CHAPTER XIX
Lord Carnarvon was sworn in as Lord-Lieutenant on July 7, 1885, and on January 12, 1886, he tendered his resignation, departing from the country thirteen days later. It was an unusually brief, yet an exceptionally interesting, viceroyalty. He was rightfully regarded as a man of fastidious honour and sincerity. On two occasions he had resigned Cabinet rank because of conscientious objections to the policy of his leaders, and there was scarcely anybody among the statesmen of his time who commanded greater respect and confidence. The action of Lord Salisbury in giving him the viceroyalty was rightfully interpreted to mean that the Tory Prime Minister realized fully the gravity of the situation in Ireland. Lord Carnarvon might have had a more exalted and powerful position in the ministry. He accepted the viceroyalty in the same spirit of anxiety to benefit his fellows that had been characteristic of him since his entry into public life nearly thirty years before. He was now fifty-four years of age, and was known to fame as the author of the act that consolidated the British possessions in North America in 1867. Again Colonial Secretary in 1874, the foreign policy of the Cabinet did not meet with his approval, and he resigned, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach succeeding him.
Lord Carnarvon's state entry into Dublin evoked a display of enthusiasm, from all classes that indicated clearly the hopes of the people for something brilliant from his administration. Lady Carnarvon was received for her own sake, as well as for that of her husband. She possessed all the arts of the successful leader of society, and she exercised them fully while in Ireland. There was keen competition to make the acquaintance of the viceroy and his wife, and Dublin Castle seemed likely to experience something quite different to its troubles of the previous five years. But the wise knew that the imminent General Election would in all probability terminate the reign of Lord Carnarvon. The Salisbury ministry was a 'Cabinet of Caretakers,' and the most that could be hoped for was the viceroy's return within a few years when the electors had had another opportunity of passing a verdict upon Gladstonian Liberalism.
Carnarvon and Parnell
Lord Carnarvon, however, quickly upset the equanimity of the prophets. Whatever may have been his own doubts about the durability of his position, he startled friends and foes alike by arranging for an interview with Charles Stewart Parnell. A Tory Lord-Lieutenant debating the policy of his Government with the Irish leader was even more productive of astonishment than the sight of Parnell accepting a place in the Government would have been. The interview was kept a secret for a time, but it was too important to escape disclosure and debate, and the result of the General Election of November-December, 1885, hastened the acrimonious and puzzling discussion, with its sequel of denials and denunciations. The scene of the momentous interview was a London drawing-room. The viceroy, the moment he was alone with Parnell, appears to have taken the trouble to explain elaborately—perhaps too elaborately—his adherence to Unionist principles. As the representative of the queen, he could not listen to one word involving the separation of the two countries; as a Tory minister, he did not expect any result from the interview, and he did not even hope for an agreement; while further, to protect himself and his colleagues, he assured Mr. Parnell that he was acting entirely upon his own responsibility, and as an individual, and not as a Cabinet minister.
Despite these preliminary precautions, the Irish leader came away from the meeting under the impression that the Tory party were willing to grant Ireland an assembly giving it complete control of its own affairs, and also a measure of land reform that would settle that difficult problem. Of course, the price to be paid for this was to be the Irish vote. On the other hand, Lord Carnarvon most emphatically contradicted this interpretation of what had passed between them. Nevertheless, Mr. Parnell adhered to his version.
The General Election of November-December, 1885, did not give either of the English parties an independent majority. Of Liberals there were 335, Tories numbered 249; and 86 Irish Home Rulers, all followers of Mr. Parnell, held the balance of power. Mr. Gladstone was now a Home Ruler, and a Bill for establishing a separate legislature for Ireland was introduced. It was in the early days of Mr. Gladstone's conversion to the cause that Mr. Parnell hurled a charge against the Tory party of having at one time been willing to purchase the Irish vote by an eleventh-hour conversion to Home Rule. The charge was denied indignantly, and then the Nationalist leader named Lord Carnarvon as the Tory emissary. The ex-viceroy explained his position in the House of Lords. This was on June 10—three days after Mr. Parnell's speech in the Commons. The latter at once replied in a letter to the Times of June 12. It is worth reproducing:
The Tory Party and Home Rule
'Lord Carnarvon proceeded to say that he had sought the interview for the purpose of ascertaining my views regarding—should he call it?—a constitution for Ireland. But I soon found out that he had brought me there in order that he might communicate to me his own views upon the matter, as well as ascertain mine. In reply to an inquiry as to a proposal which had been made to build up a central legislative body upon the foundation of county boards, I told him that I thought this would be working in the wrong direction, and would not be accepted by Ireland; that the central legislative body should be a Parliament in name and in fact. Lord Carnarvon assured me that this was his own view also, and he strongly appreciated the importance of giving due weight to the sentiment of the Irish in this matter. He had certain suggestions to this end, taking the Colonial model as a basis, which struck me as being the result of much thought and knowledge of the subject. At the conclusion of the conversation, which lasted more than an hour, and to which Lord Carnarvon was very much the larger contributor, I left him, believing that I was in complete accord with him regarding the main outlines of a settlement conferring a legislature upon Ireland.'
The viceroy's explanation of this was more general than particular. He must have been satisfied with Lord Salisbury's verdict that he had conducted the interview with Mr. Parnell 'with perfect discretion,' but all the same it was many years before the Tory party lived down the allegation that had he wished Parnell could have purchased it lock, stock, and barrel, for service in the Home Rule cause.
In social circles Lord Carnarvon's popularity never waned. He was supposed to be that contradiction in terms, 'a Tory Home Ruler,' but he was only a high-minded gentleman who made a genuine attempt to deal with the Irish problem. It was yet another instance of a viceroy risking peace and popularity by trying to be impartial. One of his opponents in Dublin expressed amazement that he should 'bother his head about Home Rule when he had the viceroyalty and a beautiful wife.' It is not to his discredit that he failed, and it must be remembered that he paid a price for his interest in Ireland. The General Election placed Mr. Gladstone in power with the aid of the Nationalists, but Gladstone soon committed political suicide, and Lord Salisbury returned for a six years' lease of power. He did not invite Lord Carnarvon to join his Cabinet, and at fifty-five the earl passed from the political stage. All he gained by his brief association with Ireland was the degree of LL.D. from Dublin University, when he replied to the Public Orator's congratulations with an elegant Latin speech that amazed the dons by reason of its splendour and faultlessness. Lord Carnarvon died in 1890, only fifty-nine, but with a generous record of work in the public service behind him. Never a party hack nor a slave to political shibboleths, always an individualist and a thinker, it was scarcely a fault if his good nature led him into an unfortunate attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable. He came to Ireland with no previous experience of the country and its people, and so he judged them by the standard applied to average men and women. We have been told by an authority that the Celtic temperament is destructive, and not constructive, and the facts of history confirm him. Lord Carnarvon forgot this, and therefore laid himself open to the charge that he was surrendering to Parnellism and reform by crime, and at the same time leading the Tory party to destruction. But political catch-phrases are usually the work of the unthinking and the illogical, and the only mistake he made was the common one of being a little too much in advance of his time. The Tory party has travelled many Irish miles since the day an Irish viceroy and Parnell exchanged their opinions in a London drawing-room.
The Earl of Aberdeen
The General Election of 1885 swept Liberalism out of Ireland, and gave the House of Commons eighty-six Nationalists, the remainder of the Irish members representing the opinions of the Unionist and Conservative party. Mr. Gladstone had to solve the problem created by the indecisive election, and as he finally decided to cast in his lot with the Home Rulers, he formed a Government—his third—and appointed the Earl of Aberdeen Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, Mr. John Morley—now Viscount Morley—entering the Cabinet for the first time as Chief Secretary.
Lord Aberdeen was born on August 3, 1847, and in 1870 succeeded to the earldom—the seventh to hold the title. Associated from his earliest days with the great Liberal statesman, he had always enjoyed his friendship and confidence. It was to Lord and Lady Aberdeen's London residence in the eighties—Dollis Hill, near Willesden—that Mr. Gladstone went to seek repose after giving up his London house, recording in his diary that he felt too timid at seventy-seven to think of acquiring another London home. When in 1894 he resigned the premiership, it was at Dollis Hill that he spent a few days in rest and quiet. Ever a stanch and discriminating friend, Mr. Gladstone was delighted to bestow the viceroyalty upon Lord Aberdeen, and accordingly, on February 10, 1886, he was sworn in at Dublin Castle.
It is almost impossible to write of contemporaries without revealing traces of prejudice or partiality. Lord Aberdeen's Liberalism was moulded by Mr. Gladstone, who was his political mentor; and Lady Aberdeen, his clever and energetic wife, has always displayed a masculine knowledge of politics and politicians. She was a Miss Ishbel Marjoribanks before her marriage in 1877, and from all accounts seems to have been a Home Ruler before Mr. Gladstone's conversion. When she entered Dublin in 1886 as the viceroy's wife she was under thirty, but already had achieved considerable fame as a determined politician, a philanthropist who had initiated common-sense methods in dealings with the grave problems of ill-health and poverty, and a loyal friend. She entered with zest into the social pleasures of Ireland's capital, and practised the arts of the vice-queen which she has since brought to perfection in Canada and in Dublin.
Their hospitality was generous, their popularity boundless. The chosen of Gladstone could not but be an idol with the masses. Until coached by their suspicious chieftains, the rank and file of Nationalism idolized the viceroy and his wife. The Lord Mayor of Dublin and the leading citizens voiced the opinions of the people, and the 'Union of Hearts' appeared to be accomplished. At last Liberalism seemed to have won the allegiance of the Irish.
The influence of Lady Aberdeen was considerable, and she helped to earn success for the viceregal party. An ardent politician, she never made the mistake of subordinating the hostess to the politician, and at her functions all classes and creeds met. It may be necessary here to state that the story which has been in circulation some years, describing how Lady Aberdeen was informed by the late Lord Morris that 'herself and the waiters, bedad!' were the only Home Rulers in the room, is a wicked and malicious lie. The alleged incident never took place, for Lady Aberdeen is not in the habit of introducing politics during dinner-parties and canvassing for opinions when entertaining. Lord Morris was the author of many witty sayings, and he does not require the aid of the unscrupulous to perpetuate his memory. His sayings will live without the help of that type of person who delights in associating persons of eminence with their jokes, well aware that because of their position they are compelled to ignore their slanderers.
While history was being made with startling rapidity in England, Lord Aberdeen continued to carry out the duties of his exalted office. But the Liberal party was by now smashed to atoms. Mr. Gladstone was acting like a broken and disappointed man, and the life of the ministry threatened at any time to cease. It was merely a question of time for the Tory party and the rebellious Liberals to amalgamate and turn out the Gladstone Government.
On July 20, 1886, Mr. Gladstone resigned, and Lord and Lady Aberdeen left Ireland, and it was now the turn of the Tory-Liberal-Unionist coalition to show what they could do in Ireland—the land of opportunities of which no one seemed capable of taking advantage. Lord Salisbury had already stated his views with characteristic bluntness. During the debate on the Home Rule Bill of 1886 he forgot that he had not a reputation for humour, and informed his audience that the Irish were like the Hottentots, incapable of governing themselves, while he suggested that the best plan for Ireland would be the application for twenty years of a stringent Coercion Act. The question of the Imperial contribution towards the setting up of a Parliament in Dublin he touched upon lightly by suggesting that the money would be better employed in aiding the emigration of a million Irishmen.
This was the statesman who was given the opportunity of putting into practice his theories of Irish administration. There was some curiosity as to the new viceroy, and when Lord Salisbury chose the Marquis of Londonderry the nervous felt more relieved. The premier had selected a safe rather than a brilliant Lord-Lieutenant, and one who was capable of perpetrating as few blunders as any of his Tory contemporaries. Sir Michael Hicks-Beach emphasized the new importance of the Irish Secretaryship by accepting it, and, as he had been Chancellor of the Exchequer in the previous Salisbury Cabinet, his action was regarded as a generous one. It was a remarkable innovation to send a tried statesman to Dublin, for it had been the custom for many years to utilize the position as a sort of preparatory school for the Cabinet. It was Sir Michael's second attempt, but this was only a half-hearted one. Two Royal Commissions were appointed—one to report on the land question, the other to examine into the material resources of the country. Lord Cowper, an ex-viceroy, presided over the first. Lord Salisbury was, indeed, making a worthy attempt to effect the political salvation of the Hottentots by Act of Parliament.
The viceroy, Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, sixth Marquis of Londonderry, was thirty-four years of age, and had before his succession to the peerage in 1884 represented County Down in Parliament for six years. As a descendant of the second marquis, who earned undying notoriety by his destruction of the so-called Irish Parliament, he was naturally of interest to all whose affairs brought them into close touch with Ireland. He was an Irish landlord, the husband of a clever, ambitious woman, a daughter of the premier earl of England. They had married in 1875, and she was a leading Tory hostess when they transferred their headquarters from Londonderry House, Park Lane, to Dublin Castle and the Viceregal Lodge for a period of three years.
Mr. Balfour as Chief Secretary
They were stirring times, but the viceroy, by a curious chance, was able to stand aloof. The resignation of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach in the March following the arrival of Lord Londonderry brought the Prime Minister's nephew, Mr. A. J. Balfour, over as Chief Secretary. We know how he made his years in Ireland peculiarly his own, obscuring our view of the viceroy until at times it seems that there was only a shadow behind the frail-looking personality that dominated Ireland in his capacity of Chief Secretary. 'Bloody' Balfour, they called him, and plotted against his life, much to the annoyance of the viceroy, who detested fuss, and never could understand the prevailing passion for political principles. Mr. Balfour answered force with force, and, remembering the history of attempts at conciliation, he went boldly and fearlessly for the criminals, their patrons and instigators. Another Coercion Bill was framed, and, empowered by it, he sent about thirty members of Parliament to gaol, while evictions and murder continued to be reported, and Parnellism became synonymous with crime.
A visit from Prince Albert Victor and Prince George towards the end of June, 1887, was appreciated by both viceroy and people. The event had all the charm of spontaneity and unexpectedness, and Lord and Lady Londonderry had the one opportunity of their viceroyalty to show what they could do as representatives of the Queen of England. There was a brilliant State banquet in the famous old dining-room of Dublin Castle, where the leading men of the country paid their respects to the then second heir to the throne and the youthful Prince who was destined by Fate to ascend the throne. A review in the famous and superb Phoenix Park was another feature of the visit that must have appealed to the viceroy as an oasis does to the traveller in the desert. Not that Lord Londonderry took a too prominent part in the inevitable political and agrarian troubles of his reign. He left those to the efficient and indomitable Mr. Balfour, while he pursued the even way of life, gently patronizing the elect, and good-humouredly tolerating the non-elect who are the clamouring and unsought satellites of every Viceroy of Ireland. Lady Londonderry, who is clever enough to deserve a better title than that of mere giver of dinners, softened the crudities of office and gained a popularity in Ireland not confined to her political friends—a rare achievement in a confessedly party woman. She is the author of a study of Viscount Castlereagh, second Marquis of Londonderry.
The Mitchelstown affray
The affray at Mitchelstown in the September of 1887 was dealt with by Mr. Balfour with his usual splendid disregard for public opinion, and it was succeeded by the Parnell Commission. During these historic incidents the viceroy remained in the background, jogging amiably along, and no doubt thanking Heaven that had cast his lot in pleasanter times than those that fell to Lord Cowper and Lord Spencer. He resigned the office in 1889. Eleven years later he sat in his first Cabinet as Postmaster-General, and when Mr. Balfour succeeded his uncle in the premiership he appointed his colleague President of the Board of Education—a nice, respectable post that nobody took seriously, and wondered why it was represented in the Cabinet at all. The 'tariff' resignations in 1903 placed several important portfolios at Mr. Balfour's disposal, and he thereupon added to Lord Londonderry's official duties by making him Lord President of the Council. And as President of the Board of Education and President of the Council the marquis continued to attend the Cabinet until the ministry perished in the maelstrom that swallowed up the Tory party and astonished the world within a few weeks of Mr. Balfour's resignation of the premiership. The Tory ex-Prime Minister appeared to have left most of his courage behind him in Ireland, where he went as 'Clara,' and stayed to earn the more flattering, if inelegant, sobriquet of 'Tiger Lily.'