The Warrington Examiner. — 1871-12-16 (Warrington, Cheshire, England)

WHALLEY'S CATECHISM.  SUPPOSE that Mr. Jones-Brown—let us say of Latchford—were to write to the Prime Minister to enquire if the Prime Minister had murdered his own gran,lmother—would it in that c3,se be incumbent upon the Premier to answer and say—that he had not been guilty of that grand matricide? Judging. from Mr. Gladstone's. conduct under analagous circumstances it would almost seem necessary, that if the Latchford enquiry were put, the first Minister should respond to it— not through Mr. Gurdon, his secretary—for that would be suspicious—but in his own handwriting. Our readers will guess to what we refer. It seems now-a-days a recognised element of modern political warfare that the gentlemen who form the Cabinet should be subj ectedto every species7of annoyance of which a small-minded political opponent can be capable—and the Tories can be capable of a great deal. Perhaps no man has undergone the thumb-screwing and the torture from private experimenters which Mr. Gladstone has had to encounter. It is not so many years ago since the Tory newspapers tried to blow out into a disreputable blaze of misrepresentation some kindly words of sympathy or of advice which the present; first minister addressed to a poor woman late one evening in Leicester Square. Anon a group of young Tories—with the teats scarcely out of their mouths, endeavoured to hustle Mr. Gladstone at the Carlton Club. Once more the ever active foes of the right hon. gentleman announced by skilful muendo that the leader of the Liberal party was in reduced circumstances; and now we have the member for Peterborough, who by the way is not a Tory, cross questioning the head of the Government as to whether or not he is a disciple of the Roman Catholic Church. Those who know Mr. Whalley will acquit him personally of anything like malice in having preferred this silly question, or of desiring to help forward in the slightest degree the current Tory game of personal hatred to the Premier. *Mr. Whalley is a gentleman by birth and education—is a popular man at his Club, and is known in the House of Commons itself to be a fair and honourable politician—having far more ability than he is ordinarily credited with—simply because this Roman Catholic craze is understood to pervade his entire mental area. Probably it was with a consciousness of these amiable attributes of the hon. member for Peterboro', that Mr. Gladstone addressed, in answer to the q-Jestion above referred to, a very goodnatured rtpiy—which reply was in effect if not in terms—a negative response to Mr. Whalley's enquiry. The Prime Minister did not like to say—" I (141 not murder my grandmother," because at that everyone would have laughed; but he intimated that he would leave a gentleman of Mr. Whalley's position to form his own conclusions. Mr. Whalley bowed and ietired well satisfied with the result of his motion.  But the people of Peterboro, or some portion of them,—no doubt not all Whalleyites—we think we see the Tory detractor's hoof upon the transaction—were not satisfied with this settlement between the Minister and their Member—they could not stomach this raising of vizors and lowering of lances: for them the period of peace calumets had not arrived. They saw the split feet and forked tail of him who shall be nameless, where Mr. Whalley, in his innocence, only detected patent leathers and swallow tails, which, we must admit, would have been useless to the other party. So the people of Peterboro' —whilst they disclaimed all intention of being personally offensive to the Premier— sent a resolution to their representative, desiring him to get an answer—aye or no—to the question, whether Mr. Gladstone was a Roman Catholic, or rather they did more than this—they desired that Mr. Gladstone should state distinctly and clearly that he was not a Romau Catholic—that is to say that he had not murdered his grandmother. Notwithstanding this most insulting appeal, the Premier condescended to reply to Mr. Whalley. His good nature got the better of him no doubt, but upon this occasion the Member for Peterboro' nabbed, as the pugilists say, "a hot one." Here is Mr. Gladstone's reply : To G. H.