Far-reaching as the Irish Land Bill has proved in its effects, it was hardly of greater moment than a measure introduced two days later by Mr. W. E. Forster, establishing a scheme of elementary education. |National Education.| The Government had been not more than two years in office, and had amply fulfilled the first part of an ambitious programme by passing three measures of extraordinary importance, dealing with the Irish Church, Irish land tenure, and national education; yet the tide of popular favour which had carried them into power began to show unmistakeable signs of ebbing. The legislation of 1871, actual and proposed, served to add to the number of malcontents. |Army Purchase.| The first step taken was against the system of purchase in the army. It was the recognised practice in all except a few special corps in the British army for an officer to purchase his first commission, as well as every subsequent step in regimental promotion. There was a regulation scale of prices, but there was also an extra regulation payment, winked at by the authorities. An officer’s commission thus became a valuable property to him, which he could dispose of on leaving the service. It was a system which few people could defend successfully in theory, but it was one that had worked well in practice; and the project to sweep it away created a vigorous opposition. But what makes the Parliamentary fight over army purchase of moment in history is the means by which Mr. Gladstone carried his purpose in the teeth of the House of Lords. The abolition of purchase had been part only of a sweeping measure of army re-organisation brought in by Mr. Cardwell. In order to save part of the Bill, the Government threw overboard every section of it except the purchase clauses. The Lords, desiring to defeat what was left of the original Bill, declared they would not accept the purchase clauses until the whole scheme of army reform was before them. A sigh of relief escaped from military men; the system endeared to them by custom and association had been saved by the action of the Upper House. But they had to learn how resolute and adroit was he with whom they had to reckon. Mr. Gladstone had a theatrical surprise in store for everyone. He gave the go-by to Parliament by announcing that, whereas army purchase had been created by Royal warrant, it could be rendered illegal by the same means; and, therefore, he had advised the Queen to cancel the old warrant and issue a new one. It was a complete victory over the House of Lords; they were forced to pass the Bill so obnoxious to them, otherwise the officers of the army would have been deprived of the compensation provided for the sums they had paid for their commissions. But the victory was very damaging to Mr. Gladstone’s Government.
From a Photograph] [by Thiele, Chancery Lane.
CRICKET IN THE LATER YEARS OF THE REIGN.
England v. Australia at Lords, June 22, 23, 24, 1896. Dr. Grace is at the further wicket.
G. Du Maurier.] [From “Punch.”
FASHIONS IN 1870.
He: “Shall we—a—sit down?” She: “I should like to, but my dressmaker says I mustn’t.”
Most educated people were tired, and perhaps ashamed, of the uproar and scandal inseparable from the old system of elections, and the Government brought in a Bill to abolish the hustings and make the proceedings more orderly, against which few voices would have been raised, had it not contained provisions for voting by Ballot. |The Ballot Bill.| The idea of secret voting was repugnant to the national sense of what is fair and above-board; but the Bill eventually got through the House of Commons, though shorn, at the instance of Mr. Vernon Harcourt and Mr. James (now Lord James of Hereford), of the provisions for throwing the expenses of elections on the rates. The measure was rejected by the House of Lords, but the Government succeeded in passing it during the session of 1872. The result upon the balance of parties in the House of Commons has been singularly small, and certainly the Conservatives, who had most reason to dread the effect of secret voting on the fortunes of their party, have had no reason to complain of the result.