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1881
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009
Extract
Called again at Lord Beaconsfield [sic] to enquire and had a talk with Barrington.719 He told me a characteristic story of Disraeli, when very ill, if not at quite the worst stage. The Queen wrote a letter to him about himself 720 but at that time as no one was allowed to see him but the doctors: so Barrington, to whom it was sent under flying seal, handed it to the doctors to read. Whereupon Disraeli insisted on seeing Barrington, who found him with the letter crushed up in his hand, and refusing to allow it to be read by the doctor. He said, “I have sent for you as the only person in the house who is a Privy Councillor and who ought to read this to me” – very curious and characteristic, with some humour but on the whole more reality.
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References
719 Barrington had been acting as Disraeli's private secretary in the absence of Corry.
720 The Queen wrote on 3 April from Osborne (Blake, Disraeli, p. 747).
721 The bill was introduced by Gladstone on 7 April to meet the demands of the Land League for the 3 Fs – fair rents, free sale, and fixity tenure. For the bill's background, see P. Bew, Land and the National Question in Ireland, 1858–82 (Dublin, 1979), pp. 145–151.
722 Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox was 6th Duke of Richmond, Duke of Lennox, Duke of Aubigny, and Duke of Gordon.
723 Carnarvon did not attend Disraeli's funeral at Hughenden because of a severe cold (Diary, 26 April 1881).
724 Hansard, 31 March 1881, CCLX, cols 264–278.
725 Carnarvon to Cairns, 20 April 1881: Cairns Papers, TNA, PRO 30/51/8, fos 121–125.
726 Gladstone to Carnarvon, 20 April 1881: CP, BL 60773, fo. 17.
727 Carnarvon to Gladstone, 23 April 1881: Gladstone Papers, BL 44469, fo. 144.
728 In Westminster Abbey.
729 Land Law (Ireland) Bill, committee stage, second night: Hansard, 27 May 1881, CCLXI, cols 1464–1524.
730 In March 1878, because of the threat from Russia, Disraeli ordered Lytton to send 7,000 native troops to Malta. When Parliament adjourned on 15 April, the next day it was announced that Indian troops were to be despatched to the island. See Lutyens, The Lyttons in India, pp. 122–123.
731 Edward Gibson (1837–1913), 1st Baron Ashbourne (1885). Con. MP for Dublin University (1875), Attorney-General for Ireland (1877–1878), Lord Chancellor of Ireland (1885, 1886–1892, 1895–1905).
732 French imperialistic aspirations led to troops being sent to Tunis in April. On 12 May, the Treaty of Bardo appeared to have successfully settled the matter but, by June, the activity of rebel forces led to an army of occupation being despatched.
733 Carnarvon's London house at 14 Bruton Street had been sold on 11 June. ‘It is a relief to be free of it for it is an enormously expensive house to maintain and I have no pleasant recollections of it’ (Carnarvon to Heathcote, 20 June 1881: CP, BL 61076, fo. 183).
734 Imperial Defence Commission.
735 Northbrook told a colleague three months later, ‘The late Government let the shipbuilding go down too much, and I am trying to set it right as well as I can without asking for any serious increase in the estimates’ (Mallet, Thomas George, Earl of Northbrook, p. 202).
736 The Prince, accompanied by his tutor, landed at Jaffa on 31 March 1862 and spent five weeks touring scriptural sites.
737 Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin (1841–1926), 4th Earl of Dunraven (1871), Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (1885–1886).
738 Land Law (Ireland) Bill, first night: Hansard, CCLXIV, 1 August 1881, Salisbury, cols 254–270, Lansdowne, cols 277–301, Dunraven, cols 320–333.
739 Sir Roundell Palmer (1812–1895), Baron Selborne (1872), 1st Earl of Selborne (1882). Lib. MP for Richmond (1861–1872), Attorney-General (1863–1866), Lord Chancellor (1872–1874, 1880–1885).
740 Hansard, CCLXIV, 8 August 1881, Carlingford, 1170–1179 passim, Selborne, col. 1176, Kimberley, col. 1177, Carnarvon, cols 1180–1186, Granville, cols 1186–1188. Third reading agreed to.
741 Seymour William Dawson-Damer (1832–1892), 4th Earl of Portarlington (1889), Con. MP for Portarlington (1857–1865, 1868–1880).
742 Speech on the Land Law (Ireland) Bill, in favour of the measure: Hansard, CCLXIV, 9 August 1881, cols 1188–1189.
743 Gladstone had rejected the majority of the Lords’ amendments to the bill, which were considered in the Commons between 9 and 11 August. The Peers’ meeting was called to consider the Commons’ amendments.
744 Hansard, CCLXIV, 13 August 1881, cols 1612–1706.
745 Allen Alexander Bathurst (1832–1892), 6th Earl Bathurst (1878), Con. MP for Cirencester (1857–1878).
746 Victor Albert Child-Villiers (1845–1915), 7th Earl of Jersey (1859), Governor of New South Wales (1891–1893).
747 Charles Henry Rolle (1834–1904), 20th Baron Clinton (1866), Under-Secretary of State for India (1867–1868).
748 Henry Brand (1814–1892), Speaker of the House of Commons, noted in his diary, ‘Still much excitement on the possible or rather probable disagreement with the Lords on their amendments on the Land Bill.’ He wrote to Gladstone the same day, impressing on him the advantage of an adjournment as compared with a prorogation in the event of continuing disagreement (Brand, Diary, 13 August 1881: Brand Papers, BRA/2/11).
749 Carnarvon did not speak in the debate.
750 Sir Farrer Herschell (1837–1899), Lib. MP for Durham (1874–1885), Solicitor-General (1880–1885), 1st Baron Herschell (1886), Lord Chancellor (1886, 1892–1895).
751 Cranbrook, after the meeting on 13 August, stated, ‘His [Salisbury's] insolence to Northcote has been disgusting’ (Johnson, p. 480).
752 See Report of Reasons for Disagreeing to certain of the said Lords Amendments: Hansard, CCLXIV, cols 2009–2011. Kimberley commented on this, ‘Lord Salisbury [. . .] was rash in his proceedings & what was much worse, insolent in tone & manner. He ran a dangerous and unnecessary risk of provoking a serious collision between the Houses which was only averted by the admirable skill and calmness of Gladstone’ (Hawkins and Powell, Journal of John Wodehouse, First Earl of Kimberley, p. 324).
753 Brand had met Gladstone and Forster, the Irish Secretary, joined later by Harcourt and Thring, in Downing Street on 15 August to discuss the Lords’ amendments. Both Gladstone and Forster, Brand considered, were moderate. Brand recorded later, ‘Gladstone exhibited remarkable tact [in the Commons] in carrying his amendments through the House: and by 2 a.m. we reported the amendments with reasons to the Lords’ (Brand, Diary, 15 August 1881: Brand Papers, BRA/2/11).
754 The Lords met at 5 p.m. and accepted the concessions made by the Commons: Hansard, CCLXIV, 15 August 1881, cols 1929–1998. Hicks Beach wrote to his wife on 16 August, ‘I fancy the Land Bill is all settled by this time; the Lords have decidedly scored – the whole tone of the debate in the Commons last night, particularly Gladstone, was as different as possible from what it has hitherto been. Salisbury said the other day that as we had to deal with a madman in Gladstone, it was necessary to have a madman on the other side, and he offered himself for the purpose – the result has certainly shown that he was not far wrong’ (Lady V. Hicks Beach, Life of Sir Michael Hicks Beach, 2 vols (London, 1932), I, p. 201).
755 Samuel Whitbread and Robert, 3rd Earl of Camperdown (1841–1918), both former civil lords, and firm Liberals, had been added to the Defence Commission in August 1880, after Gladstone was returned to power.