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The return of Gladstone as prime minister, after the Liberals had secured a decisive majority at the polls in April 1880, has for long been established in the mythology of the Liberal party. In retrospect, the series of events which had drawn Gladstone back into active politics after his retirement in 1875 – his opposition to Beaconsfield's Eastern policy, the oratorical campaigns in Midlothian, and the rout of ‘Jingoism’ at the general election – came to be seen as a natural, linear development, whereby his special sense of affinity with the ‘;people’ was re-established and the great election victory assured. His subsequent resumption of the premiership accordingly became surrounded by an air of inevitability: the hesitant leadership of the whigs giving way to that of the man who had inspired the struggle against Beaconsfield's ‘system of government’ and who alone could command the allegiance of all sections of the great Liberal majority.
1 E.g. Paul, Herbert, A history of modern England (London, 1905), IV, 137.
2 McCarthy, Justin, A history of our own times (London, 1905), 111, 115, 145.
3 Ensor, R. C. K., England 1870–1914 (Oxford, 1936), p. 66.
4 Notably Shannon's, R. T. brilliant work, Gladstone and the Bulgarian agitation 1876 (1975 edn, Hassocks). Though discussing some of the implications of Gladstone's return to the leadership, it was beyond the scope of this book to examine the events of 1879–80.
5 Lloyd's, T. O.The general election of 1880 (Oxford, 1968) is disappointing on the electoral aspect and deficient in its understanding of the political context in which the election took place. A recent, and highly conventional, account of the politics of 1879–80 is to be found in Rossi, John P., ‘The transformation of the British Liberal party: a study of the tactics of the Liberal opposition, 1874–1880’, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, LXVIII (12 1978).
6 Lord Cranbrook's diary, 4 Apr. 1880, Johnson, Nancy E. (ed.), The diary of Gathorne Hardy, later Lord Cranbrook, 1866–1892 (Oxford, 1981), p. 443.
7 Harcourt, to Harrington, , 04 1880, Devonshire MSS (Chatsworth House), 2nd series, 340.924; Chamberlain, to Harcourt, , 10 04 1880, Harcourt MSS (Bodleian Library), box 716.
8 Gladstone, to Brand, Speaker, 9 04 1880, Hampden MSS (House of Lords Record Office).
9 Manchester Guardian, 16 04 1880, p. 5.
10 Leeds Mercury, 19 04 1880, p. 4.
11 For the state of the Liberal party after the 1874 election, see, for example, Halifax to Northbrook, 20 Feb. 1874, and Granville, to Northbrook, , 3 03 1874, Northbrook MSS (India Office Library), vol. 22.
21 Rathbone, William to Adam, W. P., 25 03 1875, Blairadam MSS (Scottish Record Office), 4/413. Cf the Leeds Mercury, 16 03 1875, p. 7; Daily News, 29 03 1875, p. 4, for views of the position of the post-Gladstonian Liberal party.
13 For Yorkshire, see Lord Ripon's journal, 2 Aug and 14 Nov. 1879. Also 25 Sept. and 25 Oct. 1879, for Harrington's speeches at Newcastle and Manchester. Ripon MSS (British Library), Add. MSS 43642.
14 Granville to Samuel Morley, 2 Nov. 1879, Hodder, E., The Life of Samuel Morley (London, 1887), p. 405. Cf the report of the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, 6 11 1879, p. 5, ‘It is stated on good authority that in no fewer than 35 boroughs the Liberals have no candidate at present, while they are in the same condition in 49 divisions of counties.’ The papers of the Liberal Chief Whip include an undated list of thirty county seats which either ‘might be fought’ or ‘ought to be fought’. Blairadam MSS, 4/426.
15 Forster's diary, 30 Oct. 1879, Reid, T. Wemyss, Life of the Right Hon. W. E. Forster (London, 1888), 11, 222–3; Harcourt to Chamberlain, 3 Nov. 1879, Chamberlain MSS (Birmingham University Library), JC5/38/3.
16 Some, including Gladstone, had operated on the assumption that the general election would take place in the autumn of 1879. Gladstone to Adam, 17 Jan. 1879, Blairadam MSS 4/431.
17 Brand's, Speaker journal, 28 10 1879, Hampden MSS; SirJames, Henry to Chamberlain, , 11 1879, Chamberlain MSS, JC5/46/2.
18 Cf. Harcourt, to Hartington, , 7 11 1878, (copy) Harcourt MSS, Box 720, for a view of the unreliability of public opinion.
19 Brett, to Hartington, , 3 12 1879, Devonshire MSS, 340.855. Cf Hartington, to Adam, , 5 12 1879, Blairadam MSS, 4/1096.
20 Childers, to Halifax, , 10 02 1880, Hickleton MSS (microfilm copy in Cambridge University Library), A4.90.
21 Daily News, 16 02 1880, p. 4; Leeds Mercury, 17 02 1880, p. 4.
22 The Times, 16 02 1880, p. 9.
23 Daily Telegraph, 16 02 1880, p. 4.
24 The Times, 9 02 1880, p. 9.
25 Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, CXXVII, 03 1880, pp. 400–1; Apr. 1880, p. 530.
26 Ripon's, journal, 24 02 1880, Ripon MSS, 43642.
27 Stansfeld, to Halifax, , 24 02 1880, Hickleton MSS, A4.51.
28 The Spectator, 14 02 1880, p. 197; Leeds Mercury, 17 02 1880, p. 4.
29 The Spectator, 21 02 1880, p. 229.
30 Derby's, Lord journal, 14 02 1880, Derby MSS (Liverpool Record Office); Ripon's, journal, 24 02 1880, Ripon MSS, 43642.
31 The Spectator, 6 03 1880, p. 293.
32 The queen's journal, 5 Mar. 1880, Buckle, G. E. (ed.), The letters of Queen Victoria (2nd series, London, 1926–1928), II, 71–2.
33 Moneypenny, W. F. and Buckle, G. E., The life of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield (London, 1929 edn), II, 1386–8.
34 E.g. the queen to Martin, Theodore, 10 03 1880, Buckle, , Queen Victoria, III, 73; Cartwright, Julia (ed.), The journals of Lady Knightley of Fawsley (London, 1915), entry for 9 03 1880, p. 357; Sir George Russell to Lord Cranbrook, 29 Mar. 1880, Hardy, A. E. Gathorne, Gathome Gathorne-Hardy, first earl of Cranbrook, a memoir (London, 1910), II, 132.
35 Brand's, Speaker journal, 15 03 1880, Hampden MSS.
36 Aberdare, to his wife, 14 03 1880, Letters of…Lord Aberdare (privately printed, Oxford, 1902), II, 85; cf. Reay, Lord to Rosebery, , 17 03 1880, Rosebery MSS (National Library of Scotland), 10043, for Shaw Lefevre's estimate of Liberal gains, implying a majority of about ten over the Conservatives.
37 Manchester Guardian, 12 03 1880, p. 5.
38 Daily News, 13 03 1880, pp. 4–5.
39 Labouchere, to Rosebery, , ‘Saturday’ [03 1880], Rosebery MSS, 10041.
40 Manchester Guardian, 31 03 1880, p. 5.
41 Daily News, 30 03 1880, p. 4.
42 Manchester Guardian, 30 03 1880, p. 5. As Lloyd, Election of 1880, pp. 32–3, points out, there is no foundation for the belief that the provincial Liberal press had all along predicted a great majority for the Liberal party. Cf. the Leeds Mercury, 30 03 1880, p. 5, which admitted that it was ‘possible that the election for a single constituency may decide the fate of Lord Beaconsfield's Government and of the country’.
43 Daily Telegraph, 11 03 1880, p. 6.
44 Pall Mall Gazette, 11 03 1880, p. 1.
45 Daily Telegraph, 30 03 1880, p. 4.
46 Pall Mall Gazette, 9 03 1880, p. 1. CfDaily Telegraph, 30 03 1880, p. 4; Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, CXXVII, 04 1880, p. 540.
47 Bailey, J. (ed.), The diaries of Lady Frederick Cavendish (London, 1927), II, 241, entry for 8–14 Dec. 1879.
48 Gladstone to Granville, 19 May 1877, 19 Nov. 1876, 12 Apr. 1878, Ramm, Agatha (ed.), The political correspondence of Mr Gladstone and Lord Granville, 1876–1886 (Oxford, 1962), II, 40, 22–3, 71.
49 Herbert Gladstone's journal, 30 Jan. 1881, Gladstone, Viscount, After thirty years (London, 1928), pp. 189–90.
50 Gladstone to Henry Neville Gladstone, Oct. 1879, Morley, John, The life of William Ewart Gladstone (London, 1903), II, 598.
51 Wolverton to Gladstone, 20 Dec. 1879, Gladstone MSS (British Library), Add. MSS 44349, fo. 121. Morley, Gladstone, II, 602.
52 Gladstone, to Wolvcrton, , 18 12 1879, Gladstone MSS 44349, fo. 119, Morley, Gladstone, II, 603.
53 It is interesting to note the depressing effect of his sister's death in January 1880. Harcourt wrote on 24 Jan., ‘I hear Gladstone talks more than ever of retire [ment] and thoughts of the afterworld.’ Chamberlain MSS, JC5/36/7. A little earlier, on the 10th, Gladstone had mentioned to J. G. Dodson ‘a growing slowness (clearly related to infirmity) of eyesight’. Monk Bretton MSS (Bodleian Library).
54 Gladstone, to Bright, , 28 11 1879, Gladstone MSS, 441132, fo. 117, Morley, Gladstone, II, 599–600.
55 Gladstone's, diary, 28 12 1879, Morley, , Gladstone, II, 597.
56 Gladstone to Abraham Hayward, 15 Nov. 1879, Carlisle, Henry E. (ed.), Correspondence of Abraham Hayward (London, 1886), II, 308.
57 Gladstone, to Broadhurst, , 27 12 1879, Broadhurst MSS (British Library of Political and Economic Science), vol. 1.
58 Gladstone, to Lord, Acton, 14 03 1880, Morley, , Gladstone II, 608. It is important to note that Acton reported the contents of this letter to Granville, and Granville evidently passed on Acton's letter to Hartington. Acton, to Granville, , 2 04 1880, Devonshire MSS, 340.922.
59 Gladstone, to Acton, , 14 03 1880, Morley, , Gladstone 11, 608. Even in the case of the Midlothian election, however, Gladstone was being prepared for a slender majority, at which news he ‘expressed his bitter disappointment and hinted that in that case the election would be a coup manqué’: Rosebery, to Granville, , 30 03 1880, Granville MSS (Public Record Office), 30/29/27B. It would be interesting to speculate as to Gladstone's course of action had the Liberals failed to win the general election. In a retrospective entry to his journal, Herbert Gladstone wrote that in January 1880 he had been considering acting as his father's secretary in private life if the Conservatives won (21 Dec. 1880, Glynne-Gladstone MSS, Clwyd Record Office, Hawarden). Presumably Gladstone would have continued to play the independent part he had given himself in 1875. But what would he have done in the event of the formation of a minority Liberal administration?
60 Brett's, journal, 5 12 1878, Esher MSS (Churchill College, Cambridge).
61 Ibid. 19 Feb. 1880.
62 On several occasions Hartington was driven to the point of threatening to resign. Hartington to Granville, 29 Jan. 1878, Granville MSS, 30/29/22A/2. Also, 5 Oct. 1878, ibid. 30/29/26, part I. His concern about the effects of Gladstone's activities is expressed in his letters to Granville of 18 Dec. 1876 and 25 May 1877, ibid. 30/29/22A/2. For the strong hostility of most whigs towards Gladstone at the time of the five resolutions, see Reid, Forster, II, 174. For one view of the damage done to the party by Gladstone, see Goschen's diary, 6 Feb. 1878, Elliot, A. D., The Life of…Viscount Goschen (London, 1911), II, 185–6.
63 John Bright's diary, 5 Apr. 1878, Walling, R. A. J. (ed.), The diaries of John Bright (London, 1930), pp. 406–7.
64 Cardwell, to Halifax, , 12 07 1878, Hickleton MSS, A4.154.
65 Granville, to Derby, , 10 09 1878 and 8 Jan. 1879, Derby MSS.
66 Hartington, to Granville, , 2 12 1879, Granville MSS, 30/29/22A/2.
67 This was Wolverton's account. He had spoken to Granville after the meeting. Wolverton, to Gladstone, , 17 12 1879, Gladstone MSS, 44349, fo. 113, Morley, Gladstone, II, 601–2.
68 Rossi, Transformation of Liberal Party, pp. 108–9.
69 Brett's, journal, 31 12 1879, Esher MSS.
70 Granville, to Halifax, , 1 02 1880, Hickleton MSS, A4.85.
71 Granville, to Adam, , 16 03 1880, Blairadam MSS, 4/427.
72 Selborne, to Granville, , 27 12 1879, Granville MSS, 30/29/22A/4.
73 Brett, to Hartington, , 15 12 1879, Devonshire MSS, 340.858.
74 ‘Plain Whig principles’, Edinburgh Review, CLI, 03, 1880, pp. 257–80. This scarcely concealed attack on Gladstone, by Henry Reeve, went further than Hartington had wanted, probably in that it expressed the wish that Gladstone might accept the exchequer in a whig ministry. Hartington, to Granville, , 19 01 1880, Granville MSS, 30/29/27B.
75 ‘Plain Whig principles’, pp. 257–8.
76 Ibid. p. 258.
77 Ibid. p. 266.
78 Derby's, Lord journal, 8 06 1879, Derby MSS, contains an illuminating account of a conversation with Dilke, who stood out in his true whig colours. Fawcett's enthusiasm for Hartington is noted in Brett's, journal, 4 02 1879, Esher MSS. Hill, Frank, the editor of the Daily News, told Forster's brother-in-law, in 12 1879, that there were ‘many below the gangway…by no means anxious that Gladstone should resume the leadership – he named Dilke an d Fawcett…Lord G. and Lord H. to prove their radicalism must appoint many of the extreme people, and so these men hope that something will fall to them’. W. T. Arnold to Forster (copy), Devonshire MSS, 340.861. Chamberlain's inclination to ‘pull together’ with the whigs is illustrated by his conversation with Brett, recorded in Brett's, journal, 20 05 1879, Esher MSS, and by Chamberlain, to Morley, John, 25 01 1880, Chamberlain MSS, JC5/54/283, in which he recounts a long conversation with Harcourt.
79 Reid, T. Wemyss, Politicians of today (London, 1880), pp. 25–42.
80 For newspaper praise of Harrington's Newcastle and Manchester speeches, see Daily News, 22 09 1879, p. 4, and 25 Oct. 1879, p. 4; Leeds Mercury, 22 09 1879, p. 4, and 27 Oct. 1879, p. 4; Manchester Guardian, 25 10 1879, p. 7. It is also worthwhile to note the way the Liberal press sprang to the defence of Hartington at the time of his row with Chamberlain over the flogging debate in July 1879. Daily News, 10 07 1879, pp. 4–5; Leeds Mercury, 9 07 1879, p. 4; Manchester Guardian, 11 07 1879, p. 5.
81 Brett's, journal, 15 12 1879, Esher MSS.
82 Forster to Granville, 9 and 14 Dec. 1879, Fitzmaurice, Lord Edmond, The Life of Lord Granville (London, 1905), II, 186–8.
83 Ripon's, journal, 27 12 1879, Ripon MSS, 43642.
84 Halifax, to Granville, , 2 02 1880, Granville MSS, 30/29/27B.
85 E.g. Harrington, to Northbrook, , 3 10 1879, Northbrook MSS, vol 7.
86 Granville, to Hartington, , 14 10 1879, Devonshire MSS, 340.840. Ponsonby's call followed rumours of a sudden dissolution of parliament.
87 Ponsonby, to Granville, , 23 10 1879. Granville MSS, 30/29/22A/4. Lord C. was probably Cranbrook though possibly Cairns. Lord S. was undoubtedly Salisbury.
88 Kimberley, to Dodson, , 30 09 1879, Monk Bretton MSS.
89 Derby's, Lord journal, 15 03 1880, Derby MSS.
90 Cf Brett's, journal, 22 and 23 12 1879, Esher MSS, for the views of Harcourt and Hartington respectively.
91 Ibid. 31 Dec. 1879.
92 This was the view, incidentally, of Léon Gambetta, who told Brett ‘he hoped our people would not come in, as it would be perhaps fatal to the party. He cannot understand how we can effect any compromise with “ces gens là” (his way of describing the Irish) and without them we could not keep even a small majority.’ Ibid, 14 Nov. 1879.
93 Granville, to Halifax, , 1 02 1880, Hickleton MSS, A4.85.
94 E.g. Derby's, Lord journal, 19 11 1879, Derby MSS. Derby's own observation is worthy of note: ‘With these numbers they [the government] can go on, but they cannot do as they have been doing in the present parliament.’
95 Morley, to Chamberlain, , 17 03 1880, Chamberlain MSS, JC5/54/293. Cf. Derby's, journal, 18 03 1880, Derby MSS.
96 It was for this reason that the short-term expedient of maintaining the Conservatives in power was so attactive to those who wished to run the Liberal party along ‘Palmerstonian’ lines. There is an interesting parallel here with the conduct of the Derbyite Conservatives towards the Palmerston Ministry in the early 1860s. The idea was a recurrent one during the lifetime of the second Gladstone Ministry, and it found its consummation in Liberal Unionism between 1886 and 1895.
97 Ponsonby's memorandum, 17 Mar. 1880, Ponsonby, Arthur, Henry Ponsonby, his life from his letters (London, 1942), p. 184. Cf. the queen's reaction to the result of the general election: ‘She discussed the Elections, which had amazed her, as she had assurances from the Liberals that we [the Conservatives] must succeed.’ Johnson, , Lord Cranbrook diary entry for 20 04. 1880, p. 446.
98 Hartington, to Brett, , 2 04 1880, Esher MSS, 10/11.
99 See the report by the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, 2 04. 1880, p. 5.
100 Liberals 353, Conservatives 238, Home Rulers 61. Hanham, H.J., Elections and party management (1978 edn, Hassocks), p. 232.
101 Daily Telegraph, 7 04. 1880, p. 4. Cf. Derby's, Journal, 5 04 1880, Derby MSS.
102 E.g. MacColl, Malcolm to Gladstone, , 12 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44243, fo. 311, expressing the hope that Gladstone would not refuse the premiership. Cf. Stead, W. T. to Gladstone, , 9 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44303, fo. 333.
103 Leeds Mercury, 7 04. 1880, p. 4.
104 Daily News, 9 04. 1880, p. 4.
105 E.g. The Times, 12 04. 1880 p. 9; Daily Telegraph, 12 04. 1880, p. 4; Leeds Mercury,13 04. 1880, p. 4.
106 Manchester Guardian, 12 04. 1880, p. 5.
107 Spencer, to Granville, , 10 04 1880, Granville MSS, 30/29/29. Forster, to Granville, , 11 04 1880, ibid. 30/29/28.
108 Wolverton, to Gladstone, , 12 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44349, fo. 130, Morley, Gladstone, II, 620; ibid. p. 621 for Morley's attempt to explain away this letter. For further confirmation of the continued uncertainty about the leadership, see Adam, to Granville, , 14 04 1880, Granville MSS, 30/29/27B.
109 Gladstone, to Rosebery, , 10 04 1880, Morley, Gladstone, 11, 613–15.
110 Gladstone to Argyll, 12 Apr. 1880, ibid. 11, 615.
111 Gladstone, to Wolverton, , 13 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44349, fo. 132, Morley, Gladstone, 11, 621.
112 Walling, Bright, p. 438. Bright's visit to Hawarden may have been of some significance, in view of the widespread rumours that neither he nor Gladstone would be in the new government. Cf. Leeds Mercury, 13 04. 1880, p. 4.
113 Lists were published each day between 6 and 12 April.
114 Labouchere, to Rosebery, , n.d. [04 1880], Rosebery MSS, 10041. The crucial point about the change of editorial direction on the 12th has been overlooked by Koss, S. E., The rise and fall of the political press in Britain, vol. 1 (London, 1981), pp. 226–7.
115 Daily Mews, 16 04. 1880, p. 4.
116 Ibid. 12 Apr. 1880, p. 4.
117 E.g. Derby's, journal, 13 04 1880, Derby MSS.
118 Ibid. 16 Apr. 1880.
119 Ripon's, journal, 22 04 1880, Ripon MSS, 43643. Cf. the entries for 13 and 19 Apr. for Forster's change of view.
120 Wolverton, to Gladstone, , 12 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44349, for. 130, Morley, Gladstone, 11, 620; Granville, to Derby, , 15 04 1880, Derby MSS. Granville's relations with the queen had cooled during the 1870s.
121 Harrington, to Brett, , 13 04 1880, Esher MSS, 10/11. Cf. Harrington, to the duke of Devonshire, 13 04 1880, Devonshire MSS, 340.932; Holland, B., The life of the duke of Devonshire (London, 1911), I, 271. (This biography relates to the Lord Hartington of this period, later eighth duke of Devonshire.) For the evident disappointment of the Cavendish family when Hartington did not become prime minister see Bailey, , Lady Frederick Cavendish, II, 248—50, for diary entry 19– 25 04. 1880.
122 Childers, to Halifax, , 12 04 1880, Hickleton MSS, A4.90, contains an account of a conversation with Hartington the previous day.
123 Ibid.
124 Brett, to Hartington, , 14 04 1880, Devonshire MSS, 340.936. Cf. Harcourt to Hartington, 18 Apr. 1880, ibid. 340.937; Holland, Devonshire, 1, 278.
125 Prince of Wales to the queen, 18 04 1880, Buckle, , Queen Victoria, III, 79–80.
126 Ripon's, journal, 19 04 1880, Ripon MSS, 43643. Cf. Hartington's undated memorandum, Devonshire MSS, 340.940.
127 The queen's journal, 19 04 1880, Buckle, , Queen Victoria, III, 80–2.
128 Ibid.
129 Gladstone's, memorandum, 22 04 1880, Gladstone MSS, 44764, fo. 43, Morley, Gladstone, 11, 621–4. The meeting took place at Wolverton's house.
130 Ibid.
131 Morley, to Chamberlain, , 23 04 1880, Chamberlain MSS, JC5/54/331.
132 Ponsonby's, memorandum, 23 04 1880, Ponsonby, Henry Ponsonby, p. 188.
133 See the queen's memorandum, 23 04 1880, Buckle, , Queen Victoria, 111, 82–4.
134 Hartington, to the duke of Devonshire, 23 04 1880, Devonshire MSS, 340.943. Holland, Devonshire, 1, 278.
135 Ponsonby's, memorandum, 23 04 1880, Ponsonby, Henry Ponsonby, p. 188.
136 Ponsonby, to Granville, , 23 04 1880, Granville MSS, 30/29/37. Hartington, to Lady Cavendish, Frederick, 26 04 1880, Bailey, Lady Frederick Cavendish, 11, 262.
137 The Manchester Guardian, 10 and 19 Apr., perhaps motivated by a certain amount of Lancastrian chauvinism, claimed that Hartington had played a more important part even than Gladstone. Meanwhile others like the Daily News, 10 04 1880, p. 4, congratulated Hartington on his efforts.
138 The correspondence between Chamberlain and Dilke may be found in Garvin, J. L., The Life of Joseph Chamberlain, vol. 1 (London, 1932), pp. 291–3, 296–7. Dilke wrote to Harcourt on the 7th that ‘I shall not bind myself to anything or anybody’. Harcourt MSS, Box 720. As Brett noted, ‘ Dilke is too sound a politician to make any such compromising arrangement.’ Journal, n.d. [Apr. 1880], Esher MSS. John Morley recognized that Dilke's appetite for office ruled out any idea of forming a separate radical group: Morley, to Chamberlain, , 12 04 1880, Chamberlain MSS, JC5 /54/311.
139 Labouchere, to Rosebery, , n.d. [04 1880], Rosebery MSS, 10041. It would be a serious mistake to assume that the majority of Liberal M.P.s were necessarily Gladstonians. This had certainly not been the case in the 1874 parliament. Cf. Lucy, Henry, A diary of two parliaments, 1874–1885 (London, 1886), entry for 13 08. 1877, PP. 314–16.
140 Cf. The Times, 19 04 1880, p. 9; Manchester Guardian, 20 04 1880, p. 5. From the 16th the Daily Telegraph had been advocating a Hartington premiership.
141 Leeds Mercury, 23 04 1880, p. 4.
142 Manchester Guardian, 22 04 1880, p. 4.
143 Gladstone may have been fortunate in that the outcome of the general election was so unexpected that it seemed natural to assume that his moral critique of ‘Beaconsfieldism’ had been the decisive element. It would be quite impossible, now, to separate the influence of Gladstone from that of, say, the agricultural depression, which must have played a vital part in swinging the counties to the Liberals. The most that can be said is that Gladstone's strength lay in his ability to provide a moral framework for more materialistic feelings of discontent.
* I am indebted to Professor Derek Beales for his comments on an earlier draft of this article. For access to, and permission to make quotations from, manuscript collections, I should like to thank Sir William Gladstone, His Grace the Duke of Devonshire, the Earl of Derby, the Earl of Halifax, Viscount Esher, Lord Monk Bretton, Mr Keith Adam, the first Marquis of Ripon trust, the University of Birmingham and the trustees of the National Library of Scotland.
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