How Far Does The Career Of Parnell Explain Why Gladstone Was Unable To Obtain Home Rule For Ireland? Essay, Research Paper
?A ministry of all the troubles with few achievements to its credit.? Discuss
this verdict of Gladstone?s second ministry 188-85
Gladstone?s second ministry involved three key areas ? Ireland, Foreign Policy
and Parliamentary Reform. Each of these were met with varying degrees of success.
The fact that Ireland was becoming ungovernable, and Disraeli?s rash behaviour
overseas made this a troublesome time at which to take office. In 1868 Gladstone
had said ?my mission is to pacify Ireland,? and it was during this ministry
that he strove the hardest to achieve this, but how successful was he?
In 1879 the Irish Land League was formed, who were very popular in Ireland
with their call for the three F?s ? fair rent, free sale and fixity of tenure.
In response to the League, Gladstone introduced the Compensation to disturbance
bill, which offered compensation to unjustly evicted tenants. It was however,
defeated by the Lords. In spite of this, the introduction of the bill showed
Gladstone?s sympathy for the Irish, and his intention to fulfil his ?mission?.
The main difficulty with the Irish question was so hard to define. As soon
as Gladstone came close to finding the answer, the Irish changed the question.
However, bearing in mind that Home Rule was not achieved until 1893, and that
for the majority of this ministry Gladstone still believed could pacify Ireland
and was not a great proponent of Home Rule, it is fair to say that in spite
of his efforts Gladstone made no massive breakthroughs in this area. Throughout
the whole ministry the Land War between tenants and landlords raged, and, as
proved by the 1880 bill, any measures aimed at helping the tenants were thrown
out in the Lords with the assistance of the Irish piers. Furthermore, Davitt,
leader of the Land League, was a passionate seeker of the nationalisation of
the land. This measure could never get through Parliament and so it was perhaps
an unsolveable problem, as seen by the fact that the Lords had no objection
to the passing of the 1881 bill, as this removed the clause in reference to
compensation. Furthermore, leader of the Irish National Party, Parnell, had
the aim of Home Rule for Ireland. It is doubtful whether Home Rule could have
led to land nationalisation, and so therefore Gladstone faced an Irish question
to which there was no answer that led to pacification. Indeed the general feel
about his 1881 Act was that it had come about ten years too late. By this stage,
nothing could calm the Irish.
His greatest step towards pacification was in the introduction of the Forster?s
Coercion Act. This meant that the Irish police had the right to arrest and imprison
people without putting them in trial, and whilst this was barbaric, it was used
only where necessary, and it is arguable that it improved justice in Ireland
as up until now some jury?s had simply been too scared to convict blatantly
guilty members of the Irish Land League. Whilst Gladstone, a great advocate
of moral politics, despised this law, it provided what was arguably the ministry?s
greatest drive towards pacification.
The idea of Home Rule was a radical one ? one of the only radical ideas Gladstone
supported. The basic problem with radical proposals is that, in a democratic
parliament, it is easy for the sizeable number of people who are likely to oppose
them to block them. And Home Rule was no exception. It met with opposition from
more or less every direction. From within the Liberal Party, Liberal Unionists
such as Chamberlain denounced it, believing that if Ireland left the Empire
others would soon follow. The Ulster President believed ?Home Rule is Rome Rule,?
and Salisbury said that the Irish were ?no better than Hindus and Hottentots.?
Furthermore, ultimate power lies with the electorate and they felt that the
Irish were lucky to be ruled by a progressive people. They made many jokes about
?Paddy and his Pig? and believed the entire race to be ?In the thrall of an
obscurantist Church.? And so bearing this in mind, Gladstone?s efforts to pacify
Ireland enjoyed only the small success of the 1881 Land Act. Whilst this did
assist in the tenants in the pursuit of the 3 F?s it was still not even close
to solving the Irish Question, however that may be defined.
During the period of 1880-1885 Gladstone was discussed as ?a reluctant imperialist?.
His basic principles of individualism by means of low taxes, peace and non-intervention
were all stained by the idea of imperial adventures. He was however, willing
to recognise that ?there were crucial imperial interests to be protected and
strengthened ? India, for example, and the routes thereto? (Bever). The routes
thereto, included Egypt and the Suez Canal, and with this came the Sudan who
had long been misgoverned by Egypt. Britain?s assumption of control here inevitably
led to an erosion of Khedival power in Cairo, and this was responded to with
a Sudanese revolt. This was put down by Egyptian forces, which proved to Gladstone
that British forces were no longer necessary here and he assigned General Gordon
to remove the remaining troops. General Gordon was unhappy about being assigned
such a monotonous task as this, and coupled with the vagueness of the instructions
he received, conspired to lead to the tragedy of his death in January 1885 in
Khartoum. Gordon was popular with the British people, and this incident appeared
to them that Gladstone had caused his death, and this made him very unpopular,
and caused his government acute embarrassment.
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