New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-08-31
THO pRIlIE MINISTER'S.

of a magical gift which would enable great
statesman to command the world. 1t was
&" the divine faculty. the rare and incompar-
able privilege of inspiring enthusiasm There
was brief period in his career wnen he seemed
TO have this wonderful endowment. His return
from Berlin was popular triumph. lie had
forced Russia to lay the Treaty OF San
Stefano before the Congress he had advertised
the military resources of the realm by fetchlng
q few regiments of SepCys to Malta he had been
the most conspicuous figure at the kadziwlll
Palace he had made brave show OF lighting
and professed to have won by diplomacy more
than Lord p lmerstOn had achieved Ivy war; he
had dazzled Europe as well as England. The
bour of disenchantment was not long deferred.
The practical judgment OF an essentially sober
minded people condemned his eQuivocal dl-
plomacv and superficial successes. 1t was ac-
l,nowledged that in Tancred " he had sketched
himself in n single sentence: " lie became
"babituated to the idea that everything could
be achieved by dexterity and that there was
" no fest of conduct except success" But 1t was
q genuine triumph while it lasted. Flattered
abroad. Lord BeacOnSlcld was idOlized at
home. His pathway was strewn with roses, and
to shout hosannas. Every peer was in his seat,
ROYALTY itself was on the steps OF the throne,
when the great Minister rose TO unfold the
results of statecraft which had baiiied the
keenest wit of Europe. A staid and sober
nation seemed transformed into band OF
courtiers.
There was only one man who retained his
self-pOssessiOn and evinced the courage OF his
convictions Mr. GladstOnc's voice rang out
in the Commons solemn as prophets in denun-
citation of a policy Of dishonest intrigue, vulgar
sham and inordinate greed. His warning was
UNDECIDED at the moment and only brought OBJ
loouy upon himself. He was snubbed by rank
and fashion, lampouned by the lingo press,
coarsely insulted by the Prime Minister, and
even Missed in the streets. 1t il tickle Fortune
that turns the wheel Of popularity. When the
base metal and cheap lace were fairly seen, the
idol of the glitterng pageant went down. Inc
despised prophet, whose denunclations had
passed unheedcd, was gladly heard when he
challenged the whole course OF his rlvals adj
ministration, and the constituencies sided with
HIM Mr. Gladstone is Prime Minister, to-day,
and something mere. He his turn Is national
hero The vigOr displayed in governing Ire
land after a prolonged period of experimental
legislation aud suspense the successful march
of "A British army in Egypt, the cOrdlality and
respect with which that military intervention
is now viewed in the two capitals, Berlin and
Vienna, where Lord BeacOnsieds trlumphs
we're won, have combined TO strengthen the
| Premier's position before the country. Even
London society comedies that ho is now more
firmly entrenched in popular regard than he
\ was at the time of the general elections. The
lingo prints which not long ago denounced
him AS a garrulous demagogue and a cOnceited
rbetorician. now accord to him "A position as
commanding as that occupied by Lord Bcacons .
field when he landed mt Dover on his return
from Berlin Even in the sight of his relent-
less enemies he is the Grand Old Man." and
with the Nation at large he has the preeini-
nence which intellectual resources and moral
dignity alone can give
But will the national hero of to-day, rs Mr..
| Gladstone is una esilOnably TO be regarded,
sustain the rigid tests which he himself appl ed
to Lord Beac0nsfield in that other hour of
hero worship and popular enchantmcnt Re-
verting TO that famous speech we find that the
Government Of that day was aIraigned for
resorting to secret cOmpacts and policy of
intrigue, while prating about the sanctity of
European obligations for entering into mo
mentous engagements and exceeding the lines
of ordinary precedent without obtaining the
consent of Parliament for working in the dark
and renouncing the English habit of plain
speaking and honest dealing and above all,
for nursuing fictitious interests with "a zeal
u and greediness as if they were the most real
@and vital in the world" Can an indictment
with similar counts be framed against Mr..
Gladstones policy IN Egypt Certainly there
have been 10 secret intrgues ana bargains.
| but rather has the common faith OF treaties
been upheld. Parliament, moreover, has been
consulted at every turn, important respon-
sibilities have not been incurred without its
knowled ge, and the Nation has been allowed
to know what was going on in the Cabinet.
| There have been plain speaking and honest
| dealing and the moral and physical force of