The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-10 00:00:00

THE STOURMIDGE OBSERVER.

EXTRAORDINARY POLITICAL
REVELATIONS.

The following correspondence was published on
Monday:
Sir,—The conversation, entirely informal and, so
to speak, accidental, which took place at Eaton,
and which was the immediate occasion of Mr.
Gladstone's first letter to me, herewith printed, con-
sisted chiefly, if my memory does not deceive me, of
statements made by Mr. Gladstone to me respecting
the serious condition of Ireland, and the urgency of
the problem which it presented to the Government.
He told me that ho had information of an authentic
kind, but not from Mr. Parnell, which caused him to
believe that there was a power behind Mr. Parnell
which, if not shortly satisfied by some substantial
concession to the demands of the Irish Parlia-
mentary Party, would take the matter into its own
hands, and resort to violence and outrage in England
for the purpose of enforcing its demands. "In other
words," I said to Mr. Gladstone, "we are to be blown
up and stabbed if we do not grant Home Rule by the
end of next Session." "I understand," answered Mr.
Gladstone," that the time is shorter than that." .

This is the portion of our brief conversation which
has impressed itself most deeply upon my mind, and
of which I gave an account to more than one person
at the time. It is, so far as I recollect (though in
this I may he mistaken) the only portion relevant to
the correspondence which followed, and of which I
enclose a copy.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
ARTHUR JAMES BILCOITR.

(Copy of Correspondence referred to.)
"Private. " Hawarden Castle, Chester,
Dec. 20, 1885.
"My dear Balfour,—On reflection, I think that
what I said to you in our conversation at Eaton may
have lmounted to the conveyance of a hope that the
Government would take a strong and early decision
on the Irish question. For I spoke of the stir in
men's minds and of the urgency of this matter, to
both of which every day's post brings me new
testimony. This being so, I wish under the very
peculiar circumstances of the case to go a step further,
and say that I think it will be a public, calamity if this
great subject should fall into the lines of party con-
flict. I feel now the question can only be
dealt with • by a Government, and I desire,
specially on grounds of public policy, that it
should be dealt with by the present Government. If,
therefore, they bring in a proposal for settling the
whole question of the future government of Ireland,
our desire will be, reserving, of course, necessary free-
dom, to treat it in the same spirit in which I have
endeavoured to proceed in respect to Afghanistan and
with respect to the Balkan Peninsula. You are at
liberty, if you think it desirable, to mention this to
Lord Salisbury. But for a great pressure on me I
should have sent this letter sooner. lam writing,
however, for myself and without consultation.—
Believe me, sincerely yours,
(Signed) "W. E. GLADSTONE.
"Right Hon. A. J. Balfour."

"Local Government Board, Whitehall,
22nd December, 1835.

"My dear Mr. Gladstone,—l have deferred my
visit to Kible, and therefore did not get your letter of
the 20th instant until this afternoon, hence the delay
in answering it.
"I have as yet had no opportunity of showing it t
Lord Salisbury, or of consulting him as to its con-
tents; but I am sure he will receive without any sur-
prise the statement of your earnest hope that the Irish
question should not fall into the lines of party con-
flict. _ _ _

"If the ingenuity of any Ministry is sufficient to
devise some adequate and lasting remedy for the
chronic ills of Ireland, I am certain it will be the
wish of the leaders of the Opposition, to whichever
side they may belong, to treat the question as a
national and not as a party one, though, I fear, that,
under our existing Parliamentary system, this will
not prove so easy when we are dealing with an in-
tegral portion of the -United Kingdom as it proved
when we were concerned with the remote regions of
Bournelia and Afghanistan.
"If anything arises out of your letter, which I
think ought to be communicated to you, I hope you
will allow me to write to you again, and in the mean-
while, "I remain, yours,
(Signed) "ARTHUR JAMES BALroua."

" Hamarden Castle, Chester, Dec. 23, 1885.
Private.
"My dear Balfour,—l thank you for your not-e,
and taking its spirit into view, I think I ought to
complete my former communication by assuring you
that, while expressing a desire that the Government
should act, lam not myself acting. Tim() is precious,
and is of the essence of the case. But, wishing them
to have a fair opp >rtunity of taking their decision, I
have felt that so long as I entertained the hope con-
nected with that wish (and how long that will be, of
course, I cannot say) I should decline all communica-
tion of my own views beyond the circle of private
confidence, and only allow to be fully knowu my great
anxiety that the Government should decide and act
in this great matter.