Gladstone addressed many
gatherings, and at Swansea, where he was the guest of Sir Hussey Vivian,
he spoke to a vast concourse of people, estimated at one
hundred thousand.
CHAPTER XIX
PRIME MINISTER THE FOURTH TIME
When Parliament met in 1887 Mr. Gladstone entered upon "a course of
extraordinary physical and intellectual efforts, with voice and pen, in
Parliament and on the platform, on behalf of the cause, defeated but not
abandoned, of self-government for Ireland." The Tory administration
passed a Crimes Prevention Bill for Ireland of great severity. Irish
members of Parliament were thrown into prison, but the Act failed of its
object--the suppression of the Land League.
In December, 1887, Mr. Gladstone visited Italy and made Naples his
headquarters. He was received with joy for the service he had rendered
to the Italian people. The University of Bologna, in celebrating the
eighth century of its existence, conferred upon him the degree of
Doctor of Arts.
In 1888 the House of Commons appointed a Commission to try the "Times"
charges against Mr. Parnell. The charges were found to be false.
Mr. Gladstone visited Birmingham in November, 1888. After paying a
glowing tribute to John Bright, and expressing an earnest desire for his
recovery to health, he condemned the Coercion Act.
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