Effect of Mr. Gladstone's Speech

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and we will leave to those who bring about this state of things the responsibility which belongs to them,' would not that be better than the indefinite continuance of the present situation?

Mr. Gladstone carried the whole meeting with him without distinction of party and without a dissentient voice. And Sir A. B. Forwood, a strong Tory, who had been doubtful as to the prudence of asking Mr. Gladstone to speak, was so convinced of the soundness and moderation of his speech that, in seconding the resolution, he said:

The question was what step England was to take in dealing with those dreadful excesses in Turkey. He agreed with Mr. Gladstone that this country had the right to threaten coercion in the event of the Sultan not taking steps to stop the massacres.

The result, then, of Mr. Gladstone's reluctant intervention—an intervention urged upon him by the citizens of his native town, irrespective of political differences, and headed by the Lord Mayor, a distinguished Conservative statesmanwas to lift the question out of the murky atmosphere of party, and to unite all creeds and parties in a national demonstration against the horrors in Turkey and in support of the Government in whatever steps they may think it necessary to take' to discharge the duty and vindicate the honour of the country. It would hardly have been possible to speak at length on such a subject without throwing out some suggestions, and Mr. Gladstone made some sugges

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A Free Hand to the Government tions. But to make a suggestion is one thing; to urge a particular course of action on the Government is quite another; and Mr. Gladstone carefully avoided the latter. Like the resolution which he moved, he left the Government a free hand to choose out of a variety of alternatives the course which seemed to them best. And in order to leave no loophole for hypercritics to say that he was recommending a policy which would lead to a European war, he assumed for argugument sake what he regarded as the impossible contingency of a European combination against England to prevent her vindication of her treaty rights. In that case this country could with dignity follow the example of France in 1840, and-throwing on the other Powers the responsibility of whatever might happen-decline to act any longer with them in a policy which he believed to be bad and mischievous, as Lord Salisbury did in the case of Crete. I declare, in my judgment, it would be far better even to run the risk, which I believe to be no risk at all, of recession than to continue the present state of things, in which we become ministers and cöoperators with the Sultan by insuring his immunity and encouraging him to continue his monstrous acts.' But the decision, either way, must rest with the Government. It was for the people of Liverpool to assure the Government 'that we at least will not shrink from giving support to the most energetic conduct of the

limited only by Bounds of Reason 175

Government within no bounds except those prescribed by reason.' Is it possible to imagine, under the circumstances, a speech more moderate, more prudent, more patriotic, and less provocative of a European war? Its moderation was acknowledged on all hands, and the Liberal press especially was enthusiastic in unstinted praise of it.

CHAPTER XIV.

LORD ROSEBERY'S EDINBURGH SPEECH.

A FEW days afterwards Lord Rosebery startled the world by announcing his resignation of the Liberal leadership. The principal reason which he gave was Mr. Gladstone's speech, and the evident agreement of the party with Mr. Gladstone rather than with himself. The reason was as surprising as the resignation. For Mr. Gladstone's views on the Turkish question in general and the Armenian massacres in particular had been public property for months and even years. The public therefore awaited with eager curiosity the speech in which Lord Rosebery promised to make a clean breast of it; and when the speech came it proved the greatest surprise of all. It deserves, from an oratorical point of view, all the praise which has been bestowed upon it. It is, in my humble judgment, far superior to any previous oratorical effort of Lord Rosebery; and that is no light praise. It would be difficult to give it higher praise than to say that it confused the issues in the minds of many, and made the worse appear the better reason, to perplex and dash maturest counsels.' I believe

Author's Feeling toward Lord Rosebery 177

it hardly influenced the lower strata of society at all, except antagonistically-an opinion for which I have already given some reasons. Lord Rosebery also succeeded in propagating an entirely erroneous representation of Mr. Gladstone's speech, but a representation which of course he believed to be the true one. It is a striking instance of supplanting the natural and grammatical meaning of language by unintentionally reading into it one's own preconceived notions.

The reader, then, being now in possession of the arguments of Mr. Gladstone's speech, I will proceed to examine Lord Rosebery's in the light of reason, of facts, and of his own previous policy. I shall endeavour to do so with the same courtesy which he exhibited in attacking Mr. Gladstone's speech, and with the same frankness. But I must begin by expressing my sincere regret in finding myself in antagonism to Lord Rosebery on any subject. It has been my lot to fall, like 'many others, under the spell of his attractive personality. I have received many kindnesses from him, and never an unkindness. I believed that he had a great future before him, and I hailed his advent to the Premiership as a man not only of ideas, but of ideals also, and lofty moral convictions. I have talked and corresponded with him on the question of Armenia, and I believed, and believe still, in the genuine sincerity of his indignation at the wrongs of the Armenians, and of his desire to redress their

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