New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-09-04
NOTES FROM LONDON.
Tue COMING ATTACK ON THE HOUSE OF
LORDS-THE GLADSTONIANS-TliE
MAILS-A CONUNDRUM.
London August

oe Lords This paper is an important Gladstonian
orc,n--much the ablest Gladstonian organ in Lon
don-,yth strong dash of something more than
pd;c.lism: il is even moro Socialistic than Rad
;cl Rent, for example, is to its mind something
,,b;ch handful of men" in Ireland exact
from hundreds Of thousands Of tenants II is a
. ,ribute which nation OF tenant farmers has to
nay 10 the lords of the SOIL On this view the
creditor is the enemy the only respectable func-
,ion in life is that Of the debtor Apply 1t TO
commercial transactions and where would the
nation of tenant farmers be?
This Socalstic writer is naturally angry that
ANYBODY should wish 20 deprive the tenants OF
the privilege OF appointing the Judges who are to
determine their disputes with the wicked land
lords lie looks forward TO the rejection OF the
Home Rule bill with rage on account Of the Dill
and with ioy on account of the opportunity 1t
will give him of attacking the House OF Lords.
Meantime, he makes his own opportunity. The
Upper Chamber consists, in his view, simply OF
500 landlords; individually a. negligcaDle as
any other 500 proud, idle, luxurious, ana III the
main stupid and frivolous men who can be gath
cred from any society in the civiiized "o,Ia.
They are going to commit the unspcakablc sin OF
using their constitutional right 10 reject Home
Rule bill which the House Of Commons, by help
of gag and gnilo,inr, will ere long nave passed.
They have done wicked things before now
"They rejected the Compensation for DistuI Dance
Bill: they mutilated the Act OF 1881; on their
guilty heads lies the blood that has been split
the misery that has been endured in Ireland for
the last twelve wears" The rest OF England is
fairly respectable, has thousand interests, com
nris1s mechanics. farmers. 1aboiers sailors, SHOP
leeoers. the whole busy fabric Of modern
civilization Only the Lords are utterly vile.
The House Of Lords stands but for two inter
ests,' rent and snObbery.' Some OF thes'
800 persons" have "abhorrent memories behind
them. There are CastleIeaghs and Clanrlcardes
and there are faithlcss Wings like the Duke OF
Devonshirc, lifelong enemies Of the people Ike
Lord Salisbury" and there are mere 10" evil
lvers and racecourSe notOrietleS. Such Is the
motley throng which possesses the supreme con
s,itutionu balance in our England. NO terms
are to BE- kept with these :" lords and lackeys
vulgar, out-of-date appanages of an Impossible
social system. They have simply got to go.
This will give you some notion OF the nature
Of the attack presently to be expected on the
House of Lords Ii is to be something more than
an attack on political system; on venerable
constitutional body 1t is to be an attack on the
men who compose the Upper Chamber as we'll as
on the Chamber itself The individual members
Of il are to be held up TO hatred and perhaps to
VENGEANCE English mobiles are Perhaps to share
the fate which overlook the French mobiles at
the end OF the last century they may b. robbed
and murdered. great constitutional change l.
desired by this writer and BY those for whom IL"
speaks lie and they want 10 get rld Of the
House of Lords and they think the best way TO
get rid Of the House is 10 get rid OF the Lords
They appeal to prejudice and passion Il'N
single out individuals for punishment. Ihey
denounce the whole class. Such j. the >pillt II
which one sectiaii of the Hadic, wing OF the
Gadstonisn party is prepared u enter upon Tn"
contest.
There is much to be said sOberly AMI weghtily.
in favor Of atoshing the House of Lords. Is
.here anything 10 be said in favor Of attempting
II by snch means as these?
There is A sentence IN a letter from a Liberal
Unionst about a Liverpool election in 1855 whlch
is worth quoting Mr. Forwood had spoken Of
the Liberal candidate then standing-none other
than CAPTAIN O'SIea-is 4 Glodstonan. The
Liberal InOnist objects
lie has no right whatever to apply the term
Gladstonian TO the Liberal OF that pcrIol. We
were Liberals then, not the slaTcs OF amy man.
IL wd, not, in truth, till the following Year that
,he Liberals who followed Mr.. Gladstone down
into the bo'tomcss pit OF Home Rule came to BE-
known as Gladstonians. They had ceased to he
Liberals tie historical Liberal party had ceased
to exist the great majority of ITS abicst ana most
honored .adeis having abandoned MIR. Gladstone
when Mr. Gladstone abandoned the principles
which he and they held in common. II WIS not
convenient TO call them Home Rulers. HAT
name meant too much and too little on could
not call them Radicals for the bulk of those who
preferred Mr. Gladstone 10 his principles were
not at that time Radicals. The word Radical
denoted a wing of the party, inst as the WORD
Home Rulers denoted, in popular speech, the
Irish Nationalist. So the arty came naturally I"
he called Gladstonjabs. They were the followers
Of particular individual named Clad'r"hc'
Allegiance to Inn the sole distinguishing CHAR
acterstic they all had in comln"n There was
no pripc,ple nor set Of principles, no political
creed no programme at that time, 20 which they
all subscribed The only scientific method OF
description was to give them the name which M
d,catctl the md of union between tl,en the one
quality they all had. and which no other party or
80, of individuals had; blind, unr"asoning, SUD
mjssive devotion TO Mr.. Gladstone
The name was never meant rs term OF political
onurobium or reproach. 1t simply an at
rcn,;,t 1T classification and convenience. Mr.
Gladstone who knew the value attaching 20 the
". rd Liberal, early tried to remove tins iapei
fom his supporters. lie protested not 10 under
stand it, nj declared that he was no; himself a
Gladstonian: inatatiDe, consciously or uncon-
sciously, Wilkes, who declared lie was not q
WIlkitc But there is IL law OF political noheh-
clatnrc az there is law for most other th'h2s'
4 maine which is CONVENIENT ana ucscr'p'lN" II
ant 70 stick. and this has stuck and from 1886
down 70 the present day the rliIrp of the Liberal
Marty have been known as Gladstonians and are
lkelr to continue so to I've known. In caucnScs
and in party speeches and documents they con-
tiwnc 10 use the word Liberal, but III" word IN
q, neral uscs the other and more accurate tl'ie'
Not content with slowing down the Alherr"
mail service from Southampton. the BRUSH ros'
ofice is proving its inpartiality by stopping '''
speri,l service between Queenstown and London