At night Mr. Gladstone attended a great public meeting in
the Plumstead Skating Rink. On his entrance the whole audience rose and
cheered for several minutes. An address was presented, expressing regret
at his retirement, and the pride they would ever feel at having been
associated with his name and fame. Mr. Gladstone alluded to Lord
Beaconsfield's phrase respecting "harassed interests," and said he knew
of only one harassed interest, and that was the British nation. He
protested against the words "personal government" being taken to imply
that the Sovereign desired to depart from the traditions of the
constitution, yet he charged the advisers of the Crown with having
invidiously begun a system intended to narrow the liberties of the
people of England and to reduce Parliament to the condition of the
French Parliaments before the great Revolution.
Mr. Gladstone threw the whole responsibility of the Afghan war on the
Ministry, and maintaining that England had departed from the customs of
the forefathers, concluded as follows: "It is written in the eternal
laws of the universe of God that sin shall be followed by suffering. An
unjust war is a tremendous sin. The question which you have to consider
is whether this war is just or unjust.
Pages:
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402