The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1895-02-18
SOME ENGLISH STATESMEN.
Lord Randolph Churchilrs Opinion
Of Mr.. Gladstone

Aoru nanuOipn Cnurcnlhs opinion
Of Mr.. Gladstone
In an article in the New York Tri-
bune, Mr.. g. w. Smalley tells of
Lord Randolph Churchill's opinion
Of Mr.. Gladstone:
/ owe to Lord Randolph himself
an account OF his one personal inter
view with Mr.. Gladstone on public
business. 1t was while he was Chan
cellor OF the Exchequer. Mr.. Glad
stone was then at DOLLS Hill, the
Kilburn villa which Lord Aberdeen
put at his disposal as often aud as
long as he cared to use it-half an
hours drive from Connaught Place,
where Lord Randolph then lived.
Finance is one OF the two or three
subjects which have always had a
permanent interest for the great
Liberal, and he had asked the young
Conservative Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer to come out and talk with
him on some points then at issue
with respect to the public accounts.
He went the next afternoon, aud was
received by Mr.. Gladstone under an
apple tree in the garden. You may
be certain that on neither side was
there thought OF political antago-
nism between them, or OF their con-
tests in the House. Such contests in
England seldom leave any bitterness
behind. They met as two English
gentlemen who had something to
discuss. They had q long talk. Mr..
Gladstone stated his views with that
tremendous energy so characteristic
Of him; putting all his force OF intel
lect into his argument "For the
first time in my life" said Lord Ran
dolph, II felt myself in the presence
Of a superior being" That always
seemed to me remarkable confess
sion. 1t became more SO when he
went on to draw kind OF contrast
between Mr.. Gladstone and Lord
Salisbury. 81 have known Lord
Salisbury all my life, intimately.
was his friend and colleague. He
was my chief. He is a great man
and a great leader, with the mental
range and the force OF character you
know. II never occurred to ME to
be afraid OF him, or to think Of my
self with reference to him as other
than an equal. A better man than
!, no doubt, and an older, but still
Of the same clay. Mr.. Gladstone is
. being apart. You know how the
royalties regard themselves, as il
they were OF another race, and the
meanest royalty far above the high.
est OF other than royal blood. That
is the impression Gladstone made on
me. He was not merely greater, bat
dissimilar. ] had to discuss fnance
with him. l did the best ] could
with the discussion aud argument,
az do in the House, where never
hesitated to face him, as you know.
In private it is another matter. /
could argue, but before the man
himself l bent"
Hard things, see, are said about
Lord Randolph's hard hitting in his
House OF Commons controversies
with Mr.. Gladstone. He himself ad-
mitted, with the generous frankness
which was in him, that he had some
times struck too heavily. You COM
mented the other day on his descrip-
ton OF his great opponent in 1886 as
an old man in a hurry. 1t was the
one thing which Lord Randolph
himself most regretted. "But," l
said, at was a perfectly true and
picturesque account OF the matter"
He would not admit that the truth
OF it atoned for the severity. "Of
course it was true" he admitted.
1T summed up the situation. Never
would Gladstone have taken the line
he did, or dealt with home rule in
the way he did, or tyrannized over
his party as he did, had he been
twenty years younger. But l ought
not to have said it,"