St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-31
THE GRAND old man.
His Views on the Result Of
Our Late Elee-
tiOnS.
Free Trade He Thinks Would
Advance Wages in
America.
AS Long as America Maintains
Protection England Will
Lead in Commerce.
His Opinion on the Irish
People and Their
Cause.

New York Sun.
On my way home from England met
Col. John Atkinson, prominent law
yer of Detroit, who has the Irish cause
very much at heart, and has spent
vacation of a couple of months in close
association with the leaders OF the
Home Rule party in the British parlia-
ment. Col. Atkinson gives the follow
ing interesting account of a converSa-
ton with Mr.. Gladstone, in which the
great Liberal leader expressed himself
freely in regard to the issues of the late
presidential election in this country.
Through the kindness of the dow
ager Lady Sandhurst," said Col. Atkin-
son, Il was invited to lunch with MIR.
and Mrs. Stuart Rendeli at the old man.
sion of Robert Peel in Whitehall gar
denS. The guests were Mr.. and Mrs.
Gladstone, Herbert Gladstone, Lady
Sandhurst, Sir James Carmichael and
a few othe who escape me. We were
seated at a round table in the spacious
dining room, which looks out upon the
gardens between the house and the Vic
toria embankment. The view is charm
ing. One would fancy himself i'll the
country among trees and hills rather
than in the very heart of the great city.
Il had been told that Mr.. Gladstone
might he present, for no one presumeS
to hold him to any fixed engagement. so
| absorbing are his duties. Mrs. Glad
stone and sons came in with the other
guests. A vacant chair upOn my left
| remained unOccupied during the first
course. Mr. Gladstone came in with a
light, quick step and passed around the
| table, shaking hands with all. l was,
apparently the only stranger to be in
! trOduced. He took his seat beside me
and opened the conversation by asking
| if had left America before or since the
| election. He was looking more like
man of sixty-iive than one approaching
eighty. He wore an old-fashioned
| black Prince Albert, a necktie of black
trousers. His face is familiar to all
| from his pictures, but they fail to indi-
| cate the intense animation of his face.
He seems youthful i'll all his ways. He
| inquired about the campaign i'll Amer
! lea, and particularly whether the fish
erieS treaty had entered very largely
| into discussions before the people.
ventured the opinion that, while it was
| often mentioned, it played no great
| part.
"'Do you think?' he asked, that pro-
! lection and free trade formed the issue"
Il said Yes
"'And which side were you On?'
"'I was for protection
He expressed some surprise that
| protection should have such a hold upon
| Americans, but said: Il never argue
| with man from another country about
affairs which are purely domestic. Every
| nation must Judge for itself what is best
| for itself. But what was the chief argu-
ment for protection%
| Il said: The main argument was
| that free trade would cripple our INDUS
tries, deprive us of our home market
and. compel us, in competing with
Europe, to reduce wages to the standard
of Europe
"'Do you Know said he, that by and
! through free trade wages have advanced
! in England"
Il answered that it was generally adj
mitted that English wages had adj
vanced since free trade was adopted,
but some of our people attributed the
advance to other causes. lie said he
regarded free trade as the cause.
land do you think, Mr.. Gladstone
| said, that free trade would affect us
the same way?'
~ think so. AS long as America
maintains protection, England will be
| the foremost of commercial nations, but
when America adopts free trade we
must take a second place. You may
say this is arguing against England's
| interest. Not so. England would gain
| immensely by free trade i'll America,
| but America would gain still more.
| You must promise me- he said, with
! smile, to get rid of your protective no
| tons
Il answered: we are young. If any
man could convert us you could. We
may adopt yOur system by and by when
we are ready to compete with you Oh
equal terms
IL will take the promise, but tell me
| how did the Republicans get the Irish
| vote?'
Il said the Irish vote was still largely
| Democratic.
"'Are you certain of that?'
"'Yes. sir; think the Republicans
| did not get to exceed % per cent of the
| Irish voters
'He expressed his surprise and said:
! in England it was generally supposed
| the Irish people went over in body to
the Republicans. But, are the Irish
prOtectionistS?'
Il told him many Of them drew from
! their own history the conclusion that,
| as England crushed the Industries of
| Ireland by force. SHE might accomplish
| the same thing by free trade in Amer
| lea. This led him to the subject of
| Grattan's parliament When he said,
| 1T is conceded ireland advanced rap
| idly, and yet, so conceding, there are
people who argue against home rule.
| How do the Americans feel toward Ire
land?'
"'All parties sympathize with your
| efforts for Ireland. Both of the great
| parties expressed their sympathies in
| their Platforms
| Yes lie said. Mr. Depew, a most
| intelligent gentleman, told me twelve
! out of every thirteen Americans were
| with US. But Mr.. Chamberlain Game
| home from Washington and said he
| found no one not against us. Which is
right?'
"'Mr. Depew is right
"'And how said he. do the Irish
| Americans feel toward us?'
THE observation-disclosures | SAID, feel
very differently toward England now
from the way they once felt. You have
| won the hearts of the Irish people, not
| merely for yourself, but for your cOun-
| try
81 hope So he added. 'The Irish
people have suffered untold ab0mina-
| tons at our hands. ] believe implicitly
in Irish honor and Irish hearts. All
| they want is justice. Do you think
| many lrishmen of means would return
| to Ireland and replace the capital which
| the Tories allege would be Withdrawn
| in case of home rule?'
81 said the old land was very dear to
| the race, and many would return to edu-
cate their children and spend their de-
clining years among their own people.
''He said: i am glad to hear you say
so. 1t has seemed to me as if it must
be So