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→After 1880: 1870s
officers were expected to be gentlemen and sportsmen; there was no problem if they were entirely wanting in military knowledge or leadership skills. From the Tory perspective it was essential to keep the officer corps the domain of gentlemen, and not a trade
officers were expected to be gentlemen and sportsmen; there was no problem if they were entirely wanting in military knowledge or leadership skills. From the Tory perspective it was essential to keep the officer corps the domain of gentlemen, and not a trade
for professional experts. They warned the latter might menace the oligarchy and threaten a military coup; they preferred an inefficient army to an authoritarian state. The rise of [[Bismark]]'s new Germany made this reactionary policy too dangerous for a great empire to risk. The bill, which would have compensated current owners for their cash investments, passed Commons in 1871 but was blocked by the House of Lords. Gladstone then moved to drop the system without any reimbursements, forcing the Lords to backtrack and approve the original bill. Liberals rallied to Gladstone's anti-elitism, pointing to the case of Lord Cardigan (1797–1868), who spent £40,000 for his commission and proved utterly incompetent in the Crimean war, where he ordered the disastrous "Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854. Cardwell was not powerful enough to install a general staff system; that had to await the 20th century. He did rearrange the war department. He made the office of Secretary of State for War superior to the Army's commander in Chief; the commander was His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), the Queen's first cousin, and an opponent of the reforms. The surveyor-general of the ordnance, and the financial secretary became key department heads reporting to the Secretary. The militia was reformed as well and integrated into the Army. The term of enlistment was reduced to 6 years, so there was more turnover and a larger pool of trained reservists. The territorial system of recruiting for regiments was standardized and adjusted to the current population. Cardwell reduced the Army budget yet increased its strength of the army in the home islands by 25 battalions, 156 field guns, and abundant stores, while the reserves available for foreign service had been raised tenfold from 3,500 to 36,000 men.<ref> Ensor, ''England, 1870-1914'' pp. 7-17</ref>
for professional experts. They warned the latter might menace the oligarchy and threaten a military coup; they preferred an inefficient army to an authoritarian state. The rise of [[Bismark]]'s new Germany made this reactionary policy too dangerous for a great empire to risk. The bill, which would have compensated current owners for their cash investments, passed Commons in 1871 but was blocked by the House of Lords. Gladstone then moved to drop the system without any reimbursements, forcing the Lords to backtrack and approve the original bill. Liberals rallied to Gladstone's anti-elitism, pointing to the case of Lord Cardigan (1797–1868), who spent £40,000 for his commission and proved utterly incompetent in the Crimean war, where he ordered the disastrous "Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854. Cardwell was not powerful enough to install a general staff system; that had to await the 20th century. He did rearrange the war department. He made the office of Secretary of State for War superior to the Army's commander in Chief; the commander was His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge (1819-1904), the Queen's first cousin, and an opponent of the reforms. The surveyor-general of the ordnance, and the financial secretary became key department heads reporting to the Secretary. The militia was reformed as well and integrated into the Army. The term of enlistment was reduced to 6 years, so there was more turnover and a larger pool of trained reservists. The territorial system of recruiting for regiments was standardized and adjusted to the current population. Cardwell reduced the Army budget yet increased its strength of the army in the home islands by 25 battalions, 156 field guns, and abundant stores, while the reserves available for foreign service had been raised tenfold from 3,500 to 36,000 men.<ref> Ensor, ''England, 1870-1914'' pp. 7-17</ref>
===Defeat (1874) and Return (1876)===
Defeated by the Conservatives at the general election of 1874, Gladstone retired in disgust from public life. He planned to devote the whole of his time, instead of his leisure as theretofore, to the task of defending Christian dogma from scientific onslaught. He coauthored a pamphlet attacking the "Vatican decrees," the newly proclaimed doctrine of papal infallibility; it sold 150,000 copies.<ref> ''The Vatican Decrees in Their Bearing on Civil Allegiance'' (1874) [http://books.google.com/books?id=E1FZC7mXUwIC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online copy]</ref>
====The Eastern Question====
Gladstone sprang back into political life in 1876 over his moralistic foreign policy. It was his main concern 1876-1880. Gladstone's campaign to oppose the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the Balkans led the British into a heated debate and drew the party line between Gladstone's Liberals (who denounced the immoral Ottomans) and Disraeli's Conservatives (who supported the Ottoman Empire as an offset to Russian power). Disraeli had threatened war with Russia on the issue and Gladstone argued he was wrong. Liberal opinion was convulsed by atrocities in the Balkans, in particular the massacre of more than 10,000 Christian Bulgars by Turkish irregulars. Gladstone published a ferocious pamphlet, focusing on the Turks' "abominable and bestial lusts ... at which Hell itself might almost blush" and demanding they withdraw from European soil. The pamphlet sold an astonishing 200,000 copies.<ref> '' Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East'' (1876) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ev9wkUr1UloC&dq=inauthor:gladstone+inauthor:william&num=100&as_brr=0 online edition] Disraeli wisecracked, of all the Bulgarian horrors perhaps the pamphlet was greatest.</ref> Gladstone felt a call from God to aid the [[Serbia]]ns and [[Bulgaria]]ns as he stumped the country like some ancient Hebrew prophet denouncing tyranny and oppression. The crowning moment was his "Midlothian campaign" in late 1879. Gladstone in four speeches charged the government with financial incompetency, neglecting domestic legislation, and mismanagement of foreign affairs. By appealing to vast audiences denouncing Disraeli's pro-Turkish foreign policy, Gladstone made himself a moral force in Europe, unified his party, and was carried back to power.
The Liberals were not so naive and idealistic as to reject the imperial heritage; many Liberals such as [[H. H. Asquith]] became active imperialists. Liberal Party policy around 1880 was shaped by Gladstone as he repeatedly attacked Disraelian [[imperialism]]. On the other hand national interest was always paramount, and the Liberals were quick to seek common ground with the Conservatives in regard to the [[Berlin Treaty]], in which the party lost the moral high ground as a critic of imperialism.
==After 1880 ==
==After 1880 ==