The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-03-29
GLADSTONE'S STUMBLE.
HOW THE RECENT DEFEAT OF THE
MINISTRY WAS BROUGHT ABOUT.

The Real Merits Of the Irish University
Question-Sketclh OF the Great Debate
Scenes in the House Of Commons.
Correspondence Of the New York World.I
LONDON, March Is.
"Hurrah They are beaten at last ~ was
the cry that spread from the Hobbies of the
House of Commons throughout all England
yesterday morning. "Hurrah hurrah they
are going out and Dlsraell is coming In |" was
the cry at midday. "Hurrah hurrah q
thousand times hurrah They have gone out
and Dlsrael has been sent for by the Queen =
was the cry at nighlfall. The last cry was
premature, and 1t died away before midnight
In anxious mutterlngs and irreconcllabie
guesses as to the future.
The Roman Catholics of Ireland-three.
fourlhs of the populatlon-deslre to have the
power of giving to their sous perfect unl-
verslty education Without imperllllng their
faith. They see In their country one i'm
mense Protestant university, ''the richest In
the world,n endowed with revenues which
once belonged 20 Catholics; they see several
others. all richly endowed by government,
from which religion is nominally excluded,
but which when not secular, or goddess" are
Protestant. These are all institutions recog-
nized by government-thelr degrees are legal
Catholics asked-they have continued to ask
for thirty years with constantly Increasing
earneslness - for equality In this respect. They
asked chartered university OF their own
governed by their own bishops-equal In
rank to the others.
WHAT they wanted was perfectly we'll
known, and Mr.. Gladstone promised to satis-
OF evolving out of the depths OF his own con-
sclousness the conceptions Of what would
satisfy them, and by carefully refraning from
asking them II his scheme would satisfy them.
When he brought bis bill into Parliament he
boasted that no ''ultramontane advice" had
been asked concerning 1t. He had refused to
consult with the patient for whom be was
about to prescribe; HI had carefully aVolde d
even feeling, his pulse or looking at his
ing to the patients prejudices or humorlng
his whlms. Well, the Irish Catholics
had asked for denomlnalional, or religious,
university education and he offered
them secular, or goddess university education.
You know the details OF this scheme, and
need not enlarge on them. The Jealous Pro.
testanls and the equally jealous secularists
broke ont into clamor against the bill. They
had one real reason for their opposition, and
fear that the Catholics, by their thirst Tor
learning as we'll as by their numbers,
would ln time obtain complete possession oil
the aew goddess university and turn 1t to their
own purposes. The fictitious reason was that
this university was to be prohibited In exam
lnI0g students In modern history and phlloso-
ply. These people are all members Of the
Liberal" party-their votes " ere necessary
for the success Of the bill.
after debate In which thlrty-two hours had
been spent ln actual talking, and In which
forty members had spoken, the great division
was taken, and the government was defeated
by vote OF two hundred and eighty-seven to
two hundred aud elghly-fonr. A fresher pen
than mine shall describe ior you this great
historical scene. There were thirty Roman
Catholic members 10 the House at the Time OF
the division. or these, twenty-seven voted
against the bill and three for It. Six Roman
CiLholic members we're absent. Tne House
contained altogether FIVE hundred and seven
five members, ffty-six members being alb
sent. or the Liberals iorty-seven voted
Irish. Only fifteen Irish members voted for
1t, three Catholics aud twelve ProLestAnts.
OF the forty who took part In the debate
thirteen supported and twenly.seVen opposed
the bill Of the opponents twelve belonged
10 the Conservatives and thirteen to the. Lib.
eral party. All the members who supported
the bill spoke from The ministerial benches.
The nationality OF the speakers may thus be
described Engllshmen, 10; Irish, ls; Scotch,
2, and Welsh l. OF the Irish members who
spoke four supported and fourteen opposed.
Four Cabinet ministers spoke in favor of the
bill and seven ex.officials opposed It.
The Scene in the Commons.
Another correspondent OF The World, after
describing the skirmishlng which led up to the
main battle In which Mr.. Gladstone met his
defeat, thus sketches the close OF the memo
rable debate:
The excitement was becoming Intense, aud
was increased by the want OF anything on
which IL could expend itself. Sill the small
men kept the play to themselves, needless OF
themselves. At last, however, deafeniDg
cheer rang through the House, and members
crowded 10 at the doors. Mr.. Dlsraeli was
ND. The climax 10 the tournament was going
TO begin. The rival champions were IN POSI-
tion. Both were cool aud collected, but there
was fire ln the eyes of either which told oil q
to fight to the bitter end. Cries
OF ''order" resou0ded from all sides, whilst
strangers stretched their necks to the utter
mOSt u BeG VIC" ab IhoI Bioce no'eu Myo
terry standing motlonless as dummy at the
table, When the silence was complete, but
not till then, the oracle spoke. Enough
of this talk" was In effect, though not IN
language, what he said; "we have got
into a saLe of bewilderment; let us
see where We are." Such was his
criticism of popular debate, and every one
cheered, and doubtless most OF all those who
had failed to get u hearing and were con-
nla nf tho nfmnanhQrn
Mr.. Dsraeli was going to attempt was only
what they would have done themselves had
they got The opportunity. He then proceeded
10 define what he considered the position OF
language being on the whole e3-
planatory and eXigelical, but relieved at
lines by exquisite asidrs and sparkling repair
tees, He twitted ministers with their hail
ness as to the provisions that were OF the
essence of the bill, charged them with being
themselves Ia o state OF disagreement as 10
what they wanted, and as grand climax ac-
cused them Of having devised II slmply for ing
purpose of getting vote OF confidence. ana
here came the happest part OF his speecn.
"[I her Majesty'd Government want to obtain q
vote of confidence, In such circumstances,
thew should have taken some other course.
They should have applied, not to q can
did, but 10 a sincere friend. That is
the Parliamentary pracllce. There 10 lne
honorable r'amber Tor Surrey. AIler
recent proceedings he could hardly nave
refused to perform the office. Then can say
for myself, and many gentlemen on tnls sioe
of the House. that we have really no ooJeclion
to their obtaining such vote Of confidence.
If her Msjesty's Government have not the
Confidence of The House of Commons, want
to know whose confidence they have" Every
sentence of what is here quoted was followed
by rosrs of laughter-the thrust at Mr.. Locke
King, the member for Surrey, being partiou-
larIy we'll received, the fact being that MT.
h, baon ono n tho ohiaf anpQk ara