stone jumped to his feet, and a scene of wild excitement ensued.

"I am reluctant, Mr. Patten," said he, "to trespass upon the attention of the Committee, but it appears to me that the speech which we have just heard is a speech that ought to meet with a reply, and that, too, on the moment; and, Sir, I begin by telling the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer that—I postpone for some minutes the inquiry whether he knows his business or not, that there are some things which he, too, has yet to learn. There were other reasons, besides the reason of triviality and irrelevancy, why a discussion should have been avoided to-night by the right hon. Gentleman on the subject of emigration. And I tell the right hon. Gentleman more-that the license of language he has used-the phrases he has applied to the characters of public men-(loud cries of 'Hear, hear!')—that the phrases he has applied to the characters of public men, whose career—(the remainder of the sentence was drowned in renewed cries from both sides of the House).

"Mr. Patten, my wish is to keep myself,-although I confess that I could not hear those phrases used and remain totally unmoved,-my wish is to keep myself strictly within the bounds of Parliamentary order and propriety; and I beg of you, Sir, that if in one syllable I trespass beyond those bounds, you will have the kindness to correct me. I do not address myself to those Gentlemen belonging to the great party opposite, from whom I have never received anything but courtesy and

forbearance (interruption),-but, notwithstanding the efforts of some Gentlemen in a remote corner of the House, who avail themselves of darkness to interrupt

me,

I will tell them this, that they must bear to have their Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is so free in his comments upon the conduct of others, brought to the bar of the opinion of this Committee, and tried by those laws of decency and propriety—(cheers and confusion, which drowned the remainder of the sentence). Sir, we are accustomed here to attach to the words of a Minister of the Crown a great authority—and that disposition to attach authority, as it is required by the public interest, so it has been usually justified by the conduct and character of those Ministers; but I must tell the right hon. Gentleman that he is not entitled to charge with insolence men who-(renewed cheers again drowned the remaining words of the sentence). I must tell the right hon. Gentleman that he is not entitled to say to my right hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Sir J. Graham) that he regards him, but that he does not respect him. I must tell the right hon. Gentleman that, whatever he has learned-and he has learned much,-he has not yet learned the limits of discretion, of moderation, and of forbearance, that ought to restrain the conduct and language of every Member of this House, the disregard of which is an offence in the meanest amongst us, but it is of tenfold weight when committed by the leader of the House of Commons." *

*Ibid. 1666-7.

Then Mr. Gladstone examined the different proposals of Mr. Disraeli in one of the most masterly speeches which he ever delivered on a financial subject. He tracked the Chancellor of the Exchequer through all the parts of his scheme, exposed blunder after blunder, proved that in many cases the classes whom Mr. Disraeli proposed to serve, his schemes would as a matter of fact deeply injure; and altogether crushed that hapless gentleman's Budget as completely as a Nasmyth hammer might crush a bandbox.

When the division came, 286 voted in favour of Mr. Disraeli's proposal, and 305 against, the Government being thus defeated by a majority of 15. A few days afterwards they resigned.

Thus ended the first Derby-Disraeli Government. It had never perhaps been the misfortune of this country to be ruled by a Ministry more unprincipled, and never perhaps during any period of English history were the dictates of representative and party government, of personal and political consistency and honour, violated so grossly, so openly, and on such a large scale. Coming into office pledged to restore Protection, they at first refused to bring the question before Parliament; then for months they uttered the most contradictory opinions upon it; and when the general election came, they allowed their supporters to profess opinions the most opposite on the great and central controversy of the day. Finally, asking the country for a policy, instead of placing one before it, as is the duty of a parliamentary government, they found the tide turn against

their first political principles; then they abandoned those principles with unblushing readiness, without any apology for past errors, without any repentance for past injustice to the cause and the upholders of Free Trade. To find a similar instance of political tergiversation, we must look to subsequent political developments of Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli.

CHAPTER XIV.

"A PATRIOTIC OPPOSITION."

Up to the present period, I have been dealing with what may be called Lord Beaconsfield's ancient history. I now come to a period more modern, and therefore less unfamiliar.

My plan of dealing with my subject, will, therefore, be somewhat altered. I shall, unless when the occasion is very interesting and important, give a rapid and general, instead of a detailed view, of the career I am describing.

The Government of Lord Derby and Mr. Disraeli was succeeded by a coalition ministry, which included Peelites and Whigs. The Earl of Aberdeen, the chief of the former party, was made Prime Minister; Lord John Russell became Foreign, Lord Palmerston Home Secretary; Mr. Gladstone was made Chancellor of the Exchequer; and Sir James Graham First Lord of the Admiralty.

So hopeless was the fiasco in which Mr. Disraeli's first tenure of the Chancellorship of the Exchequer had ended, that for a time it was widely reported that