Herbert Gladstone, that an understanding existed between the conservatives and Parnell in relation to Irish policy. But on 7 Oct. Lord Salisbury spoke at Newport on behalf of his party in a tone which created, whether justly or unjustly, the impression that Parnell might gain more from him than from his rival. Lord Salisbury expressed no opinion in favour of home rule, but he treated the scheme respectfully. Referring to the cases of the colonies and Austria-Hungary which had been mentioned by Parnell, he said he had never seen any suggestion which gave the slightest hope of any satisfactory solution of the question. The interpretation placed, in view of Lord Carnarvon's attitude, upon this speech by Irish nationalists and English liberals was that Lord Salisbury was no longer an uncompromising opponent of home rule.
In December the general election was over; 335 liberals, 249 tories, and 86 Parnellites were returned to parliament. The Irish leader was thus master of the situation. The position of the tories was hopeless. Even with the Irish vote they could not carry on the government. But with the Irish vote the liberals enjoyed a majority of 172. On 17 Dec. an ‘inspired’ paragraph appeared simultaneously in the ‘Standard’ and ‘Leeds Mercury,’ stating that Mr. Gladstone had formulated a scheme of home rule based on the establishment of an Irish parliament for the management of Irish affairs, and Parnell was to be invited to give adequate guarantees for the protection of the loyal minority and of the legitimate interests of the landlords. A few days later Mr. Gladstone guardedly denied the authenticity of the report. Although the matter rested there for the time, Lord Hartington and others of Mr. Gladstone's former supporters at once declared their resolve to oppose any endeavour to come to terms with Parnell on the condition of granting Ireland legislative independence.
The Irish parliamentary party met in Dublin on 11 Jan. 1886. Parnell, although absent, was unanimously elected chairman, and resolutions were adopted reaffirming the right of the Irish people to legislate for themselves, and the determination of the party never to relax its efforts until legislative independence was achieved.
The state of Ireland since the expiry of the Crimes Act had not been very satisfactory. Outrages had somewhat increased (Report, p. 86). The tories regarded Carnarvon's conciliatory policy as a failure, and on 12 Jan. he resigned. Nine days later the government met parliament. Parnell, speaking on the address on that day, defended in moderate language the national league from the charge of encouraging intimidation, which he traced to the pressure exerted by the landlords on their tenants. On the afternoon of 26 Jan. ministers announced their intention of introducing a bill for the suppression of the national league, for the prevention of intimidation, and for the protection of life and property; subsequently they would introduce a land bill. In the evening the government was defeated, by a combination of liberal and Irish members, on an amendment to the address proposed by Mr. Jesse Collings, by 329 to 250 votes. Mr. Gladstone thereupon returned to power, and the secret that he was a convert to Parnell's home-rule scheme soon leaked out. Parnell's strategy had triumphed.
In February Parnell travelled to Galway to repress what he regarded as an incipient sign of revolt against his personal rule. The local home-rulers had brought forward Mr. Lynch to fill a vacancy in the representation. Parnell directed him to withdraw in favour of Captain O'Shea, who had been defeated in his candidature for the Exchange division of Liverpool in the previous November. O'Shea's enthusiasm for home rule was doubted, and Messrs. Healy and Biggar, Parnell's most active lieutenants, defiantly urged the Galway committee to stand by Mr. Lynch and reject their leader's nominee. Parnell's arrival on the scene at once broke the opposition, and Captain O'Shea was elected (Times, 3–11 Feb. passim).
On 8 April 1886 Mr. Gladstone introduced a bill for the establishment of an Irish parliament and an Irish executive for the management and control of Irish affairs, reserving to the imperial parliament (from which Irish members were to be excluded) the management and control of imperial affairs. The new legislature was to be divided into two orders, the first to include representative peers and persons elected by voters possessing a high pecuniary qualification. The second order was to be based on the ordinary franchise. Customs and excise were excluded from the control of the Irish parliament, and Ireland was to contribute 3,244,000l. to the imperial exchequer. Parnell at first gave the bill a cautious support, condemning the ‘tribute’ as a ‘hard bargain.’ On 13 April Mr. Gladstone completed the exposition of his policy by introducing a land purchase bill, which was intended to enable landlords to sell their holdings to the tenants on easy terms, and provided for the advance of money to the purchasers by the imperial treasury on a large scale. During the debate on the
