Chapter XII: The Split in the Liberal Party (3)

_P.S._--As I understand that many Radical members are cognisant of your letter, I propose to send it together with my reply for publication in the _Times_.

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_Mr. Labouchere to Mr. Chamberlain_

10 QUEEN ANNE'S GATE, June 5, 1886.

MY DEAR CHAMBERLAIN,--Yes, I thought of publishing if you were to agree--but if not--I rather think it would not conduce to the Second Reading. It might even if you said that you would advise others to abstain, or something of that sort. The G.O.M. will die rather than withdraw his Bill, but he might perhaps be induced to adjourn the debate until autumn, if you were to suggest this. I am off to Twickenham, as I have Palto and Ellen Terry coming down, who (thank God) probably have never heard of the infernal Bill. Randolph is, I believe, coming, but I suppose it is no use asking you to join such frivolous society. My conviction is that the Radicals are damned for years if we are defeated to-morrow.

If you can write anything comforting, and send it here tomorrow morning, I will tell some one here to bring it down at once to Pope's Villa.--Yours truly,

H. LABOUCHERE.

[1] The _Times_, January 4, 1886.

[2]It was upon this Amendment that Lord Salisbury's Government was defeated.

[3] The lull in Mr. Labouchere's correspondence is accounted for by the fact that Lord Salisbury's Government, finding itself in a minority of 79 on the early morning of January 27, resigned, and, on February 26, Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister for the third time. Mr. Chamberlain became President of the Local Government Board.

[4] Mr. Chamberlain had resigned his post in the Cabinet on March 16.

[5] On April 8 Mr. Gladstone moved the first reading of the Home Rule Bill.

[6] Land Bill introduced and the First Reading on April 16.

[7] On May 3, a manifesto was issued from Mr. Gladstone in which he intimated that the Land Bill was no longer to be an essential article of the Liberal faith, and that, in the Home Rule Bill, all questions of detail were subsidiary. The only important thing was to support the principle of establishing a Legislative Body in Dublin empowered to make laws for Irish as distinguished from Imperial affairs.

[8] Motion made for Second Reading of Home Rule Bill and amendment, on May 10th.

[9] On May 14th, a meeting summoned by Lord Hartington met at Devonshire House, at which Mr. Chamberlain was present. It was calculated at this meeting that the "dissenting Liberals" would amount to something over one hundred. The important point of the meeting was that Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Hartington agreed, for the time, to act together and to vote against the Second Reading.

[10] Mr. Chamberlain was probably referring to Lord Salisbury's speech of May 15th, in which he suggested that the Irish belonged to the races incapable of self-government, such as--the Hottentots!

[11] On May 27th Mr. Gladstone held a meeting of Liberals at the Foreign Office, when, in a conciliatory speech, he declared that the Government desired, by a vote on the Second Reading, no more than to establish the _principle_ of a measure, which was to give Home Rule to Ireland.

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