The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-01-14 00:00:00

i7BB ark. ..888,
to the heart of
iously

SIR HENRY JAS AT
GLASGOW.

On Monday .unight Sir Henry James addressed a
crowded Dissentient Liberal meeting in St. Andrews
Hall, Glasgow. The Earl of Stair presided. Sir
Henry James .said that- Lord Granville had cor
gratulated the Liberal Unionists upon having pc,
formed the feat of collecting the whole of their
party within one room at Westminster. He would call
his lordship's attention to the fact that if matters
progressed as they had been progressing during the
last few lionths, their rooms would be many, and
the rooms' would be large, which would be
necessary in almost every constituency in this
United Kingdom to contain the members of the
Liberal Unionist party. (Cheers.) At the recent great
Liberal Unionist meeting in Dublin the men there did
not attend merely as a political gathering, but they
were there fighting, as some believed, for their lives
and for the safety of their property. The existence of
the EXecsttpg power in Ireland was the key to the posi-
tion'' round-Avhich this battle had to be fought. He
quoted what Sir George Trevelyan had said in 1886 in
his wiser hours. (Laughter.) Sir George then could
not believe that any Ministers, whatever else they did,
could put superintending of the police and the enforc-
ing of civil obligations and safety of property of our
fellow citizens in the hands of an elective Irish Parlia-
ment. However, there were some still who did not
hold that opinion; that they would be willing now to
hand over the minority in Ireland, whom Sir Geo.
Trevelyan once said would be massacred wholesale if
the Irish measure were passed. Sir Henry admitted
that there had been a great deal of bad government
in Ireland, but there had been a great deal of bad
government in England and Scotland too. But would a
Parliament formedof a majority of mostly one creed,
one class, and of one interest be a safe power to deal
with the interests of the minority in Ireland? Why it
was the Parliament of the United Kingdom alone
which could be the fair arbiter between all these con-
flicting interests and creeds, and it was the Parliament
which was so much in touch with all the wishes of the
people of Great Britain and Ireland. It was said that
the Unionists had betrayed their Liberal principles and
deserted their leaders. That charge was made against
them in language that was scarcely courteous, even if
true, by so consistent and distinguished a statesman
as his friend, Sir William Harcourt. (Laughter.)
The gulf between them was formed when Home Buie
was introduced into Parliament, but that gulf had
since widened by the events that occurred every day.
Lot him say a word or two about Sir William
Harcourt. He did not think personal friendship ought
to render dumb one's tongue when dealing with im-
portant political affairs. (Applause.) We have had
some rather amusing books lately published which
told how certain persons had been entirely changed,
and how the one person had passed into the body of
another person. (Laughter.) A very amusing book
was lately published called "Vice Versa," which re-
presented how a very respectable middle-aged
gentleman passed into the body of a
mischievous lad. There had been i great deal
of vice versa of late about Sir William Harcourt.
He was an entirely different gentleman, the gentle-
man he once knew, from the gentleman who was now
speaking throughout the country. His opinion now
had no resemblance whatever to the views he formerly
expressed. When dealing formerly with the Irish
members Sir William was a veritable Samson amongst
the Philistines. He was always determined to support
the authority of the law, and deal harshly with anyone
who showed any sympathy whatever with crime or
criminals, and the last he heard of that Sir William
Harcourt was in Dorsetshire, when at a meeting in
November, 1885, he denounced the Conservative
party in language which was almost of an unsavoury
character. He denounced them for two things—one,
because they would not renew the Crimes Act; and the
other, because they were holding some communication
with the Parnellites. It would be painful to describe
what the present Sir W. Harcourt was. It might be
that he was still a Samson, for a reason that he was
willing to send forth 300 Irish and Gladstonian mem-
bers as so many fire-brands, in order to disturb the
existing institutions of the country. (Laughter.) When
he dealt with the question of nationality, and talked
to Irish members about their just aspirations,
it was only a pretence and not a reality, and he re-
minded him of what Samson would have been with a
wig on. (Great laughter.) He was greatly alarmed for
his old friend Sir William. He was afraid that Sir
William was putting new wine into old bottles.
-,aughter and cheers.) He put a new political creed
into the breast of an experienced politician, and the
result was somewhat similar to constant fermentation
—a not unfrequent explosion. (Cheers.) The course
pursued by Sir William Harcourt brought him to the
consideration of their present position, and to the
course it was their duty to take, not only with respect
to the broad question of maintaining the legis-
lative union between Great Britain and Ireland, but
the course they ought to pursue in the present state of
things. That course was that the Liberal Unionists
should support her Majesty's Government and endea-
vour to be true to the old traditions and principles of
the Liberal party. (Cheers.) It should be remem-
bered that at the commencement of the session of
1887 there were two parties standing opposed to each
other, certainly so far as Ireland was concerned.
There was, on the one hand, her Majesty's Govern-
ment. Be their politics what they might, it was the
duty of those who represented the Queen's authority_
to see that that authority, as representing the main-
tenance of law and order, should be carried out in
Ireland as well as in any other portion of the Empire.
(Cheers.)

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