Opposes Mr. Gladstone

It was admitted on all hands that his acceptance of such a proposal involved the undertaking of a very hard task: one speaker at the meeting even going so far as to say that 'while he did not anticipate they were to win the county, he was sure that if Colonel Wauchope led this forlorn hope, it would not be an inglorious defeat.'

Notwithstanding the rather doubtful prospects of success which his supporters gave, Wauchope's reply was characteristic of the man. He accepted the honour and the responsibility all the more readily, it would appear, that it was accompanied by difficulties. After thanking the meeting for asking him to come forward at the next election, he said he should be more than human if he did not feel deeply gratified. If he had been an orator, or if he had been a man engaged in public affairs, he would not have been surprised. But though he was an utterly untried man, he would do his best to try and serve, he should not say their interests, but the interests of the cause which they had all at heart. He was sure they would rally round the old flag—the flag of the Union. It spoke well for the future of Unionism throughout the land; and their native county of Midlothian had in this respect shown a good example to the rest of the country. They must never lose sight of the fact that this battle that was going on now was not a battle only in Midlothian, but it was a battle 'all along the line,' from Land's End to John o' Groats. They were only a mere part of that fight; and if it were a 'forlorn hope' here, it was of the greatest advantage to the great cause that they made a good 'forlorn hope' of it! He felt the responsibility very much to play the part of leader to them when they might so easily have got a better one. 'However,' he said, 'the choice is with you. I did not seek it, but shall do my best to come to the end of the business in a proper way.' Here it will be seen there was both boldness and modesty, confidence in the cause he was to champion, and self-reliance, without overrating his ability for the hazard. His opposition to Irish Home Rule and the possible disintegration of the Empire made him fearless, even to the extent of daring to oppose in person the great commander-in-chief of the Home Rule army.

At this time he was home from Gibraltar for a short furlough, and with evidently no expectation of taking any prominent part in politics; and so, his term of leave of absence having nearly expired, he was unable to follow up his nomination by any active movement. He accordingly returned to Gibraltar on 4th December. In January following he got, however, a further leave of absence from 29th January till 31st May, during which time he took full advantage of the opportunity. Though there was no near prospect of an election, he at once set about his canvass with all the characteristic energy of his nature, devoting all his spare time to addressing meetings of the electors in the various villages and parishes of the county. This preliminary canter over, he rejoined his regiment at Gibraltar in June 1890, leaving politics all behind him, and entering with fresh zest into his military duties.

Canvass of the Electors

The Liberal press of the country, as a rule, treated Colonel Wauchope's candidature with the utmost indifference, if not with contempt, regarding it as a foregone conclusion that it would end in nothing. Indeed, his splendid audacity provoked the Radical party to mirth, and even in Unionist circles there was much shaking of heads. On all hands, by political friends and foes alike, every consideration and deference was shown, and he was listened to generally in respectful silence, rarely with open opposition; but his claims were not considered serious enough to work out to a conclusion that would at all affect Mr. Gladstone's position as the sitting member. Was Mr. Gladstone not the first statesman of the day, and the most brilliant Chancellor of the Exchequer of the century?—a man who, it has been wittily said, 'could apply all the resources of a burnished rhetoric to the illustration of figures; who could make pippins and cheese interesting, and tea serious; who could sweep the widest horizon of the financial future and yet stop to bestow the minutest attention on the microcosm of penny stamps and post horses.' To oppose such a man seemed madness. The feeling was, however, more of pity that a good man should waste his energies on a hopeless effort, than any fear of danger to the Liberal cause. The following, as the expression of a Liberal editor, may be taken as a fair specimen of the general feeling at the time:—'The answer to the question of the Scotsman, "Where is the candidate for Midlothian?" has at last been answered. Colonel Wauchope is a good and a brave man, and one almost regrets that he should have been prevailed upon to lead a forlorn hope. Almost all that was said of Sir Charles Dalrymple when he contested the county, may be said of the Laird of Niddrie. His heart is in the right place. He is justly held in much esteem as a landlord and county gentleman, as well as for his gallant services to his country. Sir Charles is, however, more of and perhaps a better politician, and where HE failed, Colonel Wauchope can have little chance of success.'

These pessimistic effusions had no more effect upon Wauchope than water on a duck's back. He had given his word, the die was cast, and deliberately and systematically he carried out his resolution. Beginning at his own village of New Craighall—chiefly inhabited by the miners belonging to the coal-pits on his estate—he commenced his campaign in the schoolroom on 10th February 1890, his friend and neighbour Sir Charles Dalrymple acting as chairman. In the course of his speech, Sir Charles referred to the difficult task Colonel Wauchope had undertaken, but was of opinion that his experience in the army had taught him not to shrink from a task because it was difficult. Indeed, he thought that to Colonel Wauchope a task of difficulty was more attractive than an easy one. He was above all things plain-spoken and thorough, and if he made statements on public questions, they might be sure that he would not have to answer them or explain them away at a subsequent period.

It is not necessary we should follow his footsteps throughout the county on this first round of addresses to the electors, or of his second round the following year, when he again returned from Gibraltar, and finally in 1892 when the general election took place. His personal canvass too of nearly fifteen thousand electors was a remarkable experience, and was conducted by him with much tact.

Electioneering difficulties

It is needless to say these repeated appearances proved an excellent training for him in the art of public speaking. He addressed the electors on all subjects of public importance from Home Rule as the all-absorbing question of the day, to questions of Imperial and local interest. It must be admitted his early speeches bore the unmistakable signs of the amateur in platform oratory, and when too hard pressed by a pertinacious heckler he had sometimes to admit he was nonplussed, but that he would give the embarrassing question his full attention, and express his opinion on it when he had formed it. This want of experience told heavily against him, and frequently he had difficulty in getting a hearing, or in being able clearly to express his views on some of the topics dealt with. But a breakdown did not put him very much out; he always managed to please his audience before he was done, with some happy remark given with the utmost good-nature. His utterances, sometimes diffuse and incoherent at first, very soon grew in confidence as well as in clearness, and before the election was over there were few public speakers better able to command the attention of a large audience than Andrew Gilbert Wauchope of Niddrie.