The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1898-05-26

the case of any other man, or of the same
man in any other country, especially in the
United States, this very uniformity OF Sc
riousness and awful dignity would have
made him the subject of satire. Dozens Of
names would have been invented for him.
But let him take what position he might,
Englishmen have unanimously credited
him with being terribly in earnest. In fact,
II they had thought him less earnest his
opponents would have thought him much
less dangerous.
Whatever his position might be at a
given time, he really believed in It. 1t be
came a part of his religion. And IL an her
pened that nearly all the great issues of hIs
time have been closely connected with re-
hgious tenets. To have men of such un.
yielding convictions is we'll, but that they
are not a majority among the public men
Of any country is so well.
Americans find 10 difficulty in under
standing why Mr. Gladstone has been so
fercely hated or 90 cordially liked by diff
ferent factions In England, for the contro-
versy there bears an unpleasantly close re-
semblance to that in the United States i'm
mediately following the civil war 1t Is,
however, little strange that the most
fanatic attacks should have come from
such a scientist as Huxley, the most venom.
Gus assaults from the poet Swinburne and
the keenest thrusts from the philosophic
Lecky and the historian Froude.
His Conservative Youth.
His father, John Gladstone, was a prom.
inent merchant, and his mother was Of
Scotch royal descent The family was OF
the old conservative kind, and the father
held Office as Tory at Liverpool, where
William Ewart Gladstone was born Dec.
90, 1902 After the usual course at Eton
he entered at Christ's Church, Oxford, and
apparently absorbed all the conservatism of
that intensely conservative old Tory strong
hold. He passed through the excitement
then prevailing on church affairs-it sooD
after produced the so called "TractariaD
movement" and the conversion of John
Henry Newman, late cardinal--and was
not even shaken; he witnessed the frantic
war against Sir Robert Peel, member for
Oxford, on account Of his advocacy of Cath
ollie emancipation, and yet was not moved
10 liberal views; he listened to the elo-
quence Of the young reformers and as far
as can be judged regarded it with contempt.
In short, the youth was almost unnaturally
conservative.
Gladstone and the United States.
As is we'll known, Mr.. Gladstone's sym.
pathies were with the south during the
civil war. During the later years Of his life
his views concerning America like his views
on almost everything but Homer, under
went decided change, and for many years
he was an ardent admirer Of the United
States, its people and its government.
America has a magnificent future" he
once said to an American friend, 'if the
people are only true to their possibilities.
Before the close Of the Goth century tho
vast continent embraced within the limits
of the United States, stretching from the
Atlantic TO the Pacific and from the Gulf
of Mexico to the great lakes of the north,
will be the home of 800 ,000,0 of freemen,
representing every nation upon earth, vaster
IN extent and population than the Roman
empire in its palmiest days, but free from
the danger that attended the extension Of
that empire among barbarous peoples, which
was the primary and potent cause of the
decline and fall of the greatness of Rome.
Every true Engllshman should be proud Of
the progress of the United States, for the
Americans are our kith and kin, having
the same literature, the same langrage
and the same sturdy love of political indie
pendence. The wrestling of Magma Charta
from King John prepared the way for the
battle of Bunker Hill and the Declaration
Of independence"
His Political Career Summarized.
In 1881 he was graduated with brilliant
triumph, and the next year entered parlia-
ment in the good old Tory way-"accept-
ing the seat for Newark by the grace Of the
Duke of Newcastle" He Hecontinued to rep
resent that borough till 1916, but as Glad
stone then showed signs of becoming lib
eral the duke gave the seat to another,
claiming, as he said, "the right to do what
he would with his own" In 1884 Glad
stone first took office" as under secretary
for the colonies, Sir Robert Peel being pre-
mier. Being thrown out" as the English
phrase is, by the defeat of Peel in 1885, he
employed his leisure in literary work and
published the once elebrated-perhaps one
should say notorious-"Church and State"
1t Is now remembered chiefly because Of
Macaulay's savage criticism of it in the
Edinburgh Review.
In 1910 he put forth another peculiar work
on church affairs. In lS4l he again took a
place in the cabinet and soon became emf
nent as a financier. In 1916 he resigned be-
cause the government favored the Catholic
college in Ireland, but soon came in again.
In lS47 he was chosen to represent Oxford,
and then, foE the first time, began to advo-
cate liberal measures, the first being the
bill for removing the disabilities Of the
Jews, which he had opposed in 1S4l. In
1872 he became leader of the Liberals
and entered on that long contest with Dis
raeli, which continued without truce till
1875, when Disraeli became Beaconsfield
and entered the house of lords.
Mr.. Gladstone was four times prime min
lister of England, first taking Office in 1868.
In 1873 his ministry was defeated by coali-
ton of Tories and home rulers ON the edu-
cation question, but as the opposition could
not organize he was restored only to be
again defeated the next year. Six years
later, In 1880, having during his retirement
conducted a vigorous campaign against the
government both on the platform and by
means Of pamphlets, directing his attacks
mainly against the policy which resulted
In the treaty of Berlin, under which the
Turks were left rulers of millions of OPP
pressed Christians, he was again raised to
power. This time his ministry endured
until 1885 by combination Of Tories and
Parnellites on the budget. In 1886 he re-
gained the feins, but held them for short
time only, the home rule problem proving
fatal to his continuance In power. Lord
Salisbury was then chosen prime minister,
and Gladstone was out until 1892, when,
after an exciting general election, parliar
ment showed majority of 40 against the
Conservative government.
The Mobbing OF Gladstone,
"Gladstone in danger from a mob, He
takes refuge in hallwayp
IT. xubn raad 10 Sn,v sa
statement will seem Incredible Yet it was
O fact, and so late as 1873. The English peo-
pie had on one OF their periodical war
.xNta, a 10 NJ