Navigation Laws, Proposed repeal of the, I. 374 - -Navy, Introduction of steam into the, I. 389 - -Nesselrode, Count, his assurances to the English Government - of the peaceful policy of Russia before the Crimean War, I. 551; - his attitude during the Russo-Turkish difficulties, 579, 580, 595 - -Neufchâtel, the dispute with Prussia, I. 696 - -New Britain and the German annexations in the Pacific, II. 686 - -Newcastle, Duke of, Colonial Secretary, I. 519; - his alleged incompetence in office, 616; - Secretary of State for War, 626; - his efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631; - remarks on the elections, 1857, 709; - goes with the Prince of Wales on a visit to America, II. 67-69 - -New Guinea, the Queensland Government and annexation of, II. 685; - southern portion of, annexed by Lord Derby, 686; - German annexation, _ib._ - -New Ireland and the German annexations in the Pacific, II. 686 - -Newman, Rev. J. H. (afterwards Cardinal), his entry into the Roman Catholic Church, I. 99-101; - “Tract No. 90,” 101; - his resignation as Vicar of St. Mary’s at Oxford, _ib._; - his early intentions, _ib._; - effect of his withdrawal on the Tractarian Movement, 102 - -Newport (Mon.), Lord Salisbury’s address at, II. 726 - -Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, his error in regard to Turkey, I. 579; - his obstinacy, _ib._; - his death, 633 - -Nightingale, Miss, her labours in the Crimea, I. 624; - rewarded by the Queen for her heroic conduct in the Crimea, 692 - -Nile Expedition to relieve General Gordon, II. 712-4 - -Nile, Stewart’s night march to the, II. 714 - -Nolan, Major, his Seed Bill for Ireland, II. 586 - -Northbrook, Lord, his opposition to the purchase system in the army, II. 393; - resignation as Viceroy of India, 494; - First Lord of the Admiralty, 594; - his Egyptian mission adversely criticised by the Conservatives, 682; - his recommendations in regard to Egypt discredit the Gladstone Government, _ib._; - his promise to make important additions to the navy, 702; - and the Admiralty accounts, 710 - -Northcote, Sir Stafford, President of the Board of Trade, II. 257; - Secretary for India, 275; - speech on the Irish Church Question, 332; - Chancellor of the Exchequer, 465; - his tame policy as Chancellor of the Exchequer, 470; - his Budget for 1875, 487; - his Budget for 1876, 502; - his leadership of the House of Commons, 515; - his denunciation of the terms of peace between Turkey and Russia, 536; - his Budget for 1878, 552; - his Budget for 1879, 571; - his Budget for 1880, _ib._; - opposition from the Fourth Party, 595; - his motions in regard to Mr. Bradlaugh, 630; - his prudent policy distasteful to his followers, 636; - his resolution prohibiting Mr. Bradlaugh from taking the oath, 658; - Mr. Bradlaugh’s threat to treat this decision as invalid, _ib._; - his resolution excluding Mr. Bradlaugh from the House of Commons, _ib._; - his unwillingness to countenance obstructive tactics, _ib._; - Lord Randolph Churchill’s bitter attacks on his leadership, _ib._; - his hand forced to obstructive tactics, _ib._; - speeches in North Wales and Ulster, 668; - moves a vote of censure on the Government for their vacillating policy, 673; - blames the Government for not helping Hicks Pasha, 674; - prevents Mr. Bradlaugh from taking his seat, 676; - created Lord Iddesleigh, 708; - sudden death of, 734 - - -O. - -Oatley, George, presented with the Albert Medal by the Queen, I. 607 - -Obeid, El, Defeat of Hicks Pasha and his army at, II. 67 - -O’Brien, William Smith, the rise of the Nationalist Party in Ireland, I. 327; - his leadership of the “Young Ireland” Party, 341; - collapse of his authority, 343; - transported to Van Diemen’s Land, _ib._; - his death, _ib._ - -O’Connell, Daniel, remarks in regard to the Queen’s popularity with the Irish, I. 38; - suggestion of the “People’s Charter,” 49; - early patron of Mr. Disraeli, 51; - his denunciation of Sir Robert Peel, 56; - the agitation in Ireland, 151; - his popularity with the Irish people, _ib._; - his aims, _ib._; - the secret of his success, 52; - the nature of his invective, _ib._; - his puzzling methods, 154; - death of, 158 - -O’Connor, Feargus, his denunciation of Sir Robert Peel, I. 56; - an agitator by profession, 58; - his parentage, _ib._; - his leadership of the Chartists, 327; - at the meeting on Kennington Common, 331; - his petition in favour of six points of the Charter, 354; - arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms, 355 - -Odoacer, the Queen’s conjectural relationship to, I. 45 - -Odessa bombarded by the British fleet, I. 603 - -Orleans, Duke of, his death, I. 126 - -Osborne, Mr. Bernal, his motion on Portuguese affairs, I. 302; - his proposal in regard to Ireland, 354; - speech on the Austro-Hungarian Question, 399 - -Osman Digna defeated by General Graham, II. 718; - in conflict with the Abyssinians, _ib._ - -Otho, King, driven from the throne of Greece, II. 128 - -Oudh, difficulties as to its government, I. 721; - its annexation by the East India Company, 722; - outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, 729; - Canning’s successful diplomacy, 734 - -Outram, Sir J., General, his victories over the Persians, I. 704; - his opinion regarding the government of Oudh, 721; - the annexation of Oudh, 722 - -Overland Route, its inauguration, I. 190 - -Oxford University, the Tractarian Movement, I. 98; - censure of Newman’s tract, 101; - Oxford University Bill passed by the Aberdeen Cabinet, 619; - proposed abolition of religious tests, II. 397 - - -P. - -Pakington, Sir John, Colonial Secretary, I. 499; - First Lord of the Admiralty, II. 257; - Secretary for War, 275 - -Palmer, Professor, his mission to detach the Bedouins from the side of Arabi - Pasha, II. 642; - murdered at the Wells of Moses, _ib._ - -Palmer, Sir Roundell (afterwards Lord Selborne), his speech on the Irish Church - Question, II. 334 - -Palmerston, Lady, her influence in Whig society, II. 351 - -Palmerston, Lord, his speech on the sugar duties, I. 94; - his condemnation of the Ashburton Treaty, 169, 170; - Foreign Secretary, 245; - antipathy of Louis Philippe, 258; - difficulties with the Church of Rome, 298; - deficiencies in his foreign policy, 320; - his view regarding an Anglo-German alliance, 322; - complaints against his policy by Louis Philippe, 326; - his rash interference with Spain, 347; - popular indignation against him, 345; - vote of censure in Parliament, 349; - an Ordnance Department scandal, 394; - annoyance to the Queen by his Austrian policy, 395; - the reckless character of his policy, 398; - difficulties with Greece, 427; - the Queen expresses her displeasure with his policy, 478; - discussion in Parliament as to his foreign policy, 430, 431; - a speech on the Greek dispute, 435; - dissatisfaction of the Queen with his administration at the Foreign Office, 437; - the Queen’s memorandum in regard to his foreign policy, 454, 455; - his plea to the Prince Consort, 455; - his cordial reception of Kossuth, 479; - his resignation as Foreign Secretary, 495; - he assails the Militia Bill, 499; - Home Secretary, 519; - resigns office, 565; - his return to the Cabinet, 566; - his zeal for war with Russia, 572; - a foolish speech at the Reform Club, 583; - his public-spirited behaviour at the Crimean crisis, 628; - his policy as Prime Minister, 638; - failure of the French alliance, 675; - his popularity at the Crimean War, 688; - the failure of his home policy, 690; - his victory at the elections, 708; - increase of confidence from the Queen, 715; - his false estimate of the Indian Mutiny, 747; - his waning popularity, II. 7; - his Bill to alter the Law of Conspiracy, 8; - vote of censure passed against him in Parliament, 37; - his anti-Austrian policy, 43; - his plan for the settlement of the Italian Question, 46; - the continued recklessness of his policy, 47; - his Fortification Scheme, 62; - distaste of the Radicals to his policy, 74; - mutilation of the Afghanistan Blue Book, 82; - his attack on Prussia, 83; - his sympathy with Poland, 160; - conflict with the Queen on the Danish Question, 166; - censured by the House of Lords, 167; - his policy at the Danish War, 191; - his diplomacy after the failure of the Sleswig-Holstein Conference, 193; - speech on the Irish Question, 233; - his death, 243; - the character of his statesmanship, 244; - his able management of the Commons, _ib._ - -Panmure, Lord, his ridiculous despatch to General Simpson, I. 669 - -Papal Aggression Movement, the Pope’s Brief, I. 460; - indiscreet statements of Roman Catholic dignitaries, _ib._; - Dr. Ullathorne’s explanation, _ib._ - -Paris, the Conference in regard to the Russian War, I. 698; - the result of the Conference, 716; - the Congress of 1858, 719 - -Parker, Admiral, his blockade of the Piræus, I. 427 - -Parnell, Mr. Charles Stewart, enters Parliament, II. 488; - develops a policy of obstruction, 499; - his obstruction of the Prisons Bill, 515; - his skill in debate, 516; - his support of Radical members, 520; - his opposition to flogging in the army, 568; - the Attorney-General’s indictment against him, 603; - his policy in regard to the Land Act, 628; - Mr. Gladstone’s speech against his policy, _ib._; - imprisoned in Kilmainham, _ib._; - alliance of his Party with the Tories, 697; - additions to his followers, 698; - master of Ireland by the elections of 1885, _ib._; - his Relief Bill is rejected, 730 - -“Parnellism and Crime,” II. 735 - -Parnellite alliance with the Tories, Success of, II. 706; - manifesto in support of the Tories, 726 - -Patents Bill, real progress made with it, II. 658 - -Paxton, Mr., his design for the International Exhibition building, I. 462 - -Peabody, Mr. George, his gift to the poor of London, II. 135; - his second gift, 323; - his statue unveiled by the Prince of Wales, 347 - -Pease, Edward, opening of the passenger line between Birmingham and London, I. 47 - -Peel, General, Secretary for War, II. 257 - -Peel, Mr. Arthur, chosen Speaker of the House of Commons, II. 676 - -Peel, Mr. F., his Bill to deal with clergy reserves in Canada, I. 534 - -Peel, Sir Robert, his financial statement for 1845, I. 182; - the establishment of the Queen’s Colleges in Ireland, _ib._; - decline in his popularity, 190; - his support of the Queen, 191; - receives the distinction of the Order of the Garter, 192; - his able management of his party, 193; - his hesitation in regard to Free Trade, 203; - resigns office, 204; - re-accepts Premiership, _ib._; - repeals the Corn Laws, 226; - praised by the Queen, 227; - fall of his Ministry in the Commons, 228; - resigns the Premiership, 238; - a letter from the Queen, 239; - his wise resolution, 241; - his independent attitude, 243; - his Bank Restriction Act, 279; - his opposition to the Education vote, 283; - assailed by High Church Tories, _ib._; - his Bank Act assailed, 295; - attack on his Free Trade policy, 373; - his support of the Russell Ministry, 375; - his clear perception of the Irish difficulty, 378; - triumph of his fiscal policy, 399; - his last speech in Parliament, 435; - his death, 447; - his character, 447, 448 - -Pegu, Capture of, by the British, I. 506 - -Pélssier, Canrobert’s successor in the Crimea, I. 640; - his irresolution as a leader, 673 - -Pennefather, General, his command at Inkermann, I. 615 - -People’s Palace, the, in the East End of London, Opening of, II. 740 - -Perth, inauguration of a statue to the Prince Consort by the Queen, I. 227 - -Peterborough, Bishop of, his opinion on the Irish Universities Bill, II. 434 - -Philippe, Louis, his intrigue for the Franco-Spanish marriage alliance, I. 254; - his disreputable motives, 256; - his antipathy to Lord Palmerston, 258; - loss of reputation, 259; - estrangement of the Queen, _ib._; - abdicates the throne, 325; - his flight to England, _ib._; - generous reception by the Queen, 326; - his death, 458 - -Phœnix Park Murders, The, II. 632 - -Phœnix Society, The, II. 246 - -Pierre, Admiral, at Tamatave, II. 667 - -“Plan of Campaign,” The, II. 730 - -Plimsoll, Mr., and the shipknackers, II. 485; - creates a scene in the House, 486; - reprimand and apology, _ib._ - -Playfair, Dr. Lyon, Postmaster-General, II. 439 - -Poland, rebellion in the country, II. 159; - the policy of Russia, 162; - Russian Imperial Ukase in favour of the peasantry, 218 - -Police Superannuation Bill, II. 678 - -Pondoland, British Protectorate established in, II. 686 - -Poor Law considered unnecessarily harsh, I. 48 - -Portsmouth, the laying of the submarine telegraph cable, I. 271 - -Portugal, discussion of its affairs in the British Parliament, I. 302 - -Postal system, its crudeness in 1837 compared with the present time, I. 3 - -Pottinger, Eldred, his defence of Herat, I. 113 - -Prison Ministers Bill, Introduction of the, II. 173 - -Pritchard, Mr., thrown into prison by the French at Otaheite, I. 167 - -Prome, Occupation of, by the British, I. 506 - -Protection, Agitation in regard to, at Manchester, I. 216; - Lord Stanley’s advocacy, 227; - the policy of its advocates in 1850, 423, 424; - a demand for retrenchment, 445; - views represented in the Queen’s Speech, 507; - success of arguments against Free Trade, 536 - -Prussia, the revolution of 1848, I. 346; - restoration of monarchical authority, 422; - signature of the Protocol, 584; - view regarding war with Russia, 592; - letter from the King to Queen Victoria, 593; - continuance of an adverse policy to England, 622; - dispute with Switzerland, 696; - the war with Austria, II. 280 - -Prussia, King of, sponsor to the Prince of Wales, I. 106; - at a meeting of Parliament, 107 - -_Punch_, a cartoon of Russell and Peel, I. 239 - -Punjaub, its annexation by the East India Company, I. 402 - - -Q. - -Queensland Government and the annexation of New Guinea, II. 685 - -Queen Victoria, _see_ Victoria, Queen - - -R. - -Ragheb Pasha at the head of the Egyptian Cabinet, II. 642 - -Raglan, Lord, his doubts about the success of invading the Crimea, I. 606; - his generalship at the Alma, 607; - disagreement with St. Arnaud, 608; - his demands for reinforcements, 623; - the silence of his despatches regarding the sufferings of the army, _ib._; - censured in Parliament, 632; - his death, 641; - his character, 642, 643 - -Raikes, Mr., his opinion of Louis Philippe, I. 143 - -Raikes, Mr. H. C., reduces the perpetual penalties on voters - in corrupt boroughs, II. 699 - -Railway, Opening of the London and Birmingham, I. 47 - -Rangoon, Capture of, by General Goodwin, I. 505 - -“Ransom,” Mr. Chamberlain’s doctrine of, II. 724 - -Redan, The British assault on the, I. 670, 671 - -Reform Bill, Good effect of the, on the middle class, I. 23; - Mr. Gladstone’s, II. 671, 699 - -Ricardo, Mr., his proposal in regard to the difficulties of Free Trade in the - Colonies, I. 382 - -Richmond, Duke of, President of the Board of Trade, II. 275; - leader of the Tory Party, 358; - Lord President of the Council, 465 - -Riel, Louis, President of the “Republic of the North-West,” II. 384; - hanged for treason, 723 - -Riots, The, in the West End of London, II. 731 - -Ripon, Lord, denounced in regard to the Ilbert Bill in India, II. 662 - -Roberts, General, his brilliant generalship against Ayoub Khan, II. 599; - his support of the Ilbert Bill, 662 - -Roberts, Mr., his Act for closing public-houses during Sundays in Wales, II. 618 - -Roberts, Mr., his clever transport of artillery at Varna, I. 607 - -Roebuck, Mr., his Bill for the better government of the colonies, I. 385; - his support of Mr. Gladstone, _ib._; - defeat of his colonial measure, _ib._; - proposes a vote of confidence in the Russell Government, 435; - his motion regarding the mismanagement of the Russian War, 617, 626; - his Committee of Investigation, 630; - his motion in favour of recognition of the American Confederates by England, II. 176 - -Roman Catholic disabilities, Removal of, I. 23 - -Romilly, Sir Samuel, his proposal regarding the Criminal Code, I. 27 - -Rorke’s Drift, The defence of, II. 564 - -Rossa, O’Donovan, his real name, II. 246; - becomes a convert to Fenianism, _ib._; - elected Member of Parliament, 353 - -Rothschild, Baron, his return for the City of London, I. 298; - Jews and the Parliamentary Oath, 299 - -Round Table Conference, The, II. 735 - -Rowton, Lord, consulted by the Queen on the political situation, II. 695 - -Royal Grants, Promise of Committee to “inquire into and consider,” II. 720; - promise repudiated by the Tory Party, _ib._ - -Royal Titles Bill, The, II. 499 - -Russell, Lord John, his Act in regard to capital punishment, I. 28; - his measure for re-uniting Upper and Lower Canada, 35; - censured as Home Secretary, 39; - his attitude towards the Chartists, 48; - his vexation at the reduced pension to Prince Albert, 67; - his proposed duty on corn, 90; - withdrawal of the motion, 91; - dissolution of Parliament, _ib._; - his opinion on Free Trade, 94; - his re-election for the City of London, 95; - his conversion to Free Trade, 203; - asked to form a Cabinet, 204; - the reason of his failure to form a Cabinet, 206; - distrusted by Cobden, 207; - his letter regarding the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England, 450; - the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 464; - introduces the Militia Bill, 498; - resignation as Prime Minister, 499; - fall from the leadership of the Liberal Party, 501; - his eulogium on the Duke of Wellington, 512; - Foreign Secretary, 519; - his scheme for a national system of public instruction, 530; - the main point of his Education Scheme, 534; - his scheme for reforming Parliament, 564; - his speech on the Prince Consort’s position, 576; - his unscrupulous policy before the Russian War, 591; - his speech against Russia, 602; - resigns office, 617; - his interference with the Aberdeen Cabinet arrangements, 626; - resigns office, _ib._; - the Queen’s objection to his policy, 627; - Colonial Secretary, 630; - his humiliating position after the Second Vienna Conference, 634; - resigns office, _ib._; - his Bill to remove the Parliamentary disability of the Jews, 711; - his amendment to Disraeli’s Reform Bill, II. 32; - conflict of opinion with the Queen, 41; - his Anti-Austrian policy, 43; - his proposal regarding the reduction of the franchise, 51; - raised to the peerage, 85; - his diplomacy in regard to Sleswig-Holstein, 199, 203; - appointed Premier 245; - an address to the Queen on the Irish Church Question, 287; - his scheme of Home Rule, 724 - -Russell, Mr. T. W., denounces the Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736 - -Russia, Visit of Nicholas, Emperor of, to England, I. 160; - described by the Queen, _ib._; - his opinion of the English Court, _ib._; - his life in England, 161; - his jealousy of France, 162; - memorandum regarding Turkey, 162, 163; - his departure from London, 163; - his unpopularity with the English people, _ib._; - diplomatic quarrel with England, 427, 428; - aggressive designs, 540; - geographical conditions, 541; - ultimatum to Turkey regarding the Greek Church, 550; - the points of contention with Turkey, 555; - probable offensiveness of Menschikoff’s Note to Turkey, 557; - the criminal blunder at Sinope, 578; - recall of the English ambassador, _ib._; - rejection of the proposal of the Powers, 579; - defeat by the Turks at Silistria, 582; - war declared by England, 583; - the battle of the Alma, 607; - the battle of Balaclava, 611; - the battle of Inkermann, 615; - death of the Czar, 633; - proposals at the Second Vienna Conference, 634; - ready assent to terms of peace at the Crimean War, 678; - signing of the treaty with England, 683; - attempts to separate France and England, 696; - diplomacy in regard to Poland, II. 162; - Imperial Ukase in favour of the Polish peasantry, 218; - annexation of Circassia, _ib._; - proposal regarding the Black Sea, 375; - outbreak of war with Turkey, 526; - the understanding between the Russian and Turkish Governments during - the Russo-Turkish War, 528; - English despatch to prevent the Russian occupation of Constantinople, 541; - menacing India, 542; - secret agreement with England regarding Turkey, 547; - at the Berlin Congress, 549; - the assassination of Alexander II., 623; - dispute with England regarding the Afghan boundary, 703; - advance of troops on the Indian frontier, _ib._; - occupation of Pendjeh, _ib._; - controversy with England about the Afghan frontier, 719 - - -S. - -Saint Lucia Bay, British Protectorate established at, II. 686 - -Sale, Sir Robert, repulsed by Dost Mahomed, I. 115; - his march to Jelalabad, 118; - his defence of Jelalabad, 121; - his death at Ferozeshah, 234 - -Salisbury, Marquis of, his remark regarding Russian aggression in - European Turkey, I. 555; - his opposition to Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, II. 359; - Secretary for India, 465; - his success at the India Office, 474; - his visit to Constantinople, 570; - his interview with Bismarck, _ib._; - Foreign Secretary, 546; - his Circular to the Powers, _ib._; - his secret agreement with Russia regarding Turkey, 547; - at the Berlin Congress, 549; - his policy in Afghanistan, 556; - an error in his Egyptian policy, 638; - article in the _Quarterly Review_ bewailing Mr. Gladstone’s disintegration - of English Society, 668; - article in the _National Review_ advocating the better housing of the poor, _ib._; - blames the Government for not assisting Hicks Pasha, 674; - censure of Mr. Gladstone’s Soudan policy, _ib._; - his resistance to the Reform Bill of 1884, 697; - in office (1885), 707; - singular pledge exacted of Mr. Gladstone, _ib._; - his address at Newport, 726; - in power (midsummer, 1886), 730; - his theory about a Land Purchase Bill for Ireland, _ib._ - -Sandon, Lord, his Endowed Schools Bill, II. 474, 499 - -Sandwich Islands offered to Britain, I. 188; - Houses of Parliament established, _ib._ - -Saxe-Weimar, Princess Edward of, II. 723 - -Schouvaloff, his secret treaty with Lord Salisbury, II. 547 - -Science, its marked progress since Queen Victoria’s accession, I. 175; - the electric telegraph, _ib._; - the first telegraph line in England, _ib._; - the beginnings of photography, 176; - the discoveries of Wedgwood, _ib._; - the discoveries of Davy, Daguerre, and Talbot, 177; - practical applications of the telescope, _ib._; - the Thames Tunnel, _ib._; - Arctic discovery, 178; - voyages of Franklin and others, _ib._ - -Scinde, Annexation of, by Britain, I. 150 - -Scotland, conflicting views as to the character of a Church, I. 102; - Act of Parliament in regard to Presbyteries, _ib._; - decree of the General Assembly, _ib._; - the Strathbogie case, _ib._; - Dr. Chalmers and Reform, 103; - the beginning of the Free Church, _ib._; - visit of the Queen and Prince Albert, 126; - the Queen’s impression of the country and people, 127; - passing of the Education Bill, II. 591; - the great Liberal victories of 1880, _ib._; - proposed legislation by the Gladstone Government, 671; - the Universities Bill, 678; - the Sanitary Bill, 710 - -Seats Bill passed in the House of Commons, II. 699; - its complex character, 699-701 - -Sebastopol at the mercy of the Allies, I. 608; - Todleben’s genius and activity, 610; - the beginning of the bombardment, 640; - capture of the Malakoff, 671; - abandoned by the Russians, 672 - -Secularism, its rise in England, I. 270; - Mr. Holyoake’s views, _ib._ - -Sedan, Surrender of the French Emperor at, II. 370 - -Selborne, Lord, Lord Chancellor, II. 594. - -“Senior Service,” The, II. 748 - -Sepoys, their dissatisfaction with British rule in India, I. 725, 726 - -Servants’ Provident and Benevolent Society, Founding of the, by Prince Albert, I. 363 - -Seymour, Admiral Sir Beauchamp (afterwards Lord Alcester), his warning to Arabi - regarding the fortifications of Alexandria, II. 642; - bombards Alexandria, _ib._; - takes possession of the town of Alexandria, _ib._; - receives a peerage in return for his services in Egypt, _ib._ - -Shaftesbury, Lord, his Commission of Inquiry on Mines and Collieries I. 139; - the Mines and Collieries Act, _ib._; - his Factories Act, _ib._; - the “Ten Hours Bill,” 286; - his undaunted courage, _ib._; - his withdrawal from Parliament, _ib._; - his speech against Russia, 587; - address to the Queen, asking her not to take the title of Empress, 502 - -Shah of Persia, The, visit to England, II. 446; - his reception, 447; - banquet in the Guildhall, 449; - his departure from London, 450; - the political element in his mission, _ib._ - -Shah Soojah supported by the British for the throne of Afghanistan, I. 112; - his proposed rule, 114; - his unpopularity with the Afghans, 115; - his energy and integrity, 118; - his assassination, 121 - -Shaw-Lefevre, Mr., Secretary to the Admiralty, I. 594 - -Sheffield, the disastrous flood in 1864, I. 226; - outrages by artisans, 289 - -Siam, Envoys from, received by the Queen, II. 667 - -Sibthorp, Colonel, his motion as to Prince Albert’s pension, I. 67 - -Sikhs, the rebellion of 1849, I. 399; - the siege of Multan, _ib._ - -Simpson, Dr. Young, his discovery of chloroform, I. 307 - -Simpson, General, his appointment to the command in the Crimea, I. 669; - his inefficiency, 671, 674 - -Sing, Maharajah Sir Pertab, at Windsor, II. 740 - -Sinkat, Massacre of the garrison of, II. 675 - -Sinope, The massacre of, I. 562 - -Slave trade, Speech on the, by Prince Albert, I. 105; - convention on the matter between England and France, 188 - -Sliding scale, Peel’s support of a, I. 98; - its introduction, 134 - -“Slumming,” II. 670 - -Smith, Mr. W. H., becomes First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House - of Commons, II. 734 - -Smith, Sir Harry, defeat of the Sikhs at Aliwal, I. 235 - -Sobraon, Battle of, I. 235 - -Solomon, Alderman, disqualified as a Jew from taking his seat in Parliament, I. 476 - -Soudan, Campaigns in the, II. 712-18; - evacuation of, by the British, 718 - -Southey, his interview with the Princess Victoria, I. 15 - -Spain, the revolution of 1848, I. 347; - rising in Madrid, _ib._; - dethronement of Queen Isabella, II. 323; - accession of King Amadeus, 376 - -Spencer, Lord, Lord President of the Council, II. 594; - Irish Viceroy, 632, 634; - his policy thrown over by the Tories, 710; - adopts Mr. Gladstone’s measure of Home Rule, 727 - -Spithead, Great naval review at, I. 569, 570 - -Stamp Duties, Discussion in Parliament on the, I. 444 - -Stanley, Dean, his death, II. 626; - his character, _ib._; - his biography of Dr. Arnold, _ib._; - his conciliatory influence on the Anglican Church, _ib._; - his intimate relations to the Royal Family, _ib._ - -Stanley, Lady Augusta, her admirable character, II. 511 - -Stanley, Lord, Secretary for the Colonies, I. 97; - resigns office, 207; - leader of the Protectionists, 227; - his attack on the Portuguese policy of the Russell Government, I. 352; - his discovery of an Ordnance Department scandal, 393; - proposes a vote of censure on the Russell Government, 431; - failure of his attempt to form a Cabinet, 466. - _See_ also Derby, Earl of - -Stanley, Mr., his discoveries on the Congo, 683 - -Stansfeld, Mr., his Public Health Bill, II. 423 - -St. Arnaud, Marshal, his plan for the battle of the Alma, I. 607; - his death, 609 - -Stephenson, General, Repulse of the Arabs by, II. 718 - -Stephenson, George, opening of the passenger line between - Birmingham and London, I. 47 - -Stewart, Colonel, murdered by Arabs, II. 681 - -Stewart, Sir Donald, his support of the Ilbert Bill, II. 663 - -Stewart, Sir Herbert, at Korti, II. 712; - at Abu Klea, 713; - mortally wounded, 714 - -St. Leonards, Lord, Lord Chancellor, I. 499 - -Stockmar, Baron, his opinion as to the changes in the Prince Consort, I. 267; - his advice regarding the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 575 - -Stoddart, Colonel, his mission to Persia, I. 123; - his death, 124 - -Storey, Mr., his opposition to the vote to Prince Leopold on his marriage, II. 646 - -Stratford de Redcliffe, Lord, English ambassador at Constantinople, II. 549; - the nature of his negotiations, 550 - -Strutt, Mr. James, the Princess Victoria’s visit to his cotton mills at Belper, I. 15; - his son created a peer in 1856, _ib._ - -Stuart-Wortley, Mr., his Bill to legalise marriage with a deceased wife’s sister, I. 392 - -Sturge, Mr. Joseph, his leadership of the Chartists, I. 330; - his aims, _ib._ - -Suakim-Berber Railway, The, II. 718 - -Suez Canal, Purchase of the Khedive’s shares in, by the English Government, II. 492; - exorbitant tolls levied by the Company on the shipping trade, 662; - Mr. Gladstone’s agreement with M. de Lesseps, _ib._; - Mr. Gladstone’s agreement abandoned, _ib._ - -Sugar Duties, Lord John Russell’s proposal regarding the, I. 246 - -Sullivan, Mr. A. M., his description of Ireland during the famine, I. 275 - -Sullivan, Mr. T. D., his song of “God Save Ireland,” II. 288 - -Sunday reunions in London society, II. 732 - - -T. - -Tait, Archbishop, his election to the See of Canterbury, II. 321, 322; - his Public Worship Regulation Bill, 471; - death of, 650 - -Tamanieb, The battle of, II. 675 - -Tay, Disaster on the railway bridge of the, II. 582 - -Tea Duty, Mr. Gladstone’s reduction of the, II., 238 - -Tel-el-Kebir, The battle of, II. 643 - -Tennyson, Alfred (Lord), his ode at the opening of the Great Exhibition, II. 135; - declines offer of baronetcy by Mr. Disraeli, 482 - -Test Act, Repeal of the, I. 23 - -Thanksgiving Day for recovery of Prince of Wales, II. 415; - the service of, on Jubilee Day, 744 - -Theebaw, King of Burmah, deposed, II. 723 - -Thom, Mr. John Nicholls, his religious mania, I. 39; - his murder of a constable, _ib._; - his death, _ib._ - -Thompson, General Perronet, his “Catechism of the Corn Laws,” I. 83 - -Thorburn, Mr., his portrait of Prince Albert, I. 159 - -“Three Acres and a Cow,” II. 726 - -_Times_, its opinion on the Corn Laws, I. 205; - its attack on the proposed marriage between the - Princess Royal and Prince Frederick of Prussia, II. 663; - its attacks on the Parnellites, 735 - -Todleben, Colonel, his great ability, I. 610; - his splendid defence of Sebastopol, _ib._ - -Tokar, Fall of, II. 675 - -Tractarian Movement, The, 98; - its principles, _ib._; - its leaders, 99; - the “Tracts for the Times,” _ib._; - opposition to its tenets, _ib._; - the term “Anglican,” _ib._; - its effect on the younger clergy, _ib._; - the spirit of revivalism, _ib._; - the apparent cogency of its arguments, 100; - its creditable qualities, 101; - letter by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 178; - Puseyite practices, 179 - -Trades Unions, their incentives to crime, I. 59 - -_Trafalgar_, Launch of the warship, at Woolwich, I. 94 - -Trafalgar Square, Fair Trade meetings in, II. 731; - the riots at, _ib._ - -Tramways, Act enabling Irish Local Authorities to construct, II. 659 - -Transvaal, British occupation of the, II. 563; - misrepresentations regarding the Boer wish for annexation, 599; - Mr. Gladstone’s speeches in favour of Boer independence, _ib._; - outbreak of rebellion, _ib._; - proclamation of a Republic, _ib._; - defeat of British troops at Bronkhorst Spruit, _ib._; - futile attempt of British troops to quell the rising, _ib._; - a war of re-conquest by England, 610; - defeat of Sir George Colley, 619; - defeat of the British at Majuba Hill, _ib._; - a Republic under British Protectorate, _ib._ - -Trevelyan, Mr. (afterwards Sir George Otto), his motion for abolition of purchase - in the army, II. 387; - Irish Secretary, 634; - suppresses “Orange” and “Green” demonstrations in Ireland, 668; - resignation of, 727; - returns to the Gladstonian party, 735 - -Turkey, the quarrel with Russia, I. 540; - determination to strike a blow at Montenegro, 542; - the quarrel of the monks at Jerusalem, 544; - refuses to agree to the Vienna Note, 552; - the points of contention with Russia, 555; - Turkish modifications of the Vienna Note, 556; - suspected “shuffling” from the conditions of the Treaty of Kainardji, 557; - declares war against Russia, 559; - fleet destroyed by the Russians, 562; - defeats the Russians at Silistria, 582; - treaty with Austria, 586; - the terms of peace with Russia after the Crimean War, 685-687; - mutiny in Bosnia and Herzegovina, II. 494; - the Andrassy Note, 495; - advantages secured by the policy of England, 496; - the Bulgarian atrocities, 504-503; - Lord Beaconsfield’s policy during the Russian difficulty, 511, 523, 526; - the war against Russia, 526; - English neutrality during the war, 527; - the fall of Plevna, 528; - the Anglo-Turkish Convention, 550; - refusal of concessions to Montenegro and Greece, 597; - the British fleet sent to Ragusa, 598 - - -U. - -Ulundi, The battle of, II. 566 - -United States, controversy with England in regard to Oregon, I. 231; - a treaty with England ratified, 232; - the struggle on the Slave Question, II. 111; - decision of the Supreme Court regarding negroes, 114; - the contention between North and South, _ib._; - secession of the Southern States, _ib._; - outbreak of the Civil War, 115; - English sympathy with the North, _ib._; - the battle of Bull’s Run, 116; - seizure of the English steamer Trent by the Federals, _ib._; - settlement of the Trent dispute, 119; - progress of the war, 131; - the fight between the _Merrimac_ and the _Monitor_, _ib._; - the battle of Fredericksburg, 133; - embittered relations between England and America, _ib._; - efforts in England in behalf of the South, 176; - capture of Vicksburg, 177; - continuance of the war, 178; - cruisers built in English dockyards, 211; - Grant’s leadership, 219; - Sherman’s success, 222; - complete defeat of the Confederates, 238; - assassination of Lincoln, 239; - the negotiations regarding the Alabama claims, 342; - celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in, 747 - -Upper Burmah annexed to the Indian Empire, II. 723 - -Utrecht, Treaty of, its stipulations as to the French and Spanish crowns, I. 256 - - -V. - -Van Buren, President of the United States, Proclamation of, - regarding the rebellion, I. 33 - -Varna, The camp of the Allies at, I. 603; - a Council of War, _ib._ - -Veto Law in the Church of Scotland, I. 102 - -Victor Emmanuel, his agreement with the French Emperor, II. 29 - -Victoria, Queen, birth and parentage of her Majesty, I. 4; - her illustrious descent, _ib._; - christened at Kensington Palace, 7; - a previous monarch of her name in Britain, _ib._; - her sponsors, _ib._; - her early surroundings, 10; - her education, _ib._; - grounded in languages, music, &c., _ib._; - her general education entrusted to the Duchess of Northumberland, _ib._; - her affability, 11; - influenced by Wilberforce, _ib._; - her charity and kindness, _ib._; - her appearance in public, _ib._; - false reports regarding her health, _ib._; - anecdotes regarding her studies, 11, 12; - the Regency Bill, 14; - her progress in her studies, _ib._; - her fondness for music, _ib._; - juvenile ball in her honour by Queen Adelaide, _ib._; - additional income of £10,000 granted her by Parliament, 15; - stay in the Isle of Wight, _ib._; - visit to the Belper Mills in Derbyshire, _ib._; - visit to Oxford, _ib._; - visit to Southampton, 18; - her confirmation at St. James’s, _ib._; - an instance of her benevolence, _ib._; - her coming of age, _ib._; - her first Council, 19; - her address on the King’s death, _ib._; - proclaimed Queen, 22; - the period of her accession fortunate, _ib._; - instructed in the theory and working of the British Constitution by Lord Melbourne, 23; - residence at Buckingham Palace, 27; - addresses to the Houses of Parliament, _ib._; - her income fixed at £385,000, 30; - her business precision, _ib._; - her popularity at the beginning of her reign, 35; - foolish imputations against her, 36; - Chartist and other opponents, 38; - her generous disposition, 39; - coronation, 42, 43; - a letter to Sir R. Peel, 55; - affianced to Prince Albert, 62; - informing the Privy Council of her marriage, 63; - domestic life, 75; - fired at by Edward Oxford, 82; - birth of the Princess Royal, 83; - a royal tour, 94; - speech to Parliament, 95; - her dislike to the Tractarian Movement, 102; - birth of the Prince of Wales, 106; - attempts on her life, 110; - visit to Scotland, 126; - her impressions, 127; - departure from Edinburgh, _ib._; - letter to the Lord Advocate, _ib._; - birth of the Princess Alice, 132; - meeting with Louis Philippe, 143; - visit to Belgium, 146; - visit of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, 159; - birth of Prince Alfred, 167; - visit to Scotland, 171; - residence at Blair Athole, _ib._; - visit of Louis Philippe, 172; - founding of the Royal Exchange, 174; - the purchase of Osborne, 179; - visit to the Continent, 195; - enthusiastic reception in Germany, 197, 198; - second visit to Louis Philippe, 198; - her admirable behaviour at the Corn Law crisis, 211; - her sympathy during the agricultural distress, 218, 219; - the Speech from the Throne in 1846, 220; - her Parliamentary instinct, 226; - letter on Peel’s resignation, 239; - anecdote of her kindness, 248; - anxiety about our foreign policy, 254; - visit to the Isle of Wight, 261; - reception of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, _ib._; - birth of the Princess Helena, _ib._; - a letter in regard to the Prince Consort, 262; - yachting cruise in the Channel, 263; - a visit to Cornwall, 266; - visits from German friends, 267; - visit to Hatfield, 268; - her account of the installation of Prince Albert as Chancellor of Cambridge - University, 314; - visit to Scotland, 318, 320; - anxieties in 1848, 357; - birth of the Princess Louise, 364; - visit to Balmoral, 366, 367; - her plan for her children’s education, 403; - shot at by Hamilton, 406; - visit to Ireland, 409; - her Irish policy, 443; - birth of the Duke of Connaught, 452; - assaulted by Lieutenant Pate, _ib._; - birth of Prince Leopold, 567; - review of the fleet at Spithead, 584; - a letter to the King of Prussia regarding the war with Russia, 594; - her anxiety concerning the soldiers in the Crimea, 645; - decorates Crimean soldiers at Chatham Hospital, 646; - visit to France, 656-660; - visit to Aldershot, 692; - reviews the fleet, 693; - reviews the troops at Aldershot, 695; - birth of the Princess Beatrice, 738; - confers the title of Prince Consort on Prince Albert, 743; - visit to Birmingham, II. 19; - visit to the Emperor and Empress of the French at Cherbourg, 21; - visit to the Prince and Princess of Prussia, 23; - visit to Leeds, 25; - project for founding the Order of the Star of India, 40; - reviews the volunteers at Hyde Park, 64; - visit to Germany, 70; - second visit to Ireland, 87, 89; - death of the Prince Consort, 92-96; - letter on the Hartley coal-pit disaster, 138; - her deep sorrow, 143; - visit to Germany, 144; - an address from the ballast-heavers, 179; - visit to Belgium, 180; - her policy at the Danish War, 191; - first appearance in public after the Prince Consort’s death, 227; - visit to Germany, 249; - opens the Blackfriars Bridge and Holborn Viaduct, 353; - opens the hall of the London University, 377; - a garden party at Windsor, 383; - opening of the Royal Albert Hall, 409; - opening of St. Thomas’s Hospital, 410; - illness, 411; - her opposition to French decorations in England, 443; - opens the Victoria Park, 445; - visit from the Czar, 478; - the Royal Titles Bill, 499; - unveils the Scottish National Memorial at Edinburgh, 503; - proclaimed Empress of India at Delhi, 512; - her supposed pro-Turkish sympathies, 531; - visit to Hughenden, 532; - visit to Italy, 579; - cordial reception in Paris, _ib._; - visited at Baveno by Prince Amadeus of Italy, 580; - received by the King and Queen of Italy at Monza, _ib._; - visit from the Emperor of Germany at Windsor, _ib._; - Canning’s policy in India, _ib._; - visit to her relatives in Germany, 604; - arrival at Darmstadt, 606; - visit from the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, 626; - continuation of her “Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands,” 686; - the tone of her “Journal” reminiscences, 687; - illness, _ib._; - visit to Germany, 692; - present at the marriage of Princess Victoria of Hesse, _ib._; - visit to Balmoral, 694; - troubled as to the issue of the political crisis arising out of the Reform - Bill, 695; - confers the Order of the Garter on Prince George of Wales, _ib._; - her pressure on the Duke of Richmond to accept a compromise - on Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill, 697; - her letter to Miss Gordon, 717; - holiday at Aix-les-Bains, 719; - visit to Darmstadt (1885), _ib._; - her objections to Ascot Race Week, 721; - visits the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 731; - opens the Holloway College for Women, 732; - opens the International Exhibitions at Liverpool and Edinburgh, _ib._; - attends the Garden Party at Marlborough House, _ib._; - visits the Duke of Buccleuch, _ib._; - fixes date for celebrating her Jubilee, 733; - opens the Law Courts in Birmingham, 739; - her holiday at Cannes and Aix-les-Bains, 740; - visits the Grande Chartreuse, _ib._; - opens the People’s Palace, _ib._; - visits the “Wild West” Show, _ib._; - her Jubilee procession to Westminster Abbey, 741; - after the Jubilee service in the Abbey, 743; - reviews the seamen of the fleet, _ib._; - attends the children’s celebration of the Jubilee in Hyde Park, 747; - gives a Jubilee Banquet in Buckingham Palace, 748; - her letter to her people on the Jubilee, _ib._; - gives a Garden Party in connection with the Jubilee, _ib._; - reviews the metropolitan volunteers, _ib._; - the progress which she has seen during her reign, 751 - -Victoria, Lord Normanby’s resignation of the Governorship of, II. 690; - Prince Leopold’s wish to become Governor, _ib._; - the Queen opposes Prince Leopold’s proposed Governorship, _ib._ - - -W. - -Wady Halfa, The British at, II. 718 - -Waghorn, Lieutenant, his inauguration of the Overland Route, I. 190 - -Wakley, Mr., his remarks in regard to Sir Robert Peel, I. 238 - -Wales, Prince of, his birth, I. 106; - title bestowed by letters patent, _ib._; - other titles by right, _ib._; - his sponsors, _ib._; - his first public appearance in a pageant of State, 418; - his stay at Königswinter, 746; - his stay at Richmond Park, II. 19; - a letter from the Queen on his reaching his eighteenth year, 26; - tour in Canada, 66; - his warm reception in the United States, 67; - visit to Germany, 90; - his tour in the East, 136-138; - his marriage to the Princess Alexandra, 144; - takes his seat in the House of Lords, 147; - birth of Prince Albert Victor, 223; - birth of Prince George Frederick, 249; - his illness, 411; - the excitement in London regarding his illness, 412; - his relapse, _ib._; - the probability of a Regency, _ib._; - all the members of the Royal Family summoned to Sandringham, _ib._; - fall in the Money Market securities on account of his serious illness, _ib._; - his rally on the anniversary of the Prince Consort’s death, 413; - addresses of sympathy from Republican societies, _ib._; - his convalescence, _ib._; - a letter from the Queen to the Home Secretary, 414; - Thanksgiving Day, 415; - his popular discharge of royal duties, 442; - his financial embarrassments, 476; - State visit to India, 493; - Mr. Bright’s support of the grant for the State pageant to India, 494; - the argument that his visit might benefit the natives of India, _ib._; - visit to Germany, 606; - visit of, and Princess, to Ireland, 719 - -Wales, The “Rebecca” disturbances in, I. 138; - removal of the grievances, 139 - -Walewski, his letter to the British Government regarding the shelter of French - refugees, II. 10; - Palmerston’s impolitic reply, _ib._; - spirited protest by Lord Malmesbury, 14 - -Walpole, Horace, an anecdote of George III.’s coronation, I. 46 - -Walpole, Mr., S., his remarks on the Crimean War, I. 687; - Secretary for Home Affairs, II. 257 - -Ward Hunt, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer, II. 304; - his Budget for 1868, 312; - First Lord of the Admiralty, 465 - -Washington, meeting of a Commission regarding points at - issue between England - and America, II. 390 - -Waterloo Banquet, The Duke of Wellington’s proposal to dispense with the, I. 3 - -Wellington, Duke of, his proposal to dispense with the Waterloo Banquet, I. 3; - advises the formation of a Cabinet by Sir Robert Peel, 54; - his advice regarding the address to the Queen after her marriage, 66; - leader of the House of Lords, 97; - visit of the Queen and Prince Albert to Strathfieldsaye, 180; - his sympathy with Peel on Free Trade, 211; - his loyalty to the Queen, 212; - his attitude to the Russell Ministry, 242; - letter to Lord John Russell, _ib._; - his suppression of undue corporal punishment in the army, 248; - his anxiety about the defences of the country, 303; - letter to Sir John Burgoyne, _ib._; - the Queen’s courtesies, _ib._; - his defeat of the Chartist rising, 330, 335; - proposal to instal the Prince Consort his successor as - Commander-in-Chief, 451; - his opposition to the Militia Bill, 499; - his death, 508; - tributes to his memory, 509; - universally mourned, 510; - his lying in state, _ib._; - his funeral, 511; - his character, 513, 514 - -Westbury, Lord Chancellor, his action in favour of the - Fraudulent Trusts Bill, I. 715; - his statement in regard to the synodical condemnation of - “Essays and Reviews,” 215; - charged with corrupt practices, 242; - resigns office, 243 - -Westminster Abbey, Scene in, at the Jubilee Service, II. 746 - -Whewell, Dr., his invitation to Prince Albert to become - a candidate for the Chancellorship of Cambridge, I. 307; - his meeting with the Queen, 315 - -“White Terror,” The, at Calcutta, II. 7 - -Wilberforce, Dr. Samuel, his opposition to the Sugar Duties, I. 246, 247; - his account of Prince Albert’s installation as Chancellor - of Cambridge University, 314; - his reply to Lord Chancellor Westbury on “Essays and Reviews,” II. 217 - -William, German Emperor, his visit to England, I. 70; - his early campaigns, _ib._; - crowned King of Prussia, II. 91 - -Wilson, Sir Charles, in command of Sir H. Stewart’s column, II. 714; - his operations between Metamneh and Khartoum, 715; - arrives at Khartoum, _ib._; - his steamers fired on by the Arabs, _ib._; - wrecked in the Nile, 716; - rescued by Lord Charles Beresford, _ib._ - -Windham, Colonel, his bravery at the storming of the Redan, I. 671 - -Wiseman, Cardinal, his pastoral regarding Roman Catholicism in England, I. 450 - -Wolff, Sir Henry Drummond-, one of the founders of the Fourth-party, II. 594; - his obstructionist tactics, 601; - his mission to Egypt, II. 708 - -Wolseley, Sir Garnet, commands the British expedition to Ashanti, II. 461; - enters Coomassie in triumph, _ib._; - efforts to re-establish order in Zululand, 566; - commands the expedition against the Egyptians under Arabi, 642; - celerity of his movements, 643; - the battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, _ib._; - created Lord Wolseley, _ib._; - arrives at Korti, 712; - leaves Dongola, 718 - -Wolverhampton, statue to the Prince Consort inaugurated by the Queen, II. 267; - the enthusiastic reception of the Queen, _ib._ - -Wood, Sir C., First Lord of the Admiralty, I. 630 - -Wordsworth, his ode on the installation of the Prince Consort - as Chancellor of Cambridge University, I. 310 - -Wyse, Mr., British envoy at Paris, I. 427 - - -Y. - -Yeh, Commissioner, Capture of, in Canton, II. 5 - -“Young Ireland” Party, its objects, I. 339; - the leaders of, _ib._ - - -Z. - -Zebehr Pasha named by Gordon as ruler of the Soudan, II. 711; - deportation of, to Gibraltar, _ib._ - -Zulu War, The, II. 563; - defeat of the British, 564; - the battle of Rorke’s Drift, _ib._; - battle of Ulundi, 566 - - -PRINTED BY CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Nothing did more to sap and undermine the popularity of the -Government than an evasive statement of Mr. Cardwell’s as to the arms -in store. On the vote for increasing the army by 20,000 men on the -1st of August, 1870, Sir John Hay asked what was the use of voting -the money when the Government “had not 20,000 breechloaders ready for -service for the army, the militia, and volunteers.” Mr. Cardwell, in -reply, said he had 300,000 rifles “in store,” and left the House of -Commons when it rose, under the impression that the weapons were ready -for use as surplus weapons on any emergency. Of these, however, it -was subsequently admitted by Mr. Cardwell in an interview with Lord -Elcho that 100,000 were needed to meet existing demands, and that a -considerable number of the rest were in Canada. - -[2] There were also many whose objection to the grant to the Princess -was based on the delusion that the Queen, by living in retirement, had -accumulated savings out of which she could well afford to dower her -daughter. - -[3] A Royal warrant fixed the legal price of commissions. But they were -sold in defiance of the law at prices far above the legal ones, and -these were called “over-regulation prices.” - -[4] It might be said that promotion could still be kept going on in -the regiment itself. Officers need not have then been transferred for -promotion. But in that case rich officers might have bribed their -seniors to retire. Or, the subalterns might have made up a purse by -subscription to induce one of their seniors to retire and let them each -get a step upwards. - -[5] It may be mentioned that this course was suggested as a possible -one in the debate by Lord Derby. - -[6] The alternative courses of a creation of new Peers, and a -dissolution, it should be noted, also involved an exercise of the Royal -Prerogative--a fact forgotten by those who denounced Mr. Gladstone as a -“tyrant” for coercing the Peers by the use of Prerogative. - -[7] According to Addison, the House of Commons as far back as 1708 -began to discuss the Ballot. After 1832 it became a popular cry with -the Radicals, and in the first Session of the Reformed Parliament Mr. -Grote brought in a Ballot Bill which was rejected by a majority of -211 to 106. Year after year Mr. Grote was beaten in his attempt to -carry his measure. To him succeeded Mr. Henry Berkeley, who every year -brought forward a resolution in favour of secret voting, and in 1851 -even carried it by a majority of 37 against the opposition of Lord John -Russell and the Whig Government. The odious corruption and scandalous -scenes of violence which were associated with open voting at elections -gradually made Lord John and Mr. Gladstone converts to Mr. Berkeley’s -views. In 1868 the revelations of Lord Hartington’s Committee as to the -manner of conducting elections convinced the country that the Ballot -must be adopted. In 1869 another Committee on Electoral Practices -reported in favour of it. - -[8] Philosophical Radicals, like Mr. Mill, disliked the Ballot because -they feared that one influence would always operate on the ignorant -elector’s mind, even in the secrecy of the polling booth--that of the -priest who had threatened him with “the pains of Hell” as a punishment -for voting on the wrong side. - -[9] Mr. Disraeli, it is fair to say, had endeavoured to save the time -of the House by suggesting that there should be no debate on the Second -Reading--the discussion of the principle of the measure to be taken -on the next stage--the motion that the Speaker leave the Chair. This -arrangement was agreed to by the Government, but it provoked a mutiny -in the Conservative ranks, or rather in the section of the Party -represented by Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Newdegate, and Mr. G. Bentinck, -the first-named of whom jeered at Mr. Disraeli’s late Administration as -a “disorganised hypocrisy.” - -[10] Mr. Gladstone and the Government supported the first, but opposed -the latter of these proposals, greatly to the annoyance of the -Radicals, who saw in it the most effective check to bribery that could -be devised. - -[11] Large numbers of Liberal Peers did not even attend the debate or -the division. - -[12] Previous to this Act the Unions were so far without the law, that -they could not even prosecute their office-bearers for stealing their -funds. - -[13] This was given by Sir James Hannen in the case of a man called -Purchon, a member of the Glassbottlers’ Union of Yorkshire. Three -members of the Union, professing to believe certain disgraceful charges -against Purchon, procured his expulsion from that body. Then his -employers dismissed him because they were threatened with a strike -if he remained in their service. Purchon sued the three Unionists -who got him expelled from his Union for conspiring to deprive him -of employment. Mr. Justice Hannen ruled that there was an undue -interference with the rights of labour, and £300 damages were awarded -by the jury. The case of Purchon _v._ Hartley proved that though the -Unions had got rid of a limited term of imprisonment for coercion, they -were now punishable by unlimited damages. - -[14] Mr. Goschen based his case on the fact that Local Government was -a chaos of areas, rating, and authorities. He proposed (1), that each -parish should have an elected chairman who, aided but not controlled -by it, should be the rating authority; (2), that county rates should -be levied by a financial board, half being elected by justices and -half by parish chairmen; (3), that a new department of State or Local -Government Board should be created to supervise local finance and -administration; (4), that rates should be split between occupier and -owner, and levied on all exempted property, such as Crown property, -charitable property, moneys, and game; (5), that the house duty -(£1,200,000 a year) should be surrendered to the local ratepayers. - -[15] His estimated expenditure was £72,308,000, and his estimated -revenue £69,595,000 on the existing basis of taxation, and without any -new duties. - -[16] There was to be a halfpenny stamp on boxes of wooden matches, and -a penny stamp on boxes of wax matches or fusees. It was expected that -these duties would yield £550,000 the first year. Mr. Lowe invented -a motto for the stamp--_ex luce lucellum_ (“out of light a little -profit”)--a classical pun, which, however, did not reconcile the people -to his proposals. - -[17] Mr. Lowe desirous of not putting more than 1¼d. in the £ on the -income-tax, proposed to calculate it at 10s. 8d. per cent. This novel -method of calculating the tax, which was not necessary when the round -sum of 2d. in the £ was adopted, was unpopular because it was puzzling. - -[18] Letters and Journals of W. Stanley Jevons, p. 252. - -[19] The British Commissioners were Earl de Grey, whose services on the -Commission were rewarded by his elevation to the Marquisate of Ripon, -Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Montagu Bernard, and two distinguished -Canadians. - -[20] One arbitrator was to be chosen by the Queen and one by the -President of the United States. The three others were to be nominated -by the King of Italy, the President of the Swiss Republic, and the -Emperor of Brazil. - -[21] Lord Russell, however, took a personal rather than a Party view of -the question. He could not forget that he was individually responsible -for the occurrences and acrimonious despatches that had embittered -Americans against England. - -[22] “Not an inch of our territory, and not a stone of our fortresses.” - -[23] Bismarck’s personal opinion of the terms of peace was that Germany -asked too much or took too little. She should have either left France -her territory, thereby depriving her of an incitement to revenge, -or she should have broken and crushed her so utterly, that she must -have been paralysed for a century. As it was, in spite of the heavy -war-indemnity which Germany exacted, France in fifteen years recovered -herself sufficiently to render her antagonism formidable, and as a -standing inducement to a war of revenge, she had ever before her eyes -the hope of recovering Alsace, Lorraine, and her lost fortresses. - -[24] Bismarck would have let the French keep Metz for a milliard more -of war-indemnity. Then with this money he would have built a fortress -to mask it somewhere about Falkenberg, or towards Saarbrücken. “I do -not like,” he said one day at dinner during the peace negotiations, “so -many Frenchmen being in our house against their will.”--Lowe’s Life of -Bismarck, Vol. I., p. 631. - -[25] The terms of peace proposed by Germany to France were an indemnity -of six milliards of francs (£240,000,000), the cession of all Alsace, -including Strasburg and Belfort, a third of Lorraine including Metz. -The German Emperor, however, reduced the fine to five milliards. Von -Bismarck induced the German generals to let France keep Belfort, in -consideration of the French submitting to the triumphal march of the -German troops through Paris as far as the Arc de Triomphe. - -[26] The _Agincourt_, an ironclad of 6,000 tons, was run aground on the -Pearl Rock, off Gibraltar, on the 2nd of July. The accident occurred in -broad daylight. The court-martial blamed the captain, staff commander, -and one of the lieutenants, but public opinion condemned Vice-Admiral -Wellesley, whose signals had, it was said, caused the disaster. Mr. -Goschen and the Lords of the Admiralty decided that the Admiral was to -blame for ordering an unsafe course to be steered, and compelled him to -strike his flag. The _Megæra_ was a transport ship which had been sent -to sea with her bottom honeycombed with rotten plates. On the 19th of -June the captain had to beach her to save her crew. Yet the Admiralty -officials had reported her quite seaworthy when her bottom was, as one -of her officers said, “as full of holes as an old tea-kettle.” - -[27] The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had been reorganised -so as to constitute a competent Court of Appellate Jurisdiction for -India and the Colonies. A certain number of judges was appointed to -it, but the Act laid it down that it was necessary for a man to be -a judge before he got one of these appointments. In November, 1871, -Mr. Gladstone was desirous of promoting Sir Robert Collier, then -Attorney-General. The Lord Chancellor accordingly made Sir Robert a -Puisne Judge so as to give him a technical qualification, and then -immediately appointed him to the Judicial Committee. It is only right -to say that personally and professionally Sir Robert Collier was well -qualified for the post. - -[28] These were Mr. Peter Taylor, Professor Fawcett, and Sir Charles -Dilke. The vote for it was 352, but half of the House was absent from -the division which Mr. Taylor challenged. Mr. Taylor declared that the -people were getting tired of the Monarchy. Sir Robert Peel suggested -that if more money were granted to the Royal Family, it ought to go -to the Prince of Wales, who was doing most of the Queen’s ceremonial -duties. He had also the bad taste to sneer at the Queen’s alleged -parsimony, and insinuated that she saved for her private purse the -money voted to defray her State expenses. - -[29] Some of the comments of the Press on the wedding were instructive. -The Times said: “To-day a ray of sunshine will gladden every habitation -in this island, and force its way even where uninvited. A daughter of -the people, in the truest sense of that word, is to be married to one -of ourselves. The mother is ours, the daughter is ours.” _Vanity Fair_, -a “Society” journal, considered that it was “an additional claim of the -dynasty on our loyalty that means should have been found to enable us -to keep so charming a Princess in the country.” The _Daily Telegraph_, -in describing the history of the marriage, said: “The old dragon -Tradition was routed by a young sorcerer called Love, who laughs at -precedents as heartily as at locksmiths, and has an equal contempt for -etiquette and armour _cap-à-pie_.” - -[30] “When the time came for putting on the ring, the bride took off -her glove, which, with the bouquet, the Queen offered to take. The -Princess, however, evidently did not observe the gracious attention, -and handed them to Lady Florence Lennox, who let them drop. May this -be an omen that flowers may strew the ground wherever the Princess’s -future life may lead her!”--(_Standard_, 22nd March, 1871.) - -[31] It may be worth while to note the precedents for marriage between -English Princesses and subjects:--Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James -I., and widow of the King of Bohemia, was supposed to have privately -married Lord Craven. Princess Mary, sister of Henry VIII., married -Charles Brandon, who was sent to escort her from France, when her -husband Louis XII. died. Three of the daughters of Edward IV. married -the heads of the families of Howard, Courtenay, and Welles; but though -Henry VI. recognised these alliances, he did not quite recognise the -title of Edward IV. Of the House of Hanover, William Henry, Duke of -Gloucester, in 1766 married the widow of Earl Waldegrave, who was the -illegitimate daughter of Sir Robert Walpole, a match which infuriated -King George III. Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, in 1771 married -Lady Anne Luttrell, daughter of Earl Carhampton, and widow of Mr. -Charles Horton, of Catton Hall, Derbyshire. The Royal Marriage Act was -passed in 1772, after which time there have been some Royal marriages -with subjects in spite of the law: (1), The Duke of Sussex married -first Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of Dunmore. After she -died, his Royal Highness married his second wife, Lady Cecilia Letitia -Buggin, daughter of Arthur, Earl of Arran, and afterwards Duchess -of Inverness. (2), George IV., while Prince of Wales, married Mrs. -FitzHerbert. (3), The present Duke of Cambridge married some years ago -Mrs. FitzGeorge. - -[32] This gave rise to a curious incident. A clerk by mistake had given -the Minister the message meant for the Lords. When Mr. Gladstone read -out the words “Her Majesty relies on the attachment of the House of -Peers to concur,” the House buzzed with excitement, and the Tories -wrathfully whispered to each other that some new insult had been -devised by Mr. Gladstone for the Hereditary Chamber. Mr. Gladstone had -to explain how the mistake had been made, before tranquillity could be -restored. - -[33] Mr. Bruce’s management of this affair did much to bring the -Government into contempt. When the promoters of the meeting defied -him he withdrew his prohibition. On being questioned in the House of -Commons on the subject, he explained that when he issued it he thought -that the meeting was called to petition Parliament, and no meeting can -legally be held within a mile of Parliament for that purpose. But, he -added, having found that the meeting was merely going to discuss the -grant he considered it to be a legal one, and therefore withdrew his -prohibition. - -[34] Hodder’s Life of Lord Shaftesbury, Vol. III., p. 303. - -[35] Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., p. 394. - -[36] _Daily Telegraph_, 28th February, 1872. - -[37] The boy was said to be a nephew of Feargus O’Connor, and was a -clerk in an oil-shop in the Borough. He had tried to reach the Queen’s -carriage on Thanksgiving Day, but the density of the crowd prevented -him. O’Connor, curiously enough, was not a Fenian or a Catholic, but -a Protestant youth who had turned crazy by reading “penny dreadfuls.” -In April he was tried and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment and -twenty strokes with the birch. The Queen, who had long been desirous -of bestowing medals for long and faithful domestic service in her -employment, found in the attack by O’Connor an opportunity for carrying -out her idea. Her personal attendants were Highland gillies from her -Aberdeenshire estates. They had been most active in protecting her -when she was menaced by O’Connor, and on John Brown, who had been more -prominent than the others, her Majesty conferred this gold medal and an -annuity of £25. Brown had been the Prince Consort’s favourite gillie, -and, though his rough Northern manners were somewhat unprepossessing, -his personal courage, stolid fidelity, shrewd judgment, and blunt -honesty of speech, had rendered him a great favourite in the Queen’s -family. - -[38] Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., p. 393. - -[39] England was admittedly not responsible for the escape of this -vessel. But the Tribunal held that because a British Colony reinforced -her crew at Melbourne after she carried the Confederate flag, -responsibility accrued. - -[40] The first Election under the Ballot was at Pontefract, when Mr. -Childers was returned against Lord Pollington by a vote of 658 to -578--the registered Electors being 1,960. The Election was conducted -with unusual order, and there was no bribery or intimidation, and less -violence and drunkenness than usual. - -[41] This Bill was, of course, much less drastic than the one which Mr. -Bruce withdrew in 1871. It reduced the hours of sale, strengthened the -hands of the authorities as regards supervision and the granting of new -licences, but as a sop to the Liquor Trade it gave the well-conducted -publican a kind of tenant-right by practically securing to him a -renewal of his licence. - -[42] Had an Admiral with good administrative ability been appointed -Permanent Secretary to the department instead of Mr. Lushington, the -collapse of Mr. Childers’ scheme, when he was invalided, might have -been averted. - -[43] Sir Massey Lopes desired that the cost of administering justice, -and the Lunacy and Police Acts--then charged on the rates--should be -thrown on the Consolidated Fund, _i.e._, transferred from the ratepayer -to the tax-payer. The county members on both sides objected to the -whole system of rating which fell not on personal, but real property, -and which threw on rates the cost of doing work which was done not -merely for the locality, but for the community at large. The Ministry -maintained that it was impossible to give effect to Sir Massey Lopes’ -ideas till the whole question of Local Government and Rating was taken -up and settled on a sound basis. - -[44] The limit of abatement was also raised from incomes of £200 to -£300, and the abatement itself from £60 to £80. The duty on coffee -and chicory was reduced, and shops and warehouses were exempted from -house-tax. - -[45] This was founded on the 19th of May, 1870, in the Bilton Hotel, -Sackville Street, Dublin. The chief Conservatives present were Mr. -Purdon (Lord Mayor of Dublin), Mr. Kinahan (Ex-High Sheriff of Dublin), -Major Knox (proprietor of the _Irish Times_), and Captain (afterwards -Colonel) King-Harman. Mr. Butt moved the chief resolution, which was -unanimously carried, affirming that “The true remedy for the evils of -Ireland is the establishment of an Irish Parliament with full control -over our domestic affairs.” - -[46] Lord Russell in this letter, says:--“It appears to me that if -Ireland were to be allowed to elect a Representative Assembly for each -of its four Provinces of Leinster, Ulster, Munster, and Connaught, and -if Scotland in a similar manner were to be divided into Lowlands and -Highlands, having for each Province a Representative Assembly, the -local wants of Ireland and Scotland might be better provided for than -they are at present.” There was reason to suppose that the Birmingham -School of Radicals in 1886 had almost summoned up courage to adopt the -Home Rule scheme which the veteran Whig statesman propounded in 1872. - -[47] Burma, As it Was, As it Is, and As it Will Be. By J. George Scott -(“Shway Yoe”). London: Redway, 1886-7. P. 34. - -[48] The British representative at Mandalay, besides complaining of -perpetual encroachments on the Arakan frontier, declared that he was -not allowed to see the King of Burma unless he took off his shoes and -sat before him on the floor in his stockings. - -[49] See a letter written by Mr. Hayward to Mr. Gladstone, in the -correspondence of Mr. Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 252. - -[50] What their motive was for this act has not yet been clearly -stated. It was said at the time that they thought by opposing it to -induce the Protestants to let it pass. Their opposition, however, as -explained by themselves, was (1), The Bill did not endow a Catholic -University. The Tories had promised to do so in 1866, and therefore the -Catholics might profitably wait till Mr. Disraeli returned to power. -(2), The Bill, by endowing Professorships of academical subjects--not -including History and Philosophy--was really one for founding a new -“Godless college.” (3), Other students than those trained in affiliated -colleges--scholars educated by private study, in fact--were admitted -to degrees. (4), As the constitution of the new University stood, the -Catholics would have to wait for many years ere they could command even -a large minority in the new University constituency. - -[51] They were Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Horsman, who had approved of the Bill -at first, Mr. Bouverie, Mr. McCullagh Torrens, Mr. Aytoun, Mr. Akroyd, -Mr. Foster, Mr. Auberon Herbert, and Mr. Whalley. - -[52] These clauses do not seem to have been essential to the main -object in view, which was to give the Catholics a chance of getting -University degrees of high status, and a fair share of the University -endowments of the nation. The new “Godless” chairs were not needed if -the Catholics did not want them, for the Protestants could always get -their instruction in Trinity College. - -[53] Sir William Stirling Maxwell was a representative of the most -popular phase of Toryism, and in a special sense reflected the mind of -his party in hankering after Lord Derby as a leader. Writing to Mr. -Hayward in September, 1872, he says of Lord Derby:--“I know no man -whose daily talk reflects more constantly the good sense and fairness -of his speeches. It is some consolation to those who still believe that -Conservatism may have some backbone left to have a prospective leader -with so much ballast in his character.” The Conservatives did not trust -Mr. Disraeli’s Conservatism even in 1873, just because they suspected -it lacked backbone and ballast. - -[54] Mr. Gladstone combined this office with that of the Premiership. -Sir Robert Walpole, Lord North, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Canning, and Sir Robert -Peel had each held the two offices simultaneously. - -[55] For example, in 1873 the Public Accounts showed a Postal -expenditure of £5,000,000; but then, on the other side of the ledger, -the nation was credited with £5,000,000 of receipts earned by the -Post-office. The Tory financial critics could not be got to see that -the only right way of comparing the real expenditure of a Government -at any two selected dates is to deduct from the gross sum moneys which -come in aid of outlay, and which are yet not taxes, and then compare -the results. - -[56] Mr. Disraeli’s Government need not be blamed too harshly -for letting the Army alone. Till the fall of the Second Empire -Parliament would probably not have voted the money or passed the -measures necessary to put an end to the chaotic confusion and Crimean -inefficiency of the military system under which orators used to declare -“British troops had ever marched to victory.” But Mr. Corry, Mr. -Disraeli’s First Lord of the Admiralty, had no such excuse for his -neglect to build first-class ironclads. Even the Manchester Radicals -would have voted him the money for that purpose had he been courageous -enough to confess what was the truth, namely, that when he took office -the British Navy was behind the age, and as a fighting force pitiably -weak and obsolete. Another costly blunder was committed by Mr. Corry. -He had not firmness enough to silence clamorous claims for commissions. -Hence he over-officered the Navy, till it almost seemed at one time as -if he meant to man his line-of-battle ships with his redundant admirals -and his superfluous captains. - -[57] This was due, however, not so much to the action of the Government -as to the falling-in of terminable annuities, which reduced the charges -for the National Debt. - -[58] Of course the Queen cannot prevent a man from receiving a -Foreign decoration, and he can wear it in Society without incurring -prosecution, just as he might, if vulgar enough, wear a masonic star -of the cheeseplate order of architecture on his breast. But he cannot -wear it at Court, and the grievance of the British snob is that the -Queen’s objection to his accepting a Foreign Order prevents Foreign -Governments--except semi-barbarous ones--from bestowing it on him. -Queen Elizabeth said that “she did not like her dogs to wear any -collar but her own.” It is not so generally known that the Queen’s -grandfather, George III., whose metaphors were usually of a more -pastoral character than those of the great Tudor Princess, expressed -the same feeling when he said that he “liked his sheep to wear his own -mark.” - -[59] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 308. - -[60] If, for example, the Prince of Wales and his children died, -the Duke of Edinburgh would have succeeded him. The succession to -the English throne, unlike that to most European Sovereignties, is -governed by the same law which regulates the succession to all Scottish -dignities and most of the very ancient English baronies, namely, -descent is to heirs general, male or female; but then all males must -be exhausted ere the right of the females accrues. Thus the Duke stood -before his elder sisters and their families in the line of succession. - -[61] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, pp. 317 and 318. - -[62] This was the letter to “My dear Grey,” in which Mr. Disraeli -accused the Ministry of a policy of “blundering and plundering.” As -they were in power solely because he had refused office, the attack of -course recoiled on his own party. - -[63] A Selection from the Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. -II., p. 254. - -[64] It was unjustly said that Mr. Gladstone offered to abolish the -Income Tax as an electoral bribe. The fact was that he was under a -recorded pledge to Parliament to take off the Income Tax when the -finances admitted of its repeal. That was the condition on which he had -been allowed to impose it when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in -1853. As the vast majority of the electors were not Income Tax payers, -the proposal could not possibly be an effective electoral bribe. - -[65] Another difficulty for the Independent Elector was that of seeing -how Mr. Gladstone could abolish the Income Tax. Mr. Disraeli, who soon -began to repent his haste in trying to outbid Mr. Gladstone on this -point, suggested that difficulty in a speech at Newton Pagnell. He did -not withdraw from his declaration that he desired to get rid of the -Income Tax. But, he said, “If Mr. Gladstone asks me ‘are you prepared -to repeal the Income Tax by means of imposing other taxes?’ I am bound -to say it is not a policy I should recommend.” Mr. Gladstone never -divulged his plan. It is, however, obvious that he could have easily -got rid of the worst features of the Income Tax by readjusting the -House Duty. A House Duty, Mr. Mill said, is the fairest of all direct -taxes, and a man’s house-rent is--with certain exceptions--a sure guide -to his means and substance. If, for example, Mr. Gladstone had put 1s. -6d. in the £ on all houses above £10 rental, or if he had graduated -the duties from 4d. to 3s. in the £ on rentals of from £10 to over -£300, he could have supplied the place of the Income Tax which yielded -£4,875,000. The difference would have been this--that a man with £200 -of income, presumably paying £25 a year for his house, would--less 9d. -of existing house duty--have paid at the 1s. 6d. rate 18s. 9d. a year -of “a means and substance” tax on his rent, instead of the £2 10s. he -then paid in Income Tax. The relief of local rates might have been -obtained by handing over the old House Tax or a portion of it to the -local authorities. - -[66] Mr. Clare Sewell Read was made Secretary to the Local Government -Board, of which Mr. Sclater-Booth was made President. Sir M. -Hicks-Beach became Irish Secretary. Sir H. Selwin Ibbetson was -Under-Secretary at the Home Office. Mr. R. Bourke was Under-Secretary -for Foreign Affairs. Lord Sandon was Vice-President of the Council, -Lord George Hamilton was Under-Secretary for India, Sir C. Adderley -President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Algernon Egerton Secretary to the -Admiralty, and Lord Henry Lennox Chief Commissioner of Works. - -[67] Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 258. - -[68] It was supposed that Mr. Disraeli would prevent the inevitable -grammatical blunder from creeping into the Queen’s Speech. But it crept -in here, greatly to the delight of the pedants. They pointed out that -it was wrong to speak of “the recent Act of Parliament affecting the -_relationship_ of master and servant.” The word cannot be used, they -argued, instead of _relation_, to denote a relative position which is -temporary or official. - -[69] To those who had the advantage of taking no personal interest in -these transactions, Mr. Gladstone’s statement reads like the apology -of a Minister who was “riding for a fall.” He was admittedly pledged -to the House of Commons since 1853, to abolish the Income Tax when he -had a sufficient surplus. Instead of redeeming his pledge in 1874 to -the House, he took it to an electorate that had no existence in 1853, -and who, even if they had been competent to the task, could not have -given a fair decision on such a point in the turmoil of elections -which seemed purposely hurried through in a few days. Mr. Gladstone, -moreover, never defended his proposal at length. Had he really desired -to carry it, he would have submitted it to Parliament--for the House of -Lords, whose hostility he affected to dread, could not constitutionally -have meddled with it--and then if, after exhaustive discussion in -the Commons it had been defeated, he could have appealed to a nation -sufficiently instructed by that discussion to pronounce a rational -opinion on the question. As it was, the matter hardly entered into the -election controversies of 1874 at all. - -[70] “We find,” said Mr. Hardy, “the stores so full and efficient that -we can dispense with the payment of £100,000 on this head.” As to arms, -he remarked that “in a few weeks the whole of the infantry will, I -hope, have the Martini-Henry rifle. By to-morrow there will be 140,000 -Martini-Henry rifles in store, and during the year there will be a -further number of 40,000 provided.” After dilating on the abundance -of ammunition in stock and the sufficiency of the Reserves, Mr. Hardy -said of the Volunteers that the original number of them was 199,000, -“far, however, from efficient men,” whereas the number in 1874, though -only 153,000, consisted of thoroughly efficient men, who were “far -more worth having than what formerly existed.” The fortifications, -he said, were of “the most efficient character.” He even praised the -Intelligence Department, the formation of which had been a favourite -subject of denunciation by the Tory “Colonels.” - -[71] The most curious result of this reform was the increase which took -place in pauper lunacy. Sir Stafford Northcote, in fact, offered Boards -of Guardians the strongest temptation to get their senile paupers -quartered on the State as pauper lunatics. All that was necessary for -that purpose was a certificate from a pliable medical officer. - -[72] The hours against which the publicans had agitated were twelve -in London, and in other places any hour between five and seven in -the morning, till any hour between ten and twelve at night, as the -magistrates might decide. - -[73] Mr. Cross held that the extension of the hours from twelve to -half-past twelve at night was not a real extension. Under the former -rule the publican had “grace” given him to clear his bar. Under Mr. -Cross’s Bill closing was imperative at half-past twelve. Then Mr. Cross -put a stop to certain public-houses being kept open to one in the -morning, which Mr. Bruce had allowed, and the fixing of the hours at -ten and eleven, in very many cases, led to further restrictions. - -[74] Life of Norman Macleod, D.D., Vol. II., p. 325. - -[75] _Times_, October 1, 1874. - -[76] Prince Arthur was the first of his line who took as his superior -dignity a title from Ireland. Several Princes and Princesses of England -bore Irish titles, _e.g._, the Queen herself is Countess of Clare, but -they were secondary ones, and denominated inferior dignities. - -[77] Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 321. - -[78] _Times_, May 11, 1874. - -[79] _Spectator_, May 23, 1874. - -[80] Mr. Carlyle refused the offer, though he had accepted the Prussian -Order of Merit. - -[81] England Under Lord Beaconsfield, by P. W. Clayden, p. 120. - -[82] Mr. Disraeli was blamed for ungenerous discourtesy to Lord -Hartington on his first appearance as Opposition Leader. But there -was a good justification for the Premier’s contemptuous reply. Lord -Hartington’s taunts were foolishly factious, because he had, in a -speech at Lewes (21st of January), already defended the Tory Government -for not attempting to undo Liberal work, which was, as he put it, -“irrevocable.” - -[83] The Bill had these defects: (1), It was permissive and not -compulsory. (2), It forced local authorities to compensate owners of -insanitary dwellings doomed to destruction. The worse the rookeries -the higher the rents, and the more extravagant the compensation, so -that the Bill put a premium on the creation of rookeries. (3), It -enacted that workmen’s houses must be rebuilt on the cleared land. -This rendered it impossible to sell the sites at prices covering the -cost of clearing them, so that local authorities had (_a_) to keep the -land on hand in the hope of getting their price, during which time the -displaced inhabitants were pushed into adjoining neighbourhoods already -overcrowded; or (_b_) after five years to sell the sites by auction at -a loss. On the 4th of July, 1879, the Metropolitan Board of Works sold -some of their sites to the Peabody Trustees at a loss of £600,000 to -the ratepayers of London. - -[84] This Act deprived the Peers of their Appellate Jurisdiction. - -[85] Hansard, Vol. CCXXIII., p. 1458. - -[86] See Hansard, Vol. CCXXVIII., p. 1488. Mr. Heywood got £3,000 -compensation. - -[87] He complained that the Government had gone to Messrs. Rothschild -for the purchase-money instead of to their regular financial agents, -and paid them a commission equal to 15 per cent. a year on the advance. -He declared that the Khedive would probably fail to pay his 5 per -cent. on the purchase-money, and that England, in any dispute as a -shareholder, would have to sue and be sued in a French court. As -trustee for the nation the Government ought, he said, to insist on low -tariffs. As a shareholder it must, however, insist on high dividends. -The purchase, he held, would give England no real influence at the -Board of Direction. - -[88] Mr. Gladstone once cited the Channel as “the silver streak,” -which was the best defence of England against the Continent, and a -justification for a Foreign Policy of isolation. - -[89] When a Bill was approaching one of the stages at half-past twelve, -Mr. Biggar or Mr. Parnell would get up and speak so as to protract -debate till the hour came when opposed business must be postponed. - -[90] The Parnell Movement, by T. P. O’Connor, M.P. Popular Edition, p. -157. - -[91] See Hodder’s Life of Lord Shaftesbury, Vol. III., pp. 367, 371. - -[92] Hansard, Vol. CCXXX., p. 1182. - -[93] See Macgahan’s Letters and Consul-General Schuyler’s Report to the -United States Minister at Constantinople, cited in the Appendix, pp. 22 -_et seqq._ - -[94] It was not possible that the Czar could have seen a telegraphic -summary of Lord Beaconsfield’s Guildhall speech when he spoke to the -nobles at Moscow. - -[95] 160,000 men, and 648 guns. - -[96] Sir S. Northcote spoke at Bristol on the 13th of November, and Mr. -Cross at Birmingham a week later. - -[97] It was at this time that Tory partisans and Ministerial organs, -in order to encourage the Turks to resistance, began to denounce Lord -Salisbury as a traitor. - -[98] A fashionable skating-rink did poor business in 1876 if it did not -return a profit of 300 per cent., and a good patent for a rinking-skate -was worth at least £150,000 to a popular inventor. - -[99] See Parliamentary Papers, Turkey (1877), No. 78. - -[100] Even in 1877 some of the Tory squires were practising the -old stupid method of obstruction, _e.g._, Mr. Orr Ewing and Sir -William Anstruther put down 250 Amendments to the Scotch Roads and -Bridges Bill--most of which, when not frivolous, were unpopular and -reactionary. Such obstruction was, of course, easy to deal with. - -[101] On the 26th of March the House got one of its earliest lessons in -the new art of scientific obstruction. Mr. Parnell had, owing to the -popular lines on which some of his amendments were drawn up, got about -eighteen members at this time to act with him. But even they deserted -him when, at one in the morning, Mr. Biggar moved to “report progress.” -The division showed--Ayes, 10, Noes, 138. Mr. Biggar and his friends -then kept up a series of see-saw motions--for adjournment and reporting -progress, till at three in the morning Mr. Cross succumbed, and having -struck his flag, assented to the rising of the House. Then Mr. Biggar -and his friends pathetically wailed over the scandalous manner in -which the House had had two hours of its valuable time wasted by the -Home Secretary, whose surrender was cited as a justification of their -opposition. - -[102] This was fifteen minutes earlier than the hour at which it rose -in the Debate on the Address in 1783. See Clayden’s England Under Lord -Beaconsfield, p. 302. - -[103] This was a popular move, for it was generally felt that Ireland -not only had too many Judges, but that they were extravagantly overpaid. - -[104] Mr. F. H. O’Donnell actually put down seventy-five amendments to -it. - -[105] The motion was moved by Sir George Campbell. - -[106] It was never known what Sir Stafford Northcote meant to do. But -it was supposed he would, with the support of Lord Hartington, move the -expulsion of the “obstructives.” - -[107] The Estimates for the past year had been closely realised. For -the coming year (1877-78) the revenue was taken at £78,794,000, and the -expenditure at £79,020,000. - -[108] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 343. - -[109] Martin’s Life of the Prince Consort, Chap. XLIX. - -[110] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 357. - -[111] Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., pp. 206, 273. - -[112] See a letter from Mr. Hayward to Mr. Sheridan, dated 3rd -November, 1876. Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., p. 271. - -[113] See Mr. Hayward’s Correspondence, Vol. II., pp. 266 and 268. - -[114] Mr. Carlyle presumably got his information from the highest -German authorities. - -[115] Carlyle’s Life in London, by T. A. Froude, Vol. III., p. 441. - -[116] Consols fell three-eighths. - -[117] Mr. George Jacob Holyoake was the first to characterise these -patriots as “Jingoes,” deriving the epithet from their own anthem. See -his letter in the _Daily News_, March 13, 1878. - -[118] These were (1), Bulgarian autonomy north of the Balkans; (2), -guarantees of good government for the other Turkish provinces; (3), -cession of Batoum, and retrocession of Bessarabia to Russia. - -[119] Nobody gave a more vivid picture of the divided state of the -nation at this time than Mr. Trevelyan, who had been one of the most -active of those who forced Mr. Gladstone to withdraw his Resolutions. -Speaking at Galashiels on the 10th of December he said, the desire to -fight “is almost universal amongst idlers, and gossips, fashionable -aspirants, and the habitual frequenters of the London burlesques and -music-halls. The determination to keep at peace is almost universal -among the great mass of the population which produces the wealth of -this country, and which makes us respected and powerful among nations. -My experience is that the division is not, as is generally described, -one of class, but of personal habits and character. If you meet a -man who does an honest stroke of work on every week-day, whether he -be manufacturer, or artisan, or tradesman, or barrister, it is ten -to one that he wishes his country to leave this quarrel to be fought -out by those whom it concerns. If you meet a man who amuses himself -for fifteen hours out of the twenty-four, and sleeps the rest, it -is ninety-nine to one but he thinks we should send an ultimatum to -Russia as soon as she crosses the Balkans, and that he regards Lord -Beaconsfield as a second Chatham, who is robbed of his opportunities -by his more timid colleagues.” It ought to be said that the Liberals -had also their “idlers” and sentimental crochet-mongers, who were -eager to join Russia in fighting the “anti-human” Turk, and who had -the advantage of Mr. Gladstone’s personal leadership. Of course the -partisans of Lord Beaconsfield vied with the partisans of Mr. Gladstone -in pouring forth contempt on the English people, for their sordid -determination to tie the restless and mischief-making hands of these -two enterprising politicians. - -[120] One finds in the advertising columns of the _Era_, strangely -enough, a side-light on the Eastern policy of the Court at this period. -A Mr. Charles Williams, who advertised himself as singing “the greatest -war song on record” at four music-halls, added to his advertisement the -following letter:--“Lieutenant-General Sir T. M. Biddulph has received -the Queen’s commands to thank Mr. Charles Williams for the appropriate -verses contained in his letter of the 18th inst., and her Majesty fully -appreciates his motives.” One of the verses ran thus:-- - - “Bruin thinks we’ve been asleep; but a watch we’ve had to keep, - Knowing well the value of his word; - Look with many a skilful lie how they’ve blinded every eye, - Till the Lion’s grand impatience now is heard; - For every British heart would burn to take a part - To fling the Russian lies back in their face; - And to teach them, as of old, that Briton’s hearts are bold, - And would die to save our country from disgrace.” - ---_Vide Era_, February 20, 1878. The song was sung at the Metropolitan -Music Hall, in connection with a ballet called “Cross and Crescent -War.” When the Royal letter was pointed out to Count Schouvaloff, that -easy-tempered diplomatist merely shrugged his shoulders. It may be -mentioned incidentally that a study of the popular songs cf the period -reflects faithfully the shifting moods of the London mob during the -Eastern Controversy. - -[121] Turkey III. (1878), No. 1. - -[122] Russia in July had pledged herself not to meddle with the -Suez Canal, or with Egypt, or to menace the Persian Gulf. As to -the Dardanelles, the position of the Straits “should,” said Prince -Gortschakoff, “be settled by a common agreement upon equitable or -efficiently guaranteed bases.” Constantinople, in his opinion, “could -not be allowed to belong to any of the European Powers;” and on the -20th of July the Czar further enforced this pledge by telling Colonel -Wellesley that he would not occupy Constantinople merely for military -_prestige_, but only if events forced him to do so.--_See_ Russia II. -(1877), No. 2; and Turkey III. (1878), No. 2. - -[123] Hansard, Vol. CCXXXVII., p. 31. - -[124] Sir Stafford Northcote gave another reason. Mr. Layard, on the -24th, telegraphed that the question of the Bosphorus was to be settled -between the Czar and a Congress. Next morning, the 25th, it was found -that by a blunder the clerk had written “Congress” instead of “Sultan.” -It was on this account, said Sir S. Northcote, that the orders to the -Fleet were withdrawn. In other words, when on the 24th the Government -believed--if by this time they really believed any of Mr. Layard’s -telegrams--that the question of the Bosphorus was to be settled in -accordance with Russia’s pledges to England, the Fleet was sent to -Constantinople. But when they found this to be a mistake, and that the -Czar was going to settle the question in defiance of his pledges to -England, the Fleet was ordered back to Besika Bay! - -[125] His place at the Colonial Office was filled by Sir M. -Hicks-Beach, Mr. James Lowther becoming Irish Secretary. - -[126] Mr. Bright and Mr. Gladstone were, however, among those who voted -against the Grant. - -[127] See Sir Stafford Northcote’s statement in the House of Commons, -_Times_, 29th April, 1878. - -[128] It is, however, but fair to Lord Derby to say that though all the -Tory speakers and writers assumed this to be his object, his obstinacy -might be due to another and more honourable motive. He probably -persuaded himself that the refusal of Russia implied that she meant to -object to the discussion of Articles that in the opinion of the Powers -affected their interests as well as hers. - -[129] Mr. Charles Greville dwells on one of these ebullitions of -patrician rowdyism with much anger. (_See_ Memoirs, Part III.). At -the same time, it is but fair to say that the Peelites had given the -Tories just provocation. Lord Aberdeen had led the Tory leaders to -believe that, whenever they abandoned Protection, they (the Peelites) -would return to the Tory fold, and reunite the Conservative Party. -Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli did abandon Protection, incurring great -obloquy from their followers. But the Peelites declined to fulfil -their part of the implied bargain, and, having got all they wanted out -of the Protectionists--a recantation of their principles--not only -refused to join them, but attacked them with the Whigs. Mr. Gladstone -was supposed to have inspired what Lord Hardwicke, in a letter to Mr. -Croker, denounced as a “disgraceful” manœuvre due to “personal pique -and hatred.”--_See_ Croker Papers; also an article in the _Observer_, -Feb. 13, 1887, p. 3. - -[130] It ought to be said that Lord Derby’s ablest apologist, Mr. T. -Wemyss Reid, in an article in _Macmillan’s Magazine_ for June, 1879, -advanced a fair defence for his hesitancy to work zealously with the -European Powers. Mr. Reid asserts, and in a manner which commands -respectful attention, that Lord Derby knew that as far back as 1873 -Russia, Germany, and Austria had entered into a secret agreement to -upset the _status quo_ in Turkey. No historian can presume to pass a -final judgment on Lord Derby’s career at the Foreign Office without -carefully studying this remarkable article. It explains much that is -otherwise inexplicable in Lord Derby’s policy, and had it been an -official _communiqué_ it would have been almost conclusive. - -[131] Lord Salisbury said, in reply to Lord Grey, in the House of -Lords, that the statements in the _Globe_ were “wholly unauthentic.” -Lord Grey said he could not have believed it to be true that Lord -Salisbury had agreed to the retrocession of Bessarabia. “It appeared,” -he said, “to be too monstrous to be believed that her Majesty’s -Government could have made such a stipulation as was agreed to”--an -observation which Lord Salisbury ratified by his silence.--Hansard, -Vol. CCXL., p. 1061. - -[132] The words of Bismarck’s Circular were:--“While addressing this -invitation to the ---- Government, the Government of his Majesty [the -German Emperor] supposes that the ---- Government, in accepting the -invitation, consents to allow free discussion of the contents of the -Treaty of San Stefano in their totality, and that it is ready to take -part in it.” It is curious to notice how persistently Russia refused -to yield even verbally, and after signing the Secret Agreement, to the -English demand. As the Vienna correspondent of the _Times_ said, “the -formula of invitation is a compromise. While doing full justice to the -full demand of England for free discussion of the Treaty of San Stefano -in its totality, it contrives to spare the susceptibilities of Russia. -Germany steps in and supposes that none of the Governments invited will -object to a free discussion. In issuing invitations on this hypothesis, -Germany gives a moral guarantee that it will be so; and Russia, who has -hitherto objected to such a course, is not distinctly asked to withdraw -this opposition, but only gives her consent, like the other Powers, -to a Congress convoked by Germany for the purpose.”--_Times_ Vienna -Correspondent, 4th June, 1878. The effect of this formula was to make -Prince Bismarck absolute master of the Congress after acceptance of -his invitation. He alone had given a guarantee that the Treaty should -be fully discussed. He alone was therefore entitled at every stage to -define what he meant by the phrase, “in its totality.” - -[133] Sir M. Hicks-Beach, on the 12th of June, gave his Party and the -country further assurances on this head in a speech at Cheltenham, in -which he said that the main points in Lord Salisbury’s Circular of -the 1st of April would be adhered to by the British representatives -at the Congress. This statement, of course, recoiled on him in the -most damaging manner when, on the 14th, it was found that what the -Ministerialists considered to be main points had been bargained away to -Russia in Lord Salisbury’s Secret Agreement of the 30th of May. - -[134] Lord Houghton, as a supporter of the Ministerial Foreign Policy, -said:--“Even if the surrender which we are required to make according -to this document is one to which the country would give its consent, -it would have been better that the fact should have appeared at the -Congress than that it should have been made known by this paper [the -_Globe_]. It now stands before the world that England did not go into -the Congress with free hands, but before going into it had made a -contract, and had, in the main, abandoned some of the most important -points which I and other Members of the House considered it was the -duty of this country to insist upon.”--Hansard, Vol. CCXL., p. 1569 _et -seq._ - -[135] The proceedings against Mr. Marvin were withdrawn. He pleaded -that copying on paper did not amount to theft, and his legal advisers -threatened a cross-examination of the Foreign Office officials (whose -laxity of administration was obvious), which determined the Government -to retreat. - -[136] Afghan Correspondence I., pp. 242, 243. - -[137] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 375. - -[138] The death of the child here alluded to was that of her little son -Fritz, who accidentally fell from one of the palace windows on the 29th -of May, 1873. - -[139] Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and -Ireland. Biographical Sketch and Letters, p. 385. - -[140] Dr. Sell, a good clergyman of Darmstadt, who was entrusted with -her papers and her correspondence with the Queen, and who knew the -Princess well during the greater part of her Darmstadt life. - -[141] _See_ South African Correspondence (C 2220), pp. 136-320. - -[142] _Nineteenth Century_, March, 1879. - -[143] Sir M. Hicks-Beach censured Frere for not sending his _ultimatum_ -home for approval before delivering it. In fact, Frere’s claim was -virtually that a Colonial Governor had the right to declare war without -consulting the Crown or Parliament. The majority that supported the -Government in the Lords was 61. In the Commons Sir C. Dilke’s motion -was defeated by a majority of 60. - -[144] Mr. Parnell was not formally elected leader. After Mr. Butt’s -retirement, in 1878, the Irish party elected, not a leader, but a -Sessional Chairman. The office was filled by Mr. Shaw during 1879. - -[145] Hansard, Vol. CCXLVII, p. 53. - -[146] It must be mentioned that Lord Hartington had in a previous -speech haughtily repudiated all responsibility for the action of -Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Hopwood, and other Radicals who had now allied -themselves with the Parnellites. - -[147] These warnings were published at Lahore from Persian newswriters -in Cabul. They showed that even as far back as the 16th of August the -Ameer had implored Cavagnari not to ride about the streets, as he ran -the risk of being murdered. At this time Lord Lytton was assuring -the Government, on the authority of messages which he alleged he had -received from Cavagnari, that all was going on well in Cabul. - -[148] Colonel Osborn, in an article in the _Contemporary Review_ for -October, 1879, estimated that a British army 40,000 strong would be -needed to occupy Afghanistan. - -[149] His “settlement” of Zululand organised the country into thirteen -provincial governments, a British Resident controlling them all. -Native rights, laws, and customs were to be respected, and Europeans -prohibited from emigrating into native territory. - -[150] This is clear from the censure passed by the Duke of Cambridge -on Colonel Harrison, Assistant Quartermaster-General. The Duke blamed -Harrison for not impressing on the Prince “the duty of deferring to -the military orders of the officer who accompanied him.” Of course, -if Carey had been in command, there would have been no need to have -impressed on the Prince (who had graduated in the military school at -Woolwich) the necessity for obeying the orders of Carey, who would, in -that case, have been his superior officer. - -[151] The gap torn out of the bridge--the whole length of which was -10,612 feet--measured 3,300 feet. Of the eighty-five spans, the first -twenty-seven from the Fife coast were left intact. Then came thirteen -of which only the stonework remained, everything else being swept away. -This left forty-five spans on the northern side standing. The bridge -had been tested and certified as safe by Government inspectors. An -inquiry was ordered into the disaster, which showed that the bridge -was, in the words of Mr. Rothery, one of the Court of Inquiry, “badly -designed, badly constructed, and badly maintained.” For the mishap the -engineer--Sir Thomas Bouch--was held “mainly to blame.” The bridge, -which from a distance looked like a long plank set up on pipe-shanks, -cost £500,000. It was opened on the 30th of May, 1878. - -[152] There were seventy-five adults, and from ten to fifteen children. -The bodies were nearly all washed away by the tide. - -[153] Dr. Köller, a Church of England clergyman, employed by the Church -Missionary Society in Constantinople, had engaged Ahmed Tewfik, a -Mohammedan schoolmaster, to help him to translate the Scriptures into -Turkish. Ahmed and the MSS. were seized, and the former adjudged worthy -of death by the Sheik-ul-Islam. For three months Sir Henry Layard had -vainly demanded his release, and the dismissal of the Minister of -Police, Hafiz Pasha, from his post. - -[154] Hafiz was one of the savages, whose share in the Bulgarian -atrocities was so patent, that Lord Derby had demanded his punishment. -The answer to this demand by the Turks was the appointment of Hafiz as -Minister of Police at Constantinople, where he and Sir Henry Layard -suddenly fell out. - -[155] He had given the Lord-Lieutenancy of a county to Colonel -King-Harman. - -[156] Loans to Baronial Sessions for improvement works were virtually -loans to the landlords. - -[157] Nobody knew better than Lord Beaconsfield, from his experiences -of 1846, that the potato is the barometer of Famine in Ireland, and -it is impossible to suppose that he would have been satisfied with -Mr. Lowther’s Bill if he had looked into the facts. For these all -pointed to a dreadful failure of the potato crop. In 1876 its value -was £12,464,382. In 1878 it was only £7,579,512. In 1879 it fell to -£3,341,028. In England a crisis like this would have compelled the -Government to take strong measures of relief, and yet in England such -a state of affairs is always eased by the landlords abating or wiping -out rent. But the distress in Ireland was aggravated because the worse -it grew the fiercer became the demand of the landlords for rent. -“Evictions,” writes Mr. J. Huntley McCarthy, “had increased from 463 -families in 1877 to 980 in 1878, to 1,238 in 1879; and they were still -on the increase, as was shown at the end of 1880, when it was found -that 2,110 families were evicted.” Moreover, the Irish peasantry paid -part of their rent out of wages earned as migratory labourers during -part of the year in England and Scotland. But English and Scottish -farmers were themselves cutting down their labour bills, and the loss -to the Irish on migratory labour alone in 1877 was £250,000 (Hancock). -See Healy’s “Why is there a Land Question?” pp. 71, 72; O’Connor’s -“Parnell Movement,” pp. 166-7. J. H. McCarthy’s “England under -Gladstone,” p. 103. - -[158] The new Rule was to the effect that a Member “named” by the -Speaker or Chairman for obstruction might be suspended for the rest of -the sitting on a motion voted without debate; and if he repeated the -offence three times, he might be suspended for an indefinite period -till pardoned by the House. - -[159] These were Barnstaple, Liverpool, and Southwark. At Barnstaple -the Liberal (Lord Lymington) increased the Liberal majority by 60 -votes. But Sir R. Carden increased the Tory minority by 99. In -Liverpool Mr. Whitley was returned by a majority of 2,221, though -Lord Ramsay, the losing candidate, polled 3,000 more votes than the -winning candidate had ever polled before. Southwark (vacated by the -death of Mr. Locke, a strong Radical) was carried by Mr. Edward Clarke, -a strong Conservative, by a large majority. Lord Beaconsfield’s -calculations were here faulty. The verdict of Barnstaple, being a -corrupt constituency, went for nothing on either side. In Liverpool -the Tories maintained their ascendency, but not at all with the -proportionate majority they obtained in 1874. Southwark was dominated -by the publican vote, and the Liberal candidate (Mr. Dunn) was not -only a bad speaker, but especially hateful to the working-class, -because he had, by insisting on standing at a former election, ruined -the candidature of Mr. Odger, and, by splitting the Liberal vote, had -handed over the second seat in Southwark to Colonel Beresford, the -Conservative candidate. The bye-elections to which Lord Beaconsfield -trusted afforded no true guidance as to the drift of opinion. - -[160] Mr. Cross created a Water Trust, partly representative and partly -nominated, for taking over the business of the water companies. He -had in the previous Session promised Mr. Fawcett that he would not -give the companies a “fancy” price for their property. He now proposed -to hand over a Three and a Half per Cent. Stock to the companies as -compensation for their property. The actual value of that property was -about £19,000,000; but the _Standard_ and the critics of the scheme -complained that Mr. Cross gave the companies £30,000,000 compensation. -Water shares rose 75 per cent. when Mr. Cross’s Bill was produced. - -[161] The contest in Midlothian excited the keenest interest. When the -poll had been counted it was found that Mr. Gladstone had obtained -the seat by a majority of 211 votes, the figures being Gladstone -1,579, Dalkeith 1,368. As soon as the result became known the utmost -enthusiasm was aroused throughout the country. In Edinburgh the -excitement was intense and Mr. Gladstone had to address the shouting -crowd, under a fall of snow, from the balcony of Lord Rosebery’s House -in George Street. - -[162] Mr. Hayward’s Letters, Vol. II., p. 307. - -[163] Mr. Hayward’s Letters, Vol. II., p. 308. - -[164] Hansard, Vol. CCLIII., p. 1663. - -[165] The origin of the term was as follows:--Captain Boycott, an -agent of Lord Earne, and a farmer at Lough Mask, had served notices of -eviction on the Earne tenantry. Suddenly he found himself “marooned,” -as it were, on his farm. Nobody would work for him, speak to him, do -business with him, or even supply him at any price with the necessaries -of life. Police guards watched over him and his family whilst they did -their own farm and household work. At last some of the Orange lodges -in the North sent down a gang of armed labourers to help him out of -his difficulties. These were called “Emergency men.” Subsequently the -dispute between Lord Earne and his tenants was arranged, and all of a -sudden Captain Boycott found that the leper’s ban had been removed from -his household, and he himself treated as if he had been all his life -the most popular person in the neighbourhood. - -[166] The Rifle regiments were not supplied with colours, because in -the old days they were supposed to fight in more extended order than -the Infantry of the Line. Now there is no difference in this respect -between the rifleman and the linesman. Of the cavalry, only the heavy -dragoons carried colours, but they always left them at home when they -went to war. - -[167] The Rifle Brigade was originally formed out of detachments from -fourteen different line regiments, and was long known as “Manningham’s -Sharpshooters.” From 1800 to 1802 it was known as the Rifle Corps. -Down to 1816 it got the name of the “Old 95th,” after which year till -now it has been called the Rifle Brigade. The Prince Consort was its -colonel, and in his portraits he is often seen wearing its sombre green -heavily-braided uniform. Hence it got the title of the Prince Consort’s -Own Rifle Brigade. The Prince of Wales became its Colonel-in-Chief till -he was appointed Colonel of the Household Cavalry. He was succeeded by -the Duke of Connaught, who began his meritorious though modest career -as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion. - -[168] Mr. C. D. Boyd was shot by a gang of men with blackened faces -whilst driving on the 8th of August from New Ross to Shanlough. He -was the son of the agent to Mr. Tottenham, and there was reason to -suppose that it was his father (who was with him) who was aimed at. -Lord Mountmorres was waylaid near Clonbur and shot on the 25th of -September. He had only fifteen tenants, had evicted only two of them, -and his household was boycotted. He lived among the people, and was -fairly popular with them, so that his murder is to this day somewhat of -a mystery. - -[169] This antiquated form of silencing a Member had not been heard of -for two centuries, till Mr. Gladstone had himself revived it in the -previous Session, for the purpose of silencing Mr. O’Donnell when he -attempted to make a personal attack on M. Challemel-Lacour, who had -come to England as the Ambassador of France. - -[170] _See_ Hansard, Vol. CCLVIII., p. 68 _et seq._ - -[171] The Parnell Movement, by T. P. O’Connor, M.P., Chapter XI. - -[172] Colley’s friends allege that Kruger’s letter of reply to him was -delayed so long that he thought he might usefully expedite matters by -attacking. - -[173] It was said that the late Mrs. Brydges-Williams, an eccentric -Cornish lady of Jewish extraction, had left Mr. Disraeli a legacy on -condition that she should be buried with him, and on this condition -the legacy was accepted. Perhaps the executors were afraid that claims -might be made on them if the condition were violated. - -[174] Speech at Kettering, _Times_, 5th May, 1881. - -[175] Her Majesty sent two wreaths to be placed on the bier. One was -composed of primroses, and carried the inscription: “His favourite -flowers, from Osborne, a tribute of affection from Queen Victoria.” The -other was made up of bay-leaves and everlasting flowers, and bore these -words in golden letters: “A mark of true affection, friendship, and -respect from the Queen.” - -[176] After Lord Beaconsfield’s death the Tory Party fell under the -“Dual Control” of Lord Salisbury who led it in the House of Lords, and -Sir Stafford Northcote who led it in the House of Commons, when Lord -Randolph Churchill let him. - -[177] Mr. (afterwards Sir) Edward Clarke, Q.C. and Tory -Solicitor-General, though he approved of widening summary jurisdiction, -objected to the Bill because it made the Irish Viceroy a despot. Mr. -Ritchie (afterwards President of the Local Government Board in Lord -Salisbury’s Administration) declined to support the Bill because he -had no confidence in the Government. Sir J. D. Hay complained of the -excessive power placed in the hands of the Irish Viceroy. But Sir -Stafford Northcote interfered, and, generously exerting his authority -on behalf of the Ministry, silenced the factious Tories, who were -apparently desirous of embarrassing the Government by obstructing the -Bill. Public opinion was not in a state to tolerate obstructive tactics -at the time. - -[178] This loan was raised to wipe out the floating debt then amounting -to £28,000,000. But the money-brokers who floated it imposed such -usurious conditions, that they never really paid Ismail more than -£20,740,077, of which they made him take £9,000,000 in bonds of the -floating debt which the loan was raised to pay off. These they held -themselves, having bought them at 65 per cent. They made the Khedive, -however, take over the £9,000,000 worth which they thrust on him as -part of the loan at 93 per cent.--See Mr. Stephen Cave’s Report on the -Financial Condition of Egypt, and McCoan’s Egypt as It Is (Cassell and -Co.), Appendix 9, p. 396. - -[179] This land belonging to the Khedive’s personal estate is referred -to in the report as Daira land. - -[180] A search expedition under Colonel (afterwards Sir Charles) -Warren, R.E., brought back their remains, which were buried in St. -Paul’s Cathedral, close by the tomb of Nelson. See Life of Edward Henry -Palmer, by Walter Besant. London: John Murray, 1883, pp. 296-329. - -[181] The vote was for an addition of £10,000 a year to the Prince’s -income, which was already £15,000, and a separate income of £6,000 a -year to the Princess during her widowhood. - -[182] These intrigues grew so dangerous that in 1879 Prince Bismarck -concluded a Secret Treaty with Austria, which bound each Power to -defend the other if attacked by Russia, or if Russia gave aid to any -other Power which was attacking them. Though Prince Bismarck, as he -said in his speech in the Reichstag (6th of February, 1887) really -acted at the Berlin Congress as the fourth plenipotentiary of Russia, -the Russian War Party were of opinion that he ought to have done -more for them. Their attacks on Germany in the Press were incessant. -Russians of rank like Gortschakoff and Skobeleff, notoriously carried -on intrigues with France for an alliance against Germany. Indeed, -Russian troops began to mass themselves on the German frontier in -1882. Curiously enough, of the four men who could have done most -to thwart Prince Bismarck’s League of Peace with Austria--only one -(Garibaldi) died in circumstances free from suspicion of foul play. -Garibaldi’s death rendered it easier to bring Italy into Prince -Bismarck’s anti-French combination. These four men it is curious to -note passed away most opportunely for Prince Bismarck. Garibaldi died -in June, Skobeleff on the 7th of July, Gambetta in December, 1882, and -Gortschakoff on the 11th of March, 1883. Germany breathed freely after -the death of Gambetta, who, said Prince Bismarck once, worked on the -nerves of Europe “like a man who beats a drum in a sick room.” - -[183] The history of this compact is as follows:--After the Treaty of -Berlin was signed Lord Salisbury bought off the opposition of France to -the occupation of Cyprus, first by promising not to oppose an extension -of her influence in Tunis, and secondly, by paving the way for her -sharing with England the control of Egypt. Prince Bismarck also left -on M. Waddington’s mind the impression that Germany was indifferent -to the fate of Tunis, knowing well that French interference there -must brew bad blood between France and Italy. In the spring of 1881 -the French discovered that the mysterious “Kroumirs” were menacing -their Algerian frontier. To punish them they invaded Tunis, and though -they never discovered any “Kroumirs,” they compensated themselves for -their disappointment by forcing the Bey to sign the Bardo Treaty. -It converted Tunis into a French dependency. Italy remonstrated -in vain against this violation of the guaranteed integrity of the -Ottoman Empire, and finally sought for safety against further French -encroachments on her interests, in an alliance with the German Powers. -M. Gambetta’s aggressive policy caused King Humbert, on the advice of -Prince Bismarck, to visit the Emperor of Austria at Vienna, in the -autumn of 1881. Prince Bismarck was ostentatious in expressing his -friendliness to Italy, and exchanged effusive compliments with Signor -Mancini. (_See_ Mancini’s Speech in the Italian Senate of December, -1881.) In October, 1882, Count Kalnoky declared that King Humbert’s -pilgrimage of conciliation to the Hofburg had identified Italian and -Austro-German interests, and Signor Mancini announced the existence -of the Triple League on the 11th of April, 1883. On the 17th of -March, 1885, Mancini, when questioned as to his Red Sea policy, told -the Senate that in all his negotiations with England he had made it -“clear that Italy could enter into no engagement which was contrary to -the agreements concluded with the two Empires.” Through negotiations -carried on by the German Crown Prince, Spain was next drawn into the -net of the Triple League, and France utterly isolated. - -[184] Though writers like De Tocqueville have laid it down that the -civilisation and development of a State can be always measured by the -social status and independence of its women and the equality of the -sexes before the law, one curious exception may be noted. From various -reasons, the northern kingdom of Scotland has for many centuries -remained appreciably rougher in manners and less polished and refined -in culture than England. The women of Scotland, too, like those of -Germany, have always been compelled to render their families harder -domestic service than English women, who, during the greater part of -the Victorian period, led lives of comparative ease and luxury in most -respectable households. Yet it is strange that in Scotland the law has -always been jealous in guarding the rights of women. For example, it -secured to a woman a third of her husband’s property after his death, -so that he could not disinherit her by will. It enabled her, through a -simple and cheap legal process, to protect her earnings from seizure by -her husband. It was at pains to preserve to women in the direct line -of succession their right to baronies and peerages after the males in -that line were exhausted. The divorce law, too, did not, like that of -England, recognise any inequality in the position of the sexes. The -effect of the improved legal status of women in Scotland was curious. -Though living in a ruder society, and under the pressure of harder -conditions of life than their more luxurious and polished English -sisters, they seem in all ages to have enjoyed by custom a position of -authority in the family, scarcely even yet conceded to their sex in -England. Arduous household service was, however, the price they had to -pay for their privileges. It may also be added that whilst in England, -till very recently, parents were more particular about the education of -their sons than their daughters, such a distinction between the sexes -was rarely made in Scotland at any time in its history. - -[185] The occasion was a banquet given to him in the Town Hall in -celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his connection with -Birmingham. Mr. Bright said:--“And, what is worse, at this moment, -as you see--you do not so much see it here as it is seen in the -House--they [the Conservatives] are found in alliance with an Irish -rebel party (loud and long-continued cheers), the main portion of -whose funds, for the purposes of agitation, comes directly from the -avowed enemies of England, and whose oath of allegiance is broken by -association with its enemies. Now, these are the men of whom I spoke, -who are disregarding the wishes of the majority of the constituencies, -and who, as far as possible, make it impossible to do any work for -the country by debates and divisions in the House of Commons. I hope -the constituencies will mark some of the men of this party, and that -they will not permit Parliament to be dishonoured and Government -enfeebled by Members who claim to be, but are not, Conservative and -Constitutional. Our freedom is no longer subverted or threatened by -the Crown or by a privileged aristocracy. Is the time come--I quote -the words from history--is the time come to which the ancestor of Lord -Salisbury referred three hundred years ago, when he said that ‘England -could only be ruined by Parliament’?” - -[186] It enacted that to cause an explosion not leading to loss of -life was a felony punishable by penal servitude for life. The attempt -was punishable with twenty years’ imprisonment. To be found in the -possession of dynamite, failing proof that it was held for a lawful -purpose, entailed fourteen years’ imprisonment. - -[187] For an account of this sect, see a curious article in _The -Spectator_, 17th March, 1883. - -[188] Brown, it was said in 1883, had left a diary for publication. -This was not quite true, for immediately after his death all his papers -were impounded by Sir Henry Ponsonby on behalf of the Queen. - -[189] The Hon. Mrs. Stonor died on the 14th of April in London, from -the effects of a carriage accident. She was a daughter of Sir Robert -Peel, and was married to the third son of Lord Camoys. Few ladies of -the Court stood higher in the favour of the Queen, and she had been -lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales since the formation of her -household in 1863. - -[190] When England advised Egypt to abandon the Soudan, the Khedive’s -Ministry under Cherif Pasha refused to take the advice. The defeat -of Hicks Pasha caused England to substitute insistance for advice, -and when the Egyptian Government was told it must abandon the -Soudan, Cherif Pasha resigned. Here was an excellent opportunity -for establishing a Protectorate; and it is not generally known that -Sir Evelyn Baring strongly recommended the appointment of English -Ministers for a period of five years. He was overruled, and Nubar -Pasha was made Cherif’s successor. See Mr. Edward Dicey’s convincing -plea for a Protectorate, in the _Nineteenth Century_ for March, 1884. -In passing it may be well to warn the reader that he cannot form any -correct conception of Anglo-Egyptian relations till he has mastered Mr. -Dicey’s numerous papers on the subject, notably his “England and Egypt” -(Chapman and Hall, 1881). The central idea of Mr. Dicey’s policy is -that the true interest of England in the Eastern Question lies in the -Valley of the Nile, not in the Bosphorus; and that the Isthmus of Suez -forms the key-stone of her position as an Imperial Power. - -[191] His expenditure he estimated at £85,292,000, and his revenue at -£85,555,000. - -[192] The alternative courses were (1), calling in the aid of Turkish -troops; (2), the employment of Zebehr Pasha; (3), the opening up of -communications between Suakim and Berber after Graham’s victories on -the Red Sea littoral; (4), the evacuation of Khartoum in accordance -with a scheme whereby Gordon’s colleague, Colonel Stewart, was to take -the fugitives down to Berber, while Gordon and a picked body of troops -were to retreat up the White Nile in steamers to the Equator. - -[193] These persons were in most cases rather incompetent. They -were not boatmen or _voyageurs_ at all, but clerks, shopmen, and -land-lubbers from the Canadian towns, who had palmed themselves off on -Lord Wolseley and his subordinates as experienced Canadian _voyageurs_. - -[194] This was not the only case in which Lord Northbrook had -discredited the Administration. It was notorious that Mr. W. H. Smith -had shockingly neglected naval ship-building when, in 1880, he handed -the Navy over to Lord Northbrook. Lord Northbrook had worked hard to -make up arrears, and he had built new ships as fast as he could to -enable the British Navy to rank with that of France. But his best -efforts to correct Mr. Smith’s negligence failed, and yet in July, -1885, he expressed himself quite satisfied with the Navy. When he was -absent in Egypt a violent agitation, demonstrating the feebleness and -insufficiency of the Navy, was raised in the Press. Ere the autumn -Session ended he admitted that £5,000,000 above the ordinary estimates -would be needed to strengthen the Fleet in swift cruisers and torpedo -boats. - -[195] Loans already secured on these were to merge in the Preference -Debt along with bonds for Alexandria indemnities. The interest on it -was not to change, but that on the Unified Debt into which Daira Loans -were to merge, was to be reduced to 3½ per cent. - -[196] When Ismail abdicated under the pressure of France and England -it was not made clear that he abandoned all his rights as a private -landowner in Egypt. Theoretically the Khedive could not, according -to Oriental usage, own any land in his dominions save as head of the -State, in which capacity he owned all land. Hence, when he ceased -to be Khedive, his private domains reverted to his successor. Hence -Lord Granville always rejected Ismail’s claim. But in 1888 Lord -Salisbury, through the agency of Mr. Marriott, Judge Advocate-General, -commuted all Ismail Pasha’s claims for a lump sum, calculated on the -allowances he was bound to make his family, and which he himself might -fairly demand to support his position as ex-Khedive. Lord Salisbury’s -object was to prevent these claims from being ever made the basis of -operations for diplomacy hostile to England. - -[197] The dates are curious:-- - -17 June, 1884.--Invitations to Egyptian Conference issued. -“ “ Lord Derby promises to stop the action of the Cape - Government in reference to Angra Pequena. -19 “ Lord Granville assures Count Münster that he accedes - to Bismarck’s wishes on the Fiji dispute. -22 “ Lord Granville tells Count Herbert Bismarck that the - Cabinet, on the 21st inst., resolved to recognise - the German Protectorate over Angra Pequena. -28 “ Meeting of the Conference in London. - - -[198] Speech in House of Lords, February 26th, 1885. - -[199] Speech in the Reichstag, March 2nd, 1885. - -[200] More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands. From -1862 to 1882. Smith, Elder & Co., 1884. - -[201] _Fortnightly Review_, May, 1884. - -[202] The Claremont Estate was bought by the Crown in 1816. It was -granted to the lamented Princess Charlotte and her husband, Prince -Leopold--the Queen’s uncle--with benefit of survivorship. It was a -place full of gloomy associations, but Prince Leopold kept it up pretty -well till 1848, on the £60,000 a year which he had from the nation. -In 1848 the exiled Orleans family occupied it, and were prodigal in -spending money in improving the grounds and gardens, which were almost -as productive as those of Frogmore. On the death of King Leopold of -Belgium, Claremont reverted to the Crown, and Lord John Russell and -Mr. Gladstone passed an Act granting it to the Queen for life. In 1881 -Sir Henry Ponsonby, as trustee for the Queen, bought the reversionary -interest of it for her from the State for £70,000, and since then -it has been her private property, like Osborne and Balmoral. That -Claremont is the property of the nation is a strange delusion fondly -cherished by many critics of Royalty. - -[203] Prince Leopold lived chiefly at Boyton Manor from the summer of -1875 till the autumn of 1879, when the Queen insisted on his going to -Claremont. It was at Boyton that he was so dangerously ill in 1877 -that Sir William Jenner telegraphed for the Queen to come to what was -supposed to be his deathbed. After that her Majesty always objected to -his staying in Wiltshire. - -[204] The borough franchises of England and Wales were the old £20 -clear annual value qualification of 1832, and the householder and -lodger franchises established in 1867. To these the new Reform Act -of 1885 added the “service franchise,” giving a vote to any man who -inhabits any dwelling-house by virtue of any office, service, or -employment. Caretakers, bailiffs, gamekeepers, officers of public -establishments, shepherds, &c., were admitted under this qualification. -It was further provided that every citizen of full age, and not subject -to legal incapacity, who has occupied a house for a year and paid -his rates, can have his name registered as a voter for the district, -whether it be called county or borough, in which he resides. The -property franchises in the counties were in the main left untouched, -but provision was made to check multiplication of faggot votes--_i.e._, -votes of non-resident occupiers on sham qualifications. But four-fifths -of the 5,000,000 electors enfranchised by the Bill were really -qualified as simple householders in town and county. - -[205] There were 56 two-member constituencies wholly disfranchised, -and 31 which lost a member apiece. But by Mr. Gladstone’s Bill in -1885, there were 160 seats set free for redistribution, 6 that were in -abeyance were revived, and to meet the claim of Scotland for increased -representation, 12 new seats, despite the opposition of the extreme -Tories like Sir J. D. Hay, were added to the House. - -[206] Of this £11,000,000, it must be said £4,500,000 were to pay for -Egyptian expeditions and £6,500,000 for “special preparations.” - -[207] M. Lessar, the Central Asian geographer, was now in attendance at -the Russian Embassy as an expert. - -[208] See Speeches of Lord Randolph Churchill (Authorised Edition), -edited by Henry W. Lucy (George Routledge and Sons: London, 1885, p. -220). - -[209] As a matter of fact it was weaker than it should have been, -but this was due to the neglect of shipbuilding by Mr. W. H. Smith, -whose favourite policy was to make old ships do for new ones by -patching their boilers. Lord Northbrook had pushed on shipbuilding, -and made up leeway so that in first-class ironclads the country was -more than a match for France. But much had still to be done in other -directions--_e.g._, in providing vessels for scouting, and for torpedo -warfare. The armament of the Navy was also obsolete, in fact, when Mr. -Smith handed the Navy over to Lord Northbrook, there was not a single -big breech-loading gun mounted in the Fleet. - -[210] Whilst the anti-Coercionists in the Cabinet (Sir Charles Dilke, -Mr. Chamberlain, and Mr. Shaw-Lefevre) were struggling with the -Coercionists, the subterranean arrangements between the Tories and -Parnellites were also publicly ratified in a speech delivered by Lord -Randolph Churchill at the St. Stephen’s Club, in which, amidst ringing -cheers, he condemned the renewal of Coercion. Signs of disorder in -Ireland, he argued, had passed away, and such being the case Government -was bound by “the highest considerations of public policy and -Constitutional doctrine to return to and rely on the ordinary law. They -were all the more strongly bound at that time because they had just -enfranchised the Irish people, and declared them capable citizens fit -to take part in the government of the Empire.”--The Parnell Movement, -by T. P. O’Connor, Chap. XIII. - -[211] After he wound up the debate, and during this exciting scene, Mr. -Gladstone had been quietly writing his nightly report to the Queen of -the proceedings of the House, on a sheet of note-paper which he held -on his knee as a desk. Lord Randolph Churchill vainly endeavoured to -rouse his attention by putting up his hand to his mouth as if it were a -speaking-trumpet, and shouting through it mocking taunts of triumph at -the Premier. - -[212] H. W. Lucy’s Diary of Two Parliaments, Vol. II., p. 478. (London: -Cassell & Co.) - -[213] The controversy between Lord Salisbury and Mr. Gladstone was -conducted through memoranda addressed to the Queen dated the 17th, -18th, 20th, and 21st of June. For the text, see Parliamentary Report of -the _Times_, 25th of June, 1885. - -[214] The offer, it is odd to notice, was almost an unprecedented -mark of Royal favour. The elevation of Mr. Disraeli to an earldom was -effected in the middle, not at the end of his service as Premier, -and in the moment of his triumph, not of his defeat. It is, however, -worth noting that at the end of his first Administration Mr. Disraeli -accepted a viscountess’s coronet for his wife. Lord John Russell -was not Premier in 1859 when he became Earl Russell; in fact, his -acceptance of the Foreign Office under Palmerston was supposed finally -to put him in the background. Grenville, Liverpool, Wellington, -Goderich, Grey, Melbourne, Derby, and Aberdeen were all Peers before -they became Premiers. When Addington’s Ministry resigned early in -the century, the Premier, it is true, became Lord Sidmouth. Yet it -was not an earldom but only a viscountcy--a rank often conferred on -ex-Ministers who have not been Premiers--that was given to him. Pitt -was not actually First Lord of the Treasury--though no doubt he was the -moving spirit in the Cabinet--when he became Earl of Chatham. In fact, -for the Queen’s offer there was no precedent later than 1742, when -Walpole--the Minister to whom her House owe their crown--was created -Earl of Orford when he resigned. - -[215] Mr. Gibson had been elevated to the Lord Chancellorship of -Ireland under this title. - -[216] “Lord Northbrook,” wrote the Times, “chose to regard the -criticisms on this blundering way of keeping accounts as a personal -attack on himself, and rested his defence, with more temper than -lucidity, on the propriety of the expenditure incurred, which no one -had thought of challenging.” - -[217] The Journals of Major-General C. G. Gordon, C.B., at Khartoum, -printed from the original MS. Introduction and Notes by A. Egmont Hake. -(London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1885, p. 56.) - -[218] On this point see an entry in Gordon’s Journal under date the -6th of October, 1884. It was not till the 17th of May, 1884, that Lord -Granville wrote enjoining Gordon to adopt “measures for his own removal -_and for that of the Egyptians at Khartoum_ by whatever route he may -consider best.” But it was now too late to attempt the evacuation of -Khartoum save in co-operation with a relief force. - -[219] Metamneh is 176 miles from Korti, but only 90 miles from Berber, -and 98 from Khartoum, from which latter places the Mahdi brought up all -the troops he could spare. - -[220] “A cavalryman is taught never to be still, and that a square -_can_ be broken. How can you expect him in a moment to forget all -his training, stand like a rock, and believe no one can get inside -a square?... The sailors were pressed back with the cavalry, and -lost heavily; they get very excited, and would storm a work or do -anything of that kind well; but they are trained to fight in ships, -and you cannot expect them to stand shoulder to shoulder like -grenadiers.”--From Korti to Khartoum, by Sir Charles Wilson, K.C.B., -K.C.M.G., D.C.L., F.R.S., R.E., late Deputy Adjutant-General, Nile -Expedition. Edinburgh (Blackwood), 1885, p. 36. - -[221] Sir Charles Wilson strives hard to defend Lord Wolseley and Sir -Herbert Stewart. He says that Stewart could not march straight across -the Desert for lack of transport, though he admits that an additional -thousand camels, which could have been easily got in November, would -have saved the situation. Why were they not got? Moreover, the blunder -of Lord Wolseley and Sir Herbert Stewart is inexcusable, because they -acted in defiance of Gordon’s last message. “Come,” said he, “by way of -Metamneh or Berber; only by these two roads. Do this _without letting -rumours of your approach spread abroad_.” Stewart’s first occupation of -Gakdul, thirteen days before the Desert column was ready to move, was -simply a gratuitous warning to the Mahdi of the English advance. - -[222] This is sometimes called Gubat, and sometimes Abu Kru. - -[223] Gordon’s diaries show that even on the 28th of November, 1884, -when his men held Omdurman and the North Fort, Wilson could not have -passed the junction of the Blue and White Nile without a strong land -force to co-operate with his steamers. On the 28th of January, 1885, -however, these positions were in the Mahdi’s hands, and Wilson had no -land force. - -[224] Lord Charles Beresford was too ill to proceed up the Nile with -Wilson, and, as he was the only naval officer available, it was prudent -to leave him at Gubat. Had our position there been attacked, he would -perhaps have been able to assist in its defence with Gordon’s steamers. - -[225] _See_ an analysis of General Gordon’s Journals by the present -writer in the _Observer_ for the 28th of June, 1885. For criticism of -Wilson’s Expedition, _see_ article, said to be by Sir E. Hamley, in -_Blackwood_ for June, 1885. - -[226] _See_ The Letters of General C. G. Gordon. (London: Macmillan, -1888.) - -[227] Gordon’s death evoked from the Colonies in America and Australia -profuse and generous offers of military aid. The only one accepted was -that which was made by New South Wales. - -[228] When Mr. Gladstone fell from power, and Lord Salisbury’s -Government took office in 1887, this promise was renewed. But in 1888 -it was repudiated by Mr. W. H. Smith, the First Lord of the Treasury. - -[229] The children of the Prince of Wales will probably be provided -for by the State. The children of the Duke of Edinburgh, owing to the -wealth of their parents, need no provision. The Duchess of Connaught -inherited a large fortune from her father, the “Red Prince.” The -Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne, if she were to have a family, -could provide for them as members of the House of Argyll. - -[230] The German Crown Prince and the Grand Duke of Hesse received the -Order on marrying daughters of the Queen. But the Marquis of Lorne got -the Order of the Thistle in similar circumstances. - -[231] Continental diplomatists and publicists held that the -notification in the _Gazette_ was absolutely illegal, because it was -a violation of an international agreement as to the assumption of -this title arrived at by the Great Powers at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818. -This agreement, which was signed by the Duke of Wellington as the -representative of England, is embodied in the “Protocol Séparé Séance -du 11 Oct., 1818, entre les cinq Puissances,” and it arose out of their -refusal to permit the Elector of Hesse to assume the title of king. -The Powers declared that the title Royal Highness used by the sons of -kings, might be also used by grand dukes and their heirs-presumptive, -but by no one of lower rank in sovereign circles. Prince Henry was -neither a grand duke nor an heir-presumptive to a grand duke. - -[232] When Prince Victor married the sister of the Marquis of Hertford, -she was created Countess Gleichen, a title which the Prince also -assumed, the marriage being on the Continent regarded as “morganatic.” -It was held that the Queen’s order raising the lady to her husband’s -royal rank was void and illegal outside the English Court, like the -similar order with reference to the Countess Dornburg. - -[233] This intrigue was initiated by Mr. Justin McCarthy, who had -long enjoyed Lord Carnarvon’s personal friendship. Before finally -selling the Irish vote, Mr. Parnell had a personal interview with Lord -Carnarvon, at which the bargain was struck. Lord Carnarvon has denied -various accounts of this interview, but he has never denied that as -Viceroy of Ireland, he told Mr. Parnell that Irish industries must be -stimulated, and that he would give the new Irish Government power to -levy Protective Duties. As taxation and representation go together, -this concession implies that the Irish Government was to be vested with -fiscal powers, which could only be exercised in co-operation with and -under responsibility to an Irish Parliament. - -[234] The doctrine of ransom in the counties took the form of a vague -and ambiguous pledge to give every labourer who wanted an allotment -“three acres and a cow,” by purchase-money advanced from the rates. - -[235] For a definite statement of Lord Carnarvon’s policy as Mr. -Parnell understood it, _see_ Mr. Parnell’s speech on the Home Rule -Bill. _Times_, June 8, 1886. - -[236] The case for the Government, however, was strengthened and made -more conclusive as the debate went on. - -[237] As successor of the old abbots, the Dean of Westminster, in the -Abbey, takes precedence of all ecclesiastics except the Archbishop of -Canterbury. - -[238] When the children got to the Park Mr. Lawson, like a practical -man, put them in good humour by feeding them. They were taken in squads -to tents, and each child got a bag with a meat pie, a piece of cake, a -bun, and an orange; also a plated medallion portrait of the Queen. A -Jubilee mug of Doulton ware was also given to each boy and girl, and -during the day lemonade, ginger beer, and milk were to be had for the -asking. - -[239] Lord Tennyson’s health did not admit of his officiating as -Laureate on this occasion, and Mr. Browning has always declared himself -unable to produce ceremonial odes to order. - -[240] History of England, Vol. V., p. 537. - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; -vol. 4 of 4, by Robert Wilson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN *** - -***** This file should be named 63444-0.txt or 63444-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/4/63444/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/old/63444-0.zip b/old/63444-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 26ba1bc..0000000 --- a/old/63444-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h.zip b/old/63444-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 47327a8..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/63444-h.htm b/old/63444-h/63444-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 4848635..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/63444-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,19213 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" -"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> - <head> <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> -<title> -The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. 4 of 4, by Robert Wilson. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - -body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -.blockquot {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;} -.blockquot p{margin-left:2em;text-indent:-1em;font-size:90%;} -.blockquott p{margin:1em auto;font-size:85%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.caption {font-weight:normal;} -.caption p{font-size:75%;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.figcenter {margin:3% auto 3% auto;clear:both; -text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.fint {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;margin: 2em auto} - -.footnotes {border:dotted 3px gray;margin-top:5%;clear:both;} - -.footnote {width:95%;margin:auto 3% 1% auto;font-size:0.9em;position:relative;} - -.label {position:relative;left:-.5em;top:0;text-align:left;font-size:.8em;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:normal;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;font-weight:normal;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - img {border:none;} - -.lftspc {margin-left:.25em;} - -.lettre {margin-left:8%;font-size:110%;font-weight:bold;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.nonvis {display:inline;} - @media print, handheld - {.nonvis - {display: none;} - } - - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -@media print, handheld -{.pagenum - {display: none;} - } - -.r {text-align:right;margin-right: 5%;} - -.redd {color:#CA5D46;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - -table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - -th {padding-top:2em;padding-bottom:1em;} - -.subhd {font-size:80%;} - -td.pdd {padding-left:2em;text-indent:-1em; -font-size:90%;} - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:90%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i4s {display: block; margin-left: 3em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em; -letter-spacing:.5em;} -.poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 6em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i10 {display: block; margin-left: 10em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. -4 of 4, by Robert Wilson - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; vol. 4 of 4 - -Author: Robert Wilson - -Release Date: October 12, 2020 [EBook #63444] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image of -the book's cover unavailable.]" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td> -<p class="c"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents.</a><br /> -<a href="#INDEX">Index to all four volumes.</a></p> -<p class="c"><a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">List of Illustrations</a><br /> <span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.)</span></p> -<p class="c">(etext transcriber's note)</p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i">{i}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_001" id="ill_001"></a></p> -<a href="images/frontispiece_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES AND THEIR FAMILY.</p> -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Messrs. Russell & Sons, London.</i>)</p> -</div></div> - -<h1> -<small><small>THE</small></small><br /> -<br /> -LIFE AND TIMES<br /> -<br /> -<small><small>OF</small></small><br /> -<br /> -<span class="redd">QUEEN VICTORIA.</span></h1> - -<p class="c"><small>BY</small><br /> -ROBERT WILSON.<br /> -<br /> -——<br /> -Illustrated.<br /> -——<br /> -<br /> -VOL. IV.<br /> -<br /><br /> -<a href="images/ill_pg_001-b_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_001-b_sml.jpg" width="141" height="124" alt="colophon" /></a> -<br /><br /> -<br /> -<span class="redd">C A S S E L L & C O M P A N Y, <span class="smcap">Limited</span>:</span><br /> -<br /><i>LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE</i>.<br /> -<br /><small> -[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]</small><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii">{ii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii">{iii}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Effect of Prussian Victories on English Opinion—Sudden Changes of Popular Impulse—Demand for Army -Reform—Opposition to the Princess Louise’s Dowry—Opening of Parliament—The Army Bill—Abolition -of Purchase—Opposition of the Tory Party—Mr. Disraeli Throws Over his Followers—Obstructing -the Purchase Bill—Mr. Cardwell’s Threat—Obstruction in the House of Lords—A Bold Use of the -Queen’s Prerogative—The Wrath of the Peers—They Pass a Vote of Censure on the Government—The -Ballot Bill—The Peers Reject the Ballot Bill—The University Tests Bill—The Trades Union Bill—Its -Defects—The Case of Purchon <i>v.</i> Hartley—The Licensing Bill and its Effect on Parties—Local Government -Reform—Mr. Lowe’s Disastrous Budget—The Match Tax—<i>Ex luce lucellum</i>—Withdrawal of the -Budget—The Washington Treaty and the Queen—Lord Granville’s Feeble Foreign Policy—His Failure -to Mediate between France and Germany—Bismarck’s Contemptuous Treatment of English Despatches—<i>Væ -Victis!</i>—The German Terms of Peace—Asking too Much and Taking too Little—Mr. Gladstone’s -Embarrassments—Decaying Popularity of the Government—The Collier Affair—Effect of the Commune -on English Opinion—Court Life in 1871—Marriage of the Princess Louise—The Queen Opens the Albert -Hall—The Queen at St. Thomas’s Hospital—Prince Arthur’s Income—Public Protests and Irritating -Discussions—The Queen’s Illness—Sudden Illness of the Prince of Wales—Growing Anxiety of the -People—Alarming Prospects of a Regency—Between Life and Death—Panic in the Money Market—Hopeful -Bulletins—Convalescence of the Prince—Public Sympathy with the Queen—Her Majesty’s -Letter to the People</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_385">385</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE “ALABAMA” CLAIMS</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Thanksgiving Day—The Procession—Behaviour of the Crowd—Scene in St. Paul’s—Decorations and Illuminations—Letter -from Her Majesty—Attack on the Queen—John Brown—The Queen’s Speech—The -<i>Alabama</i> Claims—The “Consequential Damages”—Living in a Blaze of Apology—Story of the “Indirect -Claims”—The Arbitrators’ Award—Sir Alexander Cockburn’s Judgment—Passing of the Ballot Act—The -Scottish Education Act—The Licensing Bill—Public Health Bill—Coal Mines Regulation Bill—The -Army Bill—Admiralty Reforms—Ministerial Defeat on Local Taxation—Starting of the Home Government -Association in Dublin—Assassination of Lord Mayo—Stanley’s Discovery of Livingstone—Dr. -Livingstone’s Interview with the Queen—Her Majesty’s Gift to Mr. Stanley—Death of Dr. Norman -Macleod—The Japanese Embassy—The Burmese Mission—Her Majesty at Holyrood Palace—Death of -Her Half-Sister</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_414">414</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">GOVERNMENT UNDER DIFFICULTIES</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">A Lull Before the Storm—Dissent in the Dumps—Disastrous Bye-Elections—The Queen’s Speech—The -Irish University Bill—Defeat of the Government—Resignation of the Ministry—Mr. Disraeli’s Failure -to Form a Cabinet—The Queen and the Crisis—Lord Derby as a Possible Premier—Mr. Gladstone -Returns to Office—Power Passes to the House of Lords—Grave Administration Scandals—The Zanzibar -Mail Contract—Misappropriation of the Post Office Savings Banks’ Balances—Mr. Gladstone Reconstructs -his Ministry—The Financial Achievements of his Administration—The Queen and the Prince -of Wales—Debts of the Heir Apparent—The Queen’s Scheme for Meeting the Prince’s Expenditure -on her Behalf—The Queen and Foreign Decorations—Death of Napoleon III.—The Queen at the -East End—The Blue-Coat Boys at Buckingham Palace—The Coming of the Shah—Astounding -Rumours of his Progress through Europe—The Queen’s Reception of the Persian Monarch—How the -Shah was Entertained—His Departure from England—Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh—Public -Entry of the Duchess into London</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_431">431</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE CONSERVATIVE REACTION</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Questions of the Recess—The Dissenters and the Education Act—Mr. Forster’s Compromise—The Nonconformist -Revolt—Mr. Bright Essays Conciliation—Sudden Popularity of Mr. Lowe—His “Anti-puritanic -Nature”—Mr. Chamberlain and the Dissidence of Dissent—Decline of the Liberal Party—Signs -of Bye-elections—A Colonial Scandal—The Canadian Pacific Railway—Jobbing the Contract—Action -of the Dominion Parliament—Expulsion of the Macdonald Ministry—The Ashanti War—How -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv">{iv}</a></span>it Originated—A Short Campaign—The British in Coomassie—Treaty with King Koffee—The -Opposition and the War—Skilful Tactics—Discontent among the Radical Ranks—Illness of Mr. Gladstone—A -Sick-bed Resolution—Appeal to the Country—Mr. Gladstone’s Address—Mr. Disraeli’s Manifesto—Liberal -Defeat—Incidents of the Election—“Villadom” to the Front—Mr. Gladstone’s Resignation—Mr. -Disraeli’s Working Majority—The Conservative Cabinet—The Surplus of £6,000,000—What will -Sir Stafford do with it?—Dissensions among the Liberal Chiefs—Mr. Gladstone and the Leadership—The -Queen’s Speech—Mr. Disraeli and the Fallen Minister—The Dangers of Hustings Oratory—Mr. -Ward Hunt’s “Paper Fleet”—The Last of the Historic Surpluses—How Sir S. Northcote Disposed of -it—The Hour but not the Man—Mr. Cross’s Licensing Bill—The Public Worship Regulation Bill—A -Curiously Composed Opposition—Mr. Disraeli on Lord Salisbury—The Scottish Patronage Bill—Academic -Debates on Home Rule—The Endowed Schools Bill—Mr. Stansfeld’s Rating Bill—Bill for Consolidating -the Factory Acts—End of the Session—The Successes and Failures of the Ministry—Prince Bismarck’s -Contest with the Roman Catholic Church—Arrest of Count Harry Arnim—Mr. Disraeli’s Apology to -Prince Bismarck—Mr. Gladstone’s Desultory Leadership—“Vaticanism”—Deterioration in Society—An -Unopposed Royal Grant—Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Birmingham—Withdrawal -of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court—A Dispute over Precedence—Visit of the Czar to England—Review -of the Ashanti War Soldiers and Sailors—The Queen on Cruelty to Animals—Sir Theodore -Martin’s Biography of the Prince Consort—The Queen tells the Story of its Authorship</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_457">457</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">EMPRESS OF INDIA</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Mr. Disraeli recognises Intellect—Lord Hartington Liberal Leader—The Queen’s Speech—Lord Hartington’s -“Grotesque Reminiscences”—Mr. Cross’s Labour Bills—The Artisans’ Dwellings Act—Mr. Plimsoll -and the “Ship-knackers”—Lord Hartington’s First “Hit”—The Plimsoll Agitation—Surrender of the -Cabinet—“Strangers” in the House—The Budget—Rise of Mr. Biggar—First Appearance of Mr. -Parnell—The Fugitive Slave Circular—The Sinking of the Yacht <i>Mistletoe</i>—The Loss of the <i>Vanguard</i>—Purchase -of the Suez Canal Shares—The Prince of Wales’s Visit to India—Resignation of Lord -Northbrook—Appointment of Lord Lytton as Viceroy of India—Outbreak of the Eastern Question—The -Andrassy Note—The Berlin Memorandum—Murder of French and German Consuls at Salonica—Lord -Derby Rejects the Berlin Memorandum—Servia Declares War on Turkey—The Bulgarian -Revolt Quenched in Blood—The Sultan Dethroned—Opening of Parliament—“Sea-sick of the Silver -Streak”—Debates on the Eastern Question—Development of Obstruction by Mr. Biggar and Mr. -Parnell—The Royal Titles Bill—Lord Shaftesbury and the Queen—The Queen at Whitechapel—A -Doleful Budget—Mr. Disraeli becomes Earl of Beaconsfield—The Prince Consort’s Memorial at Edinburgh—Mr. -Gladstone and the Eastern Question—The Servian War—The Constantinople Conference—The -Tories Manufacture Failure for Lord Salisbury—Death of Lady Augusta Stanley—Proclamation -of the Queen as Empress at Delhi</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_482">482</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE REIGN OF JINGOISM</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Opening of Parliament—Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership—The Prisons Bill—Mr. Parnell’s Policy of -Scientific Obstruction—The South Africa Confederation Bill—Mr. Parnell’s Bout with Sir Stafford -Northcote—A Twenty-six Hours’ Sitting—The Budget—The Russo-Turkish Question—Prince Albert’s -Eastern Policy—Opinion at Court—The Sentiments of Society—The Feeling of the British People—Outbreak -of War—Collapse of Turkey—The Jingoes—The Third Volume of the “Life of the Prince Consort”—The -“Greatest War Song on Record”—The Queen’s Visit to Hughenden—Early Meeting of Parliament—Mr. -Layard’s Alarmist Telegrams—The Fleet Ordered to Constantinople—Resignation of Lord -Carnarvon—The Russian Terms of Peace—Violence of the War Party—The Debate on the War Vote—The -Treaty of San Stefano—Resignation of Lord Derby—Calling Out the Reserves—Lord Salisbury’s -Circular—The Indian Troops Summoned to Malta—The Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement—Lord Salisbury’s -Denials—The Berlin Congress—The <i>Globe</i> Disclosures—The Anglo-Turkish Convention—Occupation -of Cyprus—“Peace with Honour”—The Irish Intermediate Education Bill—Consolidation of the -Factory Acts—The Monarch and the Multitude—Outbreak of the Third Afghan War—The “Scientific -Frontier”—Naval Review at Spithead—Death of the Ex-King of Hanover—Death of the Princess -Alice</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_513">513</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">PEACE WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Ominous Bye-Elections—The Spangles of Imperialism—Disturbed state of Eastern Europe—Origin of the -Quarrel with the Zulus—Cetewayo’s Feud with the Boers—A “Prancing Pro-Consul”—Sir Bartle Frere’s -Ultimatum to the Zulu King—War Declared—The Crime and its Retribution—The Disaster of -Isandhlwana—The Defence of Rorke’s Drift—Demands for the Recall of Sir Bartle Frere—Censured -but not Dismissed—Sir Garnet Wolseley Supersedes Sir Bartle Frere in Natal—The Victory of Ulundi—Capture -of Cetewayo—End of the War—The Invasion of Afghanistan—Death of Shere Ali—Yakoob -Khan Proclaimed Ameer—The Treaty of Gundamuk—The “Scientific Frontier”—The Army Discipline -Bill—Mr. Parnell attacks the “Cat”—Mr. Chamberlain Plays to the Gallery—Surrender of the -Government—Lord Hartington’s Motion against Flogging—The Irish University Bill—An Unpopular -Budget—The Murder of Cavagnari and Massacre of his Suite—The Army of Vengeance—The Recapture -of Cabul—The Settlement of Zululand—Death of Prince Louis Napoleon—The Court-Martial -on Lieutenant Carey—Its Judgment Quashed—Marriage of the Duke of Connaught—The Queen at -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v">{v}</a></span>Baveno</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_562">562</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">FALL OF LORD BEACONSFIELD</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">General Gloom—Fall of the Tay Bridge—Liberal Onslaught on the Government—The Mussulman Schoolmaster -and the Anglican Missionary—The Queen’s Speech—The Irish Relief Bill—A Dying Parliament—Mr. -Cross’s Water Bill—“Coming in on Beer and Going out on Water”—Sir Stafford Northcote’s -Budget—Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto—The General Election—Defeat of the Tories—Incidents of -the Struggle—Mr. Gladstone Prime Minister—The Fourth Party—Mr. Bradlaugh and the Oath—Mr. -Gladstone and the Emperor of Austria—The Naval Demonstration—Grave Error in the Indian Budget—Affairs -in Afghanistan—Disaster at Maiwand—Roberts’s March—The New Ameer—Revolt of the -Boers—The Ministerial Programme—The Burials Bill—The Hares and Rabbits Bill—The Employers’ -Liability Bill—Supplementary Budget—The Compensation for Disturbance Bill—Boycotting—Trial of -Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon—The Queen’s Visit to Germany—The Queen Presents the Albert Medal -to George Oatley of the Coastguard—Reviews at Windsor—The Queen’s Speech to the Ensigns—The -Battle of the Standards—Royalty and Riflemen—Outrages in Ireland—“Endymion”—Death of -George Eliot</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_581">581</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">COERCION</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Lord Beaconsfield Attacks the Government—The Irish Crisis—The Coercion Bills—An All-night Sitting—The -Arrest of Mr. Davitt—The Revolt of the Irish Members—The Speaker’s <i>Coup d’État</i>—Urgency—New -Rules of Procedure—The Speaker’s <i>Clôture</i>—End of the Struggle against Coercion—Mr. Dillon’s -Irish Campaign—Mr. Forster’s First Batch of “Suspects”—The Peers Censure the Ministry—Mr. -Gladstone’s “Retort Courteous”—Abolition of the “Cat”—The Budget—Paying off the National Debt—The -Irish Land Bill—The Three “F’s”—Resignation of the Duke of Argyll—The Strategic Blunder of -the Tories—The Fallacy of Dual Ownership—Conflict between the Lords and Commons—Surrender of -the Peers—Passing the Land Bill—Revolt of the Transvaal—The Rout of Majuba Hill—Death of Sir -George Colley—The Boers Triumphant—Concession of Autonomy to the Boers—Lord Beaconsfield’s -Death—His Career and Character—A “Walking Funeral” at Hughenden—The Queen and Lord Beaconsfield’s -Tomb—A Sorrowing Nation—Assassination of the Czar—The Queen and the Duchess of -Edinburgh—Character of the Czar Emancipator—Precautions for the Safety of the Queen—Visit of the -King and Queen of Sweden to Windsor—Prince Leopold becomes Duke of Albany—Deaths of Dean -Stanley and Mr. Carlyle—Review of Scottish Volunteers—Assassination of President Garfield—The -Royal Family—The Highlands—Holiday Pastimes—The Parnellites and the Irish Land Act—Arrest of -Mr. Parnell—No-Rent Manifesto</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_610">610</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">ENGLAND IN EGYPT</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">The Duke of Albany’s Marriage Announced—Mr. Bradlaugh Again—Procedure Reform—The Closure at -Last—The Peers Co-operate with the Parnellites—Their Attacks on the Land Act—Mr. Forster’s -Policy of “Thorough”—A Nation under Arrest—Increase in Outrages—Sir J. D. Hay and Mr. W. H. -Smith bid for the Parnellite Vote—A Political Dutch Auction—The Radicals Outbid the Tories—Release -of Mr. Parnell and the Suspects—The Kilmainham Treaty—Victory of Mr. Chamberlain—Resignation -of Mr. Forster and Lord Cowper—The Tragedy in the Phœnix Park—Ireland Under Lord Spencer—Firm -and Resolute Government—Coercion Revived—The Arrears Bill—The Budget—England in Egypt—How -Ismail Pasha “Kissed the Carpet”—Spoiling the Egyptians—Mr. Goschen’s Scheme for Collecting the -Debt—The Dual Control—The Ascendency of France—“Egypt for the Egyptians”—The Rule of Arabi—Riots -in Alexandria—The Egyptian War—Murder of Professor Palmer—British Occupation of -Egypt—The Queen’s Monument to Lord Beaconsfield—Attempt to Assassinate Her Majesty—The -Queen’s Visit to Mentone—Marriage of the Duke of Albany</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_630">630</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE INVINCIBLES</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">The Married Women’s Property Act—The Opening of Parliament—Changes in the Cabinet—Arrest of -Suspects in Dublin—Invincibles on their Trial—Evidence of the Informer Carey—Carey’s Fate—The -Forster-Parnell Incident—National Gift to Mr. Parnell—The Affirmation Bill—The Bankruptcy and other -Bills—Mr. Childers’ Budget—The Corrupt Practices Bill—The “Farmers’ Friends”—Sir Stafford Northcote’s -Leadership—The Bright Celebration—Dynamite Outrages in London—The Explosives Act—M. de -Lesseps and Mr. Gladstone—Blunders in South Africa—The Ilbert Bill—The Attack on Lady Florence -Dixie’s House—Death of John Brown—His Career and Character—The Queen and the Consumption of -Lamb—A Dull Holiday at Balmoral—Capsizing of the <i>Daphne</i>—Prince Albert Victor made K.G.—France -and Madagascar—Arrest of Rev. Mr. Shaw—Settlement of the Dispute—Progress of the National League—Orange -and Green Rivalry—The Leeds Conference—“Franchise First”—Lord Salisbury and the -Housing of the Poor—Mr. Besant and East London—“Slumming”—Hicks Pasha’s Disastrous Expedition -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi">{vi}</a></span>in the Soudan—Mr. Gladstone on Jam</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_652">652</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">GENERAL GORDON’S MISSION</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Success of the Mahdi—Difficult Position of the Ministers—Their Egyptian Policy—General Gordon sent out to -the Soudan—Baker Pasha’s Forces Defeated—Sir S. Northcote’s Vote of Censure—The Errors on Both -Sides—Why not a Protectorate?—Gordon in Khartoum—Zebehr, “King of the Slave-traders”—Attacks -on Gordon—Osman Digna Twice Defeated—Treason in Khartoum—Gordon’s Vain Appeals—Financial -Position of Egypt—Abortive Conference of the Powers—Vote of Credit—The New Speaker—Mr. -Bradlaugh <i>Redivivus</i>—Mr. Childers’ Budget—The Coinage Bill—The Reform Bill—Household Franchise -for the Counties—Carried in the Commons—Thrown Out in the Lords—Agitation in the Country—The -Autumn Session—“No Surrender”—Compromise—The Franchise Bill Passed—The Nile Expedition—Murder -of Colonel Stewart and Mr. Frank Power—Lord Northbrook’s Mission—Ismail Pasha’s Claims—The -“Scramble for Africa”—Coolness with Germany—The Angra Pequena Dispute—Bismarck’s Irritation—Queensland -and New Guinea—Death of Lord Hertford—The Queen’s New Book—Death of the Duke -of Albany—Character and Career of the Prince—The Claremont Estate—The Queen at Darmstadt—Marriage -of the Princess Victoria of Hesse—A Gloomy Season—The Health Exhibition—The Queen -and the Parliamentary Deadlock—The Abyssinian Envoys at Osborne—Prince George of Wales made -K.G.—The Court at Balmoral—Mr. Gladstone’s Visit to the Queen</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_671">671</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE NEW DEPARTURE</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">An <i>Annus Mirabilis</i>—Breaking up of the Old Parties—The Tory-Parnellite Alliance—Mr. Chamberlain’s -Socialism—The Doctrine of “Ransom”—Effect of the Reform Bill and Seats Bill—Enthroning the -“Sovereign People”—Three Reform Struggles: 1832, 1867, 1885—“One Man One Vote”—Another Vote -of Censure—A Barren Victory—Retreat from the Soudan—The Dispute with Russia—Komaroff at -Penjdeh—The Vote of Credit—On the Verge of War—Mr. Gladstone’s Compromise with Russia—Threatened -Renewal of the Crimes Act—The Tory Intrigue with the Parnellites—The Tory Chiefs -Decide to Oppose Coercion—Wrangling in the Cabinet—Mr. Childers’ Budget—A Yawning Deficit—Increasing -the Spirit Duties—Readjusting the Succession Duties—Combined Attack by Tories and -Parnellites on the Budget—Defeat of the Government and Fall of Mr. Gladstone’s Ministry—The -Scene in the Commons—The Tories in Power—Lord Salisbury’s Government—Places for the Fourth -Party—Mr. Parnell Demands his Price—Abandoning Lord Spencer—Re-opening the Question of the -Maamtrasna Murders—Concessions to the Parnellites—The New Budget—Sir H. D. Wolff sent to -Cairo—The Criminal Law Amendment Act—Court Life in 1885—Affairs at Home and Abroad—The -Fall of Khartoum—Death of General Gordon—Marriage of the Princess Beatrice—The Battenbergs</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_697">697</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE BATTLE OF THE UNION</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">Mr. Chamberlain’s Doctrine of “Ransom”—The Midlothian Programme—Lord Randolph Churchill’s Appeal -to the Whigs—Bidding for the Parnellite Vote—Resignation of Lord Carnarvon—The General Election—“Three -Acres and a Cow”—Defeat of Lord Salisbury—The Liberal Cabinet—Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule -Scheme—Ulster Threatens Civil War—Secession of the Liberal “Unionists”—Defeat of Mr. Gladstone—Lord -Salisbury again in Office—Mr. Parnell’s Relief Bill Rejected—The “Plan of Campaign”—Resignation -of Lord Randolph Churchill—Mr. Goschen becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer—Riots in the West -End of London—The Indian and Colonial Exhibition—The Imperial Institute—The Queen’s Visit to -Liverpool—The Holloway College for Women—A Busy Season for her Majesty—The International -Exhibition at Edinburgh—The Prince and Princess Komatsu of Japan</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_724">724</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX.</a> -<br /><br /><span class="subhd">THE JUBILEE</span></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd">The Fiftieth Year of the Queen’s Reign—Mr. W. H. Smith Leader of the Commons—Sudden Death of Lord -Iddesleigh—Opening of Parliament—The Queen’s Speech—The Debate on the Address—New Rules for -Procedure—Closure Proposed by the Tories—Irish Landlords and Evictions—“Pressure Within the -Law”—Prosecution of Mr. Dillon—The Round Table Conference—“Parnellism and Crime”—Resignation -of Sir M. Hicks-Beach—Appointment of Mr. Balfour—The Coercion Bill—Resolute Government -for Twenty Years—Scenes in the House—Irish Land Bill—The Bankruptcy Clauses—The National -League Proclaimed—The Allotments Act—The Margarine Act—Hamburg Spirit—Mr. Goschen’s Budget—The -Jubilee in India—The Modes of Celebration in England—Congratulatory Addresses—The Queen’s -Visit to Birmingham—The Laureate’s Jubilee Ode—The Queen at Cannes and Aix—Her Visit to the -Grande Chartreuse—Colonial Addresses—Opening of the People’s Palace—Jubilee Day—The Scene in -the Streets—Preceding Jubilees—The Royal Procession—The German Crown Prince—The Decorations -and the Onlookers—The Spectacle in Westminster Abbey—The Procession—The Ceremony—The Illuminations—Royal -Banquet in Buckingham Palace—The Shower of Honours—Jubilee Observances in -the British Empire and the United States—The Children’s Celebration in Hyde Park—The Queen’s -Garden Party—Her Majesty’s Letter to her People—The Imperial Institute—The Victorian Age</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_733">733</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">{vii}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_001">The Prince and Princess of Wales and their</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#ill_001"><i>Frontispiece.</i></a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_002">Osborne, from the Solent</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_385">385</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_003">The Princess Louise (<i>From a Photograph by and Fry</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_388">388</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_004">The Marquis of Lorne (<i>From a Photograph by and Fry</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_389">389</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_005">Inverary Castle (<i>From a Photograph by G. W. and Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_393">393</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_006">Mr. W. E. Forster (<i>From a Photograph by Russell Sons</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_396">396</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_007">Balmoral Castle, from the North-west (<i>From a by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_400">400</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_008">After Sedan: Discussing the Capitulation (<i>From Picture by Georg Bleibtreu</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_401">401</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_009">Metz</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_405">405</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_010">Marriage of the Princess Louise <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_408">408</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_011">Opening of the Royal Albert Hall</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_409">409</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_012">The Prince of Wales’s Illness: Crowd at the House Reading the Bulletins</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_412">412</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_013">Thanksgiving Day: the Procession at Ludgate (<i>From the Picture by N. Chevalier</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_413">413</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_014">Thanksgiving Day: St. Paul’s Illuminated</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_416">416</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_015">The Thanksgiving Service in St. Paul’s Cathedral</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_417">417</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_016">Geneva</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_421">421</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_017">Dr. Norman Macleod (<i>From a Photograph by and Fry</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_425">425</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_018">The Queen receiving the Burmese Embassy</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_428">428</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_019">Queen’s College, Cork (<i>From a Photograph by . Lawrence, Dublin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_432">432</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_020">Professor Fawcett (<i>From a Photograph by the Stereoscopic Company</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_433">433</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_021">Queen’s College, Galway</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_436">436</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_022">Views in Windsor: Old Market Street, and the Hall, from High Street</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_440">440</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_023">Sandringham House</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_441">441</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_024">The Queen’s Visit to Victoria Park</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_445">445</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_025">Blue-coat Boys at Buckingham Palace</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_448">448</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_026">The Shah of Persia Presenting his Suite to the at Windsor <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_449">449</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_027">The Duke of Edinburgh</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_452">452</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_028">The Duchess of Edinburgh (<i>From a Photograph W. and D. Downey</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_453">453</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_029">Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh (<i>From the by N. Chevalier</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_456">456</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_030">Coomassie</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_460">460</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_031">King Koffee’s Palace, Coomassie</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_461">461</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_032">Lord Salisbury (<i>From a Photograph by Bassano, Bond Street, W.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_465">465</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_033">Review in Windsor Great Park of the Troops from Ashanti War: the March Past before the</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_469">469</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_034">The Bishop of Peterborough (Dr. Magee) addressing House of Lords</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_473">473</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_035">Alexander II., Czar of Russia</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_477">477</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_036">The Albert Memorial Chapel, Windsor (<i>From a by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_480">480</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_037">Mr. Plimsoll Addressing the House of Commons</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_484">484</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_038">The Marquis of Hartington (<i>From a Photograph Russell and Sons</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_485">485</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_039">Abergeldie Castle (<i>From a Photograph by G. W. and Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_488">488</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_040">View on the Suez Canal</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_492">492</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_041">Count Ferdinand De Lesseps</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_493">493</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_042">The Mosque at San Sophia, Constantinople</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_496">496</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_043">Heralds at the Mansion House, Proclaiming the as “Empress of India”</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_497">497</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_044">The Queen Visiting the Wards of the London</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_500">500</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_045">The Albert Memorial, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_501">501</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_046">Holyrood Palace, from the South-east</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_504">504</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_047">Sir James Falshaw (<i>From a Photograph by . Moffat, Edinburgh</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_505">505</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_048">Lord Beaconsfield at the Banquet in the Guildhall</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_508">508</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_049">General View of Constantinople</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_509">509</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_050">Trooping the Colours in St. James’s Park on the ’s Birthday <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_051">Lord Cairns (<i>From a Photograph by Russell and </i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_052">Horseshoe Cloisters, Windsor Castle</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_517">517</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_053">Lord Derby (<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and </i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_521">521</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_054">The Tower of Galata, Constantinople</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_525">525</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_055">Russian Wounded Leaving Plevna</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_528">528</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_056">Hughenden Manor (<i>From a Photograph by Taunt Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_529">529</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_057">The Queen’s Visit to Hughenden: at High Wycombe Station</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_533">533</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_058">Prince Gortschakoff</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_537">537</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_059">Russo-Turkish War: Map showing Position of and Turkish Lines outside of Constantinople, of the British Fleet</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_540">540</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_060">The Marina, Larnaca, Cyprus</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_544">544</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_061">Salonica</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_545">545</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_062">Prince Bismarck (<i>From the Photograph by and Petsch, Berlin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_548">548</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">{viii}</a></span> -<a href="#ill_063">Shere Ali, Ameer of Cabul</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_553">553</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_064">The Queen Reviewing the Fleet at Spithead</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_557">557</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_065">The Albert Memorial, Kensington</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_561">561</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_066">Isandhlwana: the Dash with the Colours</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_565">565</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_067">Baveno, on Lago Maggiore</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_568">568</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_068">The Villa Clara, Baveno</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_569">569</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_069">The Duchess of Connaught</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_572">572</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_070">The Duke of Connaught</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_573">573</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_071">Marriage of the Duke of Connaught (<i>From the by S. P. Hall</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_576">576</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_072">Queen Victoria (1887) <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_577">577</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_073">The Mausoleum, Frogmore</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_577">577</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_074">Osborne House, from the Gardens (<i>From a Photograph J. Valentine and Sons</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_581">581</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_075">The First Tay Bridge, from the South</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_584">584</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_076">Windsor Castle: a Peep from the Dean’s Garden</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_585">585</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_077">After the Midlothian Victory: Mr. Gladstone Addressing Crowd from the Balcony of Lord ’s House, George Street, Edinburgh (<i>From the Picture in “The Graphic”</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_589">589</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_078">Mr. Chamberlain (<i>From a Photograph by Russell Sons</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_593">593</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_079">Old Palace of the Prince of Montenegro, Cettigne</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_597">597</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_080">Windsor Castle: Queen Elizabeth’s Library, from Quadrangle</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_600">600</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_081">The Queen Presenting the Albert Medal to George , of the Coastguard</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_604">604</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_082">Review in Windsor Park: Charge of the 5th and Dragoon Guards</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_605">605</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_083">Ballater</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_609">609</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_084">Mr. Parnell (<i>From a Photograph by William , Dublin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_613">613</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_085">Grafton Street, Dublin</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_616">616</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_086">Lord Beaconsfield’s Last Appearance in the Peers’ of the House of Commons (<i>From a by Harry Furniss</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_617">617</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_087">Lord Beaconsfield’s House, 19, Curzon Street, Mayfair</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_621">621</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_088">The Prince of Wales in his Robes as a Bencher of Middle Temple (<i>From a Photograph by . and D. Downey</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_624">624</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_089">The Princess of Wales (<i>From a Photograph by . and D. Downey</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_625">625</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_090">The Royal Family in the Highlands: Tug of War—Balmoral <i>v.</i> Abergeldie</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_629">629</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_091">Lord Frederick Cavendish (<i>From a Photograph the London Stereoscopic Company</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_633">633</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_092">The Karmous Suburb, Alexandria, and Pompey’s</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_637">637</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_093">Ahmed Arabi Pasha (<i>From the Portrait by Villiers in A. M. Broadley’s “How Defended Arabi and his Friends”</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_640">640</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_094">Lord Wolseley (<i>From a Photograph by Fradelle Young</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_641">641</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_095">The Duchess of Albany</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_644">644</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_096">The Duke of Albany</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_645">645</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_097">Marriage of the Duke of Albany <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_648">648</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_098">Mentone (<i>From a Photograph by Frith and Co., </i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_649">649</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_099">Lambeth Palace</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_652">652</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_100">Charles Darwin (<i>From a Photograph by Elliott Fry</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_653">653</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_101">The Round Tower, Windsor Castle</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_657">657</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_102">The Royal Albert Hall, Kensington</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_661">661</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_103">John Brown (<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson Co., Aberdeen</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_665">665</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_104">The Parish Church, Crathie</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_669">669</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_105">Braemar Castle</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_669">669</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_106">General Gordon (<i>From a Photograph by Adams Scanlan, Southampton</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_673">673</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_107">Khartoum</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_677">677</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_108">Sir Stafford Northcote, afterwards Lord Iddesleigh (<i>From a Photograph by Barraud, Oxford </i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_680">680</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_109">The Citadel, Cairo</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_681">681</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_110">Balmoral Castle, from Craig Nordie (<i>From a by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_685">685</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_111">Funeral of the Duke of Albany: the Procession Windsor Castle</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_688">688</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_112">View in Claremont Park</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_689">689</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_113">The Linn of Dee (<i>From a Photograph by G. W. and Co.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_693">693</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_114">The Queen Receiving the Abyssinian Envoys at</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_696">696</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_115">Prince Henry of Battenberg (<i>From a Photograph Theodor Prümm, Berlin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_700">700</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_116">Princess Beatrice (<i>From a Photograph by Hughes Mullins, Ryde</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_701">701</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_117">The Queen in her State Robes <i>To face</i></a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_705">705</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_118">Mr. Gladstone (<i>From a Photograph by Elliott Fry</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_705">705</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_119">Drawing-Room in Buckingham Palace</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_709">709</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_120">Map of the War in the Soudan</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_716">716</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_121">Marriage of the Princess Beatrice</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_721">721</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_122">Opening of Parliament in 1886: the Royal Procession Westminster Palace on the way to House of Peers</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_725">725</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_123">Lord Tennyson (<i>From a Photograph by H. H. H. , Mortimer Street, W.</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_729">729</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_124">Opening of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition: Queen’s Tour</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_733">733</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_125">The Queen’s Visit to Edinburgh (1886): Her Leaving Holyrood Palace</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_737">737</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_126">The Crown Prince, afterwards the Emperor III. of Germany (<i>From a Photograph Reichard and Lindner, Berlin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_745">745</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_127">The Crown Princess, afterwards the Empress of Germany (<i>From a Photograph by and Lindner, Berlin</i>)</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_745">745</a></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top" class="pdd"><a href="#ill_128">The Jubilee Garden Party at Buckingham Palace: Royal Tent</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_749">749</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_385" id="page_385">{385}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_002" id="ill_002"></a></p> -<p><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_385.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_385.jpg" width="754" height="494" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OSBORNE, FROM THE SOLENT.</p></div> -</div> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Effect of Prussian Victories on English Opinion—Sudden Changes of Popular Impulse—Demand for Army -Reform—Opposition to the Princess Louise’s Dowry—Opening of Parliament—The Army Bill—Abolition -of Purchase—Opposition of the Tory Party—Mr. Disraeli Throws Over his Followers—Obstructing the -Purchase Bill—Mr. Cardwell’s Threat—Obstruction in the House of Lords—A Bold Use of the Queen’s -Prerogative—The Wrath of the Peers—They Pass a Vote of Censure on the Government—The Ballot Bill—The -Peers Reject the Ballot Bill—The University Tests Bill—The Trades Union Bill—Its Defects—The -Case of Purchon v. Hartley—The Licensing Bill and its Effect on Parties—Local Government Reform—Mr. -Lowe’s Disastrous Budget—The Match Tax—<i>Ex luce lucellum</i>—Withdrawal of the Budget—The Washington -Treaty and the Queen—Lord Granville’s Feeble Foreign Policy—His Failure to Mediate Between France -and Germany—Bismarck’s Contemptuous Treatment of English Despatches—<i>Væ Victis!</i>—The German -Terms of Peace—Asking too Much and Taking too Little—Mr. Gladstone’s Embarrassments—Decaying -Popularity of the Government—The Collier Affair—Effect of the Commune on English Opinion—Court Life -in 1871—Marriage of the Princess Louise—The Queen Opens the Albert Hall—The Queen at St. Thomas’s -Hospital—Prince Arthur’s Income—Public Protests and Irritating Discussions—The Queen’s Illness—Sudden -Illness of the Prince of Wales—Growing Anxiety of the People—Alarming Prospects of a Regency—Between -Life and Death—Panic in the Money Market—Hopeful Bulletins—Convalescence of the Prince—Public -Sympathy with the Queen—Her Majesty’s Letter to the People.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> closing weeks of 1870 and the early days of 1871 were full of anxiety -to the Queen. Despite its services to the country, the Cabinet was obviously -losing ground. The Franco-Prussian War had brought about a great change -in the minds of the people as to the kind of work they wanted their Government -to do, and it was certain that Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues did -not respond quickly to the new impulse which the fall of Imperialism in France, -and the rise of the new German Empire had given to public opinion in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_386" id="page_386">{386}</a></span> -England. When the Cabinet took office, retrenchment and reform at home, -and isolation abroad, were objects which the nation desired the Government -to pursue. The victories of Prussia certainly strengthened the hands of the -Ministry in carrying out their education policy. But in every other department -of public life the people began to expect from the Cabinet what the -Cabinet was not, by its temperament, likely to give. Ministers, in their -handling of the Army and Navy, for example, made economy the leading -idea of their policy. The country, on the other hand, alarmed at the collapse -of France, put efficiency before economy. Non-intervention in Foreign -Affairs, which was the policy of the Ministry, and which had been the -policy of the Tory Opposition, was discredited when Russia repudiated the -Black Sea Clauses of the Treaty of Paris, and when it was discovered that -somehow Lord Granville’s management of Foreign Affairs had left England with -enemies, and not with allies, in the councils of the world. Forgetful of the -stormy sea of foreign troubles through which Palmerston was perpetually steering -the labouring vessel of State, the nation began to long for a Minister who -could make England play a great part in the drama of Continental politics. -Lord Granville’s “surrender” in the Black Sea Conference was admittedly -dignified and adroit, but it did not on that account satisfy the country. -Why had he not pressed for an equivalent right on the part of England -and the Powers to pass the Dardanelles? That would, at all events, have -made the Black Sea an European instead of a Russian lake, or rather a -lake whose waters Russia shared with a weak and decaying Power like Turkey. -Why did he not recast the Foreign Policy of England, and proceed to check -Russia diplomatically by strengthening Austria in the Danube? If the irritation -of the United States was paralysing England in Europe, why was no -decided action taken to bring about an equitable settlement of the <i>Alabama</i> -Claims? Why was the recognition of the new French Republic delayed, when -it was known that even Von Bismarck deigned to treat with it for peace, -and when its recognition would raise up for England a friendly feeling in -France? All these and other questions were asked by men who were not -partisans, and who were, on the whole, well disposed to Mr. Gladstone’s -administration.</p> - -<p>The only reform movement, indeed, that excited any popular enthusiasm -at the beginning of 1871, was that which Mr. Trevelyan had started after -he resigned his Civil Lordship of the Admiralty, because Mr. Forster’s -Education Bill increased the grant to denominational schools. It was significant, -too, that this movement was one for making the army more -efficient by abolishing the system that permitted officers to buy their -commissions and their promotion. It had been said that nothing could be -done to render the army formidable, so long as the Commander-in-Chief -was its absolute ruler. The result was that the Duke of Cambridge -was made subordinate to the Secretary of State. Next it was said that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_387" id="page_387">{387}</a></span> -nothing could be done to improve the army so long as it was pawned to -its officers, who had acquired by purchase something like a vested right -in maintaining the existing military system. Abolition of Purchase, therefore, -in 1871, seemed to be the only point of contact between the nation and the -Cabinet, who were supposed to favour Mr. Trevelyan’s agitation. The demand -for increasing the army, when sanctioned by a Parliamentary vote, Mr. -Cardwell evaded. When merely sanctioned by public opinion he either -ignored it, or, as in the case of issuing breech-loading rifles to the -Volunteers, yielded to it after resisting it for about eight months. The -changes in the Cabinet due to Mr. Bright’s resignation further lessened -confidence in the Government. Mr. Chichester Fortescue, in spite of his -half-hearted Fenian amnesty, was on the whole a popular and active Irish -Secretary. He, however, was appointed to succeed Mr. Bright at the Board -of Trade, where he had to guide a department charged with interests of -which he was utterly ignorant. Lord Hartington, on the other hand, whose -transference to the War Office would have been gratifying to the country, -was sent to the Irish Office, to the consternation of those Liberals who had -been dissatisfied with the reactionary tone of his speeches on Irish affairs. -The general desire for new War and Foreign Ministers was ignored.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>But perhaps the most extraordinary change in public sentiment in -1871 was that which marked public opinion in relation to the marriage -of the Princess Louise. When it was announced, popular feeling was clearly -in favour of the alliance. But towards the end of January, 1871, there was -hardly a large borough in England, the member for which on addressing his -constituents, was not asked menacingly if he meant to vote for a national -dowry to the Princess. Too often, when the member said he intended to -give such a vote, he was hissed by the meeting. Mr. Forster escaped a -hostile demonstration by humorously parrying the question. He said he could -not consent to fine the Princess for marrying a Scotsman. At Halifax Mr. -Stansfeld was seriously embarrassed by the question. At Chelsea both members -nearly forfeited the usual vote of confidence passed in them by their constituents. -Mr. White at Brighton had to promise to vote against the dowry; -at Birmingham Messrs. Dixon and Muntz could hardly get a hearing from -their constituents when they defended it. The annoyance which the Queen -suffered when she saw her daughter’s name rudely handled at angry mass<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_388" id="page_388">{388}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_003" id="ill_003"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_388.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_388.jpg" height="386" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PRINCESS LOUISE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">meetings was unspeakable. This unexpected ebullition of public feeling was -due to a belief among the electors that when Royalty formed matrimonial alliances -with subjects it ought to accept the rule which prevails among persons -of private station, and frankly recognise that it is the duty of the husband -to support the wife. To demand a dowry of £40,000 and an income of £6,000 -a year for the Princess Louise, it was argued, was preposterous. The lady, -it was said, could not possibly need it, seeing that she was to marry a -nobleman who was able to maintain his wife, and who, had he not married -a princess, would have been expected to maintain her in the comfort befitting -his inherited rank and social position. But common sense soon reasserted -its sway over the nation. It was then speedily admitted that a -great country lowered its dignity when it chaffered with the Sovereign over<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_389" id="page_389">{389}</a></span> -allowances which were necessary to sustain a becoming stateliness of life in -the Royal Family.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_004" id="ill_004"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_389.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_389.jpg" height="390" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MARQUIS OF LORNE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>In the course of the discussions that were carried on as to the dowry of -the Princess Louise many ill-natured allusions had been made to the Queen’s -life of seclusion, and it had been broadly hinted that she was neglecting her -public duties. It was unfortunate that steps were not taken by some person -in authority to refute this calumny, for, if her Majesty shunned the nervous -excitement of public ceremonials, it was for the purpose of husbanding her -strength for the transaction of official business. Still, the people were kept<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_390" id="page_390">{390}</a></span> -in ignorance of that fact, and the result was that when the Queen proceeded -in person to open Parliament on the 9th of February, 1871, she was for the -first time in her life rather coldly received on the route from the Palace to -Westminster. The Speech from the Throne dealt chiefly with Foreign Affairs, -and it represented fairly the national feeling in favour of a policy of -neutrality, tempered, however, with a strong desire to preserve the existence -of France as “a principal and indispensable member of the great Commonwealth -of Europe.” Two points in it were recognised as being in a special -sense the expression of the Queen’s own views. These were (1), the cordial -congratulation of Germany on having attained a position of “solidity and -independence,” and (2), the carefully-guarded suggestion that Germany should -be content with the cession of a mountain barrier beyond the Rhine on her -new frontier, and not endanger the permanence of the peace, which must soon -come by pressing for the cession of French fortresses, which, in German hands, -must be a standing menace to France. Perhaps the most popular paragraph -in the Speech was the one which indicated that the Governments of England -and the United States, after much futile and bitter controversy, were at last -agreed that the <i>Alabama</i> dispute should be settled by friendly arbitration -before a mixed Commission. The instinct of the masses taught them that the -“latent war,” as Mr. Hamilton Fish called it, between the two kindred -peoples, explained why England had suddenly lost her influence in the councils -of Europe. By its reference to Home Affairs, the Royal Speech, for the time, -strengthened the popularity of the Ministry. It promised a Ballot Bill, a -Bill for abolishing University Tests, for readjusting Local Taxation, for -restricting the grants of Licences to Publicans, for reorganising Scottish -Education, and for reforming the Army. When the Debate on the Address -was taken, the House of Commons was obviously in a state of high nervous -tension. It was half angry with Mr. Gladstone because he had not pursued -a more spirited Foreign Policy, and because, by submitting to the abolition -of the Black Sea Clauses of the Treaty of Paris, and assuming an isolated -attitude towards France and Germany, he had made England the mere -spectator of great events, the course of which she yearned to influence, if -not to control. On the other hand, the House showed plainly that it was -thankful that the country had been kept out of the embarrassments and -entanglements of war. Indeed it was clear that, if Mr. Gladstone had pursued -a more spirited policy at the risk of enforcing it by arms, he would have been -hurled from power by the votes of the very men who now sneered at his -policy because it was spiritless.</p> - -<p>Mr. Disraeli’s tone was less patriotic than usual. He was careful to say -nothing that would commit him and his party to any other policy than that -of neutrality; but he was equally careful to encourage a belief that this policy -had been adopted, not from prudence, but from cowardice. To use one of -his own phrases, he “threatened Russia with a clouded cane;” though, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_391" id="page_391">{391}</a></span> -he knew well, the Black Sea dispute had by that time ended. He endangered -the prospects of peaceful arbitration on the <i>Alabama</i> Claims, by his -bitter allusions to the United States. He poured ridicule on the military -feebleness of the country at a crisis when a patriotic statesman would have -naturally preferred to remain silent on such a theme. But the effect of his -attack was somewhat diminished by his attempt to show that military impotence -was naturally associated with Liberal Governments. Everybody knew -that all governments, Liberal or Tory, were equally responsible for the bad -state of the army, and that they had all equally resisted the popular demand for -reform, till it grew so loud that Mr. Cardwell was forced to yield to it.</p> - -<p>The great measure of the Session was of course the Army Bill, which -was introduced by Mr. Cardwell, on the 16th of February. It abolished the -system by which rich men obtained by purchase commissions and promotion -in the army, and provided £8,000,000 to buy all commissions, as they fell in, -at their regulation and over-regulation value.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> In future, commissions were -to be awarded either to those who won them by open competition, or who -had served as subalterns in the Militia, or to deserving non-commissioned -officers. Mr. Cardwell also proposed to deprive Lords-Lieutenant of Counties -of the power of granting commissions in the militia. He laid down the -lines of a great scheme of army reorganisation which bound the auxiliary -forces closer to the regular army, gave the country 300,000 trained men, -divided locally into nine <i>corps d’armée</i>, for home defence, kept in hand a -force of 100,000 men always available for service abroad, and raised the -strength of the artillery from 180 to 336 guns. This, however, he did at -the cost of £15,000,000 a year—a somewhat extravagant sum, seeing that -170,000 of the army of defence consisted of unpaid volunteers. The debate -that followed was a rambling one. The Tory Party defended the Purchase -system because good officers had come to the front by its means. Even a -Radical like Mr. Charles Buxton was not ashamed to argue that promotion -by selection on account of fitness, would sour the officers who were passed -over with discontent. Lord Elcho, though he made a “palpable hit” in -detecting the inadequacy of Mr. Cardwell’s scheme of National Defence, -sedulously avoided justifying the sale of commissions in the army. He based -his objection to the abolition of Purchase on the ground that it would involve -“the most wicked, the most wanton, the most uncalled for waste of the -public money.” Here we have depicted a vivid contrast between the House -of Commons of the Second, and the House of the Third Reform Bill. In -these latter days Lord Wemyss—who in 1871 was Lord Elcho—would -hardly venture to obstruct any measure of reform because there was tacked -on to it a scheme for compensating “vested interests” too generously. The -Representatives of the People would now meet such an objection by simply<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_392" id="page_392">{392}</a></span> -cutting down the compensation. And Mr. Cardwell had an excellent opportunity -for doing this ready to his hands. The money paid for commissions -was far above the regulation price, and yet it was a statutory offence punishable -by two years’ imprisonment to pay over-regulation prices. In fact, -Parliament may be said to have betrayed the country in this transaction. -Not only had it connived at the offence of paying over-regulation money, -but it made its connivance a pretext for compensating the offenders for the -loss of advantages they had gained by breaking the law.</p> - -<p>Only two arguments worthy of the least attention were brought forward by -the Opposition. The first was that abolition of Purchase would weaken the -regimental system. For it was contended that promotion by selection for -officers above the rank of captain—which was the substitute proposed for -promotion by Purchase—involving, as it did, transfers from one regiment to -another, must destroy the regimental home-life.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> The second was, that it -would tend to create a professional military caste, who might, as Mr. Bernal -Osborne argued, prove dangerous to the liberties of the people. It was, however, -felt that it was absurd to sacrifice the efficiency of the Army to its -regimental home life, and that one of the strongest objections to the Purchase -system was that it rendered the Army amateurish rather than professional. -But in the long controversy that raged through the Session no argument -told more effectively than Mr. Trevelyan’s citation of Havelock’s bitter complaint -that “he was sick for years in waiting for promotion, that three sots -and two fools had purchased over him, and that if he had not had a -family to support he would not have served another hour.” Mr. Cardwell, -too, left nothing to be said when he told the House of Commons that Army -reformers were paralysed by Purchase. Every proposal for change was met -by the argument that it affected the position of officers who had paid for -that position. In fact, the British Army was literally held in pawn by its -officers, and the nation had virtually no control over it whilst it was in that -ignominious position. The debate, which seemed interminable, ended in an -anti-climax that astonished the Tory Opposition. Mr. Disraeli threw over -the advocates of Purchase, evidently dreading an appeal to the country, which -might have resulted in a refusal to compensate officers for the over-regulation -prices they had paid for their commissions in defiance of the statute. -The Army Regulation Bill thus passed the Second Reading without a division. -In Committee the Opposition resorted to obstructive tactics, and -attempted to talk out the Bill by moving a series of dilatory and frivolous -amendments. The clique of “the Colonels,” as they were called, in fact -anticipated the Parnellites of a later date in inventing and developing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_393" id="page_393">{393}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_005" id="ill_005"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_393.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_393.jpg" width="384" height="317" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>INVERARY CASTLE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">this form of factious and illegitimate opposition. Mr. Cardwell so far succumbed -that after weary weeks of strife he withdrew his reorganisation scheme, -merely insisting on the Purchase clauses, and on the transference of control -over the auxiliary forces from Lords-Lieutenant of Counties to the Queen. -But the Opposition still threatened to obstruct the Bill, and it was not till -Mr. Cardwell warned them that he could stop the payment of over-regulation -money for commissions by enforcing the law, that the measure was allowed to -pass. In the House of Lords the Bill was again obstructed, in spite of Lord -Northbrook’s able argument that until Purchase was abolished the Government -could not develop their scheme of Army reorganisation, which was to -introduce into England the Prussian system without compulsory service. -The Tory Peers did not actually venture to vote in favour of Purchase. -But they passed a resolution declining to accept the responsibility of assenting -to its abolition without further information. Mr. Gladstone met -them with a bold stroke. By statute it was enacted that only such -terms of Purchase could exist as her Majesty chose to permit by Royal -Warrant. The Queen therefore, acting on Mr. Gladstone’s advice, cancelled<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_394" id="page_394">{394}</a></span> -her warrant permitting Purchase, and thus the opposition of the Peers was -crushed by what Mr. Disraeli indignantly termed “the high-handed though -not illegal” exercise of the Royal Prerogative.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The rage of the Tory -Peers knew no bounds. And yet what could Mr. Gladstone have done? -The Ministry might have resigned, but in that case the Tory Party, as -mere advocates of Purchase, could not have commanded a majority of the -House of Commons. New Peers might have been created, but to this obsolete -and perilous method of coercing the Lords the Queen had a natural and -justifiable antipathy. Parliament might have been dissolved, but then the -appeal to the country would probably have raised the question whether it was -desirable to continue the existence of an unreformed House of Lords side by -side with a reformed House of Commons.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The only other course was to -bow to the decision of the Peers, admitting that they must be permitted to -quash a reform, which was passionately desired by the nation, and that they -must be allowed to coerce the House of Commons, as in the days when they -nominated a majority of its members. To have adopted either of these -courses would have been fatal to the authority, perhaps even to the existence, -of the Upper House. Thus the excuse of the Royal Prerogative, which -removed the subject of contention between the two Houses, was really the -means of saving the Lords from a disastrous conflict with the People. The -Peers, however, carried a vote of censure on the Government, who ignored it, -and then their Lordships passed the Army Regulation Bill without any alteration, -nay even without dividing against the clauses transferring the patronage -of the Militia from Lords-Lieutenant of Counties to the Crown.</p> - -<p>The Session of 1871 was also made memorable by the struggle over the -Ballot Bill, in the course of which nearly all the devices of factious obstruction -were exhausted. The Ballot had become since 1832 the shibboleth of -Radicalism.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> Resistance to it had been accepted as the first duty of a -Conservative. The arguments for the Ballot were (1), that by allowing men<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_395" id="page_395">{395}</a></span> -to vote in secret they were free from intimidation, and (2), that when votes -were given in secret men were not likely to buy them, for they had no -longer any means of knowing whether value was ever given for their money. -On the other hand, the Tories argued (1), that to vote in secret was cowardly -and unmanly; (2), that it was unconstitutional; and (3), that it weakened -the sense of responsibility in the voter who had no longer the pressure -of public opinion on him.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> But though these arguments were elaborated -at enormous length, they were felt by the average elector to be wiredrawn -and academic. To him the practical object of any system of election -was to get the voter to give effect to his own real opinion, and not the -opinion of somebody else, in choosing a member. There could be nothing -constitutional, or moral, or distinctively “English,” in a man who desired to -be represented by A voting for B, either because his landlord or his employer -or some of his neighbours intimidated or bribed him into doing so. Nor -could his sense of duty be strengthened under a system which enabled him -to cast the responsibility for a false vote on those who had coerced or bribed -him into giving it. No doubt the prospect of getting rid of violent scenes -and of the demonstrations of turbulent mobs round the polling-booths where -men voted in public, induced many independent politicians, who were not -insensible to the weight of some of the Conservative arguments, to accept the -Ballot. Strictly speaking, when the question was lifted out of the mire of -mere party controversy it came to this—whether Englishmen, in giving their -votes, preferred the protection of secrecy, to the protection of a strong law -punishing those who attempted to interfere with their independence. To set -the law in motion against a rich man in England is a costly, and sometimes -a dangerous, process. Hence the majority of Englishmen preferred the protection -of secrecy.</p> - -<p>Mr. Forster’s Ballot Bill was introduced on the 28th of February, and -when the Second Reading had been passed after three nights’ dull debate -in June, the Conservatives attempted to talk it out by reviving, on various -frivolous pretexts, a discussion on the principle of the Bill in Committee.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> -After these tactics had been exhausted, the Opposition endeavoured to smother -the Bill with dilatory amendments. The supporters of the Government, on -the other hand, attempted to defeat the factious obstruction of their opponents -by remaining silent during the debates. The obstructive party, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_396" id="page_396">{396}</a></span> -a long and tedious fight, were beaten, and the Bill passed through Committee, -but shorn of the clauses which cast election expenses on the rates, and made -all election expenses not included in the public returns, corrupt expenses.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> -When the Bill reached the House of Lords, the real motive which dictated -the apparently futile and stupid obstruction of the Conservative Opposition in -the House of Commons, was quickly revealed. The Lords rejected the Bill on -the 18th of August, not merely because they disliked and dreaded it, but -because it had come to them too late for proper consideration.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_006" id="ill_006"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_396.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_396.jpg" width="319" height="391" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MR. W. E. FORSTER.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Russell and Sons.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_397" id="page_397">{397}</a></span></p> - -<p>Ministers were more successful with some other measures. In spite of -much Conservative opposition they passed a Bill abolishing religious tests in -the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and throwing open all academic -distinctions and privileges except Divinity Degrees and Clerical Fellowships to -students of all creeds and faiths. Mr. Bruce passed a Trades Union Bill, -which gave all registered Unions the legal <i>status</i> and legal protection of -ordinary corporations.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> The vague language of the old Act touching intimidation -was swept away, and only such forms of coercion as were not -only in themselves obviously brutal, but could also be clearly defined, were -made punishable. A decision of the law courts, however, deprived the Unions -of many of the benefits they had expected to gain under the Act.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Mr. -Bruce’s Bill, regulating the licensing of public-houses, another large measure, -was abandoned, but not till it had converted all the Radical and Liberal -publicans and their <i>clientèle</i> into stern and uncompromising Tories. Mr. -Goschen’s scheme for reforming Local Government and Taxation was far-reaching -and comprehensive, but it alarmed the landlords, for it divided rates -between owners and occupiers, and levied rates on game rents.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> - -<p>But by far the most damaging failure of the Session was Mr. Lowe’s -Budget. It was known that the large outlay on the Army, due to the -abolition of Purchase and other causes, would leave a deficit of about -£2,000,000 to be met by Mr. Lowe in the coming year’s accounts. How was -he going to meet it? An elastic revenue and rigid economy in expenditure -had left Mr. Lowe with a surplus of £396,681. But he had on the next -year’s account an estimated deficit of £2,713,000,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> which he proposed to -meet by a tax on matches—“not on matrimonial engagements,” as he remarked,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_398" id="page_398">{398}</a></span>—by -a readjustment of the Probate and Succession Duties, and by an increase -of about one penny farthing in the £ of income-tax.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> The Radicals attacked -the Budget furiously, and Mr. Disraeli formed with them what Mr. Gladstone -termed an “unprincipled coalition.” But the Tories and the Radicals objected -to the Budget on entirely different grounds. Mr. White, member for Brighton, -quoting Mr. Bright’s declaration that a Government which could not rule -the country with £70,000,000 of revenue did not deserve public confidence, -complained of the increase in the Army Estimates, and warned the House -that if such enormous sums were spent on the protection of property, the -people would elect a Parliament pledged to tax property to pay them. Mr. -Disraeli, correctly gauging popular feeling, objected to the match tax, the -proposal of which enraged the poor match-makers of the East End of London. -He gave just expression to the feeling not only of his own Party, but of -almost all the rich men on the Liberal benches, when he denounced any -increase in the Succession Duties. The Government only escaped defeat by -hinting that they would abandon the Match Tax. After some fencing, the -whole Budget was reconstructed, the Succession Duties being also given up, -and the additional supplies needed by the Government being met by a twopenny -income-tax.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> There could be no better illustration of the strength -and weakness of the Gladstone Government than this Budget. Theoretically -and logically, it was quite defensible. Purchase in the Army had existed for -the convenience and advantage of the wealthy classes. It was, therefore, fair -to increase the Succession Duties in order to pay the expense of abolishing it. -The Match Tax again satisfied the ideal of public financiers, who all yearned -for the discovery of an impost that should fall on an article which, though -used by the masses, was yet not food, or one of those “luxuries” like tea, -which can with difficulty be distinguished from necessaries. Moreover, as Professor -Stanley Jevons proved, the Match Tax would have laid even on the very -poor less than one-third of the burden which had been imposed by the shilling -duty on corn, that Mr. Lowe had repealed in 1869.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> Unfortunately, however, -Mr. Lowe, in preparing his Budget, ignored the prejudices and foibles of the -people. He imagined that if he could defend his proposals logically, they -would be accepted with gratitude and unanimity.</p> - -<p>In Foreign Affairs, the Government did not improve their position in 1871, -and yet they achieved one success, for which they failed to obtain sufficient credit. -In May, the Queen was gratified to learn that a basis for settling the outstanding<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_399" id="page_399">{399}</a></span> -dispute between the United States and Great Britain had been at last discovered. -It had been her firm conviction that this quarrel had caused England -to lose her traditional influence over the affairs of Europe. The first essential -step towards regaining that influence, in her opinion, was taken when it was -agreed to submit to a Joint Commission of eminent Englishmen and Americans -in Washington the points at issue between the two nations.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> The American -Commissioners, when they met their English colleagues, refused to consider -claims for damages due to the Fenian raids in Canada. Not ignoring the -Confederate raids from Canada on Vermont, the English Commissioners, on -their side, did not press this point. With great courage and frankness, the -British Government, through their Commissioners, expressed their sincere regret -that Confederate cruisers had escaped from British ports to prey on American -commerce. But they did not admit that they were to blame for such an -untoward occurrence, nor did they offer what Mr. Sumner had demanded, any -apology for recognising the Southern States as belligerents. American claims -against England, and English claims against America, “growing out of” the Civil -War, it was agreed should be alike referred to a Commission of Arbitration,<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> -and the English Commissioners admitting that some just rule for determining -international liability in such cases should be laid down, accepted the principle -that neutrals are to be held responsible for negligence in allowing warships -to be equipped or built in their ports for use against a belligerent. The -English Commissioners next agreed to let this principle be applied to the <i>Alabama</i> -Claims, and though they were blamed for allowing these claims to be determined -by an <i>ex post facto</i> rule, it was difficult for them to adopt any other -course. The rule was one that was essential to the protection of British -commerce from American privateers in the event of England being engaged in -any Continental war. To adopt it as just and right for claims that might -accrue in the future, rendered it hardly possible to reject it as unjust and -wrong for outstanding claims that had accrued in the past. As to the Fishery -dispute, citizens of the United States, it was agreed, were to have for ten -years the right to fish on the Canadian coast, and Canadians were to have a -similar right of fishing on the coasts of the United States down to the 39th -parallel of latitude. As the British Commissioners insisted that the balance -of advantage was here conceded to the United States, and that it therefore -ought to be paid for by them, that point was by mutual agreement referred -to another Commission for adjustment. The chronic controversy as to the -San Juan boundary was to be referred to the Emperor of Germany. These<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_400" id="page_400">{400}</a></span> -arrangements as embodied in the Washington Treaty were subjected to some -carping criticism in England. Lord Russell moved, in the House of Lords, -that the Queen should be asked to refuse to ratify the instrument, and Lord -Salisbury taunted the Government with sacrificing the position of England as -a neutral power. But the tone of the debate showed that in their hearts the -Conservatives and the old Whigs were thankful that the country had been so -honourably extricated from an embarrassing diplomatic conflict, and their -attack on the Treaty was like that made by Mr. Sumner and General Butler -on the other side of the Atlantic, merely a Party sortie.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> In a few weeks it -was universally admitted that the object which the Government had in view -had been attained. As if by magic, the feeling of the United States towards -England changed from one of menacing exasperation, to one of growing -sympathy and friendliness. For the first time in the course of eighty years -the average American stump orator found he could not evoke a round of -applause, by hotly-spiced denunciations of England and Englishmen.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_007" id="ill_007"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_400.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_400.jpg" width="397" height="276" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BALMORAL CASTLE, FROM THE NORTH-WEST.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>But, speaking generally, the Foreign Policy of the Government discredited -it. In the struggle between France and Germany the Cabinet preserved a cold<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_401" id="page_401">{401}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_008" id="ill_008"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_401.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_401.jpg" width="517" height="402" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p> -General Faure. -<span style="margin-left:2em;">General Wimpffen.</span> -<span style="margin-left:2em;">Von Moltke.</span> -<span style="margin-left:2em;">Von Bismarck.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>AFTER SEDAN: DISCUSSING THE CAPITULATION (<i>From the Picture by Georg Bleibtreu.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">neutrality, at a time when popular feeling would have supported it in protesting -against the cession of Alsace and Lorraine to the conquering power. For this -attitude, however, Lord Granville had a plausible excuse. Though the nation -was sulky because an effective protest had not been made, it would not have -tolerated any policy that might have led the country into war. Moreover, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_402" id="page_402">{402}</a></span> -Army had yet to be reorganised, and till that was done the voice of England -was naturally of little account in the affairs of Europe. At the same time -the meek and spiritless expression which Ministers habitually gave to their -neutrality, irritated a proud and sensitive democracy who were every day -taunted by Tory orators and writers with permitting themselves to be governed -by a cowardly Cabinet. It seems just to say, even when one makes every -allowance for the difficulties of their position, that in their handling of the -diplomacy of the Franco-German War, Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville missed -a great opportunity. After the collapse of France at Sedan had been followed -by that long series of German victories which ended in the capitulation of -Paris, and the Armistice Convention between M. Jules Favre and Count von -Bismarck (28th January, 1871), Englishmen were all agreed on one point. -To cede Alsace and Lorraine to Germany was, in their opinion, to create a -French Poland, or Venetia on the Rhine, whose chronic discontent must permanently -imperil the peace of the world. But when the English Government -in February attempted to dissuade Germany from exacting terms that inevitably -rendered revenge the first duty of every French patriot, England found herself -isolated. None of the Powers were prepared to join her in reviewing the -conditions of peace which Germany might impose, and the German Chancellor -never even deigned to answer the English remonstrance. England, in fact, had -moved in the matter too late.</p> - -<p>As far back as the 17th of October, 1870, Sir Andrew Buchanan told Lord -Granville that the Czar, in his private letters to King William of Prussia, had -expressed a hope that no French territory would be annexed. On the 4th of -November the Italian Minister informed Lord Granville that whilst Italy -admitted that French fortresses must be surrendered to the Germans, yet -she held that there should be no cession of territory. Sir A. Paget, writing -from Florence, also conveyed to Lord Granville about the same time the views -of Signor Visconti to the effect that “the Italian Government had several -times expressed the opinion that a peace in which Germany would seek her -guarantees by the dismantling of fortresses, &c., would afford better securities -for its duration than one which would be likely to create a new question of -nationalities.” Here there was a basis for a joint representation on the part -of the European Powers—for Austria all through had only been held back -through fear of Russia—both to France and Germany. France might have -been warned that, in spite of M. Jules Favre’s formula,<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> she, as the defeated -aggressor, had no right to object to her menacing strongholds being razed. -Germany might have been reminded that, in the interests not of France but -of Europe, it was her duty as a great and civilising Power not to demand a -cession of territory, the recovery of which must be to France an object of -ceaseless striving.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_403" id="page_403">{403}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Queen would gladly have used her personal influence with the German -Emperor in urging on the Court of Berlin the policy and justice of this representation. -Lord Granville’s subordinates had assured him that France, -despite M. Favre’s heroics, would agree to anything if spared the surrender -of territory. It is now known that even Bismarck himself was not desirous -of the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine against the will of their inhabitants.<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> -The German generals had, however, claimed what they deemed a safe, -military frontier, and though Von Bismarck induced them not to insist on -the cession of Belfort, he could not repel their demand for Alsace, a third -part of Lorraine, and Metz and Strasburg. The German Crown Prince was, -moreover, understood to be opposed to any irritating and unnecessary annexation. -Hence all the chances were in favour of success, if Lord Granville, -acting with Russia and Italy, had approached Germany with a cordial and -courteous appeal, to reject the advice of her military party, and moderate -their demands in the interests of Europe.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> But the golden opportunity of -strengthening Von Bismarck’s hands was lost. Lord Granville not only -refused to abandon his attitude of rigid neutrality, but he couched his policy -in phrases so ostentatiously deferential to Germany, that they almost justified -the half-contemptuous replies which Von Bismarck at this time sent to all -despatches from the English Foreign Office, which he did not entirely ignore. -In February, 1871, when Lord Granville at last plucked up heart to remonstrate -with Germany, her victorious armies had made sacrifices that rendered -his tardy protests impertinent. Italy and Russia had sense enough to recognise -this fact. They therefore refused to join England when Lord Granville -sent his remonstrance to Von Bismarck, who tossed it into his diplomatic waste-paper -basket.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> - -<p>It may be readily conceived, then, that, despite its public services, its -invincible majority, and the failure of the Tory leaders to put before the -country any policy of their own, signs of decay were already visible in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_404" id="page_404">{404}</a></span> -Government. Mr. Bruce had converted every publican into an enemy. The -Dissenters had vowed vengeance against the Ministry, because Mr. Forster -had increased the grant to denominational schools. The officers of the Army -and the upper and upper-middle classes of society had resolved to punish -Mr. Gladstone because he had allowed Mr. Cardwell to abolish Purchase. -A few Radicals and many Whigs were also alarmed, because it had been -abolished by Royal Prerogative, the use of which to coerce the Peers -was resented by the aristocracy as an insult. The abolition of Purchase -was to have been followed by an effective reorganisation of the Army. -Hence the nation was profoundly disappointed to find the question of Army -organisation made light of by Ministers during the recess. Mr. Cardwell’s -project for autumn manœuvres on a large scale on the Berkshire Downs had -to be abandoned, because his Control Department could not feed or supply -his troops. When he substituted for this scheme a sham campaign in the -neighbourhood of Aldershot, the Transport Service was found to be so bad -that the Artillery had to be drawn upon to supply it with horses, carts, and -drivers. The disaster to the <i>Agincourt</i> and the wreck of the <i>Megæra</i>, also gave -colour to slanders against the Government which had issued from the -Admiralty from the day that Mr. Childers began to reform its wasteful -administration, and Mr. Goschen had continued his work.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> - -<p>The Duke of Somerset, after the failure of the Berkshire campaign, had -scoffed at the Government because they gave the nation “armies that could -not march and ships that could not swim,” and the epigram was soon everywhere -repeated. Mr. Gladstone’s appointment of Sir Robert Collier, the -Attorney-General, to a seat on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council -was denounced far and wide as a job perpetrated by a tricky evasion of the -law.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> The Prime Minister’s management of the House of Commons had also -cost him many friends. As Mr. Disraeli once said, it was like that of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_405" id="page_405">{405}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_009" id="ill_009"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_405.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_405.jpg" width="410" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>METZ.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">schoolmaster who was a little too fond of exhibiting the rod. Mr. Ayrton -and Mr. Lowe during the Session even enhanced their reputation for irritating -those who transacted business with them. But at every turn Mr. -Gladstone was embarrassed by his Parliamentary majority. It had been -elected to carry reforms which most of them individually dreaded. Their -desire was therefore to discover, not pretexts for pushing the Ministry onward, -but excuses which they could plausibly justify to their constituents for holding -Ministers back. As for the working classes, they had imagined when Mr. -Gladstone came to office “something would be done for them.” But nothing -except the Trades Union Bill had been conceded to their demands, and even -that measure was defaced by irritating provisions, inserted to please their -masters. Mr. Disraeli’s strategy in these circumstances was artful, if not -altogether admirable. He gently fomented every rising discontent. Without -committing his Party to redress the wrongs of the discontented, he left on -the country the impression that under his administration there would be less -social friction than then existed, whilst there could not be much less social -reform.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_406" id="page_406">{406}</a></span></p> - -<p>Other circumstances tended to strengthen Conservative feeling in England. -Just as the triumph of democracy in the United States at the end of the -Civil War gave a great impetus to English Liberalism, so did the march of -events in France after the conclusion of peace produce a reaction in England -against democracy. The French elections resulted in the return of the -Assembly which met at Bordeaux on the 12th of February. Its majority -consisted of Legitimists and Orleanists, and, since the Convocation of the -Estates General in 1789, no French Parliament had ever met which contained -so many men of high rank and good estate. It had no special mandate, but -it very sensibly took in hand the task of making peace with Germany, and, -having superseded the Government of National Defence, it elected M. Thiers -as Chief of the Executive. He formed a Ministry which represented the best -men of all parties. The new Government were confronted at the outset with -an unexpected difficulty. The National Guard of Paris had been allowed to -retain their arms, and they not only broke into revolt, but seized the capital -and established in Paris the revolutionary Government of the Commune, -General Cluseret, a revolutionary “soldier of fortune,” being appointed Minister -of War. The idea of the revolt seems to have been to convert the ten great -cities of France into autonomous States in federal alliance with the rest of -the country, and the insurgents began by giving Paris a separate Government, -Executive, Army, and Legislature. The Red Republicans imagined that -by this device they could emancipate the artisans from the control of the -peasants, who, under universal suffrage, were masters of France. The Commune -was founded by honest fanatics, but it let loose the suppressed blackguardism -of Paris, and before it was stamped out by the Army and the -Government of Versailles, terrible atrocities not unworthy of the worst days -of the “Terror” had been committed by the rabble whom it had armed, and -was powerless to restrain. In England the excesses of the Commune were -pointed to by Conservative writers and speakers as an apt illustration of the -natural and logical tendencies of Radicalism.</p> - -<p>The Queen’s domestic life during 1871 was not much disturbed by the -petty demonstrations of Republican feeling which were in vogue at the -beginning of the year. They did not influence either the Ministry or Parliament; -and when, on the 13th of February, Mr. Gladstone proposed the vote -for the Princess Louise’s dowry in the House of Commons, only three -Members voted against it.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> Mr. Disraeli, though he supported the proposal,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_407" id="page_407">{407}</a></span> -gently tickled the sympathies of its opponents by suggesting that the system -of voting Royal grants should be changed. His idea was to maintain the -Crown by an estate of its own, ample enough to cover all its personal and -family expenses, and that Parliament should not be called on to grant money -to the Queen save for expenditure on public pageantry.</p> - -<p>When it was announced that the Queen had fixed the 21st of March for -the Princess Louise’s marriage, the High Church Party were indignant that the -ceremony was to be performed in Lent. They argued that when Royalty set -an example contrary to the teachings of the Church, the influence of the clergy -was weakened over, what the <i>Guardian</i> newspaper called, “the large area of -society which lies between the inner circle of the devout and the multitude -of the unattached outside the consecrated ground.” No heed, however, was -paid to these remonstrances, and the Royal wedding, when it took place at -Windsor, completely diverted popular attention from the Communist Reign of -Terror in Paris. The enthusiasm of the capital, it is true, was rather qualified. -The West End tradesmen were sulky because of the withdrawal of the Queen -from the gaieties of the London season; and the populace was annoyed -because the marriage did not take place in Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s. -But the provinces were unusually lavish in their demonstrations of sympathy -with the Sovereign, and with the wedded pair who had broken down the barrier -of caste which had been so long maintained between the Royal Family and -the nation.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p> - -<p>The town of Windsor was <i>en fête</i> for the occasion, the people crowding the -Castle Green, and the Eton boys occupying the Castle Hill. The police and -soldiery kept a passage open for the guests who came from London by special -train, and who were conveyed in Royal carriages to St. George’s Chapel amid -general cheering and joyous ringing of bells. The Ministers of State, Foreign -Princes and Ambassadors, and other prominent persons, were gay in rich and -glittering uniforms. Of the bridal party, the first to arrive was the Duke -of Argyll, with his family. He wore the dress of a Highland chieftain, with -philabeg, sporran, claymore, and jewelled dirk. A plaid of Campbell tartan -was thrown across his shoulders, over which was also hung the Order of the -Thistle. He was accompanied by the Duchess of Argyll, who shone in silver -and white satin. The Lord Chancellor, in wig and gown, and Lord Halifax, in -Ministerial uniform of blue and gold, walked up the central aisle and took their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_408" id="page_408">{408}</a></span> -seats, along with members of the Cabinet and the Privy Council, in the stalls -to the left of the altar. Then came the Princess Christian, in pink satin, -trimmed with white lace, and some Indian potentates, radiant in auriferous -scarlet. Lord Lorne, the bridegroom, next entered, arrayed in the uniform of the -Argyllshire Regiment of Volunteer Artillery, of which he was Colonel, looking -pale and nervous. He was supported by his groomsmen, Lord Percy and -Lord Ronald Leveson-Gower. The Princess Beatrice arrived evidently in high -spirits, and wearing a pink satin dress, her sunny hair flowing freely down her -back. The Princess of Wales, who received an almost affectionate greeting, -was the last of the Royal party to come. All the members of the Royal -Family were then present, with the exception of Prince Alfred. As the -procession advanced up the nave, the bride was supported on the right by -the Queen, and on the left by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg -and Gotha. The Princess, in her dress of white satin and veil of -Honiton lace, was voted one of the most charming brides on whom the sun -had shone. Eight bridesmaids followed, all daughters of dukes and earls, -clad in white satin, decorated with red camellias. The Queen appeared in -black satin, relieved by the broad blue ribbon of the Garter, and by a fall of -white lace, which nearly reached to the ground. The service was read by the -Bishop of London, the Queen giving away her daughter.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> After the ceremony, -the Queen took the bride in her arms, and kissed her heartily, while the -Marquis of Lorne knelt and kissed the Queen’s hand. The Royal wedding -breakfast was served in the magnificent oak-room of Windsor Castle, the -company including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince Arthur, the -Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince and Princess Teck, the Duke of -Saxe-Coburg, Prince and Princess Christian. Another breakfast for the -general company was served in the Waterloo Gallery. When the newly-married -pair left the Castle for Claremont, it was noticed that the bride wore -a charming travelling costume of Campbell tartan. As they departed, their -numerous relatives showered over them a quantity of white satin slippers, and, -following an ancient Highland usage, a new broom was also thrown after -them as they got into the carriage. The Oriental custom of flinging rice -after a wedded couple, introduced into England by the family of Musurus -Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador, had not then become the <i>mode</i> in the highest -circles of Society.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_010" id="ill_010"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_001.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_001.jpg" width="637" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS LOUISE. (<i>See p. 408.</i>)</p> - -<p>(<i>After the Picture by Sydney P. Hall.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_409" id="page_409">{409}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_011" id="ill_011"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_409.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_409.jpg" width="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OPENING OF THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>On the 29th of March, in the presence of a brilliant and fashionable crowd -of upwards of 10,000 persons, the Queen opened the Royal Albert Hall at -Kensington. The Members of the Provisional Committee met the Prince of -Wales, their President, and, on the arrival of the Queen at half-past twelve -o’clock, the Heir Apparent read the address to her Majesty, which could -hardly be heard, because a provoking echo mimicked the tones of his voice -whilst he described the completion of the Hall. The Queen having handed -to the Prince a written answer, said, “I wish to express my great admiration -of this beautiful Hall, and my earnest wishes for its complete success.” After -a prayer from the Bishop of London, the Prince exclaimed, “The Queen declares -this Hall to be now opened!” an announcement which was followed by a -burst of cheering, the National Anthem, and the discharge of the Park guns. -Then a concert was given, which included the performance of a cantata written -expressly for the occasion by Sir Michael Costa.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_410" id="page_410">{410}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the 21st of June the Queen again appeared in London to open the -new buildings of St. Thomas’s Hospital on the Albert Embankment, and her -neatly-worded reply to the address which was presented to her on that occasion -attracted considerable attention, because it was rumoured that it had been carefully -written out by herself. It ran as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I thank you for your loyal Address. I congratulate you on the completion of a work of -so much importance to the suffering poor of the Metropolis. The necessity for abandoning the -ancient site of your Hospital has been wisely turned to account by the erection of more spacious -and commodious buildings in this central situation, and I rejoice that a position of appropriate -beauty and dignity has been found for them on the noble roadway which now follows the course -of this part of the Thames, of which they will henceforth be among the most conspicuous -ornaments. It gives me pleasure to recognise in the plan of your buildings, so carefully adapted -to check the growth of disease, ample and satisfactory evidence of your resolution to take -advantage of the best suggestions of Science for the alleviation of suffering, and the complete -and speedy cure of the sick and disabled. These great purposes are not least effectually promoted -by an adequate supply of careful and well-trained nurses, and I do not forget that in -this respect your Hospital is especially fortunate through the connection with it of the staff -trained under the direction of the lady whose name will always remain associated with the care -of the wounded and the sick. I thank you for the kind expressions you have used in regard -to the marriage of my dear daughter.”</p></div> - -<p>Early in summer it was bruited about that an application would be made -to the House of Commons for a settlement on Prince Arthur. At first it was -whispered that he was to be created Duke of Ulster, and that he was to live in -Ireland, an eccentric tribute to the loyalty of the Orangemen, who when the -Irish Church was disestablished threatened to “kick the Queen’s Crown into -the Boyne.” The idea, however, was abandoned, and the agitation against -the Princess Louise’s dowry now broke out anew, especially in Birmingham, -in the form of a protest against the usual portion being voted to the Prince -on the attainment of his majority. But Mr. Gladstone was not to be intimidated -by the Republicans. On the 27th of July he brought down to the House of -Commons a Royal Message requesting the customary allowance for a Prince -of the Blood to be voted.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> A few days afterwards the Royal Message was -debated, Mr. Peter Taylor moving the rejection of the resolution voting £15,000 -a year to the Prince, and Mr. Dixon moving its reduction from £15,000 to -£10,000. Eleven members voted for Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Dixon found fifty-one -supporters. The grant was easily carried, Mr. Gladstone basing his case -on the implied contract made by Parliament to support the Royal Family when -the Crown Lands were taken over by the State, and Mr. Disraeli arguing that -the English workmen could easily afford to pay for their Monarchy because they -were the richest class in the world. But Mr. Gladstone seemed a little nervous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_411" id="page_411">{411}</a></span> -when Mr. Dixon indicated that he was forced to demand a reduction of the vote -by his constituents, among whom Republicanism, he said, was spreading, because -they considered it cheap. The Prime Minister accordingly took occasion to hint -that it might be well to establish an arrangement which would render similar -applications to Parliament unnecessary, and Mr. Disraeli, not to be outdone, -made his bid for popularity by suggesting that the Crown should be allowed -to charge Crown Lands for the Queen’s children, just as English nobles -charged their estates with portions for their younger sons. Perhaps some of -the acerbity of the Radical or Republican members was due to the meddlesomeness -of the Home Secretary, Mr. Bruce, who prohibited a public meeting in -Trafalgar Square which was fixed for the same evening on which the Royal -Message was debated, in order to protest against the grant.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> The Prince took -the title of Duke of Connaught, and settled down to follow a useful career -in the Army.</p> - -<p>In September the country was greatly grieved to learn that the Queen -had fallen seriously ill. Those who had been reproaching her for retiring from -active life now began to suspect what was the truth, namely, that the Queen’s -labours were not materially lessened by her withdrawal from the exciting -functions of each London season. Her illness took the form of a sore throat, -accompanied by glandular swellings under the arm, and the sympathetic sentiment -of London was expressed by the <i>Times</i>, which mournfully regretted that -the Sovereign had ever been pressed to overwork herself.</p> - -<p>Gradually the prostration which this illness had caused passed away; but, -unhappily, no sooner had her own health ceased to give the Queen cause for -anxiety, than that of her eldest son broke down. Nothing could exceed the -alarm of the country when it was announced on the 20th of November that -the Heir to the Throne was smitten at Sandringham with typhoid fever—the -very malady which had cut off his father in his prime. The disease, it -was said, had probably been contracted when the Prince was visiting Lord -Londesborough at Scarborough, and it was a significant coincidence, not only -that Lord Chesterfield, who was staying there at the same time, had been -attacked by and had quickly succumbed to the fever, but that six other -guests of Lord Londesborough’s had complained of being unwell. On the -other hand, it was pointed out that a groom at Sandringham, who had not -quitted the place, was smitten at the same time as the Prince, and that it was -therefore to bad sanitation at Sandringham that the mishap must be traced. -Day by day the nation read the reassuring bulletins with growing anxiety,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_412" id="page_412">{412}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_012" id="ill_012"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_412.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_412.jpg" width="396" height="323" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PRINCE OF WALES’S ILLNESS: CROWD AT THE MANSION HOUSE READING THE BULLETINS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">relieved only by the knowledge, not only that the Queen herself had taken -her place at the sufferer’s sick bed, and that the ever self-sacrificing Princess -Louis of Hesse—a nurse of high technical skill—had installed herself in charge -of the sick room. The Princess of Wales was herself suffering, doubtless -from the same poison which had attacked her husband. Day by day the -bulletins were eagerly scanned, not only in the newspapers, but by excited -crowds at public places like the Mansion House and Marlborough House, where -they were exhibited. After twenty-five days of suffering the Prince, who had -shown signs of recovery, had a relapse, and then the worst was feared. The -Prince it was thought must die, and the shock of the bereavement might be -fatal to the Queen, whose health was already sadly impaired. Englishmen -remembered for the first time that only two precarious lives—one of which was -flickering between life and death—stood between the country and a Regency. But -what might a Regency portend? It had been fatal to the Monarchy in France; -within the memory of living men it had nearly proved fatal to the Monarchy -in England. When it was announced on the 9th of December that all the -members of the Royal Family had suddenly been summoned to Sandringham, -securities in the Money Market, with the exception of Consols, fell from one to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_413" id="page_413">{413}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_013" id="ill_013"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_413.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_413.jpg" width="494" height="379" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THANKSGIVING DAY: THE PROCESSION AT LUDGATE HILL. (<i>From the Picture by N. Chevalier.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">two per cent. Twice the physicians warned the Queen that the end was at hand, -but at last, on the 14th of December—strangely enough the tenth anniversary of -his father’s death—the Prince made a rally, and the bulletins again became more -hopeful. Prayers had been offered up for his recovery in every church in the -empire, and even the Republican societies had sent addresses of sympathy to the -Sovereign. The heart of the people had gone forth to her and to the Princess<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_414" id="page_414">{414}</a></span> -of Wales in sincere and unrestrained sympathy, and as the year closed an official -announcement was made which dispelled the gloom that had settled on all -classes. It stated that, though Sir James Paget had not left Sandringham, the -Prince was then (29th December) progressing favourably. This was followed by -a letter from the Queen to the Home Secretary, in which she said:—“The Queen -is very anxious to express her deep sense of the touching sympathy of the whole -nation on the occasion of the alarming illness of her dear son the Prince of -Wales. The universal feeling shown by her people during these painful, terrible -days, and the sympathy evinced by them with herself and her beloved daughter -the Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy at the improvement in the -Prince of Wales’s state, have made a deep and lasting impression on her heart -which can never be effaced. It was, indeed, nothing new to her, for the Queen -had met with the same sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness -removed from her side the mainstay of her life—the best, wisest, and kindest of -husbands. The Queen wishes to express at the same time, on the part of the -Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude, for she has been as deeply -touched as the Queen by the great and universal manifestation of loyalty and -sympathy. The Queen cannot conclude without expressing her hope that her -faithful subjects will continue their prayers to God for the complete recovery of -her dear son to health and strength.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE “ALABAMA” CLAIMS.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Thanksgiving Day—The Procession—Behaviour of the Crowd—Scene in St. Paul’s—Decorations and Illuminations—Letter -from Her Majesty—Attack on the Queen—John Brown—The Queen’s Speech—The <i>Alabama</i> -Claims—The “Consequential Damages”—Living in a Blaze of Apology—Story of the “Indirect Claims”—The -Arbitrators’ Award—Sir Alexander Cockburn’s Judgment—Passing of the Ballot Act—The Scottish Education -Act—The Licensing Bill—Public Health Bill—Coal Mines Regulation Bill—The Army Bill—Admiralty -Reforms—Ministerial Defeat on Local Taxation—Starting of the Home Government Association in Dublin—Assassination -of Lord Mayo—Stanley’s Discovery of Livingstone—Dr. Livingstone’s Interview with the -Queen—Her Majesty’s Gift to Mr. Stanley—Death of Dr. Norman Macleod—The Japanese Embassy—The -Burmese Mission—Her Majesty at Holyrood Palace—Death of Her Half-Sister.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">During</span> the first weeks of 1872 the convalescence of the Heir Apparent seemed -to obscure all other topics of political interest. The anti-monarchical agitation, -which Sir Charles Dilke had fomented, not only by his votes in Parliament, but -by his speeches in the country, suddenly subsided, showing that the sentiment -of affectionate regard which had linked the Crown and the nation together -in the past, was not to be destroyed by political factions who were trading -on the temporary and local estrangement of the Queen from her subjects in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_415" id="page_415">{415}</a></span> -the capital. Faction, indeed, was for the time silenced throughout the land, -and the Queen soon saw that it was the universal desire of the nation that -the recovery of the Prince, which had saved the country from much anxiety -as to its future under a Regency, should be celebrated by a solemn public -function. It was therefore announced in the middle of January that the -Queen would proceed in State to St. Paul’s Cathedral on as early a day as -could be fixed after the 20th of February, to return thanks for the recovery -of her son. Ultimately Tuesday, the 27th of February, was fixed for the -ceremony.</p> - -<p>The day was clear and bright, though cold, and a wintry sun shone on the -splendid pageant, for which elaborate preparations had been made many days -before. The demand for tickets to view the spectacle was unprecedented. -Carriages were hired at fabulous prices, and writing on the morning of the -ceremony to his daughter-in-law, Lord Shaftesbury tells her that when he had -ordered a brougham on the previous day at his job-master’s he was told -“that every vehicle had been pre-engaged for weeks. Thoroughfares like -St. James’s Street were impassable, because for two days before the event -they were blocked by crowds who had come to see the preparations.”<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> In -fact, as Bishop Wilberforce says in a passage in his Diary, London was “quite -wild on Thanksgiving Day.”<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> By general desire the day was celebrated as a -national holiday. As for the crowds in the streets along the line of <i>route</i>, they -were said to number from a million to a million and a quarter of spectators, -and the decorations far surpassed any similar display ever seen in London. -The procession started from Buckingham Palace at five minutes past twelve -o’clock, led by the carriages of the Speaker, the Lord Chancellor, and the -Duke of Cambridge, and was composed of nine royal carriages, in the last -of which the Queen was seen accompanied by the Prince and Princess of -Wales. Her Majesty seemed to be in good health, and she looked supremely -happy. The Prince was pale and rather haggard, but his bright and -happy nature shone through a countenance radiant with gratitude, and he -kept bowing all along the way to the multitudes who cheered him. The -hearty reciprocal feeling between the Queen, the Prince, and the populace, -which the shouts of such a vast crowd expressed, rendered the scene a -magnificent demonstration of national loyalty to a popular Sovereign. At -Temple Bar the Queen was met by the Lord Mayor and municipal dignitaries -of the City of London, arrayed in their robes, and mounted on white horses. -Having alighted, the Lord Mayor delivered to and received back from the -Queen the City sword, according to the usual custom. But, contrary to -precedent and to general expectation, the gates of Temple Bar were not -closed against the Queen, so that it was unnecessary to present her with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_416" id="page_416">{416}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_014" id="ill_014"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_416.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_416.jpg" width="342" height="389" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THANKSGIVING DAY: ST. PAUL’S ILLUMINATED.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">keys. The Lord Mayor and his colleagues having re-mounted their steeds, -preceded the Royal procession to St. Paul’s. Precisely at one o’clock the -Queen entered the Cathedral through the pavilion erected upon the steps. -Its approach was covered with crimson cloth, and it was ornamented with the -royal arms and with the escutcheon of the Prince of Wales. On it there was -the inscription “I was glad when they said unto me, We will go into the house -of the Lord.” Within the Cathedral the scene was imposing and impressive, -for all that was exalted in station, high in official position, or eminent by reason -of genius, talent, and public services was represented in the congregation of -13,000 persons. Representatives of the Court, the Princes of India, the -Colonies, the Houses of Parliament, the Episcopate, the Judges, the Lords-Lieutenant, -and the municipal authorities of the provincial towns, were especially -prominent. The Queen was received at the Cathedral by the Bishop of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_417" id="page_417">{417}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_015" id="ill_015"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_417.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_417.jpg" width="623" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE THANKSGIVING SERVICE IN ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_418" id="page_418">{418}</a></span></p> - -<p>London and the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul’s, and by the officers of her -household, who were already waiting for her. With the Prince of Wales -on her right hand and the Princess of Wales on her left, the Queen, leaning -on the Prince’s arm, walked up the nave in a procession which was marshalled -by the Lancaster and Somerset Heralds. The special service began -at one o’clock with the <i>Te Deum</i>, which was arranged by Mr. Goss for the -occasion, and sung by a choir of two hundred and fifty voices. The voice -of the Archbishop of Canterbury was inaudible, but the choral part of the -ritual was listened to reverently. The words of special thanksgiving were:—“O -Father of Mercies and God of all Comfort, we thank Thee that Thou -hast heard the prayers of this nation in the day of our trial. We praise -and magnify Thy glorious name for that Thou hast raised Thy servant, -Albert Edward Prince of Wales, from the bed of sickness. Thou castest -down and Thou liftest up, and health and strength are Thy gifts; we pray -Thee to perfect the recovery of Thy servant, and to crown him day by day -with more abundant blessings, both for body and soul, through Jesus Christ -our Lord. Amen.” Here there was a long pause, during which the dead -silence of that vast hushed congregation was described by those present as -being almost painful to the ear. Archbishop Tait having pronounced the -benediction delivered a sermon which was striking for its brevity and its -simple unadorned eloquence. He took for his text the words “Every one -members one of another,” and illustrated in a few apt sentences the Divine -origin of family life and of the State and of the Church, which, he said, was -but the family and the State in relation to God. The illness of the Prince -had given a fresh meaning to this conception. Hence “such a day,” observed -the Archbishop in his concluding sentence, “makes us feel truly that we -are all members one of another.” The religious ceremony ended at two o’clock, -and the Royal procession returned to Buckingham Palace amid thunders of -artillery from the guns of the Tower and the Park.</p> - -<p>With one exception the decorations were successful. That exception—which -was noted as curious at the time by the Queen—was at Ludgate -Circus, where the triumphal arch, which ought to have been one of the -grandest in the metropolis was, by reason of backward preparation, almost a -failure. It was not till the procession was nearly within sight that the -scaffoldings were taken down, and the scene of confusion as the distracted -workmen removed the poles, delighted the mob amazingly.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> Unfortunately -in the hurry, so much damage was done to the gorgeous gold mouldings -of the arch, that it presented the appearance of an ancient but freshly -gilded ruin. As for the illuminations at night, they were not general—probably -because many people did not regard a religious thanksgiving day as -a fit occasion for illuminating. The centres of attraction were the dome and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_419" id="page_419">{419}</a></span> -west front of St. Paul’s, the dome being picked out by a treble row of -coloured ship’s lanterns. The cathedral itself stood out in lurid splendour -when transient shafts of lime-light, and the fitful glow of the red light -on the gilded ball fell on the building. Two days after the ceremony the -following letter was published in the <i>London Gazette</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“Buckingham Palace, February 29, 1872.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“The Queen is anxious, as on a previous occasion, to express publicly her <i>own</i> personal <i>very -deep</i> sense of the reception she and her dear children met with on Tuesday, February 27th, from -millions of her subjects, on her way to and from St. Paul’s.</p> - -<p>“Words are too weak for the Queen to say how very deeply touched and gratified she has -been by the immense enthusiasm and affection exhibited towards her dear son and herself, from -the highest down to the lowest, on the long progress through the Capital, and she would earnestly -wish to convey her warmest and most heartfelt thanks to the whole nation for this great -demonstration of loyalty.</p> - -<p>“The Queen, as well as her son and her dear daughter-in-law, felt that the whole nation -joined with them in thanking God for sparing the beloved Prince of Wales’s life.</p> - -<p>“The remembrance of this day and of the remarkable order maintained throughout, will for -ever be affectionately remembered by the Queen and her family.”</p></div> - -<p>On the very day on which this letter was dated a strange attack -was made on the Queen. When she returned from her afternoon drive in -the Park, she passed along by Buckingham Palace wall, and drove to the -gate at which she usually alighted. The carriage had hardly halted when -a lad rushed to its left side, and bending forward presented a pistol at -the Queen, while he flourished a petition in his hand. He then rushed -round the carriage and threw himself into a similar attitude on the other -side. The Queen remained calm and unmoved, and the boy’s pistol was -taken from him, when it was discovered that it was unloaded. The petition -was a poor scrawl, demanding the release of the Fenian prisoners, and -the lad gave the name of Arthur O’Connor, and stated his age to be -seventeen.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> - -<p>When Parliament assembled in 1872 Mr. Gladstone found himself confronted -by an Opposition which had been rendered almost insolently aggressive -by their triumphs at the bye-elections. He found himself supported by a -majority, each section of which had its special grievance against him. And<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_420" id="page_420">{420}</a></span> -if he looked beyond Parliament for support he might have seen that a subtle -popular suspicion was growing up round his name which was fast neutralising -the magic of his personality. It was said, alike by friends and foes, that an -overweening love for personal power, and a passion for exercising personal -authority over others, had become the guiding motives of his life, and the -inspiring ideas of his policy. Had this been true, it is hardly likely that the -Prime Minister would have identified himself with legislation which had set -the vested interests, and the fanatical sectaries up in arms against him. But the -important point was that, whether true or false, the calumny was believed, -and the Queen, like many other careful observers, saw the Ministry growing -weaker and weaker every day, whilst Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues were -themselves under the delusion that every day increased their popularity. And -yet, as if to justify the maxim that in politics it is the unexpected that happens, -the year was not fruitful in crises or in sensational scenes. Mr. Disraeli held -his followers in check, and the Session was a business-like one, which, when -it ended, left the Government stronger than could have been anticipated.</p> - -<p>The Parliamentary year was opened on the 6th of February, the Queen’s -Speech being read by Commission. It promised a Ballot Bill, and Bills for -organising Education in Scotland, for regulating Mines, and for improving -the Licensing System. The passage in the Speech to which, however, all -eyes turned was the one dealing with the <i>Alabama</i> Claims. On this subject -the country had suddenly become profoundly agitated, and from an observation -in Bishop Wilberforce’s Diary we gather that the Queen, shared the popular -feeling of the hour.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> After the nation had congratulated itself on discovering -a diplomatic solution of its difficulties with the American Republic, it was -amazed to find that the Americans were endeavouring to seize by chicane what -they had failed to gain by diplomacy. When they forwarded the case which -they meant to submit to Arbitration, it was discovered that they had included -in it not only a claim for the actual damage done to American commerce by -the Confederate cruisers, but also the claims for the indirect or “consequential -damages” which Mr. Sumner had put forward, and which the British Commissioners -understood were abandoned. The sum asked under this head would -have covered half the cost of the whole Civil War. It was therefore the clear -opinion of the Queen that England could not consent to go into Arbitration -till this preposterous demand was withdrawn. Lord Granville, on the other -hand, though he inclined to this opinion, was slow to reply to a demand which -he was in honour bound to promptly repel. He was chiefly concerned about -saving the Washington Treaty, and he therefore sent to the American Government -a mild letter requesting the withdrawal of the “indirect claims” in -terms so deferentially conciliatory, that had he been dealing with a less pacific -Power his despatch would probably have been answered with the cynical<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_421" id="page_421">{421}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_016" id="ill_016"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_421.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_421.jpg" width="399" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GENEVA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><i>brusquerie</i> that marked Von Bismarck’s dealings with him. But the country -was not as meek as the Minister. There was an outburst of popular anger -against the Americans for the “sharp practice” which sullied their statement -of claim, and Mr. Gladstone soon saw that to go into Arbitration before the -demand for “consequential damages” was withdrawn would lead to his expulsion -from office. His declarations in Parliament on the subject thenceforth -showed that he meant to repudiate the American interpretation of the Treaty -under which the “indirect claims” had been dragged into the American case, -and he spoke with the high spirit of a statesman rejecting a humiliating -demand for tribute greater than conquest itself could extort. The Opposition -in both Houses, on the whole, gave the Government generous support -in this emergency, though Mr. Disraeli—referring to the torrent of Ministerial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_422" id="page_422">{422}</a></span> -oratory which had deluged the recess—could not refrain in his comment on -the Queen’s Speech from deriding the Cabinet for having lately lived “in a -blaze of apology.”</p> - -<p>The story of the controversy on the “indirect claims” may here be told. -The United States, in extremely conciliatory despatches, insisted on including -these claims in their case. They argued that it was for the arbitrators at -Geneva to say whether they were or were not admissible under the Treaty. -They rested their contention on an ambiguous phrase which Lord Ripon and -Sir Stafford Northcote had unfortunately permitted to pass unconnected into -the Treaty. The first Article of that instrument described its object to be -that of removing and adjusting “all complaints and claims,” &c., “<i>growing -out</i> of acts committed by the said vessels, and <i>generically known as the -‘Alabama’ Claims</i>.” This certainly gave the Americans a plausible excuse for -demanding “consequential” as well as direct damages. On the other side, -the English Government argued that all the concessions made by the British -Commissioners at Washington were made on the understanding that the -“indirect claims” were not included in the Treaty; that in all their correspondence -with the Washington Department of State no claims save direct -claims were ever “generically” known as the <i>Alabama Claims</i>; and, lastly, -that their interpretation was publicly expressed and well known to the -United States Government, people, and Minister at the Court of St. James’s, -and was never objected to by either of them. It would, however, have been -easy to put the point beyond dispute when the Treaty was drawn up by -specifically barring all indirect claims. When Lord Ripon and Sir Stafford. -Northcote failed to do that they were guilty of negligence which, if brought -home to the diplomatists of either Russia or Germany, would have procured for -them, not rewards and honours, but punishment and degradation. Fortunately -the dispute ended happily. Lord Granville for once acted with the firmness -becoming the representative of a great nation. When the arbitrators met at -Geneva, the representatives of England persistently refused to take part in the -proceedings till the “indirect claims” were withdrawn. The arbitrators then -adroitly extricated the agents of the Washington Government from a false -position. They met and declared that, without reference to the scope of the -Treaty or to the merits of the dispute as to its interpretation, which England -refused to discuss before them, they were agreed that “indirect claims” could -never, on general principles of international law, be a tenable ground for an -award of damages in international disputes.</p> - -<p>The Americans then withdrew the obnoxious part of their “case,” and -the arbitrators awarded to the United States £3,229,000 damages against -England for the depredations committed by three out of the ten Confederate -cruisers which, it was alleged, the British Government had negligently permitted -to escape from British ports. The American claim for naval expenses -incurred in chasing these cruisers was, however, rejected, because the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_423" id="page_423">{423}</a></span> -arbitrators held that it could not be practically distinguished from the general -cost of the war. The Lord Chief Justice of England—one of the members of -the Tribunal—concurred in the judgment as regards the <i>Alabama</i>. He differed -from all his colleagues in regard to the <i>Florida</i>, and he and the Brazilian -arbitrator differed from the majority as to the case of the <i>Shenandoah</i>.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> The -failure of the English Government to seize the <i>Florida</i> and <i>Alabama</i>, when -they put into British ports after they had made their escape, was evidently -the fact which bore most strongly against England in the opinion of the -Geneva Tribunal. The American claims for damages in respect of the <i>Georgia</i>, -<i>Chickamauga</i>, <i>Nashville</i>, <i>Retribution</i>, <i>Sumter</i>, and <i>Tallahassee</i>, were rejected. On -the whole, public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic, though not quite -satisfied with the verdict, allowed that there had been a fair fight and a fair -trial. Lord Chief Justice Cockburn’s dissenting judgment, however, expressed -the feeling of the English people, which was this. “Let us admit,” they said, -“the <i>ex post facto</i> rule making neutrals liable for damages if they do not -exercise ‘due diligence’—the ‘dueness of diligence’ to be always proportionate -to the mischief the vessels might do—in preventing the escape of cruisers, -and in re-capturing them when they get the chance. English officials were, -however, not aware that, when these cruisers escaped and when on re-entering -British ports they were not detained, international law demanded from them -more ‘dueness’ of diligence than they had exercised or been taught to exercise. -Hence it surely was wrong to give damages for their unconscious negligence, -just as if their negligence had been conscious.” This argument, indeed, Sir -Alexander Cockburn pressed to the point of cutting down to zero the claim -for damages in respect of the <i>Shenandoah</i> and <i>Florida</i>.</p> - -<p>One of the most important Government measures of the year was the -Ballot Act. But the opposition to it was marked by no novelty of argument, -and it need only be said about it here that it was passed, the Lords not -venturing to reject it a second time.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> The Scottish Education Bill, which -also passed, established a School Board system of public instruction all over -Scotland far in advance of that which England had been able to obtain. A -Licensing Bill of a mildly regulative character was carried, the publicans -grudgingly accepting it as a compromise, while the Temperance Party attacked -it as miserably ineffective.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> Mr. Stansfeld’s Public Health Bill, defining the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_424" id="page_424">{424}</a></span> -authority which must in future be responsible for local sanitation, and embodying -the principle that rates should be divided between the State and the -locality was so adroitly managed by Mr. Stansfeld, that at last Mr. Disraeli -supported the Government in carrying it. Another useful measure regulating -the working of Coal Mines was carried in spite of many protests against -interfering with private contracts between masters and servants, and many -attempts on the part of the vested interests who were supported by the bulk -of the Tory Party, to render the Bill inoperative. Among other things it -prohibited the employment of women underground, and it made mine-owners -responsible for the results of preventible mining accidents.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cardwell’s Army Bill was received with unlocked for favour. It -attempted to adapt the territorial system of Prussia to the exigencies of -military service in England. The nine existing military divisions were subdivided -into sixty-six military districts. In each of these a small army or -brigade was formed, consisting of two battalions of Regulars, to which were -linked the local Militia and Volunteers. One of the regular battalions was -to be told off for foreign service, and its “waste” supplied by drafts from the -territorial <i>depôt</i>. The main objection to the scheme urged by Conservative -officers was that it destroyed the family life of the old regiments—that it even -destroyed their identity by substituting local titles for the numbers which -their prowess in war had in many cases made historic. According to this -scheme the country would have an Army of 446,000 men, of whom 146,000 -were available for service abroad. The evidence given before the Commission -which reported on the wreck of the <i>Megæra</i>, concentrated attention on -Admiralty Reform. On the whole, the country gave Mr. Childers credit for -having brought order into that chaotic department. Before he came to power -the various branches of the Admiralty had little or no connection with each -other, and when a blunder was made by conflicting authority or contradictory -orders, nobody could be made responsible. Mr. Childers set responsible officers -at the head of each department, and made excellent arrangements for their -mutual co-operation. But the weak point of his scheme was that he as First -Lord was the real <i>nexus</i> which bound the whole organisation together. The -system accordingly broke down when his health gave way, for Mr. Lushington, -who was in a sense the Grand Vizier of the First Lord, was a civilian comparatively -new to the department, and unable to act as an efficient substitute -for Mr. Childers.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> Mr. Goschen met the difficulty, not by appointing a naval -expert as his second in command, but by casting responsibility for all orders -on three officials—a Naval Secretary who was to be responsible for orders concerning -the <i>personnel</i>, a Controller who was to be responsible for those relating -to the <i>matériel</i>, and a Permanent Secretary who was to be responsible for those<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_425" id="page_425">{425}</a></span> -affecting finance and civil business. To secure unity of work the Board of -Admiralty was to meet daily for consultation, and in the First Lord’s absence -the supreme authority was to pass to the First Naval Lord of the Admiralty.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_017" id="ill_017"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_425.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_425.jpg" height="398" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DR. NORMAN MACLEOD.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>In spite of a serious defeat on Sir Massey Lopes’ motion on the question -of Local Taxation,<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> a narrow escape from defeat on the Collier scandal, and -a clever mocking attack by Mr. Disraeli at Manchester in the spring on their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_426" id="page_426">{426}</a></span> -sensational policy and their ambiguous utterances on the proposals of their -extreme supporters, the Ministers were stronger in Parliament when the Session -ended than when it began. Mr. Lowe’s Budget further helped the credit of -the Government, for such was the elasticity of the revenue that it foreshadowed -a surplus of £3,000,000, and enabled him to remit the twopenny Income Tax -which he had imposed in 1871.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> Ireland, however, was as usual a source of -anxiety to the Cabinet. The Tories and Orangemen, indignant at the Disestablishment -of the Church, had coalesced with the more moderate Repealers, -and set on foot the Home Government Association,<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> from which the Home -Rule Party under the leadership of Mr. Isaac Butt sprang. Whenever the -Ballot Act was passed, Home Rule candidates began to carry the Irish bye-elections -against the Ministerialists—in fact, it was apparent to shrewd observers -that the destruction of the Liberal Party in Ireland was now only a matter of -time. Earl Russell was probably of this opinion when, in August, he startled -the town by publishing a letter in the <i>Times</i> virtually conceding the principle -of Home Rule in order to lighten the burden of Imperial legislation with -which Parliament was overweighted.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> - -<p>As for the Opposition, their councils were divided. Lord Salisbury was -averse from promising any programme. Mr. Disraeli seemed afraid to suggest -one that went beyond sanitary reform. Yet the Tories had completely broken -the absolute power of Mr. Gladstone in the country, and were still, as the -Municipal Elections in November showed, a growing party. The causes which -contributed to a reaction in their favour in 1871 were still at work. Mr. -Gladstone’s opposition to Sir Massey Lopes’ motion on rating, and the -sudden appearance of Trades Unionism among the agricultural labourers -gave Conservatism hosts of fresh recruits, for the squires and the farmers -naturally rallied to the Party whose leaders stood forth as champions of the -threatened interests.</p> - -<p>The attempt of O’Connor on the Queen’s life was not the only crime<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_427" id="page_427">{427}</a></span> -of the kind that darkened the year. On the 8th of February Lord Mayo, -the Viceroy of India, was stabbed to death by a Mahommedan convict at -Port Blair, the port of the penal settlement on the Andaman Islands, to -which Lord Mayo was paying a visit of inspection. The assassin was a -sullen, brooding fanatic who had been transported for killing a relative -with whom he had a “blood feud.” The Queen was as much shocked as the -country by the event, for by this time it was universally recognised that -Lord Mayo was one of the most competent Viceroys who had ever ruled -India. His intuitive insight into difficulties, his shrewd perception of character, -his frank resoluteness of action, his clearness and decision of purpose, and his -dignified and stately bearing rendered Lord Mayo an ideal viceroy. His great -work consisted in cementing an alliance with the Afghan Ameer, in imposing -an income-tax to rehabilitate the finances of India, and suppressing -a rebellious movement among the Wahabee fanatics.</p> - -<p>Early in May telegrams were received in London announcing that Dr. -Livingstone, the African explorer, as to whose safety much anxiety had -been felt, had been discovered by Mr. Stanley, a special correspondent on -the staff of the <i>New York Herald</i>, who had been despatched by Mr. J. -Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of that journal, to look for the missing -traveller. The Queen received these tidings with the deepest gratification, -not unmingled with regret that the honour of the discovery should pass -to an American expedition. Her interest in Livingstone, and in his last -efforts to discover the sources of the Nile, was well known—indeed, when -in England the explorer had a private interview with her Majesty, of which -an account is given in Mr. Blaikie’s “Personal Life of Dr. Livingstone.” “She -[the Queen] sent for Livingstone,” writes Mr. Blaikie, “who attended her -Majesty at the Palace without ceremony, in his black coat and blue trousers -and his cap surrounded with a stripe of gold lace. This was his usual -attire, and the cap had now become the appropriate distinction of one -of her Majesty’s Consuls—an official position to which the traveller attaches -great importance as giving him consequence in the eyes of natives and -authority over the members of the expedition. The Queen conversed with -him affably for half-an-hour on the subject of his travels. Dr. Livingstone -told her Majesty that he would now be able to say to the natives that he had -seen his chief, his not having done so before having been a constant subject -of surprise to the children of the African wilderness. He mentioned to her -Majesty also that the people were in the habit of inquiring whether his -chief were wealthy, and when he answered them that she was very wealthy -they would ask how many cows she had got, a question at which the -Queen laughed very heartily.” Mr. Stanley had found Livingstone at Ujiji -near Lake Tanganyika, and on his way back to Zanzibar he met the -English Expedition, which had been despatched by the Royal Geographical -Society, carrying succour to the explorer. As Livingstone’s orders were to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_428" id="page_428">{428}</a></span> -refuse this tardy aid, the chiefs of the British Expedition had to return. -Some people were at first sceptical as to the story told by Mr. Stanley, but -doubts were set at rest on the 27th of August, when Lord Granville -sent to Mr. Stanley a gold snuff-box set with diamonds as a gift from -the Queen. Accompanying the present was the following letter:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I have great satisfaction in conveying to you, by command of the Queen, her Majesty’s -high appreciation of the prudence and zeal which you have displayed in opening a communication -with Dr. Livingstone, and relieving her Majesty from the anxiety which, in common -with her subjects, she had felt in regard to the fate of that distinguished traveller. The -Queen desires me to express her thanks for the service you have thus rendered, together with -her Majesty’s congratulations on your having so successfully carried out the mission which you -so fearlessly undertook. Her Majesty also desires me to request your acceptance of the memorial -which accompanies this letter.”</p></div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_018" id="ill_018"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_428.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_428.jpg" width="398" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN RECEIVING THE BURMESE EMBASSY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>In June the Queen had to mourn the loss of a highly trusted old family -friend, Dr. Norman Macleod of Glasgow. He had been long ailing, and when -at Balmoral, in May, the Queen at her last interview with him was so struck -with his physical weakness that she insisted on his being seated whilst he -was in her presence. Macleod’s influence as a courtier was built up partly -on his ability as an eloquent pulpit orator, and his tact as a kindly, genial,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_429" id="page_429">{429}</a></span> -shrewd, tolerant man of the world. He had genuine goodness of heart, and -he had not only the supple diplomatic skill of the Celt, but the Celt’s inborn -and honest love and reverence for rank and dignities. It was quite a mistake -to suppose that his “flunkeyism” made him a <i>persona grata</i> at Court. On -the contrary, he was in the unique position of being a Royal Chaplain on whom -the Queen could not confer any favour or dignity. She could not give him -a richer living in the Church than the one he had obtained without her -patronage, and as a Presbyterian clergyman he could never be suspected of -intriguing for hierarchical rank when he approached the Sovereign. His disinterestedness, -too, was well known, for it was to Macleod’s credit that during his -long connection with the Court, though he was frequently entrusted with missions -concerning matters of delicate family business, he never even asked for a favour -either for himself or any of his relatives. When the vague rumour of his -death reached the Queen she addressed the following letter to Dr. Macleod’s -brother:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Balmoral</span>, <i>June 17, 1872</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“The Queen hardly knows how to begin a letter to Mr. Donald Macleod, so deep and strong -are her feelings on this most sad and most painful occasion, for words are all too weak to say -what she feels, and what all must feel who ever knew his beloved, excellent, and highly-gifted -brother, Dr. Norman Macleod.</p> - -<p>“First of all to his family—his venerable, loved, and honoured mother, his wife and large -family of children—the loss of the good man is irreparable and overwhelming! But it is an -irreparable public loss, and the Queen feels this deeply. To herself, personally, the loss of dear -Dr. Macleod is a very great one; he was so kind, and on all occasions showed her such warm -sympathy, and in the early days of her great sorrow gave the Queen so much comfort whenever -she saw him, that she always looked forward eagerly to those occasions when she saw -him here; and she cannot realise the idea that in this world she is never to see his kind face -and listen to those admirable discourses which did every one good, and to his charming conversation -again.</p> - -<p>“The Queen is gratified that she was able to see him this last time, and to have had some -lengthened conversation with him, when he dwelt much on that future world to which he now -belongs. He was sadly depressed and suffering, but still so near a termination of his career -of intense usefulness and loving-kindness never struck her or any of us as likely, and the -Queen was terribly shocked on learning the sad news. All her children, present and absent, -deeply mourn his loss. The Queen would be very grateful for all the details which Mr. D. -Macleod can give her of the last moments and illness of her dear friend.</p> - -<p>“Pray say everything kind and sympathising to their venerable mother, to Mrs. N. Macleod -and all the family, and she asks him to accept himself of her true heartfelt sympathy.”</p></div> - -<p>The letter—one of the most remarkable ever written by a sovereign to -and of a subject—is worth quoting, not only on account of its biographical -interest, but as a model of sincerity, tenderness, and good taste exhibited -in an order of composition usually disfigured by artificiality both of sentiment -and style.</p> - -<p>The lions of the London season of 1872 were two foreign embassies—one -from Japan and one from Burma. The Japanese were Envoys from a great -Asiatic monarch, and were nobles of the first rank specially chosen to represent -their Sovereign. Their refined manner, shrewd observations, quick intelligence, -and mastery over the English tongue, rendered them general favourites. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_430" id="page_430">{430}</a></span> -so-called “Ambassadors” from Burma came to England on a different footing, -and some authorities on Eastern affairs complained that they received an -amount of attention and hospitality far beyond their deserts or their importance. -It was said that they were officials chosen because of their low -rank for the purpose of publicly slighting England; that they were sent to -this country in order to establish a precedent for ignoring the Indian Viceroy, -and enabling the King of Burma to treat with the Queen of England as a -Peer. The Indian Viceroys had certainly been averse from permitting the -Burmese Court to form direct diplomatic relations with European Courts; -but in the East, Missions of Compliment are sometimes sent from Sovereigns -to each other, and such Missions do not necessarily engage in diplomatic -business. In this case the Burmese King Mindohn, by far the ablest ruler -of the Alompra dynasty, had accepted the arrangement by which the diplomatic -relations of Burma and the British Empire were carried on through an agent -of the Indian Viceroy at Mandalay.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> Indeed, one of the chief diplomatic difficulties -between the two Governments—the great “Shoe Question,” as it was -called—was not one capable of direct discussion between the Courts of St. -James’s and Mandalay.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> As to the rank of the Burmese Envoy, misconceptions -on that point arose because Englishmen failed to understand that in Burma -there was no such thing as hereditary rank outside the royal family of Alompra, -the hunter king. Rank was conferred solely by official position, and the head -of the Burmese Mission was a high official of the first grade, who was -really President of the <i>Hloht</i> or Council of State. Under King Theebaw, who -succeeded Mindohn, he became better known as the Kin-Woon Mingyee, and -represented the party of peace and order at Mandalay with great ability and -honesty of purpose. The Queen was rather better informed as to the antecedents -of these distinguished visitors, and accordingly on Friday, the 21st of June, she -received them at Windsor Castle. They brought with them many costly presents -to her Majesty, of which an exceptionally magnificent bracelet, made of seven -pounds of solid gold, was much talked about at the time. They also delivered -a letter from the King, which began, “From His Great, Glorious, and Most -Excellent Majesty, King of the Rising Sun, who reigns over Burma, to Her -Most Glorious and Excellent Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and -Ireland.” After her Majesty had received the presents, and made her acknowledgments -through Major MacMahon, late Political Agent at Mandalay, the -Embassy withdrew, and returned to London.</p> - -<p>On the 1st of July the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, -Princess Louise, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Leopold visited the National<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_431" id="page_431">{431}</a></span> -Memorial erected in Hyde Park to the memory of the late Prince Consort. -This was a strictly private visit, the monument being at the time incomplete.</p> - -<p>Between the 15th and 20th of August the Queen broke her journey to -Balmoral, and resided at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, for a few days. Though -her visit was private, she was so gratified with the reception she everywhere -received that she caused Viscount Halifax to address the following letter to -the Lord Provost of Edinburgh:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Lord Provost</span>,—It is not the practice unless the Queen has visited any city or -town in a public manner, to address any official communication to the chief magistrate or -authority of the place. I am commanded, however, by her Majesty to convey to you in a less -formal manner the expression of her Majesty’s gratification at the manner in which she was -received by the people of Edinburgh in whatever part of this city and neighbourhood her -Majesty appeared. Her Majesty has felt this the more because, as her Majesty’s visit was so -strictly private, it was so evidently the expression of their national feeling of loyalty. Her -Majesty was also very much pleased with the striking effect produced by lighting up the park -and the old chapel.”</p></div> - -<p>The death of the amiable and accomplished Princess Feodore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg -on the 23rd of September plunged the Queen into deep -despondency. The Princess was half-sister to her Majesty, and the tie that -bound them together through life had been close and affectionate. “All -sympathise with you,” wrote the Princess Louis to the Queen when she -heard of her mother’s bereavement, “and feel what a loss to you darling -aunt must be, how great the gap in your life, how painful the absence -of that sympathy and love which united her life and yours so closely.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>GOVERNMENT UNDER DIFFICULTIES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>A Lull Before the Storm—Dissent in the Dumps—Disastrous Bye-Elections—The Queen’s Speech—The Irish -University Bill—Defeat of the Government—Resignation of the Ministry—Mr. Disraeli’s Failure to Form a -Cabinet—The Queen and the Crisis—Lord Derby as a Possible Premier—Mr. Gladstone Returns to Office—Power -Passes to the House of Lords—Grave Administration Scandals—The Zanzibar Mail Contract—Misappropriation -of the Post Office Savings Banks’ Balances—Mr. Gladstone Reconstructs his Ministry—The -Financial Achievements of his Administration—The Queen and the Prince of Wales—Debts of the Heir -Apparent—The Queen’s Scheme for Meeting the Prince’s Expenditure on her Behalf—The Queen and -Foreign Decorations—Death of Napoleon III.—The Queen at the East End—The Blue-Coat Boys at -Buckingham Palace—The Coming of the Shah—Astounding Rumours of his Progress through Europe—The -Queen’s Reception of the Persian Monarch—How the Shah was Entertained—His Departure from -England—Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh—Public Entry of the Duchess into London.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">When</span> the Session of 1873 opened, it is a curious fact that in London the -universal complaint was that politics had become depressingly dull. But the -lull really presaged a storm, in which the Government was wrecked. It was -known that Mr. Gladstone intended to make the question of Irish University<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_432" id="page_432">{432}</a></span> -education the chief business of the Session, and it was admitted that next to -this question the one of most consequence to the Government was that which -was raised by the Dissenters, who demanded the extension of School Boards, -and the establishment of compulsory education all over England, together -with the repeal of the 25th clause of Mr. Forster’s Education Act. The -bye-elections, which had been disastrous to the Ministry, showed that the -Dissenters were in revolt, and that they “sulked in their tents,” instead of -supporting Ministerial candidates. The Irish University Bill could not possibly -be carried without Nonconformist support, and that could obviously not be -hoped for if anything like “concurrent endowment” for the Roman Catholics -defaced it. On the other hand, if the revenues of Trinity College were shared -with Catholic scholars, Liberals like Mr. Fawcett and Mr. Vernon Harcourt -would support Mr. Disraeli in opposing the measure. The Cabinet resolved -to neutralise the expected secession of the small Fawcett-Harcourt group, by -rendering their Bill acceptable to their powerful Nonconformist contingent, -and Liberal tacticians were full of joyful anticipations when it leaked out -that this plan was contemplated. As will be seen, one important contingency -was never taken into consideration—the possible desertion of Mr. Gladstone’s -Roman Catholic followers; and yet it was their desertion which wrecked the -Bill and destroyed the Government.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_019" id="ill_019"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_432.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_432.jpg" width="419" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>QUEEN’S COLLEGE, CORK.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by W. Lawrence, Dublin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_433" id="page_433">{433}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Queen’s speech was read to Parliament by Commission on the 6th -of February, and it promised an Irish Education Bill, a Judicature Bill, a -Land Transfer Bill, an Education Amendment Act, a Local Taxation Bill, -and a Railway Regulation Bill. In the debate on the Address the Opposition -leaders dwelt mainly on foreign questions, pressing the Government to say -whether they were prepared to recommend the rules under which the -<i>Alabama</i> case had been decided to the European Powers; and if so, whether -they would recommend them as interpreted by the legal advisers of the -Crown, or as interpreted by the majority of the arbitrators. Mr. Gladstone -first said that the rules had been recommended for adoption by the Powers, -but without any special construction being put on them. Then he had to -correct himself before the debate closed, by explaining that he had made -a mistake, for the rules had not yet been brought under the notice of -Foreign Governments. This confession naturally forced the public to conclude -that the Tories could not be far wrong when they declared that foreign -affairs were neglected because Lord Granville was indolent and Mr. Gladstone -neither knew nor cared anything about them.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_020" id="ill_020"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_433.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_433.jpg" height="240" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PROFESSOR FAWCETT.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>On the 13th of February Mr. Gladstone introduced the Irish University -Education Bill. It affiliated several other educational institutions besides -Trinity College to the University of Dublin. Two of the Queen’s Colleges, -established by Sir Robert Peel, were to be associated with the University, and -the Queen’s University itself was to be abolished. Queen’s College at Galway -was to be suppressed, because it had failed to attract students to its class<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_434" id="page_434">{434}</a></span>rooms. -The so-called Catholic University and several other Roman Catholic -seminaries were also, in the same manner, to be attached to the Dublin -University. The new University was to have an income of £50,000 a year, a -fourth of which was taken from Trinity College, a fourth from the endowment -for Queen’s University, three-eighths from the Irish Church surplus, whilst -fees, it was expected, would make up the balance. It was to have professors -for teaching in Dublin all academical subjects excepting history and mental -philosophy, which were tabooed as too controversial for Ireland. Bursaries, -Scholarships, and Fellowships were liberally endowed. Tests were to be -abolished, the Theological Faculty of Trinity College was to be transferred—with -an endowment—to the Disestablished Church, and the prohibited subjects, -History and Philosophy, were not to be compulsory in examinations for -degrees. The constituency of the University was to consist of all graduates of -the affiliated colleges. The governing council of twenty-five was to be nominated -in the Bill, after which, vacancies were to be filled up alternately by co-optation -and Crown nomination. After ten years, however, equal numbers of -the council were to be chosen, by the Crown, by co-optation, by the professors, -and by the graduates. The Bill, according to the Bishop of Peterborough—by -far the ablest Protestant ecclesiastic Ireland has produced in the Victorian -period—“was as good as could be under the circumstances,” and “ought to -have pleased all parties.”<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> Unfortunately it pleased nobody, and its weak -point was obvious. It attempted to provide for separate denominational education -in the affiliated colleges, and for mixed secular education in Trinity -College and the University of Dublin, to which they were affiliated—the one -system being as incompatible with the other as an acid with an alkali. As -Mr. Gathorne-Hardy said, the exclusion of History and Philosophy rendered -the new University a monster <i>cui lumen ademptum</i>. The proposal to make the -Irish Viceroy its Chancellor recalled, he declared, the lines of Milton,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">“Its shape,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">If shape it can be called, which shape had none<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Distinguishable in feature, joint, or limb—”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">all the more that</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">“What seemed its head,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The likeness of a kingly crown had on.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>At first the Bill was very well received, and there was a general disposition -to admit that, in view of the limiting conditions of the problem, it was impossible -to find a solution less offensive to the Protestants, and more generous -to the Catholics of Ireland. But in a few days it became apparent that the -measure was doomed. Ministers had been led to believe by their colleague, -Mr. Monsell, who was the spokesman of the Catholic clergy, that the compromise -would be accepted by them. But the Catholic Bishops met in secret,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_435" id="page_435">{435}</a></span> -and decided to oppose the Bill.<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> As the Catholics opposed it for giving them -too little, the Protestants opposed it because it gave the Catholics too much. -The apostles of culture opposed it because it cut History and Philosophy out -of the University curriculum, and in doing so they furnished all discontented -Liberals with a good non-political excuse for voting against the Government. -The Bill was defeated on the 12th of March by a vote of 287 to 284, the -votes of 36 Catholic Members and 9 Liberals<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> having turned the scale. To -the very last moment the issue was uncertain, because it was known that if -Mr. Gladstone had offered to abandon the teaching clauses of the Bill, he -would have won over a sufficient number of Catholic votes to carry it.<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a></p> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone’s defeat was followed by the resignation of his Ministry, -and the crisis was a most embarrassing one for the Queen. Mr. Disraeli, -when sent for by the Sovereign, attempted to form a Cabinet, but did not -succeed, mainly because Mr. Gathorne-Hardy objected to the party holding -office on sufferance. When Mr. Disraeli reported his failure to the Queen, -she again consulted Mr. Gladstone, who, however, suggested that some -other Conservative leader—obviously hinting at Lord Derby—might succeed -where Mr. Disraeli had failed. But Lord Derby was at Nice when the -crisis became acute; and though the Tory Party felt that he was in a special -sense their natural leader at such a juncture,<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> they knew that it was -decidedly inconvenient for the Prime Minister to be a member of the Upper -House, and that he would refuse to enter into anything like rivalry with -Mr. Disraeli. Yet a restful Ministry, competent in administration, under a -cool-headed, sensible Conservative aristocrat, was what the majority of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_436" id="page_436">{436}</a></span> -people, alarmed by harassed “vested interests,” desired at the time. Be that -as it may, Mr. Disraeli, when appealed to a second time by the Queen, -refused to assist her out of the difficulty, and Mr. Gladstone was again summoned -to the rescue. He returned to power with his Cabinet unchanged -and disavowed any intention to dissolve Parliament. Mr. Disraeli’s refusal -to take office had given the Queen infinite anxiety, and his defence of his -conduct was lame and halting. He was, he said, in a minority; he had not -a policy, and could not get one ready till he had been for some time in -office, so that he might see what was to be done. He did not desire to -experience the humiliation of governing the country under a <i>régime</i> of hostile -resolutions. The Queen and the country were alike conscious of the flimsiness -of these excuses. Mr. Disraeli never met the question—which, to the -Queen, seemed unanswerable—Why did he paralyse the existing Administration, -if he was not prepared to put another in its place?</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_021" id="ill_021"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_436.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_436.jpg" width="435" height="307" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>QUEEN’S COLLEGE, GALWAY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Disraeli in refusing to govern England himself whilst he prevented -Mr. Gladstone from governing it, was pursuing a policy which was as unconstitutional -as it was unpatriotic. When he said he could not take office -because he must dissolve in May in any case, and that he could not dissolve -because he had not a policy to go to the country with, and when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_437" id="page_437">{437}</a></span> -explained that till he had time to study the archives of the Foreign Office -he could not tell what ought to be done with questions such as the Russian -advance on Khiva, and the Three Rules of the Washington Treaty, men smiled -cynically. They asked each other if Lord Palmerston in 1869 was afraid to -take the place of the Tory Government because he wanted time to form an -opinion on Lord Malmesbury’s policy towards the Italian war of Liberation. -Yet Mr. Disraeli gave a truthful account of his motives. He had -no policy. Hence when he dissolved Parliament, as he was bound to do -after winding up the business of the Session, he must have gone to the -country on a purely personal issue between himself and Mr. Gladstone. -Doubtless at a time when the nation was getting wearied of restless statesmen, -a contest of the sort would have been disastrous to Mr. Gladstone, but -not when raised by Mr. Disraeli, who was notoriously even flightier than his -antagonist. To have won a General Election on such an issue the Tories -must have fought under Lord Derby’s banner. Mr. Disraeli, however, had -no intention of giving way to Lord Derby, and his followers did not dare -to put him aside, more especially as he had in view a clever scheme of -strategy. His idea was to force Mr. Gladstone to dissolve on a positive programme, -and then to defeat him by a running fire of destructive criticism. -These tactics might bring the Tories back to office under his own leadership, -absolutely uncommitted to any definite policy whatever.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Gladstone resumed office it was soon seen that he had -not only wrecked his party, but compromised the <i>prestige</i> of the House of -Commons. His was admittedly a weakened and discredited Ministry. It had -been one of Mr. Disraeli’s favourite theories that whenever a feeble Ministry -attempted to govern England, power passed from Parliament to the Crown. -At one time, no doubt, the theory seemed plausible enough, but the Session -of 1873 completely upset it. No sooner had Mr. Gladstone returned to office -than power passed from the Crown and the House of Commons to the House -of Lords. The will of the Peers was supreme over all. They said or did what -they pleased, and quashed Bill after Bill without the least regard to the -sentiments of the Queen, the desire of the Commons, or the interests of the -country. The Peers rejected the Bill improving Church organisation contemptuously, -though it had passed the Commons without a division. By -asserting obsolete privileges of appellate jurisdiction over Scotland and Ireland, -they disfigured the Judicature Bill, which consolidated the law courts -and constituted a high court of appeal. They destroyed Mr. Stansfeld’s -useful Rating Bill almost without debate. They opened a way for the reintroduction -of purchase in the army, rejected the Landlord and Tenant Bill -without even seeing it, and quashed a Bill, promoted by Mr. Vernon Harcourt -and supported by the Government, to protect working men against being -imprisoned under the law of conspiracy for non-statutable offences committed -in the course of a strike. And the curious thing was that from the day Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_438" id="page_438">{438}</a></span> -Gladstone returned to office to lead a moribund Ministry and a disorganised -House of Commons, the people submitted without a murmur to the resolute -and decisive despotism of the Peers. Thus it came to pass that when the Session -ended the Ministry seemed to have sunk into a dismal swamp of humiliation—a -humiliation which was intensified by administrative scandals and internal feuds. -It was shown that Mr. Lowe, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, prepared plans -of his own for public works, without consulting the Public Works Office. Mr. -Ayrton, as head of that Department, in his place in the House of Commons, -repudiated all responsibility for the votes of money for his department which were -altered without his knowledge and consent by Mr. Lowe. There was a painful -“scene” in the House of Commons at the end of July when these disclosures -were made, and when Mr. Ward Hunt formally asked the Government if its -Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Commissioner of Works were on speaking -terms. Mr. Baxter created another scandal by suddenly resigning office as -Financial Secretary to the Treasury, because Mr. Lowe had ignored him in -the matter of the Zanzibar mail contract. Mr. Lowe was proved to have -given the contract for carrying letters from the Cape to Zanzibar to the Union -Steam Company for £26,000, whereas the British India Steam Company had -offered to do the work for £16,000. Mr. Lowe declared he had never heard of -the offer; yet Lord Kimberley, the Secretary for the Colonies, knew of it, and -the tender was transmitted by the Indian Postmaster-General to Mr. Monsell, -the British Postmaster-General, who passed it on to the Treasury. At the -Treasury Mr. Lowe concealed the papers relating to the contract from Mr. -Baxter, avowedly because he was known to be hostile to it. A Committee of -the House investigated the scandal, and disallowed the contract. This affair -was also accompanied by the final revelation of the truth as to what was known -as the telegraph scandal.</p> - -<p>In spring the working classes were profoundly disturbed by a rumour -that the Government had seized the Savings Banks balances, and were building -great extensions of telegraph lines with the money without consulting -Parliament on the subject. The foundation for the story was a discovery -made by the Auditor-General of Public Accounts. He reported that the -Telegraph Department of the Post Office had for some time evaded the -control of the House of Commons over its expenditure. Instead of submitting -to the House estimates for proposed works, and asking for a vote -on account, Mr. Scudamore, the Chief of the Department, a brilliant but -too zealous official, took whatever money he wanted from the Post Office -receipts, and spent it as he pleased on works of extension and improvement. -He submitted no estimates in detail, but always asked the House of -Commons for a sum for new works, which enabled him to replace the Post -Office receipts which he had used. A large portion of the money thus -spent was taken from the Savings Banks balances which everybody understood -were always paid in for safety to the Commissioners of National Debt,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_439" id="page_439">{439}</a></span> -who invested them in Consols. Though no money was missing, it shook -public confidence in the Government to find its administrative power so -feeble that it could not prevent its own servants from tampering with the -Savings Banks Deposits, and further investigation aggravated the scandal. -It was shown that Lord Hartington when Postmaster-General had, like -Mr. Monsell, allowed Mr. Scudamore to manage the Telegraph Department -without any supervision, and that the Treasury had so far condoned this -gross and culpable negligence that when it did business with Mr. Scudamore -it communicated with him directly, and not through either Lord -Hartington or Mr. Monsell, who had meekly submitted to be treated as -official “dummies.” It was shown that the Treasury knew of Mr. Scudamore’s -irregularities in 1871, and condoned them; that in 1872 it knew of -them again, and acted so feebly that even Mr. Lowe admitted he regretted -his lack of firmness. It was utterly impossible to defend the conduct of Mr. -Lowe, Lord Hartington, Mr. Monsell, and the Chief Commissioner of National -Debt, for countenancing these grave irregularities, and the scandal was simply -disastrous to the administrative <i>prestige</i> of the Ministry.</p> - -<p>The Queen was alarmed at the dismal prospect of ruling England by -means of a Cabinet so hopelessly discredited, and Mr. Gladstone was equally -conscious of the gravity of the situation. Whenever Parliament was prorogued -he tried to parry attacks on the administrative incapacity of his -Cabinet by reconstructing it. To the great relief of the Queen, he himself -took the Chancellorship of the Exchequer into his own hands, so that the public -might have a guarantee that the era of chaos at the Treasury was closed.<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> -Mr. Bruce was elevated to the Peerage as Lord Aberdare, and became President -of the Council, Lord Ripon having retired for private reasons. Mr. -Childers (also for private reasons) vacated the Chancellorship of the Duchy of -Lancaster, and Mr. Bright took his place and re-entered the Cabinet. Mr. -Lowe was removed to the Home Office, and ere the year closed Mr. Adam -became Chief Commissioner of Works, Mr. Ayrton taking the office of Judge-Advocate-General. -Mr. Monsell also retired from the Postmaster-Generalship, -and was succeeded by Dr. Lyon Playfair. The death of Sir William Bovill, -Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, in November, elevated Sir J. D. Coleridge -to the Bench. Mr. Henry James accordingly became Attorney-General, -and, to the amazement of the Bar, he was succeeded as Solicitor-General by -Mr. Vernon Harcourt, whose attacks on the Ministry had thus met with -their reward.</p> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone’s hope was to reinvigorate the Government with a little new -blood, and rehabilitate it by means of his influence and reputation as a financial -administrator and Mr. Bright’s personal popularity among the Nonconformists. -Yet the financial work of the Government alone, when administrative<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_440" id="page_440">{440}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_022" id="ill_022"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_440.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_440.jpg" width="391" height="475" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEWS IN WINDSOR: OLD MARKET STREET, AND THE TOWN HALL, FROM HIGH STREET.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">blunders were detached from it, and relegated to their true place in political -perspective, ought to have won for them the gratitude of the nation. Mr. -Vernon Harcourt, who perpetually harassed the Ministry because of its -growing expenditure—like many financial critics with an imperfect knowledge -of book-keeping—failed to see that the apparent growth was not real because -much of it was a mere matter of accounting.<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_441" id="page_441">{441}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_023" id="ill_023"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_441.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_441.jpg" width="395" height="324" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SANDRINGHAM HOUSE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>During their five years of power the Government had remitted £9,000,000 -of taxation. They had reduced a chaotic Naval Administration to something -resembling order, and not far removed from efficiency; and yet at the -Admiralty there had been a saving of £1,500,000 on the Estimates of their -predecessors. They had taken the Army out of pawn to its officers by -abolishing Purchase, and had laid the basis for a compact military organisation; -yet they had saved £2,300,000 a year at the War Office. The Army -and Navy, though by no means efficient, were much more efficient than they -had been when Mr. Gladstone’s Ministry came to power; and yet they were -costing the country £4,000,000 less a year.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> In spite of the great increase in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_442" id="page_442">{442}</a></span> -Civil Service expenditure—much of which, like the Education Vote, being morally -rather than financially reproductive, showed no “results” in figures on the credit -side of the public ledger—there had been since 1857 a decrease in the drain -on the taxes of about £1,500,000.<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> Mr. Lowe’s last Budget in 1873 did not -discredit the Ministry. In spite of his reductions of taxation in the previous -year, he had obtained £2,000,000 more than his estimated income. For the -coming year (1873-4) he estimated a surplus of £4,746,000; but he could -promise no great remission of taxation, for he had to pay the damages -(£3,000,000) which had been awarded at Geneva to the United States -Government. Still, he halved the sugar duties and took another penny off -the Income Tax. With all his faults, he was accordingly entitled to claim -credit for reducing the Income Tax to the lowest point it had ever touched -(threepence in the £) since it had been imposed by Peel in 1842. And yet -Mr. Lowe could not, even with such a Budget, refrain from expressing his -thankfulness in an acrid gibe against the populace. Referring to the marvellous -increase in the receipts from Customs and Excise, he said he had -been able to produce a good Budget because the nation had drunk itself out -of debt.</p> - -<p>Apart from the political strife and Ministerial embarrassments which so -severely taxed the nerves of the Queen, life at Court was not very eventful. -Indeed, it centred chiefly round the Prince and Princess of Wales, who were -discharging vicariously and with great popular acceptance most of the social -duties of the Crown. This fact was recognised by the Queen herself in a -curious indirect kind of way. The Prince of Wales, though very far from -being a spendthrift, has never shrunk from incurring expenditure which, in his -judgment, was necessary to maintain the dignity and <i>prestige</i> of the Crown in -a manner worthy of the great nation whose Sovereignty is his heritage. But -he has always refrained from appealing to Parliament for subsidies and -subventions, either for himself or his family, other than those to which he is -equitably and legally entitled by his official position in the State. This was -all the more creditable to him, for two reasons. He was surrounded by companions, -some of whom did not scruple to take advantage of his generosity. -A considerable section of the public during the controversy that raged -over the Princess Louise’s dowry had expressed a strong opinion in favour -of limiting future Royal grants to an additional allowance to the Heir -Apparent, for the purpose of meeting the unanticipated expenditure which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_443" id="page_443">{443}</a></span> -he had incurred by taking the Queen’s place as the head of English Society. -Sandringham, moreover, had not turned out a remunerative property, and the -Prince was therefore under strong temptations to give a favouring ear to -unwise counsels on this delicate subject. These, however, he put aside with -manly common sense, and his affairs were arranged on a business-like basis, -which would have met with the approval of his father, who was always of -opinion that matters of the sort were best managed inside the family circle. -The only public indication that was given of arrangements which must necessarily -be spoken of with great reserve was afforded by Mr. Gladstone when, -on the 21st of July, he introduced a Bill enabling the Queen to bequeath real -property to the Prince of Wales, so that he could alienate it at will. The -obvious advantage of such a measure was that it imparted a fresh elasticity -to the financial resources of the Heir Apparent. For he had discovered a -fact hitherto unrevealed in the history of his dynasty in England, namely, -that though the Sovereign could bequeath to the Heir Apparent alienable -personality, such as hard cash, land or real property so bequeathed, became, -when vested in his person on ascending the Throne, the property of the State, -and therefore inalienable. In fact, supposing the Queen had left Balmoral, an -estate which she and her husband bought out of their private purse, to her -eldest son, then, though it had been her own private property, it must become -public property whenever the Prince of Wales became King. The state of the -law on the subject was inequitable and inconvenient. For if the Queen wished -to aid her eldest son in meeting expenses which he was every day incurring -on her behalf, she had either to sell her private estates, endeared to her by a -thousand tender family associations, or appeal to Parliament for a grant, a -course which was as objectionable to her as to the Prince. On the other hand, -if these private estates, when inherited by the Prince at her death, could be -treated as private property, the Heir Apparent could easily obtain any -additional subsidies he might need, by mortgaging his expectations. And yet -the generous intentions of the Queen, and the honest purposes of the Prince -which formed the motives for the Bill, were snappishly and churlishly misrepresented -by several Radicals, and by at least one aristocratic Whig. Mr. -George Anderson opposed the Bill because Sovereigns kept their wills secret. -Sir Charles Dilke objected to it because he said it allowed the indefinite -accumulation of private property in the hands of the Sovereign. His argument, -in fact, came to this, that profligacy in the Monarch should be encouraged by -the posthumous confiscation of his private estates. As for Mr. Bouverie, he -asked what business the Sovereign had to possess large private means? The -Bill, however, passed, and an incident which at one time threatened to be -unpleasant for the Queen and her children was discreetly closed.</p> - -<p>In March, the Queen’s refusal to permit the persons who represented -England at the French Exhibition of 1867 to accept decorations, was made -the subject of debate by Lord Houghton in the House of Lords. Her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_444" id="page_444">{444}</a></span> -Majesty’s prejudice against introducing Foreign Orders and titles into England -had often given offence to naturalised stockjobbers and pushing <i>parvenus</i>. She -never even took kindly to the use of the title of “Baron” by the Rothschilds, -though she tolerated it for reasons of an entirely exceptional nature. But if the -Orders were admitted the titles must soon follow, and society might be inundated -some day with Russian “Counts,” who, as the French say, had “a -career behind them,” or with Austrian “Barons,” who had bought their -honours out of the profits of financial gambling. The English Court, for this -reason, has such strong opinions on the point that even English nobles, inheriting -foreign titles, conceal them so successfully that few people ever suspect -that the Duke of Wellington is a Portuguese prince, the head of the House of -Hamilton a French duke, or Lord Denbigh a Prince of an uncrowned branch -of the Imperial House of Hapsburg. It need not be said that Lord Houghton’s -complaints were generally admitted to be frivolous, and that the Queen’s feeling -that she must be the sole fountain of honour in England, was shared by the -nation. If the services which an individual has rendered abroad have benefited -England or mankind, or if it is possible to form a correct estimate of their value -in England, the Queen held she must either reward them herself, or retain -the right to permit the individual to receive a foreign decoration for them. -There never has been any practical difficulty in dealing with such cases, -and no self-respecting person has ever felt aggrieved because he was debarred -from accepting Foreign Orders.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> - -<p>On the 4th of January the Queen was grieved to hear of the death of the -ex-Emperor of the French, at Chislehurst. Her tender sympathy was freely -bestowed on the ex-Empress, who was prostrated by her misfortunes and her -sorrow. Five years before, the death of this strange man, whose Imperial life -seemed ever shadowed by the great crime of the <i>coup d’état</i>, would have convulsed -Europe. Now the world seemed quite indifferent to it, and when -politicians spoke of it, all they said was that by disorganising the Imperialist -party in France, it lessened the labours of M. Thiers in founding the Third -Republic. The English people, whom Napoleon III. had kept in feverish -dread for two decades, and whose support and friendship he had rewarded with -the perfidy of the Benedetti Treaty, did not pretend to mourn over his grave. -They spoke of his character, which was a moral paradox, and his career, which -was a political crime, without prejudice or ill-feeling. But as they thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_445" id="page_445">{445}</a></span> -of the horrors of the Crimean War, the wasted millions which Palmerston spent -in fortifying the South Coast, and the final act of treachery which the German -Government had revealed in July, 1870, there were some who considered that -the Queen might have been less demonstrative in her manifestations of sorrow. -But Her Majesty has never been free from the defects of her qualities. Quick -to resent betrayal, her anger passes away as swiftly, when the betrayer -broken by an avenging Destiny, and prostrate amid the wreck of his fortunes -and his reputation, appeals to her sympathies. When Louis Philippe stood -before her as a hunted fugitive, the Queen forgot the Spanish marriages. -When Charles Louis Bonaparte fled for refuge to Chislehurst, she was too -generous to remember his scheme for stealing Belgium.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_024" id="ill_024"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_445.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_445.jpg" width="396" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO VICTORIA PARK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>When spring came round, “the great joyless city,” as Mr. Walter Besant -calls the East End of London, was gladdened by the Queen, for on the 2nd -of April her Majesty went there to visit Victoria Park. She was accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice, and drove from Buckingham Palace to the -park in an open carriage. Her route was along Pall Mall, Regent Street, -Portland Place, Marylebone Road, and Euston Road to King’s Cross, up -Pentonville Hill to the “Angel” at Islington, beyond which point along Upper<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_446" id="page_446">{446}</a></span> -Street, Essex Road, Ball’s Pond Road, through Dalston and Hackney, surging -crowds of people lined both sides of the entire way. Streamers of gaudy -bunting floated overhead from house to house across Islington Green. The -Dalston and Hackney stations of the North London Railway, the Town Hall, -and shops of Hackney were conspicuously decorated, and it was noticed that -the Queen went among the poor of the East End without any military escort, -a feat that few European Sovereigns would have dared to emulate. At the -Town Hall she halted and received a bouquet, while the people sang the -National Anthem. At the temporary entrance to Victoria Park a triple arch, -of triumph had been erected, deep enough to resemble a long <i>marquee</i> in -three compartments, open at both ends. It was handsomely fitted up in -scarlet and gold, and here was stationed a guard of honour of the Fusiliers, -while an escort of Life Guards was in waiting to conduct her Majesty round -the park. Even the slums in this dismal quarter exhibited meagre decorations, -eloquent alike of loyalty and indigence. A poor shoemaker, having nothing -better to show, hung out his leather apron, on which the Queen saw with a -thrill of interest that he had chalked up in flaming red letters, “Welcome as -flowers in May. The Queen, God bless her.” The enthusiasm of the populace -on this occasion was due to a curious idea that prevailed all over the East -End. This visit, they said, was no ordinary one, because the Queen had come -of her own free will to see the East End—a very different thing from the -East End going westwards to see her. Hence a hurricane of cheers greeted -the Queen wherever she went, and was more gladsome to her ears than the -ornate language of the loyal addresses which she received. Her Majesty -returned by Cambridge Heath Road, and when she came to Shoreditch the -way was rendered almost impassable by an eager crowd. From Bishopsgate -Street to the Bank she was hailed with passionate loyalty, which seemed to -lose all restraint when on passing the Mansion House she rose in her carriage -and smilingly bowed to the Lord Mayor, who stood in his State robes under -the portico and saluted her. She then drove along the Embankment to the -Palace, having charmed the sadder quarters of London with a visit which the -people took to mean that they were not forgotten or ignored by their Queen.</p> - -<p>On the 3rd of April, at three o’clock in the afternoon, the Duke of Cambridge, -as President of Christ’s Hospital—the famous Blue-coat School—visited the -Queen at Buckingham Palace to present the boys of the Mathematical School, -who had come to exhibit their drawings and charts to her Majesty. A number -of gentlemen connected with the Hospital had the honour of being presented -by the Duke to the Queen when she entered the Drawing-room. Her Majesty -then inspected, apparently with great interest, the maps and charts which -were held before her by each boy separately.</p> - -<p>The foreign curiosity of the London season in 1873 was the Shah of Persia. -Soon after the Queen’s visit to the East End ceased to be discussed, the -coming of the Shah was the favourite topic of talk. At the end of April his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_447" id="page_447">{447}</a></span> -departure from Teheran amidst the blessings of an overawed crowd of 80,000 -subjects was chronicled. On the 12th of May he was heard of, painfully -navigating the waters of the Caspian in a Russian steamer, and wonderful tales -of his progress were told. He had three wives, and nobody knew how many -other ladies in his train holding brevet-matrimonial rank. Was he going to bring -them to England? If so, could more than one of them be received, and in that -case how were the rest to be disposed of? A cloud of despondency began to settle -over the subordinates in the Lord Chamberlain’s department. Would it be -possible, it was asked, to persuade the Queen to invite each of the Shah’s wives -separately—one to Buckingham Palace, one to Windsor, and one to Osborne? -Later on it was reported that not only was the Shah bringing his harem, but -his Cabinet Ministers also. Was his visit likely to be free from danger? -Might not people begin to cherish strange fancies, if the Shah thus gave them -ocular proof that an ancient country could get on wonderfully well without a -sovereign and without a government? Gradually astounding rumours of his -wealth were sent round. He had brought only half a million sterling for -pocket-money, because there had just been a famine in Persia; still the -sum would meet the modest wants of his exalted position. Indeed, through a -telegraphic blunder, the sum was first stated as £5,000,000. He was said to -be covered with jewels and precious stones, and he wore a dagger which blazed -with diamonds, so that one could only view it comfortably through ground glass. -In June the officials of the Court were relieved from a supreme anxiety. Ere -he got half-way over Europe the Shah had sent his harem back to Persia. -As he approached England he was described as looking terribly bored, and his -black velvet doublet, covered with diamonds, and ornamented with emerald -epaulettes, was said by one irreverent journalist to give him the appearance of -“a dark shrub under the early morning dew.” To the good English people -he was a mighty Asiatic potentate, representing an ancient dynasty, and the -popular cry was that he must be impressed with the power of England. Had -they understood that his great grandfather was a petty chief, who at a time -of revolution established a dynasty, and promptly began, with the aid of his relatives, -to ruin Persia, and that their visitor himself ruled over a country with -the population of Ireland and twice the area of Germany, they might have -made themselves less ridiculous. Mr. Gladstone was even pestered on the -subject, and had to turn the matter off with a smiling suggestion that it would -be well to let the Shah fix his own programme, and not put him in chains -when he landed on our shores. But in Court circles it was whispered with -dread that it might be well to fetter the bedizened barbarian, for he had odd -notions of etiquette, and had even rudely poked the august arm of the German -Empress, when he wanted to call her attention at the theatre to something on -the stage. On the 18th of June, however, the long-expected guest landed at -Dover from Ostend. The cannon of the Channel fleet thundered forth a salute, -and the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Arthur welcomed him as he stepped<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_448" id="page_448">{448}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_025" id="ill_025"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_007.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_007.jpg" width="425" height="617" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BLUE-COAT BOYS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.</p><p>BLUE-COAT BOYS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE.</p></div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_026" id="ill_026"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_448.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_448.jpg" height="632" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE SHAH OF PERSIA PRESENTING HIS SUITE TO THE QUEEN AT WINDSOR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_449" id="page_449">{449}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">on the pier. His Majesty arrived at Charing Cross in the evening, and London -forthwith went mad about him. It talked and thought about nothing else, -much to the disgust of the Tory wirepullers, who saw with sorrow the scandal -of the Zanzibar mail contract absolutely wasted on a frivolous metropolis. It -may be recorded that when he appeared the Shah disappointed sightseers, -who were looking out for the black velvet tunic powdered with diamonds, and -ornamented with epaulettes of emeralds. His Majesty, in fact, was clad in -a blue military frock-coat, faced with rows of brilliants and large rubies; his -belt and the scabbard of his scimitar were likewise bright with jewels, and -so was his cap.</p> - -<p>The <i>suite</i> of apartments placed at the disposal of his Imperial Majesty in -Buckingham Palace had been put in direct telegraphic communication with -Teheran, and though it was expected he would be impressed by being able to -talk to anybody in his capital without leaving his room, the arrangement -seemed rather to bore him than otherwise. An infinite variety of entertainments -was prepared for him, and the programme he had to work through -seemed too extensive for human endurance during the last ten days of his -visit. On the 20th of June the Queen, who was at Balmoral when he arrived, -came to Windsor to receive the Persian monarch in State.</p> - -<p>The preparations for the Shah’s public welcome were worthy of the Royal -borough. As the train steamed into Windsor Station, the Princes and others -in waiting to receive him welcomed him as he stepped out, arrayed in a State -uniform flashing with gems. The Mayor and Recorder then read an Address, -to which the Shah briefly replied, both the Address and reply being translated -by Sir Henry Rawlinson. Accompanied by Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold -he was driven to the Castle, where the Queen received him. The reception -was held in the White Drawing Room, and the Shah conferred upon the -Queen the Persian Order, and also the new Order which he had then, -with a gallantry hardly to be expected of an Asiatic, just instituted for -ladies. Luncheon was served in the Oak Room, after which the Queen accompanied -her guest to the foot of the staircase on his leaving the Castle.</p> - -<p>In the evening a splendid entertainment was given to his Majesty by the -Lord Mayor at Guildhall, to which 3,000 persons were invited. At this banquet -the Shah was placed on a daïs with the Princess of Wales, the Lord Mayor -on his left hand, and the Czarevna, wife of the Czarewitch, on his right. The -Shah wore a blue uniform with a belt of diamonds, and the ribbon and Star -of the Garter, which had been conferred on him at Windsor in the afternoon. -The scene at the ball which followed was unusually brilliant and picturesque. -When the Shah had taken his seat the first quadrille was formed. He did -not dance, but when the company had gone through four dances he joined the -supper-party. About midnight his Majesty and the Royal Family left the -scene. This magnificent entertainment was the first of many. The Shah was -hurried in rapid succession to a Review of Artillery at Woolwich, and another of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_450" id="page_450">{450}</a></span> -the Fleet at Spithead, to a State performance at the Italian Opera, to the International -Exhibition, to a concert in the Royal Albert Hall, and to a Review in -Windsor Park of 8,000 troops. At this Review what impressed him most were -the batteries of Light Artillery, the physique and drill of the Highlanders, and -the brilliant skirmishing of the Rifles. When the spectacle was over he presented -his scimitar to the Duke of Cambridge. An odd sight was witnessed -when the Shah visited the West India Dock and Greenwich on the 25th of June. -He went in an open carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Tower Wharf, -and embarked amidst a salvo of artillery. The river was filled with an extraordinary -collection of ships, barges, boats, and vessels of every description. -Crowds, cheering and shouting like crazy beings, swarmed on decks, rigging, -wharves, roadways, and even on the roofs and crane stages of the warehouses. -A striking effect was produced during this trip by the floating steam fire-engines -of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, which, closely lashed together, all -at once saluted the Shah as he passed, by casting up many perpendicular jets -of water to a great height in the air. On the evening of this day, by -command of the Queen, a State ball was given at Buckingham Palace, at -which the Persian Sovereign and the British Princes and Princesses were -present. After a short visit to Liverpool, the Shah left England on the 5th -of July, no abatement having taken place in the entertainments in his honour -up to the last.</p> - -<p>The Shah’s departure from London, and his embarkation for Cherbourg on -board the French Government yacht <i>Rapide</i>, was the final act of these -remarkable proceedings. He was accompanied to the Victoria Station by the -Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Arthur, the Duke of Cambridge, -and Prince Christian, all in full uniform. The Shah having been made a -Knight of the Garter during his visit to England, her Majesty presented him -with the badge and collar set in diamonds. He in turn gave his photograph -set in diamonds to the Queen and the Prince of Wales. To Earl Granville -he offered his jewelled portrait, but that wily diplomatist, knowing what was -meant, demurely said he could only accept the portrait if the precious stones -were removed from it. London never had such a lion before or since, and the -fuss made over him led many to imagine that his visit was of high political -importance. It was certainly odd that the heir to the Russian throne, who -must have been satiated with the Shah’s society in St. Petersburg, persisted -in being seen everywhere in his train in London. Perhaps at his interview -with Lord Granville he had asked for some promise of protection against -Russian encroachment, and as it was impossible for Russia to conquer the -Tekke Turcomans unless she could draw her supplies from the Golden Province of -Khorassan, such a promise, if given and kept, would have effectually barred the -march of the Cossack towards Herat. If these matters were talked of, events subsequently -showed that no such promises had been made, and that Lord Granville, -like his predecessors, firmly adhered to the fatal policy initiated by England in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_451" id="page_451">{451}</a></span> -order to buy the aid of the Czar against Napoleon I.—the policy of abandoning -Persia to Russian “influence.”</p> - -<p>It was semi-officially announced in the middle of July that the Duke of -Edinburgh had been betrothed (11th July) to the Grand Duchess Marie -Alexandrovna, the only daughter of the Czar of Russia. The affair had been -the subject of some difficult and delicate negotiations, not so much because -there was some difference of religion between the bride and bridegroom, but -because, being an only daughter, the parents of the Grand Duchess felt that -parting with her would be a bitter heart-wrench. She was devoted to her -father, as he was to her, and it was said that if he had given his crown to -the English Prince he could not have testified more strongly his esteem -for him than he had done by bestowing on him his daughter’s hand. “I -hear,” writes the Princess Louis of Hesse from Seeheim (9th July), to the -Queen, “Affie [the Duke of Edinburgh] comes on Thursday night. Poor Marie -is very happy, and so quiet.... How I feel for the parents, this only -daughter (a character of <i>Hingebung</i> [perfect devotion] to those she loves)—the -last child entirely at home, as the parents are so much away that the two -youngest, on account of their studies, no longer travel about.”<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p> - -<p>This alliance was unusually interesting, for the Duke of Edinburgh was -practically within the Royal succession.<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> Nothing but an Act of Parliament -barring him from the succession, such as men talked of passing against the -hated Duke of Cumberland, who conspired with the loyal Orangemen of -Ulster to oust the Queen from the throne, could prevent the Duke from succeeding -to the Crown if the Prince of Wales and his children did not survive -the Queen. There was a very general feeling that this marriage was worthy of -the country. Apart from her great wealth, the only daughter of the Czar of -All the Russias appeared to the average British elector to be a much more -fitting mate for a Prince who stood very near the English throne, than an -impecunious young lady from a minor Teutonic “dukery”—if we may venture -to borrow a term which Lord Beaconsfield made classical. Thoughtful observers -of public life were grateful to the Queen for establishing a precedent which -enlarged the area of matrimonial selection for English Princes. Since the -reign of George II. this had been so closely limited to Germany, that the Royal -Family of England from generation to generation had been purely and exclusively -German. There was, therefore, no popular outcry against a Parliamentary -settlement for the Duke of Edinburgh. Mr. Gladstone, on the 29th<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_452" id="page_452">{452}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_027" id="ill_027"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_452.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_452.jpg" height="420" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">of July, carried a resolution in the House of Commons, giving the Duke of -Edinburgh an annuity of £25,000 a year, and securing to the Grand Duchess -Marie £6,000 a year of jointure in the event of her becoming a widow. The -Minister was not met with any formidable opposition. When Mr. Holt and -Mr. Newdegate began to attack the Grand Duchess’s religion, the House -instantly flew into a passion and hooted them into silence. When the -resolution was debated two days afterwards, Mr. Taylor, who objected to the -vote on the ground that the bride was one of the richest heiresses in Europe, -was literally effaced by Mr. Gladstone. Amid deafening cheers from all parts -of the House, he asked Mr. Taylor if he dared to stand up before his own -constituents and beg the Russian Czar to accept a poor English Prince for a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_453" id="page_453">{453}</a></span> -son-in-law on the plea that his daughter had a large fortune? The grant -was carried by a vote of 170 to 20.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_028" id="ill_028"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_453.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_453.jpg" height="395" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The marriage itself was solemnised on the 23rd of January, 1874, at -the Czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in accordance with the Greek -and the Anglican rite. All that wealth and absolute power could do to invest -the ceremony with Imperial pomp and splendour was done. Among those -invited were members of the Holy Synod, and of the High Clergy of Russia; -the members of the Council of the Empire, Senators, Ambassadors, and other -members of the Corps Diplomatique, with the ladies of their families, general -officers, officers of the Guard, of the Army and Navy. The great Russian -ladies wore the national costume, while the nobles and gentlemen were in full -uniform. The Queen of England was represented by Viscount Sydney and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_454" id="page_454">{454}</a></span> -Lady Augusta Stanley. On their arrival at the church the Duke and Grand -Duchess took their places in front of the altar, where were standing the -Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and the chief priests, attired in magnificent -vestments. The Czar and Czarina were on the right of the altar, the Prince -of Wales and the Russian Grand Dukes standing opposite. The most interesting -portions of the ceremony were the handing of the rings to the bride -and bridegroom, the crowning of the Royal couple, and the procession of the -newly wedded pair, with the Metropolitan and clergy, Prince Arthur, and the -Grand Dukes round the analogion or lectern, the bride and bridegroom carrying -lighted candles in their left hands. On the conclusion of this part of the -ceremony, the bride and bridegroom proceeded to the Salle d’Alexandre, where -the Anglican ceremony was performed by Dean Stanley, the bride being given -away by the Emperor, while Prince Arthur officiated as his brother’s groomsman. -The Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Marie used prayer -books which had been sent to them by the Queen, and the Grand Duchess -carried a bouquet of myrtle from the bush at Osborne, which had been so -often laid under tribute for the marriages of the Queen’s children. The -wedding-day was celebrated in the principal towns of Great Britain with much -popular rejoicing.</p> - -<p>The Queen deeply regretted her inability to be present at a ceremony so -interesting to her, and, in some respects, momentous for her House. Nor -was she the only member of the Royal circle who entertained the same -feeling. Her daughter, the Princess Louis of Hesse, writing to her from -Darmstadt on the 23rd of January, 1874, says, “On our dear Affie’s [Prince -Alfred’s] birthday, a few tender words. It must seem so strange to you not to -be near him. My thoughts are constantly with them all, and we have only the -<i>Times</i> account, for no one writes here. They are all too busy, and, of course, -all news comes to you. What has Augusta [Lady Augusta Stanley] written, -and Vicky and Bertie? Any extracts or other newspaper accounts but what -we see would be most welcome.... God bless and protect them, and -may all turn out well.” Artless passages like these are worth quoting, if -for no better reason than this, that they illustrate the strength of the sentiment -of domesticity which has not only bound the Royal children to the -Queen, but to each other, all through life. Even after the Queen had -complied with her daughter’s request, and sent her some letters about the -ceremony, the Princess recurs to the same theme, saying, “Dear Marie [the -Duchess of Edinburgh] seems to make the same impression on <i>all</i>. How glad -I am she is so quite what I thought and hoped. Such a wife must make -Affie happy, and do him good, and be a great pleasure to yourself, which I -always liked to think.” And again, a few days later, she writes to the -Queen as follows:—“I have a little time before breakfast to thank you so -much for the enclosures, also the Dean’s [Stanley’s] letter through Beatrice. -We are most grateful for being allowed to hear these most interesting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_455" id="page_455">{455}</a></span> -reports. It brings everything so much nearer. How pleasant it is to receive -only satisfactory reports.”<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p> - -<p>The Grand Duchess, when she came to her new home, brought her own -weather with her. She was introduced by the Queen to London and the -Londoners on the 12th of March, in the midst of a bleak and blinding snowstorm. -That dense crowds of people should line the street, and stand for hours -in the half-frozen slush, for an opportunity of bidding the Grand Duchess -welcome to her new home, afforded an impressive testimony to the deep-seated -loyalty of the capital. The Queen, the Grand Duchess, the Duke of Edinburgh, -and other members of the Royal Family, left Windsor Castle at 11 o’clock in -closed carriages for the railway station, under a brilliant escort of Scots Greys. -The Royal train steamed to Paddington terminus, which was all ablaze with -Russian and English colours. The people thronged the windows, balconies, -the house-tops, and the pavements, and each side of the roadway, all along -from Paddington to Buckingham Palace, and the Queen and the Royal couple -showed their appreciation of the splendid reception which was given to them -by braving the snowstorm in an open landau. The Queen, who was dressed -in half-mourning, smilingly bowed in acknowledgment of the hearty cheering, -and the Grand Duchess, who sat by her side, attired in a purple velvet mantle -edged with fur, a pale blue silk dress and white bonnet, was evidently surprised -at the warm greeting she received. The route was lined by the military and -police. The streets were full of loyal but bedraggled decorations, and grimly -festive with limp flags and illegible mottoes. Nothing could be more gracious -than the smiling demeanour of the Queen and her new daughter-in-law, -and nothing more pitiable than the obvious discomfort of the poor ladies-in-waiting, -who sat palpably shivering in their carriages. At night the chief -thoroughfares were brilliantly illuminated. “I hope,” writes the Princess -Louis of Hesse to the Queen, “you were not the worse for all your exertions.... -Such a warm reception must have touched Marie, and shown how the -English cling to their Sovereign and her House.” Yet, after the first flush of -excitement had passed away, the Russian Princess began to suffer from the -common complaint of all Northern women—<i>nostalgia</i>, or home-sickness. “Marie -must feel it very deeply,” writes the Princess Louis to the Queen (7th April), -“for to leave so delicate and loving a mother must seem almost wrong. How -strange this side of human nature always seems—leaving all you love most, -know best, owe all debts of gratitude to, for the comparatively unknown! -The lot of parents is indeed hard, and of such self-sacrifice.” This incident -seems to have led to a curious correspondence between the Queen and her -daughter, in which her Majesty apparently gave her some solemn warnings about -the evil done by parents who bring up their daughters for the sole purpose -of marrying them. “This,” observes the Princess Louis in her reply to her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_456" id="page_456">{456}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_029" id="ill_029"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_456.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_456.jpg" width="425" height="611" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Picture by N. Chevalier.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_457" id="page_457">{457}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">mother, “is said to be a too prominent feature in the modern English -education of the higher classes.... I want to bring up the girls without -<i>seeking</i> this as the sole object for the future—to feel that they can fill up their -lives so well otherwise.... A marriage for the sake of marriage is surely the -greatest mistake a woman can make.... I know what an absorbing -feeling that of devotion to one’s parent is. When I was at home it filled my -whole soul. It does still in a great degree, and <i>heimweh</i> [home-sickness] does -not cease after so long an absence.”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE CONSERVATIVE REACTION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Questions of the Recess—The Dissenters and the Education Act—Mr. Forster’s Compromise—The Nonconformist -Revolt—Mr. Bright Essays Conciliation—Sudden Popularity of Mr. Lowe—His “Anti-puritanic -Nature”—Mr. Chamberlain and the Dissidence of Dissent—Decline of the Liberal Party—Signs of Bye-elections—A -Colonial Scandal—The Canadian Pacific Railway—Jobbing the Contract—Action of the -Dominion Parliament—Expulsion of the Macdonald Ministry—The Ashanti War—How it Originated—A -Short Campaign—The British in Coomassie—Treaty with King Koffee—The Opposition and the War—Skilful -Tactics—Discontent among the Radical Ranks—Illness of Mr. Gladstone—A Sick-bed Resolution—Appeal -to the Country—Mr. Gladstone’s Address—Mr. Disraeli’s Manifesto—Liberal Defeat—Incidents of -the Election—“Villadom” to the Front—Mr. Gladstone’s Resignation—Mr. Disraeli’s Working Majority—The -Conservative Cabinet—The Surplus of £6,000,000—What will Sir Stafford do with it?—Dissensions among -the Liberal Chiefs—Mr. Gladstone and the Leadership—The Queen’s Speech—Mr. Disraeli and the Fallen -Minister—The Dangers of Hustings Oratory—Mr. Ward Hunt’s “Paper Fleet”—The Last of the Historic -Surpluses—How Sir S. Northcote Disposed of it—The Hour but not the Man—Mr. Cross’s Licensing Bill—The -Public Worship Regulation Bill—A Curiously Composed Opposition—Mr. Disraeli on Lord Salisbury—The -Scottish Patronage Bill—Academic Debates on Home Rule—The Endowed Schools Bill—Mr. Stansfeld’s -Rating Bill—Bill for Consolidating the Factory Acts—End of the Session—The Successes and Failures of -the Ministry—Prince Bismarck’s Contest with the Roman Catholic Church—Arrest of Count Harry Arnim—Mr. -Disraeli’s Apology to Prince Bismarck—Mr. Gladstone’s Desultory Leadership—“Vaticanism”—Deterioration -in Society—An Unopposed Royal Grant—Visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to Birmingham—Withdrawal -of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court—A Dispute over Precedence—Visit of -the Czar to England—Review of the Ashanti War Soldiers and Sailors—The Queen on Cruelty to Animals—Sir -Theodore Martin’s Biography of the Prince Consort—The Queen tells the Story of its Authorship.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Two</span> questions disturbed the recess of 1873-74—would Mr. Gladstone attempt -to conciliate the Dissenters, and would Mr. Bright, at their bidding, denounce -the Education Act which had been recently passed by a Government of which -he was a leading and authoritative member?</p> - -<p>The great grievance of the Dissenters was, that the 25th Clause of the -Education Act sanctioned the payment of denominational school-fees for -pauper children out of the school-rate. The Dissenters argued that it was -as wicked to make them pay rates for Anglican teaching in a school, as it -was to make them pay tithes for it in a church. Their opposition was mainly -led and organised by Mr. Chamberlain and the Birmingham Secularists, who -had so effectually made war on the Liberal Party at bye-elections, that even<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_458" id="page_458">{458}</a></span> -Mr. Forster deemed it prudent to conciliate them early in 1873. He offered -them a compromise in his Education Amendment Act, which passed before -Parliament rose. This Act repealed the 25th Clause, which ordered the -payment out of the school rate of fees for pauper children in denominational -schools. Instead of that it compelled Boards of Guardians to pay the fees to -the indigent parent, leaving it to him to select a school for his child. He -might choose a denominational school if he preferred it, only it must be an -efficient school under Government inspection. This compromise had, however, -been rejected by Mr. Chamberlain, who also complained bitterly that Mr. Forster -refused to make the formation of School Boards compulsory in every parish. -Nor was the bitterness of the Nonconformists assuaged by an indiscreet speech -which Mr. Gladstone had made during the recess at Hawarden, in which he -advised the people of that parish to be content with their Church Schools, and -not to elect a School Board. The attempts which were made to explain away -this speech were not successful, and so when Mr. Bright came before his constituents -at Birmingham, he found the Dissenters in open revolt. He therefore -deemed it prudent to condemn the Education Act, and oppose Mr. Forster’s -Education policy. As he had joined a Cabinet in which Mr. Forster held high -rank, Mr. Bright’s utterances on the subject did the Government more harm -than good. The Dissenters put no faith in them, because, they said, amidst -all the Ministerial changes that had occurred, Mr. Forster was still at the -Education Office. Independent supporters of the Ministry were, on the other -hand, surprised to find a statesman of Mr. Bright’s reputation condemning on -high moral principles an Act which he had himself helped to pass only a year -before. Mr. Bright’s unfortunate position was further aggravated by the defence -which was put forward on his behalf. It was contended that he had no -responsibility for Mr. Forster’s Education Act. All he had seen was the draft -of the Bill, and of that he had, as a Cabinet Minister, formed a favourable -impression. But his illness had withdrawn him from active work, and when -the measure was passing through the House of Commons evil changes, it -was argued, were made in it, and for these Mr. Bright could not be blamed. -Unfortunately it was written in the inexorable chronicles of <i>Hansard</i> that the -only changes made in the Bill were all in favour of the Dissenters. Mr. Bright -was accordingly too clearly responsible for the original measure, which was -infinitely more odious to the Nonconformists than the one that was finally -passed, and which he now disowned and denounced on account of its injustice.</p> - -<p>Curiously enough, it was Mr. Lowe who was most successful in winning -popularity for the Ministry during the recess. The police found in him -a zealous defender. The working-classes heard with pleased surprise a -rumour to the effect that he had drafted a Bill conceding the demand of -Trade Unionists for a reform of the Labour Laws. His manner of receiving -deputations had suddenly become bland and suave. When, for example, the -representatives of the Licensed Victuallers went to complain to him of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_459" id="page_459">{459}</a></span> -Licensing Laws, he was so sympathetic that the leader of the deputation sent -a graphic account of the interview to the Press. He explained how he and -his colleagues had waited on the new Home Secretary in fear and trembling, -but how delighted they were to find that “the great scholar and debater -cheered the meeting with many sunny glimpses of his own Anti-puritanic -nature.”</p> - -<p>Still, in spite of Mr. Bright and Mr. Lowe, the Liberal cause was waning -among the electors. Every day Mr. Chamberlain was driving deeper and -deeper into the heart of the Liberal Party the wedge of Dissenting dissension, -that ultimately split its electoral organisation in twain. On the whole, the bye-elections -favoured the Conservatives. But Mr. Henry James, the new Attorney-General, -carried Taunton, and Captain Hayter, owing to an imprudent letter which -Mr. Disraeli wrote in support of the Tory candidate, was successful at Bath.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> - -<p>A Colonial scandal and a Colonial war also attracted much attention -during the recess, and though the scandal did not affect the Ministry, the -war somewhat chilled the sympathies of many of their strongest supporters.</p> - -<p>The story of the scandal was as follows:—The Canadian Government had -decided to construct a Pacific Railway that would bridge the wildernesses by -which Nature had separated those Provinces, which were united by the British -North American Act. The project was deemed so hopeless as a commercial -undertaking that the money to carry it on could not be raised. But during -the negotiations which ended in the Treaty of Washington, Canada, at the -instance of the British Commissioners, made certain concessions, in return for -which the British Government undertook to guarantee a loan for the construction -of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The money was then raised -without delay, and Sir Hugh Allen, the richest capitalist in Canada, formed -a syndicate, who applied for and obtained the contract for constructing the -railway from the Government of Sir John Macdonald, which then held office -in the Dominion. It was soon alleged that Sir John Macdonald and his -colleagues in the Canadian Cabinet had been bribed to “job” away the contract -into Sir Hugh Allen’s hands. The Canadian House of Commons believed -in the charge, insisted on an investigation, and appointed a Committee of -Inquiry. Vigorous efforts were made to hush up the scandal, and by means -of the veto of the Crown the Committee was paralysed. An Act authorising -it to examine witnesses on oath was passed by the Dominion Parliament, -but was vetoed by the Crown on technical grounds. The Members -of the Opposition, however, defeated this attempt to stifle effective inquiry, -by refusing to serve on what they declared would be a sham tribunal, and -public opinion was so incensed that the Government were compelled to appoint -to the vacant seats in the Committee persons of high judicial position.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_460" id="page_460">{460}</a></span> -When under examination by the Commissioners Sir Hugh Allen admitted that -he paid Sir John Macdonald £36,000 in order to secure the election of candidates -pledged to support his Ministry in the Canadian Parliament. Sir -John Macdonald and his colleagues admitted that they received this money, -and that they had used it to carry seats in the Province of Ontario for -their faction. After the money was paid the contract was given to Sir -Hugh Allen. But in this transaction Sir John Macdonald denied that there -was any taint of bribery. Like his celebrated countryman, Sir Pertinax -Macsycophant, he said, “Dinna ca’t breebery. It ’s juist geenerosity on the -ae haun’, an’ grawtitude on the ither.” In Canada and England a different -view was taken of the matter. The Macdonald Ministry was driven from -office amidst public execration, and even Lord Dufferin the Governor-General, -and the Colonial Office did not escape censure, when it became clear that they -were at least privy to the matter.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_030" id="ill_030"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_460.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_460.jpg" width="400" height="324" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>COOMASSIE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Colonial war broke out on the West Coast of Africa. In consideration -of being permitted to annex as much of Sumatra as they could subdue, the -Dutch had handed over to England their possessions on the West Coast of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_461" id="page_461">{461}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_031" id="ill_031"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_461.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_461.jpg" width="413" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>KING KOFFEE’S PALACE, COOMASSIE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Africa. The English Government soon became involved in a dispute with the -King of the Ashantis over a subvention which the Dutch had always paid -him. The Ashantis attacked the English settlements near Elmina, but were -beaten off by a small party of English troops. When the cool season came -it was decided to send Sir Garnet Wolseley with an expedition strong enough -to march to Coomassie, the Ashanti capital, and, if need be, lay the country -waste. Sir Garnet arrived before his troops, and engaged with success in -several unimportant skirmishes. The main army left England in December, -and on the 5th of February, 1874, it entered Coomassie in triumph. The -place was so unhealthy that it had to be evacuated almost immediately. But -ere the troops left a Treaty was signed by which King Koffee renounced his -claim to sovereignty over the tribes who had been transferred from the Dutch -to the British Protectorate. The management of the expedition was not -perfect. But it at all events showed that the administrative departments of -the Army had improved somewhat since the Crimean War, and that whilst -the English private soldier had lost none of his superb fighting qualities, he -was now led by officers possessed of a considerable degree of professional<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_462" id="page_462">{462}</a></span> -skill. And yet the Ashanti War failed to arrest the decay of public -confidence in the Government. With masterly tact the Tory leaders put -forward Lord Derby to deprecate wasteful military enterprises and extensions -of territory in pestilential climes, whilst Sir Stafford Northcote attacked the -Ministry fiercely in September for engaging in such a war without consulting -the House of Commons. The effect of this criticism was soon manifest. The -sympathies of a large section of the Radicals and of the entire Peace Party -were alienated from the Ministry, who now found the arguments they had -used to embarrass Mr. Disraeli during the Abyssinian War, turned against -themselves. Mr. Bright, in joining a Cabinet which waged a costly war on -some wretched African savages without the consent of Parliament, sacrificed -the last remnant of authority which his inconsistent attitude to the Education -Act had left him. Nor did he regain this authority by writing a -letter early in January, in which he expressed an opinion that all difficulties -with Ashanti might be settled by arbitration. As the country was actually at -war with King Koffee, Mr. Bright’s suggestion was taken to mean that -England should, by an act of surrender, pave the way for arbitration between -herself and the Ashantis. This could not possibly be the opinion of the -Government which was vigorously prosecuting the war, and it was clear that -on this subject, as on the Education question, there was chaos in the Cabinet. -In these circumstances the question came to be would Ministers dissolve, or -would they meet Parliament and attempt to regain popularity through the -work of a reconstructed Cabinet, whose latest and most influential recruit -never spoke in public without showing that, when he did not abandon his -principles, he was at variance with his colleagues? Various rumours were -current as to a conflict of opinion on the subject between Mr. Gladstone and -his colleagues and the Queen. Ultimately it was decided that there should -be no dissolution before spring.</p> - -<p>Worn with anxiety, irritated by the failure of his plans for recovering -popularity through a reconstruction of his Cabinet, sick in body and mind, -the Prime Minister in January fell seriously ill. A fortnight before the -opening of the Session he paralysed his Party with amazement by deciding -to dissolve Parliament. Seldom has so momentous a decision been arrived at -in circumstances so strange and so peculiar. Writing to Lord Salisbury on -the 26th of January, 1874, Mr. Hayward says: “Alderson (whom I saw -yesterday) thought it unlikely that you would be brought back earlier than -you intended by the Dissolution, which has come on every one by surprise. -The thought first struck Gladstone as he lay rolled up in blankets to perspire -away his cold, was mentioned as a thought to daughter and private secretary, -then rapidly ripened into a resolution and submitted to the Cabinet. The -secret was wonderfully well kept by everybody. The Liberals are delighted, -and the Disraelites puzzled and amazed.”<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_463" id="page_463">{463}</a></span></p> - -<p>Parliament was dissolved on the 20th of January, and it was reckoned -that the new House of Commons would be elected by St. Valentine’s Day. -Mr. Gladstone’s Address to the electors of Greenwich set forth at great length -the reasons for his sudden appeal to the country. But Mr. Forster gave the -best and briefest explanation, when he told his constituents at Bradford that -the Dissolution was due to the petty defeats and humiliations which the -Government had suffered since Mr. Disraeli’s refusal to relieve them of the -cares of office, and to a desire that the electors should decide whether Mr. -Disraeli or Mr. Gladstone should have the spending of the enormous surplus -of £6,000,000 at the disposal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. -Gladstone in his declarations of policy referred to the Ashanti War as a -warning against “equivocal and entangling engagements.” He complained -that the House of Commons was overburdened with work, and, with an eye -to the Irish vote, he approved of delegating some of its business to “local -and subordinate authorities” under the “unquestioned control” of Parliament. -He held out no hopes of effecting any great changes in the Education Act, -but he promised a measure of University Reform, supported the extension of -Household Franchise to the Counties, and pledged himself to abolish the -Income Tax. His meagre references to Foreign Affairs seemed to show that -Mr. Bright had forced the Cabinet to accept the unpopular policy of selfish -and self-contained isolation, which virtually ignored the higher international -duties of England as one of the brotherhood of European nations.</p> - -<p>Mr. Disraeli’s manifesto was not at first sight captivating. Instead of -attacking Mr. Gladstone’s proposal to abolish the Income Tax as an attempt -to secure a Party majority by taking a <i>plébiscite</i> on a Budget which had not -yet come before Parliament, Mr. Disraeli fell in gladly with the idea. The -abolition of the Income Tax was apparently to him what emigration was to -Mr. Micawber when he had it suggested to him for the first time—the dream of -his youth, the ambition of his manhood, and the solace of his declining years. -The Tory chief also over-elaborated his complaints that Mr. Gladstone had -imperilled freedom of navigation in the Straits of Malacca by recognising the -right of the Dutch to conquer the Acheenese if they could. Nor was he -apparently successful in attacking the Government for entering on the Ashanti -War without waiting to ask Parliament for leave to repel Ashanti assaults on -our forts. But when he demanded “more energy” in Foreign Affairs than -Mr. Gladstone had exhibited, and when he said that measures could be devised -to improve the condition of the people without incessant “harassing legislation,” -he cut the Government to the quick.</p> - -<p>The elections ended in a signal disaster to the Liberal Party. Nobody was -ready for the fray. Everybody was irritated at being taken unawares. The influences -and the “interests” that had caused the decay of Mr. Gladstone’s -Administration have been already described. It will be enough to say here -that they smote it with defeat at the polls. The attempt to neutralise these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_464" id="page_464">{464}</a></span> -influences by promising to spend the surplus in abolishing the Income Tax -and readjusting local taxation completely failed. The working classes were -not eager to take off a tax which they did not pay. The majority of the -Income Tax payers argued that Mr. Disraeli’s manifesto showed that he was -prepared to give them whatever relief was possible. Independent electors -felt that it was desirable to censure a project which might establish a precedent -for including the Budget in an electoral manifesto,<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> and throwing -the financial system of the country into the crucible of a General Election.<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> -The City of London decisively abandoned Liberalism. The counties were -swept by Tory candidates. The working classes refused to support candidates -of their own order, save in Stafford and Morpeth, where the miners returned -Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Burt to Parliament. Men of high capacity, unless -their names were known to newspaper readers, were ruthlessly rejected. The -electors preferred either candidates of loudly-advertised eminence, rich local -magnates, or young men of family—especially if they had titles. Only two -tenant-farmers were chosen—Mr. Clare Read, a moderate Conservative, and Mr. -McCombie, a moderate Liberal. The “professors” and academic politicians -went down helplessly in the <i>mêlée</i>—even Mr. Fawcett failing to hold his seat -at Brighton, though shortly after Parliament met he was returned by Hackney, -where a vacancy accidentally occurred. The Home counties, where “villadom”—to -use Lord Rosebery’s term—reigns supreme, went over to Conservatism, and -the success of the Tories in the largest cities was amazing. The middling-sized -towns, and, generally speaking, the electors north of the Humber, were -pretty faithful to Liberalism. But in Ireland the Liberal Party almost ceased -to exist—the Irish electors preferring to return either Home Rulers or Tories.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_465" id="page_465">{465}</a></span> -Roughly speaking, Mr. Disraeli could count on a steady working majority of -fifty, even reckoning the Irish Home Rulers as Liberals.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_032" id="ill_032"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_465.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_465.jpg" width="325" height="396" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD SALISBURY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Bassano, Old Bond Street, W.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone tendered his resignation at once when the results of the -Elections were known, and Mr. Disraeli on being sent for formed a Cabinet, -in which the offices were distributed as follows:—First Lord of the Treasury, -Mr. Disraeli; Lord Chancellor, Lord Cairns; Lord President of the Council, -Duke of Richmond; Lord Privy Seal, Lord Malmesbury; Foreign Secretary, -Lord Derby; Secretary for India, Lord Salisbury; Colonial Secretary, Lord -Carnarvon; Home Secretary, Mr. R. A. Cross; War Secretary, Mr. Gathorne-Hardy; -First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Ward Hunt; Chancellor of the Exchequer, -Sir Stafford Northcote; Postmaster-General, Lord John Manners. -The minor offices were distributed either among administrators and men of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_466" id="page_466">{466}</a></span> -business, or young men of high birth and promising abilities, who were thus -put in training for the duties of leadership in the future.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a></p> - -<p>Ministers and ex-Ministers soon had their troubles thick upon them. The -“interests” were impatient for satisfaction, and there was an ugly rush after -the surplus. Deputations of Income Tax repealers, Local Taxation Leaguers, -clergymen demanding subsidies to Consular chaplains, brewers demanding the -repeal of their licence, Malt Tax repealers, Sugar Duty repealers, clerical supporters -of voluntary schools, who, according to Lord Sandon, virtually asked -for the suspension of payment by results, waited on Sir Stafford Northcote to -claim their share of Mr. Gladstone’s surplus. Other Ministers, too, were pestered -by the various “interests” who had worked for the Tory Party at the -General Election on the understanding that Mr. Gladstone’s “harassing” -legislation would be undone if Mr. Disraeli came back to power. The new -Government were sufficiently courageous to resist this pressure. Indeed, they -were generous enough to retract much of the hostile criticism which in the heat -of electioneering contests had been hurled against Mr. Gladstone’s Administration. -The Liberal Party, on the other hand, was not only shattered, but practically -leaderless. Its chiefs, it was said, were fighting among themselves. -Stories flew about to the effect that Mr. Lowe declared he would never again -follow Mr. Gladstone, that Sir William Harcourt was convinced he must -lead the Party himself if it was to be saved from extinction, and that Sir -Henry James vowed that he would never permit Mr. Gladstone to sit as his -colleague in any future Liberal Cabinet. Naturally Mr. Gladstone retired from -the duties of leadership, but pressure was put upon him to resume them. -He consented, but only on the understanding that his service was to be temporary, -and that he should not be expected to be in regular attendance in the -House of Commons. His advanced age, his broken health, and his need of -rest, were the reasons which he gave publicly for his action. His real motive, -however, he confided to Mr. Hayward, who, in a letter to Lady Emily Peel -(27th of February, 1874), says, “I had a long talk with Gladstone yesterday. -He thinks the Party in too heterogeneous a state for regular leadership, -that it must be let alone to shake itself into consistency. He will attend -till Easter, and then quit the field for a time. He does not talk of permanent -abdication.”<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> Mr. Gladstone, it would seem, at this time considered -his functions as a leader ended after he had shattered his Party. Not till -it had been reorganised by somebody else, or had reorganised itself, did he -apparently deem it worthy of his guidance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_467" id="page_467">{467}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the 19th of March the Queen’s Speech was read to both Houses of -Parliament. It referred joyfully to the termination of the war with the -Ashantis, the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh, but mournfully to the famine -which was then devastating Bengal. It promised a Land Transfer Bill, the extension -of the Judicature Act fusing law and equity to Ireland and Scotland, -a Bill to remedy the grievances of the publicans, a Bill dealing with -Friendly Societies, and a Royal Commission on the Labour Laws.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> In the -debate on the Address several Peers took occasion to make sport of the -great Minister who had fallen from power. But the Commons were spared -this exhibition of political vulgarity, mainly because Mr. Disraeli snubbed -most mercilessly the first of his followers who attempted to indulge in it.</p> - -<p>When Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, who moved the Address, taunted Mr. -Gladstone with his defeat, Mr. Disraeli assured the House that Sir William -had, contrary to custom, spoken without consulting him as to what he should -say—in fact, without consulting anybody. As for the silence of the Liberal -Members on the results of the Dissolution, “I admire,” said Mr. Disraeli, -“their taste and feeling. If I had been a follower of a Parliamentary chief -as eminent as the Right Honourable gentleman, even if I thought he had -erred, I should have been disposed rather to exhibit sympathy than to offer -criticism; I should remember the great victories he had fought and won. I -should remember his illustrious career; its continuous success and splendour; -not its accidental or even disastrous mistakes.” Mr. Gladstone’s frank and -candid statement was a model of dignified simplicity well worthy of Mr. -Disraeli’s chivalrous admiration. The defeated Minister simply said that his -policy of fiscal reorganisation in his judgment could not be carried save by a -Government possessing the full confidence of the country. The bye-elections—notably -the Liberal defeat at Stroud—during the recess rendered it doubtful -if his Administration possessed this confidence. His appeal to the country -confirmed that doubt. Nay, the verdict of the electors so emphatically declared -their desire to entrust power to the Tory Party, that he felt it his duty to -make way for Mr. Disraeli and his colleagues as soon as possible, and to afford -them every reasonable facility for giving effect to the will of the people. -<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_468" id="page_468">{468}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">These chivalrous courtesies foretold a dull Session. Nor did the statements of -Ministers seem promising to the “young bloods” of the Tory Party, who held -it as an axiom that they were badly led if their leaders did not show them -plenty of “sport.” What did Lord Derby mean, for example, by telling the -House of Lords that Lord Granville had left the Foreign Affairs of the country -in the most satisfactory condition? Had they not all assured their constituents -that he had brought England to such a depth of degradation that there were -now none so poor as do her reverence? What did Mr. Disraeli mean in moving -the Vote of Thanks to the Ashanti troops by praising Mr. Cardwell for the -preparations he made for bringing the war to a speedy and victorious conclusion? -Had they not all declared on the hustings that the conduct of the -war was a model of mismanagement? Moreover, was it necessary for Lord -Salisbury to exhaust the vocabulary of eulogy on Lord Northbrook for his -energy in dealing with the Indian Famine? and was Mr. Hardy true to his -followers and supporters when, on moving the Army Estimates (30th March), -he contradicted every one of the charges that had been made against Mr. -Cardwell, who had been accused of stopping Volunteering, exhausting stores, -wrecking fortifications, and failing to arm the troops?<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> One passing gleam -of hope shot across the horizon when Mr. Ward Hunt in his speech on the -Naval Estimates stood by the wild and whirling rhetoric of Opposition -criticism. He declared that the Fleet was inefficient, and warned the House -he might need a Supplementary Estimate. Whilst he, at least, remained at -the Admiralty he would not tolerate a “fleet on paper” or “dummy ships.” -But alas! even Mr. Ward Hunt’s alarmist statement vanished in a peal of -laughter when it was discovered that all he asked for to convert his “paper -fleet” into a real one was £100,000! Cynical critics soon reassured a scared -populace. The best proof that the Services had not been starved or rendered -inefficient by Mr. Gladstone’s Administration was afforded by Sir Stafford -Northcote, who made no secret of his intention to distribute the surplus of -£6,000,000 which every one regarded with hungry eyes.</p> - -<p>The eventful day for the division of the spoil came on the 16th of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_469" id="page_469">{469}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_033" id="ill_033"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_469.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_469.jpg" width="615" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>REVIEW IN WINDSOR GREAT PARK OF THE TROOPS FROM THE ASHANTI WAR: THE MARCH PAST BEFORE THE QUEEN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_470" id="page_470">{470}</a></span></p> - -<p>April, when Sir Stafford Northcote made his statement. In spite of Mr. -Lowe’s remission of taxes, his payment of the <i>Alabama</i> Claims, his disbursement -of £800,000 on the Ashanti War, the year 1873-74 ended with a -surplus in hand of £1,000,000. On the basis of existing taxation Sir Stafford -Northcote for the coming year estimated his revenue at £77,995,000, to -which he added £500,000 from interest on Government advances for agricultural -improvements heretofore added to Exchequer balances and never -reckoned in the revenue. His expenditure was taken at £72,503,000, so that -he had the magnificent surplus of £6,000,000 to play with. Never did a -Finance Minister use a great opportunity more tamely. With such a sum -at his disposal he might have re-cast the fiscal system of England and won -a reputation rivalling that of Peel. But Northcote had not the heart to -climb ambition’s ladder. He pleaded lack of time as an excuse for attempting -no great stroke of financial policy, and he frittered away his six millions -as follows:—He gave £240,000 in aid of the support of pauper lunatics; -£600,000 in aid of the Police rate; £170,000 in increased local rates on -Government property, and this sum of £1,010,000 was to be raised in succeeding -years by further payments for pauper lunatics to £1,250,000 as an -Imperial subvention to local taxation.<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> He devoted £2,000,000 to the remission -of the Sugar Duties; he took a penny off the Income Tax, which -absorbed £1,540,000, and he remitted the House Duties, which cost him -£480,000. The half-million of interest on loans which he had included in -revenue Sir Stafford Northcote used to create terminable annuities, which -would in eleven years extinguish £7,000,000 of National Debt. The fault -of the Budget was that nothing historic was done with a surplus such -as rarely occurs in the history of a nation. Even if Sir Stafford Northcote -felt unequal to the task of re-casting the whole financial system, and -giving relief to the poorer taxpayers, he could easily have earned for his -Government the enduring gratitude of the nation. He might, for example, -have created terminable annuities to pay off twenty or thirty millions of -National Debt before 1890.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cross’s Licensing Bill was introduced early in May, when the publicans, -who had worked hard to put the Government in power, expected Mr. Austin -Bruce’s restrictions on the hours of opening public-houses to be swept away. -Mr. Cross, however, found that the magistrates and police, and more respectable -inhabitants of every town and parish, were of opinion that these restrictions -had done good. He was, therefore, forced to disappoint his clients. -He left the Sunday hours untouched. On week-days he fixed the hours for -closing at half-past twelve in London, half-past eleven in populous places, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_471" id="page_471">{471}</a></span> -eleven in rural districts.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> He cancelled the permission given by Mr. Bruce -to fifty-four houses to remain open till one in the morning, in order to provide -refreshments for playgoers and theatrical people. Inasmuch as the -Government were at the mercy of the publican vote in a great many constituencies, -the Bill was most creditable to Mr. Cross. It was, in truth, a -Bill not in extension but in further restriction of the hours of opening, and -in passing it he risked giving offence to Ministerialists who had won their -seats under a pledge that the existing restrictions would be relaxed.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> - -<p>Quite unexpectedly the Ministry plunged into the stormy sea of ecclesiastical -legislation, and as was hinted at broadly, not without encouragement from -the Queen. This much might also have been inferred from two facts. The -churchmen who had most strongly influenced the Court in matters of ecclesiastical -government were Dr. Tait, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Dr. -Norman Macleod, Minister of the Barony Parish in Glasgow. The Bill -dealing with the English Church represented the ideas of Tait. That dealing -with the Kirk of Scotland embodied the policy of Macleod. Indeed, pressure -of an unusual character must have been applied to the Prime Minister to -support the former measure, which he knew only too well must provoke -dissensions in his Cabinet. It was on the 20th of April that Dr. Tait introduced -the Public Worship Regulation Bill in the House of Lords, and the -best and briefest description of it was that which was subsequently given by -Mr. Disraeli, who said, in one of the debates in the House of Commons, that -it was a Bill “to put down Ritualism.” At first Ministers did not give it -warm support, in fact, Lord Salisbury opposed it vigorously. After it had -passed through the House of Lords the fiction that it was a private Member’s -Bill was still kept up, the Second Reading being moved in the House of -Commons by Mr. Russell Gurney. Mr. Hall, the new Tory member for -Oxford, moved an amendment to Mr. Gurney’s motion, and Mr. Gladstone -opposed the measure as an attack on congregational liberties, which had been -consecrated by usage. The three great divisions of the Established Church, -the Evangelical, Broad, and High Church Parties, had each been allowed a -large scope of liberty. Why single out the last for an invidious assault? -Mr. Gladstone, however, did not deny that some Ritualistic practices were -offensive, and he moved six resolutions which would sufficiently protect congregations -from priestly extravagances, and yet leave the clergy ample freedom -in ordering their church service. These resolutions disintegrated both parties in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_472" id="page_472">{472}</a></span> -the State. Sir William Harcourt led a Liberal revolt against Mr. Gladstone. -The Secretary for War (Mr. Gathorne-Hardy) replied hotly to Sir William -Harcourt’s ultra-Erastian harangue. Mr. Disraeli here cast in his lot with -the supporters of the Bill; which, despite the opposition of Mr. Hardy, Sir -Stafford Northcote, and Lord John Manners, accordingly became in a few days -a Cabinet measure. In the House of Lords matters grew still more serious. -When the House of Commons sent the Bill back to the Peers, one of Mr. Gladstone’s -defeated amendments was speedily inserted in it, and Lord Salisbury -“utterly repudiated the bugbear of a majority in the House of Commons.” -A few days afterwards Mr. Disraeli replied with caustic humour to the taunts -of Lord Salisbury, whom he ridiculed as “a great master,” so he called him, -“of gibes, and flouts, and sneers.” Still, the Commons accepted the Lords’ -Amendments, which were for the most part in favour of individual freedom, -and so the Bill passed. But Mr. Disraeli paid a great price for his complaisance -to the Court and its confidential ecclesiastical adviser. The High -Church Party, who had ever marched in the van of his supporters, became -disaffected, and in every future electoral contest those of them who did not -fall sulking to the rear went over to the enemy. Mr. Disraeli’s tactical blunder -in identifying his Cabinet with the Public Worship Regulation Bill of 1874 -was notoriously one of the causes of the collapse of the Tory Party in the -General Election of 1880. His other adventure into the perilous region of -ecclesiastical legislation was not so disastrous to his Party as to the -institution it was his desire to protect and strengthen. In 1869 Dr. Macleod -had headed a deputation which waited on Mr. Gladstone, asking him to abolish -lay Patronage in the Scottish State Church. Mr. Gladstone asked if Macleod -and his colleagues had considered what view was likely to be taken of the -proposal by the other Presbyterian churches of Scotland, “regard being had -to their origin.” This phrase struck the deputation dumb. It was as if -Mr. Gladstone had asked whether they thought it right that the clergy of -the Free Church, who sacrificed their endowments in 1843 because the Party -whom the deputation represented successfully prevented the abolition of lay -Patronage, should be ignored now, when this very Party proposed that the -price they agreed to pay for the enjoyment of their benefices should no -longer be exacted. The project, according to Dr. Macleod, excited no great -enthusiasm in Scotland,<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> but the Courts of the Scottish Established Church -supported it strongly. In 1874 Mr. Disraeli, yielding to pressure, which -it was admittedly difficult to resist, permitted Lord Advocate Gordon to -introduce his Scottish Patronage Bill. It abolished the rights of lay patrons, -and vested presentations to livings in the hands of the congregations of the -Established Church of Scotland. When the patron was a private individual -he was compensated, but when the patronage to a benefice was held by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_473" id="page_473">{473}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_034" id="ill_034"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_473.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_473.jpg" width="398" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH (DR. MAGEE) ADDRESSING THE HOUSE OF LORDS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">a Corporation it was confiscated without compensation. The idea of the -Government was that Presbyterians outside the Established Church were -deterred from joining it by the existence of lay Patronage. When this was -abolished it was supposed that they would immediately go over to the State -Church, whose services they could command gratuitously, and leave their own -pastors, whose stipends they had to pay out of their own pockets, to starve. -Mr. Disraeli did not understand that lay Patronage, by bringing the Church -courts and civil courts into collision, was merely the occasion and not the -cause of the Disruption, and that what separated the Free Churchmen -from the State Church was a difference of opinion on the relative position -of Church and State, as wide as that which separated Dr. Pusey from an -Erastian like Sir William Harcourt. But the Patronage Bill was passed in -spite of Mr. Gladstone’s opposition, though, like the Public Worship Regulation -Bill, it failed in its object. The congregations of the non-established -Presbyterian churches refused to justify Mr. Disraeli’s cynical estimate of -their character, and therefore did not desert their pastors. The powerful -Free Kirk of Scotland, representing the principle that the Church -should be established and endowed but left free from State control, had -been debarred from joining in the Disestablishment movement. It now, -however, cast in its lot with those Presbyterian dissenters who clamoured -for Disestablishment in Scotland, which thus for the first time came within<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_474" id="page_474">{474}</a></span> -the range of practical politics. Perhaps, if Mr. Disraeli had insisted on the -rights of patrons being transferred to all parishioners his policy might have -been more successful. But by transferring these rights to the congregations -in actual attendance at established churches, he gave the Free Churchmen -a pretext for arguing that he had sectarianised the national ecclesiastical -endowments, and that, therefore, the State Church could no longer be -defended on principle. These endowments were not sectarianised, but -secularised, when controlled by private patrons and civil courts, for patron -and judge could alike be regarded in theory as legal trustees for the -nation. They were bad trustees according to the Free Churchmen, but then -they represented the nation officially, and did not, like their successors, the -congregations of the parish churches, constitute a sect.</p> - -<p>Academic debates on Parliamentary Reform and Home Rule varied the -monotony of ecclesiastical controversy which Ministers seemed to take a morbid -delight in stirring up. Their next achievement in this direction led to a -defeat. Lord Sandon unexpectedly introduced in July an Endowed Schools -Bill, which virtually undid the work of 1869. It restored the ascendency of -the Church of England in Grammar Schools, and substituted the authority of -the Charity Commissioners for that of the Endowed Schools Commission. The -Bill would probably have done much to conciliate the clergy who had been -offended by the Public Worship Regulation Act, but, on the other hand, it -closed the ranks of the Opposition, and recalled the Dissenters to the Liberal -colours. The result was that, after fierce controversy in both Houses, Mr. -Disraeli professed himself satisfied with the appointment of the Charity Commission -to superintend the working of Mr. Forster’s Act, and postponed the -contentious clauses till the following year. They were never heard of again. -Mr. Stansfeld’s Rating Bill, which the Lords had rejected in the previous -Session, was adopted by the Ministry and passed. Mr. Mundella’s Bill for -consolidating the Factory Acts, which had been shelved in 1873, was adopted -by Mr. Cross and carried.</p> - -<p>The popular verdict on the Ministry, when the Session closed on the 8th -of August, was, that as administrators they had done nothing brilliant, and -as legislators they were timidly reactionary, when they did not adopt the -ideas and measures of their predecessors. The Premier, perhaps, suffered -most in reputation. It was impossible to admire the strategy that brought -into prominence Church questions which divided his Cabinet, and were uninteresting -to the populace, or which, like the Endowed Schools Bill, when -they were of great popular interest, were dealt with in an offensively -reactionary spirit. On the other hand, the success with which the famine -in Bengal and Behar was arrested, and indeed the whole tone of the -administration at the India Office, greatly increased Lord Salisbury’s <i>prestige</i>. -Lord Carnarvon’s management of the Colonies was sympathetic and popular. -Foreign affairs had been conducted by Lord Derby with admirable prudence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_475" id="page_475">{475}</a></span> -This was aptly illustrated by his skill in avoiding entangling engagements -committing England to approve of changes in international law which would -have greatly extended the powers of invading armies in an enemy’s country. -These changes were proposed at a Conference at Brussels, which had been -promoted by Russia and Germany ostensibly to mitigate the evils of modern -warfare.</p> - -<p>Only one cloud shadowed the Foreign policy of the Cabinet during this -uneventful year. The contest between Prince Bismarck and the Roman -Catholic Church was raging in Germany, and the personal rivalry of the -German Chancellor and Count Harry Arnim—who had been German Ambassador -at Paris—had ended in the arrest of the latter on the charge -of embezzling State documents. This arrest had been effected after Count -Harry Arnim’s house had been ransacked by the police, and the Continent -rang with the scandal. Mr. Disraeli, at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, on -the 9th of November, congratulated the country on the Conservatism of -the British working classes, who, he said, enjoyed so many liberties that -they were naturally loyal to the institutions under which their freedom was -safeguarded. “They are not,” said he, “afraid of political arrests or -domiciliary visits.” The Queen was somewhat pained at an utterance which -the German Government regarded as an impertinent interference with its -domestic affairs, but a few days afterwards the wrath of Prince Bismarck -was appeased by an official explanation in the Times to the effect that Mr. -Disraeli had not meant to refer to the affairs of Germany, or to the arbitrary -conduct of the Berlin police. In this unfortunate speech Mr. Disraeli, however, -struck a popular note when he referred to the extension of the Empire -by the annexation of the Fiji islands, in terms that foreshadowed a policy of -Colonial expansion.</p> - -<p>As for the Opposition, it remained in a state of disorganisation, under -Mr. Gladstone’s desultory leadership. Its prospects were not improved by -his publication of two pamphlets, in which he attacked what he called -“Vaticanism,” and attempted to prove that good Catholics, who were mostly -Liberals, must be incapable of reasoning, if they were not traitors. That -was the sum and substance of his amazing tirades against the extravagant -pretensions of the Papacy under Pius IX.</p> - -<p>During the year the Queen seldom appeared in public, which was, -perhaps, one reason why a marked deterioration in the moral tone of society -was discernible. A curious languor crept over the upper classes. They -were consumed with a quenchless thirst for amusement, and the genius -who could have invented a new pleasure would have had the world at his -feet. Frivolity seemed to prey like a cancer on the vitality of the nation. -When the Prince of Wales gave a State Fancy Ball in July, the <i>Times</i> -actually devoted three columns of space to an elaborate description of the -dresses. Sport became a serious business to all classes of society, and even<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_476" id="page_476">{476}</a></span> -grave and earnest men of affairs like Mr. Gladstone wasted their lives in the -laborious idleness of ecclesiastical controversies. The more vigorous youth of -the aristocracy now began to make their “grand tour,” not as did their -ancestors to study foreign affairs and institutions, but merely to kill big -game. Fashionable life became so costly that rents had to be exacted with -unusual rigour, and the strikes among the agricultural labourers that mitigated -the advantages of a good harvest, were accordingly spoken of in -West End drawing-rooms as if they had revived the horrors of the <i>Jacquerie</i>. -Though prices had begun to fall, the mercantile classes vied with the -aristocracy in the ostentatious extravagance of their personal expenditure, and -in the City the old and substantial Princes of Commerce were pushed aside -by gamblers who termed themselves “financial agents,” and who had suddenly -grown rich by “placing” Foreign Loans and floating fabulously successful -Joint-Stock Companies. The pace of life was too rapid even for the Prince -of Wales, whose financial embarrassments during a dull autumn formed the -subject of some discussion. It was publicly stated that he had incurred -liabilities to the extent of £600,000, and that the Queen, disgusted with Mr. -Gladstone’s refusal to apply to Parliament for money to discharge them, had -paid them herself. From what has already been said on this delicate subject -it is hardly necessary to point out here that this statement was not quite -accurate. It was true that the debts of the Heir Apparent amounted to one-third -of his income, but it was equally true that on the 1st of October his -Controller’s audit showed that he had a balance to his credit sufficient to -meet them. At the same time there could be no doubt that the Prince’s -expenditure far exceeded his resources, for sums varying from £10,000 to -£20,000, taken from the great fund accumulated for him by the Prince -Consort’s thrifty administration of the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, -were sacrificed every year to prevent his debts from becoming -unmanageable.<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a></p> - -<p>His brothers were more fortunately situated. Prince Arthur, who had -been created, in May, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex,<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> -was able to devote himself quietly to his military studies, and lead a life of -dignified simplicity. “Many thanks,” writes the Princess Louis of Hesse to -the Queen (May 4th, 1874), “for your last dear letter, written on dear -Arthur’s birthday, of which, though late, I wrote you joy. Such a good, -steady, excellent boy as he is! What a comfort it must be to you never to -have had any cause of uneasiness or annoyance in his conduct! He is so -much respected, which for one so young is doubly praiseworthy. From St. -Petersburg, as from Vienna, we heard the same account of the steady line he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_477" id="page_477">{477}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_035" id="ill_035"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_477.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_477.jpg" height="411" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ALEXANDER II., CZAR OF RUSSIA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">holds to, in spite of all chaffing, &c., from others, which shows character.”<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> -Prince Leopold was equally fortunate; indeed, his delicate health would of -itself have compelled him to shun the exhausting gaieties of London seasons, -when Society was worn out with <i>ennui</i> every year ere the rosebuds burst -into bloom. When Parliament voted him an income of £15,000 a year, Mr. -Disraeli described Prince Leopold as an invalid student of “no common order,” -and to the Queen it was an increasing source of delight to watch in her -youngest son the growth of the same pensive nature, the same studious habits, -and the same refined and cultured tastes which, in the Prince Consort, Mr. -Disraeli averred somewhat effusively, “gave a new impulse to our civilisation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_478" id="page_478">{478}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>With the exception of the grant to the Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage, -this was the only Royal grant voted by Parliament which was not made a matter -of controversy. But it must be noted that in 1874 the spirit of Republicanism -in the country was almost dead. Mr. Chamberlain, by his writings and -speeches, made an ineffectual effort to keep it alive, but even he had to bow -his austere knee to the popular idols of the time, who were undoubtedly -the Prince and Princess of Wales. As if to throw out a jaunty challenge to -the enemies of the Monarchy, the Prince and Princess paid a visit to Birmingham -in November, where it was the duty of Mr. Chamberlain as Mayor to receive -them, and where they met with a welcome from the populace, the significance -of which he was quick to recognise. Mr. Chamberlain, who had not been -expected to make pleasant speeches to his guests, behaved to them with -the tact of an astute if not an accomplished courtier. His undisguised -appreciation of the Prince’s visit to his mansion, and of the Princess’s -delight in his conservatories, famed for their priceless exotics, recalled the -devotion of the Lady Margaret Bellenden in “Old Mortality,” when Charles II. -accepted the hospitalities of her castle.</p> - -<p>One marked feature of the London season in 1874 was the sudden withdrawal -of the Duchess of Edinburgh from Court ceremonials. An attempt -was made to account for this by explaining that as her Royal and Imperial -Highness was expecting to become a mother she deemed her retirement from -Society necessary.<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> According to statements current at the time, however, her -absence was due not exactly to a dispute, but to a difficulty about her precedence, -which must have considerably embarrassed the Queen. As the -daughter of a powerful Emperor, the Duchess of Edinburgh not unnaturally -thought that she had a right to take precedence of the Princess of Wales, -who was but the daughter of a petty king. An Imperial Highness should, -in her opinion, take precedence of a Royal Highness. On the other hand, -it was intolerable to the English people that even by implication should the -inferiority of the English Monarchy to that of any Imperial House in Europe -be recognised—in fact, the kings of England had never admitted that any -of the Continental Emperors had a title to precedence over them. The -country, therefore, heard with interest a report that the Russian Czar was -about to come to England, not merely to visit his daughter, but if possible -to settle with the Queen the question of precedence that had disturbed her -family. Her Majesty was understood to be willing to assent to any arrangement -which did not confer on the wife of her second son, the right to take -precedence over the wife of the Heir Apparent, and so matters stood when the -Czar arrived at Dover on the 13th of May. He was received with the utmost -cordiality by the Queen in person at Windsor. The first effect of his visit was -to replace the Duchess of Edinburgh in the <i>Court Circular</i> among the ladies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_479" id="page_479">{479}</a></span> -the Royal Family next to the Princess of Wales, and to cause her to be -described as “Her Royal <i>and Imperial Highness</i> the Duchess of Edinburgh -(Grand Duchess of Russia).”<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> The Czar was well received by the people, -among whom he was popular as the Liberator of the Serfs, and after a dreary -week of sightseeing and State banquets, he left England on the 22nd of May.</p> - -<p>On the 30th of March the Queen proceeded to Windsor Great Park to -review the troops who had been engaged in the Ashanti War. The force, -2,000 in number, went through their evolutions in gallant style, and her -Majesty with her own hands awarded the Victoria Cross to Lord Gifford for -personal bravery in the campaign. On the 13th of April the Queen also -inspected the sailors and marines of the Royal Navy who had fought in the -Ashanti War. The review took place at Gosport, and many of the officers -were, by the Queen’s desire, personally presented to her.</p> - -<p>The controversy then raging over Vivisection seemed to have interested -her Majesty greatly, for at the Jubilee meeting of the Society for the Prevention -of Cruelty to Animals there was read a letter written by Sir Thomas -Biddulph by the Queen’s instructions, which ran as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">My Dear Lord</span>,—The Queen has commanded me to address you, as President of the -Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, on the occasion of the assembly in this country -of the foreign delegates connected with your association and of the Jubilee of the Society, to -request you to give expression publicly to her Majesty’s warm interest in the success of the -efforts which are being made at home and abroad for the purpose of diminishing the cruelties -practised on dumb animals. The Queen hears and reads with horror of the sufferings which the -brute creation often undergo from the thoughtlessness of the ignorant, and she fears also sometimes -from experiments in the pursuit of science. For the removal of the former the Queen -trusts much to the progress of education, and in regard to the pursuit of science, she hopes -that the entire advantage of those anæsthetic discoveries, from which man has derived so much -benefit himself in the alleviation of suffering, may be fully extended to the lower animals. -Her Majesty rejoices that the Society awakens the interest of the young by the presentation of -prizes for essays connected with the subject, and hears with gratification that her son and -daughter-in-law have shown their interest by distributing the prizes. Her Majesty begs to -announce a donation of £100 to the funds of the Society.”</p></div> - -<p>On the 23rd of November her Majesty was present, with the Empress of -Russia, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal -Family, at the christening of the infant son of the Duke and Duchess of -Edinburgh—Prince Alfred of Edinburgh; and on the 3rd of December she -received a deputation from France to present her with an Address of thanks -for services rendered by Englishmen to the sick and wounded in the war of -1870-71. The Address was contained in four large volumes, which were placed -on a table for the purpose of being shown to her Majesty. M. d’Agiout and -Comte Serrurier explained the nature of their contents. Having accepted the -volumes, the Queen said to the deputation in French, “I accept with pleasure -the volumes which you have presented, and which will be carefully preserved by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_480" id="page_480">{480}</a></span> -me as records of the interesting historical events which they commemorate. -They are beautiful as works of art, but their chief value in my eyes is that -they form a permanent memorial of the gratitude of the French people for -services freely and spontaneously rendered to them by Englishmen acting -under a simple impulse of humanity. Your recognition of those services -cannot fail to be appreciated by my subjects, and it will increase the friendly -and cordial feeling which I am happy to believe exists between the two -nations.” The volumes were placed in the British Museum.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_036" id="ill_036"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_480.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_480.jpg" width="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ALBERT MEMORIAL CHAPEL, WINDSOR.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>On the 3rd of December her Majesty at Windsor personally presented -several seamen and marines with the medals which they had won for conspicuous -gallantry in the Ashanti War. A few days after this ceremony the -attention of the country was absorbed in the first volume of the biography of -the Prince Consort, which had been compiled with sedulous care, delicate -tact, and refined feeling by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Theodore Martin. The -verdict of the public was one of immediate and unreserved approval. They -were delighted with Mr. Martin’s idyllic picture of Prince Albert’s domestic -life, and of the tender companionship in which he and the Queen lived -lovingly together. Glimpses, too, of the Queen’s own strength of character -and of her shrewd judgment in politics, such as, for example, her letters and -memoranda on the affair of the Spanish marriages, and her keenly-etched<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_481" id="page_481">{481}</a></span> -portrait of the Czar Nicholas after his visit in 1844, suggested very plainly -that the Sovereign was not exactly a cipher in the State. If in some of its -lines Mr. Martin’s portrait recalled memories of William III., it reminded -the people that, like William III., the Prince, though unable from his intellectual -detachment to inspire the people with love, won their confidence and -respect through his unpretending, but unswerving fidelity to the interests of -his adopted country. But the frankness and absence of reserve with which -the book was written displeased a few of the Queen’s foreign relatives; -indeed, this feature of the biography had been commented on by some who -thought it was derogatory to the dignity of the Royal Caste. The Princess -Louis of Hesse, if she did not share this opinion, felt it her duty to convey -it to the Queen. In a letter to her mother at the beginning of 1875, the -Princess says, “It is touching and fine in you to allow the world to have -so much insight into your private life, and allow others to have what has -been only <i>your</i> property, and <i>our</i> inheritance.... For the frivolous -higher classes how valuable this book will be if read with real attention, as -a record of a life spent in the highest aims, with the noblest conception of -duty as a leading star.” To this letter the Queen replied from Osborne, 12th -of January, 1875:—“If,” she wrote, “you will reflect a few minutes, you will -see how I owed it to beloved papa to let his noble character be known and -understood, as it now is, and that to wait longer when those who knew him -best—his own wife, and a few (very few there are) remaining friends—were -all gone, or too old and too far removed from that time, to be able to present -a really true picture of his most ideal and remarkable character, would -have been really wrong. He must be known for his own sake, for the good -of England and of his family, and of the world at large. Countless people -write to say what good it does and will do. And it is already thirteen -years since he left us! Then you must also remember that endless false and -untrue things have been said about us, public and private, and that in these -days people will write and will know; therefore the only way to counteract -this is to let the real full truth be known, and as much be told as can be -told with prudence and discretion, and then no harm, but good, will be done. -Nothing will help me more than that my people should know what I have -lost!... The ‘Early Years’ volume was begun for private circulation -only, and then General Grey and many of papa’s friends and advisers begged -me to have it published. This was done. The work was most popular, and -greatly liked. General Grey could not go on with it, and asked me to ask -Sir A. Helps to continue it; and he said that he could not, but recommended -Mr. Theodore Martin as one of the most eminent writers of the -day, and hoped I could prevail on him to undertake this great national -work. I did succeed, and he has taken seven years to prepare the whole, -supplied by me with every letter and extract; and a deal of time it took, -but I felt it would be a national sacred work.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_482" id="page_482">{482}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /><br /> -<small>EMPRESS OF INDIA.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Mr. Disraeli recognises Intellect—Lord Hartington Liberal Leader—The Queen’s Speech—Lord Hartington’s -“Grotesque Reminiscences”—Mr. Cross’s Labour Bills—The Artisans’ Dwellings Act—Mr. Plimsoll and -the “Ship-knackers”—Lord Hartington’s First “Hit”—The Plimsoll Agitation—Surrender of the Cabinet—“Strangers” -in the House—The Budget—Rise of Mr. Biggar—First Appearance of Mr. Parnell—The -Fugitive Slave Circular—The Sinking of the Yacht <i>Mistletoe</i>—The Loss of the <i>Vanguard</i>—Purchase of -the Suez Canal Shares—The Prince of Wales’s Visit to India—Resignation of Lord Northbrook—Appointment -of Lord Lytton as Viceroy of India—Outbreak of the Eastern Question—The Andrassy Note—The -Berlin Memorandum—Murder of French and German Consuls at Salonica—Lord Derby Rejects the -Berlin Memorandum—Servia Declares War on Turkey—The Bulgarian Revolt Quenched in Blood—The -Sultan Dethroned—Opening of Parliament—“Sea-sick of the Silver Streak”—Debates on the Eastern -Question—Development of Obstruction by Mr. Biggar and Mr. Parnell—The Royal Titles Bill—Lord -Shaftesbury and the Queen—The Queen at Whitechapel—A Doleful Budget—Mr. Disraeli becomes Earl of -Beaconsfield—The Prince Consort’s Memorial at Edinburgh—Mr. Gladstone and the Eastern Question—The -Servian War—The Constantinople Conference—The Tories Manufacture Failure for Lord Salisbury—Death -of Lady Augusta Stanley—Proclamation of the Queen as Empress at Delhi.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> year 1875 opened less gloomily for the Ministry than for the Opposition. -Mr. Disraeli had sanctioned the despatch of a Polar Expedition, -and in a curious letter, since published by Mr. Froude, he had tendered Mr. -Carlyle the Grand Cross of the Bath on the ground that “a Government -should recognise Intellect.”<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> He had also offered Mr. Tennyson—“if not a -great poet, a real one,” to use his own phrase—a baronetcy. Both offers -had been refused, but the scientific and literary classes—potent agencies for -influencing public opinion—sang loud the praises of a Ministry that was so -obviously in sympathy with them. As for the Opposition, Mr. Gladstone’s -definite refusal to lead them any longer, compelled them to elect a successor, -whereupon an infinite amount of dissension, heartburning, and jealousy -was stirred up in their ranks. Mr. Goschen, Sir William Harcourt, and Mr. -W. E. Forster were the candidates who had most partisans, and the last was -undoubtedly the one on whom the public choice would have fallen, if the -public had been permitted to arbitrate between the rivals. The Nonconformists, -however, had not yet forgiven Mr. Forster, and Mr. Bright put him -out of the field by using his powerful influence in favour of Lord Hartington, -who was finally selected. According to one of the ablest of Liberal -political critics, Lord Hartington “succeeded in making the whole party -content, if not enthusiastic, with their choice.”<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> Lord Hartington had, in -the course of the Session, virtually nothing to do, and, like the Peers in -Mr. Gilbert’s opera, he “did it very well.” The Queen’s Speech outlined a -temperately progressive policy, and when the Opposition leader taunted Ministers -with failing to carry out the scheme of reaction to which they stood pledged<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_483" id="page_483">{483}</a></span> -on the hustings and in the Conservative Press, Mr. Disraeli, with demure -gaiety, protested against his “grotesque reminiscences.” Lord Hartington, he -complained, sought out “the most violent speeches made by the most uninfluential -persons in the most obscure places, and the most absurd articles -appearing in the dullest and most uninfluential newspapers,” and took these as -the opinions of “the great Conservative Party.”<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> The opinions of the -Conservative Ministry, he added, were now expressed from the front Ministerial -Bench, and for these alone did he hold himself responsible.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cross was the popular Minister of the Session. His Artisans’ Dwellings -Bill embodied a resolution which Mr. U. Kay-Shuttleworth and Sir Sidney -Waterlow had induced Mr. Gladstone’s Government to accept, and though in -practice it proved disastrous to local ratepayers, it was taken as a kindly -recognition of claims which Liberal Cabinets had too often ignored.<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> Mr. -Cross was much more successful with his Labour Bills, drafts of which, it -was said, had been prepared by Mr. Lowe. The Home Secretary had framed -his Bills to conciliate Tory members who had eloquently denounced Trades -Unions during the General Election. But in Committee he accepted amendments -which removed from the law every trace of the evil spirit that -punished breach of contract by a workman, not as a civil offence, but as a -crime. Though he fought hard against the repeal of the Criminal Law -Amendment Act, he finally surrendered to Mr. Lowe, and not only accepted -his definition of “molestation” or “picketing,” but further agreed to his proposal -to make that offence punishable when committed by anybody—be he -master or servant. The growth of a Conservative spirit among the Trades -Unions dates from the passing of Mr. Cross’s Employers and Workmen -Bill, and his Conspiracy Bill. Mr. Gathorne-Hardy’s Regimental Exchanges -Bill was a reactionary concession to “the Colonels,” for it gave rich officers -facilities for bribing poor ones to relieve them from arduous foreign service. -Lord Cairns, however, did much more harm to the Government by withdrawing -his Judicature Bill under the menaces of a secret Junta of Peers, headed by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_484" id="page_484">{484}</a></span> -the Duke of Buccleuch, who had resolved to restore to the House of Lords -its Appellate Jurisdiction. Whilst independent Peers protested against this -course as a slight to the Upper House, the country considered that it indicated -a deplorable want of courage. For when Lord Cairns’ new Bill, postponing -till the 1st of November, 1886, the provisions of Lord Selborne’s Act -(1873),<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> and establishing an Intermediate Court of Appeal as a kind of -judicial makeshift, came before the House of Commons, Sir John Holker, -with indiscreet frankness, explained why the Government had dropped their -own measure. The Peers, he said, meant to retain their jurisdiction in spite -of the House of Commons, and it was, therefore, futile to resist them. This -admission that the Cabinet, which ought to be responsible only to the Queen -and to Parliament, was really controlled by a small caucus of Peers, whose -very names were kept secret, was one which Government could now-a-days -survive. The Bill, however, passed before the Session closed.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_037" id="ill_037"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_484.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_484.jpg" width="414" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MR. PLIMSOLL ADDRESSING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Ministers also lost much of their popularity through Mr. Disraeli’s -tenderness towards owners of unseaworthy ships. Mr. Plimsoll had stirred<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_485" id="page_485">{485}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_038" id="ill_038"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_485.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_485.jpg" height="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MARQUIS OF HARTINGTON.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Russell and Sons.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">up public opinion against the “ship-knackers,” as he called them, who, having -over-insured vessels that were rotten, sent them away to founder at sea with -their crews, and then put the insurance money in their pockets. The Board -of Trade had rather frowned on his efforts to get it to detain unseaworthy -ships for survey, but in deference to popular pressure the Government had -promised to bring in a Merchant Shipping Bill to check the evil which Mr. -Plimsoll had discovered and denounced. The Bill was read a second time in -the Commons without opposition, and it was one in which the Queen was -said to be as much interested as Mr. Plimsoll himself. But Mr. Disraeli had -brought forward a measure permitting farmers to receive compensation for -unexhausted improvements, and enabling landlords to deny them this compensation -by contracting themselves out of the Bill. He had contrived to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_486" id="page_486">{486}</a></span> -Government business into confusion by trying to push on Ministerial measures -abreast instead of in single file, and in a fatal moment he shelved the -Merchant Shipping Bill, in order to make way for the perfectly worthless -Agricultural Holdings Bill. He announced the fact on the 22nd of July, -when Mr. Goschen entered a mild protest.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plimsoll, however, rose quivering with rage and passion, and moved -the adjournment of the House. He not only protested against the Government -postponing a Bill that interfered with “the unhallowed gains” of the “shipknackers,” -but said that some of them sat in the House, and mentioned by name -one of “the villains” he was determined to “unmask.” In vain the Speaker -called him to order. Louder and louder grew the turmoil, and in the midst -of it Mr. Disraeli grew visibly pale when Mr. Plimsoll rushed up the floor of -the House with his clenched fist extended in front of him. However, he did -not strike the Premier or Sir Charles Adderley—who was officially in charge -of the Bill—as had been dreaded. He merely stood on one leg, placed a -written protest on the table, and then, having shaken his fist in the Speaker’s -face, marched out of the Chamber amidst a scene of terrible disorder. Mr. -Disraeli lost his temper and, with it, touch of the House for a moment. In -angry accents he moved that Mr. Plimsoll be reprimanded there and then, -whereupon the Speaker interfered, and said that before a motion of that sort -could be put Mr. Plimsoll, who was now standing below the bar, must be -heard in his place. Mr. Plimsoll, however, preferred immediate withdrawal, -and the House was on the eve of entering into conflict with a defiant -Member, supported by an irresistible force of democratic passion in the country, -a conflict from which it must have emerged with impaired authority, when -suddenly Lord Hartington came to the rescue. His frigid accents, in strong -contrast with Mr. Disraeli’s tremulous tones of wrath, immediately cooled -the temper of the House. Mr. Plimsoll was, said Lord Hartington, merely -suffering from “overstrain acting on a very sensitive temperament, and -before taking any strong measures against a man so universally respected, it -would be more consonant with the dignity of the House to give him reasonable -time to put himself right.” Mr. Disraeli instantly saw that Lord -Hartington’s phlegmatic sense had suggested the course that would extricate -him from the dangerous position into which he was leading the House, -and he consented to adjourn the matter for a week. Mr. Plimsoll made an -honourable apology to the Speaker, and the matter ended happily, but the -incident, to the gratification of the country, revealed in Lord Hartington a -capacity for cool and adroit leadership, the existence of which had hitherto -been unsuspected. The day after the scene in the House of Commons a -storm of agitation broke over the country on behalf of Mr. Plimsoll. From -every constituency remonstrances couched in terms of strong indignation poured -in upon the House of Commons. Tory Members warned the Whips that they -did not dare to run athwart the wave of passion that swept over the land.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_487" id="page_487">{487}</a></span> -The Cabinet accordingly held a meeting in a panic, and resolved to bring in -a temporary Bill empowering the Board of Trade to detain rotten ships and -to prohibit grain cargoes from being carried in bulk. The measure was -passed, even the Peers shrinking from the responsibility of rejecting it.</p> - -<p>Another blunder damaged Mr. Disraeli’s leadership. In April Mr. Charles -Lewis moved that the printer of the <i>Times</i> be summoned to the Bar and dealt -with for printing a letter reflecting on a Member of the House of Commons, -in a report of evidence given before the Foreign Loans Committee. It was -an attempt to carry out the old Standing Order, which made it an offence -for newspapers to report Parliamentary proceedings. Mr. Disraeli first spoke -against the motion, and then voted for it. It was carried. But next day -he moved that the Order be discharged, and when Mr. Sullivan asked him -if he intended to put the relations of the Press and Parliament on a less -anomalous footing, he answered “No.” Thereupon Mr. Sullivan warned -him he would insist on carrying out the ridiculous old Standing Order, and -clearing the House of reporters every night till Mr. Disraeli yielded. Lord -Hartington induced Mr. Sullivan to refrain, but Mr. Biggar next stepped in, -and with elfish humour, one night when the Prince of Wales was listening -to a debate, rose and said he “espied strangers in the House,” which was -duly cleared of every one—including the Prince—save Members. The two -leaders then carried a motion suspending the ridiculous Order for that -evening. Mr. Disraeli, however, still refused to alter the rule or accept a -proposal from Lord Hartington for altering it. Mr. Sullivan accordingly -retorted by again “espying strangers,” clearing the House, and compelling the -Government to adjourn an important debate. Mr. Disraeli now saw he had -no choice but to surrender. He therefore carried a new Standing Order, -enabling the Speaker to exclude strangers when he saw fit, but submitting -the attempt of a private Member to clear the House, to the check of an -immediate and undebateable vote.</p> - -<p>Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget was ominous of hard times coming. -Prices were beginning to fall, and unsound Foreign Loans, in which rich -people had invested, were beginning to collapse. Sir Stafford Northcote, -therefore, though he received half a million more revenue than he expected, -wisely made no sanguine estimate for the ensuing year. His anticipated -expenditure he put at £75,268,000, an increase of £939,000, and his revenue -at £75,685,000, showing a probable surplus of £417,000, which was ultimately -converted by supplementary estimates into an estimated deficit of £300,000—a -bad contrast to the miraculous surplus of £6,000,000, which in the previous -year he inherited from Mr. Gladstone. There was no special feature in the -Budget, save the scheme fixing the charge for the paying up the interest -and the principal of the National Debt in future at £28,000,000 a year, and -making it obligatory to meet this sum before any surplus could be declared. -It was, in fact, a plan for establishing a rigid Sinking Fund to discharge the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_488" id="page_488">{488}</a></span> -National Debt, and though it was popular at the time, it failed, as all such -plans fail, because whenever a difficulty arises Ministers of Finance always -confiscate a Sinking Fund in preference to imposing new taxes.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_039" id="ill_039"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_488.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_488.jpg" width="397" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ABERGELDIE CASTLE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Ireland, represented by the new National Party, under Mr. Butt, gained -little during 1875, but she gained something. Under a Liberal Government -half the Home Rule Party could have been bribed by places into silence. -But an ostentatiously hostile Tory Ministry could not offer them places, and -yet they had to be quieted somehow, for the Irish people had by this time -lost faith in their insincere Parliamentary action. Fenian agents were telling -the Irish peasantry that they could expect no concessions unless they -extorted them by revolution. The Government, accordingly, relaxed the -existing Coercion Acts, and the debate on one of these—the Westmeath -Act—was, on the 22nd of April, 1875, rendered historic by the intervention -of Mr. Biggar, who talked against time for five hours, by the simple device -of reading long extracts from Blue Books.<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> Shortly after this feat, Mr. -Charles Stewart Parnell, a young Wicklow squire, who had been educated at -Cambridge, and was notable for his shyness, his aristocratic reserve, and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_489" id="page_489">{489}</a></span> -faltering and confused speech, took his seat as Member for Meath, in succession -to John Martin, who had died. Nothing was known of him save that -he had the reputation of being a Protestant landlord who was on good terms -with his tenants, that from his mother—a daughter of the celebrated Commodore -Stewart of the United States Navy—he had inherited Republican -ideas, that he was a lover of field sports, and that he was a cadet of the -family of which his great-grandfather, Sir John Parnell, Chancellor of the -Irish Exchequer in 1782, was a distinguished member, and the head of which -was the present Lord Congleton. That his beautiful estate of Avondale was -heavily mortgaged was <i>not</i> regarded as noteworthy. Mr. Joseph Gillies Biggar, -whose quaint b<i>ourgeois</i> humour had already made him, if not the favourite, -at least one of the privileged “diversions” of the House, and who was -destined to be Mr. Parnell’s coadjutor in organising the largest and most -powerful Irish National Party of the Victorian period, was a prosperous provision-dealer, -of Scottish extraction, trading in Belfast. His experience of -affairs had been gained as Chairman of the local Water Board.</p> - -<p>Parliament was prorogued peacefully on the 13th of August, and, on the -whole, Ministers emerged from the Session with credit. Mr. Disraeli’s bright -wit, his cheerful temper, and his airy jocularity in meeting serious attacks, -recalled pleasant memories of Lord Palmerston, and tempted the House to -forget his occasional blunders as its Leader. The Recess, however, brought -serious peril to his Cabinet—peril which, however, it had done little to deserve. -In the middle of September it was discovered that the Foreign Office had -induced the Admiralty to issue a Fugitive Slave Circular to naval officers. -They were told they must not receive fugitive slaves in territorial waters -unless their lives were in danger. If the fugitive slave came on board a -British ship in territorial waters, he was not to remain if it were proved he -were a slave. If received on the high seas, he must be surrendered when -the ship came within the territorial waters of the country from which he -had escaped. The Circular, in fact, defined the legal obligations under -which British ships of war must logically lie if they chose to enter the -territorial waters of slave States, with which England was not at war. It -was a Circular embodying regulations on which every Liberal Minister had -habitually acted, but the Liberal Party immediately proceeded to make political -capital out of it. An agitation as fierce as that which was caused -by the abandonment of the Merchant Shipping Bill sprang up, and Lord -Derby, at whose instance the Admiralty issued the Circular, was accused of -attempting to commit England to a furtive partnership with slave-owners. The -most that could be said in fairness against the document was that it was so -badly drafted as to imply that the deck of a Queen’s ship was subject to -foreign jurisdiction. Moreover, the order to surrender a fugitive slave who had -taken refuge on a Queen’s ship on the high seas, was so completely indefensible -that Lord Derby himself struck it out of the second edition of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_490" id="page_490">{490}</a></span> -Circular. He might as well have ordered a British Consul in Rio to arrest -and surrender a Brazilian slave who, having gained freedom by escaping to -English soil, had afterwards returned to that port. Till Parliament met in -1876, the country rang with the inflated protests of Liberal partisans against -the amended Circular, which was published after the original one had been -suspended in October, and cancelled in November.</p> - -<p>But the issue and publication of the Slave Circular was not the only -blunder at the Admiralty that rendered the Government unpopular during the -Recess. They were guilty of one which gave the Queen the utmost annoyance. -When she was crossing the Solent from Osborne to Gosport on the 18th -of August her yacht ran down another yacht called the <i>Mistletoe</i>. The owner -(Mr. Heywood) and his sisters-in-law, Miss Annie Peel and Miss Eleanor Peel, -were on board, and, though the last-named was rescued, Miss Annie Peel and -the sailing-master were drowned. The Queen happened to be on deck, and her -emotion during the scene was painful to witness. The Prince of Leiningen, -as commander of the Royal yacht, was blamed by the people for the catastrophe, -and unfortunately the Admiralty not only refused to try him by -court-martial, but, after a secret inquiry, condemned the navigating officer. -This roused public wrath, and it was ungenerously alleged that the Queen -had forced a servile Minister to protect her nephew from just punishment. -The fact is, as a subsequent case showed, the Admiralty merely followed the -stereotyped rule, which, in those days, was to punish subordinate officers for -the blunders of their superiors. It used to be asked, What was a navigating -officer on board a Queen’s ship for, unless to take his captain’s punishment? -Unfortunately for the Prince of Leiningen, there was a tribunal from which -he could not escape—the coroner’s inquest on the bodies of those for whose -death he was morally responsible. The evidence given before the coroner -still further exasperated the ill-feeling which had been roused. Yachtsmen—proverbially -a loyal body of men—were irritated at the tone of a letter -addressed to the president of the Cowes Yacht Club (the Marquis of Exeter), -in which General Ponsonby expressed the Queen’s wish that in future -members of the Club would not approach too closely to the Royal yacht -when the Queen was on board. The insinuation contained in this document -and assumption that no blame rested on the officers of the <i>Alberta</i>, provoked -yachtsmen in every club in Great Britain to retort that, in their painful -experience, the Queen’s yachts were navigated in the Solent with a -disregard of the “rules of the road” which rendered them a constituted -nuisance.</p> - -<p>In this particular instance the Royal yacht had been driven at the rate -of seventeen miles an hour, and the Prince of Leiningen and his subordinates -had paid no attention to the Board of Trade rule which makes it the duty -of a steamer to get well out of the way of a sailing-vessel. The quartermasters -of the yacht, too, gave their evidence in a manner which not only cast<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_491" id="page_491">{491}</a></span> -suspicion on their testimony, but suggested that they stood in terror of their -officers. A letter which the Queen wrote to her nephew expressing her satisfaction -with their conduct, was moreover taken to be an attempt to unduly -influence the Coroner’s Court. The first jury did not agree on a verdict, and -the outcry about the Queen’s letter was so loud that the case had to be tried -again. The Queen had for a moment forgotten that the vast influence which -she had acquired during her reign rendered it imperative for her to be silent -on all matters of controversy—especially if they were under judicial investigation. -She forgot that the mere expression of her individual opinion gave -an advantage to one side in a dispute, the extent of which she herself had -clearly never dreamt of—an advantage so great, that it bore unfairly against the -side that had not got it. The second jury, however, brought in a verdict of -“Accidental Death,” and condemned the officers of the Royal yacht (1), for -steaming at too high a speed, and (2), for keeping a bad look-out. The verdict -was quite illogical. If the look-out on the <i>Alberta</i> was bad and her speed too -high, and if, as was proved, her officer had violated the rule of the road, the -verdict ought to have been one of Manslaughter. But no further steps were -taken to do justice. Mr. Anderson brought the case before the House of -Commons, and though he was defeated in his effort to make the Government -move in the affair, he created a great stir in the country, by declaring that -public funds had been used as hush-money to prevent further inquiry.<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> So -far as the verdict of the jury went, demanding that the Royal yachts should -steam at less speed in the Solent, it was absurd. State business often forces -the Queen and her messengers and Ministers to travel fast. What the jury -should have recommended was a new rule of the road, to the effect that -everything must make way on the water for a yacht flying the Sovereign’s -personal flag.</p> - -<p>The other blunder of the Admiralty arose out of an inquiry into the -loss of two ironclads off the Wicklow coast. On the night of the 1st of -September the <i>Iron Duke</i> rammed and sank the <i>Vanguard</i>. There was a fog -at the time, and the captain of the <i>Vanguard</i> left the deck at the moment -of greatest peril, and was stupid enough to reduce speed for no discernible -reason without warning the <i>Iron Duke</i>, which was coming behind him. The -captain of the <i>Iron Duke</i> was stupid enough to increase her speed in the -fog, and she was not only badly steered, but her fog-signal was not blown. -Had they been employed in the merchant service these two officers would -have been subjected to the severest punishment. As it was, the captain -of the <i>Vanguard</i> was dismissed the service. The captain of the <i>Iron Duke</i>, -who had been condemned by the court-martial for ramming the <i>Vanguard</i>, -was acquitted, on a review of his sentence by the Admiralty. The Admiralty -then, by way of compensation, cashiered his subordinate, Lieutenant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_492" id="page_492">{492}</a></span> -Evans, without a trial, and without giving him leave to make a defence. As -for the Admiral, who, from lack of skill or from negligence permitted the -ships of his squadron to sail close to each other in a fog, he was freed from -blame.</p> - -<p>Fortunately for Mr. Disraeli, an opportunity for a great stroke of policy -occurred, which diverted public attention from these blunders, and re-established -the waning popularity of his Ministry. On the 26th of November -it was announced that the Government had bought for £4,000,000 the -Khedive’s shares in the Suez Canal, and what a French writer described as -“a conquest by mortgage” was hailed by the English people, with a shout -of gratification. The impecunious ruler of Egypt had been literally hawking</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_040" id="ill_040"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_492.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_492.jpg" width="402" height="209" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEW ON THE SUEZ CANAL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">his Canal shares among the Powers. It was possible that at any moment -Germany or France might buy them up, and then impede the passage of English -troops to India. Not a day was to be lost, and Mr. Disraeli, therefore, on his -own responsibility, and without consulting his Cabinet, purchased the Shares. -There was joy in the City over this operation. The bankruptcy of Turkey, -declared at the end of October, had converted Turkish Bonds into waste paper, -and it was some compensation to speculators that Mr. Disraeli’s purchase of -the Canal Shares sent up the price of Egyptian Stock by leaps and bounds. -Lord Hartington, it is true, in a speech at Sheffield (15th of December), -querulously carped at the transaction. But as his contention was that England -was in a better position to secure the neutrality of the Canal without -than with a solid proprietary interest in it, nobody paid the least attention to -his unpatriotic cavillings. They merely convinced the country that, despite -Mr. Disraeli’s bungling Parliamentary leadership, his inaccuracy of statement, his -loose hold of principle, and the administrative blunders of his subordinates, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_493" id="page_493">{493}</a></span> -was the only living statesman of first rank, in whose hands the higher interests -of the Empire were safe.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_041" id="ill_041"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_493.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_493.jpg" height="357" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>COUNT FERDINAND DE LESSEPS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It was announced in March that the Prince of Wales was to visit India -in November, with Sir Bartle Frere as his guide. In July it was decided -that his tour should be a State Progress, the expenses of which should be -paid for out of the revenues of England and India. The marine escort was to -be provided by the Admiralty at a cost of £52,000; the Indian Treasury was -to contribute £30,000; and when Mr. Disraeli asked the House of Commons -for £52,000, Lord Hartington had no complaint to make except that he -thought the vote ought to be larger. Messrs. Macdonald and Burt, when -they objected that the working-classes would not approve of the grant, were -literally “howled down” by the House. Yet all Mr. Burt said was that as -he himself lived on a salary derived from his constituents, he could not -decently vote away their money to pay the cost of what they believed was a -tour of pleasure for a rich Prince. His argument was fair enough from his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_494" id="page_494">{494}</a></span> -point of view. It was faulty because he failed to see that a vote for a State -pageant which meant to individualise the Monarchy to the Indian mind, was not -a grant to the Prince as a private individual. Mr. Bright’s support of the -grant, which was voted, was useful to the Government. But as his argument -was that the visit of the Prince might be serviceable in checking the harsh -and cruel treatment to which the natives of India are subjected by their -English rulers, it was condemned as unjust to the devoted servants of the -Queen, who wear out their lives in honourable exile, maintaining peace -in an Empire that, without them, would be converted into a pandemonium -of slaughter.</p> - -<p>The opening days of 1876 were marked by the announcement of Lord -Northbrook’s resignation as Viceroy of India. The Indian Viceroy had for -some time thwarted the policy of the Secretary of State, and the final rupture -was made when they differed in opinion as to the kind of Envoy the -Government should have at Cabul. It was a quaint controversy. Lord Salisbury -said the face of the British Envoy should be white. Lord Northbrook -contended that it should be black, whereupon Lord Salisbury wrote Lord -Northbrook a despatch, couched in terms that left him no alternative save -resignation. According to Lord Salisbury, unless a white Envoy kept watch over -the Ameer, Shere Ali, our information from Cabul would be defective. According -to Lord Northbrook, if we sent an European Envoy to Cabul, he would be -promptly assassinated, in which case we should get no information at all, -and India would be dragged into a ruinous war of vengeance. Lord Northbrook -had nothing on his side but facts. No Afghan Ameer had ever been -able to guarantee a Christian Envoy at Cabul against assassination. When -Lord Salisbury did send an European Envoy to Cabul he was not only -murdered, but, pending his inevitable murder, the only information worth -having that came from Cabul, came from native sources. It was, moreover, -a slight on the Indian Government to say that they had not been able -to train a Mahommedan official of rank up to the duties of effective diplomatic -espionage at Cabul. However, the dispute ended in Lord Northbrook -coming back to England, and in Lord Lytton going out to India as his -successor. There was no doubt a time when the appointment of a diplomatist -who was a Peer and a passionate poet, to the Viceregal Throne might have -been useful. Unhappily, in 1876, a different type of ruler was needed in -India. The war cloud in Eastern Europe was about to break, and it was -well known that in any diplomatic contest between Russia and England, -it would be the aim of Russia to weaken England by making trouble for -her on her Indian frontier. For the stress of the times, a man like Lord -Mayo was necessary, and Lord Lytton was everything that Lord Mayo -was not.</p> - -<p>All through 1875 there had been in Bosnia and Herzegovina disturbances -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_495" id="page_495">{495}</a></span>precisely similar to those in the Principalities which preceded the Crimean -War. After Lord Derby had been appealed to by Musurus Pasha, the Turkish -Ambassador in London, he suggested to Count Andrassy that Austria should -prevent her subjects on her frontier from supporting the insurgents in -the mutinous Turkish provinces, and a similar suggestion was made to the -Servian Government. His advice to the Turks was to stamp out rebellion as -quickly as possible, so as to prevent it from spreading and provoking -European intervention. The Porte, instead of acting on this advice, desired -that the Consuls of the Great Powers should mediate between the Sultan -and the rebels, and Lord Derby, instead of adhering to his original counsels, -weakly fell in with this proposal, and consented, though with great hesitancy, -to let the British Consul join the delegation. The rebels were delighted -with the proposals of the Consuls for their better government, but refused to -lay down their arms unless the Powers guaranteed that the Turks would -carry them out. The Consuls were pleased that the demands of the insurgents -were moderate and reasonable, but could give no guarantees for the -good faith of Turkey. As they were returning from their mission fighting -began again.</p> - -<p>From their public utterances during the recess of 1875 it was inferred that -while Lord Derby was averse from further intervention on the part of England -in the business, because in the East, he said, “we want nothing, and fear -nothing,” Mr. Disraeli was of opinion that England had great interests in -Eastern Europe, which the Government, he said at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, -“are resolved to guard and maintain.” There are no novelties in English -politics. The situation was the same as that which led to the Crimean War, -and it also had to be dealt with by a Cabinet which, like Lord Aberdeen’s, -was divided into interventionists and non-interventionists. But an acute -observer might have detected what Mr. Disraeli failed to see, that English -opinion had changed since 1853. In 1853 the electors were in favour of -intervention, whereas, since the defeat of Palmerston by the Court and Mr. -Cobden in 1864, they had always been against it. As the insurrection spread, -the Porte promised reforms. Three Powers—Austria, Germany and Russia, -afterwards joined by France and Italy—sent a Note to Turkey known as “the -Andrassy Note” (30th of December, 1875), condemning the misgovernment -of the insurgent provinces, bewailing the broken promises of the Porte, and -demanding certain reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina to prevent a general -rising. Lord Derby, after about a month’s hesitation, instructed the British -Ambassador to give the Note a general support. Turkey accepted most of its -proposals, and issued another <i>Iradé</i> to carry them out. The <i>Iradé</i> was never -made operative, and though Lord Derby was not offended by the contumacy -of Turkey, the other Powers resented it. Count Schouvaloff persuaded him -to permit Lord Odo Russell to meet the representatives of the five -Powers at Berlin in May to consider the situation. At this meeting the -Berlin Memorandum was produced and agreed to by the Continental Powers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_496" id="page_496">{496}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_042" id="ill_042"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_496.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_496.jpg" width="405" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MOSQUE OF SAN SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>It assumed, that as the Porte had promised to carry out the reforms in -the Andrassy Note, the Powers had now the right to force it to keep its -pledges. It formulated the guarantees which Europe asked for in order -to give effect to the Andrassy Note, and threatened Turkey with “more -effective measures” of coercion if she failed to give them within two -months after an armistice between her and her rebellious provinces had -been concluded. The reason why the Note was minatory lay on the -surface. The Consuls of France and Germany had been murdered by the -Turks at Salonica, and before any redress could be obtained Prince Bismarck -had to send the Porte an ultimatum that meant war. Lord Derby declined -to assent to the Memorandum, on the ground that England had not been -consulted in the preparing of it, and did not believe that it would do any -good if presented. The Foreign Ministers of the Powers in vain implored him -to reconsider his decision, and then the Memorandum was tossed into the -waste-paper basket of diplomacy. Turkey, seeing that Lord Derby had broken -up the European Concert at Berlin, behaved exactly as she did when -Clarendon broke up the same instrument of coercion at Vienna. Her contumacy -was intensified, and what was still more serious, her European vassals,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_497" id="page_497">{497}</a></span> -seeing that diplomacy had failed to rescue them from misrule, took up arms. -Within a month after the diplomatic triumph of England, the Turks found -it had secured to them the following advantages:—(1), The Continental Powers -withdrew from the field, and adopted an attitude of vigilant inactivity. (2), -Servia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey. (3), The soil of Bulgaria -was soaked with the blood of her Christian population, whose revolt had been -quelled by massacres and ghastly atrocities, that rendered expulsion from -Europe the manifest destiny of the Ottoman race. (4), The Sultan Abdul -Aziz was dethroned by a mob of fanatical Moslems, and his European Empire -lay wrecked in anarchy. It had been made a matter of complaint that the -Foreign Policy of England in 1853 was slow in producing any effect. When -we consider what happened in the month that followed the failure of the Berlin -Memorandum, and the collapse of the European Concert, that complaint -cannot be justly advanced against Mr. Disraeli’s Foreign Policy in 1876.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_043" id="ill_043"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_497.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_497.jpg" width="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HERALDS AT THE MANSION HOUSE, PROCLAIMING THE QUEEN AS “EMPRESS OF INDIA.”</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Parliament was opened on the 8th of February by the Queen in person, -with great pomp and ceremony; and the Royal Speech promised several -useful measures dealing with the Court of Appeal, Merchant Shipping, and -Prisons. But the one that excited most public interest was the Bill to confer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_498" id="page_498">{498}</a></span> -on the Sovereign a new title derived from India, in gracious acknowledgment -of the enthusiastic reception given to the Prince of Wales by the natives of -that Empire. As for the Slave Circular, the questions raised by it were to be -referred to a Royal Commission. The Foreign Policy of the Government -was expressed by Mr. Disraeli, in terms that appealed sympathetically to national -feeling. It was based on the idea that England was responsible for the good -use of her influence in the councils of Europe, and it united the Tory Party, -and caused the country to condone all Ministerial blunders. The debate on -the Eastern Question showed that Mr. Gladstone and other eminent Liberals -approved of Lord Derby’s adherence to the Andrassy Note. But it clearly -indicated that the Opposition would attack the Government if it adopted -the old Crimean policy of supporting Turkey whenever she rejected the -demands of Europe. The purchase of the Suez Canal Shares provoked -more controversy. It turned out that they had been mortgaged by the -Khedive, and could not yield dividends for nineteen years, a fact unknown -to Mr. Disraeli when he bought them. Sir Stafford Northcote, therefore, -proposed to borrow £4,000,000, and exact from the Khedive 5 per cent. a year -on that sum to cover the loss of the mortgaged dividends. Mr. Gladstone -attacked the financial details of the transaction,<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> and though his criticism was -logical it failed to influence the country. Had the purchase of the Shares been -solely a commercial speculation, the unbusiness-like manner in which it had -been effected would have been of some importance. But it was also a stroke -of high policy, and it appealed to the imperial instincts of the nation which, -as Mr. Disraeli said, was getting “sea-sick of the silver streak.”<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> Most of -Mr. Gladstone’s prophecies have been falsified by events. Oddly enough the -only valid objections to the purchase of the Canal Shares were not pressed -by him. They were (1), That a Canal which could be easily blocked and -wrecked by an enemy’s ship, was not a safe route to India; and (2), That the -fault of Mr. Disraeli’s policy was in his failure to carry it out to its logical -conclusion—the establishment of a British Protectorate over Egypt, which -would have rendered the final fate of Turkey, a matter of indifference to -Englishmen. Parliament ratified the policy of the Government with enthusiasm. -The appointment of the Royal Commission to examine all the -difficulties raised by the Slave Circular saved Ministers from defeat at the -end of the Debate on the issue of that stupid State Paper. The Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_499" id="page_499">{499}</a></span> -was also fortunate in its domestic legislation. The Merchant Shipping Bill, -when it passed, was found to be a compromise which remedied most of -the wrongs for which Mr. Plimsoll sought redress. Lord Sandon’s Education -Act was a concession to the advocates of compulsory education, for it prohibited -the employment of children under ten, and it prohibited the employment of -children between ten and fourteen, who had not attended school 250 times a -year and passed an examination in the Fourth Standard. In fact, the Bill -legalised, not direct, but indirect compulsion. Bills restricting the practice of -vivisection, and restoring to the House of Lords its Appellate Jurisdiction, but -adding to it Judges of Appeal, who would be Peers during their tenure of -office, and who, with the ex-Chancellor, would discharge the judicial functions -of the Upper House, were also passed. For the meagre achievements of the -Session three reasons may be given: (1), Much time was lost over the Education -Act, because not only was it necessary for the Opposition to tone down its -reactionary clauses, but concessions to the opponents of School Boards were -suddenly sprung upon the House by Lord Sandon, which had to be fiercely -resisted. (2), The policy of obstruction which had been adopted with so -much success to delay Mr. Forster’s Ballot Bill in 1883, was now developed in -an ingenious manner by Messrs. Biggar and Parnell. They “blocked” Bills -indiscriminately, so as to bring them under the rule which forbade opposed -measures to be taken after half-past twelve at night. They moved adjournments -in various forms at half-past twelve, on the ground that the hour was too far -advanced for discussion. They were always on the watch to “count out” the -House, and they never missed a chance of “talking out” a Bill,<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> quite regardless -of its merits. Mr. Parnell and Mr. Biggar thus taught themselves to be -formidable debaters at the expense of the House, for, as Mr. Parnell once -told a friend, the best way to learn the rules of Parliament is to break -them.<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> (3), A great deal of time was also wasted in discussing the Royal -Titles Bill, to which the Liberals offered an amount of opposition out of all -proportion to the significance of the measure.</p> - -<p>The Royal Titles Bill was introduced by the Prime Minister on the 7th of -February. He had some idea that it would be an offence against the -prerogative if he stated what the new title was to be, but it was said that -the Queen, ever since the Duchess of Edinburgh had claimed precedence -over her sisters-in-law, on the ground that hers was an Imperial, whilst theirs -was a Royal title, desired to be styled Empress of India. On the other hand, -most people objected to change the Queen’s designation. Why, it was asked, -should the successor of Egbert wish to be a modern Empress? To insert -India in the existing form of the Royal title would adequately meet any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_500" id="page_500">{500}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_044" id="ill_044"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_500.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_500.jpg" width="306" height="390" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN VISITING THE WARDS OF THE LONDON HOSPITAL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">real necessity for change. The Imperial title was also surrounded with evil -associations, and it suggested that Imperialism or personal Government, -tempered by casual appeals for support to the democracy or the Army over -the head of Parliament, was the end aimed at by the Ministerial policy. -Mr. Disraeli’s haughty refusal to communicate the new title to the House -of Commons was met by a motion that no progress be made with the -Bill till the title was revealed. The Prime Minister accordingly yielded the -point, and promised to give the necessary explanations before the Bill was -read a second time. The debate on the Second Reading showed clearly that -the House of Commons was hostile to the Bill; but as the Government gave -a pledge that the title should be used in India only, the Second Reading -was carried. This pledge was soon broken, for the Proclamation was made, -not that the new title should be used in India, but that it might be used<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_501" id="page_501">{501}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_045" id="ill_045"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_501.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_501.jpg" width="405" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, CHARLOTTE SQUARE, EDINBURGH.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">everywhere save in the United Kingdom. The Peers were as reluctant as -the Commons to sanction the adoption of any exotic titles by the Crown, -and the Court did not scruple to bring personal pressure to bear on them -for the purpose of overcoming their threatened opposition. Lord Shaftesbury -was summoned to Windsor in early spring, and as it was twenty years since -he had been the Queen’s guest, he says in his Diary that he assumed his -invitation was brought about by the controversy then raging over the Royal -Titles Bill. “I dread it [the visit],” he writes in his Diary, on the 12th of -March, “the cold, the evening dress, the solitude, for I am old, and dislike -being far away from assistance should I be ill at night.... She [the -Queen] sent for me in 1848 to consult me on a very important matter. -Can it be so now?” The next entry showed his foreboding to be correct. -He says, on the 14th of March, “Returned from Windsor. I am sure it was -so, though not distinctly avowed. Her Majesty personally said nothing.” -But though she did not discuss the views he expressed to her, a Lord-in-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_502" id="page_502">{502}</a></span>Waiting -formally requested him to communicate them to Mr. Disraeli. Mr. -Disraeli paid no heed to them, and Lord Shaftesbury accordingly moved -(3rd of April), in the House of Lords, an Address to the Queen praying her -not to take the title of Empress. He pointed out that in time it would lose -its present impression of feminine softness, and be transformed into “Emperor,” -whereupon “it must have an air military, despotic, offensive, and intolerable.” -To scoff as Mr. Disraeli had done at the popular dislike to the Imperial title -as a mere “sentiment” was a mistake. “Loyalty itself,” observed Lord -Shaftesbury, “was a sentiment, and the same sentiment that attached the -people to the word Queen, averted them from that of ‘Empress.’<span class="lftspc">”</span> In the -division, though the Government obtained 137 votes in favour of what the -<i>Saturday Review</i> called a “vulgar and impolitic innovation,” eight Dukes -and a large body of habitual courtiers voted with Lord Shaftesbury in the -minority of 91.<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a> The dismal predictions of the opponents of the measure -have not been verified—possibly because their protests convinced the Court that -any ostentatious display of modern Imperialism by an ancient Constitutional -Monarchy would lead to a recrudescence of the Republic agitation. Fortunately -the heated debates on the Titles Bill did not affect the personal -popularity of the Sovereign. In the midst of the controversy the Queen -visited Whitechapel on the 6th of March, to open a new wing of the London -Hospital, which had been built by the munificence of the Grocers’ Company. -Her Majesty was enthusiastically received, the only complaint being that she -drove too fast along the route where the populace swarmed in their thousands -to gaze on her. The visit was taken to be an intimation that the Crown was -not a mere toy of the aristocratic quarters of the capital, and that when -the Queen emerged from her seclusion it was not solely for the purpose of -benefiting the West End shopkeepers. “The bees welcome their Queen,” -was one of the mottoes displayed on the route. “I was sick and ye visited -me,” was another, and both inscriptions reflected the kindly feeling with -which her Majesty was greeted by industrial London. In the Hospital many -interesting incidents were recorded, one of the most touching being that -of a little girl who was suffering from a severe burn, and who had said she -was sure she would get better if she “could only see the Queen.” When -this was communicated to her Majesty, she smiled, went straightway to the -child’s cot, where she kissed her, and soothed her with many tender words -of comfort.</p> - -<p>Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget was a doleful statement of increased expenditure, -and diminished income from a revenue that had ceased to be elastic. -He estimated a deficit for the coming year of £774,000, and so he increased -the income-tax to 5d. in the £, and added 4d. on the pound to the duty on -tobacco. The latter tax was a mistake. It did not raise the price of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_503" id="page_503">{503}</a></span> -tobacco to the poor, but it caused the manufacturers to adulterate their -tobacco with water so as to add to its weight. The Session ended on the -15th of August, and next day the world heard with great surprise that -Mr. Disraeli had become Earl of Beaconsfield, and to use his own jocose expression, -that, “abandoning the style of Don Juan for that of Paradise Lost,” -he would in future lead the House of Lords. Sir Stafford Northcote was left -to represent him in the House of Commons.</p> - -<p>On the 17th of August the Queen unveiled the Scottish National Memorial -of Prince Albert, which had been erected in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. -The monument consisted of a colossal equestrian statue of the Prince Consort, -and the four panels of the pedestal contained bas-reliefs illustrating notable -events in his Royal Highness’s career. At each of the four corners of the -platform on which the pedestal stands were groups of statuary, symbolical of -the respect paid to Prince Albert’s memory by all classes of the community: -one group typifying Labour, another Science and Art, a third the Army and -Navy, and the fourth the Nobility. The equestrian figure and the panels were -the work of the veteran Scottish sculptor, Mr. John Steell, who designed and -superintended the construction of the memorial. The subordinate groups were -executed by Mr. D. W. Stevenson, Mr. Clark Stanton, Mr. Brodie, and Mr. -George McCallum, a young artist of high promise, who died before his group was -completed. The ceremony of unveiling was unusually interesting. A gaily-decorated -pavilion had been raised for the occasion. The Queen was accompanied -by Prince Leopold, the Princess Beatrice, and the Duke of Connaught. -Under the command of the Duke of Buccleuch, the Royal Company of Archers -formed the bodyguard. The Duke of Roxburghe, Lord Rosebery, Sir W. -Gibson-Craig, the Earl of Selkirk, the Earl of Lauderdale, Lord Provost -Falshaw, and the Town Council, were among the distinguished persons present. -After the statue had, at her Majesty’s command, been uncovered, she walked -round it and expressed her entire satisfaction with the memorial. To signalise -her appreciation of what had been done, and to manifest her desire to honour -her “faithful city,” Mr. Falshaw was created a baronet, and a knighthood -was conferred on Mr. John Steell, and on Mr. Herbert Oakeley, Professor of -Music in the University.</p> - -<p>During the Recess, the country could think of nothing save the Eastern -Question. Mr. Gladstone’s taste</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“For writing pamphlets and for roasting Popes”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">was bent in a new direction, and he threw himself with all his might into the -controversy that ended in turning English public opinion irrevocably against -Turkey. Throughout the Session Mr. Gladstone and Lord Hartington had, -with commendable patriotism, abstained from putting questions to Ministers -with reference to their Eastern policy. Parliament and the country were, -therefore, in the dark as to what was going on. But towards the end of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_504" id="page_504">{504}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_046" id="ill_046"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_504.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_504.jpg" width="415" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HOLYROOD PALACE, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>June disquieting rumours flew about to the effect that there had been a -revolution in Bulgaria, and that the Turks had suppressed it by massacres of -the most revolting barbarity. The Government met these tales with jaunty -persiflage. On the 10th of July Mr. Forster put a question on the subject, -which Mr. Disraeli answered by saying that he considered the reports exaggerated, -nor did he think that torture had been resorted to by “an Oriental -people who, I believe, seldom resort to torture, but generally terminate their -connection with culprits in a more expeditious manner.”<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> This ill-timed jest -was hailed with a great guffaw of laughter from the Ministerial Benches. It -destroyed Mr. Disraeli’s authority in the country when the awful truth was -revealed, not by the diplomatic agents of England, who strove hard to conceal -it, but by two American gentlemen, Mr. J. A. Macgahan, a distinguished -journalist, and Mr. Eugene Schuyler, the United States Consul-General in -Turkey. They went to Philippopolis on the 25th of July, and Mr. Macgahan’s -description of what he saw in the country, which had been ravaged by the -Turks, when published in the <i>Daily News</i>, sent a thrill of horror through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_505" id="page_505">{505}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_047" id="ill_047"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_505.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_505.jpg" width="325" height="397" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SIR JAMES FALSHAW.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by J. Moffat, Edinburgh.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">civilised world. The partisans of Turkey were enraged beyond self-control, -and vowed that the worst of all outrages that had been committed was that -which was perpetrated by the publication of Mr. Macgahan’s report on the -brutalities of the Turkish soldiery. The wild work of the Sepoys at Cawnpore -was indeed merciful and humane compared with what had been done by the -Turks at Batak. Indiscriminate butchery could alone be laid to the charge -of the Indian mutineers. But in Bulgaria, before the Turk murdered his -victims, he inflicted on them fiendish tortures and bestial outrages. The -Province was one vast desolation covered with blackened ruins, devastated -fields, putrefying corpses, and bleached skeletons. Neither age nor sex -had been spared. The land would have been as silent as a desert, save -for the wailing of the scattered remnant of the Christian population who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_506" id="page_506">{506}</a></span> -eluded the vengeance of their oppressors. As for the Porte—whose promises of -reform in Bulgaria were cheerily cited by Mr. Disraeli to cast doubt on -the descriptions of these atrocities—it gave but one sign of action. It -promoted Achmed Aga, the barbarian who was responsible for all this -wickedness, to be Governor of the Province which he had laid waste.”<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> The -effect of these revelations on public opinion was heightened by Mr. Gladstone’s -pamphlet, entitled “Bulgarian Horrors,” and by his speech at Blackheath on -the 9th of September, wherein he convicted the Government of apologising -for Turkish barbarities, when it could no longer venture to deny their existence. -He laid down the lines of the new Eastern policy which England must support. -The Turkish officials must be expelled from Bulgaria “bag and baggage,” and -the European Provinces of Turkey granted such powers of self-government -under the suzerainty of the Sultan, as would protect them from being seized -by Austria and Russia on the one hand and devastated by Asiatic savages -on the other. Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Derby, in subsequent speeches, -seemed to adopt the principle of Mr. Gladstone’s policy. They admitted -that it was the duty of England to join the civilised Powers in preventing -Turkey from opening again the floodgates of lust, rapine, and murder in -Bulgaria, and the English people for the first time understood how, with the -cries of their tortured neighbours ringing in their ears, the Servians and -Montenegrins had flown to arms.</p> - -<p>Some Conservative writers and speakers still tried to persuade the world -that the Russian Government had bribed the Turkish Pashas to commit -and the Bulgarians to submit to outrages, in order to discredit Ottoman -rule in Europe. But their efforts were futile, and the word went forth -from all sides that never again would England draw her sword, as in 1854, -to save Turkey from the consequences of her incurable barbarism. Strange -to say, Lord Beaconsfield failed to gauge the strength of this feeling. -On the 20th of September, in his speech at Aylesford, he neither adopted -nor rejected the policy suggested by Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Derby, -but he spoke in a querulous tone of the popular meetings which were -being held all over England expressing sympathy with Bulgaria and urging -the Government to shield her from the cruelty of her oppressors. The -agitation, he said, was “impolitic, and founded on erroneous data.” Those -who got up these meetings, he declared, were guilty of outrages on “the -principle of patriotism, worse than any of those Bulgarian atrocities of -which we have heard so much.” His negative policy which destroyed the -Berlin Memorandum without putting any counter proposals in its place, -would, he contended, have had a happy issue in negotiations. These, -however, were upset by the unexpected Servian declaration of war against -Turkey, which was prompted by “the Secret Societies.” Yet England had signed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_507" id="page_507">{507}</a></span> -the Andrassy Note, which warned Turkey that this unexpected war would -be waged against her by Servia, unless she granted the reforms demanded -in the Note. When Turkey, instead of granting these reforms, massacred -the population that craved for them, it was absurd to suppose that “the -Secret Societies of Europe,” rather than the popular sympathies of the -Christian Slavs, forced the Servian Government into war. That the speech -fell flat was seen by the polling at the Buckinghamshire Election next day, -when in Lord Beaconsfield’s own county Mr. Freemantle only saved the seat -from the attack of Mr. Rupert Carrington, the Liberal candidate, by the -small majority of 186. There were now two voices in the Cabinet; for -on the day after Lord Beaconsfield’s speech was made and was taken by -Turkey to mean that she had the English Cabinet on her side, Lord -Derby ordered Sir H. Elliot to go to the Sultan, and not only denounce the -outrages in Bulgaria, but, in the name of the Queen, who was profoundly -shocked by them, demand that the officials who perpetrated them be -adequately punished. It is hardly necessary to say that the Sultan, imagining -that the Prime Minister was all-powerful, paid no heed to remonstrances -from the Foreign Secretary. On the 25th of September, the day after the -war with Servia began, Sir H. Elliot pressed the Porte to make peace on -terms which Lord Derby suggested, and which were most creditable to his -diplomatic sagacity. Lord Derby’s proposals, if carried out, would have saved -Turkey from the supreme disaster which was awaiting her, for they provided -that the Porte should effectively guarantee administrative reforms in -her Christian Provinces, while Servia and Montenegro should lay down their -arms and return to the <i>status quo ante bellum</i>. The Porte would only accept -an armistice which would have been unfair to Servia and Montenegro, and -Servia would not accept a settlement which did not provide for the withdrawal -of the barbarous soldiers of Turkey from Bulgaria. Whilst negotiations -were pending, the Turks, on the 29th of October, beat down the -Servian defence at Alexinatz, whereupon, to the mortification of England, -the Czar effected in an instant that which Lord Derby, after many weary -weeks of negotiation, had failed to accomplish. Ignatieff was instructed to -tell the Porte that if it did not accept an armistice of six weeks within forty-eight -hours, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Russia would cease. -When the same threat had been delivered by the British Ambassador, the -Turks ignored it; in fact, they were impudent enough to meet it with a counter-proposal -so absurd, that the Italian Minister said they were obviously playing -with England. Although strengthened by a great victory, they did not, however, -dare to treat the representative of the Czar as if he were the representative -of the Queen. They accepted his ultimatum without demur or delay, and -thus owing to the feebleness of English diplomacy, Russia emerged with the -honours of the game in which, up to the last moment, Lord Derby held the -winning cards. This was, however, a minor matter. Lord Beaconsfield and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_508" id="page_508">{508}</a></span> -Lord Derby had now given Russia not only a plausible pretext for taking -the lead in dealing with the Eastern Question, but also an opportunity for -intimating to the world that, in circumstances which extorted the sanction of -the Continental Powers, she had the right, in case of a deadlock, to deal with -it single-handed. In other words, the English Government, by allowing the -Porte to trifle with it during September, 1876, flung away at one cast the -only practical results won by the Crimean War.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_048" id="ill_048"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_508.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_508.jpg" width="408" height="431" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD BEACONSFIELD AT THE BANQUET IN THE GUILDHALL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Czar now proposed that a coercive naval demonstration by the Powers -should be made in the Bosphorus, but Lord Derby rejected the idea. After -some weeks he suggested that a Conference of the Powers should be held to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_509" id="page_509">{509}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_049" id="ill_049"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_509.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_509.jpg" width="615" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GENERAL VIEW OF CONSTANTINOPLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_510" id="page_510">{510}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">consider the situation on the basis of his own excellent proposals for peace, -which have been already described. The Conference was assented to, and -Lord Derby to some extent retrieved the position he lost on the morrow of -Alexinatz. The Czar had also given the English Government the fullest -assurances that he had no design on Constantinople, and in proof of his -sincerity he had withdrawn a suggestion he had thrown out for the temporary -occupation of Bosnia and Bulgaria by Austrian and Russian troops, and -frankly accepted the English proposals for a settlement. It has been seen that -during the negotiations which led up to the Crimean War, whenever the -question was on the point of being settled somebody always interfered in -England and in France to break the accord of the Powers. On this occasion -history repeated itself. On the 9th of November Lord Beaconsfield delivered -a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, which suppressed all information as to -the conciliatory mood of the Czar, and not only terrified Englishmen into a -belief that Russia was scheming to seize Bulgaria, but that England was -determined to oppose her by arms. The Czar, on the other hand, in an address -to the Notables of Moscow, said that he was “firmly resolved to act independently -if necessary” to obtain justice for the Christian subjects of Turkey.<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> -At Constantinople there was joy among the Pashas, for they argued that -after Lord Beaconsfield’s Guildhall speech they might regard the verdict of -the Conference with indifference. The Czar, on his side, by way of emphasising -his Moscow speech, mobilised six <i>corps d’armée</i>,<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a> and Sir Stafford -Northcote and Mr. Cross, in order to minimise the effect of Lord Beaconsfield’s -threats, delivered addresses showing that they thought Turkey must -be coerced if she trifled with Europe.<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> Lord Salisbury visited the European -capitals on his way to the Conference at Constantinople, at which he was -to represent England, and at each one he was informed that he must -expect no aid in supporting Turkey. An appeal was made by the <i>Times</i> to -Prince Bismarck to check Russia—but in vain. When Lord Salisbury had -an interview with Prince Bismarck he found he was virtually a diplomatic -ally of Russia. In fact, ere he reached Constantinople, Lord Salisbury found -that Lord Beaconsfield’s policy of applying the obsolete ideas of the Whigs -of 1854 to solve the Eastern Question in 1876, had isolated England. In the -preliminary Conference, from which the Turks were excluded, Mr. Gladstone’s -plan of giving administrative autonomy to the European Provinces of Turkey -was adopted, Lord Salisbury supporting it with great ability and skill.<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> He -even consented to allow 6,000 troops from some minor State—Belgium was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_511" id="page_511">{511}</a></span> -suggested—to support the International Commission for reorganising the -Government of an autonomous Bulgaria. This scheme was to have been -adopted by the Porte at a Plenary Conference. Relying on the support of -Lord Beaconsfield, and misled by the denunciations of Lord Salisbury which -appeared in the Ministerial Press—then busy manufacturing failure for the -English representatives at the Conference—the Porte met the demands of the -Powers for reform, by proclaiming a grotesque Parliamentary Constitution for -the Ottoman Empire. But it obstinately refused to grant the reforms demanded -by the Conference, which accordingly broke up on the 20th of January, 1877. -The Ambassadors of the Powers were then recalled from Constantinople. On -the 8th of December (1876) a National Conference, under the presidency of the -Duke of Westminster, and representing not only the heads of the Whig -nobility, but most of the leaders of literature, science, and art, the High -Church clergy, the Nonconformists, and politicians of every shade of Liberal -opinion, met in St. James’s Hall to condemn Lord Beaconsfield’s policy, and -protest against England giving armed aid to Turkey.</p> - -<p>Early in 1876 the death of Lady Augusta Stanley, wife of the Dean -of Westminster, removed one of the Queen’s most trusted friends. She had -been for many years in personal attendance on her Majesty, and her services -were so valuable that for many years her marriage with Dean Stanley had -been postponed simply because the Royal Family could not spare her from -their domestic circle. This gentle lady, throughout her life of unobtrusive -usefulness at the Deanery of Westminster, served as one of the connecting-links -between the upper, the middle, and the lower classes. She was as well -known and as well loved in the dismal “slums” of London as in the -radiant circle of the Court, and her death somewhat dimmed the brightness -of the London season of 1876. It was a feverish, ill-conditioned season, -agitated by financial scandals, by the pressure of hard times, by the failure -of trade due to the uncertainty of the political situation, and by fierce and -factious controversies as to the relative merits of Turks and Eastern Christians. -To be in the mode one had to affect a strong admiration, not only for the -ethics of the Koran, but for those of the Bashi-Bazouk, and a compassionate -regret that Christianity had failed to elevate the European subjects of the -Sultan, to the plane of Asiatic civilisation. The china mania, or craze for -collecting old pottery, represented the fashionable movement in Art. Rinking, -or skating on roller-skates in very mixed assemblies,<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a> was the favourite form -of physical recreation, and persons of quality kept their intellects alive by -holding the spelling competitions known as “Spelling Bees.” Besides the -“hard times” due to the collapse of investments, the Colorado beetle and -the tropical heat of summer were added to the torments of the time; and the -publication of the Domesday Book, showing that 710 individuals owned more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_512" id="page_512">{512}</a></span> -than one-fourth of the soil of England and Wales, still further aggravated the -uneasiness of a territorial aristocracy, whose margin of income for expenditure -on luxuries was daily diminishing. The year closed with the sudden return of -the Polar Expedition under Sir George Nares. Its record of achievement -was most meagre, and its retreat after enduring only one winter in the ice -was felt to be discreditable to the manhood of the British Navy. It was, -however, discovered that the disaster was due to a terrible outbreak of scurvy -in the crews of the Arctic ships, which was traced to their neglect to use -lime-juice. The reputation of the explorers for pluck and endurance was -thus redeemed at the expense of their intelligence.</p> - -<p>The daily papers were filled with glowing accounts of the proclamation -of the Queen as Empress of India (Kaiser-i-Hind) at Delhi, in the presence -of the Viceroy and the great feudatories of the Empire on the 1st of January, -1877. The ceremony was accompanied by salvoes of artillery. A banner -and a medal were given to the Princes to commemorate the event, and five -of the most powerful magnates, Holkar, Scindiah, the Maharajah of Cashmere, -the Maharajah of Travancore, and the Maharanee of Oodeypore, were -granted rank, typified by salutes of twenty-one guns, equivalent to that -of the Nizam. But as the viceregal salute was raised to thirty-one guns, -Holkar and Scindiah, whose claim was to hold higher status than the -Viceroy in their own dominions, and equal rank with him elsewhere, went -away discontented. The scenic display was a little tawdry and theatrical, and -grizzled Anglo-Indians, who had been accustomed to see austere statesmen or -stern soldiers on the viceregal throne, were perplexed to find the Empress -represented by a Viceroy who appeared to enjoy keenly the Orientalism of -the function, and saw no absurdity in representing the majesty of Empire -from the back of an elephant, which had been painted white for the occasion. -Yet the ceremony was not without a deep meaning. It represented the final -triumph of the new system which was introduced into India by Canning, the -system by which, instead of ruling India by a paternal bureaucracy, whose -aim was to sweep away all magnates who stood between it and the people, -the hereditary rights of the native Princes were recognised, and they themselves -admitted as corner-stones in the fabric of Empire of which the Kaiser-i-Hind -was now proclaimed the apex and crown. It was, therefore, not -without significance that the only class unrepresented at the Coronation was -the Indian people. Yet one occasionally heard of the Indian people. A -quarter of a million of them had been drowned by a cyclone in Bengal when -the debates on the Imperial title were going on in London. Eight millions -of them were in the agonies of famine in Central India when that title was -proclaimed at Delhi.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_050" id="ill_050"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_002.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_002.jpg" height="618" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>TROOPING THE COLOURS IN ST. JAMES’S PARK ON THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_513" id="page_513">{513}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_051" id="ill_051"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_513.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_513.jpg" width="197" height="216" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD CAIRNS.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Russell and Sons.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE REIGN OF JINGOISM.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Opening of Parliament—Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership—The Prisons Bill—Mr. Parnell’s Policy of Scientific -Obstruction—The South Africa Confederation Bill—Mr. Parnell’s Bout with Sir Stafford Northcote—A -Twenty-six Hours’ Sitting—The Budget—The Russo-Turkish Question—Prince Albert’s Eastern Policy—Opinion -at Court—The Sentiments of Society—The Feeling of the British People—Outbreak of War—Collapse -of Turkey—The Jingoes—The Third Volume of the “Life of the Prince Consort”—The “Greatest War Song -on Record”—The Queen’s Visit to Hughenden—Early Meeting of Parliament—Mr. Layard’s Alarmist Telegrams—The -Fleet Ordered to Constantinople—Resignation of Lord Carnarvon—The Russian Terms of Peace—Violence -of the War Party—The Debate on the War Vote—The Treaty of San Stefano—Resignation of Lord -Derby—Calling Out the Reserves—Lord Salisbury’s Circular—The Indian Troops Summoned to Malta—The -Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement—Lord Salisbury’s Denials—The Berlin Congress—The <i>Globe</i> Disclosures—The -Anglo-Turkish Convention—Occupation of Cyprus—“Peace with Honour”—The Irish Intermediate -Education Bill—Consolidation of the Factory Acts—The Monarch and the Multitude—Outbreak of -the Third Afghan War—The “Scientific Frontier”—Naval Review at Spithead—Death of the Ex-King of -Hanover—Death of the Princess Alice.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> “green Yule,” which bodes ill-luck, ushered in the year 1877. The -attitude of the Ministry to the Eastern Question was still one of indecision; -but there was joy in City circles when, on the 11th of January, it -was announced that Lord Derby had recalled the British Fleet from Besika -Bay. This was a warning to the Sultan that England had no sympathy -with the contumacy of the Porte, which still refused to concede the guarantees -for reform in its European provinces that the Conference insisted on.</p> - -<p>On the 8th of February the Queen opened Parliament in person, and was -well received in the crowded streets, but Mr. Gladstone, Lord Beaconsfield, -and the Chinese Ambassador and his suite were for the time the real heroes -of the mob. The scene in the House of Lords was one of exceptional<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_514" id="page_514">{514}</a></span> -brilliancy, and after the Speech, was read by Lord Cairns, the Queen, -descending the steps of the Throne, left the Chamber, the ceremony, so far -as her Majesty was concerned, not occupying more than fifteen minutes. It -need not be said that in both Houses the debates on the Address centred -round the Eastern Question. The Conference had been a failure, and the -Government were seriously embarrassed. Logically, Ministers, as men of spirit, -were bound to make the demands of the Conference effective, for was it not -their own device for settling the Eastern Question, and were not its demands -their demands? That was the view which Lord Hartington vindicated in a -speech of great power and cogency.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, it was clear that the Cabinet had no fixed aim when -it organised the Conference—that if it ever contemplated the contingency of -failure, which its supporters by their fierce attacks on Lord Salisbury had -virtually manufactured, it had hoped to tide over the difficulty by letting -matters drift. Lord Derby had begun by assuming that it was not the right -or duty of England to insist on Turkey conceding reforms to Bulgaria. -The autumnal agitation about the atrocities induced him to change front, -and to admit that it was alike the duty and right of England, as one of -the Powers whose support maintained the Turkish Empire, to demand that its -European Provinces should not be submerged in barbarism. He had organised -the Powers in support of this demand, and now, when the Turks refused to -yield to it, he reverted to his original theory that England had no more -right to interfere with Turkey, than with Austria or France. What made -matters worse for the Cabinet was the prevailing belief that, though they -sent Lord Salisbury to Constantinople to insist on reforms, their agents -privily assured Midhat Pasha, then Grand Vizier, that no harm would -come if Turkey upset the Conference. The State Papers furnish no confirmation -of this belief. Indeed, they show that Lord Derby told Lord -Salisbury to warn the Turks that though England would take no part in -coercive measures against them, the Porte “is to be made to understand that -it can expect no assistance from England in the case of war.”<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> The Turks, -however, had a fixed conviction that England would help them in a war with -Russia. Nothing but a strong statement from Lord Beaconsfield would have -eradicated this belief, and all that the English Government can be blamed -for is, that Lord Beaconsfield failed or refused to make this statement. According -to Prince Bismarck, no statesman who aspires to influence abroad will -permit his Government to be associated with a failure in diplomacy. Yet not -only had Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Derby permitted their project of the -Conference to be laughed to pieces by the Turks, but all they had to say to -Parliament was that they were sorry that Turkey had misunderstood her own -interests. They were quite contented to accept the defeat of their scheme<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_515" id="page_515">{515}</a></span> -meekly. Their position appears rather abject to those who look at it critically, -and yet no other was practically open to them. Only a small faction, led by -Lord Hartington and Mr. Gladstone, were for coercing Turkey. A still -smaller faction of idle loungers, whose favourite phrase was that “Piccadilly -wanted a little wholesome blood-letting,” were for joining Turkey in a war -against the Slav States headed by Russia. The people were divided between -their spasmodic fear of Russia and their equally spasmodic loathing for the -Turks, and Radical Russophobes, like Mr. Joseph Cowen, were just as loud in -demanding non-intervention as Radical Russophiles like Mr. Bright. Thus -the policy of the Government—that of demanding concessions from Turkey -from a love of Humanity, and tamely submitting to a contemptuous refusal, -from fear of Russia, fairly well reflected the mind of the English democracy.</p> - -<p>Sir Stafford Northcote’s leadership of the House of Commons was not -promising. He tolerated the obstruction of a small group of members, who -caused the Bill which closed public-houses in Ireland on Sundays to be -abandoned, after Ministers stood pledged to its principle, and all parties in -the House were willing to pass it. He permitted his more devoted followers -to oppose a Resolution moved by Mr. Clare Read—who had left the Government -because he considered that they neglected agricultural interests—in favour -of County Government Reform. But at the last moment he put forward -Mr. Sclater-Booth to accept the Resolution in a speech which was evidently -meant as a conclusive argument against it. Mr. Cross’s Prisons Bills, too, -spread disaffection among the squirearchy. These measures reduced the management -of gaols in the three kingdoms to something like uniformity. But -they made the prisons national and not local institutions, centralised their -administration in the hands of the Imperial Government, deposed the local -justices from their position of control over them, and charged their cost to -the Consolidated Fund.</p> - -<p>The debates in Parliament were rendered memorable by the appearance of -a cool and adroit gladiator on the Irish benches, whose business-like methods -of attacking the Prisons Bill in Committee extorted admiration from all old -Parliamentary hands. This was Mr. Charles Stewart Parnell. It was known -to be his intention to obstruct the Prisons Bill, in defiance of the wishes of -Mr. Butt, the leader of the Irish Party. But it was assumed that a combination -of the two great English Parties would easily crush opposition of the -frivolous and factious order with which Mr. Beresford Hope and a section -of the Tories had met Mr. Forster’s Ballot Bill.<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> But Mr. Parnell had -evidently foreseen this contingency, and he met it by inventing a higher and -more scientific type of obstruction than Mr. Hope had been capable of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_516" id="page_516">{516}</a></span> -devising. His obstruction paralysed the two front benches, because he took -care that it was not frivolous. He had evidently spent many nights and -days in the minute dissection of the Bill, and he had manifestly toiled without -stint in reading up the whole question of Prison discipline. It was not till -he had made himself master of the entire subject that he intervened in the -Debates, and then the House, to its amazement, found that the Home -Secretary himself, when pitted against this bland young Irish squire with his -soft voice, his lugubrious intonation, his funereal manner, and dull, prosaic -Gradgrind-like form of speech, was but a poor amateur wriggling in the firm -grip of a pitiless expert. To the dismay of the three leaders of the House—Sir -Stafford Northcote, Lord Hartington, and Mr. Butt—there was no easy -means of getting rid of Mr. Parnell, simply because his amendments—and -their name was legion—were not vamped up. Nay, with Machiavelian ingenuity -he had draughted them so skilfully that most of them appealed strongly to the -sympathies of other sections of the House than those connected with Ireland. -Indeed, but for the persistency with which Mr. Parnell and one or two of -his friends “bored” the House with the sufferings of certain Fenian prisoners -under discipline, one would have thought that his treatment of the Bill was -simply that of an English country gentleman, who had made himself an -authority on the question, and had a genuine desire to eliminate from it stupid -provisions which had been palmed off on a credulous Home Secretary. Nor -was it in mastery of detail and skill of draughtsmanship alone that Mr. Parnell -showed himself formidable. His ingenuity in inventing amendments drawn on -lines that appealed to English popular feeling was inexhaustible. If at one -moment the Home Secretary found himself contending with Mr. Parnell in -the guise of a healthy-minded Tory squire, who was a hater of centralisation -and a champion of the rights of visiting justices, at another he found himself -battling with a philanthropist in whom the spirit of Howard lived again. -Few who witnessed the long duel between Mr. Cross and Mr. Parnell will ever -forget the pitiful and perturbed embarrassment of the Home Secretary when -he found himself at every turn so maliciously cornered by his enemy, that -he must either surrender, offend the prejudices of the rural magistracy, who -hated the Bill, or raise up hosts of enemies in Exeter Hall and other centres -of philanthropic activity, where any proposal to humanise Prison Discipline -was hailed with delight. And when the duel was over it was impossible to -deny that whatever might be Mr. Parnell’s motive, he had by his opposition -extorted from Mr. Cross a series of concessions, which not only improved the -Bill, but converted it from a bad one into a good one.</p> - -<p>One more point remains to be noted. Mr. Parnell’s party practically -consisted of one—namely, Mr. Joseph Gillies Biggar. If it was Mr. Parnell’s -desire “to scorn delights and live laborious days” in reforming the -administration of English prisons, it was the firm and austere resolve of Mr. -Biggar that this great work should be done with a solemnity of deliberation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_517" id="page_517">{517}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_052" id="ill_052"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_517.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_517.jpg" width="396" height="307" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HORSESHOE CLOISTERS, WINDSOR CASTLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">worthy of such an august Assembly as the House of Commons. The -business in hand was too serious to be transacted without a quorum—so -Mr. Biggar invariably tried to “count” out the House. Public affairs ought -not to be transacted at an hour when, to use his favourite phrase, “no -decent person would be out of <i>their beds</i>,” so Mr. Biggar would insist on -adjourning the House or the Committee about one o’clock in the morning.<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> -And Mr. Biggar played his part in the serio-comedy with so much elfish -delight and quaint, grotesque humour, that if the House now and then roared -with rage at him, it still oftener roared with laughter. Those who saw deeper -than the surface saw that something more serious than a comedy was being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_518" id="page_518">{518}</a></span> -produced by these new performers from Ireland. They saw sprouting the -germ of that extraordinary policy of Parliamentary pressure by which the new -school of Irish Nationalists sought to gain their end—the policy that offered -the Imperial Government the choice of one of two alternatives—concession of -autonomy in Ireland, or the sacrifice of the ancient liberties and privileges of -Parliament.</p> - -<p>Still Englishmen were loth to believe that an issue so grave would be -forced upon them. Indeed, the Conservative Party regarded obstruction, so -far as it had gone, with merely a Platonic hatred. It had been used only -to check legislation, and Conservative interests were not hurt by keeping -things as they were. Then it was also said that the success of Mr. Parnell -was due to the feebleness of Mr. Cross, who, however, was in a position to -smile at such innuendoes. Whether he had been strong or weak, Mr. Cross -had, at all events, got his Prisons Bill passed in a form that brought him -great credit in the country. However, in the lobbies of the House of -Commons and in the political clubs the general opinion was, that there was -no need for Conservatives to be alarmed so long as Mr. Parnell merely -delayed legislative changes. He would not venture to obstruct administrative -work, and he must assuredly succumb if he challenged a vigorous and resolute -Minister like Mr. Gathorne-Hardy. Mr. Parnell accordingly put up Mr. -O’Connor Power to block Mr. Hardy’s Army Estimates on the 2nd of July. -Mr. Power waited till the Army Reserve Vote came on, and then he met it -with a motion to report progress, first, because money ought not to be voted -away after midnight, and secondly because Ireland, not being allowed to raise -a Volunteer Force, ought not to pay taxes to support the Volunteer Forces of -England and Scotland. Would Mr. Hardy explain why Ireland should not -have Volunteers? Mr. Hardy seemed speechless with wrath at the audacity -of the attack, and met the question with contemptuous silence. The interest -of the House was now roused. It would be seen whether the strong Minister -of the Government, would be more successful than Mr. Cross in coping with -obstruction. Of course the motion was defeated—but eight members, including -Mr. Whalley, voted for it. Mr. Parnell, it was then seen, had a -small party at his back, nay, he had lieutenants at his call ready to serve. -Mr. O’Donnell next moved that the Chairman of Committee leave the chair, -and defiantly warned Mr. Hardy that, till he did answer Mr. Power’s question, -no Supply would be voted. Mr. Hardy still refused, and then the struggle -went on merrily, dilatory motions being moved one after the other, till at -last the Government gave up the fight, and allowed the House to be counted -out at a quarter past seven in the morning.<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> Mr. Cross was the only Conservative -member who did not appear crestfallen next day. His “feeble” -method of dealing had, at all events, borne fruit. He had got work, and good<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_519" id="page_519">{519}</a></span> -work, done. Mr. Hardy’s vigour had simply demonstrated to the world that -six Irish members could keep the House of Commons sitting till seven o’clock -in the morning, and keep it sitting for nothing. Sir Stafford Northcote -accordingly carried the feeling of the House with him when, at next meeting, -he threatened to move that the rules of Procedure be reconsidered. But on -going into the matter he found that this would take time. The rules were -dear to Members opposed to reform, because they were so contrived as to -give the utmost facilities for impeding legislative change. Hence, he intimated, -on the 5th of July, that he would deal with the difficulty after the -Recess. Mr. Parnell’s retort was to obstruct business at that sitting till about -three in the morning. He and his friends not only opposed the clause in the -Irish Judicature Bill fixing the salaries of the Irish Judges,<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> but they affected -to have suddenly taken an absorbing interest in the Solicitors Examination -Bill which had come down from the House of Lords. On the 23rd of July -Sir Stafford Northcote, still shrinking from altering the rules of the House, -tried to meet the case by moving that the Government should confiscate for -their business the nights allotted to private members. This enabled the -Parnellite Party to again obstruct business, as champions of Parliamentary -privileges.</p> - -<p>By this time the House of Commons was working itself up into a fit of -burning indignation. The anger of the Conservatives indeed knew no bounds, -for they saw that they must either submit to Mr. Parnell, or surrender -privileges of obstruction which they had themselves found useful in defeating -measures of reform in bygone days. Mr. Parnell’s Party sat maliciously -cool and annoyingly calm through all the turmoil; indeed, Mr. Parnell seemed -bent on provoking the Tories opposite him, by assuming towards them a -demeanour of supercilious aristocratic superiority that cut them at every moment -like a whip. His manner of disdainful mastery indicated that he must have -some dire instrument of torture in reserve for them. And so he had. He -and his friends had picked up a Bill which nobody dreamt of seriously -attacking, because it was purely an administrative measure proposed by the -Colonial Office. It gave the Colonies and the two Dutch Republics in South -Africa the means of forming a Confederation if they chose to do so. It was -perfectly harmless and permissive, but it was unfortunately complex and loaded -with detail. Mr. Parnell and his band had devoted their unremitting energies -to mastering, not only this Bill, but every imaginable point in South African -policy. Hence, when it came before the House, they suddenly appeared in -the character of South African “experts,” who knew infinitely more about the -subject than the unfortunate Minister in charge of the measure. The Government -had also annexed the Transvaal Republic under the erroneous impression -that the Boers desired annexation, and Lord Grey had frankly admitted in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_520" id="page_520">{520}</a></span> -the House of Lords that South Africa was not ripe for Confederation. A few -Radical doctrinaires, led by Mr. Courtney, alarmed at the annexation of the -Transvaal, also disliked the Bill. In fact, an ideal opportunity for practising -obstructive tactics had been presented to Mr. Parnell by the Government, and -he took advantage of it ruthlessly. He and his Party opposed the South -Africa Bill line by line, nay, almost word by word,<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> contemptuously asking -Ministers to explain why they persisted in giving to Colonies that did not -want it, the autonomy for which Ireland sued in vain. What, however, -chiefly embarrassed the Ministry was the factiousness of several powerful -Radicals, like Mr. Chamberlain, Professor Fawcett, and Mr. Rylands, who, -not content with expressing dissent in the constitutional manner on the -Second Reading, voted with Mr. Parnell in obstructing the formal proposal to -go into Committee on the Bill.<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> It would have been comparatively easy to -rouse an overwhelming force of public opinion against Mr. Parnell at this -juncture, had not Messrs. Chamberlain, Rylands, Courtney, and Fawcett thrown -over his opposition the ægis of their personal authority. Their unexpected -alliance emboldened Mr. Parnell, who accordingly blocked the Bill in Committee -to such an extent, that Sir Stafford Northcote, on the 25th of July, -moved that the Irish leader be suspended for two days because he had said he -had “satisfaction in preventing and thwarting the intentions of the Government -in respect of the Bill.” In the wrangle that followed, Mr. Parnell’s -cool, supercilious manner rendered the House almost ungovernable, until -several Members recalled it to reason. It was seen that the words expressed -no more in themselves than a legitimate act of critical opposition. Mr. -Whitbread moved that the debate on the motion to suspend Mr. Parnell be -adjourned for twenty-four hours. Mr. Hardy accepted the proposal, whereupon -Mr. Parnell with frigid imperturbability rose and resumed his speech at the -very sentence in delivering which Sir Stafford Northcote had interrupted him -exactly two hours before. During that sitting, from noon till a quarter to six -in the evening, only two clauses were passed. But one point was gained. -Mr. Parnell had inflicted on Sir Stafford Northcote a personal defeat so -detrimental to his authority as leader of the House, that he was at last compelled -to consent to a modification of the rules of procedure.</p> - -<p>On the 27th of July he moved two Resolutions, one prohibiting a Member -from moving dilatory motions of adjournments more than once on the same -night, and another enabling the Chair to put without debate a motion -silencing a Member for the rest of the debate who had been “named” as -defying the authority of the Speaker or Chairman of Committees. As for Sir -Stafford Northcote’s motion to suspend Mr. Parnell, that was dropped at Lord -Hartington’s suggestion. After apologetic explanations were given by Lord -Beaconsfield and Sir Stafford Northcote to the Members of the Tory Party at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_521" id="page_521">{521}</a></span> -a private meeting at the Foreign Office, these resolutions were carried. Independent -critics predicted that they would be futile; that, indeed, no remedy -short of the Continental <i>clôture</i>, which the Conservatives dreaded much more -than Mr. Parnell, could be effective.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_053" id="ill_053"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_521.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_521.jpg" width="332" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD DERBY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Parnell proceeded without delay to give a practical illustration of the -defects of the new rules. He played his game more warily, but more persistently -than ever, and every day the House of Commons found itself an -object of contempt to the nation, because it could not vindicate its authority -against one man. At last, on the 31st of July, Sir Stafford Northcote in -despair resolved to resort to physical methods. He arranged with Lord -Hartington to force the South Africa Bill through Committee, by getting the -House to sit on without a break till the Parnellites were worn out from sheer -bodily exhaustion. Relays of Members were brought up to keep the House<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_522" id="page_522">{522}</a></span> -in Session, and Mr. Parnell and his friends were allowed to talk themselves -out. For twenty-six consecutive hours the struggle went on with the seven -Irish Members, who, ere it was half through, lost their Radical ally, Mr. -Courtney, who flounced out of the House muttering his disgust at the hideous -scene of anarchy. At two o’clock in the afternoon of the following day, Sir -Stafford Northcote threatened “further proceedings,” and then, and not till -then, did the Irish forlorn hope give way. Mr. O’Donnell, whose voice was -now scarcely audible, said that this menace<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> changed the situation, and the -Bill was forthwith passed through Committee. The Government triumphed, but -at a terrible cost. They had to drop all their best Bills, because Mr. Parnell -kept them using up the time at their disposal in passing a measure which was -of little interest to Englishmen, and which ultimately proved, not only useless, -but mischievous. The Session was therefore barren of legislative fruit. Even -the Budget failed to excite debate, for, as Sir Stafford Northcote said, it was -“a ready-made” one, and changed nothing.<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a> No old taxes were remitted, -and no new ones imposed. Sir Stafford Northcote perhaps underrated the -depression in trade, which was even then obviously growing. He hardly -appreciated the rapidity with which the working classes were exhausting -their savings at a time when wages were more likely to fall than rise. But -otherwise his statement was unobjectionable.</p> - -<p>Foreign Policy was, however, the mainstay of the Ministry, and it is -curious to note how completely the anti-Turkish agitation, which Mr. Gladstone -had fomented with passionate zeal, forced the Cabinet to change their -attitude to the Eastern Question. In 1876 the Ministerial doctrine was -that England had no more to do with a quarrel between the Sultan and his -subjects than between the Austrian Emperor and his people—the Ministerial -theory, in fact, was, that if England was bound to protect anybody, -it was the Sultan, and not his subjects. In 1877 Ministers acknowledged -that, as England had been mainly responsible for keeping the -Turk in Europe, she was in honour bound to protect his Christian subjects from -the torture which his Pashas inflicted on them. There was also a change in -regard to another point. In 1876 Ministers were all for maintaining the -“integrity and independence” of Turkey. The Atrocities agitation, however, -forced Lord Derby to make demands on Turkey, and to assent to demands -being made on her, which ignored her visionary integrity and her mythical -independence. It was said at the time that the Court, having strongly supported -the pro-Turkish policy of 1876, was disappointed at the change of -front in 1877. It is quite certain that these views were not shared by -the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their <i>entourage</i>. A passage in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_523" id="page_523">{523}</a></span> -one of the letters of the Princess Alice to the Queen makes that point -tolerably clear.<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a> But as to the other question the evidence is faulty. -The policy of the Prince Consort, which was always supposed to dominate -the ideas of the Court, was certainly not pro-Turkish. In his celebrated -Memorandum to Lord Aberdeen’s Cabinet in 1853 he laid down two principles: -It was the duty and interest of England to prevent Russia from -imposing in an underhand way a Protectorate on the European provinces -of Turkey “incompatible with their own independence.” It was also the -duty and interest of England to prevent Turkey from using English diplomacy -so as to enable the Pashas to impose “a more oppressive rule of two -millions of fanatic Mussulmans over twelve millions of Christians.” England -might go to war to prevent Bulgaria from falling into the hands of Russia, -but not for the mere maintenance of the integrity and independence of -Turkey. Nay, the Prince considered that such a war ought to lead, in -the peace which must be its object, “to the obtaining of arrangements more -consonant with the well-understood interests of Europe, of Christianity, -liberty, and civilisation, than the re-imposition of the ignorant barbarian -and despotic yoke of the Mussulman over the most fertile and favoured -portion of Europe.”<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> Lord Aberdeen, Lord Clarendon, Sir James Graham, -and Mr. Gladstone accepted this view of English policy. On the other -hand, Lord Palmerston repudiated it. He contended that it was the duty -of England to maintain the integrity of Turkey at all hazards; that the -Prince Consort’s policy pointed to the ultimate expulsion of the Ottomans -from Europe; and that any reconstruction of Turkey such as that which -the Prince foreshadowed simply meant “its subjection to Russia, direct or -indirect, immediate or for a time delayed.”</p> - -<p>But Lord Beaconsfield’s policy was simply a reproduction of Lord -Palmerston’s, hence it might be inferred that if the Prince Consort’s ideas -still prevailed at Court, his policy in 1876 could not have had Royal sanction. -On the other hand, there is no proof that Prince Albert’s ideas on the subject—which -in the main were those of the great bulk of the English people—were -still held as authoritative at Court. In a curious letter, the significance of -which is obvious in its relation to the Queen’s personal opinions, written -by the Princess Alice to her mother (25th July, 1878) there occurs, after an -outburst against the advance of the Russians on Bulgaria, the following -passage: “What do the friends of the ‘Atrocity Meetings’ say now? How -difficult it has been made for the Government through them, and how blind -they have been! All this must be a constant worry and anxiety for you.” -<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_524" id="page_524">{524}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">As the Princess’s letters, where they touch on English public affairs, invariably -reflect the opinions of the Queen, and as it cannot be imagined that in -a matter of bitter political controversy she would venture to obtrude on the -Queen so contemptuous a view of the “Atrocity Meetings” and of the conduct -of the Opposition, had it not been in sympathy with the Queen’s own feelings, -we may safely draw one conclusion. Despite the conjectures which have been -ingeniously based on the Prince Consort’s Memorandum of 1853, the policy of -the Court was identified with that of the Cabinet all through 1876, and if it -was changed in 1877, it was changed in deference to the popular hostility to -Turkey, which Mr. Gladstone had aroused. Among those persons, however, -who were closest in contact with the Court, and who usually reflected -Royal ideas most correctly, there was no change of opinion. Mr. Hayward’s -correspondence teems with references to the fierce hatred with which Mr. -Gladstone and the Opposition were denounced by “the upper ten thousand;”<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a> -in fact, Society vilipended Mr. Gladstone with the same obloquy that it had -bestowed on him for his pamphlet denouncing the Neapolitan atrocities. But -Mr. Hayward is at pains to state that, “all that the Government have been -doing in the right direction is owing to the flame kindled by him [Mr. -Gladstone]”; and the Hayward Correspondence proves that at the different -embassies the diplomatists were at one on three points (1), the insulation of -England; (2), the necessity of protecting the Bulgarians effectually from Turkish -oppression; (3), the necessity of refusing Russia any cession of Turkish territory -in Europe; a condition which, says Mr. Hayward in his account of a -celebrated diplomatic dinner-party at the Austrian Embassy, Russia accepted.<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a></p> - -<p>Events justified the accuracy of Mr. Hayward’s information, for it was the -fatal error of Lord Beaconsfield’s policy that it assumed there was no genuine -accord among the Powers, and that they were neither able nor willing to -prevent Russia from seizing Turkish territory in Europe. Indeed, Mr. Hayward -seems to have been the only observer of public affairs who clearly understood -why they were drifting in the direction indicated by the table-talk of the -embassies. In a letter to Lady Waldegrave (7th October, 1876) he says, “the -power of public opinion is a remarkable feature of the Eastern Question. -Russia is so strongly impelled by it that the Government would be endangered -by holding back. Austria is impelled by the Magyar to oppose the construction -of any new Slav State. The Porte is afraid of exasperating its -Mahometan subjects by what might be deemed unworthy concessions. The -English Government is completely controlled by public opinion.” And again -in a letter to Mr. Gladstone he says, “One of the strongest features of the -situation is, that the popular voice or national will is bettering or impelling -diplomacy and statesmanship in Russia, Austria, England, and Turkey, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_525" id="page_525">{525}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_054" id="ill_054"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_525.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_525.jpg" height="367" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE TOWER OF GALATA, CONSTANTINOPLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">fortunately so as concerns England. Whatever England is doing in the right -direction is owing to the popular impulse for which you are mainly responsible, -and which will redound to your lasting honour.”<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a> At the same time, there -was a point at which Mr. Gladstone and the nation parted company. He -thought that if England admitted that she ought to see that the Bulgarians -were protected from oppression, she ought to force Turkey to give effectual -guarantees for their protection. If she did not, Russia would step in as -their champion, and establish a claim to exclusive influence over European -Turkey, which it was not politic to give her even a pretext for exercising. -The great majority of Englishmen, however, held (1), that it was not their -business to waste their taxes in winning freedom for the Bulgarians; (2), that -they sufficiently discharged their duty to them when they paralysed Turkey -by withdrawing British support from her; and (3), that the futile results of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_526" id="page_526">{526}</a></span> -the Crimean War proved that Austria and Germany, from their geographical -position, were the only Powers who could be safely trusted to effectively -check Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. The masses, as distinguished -from the aristocratic and academic classes, here proved themselves wiser than -their leaders, on whom they forced a policy of non-intervention, which practically -meant benevolent neutrality to the oppressed provinces of Turkey. -The manner in which the Treaty of San Stefano was transformed into the -Treaty of Berlin, every concession extorted from Russia being obviously exacted -in Austro-German interests, more than justified the somewhat cynical anticipations -of the British people.</p> - -<p>It is not necessary to describe at length the steps which led up to the -outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey on the 23rd of April, 1877. -In vain did Lord Derby implore Turkey to grant of her own free will the -concessions she had refused to the abortive Conference. Russia stood grimly -on the frontier, with her hand on her sword-hilt, asking Europe how long -she was to wait ere she unsheathed her weapon. In March a Protocol was -signed by the Powers pressing Turkey to yield. To this Russia appended a -declaration that she would disarm if Turkey accepted the advice of the -Powers, and also sent an ambassador to St. Petersburg to arrange for mutual -disarmament. But otherwise Russia clearly indicated her intention to use -force. Lord Derby accepted, as did the other Powers, this declaration, only -he added, on behalf of England, a reservation that she would consider the -instrument null and void if it did not lead to disarmament. The Turks -rejected the appeal of the Protocol. Prince Bismarck rejected a personal appeal -which the Queen made to him to hold back Russia; and so war was declared. -To the last the Turks expected that England would take their side, and they -had been confirmed in their attitude of contumacy by the appointment of Mr. -Layard, a notorious supporter of Turkey, to the British Embassy at Constantinople -on the day on which the Protocol was signed. If it was the -object of Lord Beaconsfield to prevent the outbreak of war and to save the -Ottoman Empire in Europe from ruin, his policy must be described as an -utter failure. And it failed for obvious reasons. Lord Beaconsfield and the -British diplomatic agents in Turkey talked and wrote in terms which persuaded -the Turks that, if they resisted the demands of Europe, England would -defend them, as in 1853-4. On the contrary, if Lord Beaconsfield desired the -Foreign Policy of England to succeed, and to save Turkey from being crushed -by Russia, he should have taken steps to convince her that, even if he had -the will, he had not the power to do battle for her.</p> - -<p>Others besides the Turks shared the opinion that Lord Beaconsfield meant -to drag England into a new Crimean War. On the 5th of May Mr. Carlyle -stated in the <i>Times</i>, “not on hearsay, but on accurate knowledge,”<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> that -Lord Beaconsfield was contemplating a feat “that will force, not Russia only,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_527" id="page_527">{527}</a></span> -but all Europe to declare war against us.”<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> The idea of the Government -was to occupy Gallipoli to protect British interests. This would have forced -Russia to declare war against England, and then English public opinion -would, of course, have supported Lord Beaconsfield in fighting on the side of -Turkey. But Mr. Carlyle’s sudden revelation of the scheme roused public -opinion in favour of non-intervention, and Mr. Gladstone “took occasion by -the hand” to inflame the populace against Lord Beaconsfield’s supposed -designs. Stormy meetings were held all over England during the first week -of May, and then Ministers seemed to have changed their offensive tone -towards Russia. On the 6th of May Lord Derby buoyed out for Russia the -torpedoes called “British interests” which lay in her way. He laid down -in a polite despatch the precise conditions under which England would -remain neutral, conditions so plainly reasonable that Prince Gortschakoff -accepted them with the utmost frankness. Meanwhile Mr. Gladstone was -seriously misled by the public indignation which had been roused against a -conspiracy to fight for Turkey under the pretext of protecting British -interests. He imagined it would enable him to carry out his own project of -coercing Turkey in company with Russia. He therefore submitted to the -House of Commons six Resolutions, which were discussed early in May. Of -these, however, he was forced to withdraw two, because a powerful section -of the Liberal party considered that they bound England to joint action with -Russia. Thus Mr. Gladstone’s formidable array of Resolutions dwindled down -to the simple and harmless proposition that the Turk was a bad man, who -did not deserve English sympathy or support. The House, however, by a -majority of 131, carried a colourless amendment declining to embarrass the -Government by any formal vote, and leaving “the determination of policy -entirely in their hands.” The debate on the Resolutions was one of those -high and sustained triumphs of Parliamentary eloquence which at great crises -display the British House of Commons at its best. It may be said to have -exhausted the controversy on the Eastern Question. Mr. Gladstone’s speech -(which would of itself have rendered the debate historical) admittedly soared -as high as the loftiest flights of Chatham and of Burke.</p> - -<p>There is no need to narrate the events of the war, how Osman Pasha, -from behind his earthworks at Plevna, blocked the Russian advance, and -Mukhtar held the Russians at bay in Asia Minor. As the star of fortune -shed its beams on either side, public opinion in England grew feverish -and excited, the Tories all the while clamouring for intervention on behalf of -Turkey. Some of them, indeed, seemed to hold that it was the duty of -England to head a new Crusade on behalf of Islam against Christianity. But -the public utterances of Ministers indicated their determination to remain -neutral, and Lord Derby did his best to convince Musurus Pasha that Turkey -was abandoned to her fate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_528" id="page_528">{528}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_055" id="ill_055"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_528.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_528.jpg" width="405" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUSSIAN WOUNDED LEAVING PLEVNA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Though the fact was not known at the time, a perfectly frank and -friendly understanding existed between the English and Russian Governments; -in fact, Russia had informed England, through her ambassador, what terms -of peace she would offer to Turkey, if Turkey were to yield before Russian -troops were compelled to cross the Balkans. This information was given so -that Lord Derby might have an opportunity of modifying these terms if -necessary for the protection of British interests, prior to their presentation to -the Porte, and Lord Derby thought them so reasonable that he made more -than one fruitless effort to get Mr. Layard to press them on Turkey. Unfortunately -the diplomacy of 1877 was kept a profound secret, and as the -people were not aware of the good understanding between the Governments -of Russia and England, a fierce and exasperating controversy between the -Russophiles and the Russophobes raged through the land. On the 14th and -15th of October the Turkish defence in Asia Minor collapsed. On the 11th -of December the fall of Plevna was announced, and when it was intimated -that Parliament was to meet on the 13th of January, 1878, the country was -panic-stricken. Nobody knew that Lord Derby and Count Schouvaloff had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_529" id="page_529">{529}</a></span> -practically agreed about the terms of peace that were to be imposed on -Turkey, and that Lord Derby had repeatedly warned the Turks to expect no -help from England. Everybody, in fact, inferred, from the tone of the -Ministerial press and of the speeches of Lord Beaconsfield, Mr. Hardy, and -Lord John Manners, that a scheme of intervention was “in the air,” and -that the early meeting of Parliament implied a demand for supplies to -carry on a war with Russia. The Money Market rocked and swayed with -excitement, and securities fell with amazing rapidity.<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a> Throughout England -meetings were held by business people protesting against any divergence from -a policy of neutrality. At night bands of young men, representing the War -Party, marched about London, the only English city which favoured war, -singing the chorus of a song then becoming popular in the music-halls, and -which began—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“We don’t want to fight,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But by Jingo if we do,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And we’ve got the money too.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_056" id="ill_056"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_529.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_529.jpg" width="391" height="319" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HUGHENDEN MANOR. (<i>From a Photograph by Taunt and Co.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_530" id="page_530">{530}</a></span></p> - -<p>A new political term crept into use, namely, “Jingoism,”<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a> or the cult of the -war-god Jingo, whose worshippers, however, were bellicose rather than warlike, -for they always prefaced their hymnal invocations by the assurance that they -did “<i>not</i> want to fight.” The Ministry, too, was divided—Lord Beaconsfield, -Lord John Manners, and Mr. Hardy leading the “Jingo” faction, whilst Lord -Derby, Lord Carnarvon, and Mr. Cross represented the Peace Party. This -split in the Cabinet was deplored at the time, and yet it was of enormous -advantage to England. It prevented her from being dragged into the war. -It is true that it buoyed up the expectant Turks with false hopes of aid -from England, and thus tempted them to reject the easy terms of peace -which Russia would have accepted after the fall of Plevna.<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a> But the -wrecking of Turkey was not in 1877 a matter that deeply moved the British -taxpayer, unless he held Turkish Bonds, and if Lord Beaconsfield, Mr. Hardy, -Lord John Manners, and their group, by their bellicose attitude, lured the -Ottoman race to disaster, it was for the Turkish or War Party, and not for -the nation, to call these Ministers to account.<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a> As for the policy of neutrality -which the English people literally forced on Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. -Gladstone, it was justified in the second week of December, by a statement -which Count Andrassy made to the Austro-Hungarian Delegations on the 8th -and 9th of that month. He frankly said that Austrian sympathies were with -the Christian subjects of the Sultan, and that he “would not dare to stand -up for the <i>status quo</i>” in Turkey.</p> - -<p>It needed little insight to discern that when Austria—a Power that could -have hurled 150,000 men on the flank of Russia—declared herself against<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_531" id="page_531">{531}</a></span> -Turkey, and the <i>status quo</i>, it meant that Russia had bought her alliance -by consenting to an Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In -such a crisis the true policy of a high-spirited English statesman was to have -safeguarded British interests in the Ottoman Empire by “temporarily” -occupying Egypt, as Austria was to “temporarily” occupy Bosnia. Lord -Beaconsfield, however, adopted the surest means for paralysing his arm for -such a bold stroke. He summoned Parliament to meet three weeks earlier -than usual, and permitted his supporters to divert the attention of the country -from Egypt—obviously endangered by the impending fall of Turkey—to wild -schemes for occupying Gallipoli, sending a fleet to defend Constantinople, -and an army to obstruct the advance of Russia in Asia Minor. As any one -of these projects meant war with Russia, popular excitement soon grew intense.</p> - -<p>In this crisis it was to be expected that the policy of the Court would be -the subject of criticism, even though it were based on conjecture. The pro-Turkish -party were artful and adroit in their insinuations that the Queen -was on their side; though it is doubtful if the country would have paid -heed to them but for a curious coincidence. The third volume of the “Life -of the Prince Consort” was published at this juncture, and it was assumed -by both the partisans of Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Gladstone that Sir -Theodore Martin had issued it by the Queen’s desire in the form of a violent -pamphlet against Russia. Perhaps it might have been more discreet to have -suppressed some passages, in which the Prince, carried away by the excitement -of the Crimean struggle, had naturally taken a less sober and far-seeing -view of European diplomacy and English duty than he formulated in -his famous Memorandum of 1853. On the other hand, there is no reason -to suppose that when the work was compiled Sir Theodore Martin, or rather -the Queen, who selected the documents for publication, could have anticipated -that the London Press and the Pall Mall clubs would be agitated by -a frenzied controversy as to whether the Cossack was a more moral man -than the Bashi-Bazouk, or Lord Beaconsfield a greater traitor than Mr. Gladstone. -Nor can it be said that a just view of the Prince Consort’s opinions -would have been obtained if his letter to Stockmar, penned in April, 1854, -and his Memorandum to the Cabinet of the 3rd of May, 1855, had been -withheld. The former expressed the Prince’s regret that the English public -were too excited to permit the Government to stand by, and, having let -Turkey dash herself to pieces against Russia, step in and take guarantees -against Russia using her victory to the prejudice of Europe. Public opinion -in 1854, the Prince regretfully admitted, recognised no way of taking these -guarantees but one—that of supporting Turkey at the outset, so that the -influence thus gained might be used to persuade the Porte to behave -decently. As for the Memorandum of May, 1855, written during the -negotiations at Vienna, it merely put on record his strong feeling against -giving Russia an excuse for enforcing, single-handed, demands which Europe<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_532" id="page_532">{532}</a></span> -might make on Turkey. It is simply amazing that by these documents -the Russophobes pretended to prove that the Queen was on the side of -Turkey, and the Russophiles that she was for attempting to raise another -Crimean War. The natural inferences from the documents read in connection -with the Memorandum of 1853, were (1), that as English public opinion had -now changed so as to tolerate the policy of expectancy, for which Prince -Albert hinted his personal preference, he would, if alive, have supported -the “sordid” national policy of neutrality, and that, too, all the more -readily that Austria and Germany were better able to curb Russia in 1877 -than in 1854; (2), that he would have either accepted the Berlin Memorandum, -or have taken steps to give executive effect to the demands formulated -by the Conference of Constantinople.</p> - -<p>But another circumstance gave colour to the floating gossip as to the -Queen’s pro-Turkish sympathies.<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a> She resolved to confer on Lord Beaconsfield -a distinction she had bestowed only on three of her Premiers—Melbourne, -Peel, and Aberdeen—that of paying him a visit at his country seat. It was -on the 15th of December that the Queen arrived at High Wycombe, which she -found lavishly decorated with evergreens, flowers, and flags. At one part of -her route there was built a triumphal arch of chairs (representing the staple -manufacture of the town), in which she displayed a special interest. Accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice, her Majesty was received at High Wycombe -railway-station by Lord Beaconsfield and the Local Authorities, who presented -her with a loyal address. The Mayor’s daughter then presented -bouquets to their illustrious visitors, after which the Royal party drove, amidst -the cheers of the townspeople, to Hughenden Manor. Her Majesty had -luncheon there with the Prime Minister, and spent about two hours in his -house. She and the Princess planted trees in the grounds in memory of -their visit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_533" id="page_533">{533}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_057" id="ill_057"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_533.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_533.jpg" width="305" height="391" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO HUGHENDEN: AT HIGH WYCOMBE RAILWAY STATION.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>If political significance could be attributed to the visit, it must have had -some relation to the most recent action of the Government. That had, however, -consisted in sending a despatch to Russia (13th of December) expressing -a hope that, if the Russians crossed the Balkans, they would not occupy -Constantinople or menace the Dardanelles.<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> To this Gortschakoff’s answer -was a repetition of the pledge given in July, that British interests would be -respected, and that Constantinople should only be occupied if the obstinacy -of the Turks forced that step on Russia as a military necessity.<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a> That the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_534" id="page_534">{534}</a></span> -Queen should approve of such a despatch as that which Lord Derby sent -two days before she visited Hughenden, and of its frank warning that the -occupation of Constantinople would leave England free to take active steps -for protecting British interests, was only natural. Yet it was out of this -visit that there grew up a great fabric of foolish gossip, the purport of which -was that the Sovereign was goading the Cabinet into war with Russia! The -Ministerial Press made matters worse by pretending that Prince Gortschakoff’s -reply to the despatch of the 13th of December was insulting to England. -But on the 2nd of January, 1878, Lord Carnarvon, addressing a South African -deputation, took occasion to contradict these assertions. The fall of Plevna, -he said, had not materially affected the policy of the Cabinet, which was still -one of neutrality, and there had been nothing in the Russian communications -with the Ministry of an insulting or discourteous character. The war scare -now subsided as if by magic, and Funds rose a quarter per cent. But the -Ministerial newspapers heaped obloquy on Lord Carnarvon, declaring that he -merely spoke for himself; and at a Cabinet Meeting on the 3rd of January -there was quite a “scene” between him and Lord Beaconsfield. The Prime -Minister condemned the speech of his colleague, who, however, put on a bold -front, and read a Memorandum before the Cabinet vindicating his position, -and re-affirming everything that he had said. Lord Beaconsfield merely asked -him for a copy of this document, and no Minister then or at any subsequent -period hinted at a private or public disavowal of Lord Carnarvon’s statement. -A very conciliatory answer was sent on the 12th of January to Prince Gortschakoff. -It did not even suggest that the temporary military occupation of -Constantinople would endanger British interests, but it asked Russia not to -touch Gallipoli. On the 15th of January Prince Gortschakoff answered that -Russia would not occupy Gallipoli unless Turkish troops were massed there; -but he said that a British occupation of the Peninsula would be regarded by -Russia as a breach of neutrality. On the 17th of January Parliament met, -and, to its surprise, found itself greeted with a Royal Speech couched in the -most dove-like terms of peace. The War Party were abashed. Even Lord -Beaconsfield spoke not of daggers, though he hinted vaguely at the chances of -using them. There was also a clause in the Queen’s Speech which, after admitting -that none of the conditions of British neutrality had been violated, -alluded darkly to the possibility of something occurring which might render -“measures of precaution” necessary. Lord Salisbury, however, went out of -his way to state that the Czar, so far from having aggressive designs, had -shown himself anxious to defer to the wishes of Europe, and was possessed -with “an almost tormenting desire for peace,” so that Members went about -asking each other—Why had Parliament been summoned so soon, to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_535" id="page_535">{535}</a></span> -great disturbance of business and the alarm of the nation, merely to be told -that everything was going on smoothly? The fact is, that it had been Lord -Beaconsfield’s original intention to send the Fleet to the Dardanelles.</p> - -<p>On the 12th of January, 1878, this proposal was discussed in the Cabinet, -and it would have been necessary to follow up the step by asking the House -of Commons for a war vote. At a meeting on the 14th, from which Lord -Derby was absent, the proposal was adopted. On the 15th Lord Carnarvon -sent in his resignation, but Mr. Montagu Corry came to him with a message -from Lord Beaconsfield to say that certain telegrams had arrived which had -caused the order to the Fleet to be cancelled. These telegrams must obviously -have been from Lord Augustus Loftus, conveying Prince Gortschakoff’s pledge -that Gallipoli would not be touched, and his warning that Russia would regard -the British occupation of it as a breach of neutrality. On the 16th Lord -Carnarvon was at the Cabinet meeting, but his resignation was not returned -to him till the 18th, when Lord Beaconsfield assured him that there was no -longer any difference between them. Lord Beaconsfield, indeed, went further -in his soothing assurances to the House of Lords on the 17th. Though he -had Lord Carnarvon’s resignation at that moment in his pocket, he said -“there is not the slightest evidence that there has <i>ever</i> been any difference -between my opinions and those of my colleagues.”<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a> As for the rumours of -dissensions in the Cabinet, Lord Salisbury scornfully averred that they were -only the inventions of “our old friends the newspapers.”</p> - -<p>To understand the events that followed, and which again threw the country -into a panic, two facts must be kept in view. First, the resolution to send -the Fleet to the Dardanelles had been taken on the 14th of January, after the -receipt of a telegram from Mr. Layard warning the Government that the -Russians were moving on Gallipoli. This false statement had been neutralised -by Lord Augustus Loftus, who sent on the 15th the telegram conveying -Gortschakoff’s renewed pledges to respect British interests, in time to enable -Lord Beaconsfield to cancel the orders to the Fleet. But the second point is, -that the public and Parliament were kept in complete ignorance of Gortschakoff’s -fresh pledges not to approach Gallipoli, and not to occupy Constantinople. -If the one pledge was to be trusted, so was the other, and the withdrawal of -the orders to the Fleet proved that the Government thought that the one -pledge was valid. Yet Lord Beaconsfield’s friends strove without ceasing to -impress the public with the false notion that Russia meant to seize Constantinople. -On the 17th Mr. Layard sent another alarmist telegram. The -Russians, he said, were marching on Adrianople. They were next to occupy Constantinople, -and the Sultan was making ready to fly to Broussa. On the 22nd -a deputation of the Tory War Party, representing seventy-five malcontents -in the House of Commons, urged a policy of intervention on Sir Stafford -Northcote. On the 23rd the Cabinet resolved to send immediate orders to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_536" id="page_536">{536}</a></span> -Admiral Hornby to take the Fleet to Constantinople. Lord Derby and Lord -Carnarvon thereupon resigned. The order to the Fleet was countermanded, -and Hornby was instructed to anchor in Besika Bay, whereupon Lord Derby -returned to the Cabinet, but without Lord Carnarvon. Lord Derby afterwards -admitted that neither he nor his colleagues had altered their opinions about -the propriety of sending the order to the Fleet, so that the Ministry and its -Foreign Secretary were now avowedly at variance as to a vital point of -principle in Foreign policy. If the Cabinet was trustworthy Lord Derby -should not have left it. If it was not trustworthy he was right to leave it, -but wrong to go back. As for Lord Beaconsfield, that he should have permitted -Lord Derby to return in such circumstances was, it need hardly be said, discreditable -to him as a man of honour. On January 24th Sir Stafford Northcote -gave notice that on the 28th he would move “a supplementary estimate for -the military and naval services,” and the Ministerial press immediately circulated -the most startling accounts of the oppressive conditions which Russia -sought to impose on Turkey, then negotiating for an armistice. The Liberal -press, on the other hand, accused Sir Stafford Northcote of breaking his -promise, passed on the opening day of the Session, that he would not ask -for a Vote till he knew what the Russian terms of peace were, and saw that -they plainly put British interests in peril.</p> - -<p>As for the public, it had not the faintest idea that Ministers had received -assurances from Prince Gortschakoff which they had dealt with as -satisfactory. The official excuse for the War Vote now was that Russia, by -delaying to communicate the terms of peace which were the basis of the -armistice, rendered precautionary measures necessary. On the 25th, Count -Schouvaloff communicated these terms to the Foreign Office, and they were -found to be simply those which Russia had, with unusual frankness, forewarned -England and the Powers at various stages of the war, she would exact from -Turkey. On the evening of the 25th, Lord Beaconsfield alluded to these -terms as a possible basis for an armistice. He must have regarded them as -eminently moderate, for he said that they had induced him to cancel the -order to the Fleet to proceed to Constantinople.<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> But the Ministry still -persisted in going on with the War Vote, and on the 28th of January Sir -Stafford Northcote denounced the terms of peace, in language which would -have induced Turkey to reject them had Russia not astutely kept them secret<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_537" id="page_537">{537}</a></span> -till Turkey had accepted them. On the same day Lord Carnarvon, in the -House of Lords, explained his reasons for quitting the Cabinet.<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_058" id="ill_058"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_537.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_537.jpg" height="380" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PRINCE GORTSCHAKOFF.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The feeling in the House of Commons was now running high against the -Ministry, whose dissensions could no longer be concealed. But the War Party -organised with some difficulty a strong agitation in London in their favour, -and the streets and public-houses soon rang again with the hymnal invocation -to the war-god Jingo. His worshippers attacked and broke up meetings -called to protest against the War Vote, and they themselves held meetings in -Sheffield, in Trafalgar Square, and in Exeter Hall (6th February). Still these -demonstrations were empty of real meaning, and the Opposition would not -have been intimidated by them but for a curious circumstance.</p> - -<p>On the 7th of February the debate on the War Vote was still dragging -on, and every night the case of the Cabinet seemed to grow feebler and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_538" id="page_538">{538}</a></span> -feebler. The accommodating Mr. Layard, however, once more came to their -rescue. He began again to pour in his stereotyped telegrams that the -Russians, in spite of the armistice, were still marching on Constantinople. -Finally his despatches formed the basis for a rumour that was circulated at -Countess Münster’s ball, on the 6th of January, that the Russians had actually -occupied Constantinople. Next day the panic-stricken City was literally -occupied by raging “Jingoes,” and but for the police Mr. Gladstone’s house -would have been sacked. Every man who did not bow to the war-god was a -traitor and a Russian spy, and the violence of the War Party ultimately -frightened the wits out of the Opposition. When the House of Commons -met, Sir Stafford Northcote, in reply to Lord Hartington, read Mr. Layard’s -alarming telegrams, and then the Liberal leaders ran from their guns in a -panic. Mr. Forster made haste to withdraw his Resolution against the War -Vote. Nobody would listen to Mr. Bright, who shrewdly suggested that Mr. -Layard was again misleading the Government; and the Liberal Party, deserted -by its leaders, sat in abject dismay, cowering beneath the triumphant -cheering of their opponents. But in a moment the whole scene changed, as -if by the touch of a magician. While Mr. Bright was casting doubt on Mr. -Layard’s telegrams, a note was passed on to Sir Stafford Northcote, after -reading which he grew visibly agitated. He handed it to his colleagues, and -when Mr. Bright sat down, Sir Stafford Northcote rose and, with a shame-faced -visage, said he had something of importance to communicate. Both -sides strained every ear to learn what fresh act of Russian perfidy had been -discovered; but the reaction was indescribable when he read out an official -denial from Prince Gortschakoff of Mr. Layard’s sensational despatches. “The -order,” said Gortschakoff, “has been given to stop hostilities along the whole -line in Europe and in Asia. There is not a word of truth in the rumours -which have reached you.” Peals of derisive laughter greeted this anti-climax, -only it was difficult to know whether the Opposition and Ministers were -laughing at themselves, or at each other.</p> - -<p>The end of the affair was that Mr. Forster could not muster up enough -courage to press his Resolution, and when a division came he and Lord Hartington -and about a hundred bewildered Liberals walked out of the House. Hence -the Vote was carried into Committee by a majority of 295 to 199. The country -did not conceal its contempt for Mr. Forster’s manœuvre. Men of sense agreed -that there was only one ground on which such a Vote could be fairly opposed. -It was that till Ministers stated definitely, whether their policy was to be -that of Lord Derby or Lord Beaconsfield, tempered at intervals by a telegraphic -romance from the British Embassy at Constantinople, not a farthing -should be granted to them. No such statement of policy was made, and -the withdrawal of the Liberals from their position served to convince impartial -observers that their opposition had been factious from the beginning. -<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_539" id="page_539">{539}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">After this unexpected victory the “Jingoes” pressed the Government to -follow it up. To please them the Fleet was ordered to Constantinople, but -to soothe Lord Derby he was permitted to explain that it went there merely -to protect British residents who were alarmed by the prevailing anarchy. -The Turks, enraged at what they deemed their betrayal by Lord Beaconsfield -and Mr. Layard, churlishly refused to grant a firman opening the Straits to -the Fleet. Prince Gortschakoff said, that as the protection of Europeans from -anarchy was a duty which Russia and England ought to undertake in common -for the sake of Humanity, Russia would now, as a matter of course, occupy -the fortified lines that covered Constantinople, and, if need be, the city itself. -It was a pretty “situation” in the high comedy of diplomacy, in which Lord -Beaconsfield was, for the moment, outwitted and outmanœuvred. He lowered -the point of his foil with good temper and good grace, but when he effected -a compromise with Gortschakoff there was wailing and gnashing of teeth in -the Temple of “Jingo.” And yet Lord Beaconsfield may be forgiven much, -on account of the dexterity with which he extricated the country from a -position which rendered war with Russia, and the immediate expulsion of the -last remnant of the Ottoman race to Asia, a dead certainty. He, or Lord -Derby in his name, promised Gortschakoff not to occupy Gallipoli nor the -lines of Bulair, if Russia would promise not to land troops on the European -shore of the Dardanelles. This compromise was accepted by Russia, with the -additional proviso that neither Power was free to occupy the Asiatic side of -the Straits.</p> - -<p>After the Government obtained the Vote of Six Millions, they began to -spend the money as quickly as possible in the arsenals, for the strangest part -of their policy was, that their Army and Navy Estimates were essentially peace -estimates. Meantime, everybody was speculating as to what terms of peace -were being forced on Turkey, and the War Party were busy spreading abroad -the most alarming rumours about the exactions of Russia. The veil of secrecy -in which the negotiations were wrapped excited the suspicion of the people, who, -it must be remembered, were kept in ignorance of the fact that the Russian -Government had frankly told Lord Derby the conditions on which they would -make peace. There was thus a distinct oscillation of public feeling towards the -“Jingoes.” The Treaty of Peace was signed at San Stefano on the 3rd of March. -Nineteen days afterwards the full text of this Treaty, by which, as Prince -Bismarck told General Grant, “Ignatieff had swallowed more than Russia could -digest,” was printed in the English newspapers. At first, the War Party -collapsed. It was clear that the Russians had not touched British interests, -and that to offer to fight on behalf of Turkey after she was annihilated as a -fighting Power, and had signed a Treaty of Peace, was a palpable absurdity. -Some other basis for a policy had thus to be discovered, and it was soon -found. The ghastly phantom of “the public law of Europe” was conjured -up from the Crimean Museum of diplomatic antiquities. It was said that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_540" id="page_540">{540}</a></span> -England was bound to defend that law against the Treaty of San Stefano -which had violated it, by upsetting the Treaty of Paris as modified in 1871 by -the Powers. Austria also took a line that again inspired the War Party with -false hopes. The Treaty of San Stefano had not arranged for an Austrian -occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a counterpoise to a Bulgaria under -Russian influence. Austria therefore began to arm. At the instance of -Germany, however, she invited all the Powers to meet in Congress and -endeavour to harmonise the Treaty of San Stefano with the general interests -of Europe. As Lord Derby was blamed, somewhat unjustly, for the failure of -the project of a Congress, it may be well to state precisely his attitude to -it. Unfortunately for himself he deemed it desirable to conceal his real -objection to the scheme, which was this: he held that more harm than good -results from a discussion among rival Powers on their competing interests in -any Congress, unless they shall have arrived beforehand at a complete agreement -as to the concessions which they will give and take.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_059" id="ill_059"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_540.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_540.jpg" width="408" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>RUSSO-TURKISH WAR: MAP SHOWING POSITION OF RUSSIAN AND TURKISH LINES OUTSIDE OF CONSTANTINOPLE, -AND OF THE BRITISH FLEET.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_541" id="page_541">{541}</a></span></p> - -<p>Lord Derby’s idea evidently was to delay the Congress till the Powers -were so far agreed that their meeting would be virtually one to register -foregone conclusions. Lord Beaconsfield and the War Party, on the other -hand, knew that their only hope lay in preventing the Congress from -meeting. Up to a certain point Lord Derby and Lord Beaconsfield could, -therefore, hold common ground. But as Lord Derby’s policy of obstructive -procrastination destroyed the popularity of the project before it had brought -about such an agreement among the Powers as would render the Congress -innocuous, even in his eyes, it was easy for Lord Beaconsfield to take some -warlike step that would get rid of Lord Derby and the Congress also. Hence -throughout the period of diplomatic conflict that followed we find Lord Derby -allowed to object to the Congress, first because Greece was not to be represented, -and lastly because the Russians did not distinctly promise to submit -the whole Treaty of San Stefano to it. The dispute finally centred round -this last point. Out of England nobody at the time could understand Lord -Derby’s objection. He seemed, from beginning to end, either to be quibbling -about words and phrases, or trying to force Russia to enter the Congress -with less liberty of action and on a lower status of dignity and independence -than the other Powers. Before England accepted the Congress he wrote to Sir -Henry Elliot, saying that she would not enter it unless he distinctly understood -that “every article in the Treaty between Russia and Turkey will be -placed before the Congress, <i>not necessarily for acceptance</i>, but in order that -it may be ascertained what articles require acceptance or concurrence by the -several Powers, and what do not.” Russia had already admitted that at the -Congress each of the Powers “would have full liberty of appreciation and -action” as regards the Treaty of San Stefano, and on the 9th of April Prince -Gortschakoff’s Circular Note further stated that “in claiming the same right -for Russia we can only reiterate the same declaration.” Lord Beaconsfield, -on the 8th of April, complained, in the House of Lords, that the phrase -“liberty of appreciation and action” was involved in classical ambiguity. -“Delphi herself,” said he, with a provoking sneer at the Russian Chancellor, -“could hardly have been more perplexing and august.” Yet, on the 27th of -March, Count Schouvaloff wrote to Lord Derby as follows: “The liberty of -appreciation and action which Russia thinks it right to reserve to herself at -the Congress the Imperial Cabinet defines in the following manner. It leaves -to the other Powers the liberty of raising such questions at the Congress as -they may think it fit to discuss, and reserves to itself the liberty of accepting -or not accepting the discussion of those questions.”<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> Russia had communicated -the Treaty in its entirety to all the Powers. She had expressly and -explicitly informed Austria, who had summoned the Congress, that she admitted -the competence of that body to overhaul every clause of the Treaty in -European interests—a fact of which Lord Derby was well aware. Austria<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_542" id="page_542">{542}</a></span> -and the Continental Powers were satisfied that Russia had sufficiently recognised -the competence of the Congress. England alone denied this, and pressed -for a declaration which would have technically left all the Powers except -Russia free not only to decide what affected their individual interests, but free -to decide what affected those of Russia also. Lord Derby’s demand seemed as -if meant to put the Russian Government, behind which stood a great and -irritable army, flushed with victory, in the position of a criminal at the bar -of Europe, and to force from her an admission that on certain vital points -she pledged herself to bow to the decision of the Congress, though no other -Power was to be put under a similar obligation.<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a> Whilst this pedantic controversy -was going on the “Jingoes” beat the war-drum with so much sound -and fury that Lord Beaconsfield was misled into the idea that they were -strong outside London. On the 26th of March the Cabinet accordingly -resolved to call out the Reserves, to summon a contingent of native troops -from India, to seize Cyprus, and land an army at a port in Syria. Lord Derby -was not much alarmed about the order to call out the Reserves, but to seize -one portion of the Turkish Empire, and land an army on another, without a -declaration of war, was to his mind an act of piracy. Moreover, it would -have instantly led to the catastrophe which he had made every sacrifice to -avoid—the Russian occupation of Constantinople.</p> - -<p>At this crisis Lord Derby saved his country from the direst calamity—a -war between England and Russia, in which victory could bring no other gain -to England than the privilege of restoring the liberated Turkish provinces -to barbarism, and in which, since India had been put down by Lord Beaconsfield -as one of the stakes in his game, defeat would have meant the loss of -her Asiatic and Colonial Empire. Lord Derby resigned, and the panic caused -by his withdrawal from the Cabinet compelled Lord Beaconsfield to abandon -the filibustering expedition to Cyprus and Syria, and confine himself to those -steps which did not make war inevitable. Russia, who was strengthening -her own forces, could not object to England calling out her Reserves. As -for the summons to the Indian troops, it would have been harmless, but for -a circumstance not known at the time. It gave Prince Gortschakoff an -opportunity for carrying out a diabolically malignant scheme of vengeance. -He considered himself free to ignore the arrangement by which Russia was -bound not to interfere in the “neutral zone” between her Asiatic Empire -and the Indian frontier. Russian troops were accordingly ordered to move -towards the Oxus for the invasion of India. Russian agents hastened in -advance to the frontier to brew trouble for England in Afghanistan. Nay, -so swift and secret were these counter-strokes, that even after the dispute<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_543" id="page_543">{543}</a></span> -between Russia and England in Europe had been settled, Russia was unable -to undo the mischief she had wrought in Asia. England was dragged into -the costly agony of another Afghan War, and it may therefore be said -that the luxury of bringing the native troops to Europe in 1878 not only -permanently disorganised the finances of India, but cost the country hecatombs -of lives and £20,000,000 of money in 1879-80. Though the step was at -first popular, the nation in time began to appreciate the grave political and -fiscal objections which could be urged unanswerably against the employment -of Indian troops out of Asia, or out of that portion of Eastern Africa which -is practically Asiatic.</p> - -<p>But when Lord Derby resigned it was not known that Indian troops were -to be brought to Cyprus and landed in Syria, and the Ministerial explanations -were so couched as to make it appear that he left the Government merely -because the Reserves were called out. His real reasons could not be given -at the moment, and he had to submit to a tirade of abuse from Tory -speakers and writers unparalleled in its ferocity. Even his personal character -was attacked by abominable slanders. Violence and virulence are the -outward and visible signs of decaying power in a political Party. These evil -qualities had, however, never been displayed to a greater extent by the -Tories since the wars of the Protectionists and the Peelites in 1852, when -a band of the former one day after dinner at the Carlton Club explored the -drawing-room in order to “fling Mr. Gladstone out of the window.”<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> Yet -it is curious to observe that Lord Beaconsfield and his followers were forced -by events to adopt the policy and even the method of their slandered colleague. -They floundered deeper and deeper every day into a quagmire of -difficulties, till they actually made a secret arrangement with Russia as to -the points in the Treaty of San Stefano, about which, however much they -might wage a sham fight in the coming Congress, neither Power would go -to war.</p> - -<p>In fact it is now evident that of the statesmen who figured in the controversy -at this crisis, Lord Derby is the one who emerges from it with least -damage to his reputation. Alike in his strength and weakness, in his resolute -determination to spend neither British blood nor British treasure for the -sake of Turkey, and in his lack of red-hot enthusiasm for the cause of Slavic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_544" id="page_544">{544}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_060" id="ill_060"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_544.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_544.jpg" width="419" height="293" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MARINA, LARNACA, CYPRUS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">nationality, Lord Derby’s diplomacy was the diplomacy of the British people -in their saner moments, when they were not under the spell of passion or -partisanship. His blunders—the rejection of the Berlin Memorandum and the -refusal to give an executive character to the decisions of the Constantinople -Conference—had at all events wrought no evil to England or the world, unless -it were an evil to hasten the destruction of Ottoman tyranny in Europe, and -the deliverance of Bulgaria from barbarism.<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a> As for his successes, they are -now obvious. His shrewd appreciation of British interests, and his firmness, -candour, courtesy, and lucidity in defining them at the outset of the struggle -between the belligerents, made it easy for Russia to avoid a collision with -England. That he fell short of his opportunity in neglecting to establish -British influence in Egypt was a mistake excusable in a minister whose leader, -like a character in one of his own novels, “had but one idea in Foreign<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_545" id="page_545">{545}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_061" id="ill_061"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_545.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_545.jpg" width="569" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SALONICA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_546" id="page_546">{546}</a></span></p> - -<p>Policy, and that was wrong”—the “maintenance of the integrity of the -Ottoman Empire.” But the net result of Lord Derby’s administration was -that he kept the country out of war, and out of enfeebling and disreputable -alliances. He thrust a peace policy on bellicose colleagues. Even when they -broke from his control he still forced them back to the paths of peace by -inflicting on them the penalty of his resignation. In quitting them he left -them as his legacy the secret of going into the Congress, and bringing back -from it “Peace with Honour.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone, in a famous speech at Oxford, said, on the 30th of January, -that he had devoted his life, during the past year, to counteract the Machiavelian -designs of Lord Beaconsfield. Mr. Gladstone, however, never appeared -to less advantage than when he made that statement. It was not Lord -Beaconsfield but Lord Derby who was the master-mind of the Cabinet during -1877-78, and who moulded its diplomacy and controlled its action in Foreign -Affairs. That Mr. Gladstone strengthened Lord Derby’s hands by rendering -a war for the sake of Turkey unpopular is true; but that he weakened them -by seeming to advocate a military alliance with Holy Russia for a crusade -against Islam, is true also.</p> - -<p>Lord Derby’s successor was Lord Salisbury. His first act was to issue a -Circular to the Powers, which was a furious and unrestrained condemnation -of every line of the Treaty of San Stefano. If it were to be taken seriously -it meant the condemnation even of the proposals of the Constantinople -Conference, to which he was himself a party. Prince Gortschakoff, however, -did not take it seriously. He replied to it with polite irony in his Circular -of the 9th of April, pointing out that the difficulty Lord Salisbury put him -in was that he confined himself to saying what England did <i>not</i> want. The -situation, however, could not be understood by the Powers till Lord Salisbury -stated plainly what she did want. The only logical answer which Lord -Salisbury in terms of his Circular could give was, “The restoration of the -<i>status quo</i> in Turkey.” Hence it is needless to say that he did not find it -convenient to issue a direct reply to Prince Gortschakoff’s cynical despatch.</p> - -<p>The Resolution calling out the Reserves was carried in the House of -Commons by 319 against 64, the Liberal leaders, with the exception of Mr. -Gladstone and Mr. Bright, refusing to take part in the division. That fewer -than half the House supported the Government was bitterly bewailed by the -War Party, but was taken by the country as a good omen of peace. So was -the proposal to adjourn Parliament for a holiday of three weeks at Easter, -though, when the order summoning the Indian troops to Malta was issued -immediately after the adjournment, war alarms again vexed the nation. Peace -meetings were once more held, and the provinces grew so restive that in the -end of April Mr. Hardy and Mr. Cross, speaking at Bradford and Preston, -tried to soothe public opinion by the most pacific assurances. When -Parliament met after the Recess the Government were taken to task because,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_547" id="page_547">{547}</a></span> -in sending for the Indian troops, they seemed to be endeavouring to nullify -Parliamentary control over the Army. Though the Opposition were beaten -in the division in the House of Commons, independent Conservatives did not -conceal the suspicions and the dislike with which they regarded a proceeding -which appeared more in harmony with the policy of Rome in her decay, than -of the British Empire in the full vigour of virility. Though the War Party -were more noisy than ever in London, there grew up a strong feeling towards -the end of May that the Congress would meet after all, and that the risk of -war was over. Intimidated by the Peace demonstrations, the feeble vote of -support on the motion for calling out the Reserves, and the suspicions with -which many Conservatives viewed the employment of Asiatic troops to fight -the battles of England in Europe, the Government adopted Lord Derby’s plan, -and entered into a secret agreement with Russia as to what was to be conceded -in Congress. After that agreement it mattered little on what terms -the two Powers met. The compromise between Lord Salisbury and Count -Schouvaloff pushed back the Bulgaria of the San Stefano Treaty from the -Ægean Sea to the limit fixed by the Constantinople Conference, cutting it -off from all possible contact with England, an arrangement not altogether -disadvantageous to Russia. It divided Bulgaria into two provinces—one to be -free, but tributary to Turkey, and the other to have an autonomous government, -under a Christian Pasha, appointed by the Porte with the sanction of the -Powers. This weakened Bulgaria so as to give Russia a dominant influence -in both provinces, which was not shaken till 1885, when their aspirations for -union were realised by a Revolution, which it was Lord Salisbury’s fate to -sanction, perhaps, indeed, in some measure to encourage. Greek populations -were excluded from the new Bulgarias, greatly to the satisfaction of Mr. -Gladstone and Lord Derby. Bayazid was restored to Turkey, but Batoum -and Kars were to be taken by Russia, who thus had the Asiatic frontier of -Turkey at her mercy. Russia was to take Bessarabia, and Turkey to cede -Kolour to Persia—obviously to earn Persian gratitude for Russia. Subject to -this compromise Lord Beaconsfield agreed not to make a <i>casus belli</i> of any -Article in the Treaty of San Stefano, each one of which had been so fiercely -condemned by Lord Salisbury’s Circular of the 1st of April.</p> - -<p>The intention of the Government was to keep the Salisbury-Schouvaloff -compromise secret. The people were to be left to imagine that Ministers had -won a diplomatic victory by forcing Russia into the Congress fettered, whilst -England entered it free. All the points agreed on privately were to be fought -over publicly by the representatives of England in the Congress as if no -such agreement were in existence, and Englishmen were to be deluded into the -idea that their diplomatic agents had, by superhuman efforts at Berlin, not -by private huckstering in London, obtained enormous concessions from Russia. -But when the <i>Globe</i> newspaper astonished the world by divulging the secret -agreement, the people—more especially the enthusiastic Tories—refused to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_548" id="page_548">{548}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_062" id="ill_062"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_548.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_548.jpg" width="299" height="385" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PRINCE BISMARCK.</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Photograph by Loescher and Petsch, Berlin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">deluded. What, they asked, had Ministers made such a fuss about? Why -had they passed war votes, brought Indian troops to Malta at the risk of -violating the Constitution, and kept Europe in a fever of unrest, if they -were prepared to accept a compromise with Russia, so fatal to the Turk as -this? In fact, public opinion was so much excited that Lord Salisbury, on -the 3rd of June, had the courage to deny that the secret compromise published -by the <i>Globe</i> on the 31st of May was “authentic.” Ministerial organs, -also tried to convince the world that it was a forgery which had been -treacherously uttered from the Russian. Embassy.<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a> For a time this denial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_549" id="page_549">{549}</a></span> -lulled all popular suspicions. By way of enforcing it Sir Stafford Northcote, -when pressed, on the 6th of June, as to what policy Ministers would pursue -in Congress, referred the House of Commons to the drastic Circular of the -1st of April, which tore every Article in the Treaty of San Stefano to pieces. -As a matter of fact that Circular became a bit of waste-paper when Lord -Salisbury signed his secret agreement with Russia, the existence of which the -Government were now denying.</p> - -<p>Three days after this compromise was arrived at, Germany, on the 3rd -of June, issued invitations to the Powers to meet in Congress at Berlin on -the 14th.<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury then proceeded to represent -England at the conclave in the Radziwill Palace. Few will forget the -almost breathless excitement with which the people of England watched -what they believed would be a terrible diplomatic duel for the honour of -their Queen and country between Lord Beaconsfield and Prince Gortschakoff, -for all this time the country had accepted as true Lord Salisbury’s denial of -his secret compact with Count Schouvaloff.<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> But the tension of public feeling -suddenly relaxed in the reaction of a ludicrous anti-climax. On the day -after the Congress met (14th June) the <i>Globe</i> published the full text of the -Secret Agreement. In vain did Sir Stafford Northcote and the Duke of -Richmond repeat Lord Salisbury’s equivocal denials of its authenticity. Lord -Grey indignantly condemned the Government for their misleading disclaimers. -Lord Houghton, a Liberal supporter of Lord Beaconsfield’s foreign policy, said -“the effect of the document on the whole of Europe had been portentous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_550" id="page_550">{550}</a></span>” -and had lowered the dignity of the Government.<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> The theory of the -Ministerial Press, that the document came from the Russian Embassy was -refuted in a few days by the Ministry. They raised criminal proceedings -against Mr. Charles Marvin, a writer in the Foreign Office, for surreptitiously -copying the paper and sending it to the <i>Globe</i>.<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a> The prevarication -of Ministers and the revelations attendant on the disclosure of the Secret -Agreement shocked the confidence of the nation in the Cabinet. Lord -Salisbury and his colleagues earned for themselves at this time an evil -reputation for mendacity, which did much to bring about the defeat of Lord -Beaconsfield’s Administration at the General Election of 1880. And yet it -was difficult for them to be quite candid with Parliament in the circumstances. -On the day after they had signed the Secret Agreement with -Russia (which, it must be kept in view, bound her to encroach no further on -Turkey in Asia) they began to negotiate a Convention with the Porte by -which England promised to defend the Asiatic frontier of Turkey, on condition -that the Sultan would reform the Government of Asia Minor, and -permit the British Government to hold Cyprus as long as Russia kept Kars. -It would have been inconvenient to divulge this scheme before Congress -had decided the fate of Bulgaria. Hence Lord Salisbury was really within -the mark in saying that the Secret Agreement with Russia did not “wholly” -represent the Government policy. On the 8th of July it was announced that -the Anglo-Turkish Convention had been signed on the 4th of June—most -reluctantly, as it seemed, by Turkey. Her hesitancy, indeed, was not overcome -till Lord Salisbury in the Congress abandoned, and Lord Beaconsfield -actively opposed, the cause of the Greeks, whom they had buoyed up with -delusive hopes. In an instant the scandal of the Secret Agreement was -forgotten. The wildest tales of the wealth that was to be exploited in -Cyprus flew from mouth to mouth. Englishmen saw with prophetic eye, “in -a fine frenzy rolling,” Asia Minor “opened up,” under a British Protectorate, -by the British prospector and pioneer. Indeed, it was not till the 9th of -November, when the nauseous wines of Cyprus (of which such glowing -accounts had been published) were served at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, that -the truth dawned on the City. Then it was recognised that the country -had been deceived as to the teeming riches of its new possessions and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_551" id="page_551">{551}</a></span> -positions in the East. Cool-headed men did not, however, at the outset conceal -their opinion that the privilege of occupying Cyprus and of defending -the Asiatic frontier of Turkey was a poor substitute for the occupation of -Egypt as a means of restoring British influence in the East and safeguarding -British communications with India. Mr. Gladstone and Lord Hartington both -denounced the Anglo-Turkish Convention, as an “insane covenant,” and the -Opposition attacked it savagely in Parliament, but without success. Independent -Members attributed less importance to the arrangement than Mr. -Gladstone. They argued that, as the introduction of reforms into Asia Minor -was the condition precedent of defending the frontier by arms, the Treaty, -so far as England was concerned, would remain a dead-letter. Great commercial -interests, if created in Asia Minor by English adventurers, might -doubtless need defence. But, on the other hand, it was impossible to create -those interests so long as Asia Minor was desolated by misgovernment, -which the Sultan had not the power, even if he had the will, to reform. -Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury returned to London on the 15th of -July, bringing with them, as they said, “Peace with Honour.” Applauding -crowds welcomed them with passionate enthusiasm. The Tories were delighted -with the Anglo-Turkish Convention, for as yet the gilt had not been rubbed -off their Cyprian toy. The Liberals, though indignant at the betrayal of -Greece, were pleased that Lord Beaconsfield had come out of the Congress -without involving England in war. They could say very little against a -Treaty the net result of which was to free eleven millions of Christian Slavs -from the direct rule of the Sultan, to render even divided Bulgaria practically -autonomous, and to create Servia and Roumania into independent Kingdoms. -On the 18th of July Lord Beaconsfield gave the House of Lords an apologetic -explanation of the Treaty of Berlin, which was only the Treaty of San -Stefano modified by the Salisbury-Schouvaloff Agreement, and by the concession -to Austria of the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. The -debate raised no point of interest, save Lord Derby’s disclosure of the -Ministerial decision in May, to send a naval Expedition to Syria, a project -which was abandoned when he quitted the Cabinet. Lord Salisbury created -a scene by comparing Lord Derby’s revelations to those of Titus Oates, and -he gave them a flat denial. But Lord Derby had spoken from a Memorandum -which he had made of the decision to which he referred at the time -it was arrived at. As Lord Salisbury’s reputation for veracity had been sadly -shaken by his statements about his Secret Agreement with Russia, the country -paid little heed to his disclaimers, and Lord Derby’s version of the facts has -ever since been taken as correct.</p> - -<p>Triumphant majorities endorsed the policy which had been adopted in the -Congress, and at the end of the year Ministers went about predicting for the -country halcyon days of peace. Domestic affairs gave them little trouble. -Irish obstruction was bought off by the Irish Intermediate Education Bill,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_552" id="page_552">{552}</a></span> -which appropriated £1,000,000 to encourage secondary schools in Ireland, by -prizes, exhibitions, and capitation grants. An attempt was made to pass a Bill, -which, under the pretext of excluding diseased cattle from English ports, might -have been so applied as to shut out foreign competition in the cattle trade. -But when it was discovered that the effect of the measure would be to raise -meat to eighteen-pence and two shillings a pound, the Tory borough members -threatened to revolt, and after a long and obstructive struggle in Committee -concessions were extorted from the Government which satisfied the Opposition. -The Government and the Opposition agreed to pass a Bill consolidating forty-five -Factory and Workshop Acts—a most useful measure which removed many -legal ambiguities. But no other Bills of importance were carried, and no -debates of much consequence raised, save on foreign questions.</p> - -<p>The Budget was introduced on the 4th of April. But for the money spent -under the Vote of Credit, Sir Stafford Northcote would have had a balance in hand -of £859,000. As it was he had a deficit on the accounts of 1877-78 of £2,640,000. -Supposing that no change either in taxation or ordinary expenditure occurred in -the coming year, he admitted that he would also have a deficit in the accounts of -the coming year of £1,559,000. But besides this, Sir Stafford Northcote contended -that he must make provision for an “extraordinary expenditure” of -£1,000,000, or perhaps £1,500,000, in addition to what appeared in the regular -estimates for the Army and Navy for 1878-79. The ordinary income and -expenditure he estimated at £79,640,000, but his attempt to introduce the vicious -system of bankrupt or half-bankrupt States, whose Governments confuse their -accounts by mixing up ordinary and extraordinary expenditure could not conceal -one fact. Adding his extraordinary expenditure to his past and estimated -deficits, the existing taxation of the country would fail to meet the expenditure -of 1878-79 by at least £5,300,000. Hence it was necessary to impose new taxes. -Sir Stafford Northcote therefore added 2d. to the income-tax, and 4d. per -pound to the duty on tobacco, but even then he estimated a deficit of about -£1,500,000, which he added to the floating debt.</p> - -<p>Parliament was prorogued on the 16th of August, and, amidst optimist -anticipations of peace, an end was put to a Session in which the House of -Commons, for the first time in the century, had permitted itself to be treated -by the Ministry like a Bonapartist <i>Corps Législatif</i>. When it adjourned -many people wondered why it had been summoned. In the stirring crises -of the year the Government had on every momentous occasion carried out -their policy without consulting it. The legislative work that it was allowed -to do might have been deferred for another year without serious inconvenience. -It had been converted into a court of registration for the decisions of a -Minister who treated it as an ornamental appendage to a new system in -which the Monarch and the Multitude, under his guidance, were the only -real governing forces. Ministers, however, when they went down to their -constituents in the autumn, and told them to hope for peace, plenty, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_553" id="page_553">{553}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_063" id="ill_063"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_553.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_553.jpg" width="367" height="474" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SHERE ALI, AMEER OF CABUL.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">reduced taxation, did not apparently know that a cunning trap had been set -for them by Russia. Before Parliament rose there were rumours afloat that -the policy of the Indian Government was becoming restless and disquieting. -Lord Lytton had put the vernacular Press under a harsh censorship. The -native Princes were threatened, or they expected to be threatened, with a demand -for the reduction of their armies. A frontier policy of perilous adventure was -mooted, greatly to the alarm of experienced Indian officials like Lord Lawrence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_554" id="page_554">{554}</a></span></p> - -<p>It has been already stated that Lord Salisbury, when Secretary of State -for India, had a scheme in view for covering Afghanistan with European -residents, and that Lord Northbrook resigned office rather than further it. -In 1878 Lord Lytton found an opportunity made for him by Russia for -developing this scheme, and he hastened to seize it. He had already estranged -Shere Ali, the Afghan Ameer, by his menaces, and this prince was perhaps -not indisposed to intrigue with a rival Power. When Lord Beaconsfield -brought the Indian troops to Malta, Russia not only made secret preparations -for the invasion of India, but sent a Mission to Cabul for the purpose of -securing the co-operation of the Afghans. It does not appear that Shere -Ali entered into any bargain with the Russian Envoys, whom he sent away -as soon as he could, because whilst they were in Cabul he seems to have -been very nervous about their safety. But the Indian Government, hearing -of what was going on, demanded that they too should send an Embassy to -Cabul, urging that the reception of the Russian Mission showed that Shere -Ali’s apprehensions as to the safety of Europeans in his capital were groundless. -A Mahometan official of rank, the Nawab Gholeim Hasan Khan, was -entrusted with the task of conveying the demand to Shere Ali, and he did -his work honestly, and with great tact and skill. The Nawab, on the 30th -of August, left Peshawur, where the British Envoy, Sir Neville Chamberlain, -and his escort of a thousand troops were waiting for the Ameer’s reply. The -Nawab apparently did not see Shere Ali till the 12th of September, who told -him that he did not like the idea of the Mission being forced on him. The -advice of the Nawab, who appears in these transactions as the only diplomatist -who correctly appreciated the situation, was to delay the Mission, “otherwise -some harm will come.” By “some harm” Gholeim Hasan Khan meant an -Afghan war, at all times a dire calamity for India, whether it ended in victory -or defeat. The Nawab, as the result of further negotiations, reported that -Shere Ali was willing to send for the British Mission, and clear up any misunderstanding -that might have arisen about his reception of the Russian -Envoys, if the Indian Government would give him time. The Russians had -come to Cabul uninvited, and they had all been sent away, save some who -were ill, and who were to be sent back whenever they recovered. As -the Nawab sensibly said, Shere Ali did not want his people to suspect that -the British Mission was thrust on him. “If Mission,” said the Nawab, “will -await Ameer’s permission, everything will be arranged, God willing, in the -best manner, and no room will be left for complaint in future.”<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a> But during -September all these details—afterwards revealed in the Blue-books—were -concealed from the British people. The Indian Government primed the correspondents -of the Press with mendacious accounts of Shere Ali’s insulting -refusal to receive a British Envoy, whereas he had not only invited a Russian -Mission to Cabul in violation of his pledges to us, but was loading them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_555" id="page_555">{555}</a></span> -with attentions, whilst Sir Neville Chamberlain was kept ignominiously waiting -his pleasure at Peshawur. British <i>prestige</i>, it was said, rendered it -necessary to coerce the Ameer, and so Sir Neville Chamberlain was ordered -to enter Afghan territory without the Ameer’s permission, with a force “too -large,” as Lord Carnarvon said, “for a mission, and too small for an army.” -When the advance guard of the Mission came to the fort of Ali Musjid the -Commandant stopped it. At the time the country was told in the inspired -telegrams in the newspapers that the Commandant, Faiz Muhammed Khan, -was violent and insulting, and threatened to shoot Major Cavagnari. When -the Blue-book appeared with Major Cavagnari’s account of the affair it showed -that the Khan behaved with the greatest courtesy, and though he said he -must, in obedience to orders, oppose the advance of the Mission, he had -actually prevented his troops from firing on Cavagnari and his men. What -need to expand the story? The Mission returned. A pretext for a quarrel -with Shere Ali, which Lord Salisbury had instructed Lord Lytton to find, -was at last discovered. War was declared on Afghanistan, and Parliament -was summoned on the 5th of December to hear the news.</p> - -<p>Of course Parliament was called into consultation too late. The Viceroy of -India had deliberately put himself into a position to invite and receive a blow in -the face from a semi-barbarous Asiatic prince. The Government were therefore -compelled either to recall Lord Lytton, and treat the whole affair as a blunder, -or avenge the rebuff which he had received by war. They chose the latter -alternative, and the hearts of Liberal wirepullers were lifted up, because manifestly -even Lord Beaconsfield’s Administration could not survive such an escapade as a -third Afghan war. The debates on the policy of the Government were dismal -reading for those who knew what Afghan campaigns meant. The Government -shrank from resting their case on the transactions which caused the war. It -could not be concealed that on the 19th of August Lord Salisbury asked Russia -to withdraw her mission from Cabul, and that on the 18th of September he -received a scoffing reply informing him that the Mission was only a temporary one -of courtesy. As Sir Charles Dilke put it, Lord Salisbury was naturally dissatisfied -with this reply, but being “afraid to hit Russia, yet determined to hit -somebody,” he “hit Shere Ali.” Ministers, however, took up a broader ground of -defence. They said that the Russian advances in Asia rendered it necessary for -England to secure the independence of Afghanistan. All Indian statesmen were -agreed that this could be done by guaranteeing his throne to Shere Ali, he on -his side giving the Indian Government control over his policy. Shere Ali had -been always willing to accept the guarantee and the pledge to defend him against -foreign and domestic foes. But he would never consent to pay for it by putting -his country under a diplomatic or military protectorate. On no consideration -would he permit European agents to be stationed at Cabul, though he had no -objection to receive Mussulman agents, and neither Lord Mayo nor Lord Northbrook -thought it wise to press him on the point. They confined themselves to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_556" id="page_556">{556}</a></span> -promise of aid, reserving to themselves the right of determining when they should -give it. Shere Ali was not satisfied with this arrangement, but he had to make -the best of it. In 1875 Lord Salisbury urged Lord Northbrook to find some -pretext for forcing European residents on the Ameer. Lord Northbrook refused -and resigned. Lord Lytton took his place. Lord Lytton roused Shere Ali’s -suspicions at the outset by occupying Quetta. At a conference at Peshawur -in 1876, between Sir Lewis Pelly and Shere Ali’s representative, Mir Akbor, -menaces were exchanged for persuasion, and even the conditional promise of -support given by Lord Mayo and Lord Northbrook to Shere Ali was withdrawn. -This aggravated Shere Ali’s suspicions, and it was while he was in this frame -of mind that Lord Lytton attempted to force a British Mission upon him. The -theory of the Government was that as diplomacy had failed to make the Ameer -accept our protectorate, resort must be had to coercion. This had led to war, -it was true. But war must end in victory, and victory in the occupation of the -southern part of Afghanistan, which, as Lord Beaconsfield said, would give India -a “scientific frontier.” The objection to his idea was that to push our outposts -farther north was to put ourselves at a disadvantage in defending India. Not -only would the occupation of Afghanistan be ruinously costly, but it would -lengthen and attenuate the line of our communications with our base—a line, -moreover, which would run through the lands of wild and fanatical hill-tribes. -The debates in both Houses perhaps served to render the war unpopular. But -it had begun, and it was absurd to refuse supplies to carry it on, because -such a refusal merely exposed British troops to disaster in the field. However, -it was notorious that in the majorities who supported the Government were -many who, like Lord Derby, felt forced to support in action a policy which -in opinion they disapproved.</p> - -<p>During the Session of 1878 only one matter personally affecting the -interests of the Queen came up for discussion. On the 25th she sent to both -Houses a Message announcing the approaching marriage of the Duke of -Connaught with the Princess Louise, third daughter of Prince Frederick -Charles of Prussia, the celebrated cavalry leader, popularly known as “The -Red Prince.” He was a man of large private fortune, and his daughter was -described by Lord Beaconsfield as “distinguished for her intelligence and -accomplishments, and her winning simplicity of thought and manner.” As for -the Duke of Connaught, Lord Napier of Magdala bore testimony to his -efficiency as a soldier. In the House of Commons an addition of £10,000 a -year was voted to the Duke’s income, thus raising it to £25,000, of which -£6,000 a year was to be settled on his wife in the event of her surviving him. -The vote was passed without a division, the only protest made coming from -Sir Charles Dilke, who asserted that no good precedent could be cited for -such a provision for a Prince, when it was not manifestly a provision for -succession to the Crown.</p> - -<p>The only great public function of the year in which the Queen took part<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_557" id="page_557">{557}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_064" id="ill_064"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_557.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_557.jpg" width="619" height="408" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN REVIEWING THE FLEET AT SPITHEAD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_558" id="page_558">{558}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">was the Review of the Fleet at Spithead on the 13th of August. The -spectacle was marred by the storm of wind and rain, which too often spoils -naval reviews, but it was one which had a special interest. It was designed -to show the country what kind of naval defence could be organised on -short notice, amidst rumours of war, when the Channel Fleet was absent in -foreign waters. It represented a naval force which, but for its ordnance -which was utterly obsolete and inefficient, would have been equal in strength -to the navy of any of the Continental Powers, and the Queen saw for the -first time the manœuvring of two malevolent-looking little torpedo boats, -which astonished her by dashing about in all directions at the rate of twenty-one -knots an hour. At noon the ships were dressed. At half-past three the -Royal Yacht with the Queen on deck passed down the lines. Salutes were -fired, and yards manned, and her Majesty, accompanied by the Prince and -Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice, and the Lords of the Admiralty, -was enthusiastically cheered. When the Queen’s vessel emerged from the -lines it was followed by a gay flotilla of yachts. Those that were sailing -craft luffed their wind and, headed by Mr. Brassey’s <i>Sunbeam</i>, went round -by starboard, the steamers going round by port, and with the Royal Yacht -in the centre the brilliant pleasure fleet came back with the Squadron. All -evolutions were countermanded on account of the weather, but at night the -Fleet was illuminated.</p> - -<p>At Paris, on the 12th of June, there died George V., ex-King of Hanover, -Duke of Cumberland, grandson of George III. of England and first cousin of -the Queen. Court mourning was ordered for him, though it was not very -generally displayed. The old jealousy with which the people regarded English -Princes, who had interests separate from England, accounted for their indifference -to his death. Nor was there any strong family sentiment at Court -to counteract this feeling. On the contrary, the sentiment of the Queen’s -family was as anti-Hanoverian as that of the nation. She had not forgiven -the treasonable intrigues which his father, her uncle, King Ernest Augustus -of Hanover—the most universally hated of all the sons of George III.—carried -on with the Orange Tories to set up Salic law in England, and usurp -her throne. She had unpleasant memories of his arrogance in persistently -conferring the Guelphic Order on Englishmen, not only without asking her -permission, but in defiance of her prohibition, as if in suggestive assertion of -an unsurrendered hereditary right of English sovereignty. More recently the -Queen had been still further offended by the pretensions of his son, her -cousin George V., to sanction or veto the marriages of English princes and -princesses, as male head of the House of Brunswick-Sonneberg. His attempt -to treat the marriage of the Duchess of Teck (the Princess Mary of -Cambridge) as a mere morganatic connection, and his refusal to let the -Duke of Teck sit beside the Duchess at dinner, had also strained the relations -between the Queen and her cousin. Still, in 1866, she had, in response<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_559" id="page_559">{559}</a></span> -to his appeal, used her influence on his behalf with the German Emperor. -She had even pressed Lord Derby and Lord Stanley to save Hanover from -Prussian annexation, and though they refused, she had induced them to -mediate on his behalf in order to secure for him a comfortable personal -position as a dethroned monarch. His misfortunes roused her sympathies, -and when he died, so far as the Queen was concerned, all feuds with the -Hanoverian branch of the Royal Family were buried in his grave.</p> - -<p>But the end of the year brought a more bitter sorrow to the Queen than the -death of George V. The Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, died in extremely -touching circumstances. She had spent the summer months with her -children at Eastbourne, where she had endeared herself to the people by her -sweetness of disposition, and by the personal interest she manifested in the poor -of the town. She was usually to be seen visiting the cottages of the sick in -the fishing quarter. She had taken a keen interest in studying the management -of certain charitable institutions, evidently with a view to making use of her -knowledge when she returned to Darmstadt, and a charming visit to Osborne -completed a holiday that was for her full of happiness. Her life was uneventful -at Darmstadt till the 8th of November, when her daughter, the -Princess Victoria, was smitten with diphtheria. The Grand Duchess was -herself a skilled and scientifically-trained nurse, and she tended her child -personally. She was the first to detect the appearance of the diphtheritic -membrane in the little Princess’s throat, and she promptly attacked it with -inhalations of chlorate of potash. In spite of careful isolation, the whole -family, including the Grand Duke, with the exception of the Princess -Elizabeth, caught the disease, and it need hardly be said that the strength -of the Grand Duchess soon began to give way under the strain of mental -anxiety and bodily fatigue. The Princess May died, but on the 25th of -November the Grand Duke recovered. On the 7th of December the Grand -Duchess went to the railway station to see the Duchess of Edinburgh, and -next day she too was prostrate with diphtheria. Lord Beaconsfield, in his -speech of condolence in the House of Lords on the 16th of December, described -her, with ornate rhetoric, as receiving “the kiss of death” from one of her -children, and he recommended the tragic incident as fit to be commemorated -by the painter, the sculptor, or the artist in gems. There was no foundation -for this histrionic flight. Nobody knew how the Princess caught the contagion, -but her biographer states “it is supposed that she must have taken -the infection when one day, in her grief and despair, she had laid her head -on her sick husband’s pillow.”<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a> Her sufferings were severe and protracted, -and on the 13th of December it was seen that she must die. Still she -lingered on. In the afternoon she welcomed her husband with great joy. -She saw her lady-in-waiting, and even read two letters, the last one being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_560" id="page_560">{560}</a></span> -from the Queen, her mother. Then she fell asleep and never woke again. -At half-past eight on the morning of the 14th, the anniversary of her father’s -death, she passed away, quietly murmuring to herself these words: “From -Friday to Saturday, four weeks—May—dear papa!” All through her life -she had worshipped her father’s memory with passionate devotion, and in -death his name was the last on her lips.</p> - -<p>The grief of the Queen was only equalled by that of the Prince of Wales, -who seems to have regarded the Grand Duchess as his favourite sister. As for -the English people, they mourned for her with simple-minded sincerity. The -character of the Princess Alice—so full of sense and enterprise, and high-spirited -self-helpfulness—had been to them peculiarly attractive. She had won their -gratitude by her devotion to her mother in the first hours of her widowhood, -and to the Heir Apparent, when in 1871 his life hung in the balance. That her -daily existence was clouded with sordid cares due to straitened means was not -known to her countrymen till after her death. But they were well aware that -much domestic sorrow had entered into her life. Her efforts to raise the condition -of her sex in Germany procured for her many enemies in a country where it -is deemed desirable to reduce the house-mothers to the position of upper servants -in their families, who, however, do their work without claiming wages. Sticklers -for Court etiquette were shocked by the unconventional activity manifested by -the Princess in furthering the organisation of charitable and educational movements. -Even the poor in most instances viewed her visits to their homes—visits -which she ultimately found prudent to make <i>incognito</i>—with suspicious hostility. -She had the character in fact of being bent on revolutionising the domestic and -social life of Darmstadt by English ideas. She loved learning, and delighted in -the society of men of letters and artists, who were always her most favoured -guests. Hence it was bruited about that she was an infidel, and a foe to -religion. Undoubtedly at one time, when she cultivated close relations with -Friedrich Strauss, under whom she studied the works of Voltaire, her theological -views ceased to be orthodox. But her musings on the mystery of -life, the problem of duty, the conflict between Will and Law in the world, -reveal a profoundly reverent and eagerly upstriving spirit, ever struggling towards -the light. Some day the story of the spiritual conflict that went on in the still -depths of this pure and gentle soul may be told. Here it is enough to say that -personal influences played a great part in bringing it to a happy issue. Some -time after her philosophical conclusions had crumbled away like dust, one of -her most intimate relatives writes, “She told me herself, in the most simple and -touching manner, how this change had come about. I could not listen to her -story without tears. The Princess told me she owed it all to her child’s death, -and to the influence of a Scotch gentleman, a friend of the Grand Duke’s and -Grand Duchess’s,” who was residing with his family at Darmstadt.<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> “I owe all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_561" id="page_561">{561}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_065" id="ill_065"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_561.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_561.jpg" width="397" height="319" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ALBERT MEMORIAL, KENSINGTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">to this kind friend,” she said, “who exercised such a beneficial influence on my -religious views; yet people say so much that is cruel and unjust of him, and -of my acquaintance with him.”<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> In Germany, her biographer<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a> admits “her -life and work were not easy,” and she had not the intrepid intellect, the ardent -temperament, the caustic wit and the soaring ambition, which enabled her sister, -the Crown Princess, to conquer for herself a position of dominant influence in -the midst of an unsympathetic Court, and an antipathetic Society. Perhaps -this explains why through life she had every year been drawn more closely -to the land of her birth, where her worth was more justly appreciated than in -the land of her exile. “How deep was her feeling in this respect,” writes the -Princess Christian in her touching preface to her sister’s memoirs, “was testified -by a request which she made to her husband, in anticipation of her death, that an -English flag might be laid on her coffin; accompanying the wish with a modest -expression of a hope that no one in the land of her adoption would take umbrage -at her desire to be borne to her rest with the old English colours above her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_562" id="page_562">{562}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /><br /> -<small>PEACE WHERE THERE IS NO PEACE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Ominous Bye-Elections—The Spangles of Imperialism—Disturbed state of Eastern Europe—Origin of the Quarrel -with the Zulus—Cetewayo’s Feud with the Boers—A “Prancing Pro-Consul”—Sir Bartle Frere’s Ultimatum -to the Zulu King—War Declared—The Crime and its Retribution—The Disaster of Isandhlwana—The -Defence of Rorke’s Drift—Demands for the Recall of Sir Bartle Frere—Censured but not Dismissed—Sir -Garnet Wolseley Supersedes Sir Bartle Frere in Natal—The Victory of Ulundi—Capture of Cetewayo—End -of the War—The Invasion of Afghanistan—Death of Shere Ali—Yakoob Khan Proclaimed Ameer—The -Treaty of Gundamuk—The “Scientific Frontier”—The Army Discipline Bill—Mr. Parnell attacks the -“Cat”—Mr. Chamberlain Plays to the Gallery—Surrender of the Government—Lord Hartington’s Motion -against Flogging—The Irish University Bill—An Unpopular Budget—The Murder of Cavagnari and -Massacre of his Suite—The Army of Vengeance—The Re-capture of Cabul—The Settlement of Zululand—Death -of Prince Louis Napoleon—The Court-Martial on Lieutenant Carey—Its Judgment Quashed—Marriage -of the Duke of Connaught—The Queen at Baveno.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">From</span> the bye-elections it was clear, when the New Year (1879) opened, that -the <i>prestige</i> of the Ministry was waning. The spangled robe and gaudy -diadem of Asiatic Imperialism began to sit uneasily on Constitutional England. -The Treaty of Berlin had not brought Englishmen much “honour.” But it had -not even brought Europe “peace.” Austria had to make good her hold of -Bosnia and Herzegovina by war. Albania was in the hands of a rebel League -that executed “Jetdart justice” on Turkish Pashas of the highest rank. -Bulgaria and Thrace were only saved from anarchy by the Russian army of -occupation. Eastern Roumelia was the scene of daily conflicts between the -Turkish troops, and the people of Greece were clamorous to know when -Turkey would respond to the invitation of the Conference, and rectify the -Hellenic frontier. The discovery that Cyprus was a poor pestilential island, -infinitely less valuable than most of the Ionian group, which Englishmen had -given to Greece as a gift, was a profound disappointment to popular hopes, -and led to an undue and exaggerated depreciation of its value as a place of -arms. The Anglo-Turkish Convention was already seen to be a farce. The -Sultan, after the resources of diplomatic menace had been well-nigh exhausted, -conceded to the agents of England in Asia Minor a few illusory rights of -surveillance. But he set on foot no reforms, and he made it plain that he -would resist to the death any attempt to “open up” his Asiatic provinces -under a British Protectorate to the enterprise of the British projector and -pioneer. The Afghan War was unpopular, and though victory did not prove, -as was feared, inconstant to our arms, the people seemed convinced, from the -history of the first and second Afghan Wars, that a triumph would be almost -as disastrous in its cost to India as a defeat. It was impossible now to -conceal the fact that when the Indian troops were brought to Malta, the -country was placed in a position of far greater peril than had been imagined. -While Ministers were wasting their energies in protecting more or less imaginary<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_563" id="page_563">{563}</a></span> -interests in Eastern Europe, they were apparently quite ignorant that their -policy had exposed the vital interests of the Empire to attack in Asia. Nay, -it was seen that their policy of irritating and menacing the Afghan Ameer, -and of terrifying the Native Princes with enforced disarmament, had rendered -it easy for Russia, without doing more than giving our enemies and discontented -feudatories merely some unofficial support, to shake the fabric of Indian -Empire to its very centre. To put the Imperial Crown of India down among -the stakes in Lord Beaconsfield’s game with Russia in Europe was magnificent. -But men of sense and prudence now began to suspect that it was not good -business or good diplomacy. Never was England less restful or less easy in -mind. Abroad Lord Beaconsfield, as was said, had created a situation which -was neither peace with its security, nor war with its happy chances. At -home the classes were groaning over the collapse of their most remunerative -investments, and the masses writhing under a fall of wages, which, in many -trades, amounted to fifty per cent. To complete the popular feeling of -depression, it was plain that the Government were fast drifting into another -Kaffir War. On the 3rd of February, 1879, in fact, it was officially announced -that hostilities with the Zulus had begun.</p> - -<p>There is no difficulty in understanding the causes of the Zulu War. The -Zulu king (Cetewayo) had ever been a staunch ally of England. But he -had a blood-feud with the Boers of the Transvaal, and he claimed part of -their territory as having been originally stolen by them from his race. -When England in an evil moment annexed the Transvaal, she found that -she took over with it the quarrel of the Boers with the Zulus. Cetewayo -pressed his claims all the more confidently that a friendly Power now held -the land which had been taken from him. In every colony there is a -clique of land-speculators, who also, as a rule, form the War Party, and, by -a singular coincidence, net most of the profits that are to be derived from -a colonial war waged at the expense of the British taxpayer. This Party -in Natal ridiculed the notion of giving Cetewayo his land. They also -stirred up a war panic, vowing that the Zulus were only waiting for a -favourable opportunity to pounce upon Natal and exterminate the Europeans. -Sir Bartle Frere—“a prancing pro-consul,” as Sir William Harcourt called -him—was High Commissioner at the Cape, and the Commander-in-Chief of -the Forces there was Lord Chelmsford. A more ominous combination could -hardly be imagined. Sir Bartle Frere even in India had been a hot annexationist. -He had the restless brain to devise schemes of conquest, whilst his -military colleague had neither the brain nor nerve to carry them out. The -Blue-books indicate that Sir Bartle Frere had been preparing beforehand a -grand project of conquest in South Africa.<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a> Unfortunately, Sir M. Hicks-Beach -was not sharp enough to detect and blight this scheme in the bud, -and it is doubtful if he even suspected its existence till he was galvanised<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_564" id="page_564">{564}</a></span> -into vigilance by the startling ultimatum which Sir Bartle Frere suddenly -sent to the Zulu king. The award of the British Boundary Commissioners -on the dispute between the Zulus and the Boers had been in favour of the -Zulus. It was given in June, 1878. Yet it had been kept back by Sir Bartle -Frere, apparently to stimulate the War Party among the Zulus with the provocation -of delay. Then when it was communicated to King Cetewayo, -there was tacked on to it an irrelevant and menacing demand that King -Cetewayo should immediately disband his whole army. “To make the case -our own,” wrote Lord Blachford, one of the highest living authorities on -Colonial Policy, “it is as if the Emperor of Germany, in concluding with -us a Treaty of Commerce, suddenly annexed a notice that he would make -war on us in six weeks unless before the expiration of that time we burnt -our Navy.”<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a> And the ultimatum was not only a crime, but a hideous -blunder. To annihilate instead of utilising the Zulu power was to relieve -the Boers of the Transvaal from the pressure on their flank that alone prevented -them from throwing off the British yoke. But it was of no use to -argue the case on the grounds of justice or common sense. “The men who -had been in the country”—who always come forward to defend every act of -folly that is about to be perpetrated in a distant colony—dinned their defence -of Sir Bartle Frere into the ears of Englishmen, who were at last half persuaded -that it must be the duty of England to exterminate the Zulus, when a satrap -like Sir Bartle Frere was eager to annihilate them in the interests of -Christianity. Moreover, as in the case of the Afghan War, the people were -kept in utter ignorance of the arrogant ultimatum by which Frere had gone -out of his way to fix a quarrel on King Cetewayo.</p> - -<p>But if the crime was rank, the retribution by which it was avenged was -swift and stern. Chelmsford’s advance guard crossed the Tugela on the 12th of -January. A petty success was recorded at Ekowe on the 7th, and then on -the 22nd of January the English column at Isandhlwana was smitten as with -the sword of Gideon. Our troops were beaten not only in the actual conflict, -but they were out-manœuvred and out-generalled. The barbarians under -Cetewayo had fought like lions, and they had inflicted on a British army a -defeat so disgraceful that the history of half a century supplies no parallel -to it. Frere, like a reckless gambler, had staked everything on this cast of -the die. Neither he nor Chelmsford had made provision for a disaster, and -the result was that the rout of Isandhlwana left the whole colony of Natal, -even then discounting the spoils of victory, open to invasion. Nothing, in fact, -stood between the Europeans in Natal and extermination, save the little post -of Rorke’s Drift. There Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard, with a handful of -men, stemmed the tide of invasion, and redeemed the honour of England -which had been smirched by the political incapacity of Frere, and the military -failure of Chelmsford. In vain did the Queen and the Duke of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_565" id="page_565">{565}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_066" id="ill_066"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_565.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_565.jpg" width="445" height="647" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ISANDHLWANA: THE DASH WITH THE COLOURS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_566" id="page_566">{566}</a></span></p> - -<p>Cambridge send sympathetic messages to the seat of war. It was reinforcements -that were needed, if the English in South-East Africa were -not to be driven into the sea. Parliament, when it met on the 8th of -February, was as wrathful as the country. The Government had let Sir -Bartle Frere drag the country into a war, which in a few days the disaster -of Isandhlwana showed they were incompetent to conduct with credit to the -Empire. If Ministers were not able to emerge, without ignominy, from a -conflict with the Zulu king, what must have happened had they been allowed -to challenge the Czar of Muscovy to mortal combat? Criticism was felt to -be futile, in view of the pressing need to retrieve the disgrace of a defeat, -none the less ignominious that the Government and their agents had courted -it. But a stern demand was heard on all sides for the recall of Frere and -Chelmsford, a demand which, like a vote of censure that was proposed in -the House of Lords by Lord Lansdowne on the 25th, and in the Commons -by Sir Charles Dilke on the 11th of March, Ministers evaded by administering -a strong rebuke to the High Commissioner. As a man of spirit, Frere would -have naturally resigned after this rebuke. But he held on to his place, and -this was so discreditable, that to account for his conduct a strange theory -was mooted. It was said that private letters were sent to him by high -personages, some of them connected with the Government, assuring him that -the censure of the Secretary of State was not meant to be taken as real, -but had been penned merely to save Ministers from a Parliamentary defeat.<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a> -Sir M. Hicks-Beach’s despatch with the censure ended with these words: -“But I have no desire to withdraw the confidence hitherto reposed in you.” -Such was the feeble manner in which the Government dealt with a satrap -who had virtually usurped the prerogative of the Sovereign to declare war. -Soon after the Ministry had warded off the vote of censure in Parliament, -the country was again agitated by tidings of further reverses in Zululand, -and it was not till the 21st of April that the Government could announce -that Pearson’s column, which had been locked up at Ekowe since the outbreak -of the war, had been able to save itself by retreat. The indignation -of the country grew apace, and at last it was found necessary to allay it by -superseding Sir Bartle Frere’s authority in Natal and the Transvaal. Sir -Garnet Wolseley was accordingly sent to take supreme command at the scene -of action. Ere he could arrive Chelmsford, stimulated into action by Colonel -Evelyn Wood, had however taken a decisive step. He gave the Zulus battle at -Ulundi on the 3rd of July, and won a victory which put an end to the war. -Cetewayo was taken prisoner on the 28th of August, and, despite the efforts -made by Sir Garnet Wolseley and others to set up another Government for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_567" id="page_567">{567}</a></span> -the one which had been destroyed, Zululand lapsed into the confusion and -anarchy in which it has since remained.</p> - -<p>The Afghan War had been more skilfully managed. The British invaders -overcame all resistance, and when Parliament assembled General Stewart -was in possession of Candahar, and Shere Ali had fled from Cabul. -Soon afterwards he died, and his heir, Yakoob, came with his submission to -the British camp at Gundamuk. There, on the 25th of May, he signed a -Treaty which bound the Indian Government to give him a subsidy of £60,000 -a year and defend him against his enemies, in return for which he ceded the -“scientific frontier,” and agreed to manage his foreign policy in accordance -with the advice of a British Resident who was to be received in Cabul. This -gleam of success neutralised the effect of the reverses in South Africa, and -both Houses voted their thanks to the Indian Viceroy and to the Generals -who had carried out the expedition. The Government had no difficulty in -persuading Parliament to sanction a loan of £2,000,000 without interest to -India, to enable her to pay the expenses of the campaign. In fact, when the -Session closed Ministers were jubilant at having upset the predictions of the -experienced Anglo-Indians, who had declared that it was impossible to keep -a British Resident at Cabul. They assured the nation not only that the -British Resident was there, but that the Cabulees were delighted to receive -him.</p> - -<p>The severe winter of 1879 aggravated the distress which had settled like -a blight on the labouring and trading classes, and the existence of which -Ministers attempted to ignore. They were, indeed, so ill-advised as to propose -a grant of money for the relief of the Turks, who were enduring great -sufferings in the Rhodope district. But some of the Tory borough Members -threatened to rebel if this project were persisted in, and it was withdrawn. -The programme of domestic legislation was long and ambitious, and Ministers -very properly began the Session by an attempt to guard against obstruction. -They carried a rule which prevented any amendment from being made to -the motion that the Speaker of the House of Commons leave the Chair on -going into Committee of Supply on Monday nights. This enabled a Minister -who came to explain his Estimates to do so at once, because it prevented -private Members from interposing, between him and the Committee, with -long and irrelevant debates on real and imaginary grievances. The chief -measure of the Session was a Bill to consolidate the Mutiny Act and the -Articles of War—a measure which still further extended the Parliamentary -control of the Army by incorporating these Articles into an Act of Parliament. -It was read a second time on the 7th of April; but when it went -into Committee it attracted the attention of Mr. Parnell and his followers.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parnell now appeared in the character of a British patriot and -philanthropist who took an absorbing interest in perfecting the discipline of -the Army and in ameliorating the condition of the private soldier. As in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_568" id="page_568">{568}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_067" id="ill_067"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_568.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_568.jpg" width="395" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BAVENO, ON LAGO MAGGIORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the case of the Prisons Bill, he had mastered every detail of the subject, -only he had become a much more formidable personage than he had been -in 1877. He had deposed Mr. Butt from the leadership of the Irish party, -and, for all practical purposes, he had taken his place.<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a> He had shown -Ireland that he had been able to procure for her, by one short year’s -obstruction in 1877, not only the endowment of her secondary education, -but even the release of several Fenian convicts in 1878—a year, said the -<i>Times</i>, marked by the cessation of obstruction, and the good relations which -obtained between the Government and the Home Rulers. In March he had -discussed the Army Estimates with an ability and knowledge which even the -Minister for War recognised; and when the Army Discipline Bill was sent -before the House in Committee Mr. Parnell was conspicuous for his cleverness -in exposing its anomalies, its obsolete applications of the principles of martial -law, and its prevailing bias in favour of the officers and against the rank-and-file. -When the 44th clause was reached, Mr. Parnell and his friends -made a stand against the continuance of flogging in the Army, and at this -stage Liberals vied with Ministerialists in denouncing their obstructive tactics. -But Mr. Parnell persisted. He had foreseen that he was raising a popular<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_569" id="page_569">{569}</a></span> -cry. A General Election was at hand, and he knew that the moment it was -discovered that he had touched the heart of the constituencies, it would be a -question with the Liberals and Conservatives who were then storming at him -as to who should be the first to fall into line with him. Mr. Parnell’s cynical -prevision was justified by events.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_068" id="ill_068"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_569.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_569.jpg" height="350" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE VILLA CLARA, BAVENO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Both parties, to do them justice, held out manfully night after night against -the pressure of this appeal to the sordid side of their political character. But the -longer the game of obstruction on the flogging question was played, the stronger -grew the feeling among the populace against flogging, and night after night -Mr. Parnell was at his post with cold malice giving an additional turn to the -electoral screw. The first to succumb to the torture was Mr. Chamberlain, and -something like a faded smile flitted across Mr. Parnell’s stony visage when that -successful and practical politician scurried into his camp. Mr. Chamberlain’s -unexpected speech against flogging fell like a bombshell in the House of -Commons, where it was understood that Englishmen of all parties had entered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_570" id="page_570">{570}</a></span> -into an honourable understanding to meet Mr. Parnell’s obstructive policy with -a firm and united resistance. It was a speech which, as Sir Robert Peel very -justly said, “entirely upset the calculations of the Government,”<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a> a fact which -was forgotten or concealed by those critics of Lord Beaconsfield’s Administration -who afterwards vilipended them for their weak and vacillating attitude to -this question. No sooner had Mr. Chamberlain deserted to the Irish ranks -than he found himself the object of unsparing obloquy which Liberals and -Conservatives impartially bestowed on him. Of course other Radicals, if they -desired to save their seats in a General Election, were forced to follow him, -and as soon as Mr. Parnell found that he had lured nearly the whole Radical -party into his net, he and the Irish Members suddenly vanished from the -scene as leaders in the struggle. They were never absent from their posts, -and they never failed to support the cause they had espoused by their votes. But -they thrust the work of obstruction and of speaking on the Liberal and Radical -Members who had tardily become their allies. The advantage they gained -was soon apparent. Mr. Chamberlain speedily lost his temper, and not only -publicly quarrelled with Lord Hartington, but one evening he even insulted -him amidst furious cries of protest from the Liberal benches, by describing -him as “the <i>late</i> Leader of the Liberal Party.”<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> Nothing could be more -complete than the disintegration of the Liberal Party which Mr. Chamberlain -thus produced, unless it were the perplexity of the Ministry. The Tories did -not dare to stand by the lash as a British institution unless they got what they -had been promised—the loyal support of the Opposition. Yet under Mr. -Chamberlain’s obstructive agitation, and under popular pressure from the -constituencies, it was clear that the Opposition was going over piecemeal to -the opponents of flogging. What wonder, then, that Colonel Stanley, the -Minister of War, temporised, when Mr. Chamberlain extorted from him a damaging -schedule, giving a list of the offences for which a soldier could be flogged?</p> - -<p>Debates instinct with a strange kind of fierce frivolity raged as to the sort -of “cat” that should be used in flogging a soldier. Infinite time was wasted -in discussing whether the word “lashes” should be used instead of “stripes” -in the Act, Mr. Chamberlain being beaten in his effort to get the word -“stripes” inserted. Endless discussions arose as to the maximum number of -lashes that should be sanctioned. When there was any sign of hesitancy -Irish obstructionists were always ready to join in the fray, and not only screw -Mr. Chamberlain up to the “sticking point,” but ironically suggest that Liberal -and Conservative leaders would alike find it profitable to go to the country -in the coming election, with a “new cat and an old Constitution,” as a taking -“cry.” Colonel Stanley at last gave way, and offered to reduce the <i>maximum</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_571" id="page_571">{571}</a></span> -number of lashes from fifty to twenty-five, whereupon Mr. Chamberlain -showed that he was as dangerous to run away from as Mr. Parnell. Indeed, -all through these debates Mr. Chamberlain fought the battle of obstruction -with an amount of courage and fertility of resource that placed him in the -front rank of Parliamentary gladiators. Friends and foes alike admitted that -but for his asperity of temper he might have disputed the palm of success -even with Mr. Parnell himself. The fight was virtually won when Colonel -Stanley proposed to reduce the number of lashes from fifty to twenty-five. -Even Lord Hartington then made haste to go over to Mr. Chamberlain -whilst it was yet time, just as Mr. Chamberlain had made haste to desert to -Mr. Parnell.</p> - -<p>On the 17th of July Lord Hartington accordingly proposed that corporal -punishment should be abolished for all military offences. Though on a division -he was beaten by a majority of 106, it was felt that the “cat-o’-nine-tails” -was doomed whenever a Liberal Government came into power. It was foreseen -that at the next election many Conservative Members would be driven from -their seats, because they had been forced to vote in the majority, and the -Ministerialists denounced Lord Hartington’s surrender to Mr. Parnell and Mr. -Chamberlain with exceeding bitterness. As Lord Salisbury said in addressing -a Tory meeting in the City of London, Lord Hartington was like the Sultan, -because, though he had a group of political Bashi-Bazouks in his party, whom he -could not control, and whose conduct he politely deprecated, yet his motion -showed he would not hesitate to profit by their misdeeds, when the conflict of -parties was fought out at the polls. As it was, the Government were only -able to obtain their majority by agreeing to restrict corporal punishment to -those offences which were then punishable by death.</p> - -<p>The only other Bill of importance passed during the Session was one -dealing with Irish University education. It abolished the Queen’s University, -and substituted for it the Royal University of Ireland, an examining body -like the University of London, empowered to grant degrees, except in Theology, -to all qualified students who might present themselves.</p> - -<p>The Budget, as might be expected, was by no means a popular one. -Since 1878 extraordinary expenditure, incurred on account of an adventurous -Foreign Policy, had simply been treated as a deferred liability. On the 3rd -of April Sir Stafford Northcote, in explaining his Budget, admitted that the -revenue, which he had estimated at £83,230,000, had fallen short of that -sum by £110,000. As for his expenditure, it had exceeded his estimate by -£4,388,000. He had therefore no money in hand with which to meet the -deferred liabilities of 1878-79; in fact, he was face to face with a fresh deficit. -Comparing his actual revenue with his actual expenditure, the deficit was -seen to amount to £2,291,000. The position, then, was this. In 1878 he -had paid off £2,750,000 by bills, which he thought he would have been able -to meet in 1879. Now he found he could not meet them. These he reserved<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_572" id="page_572">{572}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_069" id="ill_069"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_572.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_572.jpg" height="378" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">for another year, adding to them a fresh set of bills for the new deficit, -which transferred to the future a lump sum of debt equal to £5,350,000. -Leaving this item out of account, and ignoring the cost of the South African -War, he estimated the expenditure of 1879-80 at £81,153,000. The revenue, -he hoped, would amount to £83,000,000, so that the estimated surplus he -expected would suffice to cover the cost of the operations in Zululand. It -was a dismal statement, at best. But ere the Session ended it was discovered -that the real position of affairs was even worse than Sir Stafford Northcote -had admitted. In August he had to inform the House that the Zulu War -was costing the country £500,000 a month, and that he must get a Vote of -Credit of £3,000,000. This, with an addition of £64,000 to the ordinary -Estimates, raised the original estimate of expenditure to £84,217,000. Thus -the estimated surplus of £1,847,000 vanished, and in its place there stood a -deficit of £1,217,000 for 1879-80, which might probably be increased. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_573" id="page_573">{573}</a></span> -plan of evading the payment of debt, so as to render a costly policy palatable -to the electors, was thus a failure. The longer the payment of the debt -was deferred the more it grew, and it was clear that the finances of the -country were drifting into inextricable confusion.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_070" id="ill_070"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_573.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_573.jpg" height="381" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Parliament was prorogued on the 15th of August, and it had hardly risen -when the predicted calamity in Afghanistan arrived. As experienced Anglo-Indians -had anticipated, Sir Louis Cavagnari, the British Envoy at Cabul, was -murdered, and his suite massacred (3rd September), by the fanatical soldiers -of the Ameer. During the short period of his residence, Cavagnari had -justified the arguments of those who averred that a European Envoy would -never be able to furnish his Government with any valuable information from -Cabul. The only intelligence worth having that was received by the Indian -Government came from native sources, and it had consisted of warnings<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_574" id="page_574">{574}</a></span> -that Cavagnari’s life was in grave peril.<a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> It was necessary to order an Army -of Vengeance to enter Afghanistan, and this was done. But, in England, the -verdict of public opinion was that Lord Beaconsfield’s Afghan policy had -proved an irredeemable failure. It was no longer possible to dream of -avoiding the costly and harassing annexation of Afghanistan, by extending -over it a veiled British Protectorate, to be administered by a British Envoy -at Cabul as Political Resident. There was no alternative but a military -occupation, which meant that England must be ready to hold down by the -sword a country as large as France, as impracticable for military movements -as Switzerland, and inhabited by wild fanatical tribes as fierce, lawless, and -savage as the hordes of Ghengis Khan.<a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a> The Army of Vengeance under Sir -Frederick Roberts, after much toil and many struggles, fought its way through -the Shutargardan Pass, and captured Cabul on the 12th of October. The -Ameer, Yakoob Khan, was forced to abdicate, and he was deported to -Peshawur, and in the meantime Roberts governed the country by sword and -halter. The hillmen attacked his communications. The attitude of the -Cabulees was, from the first, threatening, though General Roberts disregarded -the warnings of the Persian newswriters, who told him that Afghanistan was -going to rise about his ears. On the 14th of December the insurrection broke -out in Cabul, and Roberts had to leave the city and fight his way round to -the cantonments at Sherpore, where his supplies were stored, and where he -took refuge, and was soon besieged. In fact, in the middle of December the -public learnt with extreme anxiety that every British post in Afghanistan -was surrounded by swarms of fierce insurgents, and that a rescuing army -must be organised at Peshawur without delay. Cabul itself was in the hands -of Mahomed Jan, the victorious Afghan leader. Bitterly did Englishmen -recall Lord Beaconsfield’s speech a month before at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, -in which he assured his audience that the operations in Afghanistan “had -been conducted with signal success,” that the North-West frontier of India -had been strengthened and secured, and that British supremacy had been -asserted in Central Asia. Fortunately, ere the year closed, General Gough, -who had advanced from Gundamuk, was able to join hands with Roberts, -who again made himself master of Cabul.</p> - -<p>In South Africa affairs began to assume a more hopeful aspect towards -the end of the year. After the victory of Ulundi the Zulu chiefs one after -another submitted to the British Government. Cetewayo—who, as we have seen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_575" id="page_575">{575}</a></span> -had been captured on the 28th of August—was sent as a State prisoner to Cape -Town, and Sir Garnet Wolseley made peace with the Zulu chiefs and people.<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a> -The Kaffir chief, Secocoeni, who had defied the Government before the Zulu -War broke out, was attacked and subdued. He had been secretly aided by -the Boers, who had warned Sir Bartle Frere that they did not accept the -annexation of the Transvaal. At Pretoria Sir Garnet Wolseley, however, told -the Boer leaders that the annexation which they were resisting was irreversible, -and the Boers for a time confined themselves to obstructing the -judicial and fiscal administration of the British Government.</p> - -<p>The Zulu War was marked by one incident that powerfully influenced the -destiny of Europe: it cost the heir of the Bonapartes his life. The young -Prince Louis Napoleon—or the “Prince Imperial,” as the Bonapartists insisted -on calling him—had resolved to serve with the British Army in Zululand. -His object was to acquire a military reputation that might be useful to him -as a Pretender. A proud and self-respecting Government, however hard -pressed, cannot accept the services of a foreign mercenary, however high his -rank might be. But, in deference to Courtly influences, the Prince was permitted -to proceed to the seat of war in an ambiguous position. He held -no commission, but he was treated like a junior officer of the General Staff, -and the Duke of Cambridge requested Lord Chelmsford to let the Prince see -as much of the war as he could. Lord Chelmsford issued instructions to -the military authorities, which made the Prince a burden—perhaps, in some -degree, a nuisance—to them. When he joined Lord Chelmsford Prince Louis -seems to have been attached to the Quartermaster-General’s Department. -But he was not to be allowed to go out of the camp without Lord Chelmsford’s -permission, and even then he was to be guarded by an escort under -an officer of experience. On the 1st of June Colonel Harrison allowed the -Prince to make a reconnaissance for the purpose of choosing the site of a -camp, but without obtaining Lord Chelmsford’s sanction. The Prince’s party -was to consist of six troopers and six Basutos, and though no officer was -sent to accompany him, Lieutenant Carey, an accomplished and intelligent -soldier, happened, by an accident, to join the band. Carey had been -employed to survey and map out some of the adjoining ground, and he -asked leave to go with the Prince to clear up a doubtful topographical -point on which he and Lord Chelmsford differed in opinion. Carey merely -went for his private convenience. He was not told to look after the -Prince; in fact, he was told that, if he went, he was not to interfere -with him, because his Imperial Highness, eager to re-gild the tarnished -Eagles of his House, desired to have all the credit of conducting the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_576" id="page_576">{576}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_071" id="ill_071"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_576.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_576.jpg" width="642" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT.</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Picture by S. P. Hall.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_072" id="ill_072"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_003.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_003.jpg" height="584" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>QUEEN VICTORIA (1887).</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Lafayette, Dublin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_577" id="page_577">{577}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_073" id="ill_073"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_577.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_577.jpg" width="395" height="317" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MAUSOLEUM, FROGMORE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Expedition. The Prince was in command of the party,<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a> and in a fit of -boyish impatience, and in defiance of Carey’s advice, ordered it to march -without waiting for the six Basutos, who were late of putting in an appearance. -He led his little troop on for some distance, and then, without taking -the most ordinary precautions against surprise, he halted—again against -Carey’s counsel—for a rest in a deserted kraal surrounded by a field of</p> - -<p class="nind">tall Indian corn. This was a fatal blunder, for the cover of the cornfield -rendered the place eminently convenient for the concealment of an ambuscade. -Here the Prince waited an hour, whilst the Zulus surrounded him. Then he -gave his men the order to move. The Zulus sprang from their hiding-places and -fired on the little band, whose startled horses were difficult to mount. It was -impossible to see what was going on in the cornfield, and it was not till<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_578" id="page_578">{578}</a></span> -the troopers had retreated for some distance that Lieutenant Carey and his -comrades discovered that the Prince was missing. To have made a stand in -the cornfield would have been to court instant death. It appeared that the -Prince had been unable to mount his horse, which was frightened and restive, -and that the Zulus overtook him and stabbed him with their assegais. -Thanks to Carey’s knowledge of the ground, the rest of the party, with the -exception of two troopers, were saved, and Carey was able to give Colonel -Wood’s force the valuable intelligence that the enemy, contrary to the general -belief, were infesting the country in front.</p> - -<p>The indignation of the French Bonapartists at the death of the Prince -Imperial was without limit. The ex-Empress, who had encouraged her son -to go to South Africa, was prostrated with sorrow and remorse. Even the -tender sympathy of the Queen could not console her for the loss of one -whose life was necessary for her ambition, and whose death shattered the -last hopes of Imperialism in France. It was thought desirable that somebody -should be sacrificed to appease the ex-Empress, and Lieutenant Carey was -accordingly tried by Court-martial and promptly condemned for “misbehaviour -in front of the enemy” while in command of a reconnoitring party. There -were only two reasons for attacking Carey. He was the officer of lowest -rank who had any connection with the Prince’s ill-fated reconnaissance, and -he had absolutely nothing whatever to do with the command of that expedition, -or with the Prince’s mismanagement of it. In fact, all that Carey -could be blamed for was for saving, by his superior knowledge of the ground, -four of the six troopers whom the Prince had led into a fatal ambuscade. It -need hardly be said that, on review, the finding of the Court-martial was set -aside by the Duke of Cambridge, and Lieutenant Carey restored to his rank. -The Duke laid all the blame on Colonel Harrison, who, however, was not -tried by Court-martial. But he also complained that Carey made a mistake -in imagining that the Prince was in command of the party, a mistake which -was not only natural but inevitable, and which was shared by all his comrades. -The melancholy and stubborn imprudence of the Prince obviously led -the expedition to disaster. The Duke of Cambridge argued that Colonel -Harrison should have warned the Prince to be guided by Carey. Having -blamed Harrison for not giving Carey sufficiently definite instructions as to -the command of the expedition, he made Carey responsible for the defects -in Harrison’s instructions. Carey, according to the Duke, should have provided -that military skill which the Prince lacked. The truth was that -Carey was warned not to meddle with the Prince, who from first to last took -command, and who, when advice was tendered to him, rejected it in a manner -that did not encourage a spirited and self-respecting officer to press it on him.</p> - -<p>The family life of the Court in 1879 was brightened by a Royal wedding. -On the 13th of March the marriage of the Duke of Connaught with the -Princess Louise Marguerite of Prussia was celebrated with some display. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_579" id="page_579">{579}</a></span> -ceremony took place in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. At noon the four -processions—those of the Queen, the Princess of Wales, the bride and the -bridegroom—quitted the quadrangle. The Queen drove in her own carriage, -drawn by four ponies, the remainder of the Royal Family occupying the gilded -State coaches, driven by the Royal coachmen in their liveries of scarlet and -gold. The display of decorations and uniforms and costumes among the -august guests was seen to be very brilliant as the Royal party took -their places round the Communion rails, where were assembled the Archbishop -of Canterbury, the Bishops of London, Winchester, Worcester, and the Dean -of Windsor. As Mendelssohn’s march from <i>Athalie</i> resounded through the -sacred building the Queen was observed to take her place, dressed in a complete -Court dress of black satin, with a white veil and a flashing coronet of -diamonds. The Princess Beatrice had discarded Court mourning, and appeared -in a turquoise blue costume with a velvet train to match. The bridegroom, -wearing the uniform of the Rifle Brigade, was supported by the Prince of -Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh. The bride was accompanied by her -father, Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, better known as the “Red -Prince,” and the German Crown Prince, who wore the uniform of the 2nd -or Queen’s Cuirassiers. The German Crown Princess and the King of the -Belgians were also present. The Red Prince gave his daughter away. At -the close of the ceremony the Queen and Royal Family returned to the -Palace amidst a salute of twenty-one guns.</p> - -<p>On March the 25th the Queen and Princess Beatrice, attended by General -Sir H. F. Ponsonby, Lady Churchill, Sir W. Jenner, and Captain Edwards, -left Windsor Castle for the North of Italy. The Royal departure took place -in very wintry weather, snow and sleet falling heavily. In spite of this the -railway platform was crowded by visitors, who offered many loyal salutations -as the train steamed out of the station at 9.40 a.m. Portsmouth was reached -at noon, and the Royal party embarked on board the <i>Victoria and Albert</i>, the -yacht sailing at once for Cherbourg, which was reached early in the evening. -The Queen slept on board, and left for Paris. When she arrived in Paris -she found that though crowds had collected at the station, no one was admitted -to the platform except the British Ambassador, Lord Lyons. The -Queen, who was dressed in deep mourning, though almost invisible to the -people as she drove to the English Embassy, was, nevertheless, greeted with -cheers and waving of hats all along the way. On the 27th her Majesty left -Paris for Arona. Prior to starting, she was much affected by the receipt of a -message announcing the death of her grandson, Prince Waldemar of Prussia. -She, however, went through the appointed tasks of the day with her -customary self-possession, and received President Grévy and M. Waddington, -both visits being brief and formal. The Duc de Nemours also paid her a -friendly visit, accompanied by Prince and Princess Czartolyski. On the 28th -the Queen, preserving the strictest incognito, arrived at Modane, and after a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_580" id="page_580">{580}</a></span> -short interval continued the journey to Turin and Baveno on Lake Maggiore, -which was her final destination. On reaching the Italian frontier the Queen -received a despatch from the King and Queen of Italy welcoming her Majesty -upon Italian soil. The Queen sent a reply immediately, expressing her thanks -in cordial terms. On March 31st Prince Amadeus, brother of the King of -Italy, arrived at Baveno and had an audience of the Queen. During her stay -in Italy her Majesty assumed the title of the Countess of Balmoral, and -occupied the Villa Clara, which was placed at her disposal by M. Henfrey, -the owner. At first the weather was bad, but in spite of that the Queen -made many excursions to places of interest, and as her incognito was respected, -her holiday was not burdened with the wearisome formalities of Court etiquette. -Alike in France and Italy she was received with hearty good wishes by the -people. Garibaldi and the Pope vied with King Humbert in welcoming her -with congratulatory messages. On the 17th of April King Humbert and -Queen Margherita and the members of their household left Rome for Monza, -and on the 18th proceeded to the railway station to meet the train which -was to bring the Queen and her suite from Baveno. Punctually at the time -arranged the Queen arrived, and, on alighting from her carriage, warmly -greeted the King and Queen of Italy. The party then drove to the Royal -Castle, where lunch was served, after which the Queen returned to Baveno, -which she left on the 23rd of April, arriving in Paris next day. Her return -was clouded, as her setting out had been, by the shadow of death. On her -arrival at Turin she received the painful intelligence of the death at Genoa -of the Duke of Roxburghe, the husband of one of her valued friends. She -left Paris on Friday, the 25th, and before her departure she gave away -memorial tokens to several of the members of the Embassy. She arrived at -Windsor on the 27th, where the German Empress came to spend some days -with her in May. During this visit both Royal ladies became great-grandmothers, -for the Queen’s first great-grandchild was born on the 12th of -May. This was the first-born daughter of the Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, -the eldest daughter of the German Crown Prince and Princess.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_581" id="page_581">{581}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_074" id="ill_074"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_581.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_581.jpg" width="402" height="270" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OSBORNE HOUSE, FROM THE GARDENS.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by J. Valentine and Sons.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /><br /> -<small>FALL OF LORD BEACONSFIELD.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>General Gloom—Fall of the Tay Bridge—Liberal Onslaught on the Government—The Mussulman Schoolmaster -and the Anglican Missionary—The Queen’s Speech—The Irish Relief Bill—A Dying Parliament—Mr. -Cross’s Water Bill—“Coming in on Beer and Going out on Water”—Sir Stafford Northcote’s Budget—Lord -Beaconsfield’s Manifesto—The General Election—Defeat of the Tories—Incidents of the Struggle—Mr. -Gladstone Prime Minister—The Fourth Party—Mr. Bradlaugh and the Oath—Mr. Gladstone and the -Emperor of Austria—The Naval Demonstration—Grave Error in the Indian Budget—Affairs in Afghanistan—Disaster -at Maiwand—Roberts’s March—The New Ameer—Revolt of the Boers—The Ministerial Programme—The -Burials Bill—The Hares and Rabbits Bill—The Employers’ Liability Bill—Supplementary -Budget—The Compensation for Disturbance Bill—Boycotting—Trial of Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon—The -Queen’s Visit to Germany—The Queen Presents the Albert Medal to George Oatley of the Coastguard—Reviews -at Windsor—The Queen’s Speech to the Ensigns—The Battle of the Standards—Royalty and Riflemen—Outrages -in Ireland—“Endymion”—Death of George Eliot.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">If</span> 1880 opened cheerfully, it was solely because men felt a sense of relief at -getting rid of what they called “the bad old year.” It had begun with bitter -frosts, varied by black fogs. Its spring was a prolonged winter. Cold gloom -marked its dog-days. There was no summer worth recording, and as for -autumn, October and November saw the crops rotting in the fields. Farmers -and squires, like Sheridan, were striving “to live on their debts.” Two great -bank failures—that of the City of Glasgow Bank and that of the West of -England Bank—had shaken the fabric of credit and reduced thousands of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_582" id="page_582">{582}</a></span> -well-to-do middle class to penury, while trade seemed going from bad to worse. -Even science and invention appeared to be in a conspiracy to ruin people, for -Edison’s contrivance of the electric lamp frightened investors in gas shares into -a panic, which seriously depreciated the value of their property. Disasters in -war, which are courteously called blunders, were followed by catastrophes by -flood and field, which it is customary to call accidents. The ghastly tale of -misfortunes was completed by the frightful hurricane that swept over the -country on the last Sunday of the old year. At half-past seven of the evening -of that day a furious gust swept down the Firth of Tay and cut a section -out of the great railway bridge that spanned the estuary. A train crossing at -the moment was blown, with the wreckage of the bridge and its precious -freight of human life, into the surly waters of the Firth.<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a> Very promptly -did the Queen instruct Sir Henry Ponsonby to telegraph from Osborne a -sympathetic message from her to the relatives of the dead.<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a> Her Majesty -had herself crossed the bridge on her way to Balmoral, and the shock of the -disaster struck her to the heart.</p> - -<p>It was when the people were moodily pondering over the evil fate of -England under the Government that was to have given it rest and prosperity, -that Lord Beaconsfield’s opponents became unusually active. Mr. Gladstone -reprinted his speech on Finance which he had delivered in Edinburgh in -November (1879), and reminded the electors how Lord Beaconsfield, after -promising to repeal the Income Tax in 1874, had raised it; how in bad times -he had increased expenditure, whereas in good times the Liberals had reduced -it; how he had imposed £6,000,000 more taxes than he remitted, whereas the -Liberals remitted £12,500,000 more than they imposed; how he had transformed -a surplus into a deficit, and kept on rolling up debt, instead of paying off the -nation’s liabilities as they were incurred. There was a stroke of high art -in publishing this sombre speech when the New Year opened. Sir Stafford -Northcote had, at Leeds, essayed a mild and apologetic reply to it. Mr. Gladstone -thus considered it necessary, when men were beginning to suspect that -they were ruled by a Government of bad luck, to answer Sir Stafford in an -appendix to the November speech, which tended to deepen the prevailing -depression of spirits. Sir William Harcourt, in his New Year orations at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_583" id="page_583">{583}</a></span> -Oxford, on the other hand, dealt with the Government from a comic point of -view. He touched with caustic wit on their incongruities and inconsistencies, -and by contrasting their swelling words with their small deeds, their affluence -of promise with their poverty of performance, contrived to create an impression -that Ministers were making the country the laughing-stock of the -world. When Mr. Gladstone showed that the nation was being ruined, Sir -William Harcourt immediately followed up by declaring, in speeches which -everybody read, because they were amusing and personal, that it was being -ruined by a group of mountebanks. To him succeeded Mr. Bright, who, at a -Liberal banquet at Birmingham (20th of January), elaborately explained how -that which had happened was only what might have been looked for. He -exhibited, from the treasure-house of his memory, an interminable series of -examples to illustrate one simple thesis. It was that the history of England -had ever been a tragic conflict between the Spirits of Good and Evil—the Tory -Party representing the Spirit of Evil. His political Manichæism would not have -influenced the country if it had not been downhearted. Inasmuch as it -manifestly affected public opinion, it ought to have warned Lord Beaconsfield -that the people were out of humour with him. The Tories, however, had -eyes and ears for nothing, save Sir William Harcourt’s jokes and gibes, and -flouts and sneers. These were not highly refined or polished, but they were -just what was wanted to make the average voter laugh at Imperialism. The -Imperialists being sensitive, not to say short-tempered persons, instead of -pleading their own case rationally before the country, spent their force in -vituperative attacks on Sir William Harcourt. It was also the misfortune of -Lord Beaconsfield, that at this juncture he became nervous over the growing -hostility of the clergy of all denominations to his foreign policy, the tone of -which they deemed anti-Christian.</p> - -<p>A desperate effort which was made to counteract this impression, displayed -Sir Henry Layard at Constantinople—an Envoy who was supposed to be more -Turkish than the Turks—figuring as a champion of the Cross against the -Crescent. People, in fact, were startled at the beginning of the year to -learn that the Government had suspended diplomatic relations with Turkey, -because the Turkish authorities had threatened to execute a Mussulman schoolmaster -for helping an Anglican missionary to translate the Bible.<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a> Sir Henry -Layard had been unmoved by the massacre and judicial murder of thousands -of Christian subjects of the Sultan in Epirus, Macedonia, and Armenia, in -defiance of Treaty law. It was, therefore, amazing that he should have -suddenly burst into a convulsion of diplomatic wrath because a Turkish Court<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_584" id="page_584">{584}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_075" id="ill_075"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_584.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_584.jpg" width="410" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE FIRST TAY BRIDGE, FROM THE SOUTH.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">passed on a Turkish Mussulman the sentence appointed by the law of his -race and creed for an act which, when done by him, was legally a crime. -Still, from the point of view of the practical statesman on the eve of a -General Election, the step taken by Sir Henry Layard would not have been -open to criticism merely because of its inconsistency and injustice. The fatal -objection to it was that, whilst it failed to conciliate the religious world, it -made the Government seem ineffably ridiculous to the electors. The foreign -policy that was to give England ascendency in the councils of Europe, -had reduced her to such a poor pass that, at Constantinople, Sir Henry -Layard had to threaten war ere the Porte would even listen to his -appeal for clemency to the obscurest of offenders against the letter of a -harsh and obsolete law. Nor was the situation improved as the quarrel -developed. The Turks resolutely refused even to deliver up Dr. Köller’s MSS., -which they hardly had any right to keep, and it was not till the German -Ambassador interfered on behalf of the English missionary that they were -restored. When Sir Henry Layard pressed for the dismissal of Hafiz Pasha, -he was foiled by the Sultan averring that he, and not the Minister, had -ordered the arrest of Ahmed Tewfik. After Lord Beaconsfield’s Guildhall -eulogies on the Sultan, Ministers were seriously embarrassed by this new turn -in the affair. Ultimately the intervention of Germany and Austria induced -the Sultan, who listened to the menaces of the British Government with imperturbable -serenity, to offer concessions. He still refused Sir Henry Layard’s -demand for the annulment of the sentence of death on Ahmed Tewfik. But -he offered to commute it by exiling Ahmed to a remote Turkish island with -a Christian population. He also ordered Hafiz Pasha, the Minister of Police, -to apologise.<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a> The commutation of Ahmed’s sentence meant that, though<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_585" id="page_585">{585}</a></span> -England had saved him from the gallows, “Kismet” had destined him for a -premature grave. The apology from Hafiz was immediately converted into a -further insult to the British Government, for, as soon as it had been delivered, -the Sultan decorated him with the Grand Cordon of the Medjidie. Nor was -this act quite atoned for by the issue of an Imperial edict forbidding -the Mohammedan Press to laugh at the British Ambassador. It was, -therefore, easy to predict that the Queen’s Speech would be demure, if not -actually meek in tone, when it touched on Foreign Affairs.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_076" id="ill_076"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_585.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_585.jpg" width="326" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WINDSOR CASTLE: A PEEP FROM THE DEAN’S GARDEN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Parliament was opened on the 5th of February, and her Majesty’s Speech -was read by the Lord Chancellor. Events, according to the Royal Message, still -tended to safeguard the peace of Europe on the basis of the Berlin Treaty, -and the Sultan had signed a Convention for the suppression of the Slave Trade. -The abdication of the Ameer rendered it impossible to recall the army of -occupation. But the Government, in their dealings with Afghanistan, merely -desired to strengthen their Indian frontier and preserve the independence of -that State. The success of Sir Garnet Wolseley’s policy in South Africa was -touched on. It was stated that the Irish authorities had been instructed to -make special provisions for coping with distress in Ireland, which would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_586" id="page_586">{586}</a></span> -necessitate an Indemnity Bill; and a Criminal Code Bill, a Bankruptcy Bill, a -Lunacy Bill, and a Conveyancing Bill were promised. Mr. Cross had, at the -end of the previous Session, also promised a Bill to transfer the Metropolitan -Water Companies to the ratepayers of London. The debates on the -Address were uninteresting. The Tories tried to discredit their opponents by -proving that in election contests they angled for the Irish vote by promising -to support an inquiry into the demand for Home Rule. The Liberals retorted -by proving that though Lord Beaconsfield was ever ready to pass sentence -of political excommunication on Home Rulers, he was equally ready to -confer honours on Home Rulers,<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a> that the Home Rule movement was -started by Tories, and that it was a rich Tory who found the money for the -Fenian candidature of O’Donovan Rossa in Tipperary.</p> - -<p>The Irish Relief Bill was introduced on the 7th, and read a second time -on the 23rd of February. It granted loans to the amount of £1,092,985 -without interest for two years and a half, but bearing 1 per cent. interest after -that time, to landlords and sanitary authorities for works of improvement; it -also permitted the Baronial Sessions to start such works, and relaxed the law of -out-door relief. Most of the Irish members complained that as a measure of -relief, the Bill was inadequate. Some, like Mr. Synan, objected to the loans -being taken from the Irish Church surplus. Others wished Boards of -Guardians to be able to give out-door relief in money, and to take up loans -for improvements. The Bill was passed on the 15th of March, and Major Nolan -also passed a Seed Bill which enabled poor farmers to get seeds on loan. It -is now clear that the Government had no true conception of the state of Ireland. -They had been satisfied with the jaunty assurances of the Chief Secretary, -Mr. Lowther, in the previous year, that there was no exceptional -agrarian distress in that country. Yet, as a matter of fact, a famine was -imminent, and at the beginning of 1880 the Duchess of Marlborough, wife -of the Lord-Lieutenant, and Mr. E. Dwyer Gray, Lord Mayor of Dublin, were -compelled to start Relief Funds to avert that dreadful calamity.</p> - -<p>Even with this evidence before them, the Tory Ministry in 1880 fell into a -blunder worthy of the Whigs in 1847-9. They adopted the fatal Whig -principle, that the best way to relieve the Irish peasant’s distress was to -vote the relief money to be doled out in wages by his landlord, who, by -rack-renting and evictions had aggravated that distress, and who, though -in most cases an absentee, was yet for some inexplicable reason supposed -to be the best almoner the State could find in Ireland.<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a> That this mistake -was made can only be accounted for by the fact that Lord Beaconsfield’s -advanced age, and his absorption in Foreign Affairs, rendered it possible for -his less competent colleagues to control his policy.<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_587" id="page_587">{587}</a></span></p> - -<p>However, all Englishmen were predisposed to believe that Mr. Gladstone’s -Land Act of 1870 had averted famine for ever from Ireland. They did not -know that it had broken down because it made no provision against rack-renting, -and, therefore, no real provision against unjust eviction. It permitted -eviction in cases where a tenant was unable to pay rent; so that, in order -to evict, a landlord had merely to put up his rent to the point at which -the tenant could not pay it, the tenant’s claim for improvements on eviction -being in such a case usually swallowed up in long out-standing arrears. It -was quite obvious to those who looked beneath the surface that the coming -question was the agrarian difficulty in Ireland. And yet the Ministry treated -it as a matter of trivial importance, a blunder which, however, was also committed -by the majority of Liberals, who were convinced that Mr. Gladstone’s -Land Act had brought content to Ireland.</p> - -<p>Still, the Session was quiet and business-like, and the Liberal leaders were -studiously polite to Ministers. They helped to pass a Standing Order checking -obstruction, hinting that it was not strong enough. By these tactics they -artfully neutralised the insinuation that they were fishing for the Home -Rule vote.<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a> But it was clear that Parliament was moribund and quite -“gravelled for lack of matter.” It could not legally survive another year; in -fact, since the sixteenth century only four Parliaments had existed as long. -Naturally public opinion was pressing for a dissolution, and it merely remained -for Ministers to select the “psychological moment” which was most advantageous -to themselves for going to the country. Lord Beaconsfield suddenly -resolved in spring not to exhaust his mandate, and on the 8th of March -Sir Stafford Northcote intimated that the Budget would be brought in before -Easter, and that, after taking formal and necessary business, Parliament would -be dissolved. Lord Beaconsfield was guided to this step by three considerations. -He thought that the glamour of his Asiatic Imperialism still blinded<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_588" id="page_588">{588}</a></span> -the eyes of the nation to the disasters in Afghanistan and South Africa. -He imagined that, because the returns from three bye-elections were favourable -to the Tory Party, public opinion was still with him.<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a> He trusted that -Mr. Cross’s Water Bill would consolidate the popularity of the Ministry, not -only in the Capital, but among municipal reformers all over the country. -This last forecast was most untoward. When Mr. Cross produced his Water -Bill on the 2nd of March, the <i>Standard</i>, which was the organ of the Ministry -in the Press, suddenly deserted its Party and its leaders, and assailed Mr. -Cross’s scheme with astounding ferocity.<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a> The opposition of the <i>Standard</i> at -the critical moment not only depressed the spirits of the Tories, but also -forced the hand of the “independent” newspapers, who had up till now -supported Lord Beaconsfield loyally. They could not be more royalist than -the King, so they, too, poured forth their invective on Mr. Cross’s Bill. The -effect of this sudden attack of the whole metropolitan Press was to paralyse -a vast body of metropolitan opinion that up till then had run in favour of -the Ministry. “It came into power on beer,” said a malicious Liberal one -afternoon in the Tea-room of the House of Commons, “and it will float out -on water.” A more cautious statesman would have postponed dissolution till -a happier moment; but Lord Beaconsfield persisted in appealing to the -people, and the Government passed an Electoral Bill repealing the law which -prohibited candidates from paying for the carriage of voters to the poll. It -was obvious that in the coming struggle the Tories were at least resolved to -give the rich men on both sides all the advantages of their opulence.</p> - -<p>When the Budget was produced Sir Stafford Northcote had a sad tale to -tell. His revenue for the past year, instead of yielding £83,055,000, only -yielded £80,860,000, showing a deficit of £2,195,000, to which had to be added<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_589" id="page_589">{589}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_077" id="ill_077"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_589.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_589.jpg" width="618" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AFTER THE MIDLOTHIAN VICTORY: MR. GLADSTONE ADDRESSING THE CROWD FROM THE BALCONY OF LORD -ROSEBERY’S HOUSE, GEORGE STREET, EDINBURGH. (<i>From the Picture in “The Graphic.”</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_590" id="page_590">{590}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">supplementary estimates for South Africa, bringing it up to £3,340,000. For -the coming year, however, he estimated, supposing there were no changes of -taxation, a revenue of £81,560,000, and an expenditure of £81,486,472. But -it was no longer possible to postpone payment of past deficits. These had -accumulated to a sum of £8,000,000. He proposed to pay this off by creating -£6,000,000 of annuities terminable in five years, and meeting the yearly charge -for them by adding £800,000 a year to the service of the National Debt. As -this would relieve the Government from its existing payments for interest on -Exchequer Bonds, the fresh revenue needed to meet the payments for the -new annuities in reality came to £589,000, and not £800,000. As to the -remaining £2,000,000 of deficits, Sir Stafford Northcote seemed to trust to -luck for their payment. The additional revenue he proposed to get by a -revision of the Probate Duty. As he increased the Succession Duty on personal -property, and left that on land untouched, the Budget was extremely unpopular -with the landless class. But even his scheme as it stood, with its £6,000,000 -added for five years to the National Debt, and its £2,000,000 of postponed -deficits, involved the sacrifice of his Sinking Fund for paying off the debt. -Virtually the Government told the electors that they had brought Britain to -such a pass, that she had to abandon for five years her scheme for paying -off her National Debt, in order to clear off £6,000,000 of their deficits.</p> - -<p>On the 24th of March Parliament was dissolved, and the new writs were -made returnable on the 29th of April. Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto, however, -had been issued in the shape of a letter to the Duke of Marlborough, Lord-Lieutenant -of Ireland, on the 8th of March. In this letter he called on the -people to support the Ministry in order to give England an ascendency in -the councils of Europe, and check the Home Rule movement in Ireland, which -was “scarcely less disastrous than pestilence or famine.” This movement had -been patronised, he declared, by the Liberal Party, whose “policy of decomposition” -was meant to destroy the Imperial character of the realm. On the -other side, the leaders traversed all Lord Beaconsfield’s insinuations. They -scoffed at his Foreign Policy, asserted that it was pretentious, futile, and -costly; they denounced his restless turbulence and his bankrupt finance, and, -though they declared against Home Rule, they promised to give Ireland equal -laws and equal rights with England. When the struggle began it was predicted -in London that Lord Beaconsfield’s majority would be so vastly increased that -the Liberals would be ostracised from power for a generation. As the contest -proceeded it was noticed that at Liberal meetings no man could mention Mr. -Gladstone’s name without being stopped by prolonged outbursts of cheering. -That had happened in 1868, and it was a bad omen, whereupon it was said -that the Tories would come back with only a slight reduction in their -majority. Finally it was admitted, when the first day’s returns came in, that -Lord Beaconsfield’s majority had vanished, and that he himself had fallen -from power. The incidents of the struggle were curious. Mr. Gladston<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_591" id="page_591">{591}</a></span>e’s -campaign in the North was a marvellous achievement, and the sustained -passion and energy of his attack on the policy of the Government, alike in -principle and detail, seemed to paralyse the Tory leaders. Lord Hartington’s -political duel with Mr. Cross in Lancashire completed the wreck of that -Minister’s reputation, already damaged by his abortive Water Bill. Lord -Derby’s letter to Lord Sefton (12th March) intimating his inability to support -the Ministry and his adhesion to the Liberal Party, was a cruel blow, -struck at the Tory Party in their most formidable stronghold. Sir William -Harcourt and Mr. Lowe vied with each other in rendering Ministers ridiculous. -Mr. Bright roused the conscience of the nation against their warlike -policy. Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke stirred the latent socialistic -sympathies of the masses. As for the Irish vote, it was cast solidly against -the Tories, in order to avenge the passage describing Home Rule in Lord -Beaconsfield’s letter. Looking back on this historic election, it is amazing to -find how few Ministerial speeches of importance were made. Lulled into a -false sense of security by the support of the London Press and the gossip of -Pall Mall clubs, Ministers seem to have permitted their opponents to talk -them down. As for the result, why dwell on it? The first day’s Borough -elections destroyed Lord Beaconsfield’s majority. The Counties deserted him -in the most unaccountable manner. In Scotland the Tory Party was almost -obliterated.<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a> In Ireland two-thirds of the Members elected were Home Rulers. -The net result was, that when the Election was over, there were returned -351 Liberals, 237 Tories, and 65 Home Rulers. The verdict of the country, -therefore, was this: the electors were more afraid of Lord Beaconsfield’s -Foreign Policy than of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Nationalist sympathies. The -sweeping reforms which he was pledged to demand and support by his -Midlothian speeches did not displease the country so much as Lord Beaconsfield’s -manifest reluctance to pledge himself to a strong programme of domestic -legislation.</p> - -<p>While the elections were taking place the Queen was abroad. Little -dreaming that the verdict of the people would destroy Lord Beaconsfield’s -Ministry, she had arranged to visit Hesse-Darmstadt to be present at the -confirmation of the daughters of the late Princess Alice, and after that -ceremony to spend a brief holiday at Baden. Her Majesty returned to -England on the 17th of April, and on the 28th of April Ministers resigned -office. Lord Beaconsfield was not present on the occasion. He had bade -farewell to the Queen on the previous day. After the results of the Election -were known strenuous efforts were made to prevent Mr. Gladstone from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_592" id="page_592">{592}</a></span> -becoming Prime Minister. The general opinion, however, was that, as Lord -Beaconsfield’s fall from power was due mainly to Mr. Gladstone’s energetic -and persistent criticism of his policy, Mr. Gladstone ought to take the -responsibility of forming a Government. His own views on the subject -can be gleaned from two letters which he wrote to Mr. Hayward. In one -he seems to resent the idea of taking any office lower than that of the -Premiership, supposing he took office at all.<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a> In another he tries to -explain away a statement he was alleged to have made to a reporter of the -<i>Gaulois</i>, who asked him in November, 1879, if he would resume office, and -to whom he replied, “No; I am now out of the question.” He (the reporter), -says Mr. Gladstone, “rejoined, ‘<i>Mais vos compatriotes vont vous forcer</i>.’ I said, -‘<i>C’est à eux à déterminer, mais je n’en vois aucun signe!</i>’ I meant by these -words to get out of this branch of the discussion as easily as I could. My -duty is clear: it is to hold fast by Granville and Hartington, and try to -promote the union and efficiency of the Party led by them.”<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a></p> - -<p>In the ordinary course it was the duty of the Queen to send first for the -actual Leader of the Opposition, who was Lord Granville. On the contrary, -the first Liberal statesman summoned to Windsor was Lord Hartington, who, -when he arrived there on the 22nd of April, it was remarked, declined -the use of one of the Royal carriages, and strolled in a leisurely manner to -the Castle. He informed her Majesty that a Liberal Ministry which was not -headed by Mr. Gladstone could not command the confidence of the country. -Next day the Queen sent for Lord Granville, who went to Windsor, accompanied -by Lord Hartington. His advice was to entrust Mr. Gladstone with -the formation of a Cabinet. They returned to London, and, after an interview -with them, Mr. Gladstone proceeded to Windsor and received the Queen’s -commission to organise a Government. Whenever Mr. Gladstone became Prime -Minister the Whigs (who had secretly done their utmost as a Party to prevent -his return to office) swarmed round him like a cloud of locusts. The -Whigs and moderate Liberals were, as of old, to have all the comfortable -places.</p> - -<p>As for the Radicals, they would, it was suggested, be amply repaid -for their services by a few of the minor offices under the Government, by -including Mr. Bright and Mr. Forster in the Cabinet, and by offering a seat -to Mr. Stansfeld, whose health prevented him from accepting it. That, -however, was not the view of the Radicals. North of the Humber they constituted -the bulk of the Liberal Party. Their system of representative Party -organisation, invented in Birmingham and popularised by Mr. Chamberlain, -had enabled them to consolidate the opposition to the Tories, to prevent -double candidatures, and to win seats that, under a looser form of discipline, -it would have been hopeless to contest. If Mr. Gladstone was the Napoleon,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_593" id="page_593">{593}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_078" id="ill_078"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_593.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_593.jpg" height="429" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MR. CHAMBERLAIN.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Russell and Sons.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Mr. Chamberlain was the Carnot of the campaign. The cry went forth that -some uncompromising Radical must have a seat in the Cabinet, and Mr. -Chamberlain was suggested as the fittest person to select. But what had Mr. -Chamberlain done? His speeches—hard, brilliant, and clever—were permeated -with “socialism.” Good Tory matrons were said to frighten their unruly -babes with the whisper of his name. In Parliament he had chiefly distinguished -himself by his obstructive tactics and his revolt against Lord Hartington’s -leadership. He was even a more persistent opponent of the Monarchy than -Sir Charles Dilke, who had abandoned the advocacy of Republicanism for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_594" id="page_594">{594}</a></span> -critical study of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Gladstone’s chief objection to Mr. -Chamberlain was that he had no official training. Lord Hartington (who -knew, to his cost, that his obstructive opposition in the House of Commons -could be most embarrassing), on the other hand, was in favour of including -Mr. Chamberlain in the Cabinet. So was Lord Granville, who probably -thought that there was no surer way of muzzling a dangerous Republican -than that of making him a Cabinet Minister. Still, the Whig antagonism -to Mr. Chamberlain was too strong to be ignored, and a compromise was -arrived at when office was offered to Sir Charles Dilke. He, however, refused -to take any place unless one advanced Radical, at least, was included in the -Cabinet, and he said that Mr. Chamberlain should be chosen. After much -intriguing Mr. Gladstone yielded, and Mr. Chamberlain became President of -the Board of Trade. At the end of April the Cabinet was complete. Mr. -Gladstone combined the two offices of Premier and Chancellor of the Exchequer; -Lord Selborne was Lord Chancellor; Lord Granville, Foreign Secretary; Sir -William Harcourt, Home Secretary; Lord Hartington, Indian Secretary; Mr. -Childers, War Secretary; Lord Northbrook, First Lord of the Admiralty; -Lord Kimberley, Colonial Secretary; Mr. Bright, Chancellor of the Duchy of -Lancaster; Mr. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland; the Duke of Argyll, -Lord Privy Seal; Mr. Dodson, President of the Local Government Board; -Lord Spencer, Lord President of the Council. Outside the Cabinet, Mr. -Fawcett became Postmaster-General; Sir Charles Dilke, Under Secretary for -Foreign Affairs (the office which he specially desired, and for which he was -specially qualified); Sir Henry James, Attorney-General; Sir Farrer Herschel, -Solicitor-General; Mr. Mundella, Vice-President of the Council; Mr. Adam -(the famous Whip), First Commissioner of Works; and Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, -Secretary to the Admiralty. Mr. Lowe was sent to the Upper House with a -Peerage as Lord Sherbrooke. Mr. Goschen (whose opposition to any extension -of Household Franchise to the counties rendered him impossible as a Cabinet -Minister) was sent as a Special Ambassador to Constantinople. Sir H. A. -Layard was not recalled, but he was granted an indefinite leave of absence. -Lord Lytton having resigned the Indian Viceroyalty, Lord Ripon was appointed -in his place.</p> - -<p>No sooner had Parliament met, on the 29th of April, than it was apparent -that one gentleman had read aright the lesson to be derived from Mr. Chamberlain’s -successful career. To prove that one’s capacity for obstruction was -not inferior to that of Mr. Parnell, to reform on a popular basis the organisation -of one’s Party, and to flout openly on fitting occasions the authority -of one’s leader, these, argued Lord Randolph Churchill, are the keys that -unlock the doors of the Cabinet. He, together with Sir H. D. Wolff, Mr. A. J. -Balfour, and Mr. Gorst, organised a small band of Tory obstructionists called -the Fourth Party, who hoped, by their unscrupulous tactics in embarrassing -Mr. Gladstone, that their gibes at Sir Stafford Northcote’s prudent leadership<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_595" id="page_595">{595}</a></span> -would be forgiven. Their first opportunity for wasting the time of the House -arrived when Mr. Bradlaugh, the Member for Northampton, came forward -to be sworn on the 3rd of May. Mr. Bradlaugh was notoriously an Atheist, -and he claimed to make an affirmation. At first the Fourth Party did not -move in the matter, but the Speaker doubted if he could affirm, and a Select -Committee appointed to consider the question, reported that he could not. -Lord Frederick Cavendish had, in nominating the Committee, included several -members who being Ministers would have to stand for re-election, and Sir -Drummond Wolff and his friends raised an acrimonious debate by objecting -to the names of gentlemen who were not technically members of the House -being appointed to the Committee. On the 21st of May Mr. Bradlaugh -came forward and claimed to take the oath. This the Fourth Party opposed -as revolting to their consciences, for had not Mr. Bradlaugh publicly declared -that as he was an Atheist the religious sanction in the oath was to -him meaningless? There was no precedent for refusing to swear a member. -The law seemed to be that it was his duty to his constituents to -get himself sworn. But the point was referred to another Committee, and -they reported that Mr. Bradlaugh could not be sworn. The absurdity of -this proceeding is easily illustrated. In the Parliament of 1886, Mr. Bradlaugh -was allowed to take the oath without a word of protest from the -conscience-seared pietists of the Fourth Party. But by that time most of -them had become Ministers, and were not anxious to encourage the obstruction -of public business. On the 21st of June Mr. Labouchere, the senior member -for Northampton, moved that Mr. Bradlaugh be allowed to affirm. The -motion was rejected on the 22nd of June by a vote of 275 to 230, and when -Mr. Bradlaugh, after speaking in his defence, refused to leave the bar, Sir -Stafford Northcote carried a motion that he be imprisoned in the Clock -Tower. This step made the House the laughing-stock of the nation, and -the Tories promptly released Mr. Bradlaugh from his luxurious retreat. On -the 1st of July Mr. Gladstone moved and carried a resolution allowing Mr. -Bradlaugh to affirm at his own risk, and subject to any penalties he might -incur by doing so, if it were found by the Courts that he had broken the law. -Three points had been gained. Lord Randolph Churchill and his friends had -forced Sir Stafford Northcote to follow their lead. They had blocked Government -business. They had, to some extent, disseminated an impression abroad -that the Cabinet was a champion of Atheism—and no doubt there were -many good people who looked with suspicion on Mr. Gladstone and Mr. -Bright for endeavouring to prevent Northampton from being disfranchised -by a combination of faction and bigotry in the House of Commons.</p> - -<p>During the interval between the appointment of the Ministry and the -reading of the Queen’s Speech, a last attempt was made by the foreign allies -of Lord Beaconsfield—and not without some success—to damage the new -Government. One of the strange incidents of the Election had been the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_596" id="page_596">{596}</a></span> -appearance every morning in the London papers of extracts from the Continental -Press urging the English people to vote for Lord Beaconsfield’s supporters. -Lord Beaconsfield, as the candidate of the foreigner, was pressed on the constituencies -with abject servility by Tory speakers, who, if they had reflected -for a moment, must have seen that they were deeply offending the insular -instincts and prejudices of Englishmen. But the zenith of imprudence was -attained when one morning a semi-official telegram purporting to emanate from -the British Embassy at Vienna, appeared in a Ministerial organ informing -Englishmen that it was the august desire of the Emperor of Austria that -Mr. Gladstone should be defeated in Midlothian. No Englishman will tolerate, -even from a foreign Emperor, any interference between him and his constituents -during a contested election. Mr. Gladstone accordingly treated the -Emperor of Austria as if he had been an interloper from the Carlton Club, -who had come down to Midlothian to give extraneous aid to Lord Dalkeith, -the Conservative candidate. He snubbed the successor of the Cæsars mercilessly, -and greatly to the delight of the British Democracy. This called -forth a denial from Sir Henry Elliot that the Emperor of Austria had ever -used the words attributed to him, though Sir Henry did not explain how the -correspondent of the <i>Standard</i> had come to publish them. Mr. Gladstone -retorted that the interest of Austria in preventing his election lay in his -known determination to upset her plans for absorbing the heritage of the -rising nationalities in Turkey. Austria had always shown herself to be an -incompetent tyrant in dealing with subject races, and his warning to the -Austrian intriguers, who hoped, if Lord Beaconsfield were returned to power, -to make a dash for Salonica, was “Hands Off.” When Mr. Gladstone became -Premier this speech was brought up for dissection. Would his Ministry quarrel -with Austria? Would Count Karolyi ask for his papers? Then two long -telegrams from Vienna were published in the Times, of date 28th of April -and 6th of May, semi-officially denying that Austria was conspiring to make -a dash for Salonica. Her sole desire now was to stand by the Treaty of -Berlin. Count Karolyi had some interviews with Lord Granville on the subject, -and in return for assurances of Austrian loyalty and goodwill, he pressed -for some expression of opinion from Mr. Gladstone that would allay irritation -in Vienna. Mr. Hayward seems to have been asked to use his influence over -Mr. Gladstone to get him to make this explanation. Mr. Gladstone accordingly, -in a letter to Count Karolyi (4th of May), declared that since he had -become a Minister he had resolved not to defend by argument polemical -language which he had used in a position of “greater freedom and less -responsibility.” He wished Austria well. He had threatened to thwart her -policy solely because the evidence at his command indicated that she was -hostile to the freedom of the rising nationalities of Turkey. But he accepted -the assurances of Count Karolyi that Austria had no designs against that -freedom, and added, “Had I been in possession of such an assurance as I have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_597" id="page_597">{597}</a></span> -now been able to receive, I never would have uttered any one of the words -which your Excellency justly describes as of a painful and wounding character.” -The moment this letter was published, the Austrian organs in -England, indeed, every Tory speaker and writer, made political capital out of -it. The Premier was held up to odium for having humiliated England by -an apology which was, undoubtedly, somewhat too exuberant. The people -would have been better pleased if Mr. Gladstone had replied that an explanation -should have been sought when it was possible for him to give it as the -candidate for Midlothian. To ask for it now was to assume that a foreign -potentate had a right to expect the Prime Minister of England to apologise -for what he might choose to say, as a private person, fighting a contested -election.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_079" id="ill_079"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_597.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_597.jpg" width="401" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OLD PALACE OF THE PRINCE OF MONTENEGRO, CETTIGNE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Difficulties of a more serious character soon gathered round the Ministry. -The Turks refused to make those concessions of territory to Montenegro and -Greece which had been recommended by the Treaty of Berlin. Lord Granville -succeeded in uniting the European Powers in a vain attempt to induce Turkey<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_598" id="page_598">{598}</a></span> -to fulfil her obligations. The Porte was warned that, unless Dulcigno was -given up to Montenegro by a certain date, the Powers would resort to coercion. -When that date arrived the European Fleets assembled at Ragusa, under the -command of Sir Beauchamp Seymour, to make a naval demonstration against -Turkey, but, as the captains of the ships were prohibited from firing a shot, -the naval demonstration amused rather than alarmed the Porte. At this -point Mr. Gladstone hit on a happy expedient for bringing the Sultan to -reason. He threatened to send a British fleet to Smyrna, and, though -France refused to join in the scheme, Russia and Italy were willing to act -with England. The mere threat was sufficient. The customs dues of the -port of Smyrna supplied the only ready money on which the Sultan could -depend for the payment of his household expenses. Mr. Gladstone’s intention -plainly was to intercept or impound these moneys till Turkey fulfilled her -obligations; and the Sultan, alarmed at the prospect, instructed Dervish Pasha -to hand over Dulcigno to the Montenegrins. The Greeks were less fortunate. -Finding that they could get no concessions from Turkey by diplomacy, they -threatened war. But, under pressure from the European Powers, they were -held down, and the diplomatists again undertook to reconsider their claims.</p> - -<p>In India Lord Lytton resigned. One of his last acts was to deliver a -contemptuous speech refuting Mr. Gladstone’s suggestion that the finances of -that Dependency were in a state of confusion. To the very last Lord Lytton -endeavoured to persuade the English people that the Afghan War had cost -only six millions of money, and his Finance Minister (Sir John Strachey) -produced a most comforting “Prosperity Budget.” It had, however, one -defect. As Lord Hartington discovered when he went to the India Office, a -trifling sum of £9,000,000 sterling had been dropped out of the expenditure -side of the Afghan War accounts; in other words, a mistake which would have -been called by a very ugly name indeed had it been made in the office of a -bank or of a railway company, had been made at the expense of the British -taxpayer by the Indian Government. While Lord Lytton was assuring England -that the war was costing £200,000 a month, it was costing £500,000. Nay, for -two years he had been paying away this excess of expenditure over estimates -without knowing it, or getting from the Treasury a monthly statement of -the money spent on the war! But the position of affairs in Afghanistan -was rapidly becoming unendurable. England held Cabul as the Emperor -Augustus held Rome—like a man who had a wolf by the ear. Lord Lytton -recognised Shere Ali Khan as independent Wali of Candahar, and the -ex-Ameer Yakoob was a prisoner in India. But Abdurrahman Khan -(a grandson of Dost Mahommed, and an exile in Russia) was a pretender for -the throne; and so was the warlike Ayoob Khan, a son of the ex-Ameer, -Shere Ali. Ayoob was, moreover, marching from Herat against the British -at Candahar with a force of fierce irregular troops.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Gladstone’s Government took office they began by trying to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_599" id="page_599">{599}</a></span> -discover a Prince who could take Afghanistan off their hands, and for that -purpose they tried to treat with Abdurrahman Khan. Unfortunately, -Candahar was not only held by a weak force under General Primrose, but it -had been decided by the Indian authorities to still further weaken it by -sending General Burrows with a moiety of its garrison—some 2,000 men—to -meet Ayoob Khan, and co-operate with the troops of the Wali of Candahar -in checking the advance of the Heratees. The troops of the Wali, however, -deserted to Ayoob Khan, and on the 27th of July Burrows and his small -force were overwhelmed by the Heratees at Maiwand. The line of their -retreat was covered with the bodies of those who perished by the way, and -comparatively few survivors arrived to tell the tale of their terrible disaster. -Of course Candahar was now at the mercy of Ayoob Khan, and it was known -that the fall of that stronghold would shake the foundations of the British -Empire in India. At this critical moment Sir Frederick Roberts saved the -situation. He set forth from Cabul with a picked force of 10,000 men, and -by a marvellous series of forced marches he arrived in time to defeat Ayoob -Khan and rescue Candahar. Ere this crowning victory was won, it had been -settled that Abdurrahman was to be the new Ameer of Afghanistan, and as -the year closed the British Army of occupation had quitted Sherpore on its -homeward march to India.</p> - -<p>The mischievous policy of annexation which had been pursued in South -Africa was now bearing fruit. When the Transvaal Republic was annexed -Englishmen were told that the Boers desired annexation. As a matter of fact, -the Boers never meant to submit to the loss of their independence. When -the Boers in the Transvaal asked for the restoration of their rights, they -were told by Sir Bartle Frere that England would never concede their claims; -though, as a matter of fact, no sane Englishman had ever dreamt of holding -the Transvaal Republic by an army of occupation against the will of its -people. The effect of these misrepresentations was somewhat neutralised by -Boer deputations who visited England, by Radicals like Mr. Courtney, and -Home Rulers like Mr. Parnell and Mr. F. H. O’Donnell, who warned Englishmen -that the Boers were discontented, and that they would rise in insurrection. -Mr. Gladstone, too, in his election speeches kept alive Boer aspirations for -independence, by condemning their enforced subjection to a British Colonial -bureaucracy. The Boers ultimately rebelled, the occasion of the revolt being -the refusal of a citizen at Pretoria to pay an illegal claim made on him by -the Treasury. On the 13th of December, 1880, at Heidelberg, they proclaimed -a Republic under the Triumvirate of Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. A -collision between the insurgents and British troops under Colonel Anstruther -occurred at Bronkhorst Spruit, which ended in the defeat of the latter; and -as the year closed, General Sir George Pomeroy Colley was making a futile -effort to quell the rising and reconquer the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>The Ministerial programme of domestic legislation was popular, but it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_600" id="page_600">{600}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_080" id="ill_080"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_600.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_600.jpg" width="419" height="329" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>WINDSOR CASTLE: QUEEN ELIZABETH’S LIBRARY, FROM THE QUADRANGLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">took a long time to carry it out. At the end of July business was seriously -in arrear, and yet Ministers said that they were determined to push on all -their Bills. Towards the end of August no great progress had been made, -and the proposal of a Session which might be prolonged into October was -seriously discussed. The obstructive strategy devised by Mr. Parnell in Lord -Beaconsfield’s Parliament was now developed with great success by the little -band of Tories called the Fourth Party, under the leadership of Lord Randolph -Churchill. Their method differed from Mr. Parnell’s in one point. He -obstructed great measures in mass, so to speak. The Fourth Party organised -persistent and systematic obstruction in detail, that is to say, they wasted -small scraps of time all through a sitting at odd moments, the cumulative -effect of which was most serious. Nor did they on this account refrain -from obstruction on the system practised by Mr. Parnell when occasion -served, only they carried it on without raising the clamant scandals that -spring from prolonged and melodramatic sittings. At the end of August -their efforts provoked Lord Hartington into revealing the fact that in the -course of the Session Mr. Gorst had made 105 speeches and asked 18 -questions, that Lord Randolph Churchill had made 74 speeches and asked<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_601" id="page_601">{601}</a></span> -21 questions, that Sir H. Drummond Wolff had made 68 speeches and -asked 34 questions, while three Irish Members had delivered 160 speeches -and asked 30 questions. In fact, six Members (Lord Randolph Churchill, -Mr. Gorst, Sir H. D. Wolff, Mr. Biggar, Mr. O’Connor, and Mr. Finigan) -had delivered during the Session 407 speeches. Still, the Government persevered -and, after Lord Hartington’s exposure of the tactics of the Opposition, -business progressed more rapidly. A Burials Bill, allowing Dissenting -ministers to hold services in parish churchyards at the burial of their dead, -was passed. Sir William Harcourt passed a Bill giving farmers an inalienable -right to kill hares and rabbits. Mr. Dodson’s Employers’ Liability Bill -was fiercely obstructed, but it passed and gave great satisfaction to the -working classes. It made employers responsible for accidents to their work-people -where the accident was traceable to the conduct of the master’s -representative, or any workman or person who might reasonably be supposed -to be his representative. In the House of Lords, it is true, Lord Beaconsfield -succeeded in limiting the operation of the Bill to two years, but -this period was extended to seven years by the Commons. The Supplementary -Estimates had devoured the small surplus which Sir Stafford -Northcote’s Budget showed in March. Hence on the 10th of June Mr. -Gladstone brought in a Supplementary Budget, in which he abolished the -Malt Tax, substituting for it a Beer Duty, reduced the duties on light -foreign wines, increased and readjusted the licence duties on the sale of -spirits, and added a penny to the Income Tax. The general result was that -a final surplus of £381,000 could be shown on the year’s accounts.</p> - -<p>Nothing could be more embarrassing than the condition of Ireland when -Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister. The Home Rulers returned sixty-eight -members to the House of Commons, and, though a few of them were -lukewarm Nationalists, they had organised themselves into a separate Party, -under the leadership of Mr. Parnell. He plainly indicated that they would -make use of the feuds between the Opposition and the Government to further -their own cause. Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Forster first of all decided to rule -Ireland without coercive legislation. But during the debates on the Address -to the Crown it was made manifest that they had no clear idea of the -extent to which agrarian distress prevailed in Ireland; that they ignored the -alarming increase of harsh evictions, which were certain to excite the peasantry -to savage deeds of retaliation; that they failed to understand how famine had -been averted solely by the charitable funds raised during the previous year; and -that they accordingly did not mean to reopen the Land Question. The Irish -Party, therefore, at the outset ranged themselves with the Opposition, and -even sat beside the Tories below the gangway on the left side of the -Speaker’s chair. They began operations by bringing in a Bill to suspend -evictions for non-payment of rent, which the Government opposed. But the -case presented by the Irish Members seemed too serious to be put aside.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_602" id="page_602">{602}</a></span></p> - -<p>It was at last admitted that there was a crisis in Ireland to be dealt with, -and Mr. Forster therefore introduced a short Bill, which so far amended the -Act of 1870 as to make disturbance for non-payment of rent, where the tenant -was too poor to pay, a case for compensation. The Bill passed through the -House of Commons after violent recriminatory debates, in the course of which -Mr. Gladstone declared that in the distressed districts eviction was “very near -to a sentence of death.”<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a> The measure was promptly rejected by the House -of Lords. Ministers acquiesced in this rebuff, and from that moment they lost -their hold over rural Ireland. They had publicly declared that 15,000 persons -were to be evicted that year, in circumstances which rendered eviction tantamount -to a sentence of death. They had publicly admitted that it was wicked -to extort rack rents from these persons by threats of eviction, and that, unless -they were protected from the rapacity of their landlords, the peace of Ireland -would be imperilled. And then they permitted the Peers to reject the protective -Bill, which Mr. Forster had pressed forward as necessary for the -preservation of tranquillity! Either the Government was wrong in introducing -the Bill, or it was wrong to remain responsible for the peace of Ireland after -the Bill had been rejected. All that Mr. Forster did in this crisis was to -promise a new Land Bill next year, and appoint a Commission to inquire into -Irish distress. Rural Ireland had by this time been completely organised into -a Land League by Mr. Michael Davitt, and this Land League was really a -gigantic trades-union, to promote a strike against rack rents. Incidentally, -its organisation was also used to further the Home Rule cause. The leaders -of the League advised the people to resist eviction, and Mr. John Dillon used -words to which Sir W. Barttelot called attention in the House of Commons -on the 17th of August, that seemed to advise a general strike against rent. -Acrimonious debates followed day after day, in the course of which the hostility -between the Parnellites and the Ministry deepened with every turn. Mr. -Parnell’s cynical argument that as Ministers could not, because of a Parliamentary -defeat, carry the Disturbance Bill, which they admitted was essential -for the good government of Ireland, they ought, as men of honour, to free -Ireland from the mischievous interference of the Imperial Parliament, seemed -to cut Mr. Forster to the quick. At last, in Committee of Supply on the -26th of August, it was clear that an organised attempt to coerce the Government -by obstruction was to be made. On the motion for going into Supply, -Lord Randolph Churchill raised an irrelevant and discursive debate on the -Irish policy of the Government, which had already been under bitter discussion -for the best part of a fortnight. This set the Parnellites and the Ministerialists -by the ears, and consumed a great part of the sitting. Then, when the vote -for the Irish Police was moved, Lord Randolph Churchill and the Fourth -Party vanished into the background, and left the work of obstruction to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_603" id="page_603">{603}</a></span> -Parnellites, who kept it up till one o’clock in the afternoon of the following -day (Friday, the 27th of August). The debate was at this stage adjourned -till next Monday, when, after further discussion, the vote was carried. -During these exciting and troublous scenes Mr. Gladstone was absent from -the House of Commons. He had fallen ill on the 4th of July, and had gone -for a cruise in one of Sir Donald Currie’s steamers, the <i>Grantully Castle</i>, to -recover his health. During his absence his duties were taken up by Lord -Hartington, who led the House till Mr. Gladstone was able to reappear on -the 3rd of September. On the 6th of September Parliament was prorogued. -But during the recess the condition of Ireland grew worse and worse. The -landlords, dreading the forthcoming Land Bill, pressed on evictions. The -Land League urged the people to refuse to pay rack rents, and the League -had by this time become so powerful, that it could enforce its decrees almost -as surely as if it had been the regular Government of the country. Its -favourite weapon of coercion was to pronounce against bailiff or landlord, -land agent or “land grabber”—<i>i.e.</i>, a man who offered to take a farm from -which the tenant had been unjustly evicted—sentence of social ostracism. The -victim of this sentence was not assaulted or outraged, but he was treated as -if he were a leper by his neighbours, and the system came to be known as -“boycotting.”<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a> Boycotting was indignantly assailed in England, and yet it -was in itself a mark of progress. Just as slavery in primitive warfare was an -improvement on cannibalism as a means of disposing of prisoners, so boycotting, -carefully carried out within the law, was an improvement on assassination -as a means of agrarian coercion. But the demand for retaliatory measures -against the Parnellites was loud and strong among the upper and middle -classes. Mr. Forster at last yielded to it, and it was in vain that Mr. Bright -protested in one of his speeches that “force was no remedy.” Outrages -increased in Ireland. The ladies of the Tory aristocracy, and some of the -great Whig families, made arrangements for devoting their <i>salons</i> during the -coming Session, to a social campaign against Mr. Chamberlain and the -Radical section of the Cabinet. On the 2nd of November, 1880, the Irish -Attorney-General filed an indictment of nineteen counts, against Mr. Parnell, -Mr. Dillon, and various leaders of the Land League, for conspiring to incite -tenants not to pay rent or take farms from which the occupiers had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_604" id="page_604">{604}</a></span> -evicted, but the trial, after lasting for twenty days, broke down, because -the jury could not agree on a verdict. Ere the year ended it was known -that the Cabinet, though it had nearly been broken up by the decision, -had at last consented to let Mr. Forster bring in a strong Coercion Bill -next Session.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_081" id="ill_081"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_604.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_604.jpg" width="389" height="317" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN PRESENTING THE ALBERT MEDAL TO GEORGE OATLEY, OF THE COASTGUARD.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The year was not an eventful one in the family life of the Court. Before -Parliament was dissolved the Queen arranged to visit her relatives in Germany. -The time had come when her granddaughters, the Princesses Victoria and -Elizabeth of Hesse, were to be confirmed, and she desired to be present at -the ceremony. Her Majesty and the Princess Beatrice (travelling as the -Countess of Balmoral and the Countess Beatrice of Balmoral), attended by Sir -H. F. Ponsonby, Viscount Bridport, and Lady Churchill, left Windsor Castle -on the 25th of March, and embarked at one o’clock on the royal yacht -<i>Victoria and Albert</i>. It was intended that the Queen should proceed to -Darmstadt to visit the Grand Duke of Hesse and the tomb of Princess Alice. -There the Queen would be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales. On -the 25th the Queen and her suite landed at five o’clock at Cherbourg, and -entered their special train. The public were excluded from the stations on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_605" id="page_605">{605}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_082" id="ill_082"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_605.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_605.jpg" width="615" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>REVIEW IN WINDSOR PARK: CHARGE OF THE 5TH AND 7TH DRAGOON GUARDS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_606" id="page_606">{606}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">the route, and every effort was made to respect the Queen’s incognito. The -Royal party arrived at Baden-Baden at half-past three in the afternoon of -the 27th, and the Queen drove immediately to the Villa Hohenlohe, which -was to be her residence during her stay. As for her suite, they were -lodged at the Hotel Europe. On the 30th her Majesty, the Princess -Beatrice, and suite, left Baden-Baden by special train for Darmstadt, where -they were received by the Grand Duke and the elder Princesses of Hesse. -A carriage drawn by four horses was in waiting to convey the Royal party -to the Castle, where the Queen occupied the Assembly Chamber, whilst apartments -were allotted to the Princess Beatrice in the Clock Tower. The Prince -and Princess of Wales, who had left Marlborough House three days before, -arrived at Darmstadt on the 29th. On the 31st the Queen and Princess -Beatrice, accompanied by the Grand Duke of Hesse, proceeded at half-past -four to the mausoleum on the Rosenhöhe, where Princess Alice was buried. -On the morning of the same day the Queen, with the Prince and Princess -of Wales, and Princess Beatrice, the German Crown Prince, the Grand -Duke and Grand Duchess, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden, attended -the confirmation of the Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth, daughters -of the Grand Duke of Hesse. The Queen and Princess Beatrice then returned -to Baden on the 1st of April. On April the 16th, on her return from -Baden, her Majesty arrived at Laeken, and was received at the railway station -by the King and Queen of the Belgians and Mr. Lumley, the British Minister. -After visiting the park and grounds of the Palace, and partaking of luncheon, -the Queen left for Flushing. On April the 17th her Majesty and suite left -Flushing for Queenborough, <i>en route</i> for Windsor, where she arrived in safety, -to find the station thronged with residents, who had gathered to welcome -her on her return, while crowds of kindly spectators lined the way to the -Castle. She returned just as the electoral crisis was over, to find the -Ministry she had thought so stable overthrown, and public opinion not only -clamouring for the dismissal of Lord Beaconsfield from office, but for the -return of Mr. Gladstone to power. On the 27th of April she gave Lord -Beaconsfield his farewell audience, and for the next fortnight was deeply absorbed -in transacting the business incidental to the formation of a new -Ministry amidst distracting intrigues which were not altogether friendly to -the new Ministers.</p> - -<p>On the 20th of May the Queen and the Princess Beatrice left Windsor -for Balmoral, and the Prince and Princess of Wales discharged her Majesty’s -social duties during her absence. On her way to her Highland home the -Queen took part in a ceremony of which she was, in fact, the promoter. -During a terrific storm on the 16th of February, a Swedish ship had been -thrown on the rocks near Peterhead. The Coastguard succeeded in flinging -a rocket over the wreck, but the crew were apparently unable to understand -the working of the apparatus. And so, in all human probability, the vessel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_607" id="page_607">{607}</a></span> -would have been lost with all souls but for the bravery of George Oatley, -one of the Coastguard. Oatley, disregarding every appeal to the contrary, -resolved to swim out to the distressed ship. After a fierce conflict with the -angry waves he gained the vessel, fixed the rocket appliance, saw the crew -safely conveyed ashore, and was himself the last to take his place in the -cradle. The Duke of Edinburgh having recommended him for the Albert -Medal of the First Class, her Majesty presented it in person on the 22nd -of May. The interesting ceremony took place at Ferry Hill Junction, where -a platform had been erected for the occasion along the side of the line. The -Queen and Princess Beatrice were greeted with the heartiest cheers as they -left the saloon. Captain Best, R.N., Commander of the coastguard division -to which the hero of the day belonged, having introduced him to her -Majesty, the Queen attached the medal to Oatley’s breast, and expressed the -pleasure it afforded her to decorate him for his gallant conduct. She then -resumed her seat in the train, and her journey was continued. The Court -returned to Windsor on the 23rd of June.</p> - -<p>On the 13th of July a General Order was issued by the Duke of Cambridge, -by command of the Queen, conveying her congratulations to the Volunteers -on the completion of the twenty-first year of their existence, and expressing -her regret that she was unable to hold a review of the citizen soldiers in -Windsor Great Park. On the afternoon of the following day her Majesty -reviewed 11,000 regular troops in Windsor Great Park. This was a brilliant -affair, the 5th and 7th Dragoon Guards winding up the display with -a most dashing charge. On the 19th of July the Queen and the Princess -Beatrice left Windsor and took up their quarters at Osborne where, on the -28th, her Majesty received a party of eight officers and men of the 24th -Regiment, who brought with them the colours of that corps, which had been -rescued from the hands of the Zulus by two ensigns at the cost of their -lives. Her Majesty inspected the colours, and spoke with brief and simple -eloquence of the bravery and loyalty of the regiment, touching with manifest -emotion on the death of the ensigns who had sacrificed their lives for their -standards. Curiously enough, Indian telegrams published about this time -in the newspapers showed that at the battle of Maiwand the majority of the -officers of the 66th Regiment were killed in the vain attempt to defend -their colours; in fact, the regiment lost 400 out of its strength of 500 in -this action. The attention of military men was thus drawn to the practice -of carrying colours into action, and it was argued that it was one more -honoured in the breach than the observance. History hardly records a case -where a regiment has been rallied on its colours. On the other hand, a -hundred fights besides Isandhlwana and Maiwand testify that many valuable -lives have been lost in defending them. Nor are colours necessary as incentives -to bravery, for the Rifle regiments (whose record is one of unsullied -glory) never carried any colours, though they fought fully as well as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_608" id="page_608">{608}</a></span> -regiments that encumbered themselves with flaunting banners.<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a> On the 21st -of August the Queen crossed over to Portsmouth, and inspected the 1st -battalion of the Rifle Brigade previous to its departure for India. The -regiments were not drawn up in line in spick and span order, but were visited -by her Majesty as they sat at mess in undress uniform on board the troopship, -and, as she made a minute inspection of their quarters, the novelty of -the scene apparently interested and amused her very much. The exceptional -honour thus conferred on the Riflemen was due to the close connection of -the corps with the Royal Family.<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a></p> - -<p>On the 26th of August the Court went to Balmoral, from whence, just -before Parliament was prorogued, she addressed to the Ministry a strong -Memorandum drawing attention to the frequency with which railway accidents -were occurring, and urging that steps should be taken to provide travellers -with better security for safety. In October she held many anxious consultations -with Lord Granville and Lord Hartington on the state of Ireland, -where the increase in outrages, such as the savage murders of Mr. Boyd and -Lord Mountmorres<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a> gave her great pain. The result was that Lord Hartington, -when he arrived in London from Balmoral on the 11th of October, was immediately -visited by Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville, and in political circles -it was soon rumoured that the Irish Government was about to prosecute the -leaders of the Irish Land League. On the 10th of October the Queen and -Princess Beatrice went to spend a few days amidst the snowdrifts of the -Glassalt Sheil. The Court returned to Windsor on the 17th of December, to -find the world—for a time at least—talking of something else besides Irish -outrages.</p> - -<p>Lord Beaconsfield had just published his last brilliant and audacious -political novel, “Endymion,” in what one of its characters describes as “the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_609" id="page_609">{609}</a></span> -Corinthian style, in which the Mænad of Mr. Burke was habited in the last -mode of Almack’s.” The town was in raptures over a burlesque of Society, -which blended together into amusing personalities such opposite characters as -Cardinal Wiseman and Cardinal Manning; Lord Palmerston and Sidney Herbert; -Poole the tailor, and Hudson the railway king; which made Prince Bismarck -tilt with Napoleon III. at the Eglinton Tournament; which idealised the -author as Endymion, Lady Beaconsfield as Imogen, and Napoleon III. as -Prince Florestan; which travestied Lady Palmerston as Zenobia, caricatured -Thackeray cleverly but spitefully as Mr. St. Barbe, and George Smythe cleverly -but not spitefully as Waldershare.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_083" id="ill_083"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_609.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_609.jpg" width="401" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BALLATER.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The year closed with a more serious event in the world of literature, the death -(on the 22nd of December) of George Eliot, whose novels were ever a perennial -source of pure enjoyment to the Queen. George Eliot was, at her death, the -first of living novelists, and the womanhood of England in the Victorian period -produced no genius that in culture, strength, tenderness, spiritual insight, and -humour, could be compared with hers. The sombre fatalism of the Greek -tragedians overshadows her “Mill on the Floss.” The humour of Shakespeare -ripples through the taproom scenes in “Silas Marner.” In “Romola,” were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_610" id="page_610">{610}</a></span> -it not overweighted with psychological analysis, she would have defeated Scott -in the glowing field of historical romance, and did defeat the author of -“Esmond” in an arena in which he was supposed to be peerless among his -contemporaries. In “Adam Bede,” which has probably been read more widely -than any other story of our time by the English-speaking race, she revealed -all the grace, sweetness, delicacy of feeling, nobility of intellect, and purity -of heart, that formed her fascinating and sympathetic personality.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /><br /> -<small>COERCION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Lord Beaconsfield Attacks the Government—The Irish Crisis—The Coercion Bills—An All-night Sitting—The -Arrest of Mr. Davitt—The Revolt of the Irish Members—The Speaker’s <i>Coup d’État</i>—Urgency—New Rules -of Procedure—The Speaker’s <i>Clôture</i>—End of the Struggle against Coercion—Mr. Dillon’s Irish Campaign—Mr. -Forster’s First Batch of “Suspects”—The Peers Censure the Ministry—Mr. Gladstone’s “Retort -Courteous”—Abolition of the “Cat”—The Budget—Paying off the National Debt—The Irish Land Bill—The -Three “F’s”—Resignation of the Duke of Argyll—The Strategic Blunder of the Tories—The Fallacy -of Dual Ownership—Conflict between the Lords and Commons—Surrender of the Peers—Passing the -Land Bill—Revolt of the Transvaal—The Rout of Majuba Hill—Death of Sir George Colley—The Boers -Triumphant—Concession of Autonomy to the Boers—Lord Beaconsfield’s Death—His Career and Character—A -“Walking Funeral” at Hughenden—The Queen and Lord Beaconsfield’s Tomb—A Sorrowing Nation—Assassination -of the Czar—The Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh—Character of the Czar Emancipator—Precautions -for the Safety of the Queen—Visit of the King and Queen of Sweden to Windsor—Prince Leopold -becomes Duke of Albany—Deaths of Dean Stanley and Mr. Carlyle—Review of Scottish Volunteers—Assassination -of President Garfield—The Royal Family—The Highlands—Holiday Pastimes—The Parnellites -and the Irish Land Act—Arrest of Mr. Parnell—No-Rent Manifesto.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> year 1881 confronted the Government with four difficulties. The Irish -Question was growing more serious every day. With a heavy heart England -not only saw herself committed to a war of reconquest in the Transvaal, but -heard her most sanguine Imperialists admitting that Sir Bartle Frere’s -scheme for a South African Confederation had utterly broken down. The -Parliament of the Cape Colony would not even seriously discuss it, and Sir -Bartle Frere had been recalled at the end of 1880. Victory had crowned -British arms in Afghanistan, but Lord Beaconsfield’s policy of holding -Candahar, and controlling the rest of the country by British Residents, was -obviously impossible. Lord Lytton, who now called it an “experiment,” admitted -that the murder of Cavagnari had proved it to be a failure. The -claims of Greece to an increase of territory and a better frontier, had been -admitted to be just by the Powers, but Turkey still refused to accept any -compromise which Europe suggested, and Greece pressed her demands with -growing impatience. The nation was therefore relieved to find that Parliament -was to meet earlier than usual, and when it assembled on the 6th of January -it was soon seen that the Session would be a stormy one. Among the upper -and upper middle classes the Government was denounced with a bitterness<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_611" id="page_611">{611}</a></span> -that had no parallel, for permitting Ireland to fall into “anarchy” under the -dominion of the Land League.</p> - -<p>In the debate on the Address in the House of Lords, Lord Beaconsfield, -appealing to the prevailing sentiment of disappointment, sought to show that -all these difficulties were due to Mr. Gladstone’s sudden reversal of the Conservative -policy when he came into office. The speech was pitched in a strange, -shrewish note of anger, and it failed to produce much effect. Men could -not forget that only a few months before Lord Beaconsfield had taunted the -Ministry with meekly and slavishly carrying out his policy. It was not -easy to forget that Lord Beaconsfield had abandoned the Coercion Act and -allowed the Land League to fix its grip on Ireland, that the troubles in -Afghanistan were entirely due to his desire to govern that country without -being at the expense of occupying it, that the alternative policy adopted by -him after the murder of Cavagnari—that of detaching Candahar and putting -it under a Wali, who was to be friendly and independent—ended in the fall -of the Wali and the desertion of his troops to the enemy which produced -the disaster of Maiwand. As for South Africa, even the <i>Times</i>, which had -supported Lord Beaconsfield’s policy in that region, now wrote, “what a -miserable business our whole connection with the annexation of the Transvaal -has been from first to last. The original annexation of the country was a -mistake, and it has been the parent of all the rest.” Knowing that Englishmen -would never sanction a war for the conquest of a free European people -who objected to come under British rule, Lord Beaconsfield’s agents supplied -Parliament with no information on the subject, save that which indicated that -the Boers would welcome absorption in the British Empire as the surest means -of deliverance from native difficulties. The Greek difficulty obviously was an -evil inheritance from the Treaty of Berlin by which Lord Beaconsfield conferred -on England “Peace with Honour.”</p> - -<p>But the domestic crisis in Ireland was far too serious to permit men to -indulge in party recriminations, and Lord Beaconsfield showed his sense in -urging his followers not to do anything to weaken the Government. Unfortunately, -neither he nor Sir Stafford Northcote had much control over the -aggressive Tories who were led by the Fourth Party, and the Fourth Party, -when the Session opened, cemented more strongly than ever their alliance -with the Parnellites for purposes of obstructive opposition. The Tory Party -were ably led on two distinct lines of attack. One wing did what it could -to goad the Ministry into scourging Ireland with coercive legislation. Another -wing gave the Irish members all the help it dared give them publicly in -obstructing the domestic legislation, and embarrassing the Foreign Policy of -the Ministry. Coercion Bills were announced on the first day of the Session, -and the consequence was that it was not till after eleven days’ wearisome -wrangling that the debate on the Address ended on the 20th of January. -On the 24th, Mr. Forster introduced his Protection of Persons and Property<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_612" id="page_612">{612}</a></span> -(Ireland) Bill, giving the Lord-Lieutenant power to arrest by warrant persons -<i>suspected</i> of treasonable intentions, intimidation, and incitement to violate -the laws. If he had this power, said Mr. Forster, he could put under -lock and key the “village ruffians” and outrage-mongers who attacked -people that were obnoxious to the Land League, and then Ireland would -be at peace.</p> - -<p>The violence with which the Irish Members obstructed this Bill provoked -Mr. Bright to attack them in a speech on the 27th of January, -which rendered him and them enemies for life. Mr. Gladstone followed in -the same vein, and on Monday, the 31st of January, a scene that became -historic was enacted. The debate was prolonged all day and all night, -and on through the dull, grey hours of the morning of the 1st of February, -and still on all night without ceasing, till the enraged and exhausted -House found itself at nine in the morning of the 2nd of February still -in session and with no prospect of release. Then the Speaker interfered, -saying that it was clear to him the Bill had been wilfully obstructed -for forty-one hours. In order to vindicate the honour of the House, whose -rules seemed powerless to meet the difficulty, he declared his determination -to put the main question without further debate. This was done -amidst loud shouts of “Privilege” from the Irish Members, who left the -House in a body, and the motion for leave to bring in the Bill, a motion -rarely obstructed by any debate, was carried by a vote of 164 to 19. For -the first time in the history of Parliament, a debate had been closed by -the personal authority of the Speaker.</p> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone having announced that the Second Reading of the Bill -would be taken that day at noon, the Irish Members returned to the charge. -They attempted to challenge the action of the Speaker, and moved the -adjournment of the House; but in spite of the support which they received -from Lord Randolph Churchill, they were beaten on a division, though they -succeeded in wasting the whole of the sitting. Next day (Thursday, the -3rd of February) the Irish Members began the attack by asking if it were -true that Mr. Davitt had been arrested. “Yes, sir,” was the answer of -Sir William Harcourt. Then, when Mr. Gladstone rose to move the adoption -of the new Rule of Procedure, Mr. Dillon rose to a point of order. The -Speaker requested him to be seated, but he refused. He was then “named” -for wilfully disregarding the authority of the Chair, and, in conformity with -the Standing Order, Mr. Gladstone immediately moved his suspension for the -rest of the sitting. The motion was carried by a vote of 395 to 33, and, -as Mr. Dillon declined to withdraw, he was removed by the Serjeant-at-Arms. -After a futile attempt on the part of Mr. Sullivan to dispute the legality -of the Speaker’s action, Mr. Gladstone again rose, whereupon The O’Donoghue -moved the adjournment of the House. The Speaker ruled that Mr. Gladstone -should proceed. Mr. Parnell now moved that Mr. Gladstone be not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_613" id="page_613">{613}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_084" id="ill_084"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_613.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_613.jpg" width="360" height="431" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MR. PARNELL.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by William Lawrence, Dublin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">heard.<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a> The Speaker “named” Mr. Parnell, who was then suspended -and removed like Mr. Dillon. Mr. Finigan next repeated Mr. Parnell’s -offence, and was removed in the same manner. On this occasion twenty-eight -Irish Members were reported as refusing to leave their seats when -the Speaker ordered the House to be cleared for a division. The Speaker -“named” them all, and though Mr. Balfour and Mr. Gorst, on behalf of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_614" id="page_614">{614}</a></span> -the Fourth Party, feelingly remonstrated against the vote for their suspension -<i>en bloc</i> being put, the Speaker ruled that this was a question not of order -but convenience, and the vote was carried by 410 to 4. Then the Speaker -ordered them one by one to be removed. Five others, who were not included, -procured their expulsion, and, after a struggle of three hours and -a half, “the Speaker’s <i>coup d’état</i>,” as the Nationalists called it, ended.<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a></p> - -<p>Mr. Gladstone now, pale and worn out with the excitement, delivered -his speech in support of the new Rules of Procedure. Sir Stafford Northcote -showed that he still shared the hostility of the Tory Party to any scheme -for effectively crushing obstruction; but the conduct of the Irish Members -had so incensed the House, that he had to limit his opposition to an -amendment which but slightly weakened the force of Mr. Gladstone’s proposal. -The Rule finally adopted declared that, when a Minister moved, -after notice, that the state of public business was urgent, the Speaker was -to put the question without debate. If this motion were carried by a majority -of not less than three to one in a House of 300 Members, then the powers -of the House for the regulation of its business should be transferred to the -Speaker, who could enforce such rules as he pleased for its management, till -the state of public business should be declared by him to be no longer urgent. -A motion could be made by a Member to terminate urgency, but it must be -put without debate. On the 9th of February the Speaker laid before the -House the new Rules which he had drawn up for the state of urgency in -which public business was now declared to be. They adopted the principle -of the <i>Clôture</i>, which Sir Stafford Northcote deprecated and the Fourth -Party abhorred, and gave the Speaker power, when supported by a three-fourths’ -majority, to close a debate by putting the question without further -discussion. No debate on a motion to go into Committee, or on postponing -the preamble of a Bill under urgency, was to be allowed. Opportunities for -moving adjournments were curtailed, and the Speaker was to have power -to order a Member to stop talking when he became guilty of “irrelevance -or tedious repetition.” In Committee the <i>Clôture</i> was not to be applied, but -no Members (except those in charge of Bills or those who had moved amendments) -were to be allowed to speak more than once to the same question.</p> - -<p>Even under urgency the debate on the Coercion Bill in Committee went -on slowly, and at one time (owing to Lord Randolph Churchill, who supported -the Bill “with reluctance and distrust,” and Sir John Holker, who contended -that “liberty was more precious than coercion,” displaying much sympathy -with the opponents of the measure) it was feared that Ministers would -lose the support of a large section of the Opposition. This fear was baseless, -but the debate went on till the 21st of February, when the Speaker, on a -motion summarily moved by Lord Hartington, suddenly terminated it under<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_615" id="page_615">{615}</a></span> -the new Rules. All amendments not disposed of after seven o’clock on the -22nd were put and divided on without debate. The measure received the -Queen’s assent on the 2nd of March. A Bill giving the Irish police power -to search houses for arms was introduced by Sir William Harcourt on the -1st of March, read a third time on the 4th, and passed by the House of -Lords on the 18th of March. The struggle against coercion thus lasted nine -weeks, and the violence with which the Irish Party conducted it is defended -by Mr. T. P. O’Connor on the grounds that it consolidated the Nationalist -Party, and that the scenes in the House so roused the temper of the Irish -people that the Peers were afraid to reject the Land Bill of 1881, as they -did the Compensation for Disturbance Bill of 1880.<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a> On the other hand, -they permanently alienated from the Irish Party the sympathies of a large -class of moderate Liberals in England, who were anxious to legislate for -Ireland in a sympathetic spirit.</p> - -<p>After the Coercion Bill had passed, Mr. Dillon carried on a passionate -agitation against the Government in Ireland, and Mr. Forster retaliated by -imprisoning him and several other Land Leaguers as “suspects” in May. Mr. -Finigan was sent down to Coventry, where an election was taking place, to -canvass the constituency on behalf of the Tory candidate, Mr. Eaton, a -tangible expression of gratitude for the occasional sympathy that had been -extended to the Parnellites by Lord Randolph Churchill, and some other -Conservatives during the Coercion debates. There was a lull in the storm, -however, during which the Peers censured the Government for refusing to -occupy Candahar. A vote of the House of Commons on the 25th of March -reversed this censure, for the House rejected by 336 to 216 a motion of Mr. -Stanhope’s, blaming the Government for withdrawing from Candahar “at the -present time.” When the Tories refused to commit themselves to the proposition -that it was the duty of the Government to hold Candahar permanently, -and merely demanded its occupation “at the present time,” their attack -assumed the complexion of a party demonstration. If England were to leave -Candahar at all the sooner she left it the better, for the longer her troops -stayed the more difficult it would be to establish the native government of -Abdurrahman in the Province. The Army Discipline Bill, abolishing flogging, -passed through the House of Commons without much opposition from the -Tories, and was read a third time by the House of Lords on the 7th of April. -The Budget was introduced by Mr. Gladstone on the 4th of April, and on -an estimated expenditure of £84,705,000, and an estimated revenue of -£85,900,000, he showed a probable surplus of £1,195,000. This was reduced -by £100,000, consumed in paying off a loan for building barracks. Mr. -Gladstone, therefore, reduced the Income Tax to 5d. in the pound, and converted -the deficit thereby incurred of £275,000, into a surplus of £295,000, by levying<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_616" id="page_616">{616}</a></span> -an uniform surtax of 4d. a gallon on foreign spirits, in accordance with the -test of standard strength applied to wines, and by minor changes in the -Probate, Legacy, and Succession Duties. The most important part of his statement -was that, during the past year, the National Debt had been reduced by -£7,000,000. He also foreshadowed a great scheme for the extinction of -£60,000,000 of debt, by the conversion of one-third of the short annuities -terminating in 1885 into long annuities terminating in 1906. As this would -make Consols scarce, it would put up their price, and enable him or his successor, -in the course of ten years, to reduce the interest on the National Debt.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_085" id="ill_085"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_616.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_616.jpg" width="326" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The long-expected Irish Land Bill was introduced by Mr. Gladstone on the -7th of April. It gave tenants the right to go before a Land Court and have -“fair rents” fixed for fifteen years, a fair rent being one that would let the -tenant live and thrive. During these fifteen years eviction, save for non-payment -of rent, was to be impossible. If a tenant wished to sell his tenant-right -or goodwill, the landlord had the pre-emptive right of buying at the -price fixed by the Court. The Court was to have power to advance to tenants -desirous of buying their farms three-fourths of the purchase-money, or even -the whole if need be, and these advances were repayable on easy terms. -Advances could also be made to promote emigration. The Bill was well -received on the whole by the country, but the landed gentry denounced it as -an act of socialism and confiscation, and the Duke of Argyll resigned his -office. On the 24th of April long and stormy debates on the Second Reading -began, and it was not till the end of July that the Bill was sent up to -the House of Lords. The Tory Party made a mistake in basing their opposition -to the measure on the ground that it was socialistic, confiscatory, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_617" id="page_617">{617}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_086" id="ill_086"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_617.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_617.jpg" width="319" height="361" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD BEACONSFIELD’S LAST APPEARANCE IN THE PEERS’ GALLERY OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Drawing by Harry Furniss.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">contrary to the laws of political economy. The principle of arranging the -business relations of landlord and tenant in Ireland by Act of Parliament -having been accepted by the country, the only practical method of attacking -the Bill was to have shown that it would not arrange them to the mutual -satisfaction of the parties interested. The theory of the measure was, that -every Irish farm is owned by two persons—by the farmer, who owns the improvements -he has made on the soil, by the landlord who owns everything -else. The Bill gave the tenant additional means for protecting his share of -the land from being devoured by the landlord. Did it do this effectively, -and if effectively, in such a manner as to work no injustice to the landlord? -From the Tory point of view, it would have been easy to argue that no -system of dual ownership, which forces persons with hostile interests into -partnership in husbandry, can work smoothly. If prices rise the landlord’s -fixed rent will not rise with them. If prices fall the tenant will refuse to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_618" id="page_618">{618}</a></span> -pay the fixed rent, because it is no longer fair; and then the old weary path -of agrarian warfare has again to be trod. A great scheme for establishing -peasant proprietorship all over Ireland with the help of the State might have -saved the Irish landlords at this juncture. But the Tories were led not -by a Stein, but a Cecil, and the golden opportunity was lost. From the -Irish point of view, the Bill bristled with weak points. It did nothing for -leaseholders. It left tenants loaded with arrears, and therefore still exposed -to eviction. Although Mr. Healy inserted a clause prohibiting the Courts from -taking a tenant’s improvements into the valuation on which a fair rent was -fixed, the Judges, by a decision in the case of Adams v. Dunseath, virtually -nullified the clause.</p> - -<p>It was not till the 29th of July that Mr. Gladstone carried the Third -Reading of the Bill after a desperate struggle. The House of Lords mutilated -it, so that it became worse than useless, and then there came a deep cry of -indignation from the country. Mr. Gladstone sent the Bill back practically -unaltered, and as the tempest of anger in the country rose the Peers surrendered -and let the measure pass. The Ministry, however, had to drop all -their other Bills, except those abolishing flogging in the Army and Navy. The -only private Members who carried Bills of public interest were Mr. Hutchinson -and Mr. Roberts. Mr. Hutchinson’s Bill protected newspaper reports of lawful -meetings from prosecution for libel, and made it necessary to obtain the -Attorney-General’s sanction before criminal proceedings for libel could be -asked for. Mr. Roberts passed the Act closing public-houses during Sundays -in Wales.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bradlaugh’s case, however, again vexed the angry sea of political -strife at intervals during the Session. The law courts ruled that he could -not legally make an affirmation, and so Mr. Bradlaugh resigned his seat, and -again got elected for Northampton. This time he presented himself on the -26th of April to be sworn as a new Member. Sir Stafford Northcote -objected, and though no precedent exists for preventing a new Member from -being sworn, the Speaker referred the matter to the House, which decided -against Mr. Bradlaugh. Thereupon ensued a shocking scene, and Mr. Bradlaugh -had to be removed by force. Nothing strikes the reader now as more -absurd than the protestations of the Tories, that to concede this claim was -to sanction sacrilege. The course they objected to was precisely the one -which Mr. Bradlaugh adopted when they were in office in 1886, and which -they and the Speaker found it expedient to permit. A Bill was now brought -in to allow all Members to affirm who could not conscientiously take the -oath. This was opposed and so successfully obstructed that it had to be -dropped. After that Mr. Bradlaugh, on the 3rd of August, cheered by -an immense crowd of sympathisers, attempted to enter the House in defiance -of an order which Sir Stafford Northcote had carried excluding him -from its precincts. There were some of his Radical sympathisers—Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_619" id="page_619">{619}</a></span> -Fawcett was among the number—who did not quite approve of this proceeding. -At all events Mr. Bradlaugh gained nothing by it, for he was -flung into Palace Yard by the police hatless, dishevelled, and with his coat -torn in the fray.</p> - -<p>The recall of Sir Bartle Frere did not settle the South African difficulty. -Sir G. P. Colley, in trying to avenge the defeat of Bronkhurst Spruit, was -early in the year beaten by the Boers at Laing’s Nek and Ingogo. On the -26th of February, reinforced by Sir Evelyn Wood, he let the Boers out-manœuvre -him, and spring upon the oddly variegated and composite force -with which he had rashly occupied Majuba Hill. Though the enemy’s troops -only consisted of raw levies of irregular sharpshooters, they soon dispersed the -British host. It was a shameful rout, in which a kind fate doomed the luckless -Colley to death. The unfortunate thing was that this fray should have -happened at all. Negotiations were actually going on between the British -and the Boers for a peaceful settlement.<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a> Were they to be broken off? -After admitting by opening up these negotiations, that the war was unjust, -was a great and powerful Empire to go on with it for the sake of <i>prestige</i>? -And was it, after all, British prowess that would be vindicated by victory? -Was it not rather the fame of Sir George Pomeroy Colley that had alone been -sullied? In other words, was England justified in slaughtering a few hundred -Boer farmers, because Sir George Colley had let them beat his heroic but mismanaged -troops in battle? It is impossible to say how the nation answered -these difficult questions. But Mr. Gladstone’s reply was an emphatic “No,” -although he had unfortunately declared, immediately after coming into office, -that he would not grant the demands of the Boers, till they laid down their -arms. The end of it was, that the Boers were allowed to set up an autonomous -Republic under a British Protectorate, British interference being limited -to controlling their foreign policy. It is curious to observe that this was the -only act ever done by Mr. Gladstone which the European and American Press, -with cordial unanimity, declared enhanced the <i>prestige</i> of England, as a State -so confident of its giant’s strength, that it deemed it ignoble to use it like -a giant.</p> - -<p>In the spring the shadow of mourning fell over the nation. On the -morning of the 19th of April Lord Beaconsfield, who had been ailing for -some days, passed away peacefully to his last rest. Mr. Gladstone at once -telegraphed to his relatives offering a public funeral in Westminster Abbey, but -the executors were compelled to decline the honour. Lord Beaconsfield’s will -directed that he should be buried beside his wife, and there were also legal -obstacles that even the Queen’s personal wishes could not overcome.<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a> His life,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_620" id="page_620">{620}</a></span> -to use a favourite phrase of his own, was “really a romance,” and his career a -long and brilliant adventure. His strength lay in his freedom from prejudices, -in his intellectual detachment from English insularity, in his consummate -knowledge of the foibles of the lower middle class whom he enfranchised. -He achieved success by skilfully avoiding the mistake of Peel, who -led his Party without educating it. Lord Beaconsfield did both. His fame -as a writer of sparkling political burlesques, his command of invective, his -wit, and his audacity won for him the ear of a Senate which loves men -who can amuse it. The defection of the Peelites left the Tory Party, in -1846, intellectually poverty-stricken, and though a proud aristocracy long refused -to recognise their most brilliant swordsman as their leader, they had -to accept him at last.</p> - -<p>At this period of his career the chief obstacle in Mr. Disraeli’s path was -believed to be the hostility of the Queen, who, however, nobly atoned for it by -subsequently loading him with favours. With the exception, perhaps, of Lord -Aberdeen, no Minister of the present generation has been more sincerely beloved -as a friend by his Sovereign than Lord Beaconsfield. He had the subtle -tact and the delicate refinement of a woman, with the stubborn courage and -iron will of a man. As for his policy and his principles, the time has not -yet come to judge them fairly. He was no more to blame for bringing his -generous democratic impulses to the service of the Tory Party than the eldest son -of a Whig Peer is to blame for limping after the Radicals on the crutch of -Conservative instincts. In the one case it is the tyranny of chance and opportunity, -in the other the accident of birth, that determines the choice. All through -life Mr. Disraeli had to fight his battle from false positions, and this gave his -efforts an air of gladiatorial insincerity. Not till 1874, when he came to power -with a large majority, was he entirely a free agent; and then it was seen -that, though comparatively indifferent to questions of administration and -questions involving the mere forms of Government, he took an eager and -practical interest in social reform. For nearly two years he was at the zenith -of his power. The House of Commons he managed with bright urbanity, -easy grace, conciliatory dexterity, and a light but firm touch which had never -been seen before. Suddenly and without the least warning his spell seemed -broken. His fine tact disappeared; his touch grew hard and was felt to be -a little irresolute; faint traces of irritability ruffled the clear surface of his -serene intelligence; and in a sudden emergency he seemed to grow maladroit. -The change first became obvious when he attempted to deal with Mr. -Plimsoll’s case in 1875, and, as it grew, his personal ascendency over the -House of Commons slowly decayed. He seemed to live more and more in -dreams, and to grow less and less sensitive to the pulse of popular opinion. -It was in this mood that he fell into the two disastrous blunders of his life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_621" id="page_621">{621}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_087" id="ill_087"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_621.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_621.jpg" height="465" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD BEACONSFIELD’S HOUSE, 19, CURZON STREET, MAYFAIR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>He tried to solve the Eastern Question by applying to it the obsolete ideas -of Palmerston. When this mistake led him from one embarrassment to -another, he tried to retrieve the situation by applying his own ideas to it. -Unfortunately, when he went to find them he looked, not into the depths of his -own clear intelligence, but into a romance written by one whom he had known -in his youth, and who was styled “D’Israeli the Younger.” “Yes,” he said to -a friend who put the question to him in those days, “I sometimes do read<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_622" id="page_622">{622}</a></span> -‘Tancred’ now—<i>for instruction</i>.” Because the stolid English people grew -sick of vainly trying to shape their destinies according to the Tancredian -scheme of the universe, Lord Beaconsfield fell from power at the moment when -he was most fully persuaded that monarch and multitude were alike under -the spell of his picturesque personality. Had he been ten years younger -when he obtained the majority of 1874, the crash of 1880 would probably -have been averted. There is a strange pathos in the close of this dazzling -career. According to Sir Stafford Northcote, the last words he was understood -to utter were these: “Is there any <i>bad</i> news in the <i>Gazette</i>?”<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a></p> - -<p>On the 26th of April a spectacle, at once affecting and beautiful, took -place in the church at Hughenden, where Lord Beaconsfield’s funeral was -solemnised. His body had been transferred from London to High Wycombe, -and thence conveyed to Hughenden Manor, without the slightest pomp or -display of any kind. He, on whose accents the world was wont to hang -breathlessly at supreme moments in its fate, received what is known in -Bucks as “a walking funeral.” Nothing was to be seen of the ghastly -mummery of undertakers. Only one feature in the simple obsequies gave -any hint as to the place which the deceased had filled in the State. Before -the bier walked his faithful servant, carrying on a cushion of crimson velvet -an Earl’s coronet and the insignia of the Order of the Garter. Thus was he -laid, as he wished, beside his wife. Notwithstanding his desire for privacy, -nothing could prevent vast numbers of persons of wholly unofficial position, -and in many cases indifferent to political partisanship, from attending to pay -the illustrious dead the last homage of affection and respect. Uninvited -guests in serried masses swarmed around the churchyard, and lined the road -to Hughenden Manor. Royalty was present in the persons of the Prince -of Wales, the Duke of Connaught, and Prince Leopold, the last-named -representing the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a> Behind the Princes came the Ambassadors and -representatives of foreign Powers, the friends of the deceased nobleman who -were his colleagues in the Governments of 1868 and 1874, and the general -body of invited friends. Among these Lord Beaconsfield left not a dry eye -behind him. Not since the death of Fox had any Statesman been so affectionately -mourned by the people to whom he had consecrated the powers of -his brilliant genius.<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a></p> - -<p>On the 30th of April the Queen and Princess Beatrice visited Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_623" id="page_623">{623}</a></span> -Beaconsfield’s tomb, every precaution having been observed to prevent the fact -of the Royal movements from becoming known in the district. At four o’clock -Lord Rowton and Sir Philip Rose, with the Vicar of Hughenden, completed -the arrangements for her Majesty’s reception. At half-past four her outriders -passed through the lodge gate of Hughenden Manor, being followed -rapidly by her carriage, which proceeded to the wicket gate, and stopped -immediately at the entrance to the churchyard. Here the Queen and -Princess Beatrice were received by Lord Rowton, with whom they walked to -the south porch of the church. Her Majesty proceeded to the tomb, and, -with tearful eyes, placed a votive wreath and cross of white camellias and -other flowers beside the other offerings, which completely covered the lid of -the coffin. She then drove through the grounds to the Manor House, and -partook of tea in the saloon; after which she inspected the late Earl’s study -and other apartments, and left Hughenden for Windsor.</p> - -<p>Although diplomatic controversies had created much ill-feeling between the -Governments of England and Russia, the Queen and the Czar had ever maintained -the friendliest personal relations. It was, therefore, with the deepest pain that -her Majesty was informed, on the 14th of March, of the assassination of -Alexander II. The Czar was returning from a military review near St. -Petersburg on Sunday, the 13th of March, when a bomb was thrown, which -exploded behind the Imperial carriage, killing several soldiers. The Czar -jumped out of the carriage to see to the poor men who were hurt, and it was to -this kindly act that he owed his death. Another bomb was flung at his feet, -which exploded and mangled his body in the most cruel manner. The Queen -did what she could to console the Duchess of Edinburgh, who was prostrated -with grief by her father’s death. The Court was ordered to go into mourning -for a month. Both Houses of Parliament addressed messages of condolence -to her Majesty and the Duchess of Edinburgh. The nation, with hardly a -dissentient voice, echoed the sentiments of their representatives, and the Press -was filled with generous tributes of admiration and respect for the Czar -Emancipator. It was now recognised that Alexander II. would live in history -as one of the most enlightened and humane of European Sovereigns. The -great act of his life, the liberation of the Serfs, had converted them into -communal peasant proprietors, and put them in a more secure position -than any other peasantry in Europe. His devotion to the highest interests of -Russia knew no limits, and no European Sovereign has, in our time, excelled -him in the skill and wisdom with which he guided and moderated the -aspirations of his excitable subjects. It was notorious that he was forced -into the Turkish War by a current of popular feeling he could not withstand. -On the other hand, when engaged in the war he quitted himself like a man. -Tales of his well-known kindness of heart and sympathy for suffering spread -from the camps and hospitals through Russia, and invested him in the eyes -of the Slav race with the mystic halo of a Divine Figure. His firmness and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_624" id="page_624">{624}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_088" id="ill_088"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_624.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_624.jpg" height="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PRINCE OF WALES IN HIS ROBES AS A BENCHER OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">obstinacy in pressing on the war crushed the despondent party, who would -have ended it at any price after the first disaster at Plevna. When his policy -of forcing the Balkan passes triumphed, the same firmness and obstinacy -enabled him to curb those who, flushed with success, would have abused -their victory. It was by his orders that deference was paid to German and -Austrian opinions in the settlement of peace. It was his moderation and -loyal desire to live at peace with Britain that enabled Count Schouvaloff to -build for Lord Salisbury the golden bridge of retreat which he crossed when -he signed the Secret Agreement, that was afterwards expanded into the Treaty -of Berlin. No foreign despot ever succeeded to the same extent in winning -the personal respect of the most thoughtful portion of the British people. -The assassination of the Czar called attention to the extraordinary destructive<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_625" id="page_625">{625}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_089" id="ill_089"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_625.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_625.jpg" height="390" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE PRINCESS OF WALES.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by W. and D. Downey.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">forces which modern science had placed in the hands of the political assassin. -That the event produced a profound and prostrating effect on the nerves of -the Court was soon seen. The Queen left Windsor for Osborne on the 6th -of April, and the public were somewhat alarmed to find that for the first -time in her career precautions were taken to protect her life, as if she were -a despot travelling amidst a people who thirsted for her blood. The Royal -train was not only as usual preceded by a pilot engine, but orders had been -given to station patrols of platelayers, each within sight of the other, along -the whole line. Every watchman was provided with flags and fog signals, so -that on the least suspicion the train could be stopped. The time of the -Queen’s departure had been announced for Tuesday. It was at the last -moment altered to Wednesday. When she arrived at Portsmouth, the <i>Alberta</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_626" id="page_626">{626}</a></span> -in which it was supposed she was to embark, was discarded for the <i>Enchantress</i>, -which was suddenly ordered up; and from these and other circumstances it -was inferred that the Queen was afraid she might be made the victim of a -dark plot like that to which the Czar had succumbed. Fenianism, indeed, -was beginning to raise its head again in Ireland under the stimulating application -of repressive measures. Soon afterwards attempts which were made to -blow up the Mansion House and the Liverpool Town Hall indicated that -there was some justification for the Queen’s alarm.</p> - -<p>Court life was not so dull during 1881 as it had been in previous years. -The Queen was ever flitting to and fro between Windsor and Osborne, and -almost every month during the season she held a Drawing Room in Buckingham -Palace. State Concerts were not infrequent, and on the 17th of May -the King and Queen of Sweden visited Windsor, and the King was invested -with the Order of the Garter. On the 20th the Queen left Windsor and -proceeded to Balmoral; and on the 24th it was announced that she had -determined to revive the ancient Scottish title of Duke of Albany and confer -it on Prince Leopold. It was a title of evil omen. The fate of the first -prince who bore it supplies a dark and tragic episode to Scott’s “Fair Maid -of Perth.” The second Duke of Albany died on the castle hill of Stirling. -When conferred on the second son of James II. of Scotland it soon became -extinct. Darnley wore it before he was married to Mary Stuart. The second -son of James VI. and the second son of Charles I. bore it. Charles Edward -Stuart was long known as Count of Albany. It was conferred on Prince -Frederick, the second son of George II. Prince Leopold had, by his -thoughtful and sagacious speeches in public, attracted to himself much -admiration, and his feeble health and devotion to his mother had made him -the object of kindly popular sympathy. The announcement of his elevation -was therefore hailed with some expression of regret that he should be doomed -to wear a title that had invariably brought ill-luck or misfortune to those -on whom it was conferred.</p> - -<p>On the 22nd of June the Queen returned to Windsor, where she was -visited by the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and their family -in July. A brilliant Review of 50,000 Volunteers was held before her -on the 9th of July in Windsor Great Park. On the 18th her Majesty -lost one of the most cherished friends of her family, the amiable Dean -Stanley, who died somewhat suddenly of erysipelas. Dean Stanley, it -has been well said, was the impersonation of the “sweetness and light” -which the disciples of Mr. Matthew Arnold strive to impart to modern -culture. His biography of the great Dr. Arnold has an assured place among -the classical works of the Victorian age. His influence on the Anglican -Church was that of a leader at once conciliatory and tolerant, and singularly -susceptible to popular impulses and aspirations. His relations to the Royal -Family were always close and intimate, and, as the husband of Lady Augusta<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_627" id="page_627">{627}</a></span> -Bruce, the Queen’s faithful personal friend and attendant for many years, his -career was watched with great interest and sympathy by her Majesty. -Churchmen and dissenters of all shades attended his funeral in Westminster -Abbey, where he was buried in Henry VII.’s Chapel under a mountain of -floral wreaths, one of the most superb being sent by the Queen. It was -through Dean Stanley that the Queen made the personal acquaintance of Mr. -Carlyle, who had died earlier in the year (the 5th of February), but without -leaving behind him the sweet and sunny memories that cluster round -Stanley’s name.</p> - -<p>On the 24th of August the Queen arrived at Edinburgh, and took up -her quarters at Holyrood Palace. In the afternoon she visited the Royal -Infirmary, and on the following day she reviewed 40,000 Scottish Volunteers -(who had come from the remotest parts of the country) in the great -natural amphitheatre of the Queen’s Park. The spectacle was marred by -the torrents of rain that fell all day, and the troops had to march past -the saluting-point in a sea of slush and mud which reached nearly to their -knees. The fine appearance and discipline of the men, the patience and -hardihood with which they carried out their programme through all the -miseries of the day, deeply touched the Queen. In spite of entreaties to the -contrary, she persisted in sharing these discomforts with them, holding the -review in an open carriage, in which she remained seated under a deluge of -rain till the last regiment had defiled before her. From Edinburgh the Court -proceeded to Balmoral. There the Queen received the melancholy news of the -death of Mr. James A. Garfield, President of the United States, who had been -shot by an assassin named Guiteau on the 2nd of July at the railway station -at Washington. The wound was a mortal one, and, after lingering for many -weeks in great pain, the President died on the 19th of September. The -Queen sent a touching letter of sympathy to Mrs. Garfield, and ordered the -Court to go into mourning, as if Mr. Garfield had been a member of the -Royal caste. In this she had the concurrence of the people, who were profoundly -moved by his tragic fate. His career, beginning in a log-hut in -the backwoods of Ohio, and ending in the White House at Washington, was -one of heroic achievement and independence, illustrating, in its various phases -of vicissitude, the best qualities of Anglo-Saxon manhood.</p> - -<p>At Balmoral the Royal holiday was marked by the appearance of the -Queen at some of the local sports. The Prince and Princess of Wales were -at Abergeldie, and the retainers of the two families were frequently in the -habit of playing cricket matches with each other. One of these took place at -Abergeldie in September, when the Queen and her family and a brilliant suite -attended and witnessed the play, her Majesty taking a keen interest in the -varying fortunes of the day, and eagerly stimulating her own people to strive -for victory. After the cricket match there were “tugs of war.” In this -struggle the Abergeldie team, who had lost the cricket match, retrieved their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_628" id="page_628">{628}</a></span> -defeat by conquering the Queen’s retainers. On the 23rd of November the -Court returned to Windsor, and soon afterwards it was announced that the -Duke of Albany was to be married to the Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont. -On the 16th of December her Majesty left Windsor for Osborne.</p> - -<p>The political movements of the Recess had been followed with growing -anxiety by the Queen. Bye-elections and municipal elections seemed to show, -not only that the hold of the Government on the country was becoming -feebler, but that a working alliance between the Tories and the Irish Party -had been formed. Mr. Parnell’s followers had been divided in opinion as to -how they should treat the Land Act, some declaring that they should impede -its working, others urging that every advantage should be taken of it. Mr. -Parnell, after some hesitancy, united his Party on the policy of “testing” the -Act. The Land League was directed to push into the Land Courts a series -of “test cases,” that is to say, of cases where average rents were levied, so -that a clear idea might be gained of the practical working of the Act. At -the same time, the Irish people were led to believe that, unless the Act -reduced the rent of Ireland from £17,000,000 to £3,000,000, that is to say, -unless it reduced rent to “prairie value,” it would not do justice. The -tenantry were warned by the Land League not to go into Court, but to -stand aside till the decisions on the test cases were given. When Mr. -Gladstone visited Leeds in the first week of October, he fiercely attacked Mr. -Parnell for interfering between the tenants and the Law Courts. Mr. Parnell -retorted in an acrid and contemptuous speech at Wexford on the 9th of -October. On the 13th of October Mr. Parnell was arrested in Dublin as a -“suspect” under the Coercion Act, and all his more prominent followers were -in quick succession lodged in Kilmainham Jail. Mr. Healy was in England, -and Mr. Biggar and Mr. Arthur O’Connor escaped the vigilance of the police -and joined him. This <i>coup d’état</i> was somewhat theatrically contrived. It -was so timed that Mr. Gladstone was able to announce it at a municipal -banquet at the Guildhall, where he declared that the enemy had fallen, amidst -rapturous shouts of applause. The Land Leaguers retaliated by issuing a -manifesto to the Irish people to pay no rent whilst their leaders were in -prison—a false step, for, in view of the opposition of the clergy, a strike -against rent was not feasible. The Land League was then suppressed by Mr. -Forster as an unlawful association, and agrarian outrages began to increase -every day. According to the Nationalists, this was the natural and necessary -result of locking up popular leaders, who could alone restrain the people. Mr. -Forster, however, regarded the growth of the outrages as an act of vengeance -on the part of the League, whose leaders secretly encouraged them. In -Ulster, however, the Land Act worked well, and rents were reduced from -20 to 30 per cent. all round. Every week fresh drafts of “suspects” were -lodged in jail, and as the year closed it became evident that Ireland was -fast falling under the terrorism of the old secret societies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_629" id="page_629">{629}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_090" id="ill_090"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_629.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_629.jpg" width="618" height="421" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ROYAL FAMILY IN THE HIGHLANDS: TUG OF WAR—BALMORAL v. ABERGELDIE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_630" id="page_630">{630}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /><br /> -<small>ENGLAND IN EGYPT.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Duke of Albany’s Marriage Announced—Mr. Bradlaugh Again—Procedure Reform—The Closure at Last—The -Peers Co-operate with the Parnellites—Their Attacks on the Land Act—Mr. Forster’s Policy of -“Thorough”—A Nation under Arrest—Increase in Outrages—Sir J. D. Hay and Mr. W. H. Smith bid for the -Parnellite Vote—A Political Dutch Auction—The Radicals Outbid the Tories—Release of Mr. Parnell and -the Suspects—The Kilmainham Treaty—Victory of Mr. Chamberlain—Resignation of Mr. Forster and -Lord Cowper—The Tragedy in the Phœnix Park—Ireland Under Lord Spencer—Firm and Resolute Government—Coercion -Revived—The Arrears Bill—The Budget—England in Egypt—How Ismail Pasha “Kissed -the Carpet”—Spoiling the Egyptians—Mr. Goschen’s Scheme for Collecting the Debt—The Dual Control—The -Ascendency of France—“Egypt for the Egyptians”—The Rule of Arabi—Riots in Alexandria—The -Egyptian War—Murder of Professor Palmer—British Occupation of Egypt—The Queen’s Monument -to Lord Beaconsfield—Attempt to Assassinate Her Majesty—The Queen’s Visit to Mentone—Marriage of -the Duke of Albany.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> Parliament of 1882 was opened on the 7th of February, and the Queen’s -Speech announced the approaching marriage of the Duke of Albany. Foreign -affairs were hopefully touched on. Local self-government, London municipal -reform, bankruptcy reform, corrupt practices at elections, the conservancy of -rivers, and the codification of the Criminal Law, were the subjects of promised -legislation. Very early in the Session Mr. Bradlaugh renewed his -attempt to take the Parliamentary Oath, but was again excluded from the -precincts of the House by a resolution moved by Sir Stafford Northcote. On -the 21st of February the House refused to issue a new writ for Northampton, -and Mr. Bradlaugh, after the division, proceeded to swear himself in at the -Clerk’s table. Sir Stafford Northcote accordingly moved and carried a resolution -expelling him from the House. This caused a fresh election to be held -at Northampton, the result of which was that Mr. Bradlaugh was again -returned by a triumphant majority. On the 6th of March Sir Stafford Northcote -proposed a resolution excluding Mr. Bradlaugh from the precincts of the -House, and then, sated with its saturnalia of intolerance, the Opposition permitted -Ministers to get on with the most pressing question of the hour—the -reform of Procedure. The proposals of the Government were, in the main, -identical with those which the Speaker had designed to defeat obstruction in -the previous Session; but they were to be of permanent application, and not -dependent on the carrying of a vote of urgency. It was provided that a debate -might be closed, on the Speaker’s initiation, by a bare majority, only there -must, in that case, be at least two hundred Members voting in favour of closure -if as many as forty members opposed it; but if fewer than forty opposed, at -least one hundred would be required to carry it. Non-contentious business -relating to Law and Commerce might be delegated to two Grand Committees. -The Tories objected to closure by a bare majority, and they fortunately found -a Liberal—Mr. Marriott, Q.C.—to move an amendment to this part of Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_631" id="page_631">{631}</a></span> -Gladstone’s plan, and the debate began on the 20th of February. In the -meantime the Irish Home Rulers, who had not scrupled to impede the working -of the Land Act, found unexpected allies in the Conservative Peers. They -attacked the Act as a failure, and carried a motion appointing a hostile Committee -to inquire into its working. It has always been the practice of the -Peers, when they dared not cut down the plant of Reform, to insist on pulling -it up to see if its roots were growing, and in this case their strategy was -ingeniously adapted to suit the policy of obstruction in the Commons. It was -necessary to neutralise the hostile vote of the Peers by a Resolution in the -Commons condemning the proposed inquiry as mischievous; and, though this -was carried, it gave the Tory and Parnellite opponents of the Government an -excellent chance of wasting time by re-opening and discussing the whole Irish -Land Question. The Procedure debates were thus suspended for about a -month, Mr. Marriott’s amendment being rejected on the 30th of March. -Negotiations for a compromise between Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. Gladstone -were interrupted by a catastrophe which revolutionised the Irish policy -of the Government, namely, the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and -Mr. Thomas Burke in the Phœnix Park, Dublin.</p> - -<p>During the first two months of the Session the Irish Party vied with the -Conservatives in assailing the Land Act. Radicals began to murmur against -the development of Mr. Forster’s coercive policy, every incident and detail -of which was subjected by the Irish Members to bitter criticism and -violent denunciation. In the meantime, Mr. Forster’s scheme for pacifying -Ireland was not prospering, and it was seen that he had made a fatal mistake -when he pledged himself to suppress agitation, if he were only empowered to -arrest the leading agitators. From the day they were imprisoned, Ireland -drifted towards anarchy and terrorism. Then the experiment was tried of -arresting, not only the leaders, but their lieutenants. Finally Mr. Forster -crowded the prisons with the rank and file of the Home Rule host. -Men began to wonder whether the gaol accommodation of Ireland was -adequate for Mr. Forster’s policy. But the more people he put in prison the -worse the country grew, the more did evictions increase, and the less rent -was paid. A bid for the Irish vote was now made by the Tories. They -put up Sir John Hay to move that the detention of the “suspects” was -“repugnant to the spirit of the Constitution.” Through Mr. W. H. Smith, -in one of the debates on the Land Act, they offered the Nationalists a scheme -for buying out the landlords at the expense of the State, and establishing -peasant proprietorship in Ireland, such as had been advocated by Mr. Davitt -and Mr. Parnell. It was clear that the Tory-Parnellite alliance was becoming -a formidable combination, and the Radicals urged the Government to make -terms with the Nationalist Party whilst there was yet time. But Mr. -Gladstone hesitated, and then the Radicals moved without him. An intrigue, -instigated by Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Charles Dilke, was set on foot to get<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_632" id="page_632">{632}</a></span> -Mr. Forster removed from his place as Irish Secretary. Through Captain -O’Shea as an intermediary, Mr. Parnell was approached. He had certainly seen -with alarm the increase in evictions, and knew that if the struggle were prolonged -the financial resources of the Leaguers must fail them. He was, -therefore, disposed to come to terms. Letters were exchanged, in one of -which Mr. Parnell said that a promise to deal with the question of arrears -would do much to bring peace to Ireland, for the Nationalists would then be -able to exert themselves, with some hope of success, in stopping outrages. -But the Land Act would have to be extended to leaseholders, and the Purchase -Clauses enlarged. If this programme were carried out, wrote Mr. Parnell on -the 28th of August to Captain O’Shea, it “would enable us to co-operate -cordially for the future with the Liberal Party in forwarding Liberal principles; -and I believe that the Government at the end of the Session would, from the -state of the country, feel themselves thoroughly justified in dispensing with -future coercive measures.” This letter was shown to Mr. Forster, and it -seems that the Cabinet was also put in possession of Mr. Parnell’s views. -Mr. Forster was not of opinion that they justified his release. Mr. Chamberlain -and Sir Charles Dilke thought that they displayed a reasonable spirit which -would justify a new departure of conciliation in Irish policy. Mr. Parnell, Mr. -Dillon, Mr. Davitt, and the other suspects were therefore released, and Lord -Cowper, the Irish Viceroy, and Mr. Forster resigned office. Mr. Forster was -of opinion that Mr. Parnell should have been compelled to promise publicly -not to resist the law, or failing that, that a stronger Coercion Act should -have been passed before he was set at liberty. Lord Spencer was appointed -to succeed Lord Cowper, and Lord Frederick Cavendish succeeded -Mr. Forster as Chief Secretary. On the 6th of May, within forty-eight hours -of their appointment, Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, the Under-secretary -for Ireland, were butchered by a band of assassins in broad daylight -in the Phœnix Park, Dublin. Mr. Forster, in fact, had allowed a -secret society of assassins, calling themselves “Invincibles,” to organise itself -at his own doors, whilst he was scouring the country far and wide to arrest -and imprison the patriotic but respectable <i>bourgeoisie</i> of Ireland as suspects. -In his speech condemning the release of the suspects, whilst he maintained that -Ireland was not yet quiet, he had declared that the country was quieter than -it had been, that the Land League was crushed, and boycotting checked! -He had never suspected that the place of the Land League had been taken -by a secret society of desperadoes called the “Invincibles” and that assassination -was to be substituted for boycotting. His administration had been indeed -singularly ineffective. With power in his hands, as absolute as that of a Russian -Minister of Police, he seems never to have suspected the existence of the band -of murderers who had organised themselves in Dublin, and who had dogged his -own steps in sight of the detectives who watched over him day after day seeking -for a chance of slaying him. This tragic event upset the scheme for “a new<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_633" id="page_633">{633}</a></span> -departure,” which Mr. Chamberlain had induced the Government to essay. -Though Englishmen behaved with great calmness and self-restraint after the -first shock of horror which the Phœnix Park murders sent through the -nation had passed away, they were resolved to offer no more concessions -to Ireland till the Government took fresh powers for enforcing law and -suppressing outrages. Mr. Gladstone interpreted the national will accurately -when he determined not to withdraw the conciliatory portion of his Irish -programme. But he recast his plans, and gave his coercive precedence over -his remedial measures.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_091" id="ill_091"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_633.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_633.jpg" height="392" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD FREDERICK CAVENDISH.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Irish Party were probably sincere in regretting and in condemning -the murders. The <i>prestige</i> of their Parliamentary policy was sullied when it -ended in a new Coercion Bill for Ireland, and in the demonstration of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_634" id="page_634">{634}</a></span> -impotence to control the forces which they pretended to have in hand. The -Tories and Ministerialists were alike discredited by the untoward mishap. -The alliance between the Tory Party and the Home Rulers had influenced -every Parliamentary bye-election and every division in the House of Commons. -The motion of Sir John Hay condemning the imprisonment of the “suspects” -and the offer of Mr. W. H. Smith’s scheme for expropriating the landlords -were palpable bids for the Parnellite vote. By releasing the “suspects,” -promising to deal with the question of arrears, and to take the Land Purchase -Question in hand, the Ministry outbade their rivals. But the Opposition -and the Cabinet were alike guilty of intriguing and negotiating with men -whom in people they pretended to denounce as irreconcilable enemies of the -Empire; and the end of it all was the tragedy in the Phœnix Park! That -affair had only a coincidental relation to the antecedent Party intrigues; -but the people saw connection where there was only coincidence. Hence -Englishmen for a time lost faith in their public men. They felt towards -them as their forefathers did towards Charles I. when the Glamorgan Treaty -was revealed, and towards Lord Melbourne and Lord John Russell when the -“Lichfield House” compact between O’Connell and the Whigs was unmasked. -For a time this feeling cowed partisans below the gangway on both sides -who had been mainly responsible for the negotiations and intrigues with -the Home Rulers. The Government tried to atone for its misfortune by -continuing Lord Spencer as Irish Viceroy and appointing Mr. George Otto -Trevelyan as Irish Secretary, Lord Spencer to be entirely responsible for -Irish policy in the Cabinet. This was the best possible selection that -could be made. Lord Spencer represented the type of Englishman who, from -his courage, common sense, love of justice, business-like habits, administrative -skill, and disinterested patriotism, was most likely to establish an enduring -and endurable system in Ireland, if that were to be done by firm and resolute -government tempered by strong popular sympathies. Mr. Trevelyan was -patient, industrious, and courteous as an administrator, and his success as -a man of letters rendered him in some degree a <i>persona grata</i> to the Irish -Party, most of whose leaders were writers for the Press. The new Coercion -Bill was introduced on the 11th of May, and read a second time on the 19th. -It suspended trial by jury in certain cases and in proclaimed districts; gave -the police fresh powers of arrest and search, and revived the Alien Act; it -defined as punishable offences intimidation, incitement to crime, and participation -in secret conspiracies and illegal assemblies; it rendered newspapers -liable to suppression for inciting to violence, widened the summary jurisdiction -of stipendiary magistrates, and levied fines of compensation on districts -stained with murderous outrages. It was at once seen that the chief merit -of the Bill lay in the fact that it frankly attacked and punished criminals, -thereby reversing, and by implication condemning, the feeble and futile policy -of Mr. Forster, who attacked and imprisoned at will persons who were merely<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_635" id="page_635">{635}</a></span> -suspected of crime or of inciting to crime. Great doubts were expressed as -to the utility of the Press clauses, Englishmen who are not political partisans -being at all times sceptical as to the good that is done by suppressing newspapers -and bottling up all their evil teaching in private manifestoes for secret -circulation in disaffected districts. Some Radicals also thought the powers -of arrest after nightfall given to the police were rather vague, and suggested -too painfully a revival of Mr. Forster’s fatal principle of coercion on suspicion. -But, on the whole, the Bill was well received by the best men of -both parties, the responsible Tory leaders giving the Government much loyal -support, though some of their followers carped at the measure.<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a> The Bill -was obstructed in the usual manner by the Irish Members, who had but few -Radical allies. On the 16th of June only seven clauses out of thirty had gone -through Committee. On the 29th it was clear a crisis had come, and on the -30th there was a disorderly all-night sitting, which ended in the suspension -of sixteen Irish Members. Later in the day nine others were suspended, -and, after sitting for twenty-eight hours, the Bill passed through Committee. -Urgency was voted for its next stages, and the Bill read a third time on the 7th -of July. The Lords passed it promptly, and it became law on the 12th of July.</p> - -<p>Along with the Coercion Bill the promised Arrears Bill was introduced, -and read a second time before Whitsuntide. It applied to holdings under -£30 of rental, and empowered the Land Courts to pay half the arrears of -poor tenants out of the Irish Church Surplus—but no payment was to exceed -a year’s rent, and all past arrears were to be cancelled. After prolonged -opposition from the Conservatives and from the House of Lords, the measure -was passed on the 10th of August. These Bills exhausted the legislative -energies of the Government; indeed, Mr. Fawcett’s Bill establishing a Parcel -Post, and Mr. Chamberlain’s Bill enabling corporations to adopt Electric -Lighting by obtaining provisional orders from the Board of Trade, were the -only measures that had not to be abandoned. The Budget estimated expenditure -at £84,630,000 and revenue at £84,935,000, a reduction of between £900,000 -and £800,000 respectively on the preceding year’s disbursements and receipts. -The surplus was small. The revenue was stagnant, and there was no scope for -fiscal changes. A Vote of Credit for the Egyptian Expedition had to be provided, -which caused Mr. Gladstone to raise the Income Tax to 6-3/4d. in the pound.</p> - -<p>The Egyptian difficulty, in fact, during this Session, became acute. It -was seized by the Fourth Party as a peg on which to hang an endless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_636" id="page_636">{636}</a></span> -series of questions to the Government, of an embarrassing character. From -questioning, Lord Randolph Churchill proceeded to wage an irregular guerilla -warfare, most harassing to Ministers engaged in delicate diplomatic negotiations -on which depended the issues of peace and war. In this unusual -course he and his friends were supported by Mr. Chaplin and Lord Percy, -and aided by many fiery assaults made by Lord Salisbury. Sir Stafford -Northcote and the majority of the ex-Ministers in the House of Commons -disapproved, at first, of tactics which seemed to them an unprecedented -violation of the decencies of English party warfare. But Sir Stafford’s -reserve and prudence, though appreciated by the country, were so distasteful -to his followers that ere the Session ended he found he had to submit to -be their instrument in using the foreign complications of the nation for the -interests of faction. Had he refused, the combatant section of his followers -would have rebelled against his authority. It was part of the irony of the -situation that the Egyptian difficulty was one of the evil legacies which -the Foreign Policy of the Tory Party in 1879-1880 left the country to -deal with. In fact, the Egyptian crisis of 1882 was the logical consequence -of the system of Dual Control with which Lord Salisbury had afflicted -Egypt when he went into partnership with France in managing the finances -of that country for the benefit of its usurious foreign creditors. It was -in 1866 that Ismail Pasha took the first step that gradually led to his -downfall. To use his own phrase, he “kissed the carpet” at Constantinople—in -other words, bribed the Porte to grant him the title of Khedive and confirm -the succession of the Pashalik in his family. Again and again did he -“kiss the carpet,” till in 1872 he was practically an independent Sovereign -wielding absolute personal power over Egypt—the suzerainty of Turkey being -marked only by the annual tribute, the Imperial cypher on the coinage, the -weekly prayer for the Sultan in the Mosque, and the preservation of the <i>jus -legationis</i>. In 1875 he abolished the Consular Courts before which suits between -Egyptians and foreigners were tried, substituting for them the Mixed Tribunals -on which representative judges of the Great Powers sat. At this -period the crop of financial wild oats which Ismail Pasha had sown had -ripened. He had spent money lavishly not only on the Suez Canal, but on -every conceivable scheme that wily European speculators could persuade him -was an improvement. He had borrowed this money on the principles that -regulate the financial transactions of a rich young spendthrift and a usurer -of the lowest class. In 1864 he borrowed £5,700,000. In the succeeding -years loans for £3,000,000, £1,200,000, and £2,000,000 were added. In 1873 -there was another loan for £32,000,000—which, according to Mr. Cave, swallowed -up every resource of Egypt.<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a> The Khedive’s private loans came to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_637" id="page_637">{637}</a></span> -£11,000,000, and the floating debt to £26,000,000 in 1876. How these last -loans were to be met, seeing that the 1873 loan swallowed up all the resources -of the country, was a perplexing point. The usurers would lend the -Khedive no more money, and in 1875 England helped him to meet the -interest on existing loans by giving him £4,000,000 for the Suez Canal Shares.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_092" id="ill_092"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_637.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_637.jpg" width="407" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE KARMOUS SUBURB, ALEXANDRIA, AND POMPEY’S PILLAR.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Something might have been done for Egypt, even at this time, if England -had occupied the country; but Mr. Disraeli lost the golden opportunity, which -did not return till France and Russia were in a position to offer an effective<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_638" id="page_638">{638}</a></span> -resistance which could not be bought off. The Khedive appealed for money to -England, and Mr. Disraeli sent Mr. Cave to report upon his affairs. Mr. Cave -said in effect that it was impossible to help the Khedive with money unless -Englishmen were prepared to lose it. That report, however, did not touch the -position of those who held with Mr. Edward Dicey that if England could -establish a Protectorate in Egypt, and administer her affairs like an Indian -Native State, it would be quite possible to extricate her from her financial difficulties -without inflicting injustice on her creditors. In the meantime, the foreign -bondholders sued the Khedive in his own Mixed Tribunals. They got judgment -against him, but were unable to execute it. In May, 1876, his Highness met -this judgment by a decree of repudiation, whereupon Germany indignantly protested, -and France and England followed suit on behalf of the bondholders of their -respective nationalities. It was here that Lord Salisbury first left the traditional -lines of sound Foreign Policy. He interfered in Egypt, not on the ground -that national interests had to be safeguarded, but—like Lord Palmerston in the -case of Greece—to protect the interests of a few speculative individuals who had -a bad debt to collect from Ismail Pasha. British national interests in Egypt, -when really imperilled, can only be protected effectively in one way—by the -occupation of the country, or its administration under a British Protectorate. -They cannot be protected by entering into an ambiguous partnership for -regulating the Khedive’s finances with Powers whose interests in Egypt are -not national, but are represented by those of their subjects who have lent -Egypt money on bad security. The Imperial interests of England demand that -the government of Egypt shall be good and effective all round, so that the -highway to India shall be through an orderly and contented people. The -interests of the other Powers demand that the government of Egypt, whether -good or bad, must be such as will enable her to give the Shylocks, whom they -represent, their pound of flesh. It was for the interest of England to aim at -a Protectorate, just as it was for the interests of the other Powers to aim -merely at obtaining financial control over Egypt; and the fatal blunder which -Lord Beaconsfield and Lord Salisbury made was in identifying England, not -with British, but with foreign interests in Egypt. The French and English -bondholders could not agree on the steps which should be taken to extort their -money from the overtaxed Egyptian peasantry; and Mr. Goschen and M. -Joubert were sent out to devise a scheme for consolidating the Egyptian debt -in the common interests of all bondholders. By estimating the annual average -revenue which could be extracted from the wretched fellaheen at £12,000,000 -instead of £8,000,000, which would have been high enough, the Goschen-Joubert -scheme showed in 1876 that the Khedive could pay, as interest and -sinking fund, seven per cent. interest on a consolidated debt of £100,000,000. -Ismail agreed to pay this at first, but soon resisted, on the ground that the -estimate of revenue was erroneous. The French Government then determined -to appoint a Commission to investigate the resources of Egypt, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_639" id="page_639">{639}</a></span> -England was induced to join. This Commission reported that as the Khedive -had appropriated to himself one-fifth of the land of Egypt,<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a> the first thing he -should do was to hand a million acres of it over to the creditors of the State.</p> - -<p>The Khedive now formed a Ministry under Nubar Pasha, in which Mr. -Rivers Wilson, the English Commissioner, was given the Ministry of Finance. -The French Government displayed so much jealousy of this step, that Lord -Salisbury, yielding to their demands, permitted the Khedive to appoint M. de -Blignières as Mr. Wilson’s colleague. This was the beginning of the Dual -Control of Egypt by two Governments with opposite interests, from which all -subsequent mischief arose. The Khedive soon dismissed Nubar’s Ministry, and -then France and England, on the threat of Germany to interfere, arranged -with the Sultan to depose Ismail Pasha. He was succeeded by his son -Tewfik, in whose Ministry the care of finance was entrusted to M. de Blignières -and Mr. Baring, who was afterwards succeeded by Mr. Colvin. The effect of -the Dual Control was very simple. It increased the bureaucracy but diminished -its efficiency, for wherever an English official was appointed M. de Blignières -insisted on planting a French colleague by his side to watch and hamper -him. A similar vigilance was exhibited by the English Controller. But -above the Dual Ministry of Finance there was established the International -Commission of the Public Debt, representing England, France, Italy, Austria, -and Germany. This Commission watched over the administration of the Dual -Ministry of Finance. It was entitled, if it could agree on a course of action, -to demand from the Ministry of Finance more efficient management, and of -course it distributed the sum handed over by that Ministry for payment of the -public creditors. The French and English Ministers or Controllers of Finance -were not removable save by consent of their Governments. They had the right -to seats in the Ministerial Council, and to advise on all measures of general -importance. As nothing can be done in Egypt without money, nothing could -be done without them. At first, Major Baring was the most active of the -controllers. But he was removed, and Mr. Colvin, who took his place, played -a subordinate part to M. de Blignières, who had more experience and force of -character. Virtually De Blignières governed the country. History does not -record the occasion on which England as a Great Power occupied a position -more ignominious than the one she now held in. Egypt, where her influence -had been paramount till Lord Salisbury consented to share it with France. The -government of the Dual Control was conducted on simple principles. Egypt -was managed not for the Egyptians, but for the bondholders. Everything -and everybody were sacrificed for the Budget, and the Budget was constructed -primarily with a view to securing the Debt and the payment of the European -officials, who swarmed over the land like locusts. At the time when Cyprus -was occupied it must now be stated that Lord Salisbury conciliated France, ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_640" id="page_640">{640}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_093" id="ill_093"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_640.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_640.jpg" height="458" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>AHMED ARABI PASHA.</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Portrait by Frederick Villiers in A. M. Broadley’s “How we Defended Arabi and his Friends.”</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">jealous of her Syrian interests, by supporting an extension of her influence in -Tunis. Tunis, however, in 1881 had, in spite of protests from England and -Italy, become simply a French dependency, and the growing power of -Blignières at Cairo forced acute observers to say of Egypt—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">“Mutato nomine, de te<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Fabula narratur.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The natives now grew restless under the Dual Control, and this restlessness -ended in a military revolt, headed by Colonel Arabi Bey, whose watchword was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_641" id="page_641">{641}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_094" id="ill_094"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_641.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_641.jpg" width="313" height="389" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD WOLSELEY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Fradelle and Young.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>“Egypt for the Egyptians.” This rising the Khedive pacified by dismissing -the Ministry of Riaz Pasha, who was succeeded by Cherif Pasha. But though -Cherif reigned Arabi ruled, and it soon became evident that the partners in the -Dual Control could not agree on the course that should be adopted towards him. -The Egyptian Assembly of Notables, on the 18th of January, 1882, asserted -their right to control the Budget. The French and English Controllers -disputed this right, and then a new Ministry was formed, of which Mahmoud -Samy was the nominal, but Arabi Bey, now Minister of War, the real -head. M. Gambetta, who had vainly endeavoured to induce England to join -France in coercing Arabi and the national party, fell from power; M. de -Freycinet succeeded him, and his policy was one of non-intervention. The -Chamber of Notables refused to withdraw from their position. M. de Blignières,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_642" id="page_642">{642}</a></span> -finding he could get no support from M. de Freycinet, resigned, and thus ended -Lord Salisbury’s experiment of the Dual Control. Arabi was loaded with -decorations. The rank and title of Pasha were given him, and he was virtually -Dictator of the country, with no policy save that of “Egypt for the -Egyptians.” Alarmed by menaced massacres of foreigners, France and England -now sent their fleets to Alexandria. The English and French Consuls, in -a Joint Note to the Khedive, advised the expulsion of Arabi, who had been -intriguing with the Bedouins. Arabi resigned, but no new Ministry could be -formed, and the army threatened to repudiate any authority save that of the -Sultan, who sent Dervish Pasha to quiet the country. On the 11th of June -there was a riot in Alexandria; the British Consul was injured, and many -French and English subjects were slain. This was the signal for a stampede of -the terrified foreign population of Alexandria, where the Khedive held his Court, -and of Cairo. A Cabinet, patronised by Germany and Austria, under Ragheb -Pasha, was formed; but Arabi was again Minister of War. In July Arabi -ostentatiously strengthened the forts of Alexandria, but on the 10th Sir -Beauchamp Seymour warned him that if the forts were not surrendered for -disarmament, they would be bombarded by the British fleet. The French -Government refused to join in this coercive measure, and sent their ships to -Port Said. On the 11th the fortifications were shattered by the British cannonade; -but as the town was not occupied, it was seized by a fanatical mob, -who wrought havoc in it for two days. A force was then tardily landed by -Admiral Seymour, who restored order, and brought back the Khedive from -Ramleh, where he had fled, to Ras-el-tin. Arabi and the Egyptian army had -taken up an entrenched position at Tel-el-Kebir, but were still professedly -acting in the Khedive’s name. An English military expedition, under Sir Garnet -Wolseley, was sent to disperse them, and secure the protection of the Canal.</p> - -<p>A diplomatic mission under Professor Palmer of Cambridge, an accomplished -Oriental scholar, who had acquired a great personal influence over -the tribes of the Sinai, was sent to detach the Bedouins from Arabi, and -engage them to assist in defending the Canal. The other members of the -mission were Lieutenant Charrington, R.N., and Captain Gill, R.E., officers -with a record of distinguished service which fitted them for their hazardous -employment. They had no military escort, because the presence of one would -have rendered their mission hopeless. A reconnaissance conducted with great -skill by Professor Palmer, who travelled from Joppa through the Sinai -desert disguised as a Syrian Mahometan of rank, had given every promise -of success. But the members of the expedition were led by a treacherous -guide into an ambuscade soon after starting from the Wells of Moses, and -murdered and robbed by a band of brigands<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a> (10th of August). But despite<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_643" id="page_643">{643}</a></span> -this melancholy occurrence the safety of the Canal was secured. By a -movement conducted in swift secrecy Sir Garnet Wolseley sailed with his -force from Alexandria to Ismailia on the 19th of August, his plan being -to advance on Cairo by the Freshwater Canal. On the 28th Arabi, after a -repulse at Kassassin, retired to his entrenchments at Tel-el-Kebir, which were -carried by the British, on the 13th of September, after a long march by -night over the desert sands. General Drury Lowe and a small force of cavalry -pushed on to Cairo, which surrendered to them at the first summons, Arabi -Pasha and Toulba Pasha, his lieutenant, giving themselves up as prisoners. -The Khedive was reinstated in Cairo by the British troops, who were paraded -before him on the 30th of September.</p> - -<p>By a unique stroke of fortune, Mr. Gladstone’s Government had thus been -enabled to secure for England the position of ascendency in Egypt which -had been sacrificed by the Dual Control. France and the other Powers, -having cast on England the burden of supporting the Khedive’s authority, -had to accept a <i>fait accompli</i>, and submit to see a British army of occupation -of 10,000 men quartered in Egypt. But the occupation was emphatically declared -by Mr. Gladstone to be temporary, and he pledged England to terminate -it whenever the Khedive could maintain himself without foreign aid. The -war cost England £4,600,000, and it did much to restore for the time the -waning popularity of the Ministry. Rewards and decorations were showered -upon the victors. Peerages were bestowed on Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour -and Sir Garnet Wolseley. As for Egypt, her Government was really under -the control of the British Consul-General. England forbade the restoration of -the Dual Control, and set limits to the organisation of the native Army. -The native Police was put under the command of Baker Pasha, and the English -Government rescued Arabi and the leaders of the insurgents from the native -court-martial, which would have doomed them to death. When tried, they -pleaded guilty to a charge of treason, and were exiled to Ceylon.</p> - -<p>On the 27th of February a monument, which the Queen had commissioned -Mr. Belt to prepare for the perpetuation of the memory of Lord Beaconsfield, -was erected in Hughenden Church. It was a touching record of rare friendship -between Sovereign and subject. The centre of the memorial is occupied -by a profile portrait carved in low relief. Beneath, is a tablet bearing the -following dedication penned by the Queen herself:—</p> - -<p class="c"> -To<br /> -the dear and honoured Memory<br /> -of<br /> -<span class="smcap">Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield</span>,<br /> -This memorial is placed by<br /> -his grateful and affectionate<br /> -Sovereign and Friend,<br /> -<span class="smcap">Victoria R.I.</span><br /> -“Kings love him that speaketh right.”—Proverbs xvi. 13.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>February 27, 1882.</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_644" id="page_644">{644}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_095" id="ill_095"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_644.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_644.jpg" height="416" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUCHESS OF ALBANY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The year was marked by an attempt to assassinate the Queen, which -created much public alarm. On the 2nd of March her Majesty was driving -from Windsor Station to the Castle, when a poorly-dressed man shot at her -carriage with a revolver. Before he could fire again a bystander struck down -his arm and he was arrested. He was a grocer’s assistant from Portsmouth, -named Roderick Maclean; his excuse was that he was starving, and he -probably desired to draw attention to his case. He was tried next month -at Reading Assizes, where it was shown that he had been under treatment as -a lunatic for two years in an asylum in Weston-super-Mare, but had been -dismissed cured. He was acquitted on the ground of insanity, and ordered -to be placed in custody during her Majesty’s pleasure. The sympathy which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_645" id="page_645">{645}</a></span> -was expressed by all classes with the Queen, when tidings of the outrage -were published, was universal. On the night of Maclean’s arrest the National -Anthem was sung in all the theatres, and from every quarter messages came -pouring in congratulating her Majesty on her escape. These demonstrations -caused her to address a touching letter of heartfelt thanks to the nation.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_096" id="ill_096"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_645.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_645.jpg" height="419" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE DUKE OF ALBANY.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Another outrage on the Queen has to be set down in the record of 1882. -On the 26th of May a young telegraph clerk, named Albert Young, was tried -before Mr. Justice Lopes, and found guilty of threatening to murder the Queen -and Prince Leopold. He sent a letter, purporting to come from an Irish -Roman Catholic priest and fifty of his parishioners who had been evicted -by their landlords, warning the Queen of her peril, and saying that if paid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_646" id="page_646">{646}</a></span> -£40 a head these men would all emigrate. The money was to be sent to -“A. Y.,” at the “M., S., & L.” Office, Doncaster. Young was sentenced to -ten years’ penal servitude.</p> - -<p>On the 14th of March her Majesty left Windsor for Portsmouth, accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice. From thence she sailed to Cherbourg, -and proceeded to Mentone, where she arrived on the 17th. The Chalêt -des Rosiers, where the Queen lived, was a newly-built villa, standing on a -small artificial plateau, fifty yards from the railway, and a hundred from -the shore, about half-a-mile from the old town, and three-quarters of a mile -from the ravine and bridge of St. Louis which divide Italy from France. -Precipices, rugged steeps, abysmal ravines, and rocky beds of old torrents rise -from behind the villa in wild confusion. Five miles away, mountains whose -bases are traversed by terraces covered with orange groves, soar grandly -into the sky. Her Majesty was soon joined by Prince Leopold, the -King and Queen of Saxony, and Lord Lyons, and she made daily excursions -in the neighbourhood. On the 21st of March there was a great <i>fête</i>, with -splendid illuminations held in her honour, and she witnessed the scene from -the balcony of her villa. Before leaving, on the 14th of April, the Queen -thanked the authorities and the residents for contributing so cordially to the -pleasure of her visit. As a memento of it, she presented the chief of the -municipal band, who had composed a cantata in her honour, with a diamond -breast-pin.</p> - -<p>The marriage of the Duke of Albany was now approaching, and it was -with deep regret that the Queen found it necessary to leave him at Mentone, -as he had not recovered from the effects of an accident he had met with. -The grant of £25,000 a year for his Royal Highness had been moved by Mr. -Gladstone in the House of Commons on the 23rd of March, and carried by a -vote of 387 to 42. Mr. Labouchere, however, opposed the vote, because he -said the savings from the Civil List ought to be returned to the State by -the Queen before any Royal grants were voted by Parliament. Mr. Broadhurst -also thought that £25,000<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a> a year was too much to vote for such a purpose -in a country where the majority lived on weekly wages. Mr. Storey -opposed voting public money save for public services, and described the House -of Commons as “a large syndicate interested in expenditure.” But there was -no new point raised in the debate, save Mr. Labouchere’s argument, based on -the fact that George III., who had £1,000,000 a year of Civil List, maintained -his own children. Mr. Gladstone, of course, challenged the precedent, -by pointing out that Parliament had not entered into an implied contract -with George III. to provide for his children. But for the first time he admitted -that savings were hoarded up out of the Civil List. Only, he said, -they were not large enough to provide for the maintenance of the Quee<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_647" id="page_647">{647}</a></span>n’s -children, and he assured the House that after he had come to know the -amount of them, his conclusion was that they were not more than were -called for by the contingencies which might occur in such a family. As -has been stated before, the Royal savings represent an insurance fund against -family emergencies, which it would not be agreeable for the Queen to ask -Parliament to meet for her.</p> - -<p>On the 27th of April the marriage of the Duke of Albany with the -Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont was solemnised in St. George’s Chapel, -Windsor, with a sustained pomp and splendour rarely seen even in Royal -pageants. Most extensive and elaborate arrangements had been made -for the reception and processions of the Royal and illustrious guests, -the Queen, the bridegroom, and the bride. On the morning of the 27th -the earliest aspect of animation was lent to the peaceful tranquillity of -the chapel by the arrival of a strong detachment of the Yeomen of the -Guard, arrayed in their quaint Tudor costume, consisting of plaited ruff, low-crowned -black velvet hat encircled by red and white roses, scarlet doublet -embroidered with the Royal cognisance and initials in gold, purple sleeves, -bullion quarterings, ruddy hose, and rosetted shoes. The Yeomen of the -Guard were ranged at intervals throughout the length of the nave, and were -speedily joined by a contingent of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, -resplendent in scarlet uniforms profusely laced with gold. After the -opening of the doors the edifice soon filled with ladies of rank, nobles, statesmen, -warriors, and diplomatists. The day was recognised by the decorated -as “a collar day”—<i>i.e.</i>, the Knights did not wear the robes of their Order, -but only the ribbons of the Garter, the Bath, the Thistle, and St. Patrick, -with the collars and badges of gold. Constellations of stars, crosses, and -ribbons marked the uniforms of the English generals, foreign ambassadors, -and Ministers present in the choir, and flashed light on the grey and timeworn -walls associated with the memories of Anne Boleyn, Catherine of -Arragon, and Jane Seymour. At noon the drapery veiling the door was -thrown aside, and the first procession—that of the Queen’s family and their -Royal guests from the Continent—entered. After this glittering group had -passed into the choir, the Queen’s procession appeared at the west door, -when the brilliant array in the nave stood up, and the organ burst into the -strains of Handel’s <i>Occasional Overture</i>. Her Majesty, who was in excellent -health and spirits, bowed her acknowledgments to the salutations of the -assembled guests. She was clad in widow’s sables with long gauze streamers, -and wore the broad riband of the Garter and a magnificent parure of -diamonds. The Koh-i-noor sparkled on her bosom, while her head-dress was -surmounted with a glittering tiara girt by a small crown Imperial in brilliants. -On entering the choir the Queen was conducted to her seat close to the -south of the altar. The bridegroom’s procession next made its appearance. -The Duke of Albany wore the scarlet and gold uniform of a colonel of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_648" id="page_648">{648}</a></span> -Infantry. The Prince walked with some slight difficulty with the assistance -of a stick. The bridegroom was supported by the Prince of Wales in the -uniform of a Field Marshal, and by his brother-in-law, the Grand Duke of -Hesse, also clad in scarlet. Last came the procession of the bride, heralded -by the sound of cheering outside and the blare of trumpets. She was supported -by her father, the Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and by her brother-in-law, -the King of the Netherlands, her train being borne by eight unmarried -daughters of dukes, marquises, and earls, decked in white drapery trimmed -with flowers. The celebration of the marriage ceremony was performed by -the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by an array of Church dignitaries -ranged behind the altar rails. The service was brief, with no enlarged choral -accompaniments, but the spectacle was unusually impressive. There was -not a vacant spot in the chapel; it was gorgeous with diverse colours -and flashing with jewels and with the insignia of many grand Orders of -chivalry. The scene, too, was at intervals suddenly wrapped in gloom and -as suddenly bathed in light as the fitful sunshine streamed through the -painted windows. As the ceremony was being completed a cloud must have -passed from the sun, for its beams darted through the stained windows, and -revealed the bride and bridegroom in a tinted halo of radiance. After the -ceremony the Queen affectionately embraced her son and daughter-in-law, -whose united processions were formed and left the chapel whilst Mendelssohn’s -<i>Wedding March</i> pealed forth from the organ and the cannon thundered in the -Long Walk. Her Majesty interchanged salutations with her relatives, after -which her own procession departed, and the regal pageant was suddenly dissolved. -After the signing of the register, which took place in the Green -drawing-room, the bride and bridegroom were conducted to the State -drawing-room, where the Royal guests had assembled, and where the -usual congratulations were exchanged. In the evening a grand State banquet -was given in St. George’s Hall, at which the health of the bride and bridegroom -and other toasts were honoured, Mr. John Brown, her Majesty’s -Scottish gillie, standing behind the Queen and giving, as her toastmaster, -the toast of the newly-wedded pair. Immediately after the toast of the -Queen—the last of the list—had been honoured, two of the Royal pipers -entered and marched twice round the tables playing Scottish airs, to the -astonishment of some of the guests, who had never heard such music before. -Then the Queen rose and left the hall, and the other guests quitted the -scene. The Duke and Duchess of Albany drove from the Castle, amidst a -shower of slippers and rice, to Claremont.</p> - -<p>Unusual interest was taken in this wedding, partly on account of the -splendour of the ceremony, and partly because it was understood that the -Duke of Albany had won a bride admirably suited to be the companion of -his refined and studious life. As he seemed destined to form a link between -the Court and Culture, so it was hoped that the Duchess might become</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_097" id="ill_097"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_004.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_004.jpg" width="619" height="337" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF ALBANY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Picture by Sir J. D. Linton, P.R.I., by Permission of the Glasgow Art Union.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_649" id="page_649">{649}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">the social head of a growing school ambitious of showing the world that -the lives of women of rank, need not necessarily be absorbed by frivolity -and philanthropy.</p> - -<p>After the marriage of Prince Leopold the Queen visited the East End to -open Epping Forest, which had been saved from further enclosure by the efforts -of the Corporation of London. On the 4th of December her Majesty also -visited in State the Royal Courts of Justice.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_098" id="ill_098"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_649.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_649.jpg" width="399" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MENTONE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Frith and Co., Reigate.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The death-roll of the year was a heavy one. On the 19th of April the -death of Charles Darwin robbed not only England but Europe of a singularly -original, painstaking, and conscientious scientific investigator. No man of his -stamp has so profoundly affected the thought of the Victorian age or surveyed -so wide a field of nature, in such a fair, patient, and humble spirit. His -keenness of observation was only equalled by his wonderful fertility of resource. -The caution with which he felt his way to just inductions, the unerring instinct -with which his eye detected, amidst the maze of bewildering phenomena, the true -path that led him to the secrets he sought to discover, and the masculine -sagacity with which he reconciled, under broad generalisations, facts seemingly -irreconcilable, confer immortality on the great work of his life. That work was -his demonstration of the extraordinary effect produced on every living thing by -the pressure of the conditions under which it lives—conditions which help or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_650" id="page_650">{650}</a></span> -hinder its existence or its reproduction. The organisms which are so formed -that they most easily meet the strain of these conditions survive, and their offspring -bend to the same destiny. In other words, those organisms that inherit -peculiarities of form and structure and stamina that best fit them to survive -in the struggle for life, live. Those that do not inherit these advantages die. -Such was the Darwinian hypothesis of Evolution, or the doctrine of Survival of -the Fittest, and it gave to Science an impetus not less revolutionary and far-reaching -than that which it received from the Baconian system.</p> - -<p>A trusted and valued friend and servant of the Queen passed away on the -3rd of December, when Dr. Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury, died after a long -and painful illness. Though he was not a man of brilliant parts, or commanding -intellect, he was the only Primate who, since the House of Brunswick ruled -England, had left a distinct mark on the Anglican Church. He was in truth -the only Primate, since the days of Tillotson, who had a definite policy, and a -will strong enough to carry it out. Tait’s policy was to make the Church of -England popular with the governing class of his day—that is to say, with the -intelligent and respectable <i>bourgeoisie</i>. So long as they supported the Church -it could, in his opinion, defy disestablishment; and it is but fair to say that -he secured for it their support. He never alarmed the average Englishman -by intellectuality, or irritated the middle classes by any obtrusive display of -culture. He was careful not to offend them by indecorous versatility. They -were never frightened by flashing wit, or bewildered by scholastic sophistry. -He was faithful and zealous in the discharge of his pastoral duties, generous -and tolerant to opponents, eager for what he called “comprehension,” slow in -the pursuit of heresy. In every relation of life he was the incarnation of -common sense and propriety. The Queen placed such unbounded confidence -in his judgment that it was generally supposed Dr. Tait virtually nominated -his successor. At all events, it was well known that Dr. Benson, Bishop of -Truro, who succeeded to the Primacy, was the candidate specially favoured by -the Sovereign, and that he was, of all the younger prelates, the one whom -Dr. Tait most desired to see reigning in his stead.</p> - -<p>The death of Garibaldi on June 2, and of M. Gambetta on December 31, profoundly -moved the English people. Garibaldi’s life of heroic adventure, unselfish -patriotism, and disinterested devotion to the cause of liberty, had endeared him -to the masses. M. Gambetta’s amazing energy in endeavouring to lift France -out of the mire of defeat in 1870 had won for him the admiration of the world. -His tempestuous eloquence gave him an almost magical power over the French -democracy, a power which he wielded for no sordid personal aims. If latterly -his policy seemed to revive the restless aggressive spirit of his countrymen, it -was admitted that he sought nothing save the glory of France. And yet for -Europe it may be conceded that the death of Gambetta was not a mishap. -Had he lived it would have been hard to have avoided a collision between -France and England in Egypt. He encouraged those who, in Paris and St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_651" id="page_651">{651}</a></span> -Petersburg, had for many years been intriguing for a Russo-French alliance -against Germany.<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a> His death and that of Garibaldi were followed by Signor -Mancini’s disclosure to the Italian Senate, of the adhesion of Italy to the -Austro-German Alliance, and the formation of the Triple League of Peace.<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_652" id="page_652">{652}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_099" id="ill_099"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_652.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_652.jpg" width="408" height="277" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LAMBETH PALACE.</p></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE INVINCIBLES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Married Women’s Property Act—The Opening of Parliament—Changes in the Cabinet—Arrest of Suspects -in Dublin—Invincibles on their Trial—Evidence of the Informer Carey—Carey’s Fate—The Forster-Parnell -Incident—National Gift to Mr. Parnell—The Affirmation Bill—The Bankruptcy and other Bills—Mr. Childers’ -Budget—The Corrupt Practices Bill—The “Farmers’ Friends”—Sir Stafford Northcote’s Leadership—The -Bright Celebration—Dynamite Outrages in London—The Explosives Act—M. de Lesseps and Mr. Gladstone—Blunders -in South Africa—The Ilbert Bill—The Attack on Lady Florence Dixie’s House—Death of John -Brown—His Career and Character—The Queen and the Consumption of Lamb—A Dull Holiday at Balmoral—Capsizing -of the <i>Daphne</i>—Prince Albert Victor made K.G.—France and Madagascar—Arrest of Rev. Mr. -Shaw—Settlement of the Dispute—Progress of the National League—Orange and Green Rivalry—The Leeds -Conference—“Franchise First”—Lord Salisbury and the Housing of the Poor—Mr. Besant and East London—“Slumming”—Hicks -Pasha’s Disastrous Expedition in the Soudan—Mr. Gladstone on Jam.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">An</span> unnoticed Act of Parliament came into force on New Year’s Day, 1883, -which marked the progress of what may be termed the social revolution in -England. This was the Married Women’s Property Act, which had been -passed with very little debate in the previous Session. If it be true that the -position which women hold in a State is an unerring test of its standard of -civilisation, the reign of the Queen will be notable in history, as one in which -the social progress of England has been most rapid. In England, said J. S. -Mill, Woman has not been the favourite of the law, but its favourite victim. -During the last quarter of a century, however, this reproach has been wiped<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_653" id="page_653">{653}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_100" id="ill_100"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_653.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_653.jpg" height="386" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CHARLES DARWIN.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">away. Year by year new avenues of employment have been opened up to -women. One of the first acts of Mr. Fawcett when he became Postmaster-General -was to admit them to the service of the State. Parliament, under -the wise guidance of Mr. Forster, decided to give them a fair share of the -public endowments set aside for secondary education. They were afterwards -admitted to the benefits of University education; one of the learned professions—that -of medicine—was thrown open to them; and political enfranchisement -is even within their reach. But in 1883 the law for the first time -recognised the fact that married women could hold property, and abandoned -the barbaric doctrine that for women matrimony implied confiscation. The -Married Women’s Property Act, which was passed by Mr. Osborne Morgan, -did for the women of the people by law, what was done for women of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_654" id="page_654">{654}</a></span> -upper classes by marriage settlements. It gave a married woman an absolute -right to her earnings, so that her husband could no longer seize them under -his <i>jus mariti</i>. It gave her, in the absence of settlements, an indefeasible -right to any property she might have before or that might come to her after -marriage, so that she could use it as she pleased without her husband’s -interference. It made her contract as regards her own estate, as binding as -if she were a man, quite irrespective of her husband’s consent. On the other -hand, it of course released the husband from liability for all his wife’s debts, -unless she contracted them as his agent. That such an Act should have -been passed by a Parliament in which women were not represented, and in -which, till recently, arguments in favour of the emancipation of women from -a state of tutelage were disposed of by coarse jokes, speaks well for the -chivalry and high sense of justice that characterise British manhood.<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a></p> - -<p>The autumn Session of Parliament (which opened on the 24th of October, -1882) had been spent in a struggle over the new Procedure Rules, the Ministry -endeavouring to persuade the House of Commons to adopt the principle of -Closure, which the Conservatives opposed with all their strength. In this -struggle the Ministry won. They carried their Rules for checking obstruction, -and so when Parliament met, on the 15th of February, 1883, it was -expected that the Session would be a busy one. The composition of the -Cabinet had been considerably changed during the previous year. Mr. -Bright and Mr. Forster had left it, Mr. Bright’s secession being due to his -disapproval of the bombardment of Alexandria; Lord Derby had now become -Secretary to the Colonies; Lord Kimberley had gone to the India Office; -Lord Hartington was Secretary for War; Mr. Childers, Chancellor of the -Exchequer; and Mr. Dodson, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Sir<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_655" id="page_655">{655}</a></span> -Charles Dilke entered the Cabinet as President of the Local Government -Board. As Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs he was succeeded by Lord -Edmond Fitzmaurice, a painstaking but unsteady Whig. The din of the extra-Parliamentary -strife of the recess was stilled, and the House of Commons, -like the country, was in a mood to welcome Liberal measures carried out -in a conservative spirit. Among those announced in the Queen’s Speech -were Bills for codifying the criminal law, for establishing a Court of Criminal -Appeal, for amending the Bankruptcy, Patent, and Ballot Acts, for reforming -Local Government, and for improving the government of London.</p> - -<p>It was inevitable that Ireland should form the most prominent topic in -the Debate on the Address, because the country had scarcely recovered from -the tale of horror which had been unfolded by those who were tracking the -murderers of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke to their lairs. On the -13th of January seventeen men were arrested in Dublin, and on the 20th -they were, with three others, charged with conspiring to murder Government -officials. For the most part they were artisans of the inferior order, but one, -James Carey, was a builder and contractor, and a member of the Dublin Town -Council. Under the pressure of examination two of these men, Farrell and -Kavanagh, turned informers. Carey, finding that other members of the gang -were going to save their necks, offered to betray the conspiracy of which he -had been the guiding organiser. From his evidence, it appeared that after -Mr. Forster had put all the popular leaders of the Irish people in gaol, a -band of desperadoes, called “the Invincibles,” was formed for the purpose of -“making history,” by “removing obnoxious Irish officials.” Though an attempt -was made to show that the “Invincibles” were agents of the Land League, -the only evidence in favour of this supposition rested on a statement which -Carey admitted he had made. Two emissaries from America furnished the -“Invincibles” with their funds, and Carey said that he thought they “perhaps” -got the money from the Land League. He also said that the knives used for -the Phœnix Park murders were delivered in Ireland by a woman, whom he -took to be Mrs. Frank Byrne, wife of a Land League official. When, however, -he was confronted with Mrs. Byrne he could not identify her. It is only -just to add that the diary of Mullett, one of the accused, was full of expressions -of scorn for the constitutional Home Rule agitators. We may therefore -safely infer that after Mr. Forster had suppressed the Land League and put -its chiefs in prison, what happened in Ireland is what has happened in -every country. For open agitation were substituted secret societies, and midnight -assassins took the place of constitutional leaders. The conspirators -appear to have long dogged Mr. Forster’s steps, but failed to get a chance of -killing him. They had no desire to attack Lord Frederick Cavendish; indeed, -till he was pointed out to them, they did not know him by sight. He -perished on the 6th of May because he defended his companion, Mr. Burke, -who had been marked for “removal.” Carey was the man who had given the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_656" id="page_656">{656}</a></span> -signal for the advance of the murderers, and he was also base enough afterwards, -at a meeting of the Home Manufacturers’ Association, to propose that -a vote of condolence should be sent to Lady Frederick Cavendish. The end -of it all was that five of the conspirators, Brady, Curley, Fagan, Caffrey, and -Kelly, were hanged. Delaney, Fitzharris, and Mullett were sent to penal -servitude for life, and the others to penal servitude for various terms. True -bills were found against three individuals, Walsh, Sheridan, and Tynan, the -last said to be the envoy who supplied the “Invincibles” with money, and -who was only known to Carey as “Number One.” Carey was shot dead at -the Cape of Good Hope by a man called O’Donnell, when on his way to a -refuge in a British Colony, an offence for which O’Donnell was tried at the -Old Bailey and hanged.</p> - -<p>It was whilst the country was thrilled by Carey’s revelations that Mr. -Gorst raised the Irish Question in an amendment to the Address, urging -that no more concessions be made by the Government to Irish agitation. -The House resounded with attacks on Mr. Parnell, who was reminded that -Sheridan, against whom a true bill of murder had been found as the result of -Carey’s evidence, was the same individual, whose aid in suppressing outrages -he had promised to the Government. Mr. Parnell was accordingly charged -with conniving at murder, the loudest of his accusers being Mr. Forster, who -raked up the old story of the Kilmainham Treaty, when he delivered his indictment -of Mr. Parnell on the 22nd of February. Mr. Parnell did not reply till -next day. Then he contemptuously told the House that he could hold no commerce -with Mr. Forster, whom he considered as an informer in relation to -the secrets of his late colleagues, nay, as an informer who had not even -the pretext of Carey, “namely, the miserable one of saving his own life.” The -<i>hauteur</i> and bitterness of the speech, despite its closely-knit argument, disproving -the allegation that the Home Rule leaders were consciously associated -with the “Invincibles,” or could be held responsible for what was going on in -Ireland after Mr. Forster had locked them up, greatly inflamed public opinion. -Mr. Parnell stood charged with being the head of a constitutional agitation, -some of the agents of which were now shown to be chiefs of secret societies of -assassins. Without assuming that he had anything to do with the hidden lives -or proceedings of these men, the public condemned Mr. Parnell because he did -not, at a moment when their deeds had horrified the country, denounce their -wickedness. In Ireland, however, his conduct excited the warmest admiration. -Mr. Forster’s taunts he had met with supercilious disdain, and he had told -Parliament that he did not care to justify himself to any one but the Irish -people, who did not require him to prove that he was not an accomplice of -Carey’s. A movement to present Mr. Parnell with a national testimonial was -accordingly started, and the subscriptions to it ultimately reached £40,000. -Mr. Forster’s attack on Mr. Parnell, at a moment when the House was excited -by Carey’s evidence, may have been ungenerous. But it is to it that Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_657" id="page_657">{657}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_101" id="ill_101"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_657.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_657.jpg" width="611" height="414" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ROUND TOWER, WINDSOR CASTLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_658" id="page_658">{658}</a></span></p> - -<p>Parnell owes the release of his family estate from the encumbrances that he -inherited. Parliament soon grew sick of the Irish Question in 1883.</p> - -<p>Mr. Bradlaugh, however, furnished the House of Commons once more with -a personal diversion. Lord Hartington’s pledge that the Attorney-General -would bring in an Affirmation Bill was followed by an undertaking from Mr. -Bradlaugh, that he would not press his claim to be sworn till the fate of -this measure had been determined. Though the arguments for and against -such a project had already been thrashed out, it was debated for a fortnight, -the Tories straining every effort to waste time over its discussion. Finally -it was defeated by a vote of 292 to 289; and when Mr. Bradlaugh wrote -to the Speaker claiming his right to take the oath, Sir Stafford Northcote -carried a resolution prohibiting him from doing so. On the 9th of July, -in reply to Mr. Bradlaugh’s threat to treat this decision as invalid, Sir -Stafford revived the resolution excluding him from the precincts of the House. -Mr. Bradlaugh then brought an action against the Serjeant-at-Arms for -enforcing this order, which the Attorney-General was instructed to defend.</p> - -<p>The only real progress made by the Government with business before -Easter was with the Bankruptcy Bill, the main object of which was to provide -for an independent examination into all circumstances of insolvency, to -be conducted by officials of the Board of Trade. It was read a second -time and referred to the Grand Committee on Trade, who sent it back to -the House of Commons on the 25th of June. The House of Lords passed it -without cavil, and Mr. Chamberlain, who had charge of the measure, was -congratulated on the ability and tact which he had displayed in conducting -it. The Patents Bill, which reduced inventors’ fees, had the same happy -history as the Bankruptcy Bill, in whose wake it followed. The Law Bills of -the Ministry were less fortunate. The Bill establishing a Court of Appeal in -criminal cases was fiercely opposed by the Tories, under the leadership of Sir -Richard Cross, Sir Hardinge Giffard, and Mr. Gibson. It was before the -Grand Committee on Law from the 2nd of April till the 26th of June, -when it was reported to the House and dropped by the Government. The -Criminal Code Bill was read a second time on the 12th of April, in spite of -the hostility of the Irish Party, who resisted one of the provisions enabling -magistrates to examine suspected persons. In the Standing Committee, however, -the Bill was so pertinaciously obstructed by Lord Randolph Churchill, -Mr. Gorst, and Sir H. D. Wolff, that Sir Henry James abandoned it in -despair. When Sir Henry James mentioned this fact in the House of -Commons on the 21st of June, Sir H. D. Wolff asked Mr. Gladstone derisively -“whether, having regard to the signal success of the principle of -delegation and devolution,” he intended to refer any other Bills to Grand -Committees. This question was accentuated by loud outbursts of mocking -laughter from Lord Randolph Churchill, which, Mr. Gladstone declared, -rendered it impossible for him even to hear the terms of the interpellation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_659" id="page_659">{659}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Budget was introduced on the 5th of April by Mr. Childers, who -stated that his estimated revenue and expenditure for the coming year would -be £88,480,000 and £85,789,000. This showed a comfortable surplus which he -exhausted by taking 1-1/2d. off the Income Tax, by making provisions to meet -an expected loss on the introduction of sixpenny telegrams, by reductions -on railway passenger duty, and by slight changes in the gun licence and -in tax-collection. He also carried, in spite of strenuous opposition, a Bill -to reduce the National Debt. By this Bill Mr. Childers created £40,000,000 -of Chancery Stock into terminable annuities for twenty years, to follow those -expiring in 1885. Then he created £30,000,000 of Savings Bank Stock into -shorter annuities. As each fell in, it was to be followed by a longer one, so -as to absorb the margin between the actual interest on the Debt and the -sum set aside for its permanent service, thus hypothecating the taxes of the -future. Mr. Childers promised, by his system, to wipe out £172,000,000 of -debt in twenty years.</p> - -<p>The Corrupt Practices Bill was read a second time on the 4th of June, -and it not only restricted expenditure on elections, but inflicted stringent -penalties for bribery and intimidation in every form, making candidates -responsible for the acts of their agents, prohibiting the use of public-houses -as committee-rooms, and the payment of conveyances to bring voters to the -poll. The Tories, the Parnellites, and one or two Radicals like Mr. Peter -Rylands, fought hard to relax the stringency of the measure. It was obstructed -in Committee, but ultimately passed both Houses with no important -alterations. The Agricultural Holdings Bill was also strongly opposed. It -gave tenants a right to compensation for improvements, which was to be -inalienable by contract. The most important amendment, which was moved -and carried by Mr. A. J. Balfour, limiting compensation to the actual outlay, -represented the spirit in which the Opposition sought to destroy the utility -of the Bill. As Mr. Clare Sewell Read (one of the Conservatives who represented -the agricultural interests) observed, this amendment enabled the landlord -to say to the tenant, “Heads I win; tails you lose. If your improvement -succeeds, I get the profit out of it, and you only the outlay; if it does not -succeed, you get the loss.” The amendment was struck out on Report, and, -though the House of Lords tried to mutilate the Bill, their worst amendments -were rejected by the Commons, and the measure passed. The controversy -in the House of Lords was remarkable for Lord Salisbury’s failure -to hold his Party at the end firm to the policy of resistance. A useful Bill -prohibiting payment of wages in public-houses was also passed. Nor was -Ireland neglected. The Tramways Act enabled Irish Local Authorities to construct, -with the support of Government guarantees, tramways and light railways, -and the Government further assented to provisions to promote by State -aid a scheme for transferring labourers from “congested” to thinly-peopled -districts. In August a Bill was passed setting apart a portion of the Irish<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_660" id="page_660">{660}</a></span> -Church surplus to promote the building of fishing harbours. A useful Irish -Registration Bill was rejected by the Peers, but Mr. T. P. O’Connor contrived -to pass a Bill enabling Rural Sanitary Authorities to borrow money -from the Government for the construction of labourers’ cottages. It cannot, -however, be said that the Irish Members were grateful for these measures. -They still pursued their favourite policy of exasperation, and their alliance -with the Tories led to a more systematic and daring use of obstruction than -had ever been seen in the House of Commons. At first Sir Stafford Northcote -seemed unwilling to countenance obstructive tactics; but Lord Randolph -Churchill’s bitter attacks on his leadership in the <i>Times</i> (April 2), and the -impatience of the Tory Party, forced the hesitating hand of their leader in -the Commons. The evil assumed such serious dimensions that Mr. Bright -denounced at Birmingham, in terms of indignant eloquence,<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a> “the men who -now afflict the House, and who from night to night insult the majesty of the -British people.” Thus it came to pass, as the <i>Times</i> said in its review of -the Session, that “the main part of the legislation of the year, with the -exception of one or two Bills, was huddled together, and hustled through in -both Houses during the month of August, amidst an ever-dwindling attendance -of Members.” There was only one Bill which was not obstructed—the -Explosives Act; in fact, it was passed in a panic. The events that led -to its production were somewhat startling. On the night of the 15th of -March an attempt was made to blow up the Local Government Board Offices -in Whitehall by dynamite, and about the same time a similar outrage was -perpetrated on the offices of the <i>Times</i> in Printing House Square. Guards of -soldiers and police were immediately posted at all places likely to be attacked, -and the connection of these crimes with the seizures of dynamite which -were from time to time made by the police in provincial towns, and the -arrest of eight conspirators engaged in the “dynamite war” at Liverpool -in March, could scarcely be doubted. On the 9th of April Sir William -Harcourt’s Explosives Act was therefore carried through both Houses after<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_661" id="page_661">{661}</a></span> -an unavailing protest from Lord Salisbury, who complained that the Peers -were taken by surprise.<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a> After the Bill had become law packages of dynamite -were seized at Leicester and Cupar-Fife; four men were condemned at -Liverpool as dynamitards; several arrests were made at Glasgow; and on the -30th of October there were two explosions in the tunnel of the Metropolitan -Railway—between Westminster and Charing Cross, and between Praed Street -and Edgware Road.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_102" id="ill_102"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_661.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_661.jpg" width="399" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL, KENSINGTON.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Egypt furnished the Opposition with many opportunities for embarrassing -the Ministry. Lord Hartington had seriously damaged the <i>prestige</i> of the -Government by his pusillanimous declaration at the opening of the Session -that the English troops would be recalled from Egypt in six months. Though -Mr. Gladstone, on his return from Cannes, was compelled to throw his colleague -over and explain that this statement was purely conjectural, the distrust which -Lord Hartington had inspired could not be completely eradicated. A more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_662" id="page_662">{662}</a></span> -serious difficulty, however, arose out of the exorbitant tolls which the Suez -Canal Company levied on the shipping trade. Yielding to the pressure of -shipping and commercial interests, Mr. Gladstone sanctioned an agreement by -which M. de Lesseps was to provide additional accommodation by digging a -second canal. He was also to reduce the tolls gradually, and admit a few -Englishmen to his Board of Management. In return the British Government -were to procure him the concession of the land for the second canal, and -enable him to raise a loan of £8,000,000 at 3-1/4 per cent. A storm of opposition -was raised to this project, on the ground that it recognised M. de -Lesseps’s monopoly to the canalisation of the Isthmus of Suez. The agreement, -which was announced on the 28th of April, was abandoned on the 23rd of July.</p> - -<p>In South Africa the policy of the Government was attacked during the -Session on the ground that it connived at the oppression of the native chiefs -by the Boers, who were not carrying out the Transvaal Convention. The -restoration and overthrow of Cetewayo also provoked criticism, but the verdict -of the country was that the debates all ended in demonstrating one point, -which was this: the existing tangle of affairs in South Africa was entirely -due to the policy of the late Government, and the existing Government -had not been able to discover any way of satisfactorily neutralising the -blunders of their predecessors. But no question arising in British dependencies -created so much strife as the Indian Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill, -popularly called the Ilbert Bill. Lord Lytton had laid down a rule whereby -every year one-sixth of the vacancies in the Indian Civil Service must be filled -up by natives. As they advanced in the Magistracy and became eligible for -service as District Magistrates and Sessions Judges, a difficulty arose. Either -they must, like European officials of the same grades, be allowed to try -Europeans as well as native offenders against the Criminal Law, or they must -be virtually wasted. Moreover, an offensive slight must be put on the Indian -servants of the Empress, by prohibiting them from exercising all the functions -pertaining to their grade and rank. In Presidency towns no difficulty arose. -There native magistrates of this grade were allowed to have jurisdiction over -Europeans, the theory being that they acted under the moral censorship of a -European press. But in country districts it was alleged that they could not -be trusted. In fact, European magistrates must, according to the opponents -of the Bill, be found for every district in which even a handful of Europeans -were living. Yet, as Lord Lytton had diminished the number of Europeans in -the Service and put natives in their places, a serious administrative difficulty -might be created if the native judges were not entrusted with the duties of -the Europeans whom they had displaced. An explosion of race-hatred was -the result of the Ilbert Bill, and the same class of Anglo-Indians who -denounced “Clemency” Canning during the “White Terror” of 1857, now -denounced Lord Ripon in the same violent language. They even attempted to -induce the Volunteers to resign, and Sir Donald Stewart, the Commander-in-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_663" id="page_663">{663}</a></span>Chief, -who, like Sir Frederick Roberts, supported the measure, condemned the -“wicked and criminal attempts” which the opponents of the Bill had made -to stir up animosity against the Government in the Army. Ultimately a -compromise was arrived at, by which a European when tried before a native -judge could claim a jury, of which not less than one-half must consist of -Europeans or Americans. Curiously enough, at the time this controversy was -being developed into a fierce antagonism of races in India, tidings came to -England to the effect that a tribe in Orissa had begun to worship the Queen -as a goddess.<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a> When the natives on the frontier elevated General John -Nicholson to the dignity of a god, the stout soldier used to order his worshippers -to be flogged for their idolatry. Whether any official steps were -taken to discourage a cult that might have rendered the Queen-Empress -ridiculous, was never known. The sect who took her for their deity seems to -have vanished from Indian history.</p> - -<p>The Queen played but a slight part in public life in the early part of -1883. Whilst at Osborne in January she awarded the Albert Medal to the -survivors of the gallant exploring party who distinguished themselves by saving -life at the Baddesley Colliery Explosion in May, 1882, and she sent to the -Mayor of Bradford an expression of sympathy with the sufferers from the fall -of a great chimney stack in that town at the end of the year—a disaster -involving the sacrifice of fifty-three lives. On the 14th of February her -Majesty held a Council at Windsor, and revised the Royal Speech for the -opening of the Session. On the 19th of February she attended the funeral -of Pay-Sergeant Mayo, of the Coldstream Guards, at Windsor, who had died -suddenly whilst on duty at the Castle, and on the same day, owing to the -Prince of Wales holding the opening levee of the season on her behalf, -her Majesty was able to be present as one of the sponsors at the baptism -of the infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught at Windsor. -On the 6th and 13th of March, however, her Majesty held Drawing Rooms at -Buckingham Palace. On the 17th of March Lady Florence Dixie alleged that -a murderous attack had been made on her in the shrubbery of her house at -Windsor, by two men disguised as women. As her ladyship had been writing -a good deal on the Irish Question, and as the town was in a panic over the -dynamite war waged by the Fenians against public buildings, it was suggested -that this outrage might have been planned by one of the Irish Secret -Societies. Investigation, however, indicated that Lady Florence must have -been labouring under a mistake, and the incident would have passed out -of sight but for its effect on the Queen’s peace of mind. Lady Florence -Dixie’s story had alarmed the Queen, showing her, as it did, that there was -peril almost at the doors of Windsor Castle. Her Majesty sent Lord Methuen, -Lady Ely, and Sir Henry Ponsonby with messages of sympathy to Lady<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_664" id="page_664">{664}</a></span> -Florence Dixie, and finally the Queen’s personal attendant, Mr. John Brown, -was despatched to examine the ground and report on the circumstances of -the outrage. He caught a chill in the shrubbery of Lady Florence Dixie’s -villa, and when he returned to Windsor Castle complained of being ill. -He died of erysipelas on the 27th of March, the day after the daughter of -the Duke and Duchess of Albany was christened. Brown was the son of a -tenant of Colonel Farquharson’s and began life as gillie to the Prince Consort. -For nineteen years he was the personal attendant of the Queen, and no -servant was ever so completely trusted by a royal master or mistress. “John -Brown,” writes the Queen in a note to her “Leaves from the Journal of Our -Life in the Highlands,” “in 1858 became my regular attendant out of doors -everywhere in the Highlands. He commenced as gillie in 1859, and was -selected by Albert and me to go with my carriage. In 1857 he entered our -service permanently, and began in that year leading my pony, and advanced -step by step by his good conduct and intelligence. His attentive care and -faithfulness cannot be exceeded, and the state of my health, which of late -years has been sorely tried and weakened, renders such qualifications most -valuable, and, indeed, most needful upon all occasions. He has since most -deservedly been promoted to be an upper servant and my permanent personal -attendant (December, 1865). He has all the independence and elevated feelings -peculiar to the Highland race, and is singularly straightforward, simple-minded, -kind-hearted, and disinterested, always ready to oblige, and of a -discretion rarely to be met with.” By all accounts Brown seems to have -been an honest brusque sort of man, whose fidelity to his master and mistress -won their entire confidence. Extraordinary stories were told in Society of -his influence over the Queen, and of the almost despotic authority which he -wielded over the Royal Family. Even the highest officers of the Royal Household -had to speak him fairly, otherwise trouble came to them. He attended -the Queen in all her walks and drives, and had the privilege of speaking to -her with the rough candour in which he habitually indulged, on any subject -he chose to talk about. He had often been engaged in services of a delicate -nature for the Royal Family, and it was said that nothing could be said or -done, no matter how secretly, at or about the Court, without his immediately -knowing of it. Löhlein, the Prince Consort’s old valet, was the only person -in the Household whom Brown never dared to meddle with. Through the -<i>Court Circular</i> the Queen bewailed the “grievous shock” she felt at the -“irreparable loss” of “an honest, faithful, and devoted follower, a trustworthy, -discreet, and straightforward man,” whose fidelity “had secured -for himself the real friendship of the Queen.” This grief was not only -natural but eminently creditable to her. Brown had for years been the -guardian of her life, and in the case of Connor’s attack he had defended -her with the grim courage of his race. But for him her Majesty could not -have enjoyed that freedom of movement out of doors which had been of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_665" id="page_665">{665}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_103" id="ill_103"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_665.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_665.jpg" width="263" height="397" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>JOHN BROWN.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co., Aberdeen.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">vital consequence to her health and strength. Old servants, when possessed -of Brown’s sterling qualities of manhood, in process of time gradually pass -into the category of old friends. Their lives become intertwined in many -ways with the life of the family to which they are attached. Their death -leaves behind it in the hearts of their masters and mistresses the sting of a -personal bereavement. This was, in a special sense, the case with the Queen, -whose fate it has been to see the circle of old familiar faces round her contracting -every year. Her expressions of sorrow over Brown’s grave, though -they provoked rude criticism, merely gave expression to a sentiment of melancholy -which was the natural outgrowth of her life of “lonely splendour.”<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_666" id="page_666">{666}</a></span></p> - -<p>From the 18th of April to the 8th of May the Court was at Osborne, and -the state of the Queen’s health was such as to cause her medical advisers some -concern. The dynamite scare, a slight accident that had happened to her -through slipping on the stairs at Windsor Castle, the deaths of her friend -Mrs. Stonor<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a> and her attendant, Brown—all contributed to produce an attack -of nervous debility that could only be remedied by repose.</p> - -<p>In the third week of April the Queen created quite a panic among the -sheep farmers and the fashionable purveyors of the large towns. She had read -many gloomy articles in the papers, lamenting the decrease in the number of -English sheep. Instead of anticipating, by a few days, the appearance of -Easter lamb at the Royal table, as did Napoleon I. on one occasion, her Majesty -notified that no lamb would be consumed in her Household. The effect of the -notice was magical. The price of lamb went down in a few hours to 4d. a -pound, and farmers, who had at enormous expense bred and fed large stocks of -lamb for the Easter market, saw bankruptcy staring them in the face. The -economic fallacy was obvious. The Queen forgot that the slaughter of lambs -which were bred for the butcher, and which but for the Easter market -would not be bred at all, was not the cause of the scarcity of sheep. In -a few weeks the notice was withdrawn.</p> - -<p>Though the Queen was still unable to walk, yet on the 8th of May she -was so much benefited by her holiday at Osborne, that she was able, -under the care of the Princess Beatrice, to return to Windsor. On the -26th of May, though still in feeble health, she went to Balmoral. Extraordinary -precautions were taken to prevent the time-table of the Royal -train on this occasion from being published, and her Majesty sent orders -from Windsor that spectators must be excluded from the stations at which -she stopped. Railway directors were not even allowed to be present when -her Majesty arrived at Ferryhill station, Aberdeen, from whence she drove -to Balmoral by the road on the south side of the Dee—a road she had -never taken before. Life at Balmoral was gloomy, for all the old festivities -had been stopped, and everybody was in deep mourning for John -Brown. The Queen hardly ever left her own grounds, and the Court gladly -returned to Windsor on the 23rd of June. On the 3rd of July a shocking -accident occurred near Glasgow, which deeply impressed the mind of -the Queen. As a new steamer, the <i>Daphne</i>, was being launched from -Messrs. Stephen’s Yard she heeled over and sank. A hundred and fifty -lives were lost, and the Queen not only sent a message of sympathy to the -survivors, but a subscription of £200 to a fund raised for their relief. The -Court removed to Osborne on the 24th of July, where a few days later the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_667" id="page_667">{667}</a></span> -Queen received M. Waddington, the new French Ambassador. On the 24th -of August her Majesty left Osborne for Balmoral, which she reached on the -following day. She conferred the Order of the Garter on her grandson, -Prince Albert Victor of Wales, on the 4th of September. It was thought -strange that this distinction should be granted to the Prince whilst he was -still a minor: George IV., for example, was not admitted to the Order till long -after he had come of age. What was stranger still was that the investiture -should have been a private function, conducted in the drawing-room at Balmoral, -and not a public ceremonial in St. George’s Chapel. The exceptional -character of the distinction was a proof of the high favour in which her -Majesty held her grandson. Excursions to Braemar, Glassalt Shiel, Glen -Cluny, and the neighbourhood were made during September. The Duke and -Duchess of Connaught visited her Majesty in October on the eve of their -departure for India, and the ex-Empress Eugénie, who was at Abergeldie, -came to her almost every day, and long excursions in the bleak scenery of -the Aberdeenshire mountains were organised for the Royal party. It was -not till the 21st of November that the Court came back to Windsor—the -same day on which the Duke and Duchess of Connaught landed at Bombay. -After her return the Queen seems to have been engrossed with business to -an unusual extent—much of it relating to troublesome private matters, and -it was stated that her Majesty and Sir Henry Ponsonby during the first -week had to work together for five and six hours at a stretch, ere they -could overtake their task. Every day, however, the Queen drove in the -Park, and every evening she gave a dinner-party, to which not more than -fifteen guests were invited. On the 12th of December her Majesty received -the Siamese Envoys, and it was intimated that she intended to raise the -poet Laureate to the Peerage. On the 18th of December the Court removed -to Osborne, where Christmas-tide was spent.</p> - -<p>Politically and socially the Recess of 1883 was full of interest. Just as -Parliament was prorogued Mr. Gladstone and Lord Granville brought an -irritating controversy with France to a close. In the spring, Admiral Pierre -had been sent with a squadron to enforce French claims of sovereignty over -a portion of the north-west of Madagascar. In the course of operations -at Tamatave the Admiral had behaved rudely to the British Consul. He had -insulted the commander of H.M.S. <i>Dryad</i>, and he had illegally arrested and -imprisoned Mr. Shaw, an English missionary. Mr. Gladstone had alluded -gravely, but in terms of studied moderation and courtesy, to these events in -the House of Commons. The Opposition, however, harried him with attacks; -and all over the land Conservative writers and speakers denounced the Government -for its cowardly subservience to France. The only effect which these -indiscreet criticisms could have was obviously to convince France that she ran -no risk in refusing reparation to the Englishmen whom her agents had injured. -Fortunately the Government of the French Republic had a keen sense of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_668" id="page_668">{668}</a></span> -justice. It did not misunderstand the firm but temperate tone of the English -Foreign Office; and the French Government accordingly offered an apology -and compensation to Mr. Shaw. It turned out that Admiral Pierre, who -died in France soon after his recall, had been suffering from an exhausting -disease at the time he had offended Captain Johnstone of the <i>Dryad</i>. There -was no disposition on either side, therefore, to exaggerate the personal aspect -of the question, and the dispute ended in a manner highly creditable to -the diplomacy of both nations.</p> - -<p>In Ireland the National League, which had been founded in 1882 as a -continuation of the old Land League, was extending its organisation. Mr. -Healy’s electoral victory in Monaghan suggested that an attack should be -made on the last stronghold of the Unionist Party in Ireland. League -meetings were therefore held in Ulster; but the Orangemen, terrified by -this invasion of Home Rulers into their loyal territory, attempted to repel it -by force. They organised rival meetings, and planned armed attacks on the -Leaguers. Occasionally Mr. Trevelyan had to suppress the demonstrations of -both “Orange” and “Green” by proclamation. In England the Recess was -one of stormy political agitation. The Liberal Party felt that it was necessary -to submit some measure to Parliament in 1884, on which, if need be, they -might risk an appeal to the constituencies. Hence, at Leeds, their provincial -leaders and delegates resolved to press a measure of Parliamentary Reform on -the country. A small minority, who urged that the reform of the Municipality -of London and of County and Local Government should have the first -place, were overruled by those who raised the famous cry of “Franchise -first.” The Tory leaders, when they spoke on the subject, merely suggested -that the problem of Parliamentary Reform was encumbered with difficulties. -For some time the Liberal leaders rarely spoke save to contradict each other -either as to the order of legislation in the coming Session, or as to -whether, if Household Suffrage were extended to the counties, the Redistribution -of Seats would be dealt with by a separate Bill. During the Recess, Sir -Stafford Northcote roused the Conservatism of North Wales and Ulster. -Lord Salisbury attempted to thrill his party with terror by an article in the -<i>Quarterly Review</i>, bewailing the “disintegration” of English society under Mr. -Gladstone’s malefic influence; and in another periodical—the <i>National Review</i>—he -appealed strongly for popular support by a strong semi-Socialistic -paper advocating the better housing of the poor. In fact, the end of 1883 -and the beginning of 1884 will be long remembered for an outbreak of <i>dilletante</i> -Socialism among the upper classes. The powerful pen of a gifted -novelist had revealed, as by flashes of lightning, the unexplored regions of -the East End of London. In fact, Mr. Walter Besant’s vivid pictures of its -dull grey life of toil, varied only by hunger, and ending only in death, had -seared the conscience, if they had not touched the heart, of a brilliant society -of pleasure. Beneath the bright wit and mocking humour of the satirist,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_669" id="page_669">{669}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_104" id="ill_104"></a> -<a name="ill_105" id="ill_105"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_669.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_669.jpg" width="417" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p> -THE PARISH CHURCH, CRATHIE. -<span style="margin-left:10%;">BRAEMAR CASTLE.</span><br /> -</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">there glowed the fire and fervour of the prophet; and when a voice which, -like Mr. Besant’s, had the ear of a hundred millions of English-speaking -people, preached in the most fascinating of parables the doctrine that Wealth -owes, and ever will owe, an undischarged duty to Poverty—a mighty impetus -was given to the cause of social reform. Hands swift to do good were -stretched forth from the West End -to the East End, and a movement -destined to realise, in the Jubilee -Year of the Victorian era, some of -Mr. Besant’s ideals in “All Sorts -and Conditions of Men,” -was now initiated. Unfortunately -it was vulgarised -by much imposture at the outset. The pace of three London seasons had -been unusually rapid, and Society at this juncture had exhausted its resources -of amusement and its capacities for pleasure. The town was fuller -than usual, for Cabinet Councils had been unwontedly early; and the great -families who flock to London when they get the first hint that the autumnal -period of political intrigue has set in, had abandoned their country houses -sooner in the year than was customary. The theatres were unattractive. -The Fisheries Exhibition had closed; and the world of fashion was hungry -for some fresh object of interest. Like Matthew Arnold’s patrician, though<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_670" id="page_670">{670}</a></span> -Society made its feast and crowned its brows with roses in the winter of -1883-4, it was still left lamenting that</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“No easier and no quicker passed<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The impracticable hours.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The movement in philanthropy which Mr. Besant’s writings originated, and -which Lord Salisbury’s essay on the Housing of the Poor stamped with the -imprimatur of British respectability, was just what was needed to supply a -stimulus to which the blunted nerves of the idlest pleasure-seeker would -respond. In the days of Lord Tom Noddy and Sir Carnaby Jenks persons -of quality in similar circumstances would have gone to see a man hanged. -Some years later, as M. Henri Taine notes, they would have applied for an -escort of police and inspected the thieves’ kitchens and other hideous lairs of -crime. Now, under escorts of enchanted philanthropists, lay and clerical, -male and female, curious parties were organised in the West End to visit the -slums, just as they were arranged to visit the opera. These amateur explorers -were, indeed, dubbed “slummers” by cynical writers in the Press; and -the verb to “slum” almost made good its footing in the English vocabulary. -Few of these strange visitors remained behind in the East End to help in -the work of charity whose objects excited their morbid curiosity. It was -also an untoward coincidence that of these few some of the most fussy and -bustling subsequently figured conspicuously in the Divorce Court.</p> - -<p>It had been the intention of the Government to reduce the number of the -troops in Egypt, and some hint of this had been given by Mr. Gladstone at -the Lord Mayor’s banquet in the Guildhall. But before the plan could be -carried out a catastrophe happened in Egypt which interfered with it. It -had always been the ambition of the Khedivial family to extend their -dominion to the Equator. They had drained Egypt of men and money -to conquer that vast and difficult region known as the Soudan, and under -the pretext of suppressing the slave trade, they had endeavoured to sanctify -their policy of costly conquest. When, however, disturbances broke out in -Lower Egypt, the wild tribes of the Soudan, ever ready to revolt against the -Egyptians or “Turks,” whom they regarded as brutal extortioners, joined -the standards of a pretended prophet, called the Mahdi, and Colonel Hicks, -a retired Indian officer, was sent with an Egyptian army to suppress the -rising. The British Government sanctioned, but gave no aid to the expedition. -By their foolish policy they made themselves morally responsible for its -fate without taking steps to make its success a certainty. In November Hicks -Pasha and his army were cut to pieces at El Obeid, and Egyptian authority -in the Soudan was represented by a few beleaguered garrisons at such places -as Khartoum, Suakim, and Sinkat. The British Government dissuaded Tewfik -Pasha from trying to re-conquer the Soudan, but advised him merely to relieve -the garrisons and hold the Red Sea coast and the Nile Valley as far<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_671" id="page_671">{671}</a></span> -as Wady Halfa. By thus blocking the only outlets for its produce the insurrection -in the province might be strangled. Here the Ministry delivered -themselves into the hands of their enemies. If they tried to re-conquer -the Soudan the Tories could denounce a blood-guilty policy that wasted the -substance of Egypt to gratify Khedivial ambition. If they induced Tewfik -Pasha to let the Soudan alone, they could be denounced for abandoning one -of the conquests of civilisation to barbarism and the slave trade. But in -the first weeks of 1884 there was a lull in political agitation, which was only -partially broken by Mr. Gladstone’s address to his tenants at the Hawarden -Rent Dinner on the 9th of January. It was in this speech that he advised -farmers groaning under prolonged agricultural distress, aggravated by an outbreak -of foot-and-mouth disease, to seek consolation in pensive reflection on the -Hares and Rabbits Act, and in an energetic application of their industry to -the production of jam.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /><br /> -<small>GENERAL GORDON’S MISSION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Success of the Mahdi—Difficult Position of the Ministers—Their Egyptian Policy—General Gordon sent out to the -Soudan—Baker Pasha’s Forces Defeated—Sir S. Northcote’s Vote of Censure—The Errors on Both Sides—Why -not a Protectorate?—Gordon in Khartoum—Zebehr, “King of the Slave-traders”—Attacks on Gordon—Osman -Digna Twice Defeated—Treason in Khartoum—Gordon’s Vain Appeals—Financial Position of -Egypt—Abortive Conference of the Powers—Vote of Credit—The New Speaker—Mr. Bradlaugh <i>Redivivus</i>—Mr. -Childers’ Budget—The Coinage Bill—The Reform Bill—Household Franchise for the Counties—Carried -in the Commons—Thrown Out in the Lords—Agitation in the Country—The Autumn Session—“No Surrender”—Compromise—The -Franchise Bill Passed—The Nile Expedition—Murder of Colonel Stewart and Mr. -Frank Power—Lord Northbrook’s Mission—Ismail Pasha’s Claims—The “Scramble for Africa”—Coolness -with Germany—The Angra Pequena Dispute—Bismarck’s Irritation—Queensland and New Guinea—Death of -Lord Hertford—The Queen’s New Book—Death of the Duke of Albany—Character and Career of the Prince—The -Claremont Estate—The Queen at Darmstadt—Marriage of the Princess Victoria of Hesse—A Gloomy -Season—The Health Exhibition—The Queen and the Parliamentary Deadlock—The Abyssinian Envoys at -Osborne—Prince George of Wales made K.G.—The Court at Balmoral—Mr. Gladstone’s Visit to the Queen.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Parliament</span> met on the 5th of February, 1884. The Queen’s Speech admitted -that the unexpected success of the Mahdi in the Soudan had delayed -the evacuation of Cairo and the reduction of the British army of occupation. -It also referred to the steps that had been taken to relieve Khartoum by the -despatch of General Gordon—accompanied by Colonel Stewart—to that doomed -city. An imposing programme of domestic legislation was put forward. There -was to be a Reform Bill, a Bill to improve the government of London, and -legislation was promised dealing with shipping, railways, the government of -Scotland, education, Sunday Closing in Ireland, and intermediate education -in Wales. The Egyptian Policy of the Government was naturally -taken as the point for attack by the Opposition in the House of Lords and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_672" id="page_672">{672}</a></span> -in the House of Commons. The position of England in Egypt was now -so peculiar and embarrassing that any policy open to the Government was -open to objection. So far as the interests of the English and Egyptian -people were concerned, the best thing that could have been done for them -would have been to render the frontier at Wady Halfa impregnable, to -forbid any further interference with the Soudan, and to leave the Egyptian -garrisons and colonies there to make the best terms they could with the -Mahdi. This would not have been a noble or heroic, but it would have been -a sensible course, and it would have prevented the perfectly useless expenditure -of precious blood and treasure. On the other hand, only a Minister -unselfish enough to brave the obloquy which would be cast on him by his -rivals for adopting a sordid policy in the interests of his country, could venture -on such a policy. It would have been possible to a Bismarck, who can -boast that he will never break the bones of a Pomeranian grenadier for the -sake of the Eastern Question. It was not possible to Mr. Gladstone, some -of whose colleagues were already in a bellicose mood. Assuredly, too, it -would in 1884 have been unpopular with the electors. In foreign complications, -involving the issues of peace or war, their</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i10">“Affections are<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A sick man’s appetite, who desires most that<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Which would increase his evil.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Ministers therefore chose the course which, on the whole, divided the country -least. They decided to cut the connection between Egypt and the Soudan, -but at the same time to arrange for the safe return of the Egyptian garrisons -and colonists to Lower Egypt. They selected General Gordon—better known -as “Chinese” Gordon—who, as Gordon Pasha, had been Viceroy of the -Soudan, to make the best arrangements he could for the future of the -country, and bring back the garrisons and colonists in safety. Gordon’s great -name and unbounded popularity caused this plan to be hailed with unalloyed -delight by the people. He arrived at Cairo on the 23rd of January, and was -permitted to receive from the Khedive a firman appointing him Governor-General -of the Soudan, and vesting him, as the Khedive’s Viceroy, with -absolute power. Gordon thus held two commissions—one from the English -Government as the Agent of the Foreign Office, another from the Khedive as -Viceroy of the Soudan. He crossed the desert without an escort, and was -making his way to Khartoum when Parliament met. It was a dramatic -coincidence that when the debate on Egypt was going on, news of a serious -disaster from the Soudan came to hand. Baker Pasha had advanced from -Trinkitat on the 4th of February, and near Tokar his force was attacked by -the Mahdi’s followers and driven back to Suakim. By an accident the -discussion collapsed without any Ministerial reply being given to the Tory -attack. Then Sir Stafford Northcote, on the 7th of February, moved his vote<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_673" id="page_673">{673}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_106" id="ill_106"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_673.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_673.jpg" height="421" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>GENERAL GORDON.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Adams and Scanlan, Southampton.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">of censure, on the ground that the disasters in the Soudan were due -to “the vacillating and inconsistent policy” pursued by the Government. -Possibly the disaster of the division in the Commons when this motion was -rejected may have in turn been traceable to the “vacillating and inconsistent” -tactics of the Opposition. They toiled with wearisome iteration to prove that -England, having incurred responsibility for the government of Egypt after -Tel-el-Kebir, was responsible for the massacre of Hicks Pasha and his army. -So she was; but instead of drawing the logical inference from the facts, -namely, that the English authorities in Egypt were to blame for not vetoing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_674" id="page_674">{674}</a></span> -Hicks’s expedition, Sir Stafford Northcote and Lord Salisbury blamed the -English Government for not helping him with “advice,” and for not forcing -the Khedive to make his army strong enough for its task. Here it became -manifest to the House of Commons that the Opposition had only got up a -sham faction fight. For when Sir Stafford Northcote hotly repudiated the -notion that he would have sent a British army to reinforce Hicks or avenge -his death, he gave up his whole case. It was then seen that the alternative -policy of the Opposition was to have goaded the Egyptian Government to a -war of re-conquest in the Soudan, and in the event of failure to leave it in -the lurch. Alike in the Commons and in the Lords the responsible leaders of -the Opposition admitted that Mr. Gladstone was right in advising Egypt to -abandon the Soudan, and in refusing to send British troops there to conduct -the evacuation. What they argued was that he was wrong in not telling the -Khedive’s Cabinet how to get out of the Soudan, though he would in that -event, according to them, have been quite right to refuse the Khedive aid, if, -in acting on Mr. Gladstone’s suggestions, his Highness met with disaster in -the rebellious province. It was a sad surprise to Lord Salisbury to find -his censure carried in the Upper House only by a vote of 181 to 81—for the -majority did not represent half of a Chamber two-thirds of which were his -followers. It was, however, no surprise to Sir Stafford Northcote to find his -motion rejected in the House of Commons, though he had the advantage of -the Irish vote. As for the country, its verdict was that there was no difference -between the two parties except on one point. The Tories would have pestered -the Khedive with instructions, but would have repudiated responsibility for -them if when acted on they had ended in failure. The Government had, -through fear of incurring this responsibility, left the Khedive too much to -his own devices, and when these brought trouble they found they could not -get rid of all responsibility for it.</p> - -<p>What ought to have been said was what neither Lord Salisbury nor Sir -Stafford Northcote dared say. It was that England, after Tel-el-Kebir, should -have boldly proclaimed a Protectorate over Egypt, the moral authority of -which would have sufficed to hold her fretful and mutinous provinces in awe, -till steps for their reconstruction could be taken.<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a> Failure seemingly rendered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_675" id="page_675">{675}</a></span> -the Opposition reckless. Even the heroic and high-hearted envoy of the -Government at Khartoum did not escape the shafts of their malice. He had -proclaimed the Mahdi as Sultan of Kordofan in order to induce him to -negotiate for the peaceful withdrawal of the garrisons. He had burned in -public the archives of the Egyptian Government, in which the arrears of -taxes were recorded, as a pledge that the oppressed people of Khartoum -should be no longer the prey of corrupt extortioners. He had set free the -prisoners who were unjustly pining in the gaols. He had proclaimed that the -right of property in domestic slaves would be recognised—thereby neutralising -the intrigues of the Mahdists, who were persuading the wavering people that -if they remained true to Egypt, the Government would rob them of their -household servants. Finding it impossible to discover a less objectionable native -chief fit to undertake the task of keeping order at Khartoum, Gordon -recommended for that purpose his old enemy, Zebehr Pasha, once known -as “King of the Slave-Traders.”</p> - -<p>The Tories now attacked Gordon and his policy with much bitterness. -They jeered at him as a madman. They denounced him for sanctioning -slavery—he who had given the best days of his life to the suppression of the -trade. They tried to rouse public opinion against the Government for -tolerating his proceedings. In fact, no effort was wanting to embarrass him -and the Ministry in solving the difficult problem of extricating the military and -civil population of Khartoum from their dangerous position. The factiousness -of the Opposition had one bad result. It frightened the Government -into refusing their sanction to Gordon’s proposal for handing over Khartoum -to Zebehr Pasha. For at this time the Tories delighted to describe Zebehr -as the kind of monster of savagery, with whom a statesman of Mr. Gladstone’s -character naturally sought a close alliance.</p> - -<p>When the tidings of General Baker’s defeat at Teb were followed by -news of the massacre of the garrison of Sinkat, Ministers, in obedience to -public opinion, decided to abandon their policy of inaction in the Soudan. -On the 10th of February, Admiral Hewett took supreme command at Suakim. -On the 18th a small British force under General Graham landed at that -place. By this time Tokar had fallen, but Graham, advancing from Trinkitat, -fought and beat the Arabs under Osman Digna at El Teb. Osman retired -to Tamanieb, and was attacked there by Graham on the 13th of March. At -first the British force wavered and broke under the impetuous shock of the -Arab charge, but in the end the Arabs were defeated, and Osman Digna’s -camp was destroyed. Gordon had made an unsuccessful sortie from Khartoum -on the 16th of March, and he had found not only his army but the civil -population of the city honeycombed with treason. In vain he implored the -Government to send two squadrons of cavalry to Berber to aid the escape -of two thousand fugitives whom he proposed to send down the Nile. The -Government, on the contrary, recalled General Graham and his troops from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_676" id="page_676">{676}</a></span> -Suakim, thereby leading the Arabs to believe that Gordon was abandoned -by his countrymen. His negotiations with the Mahdi proved to be a failure. -In May his protests against the desertion of Khartoum were published -in official form, and the Opposition then gave expression to popular opinion -when they moved, though they did not carry, another vote of censure on -the Ministry. The defence of the Government was that Gordon was in no -danger, and that when he was, Ministers would quickly send him aid. The -financial position of Egypt was now so bad that Mr. Gladstone resolved to ease -the pressure of her debt at the expense of the bondholders. For this purpose -it was necessary to summon a Conference of the Powers. France opposed -the English project, and the diplomatic negotiations between England and -France were seriously embarrassed by incessant interpellations from the Opposition -in Parliament, and by their abortive votes of censure. In spite of -these difficulties, however, Ministers were able, on the 23rd of June, to -announce that they had come to an arrangement with France. She formally -abandoned the Dual Control, which had really been destroyed by the -Khedive’s decree in 1882, and bound herself not to send troops to Egypt -unless on the invitation of England. England, on the other hand, agreed -to evacuate Egypt on the 1st of January, 1888, unless the Powers considered -that order could not be kept after the British troops were recalled. The -question of the debt was virtually left to the Conference, but it was agreed -that after the 1st of January, 1888, Egypt was to be neutralised and the -Suez Canal put under international management. Even these arrangements -were, however, to depend on the decisions of the Conference, which, Mr. -Gladstone said, would in turn need Parliamentary sanction before they could be -considered binding on the British Government. The Conference broke up -owing to the impossibility of reconciling English and French interests, and -Mr. Gladstone on the 2nd of August told the House of Commons that -England had regained entire freedom of action. With this freedom the -Government acquired fresh energy. They sent Lord Northbrook to Egypt -to report upon its condition, and obtained from Parliament a Vote of -Credit of £300,000 with which to send succour to Gordon if he required it. -At this time, though Khartoum was isolated and surrounded by the Mahdi’s -troops, Lord Hartington refused to admit that Egypt was in danger from -an Arab invasion, or to give any definite promise to send Gordon aid.</p> - -<p>The Egyptian Question sadly exhausted the energies of the House of -Commons. Mr. Arthur Peel had been chosen as Speaker on the 26th of -February, in succession to Sir Henry Brand, who was elevated to the Peerage -as Viscount Hampden. Sir Stafford Northcote again succeeded in preventing -Mr. Bradlaugh from taking his seat, and when Mr. Bradlaugh resigned it, -and was again re-elected for Northampton, the resolution excluding him -from the House was once more revived on the 21st of February.</p> - -<p>The Budget was not presented till the last week of April, and Mr. Childers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_677" id="page_677">{677}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_107" id="ill_107"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_677.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_677.jpg" width="402" height="203" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>KHARTOUM.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">then confessed that for the coming year he could not expect a surplus of -more than £260,000,<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a> which admitted only of a small reduction in the -Carriage Duties. The unexpected costliness of the Parcel Post caused Mr. -Childers to abandon in the meantime the scheme for introducing sixpenny -telegrams; but he made proposals for the reduction of the National Debt and -the withdrawal of light gold coin from circulation, that led to some controversy. -Mr. Childers’ method of dealing with the Debt was to give holders -of Three per Cent. Stock the option of taking Two and Three-quarters per -Cent. or Two and a Half per Cent. Stock at the rate of £102 and £108 -respectively for every £100 of Stock so exchanged. Mr. Childers argued that -he would thus reduce the annual burden of the charge for the Debt (after -providing for a Sinking Fund to cover the nominal increase in the capital cf -the converted Stock) by £1,310,000. His Coinage Bill was lost because the -Tories roused popular prejudice against it. Mr. Childers proposed to demonetise -the half-sovereign by putting in it a certain amount of alloy and -giving it a mere token-value. The charge that he was “debasing the -currency” wrecked his project. A Bill strengthening the hands of the Privy -Council in excluding diseased cattle was passed. But the great measure of -the Session was the Reform Bill, which was introduced on the 28th of -February. By it Mr. Gladstone extended household franchise to the counties, -and a vigorous effort was made to compel him to introduce along with the -Franchise Bill, a Bill for the Redistribution of Seats. The Second Reading -of the Reform Bill was carried on the 7th of April, a majority of 340 to 210 -having rejected the hostile amendment of the Conservatives, which was moved -by Lord John Manners. The Tories then made many futile efforts to coerce<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_678" id="page_678">{678}</a></span> -Mr. Gladstone into disclosing his Redistribution Scheme, which he had, however, -sketched in outline in his speech introducing the Franchise Bill. Ultimately -the Third Reading was carried on the 26th of June—<i>nemine contradicente</i>. The -Bill was read a first time in the House of Lords on the 27th of June, where -Lord Cairns and the Tory Peers opposed it by an amendment, in which they -refused to assent to any extension of the Franchise, without any provision for -a redistribution of seats. The country began to murmur against this attitude -of the Tory Peers, many of whom even deprecated the policy of supporting -Lord Cairns’s amendment. It was, however, carried by a majority of 205 -against 146. After that the Peers, by way of conciliating public opinion, -agreed, on the motion of Lord Dunraven, to assent “to the principles of -representation in the Bill.” Ministers immediately announced that they -would take steps to prorogue Parliament in order to hold an autumn Session -for the reintroduction of the Measure. This involved the sacrifice of all -their projects of legislation, including Sir William Harcourt’s Bill for -reforming the Government of London, Mr. Chamberlain’s Merchant Shipping -Bill (prohibiting shipowners from making a profit out of the wreck of -over-insured ships), the Railway Regulation Bill (which prevented railway -companies from burdening traders and farmers with extortionate transport -rates), the Scottish Universities Bill, the Welsh Education Bill, the -Police Superannuation Bill, the Medical Acts Amendment Bill, the Corrupt -Practices at Municipal Elections Bill, the Law of Evidence Amendment Bill, -the Irish Sunday Closing Bill, and the Irish Land Purchase Bill. These, as -well as many useful measures, perished in the legislative holocaust of the -10th of July, which the opposition of the Peers had brought about.</p> - -<p>The Recess was spent in violent agitation. Party leaders on both sides -strove to rouse public opinion against or on behalf of the action of the -House of Lords. The country, on the whole, seemed day by day to gravitate -towards the Liberals, and the general opinion soon came to be that the -time had come for settling the question of Parliamentary Reform, and that, -the Peers having accepted the principle of Mr. Gladstone’s Bill, a compromise -as to details ought to be effected. The monster procession which passed -through London on the 21st of July, together with Mr. Gladstone’s political -campaign in Midlothian, did much to strengthen the hands of the Reformers. -As might be expected, the Radicals took advantage of the occasion to direct -a fierce and violent attack against the House of Lords as an institution. -When the Session opened on the 23rd of October party spirit ran high, and -both sides took “No Surrender!” as their watchword. Lord Randolph -Churchill attempted to fix on Mr. Chamberlain a charge of inciting a Radical -mob to break up a great Conservative demonstration which had been held in -Aston Park, Birmingham, on the 13th of October. Mr. Chamberlain proved his -innocence by quoting affidavits made by certain men, who swore that “Tory -roughs” had provoked the riot. The genuineness of those affidavits was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_679" id="page_679">{679}</a></span> -questioned, but to no purpose. When, however, they were made the basis -of legal proceedings, it was noted as a curious coincidence that, with one -exception, all the witnesses who had supplied Mr. Chamberlain with his -exculpating affidavits, somehow vanished from the scene. The Franchise -Bill was rapidly passed through the House of Commons, and the enormous -majority of 140 in favour of the Second Reading brought the Tory Peers to -a more reasonable state of mind. Moderate Conservatives began to build a -golden bridge of retreat for their lordships. Nor was the task hard. It was -soon discovered, as the result of private communications, that there was now -no substantial difference of opinion between Conservatives like Sir Richard -Cross and Liberals like Mr. Gladstone on the general principles of Redistribution. -Nobody, in fact, had the courage to defend the continued enfranchisement -of petty boroughs while large towns were not represented in Parliament -save by the county vote. It was finally arranged by plenipotentiaries representing -both parties that Mr. Gladstone’s draft Redistribution Bill should be -submitted confidentially to Sir Stafford Northcote and his friends—that they -should suggest, and in turn submit to Mr. Gladstone their amendments to it—that -when both Parties agreed, Mr. Gladstone should receive from the Tories -“an adequate assurance” that they meant to carry the Franchise Bill through -the House of Lords, that upon the strength of this assurance Mr. Gladstone -should introduce the Redistribution Bill in the House of Commons, and carry -it to a Second Reading while the Peers were passing the Third Reading of -the Franchise Bill. The whole understanding rested simply on an exchange -of “words of honour” between the leaders on both sides, and it was loyally -adhered to. Lord Salisbury, Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Gladstone, Lord -Hartington, and Sir Charles Dilke, met and settled all serious disputes over -the question of redistribution, and the Bill was introduced on the 1st of -December. On the 4th of the month the measure was read a second time, -the House of Lords having passed the Franchise Bill. On the 6th of -December Parliament adjourned till the 19th of February, 1885, when the -Redistribution Bill was to be finally dealt with in Committee, <i>de die -in diem</i>.</p> - -<p>The autumn Session did not close till the Government obtained a vote of -credit of £1,000,000 for military operations in Egypt. The decision to send -an expedition to Khartoum by way of the Nile was arrived at with manifest -reluctance by the Ministry, and of all the courses open to them, including -those which had been suggested by Gordon and rejected by Mr. Gladstone -and Lord Granville, it was the most objectionable and hazardous.<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a> Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_680" id="page_680">{680}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_108" id="ill_108"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_680.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_680.jpg" width="313" height="396" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE (AFTERWARDS LORD IDDESLEIGH).</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Barraud, Oxford Street.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Wolseley arrived at Cairo early in September, and the Mudir of Dongola -not only held back the Mahdi, but furnished a base of operations to the -English force. Down to the end of 1884 Lord Wolseley contrived to -shroud his proceedings in a veil of mystery. Beyond the facts that he had -railway transport to Sarras, that after that point, the expedition and its -transport were conveyed up the falling river in whaleboats guided by Canadian -boatmen,<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a> that Lord Wolseley’s sanguine anticipation of a rapid advance had -been falsified, that dangers and difficulties, which he ought to have foreseen, -had been encountered, that it had been necessary to stimulate the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_681" id="page_681">{681}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_109" id="ill_109"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_681.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_681.jpg" width="414" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE CITADEL, CAIRO.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">energies of the Army by offering a money reward to the first detachment which -reached Debbeh, and that by the first week of January, 1885, Lord Wolseley -would have about 7,000 men at Ambukol, of whom, perhaps, 2,000 might be -ready to dash across the desert to Shendy, from whence the decisive blow -at the Mahdi must be struck—beyond these facts and conjectures nothing -was known. Dim rumours of Gordon’s futile sorties, of his feeling of disgust -at being abandoned, and tidings that could not be doubted of the wreck -of the steamer in which he had sent his gallant lieutenant, Colonel Stewart, -and the British Consul at Khartoum, Mr. Frank Power, down to Berber, -filled the minds of the people with the deepest anxiety. Gordon had sent -Stewart to Berber with instructions to appeal to private munificence in the -United States and British Colonies for funds with which to organise the -relief expedition which he had ceased to beg from England. Stewart and -his companions were murdered by natives after their steamer was wrecked. -Hence the journals and diaries which Stewart carried were conveyed to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_682" id="page_682">{682}</a></span> -Mahdi, who, finding from them that Gordon was in dire straits, pressed the -siege with redoubled energy.</p> - -<p>After the failure of the Conference to adjust the financial difficulties of -Egypt, England “regained her freedom of action.” Lord Northbrook, as we -have seen, was sent to Cairo to report on the situation, which in reality was -a very simple one. Egypt could not pay the annual interest on her debt, and -the Foreign Powers would not, in the interests of the bondholders, submit -to have it reduced unless better security were given for the principal. The -only course open, therefore, was either repudiation, or the acknowledgment of -British responsibility for the financial administration of Egypt, which would -have enabled Mr. Gladstone to have cut down, not only the bondholders’ -interest, but also the taxes extorted from the Egyptian people. Lord Northbrook’s -appointment was caustically criticised by the Tory Opposition, -who connected his family name of Baring with a mission undertaken in -financial interests. His mission thus did much to destroy the confidence of -the populace in the Government, and when he returned, his recommendations, -so far as they could be discussed, still further discredited Mr. Gladstone’s Government. -For Lord Northbrook had discovered a third course open to him in -Egypt. It was to leave the interest of Shylock untouched, but to meet the -deficit in the Egyptian Budget, caused by the payment of Shylock’s bond, by -transferring from Egypt to England the burden of supporting the Army of -Occupation.<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a> As for the existing emergency, Lord Northbrook suggested -temporary repudiation, and his suggestion was adopted. The Law of Liquidation -was suspended, and the creditors of Egypt were asked to be satisfied -with less than their due, till matters could be set right. The Queen’s Government -early in December attempted to meet the financial difficulty, by proposing -to advance a 3-1/2 per cent. loan to Egypt on the security of the Domain lands,<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a> -or personal estate of the Khedive. The Powers did not receive this proposal -cordially. Necessity, which knows no law, having compelled the Egyptian -Government, with the sanction of England, to suspend for the moment the -Sinking Fund of the Unified Debt, a distinct violation of the Liquidation -Law, the Debt Commission prosecuted the Egyptian Government before the -International Tribunals. They of course gave judgment in favour of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_683" id="page_683">{683}</a></span> -Commission. Germany and Russia at this juncture insisted on their representatives -sharing all the rights and powers of the Debt Commission, indeed, -Germany, irritated by the Foreign and Colonial policy of England, showed -signs of supporting certain inconvenient claims to the Domain lands which -the ex-Khedive, Ismail Pasha, put forward.<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a></p> - -<p>The coolness between Germany and England which marked the last half -of 1884 arose out of what was at the time termed the “scramble for Africa.” -The regions opened up by Mr. H. M. Stanley on the Congo had been -practically occupied by an International Association, the head of which -was the King of the Belgians. In fact, General Gordon was under an -engagement to take up the government of this vast tract of land when he -went to Khartoum. England, however, in order to exclude dangerous rivals, -recognised the obsolete claims of Portugal to hold the outlet of the Congo; -but, as Portuguese officials were alleged by commercial men to be obstructive -and corrupt, this policy was not very popular. Germany, indeed, united -the Powers in quashing it, and finally it was agreed that an International -Conference should meet at Berlin to determine the conditions under which -the outlet of the Congo should be controlled. But at this point Germany -was sorely irritated by the provokingly vacillating policy of Lord Derby. -There was a strip of territory, extending from Cape Colony to the Portuguese -frontier on the Congo, in which a Bremen firm had established a trading -settlement at Angra Pequena. They applied to Prince Bismarck for protection. -He, in turn, asked Lord Granville if England claimed any sovereignty -over this region (in which there was only a small British settlement at -Walwich Bay), and whether the British Government could give the German -traders the protection which they sought. Lord Kimberley, in his despatch -to Sir Hercules Robinson of the 30th of December, had warned him that the -Government refused to extend British jurisdiction north of the Orange -River. But Lord Granville now told Prince Bismarck that, though English -sovereignty had only been proclaimed formally at certain points along this coast, -any encroachment on it by a foreign Power would be regarded by England -as an encroachment on its rights. Again (31st of December, 1884) Prince -Bismarck repeated his question—Did England propose to give the German -traders protection, and, if so, what means had she at her disposal for that -purpose? This despatch was referred to Lord Derby. He left it unanswered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_684" id="page_684">{684}</a></span> -for six months, whereupon Prince Bismarck, stung by the affront, answered -it in his own way by annexing Angra Pequena to Germany. Englishmen -were indignant; but what was there to be said? The British Government -refused at first to recognise the annexation. Then they said they would -recognise it if Germany would pledge herself not to establish a penal colony -on the coast, a demand which Prince Bismarck bluntly refused. Finally, -when Lord Derby induced the Cape Colony to retaliate by annexing the -coast round Angra Pequena between the Orange River and the Portuguese -frontier, Prince Bismarck declined to recognise such an act of annexation. -After this event Germany, concealing her designs, despatched an expedition -to seize the Cameroons, over which the British Government, in response to -the desire of the native chiefs, had already decided to extend a British -Protectorate. Disputed land-claims, which German subjects in Fiji preferred -in 1874, were also revived. In 1874 England had refused even to investigate -them. Now, however, Lord Granville agreed to submit them to a mixed -Commission. The British Government surrendered to Germany on these questions, -by a curious coincidence, at the very time they issued their invitations -to the London Conference on Egypt, in which they were expecting the support -of Germany for their Egyptian policy.<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a> As a matter of fact, this -support was not obtained. In the Conference Count Münster, on behalf of -Germany, stood neutral between France and England, who were unable to -reconcile their interests. But he persisted in thrusting before the meeting -the question of the imperfect administration of quarantine in Egypt by -English officials, and on the 5th of August Lord Granville abruptly dissolved -the Conference, because this matter was beyond the scope of its discussion. -Nor was Prince Bismarck wrathful against England merely because he -imagined that Lord Derby had some deep design of thwarting the sudden -desire of Germany for colonial expansion.</p> - -<p>In a moment of weakness, and when the laurels of victory had not quite -faded from the brows of the heroes of Tel-el-Kebir, the British Government -had applied to Prince Bismarck for hints and suggestions as to what -they should do in Egypt. According to Lord Granville, Prince Bismarck’s -advice was “Take it.”<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a> According to Prince Bismarck, whilst he assured -Lord Ampthill that Germany would not oppose the British annexation of</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_685" id="page_685">{685}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_110" id="ill_110"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_685.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_685.jpg" width="401" height="317" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>BALMORAL CASTLE, FROM CRAIG NORDIE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</p> - -<p>Egypt, his advice was that England should “establish a certain security of -position in this connecting link between her European and Asiatic possessions” -by administering Egypt as a leaseholder from the Sultan. In this -way England, he thought, would attain her purpose, and yet escape a conflict -with existing treaties, and “avoid putting France and other Powers out of -temper.”<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a> His counsel was not followed, which was the first affront. The -feeble course actually adopted—that of attempting to govern Egypt by advice—had -ended in a financial crisis that alarmed all the German bondholders, -and they in turn put pressure on Prince Bismarck, that still further increased -his irritation against England. Hence, when towards the end of -1884 he meditated a stroke of Colonial policy at the Antipodes, he showed -little respect for British susceptibilities. In this new departure he was -materially assisted by the incredible folly of Lord Derby. At the end of -1883 the Government of Queensland had sent a police magistrate to annex -New Guinea, or rather that portion of it not claimed by the Dutch. It -had already been annexed by wandering British navigators, but rumours of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_686" id="page_686">{686}</a></span> -foreign designs on the island had quickened the apprehensions and action of -the Australians. Lord Derby repudiated this act of annexation. As Lord -Derby had been sedulous in warning the Colonists that in war they must -defend themselves, it was not easy to understand why he objected to their -occupying a territory which, if held by a foreign enemy, would give him a -good base of operations against Australia. Ultimately, he nerved himself -to the hazard of annexing the southern portion of New Guinea, east of -the Dutch possessions, provided the Australian Colonies would enter into a -federal engagement to bear part of the expense of holding and governing -the country. Lord Derby had not, however, taken care in proclaiming in -October, 1884, his intention of annexation to warn foreign Powers off other -portions of the island and adjacent archipelago. He virtually invited rival -Governments to slip in and seize what he had left untouched. The end of -the year, therefore, saw the German flag flying over the unoccupied portion -of New Guinea, and the archipelago of New Ireland and New Britain, and -all Australia was in an uproar. These events stirred the sluggish heart of -Lord Derby. He promptly forestalled a project of German annexation in -South Africa by hoisting the British flag at Saint Lucia Bay and over the -region between Cape Colony and Natal, known as Pondoland.</p> - -<p>On the 25th of January the Marquis of Hertford, one of the ornaments -of the Queen’s Court in her happier days, passed away from the scene. Lord -Hertford had distinguished himself as an ideal Lord Chamberlain from 1874 -to 1879, and he had won the confidence of her Majesty whilst serving as -Equerry to the Prince Consort. This, he used to say, was the most interesting -part of his career, and among his friends he occasionally told many curious -stories, brightly illustrative of Court life in the Victorian period. He had a -profound and warm regard for the Prince Consort, who talked more freely -to him than to most men, chiefly, he said, because he knew his Equerry -kept no diary. Lord Hertford’s stories all tended to throw light on the singularly -unselfish nature of his Royal master. One of them, for example, was -to the effect that when the Queen and the Prince were crossing the Solent, -Lord Hertford, on appearing on deck, found the Prince pacing about and -enjoying the fresh breeze, whereas the Queen had been compelled to retire -to her cabin. He said to the Prince he was surprised to find him on deck in -such a breeze, as he had always heard that his Royal Highness was a bad -sailor. The Prince replied, “I know people say that about me, and imagine -that the Queen never suffers from sea-sickness. It is better it should be so. -The English laugh so much at sea-sickness, that I prefer the laugh should be -against me rather than against the Queen.”</p> - -<p>In the second week in February the Queen published a continuation of -her “Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands,” the dedication of -which was in these words:—“To my loyal Highlanders, and especially to the -memory of my devoted personal attendant and faithful friend, John Brown,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_687" id="page_687">{687}</a></span> -these records of my widowed life in Scotland are gratefully dedicated.”<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a> In -this volume she displayed much of the latent Jacobitism which one is apt to -develop in the atmosphere of the northern mountains, and again and again, -when she records her visits to the scenes, rich in the storied memories of “the -’15 and the ’45,” she expresses her feeling of pride and gratitude that she has -inherited, not only the throne of the Stuarts, but the fervent loyalty that -bound so many gallant hearts to the cause of “bonnie Prince Charlie.” Her -reminiscences are somewhat tinged with melancholy, but the great and -motherly loving-heartedness of the book is its chief charm, and secured for it -an amazing popularity. It was said that the circulating libraries ordered -copies by the ton, and the Press teemed with favourable reviews, in which -her Majesty took great interest. As usual, however, she only read those that -were marked for her perusal by her ladies. The cover was designed by the -Princess Beatrice, and was in every way tasteful and artistic. But the -portraits which embellished the work were badly reproduced. That of Brown, -however, it may be noted, was an exception, for he was “flattered” by the -artist out of all recognition.</p> - -<p>The year 1884 was one that brought much sorrow to the Royal Family. -During the months of January and February, whilst the Court was at Osborne, -though her Majesty’s health had visibly improved, yet she was still suffering -from the effects of her accident, and was quite unable to remain long in a -standing position. On the 19th of February the Court removed to Windsor, -and it was rumoured that the Queen would spend Easter in Germany. She -was, in truth, desirous of being present at the marriage of her granddaughter, -the Princess Victoria of Hesse, to Prince Louis of Battenberg. -On the 26th of March she received Lieutenant W. Lloyd, R.H.A., at Windsor, -when he presented to her one of the Mahdi’s flags which had been taken at -Tokar, and just as preparations for the German tour were being made, -the Royal Household was plunged into grief by sudden tidings of the death -of the Duke of Albany, on the 28th of March. He had been living at Cannes -for a few weeks. He had taken part with great glee in the festivities of -the gayest season that had ever been witnessed in Nice. He returned to -Cannes on the 27th, and it seems he had, in mounting the stairs of the -Naval Club in the afternoon, fallen and hurt his right knee. He was attended -to by Dr. Royle, and, though he went to bed, conversed quite gaily with -those round him. At half-past two on the morning of the 28th Dr. Royle -was roused by the sound of his stertorous breathing, and, on going to his -bedside, found him dying in a fit. The news of his death reached Windsor -at noon, and Sir H. Ponsonby broke it gently to the Queen, who was at first -so prostrated with grief that her condition alarmed her attendants. As soon as -she rallied her Majesty sent the Princess Beatrice to Claremont House to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_688" id="page_688">{688}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_111" id="ill_111"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_688.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_688.jpg" height="389" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>FUNERAL OF THE DUKE OF ALBANY: THE PROCESSION ENTERING WINDSOR CASTLE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">comfort the Duchess of Albany, then in a delicate state of health. In the -afternoon the ex-Empress Eugénie, clad in the deepest mourning, visited the -Queen, and stayed till about seven in the evening. She informed those to whom -she spoke when she left that her Majesty had apparently obtained some relief -by giving expression to her anguish in the sympathetic presence of a friend who -had herself suffered many sorrowful bereavements. To none did the sad news -convey so severe a shock as to the Prince of Wales. The telegram was handed -to him whilst he was chatting with some friends in Lord Sefton’s box on -the Grand Stand at the Aintree Race-course, and at first the Prince seemed -dazed with the message. He was only able to mutter to Lord Sefton in broken -accents, “Albany is dead.” Having retired to his private room to compose his -nerves, he drove off immediately to Croxteth. The rumour of the Duke’s death -flew round the race-course, but at first was disbelieved. Then the sports were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_689" id="page_689">{689}</a></span> -stopped, and the stampede of the pleasure-seekers to Liverpool, where it was -hoped that the news would be contradicted, will long be remembered. In -London the event was the theme of sympathetic discussion in every train and -omnibus and tramcar in the afternoon, as men were returning home from -business. The workmen’s clubs at night adjourned their political debates as -a mark of sympathy for the Queen. On the following day her Majesty and -the Princess Beatrice visited the Duchess of Albany, and the meeting was most -touching and mournful. All the details of the funeral arrangements were -superintended by the Queen, but the body of the Prince was brought back to -England under the personal direction and care of the Prince of Wales, and -buried on the 5th of April with solemn pomp in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. -Six of the pall-bearers—Lord Castlereagh, Lord Brook, Lord Harris, Mr. Sidney -Herbert, Mr. Walter Campbell, and Mr. Mills—were undergraduates with the -dead Prince at Christ Church.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_112" id="ill_112"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_689.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_689.jpg" width="407" height="324" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>VIEW IN CLAREMONT PARK.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Duke of Albany once said, “I do not understand why people should -always be so kind to me.” The reason was not far to seek. He was a young -man with an interesting and amiable personality. He had a pensive turn that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_690" id="page_690">{690}</a></span> -recalled his father, but with a dash of gaiety of heart which rendered him more -acceptable to society than the Prince Consort ever managed to become. His -long life of suffering and pain secured for him the sympathies of the people. -Despite his ill-health he was even in childhood a bright and promising boy. -Professor Tyndall has spoken highly of his capacity at this period, and Dean -Stanley, one of his early mentors, so deeply influenced him that at one time the -Prince indicated a desire to take Orders in the Anglican Church. At Oxford -he was prohibited by the physicians from reading for honours, and after he -became a member of the House of Lords, the Queen, noticing his eager interest -in politics, had some trouble in dissuading him from plunging into the debates, -as a free lance who loved to “drink delight of battle with his peers.”</p> - -<p>When he was thwarted in this design, the Prince suggested that his services -might be utilised in another direction. At the time Lord Normanby -resigned the Governorship of Victoria Prince Leopold applied to Mr. Gladstone -for the post, and the Tory newspapers and orators of the period -heaped the most extravagant abuse on Mr. Gladstone for refusing the -offer. Mr. Gladstone was even challenged in the House of Commons on the -subject, but his lips being sealed by the Queen, he was unable to defend -himself, or do more than make an evasive and ambiguous statement. The -truth, however, was that Mr. Gladstone did not refuse the Prince’s offer. -He referred it to Mr. Murray Smith, Agent-General for Victoria in London, -with a request for his opinion. Mr. Smith replied that the appointment -would give great satisfaction in Australia, but when the matter was laid -before the Queen she peremptorily vetoed the project, assigning as a -reason her fear that the Prince’s ill-health unfitted him for the duties of -the position to which he aspired. Obvious reasons of State have, however, -always made the Sovereigns of the Hanoverian dynasty reluctant to permit -Princes of the Blood-Royal to serve as satraps in distant colonies where -aspirations to independence are not always dormant.</p> - -<p>Prince Leopold was a pleasing and polished orator, and being the only -member of his family who spoke the English tongue without any trace of a -German accent, his platform performances were always successful. His -addresses reflected the thoughtful, cultivated mind of a young man who had -lived much in the companionship of books, and who had read discursively -without studying deeply. He was never commonplace, and his merely formal -utterances were usually marked by a distinction of style, that well became a -princely scholar. In the singularly beautiful preface which the Princess -Christian wrote for the “Biographical Sketch and Letters” of her sister, -the Grand Duchess of Hesse (Princess Alice), she says that as the Duke -of Albany was the last to see her gifted sister in life, so he was the -first of the Queen’s children “to follow her into the silent land.” It is a -curious fact that, as with her, the shadow of early death seems to have -cast itself in the form of presentiment over his young life. Mr. Frederick<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_691" id="page_691">{691}</a></span> -Myers, in his eulogistic reminiscences of the Duke of Albany, alludes to this -circumstance in the following passage:—“The last time I saw him [the -Duke of Albany] to speak to,” writes a friend from Cannes, March 30th, -“being two days before he died, he <i>would</i> talk to me about death, and said -he would like a military funeral, and, in fact, I had great difficulty in -getting him off this melancholy subject. Finally, I asked, ‘Why, sir, do you -talk in this morose manner?’ As he was about to answer he was called -away, and said, ‘I’ll tell you later.’ I never saw him to speak to again, but -he finished his answer to another lady, and said, ‘For two nights now -the Princess Alice has appeared to me in my dreams, and says she is quite -happy, and that she wants me to come and join her. That’s what makes me -so thoughtful.’<span class="lftspc">”</span><a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a></p> - -<p>The death of the Duke of Albany hushed the gaiety of a highly promising -season, and West End tradesmen were full of lamentation when it -was rumoured that the Court would shroud itself in gloom during the whole -summer, though the official period of Court mourning was to end in May. -But it was not alone in London that the Prince was mourned. His neighbours -at Esher, rich and poor alike, felt his loss severely. They all spoke -well of him and of his young wife, and recalled pleasant memories of his -kindliness—how he joined the local chess club, sang at local concerts, and -interested himself in the Duchess’s schemes for boarding out pauper children. -After the death of the Duke the Queen announced her intention of maintaining -Claremont as a residence for the widowed Duchess, a generous act, -because Prince Leopold used to say that even with £20,000 a year to live -on, Claremont kept him a poor man. But for the £20,000 which the Queen -spent on the property during 1883 and 1884, this residence would in truth -have seriously embarrassed him.<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a> As a matter of fact, the favourite dwelling -of the Duke of Albany was not Claremont but Boyton Manor, near Warminster -in Wiltshire, of which place he was tenant when he died, and in -the neighbourhood of which his memory is still lovingly cherished.<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_692" id="page_692">{692}</a></span></p> - -<p>Soon after the funeral of the Duke of Albany the Queen was recommended -by Sir William Jenner to go to Germany, and she thus resolved to visit -her son-in-law and grandchildren at Darmstadt, where the marriage of the -Princess Victoria of Hesse with Prince Louis of Battenberg was to be celebrated -at the end of the month (April). Sir William believed that the -change of scene and surroundings would do the Queen more good than a -mournful sojourn at Osborne, where everything must recall reminiscences of -her dead son. Her Majesty accordingly left Windsor on the 15th of April -for Port Victoria, whence she embarked on the <i>Osborne</i> and arrived at -Flushing next morning. Therefrom she went by rail to Darmstadt, arriving -early on the morning of the 17th. The voyage was unpleasant, and the -weather between the Nore and the Scheldt so heavy that the Queen had -to remain in her cabin during the greater part of her journey. Only the -Grand Duke of Hesse and his daughters were on the platform to meet her -Majesty, who had desired her reception to be as private as possible. Ere she -left England she forwarded to the newspapers through the Home Secretary -a letter expressing her gratitude to the people for their loving sympathy -with her and the Duchess of Albany in their bereavement.</p> - -<p>On the 30th of April the marriage of the Queen’s granddaughter, the -Princess Victoria of Hesse, with Prince Louis of Battenberg, was solemnised -in the small whitewashed Puritanical-looking chapel at Darmstadt, which was -thronged with a brilliant crowd of specially invited guests, among whom the -Queen, in her sombre mourning, was one of the most striking figures. With -the Queen there were present, besides the family of the bride and bridegroom, -the young Princess of Wales. The German Crown Prince led in -the Princess of Wales, and the German Crown Princess was escorted by her -brother, the Prince of Wales; Prince William of Prussia led in the Princess -Beatrice, and the dark, Jewish-looking Prince of Bulgaria (brother of the -bridegroom) escorted with obsequious gallantry the Princess Victoria of Prussia. -The ceremony was short, simple, and touching; but the sermon on the duties -of marriage which the Court preacher delivered was long and prosy. The -Queen, after the ceremony was over, retired to the Palace, and did not -attend the wedding banquet in the Schloss. The weather, which had been -cold and bleak when the Queen arrived, suddenly became fine and mild, and -she was, therefore, able to amuse herself in the public gardens. She had gone -to Darmstadt rather reluctantly, but was now glad that she had taken Sir -William Jenner’s advice. By her own wish she was lodged in the Neue -Schloss, which she had built, at a cost of nearly £25,000, as a palace for -the Princess Alice and her husband, and in the beautiful grounds of -this place she drove about every morning in a pony-carriage with the -Princess Beatrice. She took long drives every afternoon, and visited Auerbach -(the chief country seat of the Grand Duke) and his shooting-lodge at -Kranichstein. The ex-Empress Eugénie had offered to lend Arenenberg (a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_693" id="page_693">{693}</a></span> -charming villa near Constance) to the Queen, but she did not desire to extend -her tour beyond Darmstadt, and so the offer was not accepted. Accompanied -by the Princess Beatrice, the Grand Duke, and the Princess Elizabeth of -Hesse, her Majesty returned to Windsor on the 7th of May.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_113" id="ill_113"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_693.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_693.jpg" width="431" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE LINN OF DEE. (<i>From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and Co.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>London was still dull and gloomy. Court mourning and the absence of -the Prince of Wales (who was visiting his sister in Berlin) made the season -of 1884 melancholy. On the 10th of May the Queen, the Grand Duke of -Hesse, and the Princess Elizabeth paid a visit of condolence to the Duchess -of Albany at Claremont, and on the 22nd her Majesty left Windsor for -Balmoral. That she was much improved in health was evident, because -not only were the public admitted to the railway-station at Perth, and Ferryhill, -Aberdeen, but at the former she was able to walk from her carriage to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_694" id="page_694">{694}</a></span> -the reception-room with a firm step and without assistance. It was a lovely -warm day when her Majesty and suite drove along the north side of the Dee -from Ballater to Balmoral. The sixty-fifth anniversary of her Majesty’s birthday -was observed in London officially on the 24th of May, but Ministerial -State dinners were not given owing to the Royal Family being in mourning. -The anniversary was not to be kept at Balmoral, but at last the Queen -directed that her servants, with those from Abergeldie and Birkhall, should -dine in the Ball Room of the Castle, under the presidency of her Commissioner, -Dr. Profeit. In the morning Mr. Boehm’s life-size statue of -John Brown arrived, and it was placed on a pedestal in the grounds of -Balmoral at a spot about two hundred yards north-west of the Castle, the -site being selected by the Queen. The great sculptor superintended the ceremony -of unveiling his work. On the 15th of June the Queen attended -Crathie Church, for the first time since October, 1882, greatly to the relief of -her God-fearing neighbours, who had begun to entertain a shocking suspicion -that she had given up attendance at “public worship.” On the 25th the -Court returned to Windsor, after a delightful holiday spent in the brightest -and sunniest of weather. Every afternoon the Queen had been able to -drive about Deeside, and she had even visited, though she had not stayed -at, her cottage at the Glassalt Shiel. Though the return of the Prince of -Wales to town from Wiesbaden early in June had given a fillip to a chilling -season, Society was dull in the summer of 1884. Lord Sydney and Lord -Kenmare had gently suggested to the Queen that her refusal to permit -Drawing Rooms and State Concerts to be held was causing much disappointment -at the West End, but without avail. Her Majesty, however, showed -much tenacity in forbidding these functions, the proposal of which by the -great officers of the Household she deemed disrespectful to the memory of her -dead son. Nor was she conciliated by being reminded that during the season -of 1861, after the death of the Duchess of Kent, she had held Drawing Rooms -herself, whereas now she had the Princess of Wales ready to relieve her of -the burden of attending them. Londoners, however, had their compensations. -They discovered, in the gay and glittering gardens of the Health Exhibition -at South Kensington, with their English and German bands and their brilliant -combinations of Chinese lanterns and electric lamps, a delightful <i>al fresco</i> -lounge. Here in the summer evenings the pursuit of pleasure was combined -with a chastened homage to the cause of scientific enlightenment and social improvement. -This was one of a series of specialised exhibitions, the organisation -of which had been the work of the Prince of Wales, who also earned the -gratitude of the town at this time by persuading the Queen to let him hold two -Levees on her behalf. On the 20th of July the Queen and Princess Beatrice -were at Claremont, where the Duchess of Albany gave birth to a son; after -which her Majesty proceeded to Osborne on the 30th of the month, where she -was visited by the German Crown Prince and Princess. An interesting event<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_695" id="page_695">{695}</a></span> -in the life of the Court in the season of 1884 was the reception given by the -venerable Duchess of Cambridge at St. James’s Palace on the 25th of July to -celebrate the completion of her eighty-seventh year. The season of 1884 virtually -ended with the Garden Party which the Prince of Wales gave at Marlborough -House on the same day. It ended, as it began, gloomily, and the -social chroniclers lamented the poorness of the entertainments, the badness -of the dinners, the mournfulness of the balls. They only brightened up when -they recorded, with a transient gleam of joy, that, though all the “great -houses” attended by Royalty had been closed, three had opened their doors -since Easter, namely, Devonshire House, where Lord Hartington entertained -guests twice; Norfolk House, where Lord and Lady Edmond Talbot gave a -ball that was endurable; and Stafford House, where, at a small party in the -middle of July, the Prince and Princess of Wales made their first appearance -in Society since their mourning.</p> - -<p>During August the Queen was much troubled as to the issue of the -political crisis arising out of the Reform Bill debates, and the threatened conflict -between the democracy and the House of Lords. She earnestly deprecated -an attack on the Peers during the Recess, and Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues -paid due deference to her opinions. She sent twice for Lord Rowton—better -known, when Mr. Disraeli’s private secretary, as Mr. Montagu Corry—whom -she regarded as the inheritor of Lord Beaconsfield’s ideas, to consult him on -the situation. She made it clear to him that she was unwilling to use her -Prerogative for the purpose of creating new Peers to force the Reform Bill -through the Upper House. From this it was inferred that if the House of -Lords resisted to the bitter end, the Queen would prefer to coerce them by a -dissolution rather than by Prerogative. Lord Wolseley and Lord Northbrook -were also summoned about this time to consult with her on the prospects of a -campaign in Egypt. These anxious conferences were held after she had received -the Abyssinian Envoys on the 20th of August. They had come to England -bearing copies of a Treaty which had been concluded at Adowah with King -John of Abyssinia. They were received by the Queen at Osborne, and at their -audience they presented her Majesty with letters from King John and with -various gifts, among which were a young elephant and a large monkey. Ere -the Court left Osborne the Queen surprised the country by announcing her decision -to confer the Order of the Garter on Prince George of Wales, for there -was no precedent for giving the Garter to a junior member of the Royal Family -in his minority. When the Queen came to the Throne there were only four Royal -Knights of this Order, and pedants of heraldry now complained that there were -twenty-eight, and that the Royal Knights outnumbered the ordinary ones.</p> - -<p>On the 1st of September the Court proceeded to Balmoral, the Queen being -accompanied by the Crown Princess and Princess Beatrice. The arrival of -the Court at Balmoral, and the visit of Mr. Gladstone to Invercauld, had filled -Braemar to overflowing. On the 18th of September the Queen held a Council at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_696" id="page_696">{696}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_114" id="ill_114"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_696.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_696.jpg" width="397" height="264" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN RECEIVING THE ABYSSINIAN ENVOYS AT OSBORNE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Balmoral, at which Mr. Gladstone, Lord Fife, and Sir H. Ponsonby were present, -Mr. Gladstone afterwards dining with her Majesty. Lord Ripon having resigned -office as Viceroy of India, his successor, Lord Dufferin, visited the Queen -at Balmoral in October. One by one the Royal guests fled southwards, and -finally the Queen and Princess Beatrice left the Highlands for Windsor on the -20th of November—her Majesty’s return being hastened by grave political -anxieties caused by the threatened collision between the two Houses of Parliament. -Mr. Gladstone had at Balmoral so earnestly deprecated the obstinacy of -the Peers, and so clearly pointed out to the Queen the difficulty of avoiding this -collision whilst they persisted in their anti-Reform policy, that her Majesty subsequently -used all her influence to bring about a compromise. It was with a -view to renew her efforts in this direction that she returned to Windsor at the -time when Lord Granville was offering to submit a draft Redistribution Bill -for friendly but private inspection by the Tory leaders, provided the Peers -would give a pledge to pass the Franchise Bill during the autumn Session. -The appearance of Mrs. Gladstone’s name among the list of those who were -at Lady Salisbury’s reception in Arlington Street on the 19th of November, -was taken as an auspicious omen, and as indicating that the Conservative -chiefs had not been insensible to the advice which the Queen had given to -the Duke of Richmond in the Highlands. The supreme difficulty of bringing -about the Reform compromise lay in breaking down the resistance of Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_697" id="page_697">{697}</a></span> -Salisbury and the Tory Peers, who were resolved to force a dissolution on the -basis of the old franchise. This resistance gradually weakened after Mr. Gladstone’s -visit to Balmoral. That it finally disappeared was mainly due to the -firm but gentle pressure which the Queen put on the Duke of Richmond in -order to induce him and his colleagues to accept a compromise. The actual -details of the Treaty between Mr. Gladstone and the Peers were settled in -London. But the preliminaries of Peace were really negotiated by the Queen -and the Duke of Richmond in Aberdeenshire, after the memorable “gathering -of the clans” at Braemar in the autumn of 1884. After the return of the -Court from Scotland many guests were received at Windsor, among whom -Lord Sydney—who audits her Majesty’s private accounts, and, since the death -of the Prince Consort, has been her confidential adviser—was one of the most -favoured. On the 17th of December the Court removed to Osborne.</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE NEW DEPARTURE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>An <i>Annus Mirabilis</i>—Breaking up of the Old Parties—The Tory-Parnellite Alliance—Mr. Chamberlain’s -Socialism—The Doctrine of “Ransom”—Effect of the Reform Bill and Seats Bill—Enthroning the -“Sovereign People”—Three Reform Struggles: 1832, 1867, 1885—“One Man One Vote”—Another Vote of -Censure—A Barren Victory—Retreat from the Soudan—The Dispute with Russia—Komaroff at Penjdeh—The -Vote of Credit—On the Verge of War—Mr. Gladstone’s Compromise with Russia—Threatened Renewal -of the Crimes Act—The Tory Intrigue with the Parnellites—The Tory Chiefs Decide to Oppose Coercion—Wrangling -in the Cabinet—Mr. Childers’ Budget—A Yawning Deficit—Increasing the Spirit Duties—Readjusting -the Succession Duties—Combined Attack by Tories and Parnellites on the Budget—Defeat of the -Government and Fall of Mr. Gladstone’s Ministry—The Scene in the Commons—The Tories in Power—Lord -Salisbury’s Government—Places for the Fourth Party—Mr. Parnell Demands his Price—Abandoning -Lord Spencer—Re-opening the Question of the Maamtrasna Murders—Concessions to the Parnellites—The -New Budget—Sir H. D. Wolff sent to Cairo—The Criminal Law Amendment Act—Court Life in 1885—Affairs -at Home and Abroad—The Fall of Khartoum—Death of General Gordon—Beginning of the Burmese -Question—Rebellion in Canada—Marriage of the Princess Beatrice—The Battenbergs.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">After</span> the compromise had been arranged between the rival political leaders -on the Franchise Bill and the Bill for the Redistribution of Seats, it has -been said that Parliament adjourned to the 19th of February, 1885—an -<i>annus mirabilis</i> in the Queen’s reign. It witnessed the final settlement of -the Reform Question which the Whigs left unsettled in 1832. It witnessed -the amazing development of the Home Rule movement in Ireland under two -influences. The first was extended Franchise. The second was the alliance -between the Parnellites and the Tory Party, which had grown out of the -intrigues of Lord Randolph Churchill, Sir H. Drummond Wolff, and Mr. -Rowland Winn, the Tory whip, with Mr. Justin McCarthy, and other Irish -Nationalist leaders. Every day brought forth a new outward and visible -sign of this alliance, and in Ireland, when it was bruited about that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_698" id="page_698">{698}</a></span> -Tories were ready not only to attack and overthrow Lord Spencer, who was -still upholding English authority at Dublin Castle almost in the same sense -that General Gordon was upholding it at Khartoum, the result was inevitable. -The large class of Irishmen who from motives of self-interest, business connection, -or personal feeling were willing to stand by the English Government -in Dublin so long as they felt sure that England would stand by -them, began to waver in their allegiance. Like the same sort of people -in the Soudan, and even in Khartoum when they saw Gordon abandoned by -those who were supposed to be truest to him, they began to make terms -with their Mahdi. If the Tories were buying the Parnellite vote to-day, -the Liberals would soon be found bidding higher for it to-morrow, and -Irishmen, whose interests and timidity alone served to keep them loyal to -Dublin Castle so long as they felt absolutely certain of the support of both -political parties in England, began in 1885 to stream over to Mr. Parnell’s -camp. The stream was obviously swollen when a coalition of the Parnellites -and Tories expelled Mr. Gladstone’s Government from office, and when it was -known that the Parnellite vote had been obtained on the faith of a promise -from the Tory leaders that they would not only abandon the Crimes Act if they -came into office, but join Mr. Parnell in opposing Mr. Gladstone’s Government -if it sought to renew it. The year also witnessed the end of the -Egyptian tragedy, the conquest of Burmah, the semi-Socialistic propaganda of -Mr. Chamberlain, the General Election which made Mr. Parnell master of -Ireland, and shattered the English Party system that had been built up after -1846, and the rumoured adoption of Home Rule as a part of Mr. Gladstone’s -programme.</p> - -<p>During the first weeks of 1885—the winter recess, as it might be -called—Mr. Chamberlain spread terror through the land by making a strong -Socialistic appeal to the new Electors. He was evidently bent on breaking -up the old Liberal Party—perhaps he saw his way to the formation of a -new democratic faction into which many of the “Tory democracy,” created -by Lord Randolph Churchill, might drift. Signs were not wanting that -a coalition between these successful politicians was in certain circumstances -quite a possible contingency. In the meantime, Mr. Chamberlain and his -followers preached what he called the “doctrine of ransom.” This meant -that when a man became rich he was to purchase the privilege of keeping -his wealth by paying taxes now borne by the poor, and if need be by providing -new taxes in order to give the poor a larger share of the comforts -and enjoyments of life than fell to their lot. Mr. Chamberlain in fact -offered to “ransom” the thrifty classes from confiscation provided they -taxed themselves to give the poor free libraries, pleasure-gardens, education, -improved dwellings at “fair rents,” allotments of land, and work and employment -in time of distress. It was part of his scheme to abolish indirect -taxation. His lieutenant, Mr. Jesse Collings, formulated the portion of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_699" id="page_699">{699}</a></span> -it which dealt with the land by popularising the idea that it was the duty -of the ratepayers to set up agricultural labourers in the business of farming -with “three acres and a cow” to start with. Government, in fact, was, -according to Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Collings, to act as a kind of glorified -Cooperative Store, or “Universal Provider” for the proletariat.</p> - -<p>When the House of Commons met on the 19th of February there was a -general desire to make rapid progress with the Reform Bills. Efforts to secure -the representation of minorities, to oppose an increase in the members of the -House, to cut down the representation of Ireland, to disfranchise the Universities, -were resisted, and the alliance of the two Front Benches crushed all -opposition. One member only was successful in carrying an amendment. This -was Mr. Raikes, who had been Chairman of Committees in Lord Beaconsfield’s -Government, and who now succeeded in reducing the perpetual penalties -inflicted on voters in corrupt boroughs. On the 11th of May the Seats Bill -was read a third time, and when it went to the House of Lords it was speedily -passed. The Tories, who objected to the compromise, found spokesmen in Mr. -James Lowther, Mr. Chaplin, and Mr. Raikes. The opposition of the last-named -was the most active, but it merely resulted in effecting a few changes -in the nomenclature of the Bill, and in what the <i>Times</i> termed “his more -than paternal solicitude for the leisurely progress of the measure.”</p> - -<p>No measure of reform proposed in the Queen’s reign by a responsible -politician was ever designed to produce such a mighty change in the British -Constitution as the Reform Bill of 1885. Lord Grey and Lord John Russell, by -their Bill in 1832, added not quite half a million voters to the Electorate of -the United Kingdom. The Reform Bill of 1867 increased the Electorate from -1,136,000 to 2,448,000. In 1885 it had grown to be 3,000,000, and to this -number Mr. Gladstone’s Bill added 2,000,000 new voters.<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a> The Seats Bill, -which distributed the 5,000,000 electors into electoral groups, was a much more -complex measure. The chief difficulties were two in number. First, there was -that of determining the standard by which the claim of a borough to separate -representation could be conceded; secondly, there was the difficulty of discovering -how votes should be cast in towns possessing more than one member. -Here curious contrasts can be drawn between the old order and the new.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_700" id="page_700">{700}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_115" id="ill_115"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_700.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_700.jpg" height="385" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PRINCE HENRY OF BATTENBERG.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Theodor Prümm, Berlin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Redistribution of seats in 1832 meant the transfer of a vast body of power from -the aristocracy to the middle-class, and the liberation of the Commons from the -despotism of the Peers, who ruled it through the nominees who represented their -pocket boroughs. Little wonder that the sweeping disfranchisement of these -constituencies brought the country to the verge of revolution. In 1867 it was -not the aristocracy but the middle-class which dreaded the kind of disfranchisement -that proceeds from destroying the separate representation or reducing the -redundant representation of a constituency. Hence, though the contest in 1867 -was warm, it was not fierce. But in 1885, on the other hand, no popular -excitement could be raised over the question of Redistribution, and the nation -grew sick of the controversy as to whether a Seats Bill should be taken before, -with, or after a Franchise Bill. And yet the redistribution of power proposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_701" id="page_701">{701}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_116" id="ill_116"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_701.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_701.jpg" width="313" height="390" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PRINCESS BEATRICE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Hughes and Mullins, Ryde.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">by Mr. Gladstone’s Bill in 1885, and which sprang from the compromise with -the Opposition in December, 1884, effected changes vaster by far than those that -shook Society to its foundation in 1832. In 1832, what nearly came to civil -war was waged over 143 seats, liberated by disfranchisement for redistribution.<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a> -In 1885 Mr. Gladstone had 178 seats representing 26·5 per cent. of the -representation of the country to redistribute. Of this number more than half—about -96—were given to the counties, whose Electorate had been enormously -increased by the absorption of small boroughs, as well as by the extension of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_702" id="page_702">{702}</a></span> -household franchise, whereas in 1832, the counties only pulled 56 of the -liberated seats out of the scramble. Of the boroughs which Mr. Gladstone -disfranchised, 20 had their representation cut down to one member in 1832, -and two, Kendal and Whitby—which Lord John Russell created as new -boroughs—lost their separate representation in 1885. The great merit of the -Bill was that, as far as possible, it created single-member constituencies on the -basis of population, which was as close an approach to equal electoral districts -as Mr. Gladstone could make. Large towns, instead of being treated as single -electoral units with cumulative voting, were cut up into single-member constituencies -as nearly as possible equal in point of population. The Bills for -Scotland and Ireland were drawn on the same lines, but adapted to local -circumstances.</p> - -<p>Up to Whitsuntide Government business was sadly in arrears—foreign -questions diverting attention from domestic legislation. The fall of Khartoum, -the retreat of Lord Wolseley’s advance column in the Soudan, -the defeats and disasters of the campaign, the deaths of Generals Gordon, -Stewart, and Earle, together with wild rumours of an Arab invasion of -Egypt, excited Parliament to a state of high tension. The Government -called out the Reserves, announced that they would crush the Mahdi, and -ordered the war against Osman Digna to be renewed. The Opposition in -the last week of February brought forward a vote of censure on the -Ministerial policy in Egypt, calling on Ministers to recognise British responsibility -for Egypt and those parts of the Soudan which were necessary for -the security of Egypt. Mr. Gladstone evaded any positive declaration of -policy, and the Liberal party spoke with two voices, some being for -complete withdrawal from Egypt, others being in favour of administering -its affairs in the name of the Khedive, but none being bold enough to -advocate any permanent course of action. The Ministry were saved from -defeat by 302 votes to 288, and this narrow majority was a warning of their -coming doom.</p> - -<p>A dispute then arose as to the plan adopted for rescuing Egypt from a -financial crisis. This plan was embodied in a convention with the Powers and -assented to by the Porte, by which a loan of £9,000,000 under International -guarantee was advanced to Egypt to save her from bankruptcy, in consideration -of which the Powers agreed to suspend the Law of Liquidation and cut -down the interest on all Egyptian securities by 5 per cent. That on the Suez -Bonds payable to the English Government was, however, reduced by 10 per -cent. The arrangement was to last for two years, and if Egypt was still -bankrupt in 1887, then her affairs would be subject to an International inquiry. -No care had been taken to prevent the International guarantee of the loan -carrying with it the right of International intervention in Egypt, though -Ministers repudiated the suggestion that it did. The Convention was, however, -approved by the House of Commons by a vote of 294 to 246. Soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_703" id="page_703">{703}</a></span> -after this the diplomatic hostility of France, Russia, and Germany, caused -Mr. Gladstone’s Government suddenly to limit their responsibilities in Egypt. -Operations in the Red Sea were countermanded, the Suakim-Berber railway -was stopped, and it was decided to abandon Dongola and fix the Egyptian -frontier at Wady-Halfa. Mr. Gladstone, or rather Lord Derby and Lord -Granville, had produced the diplomatic isolation of England at a most inconvenient -moment, when a dispute with Russia over the Afghan boundary -reached a critical stage. The negotiations for settling the boundary had -been delayed because the Russian Commissioners under various pretexts avoided -meeting Sir Peter Lumsden, the British Commissioner, on the frontier. -Meanwhile Russian troops were stealthily advancing and taking possession -of the debateable land. English protests against these tactics ended in an -announcement from Mr. Gladstone, on the 13th of March, that it had been -agreed by Russia that no further advances should be made on either side—the -Russians having then occupied Zulficar and Pul-i-Khisti, and entrenched -themselves near Penjdeh. Early in April it seemed that the Russian General -(Komaroff) on the Kushk, in defiance of the agreement, took Penjdeh. -This was resented by Mr. Gladstone as an “unprovoked aggression” on the -Ameer, and a violation of a binding pledge to the English Foreign Office. -The Government, therefore, called out the Reserves, and asked and received -a Vote of Credit for £11,000,000 sterling (27th of April), to enable them to -defend the interests and honour of the country against Muscovite perfidy.<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a> -Mr. Gladstone’s passionate outburst of patriotism, in which he declared that -till the aggression at Penjdeh were atoned for he could not “close the -book and say we will not look into it any more,” silenced criticism. He -was fortunate enough also to carry a large vote of credit for the Egyptian -account through the House on the tide of excitement he had raised in asking -for the vote against Russia. But his hot fit was soon succeeded by a cool one. -He agreed to “close the book” in terms of a compromise by which Russia -was permitted to hold all that she had furtively seized, pending a delimitation -to be effected in London,<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a> the understanding being, however, that -Russia would surrender Zulficar to the Ameer. As to Komaroff’s attack on -Penjdeh, Russia agreed to submit to the arbitration of the King of Denmark -the question whether it constituted a breach of the agreement announced -by Mr. Gladstone on the 13th of March, but the inquiry was to -be conducted so as “not to place gallant officers on their trial.” The -only gratifying incidents in this painful transaction were the generous offers -of armed support that were made to England by her autonomous colonies, -and by the princes and peoples of India.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_704" id="page_704">{704}</a></span></p> - -<p>It was admitted by Mr. Gladstone that only non-contentious legislation -could be taken during the Session. Still, he made one exception. He announced -that he intended to renew certain “valuable and equitable provisions -of the Irish Crimes Act.” This decision arrived at, after much discussion in -the Cabinet, hurried the Ministry to their fate. The Parnellites privately -obtained assurances from some of their influential Tory allies that if the Irish -votes were so cast as to destroy Mr. Gladstone’s Government, the Tory Government -that came after it would allow the Crimes Act to lapse, and would -abandon Coercion. The Tory leaders, according to Lord Randolph Churchill, -met and resolved to oppose any proposal to renew the Crimes Act or continue -coercive legislation for Ireland.<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a> But it was desirable for them to avoid -the too open manifestation of their alliance with the Parnellites on a question -of supporting the Government in upholding law and order in Ireland. Now -that the Coalition was ready to strike, a side issue had to be discovered on -which united action might be taken without scandal. This was furnished by -Mr. Childers. It happened that, after Whitsuntide, the Cabinet was wrangling -over something else besides Coercion—namely, the Budget—and the financial -situation was not, it must be confessed, a pleasant one. A violent popular -agitation in the autumn against the Admiralty, had produced a panic about the -weakness of the Navy.<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a> Lord Northbrook had then promised to make important -additions to the Navy. Some steps were also to be taken to protect -British coaling stations abroad—and all this helped to increase the Estimates. -The Vote of Credit of £11,000,000 aggravated Mr. Childers’ difficulties. He -had, in short, to face a deficit of a million in his accounts for 1884-85, and, -with a falling revenue, an expenditure in the coming year of £100,000,000! -The country remembering Mr. Gladstone’s furious denunciations of Lord -Beaconsfield’s administration for running up public expenditure to £81,000,000 -in 1879-80, was profoundly chagrined to find that under an economic Liberal -Government, expenditure had been run up in 1885 to £100,000,000. The discussions -in the Cabinet as to how the money should be raised ended in the -adoption of the principle that Labour as well as Property must share the burden. -Mr. Childers, therefore, raised the Income Tax to 8d. in the £, equalised the -death duties on land and personal property, putting a special tax on Corporations -instead of succession duty, and imposed a stamp duty on moveable securities. -These changes, he explained in his Budget speech (April 30th), would</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_117" id="ill_117"></a></p> -<a href="images/plt_005.jpg"> -<img src="images/plt_005.jpg" height="620" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN IN HER STATE ROBES (1887).</p> - -<p>(<i>From the Photograph by Walery, Regent Street.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_705" id="page_705">{705}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_118" id="ill_118"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_705.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_705.jpg" height="390" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MR. GLADSTONE.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Elliott and Fry.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">bring him in £6,000,000 of fresh revenue. By adding two shillings a gallon -to the duty on spirits, and a shilling a barrel to the duty on beer, he expected -to obtain £1,650,000. But this still left him with a deficit of £15,000,000 to -meet. He took £4,600,000 from the Sinking Fund to meet it—leaving a balance -of £3,000,000 to be paid out of the annual revenue. The landed gentry attacked -the Budget because it levelled up the succession duties on land till they were -equal to those on personal property. The liquor trade attacked the changes -in the duties on spirits and beer—so that an excellent opportunity had arisen -for the Tory-Parnellite coalition to deal a fatal blow at the Government on -another issue than that of continuing Coercion. Mr. Childers finding that only -£9,000,000 of the Vote of Credit (£11,000,000) would be needed, offered to halve -the increase on the spirit duty, and limit the increased beer duty to a year<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_706" id="page_706">{706}</a></span>—but -without avail. Sir M. Hicks-Beach moved an amendment which united all -the forces of the Opposition and the Parnellites, and defeated the Ministry on -the 8th of June, by a vote of 264 to 252. Lord Randolph Churchill’s<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a> -speech at Bow on the 3rd of June, was taken as a good guarantee that the -Irish Party need not fear a Coercion Bill from the Tories if they got into -office. “But,” writes Mr. T. P. O’Connor, “even with so strong an assumption -the cautious and realistic leader of the Irish Party was not satisfied; and -the Irish Members did not go into the Lobby to vote against a Liberal -Ministry about to propose coercion until there was an assurance, definite, -distinct, unmistakable, that there would be no coercion from their successors.” -The scene when the numbers were announced will never be forgotten by those -who were present. When it was known that the Government was defeated, -the pent-up excitement of the House found vent in a terrific uproar. -“Lord Randolph Churchill,” writes Mr. Lucy, “leapt on to the bench, and, -waving his hat madly above his head, uproariously cheered. Mr. Healy -followed his example, and presently all the Irish members, and nearly all -the Conservatives below the gangway, were standing on the benches waving -hats and pocket-handkerchiefs and raising a deafening cheer. This was -renewed when the figures were read out by Mr. Winn, and again when they -were proclaimed from the Chair. From the Irish camp rose cries of ‘Buckshot! -Buckshot!’ and ‘Coercion!’ These had no relevancy to the Budget -Scheme; but they showed that the Irish members had not forgotten Mr. -Forster, and that this was their hour of victory rather than the triumph of -the Tories. Lord Randolph Churchill threatened to go mad with joy. He -wrung the hand of the impassive Rowland Winn, who regarded him with a -kindly curious smile, as if he were some wild animal. Mr. Gladstone had -resumed his letter,<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a> and went on calmly writing whilst the clerk at the -table proceeded to run through the Orders of the Day as if nothing particular -had happened. But the House was in no mood for business. Cries for the -adjournment filled the House, and Mr. Gladstone, still holding his letter -in one hand and the pen in the other, moved the adjournment, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_707" id="page_707">{707}</a></span> -crowd surged through the doorway, the Conservatives still tumultuously -cheering.”<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a></p> - -<p>On the following day (9th of June) Mr. Gladstone told the House that -the defeat of the previous evening had caused the Cabinet to submit “a -dutiful communication” to the Queen, then at Balmoral, but as an answer -to it must take some time to reach London, he moved an adjournment till -Friday (12th of June). Strangely enough, the resignation of the Ministry -was unattended by any popular excitement. It was perfectly well known -that the new Cabinet would be merely a stopgap Government, powerless -to do anything except wind up the business of Parliament before the -General Election. On the 12th of June the House was in quite a cheerful -humour when it met to hear from Mr. Gladstone that the Queen had accepted -the resignation of his Cabinet. It was curious that even this -last act of his Ministerial life in the Parliament of 1880-85 was not free -from blunder. “Her Majesty’s gracious reply,” said Mr. Gladstone, “was -made upon the 11th accepting the resignation of <i>Lord Salisbury</i>” a -slip of the tongue which the Premier had to correct amidst shouts of -laughter. At first the Queen was unwilling to accept the resignation of the -Government. She could not admit that Ministers were free to throw the State -into confusion because of a defeat on an Amendment to a Budget. In fact, -it is not quite Constitutional to coerce the free judgment of the Commons on -the financial proposals of Government by threatening Ministerial resignation -if these are not slavishly accepted in detail. Such a practice virtually -ties the hands of the House of Commons as guardians of the public purse. -The Queen, therefore, sought a personal interview with Mr. Gladstone, to -hear his full justification for the course he had adopted, but on his instructing -Lord Hartington to proceed to Balmoral, her Majesty’s request was withdrawn. -It now became apparent to her that the crisis was too serious to -be dealt with from Balmoral. In the last weeks of the Session Parliamentary -time was so valuable that it could not prudently be wasted over a -stagnant interregnum protracted by the journeyings to and fro of Royal -couriers between Aberdeenshire and London. It was accordingly announced -that the Queen would return to Windsor at once—following the course -she adopted in 1866, when confronted with a similar inconvenience. Her -Majesty arrived at Windsor on the 17th of June, when Lord Salisbury had -an interview with her. On the following day he and Mr. Gladstone both -waited on the Sovereign—Mr. Gladstone delivering up the seals of office. -There was, however, a difficulty to be overcome in the transfer of power -which had been created by a tactical blunder of Lord Salisbury’s. He -had told the Queen that if he took office he must exact from Mr. Gladstone -a pledge that the Opposition would not embarrass her new Ministry by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_708" id="page_708">{708}</a></span> -attacks, but loyally co-operate with it in the conduct of its business. Mr. -Gladstone refused to waive his right of criticism, and he pointed out that -he could not, even if he tried, arbitrarily dispose of the will of his supporters. -All he could promise was that he would endeavour to give the new Cabinet -“fair play,” and deal with it on its merits. But Lord Salisbury was not -at first satisfied with this arrangement, and the country was soon startled by -hearing that he had revived the crisis, and that even at the eleventh hour he -would withdraw his consent to serve as Premier. The Queen here intervened -and persuaded him to abandon his pragmatic objections to Mr. Gladstone’s -assurances.<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a></p> - -<p>The Ministry was formed after some fierce struggles in the Tory Party. -Lord Randolph Churchill and his group not only insisted on having high -offices, but they demanded the expulsion of Sir Stafford Northcote from the -leadership of the House of Commons. Sir M. Hicks-Beach deserted his -old chief, and not only went over to his enemies, but even offered himself -as a candidate for his vacant post. The result was that Lord Salisbury -became Premier and Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Sir Stafford Northcote -became Earl of Iddesleigh, and was appointed First Lord of the Treasury. -Sir Hardinge Giffard was made Lord Chancellor; Lord Cranbrook, President -of the Council; Lord Harrowby, Lord Privy Seal; Sir Richard Cross, -Home Secretary; the Duke of Richmond, President of the Board of -Trade; Colonel Stanley, Colonial Secretary; Lord Randolph Churchill, -Secretary of State for India; Mr. W. H. Smith, Secretary of State for War; -Sir M. Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of -Commons; Lord Carnarvon, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Lord John Manners, -Postmaster-General; Lord George Hamilton, First Lord of the Admiralty; -Mr. E. Stanhope, Vice-President of the Council of Education; Mr. A. J. -Balfour, President of the Local Government Board; Sir W. Hart Dyke, -Chief Secretary for Ireland; Mr. Ashmead Bartlett, a Civil Lord of the -Admiralty; Mr. Webster and Mr. J. E. Gorst, Attorney-and Solicitor-General. -Sir H. D. Wolff was sent on a special mission for no very well-defined purpose -to Egypt, so that every member of the Fourth Party, who had organised -the obstructive alliance between the Parnellites and the Tories, was handsomely -rewarded with remunerative places. Sir H. D. Wolff’s appointment -was severely criticised at the time, partly because of his intimate connection -with the Anglo-Egyptian Bank. The only other striking incident in the crisis -was that Mr. Gladstone was offered an earldom by the Queen—an honour -which, however, he declined.<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_709" id="page_709">{709}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_119" id="ill_119"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_709.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_709.jpg" width="425" height="623" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DRAWING-ROOM IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_710" id="page_710">{710}</a></span></p> - -<p>Very soon after Ministers took office Mr. Parnell exacted his price, and -they had to pay it. The Crimes Act was abandoned. It was announced -that the Irish Labourers’ Act would be pressed on. Lord Ashbourne<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a> promised -to bring in a Land Purchase Bill. The Maamtrasna murders, and the -cases of those condemned on account of them, were to be reconsidered—a -somewhat momentous decision, for Lord Spencer’s refusal to revise the -sentence in these cases had been upheld by both Parties as a crucial -point in the policy of maintaining law and order in Ireland. When -the Government threw over Lord Spencer, and not only refused to defend -him from Mr. Parnell’s attacks, but through Lord Randolph Churchill disparaged -his resolute Irish policy, it was clear that great Party changes were -impending. Obviously no English Minister could again feel confident in -governing Ireland with a firm and dauntless hand, after the Tories had flung -Lord Spencer to the lions of Nationalism. Supported by Mr. Parnell and his -followers, Ministers had no difficulty in hurrying through Supply. The -Budget was revised in terms of the decision of the 9th of June, and Lord -George Hamilton discovered a gross blunder in the accounts at the Admiralty, -where Lord Northbrook had spent £900,000—part of the Vote of Credit—in -excess of his estimates without having the faintest suspicion that he was -doing anything of the sort.<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a> Lord Ashbourne’s Land Bill stipulated -that when all the money was advanced by the State to the purchasing -tenants, one-fifth of it should be retained by the Land Commission till the -instalments were repaid. The Scottish Sanitary Bill passed. So did a Bill -brought in by Lord Salisbury to embody the non-contentious points of the -recommendations of the Commission on Housing the Poor. A Bill was -also passed to relieve electors from disqualification on the ground that they -had obtained Poor Law medical relief, and the Session closed with the -demoralisation of parties on the 14th of August.</p> - -<p>No event in 1885 gave the Queen more concern than the failure of Lord -Wolseley’s attempt to relieve Khartoum. The story of General Gordo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_711" id="page_711">{711}</a></span>n’s -mission to the Soudan has already been partially told. It was on the 18th of -January, 1884, that he was instructed by the Cabinet to proceed to Khartoum -to extricate the beleaguered garrisons. He writes, “It cannot be said I was -ordered to go. The subject was too complex for any order. It was, ‘Will -you go and try?’ and my answer was ‘Only too delighted.’<span class="lftspc">”</span><a name="FNanchor_217_217" id="FNanchor_217_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217_217" class="fnanchor">[217]</a> The truth is -that Gordon doubted whether 20,000 Egyptian troops and colonists could be -got out of the Soudan by a process of pacific evacuation. Still, if any one -might achieve the feat he could, and to please the Government, he consented -to “go and try.” His and their idea was that by restoring the old native -families to power he might buy a safe-conduct for the garrisons. On the -8th of February, when he arrived at Abu Hamed, he found that the country -was less disorganised than he had supposed it to be when discussing -its prospects with Cabinet Ministers in London. Therefore he suggested -that a light suzerainty should be exercised over the Soudan, for a time at -least, by the Khedive’s officers. This conviction grew stronger when he -reached Berber. He then said that his mission could not be carried out with -credit to England unless some form of government less heterogeneous than -that of the native chiefs were established, in place of the Egyptian administration -which he was sent to withdraw. Hence, he suggested that Zebehr -Pasha should be appointed Ruler of the Soudan under certain conditions, -and he chose Zebehr because he was not such an atrocious slave-trader as the -Mahdi; because he might be more easily curbed, and because his high -descent from the Abbasides enabled him to exercise real authority over the -Soudanese. Sir Evelyn Baring and Nubar Pasha agreed with Gordon. So -did Lord Wolseley. Mr. Gladstone and Lord Kimberley too, though they -had no love for Zebehr, thought that Gordon’s opinion ought to be deferred -to, but Lord Hartington only gave them a feeble, half-hearted -support, and Lord Granville’s opposition to Gordon’s policy carried the Cabinet -against Mr. Gladstone. Hence Zebehr was not sent. Zebehr naturally took -this decision of the Cabinet as an insult, and forthwith, opened up a treasonable -correspondence with the Mahdi, the discovery of which led to his -arrest and deportation to Gibraltar on the 14th of March, 1885.</p> - -<p>After the refusal to send Zebehr to the Soudan, the Government seem to -have treated Gordon as if they desired to provoke him to take the bit in his -mouth, and in a fit of indignation leave Khartoum without definite orders. Had -he done so Ministers could have successfully argued that having deserted -his post without authority, they were no longer responsible for him. This game -was keenly played between Gordon at Khartoum and Mr. Gladstone’s Cabinet -in London, aided by the Egyptian Government and its English advisers, Egerton -and Baring, at Cairo. But every point in it was won by Gordon, who in March -warned Egerton and Baring that they must decide quickly, for the sands were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_712" id="page_712">{712}</a></span> -running fast in the hour-glass. He also put in their hands a plan for getting -the Government out of the difficulty without sending a relief expedition. He -had not at that time so far committed the people at Khartoum against the -Mahdi that it would be dangerous to leave them to make terms with the -False Prophet. He had to prevent his armed steamers from falling into -the Mahdi’s hands, and Khartoum from being utilised as a base of operations -against Lower Egypt. He therefore told the Government that if -they held Berber, and accepted his proposal as to Zebehr, it was worth while -to keep him (Gordon) at Khartoum. But if not, then he warned his masters -that it was useless to hold on to Khartoum, for, he wrote, “it is impossible -for me to help the other garrisons, and I shall only be sacrificing the whole -of the troops and <i>employés</i> here. In the latter case your order to me had -better be to evacuate Khartoum.” On receipt of that order he proposed to -send his intrepid lieutenant, Colonel Stewart, and the fugitives who wished -to return to Egypt, down the Nile to Berber. He himself, and as many of -his black troops as would go with him, were then to take the armed steamers, -and the munitions of war from the arsenal of Khartoum, and make their escape -southwards up the White Nile. He guaranteed, in that event, to hold the -Bahr Gazelle country and Equatorial regions against the slave-traders, and -pin the Mahdi in Khartoum by organising a negro State in his rear, which, -like the Congo Free State, he suggested might be put under Belgian protection. -But he warned the Government that if this plan were to be attempted -he must get the order to quit Khartoum at once, for in a few days the way -of retreat to Berber would be closed. The order never came. In fact, -the only order he got from his superiors at this time, was to hold on to -Khartoum till further notice. Had the instructions which he asked for been -sent, there would have been no Nile Expedition with its many disasters, -including the fall of Khartoum, and the massacre of its inhabitants.<a name="FNanchor_218_218" id="FNanchor_218_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218_218" class="fnanchor">[218]</a></p> - -<p>The tardy resolution to send a Relief Expedition to Khartoum has already -been alluded to. On the 16th of December, 1884, Lord Wolseley joined -the camp which had been pitched at Korti by Brigadier-General Sir Herbert -Stewart, and received intelligence from Gordon, informing him that four -steamers with their guns were waiting for the expedition at Metamneh, and -that Khartoum could hold out with ease for forty days after the date of the -letter (November 4th). It was not till the 30th of December that Stewart -was able to dash into the desert with the Camel Corps to seize the wells -of Gakdul. On the 31st a message from Gordon, dated the 29th of October, -arrived, showing that Khartoum still held out, but that he was in dire -straits, and, on the 1st of January, 1885, the first boats with the Black<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_713" id="page_713">{713}</a></span> -Watch reached Korti. On the 3rd General Earle left to join his force -which was proceeding up the river to Berber. On the 5th the Naval Brigade -arrived, and Sir Herbert Stewart returned from Gakdul. On the 8th he -began his march across the Bayuda Desert with a motley force of 120 officers -and 1,900 men. The Mahdi, on hearing of the occupation of Gakdul on the -2nd of January, resolved to crush Stewart’s force at the end of its Desert -march, and Lord Wolseley’s eccentric tactics gave him thirteen clear days in -which to concentrate his forces at Abu Klea, where he barred the way to -Metamneh.<a name="FNanchor_219_219" id="FNanchor_219_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219_219" class="fnanchor">[219]</a> It was not till the 16th of January that Stewart got touch of -the enemy at Abu Klea. During the night our men were harassed by the -Arab sharp-shooters, and next day Stewart was artfully drawn into a difficult -position, and forced to march out in square formation and give his antagonist -battle. When our skirmishers were within 200 yards of the enemy’s flags, the -square was halted to let its rear close up. Then, to the amazement of everybody, -the Arabs sprang forth from the ravine where they had been hiding, -as Roderick Dhu’s warriors rose from the heather. Stewart’s skirmishers -ran back in hot haste. The Arabs charged furiously, and, when slightly -checked at a distance of about 80 yards, they suddenly swept round to the -right and broke the rear face and angle of the British square. For a -moment there was dreadful confusion, and had the camels not checked the -Arab onset Stewart’s force would have been annihilated, like the army of -Hicks Pasha at El Obeid. However, the enemy were beaten back with great -loss of life, and the day was saved. It was in this affray that Colonel Fred -Burnaby lost his life. The square was broken first, because the Gardner gun -at the corner jammed, and was useless after the tenth round; secondly, -because General Stewart foolishly trusted cavalry men and seamen to hold the -exposed angles;<a name="FNanchor_220_220" id="FNanchor_220_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220_220" class="fnanchor">[220]</a> thirdly, because the cartridges of some of the rifles jammed, -and shook the soldier’s confidence in his weapon.</p> - -<p>Stewart’s losses, especially in camels, were so heavy that his first idea -was to halt at Abu Klea for reinforcements. But he decided to push on, even -at the risk of leaving his wounded behind him. The wells of Abu Klea were -occupied, and it was then ascertained that the 10,000 Arabs who had been -defeated, were but the advanced guard of a great army near Metamneh. -Papers were discovered, among which was a letter from the Emir of Berber to -the Mahdi, showing that Stewart’s occupation of Gakdul had caused the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_714" id="page_714">{714}</a></span> -concentration of the Arabs in force at Abu Klea. The expedition was thus at -the outset marred by a fatal blunder in generalship. If Stewart had gone -straight across the Bayuda Desert, without wasting time at Gakdul, he would -have had no enemy barring his path to Metamneh. By letting the Mahdi’s -troops concentrate at Abu Klea, he met with the check that delayed his progress -till it was too late to save Khartoum.<a name="FNanchor_221_221" id="FNanchor_221_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221_221" class="fnanchor">[221]</a></p> - -<p>On the 18th of January Stewart made a forced night march towards -the Nile, which he hoped to strike three miles above Metamneh. His -column got into terrible disorder in the dark, for men and cattle were -utterly exhausted from hunger and want of sleep. At 7 a.m. it came -within sight of Metamneh—men and horses and camels being scarcely able -to walk. It was resolved to rest for breakfast before attacking the town, -but the Arabs closed round Stewart’s zareba, and poured in a dropping -fire, which did serious execution. At 10.15 a.m. Stewart himself was shot, -and the command was assumed by Sir Charles Wilson, Chief of the Intelligence -Department, who happened to be the senior colonel on the field. -Sir Charles Wilson, though an officer in the Royal Engineers, was really a -scholar and diplomatist who had spent most of his life in civil employment. -Still, he did not shrink from the task which an unforeseen accident imposed -on him. He undertook the strategic direction of the column, but prudently -handed over the tactical control to Colonel Boscawen of the Guards. -Having fortified the zareba, Wilson quickly formed his main body into a -square, and determined to make a dash for the Nile. Had he not ventured -on this perilous step, the whole column must have perished from thirst. Every -inch of the way had to be contested, but happily Wilson’s frigid temperament -seemed to have in some degree communicated itself to his men. Hence, the -same troops who at Abu Klea under Stewart’s showy but exciting leadership -got out of hand and fired wildly, were soon calm and steady, and held -in complete check by their officers. They had not proceeded far when -swarms of Arabs, as at Abu Klea, charged down upon the square from a -ridge at a place known as Abu Kru. At first Wilson’s troops began -to fire at random as at Abu Klea, and no shot told. Then he ordered -the bugles to sound “Cease firing,” and the officers coolly kept the men -at rest for five minutes, which steadied their nerves. By this time the -enemy had come within 300 yards of the square, from which volley after -volley was now suddenly poured forth, and with such deliberation that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_715" id="page_715">{715}</a></span> -the Arab spearmen turned and fled, not one of them getting within fifty -yards of Wilson’s position. This is the only instance where British troops -in the Soudan won a complete victory without being themselves touched -by sword or spear. The square now hastened on to the river, and -camped for the night. Next day (20th) they carried water to their wounded -comrades in the zareba. They then conveyed them down to the camp by -the Nile,<a name="FNanchor_222_222" id="FNanchor_222_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222_222" class="fnanchor">[222]</a> where they found some of Gordon’s steamers waiting for them. -Wilson’s force was now in a sorry plight, and before he took command discontent -was smouldering in its ranks. It had been kept toiling and fighting -for four days with little food and less sleep. It had lost in killed and -wounded one-tenth of its number. And now with its General disabled, it -found itself encumbered by a heavy train of wounded, without means of communication -with its base, menaced by a formidable fortress, and assured that -two great armies were closing on it from Berber and Khartoum. Little -wonder that the soldiers murmured sulkily that they had been led into a -trap. Wilson’s orders were, that on arriving at the river he must proceed -to Khartoum with a small detachment, the mere exhibition of whose red -coats Lord Wolseley imagined would cause the Mahdi to raise the siege. -But Wilson was not to let his men even sleep in Khartoum, and he was only -to stay there long enough to confer with Gordon! In plain English, Lord -Wolseley ordered him to march twenty or thirty men into Khartoum and -come away again, after telling Gordon, who was every day awaiting his doom, -that he must expect no effective succour till far on in March. Wilson, -however, resolved, like a loyal commander, not to desert his comrades until -he had seen them safely entrenched—and till he had, by reconnoitring, -allayed their dread of an attack from Berber. The Naval Brigade was so -disabled that he was forced to use Gordon’s crews for the steamers, and, in -obedience to Gordon’s instructions, he had to weed out of these crews all -untrustworthy Egyptians. He had also to reconnoitre the fortress of Metamneh.</p> - -<p>This work kept Wilson busy till the 24th of January, when he proceeded -up the Nile, arriving on the 28th of January within a mile and a half of -Khartoum. He found that the city had fallen on the 26th, when the -Buri gate had been opened by treachery to the Mahdi’s troops, who had -rushed in and made the streets of the doomed town run red with blood. -Gordon it seems was killed, on refusing to surrender, by a small party of -Baggarahs, who met him coming out of his palace. While reconnoitring -Khartoum, Wilson’s two steamers were so hotly engaged with the enemy’s -batteries that he was forced to turn back.<a name="FNanchor_223_223" id="FNanchor_223_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223_223" class="fnanchor">[223]</a> On the return voyage he adroitly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_716" id="page_716">{716}</a></span> -foiled the plans of some of his followers who attempted to betray him to the -Mahdi, but unfortunately his steamers were wrecked, it is supposed, by the -treachery of his pilots. He was, however, rescued by Lord Charles Beresford -in one of the armed vessels from Gubat, to which Wilson brought back his -party without loss of life.<a name="FNanchor_224_224" id="FNanchor_224_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224_224" class="fnanchor">[224]</a> Wilson found his force in safety, but sadly depressed -because they had heard nothing from headquarters. He immediately -proceeded thither in terms of his instructions, to report the fall of Khartoum -to Lord Wolseley, and urge him to relieve Gubat without delay.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_120" id="ill_120"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_716.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_716.jpg" width="428" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAP OF THE WAR IN THE SOUDAN.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Little need be said of the fall of Khartoum—the crowning disaster of the -campaign. Gordon’s Journals show how, alone and unaided, in defending the -city, during a siege that lasted 319 days, he kept at bay the swarming hordes -of the Mahdi. The romantic record of his life amply illustrates his higher<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_717" id="page_717">{717}</a></span> -qualities—the chivalry and loyalty; the sweet, gentle manners, the kindliness -of heart, the stainless honour, the infinite self-abnegation, the patient -endurance, the stubborn valour, the natural and acquired military skill that -made him</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i4">“A soldier fit to stand by Cæsar<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And give direction.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>His Khartoum “Journals” show more than that. They prove that from first -to last through the long series of transactions that led up to the fall of the -city, Gordon was the only man who kept his head cool, who acted from firm -set purpose, who was not afraid to look on the facts with naked eyes, whose -inexhaustible ingenuity in dealing practically with every fresh difficulty as it -arose never failed him or his masters, and whose shrewd and sagacious prevision -was never once ignored, save at the cost of cruel suffering to those who -refused his guidance.<a name="FNanchor_225_225" id="FNanchor_225_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225_225" class="fnanchor">[225]</a> Valour and virtue such as his can indeed “outbuild -the Pyramids.” Of the millions of English men and English women, who -mourned over the heroic defender of Khartoum, none grieved more bitterly -for his loss than the Queen. To his sister she wrote as follows:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“Osborne, 17th February, 1885.<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Dear Miss Gordon</span>,—<i>How</i> shall I write to you, or how shall I attempt to express <i>what -I feel</i>! To <i>think</i> of your dear, noble, heroic Brother, who served his country and his Queen so -truly, so heroically, with a self-sacrifice so edifying to the world, not having been rescued. -That the promises of support were not fulfilled—which I so frequently and constantly pressed -on those who asked him to go—is to me <i>grief inexpressible</i>!—indeed, it has made me ill! -My heart bleeds for you, his Sister, who have gone through so many anxieties on his account, -and who loved the dear Brother as he deserved to be. You are all so good and trustful, and -have such strong faith, that you will be sustained even now, when real absolute evidence of -your dear Brother’s death does not exist—but I fear there cannot be much doubt of it. Some -day I hope to see you again to tell you all I cannot express. My daughter Beatrice, who has -felt quite as I do, wishes me to express her deepest sympathy with you. I hear so many expressions -of sorrow and sympathy from <i>abroad</i>; from my eldest daughter, the Crown Princess, -and from my Cousin, the King of the Belgians, the very warmest. Would you express to -your other Sisters and your elder Brother my true sympathy, and what I do so keenly feel—the -<i>stain</i> left upon England for your dear Brother’s cruel, though heroic, fate!—Ever, dear -Miss Gordon, yours sincerely and sympathisingly,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“V.R.I.”<a name="FNanchor_226_226" id="FNanchor_226_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226_226" class="fnanchor">[226]</a><br /> -</p></div> - -<p>After Gordon’s death public interest in the “sad Soudan” slowly faded. -The River Column under General Earle’s skilful guidance had won a brilliant -little victory at Kirbekan, where, however, its gallant leader lost his life. He -was succeeded by General Brackenbury, who ascended the river steadily to -Abu Hamed. Suddenly, however, Lord Wolseley ordered both columns to -retreat on Korti, and hold Dongola till his autumn campaign of vengeance -against the Mahdi could be undertaken. Meanwhile, General Graham, -with 9,000 men, and an Indian and Australian Contingent,<a name="FNanchor_227_227" id="FNanchor_227_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227_227" class="fnanchor">[227]</a> was to drive<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_718" id="page_718">{718}</a></span> -back Osman Digna at Suakin, and lay a railway from that port to Berber. -Graham defeated the Arabs in several engagements, though in one of them -the skill with which the Arabs surprised a zareba almost reproduced the -disaster of Isandhlwana. But the dispute with Russia afforded a plausible -excuse for freeing England from the incubus of the Soudan, and in April -Lord Wolseley evacuated Dongola and fell back on the line of Wady Halfa. -The Suakin railway was abandoned, and when Lord Salisbury’s Government took -office they, too, adhered to the policy of evacuation. The Mahdi died. Osman -Digna became entangled in hostilities with the Abyssinian Ras Alula, who -attempted to raise the siege of Kassala, and for a time it seemed as if all -fears of disturbances on the Egyptian frontier were dispelled. Towards the -end of the year, however, the Arabs attacked an advanced post beyond -Assouan, where they were skilfully repulsed by General Stephenson at the -battle of Kosheh.</p> - -<p>Turning to the social events of 1885, the most remarkable was the sudden -announcement on New Year’s Day of the betrothal of the Princess Beatrice -to Prince Henry of Battenberg, the younger brother of Prince Louis, the -husband of the Princess’s niece—Victoria of Hesse. For fourteen years the -Princess Beatrice had been the close companion of the Queen, and their lives -had in time become so closely intertwined that a separation could hardly be -contemplated by either with equanimity. It was therefore quite natural that -Prince Henry of Battenberg, whose fortune was hardly adequate to the maintenance -of a separate establishment, should permit intimation to be made -that he was to live with the Princess in attendance on the Queen. The -announcement of the marriage was as surprising to the Royal Family as it -was to the people. In the country the old prejudice against the marriage of a -Princess who claimed a dowry from the State, with a person outside the Royal -caste speedily manifested itself. Indeed, the feeling against the arrangement -was even stronger than that which prevailed when the Princess Louise married -the Marquis of Lorne. After all, the latter was the son of a great noble on -whose birth no stain of ambiguity rested. Prince Henry of Battenberg, on -the other hand, was the offspring of a “morganatic” marriage between Prince -Alexander of Hesse and the Countess Hauke, the granddaughter of a Polish -Jew, who had entered the service of the Hessian Court in a very subordinate -capacity. It was difficult to get the populace to understand that a morganatic -marriage was in a certain sense a legal union—not void, though possibly -under pressure of State exigencies voidable by the Royal husband—that in fact -there was nothing disreputable in such an alliance, save in the sense in which it -is considered a social offence for a great noble to marry his mother’s scullery-maid. -The hostility of the German Crown Princess and the Court of Berlin to -the connection did much to create an erroneous impression in England as to the -status of Prince Henry. The Prince’s lack of fortune did not redeem his lack -of social position—and it was most unfortunate that his nearest connection<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_719" id="page_719">{719}</a></span> -with Royalty was through his cousin the Grand Duke of Hesse. For the -divorce suit raised by the Grand Duke against the Countess de Kalomine, a lady -whom he had “morganatically” married in secret on the very night when his -daughter, the Princess Victoria, was wedded to Prince Louis of Battenberg, -had rendered his family extremely unpopular in England.</p> - -<p>That some friction had been created in the Royal Family by the unexpected -introduction of Prince Henry to its circle was soon made manifest. -When Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the Heir-Presumptive to the Throne, -came of age on the 8th of January, neither the Queen, nor the Princess -Beatrice, nor Prince Henry of Battenberg—then at Osborne—graced with -their presence the joyous celebrations at Sandringham, which were attended -by all the other members of the Royal Family. It was also remarked that -Prince Henry left England without receiving the congratulations of the Prince -of Wales on his betrothal. At a Privy Council, which the Queen held at -Osborne on the 26th of January, her Majesty’s formal consent to her -daughter’s marriage was given.</p> - -<p>Preparations had been made early in March for the Queen’s Easter visit -to Darmstadt, but owing to the death of Princess Charles of Hesse, mother -of the Grand Duke, her Majesty’s arrangements were altered, and it was -decided that she should visit Aix-les-Bains first and take Darmstadt on the -return journey. Her Majesty left Windsor on the last day of March for the -Villa Mottet, a charming residence in the grounds of the Hôtel de l’Europe, -Aix-les-Bains, while the Prince and Princess of Wales spent their Easter in -paying a State visit to Ireland. The Queen’s holiday was sadly broken by -the diplomatic controversy with Russia as to the Afghan frontier. Piles -of despatch-boxes were given to her when she started, and as many as fifty -telegraphic messages a day in cipher were sent to her and answered. Before -proceeding to Darmstadt, her Majesty, who had been using her influence with -the German Court in order to induce Russia to accept an honourable -compromise, offered to return to Windsor if Ministers desired her presence. -Mr. Gladstone was not of opinion that this sacrifice was necessary, and on -the 23rd of April she accordingly proceeded to Darmstadt, where she -again occupied the new Palace on the Platz which had been built for the -Princess Alice. At this time her Majesty was much grieved at the reckless -and bellicose tone of London Society. She was so anxious to counteract -it that the Prince of Wales, knowing her feeling on the subject, was supposed -to have dropped some hints at Marlborough House which suddenly -imparted quite a pacific tone to the fire-eaters of Piccadilly. Couriers -passed so frequently between the Queen and the German Emperor, who with -the Crown Prince gave her Majesty much sympathetic aid and counsel -throughout the crisis, that the German Press were alarmed lest the Emperor -was about to intervene as a mediator between Russia and England. A war -between the two nations would have been extremely inconvenient to the Royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_720" id="page_720">{720}</a></span> -Family—in fact, it had been arranged in anticipation of such a calamity that -the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh must break up their establishment in -England, and retire to Coburg. Another circumstance forced a pacific policy -on the Court. The Duke of Edinburgh had not concealed from the Sovereign -the fact that the Fleet was effective solely on paper. Indeed, had Admiral -Hoskins, who was ordered to hold himself in readiness to proceed with his -squadron to the Baltic, attempted to carry out his instructions, he would -have found himself paralysed, simply because he had neither efficient guns nor -transport. On the 2nd of May the Queen, returned to Windsor, where she -held an anxious consultation with Lord Granville next day. On the 12th of -May her Majesty held a Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, but as on -previous occasions, she stayed only a short time, leaving the Princess of -Wales as usual to complete the function.</p> - -<p>On the 14th of May, Mr. Gladstone carried a resolution in the House of -Commons that an annuity of £6,000 a year should be granted to the Princess -Beatrice on her marriage; and, by way of conciliating the House, promised that -in the next Parliament a Committee would be appointed to consider the plan on -which what he called “secondary provisions” for the younger members of the -Royal Family, should be made.<a name="FNanchor_228_228" id="FNanchor_228_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228_228" class="fnanchor">[228]</a> The proposed annuity was opposed on the old -ground that the Queen was rich enough to support her own family, and Mr. -Labouchere argued that as she never had a right to the hereditary revenues of the -Crown, the plea that she had given up her income for a Civil List was invalid. -But it is certain that in the Royal Speech, at the opening of Parliament in 1837 -the Queen said, “I place unreservedly at your disposal those hereditary revenues -which were transferred to the public by my immediate predecessor,” -and in the Address the Queen was then not only thanked for her generosity, -but promised an adequate Civil List in return. It was also forgotten that -at least four impecunious princely families—those of the Duke of Albany, Prince -Louis, Prince Henry of Battenberg, and Prince Christian—must be a charge -on the private income of the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_229_229" id="FNanchor_229_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229_229" class="fnanchor">[229]</a></p> - -<p>On the 22nd of May the Court went to Balmoral. The Russian dispute -was now compromised, so that the Queen was able to thoroughly enjoy her -Highland visit. She spent much of her time in the cottages and homes of -the peasantry, to whom she was unusually lavish this year with gifts commemorating -her birthday. When she arrived she found that the celebrated -cradle and rope bridge over the Dee at Abergeldie—which most of the Royal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_721" id="page_721">{721}</a></span> -personages in Europe had used at different times—was removed, and replaced -by a substantial footbridge which had been put up at her expense. But the -fall of Mr. Gladstone’s Government shortened the Queen’s sojourn in Scotland, -and she had to return to Windsor on the 17th of June. Complaints were -made that she was absent in Aberdeenshire when the Ministerial crisis -occurred. But the crisis was unexpected, and since the Prince Consort’s death -the Queen has always preferred Balmoral to Windsor during Ascot Race -week. The death of Prince Frederick Charles (the “Red Prince”) of Prussia, at -the comparatively early age of fifty-seven, deprived Germany of one of her -ablest military tacticians, and sent the English Court into mourning. He -was the father of the Duchess of Connaught, to whom he bequeathed a large -part of his vast wealth. By a strange blunder which gave infinite annoyance -to the Queen, not only did the Prince of Wales appear at Ascot after -the event, but her Majesty’s order that Court mourning should begin on the -16th was not officially proclaimed till the 18th. The Royal procession at -Ascot on the afternoon of the “Red Prince’s” death, caused much irritation -at the Court of Berlin.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_121" id="ill_121"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_721.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_721.jpg" width="391" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS BEATRICE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_722" id="page_722">{722}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the 9th the Court removed to Osborne—the Queen being desirous of -personally supervising the arrangements for the Princess Beatrice’s marriage, -which was to take place in Whippingham Parish Church. As there was -no precedent for a Royal marriage in a country parish church, Sir Henry -Ponsonby and the Court officials had considerable trouble in ordering the -ceremony. They were further perplexed by the various instructions which -day after day came from the Queen and the Princess. On the 23rd -of July the marriage was solemnised by the Archbishop of Canterbury, -the Bishop of Winchester, the Dean of Windsor, and Canon Prothero, -Vicar of Whippingham. The ceremony was one of demi-state only; and, -although the wedding procession was very pretty, especially when seen in -the golden light of a July day, it was not brilliant. The nieces of the Princess -Beatrice were her bridesmaids, and most of her near relations were present. -The family of Hesse-Darmstadt was well represented; and, with the exception -of Mr. Gladstone, most of the leading personages in English Society were -present. Yet somehow the ceremony seemed to lack the courtly importance and -dignity of other Royal marriages, and the absence of the German Crown -Prince and Princess, who were not even represented by any of their family, -was only too noticeable. The German Emperor, who had been deeply -incensed by the de Kalomine scandal, had not yet been persuaded to -look kindly on the Court of Darmstadt; but the German Empress, on the -other hand, testified her interest in the bride by sending Princess Beatrice a -Dresden china clock and bracket as a wedding gift. After the marriage the -Queen conferred the Order of the Garter on Prince Henry of Battenberg—adding -one more to the already crowded companionship of Royal Knights. This -distinction had never before been given to a foreign personage not a monarch -<i>de facto</i>, or born in the Royal caste, and there can be no doubt that the other -Royal Knights of the family would have considered the Order of the Bath a -more suitable distinction for Prince Henry.<a name="FNanchor_230_230" id="FNanchor_230_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230_230" class="fnanchor">[230]</a> It was also intimated in the -<i>Gazette</i> (July 24th, 1885) that Prince Henry would forthwith assume the title -of Royal Highness—a rank, however, which could not be conceded to him -outside of English territory.<a name="FNanchor_231_231" id="FNanchor_231_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231_231" class="fnanchor">[231]</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_723" id="page_723">{723}</a></span></p> - -<p>It is remarkable that no family objections were raised to the recognition -of Lady Augusta Lennox, who had long been married to Prince Edward of -Saxe-Weimar, as the Princess Edward. Till 1885 she had only been received -in Court as the Countess Dornburg, a title which had been “created” for -her on her marriage, in spite of her high social position as daughter of the -Duke of Richmond, to satisfy the exigencies of German etiquette.</p> - -<p>After the close of the Parliamentary Session, the Court went from Osborne -to Balmoral (August 25th), where the Princess Beatrice and her husband received -a warm Highland reception. Life at Balmoral was somewhat dull, but in -her walks and drives the Queen was now accompanied by Prince Henry of -Battenberg as well as the Princess Beatrice. When not in attendance on -the Queen, the Prince occasionally found amusement in deerstalking in the -Balloch Pine and Abergeldie grounds. Her Majesty remained at Balmoral till -the 18th of November, when she returned to Windsor to hold a Council, at -which she sanctioned the dissolution of Parliament. On the 9th of December, -accompanied by the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg, -the Queen presented medals for service in the Soudan to a number of -Guardsmen at Windsor. On the 18th of December she left Windsor for -Osborne. It was now plainly intimated to her Majesty that the royal rank -and precedence conferred on Prince Henry of Battenberg would not be recognised -at Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburg, the Courts at which capitals -insisted on treating the marriage of the Princess Beatrice as a purely “morganatic” -one. The difficulties which arose out of this incident were further -aggravated when the Queen permitted the Count and Countess Gleichen to -assume the rank and title of Prince and Princess Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenberg.<a name="FNanchor_232_232" id="FNanchor_232_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232_232" class="fnanchor">[232]</a></p> - -<p>In the spring of 1885 a rebellion of French half-breeds in the Canadian -North-West, led by Riel, one of the pardoned insurgents who had been engaged -in the Red River rising, was suppressed with great skill and ability by the -Canadian Militia, under General Sir Frederick Middleton. Riel was tried -and hanged for treason.</p> - -<p>The misrule of Theebaw, the half-crazy King of Burmah, together with -his intrigues with the French—then busy with the conquest of Tonquin—led -to disputes between the Indian and Burmese Governments. The result -was a war which ended in the deposition of King Theebaw and the annexation -of Upper Burmah to the Indian Empire.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_724" id="page_724">{724}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE BATTLE OF THE UNION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Mr. Chamberlain’s Doctrine of “Ransom”—The Midlothian Programme—Lord Randolph Churchill’s Appeal -to the Whigs—Bidding for the Parnellite Vote—Resignation of Lord Carnarvon—The General Election—“Three -Acres and a Cow”—Defeat of Lord Salisbury—The Liberal Cabinet—Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule -Scheme—Ulster threatens Civil War—Secession of the Liberal “Unionists”—Defeat of Mr. Gladstone—Lord -Salisbury again in Office—Mr. Parnell’s Relief Bill Rejected—The “Plan of Campaign”—Resignation -of Lord Randolph Churchill—Mr. Goschen becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer—Riots in the West End -of London—The Indian and Colonial Exhibition—The Imperial Institute—The Queen’s Visit to Liverpool—The -Holloway College for Women—A Busy Season for her Majesty—The International Exhibition at -Edinburgh—The Prince and Princess Komatsu of Japan.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> closing months of 1885 were devoted to preparations for the General -Election. Mr. Chamberlain’s speeches developed his doctrine of “ransom” -with a vigour of language and directness of purpose that terrified the -Whigs. At Bradford he demanded Disestablishment, and thus concentrated -the malice of the Church on the whole Liberal Party. Mr. -Gladstone issued a moderate manifesto to his constituents, known as the -“Midlothian Programme,” in which he attempted to neutralise Mr. Chamberlain’s -“unauthorised programme.” The reform of Parliamentary procedure, -and Local Government, the reform of the Registration Laws, and of -land transfer were the famous “four points” on which he dwelt. As for -Mr. Chamberlain’s suggestions for disestablishment, for education, graduated -Income Tax, and the abolition of the House of Lords, he put them aside, -refusing to peer “into the dim and distant courses of the future.” The -Tory leaders professed themselves equally willing to reform Procedure, the -Land Laws, and Local Government, and attacked the Whigs for their alliance -with the Birmingham School of Radicals. Lord Randolph Churchill, in fact, -appealed to the Whigs to coalesce with the Tories in resisting what Lord -Hartington called “measures of a Socialistic tendency.” Both parties in the -State made high bids for the Irish Vote. Mr. Chamberlain offered to Mr. -Parnell a scheme of Home Rule, under which Ireland would be governed by -Four Provincial Parliaments—in fact, he furbished up an old idea which the -venerable Earl Russell had shed from his mind when it was in the last stage -of decay. The Tories, through Lord Carnarvon, offered Mr. Parnell some form -of Home Rule under which Ireland was to have a Legislature of her own -with the right to levy Protective Duties on imported goods.<a name="FNanchor_233_233" id="FNanchor_233_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233_233" class="fnanchor">[233]</a> Though Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_725" id="page_725">{725}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_122" id="ill_122"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_725.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_725.jpg" width="624" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OPENING OF PARLIAMENT IN 1880: THE ROYAL PROCESSION IN WESTMINSTER PALACE ON THE WAY, -TO THE HOUSE OF PEERS.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_726" id="page_726">{726}</a></span></p> - -<p>Salisbury’s Newport address was ambiguous in its references to Home Rule, -it rather gave colour to the prevalent belief that if the Tories could win a -majority by the Irish vote, they would hold power by giving Ireland Home -Rule. At the same time, it is but right to say that Lord Salisbury and his -colleagues never appear to have committed the Cabinet to Lord Carnarvon’s -bargain with Mr. Parnell. Indeed, they even seem to have told Lord Carnarvon -that, personally, they disapproved of his Irish policy. They, however, -still retained his services as a Cabinet Minister, though Lord Salisbury had -discovered that he was a Home Ruler.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parnell issued a manifesto fiercely attacking the Liberal Party, and -ordering all Irishmen to give their votes to the Government. The Liberals, -on the other hand, appealed to the people for such a majority as would enable -Mr. Gladstone to defy Mr. Parnell. The elections began on the 24th of -November. They showed that in the boroughs the Liberal Party was -shattered, though it had, through Mr. Chamberlain’s doctrine of ransom, won -in the counties all along the line.<a name="FNanchor_234_234" id="FNanchor_234_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234_234" class="fnanchor">[234]</a> The new House of Commons it was -found would contain 333 Liberals, 251 Tories, and 86 Parnellites, not one -Liberal having been returned by Ireland. In the circumstances it was hopeless -for the Ministry to attempt a settlement of the Irish Question on Lord -Carnarvon’s lines.<a name="FNanchor_235_235" id="FNanchor_235_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235_235" class="fnanchor">[235]</a> They had, even with the Irish vote, only a majority of -four. But then, if they dared to make concessions to Mr. Parnell, this -majority of four would inevitably be converted, by the secession of the Ulster -Tories, into a minority of eight. The Liberal Leaders, on the other hand, were -in an equally difficult predicament. They, too, could not hope to govern the -country save by the Irish vote. It was quite possible, moreover, for the -Government, by conceding Home Rule, to detach from the Liberals a sufficient -number of Radicals to more than counterbalance the Ulster secession. -In these circumstances Mr. Gladstone towards the end of the year let it be -known indirectly that he was in favour of giving Ireland Home Rule.</p> - -<p>Ere Parliament opened on the 12th of January, 1886, the resignation of -Lord Carnarvon indicated that Ministers had dissolved the connection between -the Tory Party and the Parnellites. The House of Commons elected Mr. -Peel as its Speaker, and when Mr. Bradlaugh appeared he took the Oath -in the ordinary manner. The Queen’s Speech was read on the 21st of -January by her Majesty in person, but its references to Ireland were vague,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_727" id="page_727">{727}</a></span> -though they foreshadowed the introduction of a Coercion Bill. In the preliminary -skirmishes Mr. Gladstone threw out overtures to the Irish Party -which Mr. Parnell and Mr. Sexton hailed with effusive delight. The Government, -on the other hand, announced the introduction of a Coercion Bill, which -would also suppress the National League. The Liberals and Parnellites now -promptly united to support an Amendment moved by Mr. Jesse Collings, -which censured the Ministry for refusing to bring in a Labourers’ Allotments -Bill, and the Coalition defeated the Government by a vote of 329 to 258. -The opposition of Lord Hartington and Mr. Goschen to the Amendment showed -that the Whigs at least were afraid of Mr. Gladstone’s return to office, after -his vague and ambiguous promises of concessions to the Home Rulers. Lord -Salisbury resigned, and when Mr. Gladstone formed his Ministry it was seen -that many of his old colleagues, such as Lord Hartington, Mr. Goschen, Mr. -Forster, Lord Selborne, Lord Northbrook, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Cowper, -and Sir Henry James, had refused to join him. The appointment of Lord -Aberdeen as Irish Viceroy was not very significant. But that Mr. John -Morley, the most pronounced of all the English advocates of Home Rule, -should have been appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland meant much. -Lord Rosebery was made Foreign Secretary, and Mr. Campbell-Bannerman -Secretary at War. Both were known to be Home Rulers. Lord Spencer, -disgusted at his betrayal by the Tory Party, had also become a convert -to Home Rule principles, and was appointed President of the Council. -Oddly enough Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Trevelyan, who were both pledged -against Home Rule, had joined the Ministry. But they had been induced -to do so on the assurance that, in the meantime, the policy of the -Cabinet would be merely to examine and inquire into the Home Rule -question.</p> - -<p>During the spring nothing was done in the matter. The House of -Commons refused to press Ministers upon their Irish policy, evidently deeming -it reasonable that Mr. Gladstone should have time to work it out. Lord -Hartington and the Whigs, however, adopted an attitude of independence -which showed that Mr. Gladstone had failed to heal the divisions in the -Liberal Party. Hence, when it was announced that Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. -Trevelyan, on being informed of Mr. Gladstone’s proposals for the reform of -the Irish Government, had resigned office, it was evident that the fate of the -Ministry was sealed.</p> - -<p>On the 8th of April Mr. Gladstone expounded the scheme, which set up -in Ireland an Executive Government, responsible to an Irish Legislature, -capable of dealing with all matters save the Crown, the Army and Navy, -Foreign and Colonial Policy, Trade, Navigation, Currency, Imperial taxation, -and the endowment of churches. The Lord-Lieutenant, on the advice of his -Ministers, was to have a power of veto. The Irish Legislative Body was to -consist of two Orders, voting apart, the first to comprise representative peers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_728" id="page_728">{728}</a></span> -and members elected under a £25 property qualification, and the second -members chosen by household suffrage. In the event of collision between the -two Orders, the measure in dispute was to be held in suspense for three -years, or until a dissolution. The Irish contribution to the Imperial Revenue -was fixed at £3,242,000. On the 13th of April Mr. Gladstone introduced a -Land Bill as a complementary measure to his Home Rule Bill. He proposed -to give every Irish landlord the option of selling his land to an authority -appointed by the Irish Government, who would sell it to the tenants, the -purchase-money being advanced through the Imperial Exchequer by an issue -of Consols. These advances the tenant was to repay in instalments spread -over forty-nine years, and twenty years’ purchase was taken as the basis of -the price. The amount to be advanced at first under the Bill was to be -£50,000,000, but in the original draft it was nearly £300,000,000. The -repayments were to be secured on the Irish Revenue, and paid to a British -Receiver-General in Ireland. The opponents of the whole scheme contended -that it gave no effective guarantee for Imperial unity, that it put the loyal -minority entirely in the power of the disloyal majority in Ireland, that it -multiplied the risks of collision between Ireland and the Imperial Government, -that, in point of fact, it was virtually a Bill to repeal the Union. Mr. -Gladstone’s chief argument in favour of the scheme was that the English -democracy could no longer be trusted to hold Ireland down by repressive -legislation, and that Home Rule was the only alternative to Coercion. Moreover, -as Coercion bred Irish disloyalty, it weakened the Imperial power of -England in the world. Though the Orangemen of Ulster plainly declared -that they would plunge into civil war rather than submit to a Home Rule -Government in Ireland, Mr. Parnell accepted the Bill in principle as an -adequate concession of the Nationalist claims.</p> - -<p>The weak points in the scheme were soon detected. One of these was -the exclusion of the Irish Members from the House of Commons—the only -proposal of Mr. Gladstone’s which had been hailed with applause from both -sides of the House when he expounded his Bill. The absence of the Irish -Members from the House of Commons was taken as a visible sign, not only -that the Parliamentary Union between Ireland and the United Kingdom was -dissolved, but that the control and authority of the Imperial Parliament over -Ireland was impaired. The Purchase scheme alarmed the taxpayers, who -objected to pledge the credit of England in order to buy the Irish landlords -out of Ireland. It is now known that, if Mr. Gladstone had made concessions -by promising to reconsider the question of retaining the Irish Members -at Westminster, and to remodel the Bill accordingly, the Second Reading would -have been carried. A meeting of Liberals was indeed held at the Foreign -Office to hear what concessions Mr. Gladstone would make. Subsequently, in -explaining his speech at this meeting to the House of Commons, his phraseology -seemed to the wavering Liberals so illusory that they refused to support him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_729" id="page_729">{729}</a></span> -Lord Hartington and Mr. Chamberlain accordingly organised their followers -(about fifty in number) into a separate Parliamentary party, describing themselves -as Liberal Unionists, and at their first meeting a letter was read from -Mr. Bright casting in his lot with theirs. They bound themselves to vote -against the Second Reading of Mr. Gladstone’s Bills.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_123" id="ill_123"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_729.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_729.jpg" height="384" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>LORD TENNYSON.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by H. H. H. Cameron, Mortimer Street, W.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>On the 7th of June the Home Rule Bill was rejected by a majority of -341 against 311. Mr. Gladstone obtained from the Queen permission to -dissolve Parliament and appeal to the country. The Ministerial candidates, -at the General Election which followed, relied mainly upon the contention -that Home Rule was the only alternative to Coercion, and the Tories and -Liberal Unionists, on the other hand, pledged themselves to govern Ireland -without Coercion, and still retain the Parliamentary Union unbroken. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_730" id="page_730">{730}</a></span> -Liberal Unionists and the Tories formed an alliance for electoral purposes -similar to that which Lord Malmesbury, in 1857, had vainly attempted to -cement between the Peelites and the Derbyites. The Irish vote failed to -balance the votes of the Liberal Unionists, and when the new House of -Commons was elected it was found to consist of 316 Tories, 76 Liberal -Unionists, 192 Liberal Home Rulers, and 86 Parnellites. Mr. Gladstone -resigned, and Lord Salisbury formed a Ministry, having unsuccessfully endeavoured -to persuade Lord Hartington and the Liberal Unionist leaders to join -a Coalition Cabinet. The services rendered by Lord Randolph Churchill in -rousing the fanaticism of Ulster were rewarded with the Chancellorship of -the Exchequer and the leadership of the House of Commons. Lord Iddesleigh -became Foreign Secretary; Mr. Matthews, Q.C., who had carried one -of the seats in Birmingham, became Home Secretary; Sir M. Hicks-Beach -was deposed from the leadership of the Commons, and relegated to his old -post of Chief Secretary for Ireland. As soon as Lord Salisbury assumed -office he found that a fresh agrarian crisis was menacing Ireland. The -Irish farmers were demanding a revision even of the fixed judicial rents in -terms of the recent fall in prices. There seemed no end to the difficulty, -and, in a pessimist mood, Lord Salisbury, at the opening of the Session, -declared that he was now in favour of getting rid of the dual-ownership -of land in Ireland. In fact, he accepted the principle of a great Land-Purchase -scheme, but he also broached the theory that, if judicial rents were cut -down, the State should recoup the landlords for their losses.</p> - -<p>After the debates on the Address were over Mr. Parnell brought in a -Relief Bill, allowing tenants who deposited half their rent in Court to claim -from the Court a revision of their rents. The Bill was rejected by the combined -vote of the Tories and Liberal Unionists. Mr. Dillon now advised the -Irish tenants to refuse to pay more rent than they could afford. His suggestion -was that they should combine on each estate, offer the landlord a -fair rent, and if this was refused, deposit it in the hands of trustees, and use -it to resist eviction. This was known as “The Plan of Campaign” against -rack-renters, and it was widely adopted all over Ireland. Sir M. Hicks-Beach -and Sir Redvers Buller, who had been sent to organise the police in Kerry, -apparently discovered that there was much truth in Mr. Parnell’s contention, -that the fall in prices had made judicial rents impossible. The Irish Government, -at all events, now put pressure on rack-renting landlords, in order to -prevent them from demanding full rents and from evicting if they were not -paid. But Ministers declined to legislate for Ireland till the following -Session, though they appointed Commissions to amass materials for legislation. -Parliament was prorogued on the 25th of September.</p> - -<p>During the autumn the schism between the Liberal Unionists and the -Liberals widened. At Leeds the Liberals pledged themselves anew to adhere -to Mr. Gladstone’s Home Rule policy. On the 7th of December Lord<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_731" id="page_731">{731}</a></span> -Hartington’s followers held a Conference in London, at which further arrangements -were made for completing their organisation as a distinct Party -pledged to maintain the Union. As the year closed various rumours of dissensions -in the Cabinet were promulgated. There had been a good deal of -agitation against the wasteful extravagance and inefficiency of the spending -departments of the State, and Lord Randolph Churchill was called on by -public opinion to redeem the pledges in favour of economy which he gave at -Blackpool on the 24th of January, 1884. In attempting to do this he found -himself thwarted by his colleagues, and, to the astonishment of his Party, -he resigned office. He was succeeded by Mr. Goschen, who entered the -Cabinet, with Lord Hartington’s sanction, as a Liberal Unionist, thereby -illustrating afresh the closeness of the coalition between the Dissentient -Liberals and the Tories.</p> - -<p>During the year there was some agitation raised as to the sad condition -of the unemployed in London. The Tories had taken advantage of this to -revive the Protectionist Movement under pretence of advocating Fair Trade at -meetings held in Trafalgar Square. On the 8th of February, however, the -Socialists followed suit, and organised a demonstration in favour of their -panacea for poverty. The police arrangements were somewhat defective. A -crowd of roughs and thieves who hovered round the fringe of the mob -evaded the constabulary, rushed along Pall Mall and Piccadilly smashing the -windows of the clubs and sacking the principal jewellers’ shops. The agitation -proceeded, and a counter demonstration to the Lord Mayor’s Show on the -9th of November was even planned. It was, however, prohibited by the police.</p> - -<p>As the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee was now within measurable -distance, already there were great manifestations of popular feeling in -favour of Imperial Unity. In this year the Imperial Federation League -was founded for the purpose of drawing closer the bonds between the -Colonies and the Mother Country. The Indian and Colonial Exhibition -at South Kensington was organised by the Prince of Wales on a scale -of sumptuous splendour which attracted visitors to London from all parts -of the globe. It was opened with great pomp and ceremony by the -Queen in person on the 4th of May, in the presence of the more prominent -members of the Royal Family, the great dignitaries in Church and State, -and the representatives of India and the Colonies. This amazing display of -the vast resources of the Empire soon degenerated into an evening lounge. -But it brought together a vast number of able men from every quarter of -the world interested in the problem of Imperial Federation, and the Prince -of Wales dexterously seized the opportunity thus created for him to establish -a centre and rallying-point for British Imperialism. He started the movement -that ended in the foundation of the Imperial Institute. The Queen -visited the Exhibition several times, paying special attention to the Indian -Court, and conversing graciously with the Indian workmen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_732" id="page_732">{732}</a></span></p> - -<p>On the 11th of May her Majesty visited Liverpool to open the International -Exhibition in that city. On the 13th she visited the Seamen’s -Orphanage, and afterwards sailed down the Mersey, contrasting the scene -with that on which she gazed when, in 1851, she made a similar excursion -with the Prince Consort. Then the Queen was the guest of Lord Sefton; -on this occasion she was the guest of the city of Liverpool, the Municipality -having fitted up Newsham House for her accommodation. On the -15th she returned to Windsor, the effect of her visit having been to vastly -increase her popularity in the North of England. On the 26th of May the -Court proceeded to Balmoral. During the absence of the Court in Scotland -the Prince and Princess of Wales stimulated the gaiety of the London -Season. It was remarkable for the prevalence of Sunday re-unions, the -patronage of which by the Heir Apparent soon made them fashionable even -among serious Church-going people. On the 30th of June the Queen opened -the Royal Holloway College for Women at Egham, an institution for the -higher education of women founded by the vendor of the famous ointment -and pills. As women had been among the chief buyers both of the ointment -and the pills, there was a touch of irony in Mr. Holloway’s bequest that -recalled the legacy left by Swift to found a madhouse for the use of the Irish -people. On the 2nd of July her Majesty reviewed 10,000 troops at Aldershot, -and on the 5th entertained a large number of the Indian and Colonial visitors -at Windsor. She attended the brilliant garden-party given by the Prince -and Princess of Wales at Marlborough House on the 10th; and on the 20th, -accompanied by the Princess Beatrice and Prince Henry of Battenberg, left -Windsor for Osborne, where she was soon absorbed in the business attendant -on a change of Ministry. On the 17th of August her Majesty left Osborne -for Edinburgh, where, on the 18th, she visited the International Exhibition. -On the 20th the Queen went to Balmoral, where she remained till the -4th of November. On the 5th she visited the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch -at Dalkeith Palace, and inspected the Hospital for Incurables at -Edinburgh, returning to Windsor on the 6th. On the 22nd her Majesty -received at Windsor, with much ceremony, their Imperial Highnesses the -Prince and Princess Komatsu of Japan, and on the 29th the Court removed -to Osborne.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_733" id="page_733">{733}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_124" id="ill_124"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_733.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_733.jpg" width="390" height="270" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>OPENING OF THE INDIAN AND COLONIAL EXHIBITION: THE QUEEN’S TOUR.</p></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE JUBILEE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Fiftieth Year of the Queen’s Reign—Mr. W. H. Smith Leader of the Commons—Sudden Death of Lord -Iddesleigh—Opening of Parliament—The Queen’s Speech—The Debate on the Address—New Rules for -Procedure—Closure Proposed by the Tories—Irish Landlords and Evictions—“Pressure Within the Law”—Prosecution -of Mr. Dillon—The Round Table Conference—“Parnellism and Crime”—Resignation of Sir -M. Hicks-Beach—Appointment of Mr. Balfour—The Coercion Bill—Resolute Government for Twenty -Years—Scenes in the House—Irish Land Bill—The Bankruptcy Clauses—The National League Proclaimed—The -Allotments Act—The Margarine Act—Hamburg Spirit—Mr. Goschen’s Budget—The -Jubilee in India—The Modes of Celebration in England—Congratulatory Addresses—The Queen’s Visit -to Birmingham—The Laureate’s Jubilee Ode—The Queen at Cannes and Aix—Her Visit to the Grande -Chartreuse—Colonial Addresses—Opening of the People’s Palace—Jubilee Day—The Scene in the Streets—Preceding -Jubilees—The Royal Procession—The German Crown Prince—The Decorations and the -Onlookers—The Spectacle in Westminster Abbey—The Procession—The Ceremony—The Illuminations—Royal -Banquet in Buckingham Palace—The Shower of Honours—Jubilee Observances in the British -Empire and the United States—The Children’s Celebration in Hyde Park—The Queen’s Garden Party—Her -Majesty’s Letter to her People—The Imperial Institute—The Victorian Age.</p></div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> was on the 20th of June, 1886, that the Queen entered on the fiftieth -year of her reign. But her Majesty naturally refused to assume that she -would live to the end of it, and she accordingly determined that the actual -celebration of her Jubilee should be put off till the 20th of June, 1887. -Thus it came to pass that 1887 will be known as the Jubilee Year of the -Victorian period. It was a year that opened badly for the Government. -The sudden resignation of Lord Randolph Churchill at the close of 1886<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_734" id="page_734">{734}</a></span> -rendered a reconstruction of the Cabinet necessary. Efforts were made in -vain to induce some of the Whig Peers to join the Ministry, but, as we -have seen, at last Mr. Goschen was persuaded to accept the office of -Chancellor of the Exchequer. The leadership of the Commons was given to -Mr. W. H. Smith, who was made First Lord of the Treasury; whilst Lord -Salisbury, who held that office, assumed the Secretaryship of State for -Foreign Affairs. This involved the enforced retirement of Lord Iddesleigh -in somewhat painful circumstances, which were further heightened by his -sudden death from heart-disease on the 13th of January. The discreditable -intrigue, which began by deposing him from the Leadership of the House -of Commons, thus ended tragically. Some of the leaders of the Liberal and -Liberal Unionist Parties were also endeavouring to discover some means of -reconciling these now hostile factions. Parliament was opened on the 27th -of January, and the Speech from the Throne plainly foreshadowed the introduction -of a Coercion Bill for Ireland. It hinted at a Land Bill as a -possible measure; indeed, had it not done so the alliance between the -Government and the Liberal Unionists would have been weakened. Other -measures promised were Bills for reforming local government in England, -Scotland, and, “should circumstances render it possible,” in Ireland, for -cheapening private Bill legislation, and land transfer. An Allotments Bill, -a Tithe Bill, a Railway Rates and Merchandise Marks Bill, were also in -the programme, which was large and varied. But the debate on the Address -showed that no opposed Bills were likely to pass unless the House of -Commons reformed its procedure, and to this task the Tory Party had most -grudgingly to apply itself. Six sittings were spent on the Address as a -general subject of discussion. After that amendments relating to the -evacuation of Egypt and the Irish policy announced in the Queen’s Speech -were debated. Three Scottish amendments were next brought forward, so -that when, at the sixteenth sitting of the House, Mr. Dillon began to -denounce jury-packing in Dublin, the Speaker ruled him out of order. A -motion for an adjournment was defeated, and a motion to consider the condition -of unemployed labourers in England was declared by the Speaker to -have been sufficiently discussed after two speeches were delivered. The -Closure, so dreaded by the Tories in former Parliaments, was then applied -by Mr. Smith, a vote taken, and the Address disposed of on the 17th of -February.</p> - -<p>The Government lost no time in preparing to meet the obstruction with -which their Coercion Bill was already threatened. They circulated their new -rules for debates, and on the 21st of February Mr. W. H. Smith moved the -adoption of the Closure, vesting the initiative in applying it not in the -Speaker, which was the old rule, but in a bare majority of the House, provided -always that at least 200 Members voted for it. The Liberal Leaders -supported the proposal on principle, but complained that the new rule was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_735" id="page_735">{735}</a></span> -still too weak, and that it ought to be applied unconditionally. Their view -was confirmed in the following year, when Mr. W. H. Smith was forced to -reduce the necessary quorum of 200 to 100. Meanwhile events had been -moving apace in Ireland. The Chief Secretary, Sir M. Hicks-Beach, finding -that the landlords were cruelly straining their rights against the poorer -tenantry, urged them to be merciful for the sake of peace. He put upon -them what he called “pressure within the law,” which practically meant that -he hinted to them that he would refuse them the aid of the police in enforcing -warrants of the Courts. In other words, he seemed to be exercising -the “dispensing power” of the Executive, little more than a year after Mr. -Morley had been forced to apologise for even suggesting its exercise. In -Ireland evictions were resisted by force, and lurid pictures of the state of the -country were drawn by the supporters of the Government. The prosecution -of Mr. Dillon and other Irish leaders for a conspiracy to defeat the law, -because they advocated the Plan of Campaign, broke down through the disagreement -of a Dublin jury. The negotiations between the Liberal Unionists -and Liberals at the “Round Table Conference” were said to be producing -happy results, and it was soon noised abroad that the Government not only -hesitated to demand a Coercion Bill, but that Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was -ruling the Irish with a hand so light that they were lapsing into lawlessness. -The <i>Times</i> published a series of articles designed to prove that Mr. -Parnell and the Irish Home Rule Members were secretly in league with the -Party of Assassination. Mutterings of mutiny were heard from the Irish -Tories, and at this crisis Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, against whom these complaints -were directed, suddenly resigned. This step, however, had been -rendered necessary in consequence of his failing eyesight rather than from -considerations of a political character. To his post Lord Salisbury appointed -his nephew, Mr. Arthur James Balfour, pledged to carry out an unflinching -policy of Coercion. Sir George Trevelyan, one of the secessionists from the -Liberal Party, about this time showed by his public utterances that he had -now returned to Mr. Gladstone’s party.</p> - -<p>On the 23rd of March Mr. Smith moved that the Crimes Bill have precedence -over all other orders—and then the battle began. It was not till -the 28th that Mr. Balfour was able to move for leave to introduce the -measure, in a speech which seemed to show either that his case was exceptionally -weak, or that he had not been able to master it.<a name="FNanchor_236_236" id="FNanchor_236_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236_236" class="fnanchor">[236]</a> The Bill gave -magistrates power to inquire into crimes where no person was charged. It -gave two resident magistrates summary jurisdiction and power to inflict -imprisonment up to six months in cases of criminal conspiracy, boycotting, -rioting, assaults on the police, and in cases of inciting to these offences. It -gave the Lord-Lieutenant power to “proclaim” certain associations as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_736" id="page_736">{736}</a></span> -dangerous, and to subject to the penal clauses of the Bill any one who after -that took part in them. The Bill was to be a permanent measure, and not like -former Coercion Bills, merely passed for a fixed period of time. Violent scenes -occurred during the debates which led up to the Second Reading of the -measure on the 28th of April, and the House was in an irritable mood -because it had been forced to sacrifice most of its Easter holiday. In spite -of the frequent use of the Closure, the first clause, which was scarcely a -contentious one, was not carried in Committee till the 17th of May. When -the fourth clause was reached, on the 10th of June, Mr. W. H. Smith moved -a resolution that if the Bill were not reported at 10 p.m. on the 17th, the -remaining clauses should be put to the vote without debate. When that hour -struck Sir Charles Russell was speaking on the sixth clause. The Chairman -stopped the debate, and put the question, the Irish Members leaving the -House in a body. After the division the Liberal Members also left, and the -rest of the Bill passed without any more opposition. It was read a third -time on the 8th of July, and having been adopted by the Peers, it received -the Queen’s assent on the 19th of July. The determination of the Government -to carry the Coercion Bill was natural. It had been admitted by all clear -thinkers that, unless Home Rule were granted to Ireland, she could only be -governed under Coercion. Moreover, the introduction of the Bill before the -Liberal Unionists and Liberals had been reconciled, forced the former to vote -for Coercion, which rendered the gulf between them and the old Liberal Party -practically impassable. But ere the Liberal Unionists thus burned their boats, -they had induced the Ministry to bring in a conciliatory Irish Land Bill in -the House of Lords. The Peers sent it down to the Commons on the 4th of -July, when the Second Reading was moved on the 12th. The Bill adopted -Mr. Parnell’s proposal of the previous year, to admit leaseholders to the -benefit of the Land Act of 1881; it gave notice of eviction the same effect as -the actual service of an ejectment writ, and gave the Courts power to stay -execution, and arrange for payment of rent on easy terms when the tenants -were in distress. But when insolvent, it provided for them relief from rent -and all other debts by a process of bankruptcy, allowing them, however, to -retain their farms. Mr. Campbell-Bannerman attacked the bankruptcy clauses, -and demanded a revision of all Irish rents in terms of the fall in prices. To -a general revision of rents the Government would on no account assent. But -the revolt of one of the Liberal Unionists, Mr. T. W. Russell, compelled them -to reconsider the bankruptcy clauses. The Tories argued that it was unjust -to ask the landlord to accept a composition for rent from the farmer, when the -tradesmen to whom he owed money were not expected to abate their claims. -Mr. Parnell and Mr. T. W. Russell contended that no analogy could be drawn -between rent and trade debts. The latter had never been disputed by the debtor. -The former had been disputed. The tenant who owed money to his grocer or -seed-merchant never denied that he had got value for it. But he did deny<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_737" id="page_737">{737}</a></span> -that he had got value for the money his landlord claimed as rent, and he was -able to prove this in court when the rent was cut down. To insist, as did -Mr. Chamberlain, on relief from just and unjust claims being given with equal -ease under a process of gentle bankruptcy, at which the State was asked to -connive, was to make an attack on property and on credit from which -even the leaders of the Paris Commune might have shrunk. It was tantamount -to asserting that whenever a man was able to show that one creditor -had overcharged him 30 per cent. he was entitled to refuse payment of his -just debts to all creditors who had not overcharged him, unless they too took -30 per cent. off their bills. When this was made clear not even Mr. Chamberlain’s -advocacy sufficed to save the bankruptcy clauses, which were accordingly -dropped. But by way of conciliating the landlords the Government insisted -on applying the vicious principle to arrears of rent. No relief from unjust -arrears was to be given unless they were to be dealt with in bankruptcy -alongside just and undisputed trade debts. The result was that when the -Bill passed it had a fatal defect in it. It prohibited landlords from evicting -for unjust rents, but by this clause it left them free to evict for the arrears -which had accumulated under rents which the Courts decided to be unjust. -On the 19th of August the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland “proclaimed” the -National League as a dangerous association, thereby enabling Mr. A. J. Balfour -to suppress any branch of it he thought fit under the Crimes Act.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_125" id="ill_125"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_737.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_737.jpg" width="399" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE QUEEN’S VISIT TO EDINBURGH (1886): HER MAJESTY LEAVING HOLYROOD PALACE.</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Government were now compelled to abandon the bulk of their legislative -programme. They, therefore, made no attempt to proceed with any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_738" id="page_738">{738}</a></span> -measures unless they were so democratic that the Liberals could not with decency -oppose them. Hence they passed a Coal Mines Regulation Bill, an Allotments -Bill—disfigured, however, by the obstacles in procedure which it put in the -way of labourers who applied for allotments—and a Bill to prevent substitutes -for butter known as “Margarine,” from being sold as butter. The success -of this measure led to a demand for a similar Bill to prevent publicans from -selling poisonous Hamburg spirit as “Fine Old” Cognac, or Scotch or Irish -whisky. Baron de Worms, as representative of the Board of Trade, however, -though eager to prohibit shopkeepers from selling a wholesome animal fat -as butter, was shy of prohibiting the publicans—whose votes were of some -value to the Tory Party—from selling poisonous Hamburg alcohol as old -brandy. Mr. Goschen’s Budget was introduced on the 21st of April. He -described it himself as a “humdrum” Budget—though as a matter of fact, -as Lord Randolph Churchill said, if <i>he</i> had proposed it the country would -have denounced it as a scheme full of financial depravity. The Estimates had -been taken to show a revenue of £89,689,000, and an expenditure of -£89,610,000. The actual receipts, however, for the past year had been -£90,772,000, and the actual expenditure £88,738,000. In spite of supplementary -estimates, amounting to £1,129,000, there was a surplus on the -year’s accounts of £776,000. Mr. Goschen’s general statement showed that -not only were the taxes yielding less than they ever did, but that, though -the rich and the poor had suffered much from commercial and agricultural -depression, the profits of the middleman had not been reduced. For the -coming year he took the revenue to amount, on the existing lines of taxation, -to £91,155,000, and the expenditure he set down at £90,180,000, leaving a -surplus of £975,000. To this he added £100,000 by increasing the duty on the -transfer of Debenture Stocks, and by minor changes in the Stamp Duty. He -then added to it a further sum of £1,704,000, by reducing the charges for the -public debt. His surplus was thus inflated to £2,779,000, of which he spent -£600,000 in reducing the Tobacco Duty, £1,560,000 in taking a penny off the -Income Tax, £280,000 in relieving Local Taxation, £50,000 in aid of Arterial -Drainage in Ireland, leaving him a probable surplus of £289,000. To manufacture -a surplus by the simple process of ceasing to pay off debt, would -certainly not have secured for any other Chancellor of the Exchequer, except -Mr. Goschen, the reputation of a financial puritan. Mr. Gladstone and Lord -Randolph Churchill demonstrated by unanswerable arguments the unwholesomeness -of the financial policy which reduced the payments for the National -Debt by cutting down the Income Tax instead of by cutting down departmental -expenditure. But Mr. Goschen’s Budget gave everybody a little relief all round, -and was accepted quite irrespective of the unsound principles on which it was -based. It was, in fact, the first illustration afforded by a Household Suffrage -Parliament of the deteriorating influence of democracy on the financial policy -of the nation. Parliament was prorogued on the 16th of September.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_739" id="page_739">{739}</a></span></p> - -<p>But public interest in politics faded as the Session grew old. Indeed, -from the beginning of the year, the attention of the country was more and -more concentrated on the movements of the Queen. It was known that she -had nerved herself to emerge from her seclusion, and, in some degree, discard -the mourning weeds she had worn so long. The first note of the Jubilee was -struck in India, where the great Imperial festival was celebrated on the 16th of -February. In presidency towns, inland cities, the capitals of Protected States—even -in Mandalay, the capital of the newly-conquered State of Upper Burmah, -natives and Europeans vied with each other in acclaiming the event. Announcements -of clemency, banquets, plays, the distribution of honours, reviews, -illuminations, were not the only methods adopted for celebrating the -Jubilee. At Gwalior all arrears of land-tax—amounting to £1,000,000—were -remitted. Libraries, colleges, schools, waterworks, hospitals, and dispensaries -were opened in honour of the Empress.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“These are Imperial works and worthy thee,”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">might well be the comment of the chronicler on such celebrations. All over -England preparations were now being made for the great anniversary. In -every town meetings were held to decide as to the mode of its observance, -and it was curious to notice that everywhere the people desired to localise -their rejoicings. Public parks, libraries, town-halls, museums, hospitals—in a -word, the foundation of works and institutions of public usefulness in each -locality was universally regarded as the best means of honouring the occasion. -There was only one Jubilee institution of national grandeur that -won public favour—the Imperial Institute. It was originated, as has been -noted, by the Prince of Wales, and it was to his energy and skill in -appealing for public support that the enormous funds needed for its endowment -were now collected. In March the congratulatory addresses began to come in—the -Convocation of Canterbury, whose deputation headed by the Primate was -received by the Queen at Windsor on the 8th of March, leading the way.</p> - -<p>On the 23rd of March Birmingham, in spite of the boisterous weather, -was <i>en fête</i> to receive her Majesty who arrived to open the new Law -Courts in that town, and few who were present will ever forget the -mighty shout of enthusiasm that rose up from the swarming throng, when -the Queen’s procession turned into New Street. Never was Royalty more -loyally received than in the Radical capital of the Midlands. The Democratic -demonstration at Birmingham gave point to the passage in the -Laureate’s Jubilee Ode, in which he wrote:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Are there thunders moaning in the distance?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Are there spectres moving in the darkness?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Trust the Lord of Light to guide her people,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till the thunders pass, the spectres vanish,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the Light is victor, and the darkness<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Dawns into the Jubilee of the Ages.”<br /></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_740" id="page_740">{740}</a></span></div></div> -</div> - -<p>On the 29th of March her Majesty, accompanied by the Princess Beatrice -and Prince Henry of Battenberg, left Windsor for Portsmouth, where they embarked -in the Royal yacht for Cannes. On the 5th the Royal party went -to Aix-les-Bains, where the Queen occupied her old rooms at the Villa -Mottet. Aix was wonderfully free from visitors, and she, therefore, enjoyed -almost complete privacy during her stay. By the special sanction of the -Pope her Majesty, on the 23rd of April, was allowed to visit the Monastery -of the Grande Chartreuse, within whose precincts no woman’s foot is permitted -to tread. She returned to Windsor on the 29th of April. On the -4th of May she received at the Castle the representatives of the Colonial -Governments, who presented her with addresses congratulating her on having -witnessed during her reign her Colonial subjects increase from fewer than -2,000,000 to upwards of 9,000,000 souls, her Indian subjects from 96,000,000 to -254,000,000, and her subjects in minor dependencies from 2,000,000 to 7,000,000. -On the 9th her Majesty held a court at Buckingham Palace, at which the -Maharajah and Maharanee of Kutch Behar and the Maharajah Sir Pertab Sing -were presented to her. On the 10th she held a Drawing Room, and afterwards -visited a private performance of the feats of the American cowboys, -and Indians, and prairie-hunters at the “Wild West Show” at Earl’s -Court. On the 14th she opened the People’s Palace at Whitechapel, an -institution which had grown out of a suggestion in Mr. Walter Besant’s -romance of “All Sorts and Conditions of Men.” The route of procession from -Paddington was seven miles long, and it was thronged with people, who gave -the Queen as warm a welcome as she had received in Birmingham. On her -return her Majesty visited the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. This was -a remarkable event, for her Majesty had not entered the Municipal Palace since -she had visited it with her mother two years before her accession. Her -Majesty partook of tea and strawberries with her Civic hosts, with whom she -spent fully half-an-hour, charming the company with her affability. On the -20th the Court removed to Balmoral, where the Queen found her mountain -retreat covered with snow. On the 17th of June the Court returned to -Windsor, and on the 18th her Majesty received at the Castle the Maharajah -Holkar of Indore, and several Indian princes and deputations from Native -States.</p> - -<p>The Jubilee itself was celebrated on the 21st of June. The chief streets -of London were given over to carpenters and upholsterers, gasmen, and floral -decorators, who transformed them beyond all possibility of recognition. On -the night of the 20th the town was swarming with people, who had come out -in the hope of seeing some of the illuminations tried. As the day dawned -crowds began to stream into the metropolis, and in the forenoon every face -wore a festal aspect. Fabulous prices had been paid for seats along the line -of procession, and those who had secured places were in possession of them -early in the morning. Everybody was in good humour, and the police were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_741" id="page_741">{741}</a></span> -exceptionally amiable. At the point of departure—Buckingham Palace—there -were no decorations, but the presence of the Guards and of the seamen of the -Fleet, who were on duty within the gates, gave animation to the scene. As -eleven o’clock—the hour of starting—approached, a strange silence seemed to -fall over the noisy, gossiping crowd, as if men and women felt awed and -touched at the sight of their aged Sovereign proceeding in State from her -Palace to the old Abbey to thank God for permitting her to see the fiftieth -year of her reign. Only thrice in the history of England had a Jubilee been -celebrated, and in none of these cases was there, as now, ground for unalloyed -joy. But for the founding of our Parliamentary System, none would care to -recall the distracted reign of Henry III. That of Edward III., glorious -as it was at its beginning, was clouded with disaster at its end. That of -George III. cost the dynasty, not a Crown, but a continent. On the Jubilee -Day of Queen Victoria there was, however, no room for any feeling save -that of gratitude and pride that, under her gentle sway, the English people -had gained and not lost dominion upon earth. It was not till the head of -the procession moved along, and the Royal carriages came in sight, that -the pent-up feeling of the dense masses of spectators found utterance in -volley after volley of cheers. The Queen’s face was tremulous with emotion, -and yet there was triumph as well as grateful courtesy in her bearing as -she bowed her acknowledgments to her subjects. Beside her were the Princess -of Wales and the German Crown Princess, the latter beaming with happiness -and delight to find that her countrymen still held her dear. The loyal -tumult all along the line literally drowned the blare of bands and trumpets.</p> - -<p>The first part of the procession consisted of carriages in which were seated -the sumptuously apparelled Indian Princes, in robes of cloth of gold, and -with turbans blazing with diamonds and precious gems, who had come from -the far East to celebrate the Jubilee of their Empress. Following them came -carriages with the Duchess of Teck, the Persian and Siamese guests of the -Queen, the Queen of Hawaii, the Kings of Saxony, Belgium, and Greece, -and the Austrian Crown Prince. Life Guards followed, and behind them -came two mounted lacqueys of the Court. To them succeeded escorts -of Hussars and Life Guards, followed by outriders in scarlet. In the first -part of the procession were eleven carriages. Of these, five conveyed the -Ladies-in-Waiting and the Great Officers of the Household. The sixth -conveyed the Princess Victoria of Sleswig-Holstein, Princess Margaret of -Prussia, and Prince Alfred of Edinburgh. In the seventh were seated -the Princesses Victoria and Sophie of Prussia, Princess Louis of Battenberg, -and Princess Irene of Hesse. The eighth conveyed the Princesses -Maud, Victoria, and Louise of Wales. In the ninth were the Duchess of -Connaught and the Duchess of Albany. In the tenth were the Duchess of -Edinburgh, Princess Beatrice, Princess Louise, and Princess Christian. Between -the eleventh carriage and the Queen’s rode the brilliant procession of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_742" id="page_742">{742}</a></span> -Princes, whose appearance all along the route gave the signal for an outbreak -of cheering. In the first rank rode the Queen’s grandsons—Prince Albert -Victor and Prince William of Prussia being among the most conspicuous. -Following them came the Queen’s sons-in-law, the German Crown Prince, -Prince Christian, the Grand Duke of Hesse, and Prince Henry of Battenberg. -The Marquis of Lorne had started with the procession, but his horse took -fright and threw him, about 300 yards from the Palace, whereupon he returned -on foot, and, borrowing a charger from an Artillery officer, rode by himself to -the Abbey by Birdcage Walk. Of this group, the central figure was that of the -German Crown Prince, whose white uniform and plumed silver helmet attracted -general admiration. Covered with medals and decorations, most of which he -had won by his prowess in battle, he sat his charger as proudly as a mediæval -knight, in whom the spirit of old-world German chivalry lived again. His fair, -frank face became radiant with delight, when he found that peal after peal -of applause greeted him whenever he appeared. Partly owing to his picturesque -figure, partly to his manly and heroic character, and partly, no -doubt, to honest sympathy with his sufferings under the disease that had -suddenly smitten him in the very prime of life, the German Crown Prince -received an ovation more effusive even than that bestowed on the ever-popular -Prince of Wales, and almost equal to that which greeted the Queen herself. -After her sons-in-law came her sons, the Duke of Connaught, the Prince of -Wales, and the Duke of Edinburgh. They, too, were hailed with cheering -that was prolonged, and that deepened in volume till her Majesty’s carriage -passed. A gorgeous cavalcade of Indians brought the splendid procession to -a close. Along the route, from the Palace up Constitution Hill, round Hyde -Park Corner, on through Piccadilly, down Waterloo Place, past Trafalgar -Square, along Whitehall to Westminster Abbey, every house was glowing -with many-tinted draperies, with bunting, and with floral decorations, and -every balcony and window were crowded with bright and happy faces framed -in festoons of roses and laurel.</p> - -<p>The scene in the Abbey was impressive. Municipal dignitaries, representatives -of the Universities, civic functionaries of the higher order, -representatives of the Church and the Law, Lords-Lieutenant and their -deputies, High Sheriffs, Officers of the Auxiliary Forces, Diplomatists, Ministers -of State in Windsor uniforms, Officers of the Household, Foreign Princes and -Potentates, and their suites—in fact every invited guest privileged to wear -robe or uniform, contributed to the mass of varied colour that, after a -time, almost tired the eye. Among the earliest arrivals were the Princess -Feodore of Saxe-Meiningen, the Prince Albert, and the Princess Louise of -Sleswig-Holstein, the Princess Alice of Hesse, the Princesses Mary, Victoria, -and Alexandra of Edinburgh, the Princess Frederica, Baroness Pawel von -Rammingen, Baron Pawel von Rammingen, Prince and Princess Edward of -Saxe-Weimar, the Prince and Princess of Leiningen, Prince and Princess<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_743" id="page_743">{743}</a></span> -Victor of Hohenlohe, with the Countesses Feodora and Victoria Gleichen, and -Count Edward Gleichen. Then entered the swarthy Chiefs and Princes of -India, among whom the stately and resplendent Holkar was very prominent. -The Queen of Hawaii followed, and after her came the Princess Victoria -of Teck, and the Princes Adolphus, Francis, and Alexander of Teck, -Prince Frederick of Anhalt, Prince Ernest of Saxe-Meiningen, the Duke and -Duchess of Teck, the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenberg, Prince Ludwig of -Baden, Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg, the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the -Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, G.C.B., Prince Ludwig of -Bavaria, the Duke of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, the Infante Don Antonio of Spain, -the Infanta Donna Eulalia of Spain, the Duc d’Aosta, the Crown Prince of -Sweden, the Crown Prince and Princess of Portugal, the Austrian Crown -Prince, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the King of -Saxony, the King and Queen of the Belgians, Prince George of Greece, the -Crown Prince of Greece, the King of Greece, and the King of Denmark.</p> - -<p>Half-an-hour after the appointed time the silver trumpets announced -the coming of the Queen’s procession, headed by the six minor and the -six residentiary canons of Westminster, the Bishop of London, Archbishop of -York, the Dean of Westminster,<a name="FNanchor_237_237" id="FNanchor_237_237"></a><a href="#Footnote_237_237" class="fnanchor">[237]</a> the Primate, all attired in sumptuous -canonicals. They were followed by heralds and other functionaries, who were -followed by the members of the Royal procession walking in ranks of three, -in the inverse order of precedence always enforced at Royal ceremonials. -These were—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="c"> -<tr><td>The Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. </td><td>Prince Christian Victor of Sleswig-Holstein.</td><td>Prince Louis of Battenberg.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Prince Henry of Prussia.</td><td>Prince George of Wales.</td><td>The Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse.</td></tr> -<tr><td>The Grand Duke Serge of Russia.</td><td>Prince Albert Victor of Wales.</td><td>Prince William of Prussia.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Prince Henry of Battenberg.</td><td> </td><td>The Marquis of Lorne.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Prince Christian of Sleswig-Holstein.</td><td>The German Crown Prince.</td><td>The Grand Duke of Hesse.</td></tr> -<tr><td>The Duke of Connaught.</td><td>The Prince of Wales.</td><td>The Duke of Edinburgh.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>The Queen, clad in black, but with a bonnet of white Spanish lace glittering -with diamonds, and wearing the Orders of the Garter and Star of India, -entered, escorted by the Lord Chamberlain, as the organ pealed forth the -strains of the march from Handel’s “Occasional Oratorio.” The solemnity of -the spectacle, and the reflection that the Queen-Empress is about to give -thanks to God for the crowning triumph of her life, surrounded by the ashes -of her predecessors, repress all manifestations of feeling. Reverently does -her Majesty take her place on the Royal daïs, and, when the Princes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_744" id="page_744">{744}</a></span> -Princesses in her train arrange themselves, the picture is one of imposing -magnificence. Surrounding this shining group of Princes a vast throng, -representing the genius, the rank, the wealth, and the chivalry of Britain, -filled every nook of the sacred fane in which the Queen celebrated her golden -wedding with her people. Towering high above all his peers the Imperial form -of the German Crown Prince, clad in the white uniform of the Cuirassiers, stood -forth as the most majestic figure in that magnificent pageant.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_126" id="ill_126"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_744.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_744.jpg" height="387" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE CROWN PRINCE, AFTERWARDS THE EMPEROR FREDERICK III., OF GERMANY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Reichard and Lindner, Berlin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p>The Thanksgiving Service was brief and simple. The Primate and the -Dean of Westminster officiated, and the music was largely selected from -the compositions of the Prince Consort. Prayers and responses invoking a -blessing on the Queen were intoned. The Prince Consort’s <i>Te Deum</i> was -given. Three special prayers were offered up by the Archbishop of Canterbury,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_745" id="page_745">{745}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_127" id="ill_127"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_745.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_745.jpg" height="387" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE CROWN PRINCESS, AFTERWARDS THE EMPRESS VICTORIA, OF GERMANY.</p> - -<p>(<i>From a Photograph by Reichard and Lindner, Berlin.</i>)</p></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">after which the people’s prayer—<i>Exaudiat te Dominus</i>—was intoned. The -lesson (1 Pet. ii. 6-18) was next read by the Dean, and Dr. Bridge’s -Jubilee anthem, “Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to -set thee on the throne to be king for the Lord thy God,” a piece in which -the theme of the National Anthem is suggested, was sung. Two simple -prayers were then offered up, and the ceremony, impressive from the grandeur -of the surroundings, and yet thrilling and pathetic by reason of its devotional -earnestness and simplicity, ended with the Benediction. Here the Queen, -who was several times overcome with emotion, is seen by the spectators to -make a movement as if she would rise from her seat on the sacred Coronation -Stone of Scone and kneel on the <i>prie-dieu</i> in front of her. But she -cannot reach so far, and she sinks back into her place, veiling her bowed face<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_746" id="page_746">{746}</a></span> -with her hands. She then glances round, and her eyes fill with tears when -they rest on her sons and her daughters, and her sons-in-law and their -children. The pent-up feeling of that dazzling group of Princes and Princesses -can no longer be restrained, and the solemn pageant of State suddenly -assumes the aspect of a family festival. The Prince of Wales bends forward -and kisses the Queen’s hand, but her Majesty raises his face and salutes -him affectionately on the cheek. The German Crown Prince pays his -homage with chivalrous grace and stately courtesy, and the Grand Duke -of Hesse follows him. But the emotion of the moment is too strong for -Court ceremonial. The Queen with an impulsive gesture discards the Lord -Chamberlain’s etiquette, and embraces the Princes and Princesses of her -house with honest and unreserved motherly affection. Then she turns to -the German Crown Prince with a loving smile, and as he comes forward she -kisses him warmly on the cheek. The Grand Duke of Hesse is also -saluted, and her Majesty, making a profound bow to her Foreign guests, -which they return, quits the scene as the “March of the Priests” in <i>Athalie</i> -peals forth from the organ. The procession was now formed again, and as -the Sovereign returned to Buckingham Palace, it was noticed that the -reception which was given to her was even more enthusiastic than that -which greeted her on her way to the Abbey. It is, perhaps, only once in -a generation that it falls to the lot of a monarch to be hailed in the streets -of her capital with such passionate demonstrations of loyalty, and the Queen -seemed to be filled with the emotion of the hour.</p> - -<p>The rest of the day was kept as a public holiday by the people, and -when the shades of night fell on the metropolis its streets were ablaze with -light. The art of the illuminator was indeed exhausted in providing novel -and varied designs, and gas jets and electric lamps, arranged so as to display -every conceivable device expressive of loyalty, turned night into day. Nor -were gas and electricity the only agents employed to give splendour to the -festivity of the evening. In many places festoons of Chinese lanterns shed -their soft and mellow radiance over a scene not unworthy of fairyland. The -Queen, who had borne the fatigue and excitement of the Thanksgiving -pageant wonderfully well, rested a little while after her return to Buckingham -Palace, and there, as a special compliment to the “Senior Service,” she -came out and held a review of the 500 seamen of the Fleet who had formed -her guard of honour at the Palace doors. In the evening she gave a grand -banquet, at which sixty-four royal personages were present.</p> - -<p>All over England and in the North of Ireland the Jubilee was also -celebrated as enthusiastically as in London. The illumination of the city of -Edinburgh was said to be even more effective as a brilliant spectacle than -that presented by the metropolis. It was only in Cork and Dublin that -riotous demonstrations of disloyalty took place. Eight peerages, thirteen -baronetcies, and thirty-three knighthoods were conferred in honour of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_747" id="page_747">{747}</a></span> -event. A Royal amnesty to deserters from the army was also proclaimed. -In the Colonies the day was celebrated even more joyously than in England. -In foreign lands the British residents also held Jubilee festivals. But in the -United States the citizens of the Republic freely joined the British residents, -honouring the occasion as if it were one of as much interest to them as to -their kith and kin in the old home of their race. The most glowing of all -the Jubilee orations was in fact spoken by Mr. Hewitt, Mayor of New York, -at the grand Thanksgiving Festival in the Opera House of that city, in the -course of which he elicited the passionate enthusiasm of his countrymen by -recalling the events of the Civil War. “In the hour of our trial,” he -exclaimed, “when the flag under whose broad folds I was born was trailing -in the dust, it was my fortune to journey to another land on matters of -great moment. There I learnt—and I know whereof I speak—that we owed -to the Queen of England the non-intervention policy which characterised the -Great Powers of the world during our struggle for life and death. I had no -purpose to open my lips here, but when you call on me for a testimony to -her who was our friend, as she is your Queen, my lips ought to be palsied if -I were such a coward as not to give it.” A speech so simple and unexpected, -received as it was by a spontaneous outburst of enthusiasm from the -American citizens in the audience, it need hardly be said produced a -profound sensation.</p> - -<p>But of all the Jubilee celebrations perhaps the most charming and novel -was one which was held in Hyde Park. A few weeks before Jubilee Day it -occurred to a kindly and generous gentleman, Mr. Edward Lawson, well -known in society as the editor of the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, that there was a -fatal omission in the Jubilee programme. Elaborate arrangements had been -made to interest all classes in the festival save one—the school-children of -London—the boys and girls who must form the men and women of the -next generation. Mr. Lawson contended that this defect should be remedied, -and the whole town was immediately taken with his idea. Everybody -wondered that nobody had put forward the suggestion before, and Mr. -Lawson soon found himself honorary treasurer of the Children’s Jubilee Fund, -to which he himself was one of the most prominent subscribers. Foolish -efforts were made to check the movement, and people were warned that it -was impossible to entertain 30,000 children in Hyde Park, as Mr. Lawson -proposed, without accidents to life and limb. It was, however, in vain that -he was denounced as the organiser of a juvenile Juggernaut. The fund was -raised with ease, and Mr. Lawson, by skilful organisation, not only got -27,000 children into Hyde Park from all parts of London on the 22nd of -June, but sent them back unhurt and happy to their homes. Great ladies -of fashion helped him to carry out his arrangements. The little ones were -entertained with the sports and shows dear to boys and girls of their age, -and the Queen not only came out and greeted them in person, but she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_748" id="page_748">{748}</a></span> -was received with a delight that touched her profoundly. The Princes and -Princesses and many of the foreign visitors also witnessed this strange but -interesting incident in the Jubilee celebrations.<a name="FNanchor_238_238" id="FNanchor_238_238"></a><a href="#Footnote_238_238" class="fnanchor">[238]</a></p> - -<p>On the 24th of June, an evening party was given at Buckingham Palace, -which was attended by nearly all the members of the Queen’s family, by -the foreign sovereigns and Princes then in London, and by a gay throng -of distinguished persons. On the 25th of June, a singularly beautiful and -touching letter, evidently straight from the Queen’s own pen, to the Home -Secretary, thanking the nation for their display of loyalty and love, appeared -in the <i>London Gazette</i>. In this communication it almost seems as if the -Queen laid her heart open to the people with a frank and simple confidence -rare in the relations that subsist between sovereigns and their subjects. -On the 27th her Majesty received at Windsor Castle congratulatory deputations -from municipalities, friendly societies, professional associations, and -public bodies, representing almost every phase of English life, and thought, -and enterprise. Her Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on the following -Wednesday was a brilliant reunion at which were present several thousands of -guests. On the 2nd of July the Queen from Buckingham Palace reviewed -28,000 Metropolitan Volunteers, and military men were amazed at the skill -with which the troops were handled by their officers in the narrow and confined -space. It was, however, unfortunate that at this review a slight was -cast on the Royal Navy. As is natural in a seafaring nation, the naval -forces of the Crown always take precedence of the land forces. Hence, the -phrase “Senior Service” used to distinguish the Navy from the Army. But -at this review the claim of the Royal Naval Volunteers for precedence over -the grotesque and motley body known as the Honourable Artillery Company -of London, a force which belongs neither to the Army, the Militia, nor the -Volunteers, and which has been permitted even to repudiate the authority of -the War Office, was disallowed.</p> - -<p>On the 4th of July the crowning event of the Jubilee Festival occurred. -On that day the Queen laid the foundation stone of the Imperial Institute in -the Albert Hall. Noting the growing Imperialism which the Jubilee evoked, -the Prince of Wales determined to fix it by embodying it in some permanent -institution. In spite of distracted counsels, inter-Colonial jealousy, and much -anti-monarchical opposition, the necessary funds for the purpose were raised, -but it was universally admitted that had not the Prince toiled without -ceasing the scheme must have collapsed. The Institute was and is meant -to stand as an outward and visible sign of the essential unity of the British<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_749" id="page_749">{749}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<p><a name="ill_128" id="ill_128"></a></p> -<a href="images/ill_pg_749.jpg"> -<img src="images/ill_pg_749.jpg" width="612" height="419" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE JUBILEE GARDEN PARTY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE: THE ROYAL TENT.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_750" id="page_750">{750}</a></span></p> - -<p>Empire. It was to be a rallying-point for all Colonial movements, a centre -of instruction for those who desire information as to Colonial trade and -Colonial resources. In a word, what the Queen “inaugurated” on the 4th -of July, at Kensington, as the culminating function of her Jubilee, was a -vast and ubiquitous Intelligence Department for her far-stretching dominions. -The decoration of the building in which the ceremony took place was chiefly -floral, and, indeed, the scene suggested sylvan freshness and beauty. Eleven -thousand people were seated in the chief pavilion.</p> - -<p>When the Queen entered, preceded by the officers of her household and -escorted by her family, she took her seat on the draped daïs, and found -herself again surrounded by a majestic throng of Kings and Princes. The -Prince of Wales read aloud to her Majesty the Address of the organising -Committee of the Institute, describing its aims and its prospects. The ode, -written for the occasion by Mr. Lewis Morris,<a name="FNanchor_239_239" id="FNanchor_239_239"></a><a href="#Footnote_239_239" class="fnanchor">[239]</a> and set to music by Sir -Arthur Sullivan, was performed by the Albert Hall Choral Society, aided by a -full orchestra. After it was finished, the Queen, assisted by the Prince of -Wales and the architect, Mr. Colcutt, laid the first solid block of the building—a -piece of granite three tons in weight. Prayers, read by the Primate, -followed, after which the Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851 presented -an Address, congratulating the Queen on the celebration of her Jubilee. -Her Majesty then, leaning on the arm of the Prince of Wales, left the hall, -while the band struck up “Rule Britannia.” The ceremonial differed from -that which took place in the Abbey in one respect. The Thanksgiving Service -threw the minds of Sovereign and subject back on the past, with all its -trials and all its triumphs. But the function in the Royal Albert Hall -invited speculation as to the future, and as to the part which the Monarchy -must inevitably play in the evolution of the English-speaking race, and the -development of their spreading dominion over strange lands and under -strange stars. The Institute typified the inheritance of Empire which Englishmen -had won during the reign by their toil and their enterprise. As Mr. -Morris sang,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“To-day we would make free<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The millions of their glorious heritage.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here, Labour crowds in hopeless misery;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There, is unbounded work and ready wage.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The salt breeze calling, stirs our Northern blood,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Lead we the toilers to their certain goal;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Guide we their feet to where<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Is spread, for those who dare,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A happier Britain ’neath an ampler air.<br /></span> - -<span class="i4s">* * * * * *<br /></span> - -<span class="i0">First Lady of our British Race,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Tis well that with thy peaceful Jubilee<br /></span> -<span class="i0">This glorious dream begins to be.”<br /></span> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_751" id="page_751">{751}</a></span></div></div> -</div> - -<p>With this great function of State the record of the Queen’s career -through half a century, and of the public affairs which her life influenced and -which influenced it, may close for the present. A retrospective glance over -that record suggests curious reflections.</p> - -<p>Only seventeen years elapsed between the death of George III. and the -accession of the Queen to the sovereignty of a people who had let a virgin -continent slip from their grasp, and who were not only exhausted by wars, -but whose wars had also exhausted the nations that trafficked with them. -England had then but one hope of recovery. It was to bind the forces of -Nature to the tarrying chariot-wheels of her Industry. To this end she -bent the energies of her highest intellect and genius. For this reason, perhaps, -the Victorian period, in which the Queen, stands out as the central -figure, represents the triumph of the applied Sciences, rather than the -apotheosis of the Arts and the Humanities. “The true founders of modern -England,” says Mr. Spencer Walpole, “are its inventors and engineers.”<a name="FNanchor_240_240" id="FNanchor_240_240"></a><a href="#Footnote_240_240" class="fnanchor">[240]</a> -The mighty power which the British Empire now represents has therefore -been built up under the Queen’s sceptre, not on the red fields of war, but in -the laboratory, the workshop, and the mine. Three facts alone will serve to -give the distinctive character of the Victorian age. When the Queen was -crowned railway travelling was almost unknown; steam navigation had hardly -emerged from the region of experiment; the telegraph was but a toy of the -physicists. As we reflect on what the railway, the steamship, and the -telegraph have done for England, we can measure the extent and discern -the nature of the peaceful revolution in affairs over which the Queen has -presided. The national resolve arrived at after the death of George IV. to -recover the power and wealth which seemed to have vanished during the -last years of his reign, and to recover it by gaining fresh dominion over -the forces of Nature, naturally shaped the whole course of public policy. -If England was to be resuscitated in the laboratory, the workshop, and the -mine, the Sciences, rather than the Arts and Humanities, must be fostered. -Capital must be set free. The dignity of Labour must be recognised. Commerce -must be unshackled, and perfect freedom, combined with unbroken order, -established in the land. The swift decay of privilege that marks the course -of political reform during the last half century, the spread of popular education, -the wide distribution of political power, the wise revision of the penal -laws, the humane legislation designed to better and brighten the lot of Toil, -the subjection of authority to opinion, the subjugation of Art to Industry, -the absorption of literature by the Press, are but natural results of a -struggle on the part of a masculine race to build up its power on the -achievements of the inventor, the experimentalist, and the pioneer.</p> - -<p>Nor can the harvest of its toil be deemed altogether unsatisfactory. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_752" id="page_752">{752}</a></span> -poor we have still with us, but their condition has been vastly improved -since the reign of William IV. Save in one respect, that of house rent -in large towns, the necessaries of life have been cheapened, while the purchasing -capacity of the people has been increased. As for the upper and -middle classes, their wealth in comparison with their numbers has been -multiplied twofold since the Queen ascended the throne.</p> - -<p>So far as the public life of the Queen has affected her House, these -pages prove that it has done so in one way. At her Accession the Crown -had almost entirely lost its authority as a governing order in the State. -At her Jubilee the Crown held a position of authority higher than any to -which it has attained since the time of William of Orange. According to -Mr. Gladstone, the success of the Queen’s dynastic policy has been due to -her determination to acquire influence rather than power for the Monarchy. -<i>Imperium facile iis artibus retinetur, quibus initio partum est.</i> But if the -Roman historian be right in holding that power can be most surely kept -by the means whereby it has been acquired, he who runs may read the -lesson of the Queen’s life. Its record, showing how her influence has been -won, must also show those who will some day take her place, how alone it -can be retained and strengthened.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_753" id="page_753">{753}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2> - -<p class="c"><a href="#A">A</a>, -<a href="#B">B</a>, -<a href="#C">C</a>, -<a href="#D">D</a>, -<a href="#E">E</a>, -<a href="#F">F</a>, -<a href="#G">G</a>, -<a href="#H">H</a>, -<a href="#I">I</a>, -<a href="#J">J</a>, -<a href="#K">K</a>, -<a href="#L">L</a>, -<a href="#M">M</a>, -<a href="#N">N</a>, -<a href="#O">O</a>, -<a href="#P">P</a>, -<a href="#Q">Q</a>, -<a href="#R">R</a>, -<a href="#S">S</a>, -<a href="#T">T</a>, -<a href="#U">U</a>, -<a href="#V">V</a>, -<a href="#W">W</a>, -<a href="#Y">Y</a>, -<a href="#Z">Z</a></p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="lettre"><a name="A" id="A"></a>A.</span><br /> -Abdul Aziz, Sultan of Turkey, Visit of, to England, II. 293;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">received at Windsor Castle, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entertainments in his honour, 294;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">made Knight of the Garter, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Aberdeen, Lord (Fourth Earl), appointed Foreign Secretary, I. 97;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his ready confidence in foreign powers, 199;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion of Free Trade, 208, 209;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his adroit diplomacy with the United States, 231;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the high esteem in which he was held by the Queen, 238;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on the foreign policy of the Russell Government, 394;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his wish to drive Palmerston from office, 395;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Premier, 518;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sympathy with Russia, 546;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">three mistakes on the part of his Cabinet, 551;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his desire for peace before the Crimean War, 555;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">confidence of the Queen in his policy, 563;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Prince Consort’s position, 576;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accusations against his Russian policy, 600, 617, 638;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter from the Queen regarding his Russian policy, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prince Albert’s opinion of his war policy, 620;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of his Ministry, 627;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, II. 72;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Aberdeen, Lord (Seventh Earl), appointed Viceroy of Ireland, II. 727<br /> -<br /> -Aberdeen, inauguration of a statue to the Prince Consort by the Queen, II. 182;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">statue of the Queen unveiled by the Prince of Wales, 266;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of water-works by the Queen, 267</span><br /> -<br /> -Abergeldie, The bridge over the Dee at, II. 720<br /> -<br /> -Abu Hamed, Gordon at, II. 711;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the River Column at, 717</span><br /> -<br /> -Abu Klea, Battle of, II. 713<br /> -<br /> -Abu Kru, Battle of, II. 714<br /> -<br /> -Abyssinia, the English expedition against King Theodore, II. 300, 312;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">envoys to the Queen, II. 695;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Treaty of Adowah, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -“Acres and a Cow, Three,” II. 726<br /> -<br /> -Act, Bank Charter, its favourable effect, I. 182<br /> -<br /> -Act, Corporation, Repeal of the, I. 23<br /> -<br /> -Act, Test, The repeal of the, I. 23<br /> -<br /> -Acts, Criminal Law Consolidation, The, I. 28<br /> -<br /> -Adam, The Right Hon. W. P., appointed First Commissioner of Works, II. 594<br /> -<br /> -Adelaide, Queen, her ball to the Princess Victoria, I. 14<br /> -<br /> -Aden, its occupation by the British, I. 52;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the appearance of the town, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Admiralty, The construction of ironclad ships for the British navy proposed by, II. 126;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reduction of its expenditure, 441;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">issue of the Fugitive Slave Circular, 489;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">violent popular agitation against, 704;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">errors in the accounts of, 710</span><br /> -<br /> -Adowah, Treaty of, II. 695<br /> -<br /> -Adullamites, The, II. 256<br /> -<br /> -Affirmation Bill brought in by the Attorney-General, II. 658;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">efforts of the Tories to prevent it from coming into force, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated by a majority of three, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Afghanistan, war declared by England on Shere Ali, II. 555;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Lytton’s disagreement with Shere Ali, 556;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of the British invasion, 567;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari, 573;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unpopularity of Lord Lytton’s policy, 574;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of Cabul by General Roberts, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the affairs of the country in 1880, 598;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s policy, 599;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of General Burrows, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">splendid generalship of Sir Frederick Roberts, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rescue of Candahar, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Beaconsfield’s policy impossible, 610;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute in Parliament as to the occupation of Candahar, 615;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">controversy between England and Russia about the frontier of, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -Africa, South, outbreak of the Caffre War, I. 254;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the policy of the English Government in, II. 662;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">contention between Liberals and Conservatives regarding, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Agricultural Holdings Bill, the strong opposition to, II. 659;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its terms, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. A. J. Balfour’s amendment, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Clare Sewell Read’s remark on, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Balfour’s amendment struck out on the Report, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attempt of the House of Lords to mutilate the Bill, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the amendments of the House of Lords rejected by the Commons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the measure passed, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Salisbury’s failure to hold his party firm to the policy of resistance, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Aix-les-Bains, The Queen’s visit to, II. 719, 740<br /> -<br /> -Akbar Khan, Treachery of, I. 118;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated, 121</span><br /> -<br /> -<i>Alabama</i> Claims, The, II. 342;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">settled by arbitration, 390;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discussion on the matter in the House of Commons, 421;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the story of the controversy, 422;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the award of the arbitrators, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Chief Justice Cockburn’s opinion, 423</span><br /> -<br /> -Albany, Duke of, the title conferred on Prince Leopold, II. 626;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a title of evil omen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>see</i> also Leopold, Prince</span><br /> -<br /> -Albert, Prince, his birth and parentage, I. 60;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his admirable disposition, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his visit to England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his studies at Bonn, 61;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his suit accepted by the Queen, 62;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letters patent regarding his precedence, 66;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rumours as to his religious views, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter to the Queen in regard to his Protestantism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrival in England, 68;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his enthusiastic reception, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his trying position, 71;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his desire to abolish duelling, 72;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collision with Court functionaries, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reforms in household economy, 74;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">domestic life, 75;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Regent, 83;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his study of English law, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter to his father, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a royal tour, 94;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Melbourne’s opinion of him, 103;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a remark of the Queen on his kindness, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his generous reception of Sir Robert Peel, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Chairman of a Royal Commission on the Fine Arts, 104, 105;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his accurate knowledge of English, 105;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first public speech, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lays the foundation stone of the London Association, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">present at a ball in Buckingham Palace, 107;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Scotland, 126;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interest in English politics, 127;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the proposal to appoint him Commander-in-Chief, 128;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his irreproachable life, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion of Sir Robert Peel, 140;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">acting as representative of the Queen, 141;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interest in Fine Art, 142;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford, 146;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Birmingham, 147;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distinction in the hunting-field, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interest in agriculture, 148;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the model works in Windsor Park, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of his father, 158;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 159;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">title of Consort proposed, 185;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Continent, 194;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacked by Lord George Bentinck in the Corn Law debate, 226;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed assessment of Flemish Farm, 260;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits the Isle of Wight, 261;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Albert Dock at Liverpool, 262;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">nominated Chancellor of Cambridge University, 307;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">agrees to take office as Chancellor of Cambridge, 310;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arguments for an Anglo-German alliance, 322;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed President of the society for the improvement of the working classes, 358;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">impressive speech to the working classes, 359, 360;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his revised course of studies carried at Cambridge, 369;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech to the Royal Dublin Society, 409;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his idea of the International Exhibition, 417;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the International Exhibition, 450;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacked by the press, 454;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his energy at the International Exhibition, 480;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anxieties in regard to the Exhibition, 520;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accusations against him as sympathising with Russia, 617;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to France, 621;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his plan for an Army Reserve at Malta, 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion of Austrian policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Russian War, 639;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">present at a Council of War at Windsor, 651;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacked by the <i>Times</i> for military jobbery, 667;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme for a new military organisation, 694;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester, 739;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives the title of Prince Consort by letters patent, 743;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice to the King of Prussia regarding German unity, II. 90;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his last illness, 92-96;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the widespread grief of the British people at his death, 98;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, 104-107;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his funeral, 107-110;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the interment at Frogmore, 146;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his memorandum regarding Turkey, 531</span><br /> -<br /> -Albert Hall, Royal, laying the foundation stone of, II. 291;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opened by the Queen, 409</span><br /> -<br /> -Albert Memorial, Scottish National, at Edinburgh, unveiled by the Queen, II. 503<br /> -<br /> -Albert Victor, Prince of Wales, receives the Order of the Garter, II. 667;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the investiture a private function, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a proof of the high favour in which he was held by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coming of age of, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_754" id="page_754">{754}</a></span>Alberto Azzo, his union with the House of Guelph, I. 4<br /> -<br /> -Aldershot, Visit of the Queen to, II. 265<br /> -<br /> -Alexander II. of Russia declared Emperor, I. 633;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, II. 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his humane character, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the liberation of the serfs accomplished by him, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his devotion to the highest interests of Russia, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his judicious management of the war with Turkey, 623-4</span><br /> -<br /> -Alexandra, Princess of Denmark, her entry into London, II. 152;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her marriage to the Prince of Wales, 158</span><br /> -<br /> -Alexandria, English and French fleets despatched to, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riot in the city, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the British Consul injured, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">French and English subjects slain, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a stampede of the foreign population, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arabi Pasha strengthens the fortifications, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the forts bombarded by the British fleet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the city seized by a fanatical mob, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Alfred, Prince, his birth, I. 167;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sponsors at christening, 171;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his successful preparation for the navy, II. 23;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his visit to Cape Town, 69;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attempted assassination by O’Farrel, 316;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his betrothal to the Duchess Marie of Russia, 451;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage, 453</span><br /> -<br /> -Alice, Princess, Marriage of, to Prince Louis of Hesse, II. 141-2;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her sedulous consolation to her mother, 143;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recipient of the Queen’s confidences, 228;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her death, 509;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the esteem in which she was held by the English people, 560;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her life in Germany, 561</span><br /> -<br /> -Alliance, The new Holy, between Austria, Russia, and Prussia, II. 59<br /> -<br /> -Allotments Bill passed, II. 738<br /> -<br /> -Alma, The battle of the, I. 607<br /> -<br /> -Alula Ras, leader of the Abyssinians, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -America, the discovery of gold in California, I. 535<br /> -<br /> -Amos, Mr., appointed the Queen’s tutor in Constitutional Government, I. 14<br /> -<br /> -Angra Pequena annexed by Germany, II. 684<br /> -<br /> -Arabi Pasha, the disagreement between the partners in the Dual Control as to the course that should be adopted towards him, II. 641;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he becomes the real Minister of War, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">loaded with decorations, 642;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the rank and title of Pasha conferred upon him, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">virtually Dictator of Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy of “Egypt for the Egyptians,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">French and English consuls advise his expulsion, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he resigns, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a second time Minister of War, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ostentatiously strengthens the forts of Alexandria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes up a position at Tel-el-Kebir after the bombardment of the Alexandrian forts, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English expedition sent against him, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated by General Wolseley at Kassassin, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">to the British troops at Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">saved from capital punishment by the English Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exiled to Ceylon, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Argyle, Duke of, appointed Lord Privy Seal, I. 519;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his success at the India Office, II. 343;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Lord Privy Seal, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation on Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 616</span><br /> -<br /> -Ascot Race Week, The Queen and, II. 721<br /> -<br /> -Ashanti, Outbreak of war in, II. 461;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of Coomassie by Sir Garnet Wolseley, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Ashbourne’s, Lord, Land Bill, II. 710<br /> -<br /> -Ashley, Lord, <i>see</i> Shaftesbury<br /> -<br /> -Ashley, Mr. Evelyn, his Life of Lord Palmerston, I. 395<br /> -<br /> -Auckland, Lord, his negotiations with Dost Mahomed in Afghanistan, I. 112;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unfortunate policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declares war against Dost Mahomed, 114;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created an Earl, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reversal of his policy in Afghanistan, 122</span><br /> -<br /> -Australia, discussion in Parliament, as to its legislative constitution, I. 439;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the discovery of gold, 496;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the rush to the gold-fields, 535;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of the gold discovery on the colony, 538;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">results of the gold discovery in England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">excitement on account of German annexation of New Guinea, II. 686</span><br /> -<br /> -Australian Contingent, The, in the Soudan campaign, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -Austria, Absorption by, of the Republic of Cracow, I. 259;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">triumph over Italy, 422;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">overthrow of Hungarian independence, 423;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Haynau’s unpopularity in England, 457;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Palmerston’s note on the Haynau incident, 457;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">policy during the dispute between Russia and Turkey, 551, 553, 582, 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signature of the Protocol, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">makes terms with Prussia, 585;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">treaty with Turkey, 586;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refuses to join with England against Russia, 639;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">concessions made to Lord Cowley regarding Italy, II. 34;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declaration of war against Sardinia, 35;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated in the Italian War, 38;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposal by the Emperor regarding Venetia, 56;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with Hungary, 79;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the war with Prussia, 280;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expelled from German unity, 281;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">policy during the Russo-Turkish War, 530;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rumour as to its opposition to Mr. Gladstone, 596;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s reply to Austrian criticism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">political capital made out of Mr. Gladstone’s explanatory letter to Count Karolyi, 597</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="B" id="B">B</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Baden, the institution of a Free Press, of a National Guard, and of Trial by Jury, I. 346<br /> -<br /> -Baillie, Mr., his motion regarding Ceylon and Guiana, I. 382<br /> -<br /> -Baines, Mr., his proposal regarding the vote for the boroughs, II. 214<br /> -<br /> -Baker Pasha put in command of the Egyptian native police, II. 643;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated by the Mahdi at Tokar, 672</span><br /> -<br /> -Balaclava, The Battle of, I. 611-613;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Campbell’s “thin red line,” 612;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">charge of the Heavy Brigade, 613;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">charge of the Light Brigade, 614</span><br /> -<br /> -Balfour, Mr. A. J., one of the founders of the Fourth Party, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstructionist tactics, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes President of the Local Government Board, 708;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, 735;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Coercion Bill and its chief provisions, 735-6</span><br /> -<br /> -Ballot Bill, Discussion in Parliament as to the conditions of the, II. 395;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passing of the Ballot Act, 423</span><br /> -<br /> -Balmoral described by the Queen, I. 366;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visited by the Queen, 412, 458, 459, 487, 622, 660, 696; II. 293, 431, 606, 627, 666, 667;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Greville’s description of the Queen’s life at, 415</span><br /> -<br /> -Balmoral, Countess of, the Queen’s assumed title during her visit to Italy, II. 580<br /> -<br /> -Bank Charter Act, its favourable effect, I. 182<br /> -<br /> -Bankruptcy Bill, The, carried in Parliament, II. 86;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">real progress made with it, 658;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its main object to provide for an independent examination into all circumstances of insolvency by officials of the Board of Trade, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">read a second time, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">referred to the Grand Committee on Trade, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passed by the House of Lords without cavil, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Chamberlain’s ability and tact in conducting it, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736<br /> -<br /> -Bannerman, Mr. Campbell-, attacks the Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736<br /> -<br /> -Baring, Mr., his budget, I. 90;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">proposed alterations on the Sugar Duties, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Battenberg, Prince Henry of, II. 718;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">made Knight of the Garter, 722;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assumes title of His Royal Highness, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">question of the legality of this assumption, ib.</span><br /> -<br /> -Bavuda Desert, The march across the, II. 713<br /> -<br /> -Beaconsfield, Lord, <i>see</i> Disraeli, Mr.<br /> -<br /> -Beales, Mr., his leadership of the Reform League, II. 270<br /> -<br /> -Bean, his attempt on the Queen’s life, I. 110<br /> -<br /> -Beatrice, Princess, Betrothal of, II. 718;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unpopularity of her marriage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annuity to her on her marriage, 720;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marriage of, 722;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">welcome in the Highlands after her marriage, 723</span><br /> -<br /> -Beer Duty instituted by Mr. Gladstone, II. 601<br /> -<br /> -Belfast visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 410<br /> -<br /> -Belgium, proposed visit of the Queen, I. 126<br /> -<br /> -Belt, Mr., sculptor of the Queen’s monument to Lord Beaconsfield in Hughenden Church, II. 643<br /> -<br /> -Beniowski, Major, his leadership of the Chartist rising in Wales, I. 329<br /> -<br /> -Benson, Dr., Archbishop of Canterbury, nominated by Archbishop Tait as his successor, II. 650<br /> -<br /> -Bentham, Jeremy, his exposure of the needless severity of the Criminal Code, I. 27<br /> -<br /> -Bentinck, Lord George, attacks Prince Albert in a speech during a debate about the Corn Laws, I. 226;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his contention against Free Trade, 275;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill for railways in Ireland, 278;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">imprudent speech on the European Powers, 301;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his championship of the West</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Indies planters, 350;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 371;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Beresford, Lord Charles, rescues Sir Charles Wilson, II. 716<br /> -<br /> -Berlin, the rising against the Government, I. 346<br /> -<br /> -Besant, Mr. Walter, his revelations of East London life, II. 668;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">impetus to social reform by his novels, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his ideal in “All Sorts and Conditions of Men,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the effect of his writings on London society, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">practically the originator of the People’s Palace in East London, 740</span><br /> -<br /> -Bessborough, Lord, his support of Wellington on Free Trade, I. 227;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 292</span><br /> -<br /> -Beyrout bombarded by the European allies, I. 86<br /> -<br /> -Biggar, Mr., his co-operation with Mr. Parnell, II. 488;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">development of the policy of obstruction, 499</span><br /> -<br /> -Bill, Education, introduced in the House of Commons, II. 355, 360;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its terms, 360;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">criticism by Mr. Mill and Mr. Fawcett, 361;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passed by both Houses, 362;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">adverse criticism by the Dissenters, 457;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s compromise to the Dissenters, 458</span><br /> -<br /> -Birch, Mr., appointed tutor to the of Wales, I. 403<br /> -<br /> -Birmingham, The Queen’s visit to, in 1858, II. 20;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her Majesty opens Aston Hall and Park, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen opens the Law Courts in, 739;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enthusiasm of her reception, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Bismarck, Herr Von, his policy towards Russia, I. 554;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mission to the German States, II. 495;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view regarding the German conditions at the close of the Franco-German War, 403</span><br /> -<br /> -Blignières, M. de, resigns his position on the Dual Control, II. 642<br /> -<br /> -Bonaparte, Charles Louis, <i>see</i> Napoleon III.<br /> -<br /> -Boniface, Duke of Tuscany, a supposed ancestor of the Queen, I. 4<br /> -<br /> -Borneo, The work of Sir James Brooke in, I. 187, 188;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its defiance of English authority, 254;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclamation of Sir J. Cochrane to the natives, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Boscawen, Col., in tactical command of Sir Herbert Stewart’s column in the Nile Expedition, II. 714<br /> -<br /> -Boycotting, origin of the term, II. 603<br /> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_755" id="page_755">{755}</a></span>Brackenbury, General, in command of the River Column, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -Bradlaugh, Mr., his first attempt to take an affirmation on entering Parliament, II. 595;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition of the Fourth Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Labouchere’s motion in his favour, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">imprisoned in the Clock Tower, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s motion to allow him to affirm at his own risk, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his re-election for Northampton, 618;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tory opposition to his taking the seat, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attempt to force his way into the House of Commons, <i>ib.</i>:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">renewed attempt to take the oath, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second return for Northampton, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">excluded from the precincts of the House of Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his promise not to press his claim to be sworn till the Affirmation Bill had been determined, 658;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">writes to the Speaker claiming his right to take the oath, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Stafford Northcote’s resolution preventing him from taking the oath, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his threat to treat the resolution as invalid, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir S. Northcote’s resolution excluding him from the precincts of the House of Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his action against the Sergeant-at-Arms, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">again prevented from taking his seat, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">excluded from the House of Commons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes the oath, 726</span><br /> -<br /> -Brand, Sir Henry, Speaker of the House of Commons, elevated to the peerage, II. 676<br /> -<br /> -Bright, Mr., his work with Cobden as leader of the Anti-Corn Law Movement, I. 88;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his championship of Free Trade, 201;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his powerful eloquence, 202;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view of the Education Vote, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Shaftesbury’s “Ten Hours Bill,” 286;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinions on the Irish Question, 378;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his teaching regarding the colonies, 380;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his ineffectual efforts to preserve peace before the Crimean War, 578;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech against the Russian War, 590;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attacks on the propertied classes, II. 31;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view regarding the <i>Trent</i> dispute, 122;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech at Birmingham on the Irish Question, 302;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech in the House of Commons on the Irish Question, 334;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his administration at the Board of Trade, 342;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of office at the Board of Trade, 387;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 439;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, 458;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal regarding the Ashanti War, 462;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech against the Beaconsfield Government, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Irish Question, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his withdrawal from the Cabinet because of the bombardment of the forts at Alexandria, 654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his denunciation of the Obstructionists, 660;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins the Liberal Unionists, 729</span><br /> -<br /> -Broadfoot, Lieut., Murder of, at Cabul, I. 117<br /> -<br /> -Broadhurst, Mr., opposes the vote to Prince Leopold on his marriage, II. 646<br /> -<br /> -Brooke, Sir James, his services in Borneo, I. 187, 188;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his conduct impugned by Cobden, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Brougham, Lord, his speeches on the revolt in Canada, I. 34;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his quarrel with the Whig leaders, 47;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his remarks on Roman Catholicism and the English Crown, 66;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remark on the Irish famine, 278;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the “Ten Hours Bill,” 287;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on the Rebellion Losses Bill, 383;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of his attack on Lord Palmerston, 396</span><br /> -<br /> -Bruce, Mr. Austin (afterwards Lord Aberdare), the Habitual Criminals Act, II. 339<br /> -<br /> -Buccleuch, the Duke of, the Queen’s Visit to, II. 732<br /> -<br /> -Buckingham, Duke of, appointed President of the Council, II. 257<br /> -<br /> -Buckingham Palace, great ball in 1842, I. 107<br /> -<br /> -Budget Defeat, the Queen’s constitutional point about a ministerial resignation on a, II. 707<br /> -<br /> -Bulgarian Atrocities, The, II. 506-511<br /> -<br /> -Buller, Charles, his co-operation with Lord Durham in preparing a system of self-government for Canada, I. 35;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his distinction between colonisation and emigration, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his condemnation of England’s colonial policy, 386</span><br /> -<br /> -Bunsen, Baroness, description of the meeting of Parliament in 1842, I. 107;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">account of a royal party at Buckingham Palace, 304;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of the Prince Consort’s installation as Chancellor of Cambridge University, 311</span><br /> -<br /> -Buol, Count, his suggestion at the Second Vienna Conference, I. 634<br /> -<br /> -Burgoyne, Sir J., his opinion regarding the storming of Sebastopol, I. 609<br /> -<br /> -Burmah, outbreak of war, I. 503;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blockade of Rangoon by the British, 504;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an embassy to the Queen, II. 429;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the conquest by Great Britain, 698</span><br /> -<br /> -Burmah, Upper, annexed to the Indian Empire, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Burnaby, Colonel Fred, killed in the battle of Abu Klea, II. 713<br /> -<br /> -Burnes, Sir Alexander, his mission to Cabul, I. 112;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the garbling of his , <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed assistant secretary to Shah Soojah, 113;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">massacred at Cabul, 117</span><br /> -<br /> -Butt, Mr. Isaac, his leadership of the Home Rule Party, II. 426<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="C" id="C">C</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Cabul, insurrection of the Afghans, I. 117;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entered by the British, 121;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Frederick Roberts master of, II. 574</span><br /> -<br /> -Caffre War, Outbreak of the, I. 254<br /> -<br /> -Cairns, Lord, appointed Lord Chancellor, II. 304;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation of the leadership of the Tory party, 358;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Chancellor under Disraeli, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Judicature Bill, 484;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill of 1884, 677</span><br /> -<br /> -Cairo, stampede of the foreign population after the riot at Alexandria, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of the city by General Drury Lowe, 643;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrender of Arabi Pasha, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Khedive reinstated, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Cambridge, the Prince Consort’s installation as Chancellor of the University, I. 310-314;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its many pleasant associations with the Queen’s married life, 314;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prince Albert’s revised course of studies, 369</span><br /> -<br /> -Cambridge, Duke of, conveys the Queen’s congratulations to the volunteers on the coming of age of the force, II. 607<br /> -<br /> -Campbell, Sir Colin, his plans at Sebastopol, I. 609;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his consummate skill at Balaclava, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the confidence in his leadership, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his lack of “interest,” 674;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his return to England and proposed resignation, 675;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an interview with the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his work in India, 735;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the relief of Lucknow, 737;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of the rebels at Cawnpore, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the final capture of Lucknow, II. 2;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his regulations regarding the control of the Indian army, 26</span><br /> -<br /> -Campbell, Sir John, his opinion in regard to Chartism, I. 58<br /> -<br /> -Campbell, Lord, appointed Chancellor of the Duchy, I. 245;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter in regard to the Russell Ministry, 246;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an account of a Cabinet meeting, 277;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a visit to Windsor, 290;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter regarding an interview with the Queen, 291;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an amusing account of a banquet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an account of a royal party at Buckingham Palace, 306;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Crown Security Bill, 355;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech on the position of the Prince Consort, 576;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion on Baron Parke’s life-peerage, 682;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the passing of the Divorce Bill, 713</span><br /> -<br /> -Campbell-Bannerman, Mr., attacks the Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736<br /> -<br /> -Canada, its early discontents, I. 31;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resolutions in Parliament regarding reform, 32;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the serious condition of the Lower Provinces, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sympathisers in the United States, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seizure of Navy Island, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">jealousy between the Upper and Lower Provinces, 34;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suppression of the revolt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Ashburton Treaty, 168;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition to Free Trade, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">evil effects of Peel’s policy, 251;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riot in Montreal, 382;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Rebellion Losses Bill, 383;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cordial welcome to the Prince of Wales, II. 67;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">feeling of uneasiness in England in case of war between Canada and the United States, 234;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">scandal regarding the Canadian Pacific Railway, 459;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rebellion of half-breeds in the North-West of, 723;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the rising put down by Sir F. Middleton, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Cannes, the Duke of Albany dies at, II. 687;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s visit to, 740</span><br /> -<br /> -Canning, Lord, Viceroy of India, I. 724;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his vigorous policy during the Mutiny, 734;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tory hostility to his policy, II. 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his recall petitioned for, 17;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">supported by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured by Lord Ellenborough, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Ellenborough resigns, 18</span><br /> -<br /> -Canton, capture by the British, II. 4<br /> -<br /> -Cardigan, Lord, and the charge of the Light Brigade, I. 614<br /> -<br /> -Cardwell, Mr., his economic reforms in the army, II. 340;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his inefficiency as head of the War Department, 363;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Army Bill 391;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the favourable reception of his Army Bill, 424</span><br /> -<br /> -Carey, Lieutenant, tried by court-martial regarding the death of the Prince Imperial, II. 578;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restored to his rank by the Duke of Cambridge, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Carlyle, Mr., his attacks on the governing classes of England, I. 358;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interview with the Queen, II. 346</span><br /> -<br /> -Carnarvon, Lord, Secretary for the Colonies, II. 257;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of office, 275;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for the Colonies under Mr. Disraeli, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second resignation, 535;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme of Home Rule, 724;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns the Viceroyalty of Ireland, 726</span><br /> -<br /> -Cathcart, Lord, his speech to the Canadian Parliament, I. 250;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the amendment to his speech, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Cavagnari, Sir Louis, Murder of, at Cabul, II. 573<br /> -<br /> -Cavour, Count, his visit to England, I. 664;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his threats to Napoleon III., II. 34;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his protest against the conquest of the Sicilies, I. 54;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 79</span><br /> -<br /> -Cawnpore, the massacre of English residents by Nana Sahib, II. 731<br /> -<br /> -Cetewayo, King of the Zulus, ally of England. II. 563;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fights at Isandhiwana, 564</span><br /> -<br /> -Ceylon, Lord Torrington’s fiscal mistakes, I. 382<br /> -<br /> -Chamberlain, Mr., his adverse criticism of Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, II. 458;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reception as Mayor of Birmingham of the Prince and Princess of Wales, 478;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the continuance of flogging in the army, 569;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his skill as a debater, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his supposed Socialism, 593;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his distinction in Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s objection to his securing a place in the Cabinet, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whig antagonism to his Cabinet rank, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">President of the Board of Trade, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">social campaign against him and the Radical section of the Cabinet, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill enabling Corporations to adopt electric lighting, 635;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduces a Merchant Shipping Bill, 678;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Randolph Churchill’s accusation against him in regard to the Aston riots, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Socialistic appeals to the electors, 698;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_756" id="page_756">{756}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">possible</span><br /> -coalition with Lord R. Churchill, <i>ib.</i>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the “doctrine of ransom,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abolition of taxation part of his scheme, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his “ransom” doctrine and its effect on the country, 724;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his “unauthorised programme,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme of Home Rule, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his withdrawal from Mr. Gladstone’s Cabinet, 727;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins the Liberal Unionists, 729</span><br /> -<br /> -Chambers, Messrs., their petition against the Paper Duty, I. 391<br /> -<br /> -Charles of Hesse, Death of the Princess, II. 719<br /> -<br /> -Charles of Prussia, Prince, Death of, (the “Red Prince”), II. 721<br /> -<br /> -Charrington, Lieutenant, his mission with Professor Palmer to detach the Bedouins from the side of Arabi Pasha, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">murdered at the Wells of Moses, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Chartists, their hatred of the Queen, I. 38;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their demands, 48;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declaration of the “People’s Charter,” 49;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their meetings proclaimed, 50;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">petition to the Government, 58;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riot at Birmingham, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the vigour of the movement, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their turbulent Socialism, 59;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">alarm of the Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disturbances in 1842, 126;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">demonstration on Kennington Common, 327, 331;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a secret society, 328;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in league with foreign revolutionists, 329;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sympathy from the Tories, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their political organisation, 330;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the two divisions, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their first check, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">peaceful nature of the movement, 334;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reconstruction of the party by Mr. Ernest Jones, 335;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seizure of conspirators at Bloomsbury, 338;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collapse of the organisation, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of the rising on Parliament, 354</span><br /> -<br /> -Chartreuse, the Queen visits the Grande, II. 740<br /> -<br /> -Chelmsford, Lord, Lord Chancellor, II. 257<br /> -<br /> -Childers, Mr., his economic reforms in the navy, II. 340;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his vigorous policy at the Admiralty, 365, 424;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">War Secretary, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1883, 659;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reduces the Income Tax, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduces a Bill to reduce the National Debt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1884, 677;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of his 1885 Budget, 706</span><br /> -<br /> -Children’s celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in Hyde Park, II. 747<br /> -<br /> -China, war with England, I. 52;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the opium trade, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the peace of Nankin, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the treaty in regard to commerce, 53;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disturbances at Canton, 254;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">completion of a treaty with England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of war with England, 705;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hostilities with England, II. 47</span><br /> -<br /> -Chobham, Experimental military camp at, I. 567<br /> -<br /> -Christian, Mr. Edward, his view in regard to the constitution of the Cabinet Council, I. 26<br /> -<br /> -Churchill, Lord Randolph, his foundation of the Fourth Party, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstructionist tactics, 600;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the Government in regard to the Egyptian Question, 636;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">co-operation with the Parnellites, 706;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes Secretary of State for India, 708;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">is appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons, 730;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, 731</span><br /> -<br /> -Circular, The, in regard to Fugitive Slaves, II. 489<br /> -<br /> -Clanricarde, Marquis of, his Land Bill for Ireland, II. 286<br /> -<br /> -Clarendon, Lord, a remark on Lord John Russell, I. 239;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his satisfaction with the Queen’s visit to Ireland, 410, 411;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Queen’s University of Ireland, 415;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his impartial administration in Ireland, 443;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy during the Russo-Turkish War difficulty, 578;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his impetuous despatch of the ultimatum to Russia, 582;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his statement regarding the war between England and Russia, 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks on the Queen and Prince Albert, II. 5, 6;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s confidence in his advice, 44;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 366</span><br /> -<br /> -Closure, The, proposed by the Tories, II. 734<br /> -<br /> -Coal Mines Regulation Bill, The, passed, II. 738<br /> -<br /> -Cobden, Mr., his birth and early career, I. 87;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his work in the repeal of the Corn Laws, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">co-operation with Mr. Bright in the Anti-Corn Law Movement, 88;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enters Parliament, 98;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Sir Robert Peel, 137;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his aims, 207;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives a testimonial from Free Traders, 241;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of his first scheme for international arbitration, 391;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resolutions in favour of a general reduction of expenditure, 446;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion for general disarmament among European powers, 475;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his ineffectual efforts to preserve peace during the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 578;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">challenges the whole policy of the Government in the Russo-Turkish Question, 587, 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion against the war with China, 706;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Commercial Treaty, II. 48;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Palmerston’s foreign policy, 207;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 235;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the leading ideas of the Manchester School, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Cochrane, Mr., his proposal regarding the Income Tax, I. 327<br /> -<br /> -Cockburn, Sir Alexander, his eloquent speech on the foreign policy of the Russell Government, I. 435<br /> -<br /> -Codrington, General, his inefficiency at Sebastopol, I. 671<br /> -<br /> -Coercion for Ireland, Mr. Balfour’s permanent, II. 736<br /> -<br /> -Colley, Sir George Pomeroy, Death of, II. 619<br /> -<br /> -Collings, Mr. Jesse, defeats the Tory Government in 1886 on the question of allotments for labourers, II. 727<br /> -<br /> -Colonisation, attention given to the question, I. 130;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a preliminary expedition to New Zealand, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Connaught, Duke of, his marriage to the Princess Louise of Prussia, II. 578<br /> -<br /> -Conolly, Captain Arthur, his mission to Persia, I. 123;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 124</span><br /> -<br /> -Constantine, the Grand Duke, his visit to England, I. 742<br /> -<br /> -Constantinople, English protection of, II. 533<br /> -<br /> -Conyngham, Marquis of, one of the messengers to the Queen announcing the death of King William IV., I. 1<br /> -<br /> -Cooper, Thomas, his advocacy of Chartist principles, I. 58<br /> -<br /> -Corn Laws, the association for their repeal, I. 87;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cobden’s advocacy of repeal, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Anti-Corn Law League, 88;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">systematic spread of opinion against them, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord John Russell’s motion, 90, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reference in the Queen’s Speech, 95;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bitter debate in Parliament, 223</span><br /> -<br /> -Corporation Act, The repeal of the, I. 23<br /> -<br /> -Corrupt Practices Bill read a second time, II. 658;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its stringent penalties, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposed by Tories, Radicals, and Parnellites, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passed by both Houses, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Corry, Mr., First Lord of the Admiralty, II. 275<br /> -<br /> -Corry, Mr. Montagu, <i>see</i> Rowton, Lord<br /> -<br /> -Cottenham, Lord Chancellor, administers the oath to the Queen, I. 19<br /> -<br /> -Cotton, Sir Willoughby, in command in Afghanistan, I. 116<br /> -<br /> -Cotton famine in Lancashire, The, I. 123<br /> -<br /> -Cowan, Lord Mayor, the Queen’s visit at his inauguration, I. 31<br /> -<br /> -Cowell, Lieutenant, tutor to Prince Alfred, I. 692<br /> -<br /> -Cowper, Lord, Irish Viceroy, II. 632<br /> -<br /> -Cranworth, Lord, Lord Chancellor, I. 519;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his bill for altering the punishment of transportation, 535</span><br /> -<br /> -Crawford, Mr. Sharman, his motion in regard to Ireland, I. 354<br /> -<br /> -Crimean War, the, Origin of, I. 540;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the declaration of war by England, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">review of the fleet at Spithead, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Cobden’s advocacy of peace, 587;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the attitude of Prussia, 593;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s War Budget, 597;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">operations in the Black Sea, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of the Alma, 607;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blunders of the Allies, 609;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Balaclava, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the charge of the “Six Hundred,” 614;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Inkermann, 615;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Austrian proposals, 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Vienna Conference, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of Lord Raglan, 641;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen decorates returned soldiers, 647;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the assault on the Redan, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall of Sebastopol, 673;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">peace declared, 683</span><br /> -<br /> -Crimes Act abandoned in 1885 by the Tory party, II. 710<br /> -<br /> -Criminal Appeal, Court of, Bill for establishing, opposed by the Tories, II. 658;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bill before the Grand Committee on Law, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Bill dropped by the Government, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Criminal Code Bill read a second time, II. 658 ;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition of the Irish Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">obstructed by Lord Randolph Churchill and the Fourth Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abandoned by Sir Henry James, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Henry Drummond-Wolff’s question regarding, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Criminal Law Consolidation Acts, The, I. 28<br /> -<br /> -<i>Critic, British</i>, its articles on the Tractarian Movement, I. 99<br /> -<br /> -Croker, Mr. J. W., his attack on the Anti-Corn Law League, I. 211;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the Russian War, 618</span><br /> -<br /> -Cross, Mr. R. A. (afterwards Viscount Cross), Home Secretary, II. 465;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Licensing Bill, 470;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Artisans’ Dwellings Bill, 483;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passes the Prisons Bill, 518;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the Bill establishing a Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases, 658</span><br /> -<br /> -Crown Prince of Germany, <i>see</i> Frederick, Crown Prince<br /> -<br /> -Cumberland, Duke of, the Orange plot for his accession to the throne, I. 37;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular rejoicing at his departure from England, 38</span><br /> -<br /> -Cupar-Fife, Seizure of packages of dynamite at, II. 661<br /> -<br /> -Cyprus annexed by the British, I. 550<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="D" id="D">D</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Dalhousie, Lord, denied a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the annexation of Burmah, 506;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his viceregal government in India, 720, 722;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his system of education unpopular, 723</span><br /> -<br /> -Dalkeith Palace, Visit of the Queen to, II. 732<br /> -<br /> -Darmstadt, The Queen at (1885), II. 719<br /> -<br /> -Darwin, Mr. Charles, his death, II. 649;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his skill as a scientific investigator, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his profound influence on the thought of the Victorian Age, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the great work of his life, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the impetus to science from his doctrine of Evolution, 650</span><br /> -<br /> -Davis, Thomas Osborne, his connection with the Young Ireland Party, I. 339;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">editor of the <i>Nation</i> newspaper, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on English ideas, 340</span><br /> -<br /> -Davitt, Michael, the organisation of the Land League, I. 602;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrest, 612</span><br /> -<br /> -Davy, Sir Humphry, his discoveries in photography, I. 177<br /> -<br /> -Delhi, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recaptured by the British, 734</span><br /> -<br /> -Demerara, discontent in, 1849, I. 382<br /> -<br /> -Denison, Mr., elected Speaker of the House of Commons, II. 254<br /> -<br /> -Denman, Lord, his opinion on the Hampden ecclesiastical case, I. 300<br /> -<br /> -Denmark, the dispute in regard to the Duchies of Sleswig-Holstein, II. 79;<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_757" id="page_757">{757}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">war with Germany, 187</span><br /> -<br /> -Dickens, Mr. Charles, his death, II. 379;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mission as a novelist, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his qualities as a writer, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s admiration of his genius, 381;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invited to Buckingham Palace, 382;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refuses a baronetcy, 383</span><br /> -<br /> -Derby, Lord (fourteenth Earl), his formation of a Protectionist Ministry, I. 499;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">excellent practical work of his Government, 503;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of office, 518;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the Palmerston Government, 681;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">support of Lord Canning’s policy in India, II. 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asked to form a Cabinet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of his Government, 36;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter on the Italian Question, 46;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Cabinet, 257;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns the Premiership, 303;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 350;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, 351</span><br /> -<br /> -Derby, Lord (fifteenth Earl), the Fugitive Slave Circular, II. 489;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposals to Turkey in regard to Bulgaria, 507;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">negotiations regarding Turkey, 508;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy during the Russo-Turkish War, 529, 530;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his objection to a Congress on the Turkish Question, 540;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation, 542;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his commendable attitude during the Russo-Turkish crisis, 543;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary to the Colonies, 654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his vacillating policy regarding British territory in Africa, 683;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mistaken policy in regard to Queensland and New Guinea, 685;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes possession of territory at Saint Lucia Bay and Pondoland, 686</span><br /> -<br /> -Dicey, Mr. Edward, urges the policy of establishing a British Protectorate in Egypt, II. 638, 674<br /> -<br /> -Digna, Osman, defeated by General Graham, II. 718;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in conflict with the Abyssinians, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Dilke, Sir Charles, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">President of the Local Government Board, 655</span><br /> -<br /> -Dillon, Mr., his passionate appeals against English government in Ireland, II. 615;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposes the “Plan of Campaign,” 730;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abortive prosecution of, 735</span><br /> -<br /> -Disraeli, Mr., his birth and parentage, I. 50;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his novels, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his dislike of the Whigs, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">member for Maidstone, 51;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his personal appearance, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his maiden speech, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on O’Connell, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the nature of his Conservatism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the beginning of his influence, 190;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the pungency of his style, 191;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Sir Robert Peel, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the “Young England” Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech against Peel on the Corn Laws, 223;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leadership of the Protectionists, 375;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the debate on the state of the nation, 399;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amendment to the Queen’s Speech in 1850, 424;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal to revise the Poor Law, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advocacy of Imperial Federation for Australia, 439;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tactics in regard to the motion on salaries, 445;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion for the relief of agricultural depression, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complaints against his leadership in the House of Commons, 500;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget speech in 1852, 502;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his political tactics, 516;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his fatal Budget, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his leadership of the Tories at the Crimean crisis, 635, 679, 680;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attacks on Lord Palmerston’s Italian policy, 696;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coalition with Mr. Gladstone, 700;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the foreign policy of the Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of Lord Canning’s policy in India, II. 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his India Bill, 17;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Reform Bill, 32;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">support of Lord Palmerston’s Ministry, 75, 82;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view in regard to the American Civil War, 119;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Mr. Gladstone’s Budget of 1860, 125;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Palmerston’s diplomacy with Denmark, 204;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">moves a vote of censure on Palmerston’s policy with Denmark, 206;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 257;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on Reform, 271;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposals in regard to Reform, 274;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“educating his party,” 278;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1867, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Premier, 303;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a faulty electoral address, 314;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 315;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech on the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, 331;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s motion on the Irish Church, 332, 334-5;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his criticism of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 357;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Army Purchase, 392;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his effective opposition to Mr. Gladstone, 426;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attacks on the Gladstone Government, 463;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his majority in 1874, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First Lord of the Treasury, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his chivalrous attitude towards Mr. Gladstone, 467;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disaffection of the High Church party, 472;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Scottish Church Patronage Bill, 472;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decline of his reputation, 474;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the annexation of the Fiji Islands, 475;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Merchant Shipping Bill, 485-7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purchase of the Suez Canal shares, 492;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Royal Titles Bill, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created Earl of Beaconsfield, 503;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Bulgarian atrocities, 506;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">national protest against Turkish policy, 511, 523, 526;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his dexterity in dealing with the Turkish Question, 539;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his final agreement with Russia in regard to Turkey, 547;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at the Berlin Congress, 549;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Anglo-Turkish Convention, 550;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Indian scientific frontier, 556;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his belief in Asiatic Imperialism, 587;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">deserted by the <i>Standard</i>, 588;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Manifesto to the country, 590;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his fall from power, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his novel of “Endymion,” 608;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his abandonment of the Coercion Act in Ireland, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the failure of his policy in Afghanistan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his error in annexing the Transvaal, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 619;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his brilliant career, 620;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the secret of his success, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sincerely esteemed by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his democratic impulses, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his skilful management of the House of Commons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his declining years, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mistaken policy on the Eastern Question, 621;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his last words, 622;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his funeral, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">affectionately mourned by the people, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen to his tomb, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Majesty’s monument to his memory in Hughenden Church, 643</span><br /> -<br /> -Dixie, Lady Florence, the alleged attack on, II. 663;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">alarm to the Queen by the story of the attack, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">John Brown reports on the case to her Majesty, 664</span><br /> -<br /> -Dodson, Mr., President of the Local Government Board, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Employers’ Liability Bill, 601</span><br /> -<br /> -Dongola, Evacuation of, by Lord Wolseley, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Dost Mahomed, his territory, I. 112;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his anxiety for an English alliance, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">virtual declaration of war against him by the British, 114;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his flight from Cabul, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">again in arms, 115;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of a British force, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrender to the British Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">set at liberty, 122</span><br /> -<br /> -Drummond, Mr., his proposal for the reduction of taxation, I. 446<br /> -<br /> -Dublin, visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 407;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second visit of the Queen, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riotous proceedings in connection with the celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee, 746</span><br /> -<br /> -Dufferin, Lord, appointed Viceroy of India, II. 696<br /> -<br /> -Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, his connection with the “Young Ireland” Party, I. 339;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his statement of his aims, 340;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrest, 342;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brought to trial, 343</span><br /> -<br /> -Dunraven, Lord, his conciliatory motion on Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill, II. 677<br /> -<br /> -Durham, Lord, his Liberal policy in Canada, I. 34;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation of the Governorship of Canada, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled in disgrace by the Government, 35;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his system of self-government for Canada, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of his policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Duty, Paper, Mr. Milner Gibson’s motion for repeal of, I. 503;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of his motion, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="E" id="E">E</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Earle, General, Death of, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -East India Company, occupation of Aden by its troops, I. 52;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its opposition to Napier’s command in India, 402;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annexation of the Punjaub, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Ecclesiastical Titles Bill introduced by Lord John Russell, I. 464;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Cobden’s remarks on, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition of the Peelites to its terms, 466;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the second attempt to introduce it, 470</span><br /> -<br /> -Edinburgh visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 458, 487;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">review of the volunteers by the Queen, II. 66;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">third visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the unveiling of the Scottish National Albert Memorial, 503;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visited by the Queen, 627;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">review of the volunteers by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Majesty opens the International Exhibition in 1886, 732</span><br /> -<br /> -Edinburgh, Duke of, <i>see</i> Alfred, Prince<br /> -<br /> -Edison, Mr., the effect of his discovery of the electric light on gas investors, II. 582<br /> -<br /> -Education hardly existing in its popular sense at the Queen’s accession, I. 3;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord John Russell’s scheme for national education, 270;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vote on the subject in the House of Commons, 282, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Lowe’s revised Code, II. 120;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bill introduced in the House of Commons, 355, 360;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its terms, 360;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">criticism of the Bill by Mr. Mill and Mr. Fawcett, 361;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Bill passed by both Houses, 362;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">adverse criticism of the Bill by the Dissenters, 457;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s compromise to the Dissenters in regard to the Bill, 458</span><br /> -<br /> -Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Princess, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Egypt, vote of credit in Parliament for expedition, II. 635;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the sources of the Egyptian difficulty, 636;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ismail Pasha’s policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the national borrowed money, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">purchase of the Suez Canal shares by England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Cave’s report on the Khedive’s money difficulties, 638;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Edward Dicey’s view of a Protectorate, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Salisbury’s error in policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Goschen-Joubert scheme for consolidating the Egyptian debt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commission by France and England to investigate the resources of the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nubar Pasha’s Ministry, 639;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">beginning of the Dual Control, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrangement by the Powers to depose Ismail, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tewfik appointed Khedive, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">inefficiency of the Dual Control, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ignominious position of England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the supremacy of the bondholders, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restlessness of the natives under the Dual Control, 640;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">revolt of Arabi Bey, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disagreement between the partners in the Dual Control as to the treatment of Arabi Pasha, 641;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">determination of the Assembly of Notables to assert their right to control the Budget, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the right of the Assembly disputed by the French and English controllers, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Chamber of Notables refuses to withdraw from its position, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">M. de Blignières resigns his post on the Dual Control, 642;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arabi made Dictator of the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Egypt for the Egyptians,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">French and English fleets despatched to Alexandria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">French and English consuls advise the expulsion of Arabi, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a riot in Alexandria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stampede of the foreign population of Alexandria and of Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">formation of a Cabinet patronised by Germany and Austria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">safety of the Suez Canal assured, 643;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_758" id="page_758">{758}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Khedive</span><br /> -reinstated in Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">occupied by a British army, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone declares the occupation of the country temporary, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the cost of the war to England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">really under the control of the British Consul-General, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">England forbids the restoration of the Dual Control, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arabi and the insurgent leaders saved from capital punishment by the English Government, acting on the instigation of Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">used as a subject for embarrassing the Ministry, 661;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Hartington’s declaration about the recall of the British troops, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulty arising from the exorbitant tolls levied on ships by the Suez Canal Company, 662;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s agreement with M. de Lesseps, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">intention of the English Government to withdraw the troops, 670;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the attempt to conquer the Soudan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the appearance of the Mahdi, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the expedition under Colonel Hicks, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hicks defeated at El Obeid, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Egyptian garrisons in the Soudan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the advice of the British Government in regard to the Soudan, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the delay in the evacuation of Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">steps taken to relieve General Gordon, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack by the Conservatives on Mr. Gladstone’s policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the embarrassing position of England in regard to, 672;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the best policy for England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the decision of the British Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Gordon’s mission, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrival at Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Gordon appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Baker Pasha’s death at Tokar, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone admitted to be right in advising the abandonment of the Soudan, 674;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how the situation had been affected by the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gordon’s preliminary policy during his mission, 675;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the massacre of the garrison at Sinkat, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of El Teb, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Tamanieb, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Graham recalled from Suakim, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of Gordon’s negotiations with the Mahdi, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the bad financial position of the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s policy to relieve the debt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Conference in regard to the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Northbrook’s mission, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">England’s freedom of action, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vote for military operations by the English Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the actual difficulties of the country, 682;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Northbrook’s recommendations in regard to the debt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">financial proposal of the British Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prosecution of the Egyptian Government by the Debt Commission, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prince Bismarck’s advice to England regarding, 684;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s policy, 702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the plan adopted for rescuing the country from a financial crisis, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the diplomatic hostility of France, Russia, and Germany to England’s policy, 703;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the frontier fixed at Wady Halfa, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Election, General, on the Home Rule Scheme of Mr. Gladstone, II. 729<br /> -<br /> -Electric Telegraph, its progress at the date of the Queen’s accession, I. 3<br /> -<br /> -Elgin, Lord, his policy in Canada, I. 382;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his admirable behaviour during the Canadian crisis in 1849, 383, 384;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his successful diplomacy with Japan, II. 2</span><br /> -<br /> -Eliot, George, her death, II. 609;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the character of her novels, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her works especially enjoyed by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the popularity of “Adam Bede,” 610</span><br /> -<br /> -Ellenborough, Lord, his secret despatch to Lord Canning, II. 18;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Elliot, Captain, his arrest by the Chinese Government, I. 52<br /> -<br /> -El Obeid, Hicks Pasha and his army annihilated at, II. 670<br /> -<br /> -Elphinstone, General, in command in Afghanistan, I. 116<br /> -<br /> -El Teb, Defeat of Osman Digna at, II. 675<br /> -<br /> -“Endymion,” Mr. Disraeli’s novel of, II. 608<br /> -<br /> -England, development of the country since 1837, I. 3;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discontent among the masses, 48, 49;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the state of the country in 1839, 57;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disturbances in 1842, 126;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foreign policy during the difficulties between Russia and Turkey, 550-563;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the war against Russia, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signature of the Protocol, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a day of Fast, 599;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signature of the treaty with Russia, 683;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with the United States, 688;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">withdrawal of the legation from Italy, 698;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">murmurings against taxation, 699;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">war with Persia, 703, 704;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">war with China, 705;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with Egypt, 660;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coolness with Germany, 683;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the rivalry with Germany regarding territory on the Congo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrender to Germany on questions of colonial policy, 684;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unable to reconcile her interests with those of France, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prince Bismarck’s opposition, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bismarck’s advice regarding Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annexation of territory at Saint Lucia Bay and at Pondoland, 686;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Reserves called out, 702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the difficulty of holding Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">offers of support from her colonies and from the peoples of India at the Russian difficulty, 703;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">controversy with Russia about the frontier of Afghanistan, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -Este Guelphs, the name of the Royal Family of Great Britain, I. 5<br /> -<br /> -Exchange, New Coal, founded by the Prince Consort, I. 418<br /> -<br /> -Exhibition, International Industries, Prince Albert’s interest in, I. 449;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">banquet of Commissioners at the Mansion House, 450;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack by the Press on the Commissioners, 454;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">completion of the building, 462;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">energetic care of Prince Albert, 480,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">adverse criticism of the scheme, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opened by the Queen, 452;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ball at the Guildhall, 486;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of the Exhibition of 1862, II. 135</span><br /> -<br /> -Explosives Act, the one Bill not obstructed in the session of 1883, 660;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the events that led to its production, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the attempt to blow up the Local Board Government Offices, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outrage in the Times office, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the measure brought in by Sir W. Harcourt, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="F" id="F">F</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Fair Trade Meetings, The, in Trafalgar Square, II. 731<br /> -<br /> -Falkland, Lord, his Governorship of Nova Scotia, I. 251<br /> -<br /> -Faraday, Mr., his researches in electricity, I. 270, 271;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his paper “On New Magnetic Actions,” 271</span><br /> -<br /> -Farr, Dr., his investigation of the English Poor Law system, I. 362, 363<br /> -<br /> -Fawcett, Mr., Postmaster-General, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill establishing a Parcels Post, 635;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his admission of women to the Post Office service, 653</span><br /> -<br /> -Fenian Society, The, originated, II. 246;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its first name, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its founder in Ireland, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">established in the United States, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the funeral of McManus, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Ferdinand I., his rule in Austria, I. 343;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flight from Vienna, 345</span><br /> -<br /> -Fielden, Mr. John, his “Ten Hours Bill,” I. 287<br /> -<br /> -Finches, the, Earls of Nottingham, Mansion of, on the site of Kensington Palace, I. 8<br /> -<br /> -Fitzmaurice, Lord Edmond, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, II. 655<br /> -<br /> -Fitzwilliam, Earl, incident in the Queen’s early life at his residence, I. 12<br /> -<br /> -Forster, Mr. W. E., his scheme of national education, I. 270;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Endowed Schools Bill, 339;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduces his Education Bill, 359;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Ballot Bill, 395;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his compromise to the Dissenters on the Education Bill, 458;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his hesitancy regarding the War Vote, 538;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chief Secretary for Ireland, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy in Ireland, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill amending the Irish Act of 1870, 602;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Coercion Bill, 604;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Protection of Persons and Property Bill, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">violent opposition from Irish Members, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Protection Bill, 612;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his suppression of the Land League, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition from Radicals and Conservatives to his coercive policy, 631;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of his Irish policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his ineffective administration in Ireland, 632;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influences Parliament to give women a fair share of the public endowments for secondary education, 653;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his withdrawal from the Cabinet, 654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his charges against Mr. Parnell, 656</span><br /> -<br /> -Fortescue, Mr. Chichester (afterwards Lord Carlingford), Secretary for Ireland, II. 245;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">support of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, 358;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed to the Board of Trade, 387</span><br /> -<br /> -Fourth Party, The, founded, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its members, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the reward of its efforts, 708</span><br /> -<br /> -Fox, Mr. W. J., lecture against Corn Laws, I. 89<br /> -<br /> -France, difficulties with England, I. 166;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with England in regard to Otaheite, 167;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter from the Queen, 167;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of Louis Philippe to England, 172;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continued unfriendliness with England, 254;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">protest of the English Government against the proposed Franco-Spanish marriage alliance, 258;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bad fruits of the dispute with England, 302;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">diplomatic quarrel with England, 428;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Second Empire, 523;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Turkey as to Roman Catholics in Jerusalem, 542;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a treaty with Turkey, 543;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">zeal of the war party against Russia, 581;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declaration of war against Russia, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">occupation of Gallipoli by French troops, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signature of the Protocol, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unpopularity of the war with Russia, 640;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collapse of the alliance with England, 675;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with Germany, II. 51;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">angry feeling against England, 52;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an agreement with Italy, 218;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Prussia regarding Luxembourg, 282;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">organisation of the military system, 344;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of the war with Prussia, 366;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">nominal cause of the quarrel, 367;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclamation of war against Prussia, 368;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Napoleon’s secret treaty regarding Belgium, 369;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">battle of Worth, 370;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">battle of Gravelotte, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of Sedan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrender of the French Emperor, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclamation of a Republic, 371;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cession of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unconditional surrender of the French army at Metz, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the campaign under Gambetta’s leadership, 372;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">M. Thiers appointed President, 406;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Commission by France and England to investigate the resources of Egypt, 638;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Dual Control in Egypt, 639;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">breaks up the Dual Control, 642;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her fleet withdraws during the bombardment of Alexandria by the British, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">controversy with England, 667;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">insolent behaviour of Admiral Pierre at Tamatave, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of the criticism of a factious Opposition, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the honourable reparation to the British Government, 668;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition to English diplomacy in Egypt, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an arrangement with England in regard to Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">formally abandons the Dual Control, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Franchise Bill passed through the House of Commons, 679;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the loyal understanding between Liberals and Conservatives on this matter, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passed by the House of Lords, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_759" id="page_759">{759}</a></span>“Franchise First,” the cry of a section of the Liberal Party in 1883, 668<br /> -<br /> -Francis, John, attempt on the Queen’s life, I. 110<br /> -<br /> -Fraudulent Trusts Bill passed in Parliament, I. 715<br /> -<br /> -Frederick, Crown Prince, afterwards the Emperor Frederick III., of Germany, his betrothal to the Princess Victoria, I. 662;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage, 740, 750-752;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his splendid appearance in the Jubilee procession, II. 742</span><br /> -<br /> -Frederick the Wise, his relationship to the Queen, I. 5;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Protestantism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his kindness to Luther, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Free Trade, concessions by the Melbourne Ministry, I. 94;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its rejection by Sir Robert Peel, 98;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its advances since 1841, 201;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bazaar in Covent Garden, 202;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of the potato disease on Ireland, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enthusiasm of the nation in its favour, 216;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Robert Peel declares himself in its favour, 238;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its operation in Ireland, 273, 274;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disastrous effect in Ireland, 275;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">development of Mr. Cobden’s plan, 387;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the strong feeling in its favour, 506</span><br /> -<br /> -Frere, Sir Bartle, accompanies the Prince of Wales in his tour through India, II. 493;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his project of conquest in South Africa, 563</span><br /> -<br /> -Freycinet, M. de, his policy of non-intervention in regard to Arabi Pasha, 641<br /> -<br /> -Frost, John, his armed attack on the magistrates of Newport, I. 59;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his transportation, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Fugitive Slave Circular, The, II. 489<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="G" id="G">G</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Gakdul, Occupation of, II. 713<br /> -<br /> -Gambetta, his vigorous administration of the French Republic, II. 372;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his vain attempts to induce England to join France in coercing Arabi Pasha and the Egyptian National Party, 641;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 650;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">endeared to the masses by his patriotism and unselfish devotion, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Gardner, Mr. R., his sketch of industrial England, I. 282<br /> -<br /> -Garfield, President, his assassination, II. 627;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s letter of sympathy to Mrs. Garfield, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his heroic career, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Garibaldi, his conquest of the Sicilies, II. 54, 55;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refuses a reward for his services, 56;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second campaign of liberation, 128;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ovations in London, 194;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his departure from England, 198;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 650</span><br /> -<br /> -General Election on the Home Rule scheme of Mr. Gladstone, II. 729<br /> -<br /> -George III., his determination to have an actual voice in the appointment of his Ministers, I. 26<br /> -<br /> -George V., ex-King of Hanover, Death of, II. 558<br /> -<br /> -Germany, the movement in favour of national unity, I. 343;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Emperor Frederick’s aim, 346;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition of the Powers to its proposed unity, 422;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Denmark as to Sleswig-Holstein, 457;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her astute conduct at the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 582;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bismarck’s work for the unity of the empire, II. 129;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the popular movement in favour of unity, 279;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an agreement between Russia and Italy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rapid progress of its consolidation, 281;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Congress at Berlin, 549;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">irritated by the foreign and colonial policy of England, 683;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the cause of the coolness with England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">International Conference at Berlin to determine about the control of the Congo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appeal of the settlement at Angra Pequena for protection, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annexation of Angra Pequena, 684;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition to seize the Cameroons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">alarm of Egyptian bondholders in, 685;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">occupation of part of New Guinea, 686</span><br /> -<br /> -Germany, Crown Prince of (afterwards Emperor Frederick III.), <i>see</i> Frederick Crown Prince<br /> -<br /> -Gibraltar, Deportation of Zebehr Pasha to, II. 711<br /> -<br /> -Gibson, Mr., his opposition to the Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases Bill, II. 658<br /> -<br /> -Giffard, Sir Hardinge, his opposition to the Bill establishing a Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases, II. 658<br /> -<br /> -Gill, Captain, R.E., his mission with Professor Palmer to detach the Bedouins from the side of Arabi Pasha, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">murdered at the Wells of Moses, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Gladstone, Mr., member for Newark, I. 50;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his office under Sir Robert Peel, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his early Conservatism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns on the Maynooth Grant, 183;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for the Colonies under Peel, 211;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of the scheme of Home Rule for the Colonies, 386;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">support of Mr. Disraeli on the Poor Law, 425;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal regarding the Australian colonies, 440;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letters on the State prosecutions of the Neapolitan Government, 475;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on Mr. Disraeli’s Budget, 518;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 519;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first Budget, 531;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1854, 596-598;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his finance policy during the Crimean War, 643;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coalition with Mr. Disraeli, 700;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed reduction of the Income Tax, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the Budget, 702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Disraeli’s Reform Bill, II. 32;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his anti-Austrian policy, 43;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">explanation of the Commercial Treaty with France, 48;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks on the Fortification Scheme, 63;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repeal of the Paper Duty, 82;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the Budget of 1862, 123;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1863, 171;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mastery of finance, 212;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1864, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal to extend the franchise to the working classes, 215;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1865, 236;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader of the House of Commons, 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Russell-Gladstone Reform Bill, 255, 256;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1866, 259;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Irish Church Question, 286;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resolutions in favour of the disendowment of the Irish Church, 307;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Premier, 315;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion to disendow the Irish Church, 330;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Land Bill for Ireland, 357;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effective opposition from the Tories, 426;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Irish University Bill, 432;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of his Ministry, 435;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return to power, 436;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the elections of 1874, 463;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of office, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">withdrawal from the leadership of the Liberal Party, 467;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his pamphlets on “Vaticanism,” 475;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his agitation against Turkey, 503, 506;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Turkish Question, 527;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Edinburgh speech on finance, 582;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">favourable opinion in England in regard to his Irish Land Act, 587;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his great popularity in 1880, 590;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his successful campaign in Scotland and the North of England, 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">efforts to prevent him from becoming Prime Minister, 592;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entrusted with the power to form a Cabinet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1881, 615;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Irish Land Bill, 616;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of his government in Egypt after the fall of the Dual Control, 643;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declares the occupation of Egypt to be temporary, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his agreement with M. de Lesseps in regard to the Suez Canal, 662;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brings the controversy with France to a close, 668;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an address to the tenants at Hawarden, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recommends the production of jam as an industry, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his abandonment of the Soudan admitted to be right by the Opposition, 674;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the adverse view of his Soudan policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Reform Bill of 1884, 677;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his campaign in Midlothian, 678;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduces the Franchise Bill, 679;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the difficulties connected with the Reform Bill, 696;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the great changes to be effected by his Reform Bill, 702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Seats Bill, 699-702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his patriotic speech against Russia, 703;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his compromise with Russia, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">renews certain provisions of the Irish Crimes Act, 704;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">increase of expenditure under his Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeated on an amendment of Sir M. Hicks-Beach, 706;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of (1885), 707;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">offered an earldom, 708;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Midlothian Programme, 724;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Cabinet of 1886, 727;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">loses the support of the Whigs, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Home Rule scheme, 727-8;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Land Purchase (Ireland) Bill, 728;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the objections which were taken to his Home Rule proposals, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Home Rule Bill rejected, 729;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he appeals to the country on the subject, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Glasgow visited by the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 411;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrest of dynamitards, 661;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the sinking of the <i>Daphne</i>, 666;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s sympathy and subscription to the survivors of the <i>Daphne</i> disaster, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Gleichen, Count, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Goodwin, General, capture of Martaban, I. 505;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of Rangoon, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Gordon, General, steps taken to relieve him in Khartoum, II. 671;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mission to the Soudan, 672;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrival at Cairo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Governor-General of the Soudan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his double commission, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">part of his policy adversely criticised by the Conservatives, 675;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">denounced for sanctioning slavery, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the factiousness of the Opposition, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a sortie from Khartoum, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrounded by treason, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entreats the Government to send help, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of his negotiations with the Mahdi, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">publication of his protests against the desertion of Khartoum, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed to go to the Soudan, 711;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recommends the appointment of Zebehr Pasha as ruler of the Soudan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Khartoum, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice as to the evacuation of the town, 712;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his plan for withdrawing the troops and the <i>employés</i>, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">how he would have checked the Mahdi, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his position at Khartoum growing very critical, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, 715;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his defence of Khartoum, 716;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character of, 717</span><br /> -<br /> -Gordon, Lord Advocate, his Scottish Church Patronage Bill, II. 472<br /> -<br /> -Gordon, Miss, the Queen’s letter to, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -Gorham, Rev. W., his case in the lay courts, I. 447<br /> -<br /> -Gorst, Mr., one of the Fourth Party, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstructionist tactics, 601</span><br /> -<br /> -Gortschakoff, Prince, his reply to Lord Salisbury’s Circular Letter, II. 546;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at the Berlin Congress, 549;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, 651</span><br /> -<br /> -Goschen, Mr., becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer, II. 731;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget of 1887, 738</span><br /> -<br /> -Gough, Lord, the disaster at Chillianwalla, I. 399;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">movement for his recall, 400</span><br /> -<br /> -Gough, Sir Hugh, his victory at Gwalior, I. 150;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his campaign against the Sikhs, 234;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Sobraon, 235</span><br /> -<br /> -Goulburn, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer, I. 97;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">threatened assassination, 138;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Irish Coercion Bill, 230</span><br /> -<br /> -Graham, General, his army at Suakim, II. 675;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeats Osman Digna at El Teb, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Tamanieb, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Suakim, 717</span><br /> -<br /> -Graham, Sir James, Home Secretary, I. 97;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his views in regard to the Factories Act, 140;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">masterly speech on the Navigation Laws, 374;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reduction of the Admiralty expenditure, 390;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refuses to join the Russell Cabinet, 478;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resolution on Free Trade, 515;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First Lord of the Admiralty, 519;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_760" id="page_760">{760}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 630</span><br /> -<br /> -Grants, Royal, Committee to “inquire into and consider,” promised, II. 720;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the promise repudiated by the Tory Party, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Granville, Lord, President of the Council, I. 519;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unpopular colonial policy, 342, 366;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 366;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreign Secretary, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his efforts to get Turkey to fulfil her obligations, 598</span><br /> -<br /> -Gravelotte, Battle of, II. 370<br /> -<br /> -Gray, Mr. E. Dwyer, starts a relief fund for distress in Ireland, II. 586<br /> -<br /> -Greece, the case of Mr. Finlay, I. 426;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Italian intrigues in regard to the throne, II. 128;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">overthrow of King Otho, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cession of the Ionian Islands by England to Greece, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turkey’s failure to fulfil her obligations, 598;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the justice of her claims admitted by the Powers, 610</span><br /> -<br /> -Greville, Mr., description of the Queen’s coronation, I. 44;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s affairs in 1847, 291;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">political matters in 1849, 395;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 415;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Kossuth’s visit to England, 490</span><br /> -<br /> -Grey, General, his death, II. 378;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his serious loss to the Queen as private secretary, 379;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposed Life of the Prince Consort, 481</span><br /> -<br /> -Grey, Lord, his opposition to Lord John Russell, I. 206;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continued differences with Lord John Russell, 244;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enters the Whig Cabinet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for the Colonies, 386;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal to make the Cape of Good Hope a convict settlement, 402;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his protest against the Russian War, 590</span><br /> -<br /> -Grey, Sir George, Home Secretary, I. 245;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suggestion regarding the Established Church in Ireland, 354;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Crown Government Security Bill, 355;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal on the Irish Question, 375;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for the Colonies, 626</span><br /> -<br /> -Gubat, The British camp at, II. 715<br /> -<br /> -Guelph, Este, the name of the Royal Family of Great Britain, I. 5<br /> -<br /> -Guelph, House of, Representatives of the, in the eleventh century, I. 4<br /> -<br /> -Guizot, M., mission to London regarding Egypt, I. 86;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his diplomacy in regard to the proposed marriage alliance between France and Spain, 255;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">injury to his prestige, 256;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his pretext for the Franco-Spanish alliance, 257;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his friendship with Metternich, 302</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="H" id="H">H</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Habeas Corpus Act, suspension during the Irish crisis, I. 342;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed suspension in Ireland in 1848, 353</span><br /> -<br /> -Halifax, Lord, Chancellor of the Exchequer, I. 245;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his defects as a politician, 288, 289;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his financial statement for 1847, 290</span><br /> -<br /> -Hamburg spirit, The sale of, II. 738<br /> -<br /> -Hampden, Dr., his election to the See of Hereford, I. 299;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his supposed heterodoxy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">confirmation of his appointment by the Queen, 300</span><br /> -<br /> -Harcourt, Sir William Vernon, Solicitor-General, II. 439;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sarcastic assaults on the Tory Government, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home Secretary, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Hares and Rabbits Bill, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill for reforming the government of London, 678</span><br /> -<br /> -Hardinge, Lord, his plan for a new army organisation, 694;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 695</span><br /> -<br /> -Hardy, Mr. Gathorne (afterwards Lord Cranbrook), President of the Poor Law Board, I. 257;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home Secretary, 304;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">War Secretary, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Regimental Exchanges Bill, 483</span><br /> -<br /> -Harrison, Colonel, blamed in connection with the death of the Prince Imperial, II. 578<br /> -<br /> -Hartington, Marquis of, Secretary for Ireland, II. 387;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader of the Liberal Party, 482;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion on the Army Discipline Bill, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in favour of Mr. Chamberlain receiving a place in the Cabinet, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for India, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his exposure of the tactics of the obstructionists, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his leadership of the Liberal Party, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for War, 654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his pledge that the Attorney-General would bring in an Affirmation Bill, 658;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">damages the prestige of the Government by his declaration about the withdrawal of the British troops from Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mistake as to Gordon’s position in Egypt, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes leader of the Liberal Unionists, 729</span><br /> -<br /> -Havelock, Sir Henry, his relief of Lucknow, II. 735<br /> -<br /> -Hayward, Mr. Abraham, his account of English policy towards Turkey, II. 524;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letters from Mr. Gladstone regarding the Premiership in 1880, 592</span><br /> -<br /> -Health Exhibition at South Kensington, The, II. 694<br /> -<br /> -Helena, Princess, her birth, I. 262;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her marriage to Prince Christian, II. 262</span><br /> -<br /> -Hennessey, Mr. Pope, his wish to revive Nationalist ideas in Ireland, II. 239<br /> -<br /> -Henry of Battenberg, Prince, II. 718;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">made Knight of the Garter, 722;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assumes the designation of “His Royal Highness,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">question of the legality of the assumption of the title, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Herat attacked by the Persians, I. 113;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defended by Eldred Pottinger, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Herbert, Mr. Sidney, refuses a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view of the Income Tax, 471;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">War Secretary, 519;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 630</span><br /> -<br /> -Herries, Mr., his attack on the Russell Cabinet and on the Cobdenites, I. 390;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal for a fixed duty on corn, 391;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">President of the Board of Control, 499</span><br /> -<br /> -Herschel, Sir Farrer (afterwards Lord Herschel), Solicitor-General, II. 594<br /> -<br /> -Hertford, Marquis of, his death, II. 686;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an ideal Lord Chamberlain, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interesting stories regarding Court life, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an incident in the life of Prince Albert, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Hesse, Grand Duke of, his morganatic marriage with the Countess de Kalomine, II. 719<br /> -<br /> -Hesse, Princess Charles of, Death of, II. 719<br /> -<br /> -Hewett, Admiral, his command at Suakim, II. 675<br /> -<br /> -Hewitt, Mr., Mayor of New York, striking speech on the Queen’s Jubilee, II. 747<br /> -<br /> -Hicks-Beach, Sir M., defeats Mr. Gladstone’s Government, II. 706;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">is appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, 730;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 735</span><br /> -<br /> -Hicks Pasha and his army defeated at El Obeid, II. 670<br /> -<br /> -Hill, Rowland, his parentage, 78;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary to the South Australian Commission, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his pamphlet on the Postal System, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his plan for a Penny Postage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposed by Lord Lichfield and by the Rev. Sydney Smith, 79;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">supported by Mr. Warburton and Mr. Wallace in the House of Commons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Act of Parliament passed in favour of his plan, 80</span><br /> -<br /> -Hohenlohe, Prince, account of vagabondage in Germany, I. 346<br /> -<br /> -Hohenlohe-Langenberg, Prince Victor, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Holkar, Maharajah, at Windsor, II. 740<br /> -<br /> -Holloway College for Women opened, II. 732<br /> -<br /> -Holyoake, Mr. G. J., first employs the name of “Jingoes,” II. 530<br /> -<br /> -Home Rule, its rise in Ireland, II. 426;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell’s leadership, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell and other Irish members suspended, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the struggle regarding Coercion, 614;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell and the Land Act, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell and others imprisoned, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster and Mr. Parnell, 632;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell charged with conniving at murder, 656;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s attack on the agitators, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">warm admiration of Mr. Parnell in Ireland, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Chamberlain’s scheme of, 724;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Earl Russell’s, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Carnarvon’s, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s, 727-8;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s Bill defeated, 728</span><br /> -<br /> -Hong-Kong ceded to England, I. 53<br /> -<br /> -Hook, Dean, his pamphlet on national education, I. 270<br /> -<br /> -Horsman, Mr., his motion on the proposed reduction of official salaries, I. 446<br /> -<br /> -Houghton, Lord, his motion in regard to “Essays and Reviews,” II. 215<br /> -<br /> -Howick, Lord, his motion in regard to depression in manufacturing industry, I. 137<br /> -<br /> -Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, messenger to the Queen announcing the death of King William IV., I. 1<br /> -<br /> -Hudson, Mr. George, his leadership in railway enterprise, I. 201;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his supposed advice regarding railways in Ireland, 278;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the railway craze in England, 279</span><br /> -<br /> -Humboldt, Baron von, his unfavourable opinion of Prince Albert, I. 197<br /> -<br /> -Hume, Mr. Joseph, his discovery of an Orange plot, I. 37;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the proposed provision for Prince Albert, 67;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on the Portuguese policy of the Russell Government, 302;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Parliamentary Reform Association, 338;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on the Russell Government Budget, 352;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal for the extension of the franchise, 356, 426, 502;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of the Manchester School, 356;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">demands the doing away with the Excise, 390;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion for Parliamentary Reform, 391;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his effort to limit the period of the Income Tax, 471</span><br /> -<br /> -Hungary, its independence recognised, II. 282<br /> -<br /> -Hunt, Leigh, verses to the Queen, I. 132<br /> -<br /> -Huskisson, Mr., M.P., accidentally killed at the opening of the Liverpool Railway, I. 47<br /> -<br /> -Hutchinson, Mr., his Bill for protecting newspaper reports of lawful meetings, II. 618<br /> -<br /> -Hutt, Mr., his proposal to withdraw British war-ships from suppressing the West African slave trade, I. 438<br /> -<br /> -Hyde Park, the riot in 1867, II. 270;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Children’s celebration in, of the Queen’s Jubilee, 747</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="I" id="I">I</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Iddesleigh, Lord, <i>see</i> Northcote, Sir Stafford<br /> -<br /> -Ilbert Bill, the great strife over its terms, II. 662;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an explosion of race-hatred regarding it in India, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Imperial Federation League founded, II. 731<br /> -<br /> -Imperial Institute, The, originated, II. 739;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">laying the foundation stone of, 748</span><br /> -<br /> -Income Tax, The, imposed by Sir Robert Peel, I. 133;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular demonstration against its increase, 327;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord John Russell’s proposal, 351;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its continuance by Sir Charles Wood, 471;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed extension by Mr. Disraeli, 517;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s arrangement, 531;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s experiments, 598, 700; II. 237, 463, 601</span><br /> -<br /> -Indemnity, Bill of, Application to Parliament for, II. 2<br /> -<br /> -India, the Sikh outbreak, I. 399;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the India Government Bill, 530;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduction of the India Bill by Sir Charles Wood, 533;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed change in the management of the country’s affairs, 534;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">revolt of the Bengal army, 719;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">probable cause of the great Mutiny, 720;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the misgovernment of Oudh, 721-723;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the difficulty as to the position of the royal family of Delhi, 724;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_761" id="page_761">{761}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">dissatisfaction of the Sepoys with English rule, 725;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular beliefs regarding the downfall of British power, 727;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mutiny of the Sepoys, 728;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suppression of the Mutiny, II. 2-4;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of Lord Derby’s policy, 15;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Disraeli’s India Bill, 18;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cordial reception of Disraeli’s Bill in India, 25;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a Proclamation by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s new regulations regarding the Indian army, 26;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Order of the Star of India, 40, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill, 662;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Lytton’s rule as to the vacancies in the India Civil Service, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an explosion of race-hatred, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jubilee celebrations in, 739</span><br /> -<br /> -Indian and Colonial Exhibition opened, II. 731<br /> -<br /> -Indian contingent, The, in the Soudan campaign, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -Indies, West, distress in 1848, I. 350;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord John Russell’s policy, 351</span><br /> -<br /> -Inkermann, The battle of, I. 615<br /> -<br /> -“Invincibles,” The, II. 632<br /> -<br /> -Ionian Islands, Cession of, to Greece, II. 128<br /> -<br /> -Ireland, O’Connell’s agitation, 151-158;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">meetings at Tara and Clontarf, 155;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O’Connell’s trial, 156;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">beneficial measures passed, 158;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the potato disease, 202;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of Irish ports to foreign importation, 203;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dublin memorialising the Queen, 216;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of Peel’s Ministry on the Irish Question, 228;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prolongation of the Arms Act, 248;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Great Famine, 272;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of industries, 273;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">one safeguard in the English markets, 274;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall of prices, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decrease of small holdings, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Free Trade a disaster, 275;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">terrible state of the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gravity of the distress under-estimated by the Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord John Russell’s plans, 278;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord George Bentinck’s scheme for railways, 279;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the terrors of emigration, 285;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outrages and commercial panic, 295;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Coercion Bill, 297;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">revolting crimes, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hostility of the priesthood to the Government, 298;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s Colleges denounced by the Sacred Congregation, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the nature of the “Young Ireland” movement, 339;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the leaders of the “Young Ireland” Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first collision of the national party with the authorities, 342;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">truculent attitude of the “Young Ireland” leaders, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distrust of the peasantry, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effects of the revolution, 343;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">increased distress, 370, 372;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Parliamentary Bill against seditious clubs, 353;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Encumbered Estates Act, 354;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Crown Security Bill, 355;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed grant from the Imperial Exchequer, 375;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pitiful condition of the country, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pressure of the Poor Law on the Irish gentry, 378;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signs of improved feeling towards the English Government, 406;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, 406, 407;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">loyal manifestations by the people, 407-410;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">good results of the royal visit, 410;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of the Queen’s Colleges, 414;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Irish Franchise Bill, 442;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s policy, 443;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a time of tranquillity, 498;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second visit of the Queen, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Exhibition of Irish Industries, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of the Fenian Conspiracy in 1865, II. 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the rise of the Phœnix Society, 246;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Revolutionary Brotherhood in America, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the <i>Irish People</i> established, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrest of the Fenian leaders, 247;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Fenian organisation in New York, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, 259;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Naas’s Land Bill, 286;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Church Question, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the spread of Fenianism, 287;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Irish riot at Manchester, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Clerkenwell Prison, 288;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Church Question in the House of Commons, 307-311, 327;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s motion upon the Disestablishment of the Irish Church, 330-338;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O’Donovan Rossa returned to Parliament, 353;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disaffection of the Orangemen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a Land Bill introduced in the House of Commons, 355;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rise of the Home Rule Party, 426;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s University Bill, 432-435;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the elections of 1874, 464;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relaxation of Coercion Acts, 488;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Intermediate Education Bill, 554;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abolition of the Queen’s University and substitution of the Royal University, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second reading of the Irish Relief Bill, 586;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Major Nolan’s Seeds Bill, 586;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">solid vote against the Tories in 1880, 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster Chief Secretary, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its embarrassing condition in 1880, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Home Rule Party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell’s leadership and Mr. Gladstone’s policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s Bill amending the Act of 1870, 602;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of Mr. Forster’s Bill by the House of Lords, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">organisation of the Land League, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">increase of evictions, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influence of the Land League, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the system of boycotting, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">increase of outrages, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s anxieties regarding the state of the country, 608;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">condemnation of Mr. Gladstone’s Irish policy in Parliament, 610;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Beaconsfield’s speech against Mr. Gladstone’s policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a serious crisis, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s Protection of Persons and Property Bill, 612;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell and other Irish Members suspended, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the struggle in Parliament regarding Coercion, 614;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Dillon’s passionate agitation against the Gladstone Government in Ireland, 615;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s Land Bill, 616;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">new rise of Fenianism, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell’s policy in regard to the Land Act, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell and others imprisoned in Kilmainham, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a “No Rent” Manifesto by the Land Leaguers, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suppression of the Land League, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of the Land Act in Ulster, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, 631;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Radical and Conservative opposition to Mr. Forster’s coercive policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of Mr. Forster’s policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tory bid for the Irish Vote, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tory scheme for buying out the Irish landlords, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">intrigue to remove Mr. Forster from the post of Chief Secretary, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">release of Mr. Parnell and other leaders, 632;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s view of Mr. Parnell’s proposal, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Society of “Invincibles,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s ineffective administration, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a new Coercion Bill, 633;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the terms of the new Coercion Bill, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Arrears Bill introduced, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the prominent topic in the debate on the address of 1883, 655;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrest of the “Invincibles,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carey betrays the “Invincible” conspiracy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the object of the “Invincibles,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the removal of obnoxious Irish officials, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">funds received from America, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mrs. Frank Byrne alleged by Carey to have been the bearer of the murderers’ knives from America, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">open agitation substituted by secret societies, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of the conspirators to waylay Mr. Forster, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the cause of the attack on Lord Frederick Cavendish, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the baseness of Carey, 656;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">five of the “Invincibles” hanged, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the death of Carey, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gorst’s amendment that no more concessions be made by the Government to the agitators, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacks on Mr. Parnell, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Parnell charged with conniving at murder, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Forster’s attack on the agitators, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">warm admiration of Mr. Parnell’s conduct in, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the national testimonial to him, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Prince and Princess of Wales’s visit to, 719;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Land Purchase Bill of Mr. Gladstone, 728.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>See</i> also Dillon, Mr.; Home Rule; Parnell, Mr.</span><br /> -<br /> -Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood of America, The, II. 246<br /> -<br /> -Isandhlwana, The disaster at, II. 564<br /> -<br /> -Ismail Pasha, visit to England, II. 347<br /> -<br /> -Italy, the revolution of 1848, I. 347;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">flight of the Pope, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of Mazzini, 422;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">misgovernment in 1856, 698;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">convention with France, II. 218;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Florence made the capital, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annexation of Rome, 376;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposed to the cession of French territory to Germany, 402;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">adhesion to the Austro-German alliance, 651;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Triple League of Peace, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="J" id="J">J</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Jamaica, complications with England, I. 54;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the imprudence of Lord Sligo, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">plan to suspend its constitution for five years, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">virtual defeat of the Ministry’s proposal, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the second Bill in regard to, 56;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the negro insurrection in 1865, II. 247;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">extenuating report by the Commissioners, 259</span><br /> -<br /> -James, Sir Henry, Attorney-General II. 594<br /> -<br /> -Japan, treaty with England, II. 4;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an embassy to the Queen, 429</span><br /> -<br /> -Jellalabad, Defence of, by Sir Robert Sale, I. 121;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relieved by the British, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Jephson, Mr., a letter on the state of Ireland, I. 274<br /> -<br /> -Jews, The Bill for removing disability of, for municipal offices, I. 183;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their disability to enter Parliament removed, II. 18</span><br /> -<br /> -Jingoes, The, so named by Mr. Holyoake, II. 530;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their war song, II. 529</span><br /> -<br /> -Jingoism, a new political term, II. 530<br /> -<br /> -John, King, of Abyssinia, sends envoys to the Queen, II. 695<br /> -<br /> -Jubilee, the Queen’s, The year of the, II. 733;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Jubilee Ode, 739;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the celebrations of, in India, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Mandalay, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preparations for it in Britain, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colonial addresses of felicitation presented at Windsor, 740;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Indian princes at Windsor, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the street decorations in London on Jubilee Day, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, 741;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the procession of princes, 742;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the scene in Westminster Abbey, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the guests in the Abbey, 742-3;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the processions in the Abbey, 743;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Thanksgiving Service, 744;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the scene in the Abbey after the ceremony, 745-6;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the illuminations in London, 746;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the celebrations in England and the North of Ireland, in Edinburgh, Dublin, and Cork, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the honours bestowed on the occasion, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">observances in the Colonies and New York, 747;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the children’s celebration in Hyde Park, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the royal banquet in Buckingham Palace, 748;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s letter to her people, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Majesty’s garden-party, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">review of metropolitan volunteers, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Jubilees, The previous, of English history, II. 741<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="K" id="K">K</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Kalomine divorce suit, The, II. 719<br /> -<br /> -Kars, The heroic defence of, by General Williams, I. 673<br /> -<br /> -Kassala, siege of, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Kassassin, The battle of, II. 643<br /> -<br /> -Keane, Sir John, in command in Afghanistan, I. 114;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created a Baron, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return to England, 116</span><br /> -<br /> -Kelso visited by the Queen, II. 295<br /> -<br /> -Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall founded by the Queen, II. 291<br /> -<br /> -Kensington Palace, scene of the Queen’s infancy, I. 9;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its early history, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_762" id="page_762">{762}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">its brilliant Court in the eighteenth century, 10;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the sovereigns who died in it, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its disfavour with George III., <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its furniture, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Kent, Duchess of, the addresses of condolence from Parliament at her husband’s death, I. 8;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her care for the education of the Princess Victoria, 10;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">additional grant to her income, 13;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her stay in the Isle of Wight, 15;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her reply to the Vice-Chancellor’s speech at Oxford, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her income fixed at £30,000, 28;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her position to the Queen, 30;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her death, II. 80</span><br /> -<br /> -Kent, Duke of, his marriage, I. 4;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of popular Government, 6;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his personal appearance, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his strictness as a disciplinarian, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the liberality of his political views, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his residence abroad, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his return to England, 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reconciliation with the Prince-Regent, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his residence at Claremont, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Sidmouth, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his illness and death, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Kertch, The Allied expedition against, I. 640;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">evacuated by the Russians, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Khartoum, steps taken for General Gordon’s relief, II. 671;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gordon protests against being deserted, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">isolated and surrounded by the Mahdi’s troops, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the British Nile expedition to, 679;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">siege of, closely pressed, 712;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall of, 715;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Charles Wilson arrives at, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defence of, by General Gordon, 716</span><br /> -<br /> -Kilmainham Treaty, The, II. 632<br /> -<br /> -Kimberley, Lord, Secretary for India, II. 654;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his despatch to Sir Hercules Robinson regarding British jurisdiction in South Africa, 683</span><br /> -<br /> -King, Mr. Locke, his proposal to equalise the town and county franchise, I. 465;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of his motion, 502;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second attempt to procure the extension of the franchise, II. 214</span><br /> -<br /> -Kinglake, Mr., his account of the preparations for the Russian War, I. 604, 606<br /> -<br /> -Kirbekan, The battle of, II. 717<br /> -<br /> -Komatsu, Prince and Princess, of Japan, Visit of, to the Queen, II. 732<br /> -<br /> -Korniloff, his bravery at Sebastopol, I. 610<br /> -<br /> -Korti, The British camp at, II. 712;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Black Watch at, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Kosheh, Battle of, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Kossuth, Louis, his address to the Emperor Ferdinand of Austria, I. 344;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his flight to Turkey, 423;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his arrival in England, 479</span><br /> -<br /> -Kutch Behar, The Maharajah and Maharanee of, at Windsor, II. 740<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="L" id="L">L</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Labouchere, Mr., Chief Secretary for Ireland, I. 245.<br /> -<br /> -Labouchere, Mr. Henry, opposes the grant to Prince Leopold, 646;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposes the annuity to Princess Beatrice, 720</span><br /> -<br /> -Lancashire, the sufferings during the Cotton Famine, II. 146;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">revival of the cotton trade, 183;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expenditure during the Cotton Famine, 185</span><br /> -<br /> -Land Bill (Ireland) of 1887, II. 736;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Bankruptcy Clauses of, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Lansdowne, Lord, Lord Privy Seal, I. 245<br /> -<br /> -Lawrence, John (afterwards Lord Lawrence), his prompt action at the Indian Mutiny, I. 732;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy with the Sikhs, 734</span><br /> -<br /> -Lawson’s, Mr. Edward, proposal of the children’s celebration of the Jubilee, II. 747<br /> -<br /> -Layard, Mr. (afterwards Sir A. H.), his hostility to Russia, I. 590;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his dispute with Turkey regarding the seizure of an English missionary’s Mussulman assistant, II. 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">granted an indefinite leave of absence, 594</span><br /> -<br /> -Leeds, the Liberal leaders press a measure of Parliamentary reform on the country, II. 668;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Liberal Conference at, adopts Mr. Gladstone’s principle of Home Rule, II. 730</span><br /> -<br /> -Leicester, Seizure of packages of dynamite at, II. 661<br /> -<br /> -Lennox, Lady Augusta, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Leopold, King of Belgium, his marriage to the Princess Charlotte, I. 6;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his high character and abilities, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his election as King of the Belgians, 14;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s confidence in his advice, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to England, 46;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his desire for the Queen’s marriage to Prince Albert, 60;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter from the Queen, 103, 106;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second visit to England, 262;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, II. 251;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Leopold, Prince, a serious illness, II. 316;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular admiration of his character, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a threat to murder him, 645;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accident at Mentone, 646;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">granted £25,000 a year on his marriage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">married to the Princess Hélène of Waldeck-Pyrmont, 647;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the imposing ceremony at his marriage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 687;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his funeral, 689;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amiable personality, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prof. Tyndall’s high estimate of his ability, 690;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his eager interest in politics, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his wish to become Governor of Victoria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s opposition to his becoming Governor of Victoria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his gifts as an orator, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his presentiment of early death, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his loss felt by rich and poor, 691;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his favourite residence, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Lewis, Sir George Cornewall, a letter on Disraeli’s Budget, 519;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks regarding the political situation in 1854, 576;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first Budget, 644;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks on the collapse of the French alliance, 676, 678;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1856, 690;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1857, 701;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, II. 171;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s estimate of his character, 172</span><br /> -<br /> -Liberal Unionist Party formed, II. 729<br /> -<br /> -Lincoln, Abraham, elected President of the United States, II. 114;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proclamation regarding the abolition of slavery, 134</span><br /> -<br /> -Lincoln, Lord, refuses a place in the Russell Cabinet, I. 244;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his address to the Queen on colonisation, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">address to the Crown on the Colonial Question, 387</span><br /> -<br /> -Liston, Mr., and the use of ether as an anæsthetic, I. 271<br /> -<br /> -Liverpool, visit of the Queen and the Prince Consort, I. 487;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">condemnation of dynamitards at, 661;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen to the International Exhibition at, in 1886, 732</span><br /> -<br /> -Livingstone, Dr., found by Stanley, II. 427;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s interest in the explorer, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Lloyd, Bishop, his influence on the Tractarians, I. 98<br /> -<br /> -Lloyd, Lieut. W., presents one of the Mahdi’s flags to her Majesty, II. 687<br /> -<br /> -London, a Chartist meeting on Kennington Common, I. 327;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chartist meetings at Clerkenwell and Stepney Greens, 336;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the riots in 1855, 644;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bill to improve the government of, II. 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">riots in the West End of, 731</span><br /> -<br /> -London, Bishop of, the Ecclesiastical Appeal Bill, I. 446<br /> -<br /> -Lonsdale, Earl of, Lord Privy Seal, I. 499<br /> -<br /> -Lorne, Marquis of, the Queen consents to his marriage with the Princess Louise, II. 378;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appearance at the ceremony, 407;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accident to, in the royal procession on Jubilee Day, 742</span><br /> -<br /> -Louis Philippe, his visit to England, I. 172;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his cordial reception by the people, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">honours from the Queen, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Louise, Princess, her marriage, II. 407-8<br /> -<br /> -Lowe, Mr. Robert, his Revised Education Code, II. 120;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacked by Lord R. Cecil in regard to reports of inspectors of schools, 218;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his demand for national unsectarian education, 302;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first Budget, 338;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second Budget, 363;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Civil Service to competition, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1871, 397;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the scandal in regard to the Zanzibar mail contract, 438;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home Secretary, 439;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his popularity in 1874, 458;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created Lord Sherbrooke, 594</span><br /> -<br /> -Lucan, Lord, and the Charge of the Light Brigade, I. 614<br /> -<br /> -Lucknow, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relief by Havelock, 735;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second relief, 737</span><br /> -<br /> -Lyell, Sir Charles, account of a visit to Balmoral, I. 367<br /> -<br /> -Lyndhurst, Lord, Lord High Chancellor, I. 97;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bill for the removal of the Jews’ disabilities, 183;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his violent speeches against Russia, 600, 602;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on Prussia and Austria, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his defects as a debater on foreign, affairs, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Lytton, Lord, Viceroy of India, II. 494;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his warlike policy in Afghanistan, 555;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Shere Ali, 556;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">contemptuous speech against Mr. Gladstone, 598;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his “Prosperity Budget,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his rule on the vacancies in the India Civil Service, 662</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="M" id="M">M</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Maamtrasna murders to be re-considered, II. 710<br /> -<br /> -Macaulay, Lord, his sarcasm on the Maynooth affair, I. 183;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his account of Lord John Russell’s failure to form a Cabinet, 206;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Postmaster-General, 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the Education Vote, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">elected M.P. for Edinburgh, 586</span><br /> -<br /> -Macdonald, Mr., his administration of supplies in the Crimea, I. 624<br /> -<br /> -Maclean, Roderick, his supposed attempt to assassinate the Queen, II. 644<br /> -<br /> -Macleod, Dr. Norman, his ministrations to the Queen at Balmoral, II. 139, 230;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">account of the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 296;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 428;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter from the Queen on his death, 429</span><br /> -<br /> -Macmahon, Marshal, surrounded at Sedan by the German army, II. 370<br /> -<br /> -Macnaghten, Sir William, appointed Secretary to Shah Soojah, I. 114;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created a baronet for his services in Afghanistan, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Governor of Bengal, 116</span><br /> -<br /> -Madagascar, re-action against England, I. 190<br /> -<br /> -Magee, Dr., speech on the Irish Church Question, II. 334<br /> -<br /> -Mahdi, the, How General Gordon would have checked, II. 712;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, 718</span><br /> -<br /> -Mahmoud Samy, nominal Minister of War in Egypt, II. 641<br /> -<br /> -Maidstone, Mr. Disraeli member for, I. 51<br /> -<br /> -Maiwand, The battle of, II. 599<br /> -<br /> -Majuba Hill, Battle of, II. 619<br /> -<br /> -Malakoff, Capture of the, by the French, I. 671<br /> -<br /> -Malmesbury, Earl of, Foreign Secretary, I. 499;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">account of the Queen’s life at Balmoral, 522;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks on the understanding between the Earl of Aberdeen and the Czar, 546</span><br /> -<br /> -Malt Tax, Proposed repeal of the, II. 236;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone declines to reduce it, 237;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abolished by Mr. Gladstone, 601</span><br /> -<br /> -Manchester, opening of the Art-Treasures Exhibition by Prince Albert, I. 739;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popularity of the Art-Treasures Exhibition, 746;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_763" id="page_763">{763}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Manchester School, The, its attack on Sir James Brooke in regard to Borneo, I. 474<br /> -<br /> -Mancini, Signor, his disclosure to the Italian Senate of the adhesion of Italy to the Austro-German alliance, II. 651<br /> -<br /> -Mandalay, Jubilee celebrations in, II. 739<br /> -<br /> -Manners, Lord John, President of the Board of Works, II. 257;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Postmaster-General, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amendment to Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill of 1884, II. 677</span><br /> -<br /> -Margarine Bill, The, passed, II. 738<br /> -<br /> -Marlborough, Duchess of, starts a relief fund to avert distress in Ireland, II. 586<br /> -<br /> -Marlborough, Duke of, Colonial Secretary, II. 275;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Beaconsfield’s Manifesto to (1880), 90</span><br /> -<br /> -Married Women’s Property Act comes into force, II. 652;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the benefit conferred by the Act, 654</span><br /> -<br /> -Marriott, Mr., his amendment to Mr. Goschen’s Closure scheme, II. 630;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of his Closure amendment, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">counsel for Ismail Pasha in his claims to the Domain lands, 683</span><br /> -<br /> -Martaban, Capture of by General Goodwin, I. 505<br /> -<br /> -Martin, Sir Theodore, his Life of the Prince Consort, I. 238, 448, 545; II. 75, 480, 481;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Life of Lord Lyndhurst, I. 239, 242</span><br /> -<br /> -Match Tax, Proposed levy of, by Mr. Lowe, II. 397<br /> -<br /> -Matthews, Mr. Henry, is appointed Home Secretary, II. 730<br /> -<br /> -Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, created Emperor of Mexico, I. 743;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Maynooth, the Parliamentary grant, I. 183;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Macaulay’s criticism of the affair, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Mayo, Lord, his government of India, II. 343;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 427;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of his Afghan policy, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Mazzini, Joseph, his petition in regard to the detention of his letters in England, I. 164<br /> -<br /> -Medical Acts Amendment Bill, II. 678<br /> -<br /> -Meerut, outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, I. 730<br /> -<br /> -Melbourne, Lord, his character, I. 23, 95, 370;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his moderate principles, 23;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his appointment to the Premiership, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his instruction of the Queen in the theory and working of the British Constitution, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the probable ill effects of his teaching, 24;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the personal regard of the Queen, 28;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view of the revolt in Canada, 34;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Durham’s suggestions carried out in regard to Canada, 35;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular distrust of his authority, 36;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">virtual defeat of his Ministry, 54;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a second Jamaica Bill, 56;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Penny Postage Act, 80;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Act regarding chimney-sweeps, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">growing unpopularity of his Ministry, 89;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prognostications of his fall, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of his Ministry, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a statement regarding Protection, 94;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of office, 95;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his last years, 96;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his position in English history, 97;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion of Prince Albert, 103;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s regret at his death, 370</span><br /> -<br /> -Menschikoff, Prince, his mission to Constantinople, I. 550;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposed Note of Agreement with Turkey, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his position at the Alma, 607;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his generalship, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his blunders at the Alma, 608, 609;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tactics at Balaclava, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his blunders at Inkermann, 615</span><br /> -<br /> -Metamneh, Gordon’s steamers at, II. 712<br /> -<br /> -Metternich, Prince, remark on the Franco-Spanish marriage alliance, I. 258;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his influence over Frederick I. of Austria, 343;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation, 344</span><br /> -<br /> -Metz, Surrender of the French army in, II. 371<br /> -<br /> -Mexico, English policy in regard to, I. 127;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the French Emperor’s plan for a monarchy, 127, 163;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Emperor Maximilian crowned, 218;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Emperor Maximilian shot by order of the Mexican Republic, 283</span><br /> -<br /> -Middleton, Sir Frederick, puts down the rebellion of half-breeds in the North-West of Canada, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Midlothian Programme (1885), The, II. 724<br /> -<br /> -Mill, Mr. John Stuart, elected M.P. for Westminster, II. 243;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the National Debt, 258;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejected by Westminster, 315;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill for supplying smoking carriages to railway trains, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Mr. Forster’s Education Bill, 360;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remark on the position of women in England, 652</span><br /> -<br /> -Milner, Mr. Gibson, representative of the Free Trade Party, I. 244<br /> -<br /> -Mitchell, John, his violent teaching in the “Young Ireland” Party, I. 342;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">editor of <i>United Ireland</i>, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrested and condemned to transportation, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Molesworth, Sir William, his opposition to the Education Vote, I. 283;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal that the Colonies should be made autonomous, 474;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chief Commissioner of Works, 519</span><br /> -<br /> -Montpensier, Duc de, his marriage to the Spanish Infanta, I. 255<br /> -<br /> -Morgan, Mr. Osborne, passes the Married Women’s Property Act, II. 653<br /> -<br /> -Morley, Mr. John, his Life of Cobden, I. 216, 223;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">is appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, II. 727</span><br /> -<br /> -Morris, Mr. Lewis, Jubilee Ode by, II. 750<br /> -<br /> -Morse, Professor, his discoveries in electricity, I. 175<br /> -<br /> -Muncaster, Lord, presents the Duke of Wellington’s banner to King William IV. on the anniversary of Waterloo, I. 3<br /> -<br /> -Mundella, Mr., his Bill for consolidating the Factory Acts, II. 474;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vice-President of the Council, 594</span><br /> -<br /> -Mutiny, Indian, <i>see</i> India<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="N" id="N">N</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Naas, Lord, Secretary for Ireland, II. 257;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Land Bill for Ireland, 286</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>See</i> also Mayo, Lord</span><br /> -<br /> -Napier, Sir Charles, in command of the Baltic fleet against Russia, I. 583;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his blockade of the Gulf of Finland, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his success against Russia in the last expedition, 602, 603</span><br /> -<br /> -Napier, Sir Charles James, his defeat of the insurgents at Hyderabad, I. 150<br /> -<br /> -Napoleon I., Removal of the body of, from St. Helena to Paris, I. 86<br /> -<br /> -Napoleon III. elected President of the French Republic, I. 421;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his restoration of the Empire, 491;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his struggle with Parliament, 491, 492;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the vote in his favour, 494;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his installation as Emperor, 523;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Czar’s slight, 526;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage, 528;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Queen, 648-654;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invested with the Order of the Garter, 651;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">private visit to the Queen, 717, 718;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, II. 444</span><br /> -<br /> -Napoleon, Prince Louis, his murder by the Zulus, II. 575;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">indignation among the French Bonapartists at his death, 578</span><br /> -<br /> -National League (Ireland), The, proclaimed, II. 737<br /> -<br /> -Navigation Laws, Proposed repeal of the, I. 374<br /> -<br /> -Navy, Introduction of steam into the, I. 389<br /> -<br /> -Nesselrode, Count, his assurances to the English Government of the peaceful policy of Russia before the Crimean War, I. 551;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attitude during the Russo-Turkish difficulties, 579, 580, 595</span><br /> -<br /> -Neufchâtel, the dispute with Prussia, I. 696<br /> -<br /> -New Britain and the German annexations in the Pacific, II. 686<br /> -<br /> -Newcastle, Duke of, Colonial Secretary, I. 519;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his alleged incompetence in office, 616;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary of State for War, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his efforts to improve the condition of the army, 631;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">remarks on the elections, 1857, 709;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes with the Prince of Wales on a visit to America, II. 67-69</span><br /> -<br /> -New Guinea, the Queensland Government and annexation of, II. 685;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">southern portion of, annexed by Lord Derby, 686;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">German annexation, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -New Ireland and the German annexations in the Pacific, II. 686<br /> -<br /> -Newman, Rev. J. H. (afterwards Cardinal), his entry into the Roman Catholic Church, I. 99-101;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">“Tract No. 90,” 101;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation as Vicar of St. Mary’s at Oxford, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his early intentions, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of his withdrawal on the Tractarian Movement, 102</span><br /> -<br /> -Newport (Mon.), Lord Salisbury’s address at, II. 726<br /> -<br /> -Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, his error in regard to Turkey, I. 579;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstinacy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 633</span><br /> -<br /> -Nightingale, Miss, her labours in the Crimea, I. 624;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rewarded by the Queen for her heroic conduct in the Crimea, 692</span><br /> -<br /> -Nile Expedition to relieve General Gordon, II. 712-4<br /> -<br /> -Nile, Stewart’s night march to the, II. 714<br /> -<br /> -Nolan, Major, his Seed Bill for Ireland, II. 586<br /> -<br /> -Northbrook, Lord, his opposition to the purchase system in the army, II. 393;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation as Viceroy of India, 494;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First Lord of the Admiralty, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Egyptian mission adversely criticised by the Conservatives, 682;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his recommendations in regard to Egypt discredit the Gladstone Government, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his promise to make important additions to the navy, 702;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and the Admiralty accounts, 710</span><br /> -<br /> -Northcote, Sir Stafford, President of the Board of Trade, II. 257;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for India, 275;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Irish Church Question, 332;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chancellor of the Exchequer, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tame policy as Chancellor of the Exchequer, 470;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1875, 487;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1876, 502;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his leadership of the House of Commons, 515;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his denunciation of the terms of peace between Turkey and Russia, 536;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1878, 552;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1879, 571;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1880, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition from the Fourth Party, 595;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motions in regard to Mr. Bradlaugh, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his prudent policy distasteful to his followers, 636;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resolution prohibiting Mr. Bradlaugh from taking the oath, 658;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Bradlaugh’s threat to treat this decision as invalid, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resolution excluding Mr. Bradlaugh from the House of Commons, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unwillingness to countenance obstructive tactics, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Randolph Churchill’s bitter attacks on his leadership, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his hand forced to obstructive tactics, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speeches in North Wales and Ulster, 668;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">moves a vote of censure on the Government for their vacillating policy, 673;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blames the Government for not helping Hicks Pasha, 674;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prevents Mr. Bradlaugh from taking his seat, 676;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created Lord Iddesleigh, 708;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sudden death of, 734</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="O" id="O">O</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Oatley, George, presented with the Albert Medal by the Queen, I. 607<br /> -<br /> -Obeid, El, Defeat of Hicks Pasha and his army at, II. 67<br /> -<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_764" id="page_764">{764}</a></span>O’Brien, William Smith, the rise of the Nationalist Party in Ireland, I. 327;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his leadership of the “Young Ireland” Party, 341;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">collapse of his authority, 343;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">transported to Van Diemen’s Land, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -O’Connell, Daniel, remarks in regard to the Queen’s popularity with the Irish, I. 38;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suggestion of the “People’s Charter,” 49;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">early patron of Mr. Disraeli, 51;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his denunciation of Sir Robert Peel, 56;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the agitation in Ireland, 151;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his popularity with the Irish people, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his aims, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the secret of his success, 52;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the nature of his invective, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his puzzling methods, 154;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, 158</span><br /> -<br /> -O’Connor, Feargus, his denunciation of Sir Robert Peel, I. 56;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an agitator by profession, 58;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his parentage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his leadership of the Chartists, 327;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at the meeting on Kennington Common, 331;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his petition in favour of six points of the Charter, 354;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrested by the Sergeant-at-Arms, 355</span><br /> -<br /> -Odoacer, the Queen’s conjectural relationship to, I. 45<br /> -<br /> -Odessa bombarded by the British fleet, I. 603<br /> -<br /> -Orleans, Duke of, his death, I. 126<br /> -<br /> -Osborne, Mr. Bernal, his motion on Portuguese affairs, I. 302;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal in regard to Ireland, 354;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Austro-Hungarian Question, 399</span><br /> -<br /> -Osman Digna defeated by General Graham, II. 718;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in conflict with the Abyssinians, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Otho, King, driven from the throne of Greece, II. 128<br /> -<br /> -Oudh, difficulties as to its government, I. 721;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its annexation by the East India Company, 722;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of the Sepoy Mutiny, 729;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Canning’s successful diplomacy, 734</span><br /> -<br /> -Outram, Sir J., General, his victories over the Persians, I. 704;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion regarding the government of Oudh, 721;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the annexation of Oudh, 722</span><br /> -<br /> -Overland Route, its inauguration, I. 190<br /> -<br /> -Oxford University, the Tractarian Movement, I. 98;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censure of Newman’s tract, 101;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oxford University Bill passed by the Aberdeen Cabinet, 619;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed abolition of religious tests, II. 397</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="P" id="P">P</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Pakington, Sir John, Colonial Secretary, I. 499;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First Lord of the Admiralty, II. 257;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for War, 275</span><br /> -<br /> -Palmer, Professor, his mission to detach the Bedouins from the side of Arabi Pasha, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">murdered at the Wells of Moses, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Palmer, Sir Roundell (afterwards Lord Selborne), his speech on the Irish Church Question, II. 334<br /> -<br /> -Palmerston, Lady, her influence in Whig society, II. 351<br /> -<br /> -Palmerston, Lord, his speech on the sugar duties, I. 94;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his condemnation of the Ashburton Treaty, 169, 170;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreign Secretary, 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">antipathy of Louis Philippe, 258;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with the Church of Rome, 298;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">deficiencies in his foreign policy, 320;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his view regarding an Anglo-German alliance, 322;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complaints against his policy by Louis Philippe, 326;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his rash interference with Spain, 347;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">popular indignation against him, 345;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vote of censure in Parliament, 349;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an Ordnance Department scandal, 394;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annoyance to the Queen by his Austrian policy, 395;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the reckless character of his policy, 398;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with Greece, 427;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen expresses her displeasure with his policy, 478;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discussion in Parliament as to his foreign policy, 430, 431;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a speech on the Greek dispute, 435;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dissatisfaction of the Queen with his administration at the Foreign Office, 437;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s memorandum in regard to his foreign policy, 454, 455;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his plea to the Prince Consort, 455;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his cordial reception of Kossuth, 479;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resignation as Foreign Secretary, 495;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">he assails the Militia Bill, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Home Secretary, 519;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 565;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his return to the Cabinet, 566;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his zeal for war with Russia, 572;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a foolish speech at the Reform Club, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his public-spirited behaviour at the Crimean crisis, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy as Prime Minister, 638;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of the French alliance, 675;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his popularity at the Crimean War, 688;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the failure of his home policy, 690;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his victory at the elections, 708;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">increase of confidence from the Queen, 715;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his false estimate of the Indian Mutiny, 747;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his waning popularity, II. 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill to alter the Law of Conspiracy, 8;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">vote of censure passed against him in Parliament, 37;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his anti-Austrian policy, 43;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his plan for the settlement of the Italian Question, 46;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the continued recklessness of his policy, 47;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Fortification Scheme, 62;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distaste of the Radicals to his policy, 74;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mutilation of the Afghanistan Blue Book, 82;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on Prussia, 83;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sympathy with Poland, 160;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conflict with the Queen on the Danish Question, 166;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured by the House of Lords, 167;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy at the Danish War, 191;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his diplomacy after the failure of the Sleswig-Holstein Conference, 193;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech on the Irish Question, 233;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 243;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the character of his statesmanship, 244;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his able management of the Commons, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Panmure, Lord, his ridiculous despatch to General Simpson, I. 669<br /> -<br /> -Papal Aggression Movement, the Pope’s Brief, I. 460;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">indiscreet statements of Roman Catholic dignitaries, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr. Ullathorne’s explanation, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Paris, the Conference in regard to the Russian War, I. 698;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the result of the Conference, 716;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Congress of 1858, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -Parker, Admiral, his blockade of the Piræus, I. 427<br /> -<br /> -Parnell, Mr. Charles Stewart, enters Parliament, II. 488;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">develops a policy of obstruction, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstruction of the Prisons Bill, 515;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his skill in debate, 516;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of Radical members, 520;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to flogging in the army, 568;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Attorney-General’s indictment against him, 603;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy in regard to the Land Act, 628;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s speech against his policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">imprisoned in Kilmainham, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">alliance of his Party with the Tories, 697;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">additions to his followers, 698;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">master of Ireland by the elections of 1885, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Relief Bill is rejected, 730</span><br /> -<br /> -“Parnellism and Crime,” II. 735<br /> -<br /> -Parnellite alliance with the Tories, Success of, II. 706;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">manifesto in support of the Tories, 726</span><br /> -<br /> -Patents Bill, real progress made with it, II. 658<br /> -<br /> -Paxton, Mr., his design for the International Exhibition building, I. 462<br /> -<br /> -Peabody, Mr. George, his gift to the poor of London, II. 135;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his second gift, 323;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his statue unveiled by the Prince of Wales, 347</span><br /> -<br /> -Pease, Edward, opening of the passenger line between Birmingham and London, I. 47<br /> -<br /> -Peel, General, Secretary for War, II. 257<br /> -<br /> -Peel, Mr. Arthur, chosen Speaker of the House of Commons, II. 676<br /> -<br /> -Peel, Mr. F., his Bill to deal with clergy reserves in Canada, I. 534<br /> -<br /> -Peel, Sir Robert, his financial statement for 1845, I. 182;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the establishment of the Queen’s Colleges in Ireland, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decline in his popularity, 190;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of the Queen, 191;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives the distinction of the Order of the Garter, 192;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his able management of his party, 193;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his hesitation in regard to Free Trade, 203;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 204;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">re-accepts Premiership, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repeals the Corn Laws, 226;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">praised by the Queen, 227;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall of his Ministry in the Commons, 228;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns the Premiership, 238;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter from the Queen, 239;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his wise resolution, 241;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his independent attitude, 243;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bank Restriction Act, 279;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the Education vote, 283;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assailed by High Church Tories, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bank Act assailed, 295;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack on his Free Trade policy, 373;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of the Russell Ministry, 375;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his clear perception of the Irish difficulty, 378;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">triumph of his fiscal policy, 399;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his last speech in Parliament, 435;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 447;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, 447, 448</span><br /> -<br /> -Pegu, Capture of, by the British, I. 506<br /> -<br /> -Pélssier, Canrobert’s successor in the Crimea, I. 640;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his irresolution as a leader, 673</span><br /> -<br /> -Pennefather, General, his command at Inkermann, I. 615<br /> -<br /> -People’s Palace, the, in the East End of London, Opening of, II. 740<br /> -<br /> -Perth, inauguration of a statue to the Prince Consort by the Queen, I. 227<br /> -<br /> -Peterborough, Bishop of, his opinion on the Irish Universities Bill, II. 434<br /> -<br /> -Philippe, Louis, his intrigue for the Franco-Spanish marriage alliance, I. 254;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his disreputable motives, 256;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his antipathy to Lord Palmerston, 258;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">loss of reputation, 259;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">estrangement of the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abdicates the throne, 325;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his flight to England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">generous reception by the Queen, 326;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 458</span><br /> -<br /> -Phœnix Park Murders, The, II. 632<br /> -<br /> -Phœnix Society, The, II. 246<br /> -<br /> -Pierre, Admiral, at Tamatave, II. 667<br /> -<br /> -“Plan of Campaign,” The, II. 730<br /> -<br /> -Plimsoll, Mr., and the shipknackers, II. 485;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">creates a scene in the House, 486;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reprimand and apology, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Playfair, Dr. Lyon, Postmaster-General, II. 439<br /> -<br /> -Poland, rebellion in the country, II. 159;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the policy of Russia, 162;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Russian Imperial Ukase in favour of the peasantry, 218</span><br /> -<br /> -Police Superannuation Bill, II. 678<br /> -<br /> -Pondoland, British Protectorate established in, II. 686<br /> -<br /> -Poor Law considered unnecessarily harsh, I. 48<br /> -<br /> -Portsmouth, the laying of the submarine telegraph cable, I. 271<br /> -<br /> -Portugal, discussion of its affairs in the British Parliament, I. 302<br /> -<br /> -Postal system, its crudeness in 1837 compared with the present time, I. 3<br /> -<br /> -Pottinger, Eldred, his defence of Herat, I. 113<br /> -<br /> -Prison Ministers Bill, Introduction of the, II. 173<br /> -<br /> -Pritchard, Mr., thrown into prison by the French at Otaheite, I. 167<br /> -<br /> -Prome, Occupation of, by the British, I. 506<br /> -<br /> -Protection, Agitation in regard to, at Manchester, I. 216;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Stanley’s advocacy, 227;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the policy of its advocates in 1850, 423, 424;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a demand for retrenchment, 445;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">views represented in the Queen’s Speech, 507;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">success of arguments against Free Trade, 536</span><br /> -<br /> -Prussia, the revolution of 1848, I. 346;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restoration of monarchical authority, 422;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signature of the Protocol, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">view regarding war with Russia, 592;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter from the King to Queen Victoria, 593;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continuance of an adverse policy to England, 622;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Switzerland, 696;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_765" id="page_765">{765}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">the war with Austria, II. 280</span><br /> -<br /> -Prussia, King of, sponsor to the Prince of Wales, I. 106;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at a meeting of Parliament, 107</span><br /> -<br /> -<i>Punch</i>, a cartoon of Russell and Peel, I. 239<br /> -<br /> -Punjaub, its annexation by the East India Company, I. 402<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="Q" id="Q">Q</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Queensland Government and the annexation of New Guinea, II. 685<br /> -<br /> -Queen Victoria, <i>see</i> Victoria, Queen<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="R" id="R">R</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Ragheb Pasha at the head of the Egyptian Cabinet, II. 642<br /> -<br /> -Raglan, Lord, his doubts about the success of invading the Crimea, I. 606;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his generalship at the Alma, 607;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disagreement with St. Arnaud, 608;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his demands for reinforcements, 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the silence of his despatches regarding the sufferings of the army, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured in Parliament, 632;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 641;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, 642, 643</span><br /> -<br /> -Raikes, Mr., his opinion of Louis Philippe, I. 143<br /> -<br /> -Raikes, Mr. H. C., reduces the perpetual penalties on voters in corrupt boroughs, II. 699<br /> -<br /> -Railway, Opening of the London and Birmingham, I. 47<br /> -<br /> -Rangoon, Capture of, by General Goodwin, I. 505<br /> -<br /> -“Ransom,” Mr. Chamberlain’s doctrine of, II. 724<br /> -<br /> -Redan, The British assault on the, I. 670, 671<br /> -<br /> -Reform Bill, Good effect of the, on the middle class, I. 23;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s, II. 671, 699</span><br /> -<br /> -Ricardo, Mr., his proposal in regard to the difficulties of Free Trade in the Colonies, I. 382<br /> -<br /> -Richmond, Duke of, President of the Board of Trade, II. 275;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader of the Tory Party, 358;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord President of the Council, 465</span><br /> -<br /> -Riel, Louis, President of the “Republic of the North-West,” II. 384;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">hanged for treason, 723</span><br /> -<br /> -Riots, The, in the West End of London, II. 731<br /> -<br /> -Ripon, Lord, denounced in regard to the Ilbert Bill in India, II. 662<br /> -<br /> -Roberts, General, his brilliant generalship against Ayoub Khan, II. 599;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of the Ilbert Bill, 662</span><br /> -<br /> -Roberts, Mr., his Act for closing public-houses during Sundays in Wales, II. 618<br /> -<br /> -Roberts, Mr., his clever transport of artillery at Varna, I. 607<br /> -<br /> -Roebuck, Mr., his Bill for the better government of the colonies, I. 385;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his support of Mr. Gladstone, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of his colonial measure, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposes a vote of confidence in the Russell Government, 435;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion regarding the mismanagement of the Russian War, 617, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Committee of Investigation, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his motion in favour of recognition of the American Confederates by England, II. 176</span><br /> -<br /> -Roman Catholic disabilities, Removal of, I. 23<br /> -<br /> -Romilly, Sir Samuel, his proposal regarding the Criminal Code, I. 27<br /> -<br /> -Rorke’s Drift, The defence of, II. 564<br /> -<br /> -Rossa, O’Donovan, his real name, II. 246;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">becomes a convert to Fenianism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">elected Member of Parliament, 353</span><br /> -<br /> -Rothschild, Baron, his return for the City of London, I. 298;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jews and the Parliamentary Oath, 299</span><br /> -<br /> -Round Table Conference, The, II. 735<br /> -<br /> -Rowton, Lord, consulted by the Queen on the political situation, II. 695<br /> -<br /> -Royal Grants, Promise of Committee to “inquire into and consider,” II. 720;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">promise repudiated by the Tory Party, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Royal Titles Bill, The, II. 499<br /> -<br /> -Russell, Lord John, his Act in regard to capital punishment, I. 28;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his measure for re-uniting Upper and Lower Canada, 35;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured as Home Secretary, 39;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attitude towards the Chartists, 48;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his vexation at the reduced pension to Prince Albert, 67;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposed duty on corn, 90;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">withdrawal of the motion, 91;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dissolution of Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion on Free Trade, 94;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his re-election for the City of London, 95;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his conversion to Free Trade, 203;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asked to form a Cabinet, 204;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the reason of his failure to form a Cabinet, 206;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">distrusted by Cobden, 207;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his letter regarding the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England, 450;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, 464;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">introduces the Militia Bill, 498;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation as Prime Minister, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall from the leadership of the Liberal Party, 501;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his eulogium on the Duke of Wellington, 512;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreign Secretary, 519;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme for a national system of public instruction, 530;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the main point of his Education Scheme, 534;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme for reforming Parliament, 564;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech on the Prince Consort’s position, 576;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unscrupulous policy before the Russian War, 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech against Russia, 602;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 617;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interference with the Aberdeen Cabinet arrangements, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s objection to his policy, 627;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colonial Secretary, 630;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his humiliating position after the Second Vienna Conference, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Bill to remove the Parliamentary disability of the Jews, 711;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his amendment to Disraeli’s Reform Bill, II. 32;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conflict of opinion with the Queen, 41;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Anti-Austrian policy, 43;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposal regarding the reduction of the franchise, 51;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">raised to the peerage, 85;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his diplomacy in regard to Sleswig-Holstein, 199, 203;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed Premier 245;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an address to the Queen on the Irish Church Question, 287;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his scheme of Home Rule, 724</span><br /> -<br /> -Russell, Mr. T. W., denounces the Bankruptcy Clauses of the Irish Land Bill, II. 736<br /> -<br /> -Russia, Visit of Nicholas, Emperor of, to England, I. 160;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">described by the Queen, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opinion of the English Court, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his life in England, 161;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his jealousy of France, 162;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">memorandum regarding Turkey, 162, 163;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his departure from London, 163;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unpopularity with the English people, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">diplomatic quarrel with England, 427, 428;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">aggressive designs, 540;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">geographical conditions, 541;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ultimatum to Turkey regarding the Greek Church, 550;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the points of contention with Turkey, 555;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">probable offensiveness of Menschikoff’s Note to Turkey, 557;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the criminal blunder at Sinope, 578;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recall of the English ambassador, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejection of the proposal of the Powers, 579;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat by the Turks at Silistria, 582;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">war declared by England, 583;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of the Alma, 607;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Balaclava, 611;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Inkermann, 615;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of the Czar, 633;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposals at the Second Vienna Conference, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ready assent to terms of peace at the Crimean War, 678;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">signing of the treaty with England, 683;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attempts to separate France and England, 696;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">diplomacy in regard to Poland, II. 162;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Imperial Ukase in favour of the Polish peasantry, 218;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">annexation of Circassia, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposal regarding the Black Sea, 375;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of war with Turkey, 526;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the understanding between the Russian and Turkish Governments during the Russo-Turkish War, 528;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English despatch to prevent the Russian occupation of Constantinople, 541;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">menacing India, 542;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">secret agreement with England regarding Turkey, 547;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at the Berlin Congress, 549;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the assassination of Alexander II., 623;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with England regarding the Afghan boundary, 703;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advance of troops on the Indian frontier, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">occupation of Pendjeh, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">controversy with England about the Afghan frontier, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="S" id="S">S</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Saint Lucia Bay, British Protectorate established at, II. 686<br /> -<br /> -Sale, Sir Robert, repulsed by Dost Mahomed, I. 115;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his march to Jelalabad, 118;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his defence of Jelalabad, 121;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death at Ferozeshah, 234</span><br /> -<br /> -Salisbury, Marquis of, his remark regarding Russian aggression in European Turkey, I. 555;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Land Bill, II. 359;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for India, 465;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his success at the India Office, 474;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his visit to Constantinople, 570;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interview with Bismarck, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Foreign Secretary, 546;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Circular to the Powers, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his secret agreement with Russia regarding Turkey, 547;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at the Berlin Congress, 549;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy in Afghanistan, 556;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an error in his Egyptian policy, 638;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">article in the <i>Quarterly Review</i> bewailing Mr. Gladstone’s disintegration of English Society, 668;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">article in the <i>National Review</i> advocating the better housing of the poor, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">blames the Government for not assisting Hicks Pasha, 674;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censure of Mr. Gladstone’s Soudan policy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his resistance to the Reform Bill of 1884, 697;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in office (1885), 707;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">singular pledge exacted of Mr. Gladstone, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his address at Newport, 726;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in power (midsummer, 1886), 730;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his theory about a Land Purchase Bill for Ireland, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Sandon, Lord, his Endowed Schools Bill, II. 474, 499<br /> -<br /> -Sandwich Islands offered to Britain, I. 188;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Houses of Parliament established, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Saxe-Weimar, Princess Edward of, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Schouvaloff, his secret treaty with Lord Salisbury, II. 547<br /> -<br /> -Science, its marked progress since Queen Victoria’s accession, I. 175;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the electric telegraph, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the first telegraph line in England, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the beginnings of photography, 176;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the discoveries of Wedgwood, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the discoveries of Davy, Daguerre, and Talbot, 177;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">practical applications of the telescope, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Thames Tunnel, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Arctic discovery, 178;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">voyages of Franklin and others, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Scinde, Annexation of, by Britain, I. 150<br /> -<br /> -Scotland, conflicting views as to the character of a Church, I. 102;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Act of Parliament in regard to Presbyteries, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decree of the General Assembly, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Strathbogie case, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dr. Chalmers and Reform, 103;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the beginning of the Free Church, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen and Prince Albert, 126;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s impression of the country and people, 127;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passing of the Education Bill, II. 591;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the great Liberal victories of 1880, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposed legislation by the Gladstone Government, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Universities Bill, 678;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Sanitary Bill, 710</span><br /> -<br /> -Seats Bill passed in the House of Commons, II. 699;<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_766" id="page_766">{766}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">its complex character, 699-701</span><br /> -<br /> -Sebastopol at the mercy of the Allies, I. 608;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Todleben’s genius and activity, 610;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the beginning of the bombardment, 640;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of the Malakoff, 671;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">abandoned by the Russians, 672</span><br /> -<br /> -Secularism, its rise in England, I. 270;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Holyoake’s views, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Sedan, Surrender of the French Emperor at, II. 370<br /> -<br /> -Selborne, Lord, Lord Chancellor, II. 594.<br /> -<br /> -“Senior Service,” The, II. 748<br /> -<br /> -Sepoys, their dissatisfaction with British rule in India, I. 725, 726<br /> -<br /> -Servants’ Provident and Benevolent Society, Founding of the, by Prince Albert, I. 363<br /> -<br /> -Seymour, Admiral Sir Beauchamp (afterwards Lord Alcester), his warning to Arabi regarding the fortifications of Alexandria, II. 642;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bombards Alexandria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes possession of the town of Alexandria, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives a peerage in return for his services in Egypt, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Shaftesbury, Lord, his Commission of Inquiry on Mines and Collieries I. 139;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Mines and Collieries Act, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Factories Act, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the “Ten Hours Bill,” 286;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his undaunted courage, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his withdrawal from Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his speech against Russia, 587;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">address to the Queen, asking her not to take the title of Empress, 502</span><br /> -<br /> -Shah of Persia, The, visit to England, II. 446;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reception, 447;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">banquet in the Guildhall, 449;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his departure from London, 450;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the political element in his mission, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Shah Soojah supported by the British for the throne of Afghanistan, I. 112;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his proposed rule, 114;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unpopularity with the Afghans, 115;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his energy and integrity, 118;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his assassination, 121</span><br /> -<br /> -Shaw-Lefevre, Mr., Secretary to the Admiralty, I. 594<br /> -<br /> -Sheffield, the disastrous flood in 1864, I. 226;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outrages by artisans, 289</span><br /> -<br /> -Siam, Envoys from, received by the Queen, II. 667<br /> -<br /> -Sibthorp, Colonel, his motion as to Prince Albert’s pension, I. 67<br /> -<br /> -Sikhs, the rebellion of 1849, I. 399;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the siege of Multan, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Simpson, Dr. Young, his discovery of chloroform, I. 307<br /> -<br /> -Simpson, General, his appointment to the command in the Crimea, I. 669;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his inefficiency, 671, 674</span><br /> -<br /> -Sing, Maharajah Sir Pertab, at Windsor, II. 740<br /> -<br /> -Sinkat, Massacre of the garrison of, II. 675<br /> -<br /> -Sinope, The massacre of, I. 562<br /> -<br /> -Slave trade, Speech on the, by Prince Albert, I. 105;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">convention on the matter between England and France, 188</span><br /> -<br /> -Sliding scale, Peel’s support of a, I. 98;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its introduction, 134</span><br /> -<br /> -“Slumming,” II. 670<br /> -<br /> -Smith, Mr. W. H., becomes First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons, II. 734<br /> -<br /> -Smith, Sir Harry, defeat of the Sikhs at Aliwal, I. 235<br /> -<br /> -Sobraon, Battle of, I. 235<br /> -<br /> -Solomon, Alderman, disqualified as a Jew from taking his seat in Parliament, I. 476<br /> -<br /> -Soudan, Campaigns in the, II. 712-18;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">evacuation of, by the British, 718</span><br /> -<br /> -Southey, his interview with the Princess Victoria, I. 15<br /> -<br /> -Spain, the revolution of 1848, I. 347;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rising in Madrid, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dethronement of Queen Isabella, II. 323;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accession of King Amadeus, 376</span><br /> -<br /> -Spencer, Lord, Lord President of the Council, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Irish Viceroy, 632, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his policy thrown over by the Tories, 710;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">adopts Mr. Gladstone’s measure of Home Rule, 727</span><br /> -<br /> -Spithead, Great naval review at, I. 569, 570<br /> -<br /> -Stamp Duties, Discussion in Parliament on the, I. 444<br /> -<br /> -Stanley, Dean, his death, II. 626;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his biography of Dr. Arnold, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his conciliatory influence on the Anglican Church, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his intimate relations to the Royal Family, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Stanley, Lady Augusta, her admirable character, II. 511<br /> -<br /> -Stanley, Lord, Secretary for the Colonies, I. 97;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 207;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader of the Protectionists, 227;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack on the Portuguese policy of the Russell Government, I. 352;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his discovery of an Ordnance Department scandal, 393;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposes a vote of censure on the Russell Government, 431;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of his attempt to form a Cabinet, 466.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>See</i> also Derby, Earl of</span><br /> -<br /> -Stanley, Mr., his discoveries on the Congo, 683<br /> -<br /> -Stansfeld, Mr., his Public Health Bill, II. 423<br /> -<br /> -St. Arnaud, Marshal, his plan for the battle of the Alma, I. 607;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 609</span><br /> -<br /> -Stephenson, General, Repulse of the Arabs by, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Stephenson, George, opening of the passenger line between Birmingham and London, I. 47<br /> -<br /> -Stewart, Colonel, murdered by Arabs, II. 681<br /> -<br /> -Stewart, Sir Donald, his support of the Ilbert Bill, II. 663<br /> -<br /> -Stewart, Sir Herbert, at Korti, II. 712;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Abu Klea, 713;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mortally wounded, 714</span><br /> -<br /> -St. Leonards, Lord, Lord Chancellor, I. 499<br /> -<br /> -Stockmar, Baron, his opinion as to the changes in the Prince Consort, I. 267;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice regarding the Russo-Turkish difficulty, 575</span><br /> -<br /> -Stoddart, Colonel, his mission to Persia, I. 123;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 124</span><br /> -<br /> -Storey, Mr., his opposition to the vote to Prince Leopold on his marriage, II. 646<br /> -<br /> -Stratford de Redcliffe, Lord, English ambassador at Constantinople, II. 549;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the nature of his negotiations, 550</span><br /> -<br /> -Strutt, Mr. James, the Princess Victoria’s visit to his cotton mills at Belper, I. 15;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his son created a peer in 1856, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Stuart-Wortley, Mr., his Bill to legalise marriage with a deceased wife’s sister, I. 392<br /> -<br /> -Sturge, Mr. Joseph, his leadership of the Chartists, I. 330;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his aims, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Suakim-Berber Railway, The, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Suez Canal, Purchase of the Khedive’s shares in, by the English Government, II. 492;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exorbitant tolls levied by the Company on the shipping trade, 662;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s agreement with M. de Lesseps, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s agreement abandoned, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Sugar Duties, Lord John Russell’s proposal regarding the, I. 246<br /> -<br /> -Sullivan, Mr. A. M., his description of Ireland during the famine, I. 275<br /> -<br /> -Sullivan, Mr. T. D., his song of “God Save Ireland,” II. 288<br /> -<br /> -Sunday reunions in London society, II. 732<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="T" id="T">T</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Tait, Archbishop, his election to the See of Canterbury, II. 321, 322;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Public Worship Regulation Bill, 471;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, 650</span><br /> -<br /> -Tamanieb, The battle of, II. 675<br /> -<br /> -Tay, Disaster on the railway bridge of the, II. 582<br /> -<br /> -Tea Duty, Mr. Gladstone’s reduction of the, II., 238<br /> -<br /> -Tel-el-Kebir, The battle of, II. 643<br /> -<br /> -Tennyson, Alfred (Lord), his ode at the opening of the Great Exhibition, II. 135;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declines offer of baronetcy by Mr. Disraeli, 482</span><br /> -<br /> -Test Act, Repeal of the, I. 23<br /> -<br /> -Thanksgiving Day for recovery of Prince of Wales, II. 415;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the service of, on Jubilee Day, 744</span><br /> -<br /> -Theebaw, King of Burmah, deposed, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Thom, Mr. John Nicholls, his religious mania, I. 39;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his murder of a constable, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Thompson, General Perronet, his “Catechism of the Corn Laws,” I. 83<br /> -<br /> -Thorburn, Mr., his portrait of Prince Albert, I. 159<br /> -<br /> -“Three Acres and a Cow,” II. 726<br /> -<br /> -<i>Times</i>, its opinion on the Corn Laws, I. 205;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its attack on the proposed marriage between the Princess Royal and Prince Frederick of Prussia, II. 663;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its attacks on the Parnellites, 735</span><br /> -<br /> -Todleben, Colonel, his great ability, I. 610;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his splendid defence of Sebastopol, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Tokar, Fall of, II. 675<br /> -<br /> -Tractarian Movement, The, 98;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its principles, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its leaders, 99;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the “Tracts for the Times,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposition to its tenets, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the term “Anglican,” <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its effect on the younger clergy, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the spirit of revivalism, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the apparent cogency of its arguments, 100;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its creditable qualities, 101;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 178;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Puseyite practices, 179</span><br /> -<br /> -Trades Unions, their incentives to crime, I. 59<br /> -<br /> -<i>Trafalgar</i>, Launch of the warship, at Woolwich, I. 94<br /> -<br /> -Trafalgar Square, Fair Trade meetings in, II. 731;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the riots at, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Tramways, Act enabling Irish Local Authorities to construct, II. 659<br /> -<br /> -Transvaal, British occupation of the, II. 563;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">misrepresentations regarding the Boer wish for annexation, 599;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Gladstone’s speeches in favour of Boer independence, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of rebellion, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclamation of a Republic, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of British troops at Bronkhorst Spruit, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">futile attempt of British troops to quell the rising, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a war of re-conquest by England, 610;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of Sir George Colley, 619;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of the British at Majuba Hill, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a Republic under British Protectorate, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Trevelyan, Mr. (afterwards Sir George Otto), his motion for abolition of purchase in the army, II. 387;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Irish Secretary, 634;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suppresses “Orange” and “Green” demonstrations in Ireland, 668;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resignation of, 727;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to the Gladstonian party, 735</span><br /> -<br /> -Turkey, the quarrel with Russia, I. 540;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">determination to strike a blow at Montenegro, 542;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the quarrel of the monks at Jerusalem, 544;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refuses to agree to the Vienna Note, 552;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the points of contention with Russia, 555;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turkish modifications of the Vienna Note, 556;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">suspected “shuffling” from the conditions of the Treaty of Kainardji, 557;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declares war against Russia, 559;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fleet destroyed by the Russians, 562;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeats the Russians at Silistria, 582;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">treaty with Austria, 586;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the terms of peace with Russia after the Crimean War, 685-687;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mutiny in Bosnia and Herzegovina, II. 494;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Andrassy Note, 495;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advantages secured by the policy of England, 496;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Bulgarian atrocities, 504-503;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Beaconsfield’s policy during the Russian difficulty, 511, 523, 526;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the war against Russia, 526;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English neutrality during the war, 527;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the fall of Plevna, 528;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Anglo-Turkish Convention, 550;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">refusal of concessions to Montenegro and Greece, 597;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_767" id="page_767">{767}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">the British fleet sent to Ragusa, 598</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="U" id="U">U</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Ulundi, The battle of, II. 566<br /> -<br /> -United States, controversy with England in regard to Oregon, I. 231;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a treaty with England ratified, 232;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the struggle on the Slave Question, II. 111;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decision of the Supreme Court regarding negroes, 114;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the contention between North and South, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">secession of the Southern States, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">outbreak of the Civil War, 115;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English sympathy with the North, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Bull’s Run, 116;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seizure of the English steamer Trent by the Federals, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">settlement of the Trent dispute, 119;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">progress of the war, 131;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the fight between the <i>Merrimac</i> and the <i>Monitor</i>, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Fredericksburg, 133;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">embittered relations between England and America, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">efforts in England in behalf of the South, 176;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of Vicksburg, 177;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continuance of the war, 178;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cruisers built in English dockyards, 211;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grant’s leadership, 219;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sherman’s success, 222;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complete defeat of the Confederates, 238;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assassination of Lincoln, 239;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the negotiations regarding the Alabama claims, 342;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee in, 747</span><br /> -<br /> -Upper Burmah annexed to the Indian Empire, II. 723<br /> -<br /> -Utrecht, Treaty of, its stipulations as to the French and Spanish crowns, I. 256<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="V" id="V">V</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Van Buren, President of the United States, Proclamation of, regarding the rebellion, I. 33<br /> -<br /> -Varna, The camp of the Allies at, I. 603;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a Council of War, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Veto Law in the Church of Scotland, I. 102<br /> -<br /> -Victor Emmanuel, his agreement with the French Emperor, II. 29<br /> -<br /> -Victoria, Queen, birth and parentage of her Majesty, I. 4;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her illustrious descent, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">christened at Kensington Palace, 7;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a previous monarch of her name in Britain, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her sponsors, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her early surroundings, 10;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her education, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">grounded in languages, music, &c., <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her general education entrusted to the Duchess of Northumberland, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her affability, 11;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influenced by Wilberforce, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her charity and kindness, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her appearance in public, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">false reports regarding her health, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anecdotes regarding her studies, 11, 12;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Regency Bill, 14;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her progress in her studies, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her fondness for music, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">juvenile ball in her honour by Queen Adelaide, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">additional income of £10,000 granted her by Parliament, 15;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stay in the Isle of Wight, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Belper Mills in Derbyshire, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Oxford, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Southampton, 18;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her confirmation at St. James’s, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an instance of her benevolence, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her coming of age, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her first Council, 19;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her address on the King’s death, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclaimed Queen, 22;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the period of her accession fortunate, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed in the theory and working of the British Constitution by Lord Melbourne, 23;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">residence at Buckingham Palace, 27;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">addresses to the Houses of Parliament, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her income fixed at £385,000, 30;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her business precision, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her popularity at the beginning of her reign, 35;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">foolish imputations against her, 36;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chartist and other opponents, 38;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her generous disposition, 39;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">coronation, 42, 43;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter to Sir R. Peel, 55;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">affianced to Prince Albert, 62;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">informing the Privy Council of her marriage, 63;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">domestic life, 75;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fired at by Edward Oxford, 82;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Princess Royal, 83;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a royal tour, 94;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speech to Parliament, 95;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her dislike to the Tractarian Movement, 102;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Prince of Wales, 106;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attempts on her life, 110;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Scotland, 126;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her impressions, 127;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">departure from Edinburgh, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter to the Lord Advocate, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Princess Alice, 132;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">meeting with Louis Philippe, 143;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Belgium, 146;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Emperor Nicholas of Russia, 159;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of Prince Alfred, 167;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Scotland, 171;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">residence at Blair Athole, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of Louis Philippe, 172;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">founding of the Royal Exchange, 174;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the purchase of Osborne, 179;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Continent, 195;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enthusiastic reception in Germany, 197, 198;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second visit to Louis Philippe, 198;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her admirable behaviour at the Corn Law crisis, 211;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her sympathy during the agricultural distress, 218, 219;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Speech from the Throne in 1846, 220;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Parliamentary instinct, 226;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter on Peel’s resignation, 239;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anecdote of her kindness, 248;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anxiety about our foreign policy, 254;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Isle of Wight, 261;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reception of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Princess Helena, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter in regard to the Prince Consort, 262;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">yachting cruise in the Channel, 263;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a visit to Cornwall, 266;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits from German friends, 267;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Hatfield, 268;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her account of the installation of Prince Albert as Chancellor of Cambridge University, 314;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Scotland, 318, 320;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anxieties in 1848, 357;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Princess Louise, 364;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Balmoral, 366, 367;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her plan for her children’s education, 403;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">shot at by Hamilton, 406;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Ireland, 409;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Irish policy, 443;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Duke of Connaught, 452;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assaulted by Lieutenant Pate, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of Prince Leopold, 567;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">review of the fleet at Spithead, 584;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter to the King of Prussia regarding the war with Russia, 594;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her anxiety concerning the soldiers in the Crimea, 645;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decorates Crimean soldiers at Chatham Hospital, 646;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to France, 656-660;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Aldershot, 692;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reviews the fleet, 693;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reviews the troops at Aldershot, 695;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of the Princess Beatrice, 738;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">confers the title of Prince Consort on Prince Albert, 743;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Birmingham, II. 19;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Emperor and Empress of the French at Cherbourg, 21;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to the Prince and Princess of Prussia, 23;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Leeds, 25;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">project for founding the Order of the Star of India, 40;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reviews the volunteers at Hyde Park, 64;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 70;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">second visit to Ireland, 87, 89;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of the Prince Consort, 92-96;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter on the Hartley coal-pit disaster, 138;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her deep sorrow, 143;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 144;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">an address from the ballast-heavers, 179;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Belgium, 180;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her policy at the Danish War, 191;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first appearance in public after the Prince Consort’s death, 227;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 249;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Blackfriars Bridge and Holborn Viaduct, 353;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the hall of the London University, 377;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a garden party at Windsor, 383;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of the Royal Albert Hall, 409;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opening of St. Thomas’s Hospital, 410;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">illness, 411;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her opposition to French decorations in England, 443;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Victoria Park, 445;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit from the Czar, 478;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Royal Titles Bill, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unveils the Scottish National Memorial at Edinburgh, 503;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proclaimed Empress of India at Delhi, 512;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her supposed pro-Turkish sympathies, 531;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Hughenden, 532;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Italy, 579;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cordial reception in Paris, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visited at Baveno by Prince Amadeus of Italy, 580;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">received by the King and Queen of Italy at Monza, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit from the Emperor of Germany at Windsor, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Canning’s policy in India, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to her relatives in Germany, 604;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrival at Darmstadt, 606;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit from the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, 626;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continuation of her “Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands,” 686;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the tone of her “Journal” reminiscences, 687;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">illness, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 692;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">present at the marriage of Princess Victoria of Hesse, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Balmoral, 694;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">troubled as to the issue of the political crisis arising out of the Reform Bill, 695;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">confers the Order of the Garter on Prince George of Wales, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her pressure on the Duke of Richmond to accept a compromise on Mr. Gladstone’s Reform Bill, 697;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her letter to Miss Gordon, 717;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">holiday at Aix-les-Bains, 719;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Darmstadt (1885), <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her objections to Ascot Race Week, 721;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 731;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Holloway College for Women, 732;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the International Exhibitions at Liverpool and Edinburgh, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attends the Garden Party at Marlborough House, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits the Duke of Buccleuch, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fixes date for celebrating her Jubilee, 733;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the Law Courts in Birmingham, 739;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her holiday at Cannes and Aix-les-Bains, 740;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits the Grande Chartreuse, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opens the People’s Palace, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits the “Wild West” Show, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her Jubilee procession to Westminster Abbey, 741;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">after the Jubilee service in the Abbey, 743;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reviews the seamen of the fleet, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attends the children’s celebration of the Jubilee in Hyde Park, 747;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gives a Jubilee Banquet in Buckingham Palace, 748;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">her letter to her people on the Jubilee, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gives a Garden Party in connection with the Jubilee, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reviews the metropolitan volunteers, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the progress which she has seen during her reign, 751</span><br /> -<br /> -Victoria, Lord Normanby’s resignation of the Governorship of, II. 690;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Prince Leopold’s wish to become Governor, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen opposes Prince Leopold’s proposed Governorship, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="W" id="W">W</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Wady Halfa, The British at, II. 718<br /> -<br /> -Waghorn, Lieutenant, his inauguration of the Overland Route, I. 190<br /> -<br /> -Wakley, Mr., his remarks in regard to Sir Robert Peel, I. 238<br /> -<br /> -Wales, Prince of, his birth, I. 106;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">title bestowed by letters patent, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">other titles by right, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sponsors, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first public appearance in a pageant of State, 418;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his stay at Königswinter, 746;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his stay at Richmond Park, II. 19;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter from the Queen on his reaching his eighteenth year, 26;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tour in Canada, 66;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his warm reception in the United States, 67;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 90;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his tour in the East, 136-138;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his marriage to the Princess Alexandra, 144;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes his seat in the House of Lords, 147;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of Prince Albert Victor, 223;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">birth of Prince George Frederick, 249;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his illness, 411;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the excitement in London regarding his illness, 412;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his relapse, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the probability of a Regency, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">all the members of the Royal Family summoned to Sandringham, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fall in the Money Market securities on account of his serious illness, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his rally on the anniversary of the Prince Consort’s death, 413;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">addresses of sympathy from Republican societies, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his convalescence, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a letter from the Queen to the Home Secretary, 414;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thanksgiving Day, 415;</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_768" id="page_768">{768}</a></span><span style="margin-left: 1em;">his popular discharge of royal duties, 442;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his financial embarrassments, 476;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">State visit to India, 493;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mr. Bright’s support of the grant for the State pageant to India, 494;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the argument that his visit might benefit the natives of India, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit to Germany, 606;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of, and Princess, to Ireland, 719</span><br /> -<br /> -Wales, The “Rebecca” disturbances in, I. 138;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removal of the grievances, 139</span><br /> -<br /> -Walewski, his letter to the British Government regarding the shelter of French refugees, II. 10;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Palmerston’s impolitic reply, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">spirited protest by Lord Malmesbury, 14</span><br /> -<br /> -Walpole, Horace, an anecdote of George III.’s coronation, I. 46<br /> -<br /> -Walpole, Mr., S., his remarks on the Crimean War, I. 687;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Secretary for Home Affairs, II. 257</span><br /> -<br /> -Ward Hunt, Mr., Chancellor of the Exchequer, II. 304;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his Budget for 1868, 312;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">First Lord of the Admiralty, 465</span><br /> -<br /> -Washington, meeting of a Commission regarding points at issue between England and America, II. 390<br /> -<br /> -Waterloo Banquet, The Duke of Wellington’s proposal to dispense with the, I. 3<br /> -<br /> -Wellington, Duke of, his proposal to dispense with the Waterloo Banquet, I. 3;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advises the formation of a Cabinet by Sir Robert Peel, 54;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his advice regarding the address to the Queen after her marriage, 66;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader of the House of Lords, 97;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visit of the Queen and Prince Albert to Strathfieldsaye, 180;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his sympathy with Peel on Free Trade, 211;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his loyalty to the Queen, 212;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attitude to the Russell Ministry, 242;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter to Lord John Russell, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his suppression of undue corporal punishment in the army, 248;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his anxiety about the defences of the country, 303;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">letter to Sir John Burgoyne, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Queen’s courtesies, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his defeat of the Chartist rising, 330, 335;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposal to instal the Prince Consort his successor as Commander-in-Chief, 451;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his opposition to the Militia Bill, 499;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his death, 508;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tributes to his memory, 509;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">universally mourned, 510;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his lying in state, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his funeral, 511;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his character, 513, 514</span><br /> -<br /> -Westbury, Lord Chancellor, his action in favour of the Fraudulent Trusts Bill, I. 715;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his statement in regard to the synodical condemnation of “Essays and Reviews,” 215;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">charged with corrupt practices, 242;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns office, 243</span><br /> -<br /> -Westminster Abbey, Scene in, at the Jubilee Service, II. 746<br /> -<br /> -Whewell, Dr., his invitation to Prince Albert to become a candidate for the Chancellorship of Cambridge, I. 307;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his meeting with the Queen, 315</span><br /> -<br /> -“White Terror,” The, at Calcutta, II. 7<br /> -<br /> -Wilberforce, Dr. Samuel, his opposition to the Sugar Duties, I. 246, 247;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his account of Prince Albert’s installation as Chancellor of Cambridge University, 314;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his reply to Lord Chancellor Westbury on “Essays and Reviews,” II. 217</span><br /> -<br /> -William, German Emperor, his visit to England, I. 70;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his early campaigns, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">crowned King of Prussia, II. 91</span><br /> -<br /> -Wilson, Sir Charles, in command of Sir H. Stewart’s column, II. 714;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his operations between Metamneh and Khartoum, 715;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Khartoum, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his steamers fired on by the Arabs, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">wrecked in the Nile, 716;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rescued by Lord Charles Beresford, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Windham, Colonel, his bravery at the storming of the Redan, I. 671<br /> -<br /> -Wiseman, Cardinal, his pastoral regarding Roman Catholicism in England, I. 450<br /> -<br /> -Wolff, Sir Henry Drummond-, one of the founders of the Fourth-party, II. 594;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his obstructionist tactics, 601;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his mission to Egypt, II. 708</span><br /> -<br /> -Wolseley, Sir Garnet, commands the British expedition to Ashanti, II. 461;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enters Coomassie in triumph, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">efforts to re-establish order in Zululand, 566;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commands the expedition against the Egyptians under Arabi, 642;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">celerity of his movements, 643;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battles of Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">created Lord Wolseley, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Korti, 712;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leaves Dongola, 718</span><br /> -<br /> -Wolverhampton, statue to the Prince Consort inaugurated by the Queen, II. 267;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the enthusiastic reception of the Queen, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Wood, Sir C., First Lord of the Admiralty, I. 630<br /> -<br /> -Wordsworth, his ode on the installation of the Prince Consort as Chancellor of Cambridge University, I. 310<br /> -<br /> -Wyse, Mr., British envoy at Paris, I. 427<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="Y" id="Y">Y</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Yeh, Commissioner, Capture of, in Canton, II. 5<br /> -<br /> -“Young Ireland” Party, its objects, I. 339;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the leaders of, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="lettre"><a name="Z" id="Z">Z</a></span>.<br /> -<br /> -Zebehr Pasha named by Gordon as ruler of the Soudan, II. 711;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">deportation of, to Gibraltar, <i>ib.</i></span><br /> -<br /> -Zulu War, The, II. 563;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defeat of the British, 564;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the battle of Rorke’s Drift, <i>ib.</i>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">battle of Ulundi, 566</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="fint"><span class="smcap">Printed by Cassell and Company, Limited, La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C.</span></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Nothing did more to sap and undermine the popularity of the Government than an evasive -statement of Mr. Cardwell’s as to the arms in store. On the vote for increasing the army by 20,000 -men on the 1st of August, 1870, Sir John Hay asked what was the use of voting the money when -the Government “had not 20,000 breechloaders ready for service for the army, the militia, and volunteers.” -Mr. Cardwell, in reply, said he had 300,000 rifles “in store,” and left the House of Commons -when it rose, under the impression that the weapons were ready for use as surplus weapons on -any emergency. Of these, however, it was subsequently admitted by Mr. Cardwell in an interview -with Lord Elcho that 100,000 were needed to meet existing demands, and that a considerable number -of the rest were in Canada.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> There were also many whose objection to the grant to the Princess was based on the delusion -that the Queen, by living in retirement, had accumulated savings out of which she could well afford -to dower her daughter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> A Royal warrant fixed the legal price of commissions. But they were sold in defiance of the -law at prices far above the legal ones, and these were called “over-regulation prices.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> It might be said that promotion could still be kept going on in the regiment itself. Officers -need not have then been transferred for promotion. But in that case rich officers might have -bribed their seniors to retire. Or, the subalterns might have made up a purse by subscription to -induce one of their seniors to retire and let them each get a step upwards.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> It may be mentioned that this course was suggested as a possible one in the debate by Lord -Derby.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The alternative courses of a creation of new Peers, and a dissolution, it should be noted, also -involved an exercise of the Royal Prerogative—a fact forgotten by those who denounced Mr. Gladstone -as a “tyrant” for coercing the Peers by the use of Prerogative.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> According to Addison, the House of Commons as far back as 1708 began to discuss the Ballot. -After 1832 it became a popular cry with the Radicals, and in the first Session of the Reformed -Parliament Mr. Grote brought in a Ballot Bill which was rejected by a majority of 211 to 106. -Year after year Mr. Grote was beaten in his attempt to carry his measure. To him succeeded Mr. -Henry Berkeley, who every year brought forward a resolution in favour of secret voting, and in 1851 -even carried it by a majority of 37 against the opposition of Lord John Russell and the Whig -Government. The odious corruption and scandalous scenes of violence which were associated with -open voting at elections gradually made Lord John and Mr. Gladstone converts to Mr. Berkeley’s -views. In 1868 the revelations of Lord Hartington’s Committee as to the manner of conducting elections -convinced the country that the Ballot must be adopted. In 1869 another Committee on Electoral -Practices reported in favour of it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Philosophical Radicals, like Mr. Mill, disliked the Ballot because they feared that one influence would -always operate on the ignorant elector’s mind, even in the secrecy of the polling booth—that of the -priest who had threatened him with “the pains of Hell” as a punishment for voting on the wrong side.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Mr. Disraeli, it is fair to say, had endeavoured to save the time of the House by suggesting -that there should be no debate on the Second Reading—the discussion of the principle of the measure -to be taken on the next stage—the motion that the Speaker leave the Chair. This arrangement was -agreed to by the Government, but it provoked a mutiny in the Conservative ranks, or rather in the -section of the Party represented by Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Newdegate, and Mr. G. Bentinck, the -first-named of whom jeered at Mr. Disraeli’s late Administration as a “disorganised hypocrisy.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Mr. Gladstone and the Government supported the first, but opposed the latter of these proposals, -greatly to the annoyance of the Radicals, who saw in it the most effective check to bribery -that could be devised.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Large numbers of Liberal Peers did not even attend the debate or the division.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Previous to this Act the Unions were so far without the law, that they could not even prosecute -their office-bearers for stealing their funds.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This was given by Sir James Hannen in the case of a man called Purchon, a member of the -Glassbottlers’ Union of Yorkshire. Three members of the Union, professing to believe certain disgraceful -charges against Purchon, procured his expulsion from that body. Then his employers dismissed -him because they were threatened with a strike if he remained in their service. Purchon sued -the three Unionists who got him expelled from his Union for conspiring to deprive him of employment. -Mr. Justice Hannen ruled that there was an undue interference with the rights of labour, and -£300 damages were awarded by the jury. The case of Purchon <i>v.</i> Hartley proved that though the -Unions had got rid of a limited term of imprisonment for coercion, they were now punishable by -unlimited damages.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Mr. Goschen based his case on the fact that Local Government was a chaos of areas, rating, -and authorities. He proposed (1), that each parish should have an elected chairman who, aided but -not controlled by it, should be the rating authority; (2), that county rates should be levied by a -financial board, half being elected by justices and half by parish chairmen; (3), that a new department -of State or Local Government Board should be created to supervise local finance and administration; -(4), that rates should be split between occupier and owner, and levied on all exempted property, -such as Crown property, charitable property, moneys, and game; (5), that the house duty -(£1,200,000 a year) should be surrendered to the local ratepayers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> His estimated expenditure was £72,308,000, and his estimated revenue £69,595,000 on the existing -basis of taxation, and without any new duties.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> There was to be a halfpenny stamp on boxes of wooden matches, and a penny stamp on boxes -of wax matches or fusees. It was expected that these duties would yield £550,000 the first year. -Mr. Lowe invented a motto for the stamp—<i>ex luce lucellum</i> (“out of light a little profit”)—a classical -pun, which, however, did not reconcile the people to his proposals.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Mr. Lowe desirous of not putting more than 1-1/4d. in the £ on the income-tax, proposed to calculate -it at 10s. 8d. per cent. This novel method of calculating the tax, which was not necessary when the -round sum of 2d. in the £ was adopted, was unpopular because it was puzzling.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Letters and Journals of W. Stanley Jevons, p. 252.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> The British Commissioners were Earl de Grey, whose services on the Commission were rewarded -by his elevation to the Marquisate of Ripon, Sir Stafford Northcote, Mr. Montagu Bernard, and two -distinguished Canadians.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> One arbitrator was to be chosen by the Queen and one by the President of the United States. -The three others were to be nominated by the King of Italy, the President of the Swiss Republic, -and the Emperor of Brazil.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Lord Russell, however, took a personal rather than a Party view of the question. He could -not forget that he was individually responsible for the occurrences and acrimonious despatches that -had embittered Americans against England.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> “Not an inch of our territory, and not a stone of our fortresses.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Bismarck’s personal opinion of the terms of peace was that Germany asked too much or took too -little. She should have either left France her territory, thereby depriving her of an incitement to -revenge, or she should have broken and crushed her so utterly, that she must have been paralysed for -a century. As it was, in spite of the heavy war-indemnity which Germany exacted, France in fifteen -years recovered herself sufficiently to render her antagonism formidable, and as a standing inducement -to a war of revenge, she had ever before her eyes the hope of recovering Alsace, Lorraine, -and her lost fortresses.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Bismarck would have let the French keep Metz for a milliard more of war-indemnity. Then -with this money he would have built a fortress to mask it somewhere about Falkenberg, or towards -Saarbrücken. “I do not like,” he said one day at dinner during the peace negotiations, “so many -Frenchmen being in our house against their will.”—Lowe’s Life of Bismarck, Vol. I., p. 631.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The terms of peace proposed by Germany to France were an indemnity of six milliards of francs -(£240,000,000), the cession of all Alsace, including Strasburg and Belfort, a third of Lorraine including -Metz. The German Emperor, however, reduced the fine to five milliards. Von Bismarck induced the -German generals to let France keep Belfort, in consideration of the French submitting to the triumphal -march of the German troops through Paris as far as the Arc de Triomphe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> The <i>Agincourt</i>, an ironclad of 6,000 tons, was run aground on the Pearl Rock, off Gibraltar, on the -2nd of July. The accident occurred in broad daylight. The court-martial blamed the captain, staff -commander, and one of the lieutenants, but public opinion condemned Vice-Admiral Wellesley, whose -signals had, it was said, caused the disaster. Mr. Goschen and the Lords of the Admiralty decided that -the Admiral was to blame for ordering an unsafe course to be steered, and compelled him to strike his -flag. The <i>Megæra</i> was a transport ship which had been sent to sea with her bottom honeycombed with -rotten plates. On the 19th of June the captain had to beach her to save her crew. Yet the Admiralty -officials had reported her quite seaworthy when her bottom was, as one of her officers said, “as full of -holes as an old tea-kettle.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had been reorganised so as to constitute a competent -Court of Appellate Jurisdiction for India and the Colonies. A certain number of judges was -appointed to it, but the Act laid it down that it was necessary for a man to be a judge before -he got one of these appointments. In November, 1871, Mr. Gladstone was desirous of promoting -Sir Robert Collier, then Attorney-General. The Lord Chancellor accordingly made Sir Robert a -Puisne Judge so as to give him a technical qualification, and then immediately appointed him to the -Judicial Committee. It is only right to say that personally and professionally Sir Robert Collier was -well qualified for the post.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> These were Mr. Peter Taylor, Professor Fawcett, and Sir Charles Dilke. The vote for it was -352, but half of the House was absent from the division which Mr. Taylor challenged. Mr. Taylor -declared that the people were getting tired of the Monarchy. Sir Robert Peel suggested that if more -money were granted to the Royal Family, it ought to go to the Prince of Wales, who was doing most -of the Queen’s ceremonial duties. He had also the bad taste to sneer at the Queen’s alleged parsimony, -and insinuated that she saved for her private purse the money voted to defray her State -expenses.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Some of the comments of the Press on the wedding were instructive. The Times said: “To-day a -ray of sunshine will gladden every habitation in this island, and force its way even where uninvited. -A daughter of the people, in the truest sense of that word, is to be married to one of ourselves. -The mother is ours, the daughter is ours.” <i>Vanity Fair</i>, a “Society” journal, considered that it was -“an additional claim of the dynasty on our loyalty that means should have been found to enable -us to keep so charming a Princess in the country.” The <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, in describing the history -of the marriage, said: “The old dragon Tradition was routed by a young sorcerer called Love, who -laughs at precedents as heartily as at locksmiths, and has an equal contempt for etiquette and armour -<i>cap-à-pie</i>.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> “When the time came for putting on the ring, the bride took off her glove, which, with the -bouquet, the Queen offered to take. The Princess, however, evidently did not observe the gracious -attention, and handed them to Lady Florence Lennox, who let them drop. May this be an omen -that flowers may strew the ground wherever the Princess’s future life may lead her!”—(<i>Standard</i>, -22nd March, 1871.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> It may be worth while to note the precedents for marriage between English Princesses and -subjects:—Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., and widow of the King of Bohemia, was -supposed to have privately married Lord Craven. Princess Mary, sister of Henry VIII., married -Charles Brandon, who was sent to escort her from France, when her husband Louis XII. died. -Three of the daughters of Edward IV. married the heads of the families of Howard, Courtenay, -and Welles; but though Henry VI. recognised these alliances, he did not quite recognise the title of -Edward IV. Of the House of Hanover, William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1766 married the widow -of Earl Waldegrave, who was the illegitimate daughter of Sir Robert Walpole, a match which infuriated -King George III. Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, in 1771 married Lady Anne Luttrell, daughter -of Earl Carhampton, and widow of Mr. Charles Horton, of Catton Hall, Derbyshire. The Royal Marriage -Act was passed in 1772, after which time there have been some Royal marriages with subjects in spite -of the law: (1), The Duke of Sussex married first Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of the Earl of -Dunmore. After she died, his Royal Highness married his second wife, Lady Cecilia Letitia Buggin, -daughter of Arthur, Earl of Arran, and afterwards Duchess of Inverness. (2), George IV., while -Prince of Wales, married Mrs. FitzHerbert. (3), The present Duke of Cambridge married some years -ago Mrs. FitzGeorge.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> This gave rise to a curious incident. A clerk by mistake had given the Minister the message -meant for the Lords. When Mr. Gladstone read out the words “Her Majesty relies on the attachment -of the House of Peers to concur,” the House buzzed with excitement, and the Tories wrathfully -whispered to each other that some new insult had been devised by Mr. Gladstone for the Hereditary -Chamber. Mr. Gladstone had to explain how the mistake had been made, before tranquillity could be -restored.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Mr. Bruce’s management of this affair did much to bring the Government into contempt. When -the promoters of the meeting defied him he withdrew his prohibition. On being questioned in the House -of Commons on the subject, he explained that when he issued it he thought that the meeting was called -to petition Parliament, and no meeting can legally be held within a mile of Parliament for that purpose. -But, he added, having found that the meeting was merely going to discuss the grant he considered -it to be a legal one, and therefore withdrew his prohibition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Hodder’s Life of Lord Shaftesbury, Vol. III., p. 303.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., p. 394.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, 28th February, 1872.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> The boy was said to be a nephew of Feargus O’Connor, and was a clerk in an oil-shop in the -Borough. He had tried to reach the Queen’s carriage on Thanksgiving Day, but the density of the -crowd prevented him. O’Connor, curiously enough, was not a Fenian or a Catholic, but a Protestant -youth who had turned crazy by reading “penny dreadfuls.” In April he was tried and sentenced -to one year’s imprisonment and twenty strokes with the birch. The Queen, who had long been -desirous of bestowing medals for long and faithful domestic service in her employment, found in -the attack by O’Connor an opportunity for carrying out her idea. Her personal attendants were -Highland gillies from her Aberdeenshire estates. They had been most active in protecting her -when she was menaced by O’Connor, and on John Brown, who had been more prominent than the -others, her Majesty conferred this gold medal and an annuity of £25. Brown had been the Prince -Consort’s favourite gillie, and, though his rough Northern manners were somewhat unprepossessing, -his personal courage, stolid fidelity, shrewd judgment, and blunt honesty of speech, had rendered him -a great favourite in the Queen’s family.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Life of Bishop Wilberforce, Vol. III., p. 393.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> England was admittedly not responsible for the escape of this vessel. But the Tribunal held -that because a British Colony reinforced her crew at Melbourne after she carried the Confederate flag, -responsibility accrued.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> The first Election under the Ballot was at Pontefract, when Mr. Childers was returned against Lord -Pollington by a vote of 658 to 578—the registered Electors being 1,960. The Election was conducted with -unusual order, and there was no bribery or intimidation, and less violence and drunkenness than usual.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> This Bill was, of course, much less drastic than the one which Mr. Bruce withdrew in 1871. It -reduced the hours of sale, strengthened the hands of the authorities as regards supervision and the -granting of new licences, but as a sop to the Liquor Trade it gave the well-conducted publican a -kind of tenant-right by practically securing to him a renewal of his licence.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Had an Admiral with good administrative ability been appointed Permanent Secretary to the -department instead of Mr. Lushington, the collapse of Mr. Childers’ scheme, when he was invalided, -might have been averted.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Sir Massey Lopes desired that the cost of administering justice, and the Lunacy and Police Acts—then -charged on the rates—should be thrown on the Consolidated Fund, <i>i.e.</i>, transferred from the ratepayer -to the tax-payer. The county members on both sides objected to the whole system of rating -which fell not on personal, but real property, and which threw on rates the cost of doing work which -was done not merely for the locality, but for the community at large. The Ministry maintained that -it was impossible to give effect to Sir Massey Lopes’ ideas till the whole question of Local Government -and Rating was taken up and settled on a sound basis.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> The limit of abatement was also raised from incomes of £200 to £300, and the abatement itself -from £60 to £80. The duty on coffee and chicory was reduced, and shops and warehouses were -exempted from house-tax.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> This was founded on the 19th of May, 1870, in the Bilton Hotel, Sackville Street, Dublin. The -chief Conservatives present were Mr. Purdon (Lord Mayor of Dublin), Mr. Kinahan (Ex-High Sheriff -of Dublin), Major Knox (proprietor of the <i>Irish Times</i>), and Captain (afterwards Colonel) King-Harman. -Mr. Butt moved the chief resolution, which was unanimously carried, affirming that “The true remedy -for the evils of Ireland is the establishment of an Irish Parliament with full control over our domestic -affairs.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Lord Russell in this letter, says:—“It appears to me that if Ireland were to be allowed to elect -a Representative Assembly for each of its four Provinces of Leinster, Ulster, Munster, and Connaught, -and if Scotland in a similar manner were to be divided into Lowlands and Highlands, having for each -Province a Representative Assembly, the local wants of Ireland and Scotland might be better provided -for than they are at present.” There was reason to suppose that the Birmingham School of Radicals -in 1886 had almost summoned up courage to adopt the Home Rule scheme which the veteran Whig -statesman propounded in 1872.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Burma, As it Was, As it Is, and As it Will Be. By J. George Scott (“Shway Yoe”). London: -Redway, 1886-7. P. 34.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> The British representative at Mandalay, besides complaining of perpetual encroachments on the -Arakan frontier, declared that he was not allowed to see the King of Burma unless he took off -his shoes and sat before him on the floor in his stockings.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> See a letter written by Mr. Hayward to Mr. Gladstone, in the correspondence of Mr. Abraham -Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 252.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> What their motive was for this act has not yet been clearly stated. It was said at the time -that they thought by opposing it to induce the Protestants to let it pass. Their opposition, however, -as explained by themselves, was (1), The Bill did not endow a Catholic University. The Tories -had promised to do so in 1866, and therefore the Catholics might profitably wait till Mr. Disraeli -returned to power. (2), The Bill, by endowing Professorships of academical subjects—not including -History and Philosophy—was really one for founding a new “Godless college.” (3), Other -students than those trained in affiliated colleges—scholars educated by private study, in fact—were -admitted to degrees. (4), As the constitution of the new University stood, the Catholics would have -to wait for many years ere they could command even a large minority in the new University -constituency.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> They were Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Horsman, who had approved of the Bill at first, Mr. Bouverie, -Mr. McCullagh Torrens, Mr. Aytoun, Mr. Akroyd, Mr. Foster, Mr. Auberon Herbert, and Mr. Whalley.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> These clauses do not seem to have been essential to the main object in view, which was to -give the Catholics a chance of getting University degrees of high status, and a fair share of the -University endowments of the nation. The new “Godless” chairs were not needed if the Catholics -did not want them, for the Protestants could always get their instruction in Trinity College.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> Sir William Stirling Maxwell was a representative of the most popular phase of Toryism, and -in a special sense reflected the mind of his party in hankering after Lord Derby as a leader. Writing -to Mr. Hayward in September, 1872, he says of Lord Derby:—“I know no man whose daily talk -reflects more constantly the good sense and fairness of his speeches. It is some consolation to those -who still believe that Conservatism may have some backbone left to have a prospective leader with -so much ballast in his character.” The Conservatives did not trust Mr. Disraeli’s Conservatism even -in 1873, just because they suspected it lacked backbone and ballast.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> Mr. Gladstone combined this office with that of the Premiership. Sir Robert Walpole, Lord -North, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Canning, and Sir Robert Peel had each held the two offices simultaneously.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> For example, in 1873 the Public Accounts showed a Postal expenditure of £5,000,000; but then, -on the other side of the ledger, the nation was credited with £5,000,000 of receipts earned by the Post-office. The Tory financial critics could not be got to see that the only right way of comparing the -real expenditure of a Government at any two selected dates is to deduct from the gross sum moneys -which come in aid of outlay, and which are yet not taxes, and then compare the results.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> Mr. Disraeli’s Government need not be blamed too harshly for letting the Army alone. Till -the fall of the Second Empire Parliament would probably not have voted the money or passed the -measures necessary to put an end to the chaotic confusion and Crimean inefficiency of the military -system under which orators used to declare “British troops had ever marched to victory.” -But Mr. Corry, Mr. Disraeli’s First Lord of the Admiralty, had no such excuse for his neglect -to build first-class ironclads. Even the Manchester Radicals would have voted him the money -for that purpose had he been courageous enough to confess what was the truth, namely, that -when he took office the British Navy was behind the age, and as a fighting force pitiably weak -and obsolete. Another costly blunder was committed by Mr. Corry. He had not firmness enough -to silence clamorous claims for commissions. Hence he over-officered the Navy, till it almost -seemed at one time as if he meant to man his line-of-battle ships with his redundant admirals -and his superfluous captains.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> This was due, however, not so much to the action of the Government as to the falling-in of terminable -annuities, which reduced the charges for the National Debt.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> Of course the Queen cannot prevent a man from receiving a Foreign decoration, and he can -wear it in Society without incurring prosecution, just as he might, if vulgar enough, wear a masonic -star of the cheeseplate order of architecture on his breast. But he cannot wear it at Court, and -the grievance of the British snob is that the Queen’s objection to his accepting a Foreign Order -prevents Foreign Governments—except semi-barbarous ones—from bestowing it on him. Queen -Elizabeth said that “she did not like her dogs to wear any collar but her own.” It is not so -generally known that the Queen’s grandfather, George III., whose metaphors were usually of a -more pastoral character than those of the great Tudor Princess, expressed the same feeling when he -said that he “liked his sheep to wear his own mark.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch -and Letters, p. 308.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> If, for example, the Prince of Wales and his children died, the Duke of Edinburgh would have -succeeded him. The succession to the English throne, unlike that to most European Sovereignties, -is governed by the same law which regulates the succession to all Scottish dignities and most of -the very ancient English baronies, namely, descent is to heirs general, male or female; but then all -males must be exhausted ere the right of the females accrues. Thus the Duke stood before his elder -sisters and their families in the line of succession.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch and -Letters, pp. 317 and 318.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> This was the letter to “My dear Grey,” in which Mr. Disraeli accused the Ministry of a policy -of “blundering and plundering.” As they were in power solely because he had refused office, the -attack of course recoiled on his own party.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> A Selection from the Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 254.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> It was unjustly said that Mr. Gladstone offered to abolish the Income Tax as an electoral bribe. -The fact was that he was under a recorded pledge to Parliament to take off the Income Tax when -the finances admitted of its repeal. That was the condition on which he had been allowed to impose -it when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1853. As the vast majority of the electors were not -Income Tax payers, the proposal could not possibly be an effective electoral bribe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> Another difficulty for the Independent Elector was that of seeing how Mr. Gladstone could abolish -the Income Tax. Mr. Disraeli, who soon began to repent his haste in trying to outbid Mr. Gladstone -on this point, suggested that difficulty in a speech at Newton Pagnell. He did not withdraw from his -declaration that he desired to get rid of the Income Tax. But, he said, “If Mr. Gladstone asks me -‘are you prepared to repeal the Income Tax by means of imposing other taxes?’ I am bound to say -it is not a policy I should recommend.” Mr. Gladstone never divulged his plan. It is, however, -obvious that he could have easily got rid of the worst features of the Income Tax by readjusting the -House Duty. A House Duty, Mr. Mill said, is the fairest of all direct taxes, and a man’s house-rent -is—with certain exceptions—a sure guide to his means and substance. If, for example, Mr. -Gladstone had put 1s. 6d. in the £ on all houses above £10 rental, or if he had graduated the duties from -4d. to 3s. in the £ on rentals of from £10 to over £300, he could have supplied the place of the -Income Tax which yielded £4,875,000. The difference would have been this—that a man with £200 -of income, presumably paying £25 a year for his house, would—less 9d. of existing house duty—have -paid at the 1s. 6d. rate 18s. 9d. a year of “a means and substance” tax on his rent, instead of the -£2 10s. he then paid in Income Tax. The relief of local rates might have been obtained by handing -over the old House Tax or a portion of it to the local authorities.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> Mr. Clare Sewell Read was made Secretary to the Local Government Board, of which Mr. -Sclater-Booth was made President. Sir M. Hicks-Beach became Irish Secretary. Sir H. Selwin Ibbetson -was Under-Secretary at the Home Office. Mr. R. Bourke was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. -Lord Sandon was Vice-President of the Council, Lord George Hamilton was Under-Secretary for -India, Sir C. Adderley President of the Board of Trade, Mr. Algernon Egerton Secretary to the -Admiralty, and Lord Henry Lennox Chief Commissioner of Works.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 258.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> It was supposed that Mr. Disraeli would prevent the inevitable grammatical blunder from creeping -into the Queen’s Speech. But it crept in here, greatly to the delight of the pedants. They pointed -out that it was wrong to speak of “the recent Act of Parliament affecting the <i>relationship</i> of master -and servant.” The word cannot be used, they argued, instead of <i>relation</i>, to denote a relative position -which is temporary or official.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> To those who had the advantage of taking no personal interest in these transactions, Mr. -Gladstone’s statement reads like the apology of a Minister who was “riding for a fall.” He was -admittedly pledged to the House of Commons since 1853, to abolish the Income Tax when he had a -sufficient surplus. Instead of redeeming his pledge in 1874 to the House, he took it to an electorate -that had no existence in 1853, and who, even if they had been competent to the task, could not have -given a fair decision on such a point in the turmoil of elections which seemed purposely hurried through -in a few days. Mr. Gladstone, moreover, never defended his proposal at length. Had he really -desired to carry it, he would have submitted it to Parliament—for the House of Lords, whose hostility -he affected to dread, could not constitutionally have meddled with it—and then if, after exhaustive -discussion in the Commons it had been defeated, he could have appealed to a nation sufficiently instructed -by that discussion to pronounce a rational opinion on the question. As it was, the matter -hardly entered into the election controversies of 1874 at all.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> “We find,” said Mr. Hardy, “the stores so full and efficient that we can dispense with the -payment of £100,000 on this head.” As to arms, he remarked that “in a few weeks the whole of -the infantry will, I hope, have the Martini-Henry rifle. By to-morrow there will be 140,000 Martini-Henry -rifles in store, and during the year there will be a further number of 40,000 provided.” After -dilating on the abundance of ammunition in stock and the sufficiency of the Reserves, Mr. Hardy -said of the Volunteers that the original number of them was 199,000, “far, however, from efficient -men,” whereas the number in 1874, though only 153,000, consisted of thoroughly efficient men, who -were “far more worth having than what formerly existed.” The fortifications, he said, were of “the -most efficient character.” He even praised the Intelligence Department, the formation of which had -been a favourite subject of denunciation by the Tory “Colonels.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> The most curious result of this reform was the increase which took place in pauper lunacy. -Sir Stafford Northcote, in fact, offered Boards of Guardians the strongest temptation to get their -senile paupers quartered on the State as pauper lunatics. All that was necessary for that purpose -was a certificate from a pliable medical officer.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> The hours against which the publicans had agitated were twelve in London, and in other places -any hour between five and seven in the morning, till any hour between ten and twelve at night, as the -magistrates might decide.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Mr. Cross held that the extension of the hours from twelve to half-past twelve at night was -not a real extension. Under the former rule the publican had “grace” given him to clear his bar. -Under Mr. Cross’s Bill closing was imperative at half-past twelve. Then Mr. Cross put a stop to -certain public-houses being kept open to one in the morning, which Mr. Bruce had allowed, and -the fixing of the hours at ten and eleven, in very many cases, led to further restrictions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Life of Norman Macleod, D.D., Vol. II., p. 325.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> <i>Times</i>, October 1, 1874.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Prince Arthur was the first of his line who took as his superior dignity a title from Ireland. -Several Princes and Princesses of England bore Irish titles, <i>e.g.</i>, the Queen herself is Countess of Clare, -but they were secondary ones, and denominated inferior dignities.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch and -Letters, p. 321.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> <i>Times</i>, May 11, 1874.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> <i>Spectator</i>, May 23, 1874.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Mr. Carlyle refused the offer, though he had accepted the Prussian Order of Merit.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> England Under Lord Beaconsfield, by P. W. Clayden, p. 120.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Mr. Disraeli was blamed for ungenerous discourtesy to Lord Hartington on his first appearance -as Opposition Leader. But there was a good justification for the Premier’s contemptuous reply. -Lord Hartington’s taunts were foolishly factious, because he had, in a speech at Lewes (21st of -January), already defended the Tory Government for not attempting to undo Liberal work, which -was, as he put it, “irrevocable.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> The Bill had these defects: (1), It was permissive and not compulsory. (2), It forced local -authorities to compensate owners of insanitary dwellings doomed to destruction. The worse the rookeries -the higher the rents, and the more extravagant the compensation, so that the Bill put a premium on -the creation of rookeries. (3), It enacted that workmen’s houses must be rebuilt on the cleared land. -This rendered it impossible to sell the sites at prices covering the cost of clearing them, so that local -authorities had (<i>a</i>) to keep the land on hand in the hope of getting their price, during which time the -displaced inhabitants were pushed into adjoining neighbourhoods already overcrowded; or (<i>b</i>) after -five years to sell the sites by auction at a loss. On the 4th of July, 1879, the Metropolitan Board of -Works sold some of their sites to the Peabody Trustees at a loss of £600,000 to the ratepayers of -London.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> This Act deprived the Peers of their Appellate Jurisdiction.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Hansard, Vol. CCXXIII., p. 1458.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> See Hansard, Vol. CCXXVIII., p. 1488. Mr. Heywood got £3,000 compensation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> He complained that the Government had gone to Messrs. Rothschild for the purchase-money instead -of to their regular financial agents, and paid them a commission equal to 15 per cent. a year on the advance. -He declared that the Khedive would probably fail to pay his 5 per cent. on the purchase-money, and -that England, in any dispute as a shareholder, would have to sue and be sued in a French court. As -trustee for the nation the Government ought, he said, to insist on low tariffs. As a shareholder it -must, however, insist on high dividends. The purchase, he held, would give England no real influence -at the Board of Direction.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> Mr. Gladstone once cited the Channel as “the silver streak,” which was the best defence of -England against the Continent, and a justification for a Foreign Policy of isolation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> When a Bill was approaching one of the stages at half-past twelve, Mr. Biggar or Mr. Parnell -would get up and speak so as to protract debate till the hour came when opposed business must be -postponed.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> The Parnell Movement, by T. P. O’Connor, M.P. Popular Edition, p. 157.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> See Hodder’s Life of Lord Shaftesbury, Vol. III., pp. 367, 371.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> Hansard, Vol. CCXXX., p. 1182.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> See Macgahan’s Letters and Consul-General Schuyler’s Report to the United States Minister at -Constantinople, cited in the Appendix, pp. 22 <i>et seqq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> It was not possible that the Czar could have seen a telegraphic summary of Lord Beaconsfield’s -Guildhall speech when he spoke to the nobles at Moscow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> 160,000 men, and 648 guns.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> Sir S. Northcote spoke at Bristol on the 13th of November, and Mr. Cross at Birmingham a week later.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> It was at this time that Tory partisans and Ministerial organs, in order to encourage the Turks -to resistance, began to denounce Lord Salisbury as a traitor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> A fashionable skating-rink did poor business in 1876 if it did not return a profit of 300 per -cent., and a good patent for a rinking-skate was worth at least £150,000 to a popular inventor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> See Parliamentary Papers, Turkey (1877), No. 78.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> Even in 1877 some of the Tory squires were practising the old stupid method of obstruction, <i>e.g.</i>, -Mr. Orr Ewing and Sir William Anstruther put down 250 Amendments to the Scotch Roads and Bridges -Bill—most of which, when not frivolous, were unpopular and reactionary. Such obstruction was, of -course, easy to deal with.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> On the 26th of March the House got one of its earliest lessons in the new art of scientific obstruction. -Mr. Parnell had, owing to the popular lines on which some of his amendments were drawn up, got -about eighteen members at this time to act with him. But even they deserted him when, at one in -the morning, Mr. Biggar moved to “report progress.” The division showed—Ayes, 10, Noes, 138. -Mr. Biggar and his friends then kept up a series of see-saw motions—for adjournment and reporting -progress, till at three in the morning Mr. Cross succumbed, and having struck his flag, assented to -the rising of the House. Then Mr. Biggar and his friends pathetically wailed over the scandalous -manner in which the House had had two hours of its valuable time wasted by the Home Secretary, -whose surrender was cited as a justification of their opposition.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> This was fifteen minutes earlier than the hour at which it rose in the Debate on the Address in -1783. See Clayden’s England Under Lord Beaconsfield, p. 302.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> This was a popular move, for it was generally felt that Ireland not only had too many Judges, -but that they were extravagantly overpaid.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> Mr. F. H. O’Donnell actually put down seventy-five amendments to it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> The motion was moved by Sir George Campbell.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> It was never known what Sir Stafford Northcote meant to do. But it was supposed he would, -with the support of Lord Hartington, move the expulsion of the “obstructives.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> The Estimates for the past year had been closely realised. For the coming year (1877-78) the -revenue was taken at £78,794,000, and the expenditure at £79,020,000.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch -and Letters, p. 343.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> Martin’s Life of the Prince Consort, Chap. XLIX.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch and -Letters, p. 357.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., pp. 206, 273.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> See a letter from Mr. Hayward to Mr. Sheridan, dated 3rd November, 1876. Correspondence of -Abraham Hayward, Q.C., p. 271.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> See Mr. Hayward’s Correspondence, Vol. II., pp. 266 and 268.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> Mr. Carlyle presumably got his information from the highest German authorities.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> Carlyle’s Life in London, by T. A. Froude, Vol. III., p. 441.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> Consols fell three-eighths.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> Mr. George Jacob Holyoake was the first to characterise these patriots as “Jingoes,” deriving -the epithet from their own anthem. See his letter in the <i>Daily News</i>, March 13, 1878.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> These were (1), Bulgarian autonomy north of the Balkans; (2), guarantees of good government -for the other Turkish provinces; (3), cession of Batoum, and retrocession of Bessarabia to Russia.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> Nobody gave a more vivid picture of the divided state of the nation at this time than Mr. -Trevelyan, who had been one of the most active of those who forced Mr. Gladstone to withdraw his -Resolutions. Speaking at Galashiels on the 10th of December he said, the desire to fight “is almost -universal amongst idlers, and gossips, fashionable aspirants, and the habitual frequenters of the London -burlesques and music-halls. The determination to keep at peace is almost universal among the great -mass of the population which produces the wealth of this country, and which makes us respected and -powerful among nations. My experience is that the division is not, as is generally described, one of -class, but of personal habits and character. If you meet a man who does an honest stroke of work -on every week-day, whether he be manufacturer, or artisan, or tradesman, or barrister, it is ten to one -that he wishes his country to leave this quarrel to be fought out by those whom it concerns. If -you meet a man who amuses himself for fifteen hours out of the twenty-four, and sleeps the rest, it -is ninety-nine to one but he thinks we should send an ultimatum to Russia as soon as she crosses -the Balkans, and that he regards Lord Beaconsfield as a second Chatham, who is robbed of his opportunities -by his more timid colleagues.” It ought to be said that the Liberals had also their “idlers” -and sentimental crochet-mongers, who were eager to join Russia in fighting the “anti-human” Turk, -and who had the advantage of Mr. Gladstone’s personal leadership. Of course the partisans of Lord -Beaconsfield vied with the partisans of Mr. Gladstone in pouring forth contempt on the English -people, for their sordid determination to tie the restless and mischief-making hands of these two enterprising -politicians.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> One finds in the advertising columns of the <i>Era</i>, strangely enough, a side-light on the Eastern -policy of the Court at this period. A Mr. Charles Williams, who advertised himself as singing “the -greatest war song on record” at four music-halls, added to his advertisement the following letter:—“Lieutenant-General -Sir T. M. Biddulph has received the Queen’s commands to thank Mr. Charles -Williams for the appropriate verses contained in his letter of the 18th inst., and her Majesty fully -appreciates his motives.” One of the verses ran thus:— -</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Bruin thinks we’ve been asleep; but a watch we’ve had to keep,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Knowing well the value of his word;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Look with many a skilful lie how they’ve blinded every eye,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Till the Lion’s grand impatience now is heard;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For every British heart would burn to take a part<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To fling the Russian lies back in their face;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to teach them, as of old, that Briton’s hearts are bold,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And would die to save our country from disgrace.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">—<i>Vide Era</i>, February 20, 1878. The song was sung at the Metropolitan Music Hall, in connection -with a ballet called “Cross and Crescent War.” When the Royal letter was pointed out to Count -Schouvaloff, that easy-tempered diplomatist merely shrugged his shoulders. It may be mentioned -incidentally that a study of the popular songs cf the period reflects faithfully the shifting moods -of the London mob during the Eastern Controversy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> Turkey III. (1878), No. 1.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> Russia in July had pledged herself not to meddle with the Suez Canal, or with Egypt, or to -menace the Persian Gulf. As to the Dardanelles, the position of the Straits “should,” said Prince -Gortschakoff, “be settled by a common agreement upon equitable or efficiently guaranteed bases.” -Constantinople, in his opinion, “could not be allowed to belong to any of the European Powers;” -and on the 20th of July the Czar further enforced this pledge by telling Colonel Wellesley that he -would not occupy Constantinople merely for military <i>prestige</i>, but only if events forced him to do -so.—<i>See</i> Russia II. (1877), No. 2; and Turkey III. (1878), No. 2.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> Hansard, Vol. CCXXXVII., p. 31.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> Sir Stafford Northcote gave another reason. Mr. Layard, on the 24th, telegraphed that the question -of the Bosphorus was to be settled between the Czar and a Congress. Next morning, the 25th, it was found -that by a blunder the clerk had written “Congress” instead of “Sultan.” It was on this account, -said Sir S. Northcote, that the orders to the Fleet were withdrawn. In other words, when on the -24th the Government believed—if by this time they really believed any of Mr. Layard’s telegrams—that -the question of the Bosphorus was to be settled in accordance with Russia’s pledges to England, -the Fleet was sent to Constantinople. But when they found this to be a mistake, and that the Czar -was going to settle the question in defiance of his pledges to England, the Fleet was ordered back -to Besika Bay!</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> His place at the Colonial Office was filled by Sir M. Hicks-Beach, Mr. James Lowther becoming -Irish Secretary.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> Mr. Bright and Mr. Gladstone were, however, among those who voted against the Grant.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> See Sir Stafford Northcote’s statement in the House of Commons, <i>Times</i>, 29th April, 1878.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> It is, however, but fair to Lord Derby to say that though all the Tory speakers and writers assumed -this to be his object, his obstinacy might be due to another and more honourable motive. He probably -persuaded himself that the refusal of Russia implied that she meant to object to the discussion of Articles -that in the opinion of the Powers affected their interests as well as hers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> Mr. Charles Greville dwells on one of these ebullitions of patrician rowdyism with much anger. -(<i>See</i> Memoirs, Part III.). At the same time, it is but fair to say that the Peelites had given the -Tories just provocation. Lord Aberdeen had led the Tory leaders to believe that, whenever they -abandoned Protection, they (the Peelites) would return to the Tory fold, and reunite the Conservative -Party. Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli did abandon Protection, incurring great obloquy from their -followers. But the Peelites declined to fulfil their part of the implied bargain, and, having got all -they wanted out of the Protectionists—a recantation of their principles—not only refused to join -them, but attacked them with the Whigs. Mr. Gladstone was supposed to have inspired what Lord -Hardwicke, in a letter to Mr. Croker, denounced as a “disgraceful” manœuvre due to “personal -pique and hatred.”—<i>See</i> Croker Papers; also an article in the <i>Observer</i>, Feb. 13, 1887, p. 3.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> It ought to be said that Lord Derby’s ablest apologist, Mr. T. Wemyss Reid, in an article in -<i>Macmillan’s Magazine</i> for June, 1879, advanced a fair defence for his hesitancy to work zealously with -the European Powers. Mr. Reid asserts, and in a manner which commands respectful attention, that -Lord Derby knew that as far back as 1873 Russia, Germany, and Austria had entered into a secret -agreement to upset the <i>status quo</i> in Turkey. No historian can presume to pass a final judgment on -Lord Derby’s career at the Foreign Office without carefully studying this remarkable article. It explains -much that is otherwise inexplicable in Lord Derby’s policy, and had it been an official <i>communiqué</i> -it would have been almost conclusive.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> Lord Salisbury said, in reply to Lord Grey, in the House of Lords, that the statements in the -<i>Globe</i> were “wholly unauthentic.” Lord Grey said he could not have believed it to be true that -Lord Salisbury had agreed to the retrocession of Bessarabia. “It appeared,” he said, “to be too -monstrous to be believed that her Majesty’s Government could have made such a stipulation as was agreed -to”—an observation which Lord Salisbury ratified by his silence.—Hansard, Vol. CCXL., p. 1061.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> The words of Bismarck’s Circular were:—“While addressing this invitation to the —— Government, -the Government of his Majesty [the German Emperor] supposes that the —— Government, in -accepting the invitation, consents to allow free discussion of the contents of the Treaty of San -Stefano in their totality, and that it is ready to take part in it.” It is curious to notice how -persistently Russia refused to yield even verbally, and after signing the Secret Agreement, to the -English demand. As the Vienna correspondent of the <i>Times</i> said, “the formula of invitation is a -compromise. While doing full justice to the full demand of England for free discussion of the -Treaty of San Stefano in its totality, it contrives to spare the susceptibilities of Russia. Germany -steps in and supposes that none of the Governments invited will object to a free discussion. In -issuing invitations on this hypothesis, Germany gives a moral guarantee that it will be so; and -Russia, who has hitherto objected to such a course, is not distinctly asked to withdraw this opposition, -but only gives her consent, like the other Powers, to a Congress convoked by Germany for -the purpose.”—<i>Times</i> Vienna Correspondent, 4th June, 1878. The effect of this formula was to -make Prince Bismarck absolute master of the Congress after acceptance of his invitation. He alone -had given a guarantee that the Treaty should be fully discussed. He alone was therefore entitled at -every stage to define what he meant by the phrase, “in its totality.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> Sir M. Hicks-Beach, on the 12th of June, gave his Party and the country further assurances on -this head in a speech at Cheltenham, in which he said that the main points in Lord Salisbury’s -Circular of the 1st of April would be adhered to by the British representatives at the Congress. -This statement, of course, recoiled on him in the most damaging manner when, on the 14th, it was -found that what the Ministerialists considered to be main points had been bargained away to Russia -in Lord Salisbury’s Secret Agreement of the 30th of May.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> Lord Houghton, as a supporter of the Ministerial Foreign Policy, said:—“Even if the surrender -which we are required to make according to this document is one to which the country -would give its consent, it would have been better that the fact should have appeared at the Congress -than that it should have been made known by this paper [the <i>Globe</i>]. It now stands before the -world that England did not go into the Congress with free hands, but before going into it had -made a contract, and had, in the main, abandoned some of the most important points which I and -other Members of the House considered it was the duty of this country to insist upon.”—Hansard, -Vol. CCXL., p. 1569 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> The proceedings against Mr. Marvin were withdrawn. He pleaded that copying on paper did -not amount to theft, and his legal advisers threatened a cross-examination of the Foreign Office -officials (whose laxity of administration was obvious), which determined the Government to retreat.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> Afghan Correspondence I., pp. 242, 243.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch and -Letters, p. 375.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> The death of the child here alluded to was that of her little son Fritz, who accidentally fell from -one of the palace windows on the 29th of May, 1873.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland. Biographical Sketch and -Letters, p. 385.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> Dr. Sell, a good clergyman of Darmstadt, who was entrusted with her papers and her correspondence -with the Queen, and who knew the Princess well during the greater part of her Darmstadt life.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> <i>See</i> South African Correspondence (C 2220), pp. 136-320.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> <i>Nineteenth Century</i>, March, 1879.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> Sir M. Hicks-Beach censured Frere for not sending his <i>ultimatum</i> home for approval before -delivering it. In fact, Frere’s claim was virtually that a Colonial Governor had the right to declare -war without consulting the Crown or Parliament. The majority that supported the Government in -the Lords was 61. In the Commons Sir C. Dilke’s motion was defeated by a majority of 60.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> Mr. Parnell was not formally elected leader. After Mr. Butt’s retirement, in 1878, the Irish -party elected, not a leader, but a Sessional Chairman. The office was filled by Mr. Shaw during 1879.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> Hansard, Vol. CCXLVII, p. 53.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> It must be mentioned that Lord Hartington had in a previous speech haughtily repudiated all responsibility -for the action of Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Hopwood, and other Radicals who had now allied themselves -with the Parnellites.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> These warnings were published at Lahore from Persian newswriters in Cabul. They showed -that even as far back as the 16th of August the Ameer had implored Cavagnari not to ride about -the streets, as he ran the risk of being murdered. At this time Lord Lytton was assuring the -Government, on the authority of messages which he alleged he had received from Cavagnari, that all -was going on well in Cabul.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> Colonel Osborn, in an article in the <i>Contemporary Review</i> for October, 1879, estimated that a -British army 40,000 strong would be needed to occupy Afghanistan.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> His “settlement” of Zululand organised the country into thirteen provincial governments, a -British Resident controlling them all. Native rights, laws, and customs were to be respected, and -Europeans prohibited from emigrating into native territory.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> This is clear from the censure passed by the Duke of Cambridge on Colonel Harrison, Assistant -Quartermaster-General. The Duke blamed Harrison for not impressing on the Prince “the duty of -deferring to the military orders of the officer who accompanied him.” Of course, if Carey had -been in command, there would have been no need to have impressed on the Prince (who had -graduated in the military school at Woolwich) the necessity for obeying the orders of Carey, who -would, in that case, have been his superior officer.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> The gap torn out of the bridge—the whole length of which was 10,612 feet—measured 3,300 feet. -Of the eighty-five spans, the first twenty-seven from the Fife coast were left intact. Then came -thirteen of which only the stonework remained, everything else being swept away. This left forty-five -spans on the northern side standing. The bridge had been tested and certified as safe by Government -inspectors. An inquiry was ordered into the disaster, which showed that the bridge was, in the -words of Mr. Rothery, one of the Court of Inquiry, “badly designed, badly constructed, and badly -maintained.” For the mishap the engineer—Sir Thomas Bouch—was held “mainly to blame.” The -bridge, which from a distance looked like a long plank set up on pipe-shanks, cost £500,000. It was -opened on the 30th of May, 1878.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> There were seventy-five adults, and from ten to fifteen children. The bodies were nearly all -washed away by the tide.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> Dr. Köller, a Church of England clergyman, employed by the Church Missionary Society in -Constantinople, had engaged Ahmed Tewfik, a Mohammedan schoolmaster, to help him to translate the -Scriptures into Turkish. Ahmed and the MSS. were seized, and the former adjudged worthy of -death by the Sheik-ul-Islam. For three months Sir Henry Layard had vainly demanded his release, -and the dismissal of the Minister of Police, Hafiz Pasha, from his post.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> Hafiz was one of the savages, whose share in the Bulgarian atrocities was so patent, that Lord -Derby had demanded his punishment. The answer to this demand by the Turks was the appointment -of Hafiz as Minister of Police at Constantinople, where he and Sir Henry Layard suddenly fell out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> He had given the Lord-Lieutenancy of a county to Colonel King-Harman.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> Loans to Baronial Sessions for improvement works were virtually loans to the landlords.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> Nobody knew better than Lord Beaconsfield, from his experiences of 1846, that the potato is the -barometer of Famine in Ireland, and it is impossible to suppose that he would have been satisfied -with Mr. Lowther’s Bill if he had looked into the facts. For these all pointed to a dreadful failure -of the potato crop. In 1876 its value was £12,464,382. In 1878 it was only £7,579,512. In 1879 it -fell to £3,341,028. In England a crisis like this would have compelled the Government to take strong -measures of relief, and yet in England such a state of affairs is always eased by the landlords abating -or wiping out rent. But the distress in Ireland was aggravated because the worse it grew the fiercer -became the demand of the landlords for rent. “Evictions,” writes Mr. J. Huntley McCarthy, “had -increased from 463 families in 1877 to 980 in 1878, to 1,238 in 1879; and they were still on the -increase, as was shown at the end of 1880, when it was found that 2,110 families were evicted.” -Moreover, the Irish peasantry paid part of their rent out of wages earned as migratory labourers -during part of the year in England and Scotland. But English and Scottish farmers were themselves -cutting down their labour bills, and the loss to the Irish on migratory labour alone in 1877 -was £250,000 (Hancock). See Healy’s “Why is there a Land Question?” pp. 71, 72; O’Connor’s -“Parnell Movement,” pp. 166-7. J. H. McCarthy’s “England under Gladstone,” p. 103.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> The new Rule was to the effect that a Member “named” by the Speaker or Chairman for -obstruction might be suspended for the rest of the sitting on a motion voted without debate; and if -he repeated the offence three times, he might be suspended for an indefinite period till pardoned by -the House.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> These were Barnstaple, Liverpool, and Southwark. At Barnstaple the Liberal (Lord Lymington) -increased the Liberal majority by 60 votes. But Sir R. Carden increased the Tory minority by 99. -In Liverpool Mr. Whitley was returned by a majority of 2,221, though Lord Ramsay, the losing -candidate, polled 3,000 more votes than the winning candidate had ever polled before. Southwark -(vacated by the death of Mr. Locke, a strong Radical) was carried by Mr. Edward Clarke, a strong -Conservative, by a large majority. Lord Beaconsfield’s calculations were here faulty. The verdict of -Barnstaple, being a corrupt constituency, went for nothing on either side. In Liverpool the Tories -maintained their ascendency, but not at all with the proportionate majority they obtained in 1874. -Southwark was dominated by the publican vote, and the Liberal candidate (Mr. Dunn) was not only -a bad speaker, but especially hateful to the working-class, because he had, by insisting on standing -at a former election, ruined the candidature of Mr. Odger, and, by splitting the Liberal vote, had -handed over the second seat in Southwark to Colonel Beresford, the Conservative candidate. The -bye-elections to which Lord Beaconsfield trusted afforded no true guidance as to the drift of opinion.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> Mr. Cross created a Water Trust, partly representative and partly nominated, for taking over -the business of the water companies. He had in the previous Session promised Mr. Fawcett that -he would not give the companies a “fancy” price for their property. He now proposed to hand -over a Three and a Half per Cent. Stock to the companies as compensation for their property. The -actual value of that property was about £19,000,000; but the <i>Standard</i> and the critics of the scheme -complained that Mr. Cross gave the companies £30,000,000 compensation. Water shares rose 75 per -cent. when Mr. Cross’s Bill was produced.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> The contest in Midlothian excited the keenest interest. When the poll had been counted it was -found that Mr. Gladstone had obtained the seat by a majority of 211 votes, the figures being Gladstone -1,579, Dalkeith 1,368. As soon as the result became known the utmost enthusiasm was aroused throughout -the country. In Edinburgh the excitement was intense and Mr. Gladstone had to address the shouting -crowd, under a fall of snow, from the balcony of Lord Rosebery’s House in George Street.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> Mr. Hayward’s Letters, Vol. II., p. 307.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> Mr. Hayward’s Letters, Vol. II., p. 308.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> Hansard, Vol. CCLIII., p. 1663.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> The origin of the term was as follows:—Captain Boycott, an agent of Lord Earne, and a farmer -at Lough Mask, had served notices of eviction on the Earne tenantry. Suddenly he found himself -“marooned,” as it were, on his farm. Nobody would work for him, speak to him, do business -with him, or even supply him at any price with the necessaries of life. Police guards watched over -him and his family whilst they did their own farm and household work. At last some of the -Orange lodges in the North sent down a gang of armed labourers to help him out of his difficulties. -These were called “Emergency men.” Subsequently the dispute between Lord Earne and his tenants -was arranged, and all of a sudden Captain Boycott found that the leper’s ban had been removed -from his household, and he himself treated as if he had been all his life the most popular person -in the neighbourhood.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> The Rifle regiments were not supplied with colours, because in the old days they were supposed -to fight in more extended order than the Infantry of the Line. Now there is no difference in this -respect between the rifleman and the linesman. Of the cavalry, only the heavy dragoons carried -colours, but they always left them at home when they went to war.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> The Rifle Brigade was originally formed out of detachments from fourteen different line regiments, -and was long known as “Manningham’s Sharpshooters.” From 1800 to 1802 it was known -as the Rifle Corps. Down to 1816 it got the name of the “Old 95th,” after which year till now -it has been called the Rifle Brigade. The Prince Consort was its colonel, and in his portraits he -is often seen wearing its sombre green heavily-braided uniform. Hence it got the title of the -Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade. The Prince of Wales became its Colonel-in-Chief till he was -appointed Colonel of the Household Cavalry. He was succeeded by the Duke of Connaught, who -began his meritorious though modest career as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> Mr. C. D. Boyd was shot by a gang of men with blackened faces whilst driving on the 8th -of August from New Ross to Shanlough. He was the son of the agent to Mr. Tottenham, and -there was reason to suppose that it was his father (who was with him) who was aimed at. Lord -Mountmorres was waylaid near Clonbur and shot on the 25th of September. He had only -fifteen tenants, had evicted only two of them, and his household was boycotted. He lived -among the people, and was fairly popular with them, so that his murder is to this day somewhat of -a mystery.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> This antiquated form of silencing a Member had not been heard of for two centuries, till Mr. -Gladstone had himself revived it in the previous Session, for the purpose of silencing Mr. O’Donnell -when he attempted to make a personal attack on M. Challemel-Lacour, who had come to England -as the Ambassador of France.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> <i>See</i> Hansard, Vol. CCLVIII., p. 68 <i>et seq.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> The Parnell Movement, by T. P. O’Connor, M.P., Chapter XI.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> Colley’s friends allege that Kruger’s letter of reply to him was delayed so long that he thought -he might usefully expedite matters by attacking.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> It was said that the late Mrs. Brydges-Williams, an eccentric Cornish lady of Jewish extraction, had -left Mr. Disraeli a legacy on condition that she should be buried with him, and on this condition -the legacy was accepted. Perhaps the executors were afraid that claims might be made on them if -the condition were violated.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> Speech at Kettering, <i>Times</i>, 5th May, 1881.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> Her Majesty sent two wreaths to be placed on the bier. One was composed of primroses, and -carried the inscription: “His favourite flowers, from Osborne, a tribute of affection from Queen -Victoria.” The other was made up of bay-leaves and everlasting flowers, and bore these words in -golden letters: “A mark of true affection, friendship, and respect from the Queen.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> After Lord Beaconsfield’s death the Tory Party fell under the “Dual Control” of Lord Salisbury -who led it in the House of Lords, and Sir Stafford Northcote who led it in the House of Commons, -when Lord Randolph Churchill let him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> Mr. (afterwards Sir) Edward Clarke, Q.C. and Tory Solicitor-General, though he approved of -widening summary jurisdiction, objected to the Bill because it made the Irish Viceroy a despot. Mr. -Ritchie (afterwards President of the Local Government Board in Lord Salisbury’s Administration) declined -to support the Bill because he had no confidence in the Government. Sir J. D. Hay complained of -the excessive power placed in the hands of the Irish Viceroy. But Sir Stafford Northcote interfered, -and, generously exerting his authority on behalf of the Ministry, silenced the factious Tories, who -were apparently desirous of embarrassing the Government by obstructing the Bill. Public opinion -was not in a state to tolerate obstructive tactics at the time.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> This loan was raised to wipe out the floating debt then amounting to £28,000,000. But the -money-brokers who floated it imposed such usurious conditions, that they never really paid -Ismail more than £20,740,077, of which they made him take £9,000,000 in bonds of the floating debt -which the loan was raised to pay off. These they held themselves, having bought them at 65 per -cent. They made the Khedive, however, take over the £9,000,000 worth which they thrust on him -as part of the loan at 93 per cent.—See Mr. Stephen Cave’s Report on the Financial Condition of -Egypt, and McCoan’s Egypt as It Is (Cassell and Co.), Appendix 9, p. 396.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> This land belonging to the Khedive’s personal estate is referred to in the report as Daira land.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> A search expedition under Colonel (afterwards Sir Charles) Warren, R.E., brought back their -remains, which were buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, close by the tomb of Nelson. See Life of Edward -Henry Palmer, by Walter Besant. London: John Murray, 1883, pp. 296-329.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> The vote was for an addition of £10,000 a year to the Prince’s income, which was already -£15,000, and a separate income of £6,000 a year to the Princess during her widowhood.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> These intrigues grew so dangerous that in 1879 Prince Bismarck concluded a Secret Treaty with -Austria, which bound each Power to defend the other if attacked by Russia, or if Russia gave aid to -any other Power which was attacking them. Though Prince Bismarck, as he said in his speech -in the Reichstag (6th of February, 1887) really acted at the Berlin Congress as the fourth plenipotentiary -of Russia, the Russian War Party were of opinion that he ought to have done more for them. -Their attacks on Germany in the Press were incessant. Russians of rank like Gortschakoff and Skobeleff, -notoriously carried on intrigues with France for an alliance against Germany. Indeed, Russian troops -began to mass themselves on the German frontier in 1882. Curiously enough, of the four men who -could have done most to thwart Prince Bismarck’s League of Peace with Austria—only one (Garibaldi) -died in circumstances free from suspicion of foul play. Garibaldi’s death rendered it easier to bring -Italy into Prince Bismarck’s anti-French combination. These four men it is curious to note passed -away most opportunely for Prince Bismarck. Garibaldi died in June, Skobeleff on the 7th of July, -Gambetta in December, 1882, and Gortschakoff on the 11th of March, 1883. Germany breathed -freely after the death of Gambetta, who, said Prince Bismarck once, worked on the nerves of Europe -“like a man who beats a drum in a sick room.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> The history of this compact is as follows:—After the Treaty of Berlin was signed Lord Salisbury -bought off the opposition of France to the occupation of Cyprus, first by promising not to oppose an -extension of her influence in Tunis, and secondly, by paving the way for her sharing with England the -control of Egypt. Prince Bismarck also left on M. Waddington’s mind the impression that Germany -was indifferent to the fate of Tunis, knowing well that French interference there must brew bad blood -between France and Italy. In the spring of 1881 the French discovered that the mysterious “Kroumirs” -were menacing their Algerian frontier. To punish them they invaded Tunis, and though they never discovered -any “Kroumirs,” they compensated themselves for their disappointment by forcing the Bey to -sign the Bardo Treaty. It converted Tunis into a French dependency. Italy remonstrated in vain against -this violation of the guaranteed integrity of the Ottoman Empire, and finally sought for safety against -further French encroachments on her interests, in an alliance with the German Powers. M. Gambetta’s -aggressive policy caused King Humbert, on the advice of Prince Bismarck, to visit the Emperor of -Austria at Vienna, in the autumn of 1881. Prince Bismarck was ostentatious in expressing his friendliness -to Italy, and exchanged effusive compliments with Signor Mancini. (<i>See</i> Mancini’s Speech in the -Italian Senate of December, 1881.) In October, 1882, Count Kalnoky declared that King Humbert’s -pilgrimage of conciliation to the Hofburg had identified Italian and Austro-German interests, and Signor -Mancini announced the existence of the Triple League on the 11th of April, 1883. On the 17th of March, -1885, Mancini, when questioned as to his Red Sea policy, told the Senate that in all his negotiations with -England he had made it “clear that Italy could enter into no engagement which was contrary to the -agreements concluded with the two Empires.” Through negotiations carried on by the German Crown -Prince, Spain was next drawn into the net of the Triple League, and France utterly isolated.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> Though writers like De Tocqueville have laid it down that the civilisation and development of a State -can be always measured by the social status and independence of its women and the equality of the sexes -before the law, one curious exception may be noted. From various reasons, the northern kingdom of -Scotland has for many centuries remained appreciably rougher in manners and less polished and refined -in culture than England. The women of Scotland, too, like those of Germany, have always been compelled -to render their families harder domestic service than English women, who, during the greater -part of the Victorian period, led lives of comparative ease and luxury in most respectable households. -Yet it is strange that in Scotland the law has always been jealous in guarding the rights of women. -For example, it secured to a woman a third of her husband’s property after his death, so that he -could not disinherit her by will. It enabled her, through a simple and cheap legal process, to protect -her earnings from seizure by her husband. It was at pains to preserve to women in the direct -line of succession their right to baronies and peerages after the males in that line were exhausted. -The divorce law, too, did not, like that of England, recognise any inequality in the position of the -sexes. The effect of the improved legal status of women in Scotland was curious. Though living -in a ruder society, and under the pressure of harder conditions of life than their more luxurious -and polished English sisters, they seem in all ages to have enjoyed by custom a position of authority -in the family, scarcely even yet conceded to their sex in England. Arduous household service was, -however, the price they had to pay for their privileges. It may also be added that whilst in -England, till very recently, parents were more particular about the education of their sons than their -daughters, such a distinction between the sexes was rarely made in Scotland at any time in its history.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> The occasion was a banquet given to him in the Town Hall in celebration of the twenty-fifth -anniversary of his connection with Birmingham. Mr. Bright said:—“And, what is worse, at this -moment, as you see—you do not so much see it here as it is seen in the House—they [the Conservatives] -are found in alliance with an Irish rebel party (loud and long-continued cheers), the main -portion of whose funds, for the purposes of agitation, comes directly from the avowed enemies of -England, and whose oath of allegiance is broken by association with its enemies. Now, these are the -men of whom I spoke, who are disregarding the wishes of the majority of the constituencies, and -who, as far as possible, make it impossible to do any work for the country by debates and divisions -in the House of Commons. I hope the constituencies will mark some of the men of this party, and -that they will not permit Parliament to be dishonoured and Government enfeebled by Members who -claim to be, but are not, Conservative and Constitutional. Our freedom is no longer subverted or -threatened by the Crown or by a privileged aristocracy. Is the time come—I quote the words from -history—is the time come to which the ancestor of Lord Salisbury referred three hundred years ago, -when he said that ‘England could only be ruined by Parliament’?”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> It enacted that to cause an explosion not leading to loss of life was a felony punishable by -penal servitude for life. The attempt was punishable with twenty years’ imprisonment. To be -found in the possession of dynamite, failing proof that it was held for a lawful purpose, entailed -fourteen years’ imprisonment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> For an account of this sect, see a curious article in <i>The Spectator</i>, 17th March, 1883.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> Brown, it was said in 1883, had left a diary for publication. This was not quite true, for immediately -after his death all his papers were impounded by Sir Henry Ponsonby on behalf of the Queen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> The Hon. Mrs. Stonor died on the 14th of April in London, from the effects of a carriage accident. -She was a daughter of Sir Robert Peel, and was married to the third son of Lord Camoys. -Few ladies of the Court stood higher in the favour of the Queen, and she had been lady-in-waiting -to the Princess of Wales since the formation of her household in 1863.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> When England advised Egypt to abandon the Soudan, the Khedive’s Ministry under Cherif -Pasha refused to take the advice. The defeat of Hicks Pasha caused England to substitute insistance -for advice, and when the Egyptian Government was told it must abandon the Soudan, Cherif -Pasha resigned. Here was an excellent opportunity for establishing a Protectorate; and it is not -generally known that Sir Evelyn Baring strongly recommended the appointment of English Ministers -for a period of five years. He was overruled, and Nubar Pasha was made Cherif’s successor. See Mr. -Edward Dicey’s convincing plea for a Protectorate, in the <i>Nineteenth Century</i> for March, 1884. In passing -it may be well to warn the reader that he cannot form any correct conception of Anglo-Egyptian -relations till he has mastered Mr. Dicey’s numerous papers on the subject, notably his “England and -Egypt” (Chapman and Hall, 1881). The central idea of Mr. Dicey’s policy is that the true interest of -England in the Eastern Question lies in the Valley of the Nile, not in the Bosphorus; and that the -Isthmus of Suez forms the key-stone of her position as an Imperial Power.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> His expenditure he estimated at £85,292,000, and his revenue at £85,555,000.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> The alternative courses were (1), calling in the aid of Turkish troops; (2), the employment of -Zebehr Pasha; (3), the opening up of communications between Suakim and Berber after Graham’s -victories on the Red Sea littoral; (4), the evacuation of Khartoum in accordance with a scheme whereby -Gordon’s colleague, Colonel Stewart, was to take the fugitives down to Berber, while Gordon and a -picked body of troops were to retreat up the White Nile in steamers to the Equator.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> These persons were in most cases rather incompetent. They were not boatmen or <i>voyageurs</i> at all, -but clerks, shopmen, and land-lubbers from the Canadian towns, who had palmed themselves off on -Lord Wolseley and his subordinates as experienced Canadian <i>voyageurs</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> This was not the only case in which Lord Northbrook had discredited the Administration. It -was notorious that Mr. W. H. Smith had shockingly neglected naval ship-building when, in 1880, he -handed the Navy over to Lord Northbrook. Lord Northbrook had worked hard to make up arrears, -and he had built new ships as fast as he could to enable the British Navy to rank with that of France. -But his best efforts to correct Mr. Smith’s negligence failed, and yet in July, 1885, he expressed himself -quite satisfied with the Navy. When he was absent in Egypt a violent agitation, demonstrating the -feebleness and insufficiency of the Navy, was raised in the Press. Ere the autumn Session ended he -admitted that £5,000,000 above the ordinary estimates would be needed to strengthen the Fleet in -swift cruisers and torpedo boats.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> Loans already secured on these were to merge in the Preference Debt along with bonds for -Alexandria indemnities. The interest on it was not to change, but that on the Unified Debt into -which Daira Loans were to merge, was to be reduced to 3-1/2 per cent.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> When Ismail abdicated under the pressure of France and England it was not made clear that -he abandoned all his rights as a private landowner in Egypt. Theoretically the Khedive could not, -according to Oriental usage, own any land in his dominions save as head of the State, in which -capacity he owned all land. Hence, when he ceased to be Khedive, his private domains reverted to his -successor. Hence Lord Granville always rejected Ismail’s claim. But in 1888 Lord Salisbury, through the -agency of Mr. Marriott, Judge Advocate-General, commuted all Ismail Pasha’s claims for a lump sum, -calculated on the allowances he was bound to make his family, and which he himself might fairly -demand to support his position as ex-Khedive. Lord Salisbury’s object was to prevent these claims -from being ever made the basis of operations for diplomacy hostile to England.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> The dates are curious:— -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left">17</td><td class="c">June, 1884. —</td><td align="left" class="pdd">Invitations to Egyptian Conference issued.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="c">“</td><td class="c">“</td><td align="left" class="pdd">Lord Derby promises to stop the action of the Cape Government in reference to Angra Pequena.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">19</td><td class="c">“</td><td align="left" class="pdd">Lord Granville assures Count Münster that he accedes to Bismarck’s wishes on the Fiji dispute.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">22</td><td class="c">“</td><td align="left" class="pdd">Lord Granville tells Count Herbert Bismarck that the Cabinet, on the 21st inst., resolved to recognise the German Protectorate over Angra Pequena.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">28</td><td class="c">“</td><td align="left" class="pdd">Meeting of the Conference in London.</td></tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> Speech in House of Lords, February 26th, 1885.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> Speech in the Reichstag, March 2nd, 1885.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands. From 1862 to 1882. Smith, Elder -& Co., 1884.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> <i>Fortnightly Review</i>, May, 1884.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> The Claremont Estate was bought by the Crown in 1816. It was granted to the lamented -Princess Charlotte and her husband, Prince Leopold—the Queen’s uncle—with benefit of survivorship. -It was a place full of gloomy associations, but Prince Leopold kept it up pretty well till 1848, on the -£60,000 a year which he had from the nation. In 1848 the exiled Orleans family occupied it, and were -prodigal in spending money in improving the grounds and gardens, which were almost as productive as -those of Frogmore. On the death of King Leopold of Belgium, Claremont reverted to the Crown, and -Lord John Russell and Mr. Gladstone passed an Act granting it to the Queen for life. In 1881 Sir -Henry Ponsonby, as trustee for the Queen, bought the reversionary interest of it for her from the -State for £70,000, and since then it has been her private property, like Osborne and Balmoral. That -Claremont is the property of the nation is a strange delusion fondly cherished by many critics of Royalty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> Prince Leopold lived chiefly at Boyton Manor from the summer of 1875 till the autumn of 1879, -when the Queen insisted on his going to Claremont. It was at Boyton that he was so dangerously -ill in 1877 that Sir William Jenner telegraphed for the Queen to come to what was supposed to -be his deathbed. After that her Majesty always objected to his staying in Wiltshire.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> The borough franchises of England and Wales were the old £20 clear annual value qualification -of 1832, and the householder and lodger franchises established in 1867. To these the new Reform -Act of 1885 added the “service franchise,” giving a vote to any man who inhabits any dwelling-house -by virtue of any office, service, or employment. Caretakers, bailiffs, gamekeepers, officers of public -establishments, shepherds, &c., were admitted under this qualification. It was further provided that -every citizen of full age, and not subject to legal incapacity, who has occupied a house for a year and -paid his rates, can have his name registered as a voter for the district, whether it be called county or -borough, in which he resides. The property franchises in the counties were in the main left untouched, -but provision was made to check multiplication of faggot votes—<i>i.e.</i>, votes of non-resident occupiers on -sham qualifications. But four-fifths of the 5,000,000 electors enfranchised by the Bill were really -qualified as simple householders in town and county.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> There were 56 two-member constituencies wholly disfranchised, and 31 which lost a member apiece. -But by Mr. Gladstone’s Bill in 1885, there were 160 seats set free for redistribution, 6 that were in -abeyance were revived, and to meet the claim of Scotland for increased representation, 12 new seats, -despite the opposition of the extreme Tories like Sir J. D. Hay, were added to the House.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> Of this £11,000,000, it must be said £4,500,000 were to pay for Egyptian expeditions and -£6,500,000 for “special preparations.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> M. Lessar, the Central Asian geographer, was now in attendance at the Russian Embassy as -an expert.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> See Speeches of Lord Randolph Churchill (Authorised Edition), edited by Henry W. Lucy (George -Routledge and Sons: London, 1885, p. 220).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> As a matter of fact it was weaker than it should have been, but this was due to the neglect of -shipbuilding by Mr. W. H. Smith, whose favourite policy was to make old ships do for new ones by -patching their boilers. Lord Northbrook had pushed on shipbuilding, and made up leeway so that in -first-class ironclads the country was more than a match for France. But much had still to be done in other -directions—<i>e.g.</i>, in providing vessels for scouting, and for torpedo warfare. The armament of the Navy -was also obsolete, in fact, when Mr. Smith handed the Navy over to Lord Northbrook, there was not a -single big breech-loading gun mounted in the Fleet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> Whilst the anti-Coercionists in the Cabinet (Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. Chamberlain, and Mr. Shaw-Lefevre) -were struggling with the Coercionists, the subterranean arrangements between the Tories and -Parnellites were also publicly ratified in a speech delivered by Lord Randolph Churchill at the St. Stephen’s -Club, in which, amidst ringing cheers, he condemned the renewal of Coercion. Signs of disorder in -Ireland, he argued, had passed away, and such being the case Government was bound by “the highest -considerations of public policy and Constitutional doctrine to return to and rely on the ordinary law. -They were all the more strongly bound at that time because they had just enfranchised the Irish -people, and declared them capable citizens fit to take part in the government of the Empire.”—The -Parnell Movement, by T. P. O’Connor, Chap. XIII.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> After he wound up the debate, and during this exciting scene, Mr. Gladstone had been quietly -writing his nightly report to the Queen of the proceedings of the House, on a sheet of note-paper -which he held on his knee as a desk. Lord Randolph Churchill vainly endeavoured to rouse his -attention by putting up his hand to his mouth as if it were a speaking-trumpet, and shouting through -it mocking taunts of triumph at the Premier.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> H. W. Lucy’s Diary of Two Parliaments, Vol. II., p. 478. (London: Cassell & Co.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> The controversy between Lord Salisbury and Mr. Gladstone was conducted through memoranda -addressed to the Queen dated the 17th, 18th, 20th, and 21st of June. For the text, see Parliamentary -Report of the <i>Times</i>, 25th of June, 1885.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> The offer, it is odd to notice, was almost an unprecedented mark of Royal favour. The elevation of -Mr. Disraeli to an earldom was effected in the middle, not at the end of his service as Premier, and in the -moment of his triumph, not of his defeat. It is, however, worth noting that at the end of his first -Administration Mr. Disraeli accepted a viscountess’s coronet for his wife. Lord John Russell was not -Premier in 1859 when he became Earl Russell; in fact, his acceptance of the Foreign Office under -Palmerston was supposed finally to put him in the background. Grenville, Liverpool, Wellington, -Goderich, Grey, Melbourne, Derby, and Aberdeen were all Peers before they became Premiers. When -Addington’s Ministry resigned early in the century, the Premier, it is true, became Lord Sidmouth. -Yet it was not an earldom but only a viscountcy—a rank often conferred on ex-Ministers who -have not been Premiers—that was given to him. Pitt was not actually First Lord of the Treasury—though -no doubt he was the moving spirit in the Cabinet—when he became Earl of Chatham. -In fact, for the Queen’s offer there was no precedent later than 1742, when Walpole—the Minister -to whom her House owe their crown—was created Earl of Orford when he resigned.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> Mr. Gibson had been elevated to the Lord Chancellorship of Ireland under this title.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> “Lord Northbrook,” wrote the Times, “chose to regard the criticisms on this blundering way -of keeping accounts as a personal attack on himself, and rested his defence, with more temper than -lucidity, on the propriety of the expenditure incurred, which no one had thought of challenging.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_217_217" id="Footnote_217_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> The Journals of Major-General C. G. Gordon, C.B., at Khartoum, printed from the original MS. -Introduction and Notes by A. Egmont Hake. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1885, p. 56.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_218_218" id="Footnote_218_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> On this point see an entry in Gordon’s Journal under date the 6th of October, 1884. It was -not till the 17th of May, 1884, that Lord Granville wrote enjoining Gordon to adopt “measures for -his own removal <i>and for that of the Egyptians at Khartoum</i> by whatever route he may consider best.” -But it was now too late to attempt the evacuation of Khartoum save in co-operation with a relief force.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_219_219" id="Footnote_219_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> Metamneh is 176 miles from Korti, but only 90 miles from Berber, and 98 from Khartoum, from -which latter places the Mahdi brought up all the troops he could spare.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_220_220" id="Footnote_220_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> “A cavalryman is taught never to be still, and that a square <i>can</i> be broken. How can you -expect him in a moment to forget all his training, stand like a rock, and believe no one can get -inside a square?... The sailors were pressed back with the cavalry, and lost heavily; they get -very excited, and would storm a work or do anything of that kind well; but they are trained to -fight in ships, and you cannot expect them to stand shoulder to shoulder like grenadiers.”—From -Korti to Khartoum, by Sir Charles Wilson, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.C.L., F.R.S., R.E., late Deputy -Adjutant-General, Nile Expedition. Edinburgh (Blackwood), 1885, p. 36.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_221_221" id="Footnote_221_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> Sir Charles Wilson strives hard to defend Lord Wolseley and Sir Herbert Stewart. He says that -Stewart could not march straight across the Desert for lack of transport, though he admits that an -additional thousand camels, which could have been easily got in November, would have saved the -situation. Why were they not got? Moreover, the blunder of Lord Wolseley and Sir Herbert Stewart -is inexcusable, because they acted in defiance of Gordon’s last message. “Come,” said he, “by way of -Metamneh or Berber; only by these two roads. Do this <i>without letting rumours of your approach spread -abroad</i>.” Stewart’s first occupation of Gakdul, thirteen days before the Desert column was ready to -move, was simply a gratuitous warning to the Mahdi of the English advance.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_222_222" id="Footnote_222_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> This is sometimes called Gubat, and sometimes Abu Kru.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_223_223" id="Footnote_223_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> Gordon’s diaries show that even on the 28th of November, 1884, when his men held Omdurman -and the North Fort, Wilson could not have passed the junction of the Blue and White Nile without a -strong land force to co-operate with his steamers. On the 28th of January, 1885, however, these positions -were in the Mahdi’s hands, and Wilson had no land force.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_224_224" id="Footnote_224_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> Lord Charles Beresford was too ill to proceed up the Nile with Wilson, and, as he was the only -naval officer available, it was prudent to leave him at Gubat. Had our position there been attacked, -he would perhaps have been able to assist in its defence with Gordon’s steamers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_225_225" id="Footnote_225_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> <i>See</i> an analysis of General Gordon’s Journals by the present writer in the <i>Observer</i> for the -28th of June, 1885. For criticism of Wilson’s Expedition, <i>see</i> article, said to be by Sir E. Hamley, in -<i>Blackwood</i> for June, 1885.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_226_226" id="Footnote_226_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> <i>See</i> The Letters of General C. G. Gordon. (London: Macmillan, 1888.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_227_227" id="Footnote_227_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> Gordon’s death evoked from the Colonies in America and Australia profuse and generous offers -of military aid. The only one accepted was that which was made by New South Wales.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_228_228" id="Footnote_228_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> When Mr. Gladstone fell from power, and Lord Salisbury’s Government took office in 1887, -this promise was renewed. But in 1888 it was repudiated by Mr. W. H. Smith, the First Lord -of the Treasury.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_229_229" id="Footnote_229_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> The children of the Prince of Wales will probably be provided for by the State. The children -of the Duke of Edinburgh, owing to the wealth of their parents, need no provision. The Duchess of -Connaught inherited a large fortune from her father, the “Red Prince.” The Princess Louise, -Marchioness of Lorne, if she were to have a family, could provide for them as members of the -House of Argyll.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_230_230" id="Footnote_230_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> The German Crown Prince and the Grand Duke of Hesse received the Order on marrying -daughters of the Queen. But the Marquis of Lorne got the Order of the Thistle in similar circumstances.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_231_231" id="Footnote_231_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> Continental diplomatists and publicists held that the notification in the <i>Gazette</i> was absolutely -illegal, because it was a violation of an international agreement as to the assumption of this title -arrived at by the Great Powers at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818. This agreement, which was signed -by the Duke of Wellington as the representative of England, is embodied in the “Protocol Séparé -Séance du 11 Oct., 1818, entre les cinq Puissances,” and it arose out of their refusal to permit -the Elector of Hesse to assume the title of king. The Powers declared that the title Royal Highness -used by the sons of kings, might be also used by grand dukes and their heirs-presumptive, but by no -one of lower rank in sovereign circles. Prince Henry was neither a grand duke nor an heir-presumptive -to a grand duke.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_232_232" id="Footnote_232_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> When Prince Victor married the sister of the Marquis of Hertford, she was created Countess -Gleichen, a title which the Prince also assumed, the marriage being on the Continent regarded as -“morganatic.” It was held that the Queen’s order raising the lady to her husband’s royal rank was -void and illegal outside the English Court, like the similar order with reference to the Countess Dornburg.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_233_233" id="Footnote_233_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> This intrigue was initiated by Mr. Justin McCarthy, who had long enjoyed Lord Carnarvon’s -personal friendship. Before finally selling the Irish vote, Mr. Parnell had a personal interview with -Lord Carnarvon, at which the bargain was struck. Lord Carnarvon has denied various accounts of -this interview, but he has never denied that as Viceroy of Ireland, he told Mr. Parnell that Irish -industries must be stimulated, and that he would give the new Irish Government power to levy Protective -Duties. As taxation and representation go together, this concession implies that the Irish -Government was to be vested with fiscal powers, which could only be exercised in co-operation with -and under responsibility to an Irish Parliament.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_234_234" id="Footnote_234_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> The doctrine of ransom in the counties took the form of a vague and ambiguous pledge to give -every labourer who wanted an allotment “three acres and a cow,” by purchase-money advanced -from the rates.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_235_235" id="Footnote_235_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> For a definite statement of Lord Carnarvon’s policy as Mr. Parnell understood it, <i>see</i> Mr. -Parnell’s speech on the Home Rule Bill. <i>Times</i>, June 8, 1886.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_236_236" id="Footnote_236_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> The case for the Government, however, was strengthened and made more conclusive as the debate -went on.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_237_237" id="Footnote_237_237"></a><a href="#FNanchor_237_237"><span class="label">[237]</span></a> As successor of the old abbots, the Dean of Westminster, in the Abbey, takes precedence of -all ecclesiastics except the Archbishop of Canterbury.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_238_238" id="Footnote_238_238"></a><a href="#FNanchor_238_238"><span class="label">[238]</span></a> When the children got to the Park Mr. Lawson, like a practical man, put them in good -humour by feeding them. They were taken in squads to tents, and each child got a bag with a -meat pie, a piece of cake, a bun, and an orange; also a plated medallion portrait of the Queen. -A Jubilee mug of Doulton ware was also given to each boy and girl, and during the day lemonade, -ginger beer, and milk were to be had for the asking.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_239_239" id="Footnote_239_239"></a><a href="#FNanchor_239_239"><span class="label">[239]</span></a> Lord Tennyson’s health did not admit of his officiating as Laureate on this occasion, and Mr. -Browning has always declared himself unable to produce ceremonial odes to order.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_240_240" id="Footnote_240_240"></a><a href="#FNanchor_240_240"><span class="label">[240]</span></a> History of England, Vol. V., p. 537.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life and Times of Queen Victoria; -vol. 4 of 4, by Robert Wilson - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUEEN *** - -***** This file should be named 63444-h.htm or 63444-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/4/63444/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at -http://gutenberg.org/license). - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at -809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official -page at http://pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit http://pglaf.org - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 63ab8b9..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 813582e..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece_lg.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece_lg.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 525fc4f..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/frontispiece_lg.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_lg.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_lg.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7b605e2..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_lg.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_sml.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_sml.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5406994..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_001-b_sml.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_385.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_385.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 11b8c9d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_385.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_388.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_388.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e449e1d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_388.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_389.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_389.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0aefebe..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_389.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_393.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_393.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8de99df..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_393.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_396.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_396.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c748d5d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_396.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_400.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_400.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9a8b8c8..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_400.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_401.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_401.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0990570..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_401.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_405.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_405.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ddb808..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_405.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_409.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_409.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 320467c..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_409.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_412.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_412.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 958d6c6..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_412.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_413.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_413.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 857c978..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_413.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_416.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_416.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2378246..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_416.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_417.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_417.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bb1201a..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_417.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_421.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_421.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9aa9b59..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_421.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_425.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_425.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index abe30c1..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_425.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_428.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_428.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4c1d952..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_428.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_432.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_432.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d2dc3ef..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_432.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_433.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_433.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8b46668..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_433.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_436.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_436.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 075b333..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_436.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_440.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_440.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 29ff5f0..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_440.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_441.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_441.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5fda0fe..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_441.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_445.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_445.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 74cc3fd..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_445.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_448.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_448.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 08b4283..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_448.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_452.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_452.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8af8a6d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_452.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_453.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_453.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 443d8da..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_453.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_456.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_456.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f603601..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_456.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_460.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_460.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bfe5c3f..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_460.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_461.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_461.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 11d0473..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_461.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_465.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_465.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ada8185..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_465.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_469.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_469.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4ef6b66..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_469.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_473.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_473.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 82bcc1c..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_473.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_477.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_477.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 664a66b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_477.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_480.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_480.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ec562fa..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_480.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_484.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_484.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 44029cc..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_484.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_485.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_485.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 881ef98..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_485.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_488.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_488.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8a1b143..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_488.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_492.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_492.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 56cdf03..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_492.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_493.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_493.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ab0a547..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_493.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_496.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_496.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 03e215c..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_496.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_497.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_497.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 188a095..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_497.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_500.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_500.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d509847..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_500.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_501.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_501.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7e58c36..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_501.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_504.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_504.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 546c343..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_504.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_505.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_505.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d144915..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_505.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_508.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_508.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 39913ea..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_508.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_509.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_509.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6560699..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_509.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_513.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_513.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index edc2846..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_513.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_517.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_517.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0bc8bda..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_517.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_521.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_521.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9b61fd2..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_521.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_525.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_525.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b9c6837..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_525.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_528.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_528.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 91d33ab..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_528.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_529.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_529.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 772ff36..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_529.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_533.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_533.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ed32649..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_533.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_537.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_537.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 89760ee..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_537.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_540.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_540.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index baa56eb..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_540.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_544.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_544.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 029c9d4..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_544.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_545.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_545.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c1ba0f1..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_545.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_548.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_548.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6536a38..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_548.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_553.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_553.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ff72776..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_553.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_557.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_557.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7a29fb9..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_557.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_561.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_561.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 9dd8f6e..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_561.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_565.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_565.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 29ecc85..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_565.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_568.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_568.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4dfc9f9..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_568.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_569.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_569.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 69bd960..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_569.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_572.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_572.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 59d2cae..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_572.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_573.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_573.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cc564c8..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_573.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_576.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_576.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0b517c3..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_576.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_577.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_577.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 08a00fd..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_577.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_581.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_581.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 41d0965..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_581.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_584.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_584.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 146a542..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_584.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_585.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_585.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 105a5f1..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_585.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_589.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_589.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a28e9df..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_589.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_593.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_593.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 50153b1..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_593.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_597.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_597.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e6492c9..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_597.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_600.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_600.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5a293fa..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_600.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_604.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_604.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 11500b2..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_604.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_605.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_605.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1242dad..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_605.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_609.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_609.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d943e3b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_609.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_613.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_613.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 03d8443..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_613.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_616.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_616.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 95267cf..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_616.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_617.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_617.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 930c8d4..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_617.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_621.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_621.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 29471ea..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_621.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_624.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_624.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2677a7a..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_624.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_625.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_625.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 33eb037..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_625.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_629.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_629.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 95f9e27..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_629.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_633.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_633.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 64e8fcd..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_633.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_637.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_637.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a050a35..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_637.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_640.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_640.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a1e136b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_640.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_641.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_641.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4f50db1..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_641.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_644.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_644.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 53e5843..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_644.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_645.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_645.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index cec63ca..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_645.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_649.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_649.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 281856d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_649.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_652.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_652.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 64b5d90..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_652.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_653.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_653.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7b1de11..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_653.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_657.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_657.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7a4875e..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_657.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_661.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_661.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bfb63ba..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_661.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_665.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_665.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 233e519..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_665.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_669.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_669.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d327899..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_669.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_673.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_673.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d427e4b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_673.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_677.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_677.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c2a7578..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_677.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_680.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_680.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1473b9f..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_680.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_681.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_681.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7ce8757..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_681.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_685.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_685.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e736d44..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_685.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_688.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_688.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 24693eb..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_688.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_689.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_689.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bffd2db..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_689.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_693.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_693.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f523a41..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_693.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_696.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_696.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b9780c9..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_696.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_700.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_700.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 533ba85..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_700.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_701.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_701.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a10843d..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_701.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_705.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_705.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a922e34..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_705.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_709.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_709.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7f0b48e..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_709.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_716.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_716.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c74dff6..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_716.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_721.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_721.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index a1bbb4e..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_721.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_725.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_725.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 94f5fa3..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_725.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_729.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_729.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0fe9591..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_729.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_733.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_733.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index db0b390..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_733.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_737.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_737.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8f043ea..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_737.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_744.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_744.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5333fe5..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_744.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_745.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_745.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 440a59b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_745.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_749.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_749.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bafd571..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/ill_pg_749.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_001.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_001.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2b0d8c7..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_001.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_002.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_002.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2b54247..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_002.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_003.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_003.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 505532b..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_003.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_004.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_004.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index bb5e9b7..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_004.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_005.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_005.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index febd136..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_005.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/63444-h/images/plt_007.jpg b/old/63444-h/images/plt_007.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4c5d468..0000000 --- a/old/63444-h/images/plt_007.jpg +++ /dev/null |
