New-York tribune., 1886-03-21
GLADSTONE'S CONVERSION.
HOW AND WHEN IT OCCURRED-SIR HENRY
JAMES'S TESTIMONY.

-rrou THE RrGrI Ar coRREsroNp' rur rRrW'vE
LONDON March >.
Your correspondent Sir Michael Meg deserves
an answer IL Only for the courteous terms in which
he enters upon his criticism. He docs not Ike my
speaking of Mr.. Glads.One's conversion" to
Home Rule and lie asks me to remember that Mr..
Gladstone had SAID something IN favor OF some
measure of Irish self government so long ago as
1882. No doubt he had, and | may venture to as-
sure your correspondent that had not forgotten It,
Nor was lss2 the date of Mr.. Gladstones first dec
laration to that effect He has several times SAID
that he was ready consider the question wien
ever anv Irish l-ader should have Home Rnle
scheme 10 propose. In 1877, for example. he PLAIN
y EXPRESSED his desire his anXiOus desire to escape
from Irish obstruction in the Imperial Leglslat-
ure. and indicated his belief in the possibility of
some plan by which Parliament SHOULD be lib
Grated from Irish questions. and from the pres
ence Of Irish members bent OH preventing all par
hamcntary work.
But the difference between Mr. Gladst0nes attl-
tude toward the Irish question then and now IS
none the less marked and unmistakIhle IL IS
doubtful whether he then looked upOn separate
Irish Parliament as measure OF practical polItlcs'
even in the dim and distant future. II is certain
that neither then for n long time aiterwah
had he reached the point of framing snch measure
himself. His constant challenge 10 the Home
Rulers was: Propose your scheme ii y0u have
scheme and let us consider it on ITS merits Most
OF his followers understood that challenge as an cN-
press on Of Mr. Gladstone's doubt of the feasibility
of any Home Rule scheme whatever, if made broad
enough to satisfy the Irish irreconciabl"s. BE
that as il NAV his challenge was never taken up.
70 this dav Mr.. Parnell has never Submitted 80
much as the outline of u measure He has SaId
what would not satisfy him. He has never said
what would. and when he came nearest to 1t he spoke
of Grattans Parliament as an irredncbc mini
mum; well knowing thaC the reconstruction OF
Grattdns Parliament is about practicable as the
reconstitutIor of the Kingdom OF Stronghow.
Mr.. Gladstone is now the third stage. First,
he had brought himself, many years since to look
upon Home Rule i'm some shape as n theoretical pos
sibiIty Second, he summoned the Irish to pro
duce their measure. Last December the theoretical
possibility all at presented itself 10 him as not
only within the range of practical politics, bnt rs
MEASURE of immediate and III gent nee sstv. II il
this last change in his view of the subject which
have spoken of as his conversion. Not the least
striking feature of il IS the taclt Abandonment OF the
rcpruted demand npon Mr.. Parnell TO produce HE
scheme ard the effort in which Mr. Gladstone is
now engaged to frame bill of his own. In the
history o! English politics there are feN more re
mavkabe incidents than the announcement of this
change Of front which came fi0m llawarien toward
the end oil Last year. lncIc nave SINCE IuCu-
atoms. oa which need not now dwell. / wrote of
them as they occurred. But never imputed to Mr..
Gladstone any motive for this change not consist
ent with the purest patriotism and the most consci
cntIons purpose. say this without referring 10
ANYTHING have written, but simply because am
sure can never have suggested what did not
believe. Nor 10 think have done senOuS njust-
Ice-or any nusticc-to Mr.. Gladstone. Whether
think him right or wrong aud likely to succeed or
fail y bessie the question ! certainly have never
SAID nor thought that his Friendship TO Ireland
began with ibis new departure. have, on the con
trary. many tires during many years past eX-
pressed my conviction that Mr. Gladstone was the
trucst and most useful friend Ireland had. ! said
so when the Irish leaders were dcnOuncin@ him as
| an enemy and an oppressor and AM not likely to
change my view now that they are hcaping eulogics
on the man they long taught Il cir followers to eX-
ecrate and whom they did their utmost only Last
| autumn to banlsh forever from public life.
THIS last fact is indeed decisive to this matter
| of Mr. GIadstOne's conversion. TIL" general cleo
ton was held in November and December Mr.
ParnelI in person, and the League of which he is
| President by the mouth of a Committee denounced
| the party of which Mr. Gladstone the leader
| "a PARTY " hlch was ready to hand over Ireland TO
chains, Imprisonment, and death. BY Alr. Parnells
! 0rlers the Irish vote was thrown solid against
| every Liberal candidate. four excepted who were
| recognized. as antI-cOerciOnlsts and Home Rulers
| Parliament met in January, and within fort-
night Mr. PANEL had turned ont Lord Salisbury
| and put Mr.. Gladstone in the Office. Why BE
cause of MI. Gladstones conversion. If anything Is
notorious it is notorious that in the interval be-
tween the elections and the meeting OF Parliament
Mr.. Gladstone had resolved to go in Tor Home Rule
| He has come back TO power IN order to carry Home
Rule and to carry IL by help of that very alliance
| with Mr.. Parncl by that very dependence on his
support. which he himself had described year be
fore as peril TO the Kingdom. If that be not con
version it would be difficult to say what is. The
| best witnesses against your correspondent
| SIR Michael are Nj. Parnell and his followers
! Four months ago they revled him from every
platform and in every Irish paper. To-day they
| abound in eulogies Oh him. If Mr. Gladstone has
not changed they have changed, and that pre-
sumo is nOta proposition which Sir Michael would
| care TO MAINTAIN.
| should have thought the whole matter too PLAIN
) for argument, but it to be desirable and
full at times 10 restate in plain terms facts which
are of general knowledge. l might go on to ask
why if there had been no change in Sir Gladstone,
! Lord Harrington refused 10 join Mr. Gladstone's
! Ministry why did Mr.. Bright refusef Why did
| Mr. Goschen1 Why did Sir Henry Jamesf Ii Mr..
| Gladstone had undergone 10 change, why did so
many of his colleagues in his last Government re-
fuse 10 be his colleagues now 7 If there had been
All atom of doubt before. the speech of Sin Henry
James yesterday at Bury sts the question at rest
forever II ere are many points IN Sir Henry Jamess
speech which deserve attention 1t is one of those
speeches which make epoch in mans life
which lift him higher i'll the public and in the
esteem of honorable nen. But can refer now only
to his statement of the which hept him out
OF Mr.. Giadstone's Ministry.
Sir Henry James tells the story plainly as it
can be told, with due regard to the obligations of
confidence and Of confidential intercourse with Mr.
Gladstone When he appeared before the electors