New-York tribune., 1881-11-21
MR.. GLADSTONE SPEAKS.
THE GOVERNMENTS POSITION DEFINED.

rain IN The HONESTY, GOOD SENSE AND
PATRIOTISM OF THE IRISH PEOPLE
IRON THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE rRmryr
LONDON, Oct 29.-Mr. Gladstons's visit to
Knowsey Is thought to foreshadow a closer politi-
cal alliance between himself and the owner of
| KnOwslcy than has heretofore existed. Ito object
| If you believe the wellinformed man whom you
meet everywhere is to settle the terms on which
Lord Derby is to enter the Cabinet. AS that is for
the present matter of pure conjecture it may be
passed by for the present; the readily as the
visit has been signalized by an incident certainly
not less important than any such Cab:net-naking
or renaking as is at all within the range of mme-
date probabilities. The incident | mean is Mr.
Gladstones speech. Now speech more or less
from MIR. Gladstone would not always assume the
proportions of a political event. But this is re-
markabe speech for two reasons or perhaps three,
as three is a number Mr.. Gladstone likes First
there indications that he sought the opportunity
of making it, It looks very much as if the deputa-
| ton from the Liverpool Liberal Association who
| waited upon the Prime Minister at Knowsey Hail
had had hint that their presence would be well
come. That is only another way OF saying that Mr..
Gladstone deemed it desirable for public reasons to
make a statement az that moment on certain
matters of public interest. Second the speech Is,
in at least one point an answer TO the speech which
Mr.. Chamberlain, Mr. GladstOnes colleague and
subordinate in the Cabinet, delivered only few
days before and few miles of-hs Liverpool
speech of Tuesday Thirdly, it Is declaration of
the views and policy of the Government on matters
of concern TO Ireland. These three reasons run
into each other They so closely related that 1
shall not attempt to pursue artificial distinction
| by considering each one of them separately. But
remembering what | wrote of Mr. Chamberlain's
performance at Liverpool l will point ont how di-
rectly he is repudiated by his chiet and then in
dcate the substantive declarations by which Mr..
Gladstone affirms his present purpose with respect
| to Ireland.
The very first point Mr.. Gladstone dealt with was
the statement that the Land Act was the offspring
of the Land League To deal with it directly az
| the statement of Mr.. Chamberlain would have been
| impossible, for Mr.. Chamberlain remains Cabinet
Minister, and English political etiquette does not
| allow one member of a Government-not even its
| chief-openly TO disown another. But
plenty of other people have said the thing. 10
| had been said the day before in Dublin, with the
| addition that it had been avOwed by the Govern
| ment The Dublin orator was plainly disposed to
regard Mr. Chamberlain, with his peculiar views
about Coercion and the League. as the mouthpiece
OF the Ministry. Not so Mr.. Gladstone. He and he
| alone can speak with authority for the Governments
of which he is the head and he seized the occasion
which this Dublin patriot offered him to emphasize
1
main question whether the Land Act was
not the offspring of the Land League, he declared
| plumply that true not, such avOwal had been
made by the Government. 1t was my duty" de-
clared Mr. Gladstone. on the part of the Govern
ment to introduce the Land Act, and in doing 50
said expressly in the most formal manner, that what
Parliament had to do was to oOK not at the agita-
ton prevailing in the country, or the demands put
forward under cover of that agitation, but at tho
|
| Quite So Mr.. Gladstones withers are unwrung
| But what about Mr.. Chamberlain
| If Mr. Chamberlain was not very generally mis-
understood hf did mean TO say at Liverpool, three
DAYS before the very thing Mr. Gladstone repudi-
ates with so much energy. He said this, tor ex-
ample 4" The original objects of the League we're
| legal were even pralseworthy To stie agitation
| at such time would have been to prevent reform;
| would have been also to bring ruin TO thousands
| and tens of thousands of innocent people who are
| now protected by the Land Act . What does that
mean if it does not mean that the Act was the
result of the agitation man who says that TO
stihe agitation would have been to prevent reform
can only be understood to that the reform
would not have been effected without continuing
agitation. TO say that the reform was the offspring
of the agitation-in other words that the Land Act
was the offspring Of the League, which alone car
red on the agitatOn-is only more rhetorical ex-
pression of the same idea There are other not less
significant phrases IN Mr. Chamberalns speech, but
need not quote them 1t is sufficiently clear that
when Mr. Gladstone said no such avOwai bad been
made by the Government he desired 1t 10 be
understood that Mr. Chamberlain is not the Gov
erument. In plain English he threw over his col
league. He inflicted upon him public eensure
undcr which a sensitive nature might have been LED
to resign But Mr.. Chamberlain showed in the be-
,I,o hat he ri res
which he prefers to interpret in its Christian rather
than its official sense.
This is a matter which mainly concerns Mr.
Chamberlain What Mr.. Gladstone has to say on
the Irish question generally concerns not only Mr.
Chamberlain but the rest of the Empire. Ii Is
vigorous and perfectly clear annunciation Of Mr.
Gladstones views as to the condition of things in
Ireland and of the principles on which he means to
deal with them. Here also the contrast between
Mr. Gladstone and Mr.. Chamberlain is a striking
one Mr.. Chamberlain devotes half his harangue
to an expression Of the horror with which he re-
cards coercion in the abstract or eXeep; under
pressure of an irresistible necessity. Nothing could
be less timely with reference to the public interest,"
or I suppose more essential to Mr.. Chamberlain
personally with reference to his more radical sup
porters Mr. Gladstone prefers giving his attention
10 facts and lets pet theories and personal reputa
tiuns take care of themselves. Never before, not
even at Leeds has he spoken so boldly. lie rs
a aupmuz1ledD once more. He has made up his mind
with reference to the Parnelite tyranny over lre'
land as he made it up with reference to the Beacons-
field deuson that prevailed so long in England
He dispeed the latter by sheer force of individual
and intellectual energy. The former he has broken
in pieces by the power of the Executive Govern.
ment but he is not content with triumph OF
physical force or the vndicaton of the law by tne
armed forces of the law. He wants not only 70
coerce but to convince.
That, if am able to form a right Judgment OF Mr.
Gladstone was the chief reason for his speaking az
the time and place he did. He desired both Ireland
and England to understand precisely why ne mas