New-York tribune., 1886-03-07
SUPPLEMENT.
PAGES 9 go II.
THE GLADSTONE MINISTRY.
,ur ROYAL HoUs EHoLD-THE YiCEROY OF
IRELAND


and among them ali uune 50 much as the great post
for 40 Il is reel koned-of Mistress of the Robes III
j. not that the Prime Minister and the Queen are aI
odds about the matter. Dir. Gladstone, IL Is S'''"
by his friends has lett to Her Majesty the selection
OF the LADIES who TO FIJI these exalted dlSh''eS
But Her Majesty, can only choose among Lioc.""
and has not set found the GIT people l"o i''
t1eSS of the Robes must be, according 10 tradIt"h
md usayn "A Duchess. Tie place bas not Oeeh hei'
within iiving knowledge by ANYBODY Oh less lahN'
Ana now 10 Duchess can be found 10 take H. one
must be of the same politics rs thc lt''o 'i'"s0'
nnd it appears that the Prime Minister huihoo'S
among his adherents not single mariieu D"No
The list of Liberal Dukes is, at best short one
IL Includes however, the heads oil the thfe" Ste"V
Liberal families of England. tho kuSse'ls' the
C,vcn,Iishes the Grosvcnurs. Strange times indeed
when all these hoid aIooi FROM Il Liberal Govern
ment But 50 it is The Duke of BEDFORD whose
disrontent with the drItt of Mr.. Gladstone policy
has for sume limo been an open secrct PuolcN "'i-
nouuced his secession some weeks slhce' p"' ioi
This. the Duchess of Bedford wOnd have been MIS-
tress of the Robes in this aS she was Ill Tue i'S'
Cl,dstone Government The Duko of Devonshire Is
unmarried, but he 200 rs well known 10 DC III
Affected to the Homo Rule Liberalism "l the hoi'
and Lord IIartiugtOns refusal 10 accept once was
With the entire concurrence of his father. The
Tns present DdChess of Cleveland IS Lord ho'c-
berys mother but there seems to be no nope "i het
filing tie vacant place. The Duke of Grafton. 10
whom, Mr. Gladstone gave a Garter, Is unmarried.
There il a Duchess Of ST. Albaus, known to LONDON
rs one OF the accomplished of women but one
of the last who would accept anything at the hahdS
OF the Government. The new Duke ot somerset is
wiGeless so is the Duke of Newcastle both nonl-
pally Liberals The Duke of Leicester Is rich land
lord The Duke Of RoXbuighc has, 10 Dehall ol his
WIFE, declined. account oi political Disagreement
with Mr. Gladstone the PROPOSAL that his vile
sbonld resume the Robes which she held in success
soc to the Duchess of Bedford during the last TWO
wears of Mr.. Giad,tone's last Government There
remain only the Duke of Argyll, long since divided
frop, Mr. Gl ,dstone and the Duke of Westminster.
whose breach with his former leader Is not less vide
for being more recent.
la these distressing circumstances what Is MI
Gladstone to do The malicious gossip ol the
Carlton will tell you that the Prime Minister in
tends fortbwith to create six Dukes, in the
hope that some of tine six may have VIE WHO
will not refuse to be Mistress OF the Robes Inc more
authentic view is that departure from tTadluch
Will be made and that the Queen will agree to en-
t.,st the Robes to the custody OF a 'uerc Marchon-
ess or even Countess. More than one name Is men
tened but it might be ndelicate to repeat them in
print One of these ladies is sad to hold the opin-
son that her acceptance woulI involve the promo
ton of her husbaEd to a DukedOm.
The time may come when these offices in the
Toyal Household shall cease to be political but II
is not vet nor is the distribution OF them less
so.emnity than ever. The Queen Is great Con
servatiye in all such matters and Mr.. Gladstone
himself is har ily less Some OF his kad cal sup
porter, make light of the detection of the Dukes.
Not go the Radical leader: If such We are TO term
Mr.. Gladstone: term less coveted noN than II was
last wear. and one which even Alr Chamberlain IS
SAID at present to renouncs IN favor OF the more
comprehensive word Liberal. All his life long MIR.
Gladstone has cung with affection 10 the traditions
of party and the tradition OF the Liberal party as
sociatcs with IL fortunes all these great person ges
who now decline 10 look upon Liberalism ana
Home Rule as convertible terms. Ihe poltica'
authority of the House OF Lords has diminished
ard is diminishing The prestige oi the leers IN
the tOnntry is also perhaps diminishing, Int many
OF them retain great influence III politics as IN
other things 1t cOnld not he otherwise III coun-
try still so lar as England is from breaking witn ITS
past. Though they no longer rule England they are
among her chief citizens, and the accident OF title
does not make thcm less except by excluding
tnem from the real centre of political power, the
House of [ OnmOus. You may be sure, at any rate.
that Mr. Gladstone endured no slight cbasrln when
lie came to cast mp his ministerial accounts ana
folnd that 40 less than fourteen Peers had been
Asked and had re u ed to take Office under HIM.
Among those who did not refuse, he who holds
the most important Office outside of The Cabinet Is
the new Viceroy of Ireland, the Earl OF Aberdeen.
Nil Gladstone has more loyal supporter, and per
haps not many closer personal friends. during
Mr.. Gladst0ne's progress through Scotland III the
snmmcr and autumn of 1894 Lord Aberdeen was
. ,;,Isf IaItl Haas
not The least memorable of those which he then
made In recent years be has often spent Saturday
to Monday with Lord aud Lady Aberdeen at their
place near London. In writing the other day of
the late Lord Shafte,bury, spoke Of this young
Scottish Lar his probable successor III some
parts of his religious and charitable WORK. lie has
already taken up more than one OF the burdens
which fell from the shoulders of that venerable
Peer Lord Aberdeen has never pushed his claims
to public employment. Mr.. Gladstone's offer of the
Niceroyalty was. | believe, complete surprise to
hin. but it was proposed ia a way which hardly
LEFT him at liberty tO refuse. The only criticisms
heard upon il are that Lord Aberdeen Is very
young man for so splendid post, and that he is
Scotch Presbyterian. The latter cannot signify
much in days when Irish policy is to be founded,
in part, ON the idea of ignoring religious differ
ences Nor 10 youth a disqualification in Govern
ment which incndes Lord ROsebery, Lord Sand
harst Mr. Arnold Morley, and others well under
forty among its members.
Nor does the Viceroyalty of Ireland cease to he
an office OF great dignity and influence because the
holder of it is not in the Cabinet Cabinet is a
mushroom coucern; quite modern in its present
constitution. There have been, under one name or
smother Viceroys, Lords Lieutenant and Governors
OF Ireland, for more than seven hundred years In
these days the Viceroy Is sometimes the person to
whom the eli of political authority and responsible
ity for the government OF Ireland are entrusted
sometimes it, is To the Chief Secretary that these
fail Lord Aber5e een's relation to Mr.. John Morley
will be much the same as that which Earl Cowper
held 10 SIR Forster.
The sncial and renresentatiye functions of the