William Gladstone
From Conservapedia
William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) was a British statesman and four-time Prime Minister (1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886 and 1892–1894). He is best known for his extensive political reforms and skilled oratory. A scholar as well as a politician, he was the primary political rival of Benjamin Disraeli. Still considered to be one of Britain's greatest Prime Ministers, Gladstone was the inspiration for Winston Churchill and others.
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Early Life and Tory Minister
Born in 1809 in Liverpool to a well-off merchant family, Gladstone was educated at Eton College and Oxford University before entering Parliament in 1832 as Conservative MP for Newark. In his early career, Gladstone was regarded as a 'stern and unbending Tory' and a High Anglican. In 1839, he married Catherine Glynne, who remained together until Gladstone’s death 59 years later.
Gladstone served as President of the Board of Trade (1843-44) during the second ministry of Robert Peel. He resigned in 1845 over the Maynooth Grant issue, but returned in December as Colonial Secretary. Peel’s government fell in 1846, and Gladstone followed his leader in separation from the Conservative Party. After Peel’s death in 1850, Gladstone became leader of this ‘Peelite’ faction in the House of Commons.
In 1852, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in a Whig-Peelite coalition government led by Lord Aberdeen. The government resigned in 1855 over the Crimean War and Gladstone spent the next four years in the political wilderness, refusing to join Derby’s Conservative Ministry on the grounds that he did not want to work with Benjamin Disraeli.
Conservative to Liberal
In an historic move, Gladstone joined Palmerston’s new Liberal government in 1859 as Chancellor of the Exchequer. In this post, Gladstone was steadily able to reduce income tax during his time in office. He had originally opposed further electoral reform, but by 1865, was in favour of extending the franchise to the working classes in the towns.
Palmerston died in 1865 and was replaced by John Russell, who in turn retired in 1867, making Gladstone leader of the Liberal Party. The Liberals won the 1868 general election and Gladstone became Prime Minister, in a government described as ‘the greatest of the 19th century’. A number of important reforms were passed, such as the disestablishment of the unpopular Church of Ireland in 1869, the Forster Education Act of 1870, which provided free primary education for all, and the 1872 Ballot Act, which ensured a secret ballot in all future elections.
However, not all of the new legislation was popular with the voting public. Gladstone was defeated in the 1874 general election by his political rival Disraeli, and soon after resigned as Liberal leader. However, Disraeli’s aggressive foreign policy (particularly in the Near East) spurred Gladstone back into frontline politics as he launched an extensive campaign against the Conservative government, (known as the ‘Midlothian Campaign’) in 1879 and 1880.
Later Years
The Liberal Party won the 1880 general election and Gladstone resumed his position as Prime Minister. He set about disengaging Britain from a series of colonial wars and passed the 1884 Reform Act, which further extended the franchise. However, this government was to become known as the ‘Ministry of Troubles’, with problems both at home and abroad. He was forced to resign in 1885 after the death of General Gordon in Khartoum, for which Gladstone was held indirectly responsible.
In 1886, Gladstone was able to defeat Lord Salisbury’s government through an alliance with Irish Nationalists and introduced his Home Rule Bill for Ireland. The issue split the Liberal Party and the Bill was defeated at the second reading. The government then lost the 1886 general election to be replaced by Lord Salisbury’s Conservative Ministry.
In 1892, Gladstone was re-elected Prime Minister for the fourth and final time. The following year he introduced his second Home Rule Bill. It passed by a small majority in the Commons, but then was defeated in the Lords.
Soon after, with his eyesight and hearing failing him, Gladstone resigned at the age of 84. He would make one more speech in 1896 to denounce the Armenian atrocities, but died in 1898 at the age of 88. He was given a state funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey.
Principles
- Gladstone believed in the ‘laissez-faire’ philosophy that good government does not interfere much in the affairs of individuals. His thrifty personal habits were reflected in his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer. He saw excess government expenditure as ‘a great moral evil’.
- He was opposed to war and despised the cost of military activity, reminding parliament that he ‘uniformly opposed militarism’ throughout his career.
- Was a firm supporter of free trade, believing that international peace and domestic prosperity could best be maintained by removing barriers to reciprocal trade between nations.
- Believed that success was the result of hard work and that failure showed a lack of moral spirit. He therefore believed that the poor should help themselves to alleviate their own condition.
- Gladstone was never a fervent supporter of democracy, stating: ‘I am a firm believer in the aristocratic principle – the rule of the best.’ However, in 1864 he contended that ‘every man who is not presumably incapacitated by some consideration of personal unfitness or of political danger is morally entitled to come within the pale of the constitution’, implying at least a cautious support of household suffrage. For his time in British politics, this could even be interpreted as a relatively positive view on democratic principles.
- A strong supporter of the British monarchy, despite Queen Victoria’s resentment of him. She never liked his serious demeanour, and complained: "He always addresses me as if I were a public meeting."
- Described himself as a ‘man in politics’ rather than a politician. He only wanted to do useful work for the good of the country and could never understand his popularity.
Religion
Gladstone was a devout Christian throughout his life, which had a profound impact on his political beliefs. In his early career he was intent on maintaining relations between Church and State, although he later realised that this was too idealistic and advocated 'greater autonomy' for the Anglican Church and toleration of other faiths and denominations. Gladstone maintained a high moral purpose in his politics, which greatly affected his decisions both in domestic and foreign affairs. This may explain his later conversion to more radical politics; campaigning for social justice and welfare for those less fortunate as a moral responsibility. It is also shown in his mission to 'pacify Ireland' in 1868, and his denunciation of the atrocities committed by the Turks on Bulgarian Christians in the late 1870s. This Evangelical stance often attracted criticism from his opponents and alienated sections of his own party. Luckily for Gladstone however, his moral crusades were generally supported by an enthusiastic political public.
Another aspect of Gladstone’s religious mission was his work in rescuing prostitutes from the London streets. He would aim to find them alternative employment and rehabilitate them back into mainstream society. His work was seen as controversial and criticised by many, but he continued this practice with the full support of his wife even when he was Prime Minister.
Gladstone on the American Constitution
Originally, Gladstone had held a strong prejudice against Americans, calling them ‘a dishonest, unprincipled people’ in 1844. He was especially critical of the money-grabbing Northern Yankee tradesmen and farmers, and shared the prejudiced view of the English upper-class that the Southern planters, with their cultivated drawl, were the closest thing America had to gentlemen.
However, he did not believe that a permanent division of the American Union would be in Britain’s best interests, and the violence of the Civil War sickened him. He believed that the North would never be able to restore the Union by force, and was prepared to offer diplomatic recognition to the Southern Confederacy if they prevailed.
In October 1862, Gladstone caused controversy by uttering the words: “There is no doubt that Jefferson Davis, and other leaders of the South have made an army. They are making, it appears, a Navy. And they have made – what is more than either – they have made a Nation.”
Gladstone shocked his Liberal colleagues by appearing to support the Southern Confederacy. John Bright commented: 'He is for union and freedom in Italy, and for disunion and bondage in America!' Gladstone detested slavery, but saw no point in denouncing it when he believed the anti-slavery cause was lost.
His unguarded comment caused some harm to Anglo-American relations for many years, but the unexpected victory of the Northern States had an important effect on Gladstone’s outlook. His prejudice slowly disappeared, and eventually came to regard American democracy as one of humanity’s supreme achievements. He later described the American Constitution as: 'the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.'
Biographies
- John Morley, The Life of Gladstone (1903)
- D.W. Bebbington, William Ewart Gladstone
- Eric Brad, William Gladstone
- Osbert Burdett, W. E. Gladstone (1928)
- F. Birrell, Gladstone (1933)
- E. Eyck, Gladstone (1938)
- Philip Magnus, Gladstone: A Biography (1954)
- E.G. Collieu, Gladstone (1968)
- H.C. Matthew, Gladstone: 1809-98 (1995)
- Roy Jenkins, Gladstone (1995) (ISBN 0-333-66209-1)
