"A LOT OF BABIES."

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 November 1908, Page 1

"A LOT OF BABIES."

CHAMBERLAIN AND GLADSTONE. LONDON, October 2. Mr H. W. Lucy, the well-known jour- ' nalist, discloses a most interesting page ( of secret political history in the current "Cornhill." It relates to the Home Rule split years ago. Mr Lucy quotes . from a letter sent to him by M. Labou- ■ chere, dated sth April, 1898, which [ gives an outline of the negotiation between Mr Gladstone and Mr Chamber- | lain. The letter then i proceeds :— "Both got cross and the arrangement lapsed. Joe was foolish, but; I 'always thought ; that G. was most ih'rfault. He did. so hate Joe." . ■".' ' "/''.^ • "I several times '.tflld: Joe afterwards that G. would makeVtfiirigs right in bis speech winding up tKe debate on the second reading. G. said 1 He would. The | day came. Joe s^t'jb'ehihdt'fifc,"*an4 jV-" member was to be'^^p^-'acwffitWfy forget his name). cslfd"notljiiifg.'definite. Joe cursed tlijmjr wentr oft .'•/■ saying to me, for.';he '.sat just behind, ■-: "You hear.' When-his.:speech ; wasMpre'r, ; I begged a Whip to go to Gladstone to tell him that he had -said nothing definite, and asked whether it was to';W£, understood that the Irish were to sit'? He replied that that was what he meant. * "I told the Whip to go back and tell, him that by his ambiguity in the House he had lost his Bill. On this there was despair. "So now you have the facts tor future generations. Such a lot of babies a» Glkdstoiia. Morlay, Joe, and Bright I never came across. To a certain extent Gladstone' was influenced by the idea that if defeated ha would sweep the country on a "dissolution. But ho never could qiiite.make up his mind to yield one inch to Joe. He was ready to do what was wanted to secure the the vote 3of Job and his friends. But this was to be- undfTStooa,- ; in order to ! avoid havine actually yielded in so many words.' Mr Lucy prints a further letter fjoni Mr Came, in which the latter states that when Mr Gladstone sat down without making the smallest concession, Mr Labouchere turned round and semark'ed, "Isn't the old man a thimble-rig-ger?" "I still believe that if Chamberlain had -taken my advice," Mr Came also eaid, "and refused to negotiate' through such a born intriguer and dodger as Labouchere, and negotiated in the open through the medium of Herschell or some other member of the Cabinet, the whole current of history would have been changed ; but Chamberlain himself is a born intriguer, and loves it dearly." | The New Zealand Rugby Union is; at present considering tho question of reI arran»ing the basis of intercolonial tours. New South Wales and Queens- : land Unions also have the matter under ; consideration.