New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-03
Literary NesOS and Criticism.


| It's members were attentive and Industrious In
| the course OF four months Mr. csors+ srol,o ,os
times and asked Is questions Sir TIerr,, y1-o,4s
| spoke So times and asked "a questions and Lord
| Randolph Churchill spoke "A times and asked
| Il questions Mr.. Balfour was far less active
pu' Some Oh the speeches which he made were
| singularly to the point Gladstone # will be
remembered was always delighted to answer
! questions and 20 expound obscure points in a
debate and OF this weakness the Fourth PARTY"
took advantage. Lord Randolph would rise and
request the Prime Minister 20 explain some
clause in the pending bill. Gladstone would do
so deliberately. Then Mr.. Gorst would rise
thank the Prime Minister for his lucid explana-
ton, which had made everything perfectly clear
save one single point, upon which he would be
grateful for a word. Gladstone would explain
that second point. Then Sir Henry Wolff would
tell how clear the whole matter was to him.
with the exception of a single item. "If you
speak again." growled Sir William Harcourt to
Gladstone one such occasion, I'VE shall be
here till morning"
Uncertain health now and then interrupted his
Parliamentary activities and drove Lord Ran
dolph abroad on which occasions he enriched
epistoary literature with letters to family and
friends, sometimes grave and sometimes gay
a characteristic one was addressed TO Sir Henry
Wolff:
You will he glad 10 hear that the Emperor OF
or Saturday last at Count Lehndorff's. This
peror by meeting him. The Emperor was very
guarded in his conversation, which confined to
hd S" m Sn hh Ofeh bis
-. have reason to believe. though it is humil-
iating To confess Il. that the fame Of the Fourth
Party has not yet reached the ears Of this deSPot
wanted US to go the next SE night when they
had arranged some tabeaus for the old boy;
deep mourning. We did not come here to kow-tow
to hoo m0nar rra have Just been 1 reading
we have played together we have played wrong.
cheque for f25. being the amount YOU have un-
justly and Illegally taken away from me.
To Gladstone, who had sense of humor,
Lord Randolph whose Parliamentary speeches
were sometimes as recklessy 1ippant as his let
tiers, must have seemed guilty of sacrilege. To
the young statesman's friends. his ebulitions,
when they seemed almost shocking in their
irreterence for Cog and Magog. were actually
endearing so vital they with unconven-
tional but sincere human nature. Behind all his
fippancy, however, there was a mass Of solid
craftsmanship such as few Of his colleagues
could surpass or even rival. The rise of Par
nellism brought him forward as a leading
thority Irish affairs. He vigorously opposed
I Gladstone's coercion, though his illness COM
PEELED him to leave to Mr.. Balfour the making of
the Fourth Party's set speech against the
Treaty of Kilmainham-a speech of exceptional
power 1t was at about this time that the gov
eminent began to try to prevent the Fourth
Party's innumerable questions and motions by
itself filling the notice paper with blocking no
tees"
Lord Randolph deliberately described these
bona-ade motions" Oh said Mr. Labouchere
o%h Second tb rond d Randolph
instantly, and forthwith proceeded TO repeat the eX
preston.
His quarrel with the older leaders of the Con-
sentative party, and especially with Sir Stafford
Northcote eliminated. in 1888. in his famous
letters to The Tines and his Mantle of
Elijah" article in The Fortnightly Review"
He outlined his Tory Democracy" policy with
luminous vigor, and with Sir Henry Wolff
founded the Primrose League for the propaga-
ton OF that policy well as for the cherishing
of Disraelfs ZANE. His repute as a parlia-
rnentary debater was enhanced by his reply TO
Gladstone on the Affirmation bill. in the Brad
laugh case, and then, in 1884, came one Of the
climacteric points in his career. At Birming-
ham he became involved in a bitter controversy
with Bright and with Mr. Chamberlain, calling
the latter a 'pinchbeck Robespierre" as he had
also called Gladstone the ''MOloch of Mid
lothian" The notable feature of the incident
was however that Lord Randolph then started,
and Mr. Chamberlain bitterly opposed, that far
trade" or protectionist movement Of which Mr.
Chamberlain has in later years become the chief
epostle II suspect free imports OF the murder
OF our industries" he said at Backpool, much
in the same way as If I found man standing
over a corpse and plunging his knife into II l
should suspect that man of homicide" Yet three
wears later, when in Office. he declined to en-
courage the movement which he himself had
started for reform Of the tariff. That was prob
ablv because he realized the party was not yet
ready for so radical change, and he wished 10
. retain the leadership which he had won after so
hard campaign.
If was in this part of his career that MS per-
hans most notable passage of words with CLAD
stone occurred In the heat Of a debate on the
reform bill he charged the Prime Minister with
having 'traduced" his opponents:
Mr. Gladstone violently incensed deIe GrS Rd 5he
wore .uI.,oeSiatelv rose TO order and asked The
SrGfoler whether The Prime Minister was 10 De a.!
lowed 10 use words Whlct Wo9u ne boned Mr.
in any other member. Inc SIe51;eI 49, 1tIe ex
Gladstone would not insist on i}o vas accent
"a as a withdrawal though IIIs - ~ this
not favor that construct ion. II IS sl,u 49, NJ
lninsetone incurred the rebuke Of the ChalI L|Iu
Randolph seems TO have been distressed d H''"s
o4euded his great antagonist so deeply
1-ror the accession Of Lord Salisbury at the
! boad of a Conservative government All eyes
| +,,r,,ad TO Lord Randolph as a minister ana as
| leader Of his party in the House But he NM
! GOLF was hopeless. Il am very near the emu
| - ,,, tether' he said. In the last hVe years
/ have lived twenty. l have fought society.
/ 7 rsse fought Mr.. Gladstone at the head OF
no toritv. I have fought the front Oppo-
! s,tio, bench Now / am hghtlng LORD SallS-
9it-o have said will not join the govern
/ ha of