The Irish standard., 1886-09-04
MR.. GLADsTONE's PAMPHLET.

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vigorous and logical writer is also large
and deserved. The pamphlet contains
ffty-eight pages, and is equal if not su'
perior in the excellence Of Its style
to the one by the same gentleman
on the Bulgarian atrocities. Before
going into particulars Mr.. Gladstone
compares it with the article he wrote OF
his change of attitude regarding the
Irish Church.
"But," he says, sin the present case
I have no change to indicate, but have
only to poiut out the mode in which my
language and conduct were governed by
uniformity Of principle. [ have simply
followed the various stages by which the
great question Of autonomy for ireland
has been brought to the stage of ripe
ness for actual legislation.
The brochure is under two heads. The
first is the history of an idea in which
Mr.. Gladstone summarizes the following
conditions, under which alone, i'll his
view, Home Rule became positive
First, the abandonment of the hope
Parliament could serve as q passable
Legislative instrument for Ireland or
second, the unequivocal demand Of the
Irish members, the possibility of deal
ing with Scotland in similar way in
circumstances Of equal and equally clear
desire.
Mr.. Gladstone then defends himself
from the charge Of having sprung The
Home Rule measure on his friends. Re-
plying to the charges of Harrington and
Chamberlain that he had conceived the
idea precipitately, and the charge of
Bright that he had concealed it unduly,
he denies that it is the duty Of a Minis
ter to make known even to his colleagues
every idea forming in his mind, and
which would tend to confuse and retard
instead OF aid business He says:
s;What is true is that had not in
public and in principle condemned it,
and also that had mentally considered
it, and for the very simple reason that it
was ready for adoption or rejection"
Mr.. Gladstone then points out that
during all the earlier years Of his public
life the alternatives were repeal OH the
one hand and on the other the relief Of
Ireland from grievances. Tt was not
possible at that time to prognosticate
how in short time Parliament would
stumble and almost writhe under. it's
constantly accumulating burdens, or to
pronounce that ii would eventually
prove incapable OF meeting the wants OF
Ireland. Evidently there was period
when Irish patriotism, as represented by
O'Connell, looked favorably upon this
policy and had no fixed con-
clusion as to the absolute necessity for
home government, and seemed to allow
that measures founded on justice to Ire
land might possibly suffice to meet the
necessity of the case. Mr.. Gladstone
quotes his own acts and utterances
from 1871 to the present to show that he
favor ed Home Rule for Ireland, but not
Once ripe the time for ac-
ton had come. The healing Of inveter-
ate sores would only become more diff
cult, Che growth of budding hopes more
liable to be checked and paralyzed by
the frost Of politics. For England. in
her soft arm chair, leisurely-very leis-
MISREPRESENTATION with adiournments
interposed, as it had been usual, so
would it have been comfortable but for
Ireland in her leaky cabin it was of con-
sequence to stop out the weather.
In the second portion of the pamphlet,
the lessons of the elections, Mr.. Glad
stone begins drawing certain lessons
from the elections as they affect the Lib
eral party. He estimates the loss 10 the
Liberal party to the Unionist schism at
two-sevenths Of the whole, but this frac-
tion is distributed very unequally
among the classes. 1t has commanded
fve-sixths of the Liberal peers. but not
more than one-twentieth Of the Liberal
workingmen.
Mr.. Gladstone sees further ground for
hope in the abatement that has already
taken place in the Tory opposition,
Look at the question which way we will
the cause Of Irish self-goyernment lives
and moves and can hardly fail to receive
more life, more propulsion from the
hands of those who have been successful
in one of its particular forms.
It will arise as wounded warrior some
times on the field of battle and stabs to
The heart some soldier of the victorious
army who had been ezulting over
him.
After referring to the abs,lrdity of the
of the Tories, that Home Rule
for Ireland would be the first step to-
wards the absolute disintegration of the
British Empire, Mr.. Gladstone candidly
H. oo-,co sc l:o